Soon after arriving at the unit, I learned that the group of young conscripts from Fengxin's nationality had been divided into several groups, and one of them set off a few days later in the direction of Shanghai, which belonged to the same branch of the armed forces, but not to the same unit.

Just arrived at the unit and met the reorganization, the two units were reorganized, divided into two brigades according to different arms, one belongs to the anti-aircraft artillery and the other belongs to the **, these two groups of people accounted for the vast majority of the new recruits in the army that year, and later together for training, study, target shooting, and formed a deep friendship.

Most of the people who went to Shanghai were probably seventy or eighty people, and the number of people who went to Hangzhou was relatively small, only about 20, almost all of them were from Huibu, and other towns and villages had individual supplements, and their hukou was under the bath, but they were born in Huibu, so they felt particularly close.

More than 20 people, different backgrounds, different levels of education, most of them come from rural areas, there are not many urban hukou, the education is mainly from junior high school, there are not many people like me who graduated from high school, there is one who has a grudge in the third middle school, and there are two, one graduated from Dongken High School, and one graduated from forestry vocational high school.

Most of the children from the countryside may be going out for the first time, their eyes are full of novelty, a little shyness of not being good at socializing, and the fruit snacks given by relatives and friends are carefully kept, and they are not taken out to share with everyone like me.

A few towns came, slightly active, one of them is named Xiaohu, tall, but a little tiger-headed, parents are the ** staff of Huibu Township, among several people, may belong to his family with the best living conditions, with a walkman in his pocket, humming all the way to the rhythm Haha, leisurely, it seems particularly casual and relaxed.

A little melancholy and a little hesitant, you can also see it in them, maybe they have also experienced the failure of the college entrance examination, experienced the fruitlessness of finding a job, or maybe there are other unsatisfactory words, but it is difficult to hide, and there are distracted stares from time to time, which is enough to show.

The train was speeding up, and some of the soldiers from other places who were in the same carriage got off the train halfway, and were greeted by officers of the troops on the platform, who may have connections or specialties, and changed their direction halfway to other troops.

The cadre of the army who picked us up looked to be in his thirties, and he also visited our home during the political examination of the conscription, and he had a very good impression of him at that time, and looked up with admiration, and after arriving at the Hangzhou station, he handed us over to the officer who came to the railway station to pick up the troops, and then left alone.

Later, I learned that he was an officer of the Shanghai Brigade Headquarters, and just before he was about to get off the bus, his behavior puzzled me and discounted my impression of him.

Before we got off the bus, he came to us one by one and gave us one yuan each, saying that it was our allowance for the first month after joining the army, and the monthly allowance for each of us was 26 yuan, and it cost 25 yuan to buy a bag for each of us, and there was one yuan left.

Therefore, the first allowance we received was one yuan, and with this yuan, we said goodbye to the cadre who picked us up and got off the train in Hangzhou.

It was a plastic zipper bag, very ordinary, and when it was sent to our hands, we thought it was distributed by the army, but it turned out that we spent our own money to buy it. This bag is not too strong, and the troops used it out after several training camps.

Compared with this bag, there is another military bag, made of canvas, the zipper at both ends can be pulled to the end, this is the army distribution, particularly strong, with my southern expedition to the north, not even a hole, still intact.

Replenished fresh blood, increased national defense strength, for our arrival, just got off the train, I felt the enthusiasm of the soldiers, several veterans, took the initiative to help the younger recruits carry luggage, guided us to the car, stood at the back of the carriage, reminded us to pay attention to safety.

The military truck that picked us up, covered with a dark green canvas awning, just arrived at the troops, and everyone honestly sat down next to each other in accordance with the veteran's explanation, and could not see the scenery outside, but could only feel that the road was far away, twisting and turning, turning and turning, pulling us to a completely unfamiliar place.

At noon on December 16, 1993, the military truck drove into the barracks and set foot on the hot land of the army.

When we arrived at the recruit company, we also felt enthusiastic, and the cadres and squad leaders of the recruit company who were waiting escorted us off the bus, and after the roll call was lined up and divided into classes, they helped us pick up our luggage and walk into our respective dormitories.

The first meal of the army, I still remember vividly, a chicken leg and an egg, with a lot of oil, a greasy mouth to eat very fragrant, at that moment I felt very warm, thinking that the army is indeed as I imagined before, it is a pure land, and I am full of expectations for the future military career.

This feeling disappeared at the second meal, and there was no drop of oil, almost boiling water, until the day of the Spring Festival, and the last meal before the recruit company was about to leave the company, and the meat was seen again.

At that time, I wrote a letter to my sister, who was in junior high school, and said some of the hardships of the life of the recruit company, which was originally intended as an example, hoping that she would understand that it was not easy and concentrate on studying.

The troops were indeed affected by society, and the cadres and veterans of the recruit company held separate gangs, and the meat dishes they bought were fried into small stir-fried dishes and placed on their tables.

I got off the bus and divided the class, I was divided into eight classes, a total of eight people, six were from Fengxin's hometown, and two were from Nantong, Jiangsu, Xiaohu and I were in the same class.

The squad leader is a native of Shandong, the same age as me, enlisted at the end of 91, the army is called the 92 annual soldier, usually referred to as the 92 year soldier, we are the end of the 93 year enlistment, that is, the 94 year soldier, the name of a certain year soldier, has a strong affinity, as long as the person who has been a soldier, when it comes to himself is also a certain year soldier, just like meeting an acquaintance who has not seen for many years, the same unit, the same year soldier is often considered to be the real comrade-in-arms.

According to the year, the top is a veteran and the bottom is a new soldier, and when he first enlisted, he was called a recruit egg, because on the first day he first arrived in the army, he had to be shaved bald, and only when he left the recruit company and was assigned to the old company could he have long hair.

Different years represent different qualifications, the older the more seniority, the lower with the stewardship suppression, the upper with respect and awe, which is consistent with the military regulations, when the position is not clear, the rank is distinguished from the upper and lower.

When we joined the army, due to the influence of the social atmosphere, some junior soldiers did not obey the discipline and often fought recklessly, which often caused two soldiers of different years to look at each other in a bad eye, and the affinity of the soldiers of the same year was stronger.

There is another characteristic of the army, that is, the concept of "fellow countrymen" is particularly strong, from ****, fellow villagers are generally provincial, if there are "fellow villagers" among veterans or cadres, they can get a lot of care.

This is a phenomenon unique to the army, which has been prosperous for a long time, and it has always been like this, and it is not clear why it is so strong, perhaps it can only be said that "one side of the water and soil supports one side of the people", far away from home, there is emotional sustenance, and there is natural closeness.

The squad leader was transferred from the third company, because he had a bad impression of his method of leading troops, and then gradually forgot about him, and he couldn't even remember what his surname was, but he still remembered his appearance, his height was about the same as mine, he was slightly dark and thin, his cheeks were a little inverted, he had some pimples, and he had long hair that barely met the company's regulations.

At the end of the first meal, the squad leader began to perform the duty of leading the troops, and the first act of leading the troops did not teach by word and deed, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.

He asked us to hand over all the money and belongings for him to keep, which was originally to prevent him from running away from the army without suffering without hesitation, but it changed a little in him, fruit snacks were taken to share with other veterans, and Xiaohu's Walkman also became something in his ears.

The money brought by the family was handed over to him for safekeeping, and he always found excuses to collect it, such as a fellow villager who came to visit him to have a treat, or a birthday when he had to pay a share of the money.

Although he was disgusted, he couldn't resist, not only him, but the squad leader of the entire recruit company, this phenomenon did not know when it formed, it lasted for a long time, and even to the point that the recruit company was regarded as a kind of welfare, and went to bring the recruits, and the fellow would always visit in the same year, trying to scavenge some money and things from the recruits.

The cadres of the recruit company must know about these situations, but they have always turned a blind eye and treated them as if they did not see them, and perhaps this kind of social impact is not only our unit, but also other troops, and the common problems are regarded as normal, and it is difficult to change or unwilling to change.

Such indulgence not only caused the recruits' food expenses to be squeezed out, and they did not eat well, or even extremely poorly, but also caused the recruits to manage them arbitrarily and to beat and scold them and punish them continuously.

At that time, there was an idea that if I had the opportunity to lead the troops, I would definitely change this situation, and the idea became the driving force, and later I really led the troops in various capacities, and I really made efforts in this regard.