Author || Chen Xiaofang Recommended by || Wang Huangyi
It’s the end of the year, and the scene in the military camp 46 years ago once again appeared in front of my eyes.
On December 24, 1976, after seven days and seven nights of long journey in a tank truck, I walked into the military camp located at the foot of the south mountain of Yongkang Commune, Zhongwei County.
After a year of intense training in the sports communications class of the 186th Regiment Communications Company, I learned the basic military skills of sports communications and the techniques of riding horses and driving motorcycles.
In a blink of an eye, it was the Spring Festival of 1978. It’s snowing heavily on the ground in Ningxia, and the mountains and rivers are covered in silver. Early in the morning, squad leader Xu Chaoguang was taking a few of our soldiers to make dumplings. At this time, platoon leader Wu Guangming walked in and said to the squad leader: "The regiment has an urgent item that needs to be sent to the Cadre Section of the Division Political Department. The company decided that Comrade Chen Xiaofang should complete it."
I was very happy when I heard about the mission. The platoon leader Wu Guangming then told me: "There are no buses due to the heavy snow. Considering safety, we can't ride a motorcycle. Because the distance is too far, we can't ride a horse, so we can only ride a bicycle." I said happily: "Okay, I promise to complete the mission."
After I finished eating a bowl of dumplings that squad leader Xu Chaoguang quickly cooked for me, I rode my bicycle to the cadre section of the Youth League Political Office, got an urgent letter to be sent to the division headquarters, and set foot on the road from Yongkang Commune in Zhongwei County to Zhongning County .
The temperature was more than ten degrees below zero that day. As soon as we got on the road, the north wind blew heavily with heavy snow, and the snowflakes hit our faces, causing stinging pain on our cold faces. I was young and strong at that time. Although the road was covered with sand and gravel due to heavy snow and it was very strenuous to ride, I pushed forward with all my strength. After arriving at Xuanhe Commune, I felt hot all over and felt the cold wind blowing, which was very cool and comfortable. I could not feel the snowflakes hitting my face.
After crossing the Qingshui River, we arrived at Zhongning County. We felt increasingly exhausted and our speed slowly slowed down. At about 12:30 noon, I finally arrived at the division headquarters compound and went to the office building of the division political department. After asking about the situation, the comrades in the duty room on the first floor told me that there was someone waiting for me in the cadre section office upstairs. When I knocked on the door of the cadre section office, a burly cadre rushed to the door. He quickly brought me into the office. When he saw the snowflakes on my hat and eyebrows, he asked me how I got here. I reported to him truthfully. The chief was very moved and asked me to sit down in the office. After he left for a while, he brought me a bowl of steaming dumplings. After eating, the chief said: "You have consumed a lot of energy along the way. Take a rest to warm yourself up before leaving." After taking a short rest, I said goodbye to the chief and embarked on my return journey.
During the distance from the division headquarters to Zhongning County, I could still maintain a normal speed. After passing Zhongning County, it became more and more difficult for me to ride the bicycle, and my speed also slowed down. After arriving at the May 11th Field Hospital, I couldn't ride a bicycle at all. I had no choice but to push forward. I saw no pedestrians or vehicles along the way, only heavy snow covering the mountains and plains.
The snow is falling harder and harder, the wind is blowing harder and harder, and my walking speed while pushing the car is getting slower and slower. As we approached the foot of Changshantou Mountain, it was already getting dark. Due to excessive physical exertion, my stomach growled. When encountering an uphill slope, I push for a while and then stop to rest. It was getting darker and darker, and the snow light reflected my direction and route. I pushed forward with difficulty.
At this time, a ray of car lights came from behind. I stood on the side of the road holding my bicycle and kept waving. When the car stopped, I saw it was a truck that was collecting coal. The driver was a young man in his twenties. He saw me in military uniform and was very polite. I explained the situation to the master and hoped that he would take me to Yongkang Commune. The master told me that he was a worker at the cement pipe factory not far ahead. Today he was hauling coal for domestic use that was urgently waiting for use at the factory. The truck could not reach Yongkang.
As soon as the master said it, I understood.This summer our company conducted field training at the Matan brigade near the cement pipe factory. Our class conducted training subjects such as " marching according to the azimuth angle" and "marching according to the map". The squad leader often set up training points around the cement pipe factory. At the end of the year, the division organized battle exercises, and the exercise training ground was also in this area. Late one night, the regiment headquarters had a combat order to be sent to Highland 1340 (training subject: wireless communication and were interfered with, wired communication was interrupted, and only sports communication could be used). After receiving the task, I rode the bay-red horse that I had climbed and rolled with during training, and crossed the Qingshui River next to the cement pipe factory. I broke through the glacier and rushed to the destination in the smoke of gunpowder. So I am very familiar with this area. Yongkang Commune is about 20 kilometers away from the pipe factory.
I thought to myself that it could carry me a few miles faster than I could push a cart, so I said to the master: "Please take me to the pipe factory, and I will go to Yongkang myself." The master happily jumped out of the car, helped me put the bicycle on the coal pile, and let me sit in the cab. After a while, the car arrived at the pipe factory. As soon as the car stopped, several older comrades came out of the room and asked the driver to go inside and have dinner. After the driver got out of the car, I jumped out of the car. The driver hurriedly introduced my situation to them. Upon hearing this, several elderly people enthusiastically pushed me into the house. They took my hand and pushed me to the hot pit head. They brought me a bowl of fragrant lo mein and asked me to eat before talking.
After the meal, one of the elders said to the driver that the coal will not be removed tonight. Please work hard and send this People's Liberation Army comrade to the army first. The driver happily agreed. When
returned to the company, the troops' lights-out signal had already been blown. After the master and I arrived in the class, the squad leader and all the comrades in the class got up quickly. Some brought water to the master, and some cooked dumplings for the master. The squad leader immediately went to the company headquarters to report to instructor Li Tiegui. The instructor immediately came to our class, held the master's hand and kept thanking him.
Although more than forty years have passed since this memory of my life, it has always been engraved in my mind, making it unforgettable. I have written to the editorial board of Ningxia Daily many times, asking them to help me find this good master who solved my problems. However, because the cement pipe factory has been closed down for many years, and I do not know the name of this master, I have not been able to find him for many years, which has become a lifelong regret for me. When I was transferred to the Propaganda Section of the Political Department in early 1982, I did not see the good leader who cared about the soldiers.
For the rest of my life, I don’t know how I can repay these two benefactors? I would like to express my gratitude and thoughts to them in this article.
