Note: This article is an original story, and there is a fictional plot in it
On December 21, 1972, my nineteen-year-old eldest brother, wearing a new military uniform and a big red flower on his chest, embarked on the road of becoming a soldier with two other enlisted young people under the cheering of the villagers in the middle of the road. At that time, when we learned that my eldest brother could go to the army, my family was very happy. But no one thought that my brother's departure would become a farewell to my old father.
In late November 1972, the winter conscription began after a two-year hiatus (there was no conscription in 1971), and the troops also came to our commune for conscription. Because my family has been working with the land all their lives for five generations, my old father, he knows the importance of reading, and he also understands that reading is the best way for rural children to change their fate. Therefore, although the family conditions are very poor (my mother died of illness two years ago) and life is also very difficult, my old father still gritted his teeth to provide for my eldest brother and me (I am in the second grade of junior high school) and my younger brother (my younger brother is in the fifth grade of primary school).
[The picture comes from the Internet, and has nothing to do with the text]
At the time, my eldest brother was 19 years old and had been at home for two years since he graduated from high school. Thanks to my eldest brother's very good Xi in school (the best Xi of our three siblings) and his ability to do arithmetic, he became the accountant of our production team (team 1) as soon as he returned to the village after graduating from secondary school at the end of 1970.
You know, in the seventies, at that time, the production team accountant was a more enviable position in the production team (only for the captain and vice captain). The work of the production team accountant is mainly to account for and manage the economic income and expenditure of the production team. Because the work is important and related to the economic affairs of the team, it is not sloppy at all, so the person who is the accountant of the production team must also be the person who makes the captain of the production team and all the team members trust. It just so happens that my eldest brother is such a person. He is good at mathematics, fast in arithmetic, and down-to-earth, so he was able to directly serve as the accountant of our production team when he just graduated from middle school.
Although the job of the accountant of the production team is very stable (the work is full marks around the clock), my old father does not want my brother to live a life facing the loess with his back to the sky all his life, and he wants my brother to go out and change the situation of our family farming for generations. So, at the end of November 1972, when I heard the news that the troops had come to our commune to recruit soldiers, my father immediately asked my brother to go to the brigade to find the militia battalion commander to sign up. But at that time, after listening to my father's words, my brother hesitated for a while.
The reason is also very simple, because my mother died of illness two years ago, and my father's health is not good (my father was almost 50 years old at the time, because of the long years of heavy physical labor, his health is very poor). So my eldest brother wanted to stay at home, on the one hand, to share some of the pressure for my father, and on the other hand, to take care of the two of us, after all, my younger brother and I were still studying.
But my father was very persistent, and he asked my brother to sign up in a tough and resolute tone. I was fifteen years old at the time, and in my childhood impression, I had never seen my father so determined as this time. In the end, my brother had no choice, he really couldn't resist his father, so he had to wipe his tears and go to the brigade to find the militia battalion commander to register. Because my brother graduated from middle school and worked as an accountant in the production team for two years, everything went smoothly after registering, the conscription physical examination, social investigation and home visits. Therefore, a few days after the platoon commander came to my home for a home visit, the militia battalion commander sent my brother a notice of enlistment.
Although my brother's enlistment notice was signed on December 14, 1972, the day they left for the army was December 21, 1972. On December 21, 1972, I remember that it was very cold, the north was whirring, and there were still scattered snowflakes in the sky.
[The picture comes from the Internet, and has nothing to do with the text]
Although the weather was cold, our family still got up early, and even my younger brother, who has always liked to sleep in, got up early. I wanted to make my brother a bowl of egg noodles so that he could sleep for a while, but my eldest brother insisted that he should make it. I remember that at that time, when he pushed me out of the kitchen, my brother smiled and said, "Qinyu, my brother is leaving today, and you will not be able to eat my cooking for three or four years, so let my brother cook for you again." ”
After listening to my eldest brother's words, I really had mixed feelings in my heart. Since the death of my mother, in the past two years, whether it is spring and summer, autumn and winter, whether it is cold or hot, every day is the eldest brother's cooking. I'm a sister, and I really feel sorry for him. So, while my eldest brother was cooking, I hurriedly went to pack his luggage. But when the eldest brother was cooking and we were ready to eat, I looked around, but I couldn't see my father. Seeing that he couldn't find his father, the eldest brother was stunned, then suddenly stood up and walked out. Seeing this, I quickly put down the dishes and chopsticks in my hand and walked out with my brother.
When I followed my brother out of the door, I found my father sitting in the doorway, smoking his dry cigarette with his head down. And the eldest brother also stood by his father's side without saying a word. Seeing this scene, I couldn't hold back my tears at that time, I really pity the hearts of my parents all over the world. My old father, although he really hoped that my brother would go to the army and go out, but when my brother was about to leave, he was still reluctant. Seeing that my father and eldest brother were standing there without speaking, I knew that this was not the way to go, and I just wanted to ask them to go back to dinner. But just as I was about to speak, my father suddenly sighed, then slowly stood up, patted my eldest brother on the shoulder, and went into the house without saying anything.
Seeing his father walking into the house, after wiping a handful of tears, the elder brother also hurriedly chased forward and hugged his father. The two backs, one high, one low, one faltering, one heavy and slow, remained in the bottom of my heart forever. In this way, we sat together as a family and ate my brother's last breakfast before leaving for the army. After breakfast, my brother picked up his backpack and prepared to go. Because I knew that my father was not in good health and was afraid that he would be too sad, my brother resolutely refused to let us send it, but I still quietly chased after him and sent him to the entrance of the village.
When I arrived at the entrance of the village, my eldest brother beckoned me and motioned for me to come over. When I walked up, my brother wiped his tears and said to me, "Qinyu, my eldest brother will leave for at least three years, my father is not in good health, and you are also old, you should take care of him more at home, don't let him do too heavy work." If there is anything going on at home, remember to write to me. After my brother finished speaking, after seeing me nod in agreement, he turned around and left.
And I, ignoring the snowflakes in the sky and the fierce north wind, just stood at the entrance of the village, silently watching my brother until I could no longer see it.
After arriving in the army, my brother would send a letter home every month, and in addition, he was also very frugal. The monthly allowance (in the 70s, the monthly allowance for the first three years of the army was 6, 7, and 8 yuan respectively), except for buying some necessary daily necessities, he saved up the rest and sent it home every three months (in the first year, my brother sent 12 yuan each time, in the second year, my brother sent 15 yuan each time, and in the third year, my brother sent 18 yuan each time).
[The picture comes from the Internet, and has nothing to do with the text]
In addition, because my brother graduated from middle school and worked as an accountant in the production team for two years (in the two years in the production team, labor and accounting work trained my brother, so that my brother was more stable and patient than other young people of the same age), so after the recruit training ended, my brother was appointed as the company clerk after just half a year after he went down to the company. In the next three years, my brother was praised by the company commander and instructor many times, and more importantly, he became the first candidate for promotion in the company.
But the heavens always do not grant people's wishes. In June 1975, when my brother was in his third year in the army, my father, who was not yet 52 years old, died of an illness (sudden cerebral hemorrhage). Before he died, my old father was lying in bed, his face full of regret, and his mouth kept talking about his brother, who had been away from home for three years and was far away in the army, but he could not see him for the last time.
Because I knew that my brother was working very well in the army and had great hope of being promoted, my father told me more than once before he died, that when I wrote to my brother, I must only report good news, not bad news, and never say that he was not in good health. Therefore, when I wrote in those two years, I never told my brother that my father's health was getting worse and worse. In addition, after my father died, I also remembered what he said when he was dying, and every time I wrote a letter to my brother, I still only reported good news, not worries, and everything was fine at home.
In this way, a year passed in a flash, and in a blink of an eye, in July 1976, my brother was successfully promoted in the army, became a platoon commander, and ushered in the first family leave. But when the elder brother came home in a brand-new four-pocket military uniform and carrying a large bag of gifts, he was no longer seen the old father. Then, after learning that his father had been dead for a whole year, his brother was even more grief-stricken, and he threw himself down in front of his father's grave and wept bitterly, crying for a whole day and a night.
In the decades since, my family's life has been getting better and better. My brother, who has worked in the army for 12 years and has been transferred to the deputy battalion, also takes good care of me and my younger brother. Our three brothers and sisters have also formed their own small families, and every New Year's holiday, we will gather together for more than a dozen people to eat and chat. Although every time on the surface is laughter and joy, I know that my brother has a regret in his heart that can never be erased.
-ENDS-
#看见人间百态#