Text | Yang Wendou On October 16, 2024, my mother Yang Aihua left us forever at the age of 83. This year coincides with the 70th anniversary commemoration of the founding of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. As the "first generation of military reclamation", my moth

text | Yang Wendou

On October 16, 2024, my mother Yang Aihua left us forever at the age of 83.

This year coincides with the 70th anniversary commemoration of the founding of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. As the "first generation of military reclamation", my mother followed my deceased father and stayed in Shihezi, Xinjiang forever.

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My mother was born as a "rich farmer" and has a junior high school education. Compared with her peers, she is considered a well-educated person. In June 1959, my mother moved from Changge County, Xuchang Prefecture, Henan Province to Shihezi, Xinjiang, and became the "first generation of military reclamation". She devoted her youth and blood to the Corps, and was awarded titles such as "Advanced Producer" and "First Generation of Military Reclamation" The construction of Shihezi City has her share of glory.

In Shihezi, she met Yang Guisong, a fellow soldier there. Later they got married, and there were five of us brothers and sisters.

Mother is strong and kind. At that time, my father was forced to move to the farm. It was not until the policy was implemented that our family returned to the city. In those difficult years, my mother always taught us to be kind to others, accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and persuade others with virtue. My parents later named me "Wen Dou". This name can be regarded as a product of history.

I remember when I was a child, when I met people begging, my mother would take out the food that she would not eat at home and share it with them, and pour them water from her own bowl. She also told us that life is not easy. Who would beg for food unless they had no choice? One year, my father passed the comprehensive assessment and got a quota for a salary increase, but he discussed with his mother and wanted to give the quota to colleagues who came from more difficult circumstances, and my mother agreed without saying a word.

Mother’s education for us is subtle. I remember when I was young, my mother would let us perform performances during holidays to cultivate our talents. If we performed well, we would be given a small red envelope to show encouragement. One year we performed wrestling as a group, from one-on-one, one-on-two, to one-on-three. , the result of the competition is not important, but my mother took the opportunity to reason with us: a chopstick is easy to break, but a pair of chopsticks is difficult to break. Unity is strength, and everything will be prosperous if the family is harmonious. This will benefit us for life.

二

Mother's life is happy. When I was young, my father was responsible for most of the housework. In our old age, our mother was the treasure in the hands of us children. We all competed for it and took turns taking care of her. The eldest sister is particularly filial and considerate. The most gratifying thing is that my two brothers-in-law and one brother-in-law are all kind to their parents and brothers and sisters from the bottom of their hearts. Therefore, our family has four generations living under one roof, and we have always been harmonious and happy.

The only regret is that my father passed away due to illness on January 5, 2010. I clearly remember that before my father died, my mother looked at him pitifully like a child and murmured: "Guisong, what are you doing?" Are you willing to let me stay?” This scene will never be forgotten.

That year, my father was just 70 years old, and our family was just about to get better in life. As the saying goes, a son wants to be filial but his relatives are not around. I originally wanted to take my elderly parents back to my hometown in Henan to visit, but because of my father's death, I couldn't. OK.

On June 7, 2017, I accompanied my mother on the journey to find our roots and went to the place where my parents were born.

Although my parents left home when they were young and did not know much about the situation in their hometown, our journey along the way was extremely smooth, and the people we met who showed us the way seemed to have been arranged by someone somewhere. Even God was kind. It rained all night when we first arrived in Luoyang. The rain stopped when we went to Yanshi, Changge and other places the next day. This finally fulfilled the wishes of my mother and me.

三

I was born in Xinjiang. After graduating from high school in 1987, I went to Lanzhou to study at university. After graduating from university, I stayed in Lanzhou because of love. For a long time, my parents were not around.

At first, my mother warned me to work hard, work with peace of mind, make more contributions, and reassure the organization; later, my mother told me that the body is the capital of the revolution, and I should cherish the body and achieve a balance between work and rest; and later, my mother told me that , come home often, I am looking forward to seeing you when the conditions at home are better; but now, I can no longer hear my mother’s nagging...

Fortunately, I was able to accompany my parents in the last week before they passed away. be around them.

A friend comforted me and said: "The relatives who have left us will become stars in the sea of ​​stars, quietly guarding her home and children." Yes, mother's teachings will last forever.