The Day of Kissing in the Wasteland (9) Interlude, Unforgettable Pioneering Love
Author: Zu Jiefeng
Interlude - Reservoir Construction Site
I am the company that returned on April 25th. It turned out that what I had in mind was quite good. I estimated that after I returned from visiting relatives, I would be able to take up my cashier job, but I didn't expect that Cheng Yaojin would show up halfway. After I returned to the company, before my butt could settle down, I received a new task - it was said that I was called upon by the regiment leader to lead the team, leading the female workers of my company to Osaka Mountain to participate in the reservoir battle.
Although I felt a little sudden and did not understand the arrangements made by my superiors, I still obeyed unconditionally. There were two comrades who had gone home to visit relatives but had not returned to the team. When I asked the old company commander if I should wait for them for another two days, the old company commander said decisively: "Let them report to the reservoir construction site when they come back. You can go first." Visiting relatives On the fourth day after returning to the team, I took the girls in my platoon and took all our belongings to the reservoir battle construction site.
When we arrived at the reservoir construction site, we felt it was different from the production company. Both sides of the reservoir site are close to Osaka Mountain, and the mountains are full of tall pines and cypresses. Although it is already the end of April, standing at the bottom of the mountain and looking up the mountain through the gaps between the trees, we can still vaguely see the white snow on the top of the mountain. Because after the Kaijiang wind blew on March 20, the snow on the mountains melted faster. Since all the mountains and waters gathered in that depression, the depression quickly overflowed. I have made great determination to build the reservoir into a...
There is a small path on the slope leading directly to the main road, and our tent is built on that slope. Because we arrived early and hadn't started work yet, we just had fun for a few days first. We would never get that good opportunity in the production company. The reservoir construction site is under purely military management. Trumpets are blown even when turning off lights, getting up, eating, going out for exercises, starting work, and finishing work. At first we couldn't understand the difference between so many kinds of trumpet sounds, but the people from the company with guns reacted much faster than us, so they laughed at us as the people from the remote company as "confused".
After dinner, we often walk on the main road in groups of three and two, enjoying the charm of the North before dark. As the sun sets behind the mountain, the light on the mountain side immediately seems to dim; as the light dims on the otherwise bustling road, there are almost no pedestrians or vehicles. Except for a few of us, there were mountains not far away and the wilderness as far as the eye could see. It soon became completely dark. There were no street lights, and everything was dark. Because we were a little scared, we hurriedly ran away. Run to the camp.
When the moon rises in the first half of the night, that is when we feel most comfortable. The moonlight is so beautiful, and you can clearly distinguish the layers of the surrounding overlapping mountains; the night is so quiet, because of one or two dogs barking in the distance, Maybe it will arouse the dogs in the camp to howl in the sky for a while; the bright stars in the night sky keep blinking, and we will soon be able to find the Big Dipper among the countless stars. I don't know why, but whenever we saw the Big Dipper, we couldn't help but sing the song "Miss Mao Zedong" softly.
In the quiet moonlight, every time I see the lights in the tent and hear the laughter in the tent, I feel very warm, because that is the nest of our water conservancy workers. Under the moonlight, even if you see the hundreds of wheelbarrows tilting up their handles and swinging there in an orderly manner, you will still feel that it is a strange scenery. The areas where the moonlight shines are clearly visible, and the areas where the moonlight doesn't shine are clear or blurry outlines, because the two to three hundred trolleys are arranged in rows in an orderly manner to form a mighty square array.
After the lights were turned off, the lights on the entire construction site were still on, even at the company headquarters, because that was where the night duty personnel took turns to rest. I saw a real gun at the reservoir construction site. It was also the first time I saw a real gun after joining the Corps.One night I got up to go to the bathroom. Under the moonlight, I saw sentries carrying guns walking back and forth in the camp. The bayonets on the guns flashed with cold light. The cold light added a bit of fear to the night.
During the day, the construction site was very lively. The male workers in the maintenance platoon drove more than ten Dongfanghong-80 bulldozers and roared together, which invisibly added a bit of tension to the construction site. The remaining three hundred or so people are all responsible for pushing earth to build the embankment. Each of us, male and female, has a wheelbarrow and loads a full cart of earth. We will first stabilize the cart, and then turn around and push the cart of earth. He ran towards the embankment. You can't do it without running, and you have to run faster and faster because it is a not too steep slope. Pushing an empty cart downwards will make you run faster and faster, let alone a heavy cart, because inertia and will help you run regardless of conditions.
While the cart is running, we also need to visually check the distance, run to the best position, and suddenly lift the handlebar to dump the soil. Sometimes the visual distance is not in place, the handlebars have to be lifted too early, and the soil falls on the embankment, and it is necessary to shovel it to the embankment with a shovel. If the handlebars are raised too late, the car and the soil will tip over into the water, so it is better to tip over on the embankment than into the water, because that would be too troublesome. Running and bumping like this every day, more than 300 people worked for nearly two months. The embankment was finally built before the rainy season. It was a embankment built purely with yellow clay and white mud.
There was too much water during the flood season that year, and we experienced two levee breaches. Fortunately, the on-duty staff discovered it in time, and we went all out to repair it, and it was quickly blocked. When the breach was blocked for the second time, a male educated youth fished out a seven or eight-inch long carp from the breach. When the educated youths saw the carp struggling in the hands of their companions, they immediately forgot about it. The thrilling scene when the breach was blocked just now. The educated youth holding the carp in their hands ran wildly in front, while the other educated youths, covered in water and screaming, chased after each other. That was the epitome of our innocent youth.
The embankment has been built, and the mountains and rivers have filled the reservoir. The clear and green reservoir water is sparkling not only in strong winds, but also on windless days; as long as it is swept by the breeze, it will be like rolling waves. It's so beautiful; if it's a windy day, we would never dare to move on the embankment, lest the wind blow us into the water. There is a beautiful island in the reservoir not far from the shore. We can walk across it by stepping on big pebbles. I sat on that beautiful island and took three photos. They were from my visit to Beidahuang The most beautiful photos taken in eleven years. I looked up to the sky and laughed so happily, so innocently, so carefree.
Picture 1: The first on the right is Tianjin educated youth Liu Jingping, the left is Shanghai educated youth Fei Peiju, the middle is the author Zu Jiefeng
Picture 2: The right is Beijing educated youth Shao Shuhua, the left is the author Zu Jiefeng
Picture 3: The author of this article left his most beautiful smile in the reservoir
Unable to let go of the pioneering sentiment
After the completion of the reservoir, people from other companies returned to their units one after another. I asked the instructor of the water conservancy company: "Instructor, when will our platoon leave?" The instructor said: "Your platoon has other arrangements." In those days of the Corps, transfers within the regiment were very frequent, but then It is the transfer of one person. It is not common for the entire platoon to be transferred. Could it be that our platoon should be kept in the water conservancy company? I have sweet dreams. After thinking about it for a while, I still lost my composure, so I asked the instructor again: "Instructor, are you planning to keep our platoon?"
The instructor said, "This is a military secret." I couldn't go on any further. Asked, I left the company headquarters with an uneasy feeling, and an ominous premonition came to my mind. About two days later, the chief of staff of our company came to the regiment to do some business. He stopped by the reservoir construction site to visit us. The Chief of Staff called me outside the tent and whispered to me: "Platoon Commander Zu, are you still in the dark? I heard that our company is about to withdraw." After hearing what the Chief of Staff said, I was a little confused. , I don’t believe what the Secretary-General said is true.
I asked the Secretary-General again: "What did you say? Say it again?" The Secretary-General repeated what he had just said. Then I asked the Division Chief: "Have you heard how our platoon is arranged?" The old Division Chief shook his head helplessly and said, "I really haven't heard about it. I will definitely tell you when I find out." . "After I heard this thunderous news, I almost collapsed. I felt like the world was spinning. I squatted on the ground helplessly, and my emotions were a little out of control.
With tears in my eyes, I asked the Secretary-General emotionally: "Then the houses we built, the land we opened, and the wells we dug were thrown away in vain? Is it true that our sweat for more than two years was wasted?" "The chief of staff emphasized again: "I heard from the head of the regiment that based on the operation of Jiandian in the past two years, our company's land development prospects are indeed not good. If we don't evacuate now, it will be a big burden in the future. The later we evacuate, the worse it will be. The greater the loss. If the land cannot be cultivated, it will not be able to feed us people, let alone prepare food for the country. "
After listening to the Secretary General's words, my heart felt like a broken five-flavor bottle. There are all kinds of flavors. I couldn't accept it, and I was so angry that I complained angrily and loudly: "What the hell have those regiment leaders been doing? They really don't take us as soldiers seriously!" The old division chief said He warned me in a low voice: "Platoon Leader Zu, don't get excited yet. You have to pay attention to the impact of what you say..." The words that came out were like water being poured out. Considering the consequences of talking too much, I was immediately speechless.
Yes, since most of the surrounding areas where our company is located are wetlands, at least in recent years the usable value is not much. It has been two years since we built the site, but we have yet to get a piece of decent land. The total scattered land is less than 2,000 acres, which is not as big as the old company's land. I worriedly said to the old division chief: "It seems we can't go back to the company. Where can we go?" The division chief told me: "Just wait for the notification and don't talk to the platoon when you get back." Others said, so as not to make everyone panic. "I sighed and said, "Oh, yes."
When we were in the Corps, we were very strict about confidentiality, so I didn't say anything that shouldn't be said. The circumstances were minor. Those who are criticized must be inspected, and if the circumstances are serious, they may be demoted or dismissed. I can't cause trouble for the Secretary, and I absolutely can't tell anyone. The idea of withdrawing some money made sense in theory, but emotionally I couldn't accept that reality. In the past two years, how much we have suffered, how much we have sweated, how many bites we have suffered, and how many illnesses we have suffered, no one who has not lived and fought with us can imagine it.
I can’t figure it out. We built a house on a wetland that has never been inhabited by humans. We dug out the land and grew vegetables. How can we just throw it away and leave? I also admit that the land is indeed very barren, with the black soil layer less than three inches thick. I have heard old comrades say before that such land cannot grow good crops at all, but I don’t know why. Ever since I heard the news that we were going to withdraw some land, I couldn’t let go of that land. A piece of barren land. Is it because the environment around it is so beautiful? no. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that it was because we had too many things left there. Two years of precious youth were wasted in vain.
Every house built on that piece of wasteland has our work; every piece of wasteland we have dug out has our sweat; every forest path has left us pulling firewood. The walking figure, even the figure crawling on the crotch-deep snow with firewood on its back; the pretty faces of us squatting there drinking water and washing our faces have also been left by the rivers and streams... I carefully reviewed the difficult journey of the past two years. What did that barren land leave to me? It left me strong, left me perseverance, left me strength, and left me the ability to start from scratch.
Another reason why I can't let go of that barren land is that I and that barren land have been together through thick and thin for two years. As time goes by, we have developed a deep relationship. I love that piece of black land, just like a mother can never let go of her poor son... We left, and the house was empty. It was originally a very young company, but it also seemed a lot worse because of our sudden departure. . No one lived anymore, Artemisia quickly filled the entire camp, and even the room was quickly filled with wormwood...
In the next nine years, no matter what time or reason, I would Whenever I passed by there, I would get out of the car and walk around the house we built with our own hands. I would reach out to touch it and look inside. I would also chatter to my colleagues: "When we built this house, adobe was used." It was all the people in our platoon who took off their clothes. That year, dozens of us took off our adobe clothes in the three seasons of spring, summer and autumn. Almost half of the female educated youths had rheumatoid arthritis. "As long as I passed by us. When I drive through wasteland, I will talk to others about the scene when we opened up wasteland.
As of this year, I have been back to the city for forty-three years. During the forty-three years, I have dreamed of that barren land more than once, dreaming of the forest full of toilet paper and "landmines"; dreaming of the forest. The beautiful peonies on the alley; in the dream, I vaguely heard the call of the patient with night blindness, the father-like comforting voice of the old company commander; I dreamed of the house, the well, the woods, and the vegetable field. , the earthen pit for taking off the bricks and the neatly stacked bricks; and the chatting and laughing while hoeing the ground... (End)
About the author
Zu Jiefeng, female, is a 66th junior high school graduate among the third generation. In June 1968, he went to the 23rd Regiment of the Sixth Division of the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps. In February 1979, he returned to the city and returned to Beijing. In 1979, he worked at the Beijing Ma Steel Plant. After his retirement in 1998, he stayed with the original unit for another five years.
I started writing memoirs after retirement. I wrote a total of more than 410,000 words (of which my experience in going to the countryside is estimated to be 200,000 words). After these years of accumulation, I want to tell everyone the story of my personal experience......
" "Educated Youth Series Novel" Zu Jiefeng: The Day of Kissing the Wasteland (1) The First Day of Advancing into the Wasteland "Educated Youth Series Novel" The Day of Kissing the Wasteland (2) The Wind on the River Plays the Movement of Spring "Educated Youth Series Novel" "The Day of Kissing the Wasteland (3) Night Blindness Attacks a Half-Cotton Leg" "The Series of Novels for Educated Youth" The Day of Kissing the Wasteland (4) Dawn "The Series of Novels for Educated Youth" The Day of Kissing the Wasteland (5) Ruthless The swamp, the forest "The Educated Youth Series Novel" and the Day of Kissing the Wilderness (6) The Permanent Camp "The Educated Youth Series Novel" and the Day of Kissing the Wilderness (7) The Little Flower and the Attack of Rheumatism... "Educated Youth Series Novels" The Day of Kissing in the Wasteland (8) After the Fire
