Chapter 259 The past is like smoke, no regrets

"Sergeant, where have you been all these years? How come there is no news at all? I thought, I thought you..." Liu Fusheng said with a sob.

Over the years he has been looking for Deng Chaoyang's whereabouts, but has never received any news.

Zheng Chaoyang patted Liu Fusheng on the shoulder, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Fusheng, I have no choice. The organization sent me to do underground work, and because of the need for confidentiality, I have not contacted you. Later, I went to Shanghai and only came back a while ago."

His words were full of helplessness and emotion, which made Liu Fusheng feel both relieved and sad.

Zheng Chaoyang's actions demonstrated his sense of responsibility and loyalty to the party's cause, which made Liu Fusheng admire and respect him even more.

After listening to Zheng Chaoyang's words, Liu Fusheng was silent for a moment, then gently patted Zheng Chaoyang on the shoulder and comforted him: "Captain, fortunately there is peace. We can finally live a good life without having to worry about life and death anymore."

"Sergeant, you won't leave this time, right?" Liu Fusheng said to Deng Chaoyang with expectant eyes.

Deng Chaoyang smiled and pounded his chest, saying, "I'm not leaving. The country is peaceful and stable now, and my mission has been accomplished. Beijing is my hometown, and I will stay in Beijing and not go anywhere else." His words were full of satisfaction and pride, as if he had already seen a better life in the future.

Liu Fusheng was overjoyed when he heard this and said, "Great, this way we can meet often in the future."

Zheng Chaoyang grinned and said, "Let's go. This is your territory. Take me around and see how the village has changed over the years."

Liu Fusheng wiped his tears and said happily: "Haha, squad leader, I'm not bragging to you, our village has changed a lot in recent years, we have rice farming, Chinese herbal medicine planting, poultry and livestock farms, building materials factories..."

Liu Zhiye silently watched the joyful scene of the two comrades-in-arms, who had been friends for life and death, meeting again after more than ten years.

They embraced each other affectionately, shook hands and talked happily, sharing the glorious past and the bits and pieces of their current life. They were filled with emotion, as if time had gone back to those youthful years.

Liu Zhiye was also deeply moved when he saw this. He recalled that his former comrades-in-arms had also had such moments, so he understood their feelings very well.

In the afternoon, Liu Fusheng took a few people for a walk in the village, visited the endless rice field breeding base, and the most amazing thing was that they went to Nanshan to pick cherries.

It was not until dark that they reluctantly returned to the third uncle's house.

The people invited by the third uncle also came one after another, including the old man, Liu Zhiye's uncle, and those who had participated in rescuing and sheltering Deng Chaoyang and other guerrillas.

These people were very excited when they saw Deng Chaoyang. During the months of recuperation, Zheng Chaoyang had established a deep relationship with these villagers.

This feeling cannot be faked.

In the difficult years of the past, they braved the threat of the Japanese invaders, took risks to take in the Eighth Route Army guerrillas, and took good care of them for so long.

If they did not truly regard our party's troops as their own family, they would not be able to do this. With their selfless dedication and firm belief, they provided solid shelter for Zheng Chaoyang and other guerrillas of the Eighth Route Army.

Zheng Chaoyang glanced at the people present, but found that a few old comrades were missing. His heart skipped a beat and he had a bad premonition.

So he asked in a deep voice: "Fusheng, why didn't the two brothers Da Mao and Xiao Mao come? And where is your cousin Fucheng? Why didn't they show up?"

When Liu Fusheng heard this, his smiling expression gradually dimmed. He and his three other comrades from the same village looked at each other, lowered their heads and remained silent.

Liu Fusheng hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Not long after you left that year, our guerrillas were incorporated into the main force of the Fifth Brigade led by Commander Zhao.

In the battle to attack the Pingsui Railway, Da Mao was unfortunately shot and killed. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Chiang Kai-shek launched a full-scale attack on us, and Xiao Mao also died in the Battle of Taiyuan.

My cousin Liu Fucheng died heroically in the Battle of Shangganling during the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.

There are also Fulin, Yuan Huang, Yuanshan and others who died before the founding of the country. "

Deng Chaoyang's eyes welled up with tears when he heard this. Of the ten outstanding young people he had brought from the village to join the army to fight the Japanese invaders, only four are left now, one of whom has a broken leg, one has lost an eye, and only two are truly intact. It is really sad.

“They are all heroes, and you are heroes too, for not letting me down, and not bringing shame to the troops.

They are glorious, we will not forget them, the country will not forget them, and the people will not forget them."

Liu Fusheng and others nodded vigorously with tears in their eyes, "We know and have never complained. If no one chooses to sacrifice and no one makes contributions, how can we have the wonderful life we ​​have today!"

"It's just that now that we are reunited, they are missing. Whenever I think of them, I can't help but sigh, how great it would be if they could still be alive today!"

Liu Zhiye raised his glass and loudly proposed: "Let's toast to our fallen comrades." He raised his glass and spilled some on the ground. Deng Chaoyang and others also echoed him. They raised their glasses together and drank the wine in the glass.

"In the vast sea of ​​people
Which one am I

In the rushing waves

Which one am I in the army that conquers the universe?

That's me who gave silently

In the long river of brilliant career

It's me who runs forever

You don't need to know me

I don't want you to know me

I put my youth into
Into the rivers of the motherland

The mountains know me, the rivers know me

The motherland will not forget, will not forget me

......"

Suddenly, Liu Zhiye sang softly a song with beautiful melody and full of passion.

With his unique voice, he evokes emotional resonance in the audience, making them feel both comfortable and passionate.

Zheng Chaoyang and the other people present all listened to him quietly until he finished singing. Although they had never heard this song before, its melody and Liu Zhiye's nearly professional singing skills made their blood boil.

Although this song was heard for the first time and had never been heard before, its melody and emotion deeply moved those present.

Zheng Chaoyang clinked glasses with Liu Zhiye and was surprised to find that he had this ability. "Zhiye, you are really versatile. I feel that you can sing as well as the mainstay of our art troupe."

Liu Zhiye smiled and responded modestly: "Thank you, Lao Zheng. I just like singing, and I am far from those professionals."

Zheng Chaoyang smiled and tapped him twice with his fingers, then asked, "By the way, what's the name of the song you just sang? It's really nice, how come I've never heard of it before?"

Liu Zhiye shook his glass, invited him to have another drink, and then said mysteriously: "Of course you haven't heard of it. This is a new song I wrote. You are the first listeners in the world, hahahaha..."

He then added: "This song was inspired by our revolutionary experience..."

Deng Chaoyang opened his mouth in surprise and said, "Wow! Not only can you sing, but you can also write songs? Is this true?"

Liu Fusheng continued, "Old squad leader, I can prove that Zhiye can write songs. He has written several good songs before, including "Young Man's Ambition Does Not Worry", "Red Star Shines on Me to Fight", "Camel Bells", etc. These songs are very beautiful."

Deng Chaoyang suddenly realized what was going on: "Ah! I know these songs and can sing them! But I didn't pay attention to who the author was. I didn't expect that Zhiye wrote them."

"Wow! Zhiye, you are really talented! I didn't expect my partner to be such a talented person. I really admire you. I am so sorry for your disrespect!"

"Come, let me toast to our great talent!"

Liu Zhiye laughed and scolded, "Fuck you! If you want to drink, just say so. Don't bother with this useless stuff."

"Don't you just want to drink? Come, come... I'll accompany you to the end."

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed when they saw this.

Deng Chaoyang and Liu Zhiye enthusiastically gathered with their comrades-in-arms. The reunion of old friends made Duomen very busy.

After dinner, Duomen walked around the camp with his hands behind his back, and suddenly thought of the chef in the cafeteria. He heard that he had been the head chef in Hongbinlou before liberation, and his cooking skills were extraordinary. They might even know him.

Over the years, he didn't know many old friends, and it was rare for him to run into an old acquaintance. So he wandered to the kitchen.

"Excuse me, is the chef here here?" Duomen stopped a cook who was about to take out the garbage and asked.

"Yes, I'm resting inside! Leader, is there anything you can do to talk to my master about this?" the young apprentice asked curiously.

"Oh, I just want to meet our chef. I wonder what kind of person he is, but his cooking skills are so amazing." Duomen smiled and flattered his master.

Upon hearing this, the young disciple smiled and replied, "My master's name is Liu Hongshen, and he used to be the master chef of Hongbinlou in Beijing.

I'm not exaggerating, just go around and listen; everyone in the surrounding area knows that my master is an excellent cook, and everyone wants to ask him to help with any wedding or funeral." As he spoke, he raised his thumb with one hand, looking very proud.

(End of this chapter)