Soldier of Fortune

Museum of Korean War in Dandong, Liaoning Province

I once knew a veteran named Li Jiantang. 

It was in 2001, in a village located in Daning, the poorest county of Shanxi Province. At the time, Li was an elderly man. It was during Spring Festival and up in the Luliang Mountains, the air was cold and dry. He spent most of his time by his stove for warmth and when he lifted a curtain to greet me, his eyes squinted from the light outside.