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Editor/Different Texts
As the saying goes: Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world.
Wang Jicai Wang Shihua and his wife
There is a small island in the east of my country, called Kaishan Island. Although it only covers an area of 0.013 square kilometers, because it is located at the outpost of China's Yellow Sea, it has become a choke point for guarding surrounding traffic.
In March 1986, the Jiangsu Provincial Military Region issued an order to build a militia post on the inaccessible Kaishan Island in order to protect the motherland's maritime borders and strictly prevent the infiltration of hostile forces.
As soon as this announcement was issued, very few people responded.
Since the establishment of the outpost, the local Guanyun County People's Armed Forces Department has sent more than 10 island defenders, but no one has persisted. The longest stay among them was only 13 days, and the shortest stay was just one day. Mother ran back.
It was not until later that Wang Changjie, the Minister of the People's Armed Forces Department of Guanyun County, found a man named Wang Jicai. Faced with this job that involved a lot of separation and a meager income, Lao Wang waited for a long time before he said: "No one will go to me." Go ahead and make sure the task is completed."
At first, people around him didn't understand Wang Jicai's decision. It wasn't until many years later that his wife Wang Shihua explained why her husband did what he did.
Kaishan Island
1
Early in the morning on July 14 of this year, Wang Jicai went to Kaishan Island alone with dry food and clothes. There was no yangko team playing music along the way, and no people lined the streets to welcome him. There was only the sea breeze from both sides of the strait. The constant scraping made him unable to open his eyes.
As soon as he set foot here that day, he understood why some people were crying and trying to escape. As a remote island, not only was there scarce fresh water on the island, but it was also lifeless. The only thing left that could prove that there was human activity. Rows of dilapidated barracks.
Looking up into the distance, you can see that the coastline is so long that you can’t see the edge, and the surrounding steep rocks are as silent as ghosts. Even in broad daylight, the sight of it is frightening.
Fortunately, Wang Jicai is a bloody man with a height of 1.8 meters. Before he came, he had already made a bold statement: No matter how difficult the conditions are, he must stick to this Kaishan Island like a nail to defend the country's borders.
But unexpectedly, the "aboriginals" on the island gave this uninvited guest a slap in the face on the first day. Before night came, all kinds of water snakes, mosquitoes, and toads came out in groups. Lingering at the door of the barracks, Wang Jicai was so frightened that he quickly closed the door.
Because he couldn't see his fingers, Wang Jicai tripped over a raised stone when he was walking in the dark. The next second he fell firmly to the ground, and his head was bleeding.
Kaishan Island
This is nothing, the most creepy thing is the deathly quiet atmosphere.
On Kaishan Island at night, the sea breeze howled, and various strange sounds came from outside the tent from time to time. In order to embolden himself, Wang Jicai, who has never smoked or drank, took out 30 bottles of wine and 6 cigarettes from his luggage.
As the saying goes, wine makes people brave, so he took out a cigarette, lit it, and drank the bitter wine in the cup, temporarily paralyzing the fear in his heart and the longing for his relatives.
But who would have thought that as soon as he drank the wine, lightning flashed in the sky, and heavy rain poured down amidst the rolling thunder. In this way, Wang Jicai survived the first night.
After waking up during the day, he took a careful look around, and finally discovered in despair that there was really not a single family on this island. The nearest coast to Kaishan Island was 9.2 kilometers away, and it would take more than a mile to sail. During the hour, it was so inaccessible that there were very few merchant ships passing nearby.
In the 22 days after his death, Wang Jicai buried his longing for his family deeply in his heart and began to write a diary, identify ships, and clean tunnels every day.
Sometimes, he would comfort himself like this: Kaishan Island is connected to the direction of home. This is part of the country's ocean. Guarding here is to protect your family, and everything is worth it.
In the blink of an eye, more than 40 days passed. On August 30 of this year, a woman landed on Kaishan Island.
She is Wang Jicai's wife Wang Shihua. She was accompanied by comrades from the camp to deliver daily necessities to her husband. Before coming, she specially found a few dogs, hoping that these little guys could add some vitality to the island.
Couple and puppy
Although she was mentally prepared, she was still shocked by the husband in front of her. More than a month on the island made Wang Jicai almost a different person.
His hair was unkempt, his beard was sloppy, there was no good spot on his body, and he was badly bitten by mosquitoes. Because he had been exposed to the sun for a long time, he looked like he had been picked out of a pile of coal.
"Dad, how come you are like this after not seeing each other for a month?"
Looking at his longing wife in front of him, Wang Jicai smiled, pretending to be casual and wrote: "Nothing, except lack of water and electricity, everything Everything is fine."
That afternoon, Wang Shihua boiled a bucket of hot water and gave her husband a good bath. After cutting his hair, she begged bitterly:
"The life on the island is too hard, please go back with me. , the child is clamoring to see his father."
Looking at his wife's eager eyes, Wang Jicai said cruelly: "I can't leave, and no one will come if I leave. This island must be guarded, unless someone can be found above. "An Island Keeper"
As a couple who had been dependent on each other for many years, Wang Shihua understood her husband's temperament. In the days that followed, she never mentioned the topic of "leaving" again.
Three days later, while Wang Jicai was burying his head in writing his work diary, his wife appeared at the door of the barracks carrying a suitcase. Before her husband could speak, a faint sentence came from the other side.
"I quit my job as a teacher and told the children that I would accompany their father to defend the island. From now on, no matter how windy or rainy it is, I will accompany you."
From that day on, there was laughter at night on Kaishan Island, and the couple The two of them drank to strengthen their courage when they got scared while on patrol.
Wang Jicai and his wife
2
Like Wang Jicai, the first two days after his wife arrived, she was not used to anything.
Especially late at night, the waves outside the window crashed on the rugged rocks, and the sound of "puff, puff" frightened Wang Shihua straight into the quilt.
Whenever this happened, Wang Jicai would always stand up, hug him, and comfort him over and over again: "Don't be afraid, my husband is here."
As the days passed, Wang Shihua slowly accepted this world. During the day, she took care of the housework, followed her husband, and cleaned some weeds. Sometimes when she felt sleepy and tired, the couple would sit by the seaside and watch the scenery the next day.
As a woman with beautiful appearance and wisdom, Wang Shihua also planted several flowers, plants and fruit trees around the barracks. With the help of her husband, she also learned to write diaries and sort out tunnels. When Wang Jicai went down to the island to report on his work, she temporarily acted as a guard. Islander role.
Whenever her husband comes back from the outside, Wang Shihua will always run over happily and ask when the next island guard will take up his post, but unfortunately, the superiors can never find a replacement.
Kaishan Island is too bitter, and no one is willing to take over this hot potato.
Wang Jicai and his wife
Although they were a little disappointed, they still stayed there and wrote work logs as usual. Sometimes, Wang Shihua even joked: "Maybe God thinks that we are destined to this island and is unwilling to let us leave."
July 1987, Wang Shihua was about to give birth, and her husband initially planned to take her on a fishing boat to land to give birth, but he didn't expect the sea to roar like crazy during those few days.
Seeing the fishing boat disappearing, Wang Jicai was so anxious that he almost jumped up. Early in the morning on July 19, his wife complained that she had a stomachache. It seemed that she couldn't wait any longer.
With no choice but to follow the doctor's instructions, he found scissors and bandages. After disinfecting them with wine, he began to cut the umbilical cord of the newly born baby.
During the whole process, Wang Jicai's hands were shaking, sweat dripped from his head, and with a bright cry, the child came to the world smoothly.
"It's a son. Mom, I don't have much education. Please give our child a name."
Looking at the little guy in front of her, Wang Shihua said excitedly: "Let's call him Zhiguo. When he grows up, he will be like his father." After the birth of his son, Wang Jicai's mentality underwent a huge change. Life on the island was miserable and lonely. Can he watch his son grow up here with his own eyes?
So not long after, he once again plucked up the courage to find his superiors and asked to take his wife and children off the island and live a normal life.
Wang Jicai and his wife
Unexpectedly, Minister Wang Changjie's time was running out at this time. He was lying on the hospital bed and tightly holding Wang Jicai's hand. When he was dying, he repeatedly said: "Jicai, I have worked hard for you all these years." ! Before I die, the most worrying thing is this island."
Hearing this, Wang Jicai looked sad. He swallowed the words that were on his lips and never mentioned the topic of leaving the island from now on.
But soon, the blows of reality came one after another. Because the family had an extra mouth, the annual salary of 3,700 yuan had long been unable to make ends meet. Although later, another 2,000 yuan was successively subsidized, but this amount of money was not enough for a family of three. , like a drop in the bucket.
On weekdays, the couple saves and saves. On ordinary holidays, they are not even willing to eat meat. They patch their clothes when they are torn, layer by layer, which is really conspicuous.
Because they have been dealing with the sea all year round, their palms have long been cracked and disfigured, but even so, they were still reluctant to spend 8 yuan on a bottle of the cheapest hand cream.
Sometimes, when he comes home after a hard day's work and looks at the vicissitudes of life on his wife's face, Wang Jicai's heart can't stop feeling sour. He feels sorry for his wife to the core of his bones.
Because once upon a time, someone put 100,000 yuan in front of him, but he refused.
Wang Jicai and his wife
3
In 1993, a stranger came to Wang Jicai and asked him to "show his noble hand" by making Kaishan Island a temporary transfer station to park 60 smuggled cars for him, and promised to pay him 100,000 yuan in one lump sum afterwards.
You must know that this was the 1990s. At that time, 100,000 yuan was enough for the whole family to eat and drink without any worries and live a happy life. Plus Lao Wang at this time, it was obvious that there were seniors and juniors. This group of people came prepared.
It's a pity that they made the wrong calculation in the end. After Wang Jicai heard this, he got angry and said: "You can't even think of doing illegal activities here, even if I am here!"
After this incident, someone once said in fear: "You cut off other people's way to make a fortune, aren't you afraid of retaliation?"
Unexpectedly, Wang Jicai said without thinking: "This is my job, I didn't think too much about it."
Because of their meager income and difficult conditions, the couple They suffered from various diseases on the island one after another, especially Wang Jicai. He patrolled the island all year round and dealt with humidity, and he got rheumatism early on.
Compared with physical torture, spiritual regret is the eternal pain of the two of them. In order to guard this isolated island, the two of them have been almost isolated from the world for more than 30 years, even attending their daughter's wedding and the funeral of their elders. Neither could attend.
To this day, my daughter still remembers that her parents who were supposed to be at the wedding that day were nowhere to be seen. Amid the murmurs of the crowd, she could only walk down the red carpet alone wearing a veil and wedding dress.
She cried for a long time in the direction of Kaishan Island that day. She didn't understand why her parents did this.
Wang Jicai and his wife
Compared with their daughter’s complaints, the elders in the family were much more considerate. Once, the family brought a message to Wang Jicai. Before the old man passed away, he repeatedly told the people around him: "They can't come. It is not because of unfilial piety, but because we must protect the island. Only when the island is settled can the country be peaceful."
This simple sentence expresses the perseverance of Wang Jicai and his wife for most of their lives. Although their life is poor, it is related to thousands of families.
may have been influenced by his parents. After his son Zhiguo graduated from graduate school, he rejected high-paying positions in many companies and plunged into the military camp. Since then, he has become an officer carrying a gun to protect the border security of the motherland.
In 2018, due to his outstanding performance, he was sent to the coast guard force by his superiors. He began to follow in the footsteps of his father's generation and protect the islands of his motherland.
On this endless sea, the father and son completed the historic handover.
On July 27, 2018, because of femoral head necrosis, Wang Shihua had to go to the island early for treatment. That night, looking at the empty Kaishan Island, Wang Jicai's heart was filled with all kinds of thoughts.
Perhaps because he missed him too deeply, he suffered a heart attack and died on the way to the hospital.
This year, Wang Jicai was 58 years old. From his early days to his determination to persevere, he used his 32 years of actions to prove what it means to make a promise, and what it means to sacrifice a small family for everyone.
Three days later, Wang Jicai's farewell ceremony was held at the Guanyun County Funeral Home. The hall was filled with people who came to see him off. Some of them were cadres and some were strangers who came here to see him.
Wang Jicai's funeral
With the joy and sorrow, Wang Shihua walked slowly to her husband's coffin. She cried and wiped her tears and said: "Father, you go first, I will help you guard the island."
That year 8 In August, the couple's story was posted on the Internet and they became heroes in the hearts of hundreds of millions of netizens. In order to thank Wang Shihua for her silent dedication over the years, departments at all levels successively named her "Excellent Model" and "Excellent Party Member".
In order to fulfill her promise, Wang Shihua submitted the " Application for Husband to Continue Guarding the Island" to her superiors shortly after her husband left. However, considering her physical condition, the county finally appointed her as the director of the Kaishan Island Sentinel Station. .
Today's Kaishan Island is no longer the desolate barren land. Under the arrangements of the relevant departments, Wang Shihua led more than 10 militiamen to station on the island day and night.
Compared with the original dilapidated barracks where you could barely see your fingers, the island now has houses with clear windows and advanced power supply and fresh water systems.
The couple raised the national flag
To this day, Wang Shihua still remembers that one day in September 1986, her husband's father-in-law asked someone to bring something to his son.
After opening it, there was a national flag and a note. Wang Jicai picked it up and read: "Defending the island is like fighting a war. As long as the belief is there, the position is there. Don't be a deserter!"
From that day on, the couple The first thing they did after waking up was to raise the national flag. During the 32 years they were stationed together with their husband, they raised the national flag a total of 11,000 times.
Because they firmly believe that they are defending the country's borders, and it is worth it no matter how hard or tired they are.
