On this day 59 years ago, on March 8, 1966 (February 17, 1966 lunar calendar), Zhou Enlai personally went to the disaster area to offer condolences. Zhou Enlai condolences to the people in the Xingtai earthquake-stricken area At 5:29 on March 8, 1966, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurred in Xingtai area. Since then, a series of earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.2 have occurred continuously on March 22. It was felt in the north to Zhangjiakou, the south to Jixian County, Henan Province, the east to Kenli, Shandong Province, and the west to Yulin, Shaanxi Province. The earthquake reduced hundreds of villages and towns to rubble, killed 8,064 people, injured more than 30,000, and caused huge economic losses. At that time, Gai Zhuguo was a reporter from the Xingtai reporter group of Hebei Daily. After being shaken out of bed by the shaking of the earth, Gai Zhuguo went to the special office, made a phone call, learned about the earthquake, and then rushed to Baijiazhai, Longyao County, the epicenter of the earthquake. The following is a clip of his recollection - at noon on March 10, more and more people gathered at the head of Baijiazhai Village. The responsible comrade of the prefectural committee told me that Premier Zhou Enlai was coming to inspect and offer condolences. He also said that the day after the Xingtai earthquake (March 9), Premier Zhou rushed to Longyao County. In the evening, in the conference room on the first floor of the two-story small building in the county party committee courtyard, he listened to the report of the comrades of the prefectural county and the garrison on the At the end of the briefing, Premier Zhou said affectionately: "The people have suffered a disaster, and we must stand among the people in time to help them overcome the difficulties and tide over the difficulties..." At 2:30 p.m., three helicopters, carrying the sun's auspicious energy, landed not far from the threshing ground. The silver helicopter had just come to a stop, and the dust from the spiral was still flying, when the cabin door of the plane opened, and the door appeared to be an eagerly awaited relative, Premier Zhou. At that time, the fields were still covered with remnants of snow and the wind was cold. Premier Zhou was wearing only a green woolen suit, no hat, and his temples were white, looking plain and too thin. He strode towards the crowd. The crowd greeted him. Premier Zhou clasped their hands tightly and said repeatedly: "The villagers are frightened, they are in disaster, and I am late!" The people rushed over with tears in their eyes. Premier Zhou first gestured for the people in front to squat down, and also held a running child to the people squatting in front, telling people not to squeeze the dolls. Then, standing in front of the orderly crowd, when he tiptoed to look out and found that he could not see some people on the periphery, he asked the people around him if he could find something to stand on. A comrade in the army ran outside the nearest tent and brought two empty boxes of relief supplies. Premier Zhou stood above, looking at the fan-shaped venue, and said loudly: "Comrades, villagers, you have suffered a disaster and suffered a lot of losses. The Party Central Committee and Chairperson Mao asked me to visit everyone!" This voice, like a Hong bell ringing in the boundless field, shook people's hearts. Thousands of people shouted with tears: "Long live the Communist Party, Long live Chairperson Mao!" I wiped away the tears that covered my eyes and recorded Premier Zhou's speech. He talked about the superiority of the socialist system, about the fact that more than 20,000 people from the People's Liberation Army, more than 10,000 local work teams, and medical teams had come to support him, and called on everyone: "Carry forward the spirit of the foolish public moving mountains, make up your mind, overcome all difficulties, overcome disasters, and rebuild your homeland..." After the mass meeting, Premier Zhou walked towards Baijiazhai Village. There were no roads in the village, and there were broken bricks and tiles everywhere, and purlin beams were erected everywhere, and there were occasional cracks. Premier Zhou ignored his feet, looked at house after house, and walked down alley after alley... At one alley, Premier Zhou saw Wang Laoqi, an old party member, asked him how old he was, and told him to play the role of an old party member in taking the lead and insisting on fighting against disasters. When he learned that the old man had lost his son and daughter-in-law in the earthquake, Premier Zhou's eyes were wet, and tears flashed, and he comforted Wang Laoqi with concern: "It is very sad to die, but don't bow your head. In socialism, you are not afraid of the sky falling; with the care of Chairperson Mao of the Party Central Committee, any difficulty can be overcome." Wang Laoqi nodded again and again, his weathered face was full of tears... Yu Xiaojun, a woman in her 40s, saw Premier Zhou coming and hurriedly went to welcome him. Premier Zhou asked, "Did you hurt anyone in your family?" Yu Xiaojun replied, "... The child's father was injured and is still lying in the shack." "Have you been treated?" Premier Zhou asked. "The medical team has seen it... The child's father's life is in danger. How do you see it!" Her relatives faced her, and she cried. "Don't worry," Premier Zhou comforted, "Your husband's injury can't be cured here, and Xingtai can't be cured to go to Shijiazhuang. Premier Zhou said, walking to the shack to see her husband. Yu Xiaojun wiped away his tears and hurriedly grabbed Premier Zhou: "The shack is narrow, and the child's father is confused..." Premier Zhou insisted on entering the shack, visited Yu Xiaojun's husband, pulled the quilt for him, and instructed the cadres to do everything possible to heal him. In Ludong, Premier Zhou saw a well with a uneven and muddy mouth. He walked over, stood by the well, and asked, "Is this a well of drinking water?" "This is a well of bitter water, and you can't eat it." Jin Jingyin, the party branch secretary, followed. "What do you do when you drink water?" "Carry water by the river." "Oh, it's also difficult for you to eat water. Premier Zhou said, "If we want to find a way to create a sweet well, we need to solve the problem of the masses drinking water..." After condoling with every household in the village, I, who was still young at the time, felt a little tired, but Premier Zhou was not tired and walked into the tent at the head of the village to hold a meeting. There was only one table, three benches, a bamboo-skin warmer, and several large bowls of coarse porcelain used by farmers. When everyone came in, Premier Zhou said courteously, "Comrades, you have worked hard, sit down!" Everyone had a conversation. Premier Zhou was talking when a comrade poured a bowl of boiled water into the big bowl of coarse porcelain and held it to Premier Zhou. Premier Zhou took it with both hands and placed it on the table to continue talking. There was wind that day, and the tent was not well protected, so dust swirled in the bowl. When Premier Zhou was about to drink, the guards around him came over to press the bowl to stop him. Premier Zhou ignored him, picked up the big bowl, gently blew off the dust on the water skin, and drank it happily. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but ask myself: Would I drink such water? During the earthquake, black water gushed out of the well water. After the earthquake, there was a lot of dust, filth flying around, and poor sanitation. Premier Zhou could have brought special water, but he didn't. He drank the boiled water poured to him by the masses, and it was so sweet. A bowl of boiled water reflects the deep affection of the leader and the people, and reflects the respect of public servants for their masters! "How is the life of the masses arranged?" Premier Zhou asked after drinking water. "Arranged. A family has one pot, one person, one leader, one bowl, and a pair of chopsticks. "Yang Shiying, the party secretary of the commune (then known as the commune), replied." Do you have a noodle basin? "" Yes. Every household also has a kerosene lamp. "Premier Zhou nodded and said:" We must also hurry up and resume production. In socialist China, one side is in trouble, and all sides support it. You have to work hard yourself. The support materials have arrived one after another, and we must discuss and distribute them well with the masses... "On April 1, Premier Zhou, who was busy with everything, once again came to the Xingtai earthquake-stricken area. That afternoon, a cold northwest wind blew. The strong wind carried dust and debris on the ruins, whirring and flying, stirring the world into chaos. The people waiting in the tents at the head of Hezhai Village in Julu County soon covered their faces with wind and sand, and it was difficult to recognize each other. At around 1 pm, Premier Zhou, after condolences to the four villages and towns in Shulu, Ji County, and Ningjin County, flew to Hezhai through the huge air wave in the face of the wind and sand. Premier Zhou got off the plane, accompanied by the county party secretary Zhang Yumei, went straight to the middle of the crowd and waved greetings to the crowd sitting there. Walking from the north to the south, Premier Zhou found the crowd sitting in the face of the northwest wind and asked Zhang Yumei: "The wind and sand are so strong, how can everyone face the wind and sand?" "This way, facing the podium. The crowd sits like this, so it is convenient for you to speak." Zhang Yumei explained. It turned out that before Premier Zhou arrived, the county party committee organized people to build a podium facing north and south with sand poles, seats, and wooden boards. "No, comrade. I said on the podium that it is safe from the wind and convenient, but what about the masses? Let thousands of people face the wind!" Premier Zhou insisted on changing the arrangement to make the masses leeward. It was impossible to temporarily change the podium, so he had to drive a truck that had just unloaded disaster relief supplies to the south as a temporary podium. Premier Zhou boarded the truck, spoke into the microphone in the face of the strong wind, and asked thousands of people to "stand up!" "Turn back on the ground!" "Sit down!" People began to wonder what was going on. When they sat down with the wind and sand on their backs and saw the wind and sand hitting Premier Zhou's clothes and cheeks, they suddenly understood. The venue was boiling. This is the trembling of thousands of hearts! Premier Zhou faced the wind and sand, and through the microphone, he said to everyone: "Comrades, villagers:" After the earthquake on the 8th, I saw Longyao, but I didn't come to your village. After the 22nd, the Party Central Committee sent a delegation to console you. You have suffered the disaster, and your emotions are still very good. You dare to fight against difficulties... "The warm applause overwhelmed the violent wind and sand. Premier Zhou talked more and more fiercely in the face of the wind and sand. He paused and said sonically and forcefully: "Self-reliance, hard work, develop production, and rebuild our homeland!" Every time Premier Zhou said a word, the crowd raised their arms and shouted in unison. That cry was an oath; that arm was a forest of strength! All the people present were moved to tears by this sincere and simple emotion. The photojournalist took this touching shot. My eyes were sour and my heart trembled. I saw the heart of a great and ordinary public servant of the people! I saw this man who survived death many times. When the people suffered disasters, how painful and uneasy he was, and how desperate he was to go to danger with the people. Premier Zhou came to a military tent to discuss with more than 70 grass-roots cadres, earthquake models, and representatives of the masses. Premier Zhou and the county party secretary sat down at the corner of the table opposite each other and asked everyone about their plans to develop production and rebuild their homes. When Zhang Yumei talked about the plan to resume in three years, Premier Zhou held his finger and discussed the development plan with everyone. He asked for more wells, more trees, more land leveling, and more use of farmers. He also encouraged cadres at all levels to go deeper and discuss more with the masses. He said: "The masses are the masters, and we must discuss more with them in everything; we must grasp the model and praise the progress in earthquake relief." During the meeting, Premier Zhou spotted the musician Robber sitting in a corner with a dusty face. He called out his name and said: "The people love to sing the songs you wrote. The people in the disaster area need spiritual inspiration. I hope you can write good songs for them. I can't sing them, but I can promote them for you." "I will stay here this time and try to complete the tasks given by the Prime Minister." Robber said. "Well, you can write them on the spot and teach the people to sing them on the spot!" Those who participated in the meeting applauded the conversation between the Prime Minister and the musicians warmly. In the future, the first music notes of songs such as "Heaven and Earth are not as big as the Party's kindness", which were popular in the earthquake-stricken areas and even in the whole country, were conceived in this tent. After walking out of the tent, Premier Zhou pointed to a large area of land in front of him as he walked to the helicopter, and said gravely to the county and social cadres: "After so many years of construction, this place is still so desolate, and we are sorry for the people. In the future, we will plant more trees, dig more wells, and transform drought, flood and alkali so that the people can live a good life." After the meeting, the crowd did not leave. Seeing that Premier Zhou was about to board the plane, they all rushed up to see him off, and Premier Zhou waved to everyone frequently. After taking a few steps to turn around, he took a few steps to turn around again. After boarding the plane, Premier Zhou turned around again and said affectionately: "Folks, everyone must do a good job in production and live a good life. In a few years, I will definitely visit you again!" Since then, people in the Xingtai earthquake-stricken area have planted trees and dug wells every year. Many villages and towns, such as Hezhai, have become advanced units of planting trees on the plain. They hope that when Premier Zhou comes again, they will walk in the dark green and talk and laugh in the shade of the trees. People in the disaster area started work on the third day after the earthquake