Actually, the weather was really nice that day.

The sky was blue, the wind was not big or small, blowing on the face like a pair of gentle hands.

When I got out of the airport, I saw Liu Honggui sitting on the edge of the flower bed on the side of the road, the pair of crutches leaning beside him, wearing a summer dress, and the trousers of his right leg were folded and pinned with a pin.

Beside him stood a young girl of twenty years old, with a simple ponytail tied with a rubber band, the skin on her face was slightly dark, and her eyes were full of shyness, and she did not dare to look up at anyone else.

Judging from the dress, this girl is not like a city person, but has the simplicity and nature of a mountain person.

"Old squad leader!"

The solemn conjecture finally landed.

Before he came, he had flashed Liu Honggui in his mind.

Sure enough, it was really the old squad leader Liu Honggui.

Liu Honggui, who was sitting by the flower bed, looked quite energetic, but he had lost a lot of weight.

Solemnly went up, crouched down, and grabbed those hands with both hands.

Due to long-term cultivation, Liu Honggui's skin has become a lot fairer.

The green tendons were as distinct as centipedes under the skin, and they had lost so much subcutaneous fat that they felt like they were clutching a pair of hard bones—maybe they were all bones.

Looking at Liu Honggui's face again, his cheekbones were spit out, and his cheeks were a little sunken.

My heart couldn't help but sour, my throat was blocked again, and I couldn't speak all of a sudden.

"Don't be upset."

Liu Honggui comforted solemnly.

"The doctor said it was a miracle that I was able to survive to this day."

He poked his chest and then his belly.

"It's a mess inside, it's all spreading."

Solemn didn't know what to say.

Tang Wenkai stood aside, unable to speak.

The atmosphere was a little solemn.

Liu Honggui continued to speak: "I said, I will insist until you come back, insist on seeing your victory, solemn, I have not broken my word." ”

The solemn head lowered and nodded vigorously: "Yes, the old squad leader, you didn't break your promise." ”

Suddenly remembered something, looked up and said, "Old squad leader, I'll go and call Niu Shilin and Xu Er over!" ”

As he spoke, the man stood up and was about to walk towards the airport.

"No!" Liu Honggui stopped solemnly: "Don't call them over, I asked the instructor to go to you and the battalion commander alone, I just don't want to be seen......

"Why?" Solemnly asked puzzled.

Liu Honggui was stunned at first, and suddenly a wry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Leave a thought, leave a beautiful thought......"

He spread his hands and looked down at himself.

"I don't want people to see me as I am. Even if...... Even if it's to give me the last bit of dignity. ”

solemnly felt that there were needles piercing his heart, and the pain was incomparable.

"Hong Gui...... You ......" Tang Wenkai seemed to feel something, but he didn't want to ask that sentence.

After thinking about it, I still couldn't help but say nothing.

"Battalion commander, I heard that you are coming back today, I specially found an instructor and asked him to bring me here, because I am leaving, so I came to say goodbye to you."

Liu Honggui's words were actually vaguely within Tang Wenkai's speculation.

It's just that he doesn't want to hear the result.

"Hong Gui, are you leaving the army?" Tang Wenkai asked.

Liu Honggui almost didn't hesitate, and immediately nodded: "Yes, I have already gone through the formalities and decided to leave, and the division also agreed, the matter of last week, but you are coming back, so I stayed for a while and didn't leave." ”

Tang Wenkai was a little unhappy: "What do you think in the division?" Agreed? What kind of plane is this! ”

Liu Honggui explained: "I applied for it myself, it has nothing to do with anyone, it wasn't the army that let me go, it was my own decision after careful consideration." ”

Walk?

Neither Tang Wenkai nor Zhuang Yan were willing to accept Liu Honggui's decision.

An officer with terminal cancer, where can he go when he leaves the army?

It is definitely impossible to change jobs, at most it is to be raised by the troops.

In that case, why go?

Wouldn't it be nice to stay in the army?

Instructor Lu Xiao sighed slightly, turned around, and looked into the distance.

solemnly said: "Old squad leader, where did you leave the army?" ”

"Go and heal." Liu Honggui said: "Maybe I have to go to a few places to see a doctor. ”

"See a doctor?" Solemnly said: "Isn't it possible in the army?" We have a hospital in the division, a hospital in Linhai City, and a hospital in the military region......"

He originally wanted to say that if he left the army, in case there were three longs and two shorts, and without the care of the troops, Liu Honggui would be able to do it?

Liu Honggui seemed to have made up his mind, and interrupted solemn words: "Okay, solemn, I know very well what my own situation is, is there any other point in staying in the army except for letting others watch me die slowly?" ”

Solemn was speechless.

Indeed, it seems that there is no point in staying.

The only role is to make himself and Tang Wenkai feel better.

In fact, for Liu Honggui personally, there is no difference at all.

"If I don't leave, I'm afraid my other foot will be cut off." Liu Honggui made a joke.

But when Solemn and others listened to it, they didn't find it funny at all.

Liu Honggui said: "Battalion commander, can you let me talk to Zhuang Yan in private?" ”

Tang Wenkai felt that standing here would make him even more uncomfortable, since Liu Honggui wanted to talk to Zhuang Yan alone, he agreed without thinking about it.

"Okay, I'll go over there."

After speaking, he and the instructor Lu Xiao walked to the side of the airport gate and stood there talking in a low voice.

Liu Honggui turned his head to look at the solemn "You are very good......

After saying these words, his lips twitched a few times and stopped.

"What you promised me has been done, as a comrade-in-arms, I am very grateful for everything you have done for me, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have stayed in the 4th Division, the 1st Company has you now, I'm relieved. This time I chose to leave, it has nothing to do with any of the leaders in the division, it took me a long time to figure it out. Instead of waiting here to die, receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy to survive, I might as well try Chinese medicine, or folk remedies......"

"If you stay here, it won't prevent you from using home remedies!" Zhuang Zhuang hurriedly said: "If you need any remedies, I can also help you find them." ”

Liu Honggui waved his hand: "No need." Solemnly, you are a military talent, but there are some things you still haven't figured out. I stayed in the army for a day, and I was still a soldier......"

He looked down at his military uniform.

There are no more ranks on it......

"As long as I am a soldier, if I eat home remedies, it will be fine, but if I unfortunately eat to death, the army will be talked about, saying that I am not responsible...... You say, did the doctors in our army let me eat it or didn't let me eat it? I've been in the army since I was 18 years old, and I have a lot of feelings for it, and I don't want to be infamous in the army when I die. ”

Solemn was speechless.

He hadn't thought about this level of truth.

Maybe no one thinks as thoroughly as Liu Honggui.

Because he was sick, he had a lot of time to think about things that others didn't have time to think about.

"This life is ......"

Liu Honggui suddenly let out a long sigh, and his tone was full of pathos.

"Actually, it's good to open it, everyone has to die, sooner or later. As long as you live and do what you think is worthwhile, you can do it. The best of my youth was left in the army, and honestly, I don't regret it. ”

Solemn's nose began to sour again.

"Don't think I'm talking big." Liu Honggui said: "Do you remember when you went to the hospital and saw an old man in the bed next door to the room? ”

solemnly remembered that Liu Honggui's ward was a three-bed room, but because there were not many people in the oncology department, Liu Honggui lived by himself for a while, and then there was an old man for a while.

The old man's surname is Lin, he is a native of Linhai, and he drove a taxi before retirement, and he is one of the first people in Linhai City to buy a car and run a taxi.

At the beginning of the reform and opening up, taxis were still a novelty.

With his diligence, Old Man Lin turned one car into two, and two into three. After working hard to grow up two sons and a daughter, I didn't want to retire and enjoy happiness for a few days, but suddenly I went to the hospital, and after a check, esophageal cancer ......

When Zhuang Zhuang met Old Man Lin in the hospital, the latter was because he went back for a re-examination and phased chemotherapy. A year ago, Old Man Lin surgically cut out one-third of his esophagus, and it is said that he also cut a part of his stomach.

He would often sit on the hospital bed, point to his chest, gesture at the distance, and tell Zhuang Zhuang that his esophagus is only so long, and that stomach is only so small, so he can only eat a little, a little bit......

Old man Lin likes to be a soldier very much, and when he saw Zhuang Zheng, he pulled Zhuang Zhuang and chatted, feeling that he had the opportunity to be a soldier but did not become a soldier because of the composition problem, and missed the military green years.

Once, he also pulled Zhuang Yan and Liu Honggui to have breakfast in the tea restaurant next to the hospital, saying that he was grateful to Yunyun of the People's Liberation Army for defending the motherland and dedicating his youth.

"Yes." Solemn nodded immediately.

"The others are gone." Liu Honggui said.

Solemn was taken aback: "Huh? ”

Liu Honggui said: "Three months ago, I called him, I wanted to ask him for dinner, but I didn't expect it to be her wife who answered the phone, saying that there was no one left......"

Solemnly stunned.

At this moment, an inexplicable loss welled up in my heart.

Liu Honggui said: "After that, I thought a lot, a lot, and I don't think I know when I suddenly be like Lao Lin, and the people will disappear all of a sudden." I've been in the army for too long, and at the last moment of my life, I don't want to die here, I'm afraid that others will see that the reconnaissance company commander of the year will finally die when he dies, and I can't deal with it myself and have to let others help, I'm a soldier, I have my dignity......"

As he spoke, his eyes turned red.

Then he raised his head and looked solemn: "Do you understand? ”

solemnly and sadly: "I understand, I understand ......"

"Okay, let's stop talking, I don't like nagging." Liu Honggui struggled to his feet and propped up his crutches.

Zhuang Zheng hurriedly went up to help, but the young girl took the lead.

Liu Honggui said: "Oh, I forgot to introduce, this is my sister, my only relative, this time it is not very convenient for me to leave the army for treatment, I can only call her if I think about it." ”

Solemnly nodded at the girl, and the girl nodded solemnly.

It can be seen that this is a real girl, and Liu Honggui has her to take care of her, but there is no problem.

"I'm leaving." Liu Honggui's words are still as simple as that: "Don't say goodbye to me, I'm very annoyed to say this, lie to myself." ”

solemnly spoke, and hurriedly said: "Old squad leader, I'll go find a car and send you." ”

"There's no need, look." Liu Honggui pointed with his hand and pointed to the road in the distance: "On that road over there, there are tricycles." ”

"No!"

This time, solemnly said that he would not agree to anything.

He hurriedly turned around and shouted to Tang Wenkai: "Battalion commander! Get the car here, Company Commander Liu is leaving. ”

Lu Xiao said: "I have already arranged it, you wait." ”

With that, he turned around and entered the airport, and after a while, a warrior car drove out.

"There is no feast in the world."

Before getting into the car, Liu Honggui saluted everyone.

"There will be no time in the future! Don't get in the car and see me off, I'll go by myself! ”

After that, he resolutely turned around and got into the car.

After a while, the car disappeared at the end of the road in the distance.

Zhuang Yan, Tang Wenkai, and Lu Xiao stood on the side of the road, and did not move their steps for a long time.

The wind blew, rolling up hay wool by the flower beds not far away, dancing in the air, and occasionally a car sped along the road, its tires crushing over the asphalt and whining.

An unsung hero is gone.

——————————————————————

Liu Honggui's story is finally finished.

He and Old Man Lin are both real people.

At the General Hospital of the Military Region, I stayed with Liu Honggui for more than a month for treatment, and Old Man Lin was one of the beds next door.

Liu Honggui is a tragic character, and his personal introduction was in the book before.

Later, he chose to leave the army, just like in the book.

On the day he was dropped, he smiled at me and said, "Boy, never again!" ”

When I think about it to this day, I still have tears in my eyes.