1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 7 Enlisting in the Army
The military is very efficient.

After changing his clothes, the old commander ordered the veterans to check if the clothes and beds were neat and tidy!
These days, it's not unusual for new recruits to parade around in bright red clothes, but it's still a disgrace to the military if these greenhorns don't change into their uniforms properly.

Because they were newcomers, the senior squad leader didn't treat them particularly badly, unless they were really too stupid.

Squad Leader Li walked over to Zhou Xu, looked him up and down, and patted his shoulder: "You have a good figure, you look really tall and straight in this, I'll have you stand at the front as the face of the store!"

"Ahem... I'm sorry." Zhou Xu scratched his head.

The only difference between him and these bastards is that he served as a "military officer" for fourteen days during his university years!
Oh my, this soldier has been trained in military posture, marching, and military boxing! Isn't he a level above these people?
"fine!"

Zhou Xu was pulled to the front.

Because Zhou Youcai stood ramrod straight, even though he didn't know how to stand at attention, he still looked quite professional, so he was pulled to the front to stand next to Zhou Xu.

"Ahem, all ready?" the commander continued, "Ready? Then march in step!"

A group of people, dressed in their best clothes and wearing big red flowers, followed the procession and headed towards the street.

The People's Liberation Army is now so beloved that no other army in the world enjoys such affection and adoration.

As they walked down the street, they saw the locals clapping and cheering, and some children looked at them with stares, envying their glory.

"We must make our county proud!"

"Don't disgrace Lichuan! You are the fine sons of Lichuan!"

Only about two hundred people are selected each year, and they are chosen from among hundreds of thousands of people, so naturally they carry the expectations of all the people.

Some of the new recruits' parents, who lived in the town, came to see them off. They were all teary-eyed. At this time, the veterans did not restrict them too much. A group of them ran over to hug their parents and say goodbye before finally returning to their unit.

Keep walking forward.

Zhou Xu felt a strange mix of emotion and encouragement. He wasn't heartless; seeing this scene made him truly understand the deep bond between the military and the people that had been talked about before!

Now I know exactly how my father feels.

We arrived at the train station entrance.

At these times, parents would see them off at the station entrance, and before they left, they would worry and give them instructions... They would give them things and cry.

Seeing that it was almost time, the old commander said, "All comrades, hurry up and get on the bus and sit down, the bus is about to leave! Otherwise... you might be left behind."

A group of people hurriedly clung to the train.

Zhou Xu sat with Zhou Youcai, next to the class monitor who looked to be around thirty years old and had a very good temper.

Zhou Xu was bored, so he struck up a conversation with the class monitor: "Old class monitor, are you our class monitor?"

Squad Leader Li chuckled and took off his hat: "Your recruit company should be going to our company. I'm your recruit company platoon leader. But whether you can stay with our company is another matter!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Youcai immediately asked, "By the way, how are we assigned? How do we get to the combat company?"

Squad Leader Li continued, "Assignment? It depends on your performance and special skills within your company!"

"Does having exceptionally good grades mean you have to go to the combat unit?" Zhou Youcai asked eagerly.

"Well, you'll only get a company if you meet all the assessment standards... otherwise you'll be assigned to a bad company..." Squad Leader Li didn't go into details.

Zhou Youcai was curious but had nowhere to ask.

……

Zhou Xu smiled slightly. If he were to join the Grassland Fifth Platoon in "Soldiers' Sortie," the only relaxed platoon in the country, where there was no training and everyone could play cards and watch TV all day...

Ahem... But I can't say that out loud, or I'll make a bad impression on the new class monitor.

Zhou Xu asked, "What about the cultural troupe?"

Squad Leader Li looked at him in surprise and immediately said, "You shouldn't try to seduce the girls in the performing arts troupe in the army!..."

Zhou Xu scratched his head, realizing he wasn't looking for girls. He said, "No, I just wanted to ask where the performing arts troupe is."

"The cultural troupe is also in the military region, but you can only see them when they go to the companies to entertain the troops. They just dance and sing, and there's nothing much to see."

“Yes, what’s better than being in a performing arts troupe than handling a gun!” Zhou Youcai immediately added, his curiosity piqued at the thought of shooting.

Having been exposed to homemade guns since childhood, he has a real obsession with handling them.

……

The train starts moving.

The road winds its way from the hills to the vast plains. There are several carriages on the train specifically for carrying soldiers, which has made all the criminals on the train much quieter.

It takes about half a day to get from here to Wuhan, the provincial capital.

However, this group of green recruits were going on a long trip for the first time. Their eyes were full of stars as they looked around curiously. When they found that they were still in the mountains, they became bored and leisurely.

The train pulled out of the mountains. Looking at the vast, boundless plains, the group of new recruits living in the mountains really did look like country bumpkins:

"There are no mountains outside!"

"It's so flat!"

"Wow, this Yangtze River is more than twice as wide as the Yu River in my hometown!"

"More than twice the width? It must be several kilometers wide! If you fell in, you wouldn't be able to swim out!"

A group of people chattered excitedly about the outside world, but it was really just like that. After getting tired of it, they went back to their seats and started to sleep.

Because it takes several hours by train, a group of people have to persevere like iron men to get to the provincial capital, which requires a lot of physical exertion.

Zhou Xu looked at the rolling Yangtze River.

……

the next morning.

Zhou Xu climbed up from the old squad leader's shoulder. Luckily, there was someone to cushion his fall, otherwise he would have been jolted to death!

The train was about to pull into the station, and he looked at the sky outside.

Wuhan now has a lot of heavy industry, the sky is dark and there's nothing of value there.

They arrived at Wuchang Station, where the military region is also located.

Wuchang Station consists of a row of single-story buildings with three platforms, each topped with a wooden canopy. The waiting room is rather basic, with a central aisle and six rows of wooden benches on each side.

Stepping out of the station, I saw a bustling crowd, with people getting on and off trains, speaking in accents from all over the country... This place is a transportation hub connecting nine provinces, with excellent traffic, so it's clear that people from the south and the north all like to change trains here.

Things like polyester fabrics, bell-bottoms, and permed hair can now be seen sporadically.

But most of them are still middlemen.

"..."

A group of people saw the new recruits, glanced at them, then stepped back and stared at them curiously.

A group of new recruits were staring out at each other, and the people outside were staring back at them. They couldn't stand still for a while, so the veteran in charge called out to them.

"Assemble! Form ranks!"

A group of people quickly lined up and, led by the veteran, walked out of the station. As soon as they got outside, before they even had a chance to appreciate the scenery of old Wuchang in the 1970s and 80s, they rushed onto the train.

Several vehicles were loaded.

They were dragged to the camp again. Zhou Xu didn't know where the camp was, but it was somewhere in Wuhan.

The military was quite friendly to the new recruits. They didn't start giving speeches and training as soon as they got off the bus, but instead led a group of people to the recruits' dormitory.

It is well known that the soldiers in the cultural troupe generally have better conditions than the soldiers at the grassroots level. However, the soldiers in "Youth" live in dormitories with seven, eight, or ten people per room, so it is conceivable that their conditions may not be better than those of the cultural troupe.

After entering the military area's parade ground, we walked around and arrived at the dormitory.

Their dormitory was an adobe house.

There were eight people in one room, with bunk beds. Because Zhou Youcai and Zhou Xu were standing close together in the queue, they were naturally assigned to the same dormitory.

The beds were already made up; the military had arranged them.

The remaining people put down their bags and, without even having time to unpack, lay down on the bed to contemplate life.

Zhou Xu looked around the room. The iron-framed bed already took up a lot of space. Next to the door was a large washstand with a basin, a towel, and a neatly arranged thermos under the shelf!

Most of the luggage is placed directly under the bed.

Hardworking and frugal.

Zhou Xu watched as a familiar smiling man walked to the last bed: "Hey, Brother Li!"

Squad Leader Li smiled slightly: "From now on, you should call me Squad Leader Li!"

"Squad Leader Li."

Squad Leader Li continued, "My name is Li Jin. You can call me Squad Leader Li, Platoon Leader Li... For the next two months, you will all undergo basic training under my command until you are assigned to your respective units!"

"Hello, Squad Leader Li!"

"Good morning, Platoon Leader!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)