Chapter 293: Iron Footboard, Your Platoon Leader Is Back!

"Mom, there's too much stuff, too much, I can't lift it!"

"Ah, what's so many? It's not much at all."

"That's nothing; this is even more than what I packed when I went into the army!"

The next day, in the train station's Main Hall, Lu Yang took the luggage handed over by his parents and almost threw out his back.

Compared with when he went into the army, the weight was at least more than double.

When he opened it, it was packed full of local specialties.

Even the salted goose, there were two vacuum‑packed ones.

There were also green Yangchun tea, peach crisps, yogurt…

It feels like Lu Yang is not returning to the unit to report, but rather making a delivery.

Lu YongQiang patted his son's shoulder: "Now that you're in the unit, you're already a leader of some sort, commanding about thirty soldiers. These specialties, when you go back, distribute them among your comrades, let them all taste them."

"This tea was specially ordered for me, I don't know if your leaders are accustomed to drinking green tea."

Ma Qing'an has always had a habit of drinking tea, but he never selects the tea leaves.

Those in the army aren't that particular; as long as the water has a bit of flavor, it's fine.

He Zhen Tao, on the other hand, likes tea a lot; later he'll give each person a jar, and also give Gao Feng a jar.

As for the salted goose and the peach crisps, later just let everyone share them.

Mother Yuan AiQin carefully adjusted Lu Yang's military uniform collar, looking at him affectionately: "At the bottom of the luggage I packed some medicine for headaches and fevers; you used to catch colds and fevers, so in the unit you must take good care of yourself."

"If it gets chilly at night, apply to the commander for an extra blanket, don't catch a cold. Also, don't let wind blow on you after sweating…"

Mother's reminders and care make Lu Yang feel warm in his heart at all times.

Even though he has lived two lifetimes as a human, his experience exceeds that of most peers by many cycles.

Yet every time he sees his mother's face and hears her "nagging", he feels very happy.

"Got it, Mom. You all take care of yourselves too, don't overwork."

"Also Dad, if you can avoid overtime, don't; spend the free time with Mom more."

"You kid, this is my daughter‑in‑law, what do you say?"

"Hahaha~"

While Lu Yang and his parents are enjoying a harmonious moment, on the other side Ding Tengfei is eating the dumplings his mother fed him, already crying with tears streaming.

"How's it, are the dumplings salty?"

"Not salty, not at all, very tasty!"

"Son, your parents have been a hindrance, caused you trouble; we brought you a long way back from the unit, you haven't had a single peaceful night's sleep, we owe you an apology."

"Don't say that, it's all in the past, everything's past, days will gradually get better."

"Yeah, it'll get better, everything will improve."

Train D12xx, ticket checking begins

In the announcement, the sound of high‑speed train ticket checking came through.

Ding Tengfei forced the dumpling down, and with tears streaming his parents heard him say: "Dad, Mom, I've grown up; I'm now a towering soldier, and from now on I'll hold up the sky for our family!"

"I will work hard in the unit, make a name for myself, make you proud, make you proud of me!"

"Take good care of yourselves, send me messages when you have time; if you call on the weekend, I'll return your call!"

"Good, good, good! Xiao Paozi has grown up, now knows how to care for others!"

Ding Tengfei gave each of his parents a hug, making up for the regret of being alone when he first enlisted.

He lifted his pack, and together with Lu Yang raised his right hand, saluting his parents with a proper military salute.

Then he turned around, and side by side walked toward the soldiers' priority lane.

Watching the two green‑clad military figures walk farther away, both couples couldn't help shedding tears.

A son traveling thousands of miles worries his mother; even though they know they're heading toward bright futures, the heart still can't help feeling reluctant.

Soon, Lu Yang and Ding Tengfei boarded the return train, putting a period on their colorful, thrilling home‑visit holiday.

Lu Yang's parents rode their electric scooter to his grandfather's house first, told the elder there that Lu Yang was returning, and only after the elder was reassured did they go back home.

Lu Yang's home is a self‑built house; the façade isn't grand, but it's kept very clean and tidy.

On both sides hang the couplet: "Spring returns to the earth, blessings fill the world."

Above the main gate on the tiled wall, where a horizontal banner should be, there is a golden plaque inscribed with the four characters "Glorious Home".

Yuan AiQin and Lu YongQiang looked up at the plaque, smiles unconsciously appearing: "Our son has promise; we can bask in his glory too!"

Ding Yongxin and his spouse, also on the return trip, received a call from the police station asking them to bring the deposit slip from Yuanbao Distillery for registration.

They said the higher authorities had recovered most of the stolen money and were conducting a second registration to confirm victims' details and the amount defrauded.

Upon hearing the deposit was recovered and would soon be back in their hands, the couple clutched their heads and wept with joy.

"Report!"

"Enter!"

Afternoon, Su Province Armed Police Internal Guard Corps.

Guangling Detachment Commander followed after Jinling Squadron Commander, and together they entered the office.

Both raised their hands and saluted the Corps Commander, who sits on the seat bearing the star of the shoulder, a deputy‑military‑rank Commander.

"Report, Chief, there's news on that matter!"

"Go ahead?"

"After days of probing, understanding, and investigating, we finally learned the situation at a police station in Guangling District."

Guangling Detachment Commander recounted: "That day, Jun Jun's mother took her daughter to the police station to inquire about the Yuanbao fraud case progress and the fund recovery. When nothing came of it, they left in helplessness."

"Then, a young man named Lu Yang contacted her and said something…"

The Jinling detachment commander nodded: "We already verified this while visiting Junjun and her mother, by indirect probing; so we can basically confirm that it was the young man named Lu Yang who orchestrated this, teaching them to act this way."

The Commander squinted: "That kid, what does he do?"

The two detachment commanders exchanged a glance and awkwardly said: "He is, Eastern Theater Army C Group, 17th Division, a Motorized Infantry Company's Lieutenant Platoon Leader."

Bang!

The Commander slapped the table, indignant: "I knew it, I knew it must be someone from inside! If they aren't soldiers, how could they know all the ins and outs here?"

"Where is he now? Bring him to see me; I want to ask this kid what peace of mind he has."

"Umm…"

Seeing the two stammer, the Commander slammed the table: "If you have something to say, say it; if you have gas, let it out—still not embarrassed enough? Especially you two, this is a serious dereliction of duty!"

The two, with sour faces, explained: "Lu Yang took a train back to the unit this morning; by now he should have gotten off."

"Let him run away like that? What are you eating, you can't even handle this!"

"Should we go negotiate and see if we can trick the person out?"

"Trick you, you big‑head ghost!"

The Commander, unable to contain his anger: "If they hadn't returned to the unit, we could find a pretext to bring them back; now they've already returned, you can't just tie them up, can you?"

"Their aircraft, artillery, tanks—you think they're playing with you, that they'd let you take people away?"

"Their military district commander surely already knows this; what can we find? They'll be ahead of us!"

"Motorized Infantry, slipping away is quite a skill, they run fast!"

The two, awkwardly: "So now, what should we do?"

The Commander stared with bull eyes: "What to do, what to do, who should I ask? From now on, let this be a lesson; we must ensure proper support for demobilized soldiers, especially families of martyrs and disabled veterans!"

"We must make people, when they face trouble, think of us People's Armed Police first, not the Army!"

"Also, aim to crush these guys on the ground at next year's Military Games and regain our face!"

"Yes!"

They are confident about next year's Military Games.

People's Armed Police internal security, a bit weaker than the Mobile units, but they also follow the body‑refining path.

The phrase "becoming a saint in the flesh" is used to describe People's Armed Police soldiers; "blood‑crushing the three services of sea, land and air" is just the same as this nonsense.

"Also!" the Commander raised another finger: "All spring uniform changes this year are cancelled; no shoes or clothes will be issued!"

"Huh?"

The two detachment commanders felt the sky was about to collapse on them.

Every year they count on new recruits and the hope of new shoes and uniforms.

"What the hell!"

"It's not my decision; the headquarters above decided!"

"Not only you two, all thirteen subordinate detachments have their new gear delayed; this is a warning and a punishment!"

"......"

The two were fuming, wishing they could storm the Motorized Infantry Company's barracks, bind Lu Yang and blast him with guns for half an hour!

"Whew!"

"What's wrong with you?"

Leaving the train station, they transferred to a bus.

Lu Yang dozed in the back of the bus for a while, then was startled awake by a nightmare.

Ding Tengfei saw cold sweat on his forehead and curiously asked if he had a nightmare.

"I dreamed, I dreamed of dying from heavy‑metal overload."

"What the heck, dreaming of heavy‑metal overload, eating bad stuff in a dream and ending up in the hospital?"

"No, I dreamed I was tied to a pillar by a squad of People's Armed Police, taken to an execution ground, and hundreds of Type‑95 assault rifles opened fire on me."

"......"

Ding Tengfei's eye‑corner muscle twitched: "That's not heavy‑metal overload, that's being randomly shot to death!"

Sometimes he truly admires Lu Yang's bizarre mind—how did he come up with 'heavy‑metal overload'…?

The bus stopped at a stop; Ding Tengfei, carrying his luggage, got off first, needing to return to the Seventh Company.

The bus drove on a bit, stopped again, and Lu Yang got off, lugging his bags.

From here to the Sixth Company camp there's still an uphill stretch, but for Lu Yang's Iron Foot it's nothing.

"Hello, Platoon Leader!"

"Platoon Leader's back from leave, having fun?"

"Brother Lu, what tasty stuff is in the bag, can we have a share?"

Arriving at the gate, the soldier on duty greeted Lu Yang enthusiastically.

Today's duty officer is Chen Panpan; seeing Lu Yang, she rushed out of the pavilion to help him carry things.

Lu Yang walked along the tree‑lined road, looking at familiar buildings, feeling inexplicably as if in another world; it's only been a week since he returned, yet it feels like a month.

Walking through the Motorized Infantry Company camp, Lu Yang felt immensely grounded: "Iron Foot, your Platoon Leader is back!"