Listen to female college students tell about the dream of military service in a bag of red dates

The taste of red dates

■ Liao Tianqi

As soon as the snow passed, the sky became far and clearer. I received the Yulin red dates sent by Ayu from Shaanxi, and my mood was as clear as this lofty clear sky.

Ayu was my college classmate. On the day I entered the school, among the long lines of students, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I looked back and saw a small child standing in front of me. She, like me, carries a military water bottle. This kind of clothing is a unique taste among today's young people. The kettle noted our origins, and we both looked at each other and smiled, and we became good friends ever since.

Ayu's father was also a soldier, and her wish since childhood was to become a military doctor, but she did not play well in the college entrance examination and failed to enter the military medical school. At this point, the two of us almost felt sorry for each other.

One day in my sophomore year, the school held a meeting to mobilize college students to join the army. After a while, she came to me, and we hit it off. That night, on the side of the school playground, she sat cross-legged in a chair like a boy and said with longing, "If I can become a soldier, I must be the fastest soldier!" "By the way, Ayu runs fast. At the school's spring sports day, she tied her hair into a high ponytail and walked on the playground to attract many classmates.

The next day we went together to register. In the long line of registration, we again envisioned that it would be better to go to the same unit. However, I did not expect that a few days before the physical examination, I worked overtime to write for the school radio room, maybe I was tired, dizzy, and was brushed off during the physical examination.

Ayu went to the army as she wished, and was assigned to a large mountain far away from the city. A month later I received a large packet of specialties from her: Yulin red dates.

As soon as the cardboard box was opened, a strong smell of dates came to the face. The dates are the size of an egg, bright red, smooth and smooth, with a thin skin and thick flesh, and a gentle bite, luscious and mellow.

Ayu sent red dates, and her enlistment photos were sent to her phone. A short cut hair, standing in unison at the ear, no shape, not fashionable. She smiled brightly, all vegan, her face tanned. I asked her, don't the troops issue hats? She made a grimace and said, "Oh, I forgot to make a face!" I say it's more realistic. She laughed and said that the sun in Yulin was good, and the light time was particularly long. The good weather is so good, especially suitable for our training.

Of course, Ayu wouldn't say anything to train, and I wouldn't ask, and I saw another Ayu in her bright smile. I said encouragingly and enviously, "I knew you must be good!" ”

Ayu said, "If you raise your body strong, come with you next year!" ”

I laughed, who in today's girls would take "strong" as an aesthetic standard?! Ayu is so outstanding, she has her own goals and pursuits.

I found that when the soldiers went to Yulin, it was less than a year's work, and whenever yulin was mentioned, Ayu would relish it, such as counting family treasures, and really regarded the garrison as his hometown.

After the summer vacation, it is the senior year, and the most talked about is the life plan after graduation. Some classmates privately discussed that if Ayu was not a soldier, it would be no problem to enter a large hospital and get a high salary. I told Ayu these words, and she was silent for a while and said, "Being a soldier is my dream since I was a child, and here I have learned too many things that I can't learn anywhere else." I'm even more proud to be part of this heroic force. ”

Just after the first snow, Ayu's dates arrived as scheduled. Under the dates, there is also a set of "Ordinary World". Ayu said she bought it when she visited Lu Yao's former residence on the weekend. Sure enough, the back cover of the book is stamped with the seal of the memorial.

Accompanying the book was Ayu's good news: this year she performed well in the army, becoming a squad leader and receiving commendations.

I opened the book and saw the sentence: "Even the most ordinary person must fight for the world in which he lives!"

Looking at the red dates and books from Yulin, I understood Ayu's choice and understood her expectations even more. I hope that next year, I can also say to her: Comrade-in-arms Ayu, I am here. I'm also going to come and taste the dates for myself.

(This article was published in the 12th edition of the People's Liberation Army Daily on December 6, 2021, with slight deletions)

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