Chapter 136: Who Bullies Who? It's Not Certain

"How's it? The dinner's flavor is okay, you can get used to it, right?"

"Pretty hearty, feels better than what we eat in the New Recruit Company."

"Hehe, that's natural!"

After eating, we assigned the dormitory and beds.

Lu Yang took the dirty clothes he hadn't had time to wash from his pack and went to the washroom to clean them.

The past few days we were fighting fires on the mountain, the clothes got wet then dry, dry then wet, and there was no way to change them at all.

When he took them out, Lu Yang could clearly smell a sour sweat odor.

Worried they'd grow mold, he quickly took them out to wash.

Li Jiang is the Assistant Squad Leader of Squad Five, on the same floor as Lu Yang, so he used the time while getting hot water to chat with him a few words.

"During this holiday our mess will be even better, with grilled lamb chops and fried large shrimp; that's the Cook Squad's signature skill in our company."

"Assistant Squad Leader Li, stop it, I just finished eating and I'm already craving more."

"Hahaha, I did it on purpose; alright, you be busy, if anything come find me at the neighboring squad, I'm leaving now."

Li Jiang, pulling his thermos, left with a smile; he was still quite pleased about Lu Yang's arrival.

Although he was transferred to the New Recruit Company midway, he knew very well how outstanding this soldier was.

In the future there's a high chance he'll become a backbone of the Sixth Company, maybe even his superior.

So establishing good relations early becomes necessary.

Li Jiang left, and Lu Yang kept washing his clothes.

Just after he finished a rinse and was about to rinse the soap with clean water, a tall little yellow basin piled with dirty clothes appeared on his right.

Lu Yang turned his head and saw the newcomer, the only other recruit in Squad Six.

Earlier Cheng Jun had them introduce each other and exchange a brief greeting.

The soldier is Chen Panpan, from Ganzhou.

He and Cup Brother Zhang Jiaheng are fellow townsfolk, both from Jiujiang.

Because the other didn't greet him, he just stared blankly at the faucet and the dirty clothes in the little yellow basin.

So Lu Yang simply nodded and went on with his own business.

When not familiar, there's no need to force awkward chat.

"How on earth did you dare?"

Suddenly, Chen Panpan blurted that sentence, leaving Lu Yang a bit stunned.

"What?"

Chen Panpan turned his head, blinking, and looked at him with a worried face: "I mean, earlier in the Cafeteria, how could you dare..."

He looked back toward the washroom doorway, made sure no one was there, then lowered his voice and said, "How could you say those four words in front of so many people?"

Lu Yang recalled, "Oh, you mean the old‑soldier oil‑kid?"

"Shh shh shh!"

Chen Panpan quickly made a finger‑to‑mouth gesture, looking extremely nervous.

His demeanor actually made Lu Yang find it quite amusing.

Even though he himself had provoked those two old soldiers, the kid got scared.

Is he afraid they'd all be dealt with together, his courage a bit too small?

"Those four words can't be said; they'd cause trouble!"

"What trouble?" Lu Yang laughed, "I'm fine right now, aren't I?"

Chen Panpan spoke earnestly, "Just because you're fine now doesn't mean you'll stay fine later. How about I take you to Liu Ziqiang and the others so you can voluntarily admit the mistake; otherwise your days ahead will surely be rough."

Lu Yang asked, "Why are you so afraid of them? Did they bully you?"

"No?"

"Then what are you scared of?"

"They're old soldiers!"

"What's wrong with old soldiers?"

"Old soldiers, old soldiers, they have long service years, know more, have strength."

"And then?"

"There's no 'and then'."

Lu Yang told him to relax: "Then there's nothing to fear; it's just two shoulders bearing one head, just means they've eaten the army's meals for a few more years."

"Be bolder; now it's a civilized society, the army leads troops civilly. If they dare bully you, go straight to the counselor and the Company Commander and file a report."

Chen Panpan wouldn't dare do that; deep down he felt old soldiers were an insurmountable mountain.

Especially those old soldiers who had become Non‑commissioned Officers; to him they seemed like real 'adults'.

And he could only be considered a newly arrived 'kid'.

Lu Yang gave him the impression of being very daring, without considering consequences.

Just after joining the company and being assigned here, he dared to mock the squad's old soldiers in public, even calling them 'old‑soldier oil‑kid'.

At that time he almost made Liu Ziqiang and the other lose their mouths from anger; if it hadn't been in the Cafeteria, he feared Lu Yang would have taken a big hit.

Chen Panpan had once seen his own squad leader smash bricks with bare hands, his head shattering a wine bottle.

Those had real skill, hard internal power; they weren't the kind of new‑recruit kids that could provoke them.

Moreover, at that time even the new recruits in the company were punished to drink tobacco tea for smoking.

That miserable scene remains vivid in his memory.

Thus, he instinctively fears old soldiers; even though he arrived here several days before Lu Yang, he remains overly cautious, afraid to say or do anything wrong.

Chen Panpan said seriously: "Haven't you heard a saying?"

"What saying?"

"In the first year of service, I was a dog; in the second year, I became a dog that could stand up."

"......"

Lu Yang laughed helplessly: "Where did you hear that from?"

Chen Panpan explained: "That's how we say it where I'm from, isn't that reasonable? And also: you don't punish the diligent, you don't punish the lazy, you specifically punish those who lack awareness."

Lu Yang laughed, so in his view, his remark of "old oil-slick veteran" belonged to the "lacking awareness" kind of suicidal act.

To dare challenge the authority of veteran soldiers right off the bat is almost equivalent to Sun Wukong causing havoc in Heaven.

"Is washing the veterans' socks and underwear also something you learned at the training base?"

"Yes!"

Chen Panpan was still quite proud of that.

Saying that at the training base he often helped the squad leader wash socks and clothes.

If there was anything unsatisfactory in training, the squad leader felt embarrassed to scold him, simply because he was too diligent.

So he thought Lu Yang would do better to keep a low profile from now on, so he wouldn't easily attract criticism or be targeted by veterans.

After all, the conscript stage lasts only two years; once they become veteran non-commissioned officers, they can truly be considered to have turned their lives around.

Lu Yang asked: "After turning things around, then what? Bully the new recruits?"

Chen Panpan quickly waved her hands: "No, no, I wouldn't bully anyone! What I mean is, by then we wouldn't have to watch others' faces; we could walk with our heads held high."

Lu Yang knew Chen Panpan had no ill intentions.

Different experiences, different families, shape different personalities.

Chen Panpan's type of "honest kid" is actually not uncommon in the military.

Even before Lu Yang enlisted, his parents repeatedly warned him never to clash with veterans, and to yield a little if anything came up.

Because they worried that in an unfamiliar place, the child might suffer losses, get into trouble, or be bullied.

But in fact, such a personality, whether in the military or after discharge back into society, will lead to a twisted life and make it hard to achieve anything.

On the contrary, someone like Ding Tengfei, who constantly stirs up trouble and keeps banging his head against the south wall making mistakes, is actually more likely to secure a chance to stay in the service.

The reason is simple: trial and error; every time you challenge the rules, it's a trial and error.

Although the process wastes a lot of time and energy, and may leave you bruised and bloody, once you find the right path, you'll move forward quickly thereafter.

And Chen Panpan, taking a sneaky development path, is an honest kid who mainly tries to get by.

Because of his introverted nature, he dares not express himself actively, plus he fears offending others and likes to indulge in wild fantasies.

Even if he has some strengths, they will be suppressed by his personality, ultimately causing him to miss many opportunities.

"Worldly wisdom isn't about fawning and yielding. I called those two guys old oil-slick veterans because they had previously kept coming to me for loans in an old-fashioned way, and later the regiment's superiors caught them and punished them severely."

"So, when dealing with such veterans, being too polite will only make them get cocky."

"But that doesn't mean I don't respect other veterans, nor does it mean I'm a troublemaker."

Chen Panpan didn't really understand what had happened there; she simply felt that doing so would put her at a disadvantage.

"Aren't you worried?"

"Worried about what?"

"You know, that kind of......"

Chen Panpan is timid and dares not say the words "being bullied, being targeted."

Lu Yang also guessed his meaning and smiled indifferently: "Once you receive your commission and go to the company, you're no longer a rookie but a private. The army advocates healthy competition and venerates martial prowess."

"In other words, whoever has the stronger fists is the boss; later on, who bullies whom is still uncertain."

Lu Yang vaguely remembered the harsh words he had once thrown down at the regimental headquarters.

If he ever got the chance to be assigned to a company, he would definitely try every way to become the platoon leader over those two.

No punishment for running, no punishment for standing, no punishment for push-ups; each day after training, ten sheets of theoretical skill papers—he wouldn't let them die writing those!

So nowadays, not only are we fated to meet, but this unexpected encounter also adds a new driving force to Lu Yang's progress!