The cooking monitor is almost forty years old, tall, with a slightly hunched back, a square face, high cheekbones, wrinkled face and gray temples. Everyone calls him "old monitor" because he is old and close to everyone.
Three sick people can't walk fast. They only walk twenty miles a day. Along the way, the old monitor took us to rest. When he arrived at the campsite, he looked for wild vegetables everywhere and cooked them for us with highland barley noodles. In less than half a month, two bags of highland barley were finished. Hunger threatens us. The old monitor looked for wild vegetables and dug roots everywhere, but how did he eat these things? The old monitor watched us lose weight day by day and didn't sleep a wink all night. In fact, he is much thinner than us these days.
One day, he washed our clothes by a pond and suddenly saw a fish jump out of the water. He was overjoyed to run back and took out a sewing needle, which burned red and bent into a fishhook. That night, we ate fresh fish soup (tāng). Although there was no seasoning, we thought there was nothing better than this fish soup, so we picked up the bowl and ate it all.
Later, the old monitor tried to find a place with a pond to camp, settled us down and went out with a hook. The next day, he can always bring us steaming soup of fresh fish and wild vegetables. Although we are still getting weaker every day, it is better than just eating grass-roots wild vegetables. But the old monitor himself, I have never seen him eat any fish.
Once, I couldn't help asking him, "Old monitor, why don't you eat fish?"
He touched his mouth and said, "I have eaten." I'll eat together first, before you. "
I don't believe it. I will quietly follow him after he has packed his dishes (kuài). Take a closer look, ah! I can't help but froze. He sat there with a bowl of enamel (cí), chewed a few roots and ate the remaining fishbone with us, chewed for a while, and then frowned and swallowed it hard. I felt as if there were 10,000 steel needles stuck in my throat, and I lost my voice and cried, "Old monitor, how did you ..."
The old monitor suddenly looked up and saw me staring at the enamel bowl in his hand, so he stammered, "I, I have already eaten." See the bowl hasn't been eaten clean, throw it away ... "
"No, I know everything." I interrupted him.
The old monitor turned to look at the place where two young comrades slept, pulled me to his side and said softly, "Keep your voice down, Liang Xiao! We are party member. Now that you know it, don't tell anyone. "
"But, you should also cherish yourself!"
"It doesn't matter, I am still very strong." He raised his head and looked at the grass covered by night. After a long time, he whispered, "The instructor gave you three to me. When he left, he said,' They are still young. Along the way, you are the superior, you are the nanny, and you are the orderly. No matter how difficult it is, you should take them out of the grass. "Liang Xiao, look at this grass, it is endless, endless. I estimate that it will take another twenty days to go out. It's not easy to get through these twenty days! Seeing yourself getting weaker every day, as long as you can't eat, you may not get up. If something happens, how can I report to the party? Can I say,' Instructor, I left my comrades on the grass and I overcame the difficulties myself'? "
"But you should eat with us!"
"No, it's too little." He shook his head gently, "trabecular, to be honest, it's not easy to get something to eat! Sometimes there is no fish after waiting in the middle of the night. In order to get a small bait (R), I can't find A Qiu (qiū) and earthworm (y ǐ n) through a lot of SOD ... Besides, my eyes are broken, and it's dark, and I have to grope for wild vegetables tree by tree ... "
I couldn't help it any longer, and rushed to say, "old monitor, I'll help you find it later." I can see that. "
"No, don't we have good jobs? Besides, your illness is not light, and you will not be able to support it without a good rest. "
I still insist on my opinion. The old monitor suddenly said sternly, "Comrade Liang Xiao, party member should obey the distribution of the Party. Your task is to keep walking, calm the mood of the two little comrades and enhance their confidence! "
Looking at his gloomy face, I couldn't say a word, so I threw myself into his arms and cried.
The next day, the old monitor brought little fish soup. There was only a small catfish in each enamel bowl with a little wild vegetables floating on it. He smiled and said, "Eat, it's just a little less. Alas (ài)! A big fish took the bait and ran away! "
I picked up the enamel bowl and felt it weighed a thousand pounds, so I couldn't reach my mouth. Two young comrades don't know why, but they just don't send bowls to their mouths. Seeing TLI m: n, the class leader smiled and twisted his brow into a knot (da). He said, "What's the matter? Can't I eat? If we don't eat, we can't walk out of the grass. Comrades, for the revolution, you must eat it. Liang Xiao, don't be too fragile! " This last sentence is harsh, and only I know what it means.
I put the bowl to my mouth and my tears fell into the steaming fish soup. I turned my back quietly, wiped my eyes and gulped down the fish soup. The old monitor watched us finish eating, the wrinkles on his face spread out and a smile appeared on his mouth. But my heart seems to be filled with lead, which is extremely heavy.
Day after day, we are getting closer and closer to the edge of the grass, but our illness is getting worse and worse. I can hardly walk. Those two little comrades don't even have the strength to stand up straight. Although the old monitor is skinny and his eyes are deep, he has been encouraging us with full emotions. In this way, we helped and mixed for a while, and finally reached the edge of the grass. In the distance, overlapping peaks are clearly visible.
This morning, the old monitor said happily, "Comrades, let's stop here, have something to eat, cheer up and walk out of the grass in one breath." Then he picked up the hook and walked to the pond.
We are in a particularly good spirit, looking for wild vegetables and collecting hay everywhere, as if it were a holiday. But after a long time, the old monitor hasn't come back. We searched everywhere and finally found him by a pond. He is in a coma.
We all panicked. There have been many such examples when crossing the snow-capped mountains. Soldiers support their lives with amazing perseverance, but once they fall, they can never get up again. The best way to save the old monitor is to let him eat something quickly. We'll get off work right away, I'll go fishing, and the rest will take care of the old monitor and make a fire.
I squatted by the water's edge and kept chanting (dāo): "Fish! Come on! This is to save the life of a revolutionary soldier! " But the more impatient you are, the less likely the fish will take the bait. After waiting for a long time, I finally saw the reed (G m￠n) floating on the water moving. I quickly pulled up the fishing rod and finally caught a small fish two or three inches long.
When I leaned down and sent the fish soup to the old monitor's mouth, the old monitor had already voted for a rest. He opened his eyes slightly and saw the fish soup I was carrying. The first thing he said was, "Liang Xiao, don't waste anything. I ... I can't. You eat! There are still more than twenty miles to go. After eating, be sure to get out of the grass! "
"Old monitor, you eat! We will lift you up from the grass! " I almost cried.
"No, you eat. You must leave the grass! When you meet the instructor, tell him that I didn't complete the task assigned to me by the party and didn't take good care of you. Look, you've all lost weight ... "
The old monitor stroked my head with rough hands. Suddenly, his hand fell down.
"Old monitor! Old squad leader! " We cried. But the old monitor, he, his eyes slowly closed.
We jumped on the old monitor and sobbed for a long time.
After drying my tears, I carefully wrapped the hook left by the old monitor and put it in my close-fitting pocket (D 3U). I think, after the victory of the revolution, it must be sent to the revolutionary martyrs memorial hall for future generations to pay tribute to. On this fishhook covered with red rust, brilliant golden light shines.