A Fresh Start: Hard Work Pays Off

　　On February 1, 1982, Guo Qisheng reported to the Air Force Directly-Affiliated Construction Brigade and was assigned to the bricklaying team of the First Company. The Air Force Dinghuisi Retired Cadre Sanatorium was Guo Qisheng's first construction site. In his first month, he worked with Zhang Jun of the painting team on roof waterproofing and wallpaper hanging before returning to the bricklaying team.

　　At the time, there was widespread prejudice in society against the construction industry: those in industry looked down on those in construction, and within construction, everyone looked down on bricklayers. Guo Qisheng was naturally affected by this to some extent. Fortunately, Instructor Qi at the time often carried out thorough and meticulous ideological and political work with them, speaking at meetings and in individual talks, teaching them how to conduct themselves. Guo Qisheng was deeply inspired and resolved to love whatever job he did, believing that every trade can produce a champion. Once his heart settled, he gained the initiative to learn. Guo Qisheng's mentor was construction supervisor Guo Baosheng. Supervisor Guo gave Guo Qisheng a great deal of technical help and got him started. In his spare time, Guo Qisheng also liked to read books and often studied drawings.

　　In February 1985, Guo Qisheng was formally selected to study construction technology and project management under Guo Baosheng. It can be said that Guo Qisheng learned his skills from Guo Baosheng. Guo Baosheng took Guo Qisheng to study and practice at the Air Force Confidential Operations Brigade construction site, where he learned a great deal and laid the foundation for his future work. At that time, Guo Qisheng only knew how to work and learn skills. He was not yet married and lived on the construction site. His small bedside cabinet was piled full of books, and he spent all his spare time on them. He felt that if he did not do well, he would let his father down. Guo Qisheng recalled that half a month after he first arrived in Beijing, his father, who had retired from the construction brigade, left him with these words before departing: "In my whole life, I never had a single black mark on my record at the construction brigade. Now that you're here, don't let me down." Guo Qisheng always kept his father's words close to heart. With the guidance and help of his leaders and fellow workers, Guo Qisheng progressed quickly. He worked with Guo Baosheng on several projects in succession — the Confidential Operations Brigade, the Confidential Operations Research Institute, and the Air Force Uniform Factory — and did well on all of them, earning praise from the client representative at the Uniform Factory. Hard work paid off: because of his outstanding performance, in 1985, after being reported by the brigade and approved, Guo Qisheng was awarded a Third-Class Merit.

　　In the face of these achievements, Guo Qisheng did not become complacent; he worked even harder. Starting in March 1986, his leaders had him work independently, and he was sent to the Nanyuan Airport construction site as the technical director at the time. From then on, Guo Qisheng had to solve everything on his own. While responsible for technical work, he also paid attention to the completeness of documentation at a time when requirements for technical materials were not as high as they are now, and he developed the habit of organizing and preserving documents. At Nanyuan, the project department was responsible for the construction of the Remote Sensing Service Center, the Air Force Drug Inspection Institute, and the Air Force Logistics Material Station warehouse. Among these, the warehouse site at the Material Station left the deepest impression on Guo Qisheng. The site required on-site prefabrication of free-standing columns, column foundations, and folded-line beams, with concrete produced on site, while also taking hoisting sequence into account. Guo Qisheng really put his mind to it. Based on the actual conditions at the site, Guo Qisheng personally arranged the installation of the columns and large beams, and upon completion the project passed acceptance smoothly, fully meeting the design requirements. It was the first project he completed on his own. He put in a great deal of effort and gained real experience, learning the methods and approaches of the work — and even now, Guo Qisheng feels these lessons are still valuable.