The waves know the soldier's heart
■People's Liberation Army Daily reporter Chen Xiaojing
The path less than half a meter wide is covered with yellow leaves and extends to the depths of the mountain.
Climbing up this steep road, near the top of the mountain, you can still see a single-family home.
At this moment, the forest in front of him is like the sea he once watched. In Li Fushan's heart, there is only this moment. This forest and this "sea" belong to him alone.
As April approaches, the northern air is slightly cooler.
Climbing to the top of the mountain again, Li Fushan, a veteran of the island radar who had just taken off his military uniform, was full of thoughts.
Subconsciously, he called Lu Guangyang, the head of the Pishan Island Radar Station of a Naval Aviation Brigade in the Eastern Theater Command. He said, "I have received the photos and island rocks sent by my comrades. My hometown in Shandong is fine. miss."
It has been more than 4 months since I left Pishan Island, a small island in the East China Sea that has been guarded for 16 years.
In Li Fushan's heart, he felt that he was still an island guard, and would often joke with his wife and children, "living in island time".
Every time he goes out, what he smells is no longer the salty "sea food", and what he sees when he looks up is no longer the vast sea and sky. He understands that the distance between himself and the island is getting farther and farther.
Those work and rest habits, ways of thinking, and memory pictures related to the island filled the gaps in life.
He often feels that the details of life are closely connected to the island in his memory.
So far, yet so close—the distance between the veteran and the island he guards.
Get up on time, pick up and drop off children, cook and buy groceries...the days in my hometown are busy.
In Li Fushan's heart, he still lived the days of guarding the island.
After leaving the team for more than 100 days, his biggest wish was to go back to his "home" as soon as possible.
After graduating from high school, Li Fushan was drafted into the army and went to the island.
Pisan Island gradually became his second home.
He once chatted with his wife and said that in the past 16 years, he has been "off the island" for no more than 30 months, but he has been "offshore" for thousands of days.
At that moment, the wife understood her husband's "biological clock" that was fixed at 5:50 in the morning, and understood the yellow washbasin and the green army quilt that her husband treasured in the corner: "Old Li's heart is still on the island!"
The island and the shore are equally important in Li Fushan's heart, they are both home.
The heart is on the island, the island is in the heart, and the ship of life will not be lost.
Early in the morning on the holiday, Lu Guangyang called Li Fushan: "My brothers miss you, come home and see when you have time." He said that this was the wish of his comrades.
On the other end of the phone, Li Fushan was already in tears.
Holding the phone and watching the familiar faces appear on the shaking camera, the veteran was moved.
They meet: When the epidemic is over, everyone will meet again.
At this moment, the sea is lightly brushing the reef, the waves have already read the soldiers' hearts, and it is also waiting for the veterans to return home.
This is the story of Li Fushan, a veteran of the Pishan Island Radar Station.
In the youth stories of officers and soldiers guarding the island of Pishan Island, it is just an ordinary one.
Walking into Pishan Island, listening to the sea, listening to the Tao, listening to the hearts of the soldiers, I understood the attachment of the waves to the beach, and I also understood the island radar soldiers' watch over the mountains and seas.
Make a wish to the sea breeze and meet in the mountains and seas
■Zhang Gan Li Hengjiang leaves
Pishan Island covers an area of only 2.38 square kilometers.
Spread out the map, between the vertical and horizontal latitude and longitude, this small island in the depths of the East China Sea is inconspicuous.
There is a heroic radar station stationed on the island with a history of more than 60 years.
For more than 60 years, the officers and soldiers guarding here have changed one after another, but the original intentions of the officers and soldiers are still the same, and their eyes are still clear.
People stay in their hearts, and the islands in the distance are not far away.
leave? Can't leave that island
Second Sergeant Major Du Congzhi felt that Pishan Island, which he had been guarding for decades, was a place he couldn't live without and couldn't let go.
He was the oldest soldier in the brigade.
Du Congzhi, who is 43 years old this year, joined the army and came to the island in 1997. He is a technical master in the brigade.
In the past 25 years, the brigade leaders have repeatedly asked for advice and transferred him to the brigade organization, so that he can move his home to the army station and reunite with his family regularly.
But it was less than half a year before he was transferred from the island twice, and Du Congzhi took the initiative to find the leader and asked him to be transferred back to the island.
The leader was puzzled, but he only had one sentence: "I can't live without that island."
The subtext of "can't leave" is "don't want to leave".
Du Congzhi, who has always been taciturn, is never ambiguous when facing the choice of advancing or retreating in life.
Perhaps it was the lonely life of Shoudao that sculpted the tenacious character of the veteran. He then said another short and powerful sentence: "It is my wish to stay."
Wishes are to be treasured, Du Congzhi always thinks so.
That day, when he saw the phrase "make a wish to the sea breeze and meet in the mountains and seas", he set it as his WeChat signature.
"From inseparable to staying", time passes like water, and the wishes of the veterans are deposited in the riverbed of the years, and are gradually washed and polished to a crystal-like luster.
Pishan Island is located deep in the East China Sea. Du Congzhi said that there are two seasons that impress him the most—spring and winter.
When the recruits came to the team, Du Congzhi seemed to be bathed in the spring sunshine when he saw the young faces; the veterans leaving the team was also the coldest season on the island, and the fog that lasted for half a month was like the haze in his heart.
After guarding the island for decades, many of Du Congzhi's comrades-in-arms left the island one after another.
He said that he was like this Pishan Island, repeatedly experiencing the ebb and flow of the tide. Every year when the veterans left the team when he was young, he would stand on the top of the mountain and watch the boats that picked up the veterans disappear where the mountains and seas meet.
His tears were hot and dried by the wind.
Later, he also became a veteran.
Every time he bid farewell to his comrade-in-arms, he was even more inseparable, hugging his comrade-in-arms' shoulders, and he burst into tears.
Later, the days when the veterans left the team became the days when Du Congzhi voluntarily applied for duty.
He began to understand that when he was the most sad, tears flowed in his heart.
He told himself that in the face of parting, he should keep the sadness to himself...
It was from then on that Du Congzhi made a decision - to stay.
"The island needs to be guarded, and I can't leave the island." This has also become his agreement with youth.
Today, this agreement belongs to more officers and soldiers guarding the island.
Last year, Corporal Chen Kaiyang, the "apprentice" led by Sergeant Zhao Xin, was about to be discharged from the army.
Before leaving, Zhao Xin laughed and joked with him: "You, you are not allowed to cry when you leave the island."
"How is that possible! I'm definitely not crying, I'm going to smile and wave."
"Bragging, I don't believe it. However, I really don't cry."
The evening before the veteran was discharged from the army, the two sat on the reef on the top of the mountain, smiling and looking at the place where the mountains and the sea meet.
This is the "intimate moment" before the comrades parted, and it is also the "tacit agreement" between brothers.
On Pisan Island, when veterans are discharged, the ship will carry the veterans around the island three times and whistle.
This special farewell ceremony has been going on for many years.
Early the next morning, Zhao Xin quietly changed shifts and followed the old squad leader Du Congzhi to the mountain. He was afraid that he would "miss the appointment" when he saw the back of his comrades leaving.
With the sound of gongs and drums, Chen Kaiyang's eyes "turned" round after round in the crowd, his eyes could not hide his loss.
He smiled and hugged and said goodbye to his comrades. He repeatedly thought about the words of "Master" Zhao Xin and reminded himself to "leave with a smile".
The whistle sounded, and Chen Kaiyang's tears flowed unsatisfactorily the moment he set foot on the ship.
Pishan Island, the place that carried his youth, has too many memories.
At the top of the mountain, Zhao Xin stretched his neck and looked at the sea in the distance, looking forward to seeing the boats circling the island.
At this moment, they both cried to each other.
Is it bitter? It's actually kind of sweet
In Phi San Island, the longest record for a soldier to stay on the island is 24 months.
Sergeant Zhao Xin said that before going to the island, the instructor would specifically instruct the platoon leader who led the team to take a few new soldiers who were about to go to the island to go around the town.
Now it is much more convenient to get out of the island, and Zhao Xin is particularly content.
In his words: "The days are a little sweet." Compared with the "bitter" in the past, the word "sweet" in the mouths of officers and soldiers witnessed the great changes brought by the development of the times to Shoudao.
Pishan Island is isolated in the sea, and there are only two ships a week for supplies.
In 2018, a deep well was discovered on the island and a water storage cellar was built, but the water supply for officers and soldiers is still tight.
On the eve of the Spring Festival that year, the leader of the brigade asked the officers and soldiers of the radar station to record a piece of "heart words" for their family members in the distance.
Zhao Xin, who was still a private soldier at the time, said shyly, "I just want to drink a soda from my hometown..." This soldier who grew up in Xi'an talked about the orange soda he drank under the city wall with his grandfather when he was a child. Smiles are sweet.
The simple wishes of the officers and soldiers hit the heart of the brigade leader.
Since then, every time the ship is supplied to the island, in addition to a box of pure water, a few boxes of orange soda will be added to the transport materials.
Last year, a seawater desalination system was installed on the island, and the island's draft problem was completely solved.
However, the regular supply of soda water islands has become a tradition that the brigade continues to this day.
"On this small island, orange soda is not just a drink. What makes people sweet is the concern from afar." Lu Guangyang, the head of the radar station, broke the heart of the soldiers.
On the eve of the National Day that year, the wife of veteran Shi Wenheng planned to visit relatives on the island.
The plane, high-speed rail, and car were transferred to the pier. The day before the boat was about to enter the island, a typhoon came unexpectedly.
The ship stopped sailing, and the originally planned warm reunion turned into facing each other across the sea.
One day, two days, three days, the wind was blowing, and the sea was turbulent.
Seeing that the holiday is coming to an end, this military sister-in-law is also returning.
In this way, Shi Wenheng's carefully arranged family room on the island failed in the end.
On the day his wife left, she left a box of candy to Lao Deng, a fisherman who often traveled to and from Pishan Island to deliver supplies.
Putting down the phone and learning that his wife was leaving, Shi Wenheng stood by the rock near the position with mixed feelings.
The sea breeze whistled, and he silently stared at the other side of the sea...
A week later, Lao Deng drove the fishing boat to the island to deliver supplies, and he handed the box of candy to Shi Wenheng.
Opening the plastic seal of the box, the chocolate candies were like stars shining in his eyes.
The comrades gathered together, and everyone got candy from the squad leader. They laughed very happily.
From orange soda to "late candy", "sweet" has become the definition of a happy life for officers and soldiers at the radar station.
Last year, Corporal Zhao Yong registered his marriage.
Due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the originally planned wedding date of the two was postponed for a whole year.
Finally, the superiors approved the officers and soldiers to take vacations. Everyone, you let me, I let you, and gave Zhao Yong the opportunity to take vacations as if they were negotiating.
Half a month later, Lao Deng drove the fishing boat to the island, and the soldiers unloaded several large boxes of happy candy from the boat.
Zhao Yong's video call was also very timely: "Don't fight or grab, today's wedding candy is enough..."
The comrades who have endured hardship together know how to share the sweetness of life.
Last winter, radar technician Li Fushan was about to leave the team.
He asked Lao Deng to order a big cake from the town to celebrate his last birthday on the island with his comrades.
Knowing the news, Lu Guangyang told Li Fushan that every radar operator he had brought with him recorded a video of blessings for the "master".
At the birthday party, accompanied by a beautiful melody, familiar faces appeared on the big screen - the left sentence "Squad Leader, I wish you a happy birthday", the right sentence "Squad leader, I wish you always healthy", the veteran's eyes were red.
Spending the last birthday of the military camp with his comrades, Li Fushan said sincerely, "This is the sweetest cake I have ever eaten in my life!"
span? The road begins with your feet
137 steps and hundreds of meters of mountain roads are the distance for officers and soldiers to go to battle.
Senior Soldier Zhao Qiang counted this number over and over again in his heart. This was his most urgent wish after he was recruited to the company—to put on his satchel as soon as possible, and walk on these 137 steps to the position on duty.
Independent duty is the first "mountain" that every radar officer climbs.
Everyone will do their best to carry the bag and run to the battle position.
The independent duty assessment is coming soon.
Zhao Qiang participated with confidence, but he returned in disappointment.
Due to nervousness, he missed a set of data when plotting, and the operation went wrong.
My wish was lost, and anyone who changed it would not feel good.
Zhao Qiang was like an eggplant beaten by frost and lost his energy.
These 137 steps seem to be an "impenetrable distance".
Zhao Qiang's squad leader and veteran Tian Jingshan has been on the island for more than ten years. He is familiar with the island and the "mental journey" of each young soldier.
One weekend, Tian Jingshan asked Zhao Qiang to look on the other side of the island.
"This place slowly accumulated water and turned into a wetland, where egrets drink water; this tree is a mulberry tree, which will bear fruit in early winter, but it is sweet; this is wild chive, which can be eaten; there is also a Gesang flower there. , was planted by an old squad leader..." The veteran walked all the way, explaining all the way; the recruits followed, listening all the way, remembering all the way.
On the edge of the cliff at the top of the mountain, a tree has been blown into a "mohigan hairstyle" by the continuous wind.
Tian Jingshan has a special liking for this tree and often claims to be "the person who understands this tree best on the island".
As soon as he arrived on the island, Tian Jingshan heard from the fishermen on the island that the tree had stood at the tuyere of the cliff for many years.
The island has experienced several super typhoons, and many trees were almost uprooted, but it never fell.
In Tian Jingshan's heart, this tree has become a veritable "strong tree".
Tian Jingshan told Zhao Qiang that there was a "only willow" next to the road at the foot of the mountain.
It was not until Zhao Qiang saw the tree that he understood the meaning of "the only" - it was a big tree that was blown down by the strong wind, the trunk had dried up, but the branches on the sunny side grew green shoots again.
The tenacity of life makes it the "only" in the hearts of officers and soldiers.
When going down the mountain, passing by the "Tiger Forest" promenade, and looking at the rows of cobblestones engraved with the name of "Training Pacesetter", Zhao Qiang began to look forward to: owning a cobblestone of his own.
The seeds of dreams take root in the hearts of warriors.
"No matter how big a dream is, it starts from a small flame." After many years on the island, Tian Jingshan has his own unique understanding of dreams.
Over the years, some of the soldiers he has brought have become the backbone of the business of brother units, and some have been selected and transferred to the Liaoning ship.
And he still sticks to the island.
Veterans have a veteran's dream.
From the adjustment of radar signals to the dust removal of feeder interfaces, Tian Jingshan recorded everything in his technical notes that accumulated hundreds of thousands of words over time.
"I'm a technician, and radar needs me." The veteran said, if a person treats work as a career, he will not stop moving forward; if a person regards chasing dreams as a life, then every time he completes a task is to realize a dream.
"Don't miss any of the vacancies." When it comes to work, First Sergeant Wang Xuegen's words reveal simplicity.
In the eyes of this veteran, the radar technicians are on duty 24 hours a day. Sometimes they are in the position for ten days and a half months. If the situation is not resolved, they will not leave the position.
In the position of sticking to the battle, work is always inseparable from responsibility.
Shortly after the new equipment was installed, Wang Xuegen suddenly received a call from his superiors, and the brothers were the first to discover an air situation target.
With the new equipment, they were "lagging behind", and he was not reconciled.
"Search for the target!" Wang Xuegen looked solemn.
Since then, Wang Xuegen has not dared to slack off. Every time he is on duty, he has to "overweight" to give himself more opportunities to participate in disposal training.
Finally, Wang Xuegen led his comrades to win the brigade assessment once again.
Feeling the joy of victory, the veteran's face is full of confidence, "Beyond oneself, happiness lies in the process."
Leaping is the process of realizing the dream.
No matter how long the road is, it must start from the first step you take.