Chapter 22: Instructor Cui!

“Second Company, second company, charge forward bravely!”
“Again!” The opposing company commander shouted once the first round ended, waving his hand enthusiastically.

Immediately, the other side responded with renewed vigor.

At the same time, Tong Lianzhong spoke to his own troops once more: “Come on, let’s change the slogan. Follow me: One is one, two is two, the second company sounds like a bunch of girls!”

“Remember, give it your all—shout with everything you’ve got. Anyone who doesn’t put in the effort or whose voice isn’t louder than the other side will have to run ten laps around this field after we finish!”

Tong Lianzhong bared his teeth fiercely.

Yet, Chu An’s new recruits were still blindly shouting loudly, oblivious to the trap they had walked into.

Oh, my foolish comrades, we’ve been set up!

Chu An felt powerless to comment inwardly.

But as Tong Lianzhong began again, Chu An had no choice but to join in the loud yelling toward the other side.

Soon, a response came from across the field once more.

For a moment, the back-and-forth chants echoed throughout the entire camp.

...

“Heh, this is a clever move! Instructor Cui, you really know what you’re doing. Our battalion is definitely going to produce some fine soldiers this time!”

In a corner on the south side of the field, two men stood by a window on the third floor of a three-story building, watching the competition on the field below.

The battalion commander smiled warmly at the instructor beside him.

The instructor smiled faintly in return. “Let’s hope so. Competition breeds motivation.”

But then his smile faded, replaced by a look of concern. “The overall situation isn’t quite right. Although we’re a Class B unit, a unit is still a unit. As soldiers, we have responsibilities to bear.”

“Are you talking about the southern region? It can’t be that bad, can it?” the commander asked hesitantly.

Instructor Cui looked at him seriously. “Who really knows? But since we’re stationed on the border, it never hurts to be prepared.”

He paused before continuing, “Nothing happening would be best, but if something does, this training might, in time, affect the outcome of a battle at worst, or at best, determine whether these soldiers live or die.”

He glanced back at the two companies still competing on the field. “It’s better to endure a little hardship now than to lose your life on the battlefield, right?”

“That makes sense, but I think your worries might be a bit overblown. Still, as you said, it’s better to tough it out now. After all, we are soldiers, and it’s only right for our troops to have good military discipline. If we can produce a few outstanding soldiers, when training ends, we can hold our heads high. Maybe the regiment headquarters will even commend us.”

“Heh!”

Instructor Cui smiled slightly but said no more.

Different paths, different goals.

When minds are this far apart, words only wear you down.

This opening training ceremony was his idea. In previous years, the C Company recruits never underwent anything like this.

After all, as a Class B unit, the regiment’s daily work from top to bottom wasn’t focused on military training.

...

On the field, the shouting battle continued but didn’t last much longer.

With one company’s chant ending on a line, “The spring breeze blows, the war drums thunder, who’s afraid of whom!”

The other side ended with, “Bring it on, pumpkin skin, watermelon rind, no cheating if you lose!”

Honestly, the last slogan from the first company felt like the bully blaming the victim.

After all, this was the first company who started it all.

But no one cared about that now.

As the chanting ended, Tong Lianzhong stood before the troops and said, “The challenge has been issued. Comrades, whether you’re heroes or cowards will be up to you. I have only one thing to say!”

He raised one finger. “If anyone drags the team down and makes me a coward, before I become a coward myself, I’ll stick you in a manure pit and make you a dung ball!”

Without waiting for a reaction, he barked again, “Dismissed! Go back and get your toiletries. Assemble again in ten minutes!”

At once, the squad leaders began shouting,

“First Squad, follow me!”

“Second Squad, come with me!”

Chu An and the others followed Old Wang obediently.

...

“Ouch, my throat’s starting to hurt!”

“Hehe, this is fun! But now we’ve got to work hard. We have to beat those guys from the second company!”

“I won’t drag the team down!”

On the way back to the dormitory, the new recruits around Chu An remained excited, their faces still flushed from the shouting.

Their spirits were high.

Innocent as they were, they had no idea they had fallen into a trap, nor could they imagine how grueling the days ahead would be.

Soon, everyone returned to their dorms.

It didn’t even take ten minutes because all they needed was to grab the clothes just issued and their soap.

They weren’t even allowed to bring a basin.

There simply weren’t enough to go around.

There were only two basins in the entire dormitory, and they were old.

When they collected supplies earlier, basins weren’t handed out at all.

In fact, after Chu An had made his bed, he had asked Old Wang curiously about the shortage of basins.

Old Wang’s answer was that the army didn’t provide basins. The two basins were brought over from his previous company. If anyone really needed one, they could buy it at the canteen.

He also mentioned the price: two yuan and fifty cents each.

That was expensive.

Chu An had originally brought only ten yuan from home when he enlisted, and his monthly allowance as a soldier was only six yuan.

Buying a basin for two and a half yuan was almost half a month’s stipend.

But despite the cost, Chu An decided he would buy one when he had the chance.

Being a soldier wasn’t just for a day or two.

If he didn’t buy one himself, he’d have to line up every day just to use the old, shared basins.

“Squad leader, where are we supposed to shower now?”

Li Guoping, a talkative guy, asked Old Wang as they walked alongside the line, carrying their clothes.

“You’ll find out soon enough!”

Old Wang gave no direct answer, preferring to keep them guessing.

Soon, the entire company assembled again.

Then they marched toward the camp gate.

As luck would have it, just as Chu An’s company emerged, the second company came out too.

Instantly, the two newly antagonistic companies began to get fired up again.

“Ready! Every revolutionary soldier must remember...”

Tong Lianzhong took the lead, shouting at the top of his lungs, and the first company began to sing.

This song had been taught back home when they gathered at the Armed Forces office to meet the recruiting officers.

Along the way to the unit and during the first few days, they had often sung it.

By now, all the recruits could sing it perfectly.

The other company wasn’t about to be outdone.

“Comrades, sing with me!

Unity is strength, ready, go...”

As the two companies gradually merged, their songs intertwined and overlapped.

It became a bit chaotic. No one sang off key, but with two different anthems clashing, the beauty of the music was lost.

It was just noise.

But whether it was noise or not didn’t matter anymore.

Both companies only wanted to drown out the other.

It wasn’t about singing well anymore; under the urging of their company commanders, they just wanted to make their voices as loud as possible.

Finally, just as Chu An felt his throat was about to burst into flames, they exited the camp and arrived at the bathing area.

...