Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 117 The Pillar is Lost?

After the ceremony, He Yuzhu went to school, but the ceremony became the talk of the town for everyone in the courtyard, especially those in the front courtyard who knew that the other families had also attended.

After starting school, He Yuzhu became very busy. He had endless books to read and countless problems to solve every day. He put in his best effort and even studied on his days off.

His family thought he was struggling with his studies, and He Daqing and Chen Lanxiang even advised him not to work so hard, saying that he could just become a cook.

Little did they know that He Yuzhu was doing this for an exam. Principal Wang made an exception for him, allowing him to take a practice exam before National Day, which he passed with a pretty good score.

This is thanks to the physical modifications; his memory is exceptional, and his thinking is more agile.

Before they knew it, it was July 1950. Just as the children at home were waiting for He Yuzhu to come home for the holidays and take them out to play, our classmate Zhuzi went missing.

I went to the school to ask and found out that the kid had graduated with two degrees, one in mechanical engineering and one in civil engineering. The school arranged an internship for him, but he refused, saying that he had somewhere else to go.

Principal Wang even spoke with him about this, but He Yuzhu's attitude was adamant, and Principal Wang had no choice but to give up in the end.

However, Principal Wang told Wang Hongxia about this. Wang Hongxia had been extremely busy lately. In the past six months, more and more people had entered Beijing. The higher-ups not only asked them to resettle workers and teachers, but also to resettle those who had come to the city to work. The main thing was that everyone had to be registered.

The people who came in were a mixed bag, and no one knew who they were, especially those who had stayed behind from the Kuomintang, who were impossible to guard against.

When she arrived at the He family's home, she learned that they had received an enlistment notice and a "Glorious Family" plaque from the Military Control Commission.

She was stunned and immediately said she would help find out.

In fact, when the He family received the enlistment notice and the "Glorious Family" honorary plaque, He Daqing refused to accept them. He thought, "After fighting for so many years, how many people can come back alive from the battlefield? My son is going to join the army. Is he out of his mind?" It was the old lady who persuaded him to give up.

You should know that in the past, the Kuomintang conscripted men, and once they were taken away, they were basically gone; only the lucky ones could come back.

Now that the family of a soldier has sent him proof and a plaque, the old lady feels that this plaque must be more than just a simple gift.

Of course, if He Daqing goes against the government, wouldn't that just be asking for trouble for himself?

After seeing the person off, He Daqing smoked and sulked.

Chen Lanxiang said, "Father, please think of something. He's my only son."

“I only have one son, what can I do? When has he ever listened to me? You still spoil him, and now look what’s happened, he’s gone off to become a soldier.”

"What 'soldier'? That sounds awful. Don't talk nonsense. Being a soldier is being a soldier. If others hear this, do you want them to write a letter of complaint against you?" the old lady said.

"I... I was just anxious. This brat, such a big thing, and he didn't even let out a word."

"Of course we did! We just didn't notice. This year, the secret room in the house was filled with grain and dried goods that could be stored. Zhu Zi also made us exchange all our gold yuan notes and silver dollars for the newly issued money, and he even made us put some kind of savings account. Ah, he had planned this all along." The old lady began to recall what He Yuzhu had done this year.

“He should have discussed it with his family first. Is he that afraid of his family’s opposition?” Chen Lanxiang said.

"Hmph, ask yourself that question," the old woman said.

"Waaah, this silly child, why does he have to join the army?"

"Alright, we've already gone. Cadre Wang said that unless he's sent back by the team, if his family makes a fuss, it will be recorded in Zhu Zi's file, and it will be difficult for him to go to school or work in the future."

"We should at least know where he went," He Daqing said, dissatisfied.

"Well, let's wait for Officer Wang's news," the old lady said.

"It can only be the."

The reason the old lady called Wang Hongxia "Cadre Wang" was twofold: firstly, they weren't that familiar with her, and secondly, there was a certain respect for elderly government officials.

As for Wang Cuiping, that's because they met when they went to the Military Control Commission. Now that the two families have such a good relationship, and Chen Lanxiang is taking care of Wang Siyu, it would be too formal to call her that anymore.

The reason for not asking Wang Cuiping is that Wang Cuiping has been so busy lately that she is often not home. Now Wang Siyu is even living directly at the He family's house. He Yushui goes to the Wang family's house to sleep with Xiaoman, and Xu Xiaoman occasionally goes over to join in the fun.

When Wang Cuiping returned home, she was quite happy to hear that her eldest nephew had gone to join the army. However, seeing that the He family was in low spirits, she couldn't show it.

She pretended to scold He Yuzhu a few times, then told the He family that the war was basically over and the new recruits wouldn't be going to the battlefield. She then said that she would find out if anyone in the unit knew anyone and ask them to take care of them in the army, which put the He family at ease.

Wang Hongxia had more connections in Beijing, and within two days she found out that He Yuzhu had joined a unit in the suburbs of Beijing and was now in the recruit training camp. She said he was doing well and that she would ask someone to take care of him.

The He family naturally expressed their gratitude, and later that evening, He Daqing discussed with Chen Lanxiang...

"Honey, how about we have another one? Your eldest son, sigh!"

"Get out, get out! Go sleep in the east wing of the pillar tonight. My son is perfectly fine!" Chen Lanxiang lost her temper and kicked He Daqing off the bed.

"It can't be that bad," He Daqing tried to struggle.

Chen Lanxiang picked up a feather duster and pointed it at him. He Daqing reluctantly put on his clothes, slipped on his shoes, and went to the east wing.

Besides, several families in the courtyard knew that the kid from the middle courtyard had gone to join the army.

Madam Jia was grinning from ear to ear, saying that the He family had produced a fool. Of course, she was saying this at home, as Old Man Jia was afraid that they would come knocking on their door. Didn't she see what kind of people the He family was associating with?

They still bought the house, even though they scrimped and saved to buy the two rear rooms. The old lady didn't raise the price for them, and Jia Zhangshi told everyone that they had made a profit, which made the people in the front yard very angry.

When Liu Haizhong first learned that He Yuzhu had gone to a vocational school, he was dismissive. But the following year, He Yuzhu switched to a technical secondary school and was even assigned a cadre position after graduation. Liu Haizhong was furious.

Both of the boys in the family got a beating; Liu Guangtian was beaten and Liu Guangqi was scolded, while Liu Guangfu, being too young, escaped punishment.

The beating they received was completely inexplicable, but the two boys held a grudge against He Yuzhu.

Now, Liu Haizhong has heard that Old He's son went to school for a year and then ran off to join the army.

His mood instantly improved, and for several days in a row, he would ask his wife to fry two eggs for him at mealtimes, and he would enjoy his drinks immensely.

Yan Bugui was puzzled as to why He Yuzhu had gone to join the army, but he coveted the "Family of Glory" plaque. As an educated man, he naturally understood the situation better than the others in the compound.

Let's go back to our protagonist. His journey to becoming a soldier can be summed up in one sentence, but it was actually quite eventful.

He used a letter of introduction from his school, along with other supporting documents. The school assumed he was using them for job hunting and issued them anyway. The documents themselves weren't problematic, but they caused quite a stir at the recruitment office. These days, very few people with that level of education would enlist; it's not like we live in a war-torn era anymore.

Then there was the age gap, but after much persuasion, they finally agreed to let him undergo a physical examination because of his tall stature and high level of education. As it turned out, his physical fitness was outstanding. When the army came to recruit soldiers, they took one look at the physical examination form and completely ignored his age, making an exception and admitting him.

New recruits naturally go to basic training companies. He Yuzhu didn't want to be a top soldier, so he wasn't particularly outstanding. His physical fitness, combat skills, and shooting skills were all average.

Three months later, when this batch of new recruits were assigned to their units, He Yuzhu was among those who were "snatched up"—he was educated and had decent military skills.

After being assigned to a company, He Yuzhu learned that they belonged to the 6th Army of the North China Military Region.

Once inside, I learned why they were robbing people. The predecessor of the 6th Army was the First Column of the North China Military Region, mainly composed of anti-Japanese guerrillas from the Shanxi and Hebei regions.

Then He Yuzhu became a soldier in the first squad of the first platoon of the first company of the third battalion of the 141st Regiment of the 57th Brigade of the 19th Division.

The garrison wasn't in Beijing, but somewhere outside Tianjin. When He Yuzhu arrived at the garrison, he was dumbfounded. These weren't soldiers, but farmers—farmers dressed in military uniforms.

Moreover, it was harvest time, and He Yuzhu was issued a sickle as his weapon, with the task of harvesting rice.

As a result, many soldiers went to their platoon leaders and company commanders to complain. They had just left the farmland to take up arms, but now they were going back to the fields. What was the point of being soldiers then?

Then these soldiers were taken away for re-education, at the company, platoon, and squad levels—they were all given instruction.

He Yuzhu didn't know what this unit did afterward, but since he was already there, he figured he might as well treat it as training and get to work.

He wasn't a farmer, so he was often ridiculed at the beginning. After a few days, he developed blisters on his hands and feet. However, he eventually caught up with the veterans, and the squad leader praised him at the squad meeting for it.

One day in October, He Yuzhu and his comrades were working in the fields when the bugle sounded. The veterans all knew that war was about to break out.

So the soldiers in the barracks, with their trousers rolled up and carrying sickles, hoes, and rakes, lined up in neat rows. They had no choice but to surrender their guns and, after being transferred to the production unit, only retained the weapons necessary for guard duty.

Then the troops issued orders to pack their bags and prepare to board a train in Tianjin for an unknown destination. They were not allowed to ask questions or discuss the matter. The entire troops then sprang into action.

Aside from the high-ranking officers, He Yuzhu was probably the only one in their unit who knew where they were going.

But no one was afraid; everyone was excited. They put down their guns and took the lead. Did you think the veterans had no objections? But soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, and once an order is given, it must be carried out to the end.

He Yuzhu's company was a district squad. From the company commander to the squad leader, they were all veterans. They had killed a lot of Japanese soldiers during those eight years. After the liberation of Tianjin, other units went south, but they were left behind. Another division was directly converted into a public security division, so they were also resentful.

What soldier doesn't want to go to the battlefield and make a name for himself?

However, in the past few years of garrison duty, the discipline of the troops has really improved, because they spend their days training and working in the fields.

And so He Yuzhu and his unit marched to Tianjin in a forced march, boarding a freight car. They still didn't have any weapons, and no one dared to talk about it along the way.

It got colder and colder on the road, and everyone realized that they were heading north. But there was no war in the north. Were they going to fight polar bears?
This was everyone's guess until the train arrived in Anton.

It was nearly November, but the troops were still wearing autumn uniforms, and they were shivering with cold after getting off the train.

The first thing they did after getting off the bus was to collect their equipment. He Yuzhu's company was considered a spearhead company, but when they arrived at the weapons depot, they found it was full of Japanese weapons.

He Yuzhu scoffed at these weapons, but others were different. What did the guerrillas use before? A hodgepodge of weapons from all over the world. Now that they were uniformly equipped, what could they say but be happy?

"Zhu Zi, what are you daydreaming about? I heard you were pretty good at shooting during recruit training. Hurry up, do you recognize this Type 38 rifle? Low recoil, high accuracy, perfect for you recruits." Squad leader Hu Sanxi patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder and handed him a rifle.

"Oh, oh, it's nothing. I've just never seen so many guns before," He Yuzhu said with an awkward smile.

"Look at you, so pathetic. If you saw a cannon, you'd be so scared you'd sit on the ground."

"Hahahaha!" The rest of the class burst into laughter.

"Hehe, we'll only know once we see it." He Yuzhu took the gun, skillfully pulled the bolt to check the chamber, and then looked at the rifling.

"Wow, you're quite the expert! You fired a gun before you joined the army?"

"I've fought them, someone in my family works for the police!" He Yuzhu said.

"I knew it! You're obviously not a novice!" Hu Sanxi said.

"So-so!"

"Alright, everyone hurry up, we need to assemble soon!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers selected their guns and began loading bullets and grenades onto their bodies.

The first squad was special because it was also equipped with a light machine gun. He Yuzhu took a look and saw that it wasn't a "Type 96" (or "Type 96 with a crooked handle"). It was a bit better than that. The Type 96 was also known as the "Type 96 with a crooked handle".

"拐把子" is a combination of "歪把子" and "Czech style", which can be considered a "mixed bag".

Machine gunner Feng Erkui, a tall man of 1.85 meters, grinned from ear to ear as he held his crooked-handled machine gun. He used to only have crooked-handled machine guns available; Czech-made ones were not for guerrillas like them.

The assistant gunner, Tian Xiaoliang, was busy stuffing magazines into his pouch. When his own pouch was full, he filled another one and slung it over Feng Erkui's shoulder.

Then there was a grenade launcher team of three: shooter Zheng Shuanzi (deputy squad leader), ammunition handlers Wang Xigui and Zhang Changhai, one grenade launcher, and each person carried eight grenades (one ammunition pouch).

The rest of the class all carried Type 38 rifles.

The assembly whistle blew, and fully armed soldiers assembled outside the freight cars in company-sized units.

During assembly, He Yuzhu quietly asked Hu Sanxi, "Squad leader, are we really going to fight in this? This isn't Tianjin, it's freezing cold. Why don't you have the platoon leader ask the company commander?"

"Alright, you're the only one who thought of that. You think the higher-ups wouldn't have thought of it? They'll definitely have made arrangements. Stop asking."

"Oh!"

He Yuzhu and his unit received the order on October 23.

After calculating the time, two days had passed on the train. It should be the night of the 25th now. Winter has arrived in Northeast China. A cold wind blew across the platform, and many soldiers shivered involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)