Chapter 173: Among the masses there are bad people; the fellow villager is a big bastard

Um, uh, old, uncle, fellow villager!

Huh?

The fellow villager pulled the handbrake on his tricycle, looked up in confusion at the wall, revealing half of Zhaxi Nima's head.

Hey, young man, are you calling me?

Yes, fellow villager. Could you do me a favor and go buy something at the nearby shop?

What to buy?

Zhaxi Nima threw down a hundred yuan, and just as he opened his mouth, his head seemed to glitch.

He furrowed his brow, racking his brains, and then remembered what to buy.

Um, help me buy a pack of soft Zhong, a pack of hard Zhong, and two packs of Xiao Su.

Buy that much?

The fellow villager picked up the hundred yuan from the ground, thoughtfully took off his straw hat.

You're probably running an errand for someone else, right?

Yeah, I'm buying it for the Squad Leader.

Yo, I can tell your Squad Leader lives well, smoking such good cigarettes?

No, he's also giving them away as gifts.

The fellow villager grinned, looking very happy: "Really? He's a social butterfly, sending you on errands?"

He shook the straw hat in his hand and asked the half‑headed Zhaxi.

Your accent sounds like you're from an ethnic minority; what's your name?

Nima.

Huh? Why are you cursing?

No, my name is Nima, Zhaxi Nima; Zhaxi means auspicious in Tibetan, and Nima symbolizes the sun.

Auspicious sun, nice meaning to your name; why don't you climb over the wall yourself to buy, are you afraid of being caught by the superiors?

Zhaxi Nima pressed down his head, eyes darting left and right guiltily: "They say there are... Military Police around here."

The fellow villager was so pleased he didn't know north from south, turned his tricycle around, and waved at him: "All right, wait here, I'll go buy it and bring it back shortly."

Thank you.

No need to thank me; soldiers and civilians are like fish and water, we're one family.

Zhaxi Nima watched the fellow villager pedal away on his tricycle, flashing a self‑satisfied hehehe silly grin.

But he stood waiting, squatted waiting, hung around waiting, and after a good ten or so minutes the fellow villager still hadn't returned.

This gave Zhaxi Nima a sudden bad feeling, so he disregarded the possible risk of Military Police loitering outside.

He still climbed over the wall to the outside, covering his face as he sprinted all the way to the village shop.

Yo, little comrade, long time no see? What do you want to buy? Auntie will give you a discount.

Auntie, I, I want to ask: have you seen a fellow villager riding a tricycle around here, about forty years old?

Nope.

Think carefully, have you seen someone come to buy cigarettes with a hundred yuan, wearing a straw hat?

Really haven't.

Bad!

Bad, bad!

Zhaxi Nima instantly froze, his head buzzing.

He felt as if he were back on the endless grasslands, with huge herds of yaks thundering past.

Squad Leader, Squad Leader!

I've been scammed, Zhaxi has been scammed!

There are bad people among the masses, the fellow villager is a real bastard!

Zhaxi Nima nearly ran back with red eyes, and tears burst forth the moment he saw the Squad Leader.

The Communications Squad Leader was also dazed, wondering how he could let this kid go buy cigarettes and come back bawling.

What's wrong, what's wrong, take it slow, take it slow?

Cigarettes, cigarettes are gone, money is gone too, the fellow villager is a bad guy!

Zhaxi Nima, with his not‑quite‑straight ordinary hair, explained the whole story.

Upon hearing that he had gone to a nearby tricycle‑riding fellow villager to buy cigarettes for fear of running into the Military Police, his face immediately fell.

The Communications Squad Leader covered his face, truly at a loss: "You didn't even ask whether he lives nearby or is from the village? You just handed money to a total stranger—you've got a real big heart."

Zhaxi, tears welling up, said: "I thought all fellow villagers were good; other platoons have bought from nearby villagers before, so I assumed it was fine—who knew he'd take the money and run."

Ah... but it also depends on the actual situation, you kid are just too simple‑minded—this is both a strength and a weakness; at crucial moments you can't tell good from bad.

So what do we do?

Cold mix! Let's eat a setback and gain wisdom—just treat that money as if it were burned at a grave.

Ah, saying that about someone, wouldn't that be bad?

Nima, it turns out the black money isn't yours!

The Communications Squad Leader jumped up and gave him a smack on the head.

If an outsider came to the village visiting, picked up the money, he'd surely run off without a trace.

Investigating would be impossible; climbing over the wall to buy things during drill is already against the rules.

This mute loss can only be swallowed by him as the Squad Leader himself.

Forget it, the Platoon Leader might still have some stock; I'll first go borrow a pack to use as a doorstop, then take you to practice with the gun before we talk more.

It's not easy for Lu Yang to make a trip; it's just these two days of holiday. You must seize the opportunity to follow behind him and study well, striving to be as excellent and formidable as him, so that the Squad Leader won't feel bad about losing that hundred bucks.

Zhaxi Nima belatedly asked: "Squad Leader, do you want me to follow behind Lu Yang to learn shooting?"

Otherwise, our company has good gunners, but we just lack a sharpshooter.

But I know him, so I don't need to bring a gift.

You know him?

Yes, during the match, he still talked to me, asking where I was from; he's very good.

Damn! You know him, you know him and you didn't tell me—I was still thinking about stuffing something as a doorstop!

Zhaxi Nima scratched his head: "But you didn't ask me."

The Communications Squad Leader was truly speechless: "Forget it, forget it, we still need a doorstop; even if we know the etiquette, we can't discard it. Come on, I'll take you to the firing range."

The Communications Squad Leader was like a parent bringing a child to sign up for remedial classes, leading Zhaxi Nima over.

Upon learning the purpose, Lu Yang agreed without hesitation—teaching one is teaching, teaching three is also teaching.

Moreover, he found Zhaxi Nima "very interesting"; although already an adult, his mind was as pure as a child's.

Especially when this kid spaces out and acts dazed, it really feels like a left-behind child waiting for their parents to come home for New Year.

"Lu Yang, take this pack of cigarettes and smoke it."

"No thanks, I don't smoke."

"Then, take it back for your Squad Leader and Company Commander to smoke; don't look at Zhaxi Henhen as if he's slow-witted—his learning ability is not bad, his shooting is more accurate than anyone else's, so please bother to teach him."

"Really, I don't usually smoke. I and he didn't know each other until we competed on a field; I will definitely teach him wholeheartedly."

"Good, good!"

The Communications Squad Leader beamed with delight, never expecting Lu Yang to be so easy to talk to.

In the unit there are too many young, rash soldiers who, after achieving a little success, get carried away.

Most of them start high and end low; the more they float ahead, the harder they fall later.

But soldiers like Lu Yang, who are outstanding in ability, steady and down-to-earth in mindset, and gentle and polite, are truly rare.

"Damn it!"

The Company Commander had just returned from the armory when he learned of the weapon damage, and he flew into a rage.

"That little bastard really has the guts of a bear and leopard, hiding the weapon damage without reporting it!"

"If Lu Yang hadn't come to teach shooting and noticed the shots veering left, he might have kept it hidden until next year!"

"Usually we focus on artillery maintenance, but gun issues are no small matter; if this happened on the battlefield, we could easily injure comrades!"

"Tonight we must hold a company meeting, seriously discipline the involved soldiers, and conduct weapons maintenance and calibration twice a week—such problems must never happen again!"

The Instructor looked at the furious Company Commander and gave a helpless, wry smile: "Thanks to Xiao Lu spotting it while teaching shooting; otherwise, when the higher-ups come for inspection and discover the problem, we'd both be in deep trouble."

The Company Commander slammed the table, making a pat-pat sound: "This is where I get angriest! Making a mistake isn't scary; what's scary is lacking the courage to take responsibility."

"At lunch you also heard—what training volume does the Special Third Regiment company have, and what does our company have?"

"Tight infantry, lax artillery, scattered transport troops—others may joke about it all day, but we damn well fit the description!"

"I've decided: from now on, everything will be strictly demanded, and everything will be judged by performance. Soldiers who don't endure hardship might as well go home and grow sweet potatoes; from now on, they'd better not expect any good days."

The Instructor worried: "Will this work? Those lads are used to laxness; turning it around might backfire."

The Company Commander fell silent, his brows knotted into a knot—this too was what he worried about most.

Some units have grown accustomed to laxness in daily life; it's not something that can be stirred up with just a couple of mobilizations.

The situation needs someone to take the lead, and must persist.

It's like going to the library to read—without that atmosphere, no matter how loudly the drums beat, it's useless.

"Forget it, I should think it over carefully; don't turn back and make these lads furious, one by one rebelling against me..."

"Company Commander, Company Commander!"

At that moment, the duty officer came running in from outside, wind-blown and hurried.

The Company Commander frowned: "What's wrong?"

The duty officer panted: "Chief, the chief has arrived!"

"Is it the Battalion Commander or the Regiment Commander?"

"Neither, it's someone from the Division!"

"From the Division?"

The Company Commander and the Instructor both felt their hearts skip a beat.

The two of them, sweating profusely, exchanged a glance.

"Has the Division found out about the dropped gun?"

"Impossible, the speed is too fast!"

The two of them, without hesitation, hastily put on their caps and rushed out...