Original: Wang Yisheng
Kelantai Salt Lake
In December 1970, 16 of our Surabaya recruits were pulled by a military convertible truck from the Daleigou Railway Station in Helan Mountain to a small town in the Gobi Desert, which is Jilantai. At that time, our reconnaissance company was stationed here for training. Kelantai is a veritable salt-producing town, two rows of dilapidated dormitories were originally inhabited by workers, and the Gilanthai Salt Works arranged for reconnaissance companies to serve as temporary barracks, dormitories and stables, which were dilapidated but sheltered from the wind and rain.
Two rows of dormitories facing west and east, inside is a long corridor, one is separated by a wall, the front row is the second row and the third row, the back row is a row and a company, I was divided into two rows of six shifts, our class lived in the northernmost one, that is, about ten square meters, a slip through the shop, a broken three-draw table, a simple broken wall cabinet, this is all the belongings of our class. There were nine of us in the second platoon and six squads, the squad leader, the deputy squad leader, three veterans, plus four of us recruits. The sixth squad leader is called Zhang Jinliang, a native of Guanxian County, Shandong, not tall, long and firm, large face, small eyes, old squinting, loud talking, sharp voice. The deputy squad leader, Who is also from Guanxian County, is of medium stature, has two large eyes, speaks slowly and softly, like a shy and twisted little daughter-in-law, giving people a sense of stability.
Kelantai is located on the southwestern edge of Ulan Bu and the desert
The new recruits entered the army, and a different life trajectory began. There are too many things to learn, too many things to know, frequent political education, intense military basic training, daily boring sorting out of internal affairs, study of various regulations and frames, when you solemnly wear the collar badge and hat emblem, you are a dignified soldier, a veritable PLA soldier, the responsibility you shoulder, everything you shoulder, you hand over to the state, handed over to the troops, it is firmly tied to the chariot of the troops, and the company you are in breathes and shares a common destiny, no matter the wind and rain, thunder and thunder, You have to follow this chariot closely, and all actions are under the command, even if you go up the knife mountain and go down to the sea of fire, you are not allowed to take half a step back. Even if you are crushed to pieces and sacrifice your life, you can only give up. This is the soldier, this is the inherent spirit of the soldier.
The Reconnaissance Company of the 20th Division of the Army was a company that had just been formed for more than a year, and he grew up with me in the harsh environment. It leaves an unforgettable memory for my youth and adulthood. Looking back at that year, in those difficult and magnificent years, my comrades-in-arms and brothers and I experienced too much and too much, and I don't know where to start? In the monotonous and boring life of the army, the recruits are the most storied, the "recruit eggs" in the mouth of the veterans do not know whether it is traditional in the army, or the humor in the mouth of the veterans, so far I have not understood, at the beginning I thought it was a curse, the veterans are called so, it is used to it.
Old photo of Wang Yisheng in the army
The first time I was scolded by the veterans as "recruit eggs" was on the second Sunday of my time as a soldier, it was also the first time I took a bath in the army, the Kelantai bathhouse was not large, one company bath scored three batches, the company cadres and our second row were a batch, into the steaming bathhouse, as soon as the clothes were taken off naked, there was no distinction between cadres and soldiers. Only I did not take off my clothes, standing by to watch them take a bath, at this time Chen Gengui, a veteran who was paired with me, shouted: "Wang Yisheng, why don't you take off your clothes as a new recruit?" My face was red at that time, and at this time the old company commander also called out to me: "Come in and wash it, are you afraid of water?" "I thought to myself, I grew up on the banks of the Si River, can I be afraid of water?" I'm afraid everyone will laugh at me! So...... Everyone looked at me, I turned my heart sideways, three times five divided by two stripped, I went into the pool, everyone brushed their eyes together, suddenly the bathhouse laughed, ashamed I squatted straight into the water, at that time, not only was I more than 15 years old, but also at home life is not good, malnutrition, caused by other people have something, for the time being, I have not, from that bath, I really became a recruit of the reconnaissance company egg little fart child.
The veteran brothers and the new soldier brothers all like me very much, I sing, learn to sing Yu opera, usually speak in a childlike style, the voice is high, that is at home walking in the streets and alleys selling tofu and drinking. Every night in the class to read the newspaper, the class leader is to let me read, just stumbled, do not know the word I asked the class leader, asked the highly educated recruit Tong Guoyu, over time my cultural level has been greatly improved. Read the newspaper fluently, and actively participate in the class meeting speech. Speaking of the squad meeting, it is a major feature of the company tradition, every Sunday night must be, who makes a mood, what contradictions between comrades-in-arms, what festivals, through the class meeting collective help to solve, and then one is one-on-one talks, recruits into the army thinking fluctuations, sometimes homesick also make a little mood, every night the squad cadres and veterans, almost every five minutes to find new recruits to talk, you don't say that the effect is really good. I once experienced an interesting conversation, but also an awkward and helpless conversation, this conversation is not my mood, nor did I make any small mistakes, but I did an embarrassing, no one knows about the shame, this thing made me laugh for a lifetime.
The training of recruits in the reconnaissance company is really hard! One morning, the whole company was fully armed for a long-distance cross-country run, which was the first experience since the training of new recruits. Just ran out of the only 100 meters, the heart beat faster, open mouth is not enough to breathe, all the internal organs are swollen, sweaty, the pace is getting heavier, but also more and more slow, I was the first to fall behind. After breakfast, start the queue training, take a break, stand upright, walk in unison, turn left, turn right and turn back, the most difficult thing is to kick the right step, it is a fixed basic action, the whole company, the whole platoon, the whole class training, must be in step, kick out the toes have to be on a horizontal line. In the afternoon, it was the basic skills training of capture boxing, left and right lunge punching fists, horse steps squatting crotch, golden rooster independent standing pile, tired I really felt like out of breath, the bone rack felt like it was going to scatter. Dinner also did not want to eat, only drank two large bowls of rice soup, the lights out of the horn sounded, the feet did not wash, I went into the nest into the sleep, in the dream I also repeated the daytime training action, a bubble of urine held me very uncomfortable, the whistle just sounded, I found a nobody wall, beautiful sprinkled urine. At dawn, a ticking trumpet alerted me, I just turned around, I was stunned, not good, I wet the bed!
Afraid that people would see the wet mattress, my half-folded body lay down again, not knowing what to do. Embarrassed, I lied for the first time, reported to the class leader, I said that the class leader I had a headache, full of discomfort, the class leader said you may have a cold, I asked the hygienist to come and show you, the whole class comforted me, said don't worry, rest well. When Li Kui, the second platoon leader, heard that I was sick, he hurried to our class to see me, touched my head first, touched his head again, and said, No fever! He tucked the quilt for me, as if he had found something strange, smiled at me strangely, and walked out. The hygienist sent medicine, the cooking class leader Mi Guijiang, heard that my little fellow was sick, personally sent a sick number meal, my mood at that time was really ashamed and embarrassed, hating not being able to smoke my own two mouths.
One day sullen and guilty of lying. After dinner, the deputy squad leader Mi Fawen called me out to talk with me, he thought I was small, may be homesick and emotional, bitterly told me a lot of reason, I just listened and did not speak, dumb eat dumplings I have a number in my heart, but I dare not say the little thing that wetting the bed and humiliating people. After talking about my heart, I just returned to the class and did not sit down, the veteran Zhang Ziling called me out again, this heart still has to continue to talk, although I have not been a soldier for a long time, I also know a little about the situation of the veteran. Veteran Zhang Ziling, a native of Guanxian County, Shandong, long face, a bit of lees nose, constant beanie on the face, talking love chirping and whirring, veterans gave him the nickname "fake clean", behind his back called him "seven layers", I have not been able to understand the meaning, may be a little missing! Whoever is going to move his things, he will turn in a hurry. The two of us found a secluded place to sit down, and he opened the conversation box: Yisheng, the two of us are fellow countrymen, when the soldiers can't miss home, how good the soldiers are, how many people, eat well and dress well, in the future, you have to listen to me, can't go too close to Chen Gengui, the more I listen, the more unpleasant it is, the black lights are blind, what did you say in the clouds and fog! I couldn't help but just want to laugh, and finally hahaha laughed out loud, so angry that he got up and pulled out his leg and left, while walking, he also muttered, and when he got to the class, he shouted: This recruit egg, it's so bad, I told him so many revolutionary truths, he not only didn't listen, but also laughed, not at all modest, not serious at all. As soon as he finished speaking, the whole class burst into laughter, especially Chen Gengui slapped his hand and laughed the most joyfully, I knew that Chen Gengui and Zhang Ziling were usually a little unconvinced by each other...
Chen Gengui is a native of Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, thin and tall, although the level of education is not high, but the spirit of the people, do everything is clean and fast, never drag mud and water, set a good example for my recruits in the transition period, I and Chen Gengui in the class to form a pair, he gave me a lot of help and guidance from all aspects, still can not forget.
The cover of the People's Liberation Army Pictorial published a photo of the reconnaissance company of the 20th Division patrolling the Border between China and Mongolia
As the lives of the new recruits passed day by day, I also had a general understanding and understanding of the reconnaissance company; our reconnaissance company was a newly formed company, and the conditions in all aspects were not very good, but the mental outlook of the company was not said, and the veteran told us that the current conditions were many times better than a year ago, and it is conceivable how difficult it was to create a reconnaissance company. The reconnaissance company was carried by veterans on their shoulders from a distant place to Kelantai step by step. The reconnaissance company is particularly strict in its management of the army, from military discipline to military training, and it is a company that can be counted in the entire Twentieth Division. There are no fixed barracks, and they have been stationed in turn on border defense for many years, paying special attention to military-civilian relations and military-local relations, and have won the strong support of local governments and the praise and love of the masses of all nationalities.
The more arduous it is, the more it can temper the combat effectiveness, cohesion and centripetal force of the troops. At that time, the conditions of the reconnaissance company were rudimentary and the materials were scarce, but the cadres of the company actively tried to find ways to learn the spirit of Nanniwan and rely on themselves; under the leadership of the squad leader Lang Baochen, the fifth squad had to open up a patch of vegetable fields in the desert, and our cooking class was even more arduous, in addition to cooking, we also raised pigs as breeders, we not only planted vegetables, raised pigs, but also raised sheep, built a nest on the Gobi Desert, built a simple sheep pen, formed a large scale from less accumulation, and the soldiers took turns to graze sheep, and since then there have been shepherds in military uniforms on the Gobi Desert. All this is the result of the active operation of the cadres of the company and the fear of hardship.
(To be continued)
Wang Yisheng recently took a photo
The author's biography Wang Yisheng, a native of Linyi, Shandong, was born in March 1955 and joined the army in December 1970 at the age of 16. He successively served as a soldier of the Reconnaissance Company of the 20th Division of the Army, a company headquarters signal, and a squad leader of the fifth squad. In March 1976, he retired from the army and returned to his hometown, and in 1977, at the age of 23, he became the secretary of the party branch of the brigade (now the village), becoming the youngest branch secretary of the brigade since the founding of New China. In 1998, he entered the city to work hard, and now settles in Nanfang New District, Linyi City.
Original editor: Cao Yimin
Editor of this article: Xu Jianming