Chapter 113
Gu Mancang and his wife couldn't come up with a solution, so they just held a family meeting to discuss.
Since they retired and stayed at home, they have been living a good life. During the day, they go out for a walk to relax, come back to take care of the children, tend to the vegetable garden to stretch their muscles, and their bodies are very strong.
The situation outside is not good these days. The old couple went out and encountered the county GM young generals marching people on the street a few times. It was disturbing to watch, so they rarely went out on the street. Finally, they sunbathed at the entrance of the alley.
At night, the family sat on the sofa in the living room, and brought Gu Shidong over. His parents, elder brother and sister-in-law analyzed the pros and cons for him. Gu Chunmei and Xu Xiangqian also came to the courtyard. The street director held a loudspeaker and a red flag every day to hold a mobilization meeting in full swing, striving to let the qualified young intellectuals in the street go to the vast countryside to show their talents and build the motherland.
In the past two years, the county has sent off several batches of young intellectuals with big red flowers on their chests.
Dongzi just reached the age this year, and the street staff started mobilization at home.
There are two types of "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement". One is to join the Construction Corps to open up wasteland, usually to serve as a soldier in uninhabited frontiers and islands. The other is to "join the team" in remote villages and eat and work with the local people.
According to Dongzi himself, it is definitely better to join the army than to join the team.
How great it is to be a soldier, to be able to hold a gun and train to surround the motherland, it sounds glorious!
Zhang Cuilan poured cold water on her old son mercilessly.
"It's the same when you go to the military corps to open up wasteland! There's no paradise anywhere when you're away from your parents. Whether you go to an island or a frontier, you have to train while getting up early and working late to open up wasteland. Didn't the son of the Chen family on our street serve in the Northwest Military Corps? He wrote home that the military corps had difficulty in supply and couldn't afford to light kerosene lamps. At night, you had to light torches for lighting and dig wells to carry water. In the barracks, you couldn't fill your stomach without suffering. In some water-scarce areas, taking a shower is a luxury. Have you thought through all these difficulties?"
Gu Shidong rarely had a frivolous smile on his face. Instead, he sat upright and spoke seriously.
"Dad, Mom, since I was a child I have admired soldiers like my elder brother who defend the country. My dream is to become a glorious soldier of the People's Liberation Army. I can endure the hardships that my elder brother endures, and I can do what he can do."
After the old son said this, the parents could not say anything against it.
Lin Yao and Gu Chunmei looked at each other, and the two sisters gave Gu Shidong a thumbs up.
Gu Shidong shook his head and blushed.
"Good boy, you have ambition. Your brother-in-law supports you!"
Big Head Brother patted Gu Shidong on the shoulder and grinned.
Gu Shian was not surprised to hear his brother's words. He smiled and confirmed with Gu Shidong, "Have you thought it through?"
Gu Shidong nodded without hesitation.
"Think it through. A man should keep his word."
This time, Gu Shi'an's smile reached his eyes.
"Okay."
Gu Shidong's joining the army was settled.
The next day, Gu Shidong went to the street to fill out the form and signed up, and decided to join the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
Although Zhang Cuilan and her husband agreed to their son's joining the army, they were still worried.
When Gu Shi'an joined the army, although the two old people were reluctant, they were not as upset as they are now. The
eldest son has been calm and steady since he was a child. After joining the army, he has been working hard step by step. The old son's personality, to put it nicely, is carefree, and to put it bluntly, he is a fool who will shine if he is given a little color. How can the two old people be careful to let their child go.
Lin Yao discussed with Deputy Director Gu that since he was going to be a soldier anyway, it would be better to let Dongzi go to Xinjiang to join the army.
His elder brother Lin Yi was there, so Dongzi would be able to be taken care of if he went there.
Besides, after more than ten years of land reclamation, the Xinjiang Corps now had horse farms, cattle farms, and fertile farmland. During the difficult years a few years ago, Lin Yao asked Gu Shian to ask his old comrades for help and sent a train car of food to the Xinjiang Corps, about a thousand kilograms, all of which were moved out of the space.
Yes, Gu Shian finally discovered that Lin Yao had space.
That was in 1962, the last year of the three-year famine. Yunshui County suffered from a severe drought for half a year. There was almost no harvest. The people had no food, so they went to dig wild vegetables, leaves, grass roots...
Because of the food shortage, the government allocated a sum of relief food to the county, which was bean cakes, wheat bran, and oil residue. The county leaders shared the difficulties with the people and went to the people's homes to eat the food, which was also wild vegetables and bran.
At that time, Lin Yao had just given birth to Yuanyuan. The family could not buy food, so Lin Yao had no milk. Yuanyuan cried because of hunger, and Doudou and Dongzi were also pale because of their thin faces.
Seeing that this was not a solution, Lin Yao found an opportunity and took advantage of the fact that no one was at home to light the stove for Zhang Cuilan and her children.
As a result, Gu Shi, who came home early, installed it.
Lin Yao was holding a large pot of braised pork at the time, and saw that the matter could not be concealed any longer.
Lin Yao took a deep breath and told Deputy Director Gu the whole story of the space.
At that time, she felt like a deer in her heart, and nervously held the electric baton hidden in her sleeves. If Deputy Director Gu did anything wrong, she would use the electric baton to shock him and take the children away from home.
Unexpectedly, Deputy Director Gu hugged her nervously, saying that he didn't care about her future or where she came from, and that she must not leave him and her child because of this.
"I love you and the child, nothing else matters."
Lin Yao felt warm in her heart. From then on, the couple used the food in the space to make many good friends.
In the winter of 1964, the Xinjiang Corps encountered a heavy snowstorm that had not been seen in decades, and the grain harvest was poor. The next spring, the Corps had no food to eat. It relied on the several carts of food sent by Lin Yao and his wife to get through the difficult times. The division commander of the Xinjiang Corps also sent Lin Yao a silver medal.
The next day, Lin Yao went to the post office and called Lin Yi.
In the Second Xinjiang Corps, the vast Gobi Desert stretches as far as the eye can see. There are herds of cattle and sheep on the edge of the oasis. Pig pens and green vegetable fields are not far away. Soldiers are training and plowing the fields.
Bullets are flying across the training ground. Rows of soldiers are practicing shooting with targets. There are young soldiers standing guard with guns on their backs. The training ground is a dangerous area. Even if blank bullets are used, it is dangerous to approach at close range. Soldiers must be on guard.
In the office of the regiment, there is a map hanging on the wall. On the table in the office, Lin Yizhen and the political commissar and chief of staff of the regiment are simulating the terrain of the troops on the sand table.
The guard reported that his sister called.
Lin Yi's face lit up, and he ran to answer the phone.
A few minutes later, he came back with a smile on his face, bragging to his old comrades.
"Old Tang! Old Meng! You don't know? My Doudou can shoot a gun when he is so young, and my Yuanyuan also likes guns. The two children really take after me, haha!"
Political Commissar Meng looked incredible.
"Old Lin, how old are your two nephews and nieces? Can they hold real guns?"
In the Corps, you wouldn't let your children touch guns so early.
"It's not a real gun."
"What is it?"
"It's a wooden gun, a wooden gun is also a gun!"
"I'll be on vacation in a few days, I have to buy some good things for my Yuanyuan."
"..."
On the fifth day of August, a new batch of young people from Yunshui County who joined the army all wore green military uniforms, with festive red flowers tied on their chests, and lined up with large and small bags in their hands to take the train to the military corps.
When the news that Gu Shidong was going to join the army came out, all the relatives of the old Gu family took turns to come to the house to send their children.
Lin Yao and her mother-in-law packed several large bags. It was cold in Xinjiang, so the Corps prepared blankets for the soldiers. The conditions were tough these days, and in some places the soldiers even used their own quilts. The family prepared a brand new eight-jin quilt, a brand new ceramic washbasin, two sets of winter cotton padded jackets, and all the food and daily necessities for Gu Shidong.
Gu Shidong had a bag on his chest, a bag on his back, and two large bags in his hands.
The two children, Doudou and Yuanyuan, only knew that their uncle was leaving, and they cried all the way.
The family gave Gu Shidong many instructions, and when the whistle for assembly sounded, tears welled up in the eyes of the family.
Yuanyuan, the chubby boy, held a can of canned fruit in his hand, and handed it to his uncle with tears in his eyes, asking him to eat it on the way to Shidong.
The green train made a long sound, carrying a carload of young people away from their hometown, heading for a new journey in life.
A few days after Dongzi left, the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1966 came.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, Lin Yao led Yuanyuan out of the house.
Yuanyuan complained to her mother in a baby voice, "Mom, my brother ate peach cakes and my candies."
Gu Doudou laughed, saying that she was hungry.
Lin Yao looked at the greedy boy helplessly and said, it's Mid-Autumn Festival, it's okay to eat one more piece of candy, but you can't do that in the future.
If you continue to indulge in your sister's candy, be careful that Deputy Director Gu will come back and give you a slap in the face.
Gu Doudou stood up and saluted, "Yes!"
"........."
In Yunshui County, a military green jeep stopped in front of the supply and marketing cooperative where people were coming and going.
Because it is close to the military area, there are guards driving jeeps back and forth in the county town, and the people have become accustomed to it.
Unexpectedly, a young officer in military uniform and with an upright figure came down today. His aura is obviously not that of an ordinary person.
Several young female sales clerks in the supply and marketing cooperative pursed their lips with a springy look on their faces, stood up straight with a smile on their faces, and all wanted to attract this outstanding and handsome officer to their counters.
Unexpectedly, the young officer pretended not to see them and walked straight to Mr. Wang who was selling meat, and bought two pounds of meat and a few large bones.
Mr. Wang cut the meat, added two more large bones, tied them with straw ropes, and handed them to the guard behind him with great enthusiasm.
The young officer thanked Mr. Wang and turned to look at the cosmetics counter.
There were not many skin care products these days, only some clam oil, friendship cream, Pechoin, pearl cream and the like.
Lu Xiaohong in front of the cosmetics counter was excited and asked with a red face, "Excuse me, what do you want to buy?"
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