Contributed by Zhang Junrui.
Knitting and hair, Shi Hu Wenhu.
Note: In order to make everyone read smoothly, the article contains some fictional plots
At the beginning of November 1974, when the winter recruitment began that year, when I heard the news that the army was coming to recruit, I immediately went to the school leader to sign up (I was in my second year of high school at the time). After registering, after going through the process of physical examination, social investigation, home visits, issuance of enlistment notices, and receipt of new uniforms, on December 17, 1974, I embarked on a journey to the army together with 225 recruits from my hometown county.
Although our group of recruits arrived on the evening of December 18, 1974, they were still counted as soldiers in 1975 according to the usual practice. If a soldier who enlisted in the seventies was conscripted in winter, there was a big difference in the calculation of the length of service and the length of service. When calculating the length of service, it is calculated from January of the following year, and so on. However, when calculating the length of service, the year in which the enlistment notice was issued is still the same. Therefore, I arrived in the army on December 10, 1974, and I was a soldier in 1975. However, my years of service have been counted since December 1974. At that time, when I sat on the stuffy tank train to the troops, and looked at the familiar scenery of my hometown that kept flashing outside the window, my heart was really full of thoughts and emotions. There is no other reason than that I finally walked into the army that had haunted me for four years. My dream of becoming a soldier originated from an old military hat given to me by my cousin who had returned from being discharged from the army when I was in junior high school.
My cousin (my uncle's son) enlisted in the army in December 1965 and was discharged in March 1971. At the end of March 1971, my cousin, who had been a soldier for five years, came to my house wearing a half-new military uniform after being discharged from the army and demobilized. I haven't seen him for five years (I was supposed to be able to go home to visit my relatives after three years in the army, but for some reason, during the five years I was in the army, my cousin didn't go home to visit my relatives once), and the impression of the immature cousin has disappeared, replaced by a mature young man who "stands like a pine, sits like a clock, and walks like the wind".
Seeing that my cousin had changed so much, I was just in the first year of junior high school at the time, and I was still very immature, so I didn't dare to approach him for a while, so I was stunned in place. Seeing me standing still, my cousin smiled, then beckoned to me and motioned for me to come over. Looking at the smiling cousin in front of me, I felt a little less apprehensive and nervous, so I walked quickly to my cousin who I hadn't seen for five years.
Five years ago, before my cousin became a soldier, we were the best. When I was a child, I always followed my cousin, followed him down the river to fish, and went up the tree to pick fruits. Therefore, when I walked up to my cousin, he stood up happily, then patted me on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a few years, Junrui has grown so tall." ”
Later, my cousin asked me a few more questions, and when he learned that I was doing well in my studies, my cousin solemnly removed the half-new military hat he was wearing and put it on my head. You know, in the seventies, military uniforms were the most fashionable clothing. Therefore, in school, if anyone can wear a military hat to class, it is really a beautiful sight. Therefore, in the face of my cousin's sudden move and this expensive gift, I was even more stunned for a while, at a loss.
Looking at me standing still, my cousin patted me on the shoulder again, and then said, "As long as my academic performance is not bad, I must work hard." Your cousin and I just suffered the loss of not going to school well and having no education, otherwise, we would definitely be able to stay in the army and continue to work. At this point, the cousin sighed heavily. Immediately after, he seemed to remember something again, took my hand and said seriously, "Junrui, anyway, you can't take the university entrance examination now, your best choice is to study hard, graduate from middle school, and then sign up to be a soldier." ”
In the seventies, it was the dream of all young people to wear a military uniform and enter the army. Therefore, after hearing my cousin's words, I nodded firmly and showed my determination to my cousin. And my cousin, after seeing me nod seriously, also smiled and helped me put on the old military hat. Later, the half-new military hat that my cousin gave me was with me throughout my middle school years and became one of the most important objects in my school days. While my thoughts were wandering, suddenly the roar of the stuffy tank train pulled me back to reality. Looking at the fellows in the carriage, who were either sad (this is at least three years away from home) or happy (about to enter the long-awaited army), I also sorted out my thoughts and began to look forward to the upcoming army life.
On the evening of December 18, 1974, after two days and one night of roaring on the stuffy train, our group of recruits finally arrived at the terminal. After getting off the station line, after the routine roll call, more than 30 of us recruits got into the old liberation truck that was already waiting on the platform, ready to pick us up. After that, after an hour and a half of bumps in the old liberation truck, in the twilight, our group of recruits finally arrived at their destination, the recruit company camp.
At that time, when I was sitting on the old liberation truck, looking at the scenery outside along the way, I wondered in my heart what the army was like. And when we finally arrived at the recruit company camp and got off the bus, I looked at the scene around the camp and couldn't help but feel desolate. Because all around the barracks of the recruit company are mountains, and the mountains are all bare, and there are basically no trees. Although the environment was a little unsatisfactory and there was a long way to go with what I was expecting, after a short period of adjustment, I was still serious and determined to devote myself to the next three months of recruit training.
In the seventies, recruit training was generally three months long and the process was very intense. At that time, we would wake up at 6 a.m. every morning, fold the quilt first, and then train for a 3-kilometer run at 6:30 a.m. After training, clean the dormitory. Because our recruit company was a newly formed company and had no foundation, our food standards at that time were relatively poor. Three meals a day, breakfast is basically millet porridge, wowotou and a portion of mustard; The staple food of lunch is basically two rice (rice mixed with millet), and the dish is fried shredded pork with cabbage; The main dish for dinner is sorghum rice, and the dish is stir-fried shredded pork with radish (with carrots and white radish).
Three meals a day, although there are two meals with fried shredded pork, but it is said to be fried shredded pork, but in fact there is very little meat (basically no oil and water). Therefore, the recruits at that time, because of the relatively high intensity of daily training and the lack of oil and meat in their meals, could only rely on "quantity" to fill their stomachs (each person had to eat at least two bowls of rice per meal). I remember that at that time, there was a recruit in the sixth class of our company, and he ate seven bowls of rice in a row. At that time, our whole class (one row and two shifts) was shocked when we heard the news.
After the three-month recruit training, as usual, I was assigned to the fourth station company of the airport. I went to the fourth station company, and after half a month of intensive training, I was assigned to the cold oxygen station. Soon after I arrived at the cold oxygen station, I was sent to participate in a two-month training course on air-conditioning skills (at that time, more than half of our comrades-in-arms learned to drive at the four stations of our airport). In mid-June 1975, after completing a two-month training and study, shortly after returning to the company, the company commander (surnamed Zhou, a soldier in 1960, with a very easy-going personality) asked me to participate in the pilot's physical examination. At that time, I was very emotional when I heard the news, because I knew that there was nothing wrong with my body and that I met the criteria for the selection of pilots. But during the physical examination, because I was not accustomed to the water and soil in the north when I first arrived in the north (I am a soldier in the south), and there was a little problem with my nasal cavity, I finally passed by being a pilot, and this became an eternal regret in my heart.
I remember that at that time, because I missed out on being a pilot, I was depressed for a whole week after returning to the cold oxygen station. During this period, the company leaders, squad leaders and veterans were very concerned about me. The instructor also said something to me that I still remember vividly - there is no one here, there is a place to keep people. After that, I quickly adjusted my state, regained my spirits, and began to actively devote myself to the work of refrigeration and refrigeration. Because in the process of work, I am practical and diligent, and when I encounter a problem, I humbly ask the veterans for advice, so within a month, I can be on duty independently, refrigeration and cold, and ensure that the pilot conducts flight training.
I remember that at that time, at the airport, there were four categories of stoves and food standards. The first type is the air crew stove, which is exclusively for the pilot's meal, and the food standard is 2. per person per day$5. At the time, the bar was very high. You must know that in the 70s, the allowance for the first year of a recruit was only 6 yuan per month, and the living expenses of a city dweller's family were only 10 yuan per month.
The second type is the ground stove, and the food standard is 0. per person per day9 yuan, which is generally for the meal of the maintenance brigade and other relevant personnel. This type of personnel is mainly responsible for the maintenance of the aircraft, and the position is also very important.
The third category is the logistics stove, also known as the organ stove and the cadre stove, and the food standard is 065 yuan. In addition to the cadres of the organs in the regiment, there are also car companies, as well as technicians in charge of logistics services such as fuel, charging, inflation, and equipment (at that time, we ate 0. 0. per day at four stations65 yuan logistics stove, relatively speaking, the food is still very good).
The fourth category is the large pot stove (in fact, it is a type of stove), and the food standard is 0. per person per day45 yuan. The main diners of this type of stove are the guard company, the farm, and a small number of government officials. If only the number of diners is calculated, the big pot stove is the least number of diners in the airport.
In the seventies, the company was not only a combat company, but also a production company, so we also often organized some soldiers in the company to participate in production labor. And those fighters who participate in production and labor are often deliberately arranged by the leaders (can be promoted). And I, at the end of my third year as a soldier, that is, at the end of 1978, was also led by the company to raise pigs in the cooking class (at that time, our company had more than a dozen pigs).
Pig raising, as the name suggests, is responsible for taking care of the pig's three meals a day. I remember that when I was raising pigs, I would get up at 5 a.m. every morning and start cooking pig food (it takes about two hours), 11 a.m. at noon, and 4 p.m. in the afternoon. Although it was a cold winter at the time, the weather was cold, and the day was busy from morning to night, which was very hard. But I never complained once, but I completed the pig raising task wholeheartedly and seriously. Therefore, in the three months that I raised pigs, the dozen or so pigs in our company were raised by me to be fat and strong, for which I also received many praises from the company commander and instructors, and I also became the company's dry seedlings.
But just as I was immersed in my work and working hard to promote cadres, at the beginning of 1979, I issued an order that I could not directly promote cadres from among the soldiers (if I wanted to be promoted in the future, I had to take the military academy examination). At that time, after learning the news, I had mixed feelings in my heart, and I wanted to be like other comrades-in-arms and go home directly, but because of the needs of the army, I had to stay in the fourth station company and continue to work for a year. In this way, I continued to work in the four station companies, and the time of the year was fleeting, and in a blink of an eye, it was the end of 1979, and it was the time for the veterans to be discharged from the army. One day at the end of December 1979, the instructor talked to me and hoped that I would become a volunteer and continue to work in the army. But due to some personal reasons (I was 24 years old at the time, and my mother was not in good health), I finally decided to retire from the army and return to the local area. Although the company commander and instructor were very sorry, considering the actual situation, they finally agreed to my request to be discharged.
In this way, on the morning of January 13, 1980, after having breakfast in the company canteen, I took my luggage, took my personal file, got on the airport bus, and left the four-station company where I had worked and lived for five years. After two days and one night of roaring on the green train, I finally returned to my hometown after a five-year absence, and met my long-lost relatives. Then, after spending an unforgettable Spring Festival at home, at the end of February 1980, I went to work at the epidemic prevention station in my hometown and began my 30-year epidemic prevention career.
ENDS—