Cctv newsPatrol the island three times a day, watch the sky, escort the sign and keep a diary … … This is Wang Shihua’s daily life on the island. Every day for more than 30 years seems to be the same day.
This island is called Kaishan Island, which is located 12 nautical miles east of Yanweigang Town, Guanyun County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. It has no residents, no fresh water, no electricity, a harsh environment and a changeable climate.
For more than 30 years, Wang Shihua and Wang Jicai raised the flag, patrolled and guarded the island together. The villagers all called them "the couple whistle of Kaishan Island".
Wang Shihua said, "To tell the truth, when I first went to the island, I just wanted to stay with Lao Wang all my life and a complete home. Slowly, I realized that guarding the island is not only our small home, but also the trust of the organization and the responsibility of the militia. It is the happiness of the people and the peace of the motherland! "
Go to the island for a complete home.
In July 1986, Lao Wang said that he would go on a mission and let Wang Shihua go back to her family for a few days. Half a month later, when she came home, she didn’t see Lao Wang coming back, so she asked her mother-in-law, who stopped talking. After repeated questioning, her mother-in-law told Wang Shihua that Jude Wong had gone to keep Kaishan Island.
Wang Shihua was puzzled: Kaishan Island is a "water dungeon" in the eyes of local people. How can Lao Wang live on the island alone?
Under her repeated entreaties, it was not until the 48th day that the Armed Forces sent a boat to take her to the island.
As soon as the ship landed, Wang Jicai, bearded and ragged, appeared in front of her, like a savage. When I came to the post where Lao Wang lived, empty wine bottles and cigarette butts were thrown all over the floor, and dirty clothes were piled up at random.
Wang Shihua’s heart wrenched up. Lao Wang used to be a teetotaler. She said sadly, "Why should I keep this island if others don’t?"! Go, let’s go home! " Wang Jicai seemed to have roots under his feet, looked at the sea and said, "Go home and take care of the old people and children! I have to stay. Kaishan Island is a coastal defense outpost. If you don’t keep it, I won’t keep it. Who will keep it? "
Wang Jicai is a stubborn temper. He can’t turn back what he has decided, so she has to go off the island alone.
A few days after returning home, Wang Shihua was in a trance, thinking that Lao Wang was alone on the island, nobody cared, nobody asked, how could this be done?
Thinking about it, she made up her mind to quit her job and stay with him on the island. No matter how hard the island is, having her by his side is a complete home.
Keep the island and taste the loneliness, bitterness and salty taste.
After going to the island, Wang Shihua really experienced the difficulty of defending the island.
Except for a few rows of empty old barracks, the island is bare and rocky. At night, the island was dark and the sea breeze was whistling.
There is no fresh water, so you can only drink the rainwater; Without electricity, you can only light kerosene lamps; Every onion and vegetable you eat must be shipped from the island. Summer is hot and humid, so they have to sleep on the roof; It was cold in winter and I had to move into a cave where the sea breeze couldn’t blow.
After a long time, they all suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and severe eczema, and the itching was unbearable. They often woke up in the middle of the night with pain. Only he helped her, and she helped him, beating each other and spending sleepless nights.
Defending the island is not only hard, but also dangerous.
In July 1987, the expected date of delivery in Wang Shihua was approaching, but a strong typhoon suddenly came and it was impossible to get off the island. Seeing that she was about to give birth, she had a terrible stomachache, thinking that this time, her mother’s life would be lost.
Lao Wang was at a loss and was in a rash. In desperation, I grabbed the walkie-talkie and contacted the family of the town’s armed minister. Under her guidance, I found scissors to roast on the fire, cut the umbilical cord trembling, tore off my vest, boiled it in boiling water, and simply bandaged it. When the child cried for the first time, Lao Wang suddenly sat down on the ground. Until now, I’m afraid when I think about it: If Wang Shihua had a dystocia at that time, it would have been two lives!
On another occasion, Wang Shihua and Wang Jicai patrolled the coast, and a big wave came, and Wang Jicai was swept into the sea. She thought, this is over, and Lao Wang’s life is gone. Another wave came, and she saw Lao Wang, who was soaked to the skin, climbing from another rock. She rushed over and pulled him up.
From then on, when they went out to patrol, they tied a backpack rope around their waists, so that they could take care of each other in case of an accident. Over the years, it is this ordinary backpack rope that has tied her and Lao Wang’s lives together and tied them tightly to Kaishan Island.
Take the island as your home and take root.
Over the years, the couple have lived on the island, and they have feelings for everything on the island. In Wang Shihua’s mind, the island is home.
In order to build a good home, they brought soil and fertilizer from the shore bit by bit like swallows carrying mud, and planted trees and vegetables in the cracks of stones.
In the first year, more than 100 poplars were planted and all died; In the second year, more than 50 locust trees were planted, and none survived. She thought, if people can survive on the island, why not trees? In the third year, more than a catty of neem seeds were sown, and finally a small seedling grew, which made her overjoyed: if there is a tree, there will be vitality; Where there is vitality, there is hope.
Today, more than 100 pine trees and neem trees grow taller and taller on the island, fig trees also bear fruit, vegetables and fruits also take root and sprout on the island, and Kaishan Island becomes beautiful day by day.
"Five-star Red Flag for Two" rises on the island every day.
Raising the national flag on the island is a solemn ceremony that was set up only after Wang Shihua went to the island.
When Wang Shihua was in school, a large-scale flag-raising ceremony was held every Monday, and there were also flag-raising ceremonies every day. As soon as the couple get together, Kaishan Island should also raise the national flag. Although Kaishan Island is small, it is the territory of the motherland and must be inserted into National Flag of the People’s Republic of China.
"Keeping the island is not only a symbol, but also has practical significance. There is a lighthouse on the island, surrounded by four beacon lights, and equipment for measuring meteorology, tides and geology. Lao Wang said that since we are here, others don’t have to go to the island to maintain it. The old barracks on the island also need to be cleaned and repaired frequently. Lao Wang said that if the troops come back one day in the future, the barracks can be occupied immediately … …” Wang Shihua said that when the national flag is raised, it tells people on the shore that we are here, so please rest assured.
There are people on the island and no one, which is very different. "Sometimes there is a fog on the sea, and the fishing boat is like being detained in a pot. I am worried that the fishing boat without radar can’t see the island hitting. Pharaoh takes a rice basin and knocks hard on the dock all day long." Bao Zhengfu, the boatman, said, "Every time I go out to sea and see the national flag on Kaishan Island, my heart is particularly practical."
Keep your promise "until you can’t keep it"
In July 2018, Wang Jicai died of a sudden illness on the island, and Wang Shihua applied to the organization to continue to defend the island.
In Wang Shihua’s heart, her husband’s 32-year-old island defense relies on the unchanging belief in his heart: "Home is an island, the island is a country, and defending the island is a country." Kaishan Island has long been her and Lao Wang’s home.
"Lao Wang told me that even if he leaves one day, he will walk on the island and walk in his post." Wang Shihua said that this is the promise that Wang Jicai once made, and now it is also her promise. "I will continue to keep the island until I can’t keep it." (Text/Gao Shijia Proofreading/Lou Hao)
