august 1st special issue·long island years｜recalling tuoji with a lingering affection
2024-09-01
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text and photos by tian xiaoyao
during my military career, i always have a sincere heart and deep feelings for the days on tuojiao island, which are deeply hidden in my heart and hard to forget.
in july 1984, i graduated from the jinan army school and was about to start my new job. i clearly remember that on the day of graduation, rao shoukun, commander of the jinan military region, personally attended the graduation ceremony and encouraged us to carry forward the fine traditions and style of the military school and make our own careers in our new jobs. this instruction has added infinite motivation to my military life.
in august of that year, i was assigned to the 4th company of the 27th regiment of the neichangshan fortress area as the platoon leader of the 2nd platoon. i didn't think much about this assignment order, and i took a landing craft from penglai to report to the troops with a dozen classmates assigned to the neichangshan fortress area. the first time i saw the sea on the landing craft, i felt very fresh and excited. but followed by strong winds and waves, i vomited and seasick on the boat, so i had no time to appreciate the beauty of the sea. after several hours of bumpy ride, we finally arrived at our destination, tuoji town, changdao county. yang shenqi, the cadre section officer of the regiment's political department, came to the dock to greet us and sent us one by one to our respective companies.
although tuoji island is the largest of the five northern islands of changshan archipelago, the harsh living environment on the island was beyond my imagination before i arrived. the weather on the island was bad, with three-foot waves even when there was no wind, and transportation was inconvenient. all the supplies for the troops had to be transported from penglai. tuoji island was okay, as there was fresh water on the island, and fresh water did not need to be supplied from the mainland. but the quality of the fresh water was shocking: sometimes the freshly boiled water could not even make tea. the power supply on the island was also a problem. after 9:30 p.m., the military power plant stopped working, and we could only use candles or kerosene lamps for lighting. although the conditions were so difficult, for a soldier who came from the countryside, suffering was nothing. i secretly made up my mind to endure the loneliness and do a good job step by step.
at that time, a group of cadres in the army were about to be transferred to civilian jobs, and the cadre section of the regiment's political department was short of staff to sort out the files. the leader took a fancy to me as a military academy graduate and temporarily transferred me to the cadre section to help with the work. at that time, i had only worked as a platoon leader for 17 days. in the political department, i met many good leaders and good brothers, who all gave me meticulous care in work and life. zhang yongliang, deputy political commissar of the regiment, is from pingdu, shandong. he is tall and strong, has a generous personality, and is amiable. lu shuzhi, director of the political department, is dedicated and hardworking in his work. he and i felt like we had known each other for a long time. deputy director zhang yongjun, organization section chief cai hongli, cadre section officers yang shenqi and liu jianjun, etc., also gave me great help in work and life.
organizing files may seem like a simple task, but it is not easy to do it well. it requires both carefulness and patience. therefore, i often work overtime and burn the midnight oil. i am meticulous about every document and every form, filling them out carefully and checking them carefully. because when military cadres are transferred to local areas, their files are the first impression of the local areas on them, so there is no room for carelessness and no mistakes.
after more than ten days of sorting out the archives in the political department, the director of the political department, lu shuzhi, moved, and i went to help sort out the books and materials. he was very surprised to find that the books and materials i sorted out were standardized, scientifically classified, and neatly written. he praised my careful and serious work style. for this reason, when the commander of the fourth company came to the political department to ask me to return to the company, director lu expressed his idea of keeping me working in the political department. soon, i was officially transferred to the regiment political department and served as the secretary of the political department. this was an exception at the time. because at that time, the army had a regulation that military academy graduates could not enter the agency if they had not worked at the grassroots level for less than one year.
the trust of the organization gave me great encouragement, and i could only repay it with hard work. in order to do my job well, i basically gave up all my hobbies and devoted myself to work. i did not compromise on any task assigned by the leaders and completed it seriously. so, i was later seconded to the cadre section of the political department of the 7th daqin garrison division and the cadre department of the political department of the fortress district to help organize the archives of cadres at the army, division and regiment levels for nearly half a year. during this period, there was no error, which was the most gratifying and proud thing in my military career in changdao.
the political department leaders were very concerned about my growth and progress. zhang yongjun, deputy director of the political department, talked to me many times, asking me to strengthen my studies, improve my quality, and encouraged me to take the self-study exam. with his encouragement and support, i applied for the self-study exam for the administrative management major of shandong university with him. he also enthusiastically helped me buy books and borrow study materials. we studied together, went to penglai to take the exam together, and often exchanged learning experiences in our spare time.
although i was far away from home, the political department was a big happy family, which made me deeply feel the warmth and brotherhood of the organization. director lu was afraid that we young people would not be at ease on the island, so he invited me, yang shenqi, liu jianjun and other single men to his house for dinner every week. although director lu's wife ma suhua was born in a family of military cadres and was the head of the confidential section of the 27th regiment headquarters, she was warm and hospitable, and treated us as her own brothers, caring and considerate. she always cooked in the kitchen herself. the conditions were difficult at that time, but we could fry peanuts, scrambled eggs with green onions, and shredded pork with green peppers, and we could also drink a few glasses of red wine from yantai, shandong, and chat and drink. the feeling was really indescribable. i was happy to be a member of this warm big family.
at the end of 1984, my father came to tuoji island to see me. when director lu heard that my father had arrived, he insisted on going to the dock to pick him up in person. he said: "it's not easy for my old father to come to the island, so he must go to the dock to pick him up." my father's first meal on tuoji island was at director lu's house, and other comrades from the political department came to accompany him. in the following days, colleagues from the political department took turns to entertain my father, chat with him about family matters, and introduce the work and life of the troops. yang shenqi also took my father to tuoji island many times to learn about the local customs and folkways. my father was very happy to see that i had so many good leaders and colleagues who cared about me in the army. when he left, he held director lu's hand and said: "i am very relieved to leave my child to you. this week on tuoji island is my proudest and happiest day!"
zhu guizhi, director of the women's federation of jingkou village, tuoji town, is amiable, cheerful, warm and sincere. we all affectionately call her sister zhu. she is a national model of supporting the army and has received an award at the great hall of the people in beijing. sister zhu always comes to visit us in the army whenever she wants, and often brings us some delicious food. sometimes when my husband comes back from fishing, he calls us to her house and treats us to seafood, treating us as his own children. whenever the army finds her with any difficulties, she will enthusiastically try her best to help solve them. i heard from the army leaders that sister zhu has been caring for the soldiers for more than ten years, and has sent off batches of cadres and soldiers in the army. every time i think of sister zhu's care for us, i always feel grateful and can't let it go.
the barracks are permanent, but the soldiers are transient. at the end of 1985, after i returned to my hometown to visit my family, the army began to reduce its military strength by one million. the neichangshan fortress area was streamlined from a corps-level organization to a division-level organization, the daqin garrison 7th division was reduced to a coastal defense regiment, and the tuojiao island garrison 27th regiment was reduced to a coastal defense regiment artillery battalion. at this time, my thoughts fluctuated. director lu worked on me in time. he said, "you are still young and have attended military school. you can do a lot in the army. the regiment is planning to let you serve as an instructor in a company." however, due to the general environment of the large-scale military reduction at that time, we were both included in the list of transfer targets.
at the end of may 1986, i went to the propaganda department of the anlu municipal party committee in hubei province with an internship introduction letter issued by the army. because i had been trained in the political department of the army and had work experience, i was able to work well during my internship in the propaganda department of the municipal party committee, achieved outstanding results, and received praise from the leaders of the propaganda department. i successfully transferred to the propaganda department of the anlu municipal party committee in december of the same year. in 1991, i served as the propaganda section chief of the propaganda department. in 1994, i served as the deputy director of the propaganda department and the president of anlu daily. in 2004, i served as the party secretary and director of the anlu construction bureau.
although i have taken off my military uniform and left tuojiao island for nearly 40 years, the tense and arduous, passionate and boiling military career has given me a wonderful life experience. the past events, life and scenes are entangled in my heart and are unforgettable.
(comrades gather together, from left to right: chen sixiang, lu shuzhi, tian xiaoyao, gu qingjun)
(comrades gather together, from left to right: cai hongli, liu jianjun, zou renliang, lu shuzhi, tian xiaoyao, zhang yongjun, shi xiufeng)
(written in 2012, revised in august 2024)
author profile: tian xiaoyao, male, from anlu city, hubei province. born in september 1962, he joined the army in october 1979 and was a soldier in the 82nd recoilless gun company directly under the 607th regiment of the 201st division of the 67th army. he was admitted to the jinan army school in august 1982 and graduated in july 1984. he served as the platoon leader of the 4th company of the 27th regiment of the neichangshan fortress area and the secretary of the regiment's political department. he was demobilized in december 1986 and is now retired.
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