The life of Lao Liu since 1944

Chapter 245 Retirement

He stood up and walked to the study next door with heavy steps, and carefully took out 300 yuan and the death notice from the old cash box.

He took a deep breath, slowly walked back to the living room, and placed them on the table.

Father Qin looked at the things in front of him, and his heart sank. An ominous premonition came over him. He widened his eyes and stammered, "My dear, what's going on here? There's no need to do this, right?"

However, his mother ignored him and silently handed the death notice to Qin's father.

Father Qin took it with trembling hands, but found that he could not read at all. Helplessly, he could only hand the letter to Qin Huairu, and urged anxiously:

"Girl, take a quick look, what is written on it?"

Qin Huairu was originally an illiterate rural girl, but after getting engaged to Hou Jie, in order to prevent her from being looked down upon by the city people, Qin's father specially asked her uncle in the village to teach her how to read and write. Now Qin Huairu can barely understand some simple words.

With shaking hands, she gently opened the letter. When her eyes fell on the contents of the letter, she was stunned for a moment. Her eyes gradually became moist and tears flowed uncontrollably. She murmured to herself, "This... this... how could this happen..."

The mother was very satisfied that Qin Huairu could read and write. At the same time, she admired her son's vision. The girls he chose were all excellent. She was afraid that the child would not be able to accept it.

He glanced at the anxious Father Qin and began to explain;

"I'm sorry, my son, that bastard, died while enlisting in the army. I just received the death notice."

"Huai Ru is a good child. After all, my son is unlucky and has ruined this child. It would be great if my son were still alive."

When Qin's father heard the news of Hou Jie's death, his face changed. He knew that no one would joke about such a thing, and he couldn't help but feel a sigh and relief in his heart.

It is sad that such a good marriage has broken up, but I am fortunate that my daughter does not have to become a widow at such a young age.

His mood was the same as his daughter's, both were immersed in an indescribable emotion and could not come back to their senses for a long time.

After a while, the mother continued to sigh: "Fortunately, this brat left me a little grandson, otherwise our old Hou family would be cut off from the incense!"

After a long time, Qin's father sighed and said, "What a pity! Such a good child, how could he die so young? Damn the American Empire!"

"Forget it, forget it, this is all fate's arrangement, it can't be forced."

The mother continued, "Father-in-law, it is indeed my family that made the mistake first, and we should give you some compensation."

As she spoke, she pushed the envelope containing three hundred yuan towards Qin's father.

However, Qin's father naturally could not accept the money. The two of them refused each other several times, but in the end, the money was stuffed into Qin's arms by the tough mother, and the dispute ended.

They have come all the way here, we can’t let them go home with an empty stomach.

So the mother forced the Qin father and daughter to stay at home for dinner, and then she let them leave reluctantly.

Although the time they spent together was short, the mother had a better impression of Qin Huairu.

When leaving, she asked Qin Huairu to come here to see her more often.

On the way home, Qin's father kept comforting his daughter, fearing that she would be upset.

I waited for four years with all my heart, but to my surprise, it was all in vain in the end.

Before long, Chen Xueru and Mu Chunhua both found out that Hou Jie had a new fiancée outside the city.

The longing for Hou Jie's death was halved, which shows how angry he was.

I have never seen such a person who is so suicidal. The young wives are jumping out one after another.

No woman would be angry if she knew.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye more than a year had passed, and the war was over.

May 1952

Hou Jie followed the second batch of volunteer soldiers to the registration office.

Apply for demobilization.

The officer in charge of this matter took the discharge application submitted by Hou Jie and started looking through his information.

See the dense list of military merits and punishments above.

The chief's mouth twitched and his eyebrows jumped. What was even more incredible was that the three characters "labor reform prisoner" were written on the resume, which was very eye-catching.

"Are you a labor camp inmate?"

"Yes, Chief."

Hou Jie felt numb inside, but he had nothing to say.

The chief continued to look through his resume.

"What happened to you? You got lost on your first mission?"

"Hey! You wrote the song 'Dragon Nation Army Soul'."

"Report to the commander, yes."

Hou Jie felt even more upset. "I'm so busy, I'm almost exhausted. I've made great contributions to the motherland."

"Forget about transporting supplies. I have no idea how many Japanese I killed. Of course, I also secretly hid a lot of good stuff. Well! It's a pity that no one knows."

He didn't dare to say these words out loud, so he could only nod and accept the fact helplessly.

The commander was even more speechless. He looked at Hou Jie's resume and his nose was crooked with anger. He had never seen such a soldier before. He complained:

"I don't know. It was that bastard who stuffed you into the army. Although you are a talented person and have made many military achievements, you have made even more mistakes. The merits you have earned are not enough to punish you. You are totally disorganized and undisciplined. Are you a road idiot? You get lost every now and then. How can you be a driver?"

"The most outrageous thing is that you disappeared for several months. If it weren't for you, who made some contributions every once in a while, I would have thought you were dead."

"You! You are really not suited to be a soldier. You should go home soon! Due to information errors, your death notice has been sent home for several months. I don't know what kind of commotion your family is in now!"

Hou Jie looked at the demobilization letter in his hand, his heart filled with loss and helplessness.

When Hou Jie thought of the beasts and scum in the courtyard and his two young wives, he immediately became flustered. "What!" He couldn't help but scream.

Without his protection at home, his young wives would probably be bullied by others. He couldn't accept this happening, and he didn't want to return home after fighting desperately on the front line to find that everything was lost.

No matter how anxious he was, Hou Jie had no choice but to board the train back home. However, the speed of the train was so slow that it was maddening.

The road was bumpy and shaky, crossing the magnificent mountains and rivers of Northeast China. Although the scenery was breathtaking, Hou Jie had no intention of appreciating it.

A week passed, and they finally arrived at Beijing Railway Station. The station entrance was already crowded with people waiting for their loved ones to return. Hou Jie knew clearly that no one among them would come to pick him up.