A Mitsubishi jeep with a military license plate rushed out of the hustle and bustle of Beijing, along a wide and flat highway, and flew towards the faintly recognizable mountains in the distance. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

In the land of Yanzhao in early winter, the wind is low and the grass is low, and the weather is cold and the river is thin. The poplar trees, stripped naked by the autumn wind, still stand stubbornly on both sides of the highway, welcoming pedestrians and vehicles. The small pine trees on the hillside held hands and arm in arm, ready to face the bitter cold in a dense phalanx. The land that has worked hard for most of the year is resting, and under the dead branches and leaves, next year's harvest is brewing.

Jiang Qi, deputy director of a research institute and senior engineer at a certain headquarters, sat in the front seat of the jeep, leaned forward, and obligently watched everything outside the window. He attended meetings every day, reviewed materials, and did not leave the compound for more than a month, and he was a little dizzy and distraught. Approaching the mountainous area in front of him, he felt relaxed and refreshed. He was familiar with the changes between heaven and earth here, and understood the morning and twilight of the ravines and peaks here------

In the mid-70s of the last century, Jiang Qi completed the transformation of rural youth into revolutionary fighters in a camp deep in the mountains. It didn't take long for his leaders to discover that this thin recruit not only memorized Chairman Mao's quotations quickly, but also worked without fear of death, and he did more than anyone else in the cave to explore and remove stones. Three years after joining the army, Jiang Qi's body was still so thin and small, with only a few more scars -- it was a medal made of flesh and blood, and he naturally became an activist in the military region to study Chairman Mao's writings, and was promoted to a platoon commander in the logistics engineering unit.

Jiang Qi has been working in this engineering unit for more than ten years, and he and his comrades-in-arms have traveled all over the Gouling villages here, opened roads in the mountains, built bridges when encountering water, built several high-quality projects, and made some peasant friends. He often played with the old poor peasants on the kang, talked with the old captain in the fields, and the deepest feelings were for the migrant workers who shed blood and sweat with the officers and soldiers of the army. Young people today do not understand that the common people at that time were so simple and lovely, and so easily satisfied, with morning dew on their heads at breakfast, gruel soaked in the moon for dinner, and a day of hard work—a day, which at that time meant as much working time as possible, not eight hours, but more than ten hours. The thin bodies are perpendicular to the earth at six o'clock in the morning and parallel to the blue sky at eight o'clock in the evening, and the reward is that the accountant of the production team will give him a few more points. He clearly remembered that on an early winter day, under the orange mountain peaks smeared by the sun, there was a hot labor scene composed of hundreds of soldiers and migrant workers, which was a tough battle of iron horse kingo. Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the cave, "Collapse!" Jiang Qi threw down the cart in his hand, ran to the scene of the accident in three steps and two steps, only to see a large stone falling from the top of the cave, just smashed on the abdomen and legs of a girl in her twenties, she moaned in a low voice, sweat beads rolled on her face twisted by pain, and when she saw Jiang Qi, she shouted "Jiang Platoon Leader" and fainted. By the time the soldiers and migrant workers lifted the thousands of pounds of stone with their hands, she had stopped breathing, still clutching the steel drill that had been used for less than a month. The girl's father, a middle-aged man who spoke little, arranged his daughter's funeral and went to the construction site to take over his daughter's work. One day in the first month of the following year, after Jiang Qi held a commendation meeting in the military region, he went straight to the pine forest next to the construction site, hung a pennant with the eight characters "The mountain bows its head, and the stubborn stone gives way" on the fork of a tree next to a grave, and respectfully saluted the girl who has never woken up and is eternally young.

The driver skillfully drove the car, one would jump to the top of the mountain, the other would sink to the bottom of the valley, the stream on the side of the road had no summer madness, sometimes running with his legs, leading and singing, sometimes moving lightly, chanting and singing. Yang Jianli, director of the science and technology department of the research institute sitting in the back row, seemed to have no intention of enjoying the scenery outside the car window, he struggled to owe his fat body, and said to Jiang Qi with a smile: "Director Jiang, when I reported to the head of the department yesterday, the head of the department said, can you drill as planned, just wait for you to take us to check the technical standards first, and then put forward what kind of decision-making suggestions after watching the rehearsal the day after tomorrow." ”

Jiang Qi stopped reminiscing about the past, turned sideways, his clear face was a little serious, he looked at Yang Jianli with both eyes, and his sharp gaze was like a scalpel dissecting the human body: "Oh, in this way, whether you can drill as planned, the key is not to see how well the preparations are done, but what kind of decision-making suggestions I make in the end?" ”

Yang Jianli avoided Jiang Qi's gaze, glanced at Xiao Pei, the young staff officer sitting beside him, and grinned: "That's not what I mean, I mean ------"

"My decision-making suggestion is not so easy to make!"

"Yes, the director has always been strict with us." Yang Jianli said seriously.

"Humph! Because of this, I, Jiang Qi, have not been scolded. ”

Yang Jianli scratched his head and smiled again: "What about that!" The usual actions and words of the old subordinates, Jiang Qi is all too familiar.

In the more than ten years since he worked in the institute, Yang Jianli's position and weight have increased at the same time, and the heroic young man has become a bloated department leader. He didn't abuse Jiang Qi's preference for himself, but tried to make it just right. For this slender and majestic old leader, Yang Jianli was three points of fear and seven points of admiration, he said, "Minister Jiang's myopia lenses can take X-rays, and you can see through your internal organs at once." Under Jiang Qi's gaze, he never dared to say a word of lie. He especially admires Jiang Qi's upright character and rigorous style, Jiang Qi's mouth, heart, and hands are connected, what he thinks in his heart, what he says with his mouth, and what he does with his hands. Although sometimes he was embarrassed by Jiang Qi's harsh words, he couldn't get off the stage, and secretly scolded him twice in his heart for being a "stubborn old man", but after thinking about it, I felt that Jiang Qi's words made sense. In front of the public, he looked like a businessman in front of Jiang Qi, and when there were few people, he would joke with Jiang Qi, and even say some willful things casually.

The rear defense exercise in the comprehensive warehouse in the rear of the campaign was part of the department's annual work plan, and the exercise was of an exemplary nature, and the leaders of the department attached great importance to it, and Yang Jianli participated in the work of the director group and worked very hard. In the more than two months that he was assisting the training department of the organ in its preparations, he did not sleep a single night, nor did he eat a single meal. At yesterday's briefing meeting, the leaders of the ministry were satisfied with the preparations, but Jiang Qi did not say a word of comment. In this exercise, from the preparation of the idea to the organization of the rehearsal, the intention of the head of the department was carried out, so what was he not satisfied with? Jiang Qi's attitude puzzled Yang Jianli.

Jiang Qi has already passed his 59th birthday, and his participation in this exercise should be his farewell performance after leaving the barracks; in order to bring the veteran leader's military career of more than 40 years to a successful end, Yang Jianli suggested that the leaders of the director group should combine the real with the false, take into account both the virtual and the real, be both down-to-earth and vigorous, and give prominence to solving the technical problems of comprehensive support in future wars. In this exercise, the chief who organized the exercise adopted Jiang Qi's opinion and was ready to invite relevant military and local leaders to watch the exercise, and also prepared to invite reporters from some news units. After several wars in the Middle East, the defense of important rear facilities has attracted widespread attention, and if this exercise is done well, it will not only be of guiding significance for practical work, but will also cause a certain sensational effect.

Yang Jianli saw Jiang Qi turn his gaze out of the car window again, knowing that he would indulge in the past whenever he passed by here, and didn't want to communicate with others more, so he stopped talking to him in a funny way, his eyes were closed, his head was crooked, and he snorted slowly. Jiang Qi looked back at his sleeping appearance, and felt funny in his heart: "This Yang Jianli, as soon as he sleeps, his brain and nose rest at the same time, and his mouth is like a dog with a mouse." Jiang Qi motioned to the driver to drive the car slower, and also leaned on the back of the seat, he, a neurasthenic patient who would be awakened even by a flea sneezing, did not have the habit of sleeping in the car, not to mention that there was a windy and thunderous Yang Jianli next to him today! He closed his eyes and felt as if the wheels under him were reversing (to be continued------ )