1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 93 Student Tao Huimin

In October, Zhou Xu's military service finally reached its one-year mark.

Of course, Zhou Xu himself probably didn't expect this at first.

I have now become a junior manager.

Coupled with the influence of the original novel, many people within the group now have a very friendly attitude towards Zhou Xu.

Upon arriving at the studio, Lei Yuansheng patted Zhou Xu on the shoulder and introduced him, "Tomorrow is the recruitment day for the cultural troupe, and the political commissar has assigned the two of us to be in charge?"

"Recruiting?"

Hearing this, Zhou Xu also became a little curious, since he was just bored anyway!

People are naturally curious about new things they've never seen before.

"Are you bringing anyone with you?" Lei Yuansheng asked.

When recruiting new employees, performing arts troupes usually need to assign a dedicated person to guide them, especially for newcomers to the industry or organization. This is a standard practice to help them adapt quickly.

It's equivalent to a squad leader in basic training, although the cultural troupe doesn't have a basic training unit.

"Bring people?" Zhou Xu stroked his chin. "We'll see when we have the chance! I've never even performed in a performing arts troupe myself."

"Get ready to go! The last few times it was Su Yunping and his group who picked out the best talents for the drama troupe. This time it's our song and dance troupe, so I have to pick out the best talents."

Zhou Xu followed behind Lei Yuansheng, and the two walked all the way to the entrance of the cultural troupe. It was a small-scale event, and the political commissar signed off on it. The two junior leaders walked over.

The truck has just brought a group of people over.

There were eight people, all boys and girls around thirteen or fourteen years old, with girls making up the majority, and they all had big, bright eyes.

As cadets, they had not experienced basic training, so their posture was not ideal, crooked and twisted, but they stood upright nonetheless.

Tao Huimin glanced ahead; she was still a little tired after sitting in the car for an hour or two.

She glanced at the group of leaders in front of her, and was slightly taken aback when she saw Zhou Xu's upright posture.

Zhao Zhenzhu, the little girl she had just met, poked Tao Huimin's finger and asked, "Do you know him?"

Tao Huimin lowered her head and replied softly, "Is he a writer?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's the author of 'Wreath at the Foot of the Mountain,' named Zhou Xu! So handsome! Ugh! So amazing!" Zhao Zhenzhu let slip.

Military uniforms can actually look very stylish and handsome, provided you have a good body proportion.

Tao Huimin blinked, surprised that she could actually meet Zhou Xu at the Victory Art Troupe in the Wuhan Military Region. She nodded slowly, "Yes."

The other girls were also looking at Zhou Xu; girls in junior high school were already experiencing their first stirrings of love...

"He's really handsome! And so talented too!"

"Alright, alright, stop looking, everyone's here."

Lei Yuansheng spoke at the front:

"Comrades, welcome to the Victory Cultural Troupe! From today onwards, you are not only members of the cultural troupe, but also soldiers of the army."

Here, in addition to artistic and artistic training, military training such as shooting is also essential. We hope everyone will quickly integrate into the group, hone their artistic skills, shoulder their responsibilities as soldiers, and contribute to the team!

Lei Yuansheng smiled broadly, because he was only thirty years old and had a friendly personality.

The group in front of him were all thirteen or fourteen-year-old children, so of course he didn't say anything harsh.

A group of people blinked their big eyes.

"Come to the office first!"

Lei Yuansheng led the way, and Zhou Xu slowly looked through the files of more than ten people before following Lei Yuansheng to the office.

"First place, Zhang Xiaoyu!"

“Here!” A little girl with a round face stepped forward.

In fact, girls develop very quickly. By the age of thirteen or fourteen, they are already almost like adults, and by sixteen, they are considered fully developed.

"What did you study?"

“I…I studied drama.”

“Yes, your parents work at the drama troupe! Then you should go to the drama troupe!” Lei Yuansheng selected the materials.

“Hmm… Zhao Zhenzhu, step forward.”

"You studied Yue Opera?" Zhou Xu glanced at the information. "From Nanjing?"

"Yue Opera..."

Yue Opera actors seem to be involved in singing, dancing, and acting; to be honest, they could join a song and dance troupe or a drama troupe.

"Old Lei, where do you think we should send it?" Zhou Xu asked Lei Yuansheng.

"Go to the song and dance troupe, they're short-staffed right now."

Zhou Xu felt he was asking too many questions. The political commissar sent Lei Yuansheng to assign students, and Lei Yuansheng himself was from the song and dance troupe. If he encountered good students, he would definitely give them priority.

Of course, since the trainees all live together during training, it doesn't really matter which regiment they are assigned to.

Zhou Xu said, "Okay, next... Tao Huimin?"

He glanced at the information and saw a pretty young woman walk out of the line.

Tao Huimin is a typical Eastern beauty, possessing both gentleness and classical beauty.

She has a round face, soft features, and beautiful eyebrows and eyes. Beneath her slender eyebrows, her large eyes are bright and expressive, and these eyes are the most striking feature of her face.

Her nose was straight. But her lips had a slight flaw; they were a bit thick and delicate... but in the context of her overall face, they gave her a dignified and gentle appearance.

She has fair skin, a long and slender neck, and an excellent head-to-shoulder ratio.

In addition, she has studied Yue Opera since childhood, so she has a tall and straight posture, elegant temperament, and every gesture exudes the gentle and graceful charm of a woman from Jiangnan.

She's still a little young, but she's already showing the makings of a beauty. What will she be like in a few years?
"Pah!" Zhou Xu was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "Isn't she supposed to be the future innocent girl? Why is she in Wuhan?"

Is it the butterfly effect?
Most likely.

Zhou Xu coughed and said, "You also studied Yue Opera? Going to the song and dance troupe, right?"

"Alright, these eight people have been divided up." Lei Yuansheng could finally breathe a sigh of relief: "I'll have someone lead them over."

"Oh, right, I'll take someone with me to familiarize myself with the place later." "Who should you take?"

“This last little girl!” Zhou Xu said, “I knew her before.”

Lei Yuansheng didn't ask any further questions. There were plenty of familiar faces in the cultural troupe: "Then I'll ask the other people in the song and dance troupe to take the other girls to get supplies and get familiar with the troupe. You take Tao Huimin around by yourself!"

The others were subsequently taken away by members of the song and dance troupe.

Zhou Xu nodded and said, "Tao Huimin, come here for a moment! You can come with me first."

"..."

Tao Huimin stared blankly at Zhou Xu in front of her, not expecting him to suddenly call her over. She was a little nervous in front of her idol.

He took the final step and came to Zhou Xu's side.

"hello!"

"Hello, Teacher Zhou." Tao Huimin lowered her head, too embarrassed to speak.

Seeing her follow him, Zhou Xu asked, "By the way, are you from Ruian, Zhejiang? You wrote to me before, didn't you?"

"Huh?" Tao Huimin was stunned when she heard this. She didn't expect Zhou Xu to still remember her name.

"Yes, yes, Teacher Zhou even wrote me a reply."

Zhou Xu smiled and said, "That's right, I knew your name sounded a little familiar."

"Uh-huh."

"But I didn't expect you to actually join the army." Zhou Xu recalled his reply, perhaps it was that letter that triggered the butterfly effect.

With Tao Huimin's looks, she could probably make a name for herself even in a performing arts troupe.

"I think the teacher is right, we should pursue our dreams." Tao Huimin pinched her fingers.

"Don't be nervous, I'll show you around, there's no rush." ​​Zhou Xu picked up Tao Huimin's small bag, adjusted her hat, and said with a smile.

"I see."

Zhou Xu walked in front, and Tao Huimin followed behind.

"Aren't you from Zhejiang? How come you're serving in Wuhan?"

"Well! At that time, the military region's frontline cultural troupe recruited more than ten students. Then, seeing that other military region cultural troupes were also short of students, they asked us to sign up. Later... I heard that Teacher Zhou was in the Shengli Cultural Troupe, so I signed up and went there."

As she spoke, her voice grew softer and softer.

"Oh! We're quite destined to meet. You can ask me any questions you have in the future,"

Tao Huimin immediately raised her hand, pointing one hand at her forehead, and then smiled with her eyes curving like crescent moons, with a small dimple at the corner of her mouth.

Zhou Xu found her actions adorable; it turns out that Liang Lu was so naturally naive when she was little!

"That's not how you salute!"

"That……"

Zhou Xu turned around and said, "Keep your five fingers together, and use your upper arm to drive your forearm! Raise it to eyebrow level."

Tao Huimin saluted Zhou Xu once again.

"The ceremony is over."

She put it down immediately.

"Yes, that's right, otherwise people will laugh at us later." Zhou Xu couldn't help but pat her little head, thinking it was a pity that his parents didn't give him such a cute little sister.

People who don't have a younger sister often wish they had one, but those who do have a younger sister might not feel the same way.

As soon as Zhou Xu touched her head, she shrank back.

"Alright, keep following me."

Zhou Xu walked ahead, and Tao Huimin followed.

The two arrived at the logistics department: "Hey! Xiao Li, is it your shift today?"

"Teacher Zhou!"

"This is my new student. I'll show her around." Zhou Xu handed Li Ziqiang a cigarette.

He led Tao Huimin into the house and took a basin: "This is the bedding, this is..."

"By the way, how tall are you again?" Zhou Xu asked, looking at her.

"One hundred and fifty-six, seventy catties."

"Oh, you're a bit thin. Remember to eat more." Zhou Xu was in front, and put a set of military uniform in a basin.

Then they went to find bedding, toothbrushes, toothpaste... and finally mosquito nets.

"That's all. If you need anything else later, just let me know and I'll get it for you," Zhou Xu said.

Tao Huimin could only nod today. After looking at the other teachers leading their groups, she felt quite happy.

"Nothing."

"Shall we go to the dorm first?"

Zhou Xu led her toward the dormitory building. The girls' dormitory was definitely not in the same building as the boys' dormitory.

However, since I am a leader, I can still enter the girls' dormitory.

They led Tao Huimin to the girls' dormitory, went up to the second floor, and walked for a while before finding their room. Their room was a four-person room, and all four of them were new trainees in the song and dance troupe.

"Why don't you go inside and pack your things? I can't go in."

Zhou Xu placed his suitcase on his bed in the dormitory and waited for Tao Huimin to bring her things into the dormitory. After watching her busy herself for a while, she slowly came out again.

"Teacher... I'm almost done."

"Are you hungry? Come on, I'll take you to the cafeteria, and then I'll take you to the bathhouse tonight."

"OK."

(End of this chapter)