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

Chapter 524 Liu Wu is applying to the military academy!!!
The next year, it was already April.

This is Liu Shuxian's fourth year studying at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature and the Department of Journalism at Yan University.

In the first two years of college, they had almost no experience in photography.

The courses I studied were various basic theoretical courses, such as politics, history, literature, philosophy, aesthetics, psychology, economics, sociology, as well as some emerging disciplines in the West.

There are also a wide variety of journalism courses, such as news interviewing, editing, writing, and mass communication.

It was not until around their third year in college that Liu Shuxian and her classmates began to formally study photography-related courses.

Liu Shuxian and her classmates were "shocked" by their first photography class: the principles of optics.

Everyone looked at each other for a long time before they realized, "So photography class is so complicated!"

The first lesson given to Liu Shuxian and her classmates was given by their class teacher, Professor Xu, who was also a well-known photography educator in the country at that time.

Teacher Xu graduated from Fudan University in the 1950s. He was gentle and serious, his hair was always neatly combed, and he taught slowly and seriously.

From then on, Liu Shuxian completely fell in love with photography.

They started learning photography from the principles of optical imaging, from the structure of cameras and lenses, to the production and use principles of apertures and shutters, from black and white photography to the newly popular color photography, from the history of photography to the current state of photography development.

Finally, let’s talk about photography interviews and picture editing.

Students seem to have little interest in the abstract photography theory class.

What everyone is most interested in is the picture appreciation class.

At that time, the classroom curtains were drawn, and Liu Shuxian and her classmates sat in the dark classroom.

By showing slides, Liu Shuxian appreciated the works of many Western photography masters such as Adams, Eugene Smith, Cartier-Bresson, Capa, etc. Each wonderful photo and the story behind it was deeply imprinted in her memory.

For students who are just starting to learn photography, the masters and their works are role models and ideals.

Liu Shuxian particularly admired Cartier-Bresson and Capa.

One day during class, the teacher suddenly asked people to bring in a few boxes, and the students were a little puzzled.

"Give out cameras to your classmates today!" The teacher said, and the class suddenly became excited.

On that day, each of the 30 students in Liu Shuxian's class received a brand new Seagull DF camera.

The first time I got a camera, it was like getting a treasure or seeing a beautiful woman. I could never get enough of looking at her.

After finally getting the coveted cameras and black-and-white films, the students slung the cameras around their necks, rushed out of the classroom, and started their first photography practice.

I remember that at that time, Liu Shuxian and her colleagues spotted a child, about one or two years old, sitting in a stroller next to the second floor of the student dormitory.

Liu Xuehong circled around the child and took pictures for a long time, making the old man pushing the cart laugh.

Later, he ran to the darkroom and took his first black-and-white photo, which he called "Child in the Cradle."

In this way, we came to the Unname Lake, Boya Tower, Flower God Temple, Stone Boat, Magpie Bridge...

The Weiming Lake is rippling with soft green waves, with the shadow of the tower and dazzling silver spots floating above.

Mandarin ducks and mallards paddled side by side, leaving ripples behind them.

On the shore is a deep ancient forest with lush trees that have grown for hundreds of years. Birds sing melodious tunes in the dense shade, and occasionally little squirrels nimbly jump onto the treetops.

The statues on campus are the most popular filming locations. The stone tablets and steles eroded by wind and rain record the passage of time.

Walking among them, it seems that a conversation across time and space can be started at any time...leaving behind the laughter of students from the Department of Journalism.

Looking at the classmates who were holding cameras excitedly, Liu Shuxian remained indifferent.

Liu Shuxian has played with cameras since she was a child, so it's not surprising at all.

When I first got into college, my dad gave me a phone that was better than the one I had at school.

Through several years of photography theory study in college and long-term photography practice activities afterwards.

What I feel most deeply is that learning photography requires a certain theoretical foundation, but sufficient and effective photography practice may be the most important way to improve photography skills.

Therefore, Liu Shuxian has actively participated in internships since the second semester of her junior year.

In her last two years of college, Liu Shuxian took advantage of internships and vacations to travel to cities and rural areas in more than a dozen provinces and cities with her classmates.

They carried the Seagull DF issued by the school and their own cameras, and took photos wherever they went.

Cameras and films are luxury goods these days. Cameras are hard to find and some classmates can’t even afford film. Fortunately, Liu Shuxian, a wealthy woman, is there to back them up.

After taking the photos and returning to school, Liu Shuxian took the time to go into the dark room with her classmates, where there was only a dim red light, to prepare medicines, develop negatives, and then print out large photos.

Sometimes I work day and night for several days.

Later, Liu Shuxian held two small personal photography exhibitions on the campus of Yanda University, "Taihang Mountains, Listen" and "The World Extends Here". Some of the photos were taken by herself and her classmates, and some were enlarged by friends outside.

Although limited by many factors at that time such as shooting technology and developing equipment, the imaging and quality of those photos were relatively rough.

But later it was discovered that these practices and experiences in college had a certain impact on Liu Shuxian's future work and growth.

Although the 77 students of the 70 journalism major of Yanda University have not officially graduated yet, they have already been booked by ZY-level news organizations.

The country attaches great importance to this first batch of college students majoring in journalism after the resumption of the college entrance examination.

"Except for news organizations directly under the central government, industry media and local media do not have a single quota."

Liu Shuxian has been interning in the commentary department of Renren Daily since her junior year in college and has received unanimous praise.

However, this daily newspaper is directly under the government, so it is quite difficult for college interns to get a job there.

The leader of the Commentary Department admired Liu Shuxian, a confident, cheerful and positive female college student, very much, so he wrote a report to his superiors and specially approved a target.

In other words, as soon as Liu Shuxian graduated, she went to work for the most authoritative media in Xia Country, Renren Daily, and her starting point was one level higher than others.

The classmates who were assigned to other units were very envious. No one wanted to work in radio or television stations these days. They felt that working in a newspaper was the place to really make a career.

Working for Renren Daily is undoubtedly the ultimate dream of any journalist.

The newspaper's address is at No. 2, Jintai West Road, CY District. In order to make it convenient for Liu Shuxian to commute to get off work, Liu Zhiye bought a house with a yard nearby and renovated it for his daughter to live in.

After renovation, the courtyard has a beautiful environment. The main house is Liu Shuxian's bedroom and study, the east wing is used as a guest room, the west wing is converted into a studio, and the back room is the kitchen and bathroom.

The yard is not big, it is just a temporary residence for Liu Shuxian to go to and from get off work.

Unlike their elder sister who is about to graduate and has a job assigned to her, Liu Wen and Liu Wu are about to embark on their first college entrance examination in their lives.

The second son, Liu Wen, was determined to follow his mother Gan Ning's expectations and get into a prestigious university so that he could go into politics or business in the future.

The third son, Liu Wu, is different. He longs to be admitted to a military academy and become a professional soldier who defends his country like his father.

Liu Zhiye strongly supported his sons' ideals. The second son, Liu Wen, had always been an excellent student and did not need him to worry about him.

But Liu Wu wanted to apply to a military academy, which required more than just good grades, so Liu Zhiye found a "senior" for Liu Wu to give him good guidance.

Ma Zhijun, a staff officer of a regiment stationed in the Taihang Mountains, was entrusted by his leader to train the children of the leaders during his rest time.

When Ma Zhijun saw Liu Wu, a young man as energetic as a calf, and learned that he wanted to enter a military academy, he became more strict with him.

He completely ignored the fact that Liu Wu was the son of a leader, and carried out everything according to the standards of new recruits' training, even more strict.

Every day, Liu Wu was exhausted from the training.

However, to Ma Zhijun's surprise, the young man actually persisted, which made Ma Zhijun look at him differently.

"As the saying goes, a dragon gives birth to a dragon, a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix, and a mouse's son is born to dig holes!"

"My father is a hero and my son is a hero, I never lied to you!"

Ma Zhijun felt emotional, and when he thought about the difficult experience he had when he first entered the military academy, he felt a little sad.

In order to encourage and help Liu Wu, Ma Zhijun told him about his own difficult experience in joining the army and applying for military school.

I remember it was a summer six years ago. It was the wheat harvest season in the countryside and the air was filled with the smell of burning wheat straw.

"Old Ma, I heard that your son failed the high school entrance exam again?" Uncle Wang stood at the door of Ma Zhijun's house, holding a cigarette in his hand.

"I think it's better for him to join the army. It's better than staying at home every day."

Lao Ma took a puff of his cigarette, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. His eldest son failed the exam twice in a row.

Ma Zhijun's adobe house is located at the west end of the village. The mud on the walls has almost fallen off, revealing the wheat straw and adobe inside.

In the old yard, under the old locust tree, his mother was washing rice and cooking, and the firewood in the stove was crackling.

"Zhijun, you are not a child anymore, you can't just waste time like this." The old lady stopped the work in her hands and said to Ma Zhijun.

Ma Zhijun lowered his head, not daring to look into his mother's eyes, his fingers unconsciously picking at the crack on the table.

These days, gossip in the village is getting more and more rampant.

It is said that the eldest son of the Ma family cannot even get into high school and will definitely have to rely on his parents for support in the future.

During dinner, the house was exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of chopsticks hitting the bowl and my younger sister Xiaoyun slurping noodles.

"It's good to join the army." Old Ma suddenly said, "Look at Li Jiaqiangzi next door, he joined the army last year and is now serving in the provincial capital."

My mother chimed in: "Yes, they can still send money home every month."

Ma Zhijun looked up at his home. The leaky adobe house, a few patched clothes, and his parents' faces tanned by the sun.

My family only had a few acres of thin land. My father was a master in the production team, and my mother worked as a kitchen helper in the commune canteen, earning only a dozen yuan a month. My younger brothers and sisters were still in school, and the family was really struggling to make ends meet.

The next morning, Ma Zhijun followed Uncle Wang to the Armed Forces Department to sign up.

Who knew that I would run into trouble during the first physical examination.

The doctor who examined him said that Ma Zhijun was too thin, he was five kilograms short of the standard, and his height was just barely up to the standard.

Recruiting officer Li Wenhua looked at Ma Zhijun's anxious expression and shook his head: "Why don't we try again next year?"

"Uncle Li, please give me a chance, I can do it!" Ma Zhijun said almost begging.

Li Wenhua was moved by Ma Zhijun's persistence and gave him a month to prepare.

That month, Ma Zhijun was like crazy.

Every day Ma Zhijun gets up before dawn to go running, carrying a canvas bag full of sand.

When it was time to eat, there was not enough food at home, and Ma Zhijun often did not eat enough due to his heavy training. He had to swallow even when he was so hungry that his stomach hurt.

His mother felt sorry for Ma Zhijun and secretly gave him some of her own rations.

Ma Zhijun wiped his tears and saw that the soup in her bowl was always watery.

Finally, the day of conscription came again.

Ma Zhijun was extremely nervous.

During the physical examination, the doctor shook his head, pointed at him and said that his weight barely met the standard. Ma Zhijun suddenly felt that there was little hope.

Just when Ma Zhijun was feeling discouraged, he heard someone calling him, "Ma Zhijun!" He looked up and saw that it was Chunmei.

She got a steamed bun from somewhere, stuffed it into Ma Zhijun's hand and said, "Eat it quickly to replenish your energy."

Ma Zhijun wolfed down the food, weighed himself again, and finally met the standard.

During the physical fitness test, Ma Zhijun tried his best. His legs were almost cramping after running, but he still tried hard to persevere. In the end, he completed all the tests and successfully passed the selection.

When he got home, Ma Zhijun excitedly told his parents. Although they were worried, they were also happy for him.

On the day of the expedition, Chunmei silently handed Ma Zhijun a small cloth bag.

Inside is a "peace amulet" embroidered by her own hands.

Ma Zhijun held the small cloth bag tightly and felt extremely warm.

When he got on the military vehicle and looked out the window, the village gradually receding into the distance made him excited and nervous.

The days in the recruit company were even more difficult than Ma Zhijun had imagined.

When standing at attention, mosquitoes biting his face, Ma Zhijun didn't dare to move.

From practicing marching, he got blisters on the soles of his feet.

I have to get up at five o'clock every morning, go through intense physical and drill training, and have political studies in the evening. I often fall down from exhaustion.

What made Ma Zhijun even more frustrated was that many of his comrades had a higher level of education, while he had only graduated from junior high school.

"Ma Zhijun, your gun is as clean as the bottom of a pot again!" Squad leader Li Guoqiang often said this to Ma Zhijun.

Seeing this, his classmate Li Shun encouraged Ma Zhijun not to be discouraged and told him: "Take it slow, practice more and you will be fine."

In the evening, Li Shun also privately taught Ma Zhijun how to clean a gun and explained in detail the contents in the textbook that he could not understand.

Ma Zhijun secretly made up his mind to catch up with everyone.

After turning off the lights at night, Ma Zhijun quietly got up and practiced cleaning his gun under the moonlight.

His fingers were all cut by gun parts, but Ma Zhijun gritted his teeth and persevered.

Hard work pays off. Half a year later, in the graduation assessment of new recruits, Ma Zhijun actually got first place in the entire company.

One night, the company commander called Ma Zhijun to his office and asked, "Xiao Ma, have you ever thought about applying to a military academy?"

Ma Zhijun was stunned. A junior high school student like him wanted to apply to a military academy? Wasn't this just wishful thinking?

"Don't doubt yourself," said instructor Wang Yunjin. "Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared."

From that day on, Ma Zhijun was like a chicken with its blood injected.

I don’t slack off in training during the day, and I work on math problems with my books at night.

There was a high school student sergeant named Chen Daming in the camp, and Ma Zhijun often pestered him to explain questions to him.

Sometimes he really couldn't understand and was so anxious that he kept scratching his head. Chen Daming would patiently explain it to him, and if one explanation didn't work, he would explain it twice.

As a result, in the military academy entrance examination the following year, Ma Zhijun may have used up all his luck in his life!
On the day of the exam, Ma Zhijun was very nervous. When he saw the test paper, he took a deep breath and answered the questions step by step.

Ma Zhijun couldn't solve some questions, so he filled them in according to his own understanding.

My heart started beating wildly the moment I handed in the paper.

While waiting for the results, Ma Zhijun ran eagerly to look at the bulletin board.

Finally one day, Ma Zhijun saw his name on the list and couldn’t believe it. He shouted excitedly in the dormitory: “I passed! I passed!”

When he returned to the company that day, his comrades held a simple celebration party for Ma Zhijun.

For the first time, squad leader Zhang cooked a pot of noodles and also fried two poached eggs.

"Study hard and don't bring shame to our company!" he said with a smile, his eyes red.

When he returned home to share the good news, everyone in the family was overjoyed. Old Ma drank two cups of wine, which was rare for him, and said with a smile, "Zhijun has finally made it!" His mother shed tears of emotion and picked up some food for Ma Zhijun.

In the autumn of 77, Ma Zhijun entered the military academy.

I was shocked when I first entered the school. There were electric fans in the classrooms and heaters in the dormitories. Such facilities were rare in their village.

Especially the library, which contained more books than Ma Zhijun had ever seen in his life.

However, studying was not easy. Many of his classmates had a higher cultural background, while Ma Zhijun was still a junior high school student.

Life in military school is even harder than that in recruit company.

Because of his poor foundation, Ma Zhijun can only work harder than others.

I get up at five in the morning to memorize words and am still doing exercises in the classroom at twelve at night.

There was no heating in the classroom in winter, so Ma Zhijun wore a cotton coat and did his homework while breathing out white air.

Once when his fever reached 39 degrees, Ma Zhijun still insisted on going to class.

Finally, he was found lying on the desk by his classmates and sent to the infirmary.

In this way, Ma Zhijun studied hard like a sponge absorbs water.

From the most basic mathematics, physics and chemistry to professional courses, he studied hard.

When he returned to the village during the holidays, Ma Zhijun felt that the villagers looked at him differently. Everyone praised him, "Ma Zhijun is really promising. He has become a college student!"

There was a different kind of light in Zhao Chunmei's eyes when she looked at me.

This made Ma Zhijun secretly vow to work harder.

Although the three years of military school life was not long, I experienced many challenges.

For a while, Ma Zhijun felt that the courses were extremely difficult and he was thinking about giving up. His comrades encouraged him: "Zhijun, it's not easy for you to be admitted to the military academy. Don't give up easily."

Ma Zhijun gritted his teeth and continued to persevere.

As graduation was approaching, the school arranged an important internship for everyone, and everyone was assigned to different units to experience grassroots work.

Ma Zhijun came to the troops in the remote mountainous area. Although the conditions were difficult, he was deeply moved by the mental state of the officers and soldiers.

Ma Zhijun vowed to do his part to improve these conditions in the future.

Last summer, Ma Zhijun finally got his college diploma. When he saw his name on it, tears welled up in his eyes.

Thinking back to when I graduated from junior high school four years ago and now I am a college student, all my hard work has proven to be worthwhile.

After graduation, Ma Zhijun had the opportunity to stay in the military district headquarters, but when he thought back to his internship experience, he firmly chose to return to the grassroots.

The leader advised Ma Zhijun to reconsider, but he said: "I come from the grassroots and want to do my part to improve the conditions there."

Before going to the grassroots unit, the whole village gathered to celebrate for Ma Zhijun when he returned home.

Old Ma was so moved that he got drunk. He held Ma Zhijun's hand and said, "Son, you have made it big. You are much better than me!"

After joining the grassroots troops, Ma Zhijun deeply felt the difficult challenges, but he did not choose to retreat, but worked harder...

After listening to his master Ma Zhijun's personal experience, Liu Wu, who was originally exhausted and wanted to back off, felt ashamed.

"Master Ma, just wait and see. I will definitely be admitted to the military academy and become an excellent soldier like you in the future!"

Ma Zhijun first grinned at Liu Wu, then turned serious and said, "It's just talk. Go do 100 sit-ups right now..."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)