"We're in the New Year message" ■ PLA Daily reporter Chen Xiaojing and correspondent Feng Hao The wind was very strong, and the border guards were wrapped tightly. It was difficult to take every step. The strong wind rolled the snow particles and blew their cotton caps and ear protectors to fly. The white frost and snow were covered on the cold mask. The boys in the camera could not distinguish their looks and expressions, but only the posture of trekking. At the moment, Ma Shilei, staring at the TV screen, heard the wind on the patrol road that day again. Through a flash of news footage, the first-class soldier recognized those familiar and friendly figures - those were his comrades in arms of his army and the "tuyere post" of tielieketi border defense company of Tacheng army sub district in Xinjiang. With a surging and warm heartbeat, Ma Shilei, 19, was very proud for a time. Beside him, there were also several comrades in arms who patrolled the snow that day. "We are in the new year's message." *** Video screenshots from CCTV news Watching the news in the study room of the post made them very happy. Back in the dormitory, holding a mobile phone and gently sliding his fingers on the screen, Ma Shilei zoomed in and out again and again, playing back the exciting moment again and again. The young man specially sent the video screenshot to his mother who was far away in his hometown. "Mom, your son is in the new year's message!" At the end of the mobile phone, Ma Shilei's mother also burst into tears. A son is the pride of a mother. On the first night of 2022, looking back on her son's growth in the border camp, the mother tossed and turned. The next morning, she went to the photo studio to develop the "video screenshot" into a photo and put it at the head of her bed. Scene of officers and soldiers at the post watching TV news Early this morning, tielekti, thousands of kilometers away, the wind was still so cold, and the patrol road in the wind and snow was still so difficult to walk. Ma Shilei and his comrades in arms patrolled the snow again, with the sentence "clear love, only for China" in their hearts. The warmth seemed to grow out of cells and flow all over their body with the blood. Ma Shilei followed the monitor and staff sergeant Li Weifeng. As usual, he stepped on the footprints left by Li Weifeng. In this way, he walked very solidly at every step of the patrol road. Tielieketi -- the famous "tuyere post" on the border defense line of Xinjiang. Before arriving at the company, Ma Shilei, who was thin and weak, had never experienced the weather that "a gust of wind can blow people down"; After arriving at the company, every patrol was like an "encounter" for him. Go against the wind, because the motherland is behind you. Standing in the wind, hardship is understood only by soldiers who stand in the wind. I have a headache and tinnitus. I can't sleep well at night. Watching the pony depressed day by day, Li Weifeng, the monitor, is very worried. "I have perseverance in my heart and walk through the wind and snow." On the highest pass of the company, Li Weifeng patted Ma Shilei on the shoulder and said, "people's tenacity is honed in the wind." "Let the wind blow and snow dance, I will stand still." Gradually, the pony learned to trek in the wind, observe at night, and identify directions in the wind and snow; Climbing in the wind and lurking in the snow, he realized many unique protection skills. The wind in Northern Xinjiang has carved rocks and changed the landscape of mountains and rivers. "Only after eating the bitterness of proud wind and snow can we understand the sweetness of life." For the first time, Ma Shilei felt that the soldiers standing against the wind are carved by the wind, and the skills learned in persistence are the wealth of life. In order to become a qualified soldier, the thin Ma Shilei forced himself to eat an extra bowl of rice every meal; During training, he ran against the wind again and again; While doing push ups, he practiced until his sweat soaked the ground. Say bitter is not bitter, bitter sweet is sweeter. When a person really adapts to the difficult environment, he will know how to cherish and be grateful. "Put on your mask and protect your mouth and nose. I'll go ahead this way." Ma Shilei, who is behind the veteran, has gradually stepped out of his courage - to "protect his comrades in arms" on the wind and Snow Patrol, which has become the choice of the young soldier. At the weekend, the team's transport vehicle arrived as scheduled. Ma Shilei received a "special package". After unpacking the package, a video screenshot fell out, and the sweet smell of fruit cake and Mahua filled the air. The young man closed his eyes and sucked the familiar hometown flavor deeply, which was sweet to his heart. "Make new progress in the new year. Mom is proud of you!" Holding a letter from his family in the distance, he and his comrades in arms put the screenshot photos in the company's study room. Not only Ma Shilei, but also every officer and soldier of "tuyere post" is full of passion and enterprising force. Stand upright in the wind, behind the soldiers is the motherland ■ Mei Zhifeng, he Wenbo Balluk mountain, snow capped peaks reflect the light of the sun. The mountains are snowy and the plains are boundless. In the lunar new year, Spring Festival couplets are pasted and lanterns are hung at the door of tielieketi border defense company. Stick to the northern Xinjiang tuyere. In the hearts of soldiers, the annual flavor of the post is war flavor. A stone tablet stands in the wind at the gate of the camp, and the four characters "stand upright in the wind" are engraved on it. The vigorous handwriting honed by the wind and snow always reminds the guard soldiers that standing up in the wind is not only a gesture, but also a belief. Stand upright in the wind, "the motherland is in the heart"; Stand upright in the wind, behind the soldiers is the motherland. Under the boundless starry sky, sun Yongzhe (left) and his comrades in arms stand guard by the stone tablet of "stand upright in the wind". Love in the wind "Why are we here today?" Sun Yongzhe took a sip of boiled water prepared before turning off the light. Now the water was cold. Before he could add hot water, he looked up and drank it. Putting down his water cup and wrapping his coat, the sergeant squad leader who was ready to go to the sentry came out of the dormitory at the end of the corridor. His footsteps were very light. He walked through the long corridor. The clock in the hall on the first floor showed: 3 a.m. Neither early nor late, the veteran calmly walked out of the door and walked into the wind and snow again. This is the coldest and hardest shift of the day. As the new year approaches, young soldiers are prone to homesickness. As a veteran, he takes the initiative to change posts with his new comrades in arms to take on this "most homesick" shift. Sun Yongzhe repeated the sentry scene of tielekti for 12 years. This year, the veteran's mood is different: this will be the last time he will spend the new year with his comrades in arms on the border, and his days at the Sentry will be less and less. People's habits are the hardest to change. The habit that cannot be changed is called love. Accustomed to guarding the border, sun Yongzhe was reluctant to leave the cold moon at the border. Every time I walk through the wind and snow, I'm used to standing up at the tuyere. The veterans really can't imagine what life will be like if they don't need to walk against the wind in the future. The tielieketi border defense company that sun Yongzhe adheres to is located in the valley between alatao mountain and balluk mountain. The station is windy all year round. Wind and snow witnessed the retrograde youth of defensive officers and soldiers in the wind. Sentry, this seemingly ordinary task, is difficult at the "tuyere sentry". Walking out of the camp gate, I stood against the severe cold and strong wind in minus 20 ℃, and some people had frostbite on their faces. On the way to the sentry tower, less than 100 meters away, we can always see the officers and soldiers bending forward. Bitterness is a relative concept. "Looking at the Milky way here is extremely romantic. Every star is shining." The "happiness" on the sentry post is known only to the soldiers on the sentry post. Over the past 12 years, sun Yongzhe likes to enjoy the unique "stargazing perspective" of the sentry tower with his comrades in arms who go to the sentry post together: Sunny windless days, all over the sky and stars, and the vastness of the Milky way, which are the ultimate beauty in life. "Looking at the stars, you will find that dreams are as if you can touch them. Although people are small, they are extraordinary under the stars." No one knows the distance better than the border guards. The stars in the sky are the "distance" where they place their thoughts and hopes. Ma Shilei was very happy to receive the video screenshot photos sent by his mother. Looking back at the army, sun Yongzhe, 33, became a soldier and father from an ignorant teenager. His distance is a watch in the secondary wind, and each watch is related to growth. He arrived at the company 12 years ago. As soon as he got off the train, the wind of tielekti cooled his heart. The company is a bungalow without thermal insulation. No matter how tightly the windows are closed, there will still be wind coming in through the gap. In sun Yongzhe's heart, who is still a new soldier, warmth is the only distance. "It's better to defeat yourself first than fight with the wind." Liu Genrong, the old monitor, told sun Yongzhe that the distance in the hearts of border guards is a kind of feeling after experience. On the starry sky of value, the dazzling thing is "Why are we here today". The answer is in my heart. Sun Yongzhe gradually learned to "shake hands and make peace" with tielieketi's wind. When he went out on patrol, he learned to protect his mouth and nose from the wind with a mask and to identify the direction in the wind and snow; In the "cold" of life, he chose to melt with enthusiasm and turn himself into a small sun to warm himself and others. Last December, the old monitor Liu Genrong retired from the army. A few days before leaving, he insisted on following the patrol on duty and saying goodbye to the boundary pillar. That day, the wind at the top of the mountain was not so cold, and the Veterans' tears were still frozen out by the wind. Standing in the wind, he looked into the distance as usual and was silent for a long time. On the day of leaving the team, he gave sun Yongzhe a watch that "has been with him for many years". In the farewell party, the tearful Liu Genrong hugged sun Yongzhe and said in his ear, "after I leave, you will be the oldest soldier here. No matter how strong the wind is, you can't fall down." Rubbing the electronic watch in his hand, sun Yongzhe burst into tears. He knew that the old monitor handed over his distance to him and passed on the responsibility of "vanguard" - every time he walked against the wind, his distance was the distance of the old monitor, and their common distance was their relatives and motherland. "Why are we here today?" The time goes back to the time when sun Yongzhe first went to the sentry post and the then company commander asked questions loudly in the wind. At this moment, the answer is branded in the hearts of veterans. Liu Genrong, the old monitor, made his last patrol and said goodbye to the boundary pillar. Persistence in the wind Climb the snow peak of youth and wade through the ice of life The mobile phone kept vibrating, and Sergeant Li Weifeng, who returned from patrol, opened wechat. He suddenly realized: "today is Xiaonian." "Happy New Year", "Wei Feng, remember to eat dumplings"... Familiar blessings are transmitted across thousands of rivers and mountains through radio waves, and the world wrapped in ice and snow has a strong warmth. The sunshine of memory shines into the bottom of his heart, and the warm picture of the past appears in front of Li Weifeng. Three high school boys who went to school in Zhoukou, Henan Province traveled to the ancient city of Xi'an in the summer vacation before graduation. Standing on the ancient city wall, watching the lights of the city light up one by one, they remembered that the three people were about to go their separate ways. They agreed that "no matter where they struggle in the future, they should greet each other on festivals". Among the three people born in the same year, Li Weifeng is the largest. For 11 years as a soldier, he has always kept his "promise" as a teenager: his blessing message will be "delivered on time" on holidays. But this time, he was "robbed" by two brothers. Li Weifeng was introverted and chose to be a soldier after graduating from high school. Zhao Chao and Liu Jianglei both went to college as they wished. During the Spring Festival of his first year as a soldier, Li Weifeng was in the army and returned to his hometown for two days on holiday