In 1956, model workers from all over the country who were selected as "National Model Worker" came to Beijing one after another to receive commendations. At the conference, Chairman Mao recognized him at a glance, excitedly went to hold his hand and said: "Ah, the old squad leader is back!" Who is he? Why did Chairman Mao respectfully call him the old squad leader?
He is Li Kaiwen, an old Red Army soldier who completed the Long March. There is a little-known story between him and Chairman Mao. Not only did Chairman Mao respectfully call him the old squad leader, Zhou Enlai also respected him as the old squad leader. Almost all leaders in Yan'an called him "the old squad leader."
Li Kaiwen is a native of Jinzhai County, Anhui Province. His story is well-known in the local area. He is a famous local veteran of the Red Army. His story must be told in the autumn of 1932. At that time, Li Kaiwen was 35 years old. When the main force of the Red Front Army withdrew from Dabie Mountain to prepare for the Long March, Li Kaiwen resolutely left with the troops.
At that time, Li Kaiwen was already a squad leader of the 219th Regiment of the Red 73rd Division. When he was passing through his hometown of Jinzhai, his wife just gave birth, but he insisted not to go back and have a look. He was worried that his wife would not let him leave after he returned, so he refused to go home and insisted on following the troops.
On the Long March, Li Kaiwen's ears were deafened by artillery shells in a battle, so in August 1935, Li Kaiwen was transferred to the cooking class and still served as the squad leader. Later, he followed the troops into the grassland. When crossed the grassland, he did something that the whole army admired.
When crossing the grassland, the soldiers not only had nothing to eat, but what was even more difficult was that there was no firewood to burn. Sometimes even a sip of hot water became a luxury. Li Kaiwen picked up firewood when he encountered it along the way. He even stuffed the wet firewood into his clothes and used his body temperature to dry the firewood.
Firewood that has been covered with water is easy to burn. Every time his stove is always the first to burn, whether it is digging wild vegetables or boiling leather belts, Li Kaiwen can always find a way to make the soldiers have hot soup to drink. His deeds gradually spread throughout the army, and everyone affectionately calls him "Old Squad Leader".
After arriving in Yan'an successfully, Li Kaiwen was transferred to the Central Special Kitchen Team as the squad leader, responsible for cooking for Chairman Mao and other leaders. His homemade braised pork had a unique taste and was praised by Chairman Mao. He worked for Chairman Mao for 11 years, and Chairman Mao also called him the old squad leader.
On the eve of the founding of New China, in July 1949, Li Kaiwen was organized to study at the central government cadre school. After graduation, he was assigned to be the director of the Tianjin Sugar Factory. This was the organizational care for him, but he refused and insisted not to become the director.
Could it be that Li Kaiwen thinks the factory director is too young? Of course not, he said: "No matter how sweet the sugar in Tianjin is, it is not as sweet as the water in my hometown." Li Kaiwen wanted to return to his hometown, and the organization wanted to keep him working in Beijing. He always insisted on returning to his hometown, and eventually the organization transferred his files back to Liu'an, Anhui.
The Lu'an Prefectural Committee attached great importance to Li Kaiwen and planned to let him serve as the deputy county magistrate of Jinzhai County . Unexpectedly, Li Kaiwen directly refused. Li Kaiwen knew that he was not good at being the deputy county magistrate. Later, he was given a job as the webmaster of the Xiangshui Township Grain Station in Jinzhai County. Li Kaiwen was happy to take up the post.
After that, Li Kaiwen worked conscientiously and actively helped the masses in production. In 1956, Li Kaiwen was elected as a "National Model Worker." After arriving in Beijing, he met Chairman Mao again. The Chairman still remembered him and specially invited him to dinner. Li Kaiwen never forgot this. On February 29, 1992, Li Kaiwen died of illness at the age of 94.
