Chapter 11 a most noble man

Dear ××: I must grasp this extremely touching and vivid impression to write this letter to you. On the site of the Ming Tombs Reservoir, I met a man who was the cutest, the most noble, but in the old society was the most despicable and the most ravaged , a person who is not even as good as dust, in the radiant new society after liberation, he presents a character like gold and jade!This person is Zhang Xinkui, the first prize winner among the 100,000 troops who built the Ming Tombs Reservoir, and a horse breeder. This morning, under a tent that was open on all sides, the sun was shining in the sky, and the hot wind was blowing from the fields. I was sorting out some notes when a young soldier came outside, in full military uniform, with a piece of gauze over his left eye—he was Zhang Xinkui was the subject of another writer's interview.Everyone hurriedly asked him to sit down and started the interview conversation.I also leaned over to listen, not wanting to be more moved and excited the more I listened, and I couldn't help crying when I heard some of the most touching places.I admit my feelings are fragile, but there are others beside me who are crying too!

I have not seen the story of his award-winning deeds. It is said that it only mentions that he is an expert horse breeder, and the horses raised by him are particularly strong.He takes care of the animals in every possible way, often forgetting to sleep and eat; recently, on the night of heavy rain at the construction site, he slept under the cart by himself, but covered a horse with a worn-out back with the quilt on his body... the horses he bred Twenty-five mules and horses were responsible for delivering vegetables and food to the eleven canteens on the Ming Tombs Reservoir construction site. This task was intense and arduous, but these animals never missed work!

So the conversation started with raising horses. We asked him why he was able to raise animals so well, and whether he was particularly fond of animals? He sat there upright, clasped his hands, with a serious expression on his honest and simple face, and said: "The work of raising military horses is not something everyone likes to do; Too many, I have to get up in the middle of the night, I don’t have much time to sleep, I am often too busy to eat, and I can’t watch plays and movies... I think, revolutionary work, it’s the same in any position, so I just take it. " As soon as he started talking, his eyes became lively and his speech became fluent: "Beasts are just like people, they need people's love and care, they just can't talk. They'd better eat at the right time, eat food first, drink water, and then If you eat grass again, let them chew slowly, so that they can digest well. Fill a trough full of grass, but people walk away and let them eat by themselves. This is not a good way of feeding!"

"When I feed them, I sieve the grass twice to ensure that there is no sand in the grass, so that their hair will grow well." He gestured with two fingers, "Brush the long hair down , what grows out is only an inch long, shiny and smooth short hair, so it looks good! When it comes to feeding, I tie twenty-five mules and horses on both sides facing each other, and then feed them one by one. The black beans boiled with salt are caught in their troughs, and they are turned around a few times in this way. Each animal chews the material carefully, and then gives them water and graze one by one; and then leads them out to let them Rest while I brush them. My animals are all battle-hardened, and they are quite old, the youngest is seven or eight years old. When I first took care of them, they were so skinny that their buttocks were pointy... He gestured with his hands down together, "Now the buttocks are slowly flattening!" At this time, his face was full of gratification and pride, just like a mother mentioning her child.

"When animals are sick, you have to feed them 'sickness food', that is, chaff and water. You must quietly stand by it and wait for it to eat slowly. You can't force it, like It’s like urging people, saying ‘you eat, you eat!’ The animal can’t talk, if it doesn’t eat, it will be too uncomfortable to eat!” Hearing this, we all looked at each other and smiled happily, and everyone praised him for being so careful. He smiled modestly: "I think, one animal costs at least five hundred yuan, how much does twenty-five horses cost? The people have entrusted this huge property to me. If I don't care about it Love, is it worthy of 600 million people? Besides, my animals are pulling carts and supplying vegetables and food for eleven canteens on the construction site every day. This is not an easy task! Comrades, if you can’t eat, you won’t be able to build a reservoir Work, if my mules and horses are sick or injured, it will delay pulling the cart, and this has a lot to do with it!"

He frowned again: "I just can't see the abuse of animals by the carts. Seeing them always makes me sad and weep. Animals can't talk, and they can't tell their pain even if they are beaten and starved! Therefore, every time my animals go out, I must be sure that the comrade who drives the cart will bring the bucket and fodder before letting him go out.I also told them to take them off and rest when they were not leaving.We humans have run a long way, and we have to stop to take a breath, not to mention they pull things that weigh several thousand catties?Whenever the animals come back, I have to check carefully, is there any abrasion on the back?Are the eyes flicked by the whip?I don't know how many opinions I have given to the chief for the sake of driving cattle. For the sake of unity, I can't directly criticize my companions, but if there are too many times, I can't help it. He said: 'I have no power over you, but I have power over my horse! '” he said, his chest pumped, his lips drawn into a tight slit.

"That's the time. A beast came back with a big scratch on its back. It hurt me so much. It happened that it rained heavily that night. The wound couldn't be flooded, and it hurt so badly! I I had no choice but to cover it with my own quilt, and tie a hemp rope firmly so that the rain would not get in." Everyone nodded in admiration.Someone among us asked: "It's really tiring for you to raise twenty-five animals by yourself, and to be so careful!" He smiled again: "It wasn't too busy at first. According to regulations, one person only needs to take care of eight horses. Because the tasks on this construction site are heavy and there are not enough manpower to drive the carts, I asked the two breeder comrades to drive the carts. I took care of twenty-five horses by myself, so of course there are more things to do. My daily work is divided like this: get up in the morning and in the afternoon, when the animals go out, I will cut hay, cook, wash the trough, and clean the horses. Shed, when the animals came back, they fed and brushed their hair... They had a meal at ten o'clock in the evening. I just finished feeding, and not long after I lay down, it was time to eat at two o'clock in the night, so I spent two hours a night I can't even sleep.

"However, it's my own fault. I'm always worried about handing over the cattle to others. Sometimes the chiefs force me to go to the theater or movie, and ask others to feed the horses for me. When I came back and saw that the manger was full of sand, I felt unhappy! Next time I will just say that I don’t like watching theaters or movies, let others watch them.” Someone pointed to the gauze over his eyes and asked, "Your eyes are broken from staying up all night, right?" He moved his body and said, "Maybe it's because there's a big pimple in the left eye, and it's been operated on—it doesn't matter."

It was almost noon at this time, and it was getting hotter under the tent, and our hearts were even hotter.We pushed a large bowl of cold boiled water in front of him, and asked him to widen his military uniform, but he declined, took a sip of water, and took it. Everyone asked confusedly again with great interest: "Where are you from? Who else is in the family?" He began a tragic story with a little excitement: "My surname is Yan, and I am from Wu'an County, Hebei Province. Not long after I was born, my father took a three-pronged fork and followed the Red Army. I only had milk for a year and a half. My mother starved to death, and my grandma took me away. When I was four years old, my uncle sold me to a poor farmer’s family in Zuoquan County, Shanxi. After that, I was sold to three other families, and finally I was sold to this family named Zhang, so I took my surname Zhang. Drifting around. I have eaten onion, garlic and chili in the field, no matter it is bitter or spicy, I picked it to fill my stomach, because I ate too much in the past, now when I see onion, garlic and chili, I feel bitter in my heart and tears in my eyes. I also ate pig food, and let the stove that cooked the pig food burn all over the floor. Once an old monk took me in and let me ring the bell in the temple. There was a foreign rooster in the temple, taller than me , it also bullies me, it bites my head every day, and I escaped again! I have seen the Japanese, they caught me and questioned my father's whereabouts, and beat me half to death. I also saw the Americans However, I also picked up the bread they threw on the dung and ate it. I was so hungry.

"After I stayed in Zhang's family, I also went to work in the fields and worked as a laborer. In 1955, my father came back. He was already a battalion commander, but because of injuries, he was blind and retired.He couldn't find me when he came home, so he sued my uncle. My uncle came to call me, but I was determined not to go. I have never seen my father, who knows if it is true or not!My uncle tied me to the horse and walked, and I ran back halfway.Later, my father found it by himself, with a food stamp, and a twelve-year-old child led him the way.Of course I didn't know him when I saw him, I only saw the medals on his body.

I asked what his last name was?He said his surname was Yan, but I didn't ask his name because I didn't know his name at all! "He groped and pulled me to him, stroking me all over his body, and he said, 'I haven't seen you in eighteen years, you've grown so tall!' He cried all night that night, and the next day he told me , 'It doesn't matter if you don't go back with me, it's the same to work hard here.' "He went back with the child himself. Now, he is married and arranged by the local government. My stepmother is very young, so she doesn't have to work in the fields so that she can take care of him at home. "After that, I tried to join the army. The army was a school and a family to me. I got warmth that I had never had before. I thought, I was too miserable in the past, and I was only close to starving to death. The Communist Party came It has brought me a new world, what else can I talk about! I only started raising horses last year, and I should have retired this year, because I love this job, and it has been extended for another year. Years later, I don’t want to go home either. My father’s side has my stepmother; Zhang’s side has only my father and a younger brother, and they are all fine. I’d better go to the borders of the motherland, to the ends of the world. , Wherever there is hard work, I will go there. Why have I not suffered? Difficulties can’t stop me!" Speaking of this, he paused for a while, and said softly: "In the future, I will save some money, Send it back to my father and the Zhang family... the other three families, unfortunately, I don't know where they are now, so I can't control them!" What a heart of pure gold!How many people he thought of! Everyone was so excited that they were temporarily speechless.The sun was past noon, and he stood up to say goodbye, and we all stood up like a startled person, saying, "You can't eat again, are you? Why don't you eat with us!" Under everyone's push and pull, he went to the cafeteria with us.The four of us bought four dishes, sat across from him, and he ate in silence... Among us, a careful comrade gently moved a plate of fried peppers and onions away from him. After dinner, we went with him to interview his stable. This stable is not far from the factory, and it is really neat and tidy!His own bed was set up on a high shelf under the shed, and a curtain was hung on the bed.Twenty-five strong mules and horses were tied up on both sides of the aisle. He called them by their names affectionately, such as "big black bones", "butter"... These smooth-coated animals raised their heads and looked at him with affectionate eyes. Since then, I followed the writer who interviewed him, went to the barn twice, and talked with his leading comrades.Regarding his detailed deeds, I will not say more if the writer writes it. When I started listening to him, I wished I had you sitting next to me and listening with me, because you were such a kid who loved animals.After hearing it, I felt even more that I should introduce this noblest personality to you.When I tell a touching story, I am often too excited to continue. You are also very excited, but you laugh at me that "tears are worthless"!I think I'd better write it in a letter and show it to you. Let us all learn from him! Love you ×× June 30, 1958, at the construction site of the Ming Tombs Reservoir. Woke Up Spring". )