Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

In the late autumn in the city, the chill was more intense than in previous years. Even the last remaining leaf of the old locust tree in the courtyard quietly fell to the ground in the morning breeze.

Not long after the leadership transition meeting concluded, Liu Ming's name, like the rising sun, shone brightly at the very top of China's political arena.

A 37-year-old committee member—the weight of this position is enough to make any mountain seem insignificant.

However, in this home at the pinnacle of power, the atmosphere became suffocatingly tense in front of the red certificate bearing the words "Outstanding Graduate."

Liu Zhen has graduated from university. The boy who was once punished by his father to stand up for others in the police station has now grown to be half a head taller than Liu Ming, with shoulders as broad as a wall.

"The Organization Department has already made arrangements. The Provincial Party Committee General Office happens to be short of a confidential secretary. With your achievements and background, going down there for two years of training will make your career path much smoother."

Liu Ming sat on a large mahogany chair in the study, holding a cup of tea that had stopped steaming. His voice was as calm as an ancient well.

Sitting to the side, Xi Wanqing nodded, her eyes filled with maternal expectation.

"Or, you could study at Imperial College London for two years. Your Aunt Nangong has already arranged a tutor for you; he's a top economics expert in the world."

Xi Wanqing reached out and gently patted her son's hand, her voice tender, "Zhen'er, your father in this position doesn't actually want you to move too fast. Steady progress is the right path."

Liu Zhen remained silent, looking down at his toes. In his sharp eyes, which were just like Liu Ming's, a complex yet resolute emotion was surging within them.

He didn't look at the pass to the provincial party committee compound, nor did he look at the admission notice that countless international students coveted.

Instead, he slowly took out a stack of slightly crumpled papers from his satchel and gently placed them on the coffee table in front of Liu Ming.

The top one prominently displays five bright red characters: [Enlistment Physical Examination Certificate].

Below the certificate of qualification was an application form with the intended location already filled out.

Liu Ming's hand, which was holding the teacup, froze the moment she saw the location.

[A border defense unit in Ali].

That place is the most arduous, coldest, and oxygen-scarce place in all of China; it is a true forbidden zone for life.

"You want to join the army?" Liu Ming slowly put down her teacup, raised her head, and stared intently into her son's eyes with a gaze as sharp as a knife.

"Yes, I want to join the army." Liu Zhen's voice was soft, but it carried a sense of hardness, like hitting a rock.

After Xi Wanqing saw the location of the registration form, her face turned deathly pale, and even her fingertips began to tremble slightly.

"Zhen'er, are you crazy?" She stood up abruptly, her voice trembling with tears. "The border? Or Ali? Do you know what the conditions are like there? You grew up in the city, can you endure that hardship?"

"Mom, I can take it." Liu Zhen also stood up. He looked at his mother with eyes full of reluctance, but even more so with an almost obsessive stubbornness.

"Your father suffered a hundred times more than this!"

Liu Zhen turned his head and looked directly at his father, who was as imposing as a statue.

"I've seen the 'Dragon Fang' internal publication in the school history museum. Although your name was crossed out, I recognized your handwriting. When you were twenty-two, fighting on the border, did you ever think about comfort? When you were thirty, waging financial warfare in Shanghai, did you ever think about retreating?"

Liu Ming didn't speak; he remained seated, shadows covering half of his face.

The air in the study seemed to have been sucked out in an instant, leaving only two rapid and heavy breathing sounds.

"Liu Zhen, joining the army is not child's play, nor is it to help you clear your name as a 'princeling'."

Liu Ming finally spoke, his voice hoarse, like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing together violently.

"On the border, bullets have no eyes, and blizzards don't recognize whose son you are. If you go there, you'll just be a speck of dust, possibly dying there without even a complete corpse. Have you thought this through?"

"I've thought it through, Dad." Liu Zhen stepped forward and patted his chest heavily. "The men of the Liu family have hot blood. I don't want to waste my years in those offices, and I don't want to use your name to get promoted and make money. I want to guard our border. I want to see how you got here back then."

Xi Wanqing could no longer hold back. She hugged Liu Zhen tightly, tears streaming down her face.

"No... I absolutely disagree! Liu Ming, say something! You have to persuade him! We only have this one son. You've already given your life for the country, are you going to throw your son down with you?"

Liu Ming looked at his son, who was gradually straightening his chest in his wife's arms, and at the boy who looked and acted exactly like him when he was young.

Countless fragmented images suddenly flashed through his mind.

It was Xiaoqi's honest face lying in a pool of blood.

It was the image of him, his back to the tank carrying him out of the jungle, his steps uneven.

They are those comrades who guarded the lights of thousands of homes in the darkness, yet could never leave their names.

Liu Ming fell silent.

He remained silent for a full ten minutes.

Those ten minutes felt like an eternity to Xi Wanqing.

Finally, Liu Ming made a move.

He opened the drawer, took out a black pen, and then, under Xi Wanqing's desperate gaze, pulled the application form in front of him.

His hands were very steady, so steady that there wasn't the slightest tremor.

"Liu Ming! If you dare sign this, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!" Xi Wanqing roared, her voice filled with heartbroken despair.

Liu Ming ignored his wife's screams. He simply looked at Liu Zhen and, in an unprecedentedly serious and equal tone, issued his final order as both a father and a superior.

"Liu Zhen, if you die there, I won't come to collect your body. Your name won't appear in any newspapers praising meritorious service. You're just an ordinary border guard."

Liu Zhen suddenly brought his legs together, and his heels slammed together with a crisp popping sound.

"Yes, Private Liu Zhen! Following orders!"

Liu Ming no longer hesitated, and the pen tip made a screeching sound on the paper.

Two large, bold characters, written in a flowing, elegant style, appeared in the parents' comment section.

[Approved.]

He threw the pen on the table, stood up, walked over to his son, and patted his broad shoulder hard.

This blow was extremely heavy, causing Liu Zhen's body to sway slightly, but it also imbued him with the complete inheritance of one man to another.

"Go."

In Liu Ming's eyes, the deep-seated paternal love finally transformed into a fierce and ruthless force capable of burning the wasteland to ashes.

"Go and bleed and sweat."

"Go to that forbidden zone of life and bring me back a first-class merit."

"Go and become a real man."

Liu Zhen gave his father the most standard and solemn military salute of his life.

Then, without looking back, he walked out of the warm study.

Outside, the wind was strong and the snow was heavy.

But in that young figure, a new era was embarking on its journey, following in the footsteps of its parents.