After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The sun was setting in the west, and the warm winter sun shone on the threshing ground, but it couldn't suppress the aroma of meat rising from the large iron pots, nor could it extinguish the flames of passion burning in the hearts of the hundreds of people.

Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, it's time to get down to business.

Village Chief Wang Laocai was a very perceptive man. Without Gu Zheng's instructions, he immediately called several strong laborers to put together several peeling eight-immortal tables in the center of the threshing ground. Old Principal Li Xuewen tremblingly took out a stack of yellowed lesson preparation papers from his pocket, unscrewed his Hero brand fountain pen that he had used for more than ten years, sat upright behind the table, and looked as solemn as if he were about to sign some kind of ceasefire agreement.

"We're hiring! First come, first served!"

Someone shouted something, and the previously harmonious banquet instantly erupted into chaos.

Hundreds of villagers, young and old, with grease still on their lips, threw down their chopsticks and rushed to the center. Their ferocity was a hundred times greater than the scramble for work points during the old collective farming era.

"I was here first! Don't push! If you keep pushing, I'll get angry!"

"You spineless coward, what are you doing getting involved? Get out of here!"

"I'm strong! I'm determined to go! I'll fight anyone who gets in my way!"

There were also a few idle hooligans who usually loafed around and committed petty theft. Taking advantage of their agility, they darted through the crowd like eels, trying to sneak to the front.

The table creaked and groaned from the jostling, the old principal's glasses were knocked askew, and the bottle of ink in his hand was about to spill. Old Wang, standing on a stool, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Line up! All of you, line up, you bastards!"

Nobody listened to him. Faced with the temptation of working for the army and receiving cash, the village chief's authority was utterly worthless.

Ye Cheng stood outside the circle, gripping his cane, staring at the chaotic mess before him. His face was pale; the bravado he had displayed moments before was completely shattered by the chaos, and his palms were sweaty. He looked at Ye Zhen for help, only to find his sister engrossed in peeling a White Rabbit candy, not even lifting her eyelids.

"Bang!"

A loud bang, like a thunderclap, abruptly shattered the noise.

Gu Zheng slammed the military green enamel mug in his hand heavily onto the table. Most of the tea in the mug spilled out, steaming hot.

He didn't stand up, or even change his posture; he remained leaning back in his chair with an air of superiority, holding two unpeeled peanuts in his hand.

"Do you think this is a farmers' market where people are fighting over rotten cabbages?"

The man's deep voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling, metallic quality that clearly penetrated everyone's ears.

His narrow eyes narrowed slightly as he slowly scanned the group of men at the front, their faces flushed and necks red from pushing: "Since you're working for the army, you have to follow the army's rules. Anyone who dares to push forward even half a step will be disqualified and never hired again."

He spoke the last four words lightly, yet they were like four nails, firmly driven into the ground.

The threshing ground fell into a deathly silence. The few hooligans who had been pushing the hardest still had one foot dangling in mid-air, unsure whether to put it down or bring it back, their faces trembling.

"Queue up," Gu Zheng uttered.

Splash!

Without any command, hundreds of people seemed to have been switched on, quickly and automatically forming a long, winding line, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Old Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at the young officer's profile, and felt a chill run down his spine: Is this the murderous aura of a soldier? It's damn eerie!

"Let's begin." Gu Zheng raised his chin at Ye Cheng, then turned his head, peeled the two peanuts, blew off the red skins, and handed the peanut kernels to Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen took it and ate it, giving him an "appreciative" look.

The interview began, but the first candidate wasn't Ye Cheng, but Gu Zheng.

This great deity, sitting there, was practically a living X-ray machine. He didn't look at his face, didn't ask his name, but simply stretched out a hand: "Put your hand out."

The first one in line was Lai Zi Zhao San from the east end of the village. This guy did nothing but steal chickens and dogs and beat his wife. When he heard about job openings, he ran away faster than anyone else.

"Greetings, sir! I'm strong, really!" Zhao San said with a fawning smile, extending his hand.

Gu Zheng glanced at the fair, calloused hand and sneered. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Zhao San's shoulder like an eagle's claw.

"Ouch—it hurts! It's broken!"

Gu Zheng only used about 30% of his strength, and Zhao San was in so much pain that he howled like a pig being slaughtered, and his whole body went limp.

"No calluses on your palms? That's laziness. No muscle on your shoulders? That's weakness. If you can't even handle this much strength, do you want to get crushed by rocks at the quarry?" Gu Zheng let go of his hand and pushed him away like he was throwing away trash. "Next."

"Wow!" The crowd stirred.

"Isn't this a bit too strict?"

"Commander Gu, you've really practiced! That's real skill!"

With Zhao San serving as a cautionary tale, those lazybones who wanted to take advantage of the situation were now quite hesitant. The subsequent screening process was extremely fast. Gu Zheng's sharp eyes could clearly distinguish who was truly working and who was just pretending. He could tell just by touching their bones and looking at their hands.

Before long, half of the list of thirty people was finalized.

Just then, Wang Laocai's nephew, a young man nicknamed "Wang Ermazi," squeezed his way up.

Instead of going to Gu Zheng to suffer, he went straight to Ye Cheng, took out an unopened box of "Peony" cigarettes from his pocket, and shoved it into Ye Cheng's hand with a grin.

"Brother Cheng, hehe, it's me, Er Mazi." Wang Er Mazi winked and said, "We used to go fishing together when we were kids. Look, I'm not bad-looking, could I... be a vice captain? I'm strong, and I can help you get people in charge."

This is a typical example of "connections".

Moreover, this relationship is not ordinary. If Ye Cheng refuses in front of Village Chief Wang Laocai, it would be disrespectful to the village chief.

The air around them seemed to freeze. The villagers watched the spectacle, some gloating, others secretly worried. Ye Cheng had been honest and unassuming for over twenty years; could he really do something so offensive?

Old Wang coughed lightly, pretending to lower his head to drink tea, but in reality, his ears were perked up higher than anyone else's.

Ye Cheng tightened his grip on his cane. He glanced at the pack of cigarettes, then at Wang Ermazi's large, calloused hands, the grime accumulating under his fingernails.

He subconsciously turned around and glanced at Gu Zheng sitting in the back.

Gu Zheng didn't look at him. He didn't need to speak; his very presence was his greatest source of confidence.

Ye Cheng took a deep breath, his chest heaving. The pent-up frustration that had been building up for so long seemed to suddenly dissipate.

He didn't take the pack of cigarettes.

"Er Mazi," Ye Cheng spoke, his voice still a little hoarse, but surprisingly steady, "put out your hand."

Wang Ermazi was taken aback, but still reached out his hand.

"Take this cigarette back." Ye Cheng pointed to his palm, his tone calm. "You need to grip the handle of a hammer firmly, and have calluses on your thumb and forefinger. Your calluses are all on your fingertips; you got them from playing cards. Your hands are too slippery; you can't hold a twelve-pound hammer."

Wang Ermazi's smile froze: "Brother Cheng, I..."

"And another thing," Ye Cheng interrupted him, looking directly into the other's eyes, "You stay up all night playing cards all year round. The terrain of Qing Shi Gang on the back mountain is steep, and the rocks are temperamental. If you're not focused, you'll smash your own foot with a hammer. This job is deadly; you can't do it."

These words were reasonable, well-founded, and hit the nail on the head, leaving Wang Ermazi speechless.

Several old stonemasons nearby nodded in agreement: This eldest son of the Ye family is knowledgeable!

"No, Brother Cheng, are you really going to be so disrespectful?" Wang Ermazi said angrily, raising his voice.

Ye Cheng ignored him and turned to look at the few thin old men squatting in the corner of the crowd, smoking pipes.

"Uncle Gen, Sixth Master, Uncle Zhao," Ye Cheng stood up, leaning on his cane, his tone becoming extremely respectful. "The stones on the back mountain of our Black Mountain Village come in three types: blue, white, and hemp-like. Uncle Gen, your hammer is the most accurate, you specialize in finding the eye of the stone's vein; Sixth Master, your hearing is excellent, you can tell if a stone is cracked just by listening to the sound of the hammer; Uncle Zhao, your blasting skills are unparalleled. Without you experienced workers overseeing this construction team, I, Ye Cheng, wouldn't dare to start work."

The old stonemasons whose names were called were stunned. They were too old to push forward, thinking that such a good thing wouldn't happen to their old bones.

Unexpectedly, Ye Cheng knew everything perfectly well!

"Hey! Da Chengzi knows his stuff!" The old man called Uncle Gen excitedly slammed his pipe on his shoe and stood up. "As long as you trust us old bones, we'll take the job!"

"I accepted it too!"

Count me in!

In no time, truly skilled craftsmen responded one after another. Ye Cheng's move not only rejected those with connections, but also precisely unearthed the village's technical backbone.

The way everyone looked at Ye Cheng completely changed. This was no longer the cripple with the broken leg! This was clearly a capable and resourceful foreman!

Seeing this, Old Wang quietly buried his face in his teacup, never daring to mention letting his nephew join the team again.

A faint smile appeared on Gu Zheng's lips.

"This blockhead has finally seen the light," he whispered to Ye Zhen beside him.

Ye Zhen smiled without saying a word, but her clear, cool eyes were full of satisfaction.

……

As the sun set behind the mountains, a fiery cloud spread across the horizon.

The construction team list was finally finalized: thirty strong men plus five technical advisors, all beaming with pride, as if they could see a bright future ahead.

The old principal wrote the words "Heishan Village Military Support Construction Team" in large characters at the top of the paper, and solemnly wrote the team leader's name: Ye Cheng. In the setting sun, the paper seemed to glow.

Ye Zhen and Gu Zheng are preparing to return to the city.

As soon as Ye Zhen reached the jeep at the village entrance, she was so shocked by the sight before her that she gasped in surprise.

This is no longer a majestic military vehicle; it's practically a mobile general store!

The trunk was already overflowing, and the back seat was piled high with bamboo baskets and sacks. Two clucking hens were tied to the roof rack, two strings of dried red chilies hung from the windshield wipers, and even the floor mats in the driver's cab were neatly stacked with two rows of homemade cloth shoes.

Eggs, red dates, walnuts, dried persimmons...

These are things that the villagers themselves would normally be reluctant to eat, but now they're being eaten as if they were free, filling the jeep to the brim.

"This..." Gu Zheng looked at the driver's seat, which was squeezed into a narrow gap, and his eye twitched. "Are these guys trying to pickle me in the car?"

Though he expressed his disdain, there was no real annoyance in his usually cold and hard eyes. He knew that this was more than just a gift; it was the most sincere and profound respect from the people of Black Mountain Village.

They are not good with words and dare not talk to this "living devil," so they can only use this clumsy way to lay their hearts bare for you to see.

"Keep it." Ye Zhen held the two strings of red chilies in her hand and shook them, her eyes a little moist. "This is our 'toll money.' From now on, Black Mountain Village will be our strongest support."

The car started, carrying a load of local specialties and the clucking of two old hens, and slowly drove to the village entrance.

The sky had completely darkened, with only two beams of car headlights piercing the darkness.

Suddenly, a faint orange light appeared at the bend in the path ahead.

It started as a single point, then spread out, and finally formed a winding fire dragon.

Gu Zheng instinctively slammed on the brakes.

It's neither a roadblock nor a robbery.

Along the roadside, in the biting cold wind, the old principal, Li Xuewen, stood at the forefront, wrapped in a tattered cotton-padded coat. Behind him were dozens of children of varying heights.

Because they were poor, they didn't have flashlights.

Some children carried torches made of pine resin, some carried kerosene lamps made from canned jars, and some simply lit a handful of straw.

Those faint yet warm flames flickered in the pitch-black night, illuminating those frostbitten, yet innocent, faces.

When the jeep arrived, the children neither spoke nor cheered.

Led by the former principal, dozens of children bowed deeply to the car in unison.

It was a silent farewell, and also a tribute to hope.

Because they know that the people sitting in the car not only repaired their school, but also gave their parents the opportunity to stand tall.

The carriage was quiet, with only the low rumble of the engine.

Looking at the innocent faces outside the car window, Ye Zhen felt as if something had hit her heart hard, leaving her with a sharp, aching feeling.

Gu Zheng remained silent.

He rolled down the car window, and a cold wind rushed in, but he seemed oblivious.

Under the watchful eyes of those rows of torches, this man, who killed without blinking an eye on the battlefield and was arrogant and domineering in the officialdom, slowly raised his right hand and gave a standard and solemn military salute to the group of ragged children outside the window.

Even after the car had driven quite a distance, Ye Zhen could still see the winding fire dragon in the rearview mirror, like a wildfire igniting on this barren land.

"Gu Zheng," Ye Zhen said softly, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Um?"

"Thank you."

Gu Zheng held the steering wheel with one hand, and reached out with the other to accurately grasp her hand, their fingers intertwined.

"Fool."

He chuckled softly in the darkness, his tone filled with undisguised affection, "Your roots are here. I have to thoroughly water and fertilize this land for you so that my Dr. Ye can soar to new heights without any worries, right?"

The jeep sped off towards the north of the city, its wheels crunching over the gravel. But the story of Black Mountain Village was only just beginning.