Fingertip Sun - The Long March at the Age of Fifteen

Author: Zhang Pincheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: He said to his commander, "Commander, what's wrong with my eyes? Everything looks like a black patch."
The commander said, "Tanzi, hold on! Hold my hand."
Tanzi grabbed the commander's hand and walked forward. But soon, the commander couldn't go on either. The commander's hand was limp and weak, and he couldn't hold Tanzi anymore.
Tanzi said, "Commander, let's go. I can't walk anymore. I'll sit and rest for a bit."
"Commander, you can't sit down. If you do, you won't be able to stand up!"
The commander was right. Tanzi knew he couldn't sit. Qian Wulong and the others had sat down and never gotten up again, frozen in the snow and ice, turning into ice lumps and leaving themselves trapped in that icy wilderness forever. But Tanzi was too weak. His bones felt like they had been soaked in vinegar, soft and mushy.
At that moment, the commander shouted, "Hey, Tanzi, grab the horse's tail!"
Tanzi, Beiji, and Tiedian, the three of them, grabbed the horse's tail. Later, Tanzi didn't know how he finished the journey. He was dazed and confused, still feeling as if he were in a dream when he reached the small village at the foot of the snow mountain. He slept for two days and, when he woke up, felt a warmth stirring in his heart. We're home. That's what he thought. He knew Tiedian and the others felt the same way.
Beiji bounced out of the door and went to the fields. He loved the land and crops. Now, he was starting to think about the barley again. He often wondered why the Tibetan people didn't grow rice. The doctor, Pi Wenxun, said this area was a high-altitude, cold region with freezing temperatures and little rainfall, making it unsuitable for growing rice. Beiji said, "Then I'll grow barley."