These years, many college students choose to join the army (军队) after graduation. Zhao Huan is one of them.
When Zhao Huan was 26 years old, he joined the army and became one of the soldiers (战士) on the top of Changbai Mountain in Jilin Province. The three-year life in the army made him really strong-willed.
The weather on the mountain is terrible in winter. The snow can reach as deep as 2 metres. The lowest temperature can be (-40℃). There are over 200 days a year when the wind speed is nearly 12 metres per second. “It is very difficult to fall asleep with the wind outside crying like a wolf,” Zhao said. Life was hard because of the weather. When the snow cut off the roads, the soldiers needed water most. They had to heat the snow to get water to drink, cook and wash with. To save water, they only took a bath once a month.
Even so, Zhao and his team did not give up. Whatever difficulties they met, they tried their best to finish their tasks. Especially when they were on duty outside in winter, snow hit on their face and they were frozen because of the low temperature. But they put their duty before anything and stood like a statue without a slight move.
Zhao said, “Life is not easy on the top of Changbai Mountain. Thinking of the lights of thousands of homes, I think my efforts pay off. For me, all the difficulties can be showed off in the future. The experience of being a soldier here really means a lot to me.”