Chapter 52: Pigs Vomit, Cabbage Crumbles, and My Dear Comrades

Lu Yang, get in the vehicle; you're coming with us.

The Instructor pulled open the jeep door and shouted for Lu Yang to get in.

But Lu Yang pointed at the troop‑transport truck covered with a canvas.

Instructor, I want to go with the Squad Leader and the others?

That contraption leaks wind from every side; it can toss your butt into eight pieces…

He Zhen Tao tried to persuade him, saying that riding that thing would shatter your bones, but Gao Feng stopped him.

Let him go; riding together in one vehicle is far more comfortable than sitting with classmates.

Aren't I worried that his illness is fresh and his body can't handle it?

Soldiers aren't that delicate; just do it, get in and let's go!

Gao Feng drove the jeep, taking the Instructor and leaving a step ahead.

Three green military troop‑transport trucks, carrying the new recruits of three platoons behind, gradually drove away from the Tuan Bu.

Third Platoon led, Second Platoon in the middle, First Platoon at the rear.

Lu Yang watched the imposing, solemn giant hand sculpture of the Special Third Regiment shrink in his view, and a smile lifted his lips.

The Tuan Bu really is a good place; hopefully next time we come back we can still cause a bit of trouble and bring back some gains.

But Lu Yang's smile didn't last long; it turned into terror.

Because the troop‑transport truck was faster, bumpier, and more thrilling than he had imagined.

The cargo bed was bare, with no seats or handrails; even a slight bump would send his butt airborne.

Especially on some winding sections, the veteran driver turned the steering wheel so fast it seemed about to take off.

Lu Yang, inside the vehicle, truly felt the exhilarating thrill of a roller coaster.

Throughout the ride, he clutched the side railings with both hands, daring not to let go for a moment.

Fearing that the next second he might be tossed out of the vehicle.

If it were just a load of cabbages, even the veteran wouldn't drive so wildly!

Second Squad Leader, could you, could you slow down a bit?

You're hauling people, not cabbages, let alone pigs!

In the vehicle, a new recruit, overwhelmed by the jolts, shouted toward the front.

The driving Second Squad Leader, abandoning his usual amiable demeanor, his eyes filled with longing for the 'Bayinbuluke Champion Cup', replied loudly without turning his head.

Cabbage gets smashed, pigs vomit, and if you get tossed down, you'll climb back up yourself!

Longguo soldiers possess steel‑like will; your butts are the best shock absorbers!

Everyone sit tight; there's a big curve ahead. In a moment we'll press over the drainage ditch, and I'll overtake the Second Platoon and the Third Platoon's vehicles!

The Second Squad Leader pressed both the clutch and the brake with his feet, swiftly shifted gears with his right hand, and pulled the handbrake.

A domineering centrifugal force ripped all the recruits inside the vehicle off the floor.

Many people tumbled head over heels, and Lu Yang was no exception.

But it wasn't he who hit others; others hit him.

Two or three people barreled toward him, one of them being the hulking Kong Long; who could endure that?

Although Zhou Kaidong was a veteran, he couldn't stand the back‑and‑forth torment and hurled a string of curses at the driving Second Squad Leader.

You damn turtle‑kid, that's enough; are you seriously getting addicted to this?

There are wounded soldiers on board, you know; can't you see that?

The Second Squad Leader laughed heartily, repeatedly apologizing, and finally reduced the speed.

But it wasn't solely to look after Lu Yang; this stretch was on the national highway, traffic was heavier, safety first.

Zhou Kaidong looked at Lu Yang, whose complexion had turned pale, and asked, 'How are you, okay?'

Lu Yang shook his head: 'Luckily I was fasting; otherwise I'd have definitely vomited.'

Zhou Kaidong smiled: 'The first time you ride a troop‑transport truck it's like this; you'll get used to it later, and military drivers are generally pretty wild.'

Kong Long winced: 'Thanks to the Assistant Squad Leader's luck, otherwise we'd probably have been tossed back all the way.'

Not only the Third Squad's recruits, but soldiers from other squads also strongly agreed.

When they arrived, they had been tossed all the way here.

Their bones were nearly shattered, truly a terrible ordeal.

Everyone gained a new understanding of the Second Squad Leader.

It's as if he had schizophrenia; his eyes flashed red when he gripped the steering wheel, a stark contrast to his normally gentle demeanor.

First Squad Leader talked in a mouthful of slang, unable to speak without profanity; Second Squad Leader drove like a mad bull, treating passengers like nothing; by contrast, Zhou Kaidong turned out to be the most normal of all!

On the smooth stretch, no one had to stay tense as before; each found a relatively comfortable spot to lean against.

Zhou Kaidong suddenly asked, 'By the way, what did the Regiment Commander say to you in the office earlier, and why did you agree to stay?'

Lu Yang: 'The Regiment Commander took out an apple and asked me its color; I said red.'

'He then asked what color our uniform is; I said olive green.'

'Seeing that I could answer, he said I certainly wasn't color‑blind, so there was no need to worry…'

The recruits hadn't met the Regiment Commander, but from Lu Yang's description they felt he was quite easygoing and considerate of new soldiers.

At that moment, Kong Long suddenly noticed Lu Yang's bulging pocket, curious about what was inside.

When Lu Yang pulled out a bottle of ink and a fountain pen, Zhou Kaidong asked.

'Where did it come from?'

'The Regiment Commander gave it to me.'

At that remark, everyone's gaze in the vehicle converged, even the First Squad Leader and Second Squad Leader at the front couldn't help but look into the rearview mirror.

Zhou Kaidong asked him to take a look, the small characters on the pen reading "Commemorate … xx anniversary" were clearly visible: "This should be the Regiment Commander's everyday pen, why would he give it to you?"

Lu Yang didn't give a detailed explanation, but casually made up a reason: "The Regiment Commander said I look like his nephew, felt a kinship, so he just handed it to me."

Zhou Kaidong naturally didn't believe it; after being in the army so long, he also understood human relations.

A unit's senior officer would never give a soldier something for no reason.

Especially since this is a dispatch card, and the pen has precious commemorative significance.

He wasn't clear on the specifics of the conversation, but he guessed the Regiment Commander must like Lu Yang quite a bit.

So he gave the pen as encouragement and affirmation, to motivate him to work hard in the unit.

Zhou Kaidong returned the pen to Lu Yang, and for the first time his eyes showed envy.

He suddenly felt that his ten years as a soldier had been wasted.

Lu Yang hadn't been in the army long before the Instructor took notice, and the Company Commander singled him out for extra nutrition.

Now, he's been marked by the Regiment Commander and given such a valuable item…

Thinking of how this kid, on his first day of enlistment, sat in his seat reading earnestly, Zhou Kaidong couldn't help but sigh: Could this be what they call an innate soldier's holy body?

Besides Zhou Kaidong, the surrounding new recruits also openly envied him.

"How nice, a pen and even a bottle of ink; our Regiment Commander is good and thoughtful."

"The pen was a gift, the ink is what I wanted."

"What?"

Kong Long widened his eyes: "The ink—did you actively ask the Regiment Commander for it?"

Lu Yang raised his voice: "The New Recruit Company doesn't even have a small shop, there's no way to buy ink; otherwise how would I write?"

Ding Tengfei also wore an expression of stunned shock: "The point of the problem isn't that, but rather, how dare you?"

"What's there not to dare?"

"He's a Colonel Regiment Commander, a commander of a regiment with thousands of soldiers, you know?"

"Hmm."

Lu Yang thought, what's so surprising about this?

If you all knew, my original plan was to give the Regiment Commander a good scolding, which would have forced me to jump off the vehicle?

Looking back, Lu Yang also felt this method was quite unscrupulous and unprincipled; after all, the Regiment Commander is genuinely kind, even lent his phone for a call and gave the pen.

But Lu Yang truly had no clue; before entering the Regiment Commander's office, he didn't know what kind of personality the Regiment Commander had.

To avoid being sent home, he couldn't sit idle; he had to resort to this plan.

Because a crying child gets milk; some opportunities must be seized.

…

"Get off the vehicle, get off, we're here."

The veterans got off first, calling the drowsy new recruits inside the carriage to wake up.

The troop transport was indeed hard on the buttocks; Lu Yang stood up to get off, his bones creaking.

He'd only been away two days, yet seeing the familiar buildings in the camp gave him an inexplicable feeling of having been gone a long time.

It's no wonder many veterans, after discharge, always reminisce about those early service days.

Even if family and life have smoothed their edges, a bloated, overweight body can no longer fit the uniform.

But as soon as they recall those glorious years of enlistment, their eyes always sparkle.

Lu Yang stretched his arms, twisted his waist, feeling his body seemed a bit more resilient than before.

He was somewhat eager to go to the training ground, to see what changes the "break then stand" effect would trigger in his body.

At this moment, the Company Commander and Instructor walked over from nearby, quickly tidied the formation, then let the duty officer lead everyone to breakfast.

The morning physical exam required an empty stomach, and with the bumpy ride back and forth, the new recruits were already famished, chest pressed to back.

Watching the long line of troops marching grandly toward the Cafeteria, Gao Feng was moved to speak.

"It really was a series of twists and turns, but fortunately it ended well."

"Did you see the Regiment Commander give him that pen?"

"Yeah, the one commemorating the xx anniversary."

Gao Feng stroked his chin: "What do you think the Regiment Commander means by this?"

He Zhen Tao answered without hesitation: "What else could it mean? To encourage a new recruit's progress, to motivate him to strive."

Gao Feng: "A couple of words of verbal praise would suffice; why need to give such an expensive pen? This pen is only owned by leaders above the regiment level; even the Deputy Political Commissioner doesn't have one."

He Zhen Tao turned his head, looking skeptically: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Gao Feng smiled: "Do you think it's possible that, after all, the Regiment Commander would directly assign him to the Special Operations Company?"

He Zhen Tao's brows twitched slightly; that possibility did exist.

The Special Operations Company is a regiment‑direct unit, primarily responsible for guard, communications, reconnaissance, and service duties.

It is a relatively comprehensive type of unit, with a fairly broad scope of duties.

But he didn't think that merely having met once would give the Regiment Commander enough insight into Lu Yang to directly intervene in his next assignment.

"Whatever."

"You seem pretty open about it?"

"If I can't accept it, what can I do? He's the Regiment Commander; can I compete with him for personnel?"

"Hahaha, that's right."

He Zhen Tao didn't continue the topic; the New Recruit Company still had two months left.

Perhaps as time went on, the Regiment Commander would forget this matter.

As the old saying goes, important people often forget things.

The regiment commander deals with countless affairs daily, with so many meetings to attend—how could he constantly keep a new recruit in mind?

"Come on, let's go eat."

"Wait, did we forget something?"

With Gao Feng's reminder, He Zhen Tao finally remembered.

He hurriedly pulled out the last crumpled slip of paper from his pocket.

"Still want to look?"

"Or should we not look?"

"Earlier, when Lu Yang returned, the Third Squad was in high spirits, chatting and laughing—I feel maybe this isn't necessary?"

"Hmm, changing commanders before battle is a major taboo; let's just keep it as is, or let Zhou Kaidong continue..."

He Zhen Tao casually tossed the paper ball into the trash and walked into the cafeteria together with the company commander.

The slip of paper fell like a drifting leaf, slowly opening a gap.

Through the gap, a large '×' could be faintly seen.

Among the Third Squad's new recruits, not a single one agreed to replace Zhou Kaidong...