Chapter 3: Forced into the Army

  By the end of November 1977, just after winter had begun, Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China's three provinces, had already seen several snowfalls. The thick layer of snow on the road, which had been driven over by various vehicles time and again, was as smooth and flat as a big mirror, embedded in the wide road.

  The weather is cold, the sky is dark, the vault of heaven is low, and the earth is covered with a thick layer of ice and snow. In the late afternoon, in Harbin, known as the "Little Paris of the East", the sky begins to snow again. People from afar gaze through the streetlights at the snowflakes dancing in the sky, like elegant fairies wearing colorful aurora dresses, twirling and leaping in the air. They are like long-lost travelers rushing into their mother's arms, kissing the earth affectionately.

  And those various types of cars driving on the highway, one by one, were crawling slowly on the road like turtles.

  And in the evening, people returning home from work, you'd think there would be no one who dares to die or get hurt. But surprisingly, there are still those who ride bicycles on the slippery road surface as if they were ice-skating on the Songhua River. People walking along the streets saw these cyclists wobbling all over the place like acrobats in a circus, and when one of them fell, you'd see the ones behind him tumbling down like dominoes. Pedestrians and people waiting for buses at the bus stops couldn't help but burst out laughing at this spectacle.

  At No. 2, Jilin Street, Nangang District, it is composed of more than a dozen separate Russian buildings, and this separate courtyard is like a small villa in the provincial capital Harbin. Now the whole yard is brightly lit. Everyone in Harbin knows that the person living in this courtyard is Wang He, the vice governor and secretary of the Political and Legal Committee.

  Heilongjiang Provincial Vice Governor and Secretary of Politics and Law, Wang He, returned home early tonight from his office. He got out of the Red Flag sedan with a set of olive green military uniform in hand, striding towards a separate main house.

  Wang He, who was released from the cowshed just over five months ago, is only fifty-five years old. The ten-year catastrophe has turned his hair completely white. This man, who betrayed his family at a young age and joined the revolution in Jinggangshan at the age of thirteen after running away from Shanghai, became a lieutenant general and was transferred to Heilongjiang as vice governor and secretary of the political and legal committee in 1959. He did not expect that a ** would make him a rightist counter-revolutionary and throw him into prison by the revolutionary committee at that time. After the Gang of Four was overthrown, the Central Organization Department reinstated him, allowing him to resume his original position.

  He had just walked into the room when he saw his wife, Liu Dongmei, who was fifteen years younger than him and currently served as the director of the Harbin Municipal Committee Secretary Office, sitting on the sofa in the living room wearing a white sweater, intently looking at the documents in her hand.

  Liu Dongmei was looking at the document issued by the central government, and her ears heard the sound of the door closing. She took her eyes off the document, raised her head, and saw that her husband Wang He had returned. Liu Dongmei immediately stood up from the sofa, smiled, walked around the middle of the room, and approached her husband Wang He.

  When Liu Dongmei walked to her husband's side, she found that her husband Wang He was holding a set of army uniforms and jokingly said: "Old Wang, won't the sun rise in the west today? Why are you back so early?" Then she looked out the window like a mischievous little girl and said: "It seems that the sun must be setting in the east today. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so kind to give Sanzi a set of military uniforms. If Sanzi knew that his father was so concerned about him, he would definitely be happy."

  Wang He didn't answer his young and beautiful wife's question, but instead asked his wife Liu Dongmei: "Is Xiaosan at home?"

  "It's not even six o'clock yet, and Little San won't be back home. You say this kid is always out every day, leaving in the morning and never coming back."

  Wang He had many things he couldn't tell his wife Liu Dongmei, but he was still furious and snorted through his nose: "What else can be done? Isn't it just following those provincial officials' children around and fooling around? They're all so old, yet they don't do anything proper all day. And you say Director Zhang is at ease, their daughter and our little San are already talking about love affairs at such a young age. If something happens to Pingping, how can I explain it to Director Zhang?"

  "Alright, Old Wang. Don't take this matter too seriously either. Xiaosan's temper is similar to yours, and even eight oxen can't move her. I'm the same way. When I was 16 and just arrived at the army unit, you saw me for the first time and very domineeringly told me: Little girl, wait two years and I'll marry you as my wife. Now you need to reform your ideology well, and when you've made progress, you'll marry me. You're still talking about your son now? Our family's Xiaosan has an early romance, and the root of it all comes from you... Hehe..."

  Haha... "Little Mei, you still remember this thing? At that time, you were wearing a long braid, and your two beautiful big eyes blinked in front of me. I was determined that you would be my wife. You don't know about this matter, but later Commissar Tan found out and called me over for a good scolding. He said it was warlord behavior and asked me to apologize to you. But I didn't listen to him - what does finding a wife have to do with him?... Haha..."

  Wang Weiye stood at the intersection of Postal Street and Jilin Street, with his hands in the pockets of his overcoat and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His eyes gleamed like a thief's as he watched the cars whizzing by. When he spotted a Liberation-brand truck, his eyes lit up, and he said to the four young men standing beside him, "Damn it, the car is here, you guys can go back now, I'll hitch a ride on this one and be home." As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Weiye took a step forward, grabbed hold of the truck's rear bumper with his right hand, and his feet seemed to have been greased, clinging to the vehicle as it sped away, taking him on another free joyride.

  Wang Weiye watched as the car approached his front door, and with a relaxed hand and the inertia of his feet, he stood on one foot, striking what he thought was a very cool pose, sliding all the way to his front door before finally putting down his other foot.

  Wang Weiye took the cigarette out of his mouth, pinched the head of the cigarette with his thumb and middle finger, and flicked it hard. The cigarette head flew into the tree enclosure three meters away. He patted his coat and pressed the doorbell twice.

  The bell had just rung, and the small door with a window for looking out was opened. The person inside was a soldier in uniform, who saw him and immediately opened the door to let him in. "Third Master is back."

  Wang Weiye saw that it was Li Gang standing guard at the door and gave him a wave: "Brother Li, are you on duty for this shift?"

  "Yes, I'm on the 5 o'clock shift, Liu Tao will be taking over soon."

  Wang Weiye politely said a few words to Li Gang, then walked towards the house where his mother lived. As soon as he entered the door, he saw his father sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, and he felt extremely surprised, and his heart began to mutter: "Why did the old man come back so early today."

  Wang He heard a noise at the door of the house, looked up and saw his son Wang Weiye coming back. Wang He beckoned to Wang Weiye with one hand, letting him come over because he had something to say.

  Seeing Wang Weiye sit down, Wang He pointed to the military uniform on the tea table and said straightforwardly: "Little San, this is the military uniform that I asked Uncle Xu to pick up for you. You stay at home these days and don't go out running around. After the comrades who are recruiting soldiers have finished their work, you will follow them to join the army and train well in the army. Don't always cause trouble outside."

  Actually, as soon as Wang Weiye walked into the room, he saw the military uniform on the tea table. He thought it was his father who had taken pity on him and bought him a set of military uniforms. Originally, Wang Weiye wasn't interested in military uniforms, but since it was his father's first time taking the initiative to buy one for him, he was quite happy about it. However, he didn't expect that the military uniform his father brought back was meant for him to join the army. As soon as Wang Weiye heard his father's words, he was stunned and sat there foolishly for a while before quickly regaining his composure. He immediately jumped up from the sofa and stood on the ground, loudly shouting at his father: "I'm not going to be a soldier! You go instead! Let me earn 60 yuan a month? That's not even enough for me to buy a pack of cigarettes! I won't go, even if you beat me to death right now!" After finishing speaking, Wang Weiye stormed out the door, not wanting to eat at home or see his father who was making him unhappy.

  "Get the hell out of my sight, you ungrateful son! I'm your father and how did I raise such a good-for-nothing like you? Look at your siblings, your older sister and brother. They're not as useless as you are. What have you been doing outside except causing trouble? Don't think I don't know what's going on outside, I'm telling you, I sent you to join the army for your own good. If it weren't for your uncle Yao, who's been a guard for me for over ten years, he would've arrested all of you long ago. Now if you dare say no to joining the army again, tomorrow I'll order them to arrest all of you and throw you in jail. Who do you think you are? You're not even the king of heaven or earth, you're just a nobody from Harbin! Let me tell you, don't think just because you're my son, I won't have you arrested too. Now get into the dining room and eat, and don't go out tonight either, stay home and behave yourself. If you dare run out, I'll have the guards outside shoot your legs off and then I'll take care of you for the rest of your life!" Wang He said, throwing the newspaper on the sofa and storming into the dining room in a rage.

  Liu Dongmei heard her husband yelling at someone in the living room from their bedroom, she didn't know what happened and quickly came out. She saw her son Wang Weiye still standing by the door, then looked at her husband again and knew that it was their precious son who had made his father angry again. She hurried over to mediate and said: "Old Wang, don't always scold the child. The child is still young and doesn't understand things yet, we'll educate him slowly, I believe our little three will definitely learn well."

  After persuading her husband, Liu Dongmei turned to her beloved son and said: "Xiao San, you're already so big now, and you even have a wife. How can you still be so disobedient? Your father wants you to join the army and go to the troops for training, which is also good for you. You should quickly apologize to your father."

  To be honest, Liu Dongmei is reluctant to let her only younger son join the army. If he does, there will only be two of them left at home. Her husband is very busy with work tomorrow, and when she returns home, the only happy fruit accompanying her is her precious son.

  Wang Weiye was shocked when he heard his father's angry words. He had never thought that his father already knew about the things he did outside. If what he did outside got exposed, it would be okay to explain, but those brothers who followed him around would be in trouble. In his heart, he cursed: "Damn you, Yao Qiming! I've always given you gifts during holidays, but as soon as you're in front of my father, you become a snitch and spill all my secrets. And that police chief is really something else... This time, my father is serious, this soldier is definitely going to be sent out. If I dare say no again, those brothers will definitely be sent to the Great Northern Wilderness to eat mud tomorrow. My father at home, he's a man of his word."

  Wang Weiye was lost in thought at the door, when the phone in the living room rang out of tune. He walked over angrily and found it was an external call. He grabbed the phone and asked loudly, "Who is this?"

  "Big Brother Wei, I didn't provoke you, why are you yelling at me?" A very soft and pleasant woman's voice came from the phone. As soon as this voice entered Wang Weiye's ears, his whole body went limp. It turned out that the owner of this soft and pleasant voice was none other than Wang Weiye's current wife, Zhang Yaping, the daughter of the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department Director.

  Wang Weiye immediately changed his tone as soon as he heard that his wife Zhang Yaping sounded unhappy, and a smile spread across his face. To flatter her, he had put in a lot of effort, reading numerous books and memorizing all the praise-worthy adjectives from both Chinese and foreign languages. Now, speaking on the phone, he began to lavish her with praise: "Ah, Pinging, I wasn't scolding you just now. I was arguing with my dad and was still fuming when you called. But it's perfect timing that you called, my wife. As soon as I hear your lovely and charming voice, I'm filled with energy. Your silvery laughter is the source of my life. The vows of eternal love on your pink lips are like a promise to me. You're as pure as the thousand-year-old snow lotus on Mount Tian. Your body is like the orchid in the valley, emitting a faint fragrance. My wife is like an immortal fairy descended from heaven, with a beauty that can eclipse the moon and make fish sink. My love for you is like the endless waters of the Yellow River, my affection for you is like the Yangtze River..."