Chapter 32: The Faith of Loyalty, Military and Civilians as One Family

  The man's majestic voice was like a thunderclap in Jiang Lan's ears: "Your father is my mentor, he is the pride of our organization, he is a hero of this country and this nation, can you understand what I'm saying?"

  Jiang Lan was stunned by the man's words. The irresponsible man she had hated for so many years, the man her mother never wanted to mention, the man who had caused her mother a lifetime of worry, was actually a national hero? What was wrong with this world? Was this really true? Should she feel proud or sad about the resentment she had harbored for so many years? Her emotions were in turmoil, her thoughts were a jumble, and at that moment, nothing could describe the complexity of Jiang Lan's feelings.

  "After a while, Jiang Lan said: 'My mother knew all along, didn't she?'"

  The man nodded: "It was four years after your father left home that your mother suddenly fell ill, wasn't it?"

  Jiang Lan recalled for a moment and confirmed what the man said.

  The man continued: "That year, your father sacrificed himself while on a mission. Your mother fell ill with worry after attending your father's secret funeral. Afterwards, we arranged for your brother to work behind the scenes, and he didn't even know about it."

  Jiang Lan was speechless for a long time, accompanied by the middle-aged man and woman. The three of them stood silently, all thinking about the same person - the one who had been carrying the infamy of his family for over ten years, the one who had made outstanding contributions to the country but could only remain unknown.

  Jiang Lan finally returned from her reverie to reality, gently wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, and asked: "What do you want me to do?"

  The middle-aged man and woman looked at each other, finally nodded, the man said: "We hope you can inherit your father's will, contribute to this country that has experienced hardships, is still surrounded by powerful countries, and strive to rise!"

  Jiang Lan: "Don't you think my political stance is not firm enough?"

  The middle-aged man smiled: "Your father's views at that time were consistent with yours. His sacrifice has proven that the interests of the party and the state are consistent. Your political ideology meets our requirements, and I would rather believe that you will eventually find a stage to realize your ideals in our organization."

  After that day, Jiang Lan's life underwent a drastic change. In the following days, she was recruited by the Fifth Bureau of National Military Strategic Intelligence Agency, also known as the Military Intelligence Bureau Five, and became an intelligence worker. At this stage, her mission is to cut off all relationships with the outside world and receive special training from the Military Intelligence Bureau.

  Jiang Lan now knew that the middle-aged man was called Fu Da Ping and the woman was called Lin Mu Chun. They were both instructors for Jiang Lan and this batch of new members.

  Starting from theoretical education, the characteristics and cruelty of confidential frontline work are emphasized. Fu Da-ping's voice echoes in his ears: In the future, your work will not only face the dangers of underground struggle, but also the misunderstanding of loved ones and superiors in some special situations. At that time, you have no choice but to silently endure with firm faith, no matter how great a price you pay for it! In the end, no matter how outstanding contributions you have made, you will always be an unknown hero.

  "In the cruel struggle environment, with unspeakable hardships and even psychological trauma of being abandoned by relatives, what can support our determination to continue our career? Faith! The faith in a strong nation! The absolute loyalty to the motherland! The absolute loyalty to the Party's cause!"

  Ye Haodong was thinking of Jiang Lan in the prison in Xinjiang, while Jiang Lan was training her driving skills. When Ye Haodong missed Jiang Lan and called Jiang Wei, Jiang Lan was training in shooting; when Ye Haodong dreamed of Jiang Lan at night, Jiang Lan was receiving special training in various Western etiquette, poker techniques, wine recognition, etc. No matter how much Ye Haodong missed Jiang Lan, an indisputable fact was happening - they were drifting further and further apart from each other.

  In February 1999, a large-scale snow disaster broke out in the western border area.

  On February 18, a strong blizzard swept across the desert. The cotton factory's team received an urgent notice that several herding households in Nan Shan Wozi had sent out a distress call through a Russian traveler's mobile phone to Shi Wei Zi Kenqu.

  After receiving the notification from the headquarters, the squadron immediately contacted the troops and held an emergency meeting. Due to the instructor's return home for a family visit, the only remaining officers in the company were Company Commander Chen Hong and Deputy Company Commander Chen Hong, who was also the platoon leader. The prison had even fewer personnel on duty, with the officer on duty at the Stone Walled Village unable to return due to the strong winds, and no one from the other side could come over. As a result, the only officer available for the rescue mission was He Ruoqiu. However, Chen Hong's execution of this task had one difficult aspect - he was unfamiliar with the terrain and routes in this area. In such weather conditions, if he were to venture into the desert without knowing the terrain, the next batch of people who would need to be rescued would definitely be them. After some thought, He Ruoqiu found that there was only one suitable person left - Ye Haodong.

  Nanshan Wozizhen area is located more than 80 miles north of the cotton factory team's residence, where the terrain is somewhat like a pincer shape. In seasons without snow, it is a good place for herders to take shelter from the wind and settle down, but they fear the snowy season, especially the blizzards and strong winds in recent days. When the white storm blows up, it becomes a "snow den", and the snow accumulated on the Gobi Desert is blocked by two pincer-like claws, making the snow thicker and thicker. If there are herders settling down at this time, the consequences can be imagined.

  On the vast desert where a violent storm was raging, snowdrifts were blown into pieces and scattered all over. Walking against the wind, people could hardly open their eyes, and vehicles were unable to move. In the freezing temperature of minus 30 degrees Celsius, Ye Haodong walked at the front of the team, with Chen Hong closely following behind him. The rest of the soldiers from the two squads wore sheepskin coats, trudging through the snow one by one, each carrying a small canteen of diesel oil and a bag of fried noodles on their backs. Ye Haodong had a large piece of braised beef and a military canteen of white liquor hidden in his bosom, which he had obtained through unfair means.

  The wind was blowing from west to east, and Ye Hao and the others were walking against the wind, getting very tired. Everyone's eyes were narrowed, their necks shrunk, with icicles hanging from their eyelashes, and a few sparkling ice particles on the whiskers around their mouths. Each person's face was blown red by the wind.

  Ye Haodong ate a bellyful of beef before setting off, and drank two large mouthfuls of scalding hot white wine. Now he was walking with his whole body on fire, this fellow's heroic spirit had risen, and he actually opened the military canteen to drink a big mouthful, then burst into song.

  Crossing the mountain, the road is difficult to travel, the sky is like fire and water is like silver... The soldiers and civilians are like fish and water, one family. The warriors who followed behind were frozen and tired, and they didn't have much energy to speak. At this moment, seeing a labor reform prisoner with such fearless wind and snow, everyone's morale was boosted, and they showed the mighty spirit of the world's number one iron army. They sang together with Ye Haodong.

  It's strange to say, but in the wind and snow, their singing seemed to have a miraculous effect on the sky, and the continuous blizzard that had been raging for many days suddenly stopped after they started singing. Seeing this scene, Ye Haodong and Chen Hong were extremely excited, scolding the heavens for being a bully who only picked on the weak, while leading the team to quicken their pace and rush towards the mountain valley where the herders were trapped.

  It's easy to know, but hard to do. This sentence is particularly suitable for this situation. The familiar road was covered with thick snow, making it extremely difficult to walk. After eight hours of arduous trekking, they finally arrived at the place where the herders were seeking help on the second day at noon. The snow outside the yurt was already waist-deep, and Ye Haodong, who was walking at the front of the team, bore the greatest resistance, still shouting loudly with undiminished enthusiasm, but this time no one could hear what he was shouting about. The soldiers were also exhausted and panting, so they didn't follow him in singing. After trudging through the snow, the group finally arrived at the place where the herders lived, where there were three households of herders, plus a Russian traveler, totaling 14 people. These people had been trapped for many days, and all the food they could eat was gone, with no food for two days. Although there was still some cow dung that could be burned, they didn't dare to use it too much. The temperature inside the yurt made of felt was not much different from outside, and after two days without food in such low temperatures, people had to endure unbearable suffering.

  The warriors took out the diesel oil and fried noodles that they had not used on the way, tore off several large pieces of felt, soaked them in diesel oil, lit a fire, and then took out the fried noodles to feed the herders with the freshly boiled snow water. Ye Haodong looked at the short Russian man with some curiosity.

  Finally waited until these people were full, Ye Haodong curiously asked the Russian: "Can you understand Chinese?"

  The Russian nodded and said in a strange tone: "I hear, I understand, but what you say is not good."

  Yehao Dong burst out laughing: "Dude, you're quite something! What's your name?"

  The Russian said in his native accent: "Viktor!" Afraid that Ye Haodong wouldn't understand, he then said in Chinese: "My name is very long, you can just call me this."

  Ye Haodong repeated: "Viktor, three words are long enough, don't mind if I call you Tuozi."

  Victor nodded.

  Ye Haodong asked him, "So far away, what brings you here this season?"

  Victor said he was here for tourism and came with several companions, but after the blizzard started, they got separated, and he ended up coming here in a daze.

  Ye Haodong had wanted to chat with him a bit more, but this guy was really too much trouble to talk to. Chen Hong also seemed to have some suspicions about this guy, so Ye Haodong could only give up. After the few people ate their fill, Ye Haodong suggested that they couldn't stay here for long. Taking advantage of the fact that the wind had stopped, everyone should immediately set off on the road back to prison. The herdsman's cattle and sheep were already beyond care, so they could only be left to fend for themselves. Fortunately, this was a snowy valley, and wolves didn't dare approach. The cattle and sheep couldn't get out either. When the weather improved and the snow melted later on, it wouldn't be too late to come back and drive them away. For now, preserving their lives was more important. So, the group set off hastily just after noon. The road back had a bit of a gentle breeze, making the journey easier than when they came. Just as they were about to arrive at the prison, the desert suddenly changed again, and another blizzard blew in, but fortunately, everyone had already reached their destination.

  After everyone finished dinner, in the middle of the team's quarters, Amurjan uncle, with tears of gratitude welling up in his eyes, tightly grasped Ye Haodong's hand and excitedly said: "The great savior sent by Allah! May God bless you, good cadre of the Party!"

  Ye Haodong was initially quite happy, but when the old man uttered his last sentence, this guy's face suddenly became extremely unnatural. Alas, who made us still a labor reform prisoner? Damn it, we were discriminated against.