Back to 1978

Chapter 84 White clouds pave the way for me! The east wind sends me flying forward!
In the early morning, the sun had not yet risen, but a red glow had already gathered on the eastern horizon, dyeing half of the sky orange.

All members of the Zhongping Militia Brigade squatted on the ground in the living area, holding steamed bread in their left hands and bowls of porridge in their right hands, eating with relish.

"Hurry up and eat. Old Yang will come over soon and say a few words of encouragement to us on behalf of the commune." Xie Hushan drank a large bowl of porridge in a few mouthfuls, then said to everyone.

Chen Daxi held two strings of steamed bread strung together with chopsticks in his left hand, and held the bowl of porridge in his right hand. He gnawed the steamed bread as if it were a skewer of mutton, and mumbled as he gnawed:
"It doesn't matter whether you encourage us or not, just do it! We have a secret weapon in hand, and we will destroy anyone who dares to disobey us today!"

Everyone nodded vigorously in agreement while eating, because two hours ago, Han Hongbing quietly woke them up, and they sneaked to the pulley system to take a turn, taking turns to try the feeling of sliding from the dam to the riverbed, and saw the new secret weapon that Xie Hushan had bought for them last night.

From the first moment they saw that thing, everyone understood. What else was there to say? Today was the day for their Zhongping Militia Brigade to show off their power at the Douzhuang Reservoir construction site!

They had wanted to do this for a long time. Seeing other teams so proud of themselves, these two hundred or so competitive young men were going crazy. They had never endured such humiliation before.

The people from Zhongping Brigade don’t know what second place means in the area within a radius of 20 to 30 miles. Whether it’s growing crops, militia training, seizing machines, or work point value, they are always number one. However, after more than a month at the reservoir construction site, many brigades have not even heard of the name of their own Zhongping Brigade. How can this be tolerated?
A militiaman finished his breakfast in a few bites, wiped his mouth and said:
"Thank you, Commander. Why let the leader tell you anything? Just give the order and let's get started! We can talk about it after we finish the work."

"Bullshit, this is nothing..." Before Xie Hushan could finish his words, Han Hongbing, who had gone to call Yang Limin, had already run back alone and whispered in Xie Hushan's ear:

"Old Yang is not here. I inquired about it. Last night, after we installed and debugged the pulley block, this guy asked Director Zhang of the logistics team to arrange for someone to take his place on duty, saying that he had an urgent matter and would be away for a day or two. Do you think Old Yang saw that you were not active in your work and came here to talk nonsense, using the excuse that he was in trouble to force you to come up with a plan to help our Zhongping Brigade win honors?"

Xie Hushan chewed the steamed bread in his mouth, his face looked a little ugly, and he spoke only after he swallowed the food:
"Old Yang is not that kind of person. If I do as you say, it will hurt our friendship."

"So what now, wait for him?"

"What are you waiting for? Everyone is so motivated, how can we let it go? No one has to do it without someone around!"

After everyone finished breakfast and prepared to set off, Xie Hushan stood in front of the people who were ready to start work:

"Old Yang is not here, so I'll say a few words to you all on his behalf. You've all seen it, right? The secret weapon is ready, but there are a few things I want to make clear!"

"Today, we are doing a one-time deal! If we don't get the honor we want, we will never have another chance to get it in the future!"

"Why?" asked a militiaman.

Xie Hushan looked around at the crowd: "Why? Because there are no fools! They are all elite militiamen selected from various communes and brigades, and their eyes are damn sharp!"

"If they see us using this thing today, they will definitely use it on their own team tomorrow! If they want to take advantage of us, do it today! Don't think of making excuses for the long haul, like "I'm too tired today, I'll grab it tomorrow." If you wait until tomorrow, you'll just become a joke!"

"Fourteen thousand people will line up to laugh at our Zhongping Militia Battalion. They will say, you are a bunch of rubbish! It's useless even if I give you a chance!"

"This month, at least 50 or 60 people came to me and asked me when our team would seize the red flag and compete for first place! I'm putting my words here!"

"When will our Zhongping Militia Brigade become famous? Today is the day!"

"Are you ready to show them what it means to go to heaven and earth?"

"Ready!" everyone shouted.

Xie Hushan turned around and headed towards the construction site first: "Follow me when you are ready! Let's get started!"

Two hundred and eighty-five Zhongping militiamen, like a group of hungry tigers coming down the mountain, rushed straight from the dam's living area to the riverbed where they were digging.

Xie Hushan filled his car first, and then was the first to walk up the slope, followed by Han Hongbing, Ma Saner, and Chen Daxixi.

Four vehicles led the way, and the convoy of rafts loaded with loess from the Zhongping Brigade followed behind the four vehicles, heading towards the dam in a mighty manner.

"Da Xi, let's start by singing a spirited song! Show off your voice and let them know that the Zhongping Militia Assault Team is here today!" Han Hongbing shouted loudly.

Among them, Chen Daxixi had the loudest and brightest voice.

"General Battle! Hey! Get ready to sing!" Chen Daxixi pulled the bike uphill, veins bulging on his neck. He tilted his head back and loudly sang the general battle song he had learned from the brigade's radio loudspeaker.

The people from the Zhongping Brigade lined up behind him responded and shouted loudly:

"A big battle! Hey! Everyone, mobilize!"

"Concentrate all our strength to fight a decisive battle!!"

"Go towards victory! Climb to the top bravely!"

"We move the mountains and fill the seas!"

"Persist in the great battle! Make new contributions!"

"For communism! That's what we must do!"

A group of young men, no matter whether they sang in tune or not, they were full of energy, and every word seemed to be wrapped in a ball of dynamite and exploded out of their mouths!
The chorus of more than 200 people immediately attracted the attention of many militiamen from other brigades who had also started working. However, the looks they gave them were not of praise and admiration, but of doubt and disdain.

Who is leading this team? Which team? Why are they so stupid? They are singing right after work starts? Do they have too much energy to spare?
Generally, the militiamen from each brigade do not practice chorus in the morning, so they have to practice at least until near noon when their physical strength is almost depleted. At this time, they sing a few songs to have some fun in the midst of hardship, encourage each other, and hold on until lunch.

But early in the morning, this idiot team kept singing, one song after another, with their voices and strength as if they were free, as if they were afraid that everyone would not pay attention to them!
Even the construction site radio station noticed the morning singing, and the announcer used an emotional voice to tease in a friendly manner:
"We noticed that there is a very combative team in the earthwork project. As soon as the work started, loud singing rang out. I hope they can maintain this momentum and continue until..."

Just when everyone was treating them as fun, Xie Hushan's car had already rushed to the dam first amid the singing. After unloading the loess, he did not take a rest, but turned around and pulled the car towards the pulley block.

Today, Zhang Wenzhen specially brought a subordinate to be on duty at the pulley system to help the militiamen hook up, just to enjoy this moment that has attracted everyone's attention.

"You go first! Sing a few lines! Let these country bumpkins crawling on the ground hear it! Give them a look!" Lao Zhang personally helped Xie Hushan fix the safety rope and said to Xie Hushan.

Xie Hushan nodded, ran forward, and flew into the air from the dam. The moment he left the ground, he shouted loudly to the militiamen working below:

"I love the blue sky of my motherland! The clear sky is full of brilliant white clouds! The white clouds pave the way for me! The east wind sends me flying forward!"

(End of this chapter)