news

wang xiaojuan is sewing insoles. photo by ma chunge

"i hope that the children can stand steadily and walk far with the insoles i made, so as to better defend their country." on september 3, at the pre-service education base for new recruits in xixia county, henan province, more than 100 scheduled recruits each received a pair of insoles carefully sewn by "military-supporting grandma" wang xiaojuan.

wang xiaojuan, 89 years old this year, is a retired doctor who grew up in a military family. influenced by her family environment, she has had a deep affection for soldiers since she was a child. in 1948, wang xiaojuan's aunt wang shuhui joined the underground party organization while studying at kaifeng women's normal school and embarked on the road of revolution. in 1949, wang xiaojuan's sister wang shaowei joined the army and worked in the southwest technical bureau of the second field army. "my uncle unfortunately died in the battlefield of the war to resist u.s. aggression and aid korea. my brother-in-law, brother-in-law, three cousins, my son-in-law, and nephew have all served in the army." wang xiaojuan said, "over the past few decades, my family has produced 15 revolutionary soldiers."

in 2013, wang xiaojuan saw a tv news clip of a good military wife zhang rong giving insoles to new recruits, and she had the idea of ​​making insoles for them. she bought fabrics and did every step, from drawing, cutting, gluing, to sewing, and she was meticulous, often working until late at night. she made the insoles thick and delicate. since then, sewing insoles for new recruits has become something wang xiaojuan cannot delay, and she has been doing this for more than 10 years. today, wang xiaojuan's insoles are becoming more and more delicate, and some are even embroidered with the words "support the army" in red silk thread.

during this period, wang xiaojuan forged deep friendships with many soldiers. corporal zhao chenbo, who served in a detachment of the xinjiang armed police corps, had concerns about whether he could adapt to the training life of the troops before joining the army. after receiving the insoles sewn by wang xiaojuan, he wrote in his diary: "grandma wang is so old, but she still insists on making insoles for us. every stitch is filled with deep love. i will fight bravely and bring glory to my hometown with excellent results." after joining the army, zhao chenbo trained hard, participated in major training and exercise tasks many times, and was rated as an excellent soldier with "four qualities".

once, wang xiaojuan saw on tv that militiamen had their feet rubbed raw during training, and she felt so distressed. she worked overtime to sew more than 200 pairs of insoles and gave them to the militiamen who were participating in standby training. "militia training is very hard, and i feel it is very meaningful to do something within my ability for them," said wang xiaojuan.

as she got older, wang xiaojuan suffered from bronchitis, leg pain and other diseases, which made her mobility difficult, but she insisted on sewing insoles. after the insoles were made, she asked her son wang jianying to give them to the new soldiers, and sent them a message: train hard, report good news as soon as possible, and bring glory to your hometown. "with faith in your heart, there will be no difficulties that cannot be overcome," said wang xiaojuan, "as long as my body allows, i will keep doing it."

wang xiaojuan has always been a kind-hearted person. since she retired in 1990, she has taken the initiative to lend a hand to anyone who is in trouble. wherever there is a disaster, she takes the lead in donating money and materials. if someone has a headache or fever, she uses her professional expertise to provide free diagnosis and treatment, and her footprints are all over the streets and alleys of the county. for decades, she has actively participated in public welfare undertakings and is known as the "most beautiful grandma who supports the army." (ma chunge liu xuanyu)

(china national defense news)