Lei Feng’s troubled childhood
1940 Lei Feng
When Lei Feng was born, it was during the Anti-Japanese War, and the people were living in dire straits; Lei Feng once wrote in an article He wrote in the diary: "My family is very poor. My father, mother, elder brother, and younger brother all died at the hands of national enemies and class enemies. This blood feud will always be engraved in my heart." Lei Feng's grandfather was named Lei Xinting, and he He rented land from landlords to make a living and worked hard all year round, but he was still unable to support his family. Eventually he became seriously ill and became bedridden. At the end of the new year, the landlord came to press for debts, demanding that the Lei family pay off their rent debt before the end of the year. Lei Xinting was unable to repay, and was filled with grief and anger, and was forced to death amidst the sound of New Year's firecrackers. His father, Lei Mingliang, participated in the Hunan peasant movement led by Chairman Mao and served as a self-defense captain. He was arrested in 1938 and severely beaten by the Kuomintang, causing internal injuries and disability. After returning to his hometown, he recuperated and farmed to eke out a living. In 1944, he was severely beaten by the Japanese invaders, and his injuries were even more serious. He finally died in the autumn of the following year. My elder brother, Lei Zhengde, went out to work as a child laborer when he was twelve years old. Under the torture of heavy labor, he contracted boyish tuberculosis (tuberculosis). One day, he suddenly fainted next to the machine and bruised his arm and fingers. After being fired, he worked as a child laborer in a printing and dyeing workshop. Due to overwork, his lung disease worsened and he had no money for medical treatment. He died within a few days. The younger brother also died of hunger. When Lei Feng was 6 years old, he and his mother were the only two people left in the family. Lei Feng's mother was also a miserable person who suffered a lot. She is the daughter of a blacksmith. A few days after she was born, her parents were too poor to raise her, so they sent her to a nursery in Changsha. A wet nurse named Yang from Jianjiatang took her home and raised her. When she was 6 years old, she was given to Lei Lei. The family became a child bride. Later, Lei Feng's mother was humiliated by the landlord Tang Sigun and committed suicide. Lei Feng became an orphan when he was less than seven years old. The neighbor's sixth uncle and grandma adopted him. In order to help his sixth uncle and his grandmother's family, he often went to the mountains to cut firewood. However, all the local firewood mountains were occupied by landlords, and the poor were not allowed to cut firewood. One day Lei Feng went to Serpentine Mountain to chop firewood and was seen by the landlady of the Xu family. The landowner pointed at Lei Feng and yelled, demanding that Lei Feng transport the firewood to her house and snatched the wood knife. Lei Feng cried and wanted to take the wood knife back. , but the landlady actually raised a hatchet and slashed three times on the back of Lei Feng's left hand, and blood dripped down the fingers on the mountain road. Lei Feng hurriedly covered the wound, holding back the pain, and stared at the landlord's wife. Lei Feng shouted: "One day, I will take revenge!" From then on, three scars were left on the back of Lei Feng's hands.
The boy who turned over
In August 1949, when Hunan was liberated, little Lei Feng approached a passing company commander of the People's Liberation Army and asked to join the army. The company commander did not agree, but gave him a pen. In 1950, Lei Feng became the leader of the Children's League and actively participated in land reform. In the summer of the same year, the party secretary of the township government provided him with free education. In 1954, he joined the Chinese Young Pioneers.
Join the work
In the summer of 1956, after graduating from elementary school, he worked as a correspondent in the township government. Soon he was transferred to the Wangcheng County Party Committee as a civil servant. He was rated as a model worker in the government and in 1957 Joined the *** Youth League. In the spring of 1958, Lei Feng went to Tuanshan Lake Farm and learned to drive a tractor in just one week. In September of the same year, Lei Feng responded to the call to support Anshan Iron and Steel and went to Anshan, Liaoning to work as a bulldozer driver. In August of the following year, he came to the Gongchangling Coking Plant under difficult conditions to participate in infrastructure construction. He once led his partners to fight in the rain to save 7,200 bags of cement from loss. The Liaoyang Daily reported this story at the time. While working in Anshan and the coking plant, he was rated as an advanced worker three times, a pacesetter five times, a red-banner bearer 18 times, and won the honorable title of "Young Socialist Construction Activist."
Enlist in the Army
When the conscription began in December 1959, Lei Feng urgently asked to join the army, and the leaders of the coking plant were reluctant to let him go. Lei Feng ran dozens of miles to the Liaoyang Municipal Military Service Bureau (now the People's Armed Forces Ministry) to express his determination to join the army. He is only 1.54 meters tall, a little chubby, has a baby face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and weighs less than 55 kilograms. He does not meet the conditions for conscription. However, because of his excellent political quality and experience and skills, he was finally approved to join the army as an exception; he joined the People's Liberation Army Later, he was incorporated into the fourth squad of the transportation company of a certain engineering corps. He worked hard to study technology and later served as the squad leader. He served the people wholeheartedly and was willing to do anything that was beneficial to the people. He was modest and prudent, never complacent or showing off. , he is not proud when he is praised, and he does not leave his name when he does good deeds; he has made many meritorious deeds and was named a model of thrift and a model Communist Youth League member. He joined the party in November 1960 and was elected as the people's representative of Fushun City.
Died in the line of duty
At around 8 o'clock in the morning on August 15, 1962, it was drizzling. Lei Feng and his assistant Qiao Anshan drove back to the station from the construction site.
After they drove the car into the company's parking lot, they found a lot of muddy water splashed on the car. Regardless of the fatigue of the long drive, they immediately asked Qiao Anshan to start the car and go to the open space to wash the car. After passing through a relatively narrow aisle in front of the barracks, for safety reasons, Lei Feng stood On the edge of the aisle, he raised his arms and directed Xiao Qiao to reverse the car and turn; "Left, left...reverse! Reverse!" Suddenly, the left rear wheel of the car slipped into the ditch on the side of the road. The car body shook violently and suddenly knocked over a tree. Unfortunately, Lei Feng was hit on his right temple by the square wooden pole that was usually used to dry clothes and quilts. He fell to the ground on the spot and passed out... His comrades immediately sent him to a nearby hospital on a stretcher for rescue. After hearing the news, the superiors rushed to the hospital immediately, and at the same time brought medical experts from Shenyang to Lei Feng's bedside as quickly as possible to participate in treatment. However, due to severe skull damage, which caused brain dysfunction, Comrade Lei Feng died! On August 17, a grand memorial service was held at the Wanghua District Government Auditorium in Fushun City. Nearly 100,000 people escorted Lei Feng's coffin to the Martyrs Cemetery... Lei Feng, this glorious name, shines with eternal glory in our hearts. . He dedicated all his vigorous youth to the party and the people. His lofty ideals, beliefs, morals, and sentiments will continue to be carried forward in our young generation. His indelible and beautiful image will live forever. In our hearts, we leave an immortal poem for China.