At the end of 1956, Chairman Mao was waiting for the arrival of an old friend in Fengze Garden, Zhongnanhai.
When an old friend appeared, Chairman Mao beamed at first, then suddenly changed his face, frowned and buried his head. When the visitor came up to him, Chairman Mao got straight to the point: "Old Li, you wear too few clothes." His words were full of care.
The Lao Li he calls is Li Kaiwen, the "red chef" who has followed him for more than ten years.
Picture | Chairman Mao
Red Chef
Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, is the main birthplace of the Red Fourth Front Army, the core area of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area, and is also the first county of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and the country's No. Erdajiang County, Li Kaiwen, who is 4 years younger than Chairman Mao, was born in this passionate land.
Li Kaiwen has lived a hard life since he was a child. When he was 16 years old, he farmed the land, burned kilns, and worked hard. With his hard work, Li Kaiwen supported his family. In 1929, Li Kaiwen was 32 years old and the father of four children. His family's life was ordinary and simple. Logically speaking, he should stay by his family's side and live an ordinary life like this, but Li Kaiwen did not do this.
He chose to join the Red Army team. Due to his old age and low education level, Li Kaiwen first served as the squad leader of the stretcher team of the 219th Regiment of the 73rd Division of the 25th Red Army, and later became a cook.
Picture | Red Army
In the 1930s, the Kuomintang Chiang Kai-shek continued to launch "encirclement and suppression" campaigns against the Red Army in an attempt to destroy our revolutionary base areas. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, the Red Army soldiers launched arduous and tortuous guerrilla battles and crushed the enemy several times. Attack.
In the autumn of 1932, Li Kaiwen's Red Army team suddenly received an order from their superiors: to set off immediately. Everyone immediately packed their luggage and prepared to set off. Although Li Kaiwen was not tall, he was loyal and had a lot of strength, so he was selected to serve as a stretcher bearer in the Red Army.
When the team passed by his door, Li Kaiwen was too late and reluctant to enter the house. He was afraid of the scene of tearful farewell to his family, but his young son Li Jinxu discovered him.
His son ran to him, crying and asking him to go home. Li Kaiwen couldn't bear to let go, and kicked his son away with all his heart. From then on, he followed the Red Army team to leave Jinzhai, leaving his hometown and relatives.
The team often encountered enemy ambushes and often had to charge continuously. Li Kaiwen had never touched a gun, but he was always on the front line. Once he found that his comrades were injured, he would immediately use a stretcher to carry them away. On the way, Li Kaiwen walks with a heavy load almost every day, and his straw sandals have long been worn out. When the
team arrived at Hanzhong , they were bombed by enemy planes. The sound of explosions was endless, the ground shook, sand and soil flew across the ground, and the shells just fell on the stretcher team. Li Kaiwen was instantly buried in the soil and could not move.
After the enemy plane flew away, the soldiers quickly pulled him out of the soil. At that time, Li Kaiwen's body showed no reaction. Everyone thought he had died and put him aside for a proper burial.
Picture | Li Kaiwen
A fellow villager who was close to Li Kaiwen did not believe the bad news. He went straight to the pile of dead people and cried bitterly in front of Li Kaiwen: "Li squad leader, I am you Fellow fellow, you can't just leave like this, I have to find a way to survive with you."
Fellow fellow cried and put his finger under Li Kaiwen's nose to test whether he was still angry. To the fellow fellow's surprise. , Li Kaiwen still has a weak breath.
He hurriedly rushed to the team to tell everyone the news, and found a small bowl of rice soup and fed it to Li Kaiwen. The team leader was also happy for Li Kaiwen: "This kid, if he survives a disaster, he will be lucky."
Now , Li Kaiwen was not the person carrying the stretcher, but the person lying on the stretcher. The team came to Tongjiang County, Sichuan Province, and Li Kaiwen was sent to the hospital.
His ears were injured due to the sound of the explosion, but his health was not serious. Because he had difficulty moving, he exercised little by little, crawled on the ground, and walked on the wall. Later, he got better little by little.
He stayed in the hospital for nearly a year, and his belief in going to the battlefield became stronger. On the day he was discharged, he told the regiment leader: "Give me a gun, I want to be a real soldier.""
"You are already a real warrior. "The regiment leader said with a smile.
Due to the disability of both ears, Li Kaiwen could not go to the front line to kill the enemy. The regiment leader said: "Just go and cook. "Li Kaiwen was silent, paused for a while and said: "As long as I can stay in the army, that's fine. "
The head of the regiment frowned when he saw that he was reluctant to answer. Li Kaiwen was afraid that he would not be able to stay in the Red Army, so he quickly said loudly: "Yes. "This is the Sichuan dialect he just learned.
In 1935, Li Kaiwen became a Red Army cook and took charge of the food for the soldiers. In this year, the Red Army began to cross the grass. As a member of the Red Army team, Li Kaiwen also Entering the grass.
picture | The Red Army passes through the grass h. tml1
As we all know, the Red Army faced great hardships when crossing the grassland . The swamps under their feet were extremely muddy. If they accidentally fell into the quagmire and no one came to rescue them, they would sink deeper and deeper until they were completely engulfed. Many soldiers fell In the swamp, they sleep here.
In addition, the climate in the grassland area is harsh and the weather is unpredictable. It rained heavily, and soon it was snowing all over the sky, so although there was a lot of dead grass, it was all covered in fog and wet, making it impossible to make a fire for cooking. "Being hungry and cold" became a challenge that the soldiers had to face during that time
. Everyone noticed that as a cook, Li Kaiwen's stomach began to swell, and he staggered when crossing the grass. Everyone was worried about him, but as soon as he arrived at the camp, Li Kaiwen He returned to normal, but as soon as he hit the road, his stomach became swollen again, and everyone began to be puzzled.
Kang Keqing and Cai Chang, who were also in the Red Army team, were also very curious, what happened to Li Kaiwen?
Later, everyone found out that in order to eat on time, no one had to eat. To make the soldiers hungry, Li Kaiwen would always wring out the water from a pile of wet withered grass, then put it in his clothes and cover it with his body temperature. It was dry, so his upper body always looked bulging.
When they arrived at the camp, the withered grass was dried, which could be used to make a fire for cooking and keeping warm. It was because of Li Kaiwen's efforts that the soldiers could have a fire to cook and have some energy. After the meal, everyone was moved by his spirit. Kang Keqing and Cai Chang couldn't help but burst into tears.
图|Lin Boqu, Chairman Mao, Zhu De, and Zhou Enlai
In October 1936, the three main forces of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the First, Second, and Fourth Front , joined Huining . Li Kaiwen, who performed well, was transferred from the Red Fourth Front Army. Central Red Army , and was soon sent to Yan'an , he served as the squad leader of the cooking class of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and as the squad leader of the Central Special Stove Class.
Those who ate in the Central Special Stove Class at that time were all highly respected central leaders, including Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, and others. Leaders such as Chen Yun and Li Fuchun never expected it. , one day I will be in charge of Chairman Mao, and have such close contact with Chairman Mao, and I did not expect that he would work by Chairman Mao's side for more than ten years.
We all know that Chairman Mao devoted himself to the revolutionary cause, and often worked to death. Late at night, he didn't even bother to eat. Not eating on time became Chairman Mao's normal life. The staff around him didn't dare to disturb Chairman Mao when he was busy.
Picture | Chairman Mao
One year in the cold winter, Li Kaiwen prepared a meal in the special kitchen class. The meals of all the leaders were taken away by the secretary. However, Chairman Mao’s secretary never came. Li Kaiwen heated the meal again and again. Can't wait for anyone to come.
Li Kaiwen was worried and walked directly to Chairman Mao's cave with the hot meal. When he first entered the door, Li Kaiwen couldn't help but shuddered because the weather was too cold.
Chairman Mao was originally working at his desk. When he saw Li Kaiwen come in, he immediately stopped writing and said with concern: "Old squad leader, I see you are too thinly dressed."
"It's not cold, it's not cold. I'm used to it." Li Kaiwen Answer the call quickly.
Chairman Mao stood up, took out a sheepskin vest from his room, and wanted to wear it for Li Kaiwen. Li Kaiwen kept refusing, but Chairman Mao insisted on wearing it for him: "Put it on if I tell you to. You are small, but I am big." , to resist the cold. If your old squad leader gets cold, I won’t be able to eat my favorite dish you made."
Li Kaiwen really couldn't resist Chairman Mao, so he had to put on his sheepskin vest. When he heard Chairman Mao say that he liked the food he cooked, Li Kaiwen became interested and chatted with Chairman Mao: "Chairman, which dish do you think you like the most? eat? "
" is of course braised pork . "Chairman Mao replied with a smile.
A few short words made Li Kaiwen full of a sense of accomplishment and more motivated. Chairman Mao took a break from his busy schedule and finally had something to eat, and Li Kaiwen also learned up close: Chairman Mao is so
html is approachable. 0After returning to the special Zao class, Li Kaiwen found that a young soldier was also wearing very thin clothes, so he took off the sheepskin vest given by Chairman Mao and gave it to the young soldier. This is how the spirit of caring and friendliness spread.
Picture | Chairman Mao and people People Together
During the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang Chiang Kai-shek imposed an economic blockade on the liberated areas. Materials and food were in short supply in Yan'an. Under this situation, Chairman Mao was far-sighted and called for "do it yourself, have enough food and clothing". He led everyone to start
The comrades of the Central Special Stove Class must do a good job in the logistics work of land reclamation. They not only have to prepare meals, but also go to the fields to deliver tea and work to open up wasteland. Li Kaiwen is disabled in both ears. Every time he walks quickly into the field, Mao When the chairman saw him, he shouted: "Deaf man, is the food ready? "
" OK, we can call it a day. " Li Kaiwen shouted. Every time at this time, Chairman Mao would call everyone: "Take the guys and wait until you are full. "Chairman Mao and Li Kaiwen were familiar with this pattern.
Later, the work became more and more arduous. In order to take care of the older Li Kaiwen, the little soldiers in the Tezao class asked him to stay in the class while everyone else went to work in the fields. In addition to boiling water for cooking, Li Kaiwen also gave himself He found a new job: making straw sandals.
He devoted himself to making straw sandals when he had time. Because his ears were not good, others chatting with him would not affect him. The quality of the straw sandals he made was very good. Send baskets of straw sandals to the soldiers and give them to everyone Wear.
Picture | Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Chen Yun
At that time, Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, Chen Yun, Li Fuchun and other leaders all wore his straw sandals. Chairman Mao’s daughter Li Ne was young and very cute, so Li Kaiwen gave little Li Ne a pair of shoes, with two small red flowers carefully decorated on the shoes.
The young Li Ne was jumping around in little straw sandals and was very happy. Chairman Mao looked at it. He smiled at his daughter: "Why don't you thank Uncle Li quickly? "
Li Ne was obedient, ran to Li Kaiwen, bowed to him, and said obediently: "Dad asked me to thank Uncle Li. Are you Uncle Li? "Her words made everyone laugh.
This year, Li Kaiwen's hard work and down-to-earth work were unanimously recognized by the soldiers. He was named the "Labor Hero" of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region. In the meeting of thousands of people html, Li Kaiwen accepted the commendation. 1
Chairman Mao personally awarded him a certificate with a white cloth edge. The honest and honest Li Kaiwen was so excited that his face turned red. In front of so many people, he could not say a word.
Chairman Mao encouraged him: "It's okay. , Lao Li, you can say whatever you want.
Li Kaiwen finally plucked up the courage and said:
"I didn't do anything good. The people have given me the award. I will definitely show results in the future..."
After saying this sentence, no more words came out of his mouth. Chairman Mao noticed his nervousness and took the lead in applauding. Everyone also applauded. On this day, Li Kaiwen was nervous, excited, excited, and uneasy. I am also very upset about my performance.
h. tml0 picture | Li Kaiwen's medals
Li Kaiwen has been doing what he said. During the years of war, he didn't know whether his wife and children were still alive, so he devoted all his energy to the battle and devoted himself to the leader. able Eat well, wholeheartedly for the victory of the revolution. When the
troops withdrew from Yan'an, Li Kaiwen even risked returning to Yan'an, which had been occupied by Hu Zongnan, to look for food in order to ensure that the leader could eat well. Chairman Mao knew this and criticized him for ignoring the danger.
Looking at Li Kaiwen's hard work, Chairman Mao still told everyone:
"Everyone, eat, eat, don't let down the old squad leader's wishes. This is what Lao Li and the two soldiers risked their lives to get back." "Eat, eat vigorously, and strive to regain Yan'an in one year!"
From the end of the Long March to the evacuation of Yan'an, Li Kaiwen stayed with Chairman Mao for more than ten years. Chairman Mao always understood him like this and treated him well. This leader is full of respect.
After the central government withdrew from northern Shaanxi, it went to Xibaipo. Li Kaiwen did not go to Xibaipo with the army. He left Chairman Mao's side, left the special class, accepted the organizational arrangements, and went to the Central Cadre Cultural School to study. Before
and Chairman Mao parted ways, Li Kaiwen made a special trip to see Chairman Mao and told him his reluctance. As a man, he held back his tears and prevented them from flowing out of his eyes.
Chairman Mao held his hand and never let it go. He encouraged Li Kaiwen: "You go to an advanced school to study. When the revolution is victorious, there are more important things to do. You can't do it without culture!" Chairman Mao also told him: " Come and see me if you have a chance. "
" Yes, yes." Li Kaiwen's voice started to choke, and he wanted to express his reluctance so much that in the end, he said everything just like when he was presenting the award. Not coming out.
From then on, Li Kaiwen and Chairman Mao each ran on their own paths.
Picture | Chairman Mao
Reunion after a long absence
Time flies to 1949. Chairman Mao led the People's Liberation Army to victory in the revolution, ushered in the founding of New China, and the people lived a stable and peaceful life.
At this time, Li Kaiwen also graduated from the Central Cadre Cultural School. Li Weihan, Minister of the Central Mass Work Department, told his old acquaintance Li Kaiwen:
"Comrade Li Kaiwen, the organization has considered that you have suffered too much in the past, and now we will arrange a sweet job for you." 'Job. I decided to send you to Tianjin as the deputy director of the sugar factory. "
In the past, there were only seven people in the central special kitchen class. Li Kaiwen was good at cooking, but there are thousands of people in a sugar factory in Tianjin. Worried that I can't take on this important task.
He argued with Li Weihan that he wanted to go home. Even if his wife and children had been killed by the Kuomintang troops, he would still go back to his hometown. Li Weihan could not convince Li Kaiwen and had to agree with him.
Picture | Li Kaiwen’s former residence in Jinzhai County
Saying goodbye to Beijing and not knowing when we will meet again in the future, this was what Li Kaiwen was thinking about, so before returning to his hometown of Anhui, he went to see Chairman Mao once.
Chairman Mao was concerned about him: "Why not go to the Tianjin Sugar Factory?"
"The sugar in the Tianjin Sugar Factory is as sweet as the water in my hometown." Li Kaiwen replied.
Chairman Mao did not persuade him to stay. He understood Li Kaiwen's desire to "return to his roots", so he just told him: "Go back as soon as you go. You have to write letters often. Remember wherever you go, you come from the central government "Go out."
Just like that, Li Kaiwen returned to his hometown. His wife and children were still alive, but he was forced by life. In order to survive, his wife remarried with her children. However, the person who remarried passed away, and Li Kaiwen took his wife back home without hesitation. .
On the way to find his wife, Li Kaiwen noticed that the neighborhood of Xiangshan Temple was very clean. He took the initiative to propose to the organization that he wanted to work at the Xiangshan Temple Grain Station near his hometown.
The leader of the Jinzhai County Party Committee was puzzled. He insisted: "I have been a cook for half my life. Let me deal with grain for the rest of my life!" In the end, Li Kaiwen got the title of "Director of the Xiangshan Temple Grain Station" and worked conscientiously from then on.
Picture | Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou
He still maintained the same seriousness, practicality and hard work as before. At the end of 1956, Li Kaiwen was elected as the labor model of the national food system.
Heroes and role models from all over the country gathered in Beijing to attend the conference. This was Li Kaiwen's second visit to Beijing after several years.
On the rostrum of the conference, there were all familiar faces to him. Chairman Mao and Zhou Enlai are now leaders who are busy with everything. Premier Zhou Enlai saw him first and then told Chairman Mao the news.
Chairman Mao was very happy and said directly: "My old friend is here and I must meet him. You send someone to inform him to come to my place after the meeting. I want to invite the old squad leader to my home for a meal."
Picture | Chairman Mao
Two days later, accompanied by Cai Chang, Li Kaiwen was invited to Zhongnanhai Fengze Garden. He was wearing a thin black cotton-padded jacket and a pair of worn-out black cloth shoes, which looked particularly thin in this cold winter.
When Chairman Mao saw him for the first time, he smiled happily at first, and then frowned: "Old Li, you are wearing too few clothes."
"Chairman, it's not cold, I'm not cold at all." At this time, Li Kaiwen was completely Immersed in the excitement and joy of reunion, there was no need to worry about the cold.
Chairman Mao asked the guards around him to find Li Kaiwen a fur coat and a pair of fur shoes. It seemed like he had returned to the winter in Yan'an many years ago. Chairman Mao insisted that he put them on, but Li Kaiwen refused to put them on. In the end, he couldn't resist Chairman Mao. , Li Kaiwen said, "Okay, I'll put it on." Finally, he put his clothes on obediently.
They sat down and recalled the past events in Yan'an together. Chairman Mao asked: "Deaf man, you have been in the special stove class for more than ten years, right?"
"After I was transferred from the cooking class of the Central Organization Department to the special stove class. , worked for eleven years," Li Kaiwen replied.
Chairman Mao asked again: "Is it almost sixty now?"
"It will be sixty next year." Li Kaiwen replied.
A smile bloomed on Chairman Mao's face, and he nodded happily: "You are an old hero of the 'mass production movement' back then, and you have become a new model worker. You have grown stronger and made new achievements!" His eyes were full of acknowledgment. Appreciation from this old friend.
Picture | Li Kaiwen tells young people about his revolutionary experience
After meeting Chairman Mao, Li Kaiwen returned to his hometown with joy. His leather clothes and shoes were borrowed from the county exhibition hall for the "Achievements Exhibition on the Tenth Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China" "After finishing the work, he kept the fur coat and returned only the fur shoes to Li Kaiwen.
Kaiwen Li cherished these leather shoes as if they were an emotional connection with Chairman Mao. Later, he met an old man with inconvenient legs and feet. Seeing that he was wearing thin clothes and his shoes were rotten, Kaiwen Li reluctantly gave away the leather shoes that he regarded as treasures. Give it to him and pass on the great man's care.
Li Kaiwen lived a very simple life in his later years. When Chairman Mao passed away in 1976, he was heartbroken when he heard the bad news. In the spring of 1992, Li Kaiwen died at home. Before he died, he muttered: "Chairman Mao, Vice Chairman Zhou, Sister Cai Chang, you are here to pick me up..."
