Chapter 235

Several old comrades-in-arms cried at the hotel entrance, and then it was time for a meal, so they got into the car together, preparing to go to a restaurant to reminisce about the past.

Liu Liu Zhengqing and Gao Gao Shuyi's car led the way, and Li Li Zhongfa's Shanghai-brand sedan followed behind.

Lu Lu Huai Shui pressed the back seat of the Shanghai sedan and teased, "Old Company Commander, your rank isn't high, but your car is quite good!

Many people in the capital with higher ranks than you don't even have a small sedan! Is your Qingshui County that rich?"

Li Li Zhongfa said carelessly, "It's not that Qingshui County is rich, it's that my unit is rich. Otherwise, do you think I'd be willing to spend my days in the grain system with a high position and low pay?"

Li Li Zhongfa was smug on the surface, but he actually understood in his heart that this small sedan was still thanks to a project that Zhongliang had in Qingshui County last year. Before that, Director Li's ride was a 212 that broke down three times in half a week.

And it was only because Li Li Zhongfa had seniority and guts; otherwise, this car would have been handed over long ago.

The three sedans passed Fucheng Sect and continued north, looking like they were about to reach Xizhimen.

"Old Company Commander, we're going to eat foreign food today," Lu Lu Huai Shui said firmly. "This is definitely going to Old Mo's. Our political instructor studied in the Soviet Union in the fifties, and Old Mo's was originally used to entertain people like them."

"What foreign food, isn't it just steak, bread, salad, and Black Sea caviar? It's not like we haven't eaten it before."

"Whoa, Old Company Commander, you're quite generous. Today I'm going to eat that Black Sea caviar with you."

"Hmph, as if you couldn't afford it. Today, caviar is all you can eat."

Li Li Zhongfa said loudly, then looked at his eldest grandson Li Ye.

By the early eighties, the Moscow Restaurant was no longer as high-end as it was in the fifties and sixties; ordinary people could spend ten or twenty yuan to have a meal of foreign food,

But if you want to eat Black Sea caviar, that's not as simple as a little "pocket money."

Li Ye lifted his suit, revealing the thick stack of banknotes inside.

Yesterday, when Li Ye saw Li Li Zhongfa anxiously changing his clothes, how could he not know that he had to earn some face for his grandfather today? How could he not bring money with him?

"Grandpa, I also brought some US dollars; it should be enough to eat until we're full."

"Hmm, wait for my eye signals later."

Li Li Zhongfa felt settled in his heart; his grandson was capable and sensible, and one was worth three.

The three cars passed Xizhimen and sure enough, stopped in front of Old Mo's.

The group got out of the car and entered the restaurant, chatting and laughing.

Li Ye scanned the place a few more times, looking at this "place where dreams begin." From some of the exquisite and luxurious carvings, he truly felt the bourgeois taste that had been popular in the capital for twenty years.

However, it was already 1983, and most of the former Soviet-born chefs and waiters had already left. Otherwise, Li Ye could have enjoyed the service of Soviet girls many years in advance.

After several people found a place to sit, Liu Liu Zhengqing said with emotion, "It's been many years since I've been here; everything has changed. The tableware here used to be silver... I don't know if the taste has changed."

When the Moscow Restaurant first started, much of the tableware was silver.

But because during that special era, there were too many young people like "Zhong Yuemin," and various tableware was lost seriously, in the end, they had to remove all the valuables and replace them with ordinary tableware, and the overall luxurious atmosphere dropped a grade.

The service staff began to set napkins and wait for them to order.

Liu Liu Zhengqing was very generous, ordering borscht first, then cream-baked fish, canned braised beef, tuna salad, steak... he ordered a large circle, and finally ordered caviar.

Li Li Zhongfa glanced at the menu, then quietly gave Li Ye an eye signal.

Li Ye nodded to show he understood; this was to let him go pay the bill later.

Although Li Li Zhongfa didn't know Li Ye's true financial situation, the malt sugar business in Qingshui County had never stopped! The money earned was all saved at home for Li Ye, so his grandson was much richer than the grandfathers and grandmothers present. Treating them to a little something didn't count for much, and he wouldn't lose out.

The main dishes were soon served, and Li Li Zhongfa also began to reminisce and exchange pleasantries with Liu Liu Zhengqing, Gao Gao Shuyi, and the others.

Li Ye couldn't get a word in, so he lowered his head and started eating his own portion.

However, as he ate, he heard Grandma Gao Gao Shuyi ask him with a smile, "Little Ye, do you often come here to eat Western food?"

Li Ye was a bit strange and said with a smile, "No! This is my first time at Old Mo's."

Li Ye's cheap uncle Liu Liu Muyang said, "Is that so? Seeing you use your knife and fork so smoothly, it doesn't look like you're eating Western food for the first time."

Only then did Li Ye realize that in 1983, there weren't that many Western restaurants, and opportunities to eat Western food were rare.

He actually didn't like eating Western food, but he ate a lot of it when he was flirting with girls in his previous life, because Western food was the most petty-bourgeois and the most pretentious.

Many girls just liked the vibe of Western food, not knowing that truly high-end Chinese food, whether in taste, price, or class, could leave Western food eighteen streets behind.

Li Ye nodded and said, "I have indeed eaten Western food a few times. During the Spring Festival, I went to Hong Kong and tasted some so-called Western feasts. Overall, it has a unique flavor, but... Chinese food is still profound and vast."

Li Ye was telling the truth. Don't look at Old Mo's big reputation, but compared to the small restaurants in Chaoyang District that Li Ye and Wen Wen Leyu often went to, it wasn't even in the same realm.

"What do you know, kid?"

Li Li Zhongfa glared at Li Ye, disdaining him for criticizing the food as difficult to eat in front of the chef, lacking any sense of propriety.

Then Li Li Zhongfa changed the subject and asked Liu Liu Zhengqing, "Political Instructor, I heard Old Lu say this morning that you've always had a sentence you wanted to ask me. What exactly is it?"

Liu Liu Zhengqing looked at Old Lu and Gao Gao Shuyi, and asked Li Li Zhongfa, "Back then, after we parted at the fork in the road, where did you go?"

"You just want to ask this? Hey~"

"After the temporary meeting of d-group, I went to scout and advance in the northwest direction alone. I held my breath and walked... walked for a whole night."

"During that time, I wanted to turn back and chase you several times... but I wanted to prove that I was right."

Li Ye had already heard Li Li Zhongfa talk about the situation at that time twice, but this time it was the clearest.

It was clear that at the temporary meeting of d-group, everyone did not agree with the opinion of Li Li Zhongfa, the company commander, and was unwilling to take the fork in the road on the right toward the northwest.

And the reason Li Li Zhongfa chose to go right alone, "to scout and search for intelligence," was probably because Liu Liu Zhengqing and Gao Gao Shuyi had voted against Li Li Zhongfa at the time.

"My guess was right. I arrived at Qihe Bay the next morning, and when I asked the local people, I found out that the main force had already passed by a whole day ago. I hurriedly turned back to chase you..."

As Li Li Zhongfa spoke, he became excited: "When I chased to Zhaojiadian the next evening, I ran into a group of refugees who said that a small squad had been killed by the Japanese soldiers, I..."

Li Li Zhongfa paused for a few seconds, wiping his tears while saying, "I was crazy at the time, I was really crazy... The old Sixth Company was all that was left of me, what was I still living for? I wanted to slaughter them..."

"I chased them all the way. Even if I was alone, I had to chase them."

"At night, I finally caught up with that group of enemies at Qianmiao Village; those beasts were setting fire to the village..."

Li Li Zhongfa was deeply immersed in his memories, but he didn't notice that Liu Liu Zhengqing, Gao Gao Shuyi, and Lu Lu Huai Shui were all moved and pale, full of excitement, and Gao Gao Shuyi was even wiping her tears.

Finally, Liu Liu Zhengqing interrupted Li Li Zhongfa, asking incoherently, "So you took advantage of the night, the night you raided the Japanese search squad at Qianmiao Village, it was just you alone, right?"

"It was just me. I took advantage of the night and sneaked over, launching a sneak attack from behind..."

Only then did Li Li Zhongfa realize something was wrong and asked, "No, how do you know about Qianmiao Village? How do you know it was me?"

"We were hiding in the village at the time!"

Gao Gao Shuyi choked with sobs and said, "The Japanese soldiers surrounded the village at the time, and we couldn't rush out. We thought that rather than being beaten to death by them, we might as well be burned to death. That fire was set by us ourselves..."

"Later, fighting broke out outside the village. We knew it was our own people, but we couldn't extinguish the fire and couldn't go out to help you... Wuwuwu~"

Lu Lu Huai Shui continued, "At the time, the political instructor said it must be you, Company Commander, who had returned, and it must be you who was saving us. We tried our best to put out the fire, Hou Hou Xiangui's hands were burned..."

"But when we finally opened a passage and came out, we couldn't find you. You had lured all the Japanese soldiers away..."

Li Li Zhongfa listened blankly to the accounts of his comrades, constantly muttering in a low voice, "How could it be just that little bit? How could we have missed each other?"

Liu Liu Zhengqing took something out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it in front of Li Li Zhongfa.

It was the cap of a fountain pen.

"The next day, we searched everywhere in the vicinity and only found this pen cap."

Liu Liu Zhengqing said with red eyes, "I used this fountain pen for many years. Back then, it was extorted by you, and I was very reluctant to part with it... It's been so many years, I've always been thinking about when... I could put it together with the pen barrel."

Lu Lu Huai Shui echoed from the side, "This is true, Old Company Commander. When the political instructor found this pen cap, he cried loudly, just like a baby in the crib..."

"And me, and you," Gao Gao Shuyi said while wiping her tears, "All of us cried at the time. If it weren't for you, Old Company Commander, where would we be able to live until now?"

"."

Li Li Zhongfa froze for a long moment before smacking his lips and saying, "That's not easy to handle then. I stuck that pen barrel into the neck of the last Japanese soldier."

"I used up all my bullets at night, suddenly... I didn't want to die anymore. But when I retreated, I was bitten by the Japanese soldiers' combat squad. Those three idiots wanted to capture me alive, which counts as them having the worst luck in the world..."

"Bang~"

Lu Lu Huai Shui slapped the table and shouted, "The Company Commander is mighty; you have to be convinced."

Gao Gao Shuyi also said with shining eyes, "I really regret not being there at the time, not being able to see the Old Company Commander's style..."

"If you were there, where would my style be? You would definitely have swarmed up and beaten that group of bastards! One against three, do you think I wanted to?"

"Hahahaha~"

Several old men laughed, while Li Ye and Liu Liu Muhan were listening with shining eyes. Just a moment ago, seeing several old men and women crying, they thought it was quite interesting, but now that they heard it, they knew what was called a "brave warrior."

Li Ye knew about Li Li Zhongfa's one-against-three, but Li Li Zhongfa had never told him in such detail. So, a true warrior never disdains to show off his merits everywhere.

Several people were excited for a long time before they finally calmed down.

Gao Gao Shuyi said, "We later met people from the 344th Brigade. It just so happened that the political instructor had a classmate in it, so we went with them. Later we didn't give up and looked for you for a long time, but there was never any news..."

"Hey~"

Li Li Zhongfa said, "I was stabbed in the back by a Japanese soldier at the time, and I walked around dizzy and confused about the direction. Fortunately, I met an anti-Japanese armed force..."

"I joined the guerrilla force and wasn't reorganized into the troops until 1944. I was assigned to the Seventh Column. Of course, you couldn't find me."

"No wonder you're only a section chief now, Old Company Commander! This is..."

Old Lu finally understood the ins and outs and couldn't help but feel sorry for Li Li Zhongfa.

He joined the army in '39, was a company commander in '41, and ended up starting over in '44.

However, Liu Liu Zhengqing looked at Li Ye and said with a smile, "Things in the world are impermanent. Old Company Commander, when you joined the guerrilla force, did you meet a girl you liked, and then..."

Li Li Zhongfa's old face immediately turned red.

(End of chapter)