Chapter 1165: Training Begins

After dozing past noon, just as Wu Wu Shihao had said earlier, everyone was issued paper and pens to write letters, and those with phones at home were taken away to call their families.

Although Wang Yan's parents had once again passed away, he still wrote a letter, though only to some friends back in his hometown. He possessed a complete growth trajectory; apart from the absence of parents and relatives, he still had normal friends and playmates.

After writing the letters, they studied the rules and regulations and various disciplines, ate dinner, listened to Gao Cheng speak, and then the squad leaders chatted with the new recruits, which amounted to ideological infiltration.

Once this process was complete, after dinner, they began tidying their living quarters and folding quilts; at 9:30 PM, when the lights-out bugle sounded, the new recruits finally ended their day of novelty and went to bed to sleep.

But they didn't sleep; they were still buzzing with chatter. The veteran squad leaders on night duty didn't intervene; after all, they had just arrived, they weren't tired yet, it was understandable, and tomorrow would be better...

Early the next morning, Wang Yan did not get up early to exercise. After all, since they had come to join the army, why would he need to deliberately move around? In the military camp, there was activity every day; there was no need to get up early.

He lay quietly in bed until six o'clock, when the reveille bugle sounded in the camp; he then got up and put on his clothes.

He patted the upper bunk to rouse Xu Sanduo: "Get up, get up."

He then repeated the action, waking up the other new recruits in the squad.

Everyone had generally slept very late the previous night; on one hand, they were unused to the beds, on another, it was noisy with so many people, and on yet another, the conversation had been so good that most had only fallen asleep in the latter half of the night. As for the night's teeth-grinding, farting, snoring, and sleep-talking, there was no need to mention them.

Therefore, the new recruits hadn't slept well, and at this moment, none of them wanted to get out of bed. While Wang Yan had managed to wake up his entire squad, most of the other new recruits were still lingering in bed, unwilling to rise.

But this was not a matter of whether they wanted to or not.

Shi Jin walked into the barracks holding a megaphone; the air inside the barracks was not good, and even though he had experienced the same thing before, he couldn't help but frown.

He immediately raised the large megaphone: "It's time, everyone get up. Within ten minutes, according to the living quarters standards taught to you yesterday, tidy everything up neatly for me. Those by the windows, open them all to air out the smell. Hurry up! Get moving! Get moving!"

Once the loud megaphone started making noise, the new recruits could no longer stay asleep. One by one, they dragged themselves up slowly, dressing and folding their quilts at a snail's pace.

Relatively speaking, Wang Yan's side was much better; just as the new recruits in his squad had said, he had an aura of authority, no one dared to provoke him, and everyone behaved obediently, dressing and folding their quilts at high speed.

By the time everyone in his squad had folded their quilts convincingly and were pinching the edges, the others had only just stepped onto the floor, yawning, talking to those beside them, discussing what time they had fallen asleep last night and talking about how things were back home.

However, ample time had been allowed; by the time Shi Jin and the other veterans returned, everyone had already tidied up and was waiting, either sitting or standing.

"How was the living quarters training taught? Bed sheets must not have wrinkles; did you forget after just one night? Everyone stand up; who allowed you to sit!" Shi Jin scolded, then moved to his own row, inspecting each quilt one by one, flipping each one open, criticizing as he flipped.

The other two platoon leaders did the same; some had both their mattresses and quilts flipped open, while others were thrown onto the ground. Quickly, within a few minutes, only two people in the entire company escaped disaster.

One was Wang Yan, and the other was Cheng Cai...

As expected of someone who had previewed the training, Cheng Cai's quilt folding was indeed excellent. Folding a "tofu block" quilt has only three requirements: the quilt must be pressed well, the edges and corners must be tucked properly, and sufficient patience and attention are needed.

In the series, Cheng Cai actually had capability; in terms of military skills alone, he was not much worse than Xu Sanduo. He also participated in the special forces selection and successfully joined. It was only because of his cowardice in the face of death and his poor character and psychological quality that he was sent back.

He was scheming, yet he was also willing to be a soldier, and he had indeed expended sweat to hone his military skills. However, for a soldier, expending sweat to hone military skills is expected and part of one's duty; there is nothing to say about that. His poor character overshadowed everything else, making him unwelcome among people.

As for Wang Yan, it would be unacceptable if he couldn't fold a quilt well; even without prior military experience, folding a quilt isn't difficult, let alone the fact that he had genuinely experienced military life, and was even the youngest general officer on active duty at the time...

Folding the quilt well and quickly was nothing extraordinary; Shi Jin offered a brief praise before leading the new recruits out to assemble and form ranks. As for the bedding that had been flipped into chaos, naturally, no one cared, and the new recruits weren't even allowed to pick it up.

"Good, before breakfast, let's get everyone moving first," Shi Jin shouted into the megaphone. "We'll start with a five-kilometer run to whet everyone's appetite. In a moment, we'll run in step; align the columns, align the rows for me, and take steps of equal length. When you hear the command, start running with your right leg first; pay attention to that."

Shi Jin stepped back a few paces, holding up the large megaphone.

"Attention all~"

"Right~ face!"

"Double time~ march!"

The new recruit company's formation began to jog slowly. As the lead man, Wang Yan had one advantage: he didn't need to adapt to anyone else's pace; everyone behind him in his column had to follow his lead. And thanks to his authority, the people in his platoon would subconsciously match their steps to his.

"Toot~ toot~ toot-toot-toot"

A new recruit platoon leader blew a whistle while running backward, guiding the running rhythm of the new recruit company.

The other veteran squad leaders watched from the front, back, left, and right of the formation, occasionally shouting curses. Despite such a large group of people working hard on the new recruits, the recruits still couldn't run properly.

"Who's talking?"

"Still talking!"

"You damn idiot, you're marching with the wrong arm and leg, don't you know? Hey, still doing it, let's see how you run."

"What are you in such a hurry for, huh? Getting so close, is he your father? And you, your shoe fell off, why didn't you report it?"

The veteran squad leaders had completely lost yesterday's cheerful demeanor when interacting with everyone; they had all turned into fierce faces, constantly berating the new recruits, leaving the recruits momentarily unable to accept it, as the gap was too large.

But no one dared to say anything; they merely grumbled in their hearts.

And so, the new recruit company's formation ran noisily to the parade ground, where veteran soldiers were already drilling; they watched the novelties of the new recruits with laughter and jokes.

Perhaps this was also part of the training, telling the new recruits that as long as they endured the three months of new recruit training, once assigned to a company, they too could be as cheerful as those veterans, giving the new recruits something to look forward to, helping them survive the three months of new recruit training...

On the parade ground, Gao Cheng was also running, but he wasn't running with the new recruits; instead, he ran lap after lap at his own rhythm, keeping his body active.

When Gao Cheng passed by the new recruit company, Shi Jin caught up and ran alongside him.

"Company Commander, how is it?"

"How is what? They've only trained for one day; I don't even want to look at them, afraid they'll dirty my eyes, so what is there to ask about?" Gao Cheng snorted. "If we must say, only that Wang Yan is acceptable; he is truly good material for a soldier. Even Wu Liu Yi couldn't outrun him yesterday."

"He told me," Shi Jin said with a smiling nod. "The two of them went head-to-head, saying that at the 400-meter obstacle course and during the five-kilometer armed cross-country run, they would compete again."

"Ai~" Gao Cheng nodded satisfactorily. "This is a good soldier. As for that one called Xu Sanduo, what kind of thing is he? On his very first day, he raised his hands to surrender; it's too outrageous!"

Even though they had just met, Gao Cheng had already firmly remembered Xu Sanduo's name, just as he had remembered Wang Yan's name; only Wang Yan was the best, while Xu Sanduo was the worst. What stood out was the word 'most'.

"Train that Wang Yan well; this kid will definitely be one of our Seventh Company's men. When the time comes, if I'm in a good mood, I'll assign him to your squad. Wu Liu Yi told me yesterday that if Wang Yan is assigned to your squad, then during the next exercise, your single squad can pin down an entire enemy company; you'll have a target."

"Let me tell you, I'm taking this seriously. Our Seventh Company is the spearhead company of our regiment, the First Platoon is the spearhead platoon of our company, and your Third Squad is the spearhead squad of the First Platoon; by extension, you are the most excellent squad in our regiment. Wu Liu Yi said something very well, which I quite agree with: we must make the spearhead even sharper."

"Yes! We guarantee to complete the mission!"

"Alright, go watch over the new recruits," Gao Cheng waved his hand.

To speak truly, the intensity of new recruit training was not small, though not overwhelming either. The main issue lies in the fact that new recruit training is not so gradual. Its goal is, within three months, to turn a young, strong lad into a qualified soldier, mastering basic military skills, possessing a physique basically adapted for combat, and learning obedience and understanding military discipline.

The overall training consists of three main blocks: drill, physical fitness, and tactics, supplemented by ideological education.

Among these, physical fitness is the foundation of everything. But in the military, everything is so rough; there is no time to let people adapt slowly.

Just like this morning, a casual morning run was five kilometers. Perhaps many of the new recruits had done hard labor back home and had relatively good physical fitness, but this does not mean they could run, because the muscle groups involved are different; for them, five kilometers was as deadly as a death sentence.

The first two kilometers at the start were manageable because they had to maintain formation. But precisely because they had to maintain formation, they ran slowly and bounced a lot, and many people had already started gasping heavily.

After two kilometers, the formation was already straggling; at this point, trying to maintain alignment would be far too difficult. So naturally, they switched to free running—finish the five kilometers early, rest early.

Wang Yan, of course, still led the group. He didn't run particularly fast, keeping a pace around 3:10, which was quite normal. The new recruits who could keep up automatically fell in behind him, stretching out into a line.

Mid-run, Wang Yan glanced back; there were about forty or fifty people, nearly half the group. No mobile phones, no other entertainment activities—young people's physiques were indeed quite decent.

Of course, having mobile phones and entertainment activities affected precisely these kinds of people. Children from highly educated, wealthy families also had rich cultural and sports activities, ensuring their physical fitness.

However, these young men were starting to struggle; one by one, they were panting like bellows, their faces contorted in pain. After all, they had already run in formation earlier, expending considerable energy, so suffering a bit more during the latter half was only natural.

After a few more minutes like this, Wang Yan led his group across the finish line first.

"Wang Yan, you're truly amazing. Running such a long distance, and you're not even flushed or out of breath," Xu Sanduo continued to provide emotional support.

"You're impressive too, always running right behind me," Wang Yan said with a chuckle.

"I just ran a lot back home. Let me tell you, Wang Yan, I'm incredibly fast going up mountains. During recruitment, I even ran ahead of our platoon leader."

"Cheng Cai is quite a runner too," Wang Yan said, smiling as he looked at Cheng Cai panting heavily nearby. "He didn't chase you out here, did he?"

"Uh... no, no," Xu Sanduo said, seeing Cheng Cai's expression change instantly, and quickly shook his head.

Wang Yan nodded knowingly: "Then Cheng Cai must have trained ahead of time back home again."

"So many brothers finished running with you; does that mean everyone trained ahead of time?" Cheng Cai became unhappy again, losing his temper, his tone far from pleasant.

"Quite shrewd, knowing how to drag everyone along with you?" Wang Yan laughed. "There's nothing wrong with others training early; after all, not everyone has a fellow villager from the same village like Xu Sanduo, just like you do."

"No, I just don't get it. We're not relatives, we're not friends; why should I care about him?" Cheng Cai's face was twisted into a knot. "Are you never going to stop?"

"Then I don't get it either. If you're not relatives or friends, and you weren't even close in the village, how did you become sworn brothers once you joined the army? Did you come over just to teach him how to fold his quilt? What's wrong, been away from home for a few days and already getting homesick? Starting to care about your fellow villagers?"

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow at Cheng Cai. "You're the type who can't take a joke; it's really boring. Say a couple of words to you and you pull a long face, so petty. Oh look, you're getting angry again. Come on, don't hold back. I told you yesterday, a little roughhousing is normal; you're welcome to come beat me up anytime."

Cheng Cai clenched his fists, glaring at Wang Yan, grinding his teeth in fury.

"What are you all gathering around for! Not tired, are you?" Gao Cheng, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, walked over with a smile. "Wang Yan, I'm telling you, don't go looking for trouble, or I'll have you disciplined."

"Company Commander, I'm the most honest."

"Speaking nonsense with a straight face; I think you're the most shameless."

After shooting Wang Yan a glare, Gao Cheng smiled and scanned the group, saying, "Looking at all of you, I bet none of you slept well last night?"

"The Company Commander sees right through us; we couldn't sleep at all, only dozing off in the latter half of the night," a new recruit stepped forward to reply.

"Then you're not tired; today will be fine. Let me tell you, back when I was a new recruit..."

In contrast to the veteran squad leaders, Gao Cheng, who had been the strictest and most detested yesterday, was today incredibly kind and approachable toward the new recruits. His way of speaking was interesting too; he talked about the leaders' pasts, which interested the recruits, and he didn't hesitate to share his own embarrassing stories to entertain them.

Although the new recruits hadn't quite adjusted yet, they readily accepted this version of their Company Commander; Gao Cheng had almost completely won over everyone in the new recruit company.

Wang Yan didn't say much; he sat on the side resting with Xu Sanduo, watching the scene unfold.

Gao Cheng was capable and devoid of arrogance; he was very good at building relationships with the soldiers under his command, which was why the soldiers of the Seventh Company held their Company Commander in such high esteem.

Yesterday, Gao Cheng's stern face was a preemptive strike, a warning shot, establishing his authority and letting the new recruits understand what a Company Commander truly was. Today, switching to a benevolent role, he began to win the hearts of these new recruits.

As the main officer in charge of military training for the new recruit company, naturally, he didn't need to handle grassroots tasks like training the recruits himself; his mission was overall command. Although separated from the new recruits by several layers of hierarchy, he was still the officer they encountered most frequently.

Therefore, he naturally didn't need to play the bad cop with the new recruits; once authority was established, any issues would definitely be handled by the veteran squad leaders.

But most of the new recruits didn't understand this principle. Watching Cheng Cai's eyes darting about, he probably understood eighty percent of it; after all, his father was the village head, so he had at least some exposure to such matters.

As for Xu Sanduo, he was sitting on the ground, bored, scratching lines in the dirt with a pebble.

Because he knew the Company Commander didn't like him...