Chapter 62: Even Though I Never Got Caught in the Rain, I Still Want to Hold an Umbrella for Him

"It's true!"

"Then I don't believe it either?"

"You, why are you so stubborn?"

He Zhen Tao, irritated, explained that he had gone for a stroll around the back kitchen at noon.

He originally wanted to give some praise; the stir‑fried pork and hot‑and‑sour shredded potatoes this noon were cooked quite well.

As it turned out, he happened to see Lu Yang at the back directing the Cook Squad veterans in emergency bandaging.

"Wait a moment!"

Gao Feng raised his hand to stop it: "The Cook Squad are all veterans; can't they do it themselves? Why need others to guide them?"

He Zhen Tao stared at him, his left hand suspended with a bandage, and asked, "What do you think?"

Gao Feng slipped his hand through the rope, awkwardly scratched his nose: "Alright, I've pretty much forgotten as well; aren't we just reviewing? So where did Lu Yang learn it, did the First Platoon Leader teach him?"

He Zhen Tao laughed: "I've seen Zhou Kaidong's battlefield first aid; the year before last they even conducted assault medical inspections, and his bandaging was worse than yours, the wraps were like dog poop."

"He was even singled out and criticized by our leaders; with his level, what could he possibly teach?"

"Then where did Lu Yang learn it?"

He said it was while he was hanging water in the Tuan Bu medical office, idly flipping through the battlefield first aid manual, and taught himself.

"Self‑study?"

Gao Feng was very surprised.

Just self‑studying for a day or two, and he can already instruct veterans?

What kind of brain is that, learning things so fast?

"So, the Third Squad performed well last night, and it has nothing at all to do with Zhou Kaidong?"

"We can't say there's zero connection; we can only say the connection isn't significant."

"Damn, praised the wrong person?"

Gao Feng, recalling how he praised Zhou Kaidong yesterday and saw this guy gladly accept it, couldn't help wanting to give him an ear slap.

"Is this the work you did, your merit, and you're just taking credit for it?"

"Then where did he learn to cook?"

He said he went to Xiao Chuan Restaurant during summer vacation to work part‑time, and learned wok‑flipping for two days.

"Again only two days?"

Gao Feng remembered that when they previously produced a blackboard bulletin, he had heard He Zhen Tao mention that Lu Yang had studied sketching for two days.

After two days of sketching, his modeling was more accurate and faster than He Zhen Tao, who specializes in producing bulletins.

After two days of wok‑flipping, he could casually stir‑fry a couple of dishes and receive endless praise from the Instructor, who even went to the back kitchen to commend him.

He flipped through the battlefield first aid manual and could demonstrate to veterans, guiding a large group of the Cook Squad.

"This kid, does he know a bit too many things?"

"No wonder he failed the college entrance exam; his mind just isn't applied to studying!"

Moreover, this kid has recently made great strides and improvements in physical training.

Gao Feng suddenly felt that this kid seems overly all‑round, with no discernible weak point.

If forced to name a flaw, Lu Yang's biggest current problem is that he hasn't been assigned to his own regiment yet.

He has been watching Lu Yang grow from a frail, wind‑blown state, and the more outstanding this kid becomes, the more he worries he'll be targeted by bandits!

Gao Feng now wishes he could pull out a remote control, fast‑forward the remaining days, and immediately bring the person back to the regiment, so his mind would be at ease...

"Hey, what are you thinking, spacing out?"

"Oh oh oh, I'm worried that when this kid comes back, nothing will be solid, everything will be slack."

"That's not the case; from my current view, Lu Yang is still moving steadily, not a full bottle that won't move or a half bottle that shakes."

Gao Feng changed the subject: "Zhou Kaidong's kid is already thrilled at the back; battlefield rescue can be handed over to Lu Yang directly, he doesn't need to exert much effort."

He Zhen Tao also nodded in agreement: "You don't know, since you praised the Third Squad yesterday, the other squads the next day acted like they were on a high, determined to win back that momentum."

"Especially that triangular basket, and the Fourth Class with Dai Erbing, they have a vibe of fighting to the end."

Gao Feng sarcastically: "I thought the Fourth Class Squad Leader would just lie flat all the way, but turns out there's still a bit of soldier's blood in him."

Last time, he deliberately punished the Fourth Class, transferring the Fourth Class's internal‑hygiene Moving Red Flag to the Third Squad.

The purpose was to make them ashamed and then courageous, to reclaim the Moving Red Flag early.

This is the wisdom of military commanders, and the age‑old way of leading troops, aimed at fostering healthy competition and mutual progress.

Unexpectedly, the Fourth Class Squad Leader fell wherever he fell and lay down there, showing no intention of fighting for bragging rights.

Battlefield first aid, compared to other training items, is much simpler, so it was usually glossed over.

No need to test physical fitness, perseverance, or IQ; just memorize the steps and avoid basic mistakes in bandaging and first aid.

He Zhen Tao suddenly asked: "By the way, you went to the Tuan Bu for a meeting, is there something?"

Gao Feng nodded: "Yes, the Tuan Bu is preparing a Sniper Training Team, to select a leader from the Third Battalion; I submitted our regiment's Guo Yongwen."

"Was it approved?"

"I don't know; the Eighth Company and Ninth Company both submitted people, the final decision is up top. If Little Guo gets selected, the 'Acting' part of Acting Platoon Leader can be dropped."

He Zhen Tao sighed, that soldier's journey has truly not been easy.

It is said he dropped out of high school to enlist, his educational level is truly unqualified.

Despite fighting in the troops for many years, he only managed an Acting Platoon Leader position and still hasn't been regularized.

If he had graduated high school or entered a college, he wouldn't have had such a hard path in the troops.

"Ah, that's the loss of being uneducated!"

"Who says not? As long as you have some education, you wouldn't still be holding the Non‑commissioned Officer rank."

"Before, I took the academy exam twice and still didn't get in; trying to get promoted again always left me without a slot; whether to go up or down, not going down, it's unbearably painful!"

"I was fretting behind as well, scared that someday the retention threshold would rise and they'd just cut me out!"

Seeing Gao Feng with a worried face, He Zhen Tao also wore a look of regret.

Times have changed; the later you go, the higher the enlistment threshold and education requirements become.

Fortunately, he had applied to a military academy at the time, and after graduating he became an officer directly.

Anyone who starts from a soldier endures far more hardship.

Every person who can rise from a rank‑and‑file soldier to the academy is a ruthless one among the ruthless.

Although he hasn't been rained on much, as someone who's been through it, He Zhen Tao still wants to hold an umbrella for Lu Yang.

Even so, within the troops those who entered the academy aren't held in high regard; they're thought to lack real strength.

But once you get into the academy, you're no longer a soldier but an officer.

And after becoming an officer, what you see is completely different from when you were a soldier; only then can you truly speak of a "military‑civil career."

So the method doesn't matter; what's important is to take that step first, otherwise this little Guo will be a cautionary tale.

Gao Feng suddenly spoke: "Since you're here, come help me with something."

"What kind of favor?"

"Let you practice, I'll fix a splint on your calf."

"Go away!"

He Zhen Tao just ignored him: "That's enough, are you getting obsessed? Instead of thinking about how to show off in front of your girlfriend, you'd better think about how to please your future brother‑in‑law!"

"If he doesn't agree, you're just being reckless; don't even think of marrying his sister!"

Gao Feng rubbed his chin: "Now that's a problem! What do you think, if later I hand Ding Tengfei over to him, telling him he's a once‑in‑a‑century good soldier, what would happen?"

He Zhen Tao sneered twice: "I think he'll beat you to death, punching you until your guts spill out!"

"Hahaha, then he won't have a chance…"

"What do you mean?"

"I cleaned it up cleanly."

"......"