By the middle of 1885, the news of disarmament had been confirmed, and by the end of the year we would all be taking off our beloved uniforms and going our separate ways. His eight-year military career is coming to an end, and his heart is full of reluctance and hesitation about the future. During that time, I often met with the aforementioned Lao Xu (at that time, the troops were already stationed in Changji Prefecture), and we talked freely about the future route.
In this way, I also met a few good comrades-in-arms who played with Lao Xu, and I also learned a lot of secret things from their mouths. may be about to be discharged from the army, so everyone has not too many scruples, but speaks more boldly. (For the story of the Tibetan girl in Lhasa, please read the previous article)
This comrade-in-arms surnamed Zhu, a 76-year-old soldier, born in 56, a native of Zhoukou, Henan, has been working in the cooking squad in the automobile company, and was already the leader of the cooking squad at that time. Because I have also been in the cooking class for more than 1 year, I have a common language. Whenever I went to Lao Xu's side to string up the company and eat in the cafeteria at noon, Lao Zhu took care of me very much.
Once after eating, when we were chatting, Lao Zhu inadvertently said that he leaked his mouth, but I listened to it really. Under my desperate pursuit (there was no entertainment at the time, I was very interested in gossip), he told me not to leak it, and finally told the whole thing and the whole thing.
Lao Zhu has six siblings in his family, and he, like me, is also the second in line, with an eldest brother and eldest sister on it. The family conditions are very difficult, and Lao Zhu has been a soldier for so many years, and basically all the allowances and subsidies he has accumulated have been sent back to his hometown to supplement his family.
At that time, his eldest brother was 31 years old, but because his family was poor, he never talked about his daughter-in-law. Lao Zhu is also very worried, on the one hand, he is worried about his eldest brother, in that era, 30-year-old unmarried young men are still rare; on the other hand, he is also worried about himself, after all, he will be discharged from the army at the end of the year, he is not like our automobile soldiers, no matter how poor he is and has a driving skill, how can he support his family, and he is just a gang leader, he can't go back to be a cook.
When Lao Zhu went back to his hometown to visit relatives before, he also met a few times, and the girl was very satisfied with him. Good looks, good conduct and the People's Liberation Army, he is a high-quality marriage partner, but considering his family burden, many girls retreated, so Lao Zhu has not decided on a partner. When he was still a soldier, he didn't find it, and when he took off this military uniform and returned to his hometown, I am afraid that he would have to follow in the footsteps of his eldest brother.
Just when Lao Zhu was at a loss, the god of fate actually favored him. We were Changji who returned from Yecheng after the National Day in 84, when the supply staff in their class was discharged, and Lao Zhu served as the part-time service, and Lao Zhu's opportunities to go out greatly increased.
Before the Spring Festival in 84, the soldiers who did not go home to visit their relatives would sit around and make dumplings. Due to the large number of people, the wrapping method of dumplings is very rough, we were rolling out the big dough cake, and then using the enamel jar for drinking water to press it upside down, it is a dumpling skin, so the skin will be very large, and the dumplings will be very large.
Lao Zhu naturally has to take on the heavy responsibility of purchasing ingredients, flour is easy to make, and the most important thing is meat. Although he killed two fat pigs, he still needed to go out to collect meat and vegetables. Since Changji Prefecture is a Hui Autonomous Prefecture, there is not much pork sold, on the contrary, there is more mutton, so Lao Zhu decided to buy some mutton, and everyone will try it at that time.
As usual, a comrade-in-arms drove Lao Zhu to the local market. The vehicle was parked outside the market, and the comrades-in-arms who drove the car guarded the car, and Lao Zhu entered the market to buy things. There are Han and Hui in the market, and there are many people, and it is very lively. After Lao Zhu ordered something with the boss, he went to the butcher stall and picked the mutton there.
At this time, Lao Zhu suddenly found a thief and reached into the bag of the person who bought meat in front of him, who seemed to be a Hui woman, wearing a headscarf and carrying a small bag. Lao Zhu didn't rub the sand in his eyes, and grabbed the thief's hand, the thief was taken aback, turned around and signaled Lao Zhu to let go, how could Lao Zhu spare him, and pressed him to the ground at once.
The people around gathered around and pointed at the thief. In the end, the people from the police station also arrived, and after searching the thief, they also found that he was still carrying a dagger, and Lao Zhu was also shocked into a cold sweat. Thanks to his first strike, he pressed the thief to the ground, otherwise he might have suffered.
The surrounding crowd also applauded Lao Zhu warmly, and after the police briefly understood the situation with him, they made a registration and took the thief away. After Lao Zhu ordered the meat, he and the boss sent the things to the car. When Lao Zhu was about to leave the market, he didn't expect the Hui woman who had almost been stolen earlier to stop him.
The Hui woman is not very old, about 20 years old, and I haven't seen her when she was young, so I can't describe it. But according to Lao Zhu himself, he was a little touched at the first sight of the girl, her complexion was very white, and the bridge of her nose was very high, and she had a very attractive exotic style.
The girl expressed her gratitude to Lao Zhu, and asked him what his name was and which unit he belonged to? Lao Zhu did not answer, but only told the girl that he was not polite, so he did not pay much attention to it, and hurried back to the company after loading his things. Originally, this matter passed, and Lao Zhu didn't pay too much attention to it, but he didn't expect that less than 10 days later, they would meet again in that market.
The girl also went to the market to buy things, and after she met Lao Zhu this time, she didn't let Lao Zhu get out easily. Not only did they ask him his name, but they also asked him about his age, where his hometown was, and what kind of work he was doing in the army. According to Lao Zhu, he seemed to have been poisoned by ecstasy, and he completely forgot about discipline when he asked and answered.
The two met a few more times after that, and gradually became acquainted. The girl's name is Aina, 63 years old, 7 years younger than Lao Zhu. She was the eldest in the family, with a younger brother and a younger sister, and her mother died when she was 15 years old, and her father started a small noodle shop in '83.
Lao Zhu felt that this girl was interesting to herself, otherwise how could any girl easily tell others her details. But he is not sure, after all, he is 7 years older than others, and he is still a foreigner, everyone has different nationalities, and the customs and Xi are very different. What is more important is that the troops have strict discipline, and it is strictly forbidden for soldiers and people of the opposite sex in the garrison to engage in objects.
Lao Zhu told the girl about the ban of the army, but the girl was obviously mentally prepared and had learned about the situation of the army, and she said to Lao Zhu: You have been a soldier for 9 years, how many more years can you be? I am only 22 years old now, I am willing to wait for you!
Lao Zhu was moved, he accepted the girl's love, but in fact, he still had no bottom in his heart. On the one hand, he really didn't have confidence, so he let the girl wait for him for several years, and on the other hand, he was worried that the army would know about it, and when the time came, he would be punished and forcibly discharged, and all these years of soldiers would be in vain.
Just when Lao Zhu was tormented over and over again in sweetness and uneasiness, the official document of disarmament came down, and everyone's military career was coming to an end. Lao Zhu finally seemed to have unloaded his burden, although he was reluctant to give up on the troops, but he felt that he could be with Ayina in the future, why not another life?
I asked Lao Zhu, "Do you really want to marry that girl, and then you don't plan to go back to your hometown in the future?"
Lao Zhu smiled bitterly and said: "You don't know the situation in my hometown, our poor ashes, my eldest brother is almost 30 years old, and he hasn't talked about his daughter-in-law, and I'm 27 years old, so it's hard to say when I go back." Stay here and fight, maybe there will be other opportunities!"
I asked again: "You are Han, that girl is a Hui, whether it is customs or Xi or diet, there are so many problems, I am afraid that there will be many problems in the future!"
Lao Zhu shook his head and said: "I have also considered what you said, but Ayina treats me sincerely, we are big men Xi Xi! ”
Lao Zhu is three years older than me, and although his consideration of feelings is realistic, he is very mature and thoughtful. I wish Lao Zhu: Then have a good time, and have the opportunity to drink your wedding wine in the future, don't be like me, give up halfway and regret the end.
But there is no impermeable wall in the world, and Lao Zhu's matter was finally known by their company. But fortunately, it was already August and September at that time, and everyone was busy with the matter of discharge and resettlement. Lao Zhu was also criticized by their company commander and instructor, and there was no substantive punishment.
At that time, before being discharged from the army, there was a shortage of soldiers, and Lao Zhu and I didn't talk in detail, and after hurriedly leaving the mailing address, we said goodbye. I don't know if Lao Zhu stayed in Changji and stayed with Ayina or returned to Zhoukou's hometown.
Half a year later, I received a letter from Lao Zhu. In the letter, he said that after returning to his hometown with the resettlement money and leaving some money for his family, he returned to Changji and is now with Ayina, working in their shop, planning to get married on National Day in 1986.
I wrote back to congratulate and feel grateful that the two of them had managed to come together. At that time, this kind of thing was not uncommon, and even I was an experiencer, but it was really rare to achieve positive results in the end.
Later, Lao Zhu counterattacked all the way, and with the efforts of him and Aina, he gradually expanded the scale of the small noodle restaurant. In 1991, he left the store to his brother-in-law, and he and Ayina went to Urumqi to open a store, which also started from a small store, and finally became an influential store.
Lao Zhu also sponsored his eldest brother, and finally married a divorced woman at the age of 40. He also brought his younger brothers and sisters from his hometown to Urumqi to help them develop their own careers, not only achieving financial freedom for themselves, but also successfully turning over that big family.
As for his relationship with Aina, it has always been very stable, and there is no so-called "incompatible personality, different beliefs, and different life Xi" that lead to the breakdown of the relationship. And because of the ethnic policy, Lao Zhu can still support one more child, which also makes him often show off to me, and he also said proudly: "Patriotic, you see that if you let you stay on the frontier, you won't stay, if you are like me, you can also have two." I said angrily: Lao Zhu always laughed when he heard this.
Now Lao Zhu is 68 years old, because he has been working by the stove all the year round a few years ago, he has lung problems and has undergone surgery, and now he can't breathe if he talks too much. Lao Zhu often said on his lips: Thanks to me for finding a good wife, otherwise I would still be a bachelor in my hometown in Henan!
Ayina is also over 60 years old, and the two of them have already passed on the store to their son, and the old couple support each other and take care of each other, so it is not easy for such a cross-ethnic marriage to come to this day. The story of Lao Zhu and Ayina also proves that true love can break the differences and barriers of ethnicity, culture and class, as long as the two truly love each other, they can work hard to go both ways.