Chapter 73: It's a Long Journey

The stuffy tank car temporarily used as a special train for recruits, woo, woo, woo, gasp a few breaths, hum haha start, laughter in the carriage.

Dahong, Zhang Ping, and Zhou Zhibin were designated as temporary squad leaders, and dozens of people ate and drank in a stuffy tank box. Xiao Xuefeng occupies a corner of the car box with the stove installed. He pointed to the baskets of bread next to him and said, "Whoever is hungry will eat these dry foods with an open stomach." When this group of young people, who were almost half-starved and half-fed, they all beamed with joy. He sat on his bunk and leaned against the trunk, stretching his legs and smoking silently. Zhang Junliang brought a flatbread and handed it to Dahong, who shook his head and asked Han Quanhe to take it. Zhang Junliang gnawed off two flatbreads in one go, Xiao Xuefeng glanced at it and said in his heart: "The eggs of the new soldier are bigger than the old sows." ”

The carriage was quiet in the middle of the night, and the lantern glowed coldly. Da Hung dreamed that his father was sitting on the threshold of the hall and smoking a dry cigarette in silence, and his mother was secretly wiping tears next to him. In a flash, Hua Mei was kicked out of the house by her father and brother, and jumped off Yingziyan in the moonlight.

"Huamei ......"

"Dahong, step on the **." Zhang Junliang shook him awake and said.

The special train stopped and stopped, and a few days later stopped in Tianshui, and Dahong stayed in the car. An old man in tattered clothes got out from under the car and said in a thick northwest accent: "Comrade, I'm hungry!" "What?" "I'm hungry...... Hungry! Dahong shook his head in confusion, and the old man patted his stomach and said, "I'm hungry!" "Old man, the mountains and rivers of the motherland are red, you are not ......" The old man wiped a handful of tears, pointed to a group of old and young and said: "Our village's, the village's proof." "Old man, who are you fooling, the village can give this kind of certificate." The old man was helpless, knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Comrade, hungry, hungry." ”

The old man got a flatbread, and a group of young and old gathered around, and Dahong had to distribute one each.

When Xiao Xuefeng came back from eating, he found that the cake was empty, and asked, "Yang Dahong, what's the matter?" "Just now, a group of fellows were too hungry ......" "Yang Dahong, Yang Dahong, the country can't help it, you are really capable." Thousands of miles behind the Gobi Desert, call a cartload of brothers to drink the northwest wind? He stopped talking and said, "Listen to everyone, no one can touch dry food without my consent." ”

The special train stopped and stopped, and finally came out of the Hexi Corridor, with a glimpse of the vast Gobi snowfield. The northwest wind of minus tens of degrees Celsius poured into the carriage, as if the stove on the corner was also frozen into ice lumps. There was goose feather snow in the sky, and two special trains for recruits stopped at Hami Station at the same time, and one stop was more than half a day. In the evening, Xiao Xuefeng came back from a meeting and pushed the car door on the platform: "Comrades, today's dinner, go to the military station to eat rice." Quick, get off and assemble. ”

For many days, I gnawed on the flatbread, which was fragrant and sweet before, but later many people were sick to their stomachs when they saw it. So, the harsh winter in the carriage immediately jumped into spring.

The assembly whistle covered the hustle and bustle of the wind and snow, and a green river thawed on the endless snow blanket in an instant, and rushed to the canteen of the military station behind the side, and the confluence became a backwater in front of the gate. In the blink of an eye, the indirect soldier cadres disappeared, and Dahong and the others lined up until dark, and there was still no sign of the wheel. Zhang Junliang shivered and said: "If others cut the line, we will wait?" Zhang Ping said: "That's it, I heard that the rice is just after eating." Amir, rush! ”

The canteen of the military station can only accommodate a few hundred people, huge rice retorts, several large pots of pork and fried cabbage, the heat emitted by the cold turns into a milky white fog that fills the entire space, and the long-lost smell of food makes all the hot-blooded men scramble. Zhang Ping supported the shoulders of the two people in front of him with both hands, jumped into the queue to the rice retort, filled the hat with a teacup, and then turned around and handed it to Dahong Zhang Junliang......

On the way back to freedom, Zhang Junliang had diarrhea and had no choice but to squat on the side of the road to solve it. A young man on a bicycle grabbed his fur military hat and fled. Zhang Junliang lifted his pants and shouted while chasing: "Catch the robber!" Zhang Ping ran too quickly, he couldn't stop his feet slipping backwards on the ice and snow, and a big bag protruded from the back of his head, complaining: "Zhang Junliang, the turtle's son is harmful to people." Everyone chased to the entrance of the alley, only to see a white expanse of ice and snow.

"If you are bold, the People's Liberation Army will dare to rob it."

A few days later, Dahong and his team went to Urumqi and changed cars to continue their journey. The convoy passed by Lake Sailim, and the convoy of recruits stopped by the lake for a temporary rest. This lake was called the Pure Sea in ancient times, and it is a trench lake embedded in the North Tianshan Mountains. Because of the Himalayan orogeny 70 million years ago, it has become what it is today. The recruits were overjoyed and followed Xiao Xuefeng to the lake.

Xiao Xuefeng introduced with great interest: "The Kazakhs say that there are three monsters in Sailim Lake: one is strange, the clouds will sink on the surface of the lake; Two monsters, the lake does not grow fish and shrimp; Three monsters, people and animals drink the lake water through the intestines and stomachs. Zhang Ping joked: "There are monsters underwater." Xiao Xuefeng smiled and didn't say a word, Dahong said: "Platoon Commander Xiao, these three strange statements contradict themselves. Xiao Xuefeng was displeased and said, "Then listen to your high opinion." "The lake water does not grow fish and shrimp, and people and animals cannot drink it, indicating that it contains poisonous salts, so it can be seen that the density of the lake water is naturally greater than that of ordinary water, and how can the clouds sink on the surface of the lake?"

Xiao Xuefeng listened and said in his heart: "A nerd." Zhou Zhibin grabbed the conversation and said: "Dahong, legends are legends, how can you drill the horns of the bull." Xiao Xuefeng didn't say a word, smiled indifferently and threw away the cigarette butt and walked away. Zhang Ping said: "Dahong, when you speak in the future, you can also learn from others to be well-behaved." ”

The convoy climbed a large mountain pass covered with wind and snow, and all stopped for inspection, preparing to cross the tiger ditch. The road winds along the valley, like a tiger's mouth. Especially in winter, the road is covered with ice and snow, and if you are not careful, the car is often destroyed and killed, so that many old drivers also talk about the tiger's color.

On the way through Tiger Ditch, there was a sound of rattling and braking, and the convoy slowly stopped. Zhang Ping opened the tarpaulin and looked at it, and turned around in shock: "Oh my God, the left front wheel of the front car is hanging on the cliff." The recruits were so frightened that they rushed to the back of the car and scrambled to jump out of the car. Fang Hongxun stopped and said, "All sit back in place, this is an order!" ”

"I see ...... slipper"

"Then be a martyr!"

Fang Hongxun discussed with the receiving cadre and the driver Bibi to draw a picture, and Xiao Xuefeng went to drive the car behind him and connect the wire rope with the accident car. Fang Hongxun said: "The rest of the people are scattered, Xiao Xuefeng, you reverse the car, and the people in the car can't move, so the adhesion is great." "Let's get into the cab of the accident car.

"Instructor Fang, it's too dangerous, I'll come!"

"It's an order!"

Xiao Xuefeng gritted his teeth and started the rear car, stuck his head out of the door and reported: "Instructor Fang, it's ready." ”

A veteran driver gestured to command, Xiao Xuefeng fell back with a half-clutch, and the wire ropes in the front and rear workshops were slowly straightened and tightened, so he held the accelerator steadily. Fang Hongxun started the car in front, and the two cars slowly reversed backwards in unison. The roar of the engine is high and low, which makes people worry directly......

The deviant car finally turned back, Fang Hongxun and Xiao Xuefeng opened the car door and jumped down almost at the same time, sweating profusely, looking at each other and lighting cigarettes almost at the same time.

On the fourth day, the convoy traveled east along the Ili River Valley, and sparse snowflakes drifted from the previously clear sky; The north-south confrontation of Boroknu Mountain and Nalati Mountain, overlooking the villages in the wilderness and the mushroom-like Kazakh yurts; The frozen Gongnaisi River blooms the valley into two large pieces from east to west; Rows of tall poplar trees outline a chess-like countryside; The silver-gray sky reflects the thick snow, highlighting the rugged majesty of the Western Regions.

In the evening, the convoy arrived at the small town of Klertai, which is located in the hinterland of the Nalati steppe, on the north bank of the Gongnaisi River. The sky was blowing goose feathers and heavy snow, and the convoy passed through the town and turned into the straight asphalt road on the left, when suddenly there was a noise of gongs and drums on both sides, and Yigang sounded the whistle of the succession. The recruit Danzi was ecstatic, lifted the tarpaulin and interacted with the comrades who welcomed him in the lane.

After the convoy drove into the barracks gate, they parted ways one after another, and Dahong and his car followed the previous cars to turn right into the T-shaped barracks, and the red art characters of "Warmly welcome new comrades-in-arms" on the blackboard newspaper were particularly eye-catching. Several cars stopped in the middle dam one after another, Fang Hongxun got out of the car and shook hands with the waiting chief, Xiao Xuefeng said: "Comrades, our troops have arrived, get out of the car and gather." ”

The chief announced that Xiao Xuefeng would be the commander of the recruit company and Jiang Ling would be the instructor.

Jiang Ling is in his thirties, tall and thin but not burly, smiling but not treacherous, polite and not pedantic, upright and heroic, and his demeanor is clean and neat.

Dahong, Zhang Junliang, Han Quanhe, Zhou Zhibin and other eight people are divided into a class, and the squad leader is Dong Luhan. He was not tall, with a big beard and a thick northern accent, but he lacked the rugged men of northern men.

Xiao Xuefeng announced: "Bring back from each class." ”