The Pep Talk Was for Nothing

When the 2 p.m. wake-up call sounded, everyone reacted the same way.

They got up from where they had been lying facedown, wiped the drool from the corners of their mouths, then went to the windows to see whether it was raining outside.

It was not.

"Ugh, training again." Chen Zhongqiang complained while the squad leader was in the restroom.

Fang Huai looked outside as well and smiled. "We're already lucky. Cherish it. There's still sunshine these next two days, and it's around ten degrees, so it's not that cold. This is the coldest place in Guiyang during winter."

Guiyang had warm winters and cool summers, with a pleasant climate. But the training ground at the base was high up and exposed. Fang Huai remembered that when January came, the biting wind would whip straight into people's faces.

Of course, it was only a few degrees below zero, nothing compared to the Northeast.

But people there had much thicker gear!

Winter gear for soldiers in the Northeast left only their eyes and mouths exposed. Everything else was wrapped up.

The new recruits in Guizhou only had ordinary winter training uniforms, camouflage caps or peaked caps, without even anything to cover their ears. So the squad leaders had invented a new torture method—flicking ears.

A frozen ear could hurt so badly from one flick that tears sprang to your eyes.

Actually, there was no need to flick them. The wind alone hurt badly enough.

"Yeah! It's only going to get colder!" Chen Zhongqiang suddenly realized that even worse conditions were yet to come, and a look of sorrow appeared on his face.

"Peeep—peep!" The whistle blew again.

"Seventh Company, assemble downstairs in twenty minutes for training!"

Wails immediately filled the building.

After one morning, some of them had already realized how grueling training was. Not only was it hard, but they could get punished at any moment.

Hao Chengbin had just come out of the restroom in the middle of the hallway.

Human joys and sorrows were never shared. Hao Chengbin only found them noisy.

His brows immediately drew together as he shouted, "What? You don't want to train? Squad leaders, straighten them out properly today!"

The wailing stopped at once, and squad leaders' voices rang out from all over the hallway.

"That's right! We'll arrange something nice for them today!"

"Company Commander Wang, forget military posture this afternoon. Let's do physical training!"

Yue Tao rushed in through the door as if his ass were on fire.

"The squad leader's here!"

The recruits who had been listening intently for movement did not even have time to curse those idiots who had been howling by the doorway. They hurriedly put away their stools, while Liu Yue, the duty recruit, took out the towel from the communal desk cabinet and started cleaning and wiping the floor.

The squad's commonly used cleaning tool was one towel. It was used to wipe the floor, the tables, and the beds, and for the windows... Afterward, they also had to use old newspapers from the communal desk cabinet to dry off the water.

There was nowhere in the squad room to store cleaning tools. The brooms and dustpans in the shared washroom were scarce and usually impossible to grab. Mops were always being taken away and used randomly; some had even been used to mop the toilets, which was hardly reassuring. If someone used a toilet mop in the squad room and left a smell behind, they could just wait to get chewed out.

These were the precious lessons "Squad Leader Yue" and Chen Zhongqiang had learned from arriving several days early.

When Hao Chengbin entered, he smacked the door twice with the dress-uniform belt in his hand.

"Did anyone in our squad just howl like a ghost?"

"No, Squad Leader!" Yue Tao immediately cut everyone else off, wearing a fawning grin.

Hao Chengbin ignored him, walked in, sat on his bed, and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

Click. He puffed out clouds of smoke.

"I'm telling you, once you join the military, training is your duty—your job! Without training, you're no different from ordinary civilians!

What gives you the right to wear this uniform and earn society's respect?

You green little brats who aren't even worth a damn? Your current fitness is worse than that of ordinary high school athletes, let alone your professional skills!

From now on, if I hear anyone complaining about training again, don't blame me for getting rough! Starting now, there's an additional rule! No matter how bitter or tiring training gets, don't show me that miserable face!

No matter how hard it is, smile!

Even if you can't hold on and collapse, you'd better collapse with a smile! Is that clear?"

"Clear, Squad Leader!" Everyone answered much more loudly this time.

Only then did Hao Chengbin nod in satisfaction.

"Who used to smoke?"

Everyone looked at one another.

The squad leader's tone... seemed negotiable.

"Squad Leader, I smoke." The first to raise his hand was unexpectedly Sun Lianhai, the shortest one and the one who looked most like an obedient kid.

Chen Zhongqiang quickly raised his hand too.

That made five people.

Fang Huai hesitated as well. His nicotine addiction had flared up long ago, and from his experience, if Hao Chengbin was asking like this, he was definitely going to hand out cigarettes.

Hao Chengbin swept his eyes around and immediately understood.

"Lu Zexian, Fang Huai, you two don't smoke?"

Lu Zexian had been annoyed ever since Hao Chengbin kicked him that morning, but since Hao Chengbin had asked directly, he still nodded. "Squad Leader, I smoke too."

Fang Huai sighed. "Squad Leader, I smoke too, but I need to smoke less. My addiction's too bad. I've been suffering like crazy these past two days."

The moment he said that, everyone found it hard to believe.

"Fang Huai, you have a bad smoking addiction? The day before yesterday, you were telling Chen Zhongqiang to quit!" Yue Tao immediately shouted.

"Exactly! He talks about wanting a smoke every day. Wouldn't that make me suffer even more?" Fang Huai said helplessly.

Hao Chengbin nodded, feeling that he understood Fang Huai even better. This kid was mentally mature and able to restrain his desires.

"There are plenty of smokers in the military, but the first requirement is that you can handle training! Let me make this clear: if your fitness and drill performance improve, you can regularly come get cigarettes from me and smoke openly! But don't hide cigarettes or sneak off to smoke!

"Chen Zhongqiang, the First Squad Leader mentioned something to me. Before the last batch of recruits arrived yesterday, what did you do in the restroom? I don't want to spell it out!

"You went there just now too, didn't you?

"My nose is sharp! You can't brush away the smell of smoke! And besides, carrying a mug out at noon—do you think I'm blind? Or do you think I can't tell what you were doing?

"If there's a next time, I don't need evidence to deal with someone! Don't think you'll get a chance to make excuses!"

Chen Zhongqiang looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

Actually, Yue Tao and Sun Lianhai had known for a while too. Chen Zhongqiang had gotten cigarettes from a fellow villager in Third Squad who had also arrived early, but he had not shared them with the two of them, leaving them rather unhappy.

Now, several smokers openly showed their displeasure with Chen Zhongqiang and looked at him resentfully.

Chen Zhongqiang was straightforward about it. He walked directly to his bed, climbed the ladder, unscrewed a round knob on the inner side of the iron bunk bed, and pulled a handful of cigarettes from the hollow frame.

There were five of them.

He handed them to Hao Chengbin.

"Squad Leader! I promise there won't be a next time! I'll train hard and earn the right to smoke openly!"

Hao Chengbin took the cigarettes, glanced at them, then casually put them into his own cigarette case.

"Fine. Damn, these are decent cigarettes too—Black-legged cigarettes, Fugui brand. You can't buy these outside, can you? You bought them after arriving in Guizhou? Who bought them? How?"

Chen Zhongqiang immediately put on an expression that said his head could be cut off and his blood spilled, but when he saw Hao Chengbin's eyes widening, he got a little intimidated.

"Squad Leader! I'd never sell out a comrade!... But don't worry, they definitely weren't bought secretly! He bought them from a Guizhou guy on the train here! We wanted to buy some too... but we can't exactly get out!"

Hao Chengbin stared at him for a while longer. Seeing no sign of deception, he finally relaxed.

Smoking was a personal matter, but if recruits could buy cigarettes, that was a serious issue.

Guards stood watch at the entrance to the New Recruit Building around the clock. Even the duty recruits were watched by clerks until they finished washing dishes and returned.

The base was huge, with plenty of ways out. Moreover, firefighting units differed from other military units in that they had more contact with civilians. The training base did not serve only one batch of recruits; there was also a fire academy, students, and outside visitors. If someone could slip away unsupervised to buy cigarettes at the base supermarket more than two hundred meters from the New Recruit Building, that meant recruits could escape supervision.

Once recruits had freedom, suicide and desertion could both happen.

If something like that happened in the new recruit regiment, there would be accountability. Why could the recruit run away? Was management lax? Why did he run? Had recruits been beaten, cursed at, humiliated, or punished?

Once something happened, there would be no chance to argue, because there had to be a reason behind it. Once the higher-ups got angry, nothing could be hidden.

Forget squad leaders and company commanders—even the regimental commander would be disciplined, and subsequent training would definitely face major obstacles.

Those rumored death quotas were complete bullshit. If something like this happened, someone would definitely take responsibility.

Safety incidents were even more serious. The commanding officers would absolutely be held accountable. At best, their promotion prospects would be blocked; at worst, they would pack their bags and be transferred out.

That was the fundamental reason why windows had protective bars, recruits could not leave their squad leaders' sight, could not go downstairs without permission, and even had time limits for using the restroom.

"All right. This afternoon, I'll take you to try the Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar and test you. Give it everything you've got! If your results satisfy me, I'll let you smoke tonight!"

After saying that, Hao Chengbin checked the time and headed to the company office with his hands behind his back.

Hope flashed in everyone's eyes.

The smokers immediately urged Zhao Bing and Fang Huai on.

"Big brothers, our hopes are counting on you!"

Zhao Bing immediately laughed, revealing a slyness that did not match his honest appearance for the first time. "Fuck! You assholes only think of me when you need something. I don't even smoke! And you want me to risk my life for you! At lunch, I didn't even get a piece of meat!"

Everyone looked at Liu Yue.

Sun Lianhai immediately exposed him. "I saw Liu Yue hiding several pieces of meat at the bottom of his bowl!"

Liu Yue spread his hands and played dumb. "I didn't! I really didn't hide any! You can break open my bowl and check this afternoon!"

Lu Zexian was in a brighter mood now too. He shouted, "Fuck! Who stole our Brother Bing's meat! Don't worry, Brother Bing. Pull as hard as you can and take first place in the whole company. I'll help you grab meat later!"

Fang Huai unfastened his belt, pulled it out from behind his neck, and stretched his arms. "All right, you should hope everyone can manage at least a couple. It's the weak-link effect—don't just count on the strong ones. If too many people get zero, the squad leader will lose face for sure.

"Lu Zexian, Peng Yingqirui, Sun Lianhai, you guys should work harder. At least break your cherry."

Lu Zexian made a miserable face and ran a hand from his head down to his feet. "Bro, at my height, pull-ups are hard! I heard military pull-ups have to clear the chin. With arms this long, how high do I have to pull to do even one?"

Fang Huai understood well that if he wanted something, he had to pay for it. If he wanted to become Assistant Squad Leader, he had to perform.

He instructed Lu Zexian, "That horizontal bar is pretty low, and recruit testing isn't strict. In a bit, learn how to swing. As long as you can grip the bar firmly, hook your feet and swing out a couple, or use the momentum when you jump up to pull yourself once. You're so tall, it won't be a problem."

"All right, I'll try!" Lu Zexian did not want to hold everyone back either.

Sun Lianhai wanted to smoke, so he immediately said, "Okay, I'll do my best! But no promises!"

Now the pressure landed on Peng Yingqirui.

"Tiny, what do you say?" Jiang Peng hooked an arm around Peng Yingqirui's shoulders, grinning.

For some reason, after only half a day, Jiang Peng and Peng Yingqirui had become close.

Peng Yingqirui's eyes widened as he waved his hands repeatedly.

"I'm not doing pull-ups! I can't! I can't eat much anyway, so you can have all my meat! I don't smoke either! You guys work hard!"

He had fully committed to lying flat.

Fang Huai was helpless with this enthusiast for giving up, so he could only say, "If you train hard and manage one pull-up, then someday when you're especially sleepy, I can help you fold your blanket once."

Tiny considered it, then immediately gave a thumbs-up. "OK!"

He was smart too. There was no cost if he failed to pull himself up anyway. Training was unavoidable, as the squad leader had just said.

They were clearly passing the buck to one another, yet they seemed to have developed some sense of collective identity. They were starting to understand that every action they took could bring honor or shame to the squad.

Before assembling downstairs, they had already started talking among themselves, and little circles began to form.

Zhao Bing and Hu Deli, both rural recruits and the quieter of the two; Jiang Peng and Tiny Peng Yingqirui, who had been the first to receive a nickname because of Hao Chengbin's casual remark; Yue Tao and his Fujian fellow villager Chen Zhongqiang; Fang Huai, meanwhile, took the initiative to speak with the more solitary Lu Zexian, Liu Yue, and Sun Lianhai.

Future Assistant Squad Leader Fang Huai decided that the work of uniting comrades would begin with himself.

Training ground.

Seventh Company was brought as a group to the Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar, where Company Commander Wang Jian gave the command.

"Thirty centimeters apart side to side, seventy-five centimeters front to back, dress right!"

The formation immediately spread out, while the squad leaders shouted reminders from the sides.

"Seventy-five centimeters! Why are you standing so close? Want to smell the guy in front of you fart? Dress right! Raise your ass! Take little steps! Don't stomp around like that! Maintain your posture, don't hunch your chest or slouch!"

"Fifth man in the third row! Why are you craning your neck to look ahead? Just line up with the person beside you!"

"You're still looking! Look at your grandma's legs!"

"Eyes front!"

After two rounds of arranging the formation, the ranks finally looked somewhat presentable.

But Pan Zhaohui, the Eighth Squad Leader, stood with his hands behind his back and spoke in Guizhou-accented Mandarin, sounding dissatisfied. "Company Commander Wang, with this sorry lot, what Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar can they do? Might as well make them do push-ups all afternoon!"

Sun Yi, the First Squad Leader beside him, also looked disgusted. "Exactly! What a waste of training time. Running would work too. Why do a Three Kilometer Run? When they join their units, where are they going to run three kilometers? Just make it a Five Kilometer Run!"

The recruits below kept swallowing, their legs going weak with fright.

Just a day ago, they had still been ordinary young people. A Five Kilometer Run? Push-ups all afternoon?

People would die!

Were these squad leaders planning to kill a few recruits as sacrifices on the very first day of training?

Wang Jian finally spoke with a smile. "Regimental Headquarters didn't schedule group physical training today, and two companies are still practicing drill formation on the Running Track. How are we supposed to run?

"How about this? We'll first take them through warm-ups, then teach them how to swing. They can take turns doing two sets. Anyone who can't manage a single one can do push-ups here. Those who can do them get to rest."

"Fine. I'll take away anyone who can't do even one. I'll arrange their afternoon training myself!" The Fourth Squad Leader showed a twisted, excited smile.

The recruits had already begun whispering among themselves.

"Fuck... we're done for. I can't do one..."

"Don't be scared, you can swing! Our squad leader said lots of people can swing out a couple!"

"If I can't do the horizontal bar, can I at least do one on the parallel bars?"

Fang Huai felt that his pep talk earlier had probably been for nothing. After the veterans scared them like this, the Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar area—the place recruits feared most after joining their units—had suddenly become the place they most wanted to stay.

With that Fourth Squad Leader's smile, they would have to pull out one even if their pants ripped apart!

(Updates will be posted after the midnight promotion slot. Once the newcomer promotion is over and the book goes premium, the mass updates will begin.)