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It was late January 2018, and it was already 49. The temperature in Hebei had dropped to about minus six degrees, and there were scattered snowflakes falling in the sky. I was sitting on the sofa in the living room and flipping through my phone intently, enjoying the masterpieces of the teachers in the "White Wave Love" group. At this time, the phone prompted that there was a message coming. I opened it and saw that it was my uncle's photo. At this time, it aroused my memories again.
The author of this article’s uncle
It was in July 1977. It was my fifth year since I was a soldier and left home. It was also the first time I went back to visit my parents. After staying at home for ten days, I hurried to Qiqihar City to visit my uncle.
My uncle was particularly happy to see me. After meeting, I first learned about my work and learning progress in the army, what specific work I do in the army and where I am now. The question was very detailed and professional, and then told me that you must do your best in the army, as the army is a place to train people. Especially the Railway Corps unit is a powerful force that dares to fight hard and is not afraid of difficulties. If you want to make greater progress in the army, such as the university, etc.
also told me that he was also a railway soldier when he was in the army. This army was very difficult. You must dare to endure hardships to make yourself a qualified railway soldier. Because the time to visit my family was short, the distance between my family and my uncle's house was nearly 100 miles, and the transportation was inconvenient, so I rushed back home and didn't ask my uncle which division he was in when he was in the army, what specific work he did, etc.
The second meeting was in July 1979. I was studying in the cadre teaching team of the Iron No. 9 Division in Liaoyang City, Liaoning Province. My uncle took advantage of the opportunity to visit me in Liaoyang. I remember it was a Sunday, and I took leave and went to the city with my comrades to buy daily necessities. My uncle came to the teaching team and waited for me to come back to meet. He had a great conversation with the headmaster of the teaching team because my uncle was also in the Iron Ninth Division when he was in the army. They had met in the army, but now they met by chance and started chatting.
Since Communication was not as convenient as it is now in that era, I could not contact me, so my uncle decided to go to two large shopping malls in the city in person. He looked around while walking. Whenever he saw him wearing military uniform, he would come to ask or take a few more glances. After asking all the way, he still couldn't get what he wanted, so he returned to the teaching team and said goodbye to the chief officer.
Fortunately, my uncle was walking out of the gate of the teaching team and saw me back. Because I didn't expect my uncle to come to Liaoyang, and what I didn't expect was how did my uncle know that I was in the teaching team?
So, I walked directly into the gate without caring. When I heard my name, I felt very surprised and excited when I saw it. We chatted outside the gate for a while before we knew that he was going to Shenyang for a meeting. Since my uncle had to go back to have a meeting, we had to talk for a hurry for a while. Since then, we broke off contact due to inconvenience in communication and other reasons.
By the end of 2011, through the help of the WeChat platform and relatives and friends, he contacted his uncle and added WeChat to each other. When I saw my uncle's WeChat, I immediately called over and greeted my uncle and aunt's physical condition and other family matters. The topic turned to the matter of the railway soldiers.
When the railway soldiers were mentioned, my uncle's words opened. He enlisted from Qiqihar City to Tahe in 1960. At that time, there were more than 400 people enlisted in the army. My uncle was assigned to the headquarters of the 41st Regiment of the 9th Division of the Railway Soldiers. In 1965, he was transferred to the Hospital Office of the Imperial No. 9th Division Hospital. In 1969, he retired from the army and returned to work on the public security front in Qiqihar City.
Uncle told in detail the process of the establishment of the railway squad on the phone. The railway squad is both the People's Liberation Army and the engineering team. During the war, the railway squad was mainly responsible for railway support tasks. In peacetime, its task was to change with the needs of national economic construction, and made great contributions to the victory of the War of Liberation and socialist construction.
The conditions of the railway corps were particularly difficult. In the past, people were responsible for the construction of railways. When talking about the working environment of the 41st Regiment of the 9th Division, my uncle was a little excited. He said that when we were building the Nenglin Railway, three railway corps participated in the construction, and the 9th Division was responsible for the Nenjiang to Dayangshu section, which was also a high-altitude area, where the weather was cold and the water turned into ice.
Railway soldiers commanders and fighters are fighting in this snowy world. The railway is a no-man's land, and is called a forbidden zone of life. It is under such conditions that our railway soldiers are not afraid of hardships, overcome all obstacles and fight hard. When the vehicles transporting railway supplies and food cannot be driven in, we carry people on our shoulders and never fear it. It was really passionate to sweep the snow all over the sky, and sweat melted thousands of layers of ice.
During construction, the Forty-first Regiment fought against harsh natural conditions and arduous construction, tempered the revolutionary fighting spirit of the officers and soldiers, suffered the greatest pain, and devoted the greatest love. Although it was not a battlefield, it was filled with the passion of fighting. The railway soldiers' footsteps traveled through the mountains and rivers there, and sweat melted the hot land of the northern border. On the steel avenue that runs through the Nenglin Railway, a miracle in the history of construction in high-altitude areas is written.
The road from building Nenlin to Tahe is very difficult, with long routes, high mountains and steep transportation, and inconvenient transportation. From the company to the battalion and regiment headquarters to hold meetings and reports, the reporting work is only a few hours walk to reach. When I first entered Tahe, the local people dared not think that they could build a railway in the deep mountains and forests. It was a fantasy. In this environment, building a railway was a miracle, and cadres and soldiers were always fighting on the line of death.
At that time, the living standards were 50,000 yuan per person per day, and the tents they lived in were also airtight. They wore leather coats and hats on duty every day. Even big shoes were frozen. Especially when it was a one-hour rotation, it was difficult to persist. It was in that difficult period, in that extremely harsh environment, no one retreated, and no one fell behind no matter how hard or tired he was. This was the spirit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Railway Corps unit.
Uncle said to me: "I am retired now and am still practicing and writing. I have published works such as "Worrying People on the Road of Wind and Rain", "Qiao Mom", "The First Last Love Letter", "Wandering Wife", "Who Pays for Love", etc. In 2016, a TV series is completed. Now I am implementing the Film and Television Culture Center and investors, and I told me that I can search Wang Fengju's book on Baidu," and the instructions are very detailed.
In 2017, he was also commissioned by the Qiqihar Municipal Propaganda Department Federation of Literary and Art Circles. It was a story of the Communists providing information to the Soviet Red Army in 1939. It has been submitted for review.
I took this topic to ask my uncle about writing questions, briefly introduced my shortcomings in learning writing, and introduced our "Bai Langqing" group, all of which are comrades from various divisions of the Railway Soldiers, some are poets, writers, calligraphers and painters, and the Railway Soldiers are full of talents.
After I joined, I learned a lot of knowledge, especially poetry, prose, narrative essays, etc., which benefited me a lot. This is also a good opportunity for me to learn. Speaking of this, my uncle interrupted me with a laugh and told me, "It is a great blessing in life for writing, but it is very hard."
The author of this article
The uncle was interested in writing notes when he was sixteen years old. It has been more than 60 years of experience in writing, and he still insists on writing notes every day. He is 78 years old this year, with a clear mind and flexible action, which is due to his daily reading and learning. He said it was not easy to be a railway soldier, but he was also very glorious and proud. I was trained in the arduous environment of the railway soldier and gave me strength and spirit. This experience of the railway soldier gave me my perseverance in writing.
and told me: "Playing basketball requires practice every day, and writing is even more so. Remember what Flaubert said, "Without thinking, it is not great." Writing prose requires more language skills, plus a sense of thought. You also need some subtle stories when writing narrative articles.
We have been on the phone for more than 70 minutes, and I have received great encouragement and confidence in writing. I will continue writing, learn and ask my comrades and teachers more, strive to make further improvements in poetry and proclaim the culture of railway soldiers...
May 26, 2020
Text/Fan Jihua
Editor-in-chief/Mao Mi "Bai Langqing"
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