A life of simplicity
In 1952, Mr. Peng went to Xu Shiyou's Shandong Military Region for inspection. The management department asked Xu Shiyou and Mr. Peng to come to inspect whether the reception work should be changed. Xu Shiyou waved a big hand and said:
"No matter who comes, it is still the same cliché, and it is not allowed to change."
Xu Shiyou accompanied Mr. Peng to dinner, and there were four dishes on the table, such as stir-fried soybean sprouts, green pepper potato shreds, braised tofu, a stewed dog meat, and a bottle of sorghum daqu wine. After Reading it, Mr. Peng smiled and said:
"They all said that their families don't love money, I see that you Xu Shiyou loves money very much, I came, you only gave four dishes to eat?"
Xu Shiyou drank a glass of wine after listening, and said: "It is not that I am stingy, mainly I can't see waste, I don't like to play the score", and later at a meeting, Mr. Peng specially praised General Xu Shiyou's simple style.
General Xu Shiyou did not pay much attention to life, but only liked to drink some wine. His chef recalls:
"The general is a man who has suffered greatly, what to eat, what to eat, never picky"
Xu Shiyou often told the people around him that life is much better than before, and everyone should know how to cherish it.
Xu Shiyou has long served as the leader of the Grand Military Region, and he has a high position of authority, but what he hates most is it
Extravagance and vulgarity
In the spring of 1955, Xu Shiyou went to a certain unit for inspection, and as a result, the troops were welcomed according to the regulations, but Xu Shiyou did not buy it.
"What are you doing with these flags and trumpets, and you're full of food?" I don't like this set, tell them to go back. Commander Huang Chaotian once recalled that the general said that at the beginning, a certain company carried forward the spirit of self-reliance, diligence and thrift. When General Xu Shiyou knew about it, he praised it greatly and said
This is the people's soldiers!
In his later years, this pragmatic personality remained unchanged. After the end of the counterattack against Vietnam, General Xu Shiyou prepared to take a train from Nanning back to Guangzhou, and before leaving, he specially told the local leaders not to raise the division and move the masses, and not to make those flower racks. However, after Xu Shiyou returned to Guangzhou, many cadres still came to greet him. Looking at the people in front of him, Xu Shiyou was very annoyed, said a word, and then directly left the cadres who came to greet him and left.
joie de vivre
Many veteran generals who love fishing after idle time can fish in the large and small affiliated farms of the Nanjing Military Region. General Xu Shiyou, on the other hand, fished in the small fish pond he dug, and the old chief who loved to play could run all over the country. Xu Shiyou can't do this, no matter where xu Shiyou goes, he has to ask the central government for leave, so he can only stay at home.
Xu Shiyou's third daughter once recalled her father,
He doesn't like urban life, he likes deep mountains and old forests, and he has to go to the wild at least once a week, otherwise he will get sick.
The greatest enjoyment of his spare time was hunting, and there were no green organizations at that time, and ecological protection was not yet advocated. The general would hunt dozens of wild ducks, leaving most of them to the officers and soldiers, and the rest would be taken home to distribute to the staff around them.
In peacetime, many veteran generals like to hunt and kill. However, due to the situation of accidental hunting injuries that occurred later, the Central Military Commission specially issued a circular criticizing and prohibited hunting in the future. Xu Shiyou received the document from the central government, and he approved a line on the document
"Agree to issue, hunting is not OK, it is still okay to fight birds."
At night, Xu Shiyou will choose to watch TV, and he is very fond of those stories that punish evil and promote good, beautiful and moving. For example, "Liu Sanjie" or "Sun Wukong Three Dozen White Bone Essences", etc., whenever the performance reaches the climax, General Xu Shiyou will also be anxious for film and television roles. When the Tang monk recited the tightening mantra, he would sigh:
"Look, this Tang monk has been deceived again."
Treat your children
Xu Shiyou's eldest son, Xu Guang, traveled thousands of miles from Dabie Mountain to Nanjing to visit his father, and when he left, General Xu Shiyou's gift was a sack of sweet potatoes. The general said:
"I grew it myself, you take it home and taste it."
Xu Guang said that there are many sweet potatoes in his hometown, and usually no one eats them, so they are fed to pigs. Xu Shiyou thought about it, so he asked Xu Guang to bring some pickled vegetables back, which were also planted and pickled by himself.
Xu Shiyou is very strict with his children. Xu Shiyou's grandson, Xu Daokun, after being demobilized from the army, found his grandfather and wanted him to speak for himself. However, Xu Shiyou not only did not help him, but severely criticized
"You've only been a soldier for three years, and you're definitely not a good soldier, so you should go home and farm and do whatever you want!"
Although the words were not heard, every time his grandson came to visit him, Xu Shiyou would still personally receive him, and they would talk and laugh together.
Xu Shiyou also said to his daughter:
"I came from the soldiers, and you must also start from the grassroots, and the road must be on your own, so that you can do it yourself."
Throughout the general's life, he said this, and things were done the same way, and he never said a word about the promotion and transfer of his children.