Chapter 27 Xie Jingchen will arrange everything for me
With a broad smile and a passionate voice, he said, "Welcome to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps family! Passionate young people aspire to serve the country, so you have come here to cultivate and defend the border and build up the frontier!"
The leaders loved to hold meetings and give speeches, but the educated youth were exhausted and hungry after their long journey, their heads were spinning and they could hardly hear what he was saying.
They just wanted it to end quickly so they could eat and rest.
More than half an hour later, the leader's "speech" finally ended, and it was the turn of the organization department staff of the regiment to take the stage with the roster.
The officers from various companies who came to collect the workers stood aside, sizing up the new laborers and whispering among themselves from time to time.
The regimental officer began reading out names and assigned companies based on the roster.
This is the final step in determining everyone's final destination.
The agricultural company is a grassroots unit, where the workers do all the manual labor, which is the hardest and most tiring, and it also has the most personnel assigned to it.
If someone's personal file lists their special skills, such as being able to drive or do repairs, they might be assigned to an agricultural machinery station.
Those with artistic talents might be assigned to the propaganda team, while those who are physically strong might be assigned to the armed forces company...
A very small number of educated youth with connections had their families pull strings before they even came to the Production and Construction Corps.
The purpose was to assign them to relatively easy companies close to the regimental headquarters, so that they could suffer as little hardship as possible.
However, the vast majority of people are just a line of text on a roster, randomly or on demand.
Those who were assigned to good companies were secretly happy, while those who were assigned to difficult companies were full of worries.
Friends you just met on the train may become strangers from now on.
Because a regiment is very large, the distance between companies is usually very far, and everyone is very busy with work, so it is difficult to see each other again.
From somewhere in the crowd, there were low sobs and sighs, but also excited shouts full of revolutionary fervor.
After the roll call and assignments were completed, the officers of each company stepped forward and greeted the new recruits of their company as if they were claiming items.
"Agriculture company, assemble here!"
"The livestock company, come here!"
The educated youth picked up their luggage again and headed towards their final destination.
Xia Fanxing listened carefully; the officers at the regiment headquarters did not mention Qiao Feitian's name.
But judging from Qiao Feitian's expression, she seemed to have known this would happen all along and was not surprised at all.
Instead, she asked Xia Fanxing curiously, "Did I miss something? I don't think I heard your name?"
Xia Fanxing also looked puzzled. "I wasn't reported, and I don't know why. But were you also not reported? What's going on with you?"
Qiao Feitian blushed again, "I spoke to him on the phone before I came here. He told me to come to him after I finished here, and he would arrange everything for me."
"You're so lucky," Xia Fanxing said, feigning envy.
"It's alright," Qiao Feitian said. "Why don't you go ask the staff what happened?"
Xia Fanxing shook her head, "I'm not in a hurry. You can ask whenever you want. I'll go with you to find Commander Xie first. If I miss such a good opportunity, I might never see him again in my life."
Xia Fanxing's words were exactly what Qiao Feitian wanted to hear.
She needed someone like Xia Fanxing to tell Xie Jingchen about the persona she had cultivated along the way.
So she agreed without hesitation, and the two of them walked arm in arm to find the regimental officer, who then took them to the command post of the active-duty troops.
·
The command post was bustling with activity, with a large number of people coming and going.
The guards stood at the entrance, patiently conducting simple security checks on everyone entering and leaving.
The officer said, "I'll go in and let them know first."
He underwent a security check by the guards, while Xia Fanxing and Qiao Feitian waited outside the command post.
Xia Fanxing curiously observed her surroundings and saw a banner hanging above the command post that read "Joint defense by the military and civilians, guarding the border together."
The name "Bingtuan" (兵团) is easily misunderstood, leading people to believe it is a military organization, but it is not.
There are no active-duty military personnel in the Corps, only some demobilized soldiers and a large number of employees.
The Corps adopts the military's hierarchical system, but in reality, it is equivalent to a company.
A corps typically consists of a dozen or so divisions, each division has several regimental farms, and each regimental farm has several companies.
The educated youth worked in the production team and were defined as employees. They received receipts and wages every month, which was different from earning work points in the countryside.
However, the regiments are divided into ordinary regiments and border regiments.
Border regiments have a unique situation, with the slogan "Soldiers in wartime, farmers in peacetime".
That's why active-duty troops are temporarily stationed there, both to help the border regiments conduct highly regular training for their employees and cultivate them into "corps soldiers," and to be vigilant, patrol, and guard against potential enemy situations on the border.
"Go in," the guard said to the officer after completing the inspection.
"Thank you." The clerk lifted the heavy curtain and went inside.
The command post was a hive of activity.
Two hand-cranked telephones and a radio hummed in the corner, and a young communications soldier, wearing headphones, was making tense calls.
Amidst the swirling smoke, several staff officers frowned and discussed something in hushed tones on the map table.
A military map hung on the wall, densely marked with red and blue arrows. A tall man stood with his back to the door, staring intently at the map.
"Thank you, Commander Xie," the officer called softly.
The man turned around.
·
A short while later, the officer came out of the command post.
Xia Fanxing and Qiao Feitian both took two steps forward.
Before they could even speak, they saw a man walk out from behind the secretary.
The man's hand pressed against the curtain; his knuckles were large, and his palms had calluses from years of holding guns, but his nails were trimmed short and clean.
He was wearing a faded military uniform with an old military overcoat draped over it.
He was half a head taller than the staff member, and his long legs could take two steps in one stride, causing the staff member to secretly quicken his pace.
He wore a leather belt around his waist, the brass buckles gleaming even though they were worn, outlining his strong and ascetic physique.
The officer brought Xie Jingchen to Xia Fanxing and Qiao Feitian.
"Commander Xie, I'll be going now."
"Hard."
The man's voice was deep, resonant, and powerful, carrying an imposing aura of authority befitting a superior.
Qiao Feitian lowered her eyelids and took a deep breath, trying to hide her guilty conscience.
But after the sound entered Xia Fanxing's ears, some blurry fragments of memory flashed uncontrollably through her mind.
A chaotic room, a burning body.
A passionate and intense love affair, reaching the ultimate peak.
Her delicate skin succumbed to his rough, large hands.
His burning passion was poured out onto her gentle, watery home.
It was a very...crazy night.
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