Chapter 3: The Joy of the Times

“Little intellectual, wake up, it’s time to eat!”

On the train, Chu An didn’t even realize when he had fallen asleep. He had been trying to study his “golden finger” ability in his mind, but after all that effort, he hadn’t figured anything out—and ended up sleeping straight through until dinnertime.

“Oh... okay!” He turned to look at Li Guoping, rubbed his eyes, and then asked, “Where are we now?”

“Who knows? The commander just told us to be ready to get off and eat!”

“Alright then!” Chu An didn’t press further and sat up.

At that moment, he noticed that the train was clearly slowing down.

“We must still be some distance away. I don’t see any military posts outside.”

Nearby, some other new recruits stood up to peer out through the ventilation window above Chu An’s head.

Just then, Tong Lianzhong spoke up: “Alright, everyone sit down. I said be ready, not stand up!”

With the clanging of the train, Chu An waited for about another ten minutes.

“Smells so good!”

“I can smell meat and noodles!”

Although the train hadn’t stopped yet, through the loosely closed iron door, they could see there were no buildings outside for now.

But the train’s speed had slowed, and those delicious aromas were already drifting in on the spring breeze, teasing everyone’s senses.

“Gurgle~” Chu An rubbed his stomach.

When he had been asleep, he hadn’t noticed the smell. Now, catching the scent of meat and noodles, he swallowed hard several times.

Maybe it was because he had just been to the bathroom or because he was young and had a strong metabolism, but the aroma suddenly made him feel very hungry.

“Being a soldier is great! Before I joined, the last time I ate meat was on the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. After that, I didn’t smell meat at all. Now, we can smell it morning, noon, and night—how lucky!”

Li Guoping was eagerly looking ahead too.

Chu An glanced at him, feeling an inexplicable pang of emotion.

Is this really the feeling of happiness in this era?

Meat?

If his memory was correct, breakfast had been porridge with vegetables and a little meat. The large pot was full, with plenty of vegetables, but the meat was barely more than a seasoning—just tiny bits scattered throughout, only giving the porridge a faint meaty aroma.

Lunch had been cornbread, fried dough, and a bowl of seaweed egg soup. As for meat, there were just a few tiny bits floating on top—so small that five or six pieces together wouldn’t even cover a fingernail.

And yet, that was enough for everyone to shout how happy they were.

Suddenly, Chu An’s expression changed slightly.

He was someone who loved meat above all.

Before he was reborn, he had never thought about what to do if he couldn’t get meat.

But now?

Suddenly, he had no mood to care about Li Guoping’s happiness.

He was thinking about how he was going to live from now on.

Those days of eating big bites of meat and drinking all kinds of sugary sodas were simply impossible in this era.

In fact, from his memory, his original self’s family ate sweet potato meals every day.

Not because he liked sweet potatoes, but because the family didn’t earn enough work points to get enough rice. They had to rely on his grandmother’s family, who lived in the mountains and grew plenty of sweet potatoes, to send some for food.

Naturally, when things were that bad, meat was out of the question.

Only on festivals did they ever smell meat. Usually, the main meal was a bowl of sweet potato and brown rice with a small plate of pickles.

And even that was only at noon. Breakfast and dinner were mostly just watery sweet potato porridge, so thin that after drinking it, his stomach would gurgle loudly when walking.

To be honest, just recalling these memories made Chu An’s heart ache.

Life was so damn hard!

It was a hardship no young man from the twenty-first century could believe.

He had occasionally heard from elders at home about how tough life had been, how they often went hungry and couldn’t eat well, but he had never really thought about how bitter it truly was.

Now, the memories fused into his mind told him clearly.

That hardship was so bitter, just remembering it pierced his heart.

“Luckily, I joined the army!”

Looking around at the excited new recruits and their genuine smiles, Chu An couldn’t help but think this.

From what he remembered, although the army wouldn’t provide meat at every meal, at least he wouldn’t have to ration sweet potatoes every day, nor have just a plate of pickles with every meal.

In short, joining the army now was partly about serving the country, but also about getting three meals a day, eating better than at home.

For Chu An, being in the army meant he could eat a somewhat decent meal. Even if there was little meat, as long as it wasn’t sweet potato porridge every day, it was still better than staying in the countryside.

Chu An shuddered at the thought of the sweet potato meals that had accompanied his original life. He really didn’t want to see or eat them again.

He stood up, leaning against the iron wall of the carriage, and looking at the others’ smiles, he finally understood their feelings.

Just then, another receiving officer stood up.

“This isn’t your first time. When the train stops, pay attention to discipline. Get off in an orderly manner, line up properly for food. Follow all instructions. If you need to use the bathroom, after getting off, gather by Squad Leader Liu!”

There were two officers and one veteran squad leader receiving them. The speaker was named Ma, a platoon leader. Besides him was Liu, a squad leader who had served for five years.

“Understood!”

“We will follow the commander’s orders!”

Inside the carriage, the new recruits waiting for their meal responded enthusiastically.

Their responses were a bit chaotic and not very orderly, but Platoon Leader Ma said nothing. Then Squad Leader Liu stepped forward and shouted, “If you need to use the bathroom, report to me after getting off!”

After waiting another two minutes, the train finally pulled into the military post.

The post was a cluster of low, single-story buildings painted white with a layer of lime.

It was obvious the post was old. The white walls had yellowed, and in many places, cracks and peeling revealed the underlying brickwork.

“Beep beep~”

Outside, a whistle blew.

“New recruits have arrived, maintain discipline!”

Through the noisy train, Chu An heard the loud, strong voice outside.

“There are also veterans who have returned from service inside the station. Everyone, get energized and show these comrades about to return to civilian life your vigor!”

Tong Lianzhong was now standing at the door, speaking. Many new recruits peeked through the half-open iron door to look outside.

Not only at the door, but many others couldn’t help but quietly stand and peer out through the ventilation windows.

But Chu An had no interest in watching.

People were just people, two shoulders carrying one head—what was there to see?

Rubbing his stomach, he just wanted to get off and eat.

That hunger had been awakened, and now he felt hungrier and hungrier, as if he hadn’t eaten for two or three days.

Was it because of that “premonition” he had?

Chu An frowned. According to the memories he had merged with, he had eaten both breakfast and lunch, yet here he was starving.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t draw any conclusions. He could only guess and quietly wait to get off and eat.

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