Chapter 31: The Class Troublemaker!

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Dusk was as dark as ink. Not long ago, the setting sun had still been red as blood, but now lightning flashed and thunder boomed as torrential rain came pouring down.

It matched the mood of the three recruits from Fourth Squad who had just been given an additional punishment by their squad leader: writing self-criticism reports.

At first, when they heard that a hundred push-ups would be all they had to do, they had breathed a sigh of relief. Who could have guessed that after stepping forward, they would be saddled with self-criticism reports as well?

In those days, people’s general level of education was not very high, and there were even fewer who enjoyed reading.

Three thousand words!

Just thinking about it now made the three of them feel their livers tremble.

Yet regardless of what they were thinking, the company office was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

“Haha, one of the little brats in my squad still refused to admit it. He thought I was actually blind!”

“I had one in my squad trying to muddle through it too. I ordered him to write a five-thousand-word self-criticism. That rascal is probably cursing me to death by now!”

“Heh-heh, they really thought it was an accident…”

“Forget it, enough of that. Platoon Leader Niu, you really struck gold this time—not just once, either. It pays to move first. You have to treat us!”

One of the squad leaders grinned at the First Platoon Leader.

The other squad leaders immediately chimed in, all turning their attention toward him.

“That’s right, First Platoon Leader. Every one of the recruits you picked is a good one! Look how fast they ran today. First and second place in the company both came from your squad. You’ve made a real killing, so you have to treat us!”

“Come on, have a cigarette each. Don’t be picky!”

First Squad Leader was grinning too as he pulled out a pack of Spring City cigarettes.

“I can’t afford to treat everyone. I only make fifteen yuan a month—where would I get the spare grain for that? But if you happen to see my company commander later, go ask him. He’s an officer and gets a proper salary!”

There were indeed benefits to coming to the recruit camp to train new soldiers.

For instance, once recruit training ended, the squad leaders in charge of the various squads were allowed to give priority to taking one recruit from their squad back to their own company.

No unit ever had too many good soldiers.

That was true even of second-category units, since they also took part in various military competitions organized by higher commands.

“Heh-heh, now you’re talking nonsense. Commander Tong and the political instructor might get away with asking, but if we go, your company commander will probably ask us to bring him a shell instead!”

An old soldier laughed.

The First Platoon Leader’s former company was the Gun and Artillery Company.

That was an establishment found only in second-category units.

In a first-category unit, a regiment would normally have a mortar company, a recoilless-rifle company, and an antiaircraft machine-gun company.

But in a second-category unit, those three companies were merged and reorganized into a single Gun and Artillery Company.

“Hahaha!”

The First Platoon Leader burst out laughing as well.

“All right, enough fooling around. Come on, sit properly. We’ll have a brief meeting, then you can get back as soon as possible!”

With a smile on his face and a cigarette between his fingers, Ge Bing walked over to the long table.

At that moment, he seemed like an entirely different person from the man he had been on the training field earlier.

And he was not the only one. Tong Lianzhong was the same.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips and a broad smile on his face, he looked completely relaxed and cheerful.

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As for the grim expression they had worn earlier, not the slightest trace of it remained.

…

“Fifty… fifty-one…”

Inside Fourth Squad’s barracks, the recruits—including Chu An—had no idea what was happening in the company office.

At present, Xu Ji’an and the other two recruits were still doing push-ups, while most of the others were sitting on the floor, leaning against the edges of their beds.

Old Wang would not let them lie on the beds, though the recruits had no idea why.

But with three men still being punished in front of them, no one dared disobey Old Wang’s orders.

“Squad… Squad Deputy, I… I can take a break, right?”

Xu Ji’an, whose movements had been growing slower and slower, suddenly stopped.

Supporting himself on the ground, he lifted his head and looked at Chu An while panting heavily.

His physical condition was poor, something Chu An had already noticed during the run.

He had been the first person in Fourth Squad to be lapped by the main group.

Chu An glanced toward the doorway, then nodded.

“All right, but you’re not allowed to get up!”

“Heh-heh, I… I understand!”

The man immediately broke into a grin. The next second, he did not get up—but instead dropped flat onto the floor.

Chu An was rendered speechless.

Looking at him, he said in a low voice, “When I told you to rest, I meant stay propped up and take a short break, not lie down!”

Chu An was not the sort of man who felt the need to establish his authority with a burst of severity.

He knew perfectly well that he was a recruit himself. Even though he was now the squad deputy, he could not afford to sour his relationship with his comrades or make them reject him.

That was why he had said nothing earlier when Xu Ji’an’s push-ups had been completely improper—his back arched, his buttocks rising and falling instead of his whole body moving correctly.

But now the man was going too far!

“In a moment… in a moment, Deputy Squad Leader. I’ll just lie here for a little while. Once I catch my breath, I’ll get back up!” Xu Ji’an hurriedly turned his head and pleaded.

“No. The squad leader could come back at any time. Don’t make things difficult for me!”

Chu An’s expression darkened, and as he spoke, he glanced toward the doorway again.

To be honest, Chu An wanted to walk over and kick the man.

He was taking an inch and demanding a mile!

“Could the meeting possibly be over that quickly?”

The man looked guilty as he glanced back toward the doorway.

But though he looked, he still refused to get up, continuing to lie sprawled on the floor.

Compared with him, the other two were model soldiers.

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One had stopped as well, but he remained propped up while resting. The other had not stopped at all, obediently continuing to count and do his push-ups.

“Get up. If you keep this up, don’t blame me and the squad leader for reporting you!”

“Hey, don’t! I’m getting up, I’m getting up!”

The moment Xu Ji’an heard Chu An say that, he cried out.

After slowly dragging himself to his feet, he did not continue the push-ups. Instead, he supported himself on the ground and turned to look at Chu An.

“Deputy Squad Leader, why don’t we just let it go? When the squad leader comes back, you can tell him we finished.”

After saying this, he saw that Chu An remained silent and immediately continued.

“Honestly, you shouldn’t take things so seriously. Really. We’re only a second-category unit. Training will be strict only while we’re in recruit camp. Once recruit training ends, we might not even train a few times a month. By then, a lot of the rules will exist in name only.

“And I’ll be frank: I only plan to serve my three years as a conscript. Once I’m discharged, I’ll go home and get a job at a factory!”

His words drew the eyes of everyone in the squad.

Clearly noticing their attention, he gave a somewhat smug smile and said, “Don’t you know? Those of us with urban household registration can be assigned jobs after completing our military service!”

“I know. It’s really unfair!”

The recruit beside him—the one who had not stopped doing push-ups until then—also paused and looked over as he muttered the words.

“That’s right! We work ourselves to the bone and still might not be able to change our rural registration to an urban one, while you people with urban registration have it easy!”

Li Guoping sounded somewhat resentful as well.

Changing from rural to urban registration was one of the most talked-about aspirations of that era, and an even greater dream for the vast majority of young people in the countryside.

The reason was simple. In those days, rural people worked from dawn to dusk with their backs to the loess and faces to the sky, yet even after a whole family labored desperately, they could barely secure enough food and clothing.

Those with urban household registration, by contrast, enjoyed obvious advantages over rural residents in grain rations, distribution of non-staple foods, employment, housing assignments, and even their children’s access to schooling.

As a result, countless young people dreamed of becoming city dwellers—that is, of changing from rural household registration to urban household registration.

But in that era, accomplishing this was extremely difficult.

For rural youths, there were only two paths to an urban registration.

The first was to pass an entrance examination and be admitted to a junior college or technical secondary school.

The second was to join the army and become an officer.

Those were the only two routes.

Of course, Chu An now knew of a third.

That was to distinguish oneself through military service in next year’s war.

But none of them could possibly have considered that path at present. After all, the country was at peace then.

Without a war, where could anyone earn battle honors?

“All right, enough of this nonsense. Take a short break if you need to, then keep going. You are not allowed to do fewer than a hundred.

“As for asking me to lie for you, I can’t do that. If you truly don’t want to finish, wait until the squad leader comes back and explain it to him yourself!”

…

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