Barracks Observation | Don't "Gather Fruit" — "Plant an Orchard"
After the Company Commander Hit a Wall
■ Ma Ge, PLA Daily Special Correspondent Hong Fule
On a summer day, inside the honor room of the Ruijin Company, Ganzhou Detachment, People's Armed Police Jiangxi General Corps, Company Commander Liu Zhenxing's gaze rested on the plaque reading "Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of the Entire Military" (全军先进基层党组织), awarded by the Central Military Commission. His fingertips brushed the cool metal surface, yet a warm current surged through his heart.
This weighty plaque inscribed the company's glorious record of 26 consecutive years of being recognized as advanced, and embodied the accumulated weight of one collective first-class merit citation and four collective second-class merit citations.
Standing there, Liu Zhenxing's emotions surged, and the memory of "hitting a wall" when he first arrived to take up his post three years ago rose clearly before him——
At that time, he had already spent three years tempering himself at the detachment headquarters, drafting training plans and assessment schemes with practiced ease, and organizing skills competitions with complete confidence. When he received the order to take up his post at the Ruijin Company, he was full of ambition.
Before assuming his post, he did his homework thoroughly, carefully studying the company's training performance records from the past two years and filling more than ten pages of analytical notes in dense handwriting: "Physical fitness still has room for improvement," "Tactical coordination needs to be more refined," "Emergency deployment procedures need optimization"……
"I must bring the headquarters' high standards down here!" Liu Zhenxing transplanted the entire set of headquarters experience to the company: training plans precise to the minute, assessment standards raised to the upper limit, interior inspections meticulous to the last detail…… Every day he moved through the barracks with a clipboard in hand, recording problems the moment they were found and reporting them on the spot.
However, the results of the democratic evaluation one month later hit him like a bucket of cold water — his approval rating had barely reached half.
The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy. After the meeting, Squad Leader Zhang Jun proactively sought out Liu Zhenxing.
"Company Commander, if you want everyone to follow your pace, you have to lead from the front first." Zhang Jun's words were plain but carried great weight. "The soldiers in this company grew up hearing stories about the Red Army. The principle we hold in our hearts is: to forge iron, you must be hard yourself (打铁必须自身硬)!"
Zhang Jun's words struck like an alarm bell, jolting Liu Zhenxing awake.
Liu Zhenxing recalled the physical fitness test the company had organized during his first week. The moment the command was given, the formation shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow.
Liu Zhenxing sprinted through the finish line with all his strength — 13 minutes and 20 seconds! But when he looked up, the soldiers were already standing in formation……
After quiet reflection, Liu Zhenxing worked repeatedly with the company's cadres and backbone personnel and established a rule called "Four Firsts, Four Lasts" (四先四后): be first to arrive at assembly, first to demonstrate in training, first to help with difficulties, first to shoulder the red banner; be last to leave after labor, last to sleep after lights-out, push from behind those who fall behind, and step back when it comes to honors.
At first, the soldiers' eyes still held scrutiny and a wait-and-see attitude. One day passed, two days, a week…… Liu Zhenxing did what he said he would do. On the training ground, he rolled and crawled alongside the soldiers; in leisure time, he pulled up a small folding stool and sat knee-to-knee with his comrades for heart-to-heart talks; after lights-out, the light in his quarters was often the last to go dark……
This silent perseverance quietly dissolved the barriers between them. The way the soldiers looked at their company commander shifted from distance to warmth, from scrutiny to trust.
Several years passed. Liu Zhenxing put down deep roots in this red and fertile land. He also came to truly understand: only when heart is tightly bound to soldier can strength be directed toward a single purpose.
Silent transformation gave rise to tangible results. In 2024, the company again took first place in the General Corps' military training advanced unit evaluation; in 2025, the company was rated an "Advanced Guard Duty Unit" (执勤先进单位) by the General Corps.
Not long ago, during a 5-kilometer armed cross-country assessment, Liu Zhenxing's figure was always at the very front of the formation. When he was the first to cross the finish line, sweat blurring his vision, a thunderous cheer had already surrounded him. The soldiers surged forward with smiles and hoisted him high: "Company Commander, well done!"
Inside the honor room, the plaque was silent, its luster held within. Liu Zhenxing's gaze settled once more on the characters "Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of the Entire Military," and his heart was filled with clarity.
This honor belongs to every figure who has quietly stood firm and striven hard on this red land, and it flows even more from that sincerity of sharing hardship and joy, of being bound together by the same blood. It proclaims: only deep roots can produce lush foliage; only a firm trunk can yield flourishing branches. Only by taking deep root in the fertile soil of the grassroots — in the hearts of soldiers — can an invincible and mighty force be forged.
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Don't "Gather Fruit" — "Plant an Orchard"
— Examining the People-Cultivation Philosophy of the Party Branch of the PAP Ruijin Company, an "Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of the Entire Military"
■ Luo Xin, Yu Yonghui, PAP Daily Special Correspondent Hong Fule
[Photo caption: The PAP Ganzhou Detachment organizes the "First Lesson After New Recruits Join Their Units" activity; new recruits pay their respects at the memorial monument at the departure site of the Central Red Army's Long March. Photo by PAP Daily Special Correspondent Peng Xianming]
[Photo caption: On July 1, 2026, the PAP Ruijin Company organizes a themed Party Day activity, enhancing members' sense of responsibility and honor through measures such as wearing Party member badges. Photo by Xu Shucan]
[Photo caption: The PAP Ruijin Company organizes officers and soldiers to conduct training. Photo by Xu Shucan]
In early July, good news arrived: the Party branch of the Ruijin Company, Ganzhou Detachment, People's Armed Police Jiangxi General Corps, was commended by the Central Military Commission as an "Advanced Grassroots Party Organization of the Entire Military."
Entering this advanced company, one phenomenon invites deep reflection: fully one-third of its backbone personnel came from other units. More striking still, among these "outsiders," some had received disciplinary actions at their original units, some had gotten along poorly with officers and soldiers at their original units, and some had been transferred here because of negative attitudes.
By conventional logic, an advanced company would typically "skim the cream" from the "talent pool" when selecting backbone personnel, in order to protect the golden reputation of a "showcase unit." Yet the Ganzhou Detachment Party Committee made a starkly different choice — they did not do the surface work of "wiping the windows," but instead poured their efforts into the long-cycle, deep-rooted work of talent cultivation.
The detachment leadership put it plainly: "Don't 'transfuse blood' — 'generate blood'; don't 'gather fruit' — 'plant an orchard.'"
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The Organization's Trust and Tolerance Is Also Powerful Education
The day Corporal Huang Xiaoqing reported to the Ruijin Company, he sat alone on the parade ground, silently staring into the distance toward the guard post. When comrades invited him to play ball, he waved them off; when the squad leader tried to strike up a conversation, he responded only with "mm."
In his third year of service, Huang Xiaoqing had already become an assistant squad leader at a certain company, but received a connected disciplinary action when a comrade violated regulations and discipline. Before long, he was transferred to the Ruijin Company as a "problem soldier." At parting, a careless remark from a comrade lodged in his heart like a thorn: "Just lie flat — with a blemish on your record, no matter how hard you try, it'll be hard to get ahead."
The then-political instructor of the Ruijin Company, Chen Si, keenly noticed Huang Xiaoqing's state. That evening during bunk inspection, the political instructor stood at his bedside for a long time; early the next morning, he took him into the honor room.
The walls full of gleaming medals spoke silently of history. "Now that you're here, you're a member of the Ruijin Company family." The political instructor paused, his gaze steady. "The Ruijin Company doesn't look at the past — only at who you are now. I believe you are a good soldier!" Huang Xiaoqing was silent for a long time and said nothing.
What surprised Huang Xiaoqing was that no one in the company, top to bottom, ever mentioned his disciplinary action. On the training ground, the company commander had him demonstrate close-combat techniques, and his movements flowed in one seamless sequence; when studying political work, the political instructor invited him to the office to share his views; during one tactical deduction exercise, his proposed plan was adopted, and the efficiency of the drill improved by nearly one-third.
What moved Huang Xiaoqing even more was something the political instructor said during one heart-to-heart talk: "On the Long March road, not a single soldier was left behind." This simple belief carries enormous weight in the Ruijin Company: when more than 80,000 Red Army soldiers set out from Ruijin back then, their ranks included those who had made mistakes, suffered defeats, and been suspected — yet not one was abandoned.
The company Party branch likewise did not give up on Huang Xiaoqing. Learning that he had knowledge of electrical and plumbing repair before enlisting, they entrusted him with the role of "four small craftsmen" (四小工). He started by fixing tables and chairs and unclogging pipes, and later took the initiative to sort out the company's electrical circuits, drawing detailed diagrams and posting them in the duty room. On weekends and holidays, whenever barracks equipment was damaged, he was on call.
Once, a water pump broke down in the middle of the night. Huang Xiaoqing spent more than an hour troubleshooting by flashlight, and when he finished, he was soaked through. At the next morning's physical training, the political instructor gave a commendation report in front of the formation and singled him out for praise. The moment applause broke out in the ranks, this soldier's eyes reddened.
The organization's trust and tolerance is also powerful education. That summer, beneath the Red Army Martyrs' Memorial Tower, Huang Xiaoqing raised his right fist and was honored to join the Party. In the sunlight, his back was ramrod straight.
In recent years, the Ruijin Company has been commended as an "Advanced Unit in Grassroots Conduct Building" (基层风气建设先进单位) of the People's Armed Police; multiple personnel have been rated "Outstanding Communist Party Member" and "Outstanding Party Affairs Worker"; and three individuals have been awarded second-class merit citations.
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Discover Every Officer and Soldier's Shining Point, and Give Them a Stage to Shine
Chen Si had a vivid analogy: "Leading soldiers is like farming — you can't expect every plot of land to grow the same crop. Some land is suited for rice, some for fruit, and some that looks barren can nourish a whole field of grain."
Each stalk grows and shoots at its own time; the key is whether the leader can discover the potential of each plot of "land."
The experience of soldier Sha Minda is a case in point. By nature optimistic and fond of joking around, he was regarded at his original unit as "not steady" and "not looking like a soldier," and had even gotten into a conflict with his squad leader over playing online games, ultimately being transferred to the Ruijin Company.
On the first weekend after arriving at the company, Chen Si "happened to run into" Sha Minda in the recreation room, where he was playing games with new recruits. Caught in the act, Sha Minda hurriedly put away his phone: "Political Instructor, I know I was wrong! I'm probably not cut out for the military — I'm planning to leave when my service term is up."
Chen Si did not reproach him, but instead asked: "I heard you've organized evening galas?"
Sha Minda lowered his head and quietly admitted it.
"Then you'll take the lead on this year's August 1st gala — do you have the confidence?" Hearing the political instructor say this, Sha Minda snapped his head up, stunned.
That week, Sha Minda was like a man set ablaze: training during the day, staying up at night to write scripts, turning the company's red stories into clapper-talk performances (快板), transforming guard duty moments into comedy sketches, and mining his comrades' talents.
On the night of the gala, when the clapper-talk began the whole hall fell silent; as the comedy sketch reached its climax, the political instructor sitting in the front row was the first to rise and applaud……
Discover every officer and soldier's shining point, and give them a stage to shine. Based on his actual performance, the company Party branch subsequently added Sha Minda as deputy secretary of the Youth League branch, responsible for cultural and sports activities. He formed a basketball team, a choir, and a wall-newspaper group, and organized a rich variety of cultural and sports activities.
"I feel like the company is like a 'red magnetic field' (红色磁场)." Sha Minda, having found his stage, ultimately chose to stay in the military. In 2024, while out on an errand, he applied first-aid knowledge to successfully rescue a member of the public who had collapsed due to a sudden illness. Facing an interview by local media, he said shyly: "A soldier from the Ruijin Company — this is just how we should be."
A detachment leader who spent time embedded at the Ruijin Company remarked with feeling: "Leading soldiers is not about pruning saplings into a uniform shape — it's about letting every sapling bask in sunlight at its own height."
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The "Red Magnetic Field" Activates the Light and Heat Deep Within Every Person
The Ruijin Company's "red magnetic field" is rooted in the nourishment of the Red Well (红井) and the style of the Soviet Area cadres who "wore straw sandals to make revolution," and flows even more from the inheritance passed down through generation after generation of officers and soldiers.
Garrisoned in the "Red Capital," and as a long-standing advanced unit, the Ruijin Company faces enormous pressure; the most "convenient" approach would be to "skim the cream" to preserve its advanced status. But the detachment Party committee's "combat effectiveness ledger" (战斗力账本) yielded a different answer.
Words spoken by the detachment leadership at a war-fighting and training deliberation conference were written into the talent cultivation guidelines: "Talent development cannot focus only on the sturdiest seedlings while neglecting the balanced growth of the entire forest."
It is reported that the detachment had also traveled the road of "skimming the cream" and "transfusing blood": the Ruijin Company's results went up, but other companies declined, and the overall ledger showed a loss.
After the detachment Party committee adjusted its approach, it made clear that the Ruijin Company must possess a "blood-generating" function — outputting methods, standards, and an environment conducive to growth.
Not long after Private First Class Cui Liguang arrived at the Ruijin Company, he led a team to win second place in the detachment's drill competition, grew into the company's expert at organizing training, and was rated an outstanding instructor by the General Corps.
At almost the same time, a certain company was repeatedly notified and criticized for irregular guard duty organization. The detachment Party committee's attention turned to Ruijin Company guard duty backbone Li Xianfeng.
When the transfer order was issued, Li Xianfeng had just come off guard duty. After hearing what the political instructor had to say, he said without hesitation: "I will bring the Ruijin Company's good work style with me!"
After arriving at the new company, Li Xianfeng spent his first week helping the commanding officer sort out plans, analyze root causes, and study countermeasures. Last year, he successfully handled an unexpected incident and was rated "Advanced Individual in Guard Duty" (执勤先进个人) by the General Corps.
Statistics from the detachment's political work office show: over the past five years, the Ruijin Company has sent out 11 backbone personnel to other units, of whom 4 have received merit citations and commendations. At the same time, the "outsiders" transferred into Ruijin from sister units have transformed one by one into "load-bearing pillars" capable of shouldering responsibility independently — not because they were inherently outstanding, but because this "red magnetic field" activated the light and heat deep within every one of them.
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A "Talent Ecology Perspective" (人才生态观) on Red Soil
— Barracks Observation Editor in Dialogue with the Political Commissar of the PAP Jiangxi General Corps Ganzhou Detachment
The distinctive talent cultivation practice of the PAP Jiangxi General Corps Ganzhou Detachment profoundly answers the timely question of what to "help build" and "how to help build" at the grassroots level. Around this topic, the Barracks Observation editor conducted a remote dialogue with the detachment political commissar.
Editor: In talent cultivation, the detachment Party committee put forward "don't 'transfuse blood' but 'generate blood'; don't 'gather fruit' but 'plant an orchard.'" What is the deeper thinking behind this?
Political Commissar: This stems from our profound understanding of a healthy talent ecology. Ecology has the concept of "ecological niche" (生态位) — on the same plot of land, different species occupy different spaces and resources, forming complementary rather than competitive relationships, ultimately building a stable and thriving ecosystem. The talent landscape of the Ruijin Company is exactly this. It is not an exquisite potted plant crafted by "skimming the cream," but a forest of vigorous, naturally growing life that has sprung up organically from the fertile soil of the "Red Capital." In recent years, the Ruijin Company has not only developed a powerful capacity for self-generated "blood production," but has also sent multiple backbone talents to other companies in the detachment, powerfully promoting the balanced growth of the "talent forest." Driving this kind of virtuous ecological cycle is precisely the responsibility that our detachment Party committee leadership should bear.
Editor: In helping to build and cultivate people, how does the detachment convert rich red resources into the intrinsic motivation for officers and soldiers to grow, forming a powerful "red magnetic field"?
Political Commissar: Red resources are by no means history hanging on a wall — they are the living source that nourishes the spiritual world of officers and soldiers. Our core approach is: saturate soldiers' hearts with red education, guide and inspire officers and soldiers with the "red magnetic field," and temper officers and soldiers' will with the spirit of the Long March. The goal is to ensure that every officer and soldier who enters this "magnetic field" is activated and illuminated. In terms of pathways, we consistently combine "bringing in" with "going out," treating the red mountains and rivers as a vivid classroom and heroic epics as the best teaching material. In terms of methods, we carry out in-depth activities such as telling red stories, building red bases, and being inheritors of the Red Army tradition, so that the red tradition dissolves into daily life like salt into water.
Editor: From focusing on talent cultivation to making full use of red resources — what overarching philosophy runs through the detachment Party committee's work?
Political Commissar: "Visible achievements" (显绩) are like spring blossoms — eye-catching but fleeting; "latent achievements" (潜绩) are like deeply planted roots — silent yet nourishing the foundation. Since the beginning of this year, we have continued to deepen political rectification training (政治整训) and have solidly carried out study and education on establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements (正确政绩观). One notable change is: when grassroots commanding officers report on their work, fewer are talking about "what construction projects we undertook, what rankings we achieved," and more are focusing on "talent cultivation, educational effectiveness, and the unit's long-term planning." The shift from "competing for accolades" to "laying foundations" profoundly demonstrates that the spiritual realm of "success need not be achieved on my watch" (功成不必在我) and the historical responsibility of "success must have my contribution" (功成必定有我) are taking root and growing in the hearts of cadres at every level of the detachment. This is the solid political achievement that sustains the steady and long-term development of the force.
[Photo caption: Officers and soldiers of the PAP Ruijin Company conduct military training; the bugler sounds the charge. Photo by Xu Shucan]
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From "Skimming the Cream" to "Cultivating the Soil" (从"掐尖"到"培土")
■ Chen Si
"Political Instructor, I'm about to graduate from military academy, and I miss every blade of grass and every comrade in the Ruijin Company terribly. I especially hope I can return to this place where my original aspirations set sail to serve."
The phone screen lit up, and those words instantly pulled me back six years. At that time I had just taken up the post of political instructor of the Ruijin Company, and together with the company commander I was straining every nerve to defend the honor of "model company." Back then, we wanted to wring results out of every single minute.
It happened to coincide with the arrival of the first batch of new recruits who had enlisted in the first half of the year. I eagerly flipped through the new recruits' files. Xu Xuan — a current student at Zhejiang Ocean University, strong learning ability; Fu Jinrui — outstanding military qualities, easily running 3,000 meters in under 11 minutes. Then I turned to Huang Shi's page: failed the 3,000-meter run, barely passed the pull-up bar, quiet and reticent by nature.
I unconsciously furrowed my brow, and a thought quietly took shape: use the high standards of a "model company" as grounds to file a report with higher authorities to have this soldier — who might "drag us down" — transferred away.
With this idea in mind, I went to find his squad leader, Ouyang Zhuolin, to "sound him out." What I didn't expect was that the squad leader fixed his gaze on me and said, in a voice that was not loud but rang with conviction: "Political Instructor, I have confidence in leading soldiers — I can bring him along."
Those words hit me like a hammer blow. The squad leader would not abandon or give up on his own soldier, yet I, the political instructor, was only thinking about "skimming the cream" to pick the best soldiers?!
On the day the new recruits joined the unit, Huang Shi's exceptionally heavy luggage bag caught my attention. When I opened it, it was stuffed full of books. After that, while others rested and played, he held a book; after the lights-out bugle sounded, there was always his stubborn silhouette in the corner of the study room.
To open the door to his heart, I took him to visit the red historical sites in our garrison area, chatting along the way about everyday life and ideals. He finally revealed what was weighing on him: failing the college entrance examination was a pain he could not let go of, and he yearned to "turn things around" by passing the military academy examination while in the service.
I tailored a study plan specifically for him, tutored him in his coursework during rest time, and even when my family came to visit the unit, I drafted my wife into service as an unofficial tutoring teacher. My wife complained with mock exasperation: "How did I end up doing a political instructor's job!"
As his academic scores steadily improved, Huang Shi also seemed like a changed person on the training ground: no longer avoiding long-distance running, he proactively added extra practice; unable to complete pull-ups, he hung from the bar again and again, fighting it out with himself. Effort is never wasted — in 2022, Huang Shi successfully passed the entrance examination for the PAP Special Police Academy.
Huang Shi's transformation was a profound baptism of my philosophy of leading soldiers. Leading soldiers is like cultivating seedlings: "skimming the cream" may yield a momentary advantage, but "cultivating the soil" (培土) is what nurtures talent for the long term. In the years that followed, the company successively received several soldiers carrying different "growth problems," and all of them broke free from their cocoons and transformed here.
The soul of a truly advanced company lies not in how many "top performers" it possesses, but in the conviction and capacity to carve every piece of "uncut jade" into a finished vessel.
The spiritual character of the company is rooted in this land of Ruijin — a good gardener does not ask about the seed, only about the tilling; a good unit does not ask about the starting point, only about the growth.
(Compiled by: Dai Sanjun, Gao Tengchao)