"The Most Beautiful Face in the World" (Reportage)
Illustration: Guo Hongsong
【Chinese Story】
Without the loyal guard of the people's guards, all destiny will stop beyond 10,000 entrepreneurial plans and life dreams.
Putting on a military uniform means dedication and sacrifice. A few days later, when Xie Xiaohui woke up from a coma, the first thing he remembered was his comrade-in-arms. He murmured: "Where is Xiao Dai?"
Tall and mighty, dark, with red flames flying all over.
He stood up vigorously from the blood-stained revolutionary history of Sanming City, Fujian, stood tenaciously from the side of millions of martyrs, stood up bravely from the smoke of the big bang, and stood miraculously from the bedside of a nine-death life. stand up.
Originally, he could only die.
When all the doctors, relatives, and comrades in arms walked out of the ward, they all felt in tears that he could not come back and became a martyr.
But he gritted his teeth and glared at each other day and night with Death, to see who blinked first?
He just didn't blink-because his eyelids were burnt.
For many years, he bleeds when he eats, he bleeds when he sleeps, and he bleeds when he walks.
For 17 years, he lived as a blood-stained, cast-iron statue.
A tall and sunny boy, now his whole body scar has become his "life shield".
When giving a report to the recruits, he took out a few photos of his youth: "The appearance and height of that year were not comparable to ordinary people, right?" The recruits wiped their tears and burst into laughter.
He added: "I am a living specimen. From injury to today, I have just completed the entire process of human evolution, because my new life started with learning apes." Another burst of tearful laughter.
In fact, his journey has been smooth sailing.
Born in 1977 in a family of mining engineers in Zhangping, Fujian, he was admitted to Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in 1995.
The 1.8-meter tall man with sharp eyebrows and strong heroic spirit always roars on the basketball court.
The university classmate Liu Huifen is gentle and beautiful, with a petite body and a light gait three inches above the ground. The classmates said that they are "golden girls and jade girls, perfect match!" Xie Xiaohui brags for the first courtship: "I I want to walk with you all my life and keep you from getting a little dust." At that time, the university was not allowed to fall in love.
Why don't men take Wu hook and charge Guanshan Fifth State!
Xiaohui always felt that he was born to be a soldier.
After graduating from university in 1999, he was the first to enlist in the army and was assigned to the Yongan Fire Brigade of Sanming City. He served successively as platoon commander, combat staff, and awarded the rank of lieutenant. He was responsible for fire prevention education, fire investigation, inspection of local fire prevention facilities and safety measures.
Sanming City, a red land full of enthusiasm.
The war years were one of the core areas of the Central Soviet Area that Mao Zedong and Zhu De personally led and opened up, and it was also one of the four starting points of the Red Army's Long March.
Soon after the Red Army hit the road, they encountered the tragic battle of Xiangjiang.
More than 30,000 people in the Sanming area participated in the Red Army, of which 11,200 participated in the Long March. After arriving in northern Shaanxi, only 76 people survived. In the "British List of Martyrs of the Republic", there were 6610 Red Army martyrs from Sanming, and thousands of martyrs were not able to leave their names. , Known as the "Desperate Defender" in history.
After the main force of the Party Central Committee and the Red Army broke through, the local people cried and buried thousands of their own flesh and blood.
From this, the folks spread a painful saying: "Don't drink Xiangjiang water for three years, and don't eat Xiangjiang fish for ten years." When Xie Xiaohui went to the grassroots to inspect fire prevention work, he was shocked by this folk song.
Later he said to his wife, to his comrades, to the recruits, crying once, and tears filled with flames.
From then on, he believed, "You put on a military uniform, it means dedication and sacrifice."
After joining the army, Xie Xiaohui experienced thousands of rescue and disaster relief, rescued hundreds of people with his comrades, and emptied his pockets many times to donate to the victims.
Whenever he went out of the police, he was the first to rush out of the barracks, jump into the chariot, and rush to the fire scene in the first batch.
5km long-distance training, climbing ropes and ladders, climbing stairs with heavy loads, the big man can throw the second place far away, his face is sweaty and the smile is particularly sunny, his comrades love to call him "Xie Gaocan" or "Brother Hui" .
Although disasters make humans grow, they are often caught off guard.
On July 26, 2004, the sun was scorching.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, the Yongan Fire Brigade suddenly rang the alarm, and a fire broke out in a medium-sized private mosquito-repellent incense factory!
All the officers and soldiers rushed to the scene where the flames soared to the sky.
The combat staff officer Xie Xiaohui was mainly responsible for the investigation of the fire site. While he boarded the second floor of the factory to observe the fire, he called the workers to evacuate quickly.
When he was halfway down the stairs, there was a loud noise, and the warehouse on the opposite side with a large amount of flammable and explosive materials collapsed, and a violent dust explosion swept him into a raging fire.
He leaped down the stairs in three steps and was about to rush out, but found that his comrade Dai Yonglin, who had been in the army for less than half a year, was lying unconscious on the factory floor, covered with bricks and stones.
Xiaohui flew over to pull the masonry with his hands, trying to rescue Xiao Dai.
At that time, Xiaohui had no idea that most of the skin and nerve endings from his face to the lower limbs had been deeply burned, and there was no pain at all.
The air wave of the big bang knocked many officers and soldiers down, and the scene was full of smoke and chaos.
The comrades rushed in and first carried Dai Yonglin and the injured Zhou Qianjian, Feng Zhizhong, Zhu Wenbin and others out.
Because Xie Xiaohui was dark, did not cry or shout, and followed everyone to save people, no one found that he had extensive burns.
Until he ran out of the hospital, until his comrades urged him to get on the police car...
The police car roared straight to the hospital.
Because there were many injured officers and soldiers and migrant workers, Xie Xiaohui asked the doctors and nurses to rescue others first and waited quietly on the chairs in the corridor.
At this time, the deep pain struck like lightning, and his whole body trembled, and his mind gradually became unconscious.
When the mother and wife Liu Huifen arrived when they heard the news, the mother recognized her dark son at first sight and fainted on the spot.
When Xiaohui was admitted to the ward, the doctor discovered that more than 75% of his body was deeply burned, and it was difficult to breathe due to inhalation injury.
Two days later, Xiaohui had reported that his life was critical and must be transferred to the Fuzhou General Hospital of the former Nanjing Military Region 300 kilometers away.
Huifen kept crying along the way: "Xiaohui, you can't sleep! Talk to me! I can't wake up after I fall asleep!"
A few days later, the first thing Xiaohui, who woke up from a coma, remembered was his comrade-in-arms.
He murmured: "Where is Xiao Dai?"
Dai Yonglin, who was only 18 years old, has died heroically.
A total of 4 fire officers and soldiers were seriously injured, including Xie Xiaohui, and more than a dozen workers were injured or killed.
He was so fierce that he would stand up if he couldn't die, and he must not let himself become a burden to others! The scarred Xie Xiaohui lived as an immortal piece of steel, wearing a police uniform, still tall and mighty
Entering the burn department of the Fuzhou General Hospital, Xiaohui was in a coma and was covered with bandages.
After cutting off the bandage, the medical staff was shocked to see that he was completely different.
The eyelids, ears, nose, and chin were all severely burned. Later, due to constant necrosis, there were only five holes left on the facial features, and his whole body was like his own description: "I was like a skinned rabbit at that time." For rescue. Fire-fighting heroes, doctors and nurses have signed up to join the rescue team.
The whole hospital lined up to donate blood and gave Xiaohui a total of 20,000cc of blood transfusion, which is equivalent to changing his blood.
To avoid infection, the only way is skin grafting.
But apart from his back and buttocks, he doesn't have much good skin anymore, so he can only demolish the east wall to repair the west wall, and temporarily cover a large area of pigskin.
In those few months, skin grafts and dressings were required every few days: peeling off the old skin, removing the dead flesh, and using normal saline, which was equivalent to a major operation.
The good skin was not enough, the doctor had to remove part of his scalp, cut it into small pieces, and then attached it to the wound.
Xiaohui feels that he "is like a lamb to be slaughtered, and the pain has reached the limit of mankind, I can't imagine it".
Every time he had skin grafts, he suffered several shocks and had a high fever of more than 40 degrees after the operation.
Standing outside the isolation ward, Huifen watched her husband motionless like a white mummy through the glass window, crying like tears.
I don't know how many days I have been in a coma.
Xiaohui opened his eyes for the first time and saw the figure clearly. In front of him was the angel sent to him by the heavens and his wife Huifen, who was married for seven months.
A pale face, swollen eyes, and a painful smile-he was alive after all.
Many days later, the painful and mutilated mouth was barely able to speak: "Am I disfigured?" Huifen knew the consequences, but said: "Fortunately, it's okay, everything will recover." For more than three months, Huifen used a bench to set up a place to sleep, stayed by her husband's bed, fed medicine, infusion, and relieved her hands. He stayed around for 24 hours.
In fact, nurses can also do these things, but Hui Fen is afraid that she will not see her husband's "last side".
Of course she also knew that as long as she was by her side, it would be the most powerful comfort to Xiaohui.
Later, every time Xiaohui woke up from a drowsiness, she found that Huifen had been reading, taking notes, and murmured something.
At that time, Huifen was doing accounting work at the Yong'an City Procuratorate. She told Xiaohui: "I am going to be a prosecutor. You have to stay alive and stay with me to see if I can be a good prosecutor for the people." Then she laughed. , Smiled so tenderly and stoically.
So we saw this scene: during the entire period of medical treatment, a hero who could not die was lying on the hospital bed, and a tired angel guarded by the bed, and there was a continuous love in the middle.
Later, in the long process of treatment, plastic surgery and rehabilitation, Xiaohui knew that many families of the disabled had flew separately.
But he was lucky to meet a great and loyal woman.
The leaders and comrades of the fire brigade often come to visit Xiaohui.
The big red slogan "Salute to the Fire Fighting Hero" was posted on the big window of the intensive care unit, but entry was not allowed.
The comrades lined up outside the window, paying him a military salute, singing "I am a soldier" and "a man should be self-improvement" in unison.
Xiaohui, who was covered in bandages, could only listen and shed tears. He shook his right toe to greet his comrades.
The entire rescue process lasted for more than half a year, and Xiaohui was finally out of danger.
However, he suffered a cerebral infarction due to a burn on his head, and his left body was hemiplegic and could not move.
The doctor said: "It is a miracle for him to survive, but he can only lie in bed for the rest of his life." Huifen said firmly: "It doesn't matter, I will take care of you."
On January 21, 2005, Xiaohui was finally able to leave the hospital and go home, but he strongly urged that he return to the Yongan Fire Brigade to have a look. That is where his loyalty and responsibility rest.
He asked his wife to put on a police uniform.
Because the limbs are stiff and the skin is fragile, every bending movement will cause him to bleed and pain.
When Huifen pushed Xiaohui in a wheelchair into the police camp slowly, dozens of comrades in the army lined up and presented him with solemn military salutes.
At that moment Xiaohui collapsed.
He endured the severe pain of the wound, raised his twisted right hand, and saluted his comrades in a "very irregular" military salute.
Everyone agreed in advance not to cry, but at this moment, tears are on everyone's faces.
Huifen couldn't control herself, she ran to the side and cried bitterly.
Later, she said that at that moment, she had a deeper understanding of her husband and soldiers, and understood the responsibility, honor and value of being a soldier’s wife.
Back home, a new round of painful trials began again.
The red "囍" on the wall is still the same, but it's nothing but a human being.
Xiaohui's nose is gone, his chin is gone, his ears are gone, his hands and feet are crippled, only five holes are left in his facial features, and his small mouth can only suck in a piece of noodles.
The careful Huifen threw away all the mirrors at home beforehand, and replaced the glass on the wardrobe with frosted ones.
But one day, when Xiaohui saw his face on the glass of the coffee table for the first time while eating, he screamed and couldn't help but hide his face and cry.
Huifen hugged him with tears: "No matter what you look like, you are my big baby! Back then, classmates said that we two are perfect match. From now on, we have to prove that we can't break up or break apart. Perfect match!"
Five months later, under the arrangement of the organization, Huifen accompanied her husband to the Shanghai Ninth Hospital for plastic surgery. After one treatment, she would take a while to recuperate. For three full years, there were countless minor operations and 35 major operations. Through the removal of bones and flesh from the body and skin grafting on the surface, the eyelids, nose, chin, lips and palms were recreated-that is to say, his face was almost reshaped. How can a flesh and blood endure the torment of cutting, tearing, sewing, assembling, and purgatory again and again? In the hospital, there is nurse service and help for everything. After returning home, everything from eating, drinking and sleeping to cleaning up wounds, rubbing and changing dressings, and putting on bandages, everything fell on Huifen alone. When sleeping, he must put on a high pillow, spread his limbs, and use the "soft rubber nasal congestion" invented by Huifen and the "mouth support" made of bamboo tube to prevent the wound from sticking-"Otherwise, my arms will change. With wings, the palms of your hands will become duck feet." Even if you get up and sit for a while, ask your wife to hold him behind him. In those days, seeing that she was completely unrecognizable and almost a "waste man", and seeing his wife exhausted and gaunt, Xiaohui's mood was extremely depressed, low self-esteem, and felt that she had become a "burden" on the family and the organization. What is the value of living? ? He didn't want to see people for a long time, how many days he didn't say a word, how many times he lost his temper for no reason, how many times he wanted to jump off the balcony and died. But he couldn't move, he didn't even have the ability to die. Every day, Huifen washes her face with tears behind her husband's back. The relatives came, wiped away their tears outside the door, and then forced to enter the house easily. Fortunately, the fire brigade sent two comrades-in-arms as assistants to Hui Fen. Sometimes, Xiaohui was pushed to the team hall by a wheelchair to watch the young fighters play, and he was asked to be a referee. Sometimes a few comrades in arms get together, yelling and playing cards on his stomach, making the couple laugh. Finally, Xiaohui's closed and gloomy heart gradually opened up and rejoined the sun-filled collective, and the gloomy atmosphere at home was swept away.
It was the party organization, the dear army, and the virtuous wife that pulled Xie Xiaohui back from the god of death.
He felt that the only meaning for him to live in the future is to thank the party, thank his comrades, and give back to all those who love him!
This became a powerful motivation for him to reinvent himself.
He was so fierce that he would stand up if he couldn't die, and he must not let himself become a burden to others!
However, the joints are stiff and sticky, and the scarred skin is thin, brittle and tight. It will crack when the action is big, and the blood will be sprayed directly. And because of the inability to wick away sweat, the whole body is always itchy like an ant bite, and it is difficult every night. Fall asleep.
But he decided that breathing is happiness, living is fighting, and standing up is an iron soldier!
With the help of the home doctor, comrades-in-arms and his wife, he started from moving the first stiff finger, and started a long and painful exercise and rehabilitation process on the bed and on the ground. For this reason, the smart Hui Fen often played with him. Scissors, paper, rock".
Fortunately, Xiaohui has loved sports since he was a child and has a strong body and a good foundation.
In 2005, Xiaohui tried to walk on the ground for the first time. When he tried hard, his feet cracked, his heel cracked, and blood flowed all over the floor.
In the following three years, he gritted his teeth and insisted on persisting, from being bedridden to standing up again, from being unable to move an inch to walking around the house, and then taking care of himself. His body function gradually recovered, not only was able to walk independently, but also Be able to serve bowls, chopsticks, mop the floor and wipe the table, and take care of housework.
Similarly, the strong Huifen also created a miracle: she had previously passed the civil service examination with excellent results and entered the Yongan City Procuratorate; during the long period of bedridden Xiaohui, she became a professional prosecutor with the second place in the provincial judicial examination.
In 2007, Liu Huifen was named the March 8th Red-Banner Bearer of Fujian Province, and was awarded the first National Moral Model Nomination Award.
Xiaohui happily hugged Zaiyu's wife who had returned home.
In the past three years, Hui Fen has never cried loudly in front of her husband. At this moment, her little bird nestled in her husband's arms like a human and cried with affection—for this day, she waited too long and struggled too hard.
The next year, after Huifen's encouragement, Xiaohui stopped taking the drug for half a year, and another amazing miracle followed: In January 2009, a pair of chubby twin daughters were added to the family!
In this way, the scarred Xie Xiaohui lived as a piece of undead steel, still tall and mighty in police uniform.
"My scar is an armor, what's there to fear!" For 17 years so far, Xiaohui has been nailed to the "all" posts of the brigade like a nail. He became a flag of the team
To be a warrior, we must have the character and vigor of a warrior.
To thank the party, it is necessary to keep in mind the original intention and fulfill the mission.
In July 2007, Xie Xiaohui solemnly requested to return to the police force and accepted his request in the organization.
In order to strengthen his physical fitness and flexibility, he learned to drive a motorcycle, ride a bicycle, and play table tennis.
There is a private cycling team in Yong'an City. When Xiaohui appeared in the team wearing helmets, sunglasses and sportswear, dozens of teammates responded with warm applause.
They said: "The fire fighting hero joins our team, and we are also heroes!" From then on, every holiday, this team rides on the Sanming Highway and the tall Xie Xiaohui, guarded by his teammates, is of course the most eye-catching.
At first it was more than ten kilometers, then tens of kilometers, hundreds of kilometers, and the longest round trip was more than 200 kilometers.
The teammates quickly discovered that after riding, Xiaohui’s back heels, calves, and knees had cracked and bleeding, and everyone advised him not to ride. Xiaohui’s answer was only one word: "No!" It took a long time. And through media promotion, many Yongan citizens and children got to know Xie Xiaohui.
When he walks across the street, some red scarves will automatically stand up and salute him.
Xiaohui will also raise the deformed right hand and return a solemn military salute to the children.
He returned to his post and went into battle.
The comrades in arms were afraid that he would bleed and sweat, and would not let him do heavy work. He said, "My scar is just an armor. What's the fear!"
The police records and work files accumulated on the team for more than ten years, Xiaohui struggled to copy one by one with his stiff right hand.
Later, I practiced typing on the keyboard, and finally compiled all the materials into dozens of tidy files...
He asked the leader to set a sanitary responsibility zone for him, but he often "invaded" other people's territory and cleaned the garage, corridors, and gymnasium.
His reason is: "I use the gym the most, and work is my rehabilitation and exercise..."
He can’t follow every time he goes out of the police, but when his comrades return, he must stand at the gate to greet him, ask carefully if anyone is injured, and help everyone clean up and clean their equipment...
He almost became a supernumerary "second instructor."
Every recruit who enlists in the army will tell everyone about their loyal performance and responsibility, fire-fighting technology and risk management experience, and use themselves as training to educate everyone on how to protect themselves and put out fires safely.
Soon, he was promoted to the ninth technical level, equivalent to a deputy regimental cadre. The comrades in arms also changed his name from "Xie Gaocan" to "Xie Tuan Deputy", but more often called him "Brother Hui" .
Year after year, for 17 years so far, Xiaohui has nailed "all" positions in the brigade like a nail.
He became a banner of the team.
The humorous, cheerful and optimistic spirit has made him the "happy fruit" of the team.
When he is resting, whenever he goes, there must be laughter surrounding Brother Hui.
He followed his teammates time and time again, went deep into various units, enterprises, and communities to educate cadres and the masses on safety and fire prevention.
When people saw him, a fire police officer being burned like this, they all felt deep pain, saying that in order to protect people's lives and national property, and to avoid the bloodshed and sacrifice of fire officers and soldiers, they must implement relevant work in place and resolutely meet the standards.
On the night I saw him, Xiaohui met a drunk man who fell asleep on the street.
He stayed there for a long time, and finally woke the person up and escorted him home.
In order to adapt to the process of national management modernization, on November 9, 2018, the flag-giving ceremony of the national comprehensive fire rescue team was grandly held in the Great Hall of the People.
Since then, the fire brigade has been separated from the public security and armed police and unified into the leadership of the national emergency rescue department.
After the restructuring, many people were demobilized and changed jobs, but none of the Yongan brigade members left.
The captain of the Sanming City Detachment, Ma Ning, said: "This undoubtedly has a great relationship with the soul of the team, Xie Xiaohui. It is his selfless dedication and example that moved and led the entire team."
Taking off their beloved military uniforms and putting on dark blue uniforms, many people are reluctant to give up, especially Xie Xiaohui.
The Sanming Fire Fighting Team is a team of heroes. It has 12 teams in various counties and cities under its control. It has won many awards in history, and 216 people have made meritorious services.
Xie Xiaohui made an amazing decision: before each team site changed cards, cycled around 12 brigade teams and took photos with the team cards there.
He is on the road.
Fujian’s hot flashes and rainy, rugged mountain roads, scarred bodies and intense discomfort.
But he moved affectionately from county to county.
When I came to Jiangle County, there was a small Zhonghua Garden, which was established to commemorate his fellow comrade Zheng Zhonghua.
It was July 7, 2004, when there was a flash flood. The 23-year-old squad leader Zheng Zhonghua rescued 6 people from the billowing flood and disappeared into the billowing waves due to exhaustion.
Unexpectedly, only 19 days later, Xie Xiaohui and many comrades in arms encountered a dust explosion in Yongan City, and the young soldier Dai Yonglin died heroically...
Sorry!
Painful!
nice!
In times of crisis, the People's Army is always ahead of the people.
This is the Chinese characteristics and the true nature of Chinese soldiers.
Every Sunday, the iron gate of Zhonghua Garden is locked.
Xiaohui stepped in over the wall and sat opposite the bust of Zhonghua.
A paragraph from Zheng Zhonghua’s diary is written in red letters on the wall pillar: “Youth is the best years in life. How many people of my age live a colorful life, and I chose to be with the water gun all day long, always obey the call, and be the property of the country. I have no regrets and no regrets for the safety of the people's lives." Xiaohui read word by word, tears streaming down.
He had a spiritual dialogue with Zhonghua. The following is Xiaohui's self-report, which of course comes from his emotions and imagination:
"Zhonghua, I came to see you, can you hear me?"
"Good comrades, thank you, I can hear you."
"It's been 17 years since you left, and I have been struggling with the pain for 17 years. But now I am still working. It is you who have been inspiring me and I have not fallen."
"It's so beautiful to live and work! It's a pity that I can't fight with you..."
"No, a martyr will never die! You live forever among the people and among your comrades in arms, and I'm walking the road you couldn't finish."
"No one in life has died since ancient times, and keeps his loyalty and history! If you can do this, your life is worth it."
"Zhonghua, now the fire brigade has been restructured and returned to the local area. But we will always be hardened soldiers, and the characteristics of soldiers will never change!"
"Yes, I believe! The highest honor given to us by history is eternal loyalty and remembrance. I am here and will continue to look at your courageous figures..."
At that moment, the sky was like rain, and Xiaohui embarked on the journey again...
One evening, I went to Xiaohui’s house for a small sit. The twin daughters have already returned home from school.
Xiaohui's scars, in the eyes of his relatives, are lifelong memories of fighting for the people, and it is the supreme glory of a hero of the times!
In order to welcome the 100th anniversary of the founding of the party, a few months ago, Xie Xiaohui took the initiative to invite the organization to set up the "Xie Xiaohui Fire Propaganda Cycling Service Team", and riders and comrades in arms joined one after another.
Their posture is so majestic, and their smiling faces are so handsome. Therefore, after Xie Xiaohui's deeds and photos were posted online, netizens gave the most emotional evaluation: "That is the most beautiful face in the world!"
(Author: Jiang Wei, worked at the Chinese Writers Association. His works have won the second, third, and fourth National Excellent Reportage Awards, the "Five One Project" Award of the Central Propaganda Department, and the Golden Shield Literature Award of the Ministry of Public Security. He has published various types of literature. More than 30 works. In 2019, he was named the "Most Beautiful Volunteer" in China)