Before I knew it, 50 years had passed since I started working in 1973, and it had been 30 years since I retired. Looking back on the 70 years of life, the most unforgettable thing is those 20 years of busy professional life. There is my passion, my close colleagues, and my deep camaraderie. I was born in 1956 in an ordinary small village in the South. There are 5 people in my family, and I have two younger brothers in addition to my parents. My parents were hard-working farmers, my father worked in the fields, and my mother was a virtuous housewife. In that era of relatively scarce resources, my parents worked hard to allow my brother and I to have a carefree childhood. Perhaps influenced by the surrounding environment, I have liked to watch martial arts ** and movies since I was a child, and I am full of admiration for the military and a desire for a chivalrous and righteous life. When I was in junior high school, I had the idea of going to the military.
My parents were very open-minded, and my father said to me, "You are still young, you should concentrate on your studies first, and after graduation, you can decide for yourself whether to become a soldier or not." I am grateful for my parents' understanding, and I am very relieved that I have worked harder to study after entering high school. In the fall of 1973, my high school life ended. I've been looking forward to the resumption of admissions at the university, but there is no news. Maybe I don't have a relationship with college. However, life has to go on, don't be sad, and believe that a better future awaits me.
In October 1973, when the conscription notice was issued, I immediately went to the street to sign up. The medical check-up and home visits went smoothly, and in late November, I received a brightly colored enlistment notice. On December 21, 1973, I officially became a member of the People's Army. With tears in my eyes, waving goodbye to my dear parents and loved ones, my life has started a new journey. With a regular "clang" sound, the train goes all the way north and then again. After almost 4 days and nights of travel, the train stopped at the south of the beautiful Little Khingan Mountains. I've imagined countless times that the recruit company has arrived. Jumping off the train, dropping off my luggage, and before I had time to enjoy the scenery outside, the assembly whistle sounded and my recruit company life began. I put a lot of effort into it before I officially enlisted in the army. There is a small river near my house, and for a while I ran at least three round trips along the riverbank every day, plus more than 100 sit-ups in the morning and evening. After almost two months of exercising, I feel noticeably stronger and more shapely. So much so that my mother and brother laughed that I could go to a bodybuilding competition. However, when I arrived at the actual recruit company training site, the intensity of the training still exceeded my expectations, which was a little unbearable for me. At the end of the week, I was not only exhausted and out of breath, but I was also far behind by my comrades-in-arms in my training results, and I was very depressed.
The squad leader who took me was a veteran with 3 years of military experience, and he had sharp eyes and quickly noticed my situation. At the end of the day's training, Team Leader Qi left me alone. Squad leader Qi did not reproach me, nor did he talk about empty truths, but shared his experience with me. Squad leader Qi said that he enlisted in the army from the south three years ago and is also a city soldier. Since both parents work in the unit, squad leader Qi has had a good family since he was a child, he has hardly suffered much, and his physical fitness is relatively ordinary. Just two days after arriving at the recruit company, the hardships of the training made the squad leader Qi unbearable, and he found the recruit squad leader and wanted to retreat. I didn't expect the squad leader to say, I won't stop you from going home, but can you find your parents when you encounter difficulties in your life, and what should you do when your parents are old in the future, have you considered their feelings? I didn't let Team Leader Qi continue, I said, thank you, Team Leader, you can see my performance in the future. In the next few days, I actively asked the squad leader and comrades-in-arms for training skills and movement points, and took the initiative to practice every day, and my physical fitness and body coordination have been significantly improved. After about two weeks of hard work, I gradually kept up with the rhythm of training, and the class leader Qi also cast an appreciative look at me. By the time the three-month recruit company training was completed and evaluated, my overall score was already among the best. I successfully passed the first hurdle of joining the army. The recruits went to the company, and I was assigned to the 2nd platoon of the 5th squad of the communications company. I know very well that the communications corps is a branch of the armed forces with relatively high technical requirements, and from the first day I joined the company, I have had a correct attitude, actively learned from my comrades-in-arms, and assiduously trained my professional skills. In my daily work, I strictly obeyed the command, worked in unity and cooperation with my comrades-in-arms, completed the training with high quality, and actively participated in the tolerance service.
After a period of hard work, I have won the recognition of my comrades-in-arms through practical actions, and I have also grown. In April 1975, after more than 1 year of enlistment, I was appointed squad leader of the 5th squad of the 2nd platoon of the communications company for my outstanding performance. I have been in the army for more than 1 year, and under the influence of the surrounding environment, I know that the position of squad leader is not high, but the role is very important, and whether a thousand threads can pass through a needle, the role of the squad leader is very important. After officially serving as the squad leader, I was more strict with myself, obeyed the leadership, cared for my comrades-in-arms, conscientiously grasped training and class management, and at the same time put the maintenance of collective honor in an important position. With the joint efforts of my comrades-in-arms and I, in the training competition at the end of 75, my class ranked among the best in comprehensive training, and a number of training pacesetters emerged, which were commended by their superiors. The flowers bloomed, time passed quietly, the life of the troops was very regular, and time passed quickly. In April 1976, I had been enlisted in the Army for two years. My father and I have communicated many times in the letter about my personal whereabouts, and my father still let me make my own decisions, but my mother is more inclined to let me retire from the army and return to work with her because she misses and worries about me.
I thought about it for a while and decided to follow my mother's advice and apply for demobilization before the end of the year. My mother's health has not been good, my father is busy with work, and my two younger sisters are still young, so I have to take on the responsibility of being a son. I privately told the platoon commander about my retirement from the army, and they advised me to think about it again, saying that with my performance, there was a great chance of being promoted in the past two years, and I should not make a hasty decision. Because it was still early, I put the idea of retiring from the army on hold. Unexpectedly, not long after, an accident occurred, which had a great impact on my military career and life. I remember that it was a Sunday afternoon in July, and I asked the company for leave to buy some groceries near the station.
On my way back, I needed to pass by a livestock market. For some unknown reason, as soon as I walked near the market that day, I saw an adult bull rushing out of the market, dragging the reins and slamming into the road with wide eyes. There were many pedestrians on the road at that time, and they all panicked and avoided when they saw this scene. When the bull came to the road, he paused a little and rushed straight at me. I looked to the side and immediately understood the bull's intentions. On the other side of the road to my right, there was a little boy of six or seven years old, wearing a red vest, standing very conspicuously. I think it was probably the little boy's red clothes that angered the bull and made him even more irritable on the road. I saw the bull with red eyes open and quickly rushed towards the boy.
At that moment, the boy and a woman beside him were stunned. Seeing that the bull was about to rush in front of me, I didn't have time to think about it, so I quickly met the bull, and at the moment of approaching, I flew up from the side and kicked it in the abdomen. The running bull was suddenly hit in the abdomen, gave up attacking the boy in red, and instead attacked me. I dodged the sharp horns and grabbed the reins with my right hand. The bull's nose hurts, and as he struggles to break free from the reins, he attacks me with his hooves. I dodged the bull's hooves, but my body was dragged to the ground by the bull, and my hands were bloodied by the reins. I tried to calm it down by shouting "whew" as I wrestled with the bull, but it ignored me.
At that time, although there were many people around, due to the suddenness of the incident and the fear of the bull, they could not help for a while. My bull's temper also came up, and I desperately grabbed the reins and never let go of the bull. In the game of one man and one cow, I gradually lost my strength and was at a disadvantage, although I was lucky enough to avoid the horns, I was kicked twice in the leg, and my face was worn on the ground. In desperation, I resorted to the last resort I could think of. I pulled my throat and let out two "moo, moo" with the loudest sound I could make, and at the same time folded my hands and pulled the reins in my hand with all my strength, and even tore out the nose of the cow with blood. Suddenly, there was complete silence. The bull stood silently as if it had been clicked, its eyes slowly regaining its composure, and then gently "moo, moo" twice to me, as if in response to me. I pondered for a while, and it turned out that I had tamed the bull by mistake.
I quickly tied the cow to a nearby tree and stood up to tidy up my clothes. At this time, the owner of the cow also ran from the market. He kept thanking me, saying that he didn't know how the cow had been frightened and ran out of the market, and that something would have happened to me if it hadn't been. I told him that he didn't need to thank him, and asked him to take care of the cow quickly, and he must take care of it in the future. At this time, everyone around me gathered around me and praised me for doing a good job. The woman also came with the boy in red to thank me, and she said many words of thanks to me and offered to take me to bandage my wounds. I told her that the military and civilians are a family, this is what I should do, and I just need to go back and let the health officer deal with the injury.
When the woman saw that I was leaving, she had to ask me to say my name, or else she would not let the little boy let go of my legs. I saw that the time to return to the team was approaching, so I said that my surname was Xu, and then hurried back to the company. When I got back, I asked the hygienist to bandage me. When my comrades-in-arms asked, I said that I accidentally fell while going out. One day, half a month later, as soon as I finished the class meeting, Company Commander Wang hurriedly brought a middle-aged man to look for me. After the meeting, the company commander introduced us, the middle-aged man was Director Yu of the street near the station, the boy in red that I saved that day was his son, and the woman was his lover. Director Yu shook my hand and thanked me again and again, and I said that this was what I should do. That day, Director Yu also said that he wanted to invite me and Company Commander Wang to dinner, but we politely refused. A few days later, Company Commander Wang told me that the director had reported my deeds of saving people to his superiors as the result of the joint construction of the military and the people, and that the regiment might commend me.
In June of that year, I was awarded a third-class meritorious service. In August 1976, Company Commander Wang came to talk to me, and I was included in the regiment's list of withholding cadres. I wrote to communicate with my parents, and they agreed that the army had just given me honor, and they were ready to promote and reuse me, and it was not appropriate for me to apply for discharge from the army at this time, and I was sorry for the training of the army and the leadership. I followed my parents' advice. In January 1977, the order was formally issued, and I was appointed platoon commander of the 3rd Platoon of the Communications Company. I am well aware that the promotion of my position is not only an honor, but also a heavy responsibility. After I officially assumed the post of platoon commander, I paid more attention to improving my overall quality and management ability, obeyed commands, set an example, cared for my comrades-in-arms, and conscientiously grasped all the work in the platoon. Through the joint efforts of the whole platoon, the work of my platoon has been significantly improved, and I have also been praised by the leaders. In June 1977, I had just returned from a meeting in the company, and my comrades-in-arms at the gate called ** and said that someone was looking for me. I came to the gate with some confusion and saw a girl in a dress standing beside me, I didn't know her. I was just about to ask my comrades on duty when the girl came up to me. The girl asked me if I was platoon leader Xu, and I replied yes. Looking at my somewhat puzzled eyes, the girl smiled and said, "You don't know me, it's the first time we've met, I'm the sister of the boy you saved last year, my name is Yu Xue." Seeing her smile brightly and her generous manners, I was a little embarrassed and quickly said, "Hello." ”
The girl went on to say that she had only returned to her local area a few days ago and had come here today to thank me. I hurriedly said, your parents have thanked me many times, it's just a small thing, it really doesn't have to be like this. The girl went on to say that she had come today to express her gratitude and to see what her brother's "bull hunting hero" looked like. I was amused by her words, and she was also a "hero of the cow", and the imagination of children is really rich. Since then, Yu Xue has often found all kinds of excuses to come to me and bring me food and supplies. After a long time, Yu Xue's comrades-in-arms saw what she meant, and I felt it too. In all fairness, Yu Xue is actually very beautiful, with a pair of big eyes that are gentle and playful, a goose egg face, a small cherry mouth, a delicate nose, and two small dimples on her face when she smiles.
It would be false to say that I am not interested in snow, but I also have a lot of concerns.
Company Commander Wang saw my hesitation, and he said to me that the search for a target for a grassroots officer is in line with the regulations of the army, and if two people are happy with each other, why hesitate.
I listened to the words of the company commander.
After another year or so, Yu Xue and I got to know each other better and had a deeper relationship. I like her empathy and gentleness, and she likes my sense of responsibility and responsibility.
We all feel like we've found someone we can trust for life.
In August 1979, I took Yu Xue back to my hometown in Jiaodong to hold a wedding, and I finally married her lover.
Later, I successively served as deputy manager, manager, deputy general manager, general manager, and vice chairman of the board of directors in the company. His wife has been working as an elementary school teacher since graduation. During this time, we had a lovely daughter. In 2003, I retired as vice chairman and returned to my hometown, and my wife moved back to my hometown with me. In 2013, I retired from a business in my hometown. His wife also retired from an elementary school two years ago. This is the life experience of me, an ordinary person. On the road of life, with the care of parents and relatives, the support of close friends, and the company of lovers, there are no regrets in this life.