The sweet and loving voice of the mother makes the family like heaven.

- Jewish proverb

When Xiao Jianxin was 6 years old, the leaders of the 3rd Battalion decided to move the battalion headquarters from the 14th Company, which was in the easternmost part of the reclamation area, to the No. 3 Field where the 18th Company was stationed, located in the center, in order to make it easier for all the staff of the battalion to go to the nearest battalion headquarters for a meeting and study.

In order to make room for the cadres of the relocated battalion headquarters organs, the leaders decided to evacuate some of the staff of the 18th Company to other companies. As a result, Niu Wanshan and Li Qifu moved to the Mongolian Bay, where the new company headquarters of the 17th Company was stationed.

Mongolian Bay is located in the westernmost part of the reclamation area, 1 km away from the old Lianbu Sugar Factory of the 17th Company, and is located in the Kecasu wetland formed by the Irtysh River, which is a swampy area with large areas of reeds and wild grasses, rich in water resources and fertile land branches. This is the westernmost point of the 181st Regiment, bordering Fuhai County across the Irtysh River to the south, Burjin County to the west, Altay County to the north, and flat pastures, 2nd Battalion and regimental headquarters of the 181st Regiment to the east. Because it was once a place where Mongolian herders lived, it was named Mongolian Bay.

Niu Wanshan and Li Qifu were assigned to work in the cart shift. Gong Lamei worked in the company's nursery.

Niu Mulan is already a second-year junior high school student. Her school is located in the No. 3 field of the new camp department, 4 kilometers from the Mongolian Gulf.

In March 1971, Gong Lamei gave birth to a white and fat boy. Niu Wanshan named him Niu Jianmeng, which means to build the Mongolian Bay. As usual, he invited Ma Yumin, a fellow villager of the 14th Company, and named the child a scripture called Daoud.

After Gong Lamei took 40 days of maternity leave, she took Jianmeng to work in the nursery. She can take care of her children for the employees of the company, as well as her own children, killing two birds with one stone.

On the morning of 15 November, the workers received an urgent notice from the company that work and production would be suspended this morning, and the nursery school would be closed.

At 10 o'clock, all the employees of the 17th Company arrived at the meeting. Everyone had one or two children in their arms and asked each other what was going on.

The company commander was a demobilized soldier from Sichuan, whose name was Peng Yunqing. Company Commander Peng sat in front of the presiding stage, with a grim and angry expression on his face, holding a large pile of documents in his hand.

The staff in the club were stunned for a long time. They simply have no way of coming out of the propaganda and indoctrination they have received for many years, and their mental and inner world is full of paradoxical anxieties and struggles. Everyone sat on the small bench in a daze, not daring to say anything, just blindly in a daze, thinking and tangled.

Suddenly, Chen Guiying, a female employee from Shaanxi who had always been timid and cautious who had always been sitting in the back row, shouted: "Mom! ”

Everyone looked back and saw that Chen Guiying's body was stiff, her face was pale, her eyes were rolling, a large ball of white foam came out of her mouth, and finally she fainted on the ground.

Suddenly, the screams of the staff in the club and the cries of the frightened children became chaotic. Some people shouted loudly to call the hygienist, some shouted to pinch the people quickly, and some shouted for the crowd to disperse quickly.

Gong Lamei saw that the situation was not good, and hurriedly picked up Jianmeng, not caring about taking her own small bench, and squeezed out of the crowded club. She thought to herself: Anyway, Lin is dead, and we must not have any dead people here. I need to hurry home to warm the milk and cook. The doll's stomach is hungry.

People arrived in 1972 in a state of sluggishness, numbness and helplessness.

In the summer of this year, Niu Mulan graduated from junior high school.

At that time, according to Chairman Mao Zedong's important instructions on "shortening the school system" and "learning from industry and agriculture", the primary school was shortened from 6 years to 5 years, and the junior high school was reduced from 3 years to 2 years. In the only seven years, I had to spare a lot of time to study engineering and agriculture in factories and villages.

Niu Mulan was assigned by the public to work in the duty company directly under the regiment headquarters. The so-called duty company is a youth vanguard with a large number of young people. Wherever there is a difficult project, the workers of the company on duty rush to the front. They built a number of reservoirs and trunk canals.

The staff of the 17th Company were scattered in the sugar factory and the Gulf of Mongolia, and the households were not very large, so they did not run their own company's primary school. The children of the workers have to walk 3 or 4 kilometers to the primary school of the 15th company.

Niu Wanshan considered that although Niu Jianxin had reached the age of 7 and reached the age of going to school, his body was thin and thin, and he was worried that he would be bullied by other children at school, so he decided to let him delay going to school for a year.

One hot afternoon, Niu Jianxin was bored alone, came to the canal at the intersection of the company, and plucked wild bitter herbs for the little white rabbit he raised.

Li Jianxin, a fourth-grade student who returned from school at the 15th Company Primary School, walked up to him and said solemnly: "You Hui people are not Chinese!" Migrated from the United States! ”

We migrated from the United States? At that time, the United States and the Soviet Union were the general backstage of "land, rich, anti, bad, and right" in the minds of the Chinese people, and the mortal enemies of the oppressed people of the world! The Americans and Soviets meant that they were imperialist aggressors and insidious and cunning spies! The most hated, vicious, and baddest person in the world!

Niu Jianxin instinctively retorted loudly: "You are talking nonsense!"

Li Jianxin said solemnly: "I didn't talk nonsense! What the teacher said in class today! ”

Teacher? A teacher is a person who teaches knowledge, and he will never be wrong. Niu Jianxin suddenly thundered, his whole body was stiff and paralyzed, and he was stunned.

After about a long time, by the time he came to his senses, Li Jianxin had already disappeared.

This was the first time that Niu Jianxin had come into direct contact with his own ethnic issue. In the past, he just remembered his parents' advice that he couldn't eat other people's meals casually, because we were Hui people. In his opinion, he and the Han people around him look the same, speak the same words, dress the same, and play together all day long, there is almost no difference.

No, you have to ask the adults to go.

Niu Jianxin made up his mind, spread his feet and ran home.

When he saw Gong Lamei cooking, he panted and asked loudly, "Mom...... We...... Isn't it...... From...... From the United States? ”

Gong Lamei stopped what she was doing and asked curiously, "Who said that?" What's wrong? ”

Niu Jianxin replied eagerly: "Li Jianxin." ”

Gong Lamei said slowly: "He is not right. ”

Niu Jianxin seemed to have discovered a new world, and his eyes shone brightly. He immediately asked aloud, "So—where did we come from?" ”

Gong Lamei thought for a moment and said lightly: "I used to hear the legends of the old people, as if we were from Arabia or Turkey. ”

Hearing his mother's words, Niu Jianxin's "dong dong" rapidly beating heart was slightly soothed: it doesn't matter if it's Arabian or Turkish! As long as it's not from the USA and the USSR!

But why are we from a foreign country? Why not be authentic Chinese like Li Jianxin?

Niu Jianxin couldn't help but wonder again in his heart. However, he didn't dare to ask his mother anymore. Because he was afraid that there would be some bad relationship involved.

For this, he was listless for several days.

With the development of the construction industry, more and more mechanized equipment has been put into use by the construction corps, which has gradually replaced manual ploughing, sowing, harvesting and horse-drawn carriage transportation.

Niu Wanshan's cart class lost its previous important role and was subsequently revoked. Only more than 20 horses were left in the company and handed over to Niu Wanshan and others to raise as an emergency backup.

The company had no place to graze horses, except for dormitories, farmland, and lakes. Therefore, Niu Wanshan had to drive the horses to the Altai mountains for grazing before the wheat seedlings grew in the summer, and back in the autumn after the crops in the fields were harvested. Before winter, they also have to nail iron palms to the horse's hooves to pull carts for transportation in the winter when the water is dripping into ice, temporarily replacing the tractors that cannot be driven on the ice and snow roads.

There is a large temperature difference between morning and evening in the Altai Mountains, and there is a lack of vegetables. Niu Wanshan and the staff eat noodles and kimchi three times a day. For a long time, kimchi irritated the stomach and intestines greatly, causing him to suffer from chronic stomach problems.

Next to the Gulf of Mongolia is an unnamed lake overgrown with large fields of reeds. The people named the lake the Reed Lake.

The lives of the people of the Mongolian Gulf are inseparable from the reed lake. In the spring, the workers went to the reed lake to pick up wild duck eggs to improve their lives; In summer, go to the lake to fish and enrich the dishes; In autumn, water chestnuts were dug in the black mud at the bottom of the lake, and the children were coaxed by cooking; Harvesting reeds on the frozen lake in winter is a good way to buy firewood without spending money.

The calm lake, the green reeds, the orange sunset, and the golden sand beach are like a picture of the land of fish and rice.

In the middle of the hot summer, the leaves of the aspen trees are lazily rolled into small tubes. The bird hid in a pile of leaves without making a sound. The usually lively and active puppy also crawled under the shade of the tree in frustration, panting with a blood-red tongue.

The workers who had had lunch took a nap.

Niu Jianxin and a few other 7 or 8-year-old children are full of energy. They gather in the shade to play. I don't know which brave friend suddenly proposed to swim in the reed lake. The proposal was immediately endorsed. Because adults are afraid of insecurity, they never let them play in the nearby reed lake.

So, the little ones flew towards the lake.

The reed lake was about a kilometer away from the company. In a few moments, they ran to the lake. One by one, they scrambled to tear off the vests and trousers on their bodies. Then it was like a freeze frame, everyone stood naked, you look at me, I look at you, no one dared to be the first to enter the water.

In the end, the freshmen who appointed themselves as the "commander-in-chief" and the "chief of staff" Sichuan Xinjiang wrenched their strength, and if anyone was defeated, they would go into the water first. The "commander-in-chief" had strength, but his head was not as fast as the "chief of staff", and he was quickly defeated.

In the midst of everyone's urgent urging, he closed his small eyes and big mouth, and plunged into the water. Amid everyone's cheers, the freshman stood up in the water—the waterline had just reached his belly. Suddenly, everyone jumped into the water like a lively little fish.

The water of the lake is clear and bright. When they opened their eyes in the water, they could see the fine sand at the bottom of the water, the aquatic plants swaying with the waves, and the small fish swimming by in panic. They don't have any swimming position, as long as they can't sink. You splash water on me with your hands, and I turn around and draw water at you with my feet. White splashes, smooth little hands and feet, so lively!

Suddenly, a black mass jumped between them from the shore and startled them. After looking at it, it turned out that the little black dog also secretly followed and joined them in the fun.

The freshman grabbed the little black dog by the tail and followed it towards the far side of the lake. Suddenly, the freshman broke free from the little black dog, shook his arms, sank into the water in an instant, and struggled to surface, shouting "help" in horror. The friends were too frightened to move for a while. At this moment, the little black dog quickly turned around and swam to the freshman, waited until the freshman grabbed his tail, and then dragged him back to the shallow water. They hurled around and hurried to comfort the frightened "commander-in-chief".

I don't realize that a long time has passed. Everyone had some backache and leg pain, so they climbed ashore one by one and lay on the beach to bask in the sun.

The sun is about to set. The sunset drifts across the sky and also falls on the calm surface of the lake. The lake reflects the sunset, and the sunset blends into the lake. Clusters of reeds drooped down their fluffy heads, as if thinking about their hearts. The geese returning from playing around also fell into the grass in the lake.

They watched with fascination at the beautiful view.

Suddenly, from the side of the company, the mother's anxious voice was heard. They knew it was late. Everyone made a mess, put on their clothes three times and divided them by two, spread their feet and ran in the direction of home.

Naturally, the interrogation of the adults could not be escaped. Making up a lie can also get you away with it. However, the coward Chuan Jiang couldn't withstand a few slaps from his father, and finally confessed to the adults.

"What's the matter! What if something happens?! "The adults have joined forces and unanimously forbade the children to go to the reed lake to play in the water, but there is no restriction on the children who are older than them and are already in school. Niu Jianxin and his friends were very unconvinced.

What is bright does not work, and what is dark comes. Every day at noon, they went door to door to inform each other, not to go to Weihu Lake, but to "pounce tom".

As soon as the friends heard this, they immediately put down the rice bowls in their hands and quietly slipped out of the house. Maybe the name is too explicit. Within a few days, the adults had seen through their codes. So, they changed the name to "Intention Plate".

"Jianxin, I'm going to go!"

What a child who loves to learn. The adults couldn't help but be happy.

However, there are always a few cowards who make people angry. Everyone shouted around him: "Coward, coward, mother beat you crooked mouth!"

He obediently followed everyone to act.

The lake is getting more lively day by day. Because the older kids are on summer vacation. Their skills are much higher. They can fish, and in a moment they will be able to catch a string of "five black" fish. They also use wire to bend into hooks and catch otters.

Niu Jianxin and other friends couldn't stand by and watch for a while.

They were worried that the children had scared away the fish and alarmed the otters.

Niu Jianxin and a few friends went to the shallow water to touch the river mussels. They first touched a small pit, and then they touched the vine and the melon, and they could touch a large river mussel. The scalloped shell of the mussel has beautiful patterns, and the meat can also be eaten as a dish.

They also dig up reed roots on grassy flats overgrown with reeds. The dug reed root is raw, and the mouth is full of sweetness when you bite into it, and it is crisp and sweet like a duck pear.

One day, the adults discovered their whereabouts, chased them to the lake, grabbed their clothes and left.

"What to do? How can I get home without clothes? They had no choice but to wait until it was dark before they climbed ashore one by one, covering the places they were most afraid of being seen, and running home with their feet outstretched.

Later, this matter became the topic of ridicule for those little yellow-haired girls.

The truth is ironclad, you have to promise the adults that you will never go to Reed Lake again. Guarantee is guaranteed, and play is resolutely unstoppable. Every time they come back from outside, the adults have to carefully scratch their arms with their fingernails. If the traces are obvious, it proves that they have gone to Reed Lake again. Of course, they quickly found a solution: apply fine soil to their arms before going home. In this way, no matter how hard the adults scratch, the marks will not be clear.