In 1994, after finishing my second year of high school, I did not go back to school and "graduated" by myself, because I knew that I would not be able to get into college if I stayed around for another year. After staying at home like this for two months, my father decided to let me join the army.
The beginning went smoothly. Registration, physical examination, and political review were all very good. But then I couldn't wait for the legendary home visit, and I didn't receive any "pass" or "fail" notice. It wasn't until all the soldiers in the county had set off that I realized that I had "failed." My friend from the same village who signed up with me sent the first letter home, and I was still at home waiting for the notification.
In fact, my own conditions are not bad. First of all, I am "educated". At that time, those who signed up to join the army were all young men who had not gone to school for a few days. Most people stopped studying after elementary school. Those who had attended junior high school were considered "highly educated". Although I did not finish high school, But among other applicants who have not graduated from elementary school or junior high school, I can definitely be regarded as a "literate person"; secondly, I have been a squad leader and a league cadre at school, and writing and drawing are my strengths; thirdly, I have practiced sports at school and won a place in the school sports meeting. I am of medium height, tall and tall, and have a good appearance. At the recruitment registration site, a recruiter from an unknown army quietly asked my name and some basic information about me. He wrote it all down in his notebook. After I got home, I even boasted to my parents that the head of the army had taken a liking to me.
I grew up in a village, but I have an urban household registration. This urban household registration was "bought" by my father for a huge sum of 5,000 yuan.
My father is a "capable man". He was originally a poor rural boy with muddy legs. He only went to elementary school. He first helped work in the village brigade, and then worked as a temporary worker in the county cement factory. With his smart mind and ability to write and draw, he worked as a contract worker in the county supply and marketing cooperative. Finally, he was spotted by a government leader, transferred to a government department and became a formal national cadre. As a state cadre who has seen the world, his vision is much broader than that of ordinary rural people, and he has many more ways to do things. In those few years, the policy of purchasing urban household registration suddenly appeared. As long as you find a channel and are willing to spend a sum of money, you can "eat commercial food" for your children. My father would not miss this opportunity. Although the price of 5,000 yuan for a household registration was indeed quite high, he still gritted his teeth and borrowed money here and there. He just spent 10,000 yuan to buy a "commercial grain" for each of my sister and me.
In that era, ten thousand yuan was an astronomical figure for an ordinary family. I really admire his courage back then.
However, it is difficult to serve as a soldier with an urban household registration, because after you retire from the army, urban residents have to be assigned a job. People in the city have to go through the back door to join the army just to get a job. However, the number of urban soldiers is limited, so many people are dismissed. My father, who has always been smart, was confused this time. He neither used the back door nor spent money to give gifts. Especially when he heard that the commander of the army had taken a fancy to me and recorded my name, he became more confident and believed that I would definitely leave. By the time we came to our senses, it was too late.
I was very depressed at the time. I couldn't study well, and I couldn't be a soldier. I didn't know what to do, and my future was at a loss. My father is also worried. He thinks that being a soldier is my only way out, and he has to let me go no matter what this year. He mobilized his personal network and inquired about the recruitment and recruitment information. His friends in the government department, the armed forces , and friends of friends were all used by him.
Finally, through various connections, he found a supplementary quota for a certain army.
I clearly remember that it was snowing heavily that day. My father first took me with him on a broken Jianshe 90 motorcycle, trudging through the muddy country roads, to the county seat, where he stopped a long-distance bus, and then to the provincial capital train station, waiting for someone from the army to pick me up. There were no farewell crowds, no loud gongs and drums, and no big red flowers. My father and I waited for two hours in the snowy train station square before the leader of the army who passed by came to pick me up.
I didn't have time to say goodbye. My father only said to me, "Let me send you a letter from the army." The commander took me into the station in a hurry. I looked back and saw that my father had turned around and merged into the crowd in the square in the heavy snow.
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