In the winter of 1974, the northern town of Daqiao was covered in snow. The wind was bitter and the snow was flying all over the sky, obscuring everything outside the barracks window. On this day, I was sitting in the dead silence of my office, playing with a brand new fountain pen in my hand. It was standard for new sergeants, symbolizing a fresh beginning and a fresh beginning.
My name is Chen Deming, I am 26 years old, and I have recently been promoted from the army artillery unit to the front line of the field army as a squad leader. From the age of 17 to the age of 26 today, my life trajectory is closely linked to the army. It is not easy for children from poor families to get to this point.
Before enlisting in the army, I was a servant of the Taishou Yamen in Wangzhou Town, my hometown, and was responsible for some miscellaneous work. Although it is a small idle job, it can be regarded as a very decent profession for the children of our ordinary people. It is a pity that I have only been in office for two or three years before I encountered the storm of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution of 1967, and was criticized as a "dog son" and a "bourgeois capitalist roader". Leaving me in my hometown is already a scourge, and only by being swept away by the torrent of revolution and joining the people's army can I wash away my humiliation and regain the support of the revolution.
In this way, in order to prove that I was a real proletarian revolutionary youth, I enlisted in the army in 1969 and began my military career. The first artillery division assigned to the northeast started with the most basic level of soldiers. In those years, when the motherland was suffering from internal and external troubles, and all kinds of wars continued, I experienced countless military operations, large and small, and grew from an immature soldier to an experienced soldier.
Life is nothing more than a big test, and I proved myself in the army with my practical actions. After several years of combat training, I not only became a popular combat squad leader, but was also approved by the division headquarters and prepared to be promoted to a battalion cadre this year. Nevertheless, I still have no idle thoughts about army life, and I want to prove to my family, relatives and friends through my own efforts that I am worthy of the greenhouse in the spring in the future.
The promotion of me by the army is already a certainty, and I will be officially appointed as a battalion cadre next year. However, before I can really open a new chapter in my life like an heirloom, I must first find a way to remove a thorn in my heart and put an important matter on my mind, otherwise I will not be able to move forward happily.
That important thing is to solve my marriage. In the years when I left my hometown to go to the front, my first love, Han Xiaohong, has been waiting for my news and return. Although the war has been raging and fighting for many years, the relationship between the two of us has never been interrupted. Whenever news of victory came from the battlefield, she and her family would happily write me a warm letter home.
Han Xiaohong is a resentful girl, and she has liked me since she was a child, the son of a petty official. Although her family is also from ordinary people, the ancestors of the Han family have been small business owners in Wangzhou Town for generations, and the overall family background is a little better than my family. We are lovers next door who grew up together, and our feelings for each other naturally grow in the mire of youth, but they have never fully bloomed.
After I enlisted in the army, Han Xiaohong could only wait for my news at home alone. When others slandered me as a "dog son", she firmly defended my name and sewed a brand new military uniform for me with her own hands. When asked why she waited for the return of a person who had a "class problem," she said that we were free and equal in love, not enemies in the class struggle. I am grateful for her loyalty and affection, so I want to rehabilitate myself as soon as possible and vindicate our love.
However, my military career has always been a constant battle, and I have no time to think about personal emotional issues. It wasn't until I was confirmed that I could be promoted to a battalion cadre this year that I realized that my relationship with Han Xiaohong needed an answer. This time I decided to have a showdown, and I was going to meet her anyway and talk about where we were going in the future.
On Chinese New Year's Eve in 1974, I made a special call to the higher authorities and applied for a week of family leave. The reason for my leave was very simple, that is, I had returned to my hometown to save my relatives habitually, and I did not disclose the fact that I was going to get engaged. If I had said that I would be engaged, I am afraid that the army would have spread all over the city, and it would be difficult for me to obtain the rank that I had not yet decided on at that time. Therefore, I have to cut this matter first and then avoid people's eyes.
When I returned to my hometown, I spent a few days with my parents and younger siblings. They were all very happy that I was able to rehabilitate myself. It's just that I didn't say a word about my promotion to officer, for fear of startling the snake. On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month, I finally mustered up the courage to go to find Han Xiaohong with a lot of gift money.
The Han family, like my family, is an ordinary farmer in a small village. As soon as I entered the courtyard of the Han family, I was wrapped in the smell of the New Year. Han Jiazu did some groceries in Wangzhou Town for generations, although the capital is weak, but it is inevitable to prepare some materials for the New Year at the end of the year. I saw that the hall of the Han family was full of New Year's goods, and in the small courtyard on the side, a big fat pig was pretending to forage for food.
I was surrounded by the New Year's flavor of the old Han family, and I couldn't help but feel warm and friendly. Han Facai, the only son of the old Han family, went out to do business, leaving the old couple and daughter Han Xiaohong to wait at home. As soon as they saw me coming, the Han family was overjoyed. I greeted the old couple and took out a heavy gift in public, saying that it was New Year's gift money, hoping that they could buy some new clothes and New Year's goods after the holiday.
When the old couple saw that I had brought this generous gift, they were naturally happy and happy. Then let Han Xiaohong come out to meet. At that time, Han Xiaohong was 26 years old, and her appearance was still as delicate as before, young and beautiful, but she was slightly thin. As soon as we met, she lowered her head in shame, and I was also embarrassed.
We looked at each other wordlessly for a long time before Lao Han opened his mouth to break the embarrassing deadlock: "Ah Hong, pour Ah Ming a cup of hot tea and drink." With that, he led the two of us into the main room. We sat down at the Eight Immortals table by the fire, and Han Xiaohong easily made a pot of fine Huangshan Maofeng for me.
"Ah Ming, you must have suffered a lot in the army in the past few years, right? Fortunately, you were not killed by the Cultural Revolution, and you were able to come back after becoming famous. Old Han said earnestly. I waved my hand humbly and did not explain much about my promotion.
"I haven't suffered much in the past few years, thanks to the prayers and support you in your hometown for our frontline fighters. I responded with a smile, then took a deep breath and said the main purpose of today: "Actually, Uncle Han and Aunt Han, I came back this time for an important matter. As you all know, Ah Hong and I have been childhood sweethearts since childhood, and we are the best boyfriend and girlfriend..."
I straightforwardly brought up this old matter, and then looked at Han Xiaohong. I saw two blush flying on her pretty face, and she lowered her head and didn't dare to look at me. I continued: "I enlisted in the army a few years ago to prove to everyone that we, the common people, are loyal to the revolutionary cause. Now that I'm a little famous in the army, maybe I can get even more development in the future......"
I deliberately sold the guanzi so that everyone had high expectations for my upcoming military position. When I said this, the old couple and Han Xiaohong were already staring at me with joy. I took a deep breath and spat out my last determination: "So, I came back this time to propose to Honghong! I hope you can give me a chance to be my wife and spend this life with me!"
As soon as the words fell, the main room was immediately silent. The old couple first looked suspicious, then looked at each other and laughed. Han Xiaohong's face was overjoyed, and her cheeks were crimson. After a long time, Lao Han grinned, clapped his hands and praised loudly: "Okay, Ah Ming! I know that you are the most brave and strong kid in your bones." After a hundred battles, I have not forgotten the old people and old things of the past. In that case, let's follow your wishes and let Ah Hong marry you, a good servant with a good reputation!"
In this way, my marriage with Han Xiaohong was finalized. According to local customs, the wedding date is set on the 26th day of the third lunar month of the following year, that is, the day of the Qingming Festival. After all, there are still some days before the engagement day, so I didn't plan to return to the army right away, but planned to stay in my hometown for a few more days and thoroughly enjoy the taste of homesickness that I had been away from for many years.
On the third day after the Spring Festival, I was thinking of spending time with the Han family, but I suddenly received a phone call from the army, asking me to return to the barracks immediately. The news came very suddenly, and it was actually the division commander himself. The division commander spoke in a very serious tone, saying that there was a major task waiting for me, and that I must return to the unit immediately.
I immediately understood that this was probably the prelude to my official promotion to officer. It stands to reason that this is a great joy for me, but when I think of the truth I hid from the Han family before, I feel full of guilt. However, when people in their hometown visit relatives and friends, they always avoid suspicion and hide some truths, in order not to cause any adverse effects on others. Although I hid the truth, I didn't think anything wrong.
Therefore, I deceived the Han family and said that the army suddenly needed me to return temporarily, and the specific reason was unintentional. Although the Han family told me to be careful on the road, they didn't suspect much. I took the new military uniform that Han Xiaohong had sewn especially for me, and hurried back to the location of the unit.
After returning to the camp, I learned the reason why the division commander suddenly summoned me back this time. It turned out that based on my performance in the past few years, the higher-level unit had officially issued an order for me to be promoted to battalion cadre. According to the usual practice, a solemn ceremony will be held on March 8, half a month later, when I will be officially promoted to a deputy battalion cadre.
The change in my position in the army will have a huge impact on my future married life. As a deputy battalion leader, my work location and living environment will be adjusted accordingly. And, as a matter of course, once I have attained this rank, I will continue to be promoted for the next few years, and I am expected to further increase my rank and importance. So, this award was a major turning point for me.
But I didn't think much of it myself at the time. Because before my identity changes, the more important thing is whether I should confess to the Han family and tell them the truth? As an in-laws, they should know about the changes on my side, but how can I open this long-brewing mouth?
Just as I was engaged in a fierce psychological struggle, an unexpected news suddenly came, and it hit my fragile inner world hard. It turned out that during my short absence, Han Xiaohong fell into the arms of a strange man! This man who made me extremely sad and ashamed of himself turned out to be one of my comrades-in-arms!
This story is fictional, please watch it rationally, if there are similarities, it is purely a coincidence, all pictures are from the Internet.