Chapter 1161

The spring wind blows across the northern wilderness.

It stirs the wild grass and flowers, stirs the branches and leaves, and also stirs the new recruits standing solemnly in their green uniforms, carrying their bedding and luggage on their backs.

"Move!"

"Still moving!"

"Ten more minutes!"

As the company commander of the new recruits, Gao Cheng stood with his hands on his hips, eyes wide and shouting angrily, exerting immense pressure on the hundred-plus new recruits before him.

No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard mumbling in the ranks.

"Who's talking? Why don't you come up here and say it? I'll give you my spot."

"Huh?"

"Ten more minutes!"

Hearing only a series of deep breaths, the ranks fell completely silent, and only then did Gao Cheng nod in satisfaction.

A show of force is necessary to suppress this bunch of newcomers, most of whom have just reached adulthood or haven't even reached it yet; the majority are kids who didn't like studying and were mischievous in their daily lives.

This is not to mock the soldiers, but rather the reality of the situation. At this age, for the children of the vast majority of families, there are only three paths. Either continue studying, learn a trade by working, or join the army.

Of course, besides these, there is another path: loafing around and not learning anything good. But clearly, this is not the mainstream. Even in an individual's life narrative, such players don't have many chapters.

The army is full of hot-blooded young men; if they aren't suppressed, problems easily arise. Therefore, when they first enlist and are training in the new recruit company, these people must be tamed, letting them know what the army is, what a collective is, what discipline is, and what honor is.

As for the most important 'responsibility,' that is something that runs through from beginning to end. Training desperately to improve professional competence is a responsibility; fighting for one's life in a hail of bullets on the battlefield to protect the home and country is a responsibility; rushing to the front line of disaster relief to protect the safety of the people's lives and property is also a responsibility.

It is also through such implementation of responsibility that some soldiers, even those with problems, are melted and reshaped by the army's melting pot...

Gao Cheng stood there with his hands behind his back, even comfortably lighting a cigarette to smoke.

Within the ranks, the veteran backbone soldiers transferred over to train the recruits walked about, constantly correcting the military posture of these newly enlisted recruits.

From time to time, low shouts would ring out.

"Thumbs pressed against the second joint of the index fingers, hands hanging naturally, pressed tightly against the trouser seams. Legs together, feet at a sixty-degree angle. Shoulders spread back, chest out, stomach in, eyes looking straight ahead."

"Pressed tightly, can't you understand? Clasp them tight!"

"Legs together, together!"

"Feet at a sixty-degree angle, how much are yours spread? Are you playing Donald Duck for me? Huh?"

One low shout after another rang out, accompanied from time to time by the sound of clapping hands, as well as the sound of kicking people's feet. Some veterans taught with words, some taught with actions, but more veterans adjusted people by speaking while using force with their hands and feet.

This was already very polite.

There are always legends among the people of veterans bullying recruits, such as fetching water for veterans to wash their feet, washing clothes, or spending money to buy cigarettes for veterans. There are also punishments from officers for mistakes, such as eating swill for wasting food, or drinking cigarette tea if caught smoking, etc.

This is normal; one gets bullied at school, let alone in the army where men are bunched together. Relatively speaking, bullying in foreign militaries has even more tricks.

There are certainly some bad aspects, but it is definitely constantly improving and getting better and better...

Gao Cheng puffed on his cigarette, his eyes scanning the ranks, and then he pointed his finger at someone on the right side of the back row.

"That soldier."

"Just you."

"Come out."

The latter shouted "Yes" and ran to Gao Cheng, standing still.

"Your military posture is quite good, does anyone in your family serve in the army?"

"Report to the company commander, no. It was all learned during middle school military training; I was a model soldier."

"Oh, model soldier is good." Gao Cheng was amused, "Do you know military boxing and such?"

"Yes!"

"Come, demonstrate." Gao Cheng smiled and waved his hand.

"Yes!"

This person shouted loudly again, then stepped back two paces and stood still. Immediately, he stepped back and raised his hands, taking the starting stance of military boxing, and then began to practice with smooth and fierce movements.

He was performing the first set of military boxing, which has few moves and is widely circulated; basically, what is learned in military training is the first set, which is the set of lunging punches and throat-piercing kicks.

The recruits in the ranks, including those veterans, were all watching Wang Yan, who was moving about in front of the ranks.

No other reason, he was too outstanding. Clearly, everyone was a silly kid standing in line, so why were you so showy, coming up and performing military boxing in front of the new recruit company commander? Especially since it looked so good, one could tell at a glance that he was fierce...

Watching him finish a set of military boxing, finish the move, and stand in a military posture, Gao Cheng nodded repeatedly in satisfaction, saying it was not bad.

"What's your name?"

"Report to the company commander, my name is Wang Yan."

"Oh, I have an impression. There are few from the Northeast in this batch, and you are one. Alright, return to the ranks."

Wang Yan shouted "Yes" and ran back to the ranks to stand still.

Seeing this, Gao Cheng said loudly: "Listen up. The new recruit company is for you to lay a foundation; the training subjects include drill, physical fitness, tactics... I know, everyone is a man, everyone wants to touch a gun, everyone wants to fire live ammunition, I can tell you, there will be times for you to fire. If you have great ability and the bullets are unlimited, I'll let you fire live ammunition until you vomit.

In short, whether you are a mule or a horse, bring it out for me to take for a walk. If you are a horse, stay and work with me; if you are a mule, then it depends on your own fortune. I've said enough, next we will divide into platoons and squads, those whose names are called, step out and stand in line."

Counting Gao Cheng's previous smoking, Wang Yan's military boxing performance, and Gao Cheng's long speech, it still didn't add up to twenty minutes...

On the playground, Shi Jin held the list and read out loudly.

"First Platoon, First Squad... Xu Sanduo... Wang Yan..."

Hearing his own name, Wang Yan carried his luggage and stepped out to the other side to stand in line.

"I am Xu Sanduo."

"I am Wang Yan."

Wang Yan looked at Xu Sanduo, who was more than half a head shorter than him, and listening to his heavy local accent, he smiled and responded.

"I know your name is Wang Yan, you were really amazing just now."

"If you practice hard in the future, you can be even more amazing."

"I can't."

"Who said you can't?" Wang Yan said with a smile, "You have to do it first, do it with all your might, then you'll know whether you can or not. I think you can!"

Xu Sanduo's eyes widened, and the volume of his speech went up three degrees: "Really?"

"Really, it couldn't be more real."

"What are you talking about? Huh? Why don't I get you two some melon seeds?" A man with a long face walked over, staring at the two and shouting.

This was the new recruit squad leader, Wu Liuyi, and both of them were his subordinates.

Wang Yan and Xu Sanduo stood still, looking straight ahead, and said no more.

Wu Liuyi didn't flare up either, glared at the two, then scanned the ten-plus people in his squad and shouted: "Shut your mouths, stand still honestly."

Very quickly, the ranks were distributed. Led by the respective squad leaders, they scattered, and each squad gathered in one place to get to know each other. The most outstanding one was, of course, Wang Yan, after all, he had performed.

People's attitudes toward him were also two-sided; those like Xu Sanduo thought he was awesome, while others thought he was showing off.

The only thing people like is money; no one can please everyone, and Wang Yan was very indifferent to this.

After some time, Wu Liuyi led everyone to the new recruit barracks.

Just like in the TV series, this was a simple steel-structured large barrack, and the hundred-plus people of the new recruit company all lived here. Although they hadn't slept yet, the scene could already be imagined.

Because as soon as they entered, what reached their ears was a buzzing sound; even if the veterans scolded repeatedly, they couldn't stop this liveliness.

It quieted down here after scolding, but people were still mumbling elsewhere; with ten-plus people talking like this, it was buzzing again. So, the other side controlled it, and this side was buzzing again...

Wu Liuyi led the twelve people in his squad to an area.

"Here."

Xu Sanduo immediately grabbed Wang Yan's arm and grinned foolishly: "Wang Yan, shall we be together? I'm very well-behaved when I sleep, just sleeping on the upper bunk is fine."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Sure."

Xu Sanduo was between introverted and not introverted; when others showed him kindness, he wasn't introverted, and when others were fierce to him, he became introverted again.

Perhaps one word summarized Xu Sanduo: cowardly.

Xu Sanduo wasn't silly, nor was he stupid; in fact, his memory was freakish; he could remember what others said once. When he read books in the army, he read them according to the library catalog starting from A; at first, he didn't seek to understand, but after reading more, the meaning revealed itself. When he was enlisting, his teacher said he was a good seedling for reading. It could also be seen that he was a person who could read, a person who, if he kept reading, had the hope of becoming a college student.

This was 2004; although there were already many college students at this time, they could still be called talents and hadn't yet become beasts of burden.

However, Xu Sanduo was a person without his own opinions, not tough in character, and stubborn; under various circumstances, he became a cowardly person. It was one person after another who helped him grow and find himself.

In the process of his growth, he didn't meet a single bad person.

The worst was Cheng Cai, a fellow villager of Xu Sanduo, who bullied Xu Sanduo from childhood to adulthood; the village chief's son, usually calling friends and gathering three or five people to bully Xu Sanduo, taking pleasure in teasing him.

If he didn't join the army, this would be a standard little hooligan who couldn't accomplish anything and a frequent visitor to prison. Later, he was also refined by the melting pot of the army and could be considered to have achieved success.

Speaking of which, Wang Yan also had an indissoluble bond with Cheng Cai; in the distant past, Cheng Cai had another name, called Cheng Feng, and his ending wasn't very good...

Everyone found their own upper and lower bunk bedmates, and Wu Liuyi began to teach everyone how to place various items.

Wu Liuyi was a kind-hearted person, but not a patient one; he was straightforward and had a very irritable temper. He felt helpless about the clumsiness of the new recruits, so he could only scold repeatedly to make the new recruits remember.

Wang Yan was, of course, worry-free; he was very familiar with this set of business.

There were many things for soldiers, some issued by the local armed forces department before enlisting, and some issued after arriving at the new recruit company. Under Wu Liuyi's command, they successfully placed all kinds of things.

There was still some time before lunch, and it was only the first day they arrived, so the veterans began to teach the new recruits how to fold quilts.

There were always clever people who, when the veterans were folding quilts, would send their own quilts up, hoping to get a ready-made one. Then, after the veterans finished folding, they would unhesitatingly scatter them again.

Wu Liuyi was the same; he looked at the obviously disappointed new recruit and shouted: "The army is not a place for you to play clever; if you can't fold it well, watch how I deal with you."

He scanned the circle and continued, "Alright, fold your own quilts, I'll check in a while, keep quiet, no talking allowed."

Having said this once, he hurriedly turned and left.

He himself was the deputy squad leader of the Third Squad, First Platoon of the Seventh Company, and was transferred to the new recruit company as backbone to be responsible for new recruit training work, serving as squad leader. He was very happy before, but now he was very irritable. However, he was still gratified; after all, he was backbone, and not just anyone could come to the new recruit company to lead new recruits.

The army is just like this; if there's a red flag, carry it; if there's honor, fight for it; if they ask you to go up, go up.

Just like Wu Liuyi, other veteran squad leaders were generally in the same state, feeling that each batch was worse than the last. They couldn't understand why the new recruits were so poor, feeling that they weren't like that back then. They completely forgot that they were soldiers who had long been integrated into the army, and were elite soldiers...

After the veterans all left, the barracks suddenly became noisy; although the veterans had left orders not to talk, no one listened. In the enclosed space, although this space was large, it couldn't stop dozens of people from chatting enthusiastically together.

Some complained about standing in military posture for too long, some said it was different from what they imagined, it was a mess, and everyone was saying something.

Cheng Cai ran over, patting Xu Sanduo, who was busy folding his quilt, on the shoulder from behind: "Xu Sanduo."

The latter turned his head and smiled happily: "Cheng Cai."

"Do you know how to fold it?"

"No." Xu Sanduo was very straightforward, "Do you know how, Cheng Cai?"

"What's difficult about folding a quilt? I practiced at home before, it's very simple."

"You're really amazing." Xu Sanduo grinned, very capable of providing emotional value.

He was quite good at this point, not holding grudges. He was bullied by Cheng Cai from childhood and was beaten up before joining the army, but now he was still smiling happily.

From another perspective, not holding grudges is also safe. After all, if he really held a grudge and killed Cheng Cai, he would have to be shot. If he couldn't kill Cheng Cai and was bullied even more fiercely by Cheng Cai, and his enthusiasm faded, then he would have no courage to resist, and he would be ruined.

Cheng Cai looked at the crowd folding quilts around him, feeling a little proud.

"It's not that amazing, you'll know how after folding more. I have an older brother who served in the army, he told me that the key to folding tofu blocks is pressing. Our quilts are new, too soft, have no shape, you have to press them solid, then they are easy to fold, with edges and corners. After my quilt was issued by the armed forces department, I pressed it at home. You guys press more and it'll be easy to fold."

He was saying this to the people around him.

Xu Sanduo just thought he was saying it to him, he smiled and said: "Thank you, Cheng Cai, I didn't know these things. Wang Yan, let's press quickly, this pressing makes it easy to fold."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "Did you two know each other before?"

Cheng Cai said: "We are both from the same village. Oh, by the way, your squad leader, Wu Liuyi, is also our fellow villager, from the village next to ours, not far away, just two miles. Our village is called Lower Banyan, their village is called Upper Banyan."

"So that's how it is." Wang Yan looked enlightened, then shook his head, "Hey, no, since you two are from the same village, why didn't you tell Xu Sanduo to press the quilt before? What are you teaching here now?"

"Uh..."

Cheng Cai's smiling face stiffened...