In this season of the revival of all things, when the brilliant and bright sunshine fills the streets and alleys, people's hearts are filled with happiness and hope. But it may be hard for us to imagine that in the distant western border of our motherland, there is a group of officers and soldiers chasing after the sunshine. Aran Baotai means "one line of heaven" in Tajik language. In the Sarekuole Mountains of the Pamir Plateau, officers and soldiers of the Aranbao Tai Border Defense Company of a certain regiment of the Xinjiang Military Region are stationed between two mountains with an altitude of over 5000 meters all year round. Sunshine is a "rare thing" for them. The special geographical environment makes the time when the sun shines here very short - the daylight hours in summer are about 5 hours longer, while in winter they are even shorter, only 3 hours. They love the sunshine. Every noon, the officers and soldiers eagerly anticipate a thrilling "sunbathing" experience. A soldier said, "While the sun shines on the earth, it also illuminates our hearts. We all have a 'sunshine mentality' that is not afraid of difficulties and challenges." They became each other's sunshine. Although the sun is not often seen on cold days, with the support and companionship of comrades, everyone's heart is warm. A poet once said, no matter how small or distant, the worshippers of the sun will always receive the radiance of the sun. Today, we approach this group of soldiers chasing after the sunshine together, believing that their stories, like sunshine, can bring you warmth and strength. As long as there is a little sunshine, we must do our best to preserve it, "said Zhao Yongbo, a second level sergeant in the Arun Baotai Border Defense Company of a certain regiment of the Xinjiang Military Region. He never imagined that one day he would be so eager to catch up with the sunshine. Zhao Yongbo comes from Qingdao, Shandong and grew up by the seaside since childhood. In the past, whenever he went to the beach to go out to sea, he would always cover his face with a hat and mask because he found the sunlight too strong. But now, he is sitting on a small hill, with his face raised high, feeling the warmth brought by the sun. Such moments are not common. In recent days, snowflakes have been drifting day after day, and the dim clouds have covered the sun tightly. Finally, when the sky cleared up, the company organized its officers and soldiers to enjoy a half-hour "sunbathing" on the open space outside the door. Zhao Yongbo drew a big smiling face on the calendar for that day and quickly went out to bask in the sun with everyone. Zhao Yongbo said, "Standing guard at noon here is a happy thing." After 1 o'clock, the sun was shining on the company guard tower, and the golden light immediately spread out, making people feel warm. Due to the brief appearance of the sun, the animals here are also extremely eager for sunlight. When Corporal Abrajiang Ali first became a military horse keeper, he neglected to timely pull out the military horse "Red Rabbit" to bask in the sun. As a result, "Red Rabbit" got angry and refused to let him ride on the saddle. It was not until Abulajan Ali dug out the horse grain from his bag that the 'Red Rabbit' obediently obeyed. For the soldiers in the kitchen team, sunbathing is even more difficult. When the sun came, they were busy preparing vegetables and cooking. After lunch, everyone finished their work and the sky had already darkened. Sergeant Wang Xuebing once made a "Sunshine Agreement" with fellow soldier Chen Weixiang when he was a new recruit. As cooks, they were assigned to two groups to take turns cooking. During that time, when Wang Xuebing was not on duty, the weather was either cloudy or snowy: "I haven't seen the sun for more than half a month just after coming down, and I'm really depressed." In order to stimulate Wang Xuebing's enthusiasm, Chen Weixiang proposed: "Starting today, let's compete in various tasks and let all the comrades in the class be judges. Whoever does the best job, when the sunshine comes, another person will take over the duty and go outdoors to sunbathe. How about that?" Wang Xuebing readily agreed, and the two of them started chasing after each other and growing together. Wang Xuebing leveraged his strengths and led Chen Weixiang to practice his physical fitness. Chen Weixiang also taught Wang Xuebing his signature image recognition skills. Later on, this' Sunshine Agreement 'was passed down and became an effective means of motivating kitchen team soldiers to help and learn from each other, and to work hand in hand. In the memories of veterans, drying clothes and providing electricity have always been difficult due to a lack of sunlight. On cloudy days, as the temperature drops and the wind direction stabilizes, the sun is unlikely to emerge. If the cloud layer becomes thinner and rises, and the movement speed increases, there is a high probability that the sun can be seen. When it snows, the wind direction changes and the temperature rises, indicating that the sun is about to emerge... "Second level Sergeant Ma Jiannan has been in the military for 9 years and has his own unique sensitivity in" capturing "sunlight. Clothes are sometimes left indoors for several days without drying. Once the sun appears, everyone quickly takes them outside and changes the drying position according to the direction of sunlight. Aranbao Tai is located in a remote area, making it difficult to connect to the city's electricity supply. A few years ago, most of the officers and soldiers in the company relied on solar panels on the roofs for electricity. In the summer with slightly longer sunshine hours, even if people try not to use high-power appliances, dozens of solar panels absorb only enough sunlight energy per day for daily use by officers and soldiers; In winter, heavy snowfall often occurs, so everyone needs to promptly remove snow from the solar panels. Sometimes, the battery capacity is depleted, and the company needs to use additional diesel generators for power supply. Second level Sergeant Song Zhanpeng remembers a snowfall that lasted intermittently for 4 days. He and his comrades took advantage of the snow to climb up to the roof and sweep away the snow on the solar panels, just to accumulate more solar energy: "As long as there is a little sunshine, we should do our best to preserve it." Now, there is a sun drying room here and the city power is connected. Those past events have become exclusive experiences for veterans, but the days of soldiers chasing the sunshine continue. Planting a seed adds hope to the hearts of officers and soldiers. Lack of sunshine and cold weather; The soil is barren, mostly saline alkali land... It's hard to imagine that generations of officers and soldiers in the company have grown all kinds of vegetables and fruits in such an environment. At first, there were mostly piles of stones around the barracks. Everyone had to use small carts to push away the stones, and then found soft soil washed away by the river nearby, which led to the construction of a slightly rudimentary vegetable greenhouse. The nearby villagers heard about this and even rode tricycles to deliver manure. Another tricky issue is that there is little sunlight here and the temperature is very low at night. In order to keep the greenhouse warm, the officers and soldiers of the company specially covered it with cotton quilts. When the sunshine is good, put away the cotton quilt and let the seedlings bask in the sun. Observing the sunshine has become a happy thing for everyone. Every time it's almost noon, Song Zhanpeng and his comrades stare at the distant mountain ridge. I saw a faint golden light in the distance, and the sun was about to emerge from the mountaintop. Hurry up, the sunshine is coming soon! "Song Zhanpeng recalled, everyone hurriedly rolled up their quilts as the sun was about to rise, and even alarmed several military dogs lying on the top of the shed resting. Although the survival rate of vegetable seeds is less than half and the seedlings grow very slowly, with everyone's careful care, cucumbers, radishes, and cabbage have been harvested successively in the vegetable field... Second level Sergeant Chai Xuefeng is very concerned about the planting and breeding work of the company. During that time, he put a lot of effort into seed selection and seedling cultivation work, often calling the planting experts in his hometown for advice. Later, the superiors equipped the company with dozens of sets of solar panels, and everyone used supplementary lights for the seedlings. But I dare not use it too much, otherwise the whole company will trip, "Chai Xuefeng recalled with a smile." At that time, I always thought how good it would be if the garden was filled with abundant fruits and vegetables. "As the company connected to the market electricity, the vegetable greenhouse immediately connected an electric boiler and added more supplementary lights. Nowadays, Chai Xuefeng's dream has become a reality, and this place has become a "natural oxygen bar" that is warm like spring all year round, with an area of over 300 square meters. In addition to daily vegetables, the officers and soldiers also cultivated large watermelons, planted grapefruit trees, pomegranate trees, lemon trees... Everyone's mentality, like these plants, is becoming more and more lively. Some comrades come to the greenhouse when they encounter troubles, and bask in the sun with these fruits and vegetables. Many troubles will disappear, "said Chai Xuefeng. Whether on vacation or business trip, although the officers and soldiers' bodies have descended from the plateau, their hearts still care about the platoon and this lush vegetable garden. When they return to the team, they always remember to carry some flower seeds or soil up the mountain. Chai Xuefeng felt that "planting a seed adds hope to the hearts of officers and soldiers." "No one regrets coming here because everyone has a warm sun in their hearts." patrolling here, "sunshine" is an unavoidable topic. In autumn and winter, due to the lack of sunlight, people have to face thick snow and ice layers. In summer, the ice and snow melt under the scorching sun, and patrolling officers and soldiers inevitably encounter mudslides or turbulent rivers. First level Sergeant Gao Quancheng is the driver of the company. He has been stationed at the border for 15 years and has patrolled countless times. He is widely recognized as the "living map" in everyone's hearts. Don't worry, 'Quan Cheng' will ensure your safety throughout the entire process When encountering new recruits on their first patrol, he always blurts out this catchphrase to ease their nervousness. Having walked a lot on the road, I have also developed a calm and composed attitude when encountering difficulties, "said Gao Quancheng. Nevertheless, recalling the thrilling moments of patrolling in the past, he still felt a little scared. During a patrol last winter, vehicles had to pause when they reached a narrow area. The road surface is covered with deep and shallow snow, and everyone knows that there is a deep ditch between the cliff and the road, but it is impossible to determine the specific location. Let's explore manually The snowflakes are still falling, with no sign of stopping, and the sky is getting darker and darker. The leader of the team gritted his teeth and decided to go out hand in hand with Gao Quancheng to explore. The roads on the plateau are all bumpy and rocky beaches. The instructor and Gao Quancheng cautiously groped forward, one on each left and one on each right: "We have to use our feet to explore the bottom with each step, otherwise we may fall into a waist deep snow pit with one foot." When we reached the open area, Gao Quancheng realized that his and the instructor's palms were already sweating. He returned to the car with deep and shallow steps, and drove the car along the footprints left on the road. There are still many difficult experiences like this. On a patrol road, the bridge was unexpectedly sealed under ice. The ice surface slopes slightly and is nearly 20 meters long. In order to prevent the vehicle from skidding, the platoon leader led everyone to cover the ice with pre carried coal slag, which allowed Gao Quancheng to drive the vehicle safely through the road section. In summer, it is also common for the water flow generated by the melting of snow to wash away roads. Driving on muddy slopes also tests the driver's skills. That is a downhill road with a total length of 800 meters and a slope of about 30 degrees. Due to inertia, the vehicle suddenly and rapidly rushed down the hill. On the left side is the rapids. Once the car falls into the water, it will inevitably lose control and the consequences will be unimaginable. "Gao Quancheng stabilized the steering wheel and finally parked the car slowly at the foot of the slope, while his comrades in the car were all shocked and sweating profusely. In seemingly ordinary lives, we have crossed the 'gates of hell' countless times and left the footprints of border soldiers in every pass Gao Quancheng said, "What makes us proud is that no one retreats or gives up on the patrol, no matter what difficulties and dangers we encounter." Spring on the plateau, there is no wilderness covered with green grass, no breeze of fragrant flowers brushing our faces, but more silence covered with ice and snow. Due to limited exposure to the sun, some officers and soldiers suffer from conditions such as osteoporosis, and their skin often develops eczema. But as Gao Quancheng said, "No one regrets coming here because everyone has a warm sun in their hearts