1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 303: There is a colorful soul in the green military uniform

"The students are really enthusiastic." Jiang Xian muttered.

Amidst warm applause, he stood up and clapped his hands, and greeted the students and teachers in the audience.

Jiang Xian scanned the seats and found that there were few familiar faces. The people closest to him on the Yanda campus were Liang Zuo, Wang Xiaoping and others. Now, the students of this class have graduated and left the Yanda campus.

College students are in great demand these days. They don’t have to look for jobs after graduation as they are guaranteed to be assigned one.

Graduates from Yanda University are even more valuable. In a nutshell, they are the best of the best.

Liang Zuo went directly to the Ministry of Education, a national-level institution, and got a stable job that everyone envied.

Wang Xiaoping was assigned to Renwen Press. In this world-class publishing house, he worked with the country's top translators, poets, and writers, and talked and laughed with great scholars, and interacted with all kinds of people.

But her heart was not in the humanities club.

Jiang Xian knew that she was still thinking about the door to the new world and the beautiful country across the ocean.

As the applause gradually died down, the leader of Yenching University spoke again.

"Now, please ask Comrade Jiang Xian to report to us the heroic deeds on the front line of Koulin Mountain."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the auditorium gradually quieted down, and everyone looked in the direction of Jiang Xian, waiting for him to speak.

Jiang Xian walked slowly to the center of the stage, his eyes bold and generous, exuding a grand aura.

He picked up the microphone and said with full energy:
"Dear leaders, comrades, and young friends, I am not a combat hero, nor a model of meritorious service. I am just an ordinary person who has lived with the soldiers on the front line for a period of time."

"Today, leaders and students have taken time out from their busy work and studies to listen to my report. This is a token of understanding, care and encouragement for the cadres and soldiers on the front line of Faka!"

There was another round of warm applause from the audience.

If this kind of main theme were to be sung in later generations, students might start to feel sleepy, after all, it is always the same old tune and their ears would become callused from hearing it.

But it’s different these days, and such words are quite useful. This era requires expressing such an attitude and creating such an atmosphere.

So after Jiang Xian finished speaking, the students in the audience were still staring at him intently, waiting for the content of his next report.

"Today, the topic I'm going to talk about is 'Long Live Understanding'. It's divided into two parts. The first part will introduce the general situation of the Koulinshan front, and the second part will introduce the soldiers' joys, sorrows, anger and happiness."

"Koulin Mountain is located on the border of Yunnan. It is mainly composed of three highlands. Together with the other three mountains, it forms a natural barrier that locks the door to our country. Now, I will introduce these four mountains to you."

Zhu Hong was listening quietly in the audience. Jiang Xian's report was generally serious, but it was also humorous. He kept inserting jokes to break the cold and solemn atmosphere.

For example, when he was introducing the four mountains, he raised his left hand and gave metaphors to the students in an interactive way.

"Now, my hand facing you is China, and my hand facing us is the enemy's side."

"The mountain on my pinky finger is Koulin Mountain, the mountain on my ring finger is Laoshan Mountain, the mountain on my middle finger is Balihedong Mountain, and the mountain on my index finger is Zheyin Mountain."

This metaphor is easy to understand and vivid. Zhu Hong immediately had a picture in front of his eyes: four mountains rising one after another connected together, tightly surrounding the territory of the motherland.

"I won't tell you about the specific battle. I'll just tell you what's going on now."

"We recaptured Koulin Mountain last year and have it firmly under our control."

"During this year, the enemy launched counterattacks continuously, more than 200 times, and fired more than 20,000 artillery shells."

"The most critical one was the counterattack at the division level."

Jiang Xian told Guo Mingxiao what he had heard about the dragging of the corpse.

He spoke vividly and logically, and as he spoke, the students felt as if they were on the battlefield of Koulin Mountain.

Hearing that the enemy was coming over with marching pots on their backs and looking so arrogant, I couldn't help but clench my fists.

When they heard that the enemy was fleeing with their marching pots on their backs, they became excited and cheered and applauded.

"The soldiers of Koulin Mountain told me that the thing they are most proud of in their lives is watching their enemies come to collect their bodies with the white flag!"

When the students in the audience heard this and imagined such a scene, they were all moved and excited, and they started to applaud spontaneously.

The applause was like a tide, surging and majestic.

The two female students, Zhu Hong and Yin Qiujin, were trembling with excitement at this moment. They had never been so moved and excited before.

Chen Huangmei clapped his hands and saw Ji Xianlin turning his head towards him, so he quickly moved over.

"Jiang Xian's report incorporates his personal experience and thoughts!"

Chen Huangmei nodded. "Yes, it is precisely because the content of his report is humane that it can resonate with and inspire so many students to think."

Jiang Xian took a sip of water to moisten his throat. It was already a little dry and painful when he spoke.

He really didn't know how Cai Chaodong had managed to give more than 250 lectures on "Long Live Understanding" across the country and still remain so enthusiastic.

Apart from anything else, it would be difficult for the throat to withstand such intensity.

He, Cai Chaodong, is not Mayday.

Mayday only held 68 concerts in a single year.

"Now I will talk about the second part, the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of the soldiers."

"We are basically the same age as the soldiers, and I believe that the students also want to know more about the soldiers' living conditions and thoughts on the front line."

"I went to the frontline several times and communicated with the soldiers."

"During my interactions with them, I can feel that our soldiers are ordinary people, with their own emotions, joys, sorrows, anger and happiness."

"I was still in Kunming when I received the order to go to the front."

“Kunming is full of singing and dancing, but once you arrive in Malipo, the atmosphere instantly changes.”

"There were military vehicles everywhere, with camouflage nets on top, ammunition and troops inside. Soldiers were wearing helmets, leggings, holding guns, and some were leaning sideways or leaning against the wall."

As Jiang Xian spoke, the atmosphere of battle filled the air, and the students became nervous again.

However, Jiang Xian's narration soon became friendly and humorous.

"The road there was all dirt, and the soldiers were all covered in dust. It was hard to tell who was who. Only two eyes were moving, blinking."

"Ha ha ha ha."

The students in the audience burst into laughter again.

Jiang Xian then recounted a few stories that he had encountered on the front line.

He said that when he went to the Dulinshan position, he heard that he would be directly exposed to the enemy's guns, and he was so nervous that he just held the helmet on his head tightly.

But when I met the soldiers at the front line of Koulin Mountain, I found that they were still playing chess.

"I was wearing a helmet and my forehead was covered with sweat, but they were shirtless and had no clothes on. One soldier was playing the harmonica."

"I said, you still play the harmonica."

"The young soldier thought I was a cadre, and quickly saluted me, saying that there was only one harmonica in the whole platoon, and they took turns playing it to relieve their boredom and worries."

"After the young soldier finished speaking, he led us into the tunnel. I went in to take a look."

"Good guy."

"It's a tunnel club!" "There's not much stuff inside, just a few comic books, a few copies of Popular Movies, and magazines like China Youth and People's Literature. I looked at the date, it's from 81, so it's long out of date."

"The little soldier said that these were gifts sent to them by several middle school students. They are very valuable here."

"Gradually, the young soldiers and I became familiar with each other, and I even chatted with some of them. I told them that I asked the Moutai Distillery to send you Moutai some time ago. Have you had a taste of it?"

"The soldiers said they drank it and kept thanking me. The young soldier told me that they had three pots of Moutai liquor for the whole platoon. He took a few sips and it tasted better than 'Maotai that makes you angry'."

When hearing the phrase "Maotai is so mad at me", many students in the audience laughed knowingly.

Those who were not aware of the incident soon learned the inside story of this anecdote through explanations from others.

As everyone laughed, the warrior described by Jiang Xian became more humane, approachable and lovable.

"In this tunnel, I also saw a column on which were some cigarette shells, paper used to wrap bullets, and paper used to wrap dry food. Some poems and small drawings were written and pinned on it.

The soldiers had neither dough nor nails, so they used bullets as nails, pressing them in one by one.

In the middle of the tunnel, there was a small table made of bamboo, on which two potted flowers were planted using cans.

"What kind of flowers?"

"One pot is an orchid, and the other pot is also an orchid."

"Hahahaha." The students in the audience laughed again.

“By the end of the conversation with the soldiers, we all became familiar with each other. I had written The Wreath, and the soldiers were particularly close to me. They opened up to me and even complained to me.

One soldier said that he got married in 79. His wife was admitted to university and was seven months pregnant at that time. She wrote a letter to the soldier: I am going to study in university and I am going to get rid of the child.

The soldier wrote her a letter back, saying that he only had a primary school diploma, but he supported her to go to college.

The child was induced abortion, and his wife went to college. The soldier sent her 30 yuan every month for living expenses.

When I first went to school, my wife wrote five or six letters to the soldiers every month, and the letters were filled with endless love words.

After a while, it became two or three articles.

Further on, there are only a few words left.

Finally, we still kept in touch because I still got thirty dollars a month.

I said to the soldier, you are too stupid, you should be able to sense something is wrong from this letter, right?
The soldier said, I still feel there is a problem, but I just think that her foundation is poor and maybe all her time is spent on studying.

Later, during the holidays, the soldiers came back to visit their families. As soon as they met, they quarreled. She kept cursing: "You fools, the soldiers treat you as fools, you don't understand emotions, it's the 80s now, do you know how to live a modern life?"

The soldiers were helpless. Isn't it just a matter of living day by day?

But there is still a glimmer of hope in my heart. I feel sorry for my lover for only going home for one month a year, so I rush to do housework from morning to night.

Others say he is a model husband, but she still thinks he is not model enough.

Finally, a letter was found and the secret inside was revealed.

It turned out that his lover had been in an affair with her teacher for a long time.

The matter was not resolved and the soldiers received orders to join the war and went to the front line.

He was fighting on the front line carrying such a heavy burden.

So that day, he sent me these complaints.

But there were many such incidents on the battlefield. The platoon leader heard everyone complaining to me and said:

Writer Jiang, don't blame everyone. People are complaining because they trust you.

Our soldiers were very good, and none of them retreated during the battle.

We are tested every day on this front line of life and death. We are not afraid of anyone and when there is a mission, the soldiers all rush to take on the task.

But not many people know or understand the inner pain of the soldiers. I am the same. I don’t want to do it anymore when I think of these things.

But the motherland trusts me, the people trust me, and have entrusted the forefront position to me. A platoon of more than 30 soldiers is in my hands. I know what I should do. I must be worthy of the motherland! I must be worthy of the parents of these soldiers! As long as I am here, the position will never lose an inch of land! "

Jiang Xian talks about the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of these flesh and blood, about the old platoon leader who "endures humiliation and bears heavy burdens", and also about the new soldier who looks like a "little girl", about the distress of the soldiers who are not understood, and about the strength that a pair of embroidered insoles brings to the soldiers.
The students in the audience listened attentively, laughing and crying at times. In the end, tears were always on their faces. The sleeves and chests of many people were wet with their tears.

Jiang Xian took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"At the front, the soldiers replaced the motherland, mother and people with the word 'mother', so when they sang songs with the word 'mother', they felt particularly emotional.

Once, I saw a young soldier on a battlefield. His face was covered with smoke, and he was concentrating on carving a bird out of a pine cone. The bird was very lifelike.

I asked him, "Why did you carve this little bird on the battlefield?"

He said: "I want to let it fly back and tell my mother that it is safe!"

Fellow students and comrades, our soldiers are selfless and fearless for the sake of the motherland and the people. They rush to the battlefield, sacrifice their lives, shed their blood, and fight bloody battles.

They have brought glory to the motherland and made contributions to the people. They deserve our respect and love.

However, they also have difficulties and troubles, dissatisfaction and sadness, and they also yearn to be understood.

They do not make excessive demands on their motherland and their people. At least they hope to understand them, comprehend them, and appreciate their sincere hearts.

I hope that we in the rear can understand the spiritual essence of our peers who shed blood and sacrificed on the front line, and know that there are also colorful hearts in these green uniforms! "

When the report was over, a large number of people in the auditorium with more than a thousand people had already burst into tears, and many people still could not completely extricate themselves from the stories in Jiang Xian's report.

Zhu Hong wiped her eyes and clapped vigorously. Yin Qiujin, who was sitting next to her, also had tears in her eyes.

"It's so touching. I just realized how hard it is for us to live a peaceful life."

"It's not easy for the comrades on the front line. Let's send them some magazines later."

“I’m going to write to them.”

Before Yin Qiujin finished speaking, a shout was heard in the auditorium. No one knew who started it, but soon large numbers of students responded. They stood up in their seats and raised their arms and shouted.

“Long live understanding!”

“Long live understanding!”

“Long live understanding!”

"."

The slogan "Long Live Understanding" kept circling above the auditorium. Everyone's face was filled with excitement and emotion, and tears were flashing in their eyes.

This vigorous shouting lasted for more than two minutes. Whenever the sound died down, a full and sincere voice would continue shouting, making the shouts of "Long live understanding" surge up again like a tide.

On the stage, the leaders of Yenching University and the reporting group composed of the China Writers Association, everyone stood up and applauded Jiang Xian.

This report is full of genuine emotions and simple language. It is very sincere and very real.

"As expected of the writer who wrote "The Wreath"!"

"Yeah, that's great, it really resonates with people!"

"One report like this is not enough. We should organize a few more so that all the teachers and students in the school can come and listen!"

(End of this chapter)