The sentry who steadfastly guard the post does not descend the mountain for years on end.
The bitterness is immeasurable.
The outpost in the plateau region, located on the mountain top, is a world of ice and snow year-round. Both coming and going depend solely on one’s feet. Even for the logistic soldiers delivering supplies, they can only rely on their own two feet.
Commander Chen said gravely, "Comrade Zhu Rong, do you understand the implications of your request?"
"I do!" A bitter smile flickered in Zhu Rong’s eyes, but his face was filled with earnestness and tenacity. "If possible, I would like to request the troop to allow my family and me to guard the outpost together."
At this, Commander Chen, Ye Zhengjun, and Zheng Xuefeng all wore surprised expressions.
"Your whole family would go?" They had assumed Zhu Rong wanted to guard the outpost to drive his wife and child away by making them understand the difficulties.
"I have a responsibility towards them. The outcome today is due to my negligence in disciplining them," Zhu Rong said gravely, "If I hadn’t been in the military for more than a decade, my presence at home would have at least kept them from turning out . Soon after arriving here, they recklessly stirred up troubles. Sister Qingxue has never offended them, and she has been very polite to them. Because she dresses somewhat better, and Xibao is a bit chubbier, they’ve become thorns in their eyes! Comrades, can you believe that? In front of me, they sneer at Xibao, calling him a fat cow, thinking that since Xibao eats well and is fat, his family must be wealthy with plenty of good stuff that they could steal for themselves. Isn’t this akin to banditry? I can almost imagine what their reputations were like back home, and how their fellow villagers must have been too angry to speak out! I can’t allow them to run amok in the troop, and I can’t send them back to harm their hometown."
It’s never too late to mend. As the head of the family, he must pay attention to the character and habits of his wife and child. Even if it takes a lifetime, he has to change the bad habits of the three, and if they can’t change...
"If they don’t change, then I’ll have them stationed at the outpost with me for their entire lives!" Zhu Rong was determined.
The three present couldn’t help but be moved, "Comrade Zhu Rong, you really don’t need to request a transfer in order to correct their behavior. What they’ve done is not your fault."
Zhu Rong replied, "Comrade Commander, as the head of the family, they are my wife and children, and I have the duty to instruct them. I can’t use my over a decade of military service as an excuse to say their current state has nothing to do with me. If the child is untrained, it’s the father’s fault; if the wife misbehaves, it’s the husband’s fault as well. We’ll all go to the outpost. I have not fulfilled my duties in educating them for the past decade plus, so I’ll make up for it with the time I have left!"
"Comrade Zhu Rong, you..." Ye Zhengjun and Zheng Xuefeng didn’t know what else to say.
"As a soldier, I have the duty to fight for my country, and I also have family responsibilities. Whether here or at the outpost, aren’t both serving the country? If sentries can stay there, why can’t I? We are all human beings; there’s no difference in the grand scheme of things." Zhu Rong had made up his mind, "I request the commander and the colonel to approve my application. Also, I want to make another request, please do not refuse it."
Commander Chen asked what the request was, and Zhu Rong said, "In the period before my transfer, I request your permission, commander, to be excused from training. I won’t report to the barracks to handle my work and consider it as leave. I hope to hand over my duties to the vice battalion commander, and then stay with the three of them. I can’t allow them to misbehave before the order of transfer is issued."