Who taught you to be a soldier like this!

Chapter 590

The old farmer's lips trembled.

This frequency gradually traveled to his fingertips, causing him to tremble and sway back and forth in the hands of his own flesh and blood like a broken puppet.

To be honest, the old farmer hadn't had many good days.

Because of his background, the old farmer's childhood was extremely miserable.

After a few years, the old farmer's life improved somewhat, but wherever he went, he was always the subject of gossiping and pointing eyes.

Like a shadow.

The old people in the village all remember that he had a father who was a bandit.

When they reached marriageable age, no family was willing to marry their daughter to an old farmer.

The first forty years of one's life.

The old farmer was a man abandoned by the times and by his relatives and neighbors.

But not everyone forgot the old farmer, or this helpless bachelor.

When the vigorous poverty alleviation work reached the local village, despite countless doubts and slanders, the old farmer still became one of the first key households to be lifted out of poverty in the village.

With a livelihood, a spacious new house, and the income he had saved over the years, the old farmer even found a wife from overseas. He finally lived the life he had only dreamed of: "a wife, children, and a warm bed."

Whenever he looked at his hardworking wife and lively son, the old farmer always felt that such a life was somewhat unreal.

It's an unrealistic life that someone like him shouldn't have.

This period was also the happiest time of the old farmer's life.

However, the good times did not last long.

His wife, whom he had paid to marry, suddenly disappeared without a trace when their son was four years old.

The villagers all said that the old farmer had a bad temper after drinking and his wife had driven him away.

The old farmer offered no explanation.

After searching for two months, he gave up completely and turned to raising his own flesh and blood.

It is clear.

This is also a tragedy.

Looking at his son, whose face was contorted with rage and who was completely unfamiliar to him.

The old farmer suddenly remembered Zhao Weihong, who had been standing in front of him a few hours earlier.

Upright and dignified, heroic and spirited.

In his dream, this was the old farmer's hope and expectation for his son.

However, fate played a cruel joke on him.

His son, on whom he had placed countless hopes, ultimately embarked on a path completely opposite to what he had expected.

Unknowingly.

Large tears fell from the old farmer's deeply lined face.

Coupled with his still swaying body, the old farmer's figure appeared so frail, helpless, and heartbroken.

This scene was witnessed by his son.

Perhaps still harboring feelings for his father, the old farmer's son finally loosened his grip on the old farmer's collar, but his expression remained ferocious.

"You old codger, don't bother crying and wailing to me!"

"If you're so capable, I won't need to risk my life!"

"Let me tell you, all these contraband items in the cave are enough to get me shot fifty times over!"

"If you can bear to watch me die, then pretend you've never had a son like me!"

The son's attitude once again pierced the old farmer's already tormented heart.

Through his blurry vision, he saw the child he had once held in his hands and couldn't help but call out his son's nickname.

"Ah Gou."

Don't call me by that name!

The old farmer's plea has yet to be fulfilled.

He was then kicked to the ground by his son, who was filled with shame and indignation.

"I'm a human being! Not your dog!"

"Only a worthless old codger like you would come up with such a name!"

His hysterical voice carried a hint of bravado masking underlying weakness.

Looking at his father, curled up on the ground, motionless.

Ah Gou stood there, his hands trembling unconsciously.

"boom!"

A gunshot shattered the peace between father and son, and also interrupted the tenderness that had just begun to rise between Ah Gou and his son.

He turned around stiffly, looking in the direction from which the gunshots came.

Ah Gou saw the leader who had just put down his pistol, casually putting it back on his waist, and speaking nonchalantly.

"Sorry, it went off accidentally."

"Xiaoqiang, when you're catching up with your uncle, be mindful of the time."

"He has already said that there are cops everywhere outside the mountains now."

"Yes!"

He nodded somewhat hastily to the leader.

Ah Gou quickly turned around and half-dragged, half-helped the old farmer up from the ground.

"You should go back!"

"You have to come early tomorrow. Whether I can make something of myself this time depends entirely on you!"

After a two-second silence, Ah Gou finally uttered that somewhat awkward word.

"father."

"this is the last time!"

"Once this job is done, our son will take you away and we'll go abroad to enjoy life!"

"If they have what the rich have, we should have it too, and even better than them!"

Old farmer: "."

The son had already called out the name he most longed to hear.

But the old farmer did not see his son's childhood appearance again. Instead, he felt that his son was terrifyingly unfamiliar.

No one could understand the old farmer's feelings at that moment.

The country that his ancestors had harmed gave him a chance at a new life.

Now, his son, on whom he placed so much hope, is about to do something that harms the country once again.

This is like a curse that one cannot escape or avoid, a curse that is the root of the old farmer's heart-wrenching pain.

"I understand."

Before the leader could raise his pistol a second time, the old farmer finally nodded.

His feelings for his son eventually overshadowed certain things he had once vowed to protect and be grateful for.

Next, the old farmer finally experienced the long-lost joy of family life.

After he nodded, his son, who had been punching and kicking him and verbally abusing him just a minute before, seemed like a completely different person. He pulled him close, asked him about his well-being, and called him "Dad" clearly and crisply.

When the old farmer was about to leave the cave, his son accompanied him, climbing all the way to the top of the cliff.

At this moment, the old farmer and his son seemed to have returned to their childhood.

But his last words before leaving completely shattered this false dream.

"Dad, you have to come early tomorrow!"

"The last batch of goods is arriving soon. Once we've scouted the location and successfully shipped this batch out, my son and I will immediately fly away!"

Upon hearing this, the old farmer immediately stopped in his tracks. The slight smile that had just appeared on his face gradually turned into a bitter taste.

"I understand."

He took one last deep look at his son, who was standing on the edge of the cliff, smiling excitedly.

The old farmer turned around and walked down the mountain without looking back.

The sun in the southwest always sets very late.

When the old farmer emerged from the mountains, it was still a bright and clear daytime.

In fact, given the old farmer's familiarity with the mountains, he could have easily chosen another direction to go back home.

But for some unknown reason, the old farmer, who was very cautious when entering the mountains, chose the same route on his way back.

No surprises.

The old farmer bumped into Chen Zheng, who had replaced Zhao Weihong and was lying in ambush at this spot.

"Grandpa, are you going home for dinner?"

Looking at Chen Zheng, whom he had no recollection of yet acted as if he knew him very well, the old farmer knew in his heart that he had become a "key target of attention".

But he didn't show any unusual expression on his face.

Some people are simply calmed by a deathly stillness.

If Zhao Weihong were present, she would definitely be able to see the changes that occurred in the old farmer before and after he went into the mountains.

However, this was the first time Chen Zheng had met the old farmer, and he had no idea what the old farmer looked like before he went into the mountains. He simply assumed that this was his nature.

"It's just a routine matter and I'm only taking up a little of your time."

"Would it be convenient for you to take that basket off your back and let us see it?"

"No, no, no need to hand it over."

"You can just put it on the ground, and we'll go get it ourselves."

Chen Zheng subtly adjusted his tone, not wanting the old farmer to notice anything amiss.

However, his right hand, hidden behind his back, was constantly changing like a hand seal, conveying a series of instructions to the rear.

The soldiers, who were hidden in various places, immediately went into battle mode, pointing their guns at the ground in front of the old farmer and the potentially dangerous forest behind him.

However, the old farmer did not do anything outrageous.

He simply followed Chen Zheng's instructions, silently unloading the wicker basket and placing it on the ground in front of him. He even took a few steps back to create some distance between himself and the basket.

Seeing the old farmer's cooperation, Chen Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not let his guard down. Instead, he cautiously stepped forward and personally inspected the wicker basket the old farmer was carrying.

The light weight of the item made Chen Zheng's eyebrows unconsciously rise slightly.

Upon opening it, all that was inside the wicker basket was a rolled-up hemp rope and an empty water cup; there was nothing else.

Somewhat unwilling to give up, Chen Zheng took the rope and water cup out of the basket, but still found nothing unusual.

Seeing this, Chen Zheng knew that he couldn't find anything, so he tidied up the hemp rope and put it back in the basket while tentatively asking the old farmer a question.

"Grandpa, didn't you say you were going into the mountains to pick mushrooms?"

"I've heard that you're a well-known old hunter in our village."

"Specializing in hunting wild mushrooms is like having a radar with you. When tourists want to go into the mountains, you have to be their guide."

"How come you went into the mountains for so long, but came back empty-handed?"

"This is not up to your ability!"

Hear the words.

The old farmer slightly raised his eyelids and looked at Chen Zheng not far away.

Although Chen Zheng appeared very calm and spoke in a very casual tone, as if he were having a casual chat.

But the old farmer, who was used to the fickleness of human relationships and the coldness of the world, still sensed a deep-seated wariness and unease in him.

The old farmer could feel this vigilance every moment.

As he walked along the village roads, the children who were playing together would make faces at him, say things they had heard from the adults, and then run away quickly.

If he was unlucky, the old farmer would get hit by a few more stones thrown at him.

Children are like this, and adults are no exception.

The old farmer in childhood is like a source of misfortune and curse, or a source of infection spreading terminal illness.

Wherever he goes, adults and children alike will show him very obvious hostility and avoid him at all costs.

Later on...
"If I hadn't met you, I would have forgotten what kind of awful life I was living."

The old farmer's voice was soft, but it was enough for Chen Zheng and the others closest to him to hear clearly in the tense atmosphere.

However, due to his unfamiliarity with the local dialect and the old farmer's sudden opening remarks, Chen Zheng did not hear what he said at first and had to ask a follow-up question.

"Sir, what did you say?"

The old farmer, who had been very cooperative throughout, did not answer Chen Zheng's question.

Instead, without warning, he turned around and looked at the mountains that had nurtured him, turning his back to Chen Zheng and the others without reservation.

His father hid in the mountains, oppressing the villagers and causing havoc in the area.

The old farmer himself, however, has lived a fairly good life thanks to the bounty of the mountains.

The old farmer thought everything was coming to an end and that his life would gradually improve.

But his son followed in his grandfather's footsteps once again.

They squander the blessings and protection bestowed upon them by the mountains, doing things that would bring tears to the eyes of the "mountain god."

The mountains rise and fall, like dragons traversing the land.

The familiar outline that was etched into the old farmer's very bones gradually blurred in his vision, as if the mountains had abandoned him and despised him.

This feeling made the old farmer feel as if he were being fried in oil, causing him to turn around as if fleeing, only to face Chen Zheng and his men, who were dressed in military uniforms and looked imposing.

Chen Zheng noticed the old farmer's unusual behavior and was about to ask him something when he saw the old farmer's expression suddenly become extremely painful and desperate!

The mountains nurtured this unfortunate man.

But Chen Zheng, and the collective and the country that his military uniform represented, gave the old farmer a new life!

The experiences of the past few decades lingered in the old farmer's mind, causing him to speak with trembling and sorrow.

"Comrade!"

This title.

The old farmer had wanted to use it for a very long time.

But he couldn't find an opportunity.

When he was young, if he dared to call someone "comrade," he would not receive a warm response; instead, he would be spat on and cursed at with contempt.

Who would be comrades with someone like you!
When no one looks at him differently because of his status as an old farmer anymore.

The term "comrade" has gradually become a thing of the past.

The seemingly glamorous titles such as "boss," "manager," and "tycoon" have emerged one after another, replacing the once plain yet weighty "comrade."

The old farmer tried calling others "comrade," which also drew a burst of contemptuous laughter.

"Grandpa, what era are we living in?"

"There are people who call each other 'comrade'?"

In fact, there are many ways to address an old farmer at this moment.

But he just wanted to call out "comrade," to utter that word that he had kept buried in his heart for decades!

"I want to report this."

"I have leads on drug traffickers."

Hear this.

Chen Zheng's pupils dilated suddenly. Before he could ask any further questions, he saw the old farmer grabbing his hair and growling in pain.

"I can't, I can't let him hurt anyone else!"

(End of this chapter)