On the other hand, not long after the commendation meeting, appointments for several family members followed.
The eldest brother, Shen Dong, serves as the commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Regiment of a military region in Northwest China; the third brother serves as the deputy commander of the 3rd Regiment of a reconnaissance regiment in Beijing; the fourth brother serves as the battalion commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of a reconnaissance regiment in a military region in Southwest China; and the second brother-in-law serves as the commander of an artillery regiment in Beijing.
It can be said that their positions were all assigned based on their strengths. Not to mention the second brother-in-law, just look at the three brothers, all of whom are excellent reconnaissance soldiers.
My dad told me that during this battle against the enemy, the three of them each led their teams to be the first to enter the enemy's heart and dealt the enemy a heavy blow.
In my parents' eyes, their arrangements were the best. Putting everything else aside, it seemed unlikely that there would be any major war anytime soon. The only concern was that my fourth brother was in the southwest, but they were quite open-minded about it, since they had all come through war themselves.
However, the children in the family, except for the four of them, were extremely excited when they learned that their father was staying in the military compound.
Although my second brother-in-law was in Beijing, the artillery regiment wasn't going to just sit around rusting away in the city; their training was no easier than that of other branches of the military.
The other children were reluctant to part, but there was nothing they could do. As descendants of soldiers, the first thing they learned was how to be separated from time to time.
Three people were missing from our family in just a few days, but it wasn't a big deal. Before leaving, our whole family ate roast duck in the city and took a family photo.
Speaking of taking a family photo, we originally thought we would go to a photo studio, but in the end we didn't go.
The reason? Well, there are 8 out of 20 family members wearing military uniforms. Taking photos outside would be too conspicuous, since there are still some enemies lurking in the shadows.
Especially now that the country is opening up to the outside world and there are more people interacting with people from other parts of the country, how can you be sure that the other party is not from another country?
Fortunately, because several of the young commanders in the family performed well in this battle, not long after, I heard Dad say:
"You guys, think it over. A military reporter is coming to visit tomorrow. Who of you will go?"
"I don't want to, I'm the youngest, I'm not qualified."
"I'm the second youngest, so I'm not qualified either."
"My position is the same as the third brother's, so let's pass! Let's give this opportunity to the eldest brother!"
"No, I didn't want to either!"
"But, brother, what can we do? Among the four of us, you hold the highest position."
"You can't use me as a scapegoat!"
"There's nothing I can do, you're the boss, aren't you?"
"that is"
There was no other way but forcing the older brother to give the interview.
When the visiting military reporter learned that we were worried about taking a family photo, they volunteered to help take it.
What I didn't expect was that after taking the large family photo, then the small family photo, and then taking a separate photo for each of the children, and finally, after taking one photo for each of the four couples, we also took a group photo.
Then dozens of photos were developed. What can you do when you have a lot of family members?
It was only because the eldest brother couldn't stand it anymore that he secretly gave the military newspaper reporter money; otherwise, the cost of developing the photos alone would have been a considerable sum.
But Mom thinks it's great that she doesn't have to spend her own money to take pictures, and she even said it would be great if she could have a camera at home.
You know what, this family really needs one. In that case, I can write to Miss Linda and ask her to help me buy one.
Soon, the adults in the house were either back in their jobs or going to school. Even the youngest, Xiao Shi, didn't like staying at home much anymore and spent all his time either at daycare or out playing.
It made Mom restless to stay there by herself. She would either go for a walk around the factory or visit the other shops.
I'm either busy with my studies or business.
Besides these, there is also a new policy from above regarding the return of educated youth to the city.
Since I had nothing to do on Sunday, I drove to Director Zhao's office to seek help.
"Xiao Li, what brings you here today?"
"Is there really something wrong? This is the list of educated youth sent to the countryside that I got from you last time."
Is there a problem?
"To be honest, I came to you because I didn't know what to do. If I had a solution for my DSLR, I wouldn't have bothered you."
"Comrade Li, has something happened?"
"To be honest, there are a few people here that I can't contact, and I even asked my colleagues who are out doing business to inquire in their hometowns. The information they came back was that there was no such person."
"What did you say? That's not right! I don't know all the people here."
But their families have always sent things to these children, so how could they not have anything?
"Comrade Li, you don't suspect they were murdered, do you?"
"That's why I had this concern, so I arranged for someone to go out of my way to inquire, but there really was nothing there. And from what they told me, some people were hesitant to speak, some looked very flustered, and some didn't know anything at all."
"If what you're saying is true, then I'm afraid there's a big problem."
"After I learned about this situation, I didn't ask anyone to call the police. I was afraid that the people in the Public Security Bureau might also be implicated. That's why I reported this situation to you."
"Has everything been investigated thoroughly, or..."
"There is only one case; we have not received a reply to the others yet, and we are unaware of any other situations."
"Here's what we'll do! I'll discuss it with the higher-ups. You don't need to worry about anything else. I'll let you know if I get any information later."
"good!"
Not long after, he learned from Director Zhao that three of the dozen or so people had committed suicide because they could not bear the oppression of the locals.
The remaining few were forced to marry men from the countryside. After hearing that the college entrance examination had been reinstated, they planned to take the exam and return to the city, only to be beaten by their husbands or bullied by their mothers-in-law.
Some people were even beaten to death, and the exam questions were hastily buried!
These were all girls who were not valued in their maternal homes, or who felt ashamed when they heard that their families had been given to people from the countryside, and thus pretended that they did not have such a daughter.
In the end, their fate was so tragic. It can be said that this incident had a significant impact not only in the military compound, but also throughout Beijing and even the whole country, with people inquiring about the situation of their children who had not returned to the city from the countryside.
There was nothing we could do; the investigation wasn't conducted by the military units in Beijing, but rather by the nearest unit to the area where these educated youth had been sent to the countryside.
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