Chapter 164: The celebratory wine is poured for you

The moon was bright and the stars sparse; in the early morning, the camp was utterly quiet.

The soldiers in the dormitory were sound asleep, yet everywhere in the barracks there were figures standing guard.

In peacetime the soldiers have no battles to fight, but they still have duties and posts that must be held.

Honor lies in the mundane, hardship in the lengthy—this is the true portrait of the vast majority of soldiers in peacetime.

In the Sixth Squad dormitory, Squad Leader Cheng Jun was awakened by a full bladder; just as he sat up on his bed he noticed someone lying on the bunk next to his, which should have been empty.

"Liu Ziqiang? Aren't you supposed to be on duty? How did you come back?"

"Shh......"

Liu Ziqiang made a shushing gesture, lowered his voice and said: "The assistant squad leader is back; he told me to come rest, and he's taking the 0-2 post."

Cheng Jun's drowsiness vanished instantly, even holding back his urine: "What? Lu Yang is back—how did he do in the competition? Did he place?"

Liu Ziqiang chuckled: "He did! First in the five-kilometer run, second in precision shooting; I heard from the Third Squad Leader that it was the kind of 'every shot hits' performance, nearly taking down the champions of the last two editions."

"Holy shit! That's awesome!"

Cheng Jun was so excited he couldn't contain himself, bouncing up and down as if he'd stepped on a speaker.

The commotion quickly woke the others in the squad; one by one, bleary-eyed, they looked at the late-night ruckus, as if the squad leader had been possessed by something unclean.

Chen Panpan rubbed her eyes and poked her head down from the upper bunk: "What's up, squad leader?"

Cheng Jun grabbed his head, his grin lopsided: "Your assistant squad leader, your Yang Ge—he came in first in the five-kilometer run and second in precision shooting!"

Chen Panpan immediately jolted awake, all sleep gone: "My goodness, is Yang Ge really that fierce? Is he back? Where is he? Why haven't I seen him?"

Liu Ziqiang explained that Lu Yang had forced him to come back, insisting on taking the watch himself.

But before he could finish, his good bunkmate Sun Chen from the next bed kicked him.

"What's in your head? If the assistant squad leader tells you to come back, you come back; if he tells you to eat shit, why don't you go eat it?"

"If it were me, I'd rather die than let him stand watch—he's worked so hard, he's still our company's hero!"

"Squad leader, I request to take the assistant squad leader's watch; standing guard makes me proud!"

Cheng Jun gave Sun Chen a satisfied nod with the expression of "even a child can be taught."

Liu Ziqiang was so angry he nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood; he had always thought his own face-changing was quick.

Yet he hadn't expected that since Lu Yang arrived, this good buddy of his would, every few days, stab him in the back.

Liu Ziqiang still wanted to explain himself, but Cheng Jun raised a hand to cut him off: "Your assistant squad leader is always indifferent to fame and profit, diligent and responsible, and insists on doing everything personally."

"Lu Yang is a squad cadre; he told you to come back, so you must come back—but you also need to judge the situation, and next time this isn't allowed."

"After I transfer out and leave, Lu Yang will take over the Sixth Squad Leader position; this assistant squad leader spot was originally yours, but now Sun Chen seems more suitable."

"Damn it!"

Liu Ziqiang jumped out of bed, ready to wrestle with that damned Sun Chen.

No wonder he felt that this kid had become much more active lately, constantly talking about class, collective, and unity.

In fact, he's preparing to vie for that assistant squad leader position—really, it's pretty low!

Sun Chen also refused to admit it, defending himself with the stance of a mad dog digging wildly.

Then he countered with a monkey-stealing-peach move, nearly leaving Liu Ziqiang unable to stand.

Cheng Jun broke up the two scuffling and ordered Chen Panpan to take over Lu Yang's post at 1:00 sharp.

At the same time, he rushed to the cafeteria and woke the cook squad leader who was snoring away.

"Hong Squad Leader, Hong Squad Leader, wake up, wake up!"

"Huh?"

The cook squad leader was still under the covers, blearily glancing at his watch.

"I said, Sixth Squad Leader, what are you trying to pull off in the middle of the night?"

"Do me a favor—light the stove and make two dishes; our Sixth Squad's Lu Yang returned victorious, earning two honors for the company; I must give him a hot meal to properly reward him."

"What, Lu Yang came back from the competition? How did he do?"

"First in the five-kilometer run, second in precision shooting!"

With a swoosh, the cook squad leader leapt out of bed.

While hurriedly putting on his clothes, he woke the other soldiers still asleep.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry—ten thousand urgencies, our hero has returned!"

"You two go wash and prep the vegetables; I'll heat the pot and oil—I must get a six-dish, one-soup, one-fruit-platter out in the shortest time possible!"

Not only the cook squad, but Sixth Squad Leader Cheng Jun also brought people over to help.

As squad leader, I can offer little in the way of display or reward, but a hearty, tasty midnight snack must be arranged.

Although the company commander and instructor will surely give separate praise and rewards later, this is also my gesture as squad leader.

The sound of chopping—cut, cut, cut—filled the air as the kitchen crew bustled to life.

Sun Chen even hauled two boxes of beer out of the warehouse; seeing this, Cheng Jun gave repeated thumbs-up.

"You really thought this through!"

"Squad leader, I also prepared a toast; let me recite it for you!"

"Sure, go ahead."

"The celebratory wine is poured for you, the triumphant song is already written, may every post be held well—people as outstanding as you are truly rare!"

"Well said!"

Sun Chen grinned, pleased with the praise.

But then Liu Ziqiang grabbed him by the throat in a strong-man hold, dragging him next door for a beating.

"You're stealing my spotlight, you're stealing my spotlight!"

"I'll make you spout smooth talk, I'll make you spout smooth talk!"

I let you pick my peach, I let you pick my little peach—go eat a banana!

Assistant Squad Leader, you go ahead, I'll take over your post!

Chen Panpan over there was sweet-talking Lu Yang into handing over the shift.

And told him that the Squad Leader had already brought people to the cafeteria to prepare a midnight snack for him, urging him to hurry over.

But doing that made Lu Yang feel even more embarrassed.

One reason he didn't immediately go back but instead stood his post honestly was that he didn't want to disturb everyone's rest.

Lu Yang knew that as soon as he returned to the squad and told the others the good news, Cheng Jun's personality would definitely not be able to hold back and would give him a big celebration.

Although he had worked himself to death to earn honor for the company and bring glory to the regiment, enjoying such treatment was also perfectly reasonable.

But considering how late it was, and that everyone still had training tomorrow, he decided to wait until dawn to tell everyone.

That way, everyone could keep their spirits high during training.

But he didn't expect that the news would eventually leak out, leaving him feeling really guilty.

Chen Panpan, without saying a word, grabbed Lu Yang and pulled him away from the post, then took the steel rifle from his neck.

"Assistant Squad Leader, hurry up and go—don't let everyone's kind intentions go to waste!"

"Being able to stand guard for you makes me proud and honored; just let me train more. If worse comes to worst, next time you can help me stand guard again, and we'll just call it a shift swap."

Chen Panpan's eyes were bright, her speech far more confident and resolute than before—nothing like her previous timid, acquiescent self in the lower company.

This confidence was taught to him by Lu Yang, and also came from him constantly calling Lu Yang 'Yang Brother', gradually absorbing it through exposure.

Lu Yang nodded in reluctant agreement, but on the way to the cafeteria he still needed to prepare a little.

At the very least, he had to put on a very surprised look, so as not to waste everyone's good intentions.

Emotional value is something we exchange mutually, and it's also the most basic respect for others' labor.

Just then, two night patrol Military Police in white caps passed by nearby, heading toward the Sixth Company.

"Ugh, what a headache—why is it night patrol again?"

"Alright, stop complaining—who let our performance fall short last week?"

"In the middle of the night, there's not even a ghost in sight—where are we supposed to catch violators? Even if someone were secretly smoking, they'd be hiding in the toilet; we can't possibly go from toilet to toilet, can we?"

"Oh well, it's just a formality—we'll make a quick round nearby and then we can head back to rest."

"Hey, I heard there's a big martial competition in the division today?"

"It's got nothing to do with us."

"I don't understand why the Military Police can't participate in the competition."

The white-capped companion looked at Zhang Jiaheng in astonishment: "How can the Military Police take part in the competition? We're not a combat unit—where would we get a quota?"

Zhang Jiaheng sighed feigned regret: "I was thinking, if our Military Police Battalion had a slot, I could still sign up and bring back an honor. I'm not bragging—I'm a dead‑eye shot."

"If you let me compete, those sharpshooters will all be out of luck—I'm sure to come back with a good placement."

The white‑capped companion gave a lopsided smile, revealing a strange expression: "I get it—you're an ace pilot, so of course your shooting is spot‑on."

Zhang Jiaheng's face instantly fell, as if he'd eaten shit—how is this lame joke still not over?

"I solemnly say this once: that thing wasn't brought by me into the unit; it was smuggled in by a friend as a prank!"

"Exactly, exactly—it's your friend, it's your friend who did it."

"......"

Looking at that smug smile on the other's face, Zhang Jiaheng was furious.

If it weren't for the last time Lu Yang saw him and shouted "Cup Brother!", these guys wouldn't know about this embarrassing matter.

Now it's fine—this embarrassing incident and nickname will probably follow him throughout his military career.

If word gets back to his father, wouldn't he break his lackey's legs?

"Smells great—what is that smell? Do you smell it?"

"You don't?"

"Sniff carefully—it seems to be wafting from over there!"

Zhang Jiaheng followed the scent all the way over and quickly pinpointed the Sixth Company cafeteria's location.

In the middle of the night, to make it this fragrant—must be secretly firing up a small stove!

I never expected that in the middle of the night someone would be delivering results!

Zhang Jiaheng flicked his neck, strode forward: "Come on, let's go check it out!"

His companion nodded vigorously, broke into a little run with the camera, and hurried to keep up......