Original author: Zhao Houfa
I have a pair of old cotton shoes that have been preserved for decades. It was given to me by a young woman from the same village when I joined the army and left home in 1970. Later she became my wife. I have always kept this love relic, and whenever I see it, I think of that beautiful love story.
In the winter of 1970, I signed up for the army and was fortunate enough to pass the medical examination and political examination to enlist in the army. The day before I left, I suddenly received an unexpected gift, a pair of cloth cotton shoes handed over to me by a relative.
She said that the shoes were specially made for me by xxx girls in this village, and the girl heard that I went to the far and cold northeast to be a soldier, and specially made this pair of shoes, one to express farewell feelings, the other is afraid of the cold in the northeast, wearing cotton shoes can withstand the cold under the feet. I accepted this unusual and meaningful gift with joy and care.
▲ A young woman who sends cotton shoes.
At that time, when I was a soldier, I was beating gongs and drums to send farewell, I was wearing a green military uniform, carrying a backpack, carrying a kettle and satchel cross-body, with a big red flower pinned to my chest, happily and reluctantly walking in front of the farewell crowd, looking back, I found that the girl who gave me shoes was also watching me silently follow behind the line.
An indescribable pleasure suddenly added to my heart.
After arriving in the army, the intense training of recruits made me have no time and energy to think about the feelings of men and women, and I had no time to talk to a girl who was thousands of mountains and rivers away, so I temporarily let go of the love in my heart. At the end of the three-month new training, I was assigned to the old company and entered the cooking class.
After the daily duty to make a meal, when idle, I took out the pair of cloth cotton shoes to carefully examine, the sole of the fine and well-proportioned soyline, white, thick, and soft, the upper of the corduroy fabric, the black is shiny, the texture exudes purity and beauty, wearing the feet, as if the size has been measured in advance, it is fitting, comfortable, and warm.
▲The author and his wife take a group photo.
From this, it can be judged that she is a very thoughtful and shrewd and capable girl, and I secretly decided that she is the other half I am pursuing. I began to tentatively write to her, and through my family constantly inquired about her, I learned that she had been recruited to the town and quickly ate the commodity food. Then I wrote to her one after another, and finally one day I received a reply from her, and a year after Hongyan passed on the book, we officially established a relationship.
Since then, I have been wearing the cloth and cotton shoes that my lovers made for me, haunting the green tents of the company and the lovely barracks. Later, when I got married, I wore this pair of cloth cotton shoes made by my wife, and I stepped all over the green mountains and green areas of the western Liaoning land and the Tongliao grassland, and my footprints remained in the ravines of Lingyuan, left in the vast Horqin, and left in the railway line that stretched for thousands of miles. We were railroad soldiers, and we stayed in those years of burning passion.
▲The author and his wife take a group photo in Tiananmen Square.
Although this pair of cloth cotton shoes has been worn out and lost its wearing function, this pair of cloth shoes has always been collected by my side, as a witness of history and a symbol of love, I will always treasure it and treasure it in my heart.
(Some of the pictures are from the Internet, thanks to the original author)
Editor: Mao Secret", "White Wave Love"