Chapter 18: Assigning Soldiers

Gao Cheng stood with his back to the door, looking at the red flag hanging on the wall, silent.

"Company Commander, it's true, I just went to see." Shi Jin hurriedly poured out everything he had discovered earlier.

"Squad Leader of the Third Squad, are you saying I've encountered a true 'soldier king'? A soldier king more powerful than those in the Steel Seventh Company's elite squad?"

Shi Jin revealed a smile and pointed at Feng Yuxiu beside him, "Company Commander, you might not know, Comrade Xu Sanduo can use a..."

"Shi Jin!"

Gao Cheng turned around abruptly, anger on his face, but it immediately turned into astonishment.

"Is this Xu Sanduo?"

Shi Jin was puzzled; he turned his head to look and was also startled.

The Feng Yuxiu before them no longer had the rustic and immature look of a rural kid; his face was dark and sallow, and his eyes were cold and ruthless.

What made Gao Cheng even more astonished was that the skin on Feng Yuxiu's face had become mottled, and the knuckles of his hands, which were hanging down naturally, were pale and dark.

"Who hit him?" Gao Cheng's expression was incomparably grave.

Shi Jin shook his head in astonishment, "No one, no one bullied him during the three months of recruit training."

"Company Commander, don't dwell on this. If you don't trust me, let's go to the shooting range and see right now."

Gao Cheng waved his hand, "Xu Sanduo, you go back first. I want to have a word with the Squad Leader of the Third Squad."

Feng Yuxiu turned and left without a word.

"Squad Leader of the Third Squad, why are you so insistent on catching such a soldier?"

Gao Cheng stared into Shi Jin's eyes and asked, word by word.

Shi Jin was silent for a moment, "Company Commander, his family background is very similar to mine. Back then, Lao Ma didn't give up on me..."

"Even if what you say is true, why did he have to fake the recruit assessment? What is the meaning of him being a soldier? Just to drift through the days?"

Shi Jin frowned; he hadn't figured out this logic either.

He was also seeing such a soldier for the first time.

This soldier was so cold that people didn't want to get close to him.

"Then do you believe what I said?" Shi Jin asked, the image of those dense bullet holes appearing in his mind.

Gao Cheng lit a cigarette and exhaled a puff of white smoke, "Let him go through some trials. Collective honor is more important than anything else for a soldier. He is a nail; he wants to prick everyone he sees. He has to be polished smooth before he can be used to build this building."

"As for you, Squad Leader of the Third Squad, the group army is going to have big movements soon. You are a veteran of many years; it's very dangerous! For your sake, I wouldn't even want a soldier king!"

When Shi Jin walked out of the company office, he kept his head down, silent.

He really couldn't understand why this soldier would make moves different from ordinary people.

Isn't being a soldier about being the best?

In the entire recruit company, this soldier had no outstanding points; the four words "following the rules" were fully displayed on him.

He didn't make mistakes, and he didn't show off.

He could have stayed; he wasn't a bad soldier.

But he had snapped the lifeline of the shooting assessment.

Gao Cheng smoked five cigarettes and finally walked out of the company office.

He walked aimlessly.

Perhaps subconsciously, he finally stood on the shooting range.

"This is truly hell; how could I believe this?"

Gao Cheng mocked himself and turned to leave.

Ten minutes later.

He stood on the hillside, slowly squatted down, and touched the bullet holes on the broken stake.

He looked at it silently for a very, very long time. It was clearly a piece of rotten wood, yet he could look at it for half an hour.

After half an hour, he stood up, picked up a thin piece of stone from the ground, and scraped away all those bullet holes.

"There is no soldier in the army who cannot be trained! Your sharp edges will be polished smooth sooner or later!"

At this moment, Gao Cheng laughed very happily.

He was truly happy.

He really liked this soldier!

Finally, Feng Yuxiu threw the blank target paper in his hand into the trash can with an expressionless face.

Cheng Cai, on the other hand, was showing off everywhere as if holding a certificate of merit.

"A sharpshooter! Cheng Cai, you'll definitely be assigned to an elite company!"

"Well done, Cheng Cai!"

The praise from his peers made Cheng Cai's smile stretch to the back of his head.

He was dizzy with praise.

He walked smugly to Feng Yuxiu's side, "Three-Dull, see that? My dad said the army is where we shine. I came to the right place. But don't be discouraged, there's still a chance."

Bang!

——

Shi Jin's expression was very poor.

He looked at Cheng Cai, whose nose had been smashed, with trembling hands.

He looked again at the expressionless Feng Yuxiu.

"Can you not settle down? He is your comrade-in-arms, not a thug. Did you have to hit him so hard?"

Feng Yuxiu said coldly, "Fortunately, this is the army."

After speaking, he turned and walked toward the dormitory.

"Let's go, to the infirmary!" Shi Jin pulled Cheng Cai to get it treated.

"What on earth did you do to provoke him?"

Shi Jin asked, standing straight, watching the medic skillfully begin to bandage him.

"Ouch, ouch... Squad Leader, be gentle."

Cheng Cai twitched in pain, taking deep breaths of cold air, "I don't know how I provoked him either. I was just holding the target paper and telling him not to be discouraged, and he suddenly attacked me."

"So, you just stood there and took the beating? You're taller than him." Shi Jin found it somewhat unbelievable.

He was now suspecting that Cheng Cai was often bullied.

"Hiss..."

Cheng Cai covered his nose, his face full of misery, "Platoon Leader, his attack speed was too fast. By the time I reacted, I was already seeing stars."

"Forget it, forget it. Anyway, you won't see him again in the future, let's leave it at that."

Cheng Cai was stunned, "Platoon Leader, what do you mean..."

Shi Jin had already turned and left.

Cheng Cai muttered constantly, "Won't see him again? Could it be that the Xu family's Three-Dull really was sent to the pig farm? Hehe... I have to write a letter to tell my dad... Ouch, ouch, Squad Leader, be gentle."

——

The whistle blew, breaking the silence of the early morning.

During these three months, the recruits had already engraved this sound deep into their souls.

In just a few minutes, they were standing on the square with their packs on their backs.

Because they were notified last night, today was the day for assigning soldiers.

They had packed up early.

Standing in formation, they only then discovered that things were a bit different in the morning light; there were several vehicles parked on the playground, several military trucks, and an air-conditioned bus.

Company Commander Gao Cheng stood between the military trucks and the bus with the name list and shouted at them:

"Lu Yuan, vehicle number two; Huang Yifei, vehicle number two; Jia Honglin, vehicle number one; Lv Ning, vehicle number three..."

The recruits began to whisper: "Deputy Squad Leader, why use two types of vehicles?"

Cheng Cai didn't hesitate: "Need to ask? Those going to good units get on the air-conditioned bus, those going to bad units get on the trucks."

Everyone suddenly realized, and those assigned to the trucks were already on the verge of tears.

"Cheng Cai, vehicle number two."

It was actually that military truck covered with camouflage tarpaulin; Cheng Cai's upright military posture suddenly wilted a bit.

He looked around in disbelief, but before he could react, he grabbed his pack and rushed up.

Only when he climbed into the truck bed did his body feel a bit weak.

Last night, he had even written a letter to his father with such certainty.

He would definitely be assigned to an elite company.

He hadn't expected to get on a vehicle without air conditioning.

"Xu Sanduo, vehicle number three!"

Gao Cheng paused before shouting it out.

Feng Yuxiu frowned in confusion, but still walked toward vehicle number three.

When passing by Wu Liuyi, he discovered that his eyes were mixed with indifference.

Feng Yuxiu understood instantly.

This was to let these poor soldiers enjoy their last journey.

With his grades, it was impossible to be assigned to an elite company.

The Red Third Company instructor, He Hongtao, smiled and looked at Gao Cheng, "Old Seven, satisfied now? You got all the elite soldiers."

Gao Cheng grinned, "You didn't get a bad deal either. Take that Xu Sanduo, for example—that's a 'soldier king' with physical fitness that can run a donkey to death."

He Hongtao naturally didn't take it to heart, "Then I'll be going first."

Gao Cheng looked at his back and touched his sideburns with both hands, "Xu Sanduo, I hope I can polish your sharp edges. I'll be waiting for you in the Steel Seventh Company." ===== CHAPTER 19 =====