030
After the Wang Dahai incident, the soldiers in the regiment realized that their deputy regiment commander was not a weakling who relied on his family connections to get to the top, and their dissatisfaction with Xiao Li gradually disappeared.
When they saw this young deputy regiment commander again, everyone gave him due respect.
You can't be disrespectful. Don't you see that Wang Dahai is still in the kitchen?
He had to follow the deputy regiment commander every day, serving tea and water, but the deputy commander never paid any attention to him. It was so miserable.
There is competition in the army. Wang Dahai was punished to the kitchen squad, the battalion commander of the first battalion and the instructor of the third company of the second battalion had to go to the military academy for further studies, so three positions of cadres and staff were suddenly vacant. Some of the more active ones had some ideas.
During this period of time, they also realized that Captain Liu did not take care of things, and although Xiao Li was the deputy captain, he had great power. Under such circumstances, who would dare to offend Xiao Li?
If you mess with the deputy group leader again, you'll be the next Wang Dahai.
Si Xiaoli saw all these little tricks. He always believed that strength was the most important thing, so he saw everyone's performance and kept it in mind.
Time passed quickly and it was September. Xiao Li had been in this mountain village for more than a month and had served as the deputy regiment commander for a month. At the beginning of the month, he finally received his salary.
Xiao Li happily went to collect his pay slip, and on the way he met Dong Shiyi who was also there to collect his pay slip.
Dong Shiyi saw how happy he was and walked side by side with him, saying as they walked, "You look so happy."
Xiao Li said without disguising anything: "Of course not."
How can I not be happy when I get the allowance?
This was his first time receiving a regular allowance. The allowance he received during his years on the battlefield was saved by the army and given to him in one lump sum upon his return. As a new recruit, his allowance was six yuan a month.
The salary allowance score for being promoted to the rank of company commander was 101 points. One fixed salary point was equal to RMB 0.2473, which was RMB 24.98 per month. After saving for a few years, he received a total of more than RMB 1,000, which he later used to subsidize the families of his fallen comrades.
When he got married, he had no savings and never bought any gifts for his wife. When he left home, let alone leaving money for his family, the money he had was even given to him by Comrade Wang Xuemei because she was afraid that he would suffer.
To put it bluntly, Xiao Li is now a man who lives off his wife!
Xiao Li has always felt that he owed Wang Xuemei and wanted to give her the best, but the current environment makes it impossible for him to develop a side business and he can only live on his fixed salary.
Xiao Li now has a deputy regimental-level allowance salary score of 159 points, which means he can receive 39.32 yuan a month. In this era, such a salary is considered very high.
After receiving his salary, Xiao Li kept 5 yuan and mailed the rest back home like other soldiers, as a means of supporting his family.
The moment he sent it, Xiao Li breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, I'm not a gigolo anymore!"
Seeing him like this, Dong Shiyi sighed and said, "You and I are almost unable to make ends meet. Every month, my wife pays for all the household expenses. I guess you are not a real man."
Dong Shiyi would send his salary to the families of his brothers who had sacrificed their lives every month, as a way of taking care of their families. In the end, if the money was not enough, he would have to sacrifice his own family.
"Brother, have you ever thought about your wife and children when you do this?" Xiao Li disagreed with his approach. To put it bluntly, Xiao Li was still selfish. He would help others but not always. "It's good to help them solve their problems within your ability, but not to sacrifice your family for the sake of helping others. Cherishing the loved ones around you is the most precious thing."
In fact, there are many soldiers now who will send a portion of their monthly allowance to the homes of their fallen comrades, which eventually leads to their own families having no food to eat and their wives and children going hungry.
Xiao Li doesn't understand such kindness, nor does he want to understand it.
In September 1955, the first batch of Chinese People's Volunteer Army returned to China.
A week after the volunteers returned home, Dong Shiyi brought a newly published newspaper with red eyes.
Unlike Xiao Li and his men who returned home secretly, this time the volunteers returned home openly and were warmly welcomed by the Korean and Chinese people along the way.
Because their troops were stationed too far away, they were unable to witness the lively scene in person and could only get the news from the overwhelming number of newspapers.
Xiao Li held the newspaper and looked down at it: "Finally back..."
The newspapers reported extensively on the scene of the first group of volunteers returning home, writing: "When the camouflaged train crossed the Yalu River Bridge, there was a deafening sound of firecrackers, gongs and drums, and cheers. Wreaths and bouquets of flowers covered the sky, and the waiting condolences rushed to follow the train and ran and cheered. When the volunteers passed through the Arc de Triomphe, the crowds enthusiastically shook hands and hugged the volunteers, and everyone's face was filled with tears of excitement and happy smiles."
Looking at the photos of the Arc de Triomphe, the welcome arch, the flowers and the lively scenes printed in the newspaper, Xiao Li shed tears of excitement.
He pointed to the photo in the newspaper and said to Dong Shiyi, who was also excited, "This is the scene I dreamed of when I returned to China."
Today this scene finally came true.
"What a promising future!" Dong Shiyi said with tears in his eyes.
"I finally got the chance to be a war hero, why shouldn't I get to enjoy the glory for once?" Although it didn't happen, when Xiao Li saw the scene in the newspaper today, he felt as if he was there himself.
The scene of the triumphant return and the scene of the sacrifice of their comrades formed a strong contrast. Xiao Li couldn't help but choke up and said, "It would be great if they all came back alive..."
Dong Shiyi fell silent. The two men took off their military caps, lowered their heads and stood motionless, mourning for their fallen comrades, their tears wetting the newspapers in their hands.
Xiao Li was silent for a long time. Suddenly, he pulled out a pistol from his waist and fired into the air, shouting, "Brothers, the prosperous times will eventually come. I wish you a safe journey!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Deafening gunshots rang out in the air.
"Emergency assembly!" The soldiers who were busy training to open up the wasteland ran to the source of the sound with guns and surrounded Xiao Dong and the other two.
Looking at the soldiers surrounding them as if they were facing a formidable enemy, Xiao Li felt a little embarrassed and raised his hands awkwardly: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."
In the heat of the moment, I forgot where I was.
A group of soldiers looked at their deputy regiment commander and deputy political commissar with red eyes. The deputy political commissar was holding a wet newspaper in his hand, and the deputy commander was holding his pistol. The two of them stood in the middle with embarrassed faces, looking at them with a constipated expression.
The battalion commanders who had organized the emergency assembly looked at each other, unsure what to do. The second battalion commander looked at the gun in Xiao Li's hand and said dryly, "Captain Xiao, please be careful not to fire your weapons carelessly in the unit in the future. It's very dangerous."
"Okay~Okay~Okay~" Xiao Li nodded quickly in response.
Being surrounded by a group of soldiers with guns was quite dangerous. Xiao Li was also afraid, fearing that they would be shot to pieces by accident. By then, it would be too late to cry, so there was no way he would do it again.
Dong Shiyi remained relatively calm. He calmly folded the newspaper in his hand and said, "Just now, your Xiaotuan got a little excited while reading the newspaper and did something extreme. You should go back first. I will give him a political thought lesson later."
Damn, shameless!
He spoke as if he wasn't excited about reading the newspaper, with a sanctimonious air. It turned out that the filling was black sesame.
After everyone left, the two smiled at each other. Xiao Li hooked his arm around Dong Shiyi's shoulder and said, "Let's go find a place to drink."
The confused soldiers turned around and saw the two men chatting and laughing. They asked the people around them in confusion, "Battalion Commander, didn't Deputy Political Commissar Dong say he was going to give Deputy Commissar Xiao a lesson on ideology? Why are the two of them still arm in arm?"
How is it different from when I give myself a thought lesson?
The second battalion commander patted him and said, "Stinky boy, why do you care so much? Go back and continue training."
In October, China held its first national military parade since the war.
With the triumphant return of the Volunteer Army and the outstanding performance of the People's Liberation Army at the military parade, the Chinese people's patriotism and admiration for the People's Liberation Army reached an unprecedented high.
The people living near the 8147th Regiment even forgot that the back mountain was inaccessible. They brought their children and food, wanting to send their children to the army to serve as soldiers. However, the soldiers in the regiment drove them away one after another.
"Captain Xiao, there's a man named Sun Dafu looking for you at the army gate." Xiao Li was watching the regiment political commissar Lao Zheng and Dong Shiyi hand over their work when the guard came in and reported.
Lao Zheng is going to the military academy, and it is still uncertain whether he will come back after completing his studies. The organization has issued a notice that the deputy political commissar of the regiment, Dong Shiyi, will take over his position. At this time, Xiao Li and Liu Shijun are watching the handover between the two.
After the handover was completed, Dong Shiyi became the second-in-command in the regiment, partnering with Liu Shijun, and also became Xiao Li's immediate superior.
However, everyone also understands that Liu Shijun will retire and give way to Xiao Li in a while, so Dong Shiyi is essentially still Xiao Li's partner.
Sun Dafu was a fellow villager that Xiao Li met when he came here. He sent him to the back mountain at that time. Xiao Li still remembered that honest man who was a bit naive. He simply said a few words of blessing to Dong Shiyi and followed the guards to the gate of the army.
When Xiao Li arrived, Sun Dafu was admonishing a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy beside him, "That's a PLA comrade Dad met a while ago. You must behave well when you meet him. We'll try to stay here and serve in the army."
"Hello, fellow villager, nice to see you again." Xiao Li glanced at the child beside him and understood. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Sun Dafu nudged his youngest son beside him, asking him to step forward a few steps. He introduced him, "Comrade Xiao, this is my youngest son, who is sixteen years old. Do you think it's possible to assign him to your unit?"
The child was short and thin, and he looked at Xiao Li with expectant eyes.
"My friend, it's not conscription time yet, so we won't accept anyone casually. Furthermore, the army has regulations that prohibit you from serving in your place of residence. Even if your son wants to serve in the future, he can't do so right next door."
The reason why the nearby villagers sent their children to join the army was, firstly, because being a soldier was glorious and they wanted to secure a stable job for their children, and secondly, because the army was close to home and they could visit their children anytime when they missed them.
It was no use having fellow villagers come looking for him all the time. Xiao Li thought for a moment and said directly, "Fellow villager, I wonder if you heard any gunshots recently?"
Sun Dafu nodded. Of course not! The sudden gunshots a few days ago scared them.
"Fellow villagers, we are a military unit here. We don't allow anyone to approach the military base in any form. A few days ago, someone came here and was shot by our soldiers. He is still being held captive."
Sun Dafu was startled and took a few steps back unconsciously: "Why...why are you hitting me?"
It’s okay to be afraid.
Xiao Li continued, "We are a military unit, and as a soldier, I have the right to shoot and interrogate strangers. Go back, folks. We don't accept any soldiers here. Don't come here again if you don't have anything to do. I'm afraid the soldiers might accidentally injure you."
He then said to Sun Dafu's youngest son, "If you want to join the army, work hard to keep fit and sign up for the next conscription."
With no hope of joining the army, Sun Dafu had no choice but to return with his reluctant children.
After returning, just as Xiao Li had expected, no nearby villagers dared to run here again.
He even told his children that they must never forget to run to the back mountain, otherwise they would be mistaken for spies and beaten to death.
From then on, the back mountain became a mysterious place that children longed to go to but were afraid to go to.
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