My era, 1979!

Chapter 102 How About Smashing Down the Peninsula with One Blow? (Bonus Chapter 45 for Alliance Leader Zuo Xianyouyu)

"Brother, I want to write a novel?"

On the way back, Xu Chengjun spoke to his elder brother, his voice soft but firm.

"What subject matter?"

“Write your story and the stories of Huang Siyuan and others.”

"Our story?"

Xu Jianjun was stunned.

"Then I'm really looking forward to it, Chengjun."

"I'll need your help again, brother."
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Military management in 1979 was slightly different from now. Ordinary soldiers were entitled to 15 days of leave to visit their families in their third year of service. Among military officers, unmarried officers received 20 days of leave every two years, while married officers received 30 days of leave every year.

Xu Jianjun was already a deputy company-level platoon leader during the assault operation, belonging to the cadre ranks, and was entitled to 20 days of rest at home. Furthermore, because he was tasked with carrying the belongings of Huang Siyuan, the second squad leader, he was granted an additional five days of leave.

As for the remains, there were no remains.

Therefore, excluding the time spent on the road, Xu Jianjun can stay at home for a total of about 20 days.

A week has passed in the blink of an eye.

Xu Chengjun and his older brother Xu Jianjun share a room. Every night, Xu Chengjun can still hear Xu Jianjun waking up from nightmares, sometimes even yelling. Every time Xu Chengjun sees that he has woken up his younger brother because of his bad mood, he feels very apologetic. On several nights, when Xu Chengjun opened his eyes, he found that before the sun had risen, his older brother was already squatting alone at the entrance of the courtyard, smoking.

Many times she was in tears, but when she saw her younger brother, she would hurriedly wipe away her tears and say, "I'm sorry to have made Chengjun laugh."

Will Xu Chengjun laugh?

Certainly not.

He never imagined that this steel warrior who had experienced blood and fire would be his older brother.

Although soldiers may not actually be "steel," they also shed tears.

Xu Chengjun knew that his older brother might have recovered from PTSD.

PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, refers to the long-term abnormal psychological, physiological, and behavioral reactions that occur after an individual experiences extreme traumatic events such as war or military conflict. Core symptoms include intrusive traumatic memories, avoidance of trauma-related scenes or memories, negative cognition and mood changes, and increased vigilance.

Its treatment requires a combination of psychological intervention, drug therapy, and social support.

But these days, finding a psychologist or PTSD medication is no less difficult than building a 100-meter skyscraper.

Therefore, the best approach is to help patients identify and correct negative cognitions caused by trauma through family support.

Fortunately, the whole family is doing the same thing.

As soon as the morning sun climbed over the wall of the Dongfeng County Middle School staff quarters, white smoke began to rise from the Xu family's stove.

Lu Xiulan, wearing a blue apron, was busy at the stove, the iron pot clanging as she banged the spatula against it: "Jianjun, try this sweet cake! Your brother brought glutinous rice flour from Shanghai, and the supply and marketing cooperative specially ground it into a fine powder!"

As soon as Xu Jianjun bit into the sugar cake, golden syrup dripped down his chin, making Xu Xiaomei clap her hands and laugh: "Brother looks like a little kitten! Dad, look, there's sugar all over Brother's beard!"

Xu Zhiguo put down his pipe, deliberately put on a stern face and handed over a handkerchief: "Where is the image of a soldier? Be careful your brother writes this scene into a novel and lets the whole country know that Deputy Company Commander Xu Jianjun is eating sweet cakes and rubbing his beard."

"Yeah, bro! I'll write them all in for you later!"

These past few days, he has been pestering Xu Jianjun to tell him their stories from the war, but the more he listens, the more horrified he becomes.

Many of the battles and wars that he viewed from a historical and macro perspective, when applied to individuals, often became tragedies for one or even countless families.

The soldiers were brave, but war is truly cruel. A grain of sand in the era becomes a mountain when it falls on anyone.

Huang Siyuan's story is not an isolated case.
When he asked Xu Jianjun what he felt when he was notified to go to the battlefield, he replied...
Xu Jianjun's answer was much simpler and more sincere than he had expected.

"At that time, the superiors notified us that we were going to the battlefield, and then we were issued guns and ammunition and made to write our wills. Before that, the troops had collectively shown us a lot of videos of monkeys slaughtering our border residents, as well as documentaries of Russians bullying our fishermen in Heilongjiang. Therefore, no one was nervous or afraid at all; we were just thinking about how to confront the monkeys face to face. After the company political instructor gave a pep talk, he announced the material rewards: those who performed outstandingly would be promoted to officers, and those who broke through the XX blockade line would be awarded a second-class merit."

He stroked the brass buttons on his uniform, his voice softening, "I'm the platoon leader, I have to force myself to stay calm. But the soldiers below are different, their eyes are as red as burning firewood, they have no fear in their heads, they're all thinking about how to really clash with those monkeys."

After saying that, he added, "They are all really great."

He has been writing this story for the past few days, occasionally showing it to Jianjun. Jianjun sometimes nods, sometimes shakes his head, and sometimes gets teary-eyed. Finally, he says: "Write a few more words and I'll take another look."

Xu Chengjun didn't know if his older brother was dissatisfied or just wanted to see more of their appearance.

I wrote for four hours a day for a week, spending the rest of the time with my family, revising and stopping frequently, and now I have written 4 words.

A novel with a non-linear narrative, a story of steel guns and red silk.

“That won’t do, Second Brother! You have to write more about the scenes of Big Brother bravely fighting the enemy!” Xu Xiaomei said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, how about I write your older brother as 'Sun Wukong, the Monkey King,' descended to earth and smashed the entire Indochina Peninsula with one blow?"

"That's great! Then could you write me as one of the Seven Fairies?"

"You big devil!" Mom slapped Xiaomei on the head.

"Just one joke at a time, Mom!"

"However, Second Brother, you'd better work hard! In the future, my eldest brother will be a company commander and my second brother will be a writer. How impressive that would be! My sister Xiaomei would be so respected on this street!"

"You big devil, sis!" Another slap!

"Oh dear! You've knocked her silly! Our teacher even said we shouldn't hit little girls on the head!"

“I’m your teacher, how come I don’t know?” Xu Zhiguo interjected.

Xu Xiaomei: "."

What kind of people are they?!
Xu Chengjun was helping to set the table when he saw that the atmosphere was just right and the whole family was there: "Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Xiaomei, I have something serious to tell you. My senior colleague at Fudan University, Professor Zhang Peiheng, said that the school library is short-staffed to organize books. The work is easy; all you have to do is register borrowers and return books, and you can spend most of your time reading and studying on your own."

He looked at his sister, whose eyes were shining, and said, "Didn't you always say you wanted to study fashion design? Go back to school and get into university. There are lots of foreign fashion magazines there, and you can ask art students for advice. It'll be the perfect opportunity to fulfill your dream."

Both Professor Zhu and Professor Zhang had asked Xu Chengjun about this matter. When Xu Chengjun left, Senior Brother Zhang mentioned it to him in a casual manner, only saying that the formal requirements were high at the moment, and there might be opportunities in the future, but for now, he could only be a temporary worker.

However, the school had indeed done a great job. 1979 was the peak period for returning to the countryside, and countless urban educated youth were desperate to get into Fudan University. Even if you were just a temporary worker, you had to use a lot of personal connections.

Xu Xiaomei's chopsticks fell to the table with a "clatter," and the red ribbon in her braid trembled: "Huh? What?"

The child is mentally impaired.

"We can arrange for you to work as a temporary employee in the Fudan University Library or the Chinese Department Archives, depending on your preference," Xu Chengjun repeated.

He didn't mention the Chinese Department Archives because he thought temporary staff at the library would be better, as talent could be found there.

"Can I really immerse myself in books every day? But... but who will massage Mom's back when I'm gone? Who will help Dad exchange tobacco at the supply and marketing cooperative?"

She poked at the eggs in the bowl, her voice growing softer and softer, "Mom coughs in winter and no one makes brown sugar ginger tea, Dad works at home and no one talks to him..."

The whole family understands this girl and is smitten.

(End of this chapter)