Li Hao: Vanishing Radio Waves
2024-08-19
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For a radio operator, the key is a weapon.
35 years have passed, and I still hear two sounds: the sound of military bugles and radio waves. Their echoes in the valley are particularly pleasant and have a different kind of beauty. I didn't feel much when I heard them at the time, but now when I recall them, endless nostalgia rises from the bottom of my heart.
After sitting on a military train overnight, a group of us new recruits arrived at the steel city at dawn. Half an hour later, the military vehicle arrived at the foot of a mountain. From afar, we heard the sound of gongs and drums, and the loudspeakers played majestic songs such as "I am a Soldier". Everyone understood that we had arrived at the military compound. The officer who received the soldiers told everyone: This mountain is called Dagu Mountain, which is the remnant of Qianshan Mountain, and the ravine in front of us is called Yanger Valley.
On the morning of April 4, 1989, I heard the real military bugle call for the first time, which was clearly different from the charge call in the movies. The sound was loud and clear, a little harsh, but it had a mysterious power that shook people's hearts. From then on, with the various military bugle calls such as the wake-up call, the assembly call, and the lights-out call, we opened a new page in our lives.
The military training for new recruits was undoubtedly extremely arduous, from marching in step, marching in step, running to standing at attention, tidying up, washing clothes by themselves, learning needlework, mending, washing quilts, standing guard, etc. Everything was new and had to be experienced. Standing at attention without moving under the scorching sun; urgently gathering in the middle of a deep sleep at night when extremely tired, marching 10 kilometers... At such moments, I began to wonder if I was a little hasty to join the army, I began to miss home day and night, and I learned to smoke.
The time I enjoyed most was making blackboard newspapers. When my comrades walked to the training ground, the instructor suddenly called me to stay. I wrote the manuscript according to his requirements, and then wrote and drew on the blackboard with various colored chalks to "make" a blackboard newspaper with pictures and texts. This takes about half a morning or half an afternoon. Although this job is not easy, compared with the sweaty physical training, I enjoy the atmosphere of "reciting poems and painting" more. I first wrote about the good people and good deeds in the recruit training, a short newsletter on the company's work, and then added a short poem. At that time, I had only officially published three or two poems, and more exercises could not be published at all. Simply, I "published" the poem on the blackboard newspaper, which also won a lot of praise from my comrades.
Three months later, the "long" recruit training was over, we all wore the rank of private, and we had a new name: student soldiers.
The student soldiers are different from the military academy students. The military academy students will take up the cadre positions after graduation, while the student soldiers are soldiers who learn military business skills and serve in various military positions in the army as soldiers. All the members of the student soldier team 7 where I am are studying the major of radio operator, and other student soldier teams also have majors of map marker and operator. From then on, Yang'er Valley is no longer just the sound of military bugles, but also the sound of telegraphs such as "tick, tick, tick, tick" echoing in the valley.
For a radio operator, the key is a weapon. With a small key in hand, its combat power exceeds countless guns and thousands of troops. However, it takes time to skillfully operate the key to send a message.
We first learned by kneeling, with our middle fingers on the keys, and the thumb and index finger pinching the keys, then shaking our wrists and tapping the keys one after another, making the keys emit "beep" and "click" sounds. After practicing for several hours a day, the area between the first joint of our middle fingers and the nails began to fester and crack. Even so, we couldn't stop practicing. While practicing, the wound on the middle finger scabbed, then festered again, and then scabbed again. This repeated several times left a round scar on the first joint of the middle finger, which could not be removed for many years. For some people, this scar even accompanies them for life.
The shaking wrists have a sense of rhythm, and the hearing of radio waves is sensitive and familiar. The sound of radio waves floating in the valley is full of beautiful melodies like music. At this time, most comrades will have a small sense of accomplishment. We will be picky about the close-ups of hands sending telegrams in anti-Japanese war movies and TV shows, and think those actors are too amateur.
I no longer missed home so much and began to fall in love with this valley called Yangeryu.
Radio operators are often compared to the wind-hearing ravine. So, did this ravine shaped like a sheep's ear fulfill our youthful dreams and aspirations invisibly? A group of ambitious young people spent an unforgettable time here. The mountains were silent, the wind was whistling, and the military career started here with a high profile. In late autumn and early winter, we carried our own backpacks, bid farewell to our comrades at the foot of Dagu Mountain, and rushed to the real mountains and islands to fulfill our promise to defend our country.
One evening many years later, I came to Yang'er Valley again accompanied by a friend from Gangcheng. Unfortunately, the military camp no longer existed. I looked around Yang'er Valley silently, choking with sobs and wanting to cry. (Li Hao)
