◎ Zong Huiru
▲ "Dedication to national defense science and technology" badge
My grandfather's name was Zhang Dianshan. Once, I stumbled upon the "treasure" at the bottom of his pressure box, which was a heavy and shiny badge with the words "Dedication to the Cause of National Defense Science and Technology", and next to the badge was a certificate of honor numbered 1339. It turned out that my grandfather had also struggled on the vast Gobi.
01
— Blown a few miles away by the wind, lost,
Only touched back at night —
In 1955, the Party Central Committee made a strategic decision to develop China's atomic energy industry, and thus began a historical chapter in the development of China's nuclear industry. In the vast Gobi and deep mountains and valleys, thousands of young people have embarked on the road of anonymity.
My grandfather came to 404 in early 1959, because it was a confidential unit, the external mailing address was Mailbox 64 in Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, and when outsiders talked about their work, they said that they were building houses in construction units.
The Gobi Desert is windy and sandy, the climate is dry, the living conditions are harsh, the workers live in tents, and the drinking water is rationed. At that time, it was three years of natural disasters, the whole country was in a food shortage, it was common to not have enough to eat, in order to fill their stomachs, workers sometimes went to pick camel grass seeds to eat. Listening to my grandfather, once, one of his colleagues went out in the morning to pick grass seeds, who knew that halfway through the road, there was a strong wind. For a while, the wind raged and the sand flew away, so that his eyes could not be opened, and he could only put the sack in his hand on his head to borrow the wind. As a result, the colleague was "blown" a few kilometers away, lost, and only touched back at night. When he returned, the whole person also became a "native".
02
— Food preparation is a very dangerous job —
Due to the extreme shortage of grain, the construction site also caused a grain shortage, and the reserve grain was only enough to eat for three days, and the problem of feeding thousands of people in the entire factory became a top priority. It was also at this time that Grandpa was entrusted with a heavy responsibility - to go to Zhangye County, Gansu Province, to transfer grain. At that time, not everyone could go out to collect grain, and three conditions needed to be met to be competent: the first must pass the political examination, the second must be a party member, and the third must be an advanced element in work.
Grain distribution is a very dangerous and arduous task, and the factory has sent a guard regiment to escort the grain. Grandpa took the task, carried enough dry food and water for a few days, and got on the train. At that time, the old-fashioned stuffy tank carriage was still used, the air did not circulate, coupled with the bumps along the way, people stayed in it for a long time and were unusually stuffy. Grandpa said that he was hungry and thirsty and tried to endure it as much as possible, because food and water were limited, and he could only eat and drink a few bites at the most critical time. The letter of introduction issued by the unit was afraid of losing it, so he carried it in the pocket on the inside of his clothes. When escorting grain back to the factory, people were even more nervous, afraid to sleep at night, and even did not dare to blink their eyes, for fear of some accident. Grandpa said that at that time, grain transfer was a common thing, and almost all over the country left footprints of Grandpa's grain transfer. In the face of danger, Grandpa did a good job in completing the tasks entrusted to him by the organization.
▲ In the spring of 1981, Zhang Dianshan took a photo while working in Amman, the capital of Jordan
03
— Grandpa became the head of the bricklayer class —
The winter of 1960 was exceptionally cold, with temperatures of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius and dripping water into ice. Due to the tight construction period, the experimental plant should be completed on time, and as the grandfather of the tile team leader, he led the team members to do everything possible to overcome the difficulties.
As a party member, Grandpa took the lead in carrying cement. In the absence of modern construction equipment, bricks, cement, gravel, and mortar were carried upstairs by their solid arms and baskets, and hundreds of pounds of concrete prefabricated panels were also carried up to the fourth floor step by step by 4 people. The shoulders were worn out of the skin, the palms of his hands were blistered with blood, and Grandpa and his team members still gritted their teeth and continued to work. After working overtime every day, a 4-storey experimental plant was erected.
In the construction process, they also encountered many problems. Due to the low temperature and the decrease in cement mortar adhesion, the built wall may not be able to withstand the seven or eight winds. Quality is heavier than Taishan, and Grandpa is anxious to eat tea. After many experiments, he finally came up with a way to use hot water and cement mortar. Practice has shown that this trick really works, and the quality of the wall is thus guaranteed. In this way, Grandpa and his team continued to grope in the work, overcame many difficulties, and completed the construction period ahead of schedule, which was also a small "miracle" at that time.
04
— 40,000 bricks in 3 days —
Grandpa was most proud of joining the "May Fourth Commando", a team of more than 30 young men. The vast majority of them are party members, young and strong, and a team that can fight hard battles and gnaw hard bones. This team was also a banner and benchmark for Lanzhou at that time.
Where the task is urgent and the task is heavy, there is a commando team. When they were tasked with building a barracks for the guard barracks, all the team members immediately turned on the battle mode. Everyone did not close their eyes for three days and three nights, and only rested for a while when eating. Sometimes people are so sleepy that they accidentally bump their heads against the wall and get a big bag, but as soon as the head hurts, people wake up immediately and continue to work. After overtime construction, the commandos did an excellent job of completing the task ahead of schedule. On the way back to the dormitory, the team members fell asleep on their heads. Even if the car reached the end of the car, no one got off, and the conductor could only wake them up one by one and say, "If you don't get off the car again, the car will have to drive back." "According to statistics afterwards, the team members built more than 40,000 bricks in three days and three nights.
One spring, when it rained heavily and a warehouse for important supplies was flooded, the commandos charged forward one by one, and finally moved the supplies to safety. The team members were soaking wet, sweat and rain intertwined, but none of them cried out that they were tired.
▲ Certificate of Honor
Now, when I open my grandfather's honorary certificate, my heart is also heavy. I dare not forget that when the motherland needs it, the older generation of nuclear industry builders buried their names in the deserted Gobi, willing to be "reclaimed cattle" and selflessly dedicated themselves to the cause of the party and the country. I dare not forget the teachings and instructions of the older generation of nuclear industry builders, and strive to pass on the spirit of the nuclear industry from generation to generation.
Author Affilications | China Nuclear Industry No. 22 Construction Co., Ltd
Planning | Yang Jinfeng
Edit | Yu Shijun Ma Han