Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 4 Impression of Home

"clang clang"

A dull iron bell rang, bringing Chen Mo's thoughts back to reality.

In the classroom, there was a clatter of chairs being pushed and tables being turned over, and many students began to stuff books into the classroom with cloth bags.

"I packed up my books and left, why are you still sitting here?"

His deskmate Dong Keyang stretched and urged him, then took out a cloth bag from the desk drawer and started putting books in it.

"Should I say this, Chen Mo? I really admire you. You even dared to be distracted during the old witch's class. Luckily, she didn't notice."

Listening to the mumbling beside him, Chen Mo smiled and said, "What's the matter? You still expect to go to college? Anyway, I don't expect to go to college anymore. What difference does it make whether I attend classes or not?"

Dong Keyang was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then said, "Hey, what you said makes sense, but I'm just afraid that the old witch will call me out."

The old witch Dong Keyang mentioned was the English teacher of their Class 1, Grade 3. He hadn't read the high school English textbook for many years.

When this was suddenly put in front of me, it was no exaggeration to say that listening to the lectures was like listening to a foreign language, and reading the book was almost like looking at ghost paintings. I couldn't understand what the teacher was talking about at all.

Fortunately, today is Friday and I can go home after this English class.

Otherwise, Chen Mo didn’t know if he could survive in the classroom.

Since he had already made up his mind to join the army, Chen Mo did not bring too much information with him. He just packed a few books symbolically, put on his cloth bag, and followed the crowd out of the classroom.

Stepping into the campus again after many years, Chen Mo felt a very unfamiliar feeling.

Along the way, Dong Keyang walked in front and led the way.

Fortunately, this guy was noisy and talkative, and Chen Mo learned a lot of useful information from him, which allowed him, a reborn person, to integrate into the current environment more quickly.

They first went back to the dormitory to pack up the dirty clothes. Although they said they were packing up, they actually just took one or two pieces of underwear.

A high school student in Fucheng could only go home once a month. Life at the end of the 20th century was not as affluent as it is in later generations. Chen Mo searched his bed for a long time but only found two pairs of briefs.

Just put it in your pocket.

By the time the two of them arrived at the school gate, they were already blocked by the crowd.

Fortunately, Chen Mo was physically strong and Dong Keyang was not bad either, so they squeezed out of the school gate together.

There were many middle-aged men soliciting passengers parked outside, with both three-wheeled and two-wheeled motorcycles.

Seeing the two young men coming out, a middle-aged man wearing a lambskin coat with the leather almost peeling off came over and greeted them warmly: "Where are you two from?"

"Let's go, let's go. We can take you as far as Nenzhuangkou."

Chen Mo had developed a travel habit over the years, and when he heard the call, he subconsciously wanted to take a bus. Their school was in the county town, which was eight or nine kilometers away from the town.

Unexpectedly, before he could make any move, Dong Keyang grinned and said, "Teacher, I don't want to sit. Our homes are close to here."

"Walking is the best way."

After saying that, Dong Keyang held Chen Mo's arm and ran towards the Jingchang River in the distance.

"Chen Mo, why do I feel like you're a little weird this afternoon? You've become less talkative and even want to ride a motorcycle."

"Our village isn't far away, but taking a motorcycle would cost one yuan per person."

"I want to save some time." Chen Mo smiled and said nothing more.

Their homes are all in Xinglong Village, Shiqiao Town, Fucheng. On the way back, I did see many classmates walking home.

For Chen Mo, everything in the county town in 1998 was full of novelty, and it was very different from later times.

Dong Keyang kept greeting acquaintances along the way, while Chen Mo paid more attention to his surroundings.

Returning to the late 1990s, everything here gave him a feeling of both familiarity and unfamiliarity.

But it's okay.

Young men of eighteen or nineteen are at the peak of their energy, and Chen Mo didn't feel tired on the way back.

It took us about an hour and a half to reach the village entrance, and that was because we didn't rush on the road.

The third house from the east end of Xinglong Village is Chen Mo’s home, after saying goodbye to Dong Keyang.

Chen Mo stood at the door of his house, feeling a little complicated for a moment.

At that time, the house was still a tiled house, the courtyard walls were made of red bricks, and the gate was still made of iron sheets and wood embedded on both sides of the wall.

I remember that we built a bungalow at home, it seemed to be in 09.

Suddenly standing in front of the old house that he remembered, Chen Mo found it difficult to adapt.

The main reason was that he had lived a muddle-headed life for the past twenty years, had no career, and had no family. A man in his forties in the countryside who hadn't even married would only bring shame to his parents if he returned home.

He escaped year after year.

Now that I'm back, I'm feeling a bit homesick.

Just as Chen Mo stopped at the door and made up his mind, the door of his house suddenly opened, and then a small head popped out and looked around.

When you see clearly who is standing at the door.

A little girl, about six or seven years old, with a dark face and two pigtails, ran out with a look of surprise and shouted, "Brother, why don't you come home?"

As soon as the little girl came up, she hugged Chen Mo's legs and smiled with her little face tilted up.

This is Chen Mo’s sister Chen Jing.

There are three children in the Chen family. Chen Mo is the eldest, and the second child is also a boy named Chen Feng, who is in the third grade of junior high school in the town.

As for Chen Jing, she is not yet old enough to attend the Yuhong class, and will not be sent to the school behind the village until after next summer vacation.

"I guessed you would discover me." Chen Mo bent down lovingly and picked up the little girl, then raised his hand to wipe the dust off her face.

"Is Xiaofeng back?"

"No, my parents went to help out at Fourth Grandpa's house and asked me to watch the door."

Maybe it was because the weather was cold, the little girl was so frozen that her nose was full of snot. She raised her sleeve to wipe it, and just laughed foolishly.

Chen Mo suddenly burst out laughing.

He walked into the yard holding his sister. Perhaps because he knew his parents were not at home, he was not as hesitant as he was at the beginning.

Walk into the main room.

The furnishings inside are basically the same as what I remember, with an old-fashioned door and a threshold about 30 to 40 centimeters high. The most eye-catching thing in the whole house is the red-painted sofa set.

My father is a carpenter and he made all the furniture in our house himself.

Because there were no windows at the back of this tile-roofed house when it was built, the entire main room is dark.

Chen Mo walked to the inside of the house, followed his memory to find the pull cord, and turned on the light in the main room with a "click".

Then he put his sister down and said, "Xiao Jing, play by yourself. I'll go light the fire and cook."

"I can light a fire."

As soon as the little girl touched the ground, she hurried to the drawer, took out a candle, and lit it with a match.

He ran towards the kitchen, protecting himself with his hands.

Chen Mo scratched his head. In this cold winter, making fire was indeed a hard job.

He took off the cloth bag and threw it on the sofa, then walked into the yard and was about to wash his hands and wash some rice.

The door was pushed open again.

Father Chen Xuejun came in from outside with a plane, a saw and an ink fountain in his hands, and mother Liu Fenglan followed behind with a bag on her back.

Without even looking, Chen Mo knew that the bag was filled with sawdust and wood chips.

Chen Xuejun has the skill of a carpenter. Usually, when anyone in the village makes furniture or has work that is difficult to charge, he will provide meals. After the work is done, he will usually let them take back the sawdust and wood scraps.

This thing is very useful for making fire, cooking, feeding chickens, etc.

"Dad, Mom, are you done with the work at Fourth Grandpa's house?"

When Chen Mo saw that his parents looked younger than he had imagined, he hurried over and tried to take the bag from Liu Fenglan.

"No, just throw it here."

Seeing her son helping, Liu Fenglan grinned and threw the bag into the yard.

Chen Xuejun put the tools in his hand under the eaves, picked up a dry towel, held it in his hand, and patted his body twice.

Then he looked at Chen Mo and said, "Well, I'm helping out at your Fourth Master's house today. I heard from your Fourth Master that there's a kid from Daogutian Village back there who has returned from the army this year."

"I eat well in the army."

"Joining the army is a way out. Your Fourth Master means that you are not young anymore. I heard that they are recruiting soldiers this year."

"Do you want to join the army?"

ah? ! !
Chen Mo was stunned when he heard this. He was just thinking about how to tell his parents.

After all, although I joined the army at this time in my previous life, I don’t know exactly when my family had this idea.

He has no recollection of it at all.

Unexpectedly, my dad brought it up first. When I was really sleepy, he directly gave me a big and soft pillow.

It also saves him a lot of effort.

(End of this chapter)