On the day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, officers and men of the armed police patrolled the Guangzhou Railway Station. Photo by Cheng Changying
The time hand once again points to the "Spring Festival" scale.
The annual "largest migration in human history" began. People returning home from all over the world will focus on the train stations everywhere at the same time. As a special landmark, Guangzhou Railway Station is one of the best windows to observe China's Spring Festival, and the railway department says that "the national Spring Festival looks at Guangzhou".
Since the 1990s, every spring festival, officers and men of the Guangdong Armed Police Corps will silently guard here. For them, the Spring Festival is not only guarding the Guangzhou Station, but also watching the train that runs to the spring.
During their duties, officers and men of the armed police were eager to help passengers. Photo by Yang Yang
The sound of the Spring Festival
Noisy all around.
Squadron Leader Mei Xiaolong saw the sentry open his mouth, but he didn't hear anything.
On duty in the waiting hall of Guangzhou Station, Mei Xiaolong sometimes felt like rushing to a market in his hometown. Surrounded by hurried footsteps, conversations between friends, tourists asking for directions... All the sounds mixed together and became extraordinarily noisy. Tasting carefully, Mei Xiaolong heard a different melody in this noisy sound, and he felt that this was the "sound of the Spring Festival".
The train enters the station, and the loud radio sound guides the passengers to move forward methodically. "Our role is like broadcasting, helping these people go home." Mei Xiaolong said.
Every night, Mei Xiaolong would check the whistle. Compared with the noise during the day, Guangzhou Station will be much quieter at night. In fact, from the time of putting on a mask on duty, Guangzhou Station became more deserted than ever, "there is a feeling of unreality." "More tasks, less sleep, high mental tension, Mei Xiaolong feels that that is the state of spring transport duty."
The preparation room is Mei Xiaolong's most laborious sentry. Not only is the space here cramped, but it also needs to be on duty all day, and sometimes the comrades who change shifts are too late to return, and can only sleep here with clothes. The rooms are makeshift, separated by wooden planks, with tracks above, garages below, and crowds outside. Whenever a train passes by, the planks always buzz.
"Over time, everyone has been inseparable from these noises, and it is not accustomed to being quiet." Especially at night, with the roar of the train, as if accompanied by a serenade, everyone can still sleep soundly. Some comrades-in-arms said this to Mei Xiaolong.
Spring Festival duty is by no means an easy task. The officers and men on duty during the Spring Festival stayed at their posts for 24 hours, and they stood at least 3 shifts a day. In the meantime, it is necessary to wear regular clothes and leather shoes, and take a standing or straddling posture. When there is no situation and no task, they basically do not speak, usually only watching and listening.
Once, there was a cry in my ears. The superior soldier Luo Guangchao took the initiative to come forward to inquire, and it turned out that a little girl and her mother had been separated. Luo Guangchao immediately took the little girl's hand and began to look for her mother. Finally, after more than 4 hours of hard work, the mother and daughter reunited at the police booth at the entrance.
Another time, there was a quarrel in my ears. Senior Soldier Zhong Shihuang remembered that a passenger came late and could not refund the ticket, so he had a dispute with the consultant. The noise alerted him and he began to move closer to the information desk. If there is a conflict, he must stop it immediately. Later, after his patient persuasion, the passenger quieted down.
In all the sounds of the Spring Festival, Zhong Shihuang likes to listen to the sound of the train after it arrives at the station - "the green car will emit a whistle sound, and there is a clanging sound; the train does not sound the horn, but the sound of the train rubbing against the tracks can be faintly heard." With his back to the railway, he noticed that the number of trains Chinese New Year's Eve had changed on this day— a sentry would pass by 8 to 9 trains on weekdays, but only 6 trains came on this day.
The platform sentry is the only place where the train can be seen. Patrolling there, Squadron Leader Li Xiaomin usually focuses his eyes on the crowd, and he must detect and prevent any special situations from happening in time. Once, while on duty at the platform, a four- or five-year-old girl fell onto a track. The whistle sounded, the train was about to enter the station, the stage was in chaos, and no one dared to jump. When the platform sentry found out, without the slightest hesitation, he jumped down and rescued the man.
What moved Li Xiaomin the most was the registration before the Spring Festival duty. Signing up means that you can't go home for the Spring Festival. He would usually gather everyone together and let the officers and men who were willing to participate in the duty raise their hands. At this time, there was only one sound in the queue—the sound of palms rubbing against the cracks of their pants, and everyone raised their hands in unison.
"The K202 train bound for Chongqing is about to enter the station, so please take the K202 train to check in at ticket gate 5 as soon as possible." When the radio suddenly mentioned his hometown, Li Xiaomin's heart trembled - today is the Chinese New Year's Eve, and it is the reunion moment of the people of the whole country.
"Is it zero?" Li Xiaomin habitually looked for time at the top of the Guangzhou Station building. It is the first clock in Guangzhou, which is 4.5 meters high and 5 meters wide, and the largest electric clock in China's railway station.
The pointers are not yet coincident. Li Xiaomin also pulled his gaze to the three big characters of "Guangzhou Station" above the clock, and on both sides of it, the 8 characters of "reunifying the motherland and revitalizing China" were even more imposing.
The big crimson characters illuminated the Guangzhou station late at night and ignited Li Xiaomin's heart. From platoon leader to squadron leader, he only went home once for 6 years to spend the Spring Festival, and the other 5 Spring Festivals were spent in the Spring Festival duty post. However, Li Xiaomin understood that it was precisely because of his and his comrades-in-arms' persistence that they "lit up" the passengers' way home.
The hands return to zero, and the bell rings, like the heartbeat of Guangzhou Station. Li Xiaomin and his comrades-in-arms still stuck to their posts and silently guarded the place. Listening to the sound of the Spring Festival, they stood tall and their eyes were firm.
The taste of the Spring Festival
Standing in the crowd, Corporal Wei Bing smelled a smell of instant noodles and was suddenly a little happy.
In the waiting hall, there are not many people who like to eat instant noodles, and young people now have more choices in convenience foods, but Wei Bing always has a special feeling for instant noodles.
Once, Wei Bing did not catch up for dinner due to the delay in sending down the sentry. At that time, he had just joined the army, and he was committing "homesickness", so he simply chose to "lie flat" in the dark in the dormitory. Without hesitation, the door opened with a "squeak", and the squad leader brought him a bowl of instant noodles, covered with two golden omelettes. At that moment, Wei Bing was particularly moved. That bowl of instant noodles was also the best instant noodles he had ever eaten.
Now, Wei Bing has grown into a squad leader. If he found that a comrade-in-arms had not eaten, he would also serve a bucket of instant noodles to slowly continue this tradition.
Also having a strong affection for instant noodles is the high-class soldiers. Whenever he sees some workers who eat instant noodles, he always thinks of his parents. Before joining the army, Goofy's parents worked in an electronics factory in Dongguan. Before the Spring Festival, parents will join the crowd of the Spring Festival. On their bodies, there are always a few buckets of instant noodles.
Smelling the familiar smell of instant noodles, Goofy calculated the days he had been away from home for 15 months. He couldn't help but look up at the platform, imagining the scene of these people working outside reuniting with their families. "Once, there were comrades in arms guarding my parents; now, let me guard more people's parents." He made a silent promise.
On duty in the waiting hall surrounded by restaurants, the sentries will smell many "temptations": the fragrance of beef noodles, the spicy aroma of mini hot pot, the strong aroma of rice noodles across the bridge, the garlic aroma of bibimbap in stone pots...
"These aromas are tempting, and they are not 'New Year's flavors.'" Corporal Yu Qingzhi, who participated in the Spring Festival duty for the first time, said. The aroma wafting in the air made him involuntarily think of the scene during the Spring Festival in the past——
My father cut the green onions and mixed the base, and my mother fished out the cooked noodles and poured hot oil with a large spoon, which immediately boiled and the aroma was fragrant. Chinese New Year's Eve noodles, which are indispensable for rice, symbolize the red fire reunion of the new year. "With the taste of home, it can be called 'New Year's Taste'." Yu Qingzhi said.
This year, the officers and men also witnessed the Spring Festival of a pair of "gods and immortals." Staff Officer Ge Dongmou and his wife Wu Jianfang both served in the Armed Police Force. They wear the same costumes and share a common pursuit, which is really the envy of those around them.
On that day, Ge Dongmou was checking at the train station, and the mobile phone rang, which was a call from his wife.
"Dongmou, where are you?" I was also at the train station. On the phone, my wife's voice was still crisp and beautiful.
Following his wife's direction, Ge Dongmou glanced at Wu Jianfang, who was smiling. For the Spring Festival, the two have not seen each other for several days. The wife's smiling face is like a warm sun.
On this day, the wife came to the railway station to test the duty communication system. Knowing that her husband's stomach is not good, she specially prepared millet red bean porridge and stomach medicine.
15 minutes, too short to even sit down and drink a cup of hot water, but it is long enough to make two hearts feel warm. For them, the time spent with the train station this Spring Festival is far longer than the time spent with their families.
Before parting, Wu Jianfang took out her mobile phone to show her husband a video. It was recorded by the son when he learned that his mother was going to see his father. In the square inch screen, the child's left hand is compared to the heart, and the right hand is liked. That mischievous and cute look made the couple's eyes slightly red.
Watching his wife's figure gradually blend into the crowd, Ge Dongmou's words haunted her: "Reunion is difficult, it is also very simple." You guard everyone, I guard you, it is reunion. ”
What is the taste of Spring Festival? It may be the instant noodles handed by the squad leader, the oil noodles cooked by the parents, and the millet red bean porridge sent by the wife. They hid in the memories of the Spring Festival, hidden in the duty of the Spring Festival.
Spring colors
The white "Fuxing" drove into the platform, and the superior soldier Guo Cankun noticed the red stripes on the white body. The soldier who chose to enlist in the academy of fine arts just now has a natural sensitivity to color.
I remember that when I first got off the company, Guo Cankun wanted to pick up a paintbrush and freeze the beauty of military camp life with color. But it didn't take long for him to start playing the retreat.
There is no battlefield battle of happiness and vengeance, no poetic jingo iron horse, only endless sentries, endless posts, and endless people. Art needs freshness and inspiration, but the boring duty made Guo Cankun lose the passion to pick up a paintbrush and create.
"This is the life of a soldier, ordinary but not ordinary." With the encouragement of his comrades-in-arms, Guo Cankun took off his "colored glasses" and tried to look at everything in front of him with a new gaze. Gradually, he discovered the feeling hidden under the ordinary—
The superior soldier Jiang Bei lost his foot when he went to the sentry, and the soldiers in the squad spontaneously took turns to help him eat and stand guard. Little Ginger, who was too unwilling to go, did not wait for his feet to be good, so he asked for a whistle.
The fiancée of the platoon leader Lin Zidong is a train attendant, and every time the train comes to the station, Lin Zidong will run to the station to wait. The crowded station is also a romantic place where small couples talk to each other.
In order to see their son, Sergeant Wang Wenyun's parents secretly came to Guangzhou Railway Station, and the family was reunited at the post in front of the station square.
……
The scenes in front of him made Guo Cankun more convinced that the world of soldiers is colorful, including emerald green that symbolizes the guards' perseverance, pure white that symbolizes lovers staying together, and orange red that symbolizes family reunion... He picked up a paintbrush and engraved the beautiful moments on the drawing paper.
"There is no shortage of beauty in the world, just a lack of eyes to find beauty." Guo Cankun remembered a sentence from Rodin. At this moment, he suddenly understood the meaning of perseverance: watching for happiness is also happiness itself.
If you look closely at the Guangzhou station, you will find a lot of marks of the changes of the times. From the electric locomotives of the 1990s to the Harmony and Fuxing EMUs, the trains are constantly undergoing upgrading, and the time required for the Spring Festival is gradually shortening.
Along with the speed of the train, there is also the sense of respect of the soldiers. On duty a few days ago, Li Jiayou, a senior soldier, met an aunt in a red trench coat. Carrying her luggage, she came with her five- or six-year-old daughter to ask for directions. When she learned that the ticket collection point was in the distance, the mother bent down, took her daughter's hand, and instructed in her ear: "You stay here and don't run around, your mother will go to get the ticket, and if there is something to do, find the armed police big brother." Subsequently, she left her luggage and children in front of Li Jiayou and went alone to collect the tickets.
What does "military" mean? Li Jiayou, who used to be ,"can't say clearly." But when he saw the mother's back, Li Jiayou seemed to understand - they did not know each other, but they were willing to entrust their children to him, which was a trust from the heart, which was the value of the military.
Li Jiayou felt warm in his heart, not only because of the olive green on his body, or a soldier's card in his pocket, but also because this happiness came from the respect of the whole society for the soldiers and the trust in the soldiers.
In the past, Li Jiayou felt that the national flag was very ordinary and seemed to be seen everywhere. But once in a professional class, watching the flag on the flagpole outside the window fluttering with the wind, the more he looked at it, the more beautiful it was, and he was a little distracted when he was always serious in class.
Now, Li Jiayou's favorite color is red, because red is the same color as the five-star red flag. In his eyes, red also represents a passion, an endless strength, and a natural sense of mission.
In order to let these "warm moments" in Guangzhou stay for a long time, the instructor Wang Ziping prepared a diary, which fixed the figure of the officers and men of the armed police between the lines and named it "Spring Wind Collection". In his opinion: the protection of comrades-in-arms is like a spring breeze, refreshing people's hearts.
The "Fuxing" is about to depart, full of thousands of households' worries and driving to the far side. At this moment, the young armed police soldiers stood tall and guarded the lights of wanjia with loyalty.
The lights of the reunion of thousands of families reflected the sky over the red city and also shone into the hearts of every soldier who could not go home. I don't know if it is because of the New Year, Li Jiayou feels that the 3 big characters of "Guangzhou Station" are particularly red.
When the Spring Festival is over, spring will come. Perhaps this is the mission of the Spring Festival sentry: watch, the train that sails to spring, all the way smooth.
(In the interview, Ou Zhenyu and Ding Zhengli helped, thank you here)