The train stops at a small station in the north of Xinjiang, opposite the vast Niutou Mountain, which is close to the border between China and the Soviet Union. It is said that many fortresses and bunkers built by the Japanese have been left on this mountain, but they have now been destroyed by time.

When Guo Jiefang and the others got out of the car, snowflakes fell in the sky, and the educated youths carried their hands on their shoulders and got off the car in a hurry. On the platform, there were two people standing at the station, one was a middle-aged man with a full beard, and the other was a young man with white skin.

The bearded man's name is Hu Bao, and he is the company commander of the third company of the second regiment of the first division, and most of the educated youths who arrived with the train this time have been added to his third company. Because the leopard has a majestic beard, everyone calls him the bearded company commander.

The young man is a clerk in the company, and he is not much older than the educated youth!

The bearded company commander gathered the noisy crowd together, counted the number of people by roll call, and then formed two columns, and he led them outside the station.

Guo Jiefang was in the middle of the line, he raised his eyes and saw that the station was small and pitiful, there were only three wooden houses in a row, and a saka roadworker led a thin dog, staring at them blankly······! “。

At the edge of the station, there is a dense primeval deep forest mixed with needles and broad-leaved, which extends from the station to the top of Niutou Mountain, and the vast forest sea is imprisoned in a white chaos by wind and snow at this time.

The air is cold, the snow is falling, and the young people who have just arrived here naturally can't adapt to this sudden change in climate, but fortunately, the young people have already been prepared, and they have put their own cotton clothes and cotton hats neatly to resist the rare wind and snow that are raging everywhere!

It didn't take long for a thick layer of snow to accumulate on the ground, and it creaked when my feet stepped on it. Standing in front of the station, Niutou Mountain Hesse stands like a huge stone wall that seems to collapse at any moment.

Guo Jiefang saw Liu Lili and Li Yuanchao walking in front of him, saw him, turned around and waved and smiled at him, marching in the mud, stepping on the ground "clicking······ Click" sounded straight. From time to time, military vehicles passed by them, speeding by, muddy water splashing, causing the young people to shout and scold!

The military vehicles were covered with green rainproof cloths, and it was impossible to see what they were carrying, but on each vehicle, there were several armed soldiers escorting them.

Guo Jiefang stabbed Niu Jianjun and said, "See? The car must have been loaded with munitions······ I just don't know where they're going to ······! ”。

Niu Jianjun added: "These military vehicles are all heading north······ Looks like something is really going wrong in the north······! ”。

Guo Jiefang said: "This is not far from the Sino-Soviet border, if we really want to fight, we must also mobilize!" ”。

While the two of them were walking, they were guessing blindly, and they didn't feel a little more uneasy and expectant, and at the same time they also felt a kind of urgency that was coming!

Out of the station, everyone winded on the narrow mountain road, surrounded by a white expanse, and there was not a single living creature in sight for dozens of miles. Looking back, in a field of white snow, a dirty black spot, that is the station they just left!

Huge trees towering to the sky, withered grass, mountains in the distance, birds and beasts chirping endlessly, carefully searching for the source of the call, but vast, nothing ······!

At this time, the wind is in the snow, and the sun turns out from behind the clouds, radiating a warm light, and the quiet woods and snow reflect a dazzling white light!

At this time, the bearded company commander shouted to the educated youths at the front of the team: "Comrades, now that we have entered the old forest, the big guys must follow the team······ There are all kinds of wild things in this old forest, not to mention tigers and bears, even a wild wolf can dig people alive······! ”。

Most of the educated youths came from the city, so they naturally didn't know the power of the beasts in the mountains.

A young man shouted: "Comrade Company Commander, there are really tigers and bears in the forest, and they have already been scared away by us at this time······ How dare you approach our ······? ”。

The sound of human words spread far and wide in the vast primeval forest······ Far away······ The snow on the branches of the trees shook and fell again and again!

The bearded company commander said solemnly: "You must not take it lightly······ Last year, there was a young man in our division, and he met a blind bear on the way, and he lay on the ground and pretended to be dead to save his life······ But half of his face was licked by the bear······ You'll have to be careful! ”。

A young intellectual: "Knowing the company commander, we will pay attention to ······!" ”。

Another educated youth shouted happily: "Isn't that person a two-skinned face?" ”。

When all the young people heard this, they all laughed, and the bearded company commander said a little angrily: "You dolls really don't know the depths······ It's late autumn and early winter······ The blind bears are anxious to find food everywhere······ It's the most dangerous time of the year······ In our Gada, there is a saying: "It is better to meet a bluff than to meet a bear" Do you know why? ”。

The intellectuals were very interested and asked, "Why the hell?" ”。

The bearded company commander laughed and said, "The tiger beast generally doesn't hurt people, and when it saw someone coming, it ran away first······ But this blind bear is different, he sees people, and rushes out of the woods to get them······ And the bear blind man is evilly tight, if you hurt him once, it can remember you for a lifetime······ Even after more than ten years, it will still remember your ······! ”。

Li Yuanchao pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose and asked, "It turns out that the blind bear here still holds grudges?" ”。

The bearded company commander smiled: "That's right! You're right······ Don't look at the blind bear's fat and stupid, but its memory is no worse than that of you showmen······ ”。

The educated youths all laughed, feeling that these strange things told by the bearded company commander were novel and fascinating, and they couldn't help but arouse everyone's yearning for the vast primeval forest! At the same time, they also dimly realized that they had come to a place that was very different from their previous lives······ Their laughter, like wings, echoed through the sky and in the old woods covered with ice and snow!

Guo Jiefang was very interested in these things, and he asked the bearded company commander: "Company commander, what other animals do you say there are in the old forest besides tigers and bears?" ”。

As he walked, the bearded company commander replied, "If you want to talk about this wild animal······ That's an old nose······ What pheasants, hares, silly roe deer, sika deer, etc······ It's just too much! Don't you dare to say that it's a roe deer and a scoop fish······ That's pretty much it! ”。

Niu Jianjun expressed disbelief and said: "Company commander, you can brag!" There are so many beasts, how did I walk all this way without even seeing a pheasant ······? ”。

The bearded company commander patted Niu Jianjun on the shoulder and said, "I scared you stinky boys away, what else do you kid see?" ”。 Immediately, he raised his voice and shouted to the intellectuals: "Comrades, now is not the time for us to talk nonsense!" Listen to me! When we get to our station, I will tell you about it for three days and three nights······ But now we need to hurry up······ You have to walk through the old forest in front of you before dark······ Comrades, work hard······ Let's go······! ”。

As soon as the young people got off the train, they were full of physical strength, and when they heard the call of the bearded company commander, they suddenly thundered with joy, and they all accelerated their pace, striving to be the first.

When it was time to order to rest, Guo Jiefang and Niu Jianjun all sat on the snow, Guo Jiefang took off his socks and complained to Niu Jianjun: "Oh, hey······ My little young feet······ It's been blistering ······ a few times! ”。

Niu Jianjun leaned back, lay on the snow and said, "Are you still young and tender?" You feet, you can stink for five miles in the wind, believe it or not······? ”。

Guo Jiefang complained: "Niu Fat, you can do it!" Don't you feel sorry for your buddy, and you're still squeezing your buddy? ”。

Niu Jianjun smiled evilly, and then changed the topic and said: "Lao Guo, look how good this old forest is······!" Wait for tomorrow and let's shoot it, Lao Tzu will go around the woods in time, maybe he can fight a tiger, a bear or something, don't you say? ”。

Guo Jiefang squeezed the blisters on the soles of his feet, and said to Niu Jianjun: "You kid thinks it's quite beautiful, do you think the tigers and bears here are dead?" Just waiting for you to fight ······? You kid don't steal chickens, you can't steal a handful of rice, and put your own life on the line! ”。

Niu Jianjun pushed Guo Jiefang on his heels, and said in disgust: "I'm ······ Bah······ You stinky mouth, do you want to curse Lao Tzu to death? I can tell you, even if Lao Tzu is dead, I have to pull your boy as a backstop! ”。

Guo Jiefang waved his hand again and again and said: "Fatty, I don't want your back, just your ass, don't sit in half for me at once!" ”。 The two of them were playing and laughing for a while, and then they heard the bearded company commander shouting for gathering, so everyone got up from the ground and continued to hurry.

The bearded company commander looked around at all the educated youths, and saw that everyone was dejected, all of them had lost their high-spirited spirit just now, and they looked like a group of stragglers, so he frowned, and thought about it, and asked everyone to sing and drum up, so his hoarse singing voice crossed the heads of the educated youths and hovered in the high sky: "Go to the countryside, go to the frontier, go to the place where the motherland needs it most······ Preparation ······· Sing ······! "The majestic song pierces through the dense forest and floats in the sky······ In the woods, a flock of small birds that were foraging for food, startled by the song of the crowd, swept over the heads of everyone, and let out a mournful cry······! ”。

The educated youths finally according to the original plan, before dark, out of the old forest, at this time the sky has flashed a gorgeous glow, looking back, only the dense old forest, has long been dim as obscure, only the top of the tree, can glimpse the pink sky.

Everyone camped and rested at the edge of the old woods, and the night in the mountains was very cold, and the educated youths sat on the ground, snuggling up to each other, drowsy. The bearded company commander sat by the campfire, and he looked up at the celestial phenomena as he added a halberd to the campfire.

Guo Jiefang woke up from his sleep in a daze, and heard the intermittent howl of wolves sent by the night wind from far away······!

He crawled wrapped in a cotton jacket, ran to the bearded company commander and whispered: "Company commander, I seem to hear a wolf howling, is there a wolf pack around us······ ”。

The bearded company commander waved his hand calmly and said, "Don't be afraid, those wolves are still far away from us!" You sit down and drink some hot water first·······". After speaking, he handed Guo Jiefang an enamel jar of hot water.

Guo Jiefang took the hot water, held the water in his hand, and blew it cool with his mouth, the hot water vapor blurred his eyes.

The bearded company commander pointed to a dry and thin little old man beside him, and introduced to Guo Jiefang: "This is the old Liang leader, the oldest and oldest handlebar cooker in our company······ He came from the company to pick you up! ”。 He turned his head and asked Lao Liang, "Are you in your sixties this year······?" ”。

Old Liang's face was wrinkled, and he smiled like a shriveled walnut, and he bit a cigarette pouch rod in his mouth, and bursts of spicy white smoke gushed out from his mouth, and gradually dissipated on the top of his bald, steaming head.

Lao Liang was satisfied, pursed his lips and said, "I'm sixty years old this year······ ”。

The bearded company commander kindly reminded: "When you are old, you should enjoy your happiness at home, but you don't dare to brave the wind and snow like young people, and run around in the middle of the night, how can you bear this sin?" ”。

Lao Liang Tou was not convinced, patted his chest and said: "Old leopard, don't underestimate my thin old man, although my body can't catch up with the previous two years, but I have to walk a mountain road······ You're really not as good as me! ”。

The bearded company commander laughed and said to the old Liang Tou'er: "You old thing, you are not old-hearted!" I have to throw your old bones in the mountains and feed the hungry wolves ······! ”。

Lao Liang took the cigarette pouch and pot off his mouth and said: "I didn't die in North Korea back then, I lived in vain for so many years······ Think about those old comrades-in-arms who died, what else do I not have to be satisfied with? ”。

Guo Jiefang saw that tears were flashing in the eyes of the old Liang Tou'er, so he asked the old Liang Tou'er: "Uncle Liang, have you participated in the Volunteer Army?" ”。

Lao Liang added a handful of firewood, clicked the cigarette pouch and replied, "······ Hmm······ There are many veterans in our corps, all of whom were wounded who were withdrawn from the Korean battlefield······ It's been almost 20 years since this blink of an eye, and those good guys who were alive and well at the beginning are now all old and ······! ”。