"When you meet, you must first salute, and the speed of the salute should be slowed down to about two seconds..."
"When sending a notice, you should hold it with both hands and bow before sending it out..."
…
In Daming, everything has its corresponding process.
There is also a corresponding process for the delivery of death notices. This process is accurate to one step and not too many, but every step is extremely formal and full of respect for the fallen soldiers.
Because they were not proficient, they practiced it again before leaving the office.
There is no missing step in the whole process!
Why can't it be one step closer?
Because for the families of fallen soldiers, any mistakes are unacceptable. After all, their family members died on the battlefield!
If something like sending a notice is wrong, then the so-called respect really becomes the so-called respect.
So there are some things that absolutely cannot go wrong.
…
When Dai Shiping, who was wearing a long-sleeved formal uniform, and his comrade Qian Youyong rode bicycles into Xingfuyuan Community, people nearby had already noticed him. People who were sitting in the community park stood up and looked at him.
.
January is summer in the southern hemisphere, the hottest time of the year. It is definitely not a good thing to have two soldiers in formal clothes come to your door at this time. While the women were talking to each other, some of them had family members serving in the military.
The faces of the women all changed slightly. They all held their children in their arms and looked at the two soldiers, watching where he was going.
"Whose family does it belong to?"
"It seems we're at Building 12."
"It's Hu..."
Before some women could breathe a sigh of relief, women's cries were heard in the park, and a woman ran toward that direction like crazy.
"She is the daughter-in-law of the Hu family. She lives in the second unit of Building 12..."
After stopping at a unit, Dai Shiping looked at the unit number.
"This is it!"
When he tied up the bicycle, he turned around and Qian Youyong helped each other tidy up his military appearance. After each wiped the sweat with a handkerchief, they nodded.
"Okay, let's go up..."
When they were about to go upstairs, a woman who ran crying not far away sat down on the ground. Her crying suddenly stopped. She sat there in a daze, watching the two soldiers enter the third unit.
No, not her man!
The woman with tears on her face didn't even know how to describe her mood for a moment. Is it thankful? Is it happy? Or...
While the woman was sitting on the ground in a daze, several women ran over.
"Sister Li, what's wrong? This is..."
"He, they went to the third unit, yes... he is a rich man..."
"Jia Fu, her daughter-in-law Yumei is still pregnant..."
"That's right, how good is this!"
"Well, let's go together...see if there is anything we can help with."
"That's right, I want to go there, I have to go and have a look..."
When the women handed over their children to others and walked to the third unit, Dai Shiping and Qian Youyong, who had already gone up to the third floor, stood by the door, took a deep breath, and then gently knocked the door knocker.
There was also the faint sound of children crying behind the door.
"Why!"
While sighing, Dai Shiping heard voices outside the door.
"Who?"
The man's Chinese was a bit stiff, and when the door opened, a short young woman came into view.
"You are?"
Yumi looked at the two soldiers.
"Excuse me, is this Ms. Tsune Yumi Tsune?"
After receiving a positive reply, Dai Shiping immediately stood at attention and then slowly performed a military salute.
"Dear Ms. Chang, please allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude to you on behalf of the Imperial Army Department..."
What……
Chang Yumei no longer knew what the other party was saying next. She was stunned and tears fell down instantly.
"How could it be, how could it be like this, how could it be..."
The moment she was leaning against the door and about to slip, the neighbor's woman had already stepped forward to help her up.
She looked at the death notice in front of her with both hands, and there was no sparkle in her eyes. When she was about to stretch out her hand, she suddenly retracted it. It seemed that as long as she didn't accept the letter, her husband would not die.
.
"Ms. Chang, if you need any help, you can write to the Ministry of War and the local military service office at any time. We will provide all help within our ability. Your husband's pension will be delivered to your door by me personally within three days...
…”
All of these are procedures and corresponding regulations. Isn’t this unkind?
The seemingly harsh words are actually a sign of care for the bereaved. In the Ming Dynasty, there will be no distinction based on military rank. They were imperial soldiers during their lifetime and are equal after their death - they are all loyal martyrs of the empire.
Finally, Yumi took the letter. After taking the letter, she hugged the letter tightly in her arms, just like she hugged her husband tightly when he left half a year ago, which once brought her infinite warmth.
The safe man has just become a thin piece of paper.
"salute!"
Salute again, after the salute.
When he was about to leave, Dai Shiping said to the people standing in the stairwell.
"Everything is up to you!"
After saying this, he bowed and thanked her.
"Don't worry, sir. Don't say that a wealthy family has become a loyal person. Even neighbors should do it."
As the two of them left, the concerned voices of women could be heard behind them.
"Yumi, Yumi, cry if you want!"
When the cries started to sound, the two people, who were walking heavily, just sighed silently. When they got downstairs, Qian Youyong said without saying a word.
"Sir, do we want to continue sending him off?"
"There are three more..."
Three families, what are the three thin death notices?
For these three families, it was a disaster and a separation of life and death.
…
That night, sitting at a roadside wine stall, Dai Shiping and Qian Youyong just drank in silence. The wine was the most ordinary victory wine, and the vegetables were just cheap beef scalp, braised beef offal and peanuts.
And dried radish.
"Brother Dai, this mission is really not done by humans."
Qian Youyong said after taking a sip of wine glumly.
"It is better to go to the front line to fight than to deliver such news to your door. Is this a human job?..."
"Someone has to inform their families and tell them the bad news."
Dai Shiping took a sip of wine and said.
"Why are there such and such processes? You can't go wrong in these processes because you take them seriously. If you don't take them seriously, you can just buy a stamp for 1 cent, put an envelope and mail it? It's like sending a draft notice. How much does it cost to send it like this?
Money? Two cents! In this case, a soldier..."
Holding out two fingers, Dai Shiping said.
"It's only worth two cents!"
"No, military mail is free."
"Haha, what does that mean?"
Staring at Qian Youyong, Dai Shiping said loudly with a heavy heart.
"It's just cannon fodder! Cannon fodder! Do you understand? Imperial soldiers become imperial cannon fodder! So..."
Dai Shiping, who had drunk a lot of wine, suddenly lowered his head and said again.
"We have to go. We are just delivering bad news, but what about them? They are dead...died on the battlefield! No, no..."
Shaking his head vigorously, Dai Shiping said again.
"They didn't die, they didn't die, they went to the Martyrs' Shrine, yes, they all went to the Martyrs' Shrine..."
