My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

A military green jeep on the main road of Hongshi County.

It sailed slowly and steadily, like an ark breaking through the crowds.

Wang Jianguo gripped the steering wheel himself, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

Outside the car window, there were many onlookers.

Lu Qingshan's deeds have been repeatedly praised in recent days.

"The hero who killed the bandits has arrived!"

"Wow, I used to play cards with him. I never knew this kid was so good!"

"Are you talking nonsense? He has a secure job, and his wife is the manager of a big factory. Why would he play cards with a vagrant like you?"

"It's absolutely true! It was around August or September last year."

The supply and marketing cooperatives, barbershops, and snack stalls on both sides of the street were all closed, and men, women, young and old, almost the entire county spontaneously poured out.

Standing on tiptoe and craning their necks, they frantically peered in the direction of the convoy.

"Lu Yingxiong!"

"Look! That's the car! Lu Yingxiong is in that car!"

A group of teenagers, wearing open-crotch pants and with snot running down their noses, tirelessly ran alongside the convoy.

The clear shouts rose and fell, and the children's faces were filled with fervent worship.

In the back seat, Lin Xiulan sat close to Lu Qingshan.

Her hands were gripping the hem of her faded blue cotton-padded jacket tightly, her knuckles taut and white from the force.

Through the clean car window, she looked at the excited, agitated, and even somewhat distorted faces outside.

My eyes gradually warmed up, and my vision began to blur.

This overwhelming respect and glory, which she could never have imagined in her entire life, was all because of the man beside her.

It was her husband, Lu Qingshan.

She knew she hadn't married the wrong person.

Her husband is a true hero.

The jeep came to a smooth stop in front of the county government square.

In the square, a huge platform, temporarily erected with red bricks and wooden planks, was covered with a red carpet and surrounded by flowers.

Below the stage, a sea of ​​black heads, the heat seemed to ignite the air itself.

The car door opened.

Wang Jianguo darted out of the car, went around to the back seat, opened the door, and used his burly body to block the reporters and crowd outside who were eager to pounce on him.

"Xiao Lu, we've arrived."

His voice was low and heavy.

Lu Qingshan got off the car.

The moment he stepped onto the ground, the gazes of thousands of people in the square, like iron filings drawn by a magnet, converged on him in an instant.

After a brief silence, the originally noisy crowd suddenly erupted into thunderous applause and cheers!

Today, Lu Qingshan was wearing the gray Zhongshan suit that Lin Xiulan had rushed to make overnight, and his posture was as straight as a pine tree.

His left arm, slinged across his chest with a snow-white bandage, shone brighter than any magnificent medal at that moment.

"Lu Yingxiong!!"

"hero!!"

Wang Jianguo walked beside him and spoke quickly in a low voice.

"Don't be nervous. Just go up and say what I taught you. Talk less and listen more. With the Party Secretary backing you up, no one will dare to cause trouble!"

Lu Qingshan nodded slightly, his expression calm, and walked step by step onto the podium.

On the stage, County Party Secretary Zhou, the County Head, and all the county leaders who were at home stood up in unison and led the applause.

This is the highest level of welcome that Hongshi County could offer.

Lu Qingshan stood in the center of the stage and nodded slightly to the audience.

County Party Secretary Zhou walked to the microphone, raised his hand, and gently pressed it down.

The thunderous applause miraculously subsided.

"Comrades! Fellow villagers!"

Secretary Zhou's voice, transmitted through the loudspeakers like a resounding bell, echoed throughout every corner of the square.

"Today, we are gathered here in solemn celebration to honor a hero of our own Hongshi County! A true hero who grew out of this black soil of our land!"

He paused, then turned his gaze intently to Lu Qingshan, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Comrade Lu Qingshan! An ordinary hunter from Hongshitun! But what he did was anything but ordinary!"

"He bravely stepped forward in the face of five ruthless foreign bandits armed with submachine guns! He did not back down an inch in the face of such vicious enemies!"

"He used his blood and his life to defend the peace of Hongshi County and protect the lives and property of the people!"

Secretary Zhou's voice grew louder and louder as he waved his hand forcefully.

"After deliberation by the county party committee and county government, Comrade Lu Qingshan is hereby awarded the honorary title of 'Model Hero of Courage and Righteousness in Hongshi County'!"

"And a cash reward will be awarded..."

He paused deliberately, whetting everyone's appetite, and then, with all his might, shouted out that earth-shattering number into the microphone.

"Five thousand yuan!"

"boom!!!"

These three words, like a thunderclap, suddenly exploded in the minds of thousands of people.

In the square, everyone seemed to be frozen in place, falling into a moment of deathly silence.

Immediately, a discussion and exclamation ten times more intense than before erupted!

Li Erniu, standing in the crowd, had his mouth agape, wide enough to fit a whole egg. He stared intently at the podium, his Adam's apple bobbing wildly.

Five thousand? What does that even mean?

In this day and age, it's a huge sum of money that can make a person live comfortably for a lifetime.

Buy a house, get married.

Although this wasn't a particularly large sum of money for Lu Qingshan, it was money given to him by the government.

The meanings are different.

Just then, a county finance bureau accountant in uniform appeared.

Holding a large tray covered with a bright red silk cloth in both hands, he walked steadily onto the stage.

Secretary Zhou stepped forward personally and lifted the red cloth.

"Whoosh—"

Under the sunlight, stacks of brand-new "Great Unity" bills, still smelling of ink, were neatly stacked on a tray.

That blinding green, like a ball of fire, instantly ignited the eyes of everyone present!

Secretary Zhou picked up a gleaming, heavy medal, walked up to Lu Qingshan, and personally pinned it to his left breast, right above the pocket of his Zhongshan suit.

"Comrade Lu Qingshan, you are the pride of all the people in our county!"

The applause thundered once more! The cheers soared to the heavens!

Secretary Zhou patted Lu Qingshan on the shoulder, gesturing for him to come to the microphone.

"Now, let's give a warm round of applause to our hero, Comrade Lu Qingshan, who will say a few words!"

The entire hall fell silent instantly. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the hero to speak.

Lu Qingshan walked to the microphone, but he didn't speak immediately.

He simply bowed deeply, deeply, to the sea of ​​people below the stage.

He straightened up and picked up the microphone; his voice was hoarse, yet steady and powerful.

"Thank you everyone, thank you leaders."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the audience, through the sea of ​​people, as if searching for something.

"What I did was simply what a hunter, a man, should do."

"Protecting one's family and fellow villagers is what we should do, it's only right and proper."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable firmness.

"I am not a hero. The real heroes are the brothers who sacrificed themselves to protect us, and the police officers who rushed to the front lines. Without them, and without the support of the villagers, I could not have accomplished anything by myself."

These words were perfectly worded, both praising the official position and making the speaker appear humble.

"So," he slowly raised his head, his gaze finally settling on that familiar figure in the crowd, his voice unconsciously softening slightly.

"This honor doesn't belong to me alone. It belongs to everyone who protects our Hongshi County."

After he finished speaking, he bowed solemnly to the audience.

Then, he put down the microphone and returned to his original position.

There were no lengthy speeches, no impassioned pronouncements.

Only the simplest and most sincere words.

After a brief silence, the audience erupted in even more enthusiastic and heartfelt applause.

In the crowd, Lin Xiulan looked at the figure on the stage who remained as upright as a mountain under the spotlight, and tears streamed down her face again.

This time, she didn't wipe it.

Those were tears of happiness, tears of pride.

Beside her, Old Master Lu puffed on his pipe, and through the swirling smoke, his wrinkled old face grinned like an innocent child.

The commendation ceremony has concluded.

Lu Qingshan was almost instantly overwhelmed by a tidal wave of reporters and enthusiastic crowds.

"Lu Yingxiong! Weren't you really scared at the time?"

"Lu Yingxiong! Can you tell us how you killed those bandits with submachine guns using a hunting rifle? What's the trick to it?"

Wang Jianguo and Scarface Liu brought more than a dozen brothers who had been transferred from the factory.

It took a tremendous amount of effort to carve a bloody path through the human wall and escort Lu Qingshan toward the jeep.

County head and forestry farm director Li Aiguo, along with many other officials, surrounded him, vying to shake his hand.

"Little Lu, take good care of your injury. You have a bright future ahead of you!"

"Qingshan! Come visit sometime! Uncle saved some good stuff for you!"

Amidst the chaos and noise, Lu Qingshan was about to get into the car.

He suddenly felt a gaze upon him.

That gaze was completely different from all the fanatical, worshipful, and envious looks around it.

It was a calm, profound, and slightly playful scrutiny.

It's as if you can easily peel away his "heroic" facade and see into the deepest, most ruthless and murderous aura in his eyes.

Lu Qingshan's hair stood on end in that instant, and his back was instantly soaked with a layer of cold sweat.

He turned around abruptly and looked in the direction he felt.

At the edge of the square, under an old locust tree, stood an elderly man dressed in a faded gray cloth robe.

The old man was thin, with white hair and beard, but his complexion was ruddy and he was in good spirits, standing out from the surrounding noise.

He didn't laugh, but just looked at Lu Qingshan from afar, his eyes as calm as a bottomless ancient well.

Eyes facing each other.

Lu Qingshan's heart was clenched tightly.

He wanted to look at it more closely.

The old man merely nodded almost imperceptibly at him, a half-smile playing on his lips, before turning and slowly walking away.

He walked slowly, but in a few quick movements, he silently merged into the crowd at the street corner and disappeared from sight.

"Brother? What's wrong? What are you looking at? Your face is all pale!"

Seeing that he was standing there in a daze, Scarface Liu asked.

Lu Qingshan withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and shook his head.

"It's nothing, I misread it."

He got into the car, and the jeep slowly started moving, leaving the bustling square.

……

That evening, at the Lu family's old residence.

The entire population of Hongshitun gathered in the Lu family's courtyard.

A dozen tables were set up, and the banquet stretched from inside the courtyard all the way outside, with the aroma of stewed meat wafting for half a mile.

This is to celebrate Lu Qingshan.

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere was at its most pleasant.

Lu Qingshan pulled Lin Xiulan, who was already somewhat dizzy from drinking, to the secluded backyard.

He pulled out the bulging envelope from his pocket and shoved it into Lin Xiulan's hand without saying a word.