Cheng Qianfan recalled a conversation he had with Lao Liao. Lao Liao gestured excitedly, saying that what he looked forward to most was at the end of the year, basking in the sun in his ancestral home courtyard, smoking a cigarette pack, shouting out, and having (grand)sons and (grand)daughters surround him. The commotion from his grandchildren would be truly delightful.,At the station, a group of elderly and wounded soldiers were left behind. They pinned their hopes on the next train.,Lao Liao's nose ached, as if he saw Lao Yao pulling the pin on a grenade and disappearing with the Japanese search party.。