On a cold morning in 1947, Xintianpu Village was shrouded in a thin mist.
This small village, hidden in a ravine, is exactly where the troops are stationed.
Several soldiers at the village checkpoint were standing guard and patrolling, when they suddenly saw an old lady sitting on a trolley, stumbling and being pushed closer by a junior student.
"Hello, this is a military restricted area, is there anything wrong?"
The warrior at the head stopped the old lady and looked at the homespun clothes she was wearing with some curiosity.
The old lady said eagerly: "Comrade, I'm looking for my son Chen Xilian!"
"Chen Xilian, isn't that Commander Chen?"
The soldier's eyes widened in surprise, and he hurriedly and carefully helped the old lady out of the car.
In the blink of an eye, the staff on duty had already passed the news to Chen Xilian.
At this time, Chen Xilian hurriedly came out of the office, with tears in the corners of his eyes.
"Daughter——"
He shouted, stepped forward quickly, and held the old lady tightly in his arms.
The old woman was already in tears, and her trembling hands caressed her son's face.
muttered: "Son, my old bones, I have finally looked forward to this moment today." ”
Chen Xilian couldn't stop wiping away his tears and helped his old mother to go to his residence.
What have the mother and son experienced over the years?
It all starts from the beginning.
The father died of illness, and the mother and daughter depended on each other
In 1915, Chen Xilian, who was just born, suffered misfortune.
My parents worked hard and could barely make ends meet.
Unfortunately, just when Chen Xilian was learning to talk and walk, his father contracted an incurable serious illness and was bedridden.
The family's savings were soon sold out by his mother, but his condition continued to deteriorate.
The little Chen Xilian stayed in front of his father's bed all day long.
Looking at his yellow-faced and skinny father, his heart was full of helplessness and sadness.
In order to raise money, my mother worked in the village during the day and guarded my father at night.
Chen Xilian often fell asleep alone on a bench beside his hospital bed, holding only a worn-out textbook in his arms.
The father who was sick in bed looked at this dilapidated home, and his heart was infinitely melancholy.
How long will this family last?
How much more can a child suffer?
If he dies, this family will not be mentioned.
Thinking of this, he used his last strength to point to his young daughter and said to his wife: "After I go, you sell her so that others can live......"
My father's words were so heart-wrenching, but they were also a helpless choice in the desperate environment at that time.
When he was 8 years old, he took his last breath on a snowy dusk, leaving his crippled home for a deeper winter.
Chen Xilian knelt in front of his father, tears rolling down his cheeks.
He didn't understand the horror of death yet, but instinctively felt deep sadness and fear.
The mother wept bitterly, but she still had to be busy with the burial.
However, he didn't even have the funeral money in hand, so he had to park his father at home first.
Chen Xilian knelt at his mother's feet and cried: "Mother, she is still young, how can you send her to the fire pit!"
This plea pierced deep into my mother's heart.
The family is heartbroken, but unable to return to heaven.
The rain blurred her face, but it couldn't hide the pain of being pulled.
Like a helpless bird, trapped in a stormy night, she lost her wings of freedom.
After that, Chen's mother took Chen Xilian to the north and south and became a beggar.
The road was poorly dressed, and the mother was still pregnant, so it was difficult to walk.
Chen Xilian felt sorry for his mother, so he deliberately picked up a sturdy bamboo stick on the side of the road and asked her to walk on a crutche.
The two walked for a while, resting for a while, and got farther and farther away from home on the country road.
The landlord's family worked as a long-term worker
In the summer of that year, he went to work as a long-term laborer in a landlord's house.
The countryside is shrouded in scorching heat.
Chen Xilian, sweating profusely, drove the cattle back to the shed, and suddenly had a throbbing pain in his lower abdomen and a burst of nausea.
I don't know how long it took, and a chilling whip woke Chen Xilian up.
The young master of the landlord was holding a leather whip and was looking down at him angrily: "Poor boy, you dare to be lazy!"
Before Chen Xilian could argue, the whip was whipped down like a raging storm.
While beating him, he cursed loudly that he was a lazy worm.
Chen Xilian crouched on the ground in pain, covered in blood.
He will never endure this humiliating life that tramples on human nature again!
Join the revolution and become famous
In 1927, when the spring breeze was warm, Red Army guerrillas often appeared nearby, carrying news of the revolution.
Chen Xilian's heart ignited the passion of joining the army, and he wanted to defect to the Red Army and escape from the abuse of the landlords.
However, his mother stopped him and pulled him with tears in her eyes.
At dawn in 1929, apricot blossoms bloomed outside the Chen family's courtyard.
The young Chen Xilian picked up his simple bag and walked out of the courtyard on tiptoe.
He took a deep look at the thatched hut that his mother had erected, his eyes were full of determination, and he turned away and did not look back.
The son went to his mother's heart, and Chen's mother has been haunted by her dreams every day since then.
She was even more reticent, and took the initiative to take care of the wounded as soon as the Red Army crossed the border, hoping to hear from her son.
However, the news was blocked, and in that era of backward conditions, it was almost like looking for a needle in a haystack to find a nameless soldier.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chen Xilian quickly grew into an excellent Red Army general.
At the age of 22, he served as the commander of the 769th Regiment of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and was one of the youngest regiment commanders at that time.
Chen Xilian performed eye-catching on the front line of resistance against Japan, led his troops to fight in the east and west, and made great contributions.
In the early autumn of October 1937, Chen Xilian was ordered to attack the enemy-controlled Yangmingbao Airport.
broke the enemy army and became famous overnight, and Chen's mother got the news of her son again.
It was a moonless night, and our troops quietly infiltrated the enemy-occupied Yangmingbao airfield.
Chen Xilian clenched the submachine gun in his hand, his expression was solemn, and he was calculating the best time to attack.
At this time, an alarm woke up the darkness, and Chen Xilian immediately shouted slogans and rushed towards the neatly parked planes on the runway.
With an explosion, the flames soared into the sky.
The bullet whistled overhead, and Chen Xilian rolled to avoid it, his heart beating like thunder.
The smoke cleared, and the ground was littered with wreckage.
It didn't take long for the good news to spread all over the country.
Mother Chen picked it up with trembling hands and looked at it,
She burst into tears, filled her heart with excitement and joy she hadn't had in eight years.
The villagers also celebrated: "Your baby is out of breath and has become an official in the Eighth Route Army!"
After 18 years, the family is finally reunited
Subsequently, the mother sent a letter.
Chen Xilian stood alone in front of the barracks window, the sunset gradually sinking on the mountain.
Open the envelope,
He carefully stroked the words on the letterhead, his eyes full of nostalgia, and his heart was full of mixed feelings.
At that moment, it was as if his mother was really beside him, and the warmth of home was revealed between his words.
The words on the letter, like a string of delicate pearls, strung together his deep attachment to his hometown.
Over the years, he has grown up in military uniforms and bullets, and he has not experienced the warmth of home for a long time.
In the smoke of revolution, the reunion of the family has become a precious moment.
It wasn't until 1947, after 18 years, that the family was finally reunited.
However, the war was urgent, and the troops had to be deployed the next day.
Chen Xilian held back his tears and helped his mother into the trolley.
After seeing her go away, I couldn't calm down for a long time - they had experienced so many partings, had been together for a short time, but they had to part ways again.
In the winter of 1954, snow fell in the north.
Chen's mother suddenly fell seriously ill.
Before the sickbed, she was still muttering his name, wanting to see the child she longed for again.
By the time Chen Xilian rushed home, his mother had passed away.
I didn't see the last one!
The bits and pieces of his childhood come to mind, and his mother's meticulous care for him.
Kneeling in front of the tomb, Chen Xilian's heart was like a knife, and tears were pouring out.
shouted: "Mother, I miss you, mother, I came to see you." My son is not filial, you have suffered too much for me in this life, and raised me, but I don't have time to honor you, why did you leave!"