Text: Li Chenwen
In 1974, I had just turned eighteen. I have been naughty since I was a child, and my father said that a character like me should be sent to the army for training to know what it means to be stable. So in the year of the commune's conscription, my father pulled me to fill out the registration information.
Becoming a soldier was the dream of many boys in the village, and there were many people who signed up in the commune at that time, but some of them were brushed off because they failed the physical examination, and I became the only one in our village to enlist.
When I was seventeen, I got engaged to Zhao Lan, who grew up with my childhood sweetheart. My father had planned to let me marry at the age of nineteen if I failed to enlist. Now that I have successfully enlisted in the army, it is natural that the marriage will be delayed for a few years. Because I couldn't come back a few years after enlisting in the army, my father specially carried a bottle of wine and took me to Zhao Lan's house.
We sat down to drink and drank for a while before my father talked about my marriage to Zhao Lan. He wanted to ask Zhao Lan and her parents about their wishes, whether to let Zhao Lan wait for me, or to cancel the marriage, so as not to delay Zhao Lan.
After listening to his father's narration, Zhao Lan's father slapped the table angrily and said: Lao Li, what do you think of my Lao Zhao? You also know that we have always been optimistic about the marriage between Chenwen and Lan Lan, isn't the child just going to be a soldier, Lan Lan just waits for him to come back and then get married. Or are you afraid that your son will have a career in the future, and you think that our family Lanlan is not worthy of the courtier, so you want to withdraw from the marriage.
I hurriedly explained: Uncle Zhao, my dad didn't mean that. My dad is just afraid of me and afraid of delaying Lanlan.
Uncle Zhao looked at me and asked with sharp eyes: Then what do you mean by being a kid?
I looked at Zhao Lan, and my face couldn't help but blush. However, he still pretended to be calm and said: As long as Lan Lan is willing to wait for me, no matter whether I retire from the army or be promoted, I will never fail her.
Uncle Zhao picked up the wine on the table and drank it all with me. My father and Uncle Zhao continued to drink, and Zhao Lan and I had a conversation in the courtyard.
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it's time to enlist. Zhao Lan and I went to the photo studio together a day in advance to take a photo as a souvenir of our separation.
On the day of enlistment, the weather was sunny and sunny. I put on a brand new military uniform, put on a backpack, and stood in the middle of the line. I was both emotional and nervous, and I knew that this was one of the most important moments of my life.
My family came to see me off, and Zhao Lan also came. She was wearing a red cotton jacket, which made her very watery. I walked to the back of the line, glanced back at Zhao Lan, and told her with my mouth, "Wait for me to come back." She stood there, smiling at me, tears glistening in her eyes.
After saying goodbye to my family, I stepped on the train with my other comrades and started my military journey. After enlisting in the army, I had to go through three months of recruit training, and I was in good physical fitness and was among the best in all trainings. At that time, we already learned that after the training of recruits, they would be assigned to other companies.
At that time, I was bent on going to the artillery battery. Once, when I was chatting with my comrade-in-arms, he said that he wanted to go to the cooking class, and I laughed: What's so good about the cooking class? I'm here to be a soldier, not to cook.
Unexpectedly, this sentence was heard by the company commander, and he reprimanded me fiercely, telling me that there is no distinction between high and low troops, and the key is to be a qualified good soldier. To my surprise, I was assigned to the cooking class by the company commander after the recruit company had excellent results in all trainings.
At first, I felt a little lost and disappointed. After all, cooking classes weren't what I wanted to do when I joined the army, and I aspired to be a combatant, not a cook. Although the military orders are like a mountain and I must obey them, I still have some thoughts in my heart.
In the cooking class, I started a new life. Every morning, I got up with the other cooks to prepare the meals of my comrades. When I first arrived at the cooking class, I didn't know anything about cooking, and I couldn't even cut vegetables. I don't want to learn, and I'm too lazy to learn.
Seeing that I didn't know anything, the squad leader kindly taught me. I was young and vigorous, and I spoke impulsively. I said that my hands should be carrying guns to fight, not cooking.
The squad leader calmly asked me: You don't even know how to cook, and you still want to carry a gun to fight? Don't you need to eat as a soldier? When you enter the cooking class, you can't even do simple cooking and other trivial things, what will you do on the battlefield? Will you lose your temper or complain? If you have the ability, you can do well anywhere.
I was speechless and had nothing to refute. The squad leader brought a plate of potatoes to me and taught me how to cut potatoes quickly, and I could cut them quickly and finely.
To prove that I can't do it, I also played against the squad leader during the break, and I found that he was much better than me. Since then, I have been waking up early every day to help the old squad leader prepare the ingredients, learn the skills Xi of stir-frying, cooking, and cleaning.
Although it was not very good at the beginning, it made progress with hard work. I learn things quickly, and I work quickly, although the allowance received by other comrades-in-arms is the same, but I belong to the capable people who work hard, and I don't feel hard to do more work.
My ideas have accumulated good popularity for me, and in this way, I have a fulfilling and happy time in the cooking class. In the second year of entering the cooking class, after the old squad leader changed jobs and left, I was promoted to the squad leader of the cooking class. It is a joy to be promoted in the army, and I know that this is a test and an opportunity for growth, so I gladly accept it.
As the head of the cooking class, I am not only responsible for the cooking, but also the affairs of the whole class. I began to learn how Xi organize and coordinate work, how to communicate and cooperate effectively with my comrades. Although there are difficulties and setbacks at times, I never back down.
After a period of hard work, I found that my management and leadership skills gradually improved. The work of the cooking class has also become more organized, and we are the first in every evaluation of housekeeping and hygiene.
In 1978, I was promoted to platoon commander and transferred out of the cooking class. I was ecstatic to hear the news, but even more excited that I finally had the opportunity to go home and visit my family after a month's vacation. I knew that Zhao Lan was also waiting for me in my hometown, and I went to the group to apply for a marriage report before I went back.
The people in the cooking class knew that I was going back to my hometown to get married, and used their allowance to buy a watch for me, which cost more than 50 yuan, I thought it was too expensive and refused to accept it, and the comrades-in-arms smiled and said: You will get married once in your life, and we will be generous this time, if you get married twice, even if we buy it, we will not buy it.
After I took the watch, I also secretly wrote down that when I came back, I would definitely bring them some specialties from my hometown.
The day before I left the team, the company commander suddenly came to me. He was carrying a bag in his hand, saying it was a wedding gift for me. I opened it and saw that it was a pair of mandarin duck pillowcases, and I thought to myself, the company commander is a big boss, how can he be so careful and embroider a pillowcase for me?
The company commander patted me on the shoulder: Stinky boy, this is embroidered by my wife, and I specially gave it to you. In the past few years, you kid really haven't disappointed me, although you still have a personality, but it's much calmer than before.
At that moment, I suddenly understood why the squad leader always told me to be calm and not impulsive, it turned out that the company commander had always been optimistic about me. At that moment, my eyes were red with excitement, and in addition to gratitude, I was more moved. I am just an ordinary rural child, and I am so fortunate to be cared for by my comrades-in-arms and leaders.
The next day, I took the wedding gifts given to me by my comrades and company commanders and set out on the journey home to visit my family. After several hours of traveling, the train finally arrived at the county seat.
I carried my things and walked for more than two hours, and finally arrived at my familiar hometown. When the villagers saw me coming back, they greeted me with a smile, and I ran home as fast as I could.
As soon as I entered the door, my mother was sewing insoles in the house, and when she saw me coming back, she held my hand, and tears were falling, but she was speechless with excitement. My father urged her to cook quickly, but my mother reacted and quickly asked me if I was hungry and what I wanted to eat.
I talked to my father and mother about my life in the army, and they nodded with satisfaction, praised me for my good luck, met good comrades-in-arms, good leaders, and encouraged me to work hard and not let everyone down.
On that day, I originally wanted to go to Zhao Lan's house, but it was a little late, and my father asked me to rest first.
Early the next morning, I put on a brand-new military uniform and held a bouquet of flowers in my hand and knocked on the door of Zhao Lan's house. When Zhao Lan opened the door, she saw me and hugged me excitedly, Uncle Zhao coughed, and she ran back to the house shyly.
I showed Uncle Zhao the marriage report of the army, and Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao nodded and said a few good words. I gave the watch bought by my comrade-in-arms to Zhao Lan, but she was reluctant to wear it, put it in a wooden box, and said that she would treasure it for a lifetime.
Next, I started to prepare for the wedding. At that time, the material conditions were still relatively difficult, but our hearts were full of happiness. Zhao Lan and I went together to select candy and wine, and invited the village tailor to make a new set of clothes for us. We also made a red letter of joy and hung it in front of our homes.
The mandarin duck pillowcase given to me by the company commander was spread on our newlywed bed, and on the wedding day, the whole village was boiling. Friends and family rushed to congratulate the village, and laughter filled the entire village. I held Zhao Lan's hand and whispered in her ear: This life is worth it.
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