Chapter 7 The relentless pursuit of youth

Youth is the blooming season of life, full of vitality and passion, youth is capital.It is a good time for young people to be full of vigor and work hard.However, in the era of the "Cultural Revolution", the "four olds" were "destroyed", the intellectuals were all "stinky old nine", the fanatical student movement, the whole country was in chaos, and the youth was suddenly eclipsed. In that era, it was very difficult to maintain an independent personality and have one's own pursuit without constant concentration.However, Ren Zhengfei did it.During the years of the "Cultural Revolution" when there were "heavy guns and bullets", Ren Zhengfei "keep his ears off the outside world". He had his own independent pursuit and worked hard for it silently.

"The 'Cultural Revolution' was a disaster for the country, but it was a baptism of life for us. It made me mature politically and I was no longer a simple nerd." Ren Zhengfei has grown up gradually. When Ren Zhengfei was in college, he happened to catch up with the "Cultural Revolution".Since the beginning of the movement, all localities have used the "three-family village" as a model to find targets.At that time, some leading party cadres who could write articles and have independent political thoughts were accused of being "targets" who were out of step with the local trend.The education sector was the first to encounter the disaster of the "Cultural Revolution". In the campaign to sweep away all ghosts and monsters, reactionary academic authorities, capitalist roaders, and people with historical problems... were all doomed.The whole country was mobilized to "grasp the revolution and promote production".The "capitalist-roaders" were slammed everywhere and ruthlessly criticized, and the whole country was shrouded in "terror".

Although his father participated in the revolution earlier, due to his background, he had to undergo numerous scrutiny in all previous political movements.My father was cautious all his life. He knew that his status was not high, and he never spoke indiscriminately, but devoted himself to learning. Therefore, he survived the "anti-rightist movement" in 1957, the "anti-rightist movement" in 1959 and the "four cleanup movement" in 1964.But there are no small difficulties, there must be great difficulties.Father was considered well-educated in the early revolutionary ranks, had teaching experience, was a leading cadre, and met the "target" standard.He was the first to be caught out and locked into the "cowshed".Huang Xuanqian, my father's colleague and former secretary of the school, was an old revolutionary who couldn't bear the torture and committed suicide.

The father who was regarded as a "target" suffered cruel torture.At that time, the younger brothers and sisters were young and by their parents' side, they directly felt all kinds of humiliation and blows.They often lie on the edge of the glass window outside the cafeteria, watching their father being criticized, trembling with fright.Standing on a high platform, my father was wearing a tall hat, his face was painted black, his hands were tied behind his back, he was beaten and kicked, and even kicked to the ground... Sometimes, he hung up with hundreds of "capitalist roaders". Wearing a black card, was loaded on the street in the truck.

At that time, Ren Zhengfei had already gone to other places to study at university, so he didn't directly feel the family's misfortune, and his mother never told him about it in letters.She just said: "Believe in the movement, go with the party, draw a clear line, and fight for your own future... The party's policy is about historical issues, look at the reality, and the issue of family background depends on you. Don't be affected by anything." During the "Cultural Revolution", the financial situation of the family was more difficult than during the three years of economic difficulties.In order to defeat the "capitalist roaders" economically, the central "Cultural Revolution" team issued a document to control their living expenses, and the per capita standard living expenses should not exceed 15 yuan.The rebels at all levels increased their prices one after another, and the average amount of money they got was only about 10 yuan.

Because of the father's problem, the whole family had to follow suit and suffered all the eyes and insults from others.Because of his father's denunciation, his younger brothers and sisters were disqualified from school time and time again, unable to receive higher education, and Ren Zhengfei was also unable to join the Red Guards, let alone join the party.He recalled that although he also participated in the Red Guard movement, he was still not a Red Guard. Because of the influence of his father's trial, no faction approved him to participate. At the age of 19, Ren Zhengfei lived up to his parents' hopes and was admitted to Chongqing Institute of Architecture and Engineering.He can finally read the books eagerly and show his ambitions.However, maybe it was due to untimely birth, or maybe it was teased by the heavens, and the peaceful life retreated.What followed was the "world turmoil" of the "Cultural Revolution", and the family was humiliated.

Ren Zhengfei was studying in a foreign university at the time, so he didn't know much about the situation at home.About the situation at home, the classmate learned about it from the students who came out of his father's school and told him.In the big series, Ren Zhengfei collected many leaflets and sent them to his mother.I remember that there was such a speech by the leader on the flyer at that time: "Cadres should seek truth from facts, and don't admit things that are wrong. The matter will always be cleared up." My mother hid this passage in the meal and gave it to my father. He didn't commit suicide because it killed him.As for why the father did not commit suicide, the mother later said that he did it for the seven children in the family.As soon as he died, he became a "sinner" who cut himself off from the people. Under the harsh environment at that time, how should children survive for the rest of their lives with this heavy political burden on their backs.For the sake of the innocent children, the father endured all kinds of torture, and finally did not choose to commit suicide.

In 1967, when the fighting in Chongqing was fierce, Ren Zhengfei took the train home.Because he didn’t have a ticket, he was beaten by the Shanghai rebels on the train, and he couldn’t get a replacement ticket, so he was forced to push him off the train; he was also beaten by the station staff. Get off at Qingtaipo, the previous stop, and walk back for more than ten miles.When I got home in the middle of the night, my parents saw that he was back, and they were afraid that people would find out that they would be implicated and affect the child's future, so they let him go before they felt sorry for him.The father took off his pair of old leather shoes and gave them to his son, and sent Ren Zhengfei away early the next morning.Before leaving, my father said a few words: "Remember, knowledge is power. If others don't learn it, you should learn it and don't follow the crowd." "In the future, if you have the ability, you must help your younger siblings."

Ren Zhengfei later recalled this sad history and said, "I wore my father's leather shoes back then. I didn't realize that my father was doing hard work at that time. He was in mud and water, cold and wet, and he needed shoes more. Looking back now, I feel that I am too Selfish." It is the father's encouragement that points out the direction for the son who is at the turning point, like a beacon, illuminating the future path.An impetuous heart finally found its destination - "knowledge is power". According to Ren Zhengfei's recollection, when he returned to Chongqing, it was already an environment of "heavy bullets".However, he remained unmoved and finished self-studying courses such as electronic computers, digital technology, and automatic control.The family also joked that it is really admirable and moving to study so hard for useless things.He also made friends with some teachers from Xi'an Jiaotong University, who often gave him some mimeographed books to read.In addition, he did Fan Yingchuan's "Advanced Mathematics Problem Collection" from beginning to end twice, learned logic and philosophy, and also taught himself three foreign languages. At that time, he had reached the level where he could read college textbooks.Ren Zhengfei has profound knowledge and unique insights. In his speech, he quotes from many sources and hits the nail on the head.

Ren Zhengfei's admiration and admiration for those scientists who changed the destiny of mankind, too? ?Formed at that time.This reverence and pursuit of knowledge eventually changed his life's destiny. Ren Zhengfei admired Bell Labs very much when he was young, and his admiration even surpassed love.He knows the history of Bell Labs well: "Bell Labs has made great contributions to mankind, and seven Nobel Prize winners have been born here." When he visited Bell Labs in the United States in 1997, he made an exception and took a group photo here . In the "years of burning passion", many people are rushing for things that are popular at the moment.But the good times don't last long, these years are fleeting, the beautiful illusions are shattered, and people are no longer young.I missed the most critical moment, and there is no way to save it.

Today, when everyone wants to be famous and seizes the opportunity of the media to catch the fire, the whole society is filled with impetuous emotions. His determination has not diminished until now.This is the rare lofty realm. A song "We Serve as Soldiers" sang the pursuit of people in the 1960s and 1970s.Green military uniforms and green military caps, defending the family and the country, "being heroes and good sons and daughters" were things to be proud of at that time. In 1968, Ren Zhengfei graduated from Chongqing Institute of Architectural Engineering and joined the army as an engineer. He stayed in the army for 14 years until he changed jobs as a deputy regimental cadre in 1982.Witnessing that his parents missed development opportunities for most of their lives because they did not pass the ideological inspection, Ren Zhengfei came up with a basic experience, "No matter how capable a person is, he must be recognized by the mainstream values ​​of the society in order to have a chance." In China at the time , the mainstream values ​​are dominated by workers, peasants and soldiers. For Ren Zhengfei, who has received a university education, choosing to join the army may be the most realistic choice. Ren Zhengfei's entry into the military's research unit is a clear proof. The army has given Ren Zhengfei a lot. It can be said that Ren Zhengfei's character traits are closely related to this period of military career.In the army, Ren Zhengfei developed a mentality of not being surprised.Due to the influence of his father's "unclean" status at the time, Ren Zhengfei never received an award. "I am used to a peaceful life without awards, which has also cultivated my psychological quality of not fighting for honor today." In Huawei, Ren Zhengfei's vigorous and resolute style, Straightforward, hot-tempered, and merciless; Huawei's military style and tradition of singing military songs are all branded by the army.