The team set off, some comrades solemnly looked back at the barracks and said with infinite emotion: "Goodbye, barracks," that expression reminded people of Jing Ke's high-pitched song: "The wind is howling cold on the Yi River, the brave warrior goes away never to return." Some, on the other hand, laughed and shouted loudly to their comrades who stayed behind for farewell: "Hey, fellow countryman, take care of the things. If anything is missing when we come back, I won't forgive you;" others said: "Don't be lazy, grow the crops well, and send the good food to the front line." They were as if they were going on a tour.
After leaving the barracks, we arrived at the Zhoucun train station. Suddenly, the crowd became restless as the Shandong compatriots came to offer condolences, just like they did when bidding farewell to the Eighth Route Army in the past. Seeing this scene, people could no longer suppress their inner excitement. A Shandong man knelt in front of his parents, sobbing and saying: "Father, Mother, perhaps your son can no longer honor you or repay your upbringing grace. Please take care of yourselves. Rest assured, I will not disgrace my family." After saying this, he knocked three loud heads and turned around resolutely to board the train, no longer daring to look at his loved ones.
On the other side, the wife of the company political instructor stood among the crowd bidding farewell, her belly swollen, her eyes red and swollen, tightly holding her husband's hand without saying a word. What could she say? Indeed, everyone knew that they had just been married and were about to undergo the baptism of war. "Go back! Let our love withstand the test of war."
If it were any other time, we would surely have teased them, but at this moment, we all knew what the separation meant.
"Whistle...!" The long whistle of the steam engine made all our hearts jump suddenly. The frozen atmosphere rippled again. The wife of the instructor could no longer hold back her emotions, tears streaming down her face. She took out a pair of carefully embroidered shoe pads from her shoulder bag and handed them to the instructor, saying: "May it protect you and bring you back safely. Carrying it is like me being by your side." At this moment, a mischievous soldier in the crowd shouted: "Sister-in-law, rest assured, we will return the instructor to you intact."
The train slowly started moving, and inside the carriage, the sound of "Farewell, Mom" echoed brightly. The crowd waving goodbye was getting further and further away, blurred, disappeared. My mind went blank for a moment. My mood gradually sank. The rumbling sound of the train brought me back to reality. Excited, yet nervous. The battlefield was still an unknown to us. Could we defend the southern gate of our motherland? Could we persist in combat under conditions similar to those on the Gangling? Could this war be avoided? In case of an error... there would be bloodshed and sacrifice on the battlefield. Could we reunite with our loved ones again? Suddenly, I felt that the instructor and that Shandong man were fortunate, for they had seen their loved ones before setting off. But I dared not write home, fearing my old mother would worry. Before setting off, our company was not allowed to visit home, and I had been in the army for four years. My mind was in chaos. Why must we bid farewell? I must return alive, I must return with merit. Thus, letting my thoughts wander aimlessly, I fell asleep unknowingly.