Chapter 14: The Nameless Hero

  Cao Wei suddenly hung his head and fell silent. Chen Kun saw Cao Wei's appearance and asked, "Why aren't you speaking?" Cao Wei sighed, "We're still in school, how could our families possibly agree to let us go to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts."

  Chen Kun laughed and patted his head heavily: "How can you be so stupid? Who says that only Shaolin Temple can learn martial arts? Moreover, if we go to Shaolin Temple, we can only learn some fancy moves that are useless to us. What we need to learn is practical skills."

  Cao Wei's eyes lit up, and he rubbed his head with one hand while asking foolishly, "Then where do we go to learn?" Chen Kun didn't say a word, but only looked at me with his eyes.

  Honor thought for a moment: "Do you know Grandpa Zhang?" Cao Rui heard the question and quickly said: "I do, isn't he that old man with white hair, a full beard, and a limp leg? He often sits alone on the big bluestone at the entrance of your alley, listening to the radio with a transistor in his hand."

  Honor nodded: "Yes, Old Man Zhang is a veteran of the Eighth Route Army. He fought against the Japanese devils during the War of Resistance and against the Nationalists during the Three Years of Anti-Japanese War. He participated in the Sino-Vietnamese border war and the Korean War. Once, he single-handedly stopped an entire American company's advance, exhausting their ammunition before engaging in hand-to-hand combat until reinforcements arrived. One man against a whole company - you should know how many men are in a company. If he wasn't skilled in martial arts, he would have died long ago. In the war years, how many seniors died on the battlefield, yet he's still alive - that's proof. The skills he used on the battlefield were all lethal techniques; I think this is very practical for us." Before he even finished speaking, Cao Lei grabbed my and Chen Kun's hands and ran towards my home.

  Grandpa Zhang lives alone, without any relatives. Due to an injury to his leg, he walks with a limp. His life is not very convenient, so when it's convenient for them, the neighbors will help him do some things that are within their power.

  During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, his leg was injured by a bomb, and until now, the shrapnel has not been removed. I once asked Grandpa Zhang why he didn't go to the hospital to have the shrapnel removed. But Grandpa Zhang said, "Leave it there, leave it as a memento." So many brothers who went to the battlefield with me died on the battlefield and never came back. Leaving it in reminds me of those martyred comrades and warns me not to forget them. Grandpa Zhang often tells me about his past experiences, proudly showing me the medals he received and the scars on his body.

  This made me, a little kid at that time, yearn for him deeply. He was a hero, a real unsung hero.

  Let us pay silent tribute to our predecessors who sacrificed on the battlefield.

  When An's mom just moved in, she heard that Grandpa Zhang was a lonely old man, so she often came to help Grandpa Zhang with some household chores, washing clothes and cooking. She treated Grandpa Zhang like her own father.

  When Grandpa Zhang heard that An's mom had an accident, he often secretly cried alone. He muttered to himself, "An Yun was a good girl, so young and gone." She was so kind, why didn't she let this useless old man die in her place? Those bastards, if I find out who did it, I'll personally shoot them with my gun. Grandpa Zhang never shed tears even when he was wounded on the battlefield, but now he secretly cried for An's mom.

  We arrived at Grandpa Zhang's gate and saw Grandpa Zhang watering the vegetables he planted in the yard.