The 836th Unit is located in the north of the motherland.
On the way back, it took Lou Luhui and his comrade only about a week to go from wearing only a single piece of clothing to wearing thick coats.
After returning to the army, the two put down their luggage and went to report to the brigade commander first.
It is mid-November, just as winter has begun, and H Province has already had several heavy snowfalls. Even now, heavy snowflakes are still flying outside.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, the temperature was around minus 20 degrees Celsius. Even though young men were hot-tempered, Lou Luhui and his comrades did not want to save face and suffer, and they ran to the brigade commander's office.
As soon as he entered the room, Zhou Jianshe, a man with tiger eyes, couldn't help stamping his numb feet and said, "Lv Wang, why don't you light up the coal stove to warm yourself up? I was hoping to get some warmth from you."
Captain Wang was originally discussing with Chen Gang, the political commissar of the Third Regiment, about taking some honeycomb coal from the troops and giving it to those families living in the most difficult circumstances to help them overcome the difficulties.
The temperature has dropped sharply recently. The army receives state subsidies, so although the soldiers have a hard time, they can get through it. However, it is difficult for the people living nearby.
Brigadier General Wang has been stationed in the 836th Unit for nearly ten years and is well aware of the various problems brought about by the cold.
Therefore, every winter, he would arrange for the soldiers to help the villagers in need to clear the snow and rebuild collapsed houses. Sometimes they had to tighten their belts and save some rations.
Before he had time to be happy that his two capable subordinates had returned to the team and solved the current embarrassing situation of urgent shortage of manpower, he saw this kid Zhou Jianshe starting to make a noise.
Wang Lv raised his hand and pointed at him, scolding with a smile: "There is no coal stove, I am so old and still working hard, you are a twenty-something guy, what the hell is wrong with you!"
Having said that, Wang Lu still took out two paint-chipped teacups and poured water for the two of them personally.
It's sad to say, in order to save a few more pieces of honeycomb coal, he basically has to stand while working since winter.
If it's really cold, I'll quickly take a few sips of hot water to cool down, but I'm also worried that if I drink too slowly, the water in the teacup will freeze.
Or run a few laps on the playground with the soldiers to warm up.
When Lou Luhui and Zhou Jianshe came in, he and Chen Gang had just returned from warming up in the playground. They had not even had time to take off the Lei Feng hats that were covering their heads.
Lou Luhui and Zhou Jianshe were experienced, so they quickly picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp.
Fortunately, the process was fast and the boiled water was still a little warm when it went into my mouth.
Zhou Jianshe has thick eyebrows and big eyes, which makes him look very rough. In addition, he is tall, and looks rough and fierce. People who don’t know him well would think that he is the type of person who is ruthless and doesn’t talk much. In fact, it is not the case. This guy is a real chatterbox.
After hearing what the brigade commander said, he put down his teacup and started to talk nonsense: "Brigade Commander Wang, what you said is wrong. I am 29, and I will be 30 in a month and a half. If it were in the past, I would be a grandfather, not young anymore."
Lou Luhui, who was brushing off the snowflakes on his body, suddenly felt his eyelids twitch when he heard this, and he turned around and was about to leave.
However, no matter how fast he reacted, he was still cut off by Wang Lu's roar: "Come back here!"
Lou Lu returns.
Fuck! You want to hit someone!
"Stand there. If you dare to leave now, I will call your family."
Are you a child? Are you still complaining
Lou Luhui curled his lips inwardly, complaining: "Wang Lu, you misunderstood, I didn't leave, I just moved my feet because the chilblains on my feet were itchy."
"Pfft" Political Commissar Chen Gang of the Third Regiment was amused by the serious look on Lou Luhui's face when he lied.
Lu Wang snorted coldly and didn't rush to deal with the stubborn brat. Instead, he shifted his disappointed gaze to Zhou Jianshe.
Zhou Jianshe had a bitter face, he was not stupid, he just slipped up. In fact, when his friend wanted to slip away, he had already realized that he had shot himself in the foot. No, he also shot his comrade's foot.
Sure enough, Zhou Jianshe’s bad premonition was correct, and he was soon greeted with a violent storm of greetings.
"You little bastard, look at how capable you are. You know you'll be 30 soon, the age to be a grandfather. What's the matter? You're proud of not being able to find a wife, right? Are you planning to stay in prison until you're 50?" Wang Lu is not very tall, about 1.7 meters, and he worries all year round. He looks very dark and thin. If it weren't for his straight back, one would really think he is just an ordinary old farmer.
At this moment, the old man pointed at two tall men, each of whom was 1.9 meters tall, and scolded them with great aura.
Zhou Jianshe was dejected, and Lou Luhui's face looked unchanged, but if you looked closely, you could clearly see the corners of his lips twitching.
Brigade Wang kept on talking about profound principles that would make one's ears callused. When he got angry, he would curse a few times. By the time he finished his lecture, more than ten minutes had passed.
In the end, seeing the two people's expressions of being as calm as a dead pig, Wang Lu was so angry that he lost his temper. He waved his hand with a dark face and drove them away: "Get out of here, you just want to make me angry every day. When I'm done with this, whether you bastards are willing or not, you all have to go to the social gathering."
"Bang!" The door closed.
The three people who were driven out looked at each other.
Chen Gang wiped his face first. He was just watching the show and didn't expect the fire to burn himself.
Now that he had suddenly left the room, the cold wind and heavy snow slapped his face, making him shiver. He immediately lost the mood to watch the joke. He tightened his cotton jacket, put his hands in his pockets and said, "Come to my house for dinner later. Let your sister-in-law cook a good meal for you."
The situation of the 836th Unit is rather special.
In most military units, there is competition between regiments.
But the environment here in 836 is so harsh that the soldiers and officers are unusually united.
Lou Luhui was the commander of the first regiment, Zhou Jianshe was the deputy commander of the first regiment, Chen Gang was the political commissar of the third regiment, and there were dozens of other officers. No matter who had good stuff, they would shout it out.
Lou Luhui and Zhou Jianshe often ate at Chen Gang's house, so he agreed without thinking.
The three of them started jogging, and Lou Luhui said in a deep voice: "This time I visited the old squad leader, and it happened to be near your hometown. Lao Zhou and I bought some local specialties and will bring them over later."
The dormitory area is a bit far from the office area. The three of them talked while running. When they met soldiers on the way and saluted, they nodded in response.
Chen Gang pulled his hat which had slipped down a little and asked curiously, "Although you have a stern face all day long, you are handsome and have good social skills. It shouldn't be difficult for you to find a wife."
Zhou Jianshe leaned forward, seeking praise: "And me, and me, I am also neat and good-looking."
The two of them held a grudge and didn't want to pay attention to him for the time being.
Lou Luhui raised his lips, not knowing whether Chen Gang was praising him or insulting him, and replied matter-of-factly: "It's not that easy to find a wife."
"Why is it hard to find one? If it was more than ten years ago, the gender ratio was too different, so I understand it was hard to find one. But now the gap is smaller. Besides, you have a bright future and you are good-looking, so how can it be difficult to find a wife?" Chen Gang felt that the old man was just being perfunctory.
After several years of friendship, comrades-in-arms are all friends who have risked their lives for each other. When asked this question, Lou Luhui did not feel that he was offended by the questioning. He spoke out his true thoughts: "The environment here is too bad. My wife will definitely suffer if she follows the army. Why bother? I will consider my personal problems when I am transferred away from here."
"You can't say that. What if the girl is willing?"
This time Lou Luhui didn't say anything, just shook his head.
Seeing this, Chen Gang couldn't continue to focus on this topic. He sighed and comforted, "There's no rush for this. Maybe the right marriage hasn't come yet. Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going back first. You two should come earlier. We'll have breakfast and lunch today. I have to go to the village downstairs in the afternoon."
The snowy road was difficult to walk on, and the temperature was even lower at night. Some people's ears and noses were frozen off. Chen Gang wanted to go early and come back early.
"Well, I'll come back after I get my things."
“.”
The family quarters of the 836th Unit are located within the unit.
Although new brick and tile houses have been built in the family quarters in the past two years in order to encourage military wives to accompany the troops, only a few actually come to accompany the troops.
There are three rows of houses in total, and half of them are still empty.
Chen Gang ran all the way home, but before he had time to enjoy the warmth in the house, he was driven out by his wife.
"I've told you so many times to shake the snow off your body before coming in. Why don't you understand me? What if our daughter gets cold?" Tian Yu walked out of the kitchen quickly, and not only did she chase the man out, she also came out and used her apron to help her husband shake the snow off his body.
Tian Yu's eyes are like her father Tian Hongxing's, which are the most eye-catching part of her face. As she has both a son and a daughter and no parents-in-law to take care of her, she lives a comfortable life and has gained a lot of weight. Fortunately, she has a fair complexion and delicate features, so she doesn't look ugly even when she is fat. Instead, she has the plump look that the elders like most.
Chen Gang was originally a little aggrieved and disgusted by his wife, but when he heard her talking about his daughter, he immediately apologized cheerfully: "It's my fault, it's my fault."
Ever since his wife gave birth to a little girl three years ago, Chen Gang, who always thought he favored boys over girls, wanted to carry his cute daughter in his pocket when he went to work, and he doted on her, putting his two sons second.
Seeing her husband acting silly when talking about their daughter, Tian Yu rolled her eyes at him in amusement.
"By the way, Lao Lou and Lao Zhou are back. I'll call them to eat. Wife, prepare two more dishes, they'll be here soon." Chen Gang not only flicked off the snowflakes on his body, but also took off his thick coat after entering the house, rubbed his hands, and then picked up the pink ball that pounced on him, and feasted on it.
He didn't stop until the little girl got tired of the prickly beard and covered her father's mouth with her chubby little hands to stop him from kissing her.
The father and daughter laughed loudly for a while. Chen just remembered what had been forgotten and shouted towards the kitchen.
Tian Yu complained again. It was not that she was reluctant to treat anyone to a meal. She was still very friendly to her husband's comrades-in-arms. She was just angry that her husband had to invite everyone at the last minute and there was no good food at home.
"It's okay. We are all family. Old Lou and Old Zhou don't care about that."
Hearing this, Tian Yu wanted to slap the man away with a spatula. Is what he said a human language
So, after a burst of complaints, Tian Yu put on his thick coat again and hurried to borrow food from next door.
Chen Gang was not the kind of man who acted like a boss at home. After his wife came back with the meat, he handed the little girl to his son, got up and went to the kitchen to help. By the way, he talked to her about the fact that the brigade commander was urging his comrades to get married again.
Tian Yu felt sorry for the man, whose hands were chapped and bleeding. She didn't let him take a cold shower, but asked him to sit by the stove to peel garlic and warm himself by the fire. "Captain Lou and Deputy Captain Zhou are both well-off and both from Beijing, so it's normal that they have high standards."
It was only after joining the army that Tian Yu realized that there were places in the country with such harsh environments.
Speaking of which, things have gotten a lot better in recent years. She still remembers that eight years ago, in the early 1960s, when she first came to join the army, this place was so desolate and scary, with so many swamps and things that had never been heard of before, and falling into them could be fatal.
Fortunately, after years of hard work, everything is developing for the better, at least she can live in a brick house.
However, for Tuan Lou and Deputy Tuan Zhou, two college students, in such a situation, food and clothing have become a problem, so it is really difficult for them to find wives among the mostly illiterate girls.
I'm not trying to be superior, I just feel that when getting married, you have to marry someone of equal social status and have a common language.
Chen Gang listened to his wife's chatter and responded from time to time: "You should also pay attention. Many people want to introduce Lao Lou and Lao Zhou to a date. If you meet a suitable girl, you can help them get together."
People are probably like this. When they are happy, they hope their friends can enjoy the same happiness.
Tian Yu flipped the spatula, and the aroma of meat in the pot surged, attracting the three children playing in the dining room to all lie down by the kitchen door and swallow their saliva.
"Little greedy cat!" Tian Yu smiled and gave each of the three children a small piece of fried food. After the children ate it with cheers, she picked up another piece and stuffed it into her husband's mouth. Then she replied with a smile: "How can I know a girl with good conditions? Hey. It seems that there is one."
Thinking of the family photo sent by her family last year, in which her younger sister was a little blurry but still stunningly beautiful, Tian Yu looked at her husband fiercely and stuttered with excitement: "My second younger sister is 20 years old now!"
(End of this chapter)