"This is the proudest and most memorable moment in my life. What I have done is just a trivial thing, but the party has given me such a high honor. I have not done enough or good enough. I will keep to myself. The day I can’t move, this is my commitment to the party organization.” On June 29, after being awarded the "July 1st Medal", old party member Wei Deyou said excitedly.

Wei Deyou, 81, is a retired employee of the 161st Regiment of the Ninth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. He has been grazing and patrolling on the border for 57 years, intercepting tens of thousands of cross-border livestock, and persuading more than 1,000 people to return to the border. There has been no foreign incident. Known as a living boundary marker on the border, he used his actions to interpret the original intention and mission of the Communists.

Home border

"I am nostalgic for this land. From the first day I came here, I knew that this was something to do for a lifetime." Wei Deyou said. In early 1964, the 24-year-old Wei Deyou responded to the call of the Party Central Committee and came from Beijing to the Tacheng area of Xinjiang. He became a "recruit" in the second company of the 161st Regiment of the Ninth Division of the Corps.

In order to build a strong defense barrier, the second company of the original soldiers stationed in the Saarbulak grassland on the Emin River. Deep in the grassland is the border. The Saerbulak grassland is a deserted Gobi desert even though it is called a grassland because of its severe land salinization. Facing the deserted Gobi desert, Wei Deyou and the soldiers of the whole company joined forces to open up wasteland, plant trees, and dig out nests between grazing. The place that has been silent for many years is gradually rejuvenating. In 1967, Wei Deyou married Liu Jinghao from his home in Shandong, and the nest dug out on the ground became their home. Here, they raise children and guard the border.

When the season changes every year, the herdsmen on the grassland sway the cattle and sheep and move from the spring and autumn pastures adjacent to the border to the summer pastures. The 50 square kilometers of prairie becomes "no man's land." Every transition season, Wei Deyou will always be very vigilant. He always observes whether there are people and animals coming to the border, and if there is a danger, he will stop and persuade him to return as soon as possible. In 1981, the place where the second company of the original soldiers belonged was handed over to Yumin County. In 1984, the second company of the original soldier was completely withdrawn, and Wei Deyou should have moved to another company to work. But he bought 3 cows and 20 sheep to develop the breeding industry. After all, he just didn't want to leave.

"Since I have decided to stay, I will hand over to you the flock used to improve the lives of the soldiers. You have experience in guarding the border, can you come to be a border guard?" Bai Song, the company commander of the border station of the jurisdiction at the time, found Wei Deyou, and Wei Deyou took a bite. Accept it. Bai Song designated an area on the frontier of the border as Wei Deyou's grazing patrol area, and distributed him a "volunteer border guard" armband and a telescope. Since then, Wei Deyou has stayed deep in the grassland, grazing and patrolling every day, guarding the territory of the motherland with his life.

Perseverance for more than half a century

The long road to patrol has worn through an unknown number of pairs of shoes, but it has not diminished Wei Deyou's faith and will to defend the country. "It's my mission to graze and guard the border!" Wei Deyou has a firm conviction. In June 1983, Wei Deyou joined the Communist Party of China. In 1984, the party branch of the second company of the original army was withdrawn and merged. Wei Deyou's organizational relationship has always been placed in a community party branch more than 30 kilometers away from home in the regiment. Over the past few decades, he has not left a penny of party dues, sometimes he has to be paid by someone else, and sometimes he has to pay by himself after running dozens of kilometers.

"The radio is Lao Wei's treasure. You always carry it with you when you go out. The radio is on except for sleeping. The signal here is unstable and you can't listen to a few stations, but for Lao Wei, listening to the news is enough. "My wife Liu Jinghao said. The grassland wind entrains sand and soil, and the radio is particularly prone to breakage. So far, Wei Deyou has worn out 50 radios.

The Saarbulak steppe is the only passage for the cold air of Siberia to go south. The wind is raging in winter and the blizzard is more than one meter deep. In summer, the gadfly cannot be driven away and the mosquitoes are rampant, which can bite people's skin. During a patrol, the snow fell and heavier, the temperature became lower and lower, and the clothes soaked in snow and sweat quickly froze. It was very difficult for Wei Deyou to move forward every step. Just when he was lonely and helpless, he saw a faint light in the distance, so he took out a torch and kept flashing towards the light. In the end, officers and soldiers at the border station came to rescue him.

"Are you stupid, the weather is bad, you just come back early, or just take a day off." Many times, his wife Liu Jinghao looked at her late husband, tears in distress. But Wei Deyou is very stubborn: "That won't work! The organization keeps me here because it trusts me. I must have a clear conscience!"

"My father's temperament has not changed in his entire life. I followed him to grass when I was a child. Every day's tasks must be completed, even until two or three o'clock in the morning." Wei Xia said with a smile.

When asked by the organization about the difficulties in Wei Deyou's family, the answer was always no. In 57 years, from youth to full of silver threads, Wei Deyou walked back and forth a dozen kilometers along the border every day, patrolling more than 200,000 kilometers in total, which is equivalent to circling the equator 5 times. He still lives at the end of the road, and grazing is a life of patrolling. His home is known as a husband and wife post that does not change defense. "I just did what a Communist Party member should do. During these years of guarding the border for the motherland, I have no shame in the party and in my heart." Wei Deyou said.

Stay here to be at ease

For more than half a century, former comrades-in-arms have returned to their hometowns one after another, frontier soldiers changed from crop to crop, and herdsmen on the grasslands moved to settlements with better conditions, and Wei Deyou and his wife have always stayed here. Wei Deyou always smiled and replied: "Only by staying here can I feel at ease in my heart."

When retiring from the Corps, Wei Deyou and his wife received monthly retirement wages, enough for the old couple to enjoy their old age. The family members persuaded them to return to Shandong to provide for the elderly. Wei Deyou just disagreed. "Since I chose to come here, I have to stick to it and not leave." Wei Deyou said.

Every day, the first thing Wei Deyou does after getting up is to raise the five-star red flag at the door of his house. There is no national anthem, no audience, but he completes every action meticulously. "No matter how far you go, you can find your home when you see the five-star red flag." Wei Deyou said. After raising the flag, Wei Deyou brought "three treasures": an old rusty military kettle, an old-fashioned radio, and a pair of military binoculars. He went to patrol the border to see if there were any signs of people passing by, and went to the house left by the herdsmen to check the situation. The officers and soldiers on the border have already been familiar with Wei Deyou's figure, and often receive information from him on the border. Every inch of grass under his feet and every waistline of the distant mountains were engraved in Wei Deyou's heart, and any abnormality could not escape his eyes.

Someone also asked Wei Deyou if the life on the grassland flies particularly slowly? He said with a silly smile, too fast, decades passed in the blink of an eye. "In the past, I could only eat two buns a day, and I had to cultivate land or dig tree pits. Sometimes I couldn't sleep at night because I was hungry. But in just a few decades, the country was prosperous and the people were strong. We must thank the party for everything." Wei Deyou said affectionately. Today, Wei Deyou, who is already in his old age, is also hospitalized because of illness, but within a few days of hospitalization, he shouted to go back. "If he doesn't go around every day or look through the binoculars, he won't be able to sleep at ease." said his daughter Wei Ping.

In order to let the two elderly people enjoy their twilight years, Wei Deyou’s children bought a house in Yumin County and let him live with his wife after it was renovated. Wei Deyou refused again: “I’m not going anywhere. I used to live in nests. After that, now there are these three rooms, so what's the pain. The border can't be left unattended, let alone I am a party member, I must stay." The children know that as long as he is looking for things, no one can hold him.

Seeing that Wei Deyou had no idea of "retirement", in 2017, after discussing with her husband, Wei Ping decided to quit her job in Shandong and settle down on the grasslands, and continued herding and patrolling with her father. "My father has only done one thing in his life, and that is to defend the border for the country. I will continue to walk with my father's original intention." Wei Ping also encountered many emergencies and dangers on the sidewalk, but she never thought of backing down. And give up. "After walking the road my father walked, I realized his hardship and the importance of guarding the border. I am very proud to be able to stand on the border of the motherland with my father, and I will keep going." Wei Ping Say.

In recent years, Wei Deyou has won many honors, such as "Model of the Times", "National Moral Model", "Most Beautiful Struggler"... "These are the affirmations given to me by the party and the country. My children and I will always stick to the motherland. Borderline." Wei Deyou said firmly. Editor/He Yuting