1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 58 Wake up
When Zhou Xu woke up, he didn't know what time it was, but he saw that his whole body was covered in bandages.

Even moving has become difficult for him.

Discomfort and pain spread through his body. He opened his eyes and saw a woman applying medicine to his wound.

"...Zhou Xu? You're awake?"

A familiar voice rang out from the side. Zhou Xu looked over and saw it was Mai Sui, a familiar face from his performing arts troupe, who had gone to the front lines.

"Wheat ears? You're here?"

"Yes, Director Zhang is here too! I'll go call him!" Mai Sui said excitedly to Zhou Xu.

Upon seeing the wheat ears, Zhou Xu felt a headache coming on: "Um... wait a minute, could you get me a glass of water?!"

Zhou Xu reached out his hand, but felt he couldn't stand up. His whole body felt like a kite with a broken string, completely out of his control.

Mai Sui was about to run, but upon hearing this, she immediately ran over to get a cup, poured a glass of water, and placed it in front of Zhou Xu: "You rest for a while, I'll go call Director Zhang over."

Zhou Xu glanced around at the scene. There was no battlefield, no noisy artillery fire or screams from the front lines, only a few sighs from scattered soldiers.

This should be safe.

Looking at the IV drip above his head, he realized he had been relying on this bottle of glucose to get through the past few days. He took a sip of water, and his parched throat felt like it had been given a refreshing rain.

My throat feels much better, and my lips are no longer dry and chapped.

Soon, apart from Zhang Lingxiao, the political commissar and Li Xiaopan arrived.

Li Xiaopan came over and squeezed Zhou Xu's hand. Zhang Lingxiao and the political commissar also sighed slightly. Only after seeing Zhou Xu wake up with their own eyes could they truly feel at ease.

Zhou Xu looked at everyone, sat up, and hurriedly asked, "Are Company Commander Song, Comrade Chen Hui, and Comrade Liu Menghai all alright?"

Since Mai Sui probably didn't know these people when they first met, Zhou Xu had to wait for the political commissar to arrive before asking.

The political commissar was also taken aback. He rubbed his fingers and said, "The three of them are all fine... During the emergency treatment, Company Commander Song was seriously injured by shrapnel."

Comrade Chen Hui... he hasn't woken up yet, but I asked the doctor, and as long as there are no problems, he will wake up in a few days.

Comrade Liu Menghai was seriously injured in the bombing... He lost one of his hands..."

Hearing this, Zhou Xu took a deep breath.

It was already a stroke of luck for him that none of the three comrades had been killed, as most of them were seriously injured... It seems that Chen Hui was the most seriously injured.

"That's good." Zhou Xu then continued drinking water.

Zhang Lingxiao said with a smile, "I didn't expect Comrade Zhou Xu to be so brave in battle. I've asked around about your deeds."

Zhou Xu blinked: "Huh?"

The political commissar on the other end said, "Comrade Zhou Xu, you are the soldier who killed the most enemies in this battle, eliminating a total of twenty-five! Comrade Zhang and I are going to write your story into a report!"

Zhou Xu was taken aback: "Actually, the battle was the achievement of all the comrades. If it weren't for Chen Hui and Company Commander Song saving me, I would have died in battle long ago."

Zhang Lingxiao shook his head: "Battle record is battle record! The enemies you kill are the enemies you kill. We must be meticulous now."

“…Hmm.” Zhou Xu took another sip of water. “Everyone, go ahead and get busy! Don’t keep crowding around me, or you’ll just be causing trouble for the field hospital.”

The political commissar slapped his forehead and said to Mai Sui and Dr. Chen, "Let's go, I have things to do, and we shouldn't disturb Comrade Zhou Xu's rest now."

Li Xiaopan and Zhang Lingxiao stayed behind. Li Xiaopan was a nurse, and she also wanted to check on Zhou Xu, since he had just woken up...

Zhang Lingxiao wanted to record Zhou Xu's deeds.

"Do you remember what happened that day?" Zhang Lingxiao asked Zhou Xu. Zhou Xu replied, "I remember some of it. I heard the artillery fire and ran outside with my company, grabbed my pistol, aimed, and fired... Then we ran out of bullets, so I picked up a comrade's gun... Then came the artillery fire... The final battle was fought with bayonets..."

Zhou Xu recounted the events he remembered chronologically. Listening to Zhou Xu's story, Zhang Lingxiao and Li Xiaopan blinked their big eyes. Zhang Lingxiao couldn't help but sigh:

"Comrade Zhou Xu, if you hadn't become an arts and culture soldier, you might have been an outstanding combat hero as well."

There is no concept of special forces yet. China's first special forces unit was the Guangzhou Military Region Special Forces Brigade, established in 1988.

Of course, in the early 1990s, the Capital Military Region established an Army Arrow Special Forces, which was said to be the prototype of the Old A in the TV series "Soldiers Sortie".

The stories of Lei Keming and Zhou Xu in "I Am a Special Forces Soldier" are somewhat similar, and the prototype of this unit is the 12th Reconnaissance Battalion of the Southeast Military Region.

As for the prototype of Lei Ke, it is Xu Liang, a student of Xi'an Conservatory of Music. In 1985, when he went to perform for the troops in southern Xinjiang, he was inspired by the heroes and resolutely decided to abandon his studies to join the army. He participated in the counterattack against Vietnam and became a combat hero.

"..."

Zhang Lingxiao quickly realized what was going on and said with a smile, "Even if you, Comrade Zhou Xu, hadn't joined the army, your achievements would still make you an outstanding combat hero."

Zhou Xu secretly reflected that because he had been harboring resentment for a long time in order to avenge Zhou Youcai, he had finally mustered up such courage. Even now, thinking about it, he still felt lingering fear.

However, after the battle, Zhou Xu found himself becoming increasingly composed.

"Commander Zhang, you flatter me. I was just doing my duty. I am a soldier too!"

"Good, it's good that you have such backbone. I will definitely write your story as an outstanding war hero!" Zhang Lingxiao patted Zhou Xu on the shoulder.

Zhou Xu nodded. Wasn't this an outstanding achievement? He should be rewarded for his merits. It was also a source of pride for his parents' generation. He was very excited and gratified.

"Thank you, Director."

"No need to thank me, you should get some rest. You just woke up today, so I'll be leaving now." Zhang Lingxiao left with his camera.

Li Xiaopan was the last to come over.

Zhou Xu asked, "Teacher Li, how many days have I been unconscious?"

"It'll only take three days, right?" Li Xiaopan looked at the calendar.

"What's the number now?"

Li Xiaopan continued, "It's number eight now!"

Zhou Xu looked at the calendar and was slightly taken aback. He had been in the combat hospital since the start of the war in February, and it had been almost twenty days now.

Of course, the official withdrawal of the entire army was on March 16th, which means there were still eight days until the official end of the battle. Zhou Xu had experienced the battle and felt that as long as the soldiers did not have to sacrifice anymore, that was fine.

They have now won the battle.

"whats the matter?"

"It's nothing," Zhou Xu continued, "Could you bring me my manuscript paper and pen?"

“You…?” Li Xiaopan asked.

Zhou Xu smiled and said, "I want to write something, otherwise I'll be very bored here. Besides, writing is my job as a writer."

"What are you writing now! Here's a book for you." Li Xiaopan took Zhou Xu's things out from under the bed.

Li Xiaopan only took out one book and gave it to Zhou Xu.

(End of this chapter)