The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 523: Mentoring and guiding!!!
Looking at the new recruits who had just entered the camp, Li Aiguo's thoughts went back to six years ago.

That day.

"Old Wang, isn't your son a driver? Can you help me ask if they are still hiring drivers this year?" Neighbor Lao Zhang met Old Wang at the entrance of the alley. His shout attracted Li Tiezhu who happened to be passing by.

"It's not easy to be a driver. The company is now recruiting retired soldiers..." Old Wang shook his head and said to the two.

"Hiss! It's good to be a soldier!" Li Tiezhu was moved as he listened intently while speaking without any intention.

There was a drizzle of spring rain in the alley. Li Tiezhu ran back home with a broken umbrella that had been out of repair for many years.

With a bang, Li Aiguo was lying on the kang in a daze when the door was pushed open by his father Li Tiezhu.

"Don't sleep, kid. Get up quickly. We have to think this over carefully!" Li Tiezhu said anxiously while wiping the rain off his face.

Old Li's family lives in an old courtyard in the west of Yanjing City.

The courtyard is made of blue bricks and gray tiles, and the swing that Li Aiguo used to swing on when he was a child is still hanging on the old locust tree in the middle of the courtyard.

Li Aiguo had just been fired from the textile factory and had been doing nothing all day, which made Li Tiezhu very worried.

The old man kept saying, "Look at the son of the Ma family. He became a skilled worker at such a young age. And then look at you..."

"Join the army!" Li Tiezhu slammed the table in frustration, shaking the enamel pot on the table. "Old Wang just said that the army is recruiting car soldiers. This is a good job!"

Li Aiguo's mother was busy in the kitchen. When she heard the noise, she ran out and said, "Join the army? How far away from home will you have to be?"

"You just can't bear to let go!" Li Tiezhu glared at the old woman, "You can't let the child waste time at home like this, can you?"

To be honest, Li Aiguo was also a little worried.

It’s not easy to learn to drive these days. If you can really become a driver, you will be successful in your life.

The old locust tree in the yard rustled. Li Aiguo sat in front of the window, looking at the shabby swing under the tree, and remembered that when he was a child he always dreamed of driving a big truck around.

Before Li Aiguo could think about it, his father sent him directly to the conscription office.

After the doctor finished the examination, he patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder and said, "You are in good health, young man. It's a good fit for you to join the army!"

In this way, Li Aiguo successfully became a glorious soldier of the Yanda Military Region.

On the day of leaving, his mother forced Li Aiguo to give her a pair of woolen socks that she had knitted for several days, and her eyes were red.

Life in the recruit company is neither difficult nor easy.

We have to get up before dawn every day, and the loud speakers on the playground make our ears buzz.

Platoon leader Liu Daqiang was an old soldier who walked with great vigor, but he was never lenient with his words: "Li Aiguo, if you don't practice the basic skills well, you will have to clean cars for others when you go to the car company!"

I remember the first five-kilometer armed cross-country race, Li Aiguo almost didn’t make it.

But seeing other comrades gritting their teeth and persevering, Li Aiguo also forced himself to finish the run.

When he returned to the dormitory, his legs were shaking.

"You are quite stubborn, kid!" Platoon Leader Liu handed him a bottle of Fengyoujing, "We need this kind of stubbornness in our military camp!"

Every day, Li Aiguo has to get up before dawn to do exercises and training, and study political theory knowledge at night. He has almost no rest time.

Although the training was hard, I enjoyed it.

However, Li Aiguo's life as a recruit was not as smooth as I had imagined.

Especially when it comes to shooting, Li Aiguo always misses the target and gets so anxious that he sweats all over his forehead, but it's no use.

"Li Aiguo, what's wrong with you? You've been training for so long, why can't you shoot accurately?" The squad leader looked at Li Aiguo's shooting results, frowned, and criticized him in a harsh tone.

"Sergeant, I...I..." Li Aiguo lowered his head, feeling ashamed.

"What do you mean? Do you know that shooting is a basic skill for soldiers? If you can't even learn to shoot well, how can you go to the battlefield and kill the enemy?" the squad leader scolded mercilessly.

"Squad leader, I will definitely work hard!" Li Aiguo said loudly with a red face.

"Work hard? What's the point of just talking without practicing? Look at Zhang Qiang, who joined the army with you. He can already achieve excellent results now. What about you?

Look at yourself again, you are such a mess!" The squad leader pointed at Li Aiguo's nose and scolded.

Li Aiguo bit his lip, clenched his fists, and secretly made up his mind to work harder and not embarrass the squad leader again!
Since then, Li Aiguo has trained even harder.

Every morning, when others were still sleeping, Li Aiguo would get up and run to the training ground to practice shooting.

At night, when everyone else was resting, he was still practicing shooting techniques under the dim light.

Hard work pays off. After three months of training as a recruit, Li Aiguo got excellent grades in the horizontal bar, parallel bars, push-ups, and shooting.

Finally, the day of assignment came, and Li Aiguo joined the training team as he wished.

That night, Li Aiguo was so excited that he couldn't sleep and kept writing letters home.

But when he really started learning to drive, Li Aiguo realized what difficulty meant.

The steering wheel of that old Jiefang car was almost thicker than Li Aiguo’s waist.

"Step on the clutch! Shift to first gear! Release the clutch!" The instructor Sun Cheng's voice made Li Aiguo's ears buzz. "You idiot, how can you release the clutch all at once!"

The first time he got in the car, Li Aiguo turned off the engine.

Not only that, but the comrades behind him were also shaken all over the place.

It was so embarrassing that Li Aiguo wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

When he returned to the dormitory at night, Li Aiguo tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

The footsteps of the sentry standing guard downstairs struck my heart again and again.

Fortunately, Li Aiguo met Wang Bing.

This boy from Tangshan, who was the same age as him, was small and thin, and his speech always had a hint of his hometown accent.

"Look," Wang Bing said slowly while sitting in the driver's seat, "Release the clutch slowly, just like massaging your wife's shoulders, gently."

What he said made Li Aiguo and the others laugh.

But this guy is so steady when driving. He drives the S-curve on the training ground like it's a piece of cake.

"Look, you have to release the clutch slowly, and when you feel the car jump forward, gently add gas." Wang Bing taught Li Aiguo step by step, "It's just like finding balance on a bicycle, just take it slow."

In this way, Li Aiguo and Wang Bing formed a deep friendship.

We train together during the day and study the teaching materials at night.

Sometimes when they really couldn't figure something out, they would go to the old squad leader for advice.

After three months of hard training, Li Aiguo was finally able to drive a car properly.

But at this time, Li Aiguo received bad news: his father Li Tiezhu broke his leg while working at a construction site.

On the letter, Li Aiguo's mother's handwriting was crooked, and you could see traces of tears.

"You can focus on your training in the army, I will take care of you at home," his mother wrote in the letter.

But Li Aiguo knew that life would be difficult if his mother relied on herself to work in the street factory.

During that period, Li Aiguo lost his appetite and dreamed of his father lying in the hospital at night.

Just when Li Aiguo was at a loss, Wang Bing took the initiative to find the instructor and said that he was willing to exchange positions with Li Aiguo.

It turned out that after he knew Li Aiguo's situation, he took the initiative to apply to go to a remote company so that Li Aiguo could stay near the base and take care of his family.

"It doesn't matter who comes first or later. We are both driving for the army." Wang Bing patted Li Aiguo on the shoulder. "Don't refuse. These days, there are not many opportunities to take care of the family."

In this way, Li Aiguo stayed in the transportation company near the base and could find time to go home every month.

Wang Bing was sent to a company in a remote mountainous area.

When seeing him off that day, Li Aiguo insisted on putting his own Shanghai watch on him: "It gets dark early in the mountains, you have to keep track of time."

Two years passed in a flash, and Li Aiguo was doing very well in the transportation company.

Every time he went home, he could see that his father Li Tiezhu's leg was getting better day by day, and his mother's face was smiling more.

That day, the company commander suddenly called Li Aiguo to his office and said, "Old Li, I have a task for you." It turned out that Li Aiguo was asked to transport a batch of emergency supplies to the mountainous area.

Coincidentally, that was the company where Wang Bing was.

The journey would take three days and two nights on the mountain road, and Li Aiguo was very happy.

Before leaving, Li Aiguo specially brought the salted duck eggs made by his mother.

Who knew that as soon as we arrived at the foot of Taihang Mountains, it started to rain heavily.

Li Aiguo remembered that Wang Bing once said in a letter that the rainy season in the mountains was particularly difficult, the roads were slippery, and driving was extremely difficult.

Li Aiguo drove for more than ten hours and finally arrived at his destination before dark.

The lights of the camp could be seen from afar, and they looked particularly warm in the rain.

"Li Aiguo!" Before Li Aiguo got off the bus, he heard a familiar voice. Turning back, it was Wang Bing!

He jumped out of the cab and gave Li Aiguo a big hug without saying a word.

But when Li Aiguo took a closer look, he was stunned.

The thin Wang Bing in my original impression has now become tanned and strong, and his military uniform has turned a little white because he often goes back and forth in the mountains.

"This mountain road is not easy to walk on. I have to teach you a few tricks." Wang Bing said with a smile, "I will take you to familiarize yourself with the road conditions tomorrow."

In the barracks, Li Aiguo took out the salted duck eggs he had brought. Without saying a word, Wang Bing peeled one and put it in his mouth: "Hey, the salted duck eggs made by Auntie are still the most delicious!"

That night, they talked a lot. He said that although life in the mountains was difficult, he felt very at ease being able to serve the people there.

Every time I deliver supplies to the primary schools in the mountains and see the smiling faces of the children, it feels worth it no matter how hard and tiring it is.

As he listened, Li Aiguo suddenly understood why he had taken the initiative to exchange positions with Wang Bing.

The next morning, Wang Bing took Li Aiguo for a walk on the mountain road.

He taught Li Aiguo step by step how to find the safest route on a muddy mountain road, how to judge road conditions, and how to deal with emergencies.

"Remember, this section of the road is the most difficult to drive on. Make sure you turn the steering wheel and go slowly." Wang Bing explained tirelessly, just as patiently as he had when he taught Li Aiguo to drive.

At lunch time, he took Li Aiguo to a family in the mountains.

The old man warmly treated them to tea and even fried some vegetables.

"If it weren't for Xiao Wang driving the car to deliver supplies, life would be difficult for us mountain people." The old man sighed as he poured them tea.

On the day of his departure, Wang Bing stuffed the tea he had saved for a long time into Li Aiguo's hands and said, "Take it back to your uncle and say it was sent by his son's good comrade."

On the way back, Li Aiguo kept thinking of what Wang Bing said: "We are soldiers, aren't we here to serve the people? It doesn't matter where we work!"

Last year, Li Aiguo caught the last opportunity to be promoted directly from soldiers and was successfully promoted to platoon leader.

During this year's conscription season, the army sent Li Aiguo to recruit soldiers.

The preparations before recruiting soldiers are rigorous and meticulous.

Before leaving, Li Aiguo first went to the teaching team to participate in a week-long recruitment training.

During the training, Li Aiguo and other "recruiting cadres" learned all aspects of the conscription work together.

From policies and regulations to physical examination standards, from psychological assessment to political review, we strive to achieve precise grasp of every link.

They also conducted simulated recruiting drills to ensure that they could handle various possible situations in actual work.

The training days were intense and fulfilling.

Every morning at 5 o'clock, Li Aiguo and his classmates would get up and gather to start the day's study.

The training content covers all aspects, from the latest changes in conscription policies, to how to identify common problems in physical examinations, to how to deal with various complex situations, all of which are explained in detail.

At night, Li Aiguo and his comrades often stayed up late into the night to discuss what they had learned during the day and share experiences with each other.

Although it is hard work, everyone is very motivated because they are aware of the heavy responsibility they shoulder.

After the training, Li Aiguo set off on the green train.

As the train slowly pulled out of Yanjing Station, he felt both excited and nervous.

Looking through the car window and watching the familiar city scene gradually disappear into the distance, Li Aiguo knew that what he was shouldering was not only a task but also a responsibility.

Li Aiguo hardly slept a wink during the entire night's journey. He kept thinking about what he had learned in the training and about the upcoming recruitment work.

The time on the train seemed to be infinitely stretched.

Li Aiguo sat in the hard seat carriage, surrounded by passengers of all kinds.

There are migrant workers who go out to work, dragging large and small bags; there are college students with backpacks on their backs, looking down at thick textbooks; there are young couples who are returning to their hometown with their children, and the children's laughter echoes in the carriage from time to time.

Li Aiguo quietly observed these strangers, but his thoughts drifted to the young people he was about to meet.

What will they be like and what will they look forward to when they start their military career?
The next morning, we arrived at Anshan, Liaodong.

In early winter in Ansan, the air is filled with a faint smell of coal smoke, which is the unique atmosphere of this city famous for its steel industry.

Standing in the square in front of the train station, Li Aiguo took a deep breath and felt the unique charm of the northern city.

In the distance, the outline of the towering Angang plant is faintly visible, symbolizing the strength and vitality of the city.

The streets of Anshan are already busy in the early morning.

The aroma wafting from the breakfast stalls on the street made Li Aiguo and his friends swallow their saliva after an overnight train journey.

Most of the pedestrians on the road were wrapped in thick cotton-padded jackets and walked in a hurry.

Occasionally, a few bicycles would whiz past, their baskets filled with fresh vegetables and steamed buns; they must be small vendors rushing to open their shops.

This busy and orderly scene made Li Aiguo full of curiosity and expectation about this strange city.

Li Aiguo and his team's recruitment corps' recruitment scope includes Anshan City and its subordinate counties.

The recruiting team is mainly composed of company commanders, instructors, quartermasters, platoon leaders, military doctors, etc., and the number of recruits received is basically in the dozens or hundreds.

Li Aiguo's company needed to accept 15 new recruits, so only he was sent.

Taking into account that they had several units with fewer recruits, the Recruiting Corps arranged Li Aiguo and two other companies with fewer recruits to a small town near the city of Anshan.

On the way to Shahe Township, Li Aiguo and his companions took a dilapidated bus.

The car bumped along the bumpy country road, and the scenery outside the window gradually changed from the tall buildings in the city to the vast fields.

The fields are golden after the autumn harvest, and occasionally you can see a few farmers busy in the fields.

The mountains in the distance appear and disappear in the sunlight, giving people a feeling of tranquility and peace.

Shahe Township is a typical urban-rural fringe area, where township enterprises are relatively developed and the township government is relatively wealthy.

After arriving, comrades from the township armed forces department warmly received Li Aiguo and his three companions, and arranged for them to stay in the township health center and have their meals in the township government canteen.

Li Aiguo and his colleagues only need to pay 0.4 yuan for food every day, and the township gives them a meal allowance of one yuan per person per day, which is already a very generous treatment.

The quality of food in the township government canteen far exceeded Li Aiguo's expectations.

The cooks go to the township’s livestock farms and fish ponds every day to purchase fresh chicken, duck, and fish. The meals they cook are fragrant and delicious.

Sometimes, Li Aiguo can also eat local specialties such as braised pork bones in soy sauce and sweet and sour pork, etc. These delicacies, which are rarely tasted in the army, make them feel the warmth of home in a foreign land.

The cook specially prepared for them a Northeastern specialty dish - three fresh vegetables.

The color combination of golden potatoes, emerald green peppers and purple eggplants is very tempting.

As soon as the dish was served, the aroma filled the air.

Li Aiguo and his two companions took turns eating with their chopsticks and soon finished the large plate of food.

In the evening, the village would arrange for Li Aiguo and others to watch movies or TV.

The hot show on TV is the newly released "Heroes of the Underworld".

Li Aiguo and two other friends often sat around a small black and white TV, experiencing joy, anger, sorrow and happiness along with the plot.

There are three staff members in the Shahe Township Armed Forces Department.

The minister’s surname is Jin. He is a tall, middle-aged man with a generous personality.

Minister Jin is a typical Northeastern man. He speaks in a loud voice and walks with great vigor.

He took good care of Li Aiguo and others, and often reminded them to take care of their health and not to overwork themselves.

Because of his military experience, Secretary Hu got along particularly well with Li Aiguo.

In his spare time, Li Aiguo often shared interesting stories about the army with him.

Although Officer Cao had no military experience, he was familiar with the local situation and provided a lot of useful information during Li Aiguo's visit.

After the recruitment work officially began, the first thing Li Aiguo had to do was to visit each village in depth.

Every morning, they would follow comrades from the township armed forces department and drive to various villages.

Li Aiguo was deeply impressed by the scenery along the way: in the vast fields, pyramid-shaped stacks of corn stalks filled the view, and occasionally a few wild rabbits could be seen running quickly across the ridges of the fields.

During the visit, Li Aiguo needs to have face-to-face communication with every young person of appropriate age and their family.

Li Aiguo would carefully inquire about their family situation, educational experience, physical condition, etc. He would also introduce the situation of the troops and the benefits of serving.

Some families are supportive of their children joining the military, while others are hesitant.

Faced with different situations, Li Aiguo needs to explain patiently, and sometimes even needs to visit the client multiple times.

This process made Li Aiguo deeply realize that recruiting soldiers is not just about completing the task, but also a valuable opportunity to go deep into the grassroots and understand the people's sentiments.

(End of this chapter)