Chapter 991 How Many Times Has the Wheat Ripened? Long Live the People (Part 1)
Walking into the Qin family's yard, Li Xiangnan saw Qin Zongheng planting a broom tree. Qin Ruobai was standing beside him holding a tin watering bucket, her eyes red.
Grandma Tang Qingshuang sat beside the flower bed, her expression calm but somewhat melancholy.
"Grandma, why don't you stay a little longer? I've been too busy lately, and Ruobai and I haven't been able to walk around with you yet."
Li Xiangnan's tone was full of regret, and he also blamed himself for being too busy at work and neglecting the old man's feelings.
"Xiangnan! We can't stay any longer. We've already been here for more than half a month. It's time to go back! Her grandfather has already toured all of Yanjing City with us!"
Tang Qingshuang smiled at him and waved to her youngest son Bai Chonglou who was standing next to her.
Only then did Li Xiangnan see what his uncle Bai Chonglou was holding in his arms and was stunned.
Then, Bai Chonglou placed the package on the ground with great solemnity, and then opened the cloth bag bit by bit, taking out a jar as big as his arms from it.
After seeing this thing, Li Xiangnan finally understood what was inside.
It’s my grandpa Bai Zhenguo’s ashes!
"White kid!" Tang Qingshuang called out softly.
"Oh!" Qin Ruobai burst into tears, put down the tin bucket and walked over, each step was extremely heavy.
Bai Chonglou opened the urn, and Tang Qingshuang took Qin Ruobai's hand, reached in and grabbed a handful, and the two of them joined hands and gently sprinkled the ash powder under the tree.
"My child, from now on, whenever you see this tree, you will see your grandpa! He can also accompany you in Yanjing!"
The people standing in the yard, whether from the Qin family or the Li family, all turned their heads and wiped their tears silently.
"Zhenguo! Please protect Ruobai and Xiangnan from now on! May they live in harmony and happiness, and may the Qin and Li families live in peace and safety! Please!"
Grandma's words were pious and calm, as if Grandpa Bai Zhenguo was really sitting here, and the two of them were just chatting about family matters.
He was able to watch his granddaughter Qin Ruobai give birth to and adopt sons, and the children grow up, become adults, get married and have children, completing the major events in life.
"Wow, wow, wow..." Qin Ruobai burst into tears. She was moved by what her grandmother did, but also sad about touching her loved one's ashes with her own hands.
"Water it!" Qin Zongheng reminded his granddaughter with a look of nostalgia.
"Let me do it, Grandpa!"
Seeing that his wife could no longer control herself, Li Xiangnan walked over and gently pinched her shoulders, then picked up the tin bucket and watered the small shrub.
The dripping clear water soaked the loquat seedlings and strengthened their roots in the soil.
Li Xiangnan also felt as if there was a piece of cotton stuck in his throat.
If there really are ghosts in this world, he would rather it be true.
Which of the ghosts you fear is not a family member that someone misses?
If Grandpa Bai Zhenguo could sit here, Li Xiangnan would like to see him watching over this large family in peace and happiness every night.
"Grandma, my mom..."
Qin Ruobai sobbed for a while, held Tang Qingshuang's hand, and looked at her pleadingly.
Li Xiangnan naturally knew what his wife was thinking.
How much she wished her grandfather could be there with his daughter in person to watch the crabapple blossoms bloom all over the mountains and fields.
"Bai Wa, we've been there this morning! My father's ashes are scattered under that crabapple tree! My father will be able to watch my sister appreciate that crabapple tree for the rest of his life!"
"..."
Everyone was silent, inexplicably moved.
"Okay!" Qin Ruobai nodded slightly.
Tang Qingshuang covered the ashes with the lid and pulled her granddaughter to wash her hands in front of the tin bucket. "Don't send me off! I don't like parting. Let Xiangnan and Ruobai send me and Chonglou off!"
As she spoke, she stood up, holding the urn, rewrapped it, held it tightly in her arms, and walked out of the yard.
Bai Chonglou was carrying the package behind. When the two of them walked out of the door, they both turned their heads, took a deep look at the people standing there, smiled slightly, then waved their hands and said goodbye.
"Let's go!" Li Xiangnan helped Qin Ruobai walk out, took the car keys from his father-in-law Qin Kunlun, opened the door and sent her up, then got into the driver's seat.
"Grandma, are we going to the train station?" Li Xiangnan asked.
"No!" Bai Chonglou shook his head, looked out the window, and said, "There's still one place I haven't been to! That's the last place my father told me to go to!"
Half an hour later.
Tiananmen Square.
Bai Chonglou held Bai Zhenguo's ashes, Li Xiangnan and Qin Ruobai protected him on the left and right, and Tang Qingshuang walked behind. They followed closely and came to the front of the memorial hall.
There were soldiers stationed outside the majestic and solemn memorial hall. I saw a few people walking through the crowd with a strange posture approaching here, and out of curiosity I couldn't help but take a few more glances.
But when they saw the urn in Bai Chonglou's arms, they were shocked all over, their eyes suddenly filled with awe, and they silently saluted to them.
The four of them stopped under the green pines and cypresses closest to the door.
"Let's do it here!" Tang Qingshuang called out to her son.
"it is good!"
Bai Chonglou knelt under the tree, opened the urn, grabbed three handfuls of ashes, scattered them under the tree, and buried them with soil.
"Your father followed the old man all his life. Now that he's gone, your father is gone too. Standing outside this door, your father can still guard it for him for generations to come. Your father's last wish has been fulfilled!"
Tang Qingshuang's words moved Li Xiangnan deeply for a moment.
Even the soldiers on guard nearby had tears in their eyes when they heard this.
Bang bang bang!
Bai Chonglou kowtowed three times and said loudly, "Dad, you will always be a general of the Republic!"
People from far and near, whether they were tourists who came to pay their respects or soldiers stationed on duty, were instantly moved by these words, and they could not help but pay the utmost respect to Li Xiangnan and his men.
"The general is great!"
Suddenly, someone took a branch of the white lilies he was holding and placed it under the cypress tree.
"Your father was a good soldier!"
"We will never forget the heroes who fought for the Broken Mountains and Rivers!"
"The people's hero will be immortal!"
Then many people picked the flowers in their hands, came over and placed them under the tree, nodded respectfully to Bai Chonglou, then turned around and left silently into the hall.
Bai Chonglou stood up slowly, tears welling up in his eyes.
Li Xiangnan held him and seemed to want to say something but stopped himself several times.
Qin Ruobai also supported her grandmother Tang Qingshuang, and they slowly walked towards the parking lot.
Knowing what Li Xiangnan wanted to say, Tang Qingshuang did not turn back to look at the cypress trees full of flowers. She just hugged her husband and said with a smile:
"The wheat has ripened thousands of times, but long live the people for the first time!"
"My children, life is nothing but wheat ripening a few dozen times!"
"The wheat at my house is ripe, I want to go home!"
Li Xiangnan was shocked when he heard this.
He turned around and looked, tears welling up in his eyes.
The majestic Monument to the People's Heroes and Memorial Hall sparkle in the sun.
You asked him why he had tears in his eyes?
Because he also loves this land deeply.