In the room, Dami pushed Dabao onto a chair, then moved a chair like his and sat opposite him.
"Come on, let's talk."
Hearing him say this, Dabao's eyes suddenly turned red.
Dabao has never been convinced by anyone over the years. The only person of his age that he is convinced by is his brother Dami.
Although the two of them have been quarreling since they were young, in his heart, this is his real brother.
"Don't you know what's in my heart?" He turned his face to the side stubbornly, with a hint of grievance in his tone.
Da Mi ignored him and instead stood up from the chair and walked to the small bookcase beside the bed.
He opened the glass book and looked at the spine of each book carefully.
"Lend me these books. I'll return them to you when I take the exam next year." Da Mi said as he pulled out several books one after another.
Dabao took a look and felt heartbroken.
Those were all about sailing and biographies of leaders of various countries. There are none of them outside now. His father got them from somewhere and hid them in a small warehouse. Then he found them and "stole" them when his father wasn't paying attention.
But even so, when Rice asked him for it, he never thought of refusing.
"Take care of it and don't let anyone see it." He muttered.
But he reacted immediately after he said that, and couldn't help but snorted: "Can you guarantee that you will be able to take the college entrance examination next year? Can you definitely pass it?"
"I can't." Facing his brother's provocation, Da Mi's tone was very calm.
After saying that, he held the book in his hands and sat back on the chair.
Then he looked at Dabao and said, "I can't guarantee that I will take the college entrance examination next year. But I can guarantee that as long as there is this opportunity, I will never let it go. Don't worry, your brother will definitely pass the exam, and the book will be brought back to you intact."
"I'm not doing this for the book." Dabao frowned and explained a little unhappily.
He wanted to talk to his brother about his dream, but Da Mi changed the subject: "Do you know Captain Xing?"
Dabao nodded: "I know him. Second Battalion Commander, how could I not know him?"
"He changed his job this year," Da Mi continued.
Dabao was stunned.
It can be said that the second battalion commander Xing Fei and the first battalion commander Shi Lei are the people he is most familiar with on Zhongshan Island.
In Dabao's impression, both of them are very outstanding.
In every aspect, they are not inferior.
Apparently, Rice thinks so too.
"Uncle Shi Lei has gone to a new unit and is now a regimental-level cadre, but Uncle Xing Fei retired this year. Back then, everyone praised Ren Ping'an and Uncle Ren as rare and good cooks, but didn't they still have to be demobilized when they reached the age?
And our uncle. ”
"Our uncle has to go too?" Dabao suddenly became anxious.
If he felt a little touched when talking about the departure of the people mentioned above, he would feel uncomfortable when talking about his own relatives.
"If there are no special circumstances, my uncle should also be discharged early next year. In fact, if it weren't for the shortage of people for disaster relief this year, he should have reached the end of his term in the second half of the year."
At this point, Da Mi raised his head and asked, "Do you know why?"
Dabao didn't say anything.
Da Mi didn't expect him to answer, but continued with what he had just said: "Because they have no culture."
Dabao bit his lower lip.
"The reason why Uncle and Uncle Qi were promoted to division commanders is because they both graduated from military academies. Uncle Shi Lei also attended high school."
At this point, Da Mi looked up and locked eyes with Da Bao: "You don't have to tell me your thoughts. Everyone knows what you're thinking. If you want to join the army, I believe you have the ability to do so."
At this point, he smiled and said, "You have been in the army for so many years, and have been trained by your uncle for so long. I was just kidding when I said you couldn't be a soldier. But, being a soldier is easy, but what skills do you have to guarantee that you can stay?
This is not a wartime period. If you have the fighting spirit and the courage to charge forward, you will have a chance and be able to make meritorious service. Dabao, who can enter the military camp and wear this military uniform? Tell me, who is afraid of death or fatigue? Who is worse than who?
Uncle Ren? Uncle Xing is bad? They just didn't stand a chance! The word "uneducated" blocked their way completely.
But at least they have been working on the island for so many years. If I were on shore, I would probably not be able to stay for half the time, and my service would be over, and I would have to go home early!
What are you doing in the army? Are you planning to hang out for a few years and then go home? ! ”
At this point, Da Mi clenched his fists and said, "Do you know that the new type of ship that Grandpa Hua and his team developed before was selected from the group some time ago. If you want to be on the ship, you must have at least a high school diploma. Do you have it?!
We have been on the island for so many years, watching our grandfather and others build the ship. I want to get on board, but I don’t even qualify for the preliminary selection! Do you know how that feels? ! ”
Dabao couldn't utter a word.
He knew that Da Mi was talking about himself.
But it wasn't him either.
There is no high school on the island. Not only Da Mi, but all the children who joined the army from the island only graduated from junior high school at most. If academic qualifications are really necessary to pave the way, this group of people will be blocked.
Dabao knows that although he has been studying with his grandfathers, he has already learned high school knowledge. But if he joins the army now, all he can get is his junior high school diploma.
That means that in the future I will most likely follow the same path as Brother Dami or those uncles.
He still wanted to walk the same path his biological father had walked before, but - he suddenly realized that he could not compare to his biological father.
My biological father was a well-educated man in the entire Pioneer Group. If it weren't for his background, he would have gone to military school.
If he insists on joining the army now, there is a high possibility that he won't even be able to catch up with his father.
"Brother, are you sure you can get into university?" Dabao raised his head and asked in a muffled voice.
Seeing him like this, a hint of relief flashed across Da Mi's eyes.
"I don't know." He looked at Dabao: "But I'm willing to try my best."
"Then I'll try it too." Dabao nodded heavily.
Da Mi didn't tell anyone what he talked about with his brother. I stayed at home for a few days, and then returned to the army with a bunch of collected information and books.
But since that conversation, Dabao seemed like a different person.
He never mentioned joining the army again after the New Year. Instead, he devoted himself to studying seriously.
When Dami said he wanted to be a ruler, the whole family thought he was joking, but they didn't expect that he was serious.
He didn't know when he went out for a walk, but he actually found a suitable piece of wood.
The boy worked hard at home, sawing and grinding for a long time. Later, he asked Shen Qingyun to get some tung oil.
Before leaving, he actually prepared a shiny ruler for each of the two elderly people.
But the two elders never had the chance to use the ruler. On the contrary, Dabao used it to scare Zhihua several times when he was naughty and refused to practice calligraphy.
Dabao is completely different now than before. He seems to have taken over Dami’s position.
It was not enough for me to study hard, I also became a small supervisor, an supervisor who was many times more powerful than the two old men.
Not to mention the two younger ones, even a usually obedient child like Erniu had to shed tears countless times after being scolded by her brother because of occasional slacking off.
The two old men were very happy and their spirits soared. In addition to what they think will be useful for the exams, they also pass on other useful knowledge they have summarized to these children.
It has been more than half a year since the family moved to Jincheng. At the suggestion of the elderly, not only the two older children, but also Zhihua and Shiyan have not looked for schools anymore.
Everyone learned from the two elders.
Looking at the children's rapid learning progress, Yin Xiaoman sometimes finds it hard to believe.
She even thought that if there really was a college entrance examination next year, not only Dabao, but even Erniu could give it a try.
Apart from her younger age, the little girl's grades are not necessarily worse than her brother's.
Time flies, and half a year has passed in the blink of an eye. Soon it was October 1977.
Even though they had been mentally prepared, when they heard the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination on the radio, everyone still cheered from the bottom of their hearts.
As for the Shen family, the whole family has entered a tense and exciting stage of preparation.
Mr. Hua and Mr. Ning talked to Yin Xiaoman and his wife, and suggested to them that Erniu should take the college entrance examination with Dabao this time.
After all, there is no age limit this time. Moreover, in their opinion, because it was the first year that the college entrance examination was resumed, although there were many candidates taking the exam, basically most of them were not fully prepared.
In this situation, Erniu has a very high chance of standing out, and it can be said that it will be no problem for her to get into a good university of her choice.
But this time, Yin Xiaoman did not agree immediately.
This year, Erniu just turned sixteen.
A long time ago, Yin Xiaoman had discussed with the man and set a rule in their family, which is that no one can serve in the army if they are under the age of eighteen.
At that time, I was simply considering the child's physical condition.
These children, both Da Mi and Da Bao, suffered physical damage when they were young. Although Yin Xiaoman tried her best to make up for it later, in her heart, she was always afraid that the children would suffer from too severe a fall too early and suffer from health problems in the future.
This cannot be said to be spoiling a child. The situation of one's own man is the best example.
Shen Qingyun joined the army when he was young. From the day he joined the army, he had to risk his life. As a result, he was only in his thirties, but he was already suffering from a lot of diseases.
It’s not obvious at normal times, but when it’s windy and rainy, the joints become stiff. Even though he sometimes tried very hard to control himself and didn't want his wife to see it, how could he hide the pain from her?
On the island, joining the army can be said to be the best way out for those children. So Yin Xiaoman would definitely not say that he would not let his son and daughter go.
But she still wanted them to grow up a little, have stronger bones, and be able to withstand the wind and rain before she left.
At that time, Da Mi and her were upset for so long because of this, but she didn't give in.
Dabao is now going to apply to a military academy. Yin Xiaoman fully agrees and will definitely not hold the child back.
But when it came to Erniu, she hesitated.
When she was on the island before, joining the army was a way out and she had no choice. But now, seeing her daughter who was determined to enter the military academy under the guidance of her brother, she really couldn't bear to let her go.
What's more, the little girl is only sixteen.
She was sent out at such a young age to fight with those men...
Just thinking about it, Yin Xiaoman felt like his heart was about to rot.
In particular, my uncle also said: "Erniu is likely to be the youngest among the candidates taking the college entrance examination this year."
So - how could she make up her mind to let her underage daughter go to a military academy with men who were much older than her!
What if she didn't know?
Once you enter that door, there is no longer any distinction between men and women, big or small, just soldiers. Then what about the rule that she set that people under the age of 18 cannot serve in the army? !
But this time, Yin Xiaoman's idea was opposed by the whole family. Regardless of whether Erniu was happy about it or not, Shen Qingyun was totally against it.
"The command profession doesn't recruit female soldiers. Even if Erniu is admitted, the best she can do is go to the Military Medical University, the same school Liu Chang went to. By the time she graduates, she will be over 18 years old. Your worries are totally unfounded."
Therefore, no matter how much Yin Xiaoman worried about something, she could only keep it in her heart.
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