She will be even more confident in 10 years!, The first female helmsman of the "Liaoning Ship" transforms to become the "Village Branch Secretary" aircraft carrier | Navy | Helmsman
How to surpass the halo of aircraft carriers,
Has become Xu Ling's latest goal.
Author: Chen Jiali
On a morning in late July, Global People reporter drove more than 20 kilometers from Xuyi County, Huai'an City, Jiangsu Province to Lugou Community in Huanghuatang Town. This is also a section of the road that Xu Ling, the secretary of the community party branch, needs to commute to and from work every day. In this small county town, commuting for nearly an hour every day is almost the limit that people can accept.
Entering the Lugou community, there are rows and rows of new Jianghuai style houses, with pink walls and black tiles shining against the blue sky. The paved road is spotless, and the green trees on both sides of the road provide shade, making people feel like they have entered a "paradise".
When the reporter saw Xu Ling, she had just finished a nearly one hour meeting with the village staff. At the meeting, we were all facing people of the same age as our grandparents. Xu Ling, who was 35 years old, was not afraid and spoke straightforwardly: "There are some things that we cannot do well, and we have no room for negotiation. We must do them. Anyway, I have strong pressure resistance..." She had to worry about everything from the e-commerce industry in the village to the lunch issue for the villagers.
Watching Xu Ling immerse her daily life in the trivial affairs of the villagers, it's hard for the reporter to imagine that 10 years ago, she wore a cool navy uniform and steered China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning ship, on the sea.
"Until now, when others introduce me, the first thing is to 'launch an aircraft carrier', followed by 'village branch secretary'. This also gives Xu Ling some pressure unconsciously, and how to make her current work surpass the halo of an aircraft carrier has become her latest goal.".
"There are N records for everything"
The village branch secretary was Xu Ling's second stop after her retirement.
In 2013, Xu Ling retired from the navy and returned to her hometown of Xuyi County to work as a clerk at the Maritime Department. Although bidding farewell to the sea, the county still has the Huai River. Every morning, when Xu Ling arrives at work, she will first stand by the Huai River, look at the boat and water, and then enter the office.
After working at the Maritime Department for 9 years, Xu Ling took the initiative to apply to Lugou Community in Huanghuatang Town and became the Secretary of the Party General Branch.
"To be honest, when I first arrived, the grandparents in the community didn't even care about me. In their eyes, the secretary could only be a respected senior in the village. As a yellow haired girl, I couldn't make a name for myself."
As the "military secretary" who parachuted into the county town, Xu Ling encountered some difficulties that she had not anticipated before. "When in the army, the leader gives orders without hesitation, and the soldiers execute in a neat and uniform manner. In the village, if this' one 'develops, it will evolve into' two, three, four, five, six '."
The Lugou community was renovated around 2019, and villagers moved into new houses. Landscape, countryside, and villages create a beautiful "Fuchun Mountain Dwelling Map", and the community has been rated as one of the "characteristic rural areas in Jiangsu Province".
However, the villagers' impulse to plant vegetables upon seeing the land almost caused a big problem. The public green areas in the village are often cleared overnight and replaced with onions and garlic.
After Xu Ling arrived, she came up with a compromise solution - to develop a "shared vegetable garden" on a vacant land across from the village road. Each family can receive 1 share of the land, establish their own brand, and grow any kind of food they want. In this way, the villagers will no longer go to collect the lawn in the village.
·The "shared vegetable garden" in Lugou Community. Chen Jiali/Photo
The total registered residence population of Lugou Community is 3393, and most young people go out to work. More than half of the more than 1000 people left in the community are elderly people over 65 years old.
Xu Ling learned that the old people like to make do with their meals and often cook a pot of porridge from morning to night. She immediately decided to set up a "heartwarming cafeteria".
·Villagers dine at the "Warm Heart Canteen".
During last year's May Day holiday, the cafeteria opened and a two meat and two vegetable lunch was only 10 yuan. At first, the cafeteria was very popular, but in less than a month, no one came. Xu Ling was puzzled and only found out when asked that her grandparents still thought it was expensive. Xu Ling tried every means to offer half price discounts to elderly people over 65 years old. In the hot July, grandparents were too lazy to go out for meals, and the cafeteria became deserted again. Xu Ling explored the preferences of the elderly and opened a chess and card room and a cinema in the community. Now, the elderly go out in the morning with a water cup, go to the community to play mahjong, have lunch in the cafeteria at noon, watch a movie after dinner, and then go home.
There are always more solutions than problems, Xu Ling concluded. To be a village branch secretary, one must have N records for everything.
Xuyi crayfish is well-known nationwide, and the Lugou community has also adopted the "rice shrimp symbiosis" farming method. The lobster rice produced with pure natural and pollution-free biological fertilizer is delicious and environmentally friendly. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, local agricultural products such as crayfish, Yushan tea, grapes, fruits, pears, etc. faced difficulties in exporting. Therefore, Xu Ling specially invited internet celebrity anchor "Niu Jie" from Huai'an City.
·Xu Ling and Niu Jie learn live streaming sales.
When Niu Jie first came to the village, she walked through the streets and took videos, and some villagers were still somewhat cautious. Xu Ling explained to everyone in the simplest way that "making videos can earn money.".
With Xu Ling's encouragement, some grandparents also used smart phones to imitate Sister Niu. They took pictures of Tiktok and live broadcast with goods, becoming "new farmers" and making money at home.
·Xu Ling is with the community residents.
A year and a half of her career as a village branch secretary has worn away Xu Ling's impatience. "In the past, when I saw something unfair, I wished I could just 'explode' in place and pick up a guy to fight. However, there are many urgent issues in the community that require patience and communication with the people."
The "aircraft carrier imprint" combining meat and iron
Although she has been retired for 10 years, Xu Ling has almost shed her image as a female helmsman and, in her words, has become the village branch secretary who "touches the ground with her face first". However, the identity of a female helmsman has been deeply imprinted on her.
Lifting her pants, Xu Ling showed Global People reporter several scars, potholes, and some even left pigment deposits on her calf bones.
Because there are keel frames about 25 centimeters above the ground between the various compartments on the aircraft carrier, Xu Ling would ignore the existence of the keel frames in her haste when encountering emergency missions. Her calf patella would collide repeatedly, "it was a combination of meat and iron, which would hurt her heart and leave some scars afterwards.".
Xu Ling named them "Aircraft Carrier Seal", just like the medal left by the aircraft carrier on her body. Afterwards, the name "Carrier Seal" was also adopted by comrades in arms.
·Xu Ling became the first female helmsman on the Liaoning ship.
As one of the first female sailors in the navy, Xu Ling was able to board China's first aircraft carrier and become the first female helmsman on board. These "firsts" were all obtained through hard work and courage.
In 2005, Xu Ling was admitted to a very unpopular major at Nanjing Sport University - the cycling major. In her sophomore year, she registered to join the military and underwent various political and physical examinations before entering the People's Navy of China.
Before boarding the aircraft carrier, Xu Ling interned on the medical ship "Peace Ark" for a period of time.
At the beginning of boarding the Peace Ark, the female soldiers visited various compartments of the warship and finally arrived at the cockpit. Xu Ling saw the steering wheel in front of her at a glance. She felt incredulous: how could a small steering wheel control a ten thousand ton warship? She asked the leader, "Can I learn to steer?" The leader smiled and said, "Steering is usually done by boys. In the history of the navy, no female soldier has ever learned to operate a warship." Xu Ling muttered to herself, "Why can't girls do what boys can do?".
When the female soldier was informed to choose a profession on the ship, she didn't hesitate to choose steering.
·Xu Ling chose the steering profession on the Peace Ark.
In fact, at that time, let alone piloting a warship, Xu Ling had no idea how to prevent seasickness on board.
Before boarding the ship, Xu Ling had already undergone anti dizziness training. I stood inside a large iron wheel, my hands and feet bound, and the class monitor turned the wheel axle. The first time I turned it twice, I felt like the sky was spinning and the earth was spinning. When I came down, my legs were kneeling on the ground, and my internal organs were about to explode. Afterwards, the number of turns increased every day, 10, 20, 30, and continued for 10 minutes.
After truly boarding the ship, Xu Ling found that training on land and actual combat were completely different. "In an iron wheel, it rotates in one direction, while on the ship, it rotates up, down, left, right, etc.". Xu Ling used a metaphor that when people ride a roller coaster at the amusement park for up to 5 minutes, it feels like they have been on a roller coaster for a week. Sitting on the roller coaster to eat makes it even more sour and satisfying. Often, just after eating, the food is shaken out. In order to maintain her strength, she continues to eat and continues to vomit after finishing.
Looking back now, Xu Ling doesn't even know how she persevered. At its worst, she could only hang a plastic bag on her ear and spit while learning to steer. After 7 days of practical training, Xu Ling never fainted again on any boat, no matter how big the wind and waves were.
In 2010, Xu Ling took the helm for the first time and, after being tested by the Indian Ocean winds and waves, piloted the "Ark of Peace" medical ship to the Gulf of Aden on a mission. Two years later, she successfully boarded China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning ship.
Galloping in the "sea" of the people
As the first female helmsman on the Liaoning ship, Xu Ling witnessed multiple historic moments in the cockpit.
At the moment of the first landing of the carrier based aircraft, Xu Ling's blood boiled with passion, and the strength of her motherland made her tears flow down her face.
On the day when the Liaoning ship launched its first physical target, it happened to be Xu Ling on duty. When the Liaoning ship aimed at a target with ten thousand arrows firing in unison, the entire deck was shaking, and Xu Ling felt "the soles of her feet were all tingling and numb.". "At that time, there was a sense of interweaving of time, as if I had returned to the era of war. At present, I would rush forward without hesitation, sacrificing everything, even my life, for my country."
During the brief days when the warship docked, Xu Ling also encountered her own love.
In 2010, Xu Ling finished her mission on the "Peace Ark" and returned to Zhoushan to supply medical ships. She met Zhang Biao from another unit. Zhang Biao is a naval veteran who has carried out multiple major missions such as escorting Somalia and circumnavigation, and has achieved second-class merit.
Shortly after their relationship was established, Xu Ling was selected to join the Liaoning ship, while Zhang Biao stayed in Zhoushan. In the following years, Xu Ling and Zhang Biao could sometimes only be contacted through satellite phone. "My phone can't run out of battery. Every time my phone rings, I get excited and guess it's him."
·Xu Ling is carrying out a mission on the Peace Ark.
When they were in love, they were separated by the sea. Now that they are married and have children, they are still in a different place. In order to take care of Xu Ling's work, Zhang Biao chose to give up his allocation after retiring and went to the sea to do business. He is now doing stone business in Fujian and can only return home once a month on average.
The reporter coincidentally met Zhang Biao in the Lugou community, who was here to deliver medicine to Xu Ling.
Over the years, Zhang Biao has not complained about his unconditional support for Xu Ling's work despite being away from her hometown. But seeing that she couldn't remember to take her medicine as soon as she got busy with work, Zhang Biao couldn't bear it and went straight to the unit. In fact, during her service on the Liaoning ship, Xu Ling experienced some physical symptoms due to excessive work intensity, and she has not fully recovered until now.
Unable to take care of her own body, Xu Ling also felt a bit indebted to her 4-year-old child at home. She commutes long hours every day, her work is tedious and does not divide into holidays. She often goes home at night and her child sleeps, but when she goes out in the morning, her child still hasn't woken up.
Born into this "double retired" family, the child has been exposed to it since childhood and learned the first song of their life, which is the National Anthem of the People's Republic of China. Now whenever the national anthem is played, the little one will immediately stand up and salute. When asked about his dream of growing up, he blurted out "becoming a soldier and flying a fighter jet.".
Xu Ling often tells her son about her experiences on an aircraft carrier. Every time he saw a picture of a warship on TV, he immediately turned his head and asked, "Mom, is this the ship you're sailing?"
·When Xu Ling worked at the Maritime Department of Xuyi County, she was accompanied by the Huai River.
When following a warship on the sea, Xu Ling saw many beautiful scenery: thousands of dolphins chasing the warship were within reach, large whales emerged from the water, exhaling and spraying water columns, and flying fish ran on the sea like small geckos seen on land
Now, Xu Ling often misses the years on the sea. She said that she is actually playing the role of a female helmsman in the community. "The people are the sea, the village collective is the warship. I want to steer the collective economy, this warship, towards the distance amidst the waves of the people."
