Pushing Me to Improve!

It wasn't impossible.

"My specialty is using computer office software. I also like basketball and soccer..."

Fang Huai set aside his one real talent—singing while playing guitar—and gave an honest answer.

Too many scattered traits meant there was nothing memorable about him.

Hao Chengbin's eyes lit up. "Computer office software? How skilled are you?"

Basketball and soccer weren't unusual, but knowing computers... that depended on how well he knew them. If he could handle a clerk's work, he'd be a treasure.

A few days ago, the company clerk had been staying up every night organizing the electronic files for the new recruits' records. He'd complained plenty, and the company commander and Political Instructor had even held a meeting with them, hoping that any NCOs who knew how to use Word and Excel could help cover a shift.

The moment that assignment came down, the NCOs all turned into clueless drifters and started playing dumb. "This computer... where's the power button?"

Forget that they only knew how to play CS and typed at a snail's pace. Even if the clerk was willing to teach them, no one wanted to learn.

What a joke. They already had to shout themselves hoarse training recruits during the day, and then they had to work overtime at night? Who would want that?

Of course Fang Huai knew about it.

Not just now—even by the time he was nearing discharge, signalmen and clerks who could skillfully operate all kinds of office software and communications equipment were still in high demand. There were even dedicated signal corps competitions every year.

"Squad Leader, I know most of the office software on the market."

A visible smile finally appeared on Hao Chengbin's face.

"Good. Come with me to the Company Headquarters Office in a bit."

The other recruits immediately caught the scent of a perk.

The recruit who had kept talking while walking ahead of Fang Huai upstairs earlier immediately stood up and said with some confidence.

"Report, Squad Leader! I know computers too!"

A double blessing?

Hao Chengbin nodded. "Fine, you go too! Perfect. Introduce yourself first."

"Report, Squad Leader, my name is Jiang Peng!"

"Oh... you're Jiang Peng, right? From Yunnan? Went to junior college?"

"Yes, Squad Leader!" Seeing that the squad leader knew who he was, countless guesses rose in Jiang Peng's mind, and he straightened up a little.

"Squad Leader, my name is Jiang Peng. I'm twenty-one, a junior college graduate, from Kunming, Yunnan..."

"I saw in your file that you're from Qujing, right?" Hao Chengbin interrupted.

Jiang Peng looked a little embarrassed.

"Squad Leader... my, my grandfather is from Kunming. I usually live with him."

Fang Huai nearly laughed.

Inventing a grandfather out of nowhere. A kindred spirit!

But what was the point of claiming he was from Kunming? Did it make his family background sound better?

Hao Chengbin waved a hand. "Just state your registered hometown."

"...I'm from Qujing. I like singing and can play guitar! I'm also pretty good with computers! Back in high school... I was an Assistant Squad Leader too!" Jiang Peng quickly listed several strengths, trying to bury his earlier embarrassment.

Jiang Peng was older, after all. He knew that if he wanted to compete for Assistant Squad Leader, he had to show some advantages first.

But he was still a little too green.

Hao Chengbin saw through him but didn't call him out.

Who hadn't studied for a few years? Schools chose class officers based on grades. If he really could become an Assistant Squad Leader, would he have ended up taking a junior college entrance exam in this day and age?

If they really chose an Assistant Squad Leader... this Fang Huai looked more suitable.

Just as that thought crossed Hao Chengbin's mind, Fang Huai's eyes went wide beside him.

Mission: Become the Assistant Squad Leader of the new recruit squad. (Upon completion, the Merit System will be activated.)

Merit System?!

There was even a subsystem?

The Merit System would reward the host for receiving honors of commendation level or above.

Fang Huai's adrenaline surged, and all the drowsiness brought on by the increasingly quiet, warm atmosphere in the room vanished.

This wasn't just about a Merit System!

Military merit was hard to earn. Commendation level or above meant at least Outstanding Soldier. Even if he served another five years, he probably wouldn't receive many rewards.

But if there was a Merit System... were there other systems too?

What were the rewards?

And he could accept multiple missions at once! That made completing missions much more likely!

Those thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

"Mm, twenty-one. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes... if I get into military academy, we're planning to get married." Jiang Peng couldn't hide his pride.

"Oh... you're taking the military academy exam... do you have the books?"

Non-college recruits seeking promotion had to take the basic academic exam to enter military academy. Chinese, mathematics, English, physics, chemistry, politics—each subject had a standard guidebook.

"Yes, they're in my bag." Jiang Peng pointed outside.

"Mm, studying to become an officer is a fine ambition! If there's no extra training on weekends, read more!"

"Thank you, Squad Leader! I'll work hard!"

After saying that, Jiang Peng felt as though he had already become an officer. Even the way he sat down carried a trace of high spirits.

As if remembering something, Hao Chengbin swept his gaze around the room.

"Any of you planning to take the exam but don't have the books, Clerk Huang at company headquarters has a set. Just let us know, and the company can make copies for you."

For a long while, no one spoke.

Hao Chengbin looked slightly disappointed.

After all, producing an officer was something to be proud of.

Jiang Peng looked even more spirited.

"Fang Huai, you're a high school graduate, right? You're still young, so you can take the undergraduate military academy exam too... aren't you going to?"

Fang Huai snapped out of his earlier shock.

"Report, Squad Leader! My family wants me to take it, and I have the books! Later... my family will bring them to me. Squad Leader, I just joined the army. If I have free time, I'd rather focus on training."

In his previous life, it seemed that after he received his rank, his uncle had come to visit and brought him a set of books. They had belonged to some top student and were filled with notes, definitely far more valuable than ordinary books.

Besides, the New Recruit Regiment often had extra training on weekends. When they finally got a break, instead of catching up on sleep hunched over a little stool, he was supposed to read books?

Just looking at books gave him a headache, okay?

"Oh, all right." Hearing Fang Huai say that, Hao Chengbin nodded again, his favorable impression growing by another notch.

His impression of the kid hadn't been wrong. Fang Huai had ideas and plans, but he wasn't showy. He was steady.

Hao Chengbin looked toward the one in the corner who was practically asleep.

"You there... little guy, come over."

The fair-skinned, skinny boy was nudged by the recruit beside him. His eyes were dazed like a newborn baby's. After slowly opening them and realizing everyone was looking at him, he jumped in fright.

"Ah... me?"

Hao Chengbin was both annoyed and amused. "Yes! You! Introduce yourself... and wipe your drool first!"

The recruit immediately wiped his drool with his sleeve and stood up.

Thump.

His head made intimate contact with the bedframe.

"Hahahaha..." A burst of laughter erupted.

Fang Huai laughed too. Every movement this kid made felt like some kind of cartoonish performance art.

"My name is Peng Yingqirui. I'm from Bijie, Guizhou. Hiss... I don't have any special talents."

Peng Yingqirui slowly spoke while rubbing his head.

"What about hobbies? None?" Hao Chengbin asked, somewhat dissatisfied.

"Yes, sleeping..."

"Hahahaha..."

Hao Chengbin couldn't help laughing either and repeatedly waved his hand.

"All right, sit down, sit down. Next."

The recruit beside him stood up. He was short, dark, and skinny, with a rough, weathered face that made it obvious he often did farm work at home. His smile was simple and honest.

"Report, comrades, my name is Zhao Bing, pronounced 'fai fa'! My childhood dream was to become a soldier! At home, I listen to the radio, and I don't have any other hobbies!"

Hao Chengbin frowned. "Where are you from?"

"Fai fa! Fu Nan fai fa!"

"Oh... Huaihua, Hunan, right?"

"Yes, Squad Leader!"

Yue Tao eagerly imitated him. "Haha! Hunan fai fa! Oh, Fu Nan!"

Hao Chengbin finally couldn't hold back and flicked him on the head.

Now there were two people in the room clutching their heads and rubbing them.

"Next!"

The tall, skinny recruit beside Zhao Bing stood up.

"Squad Leader, my name is Lu Zexian..."

Just as he spoke, there were two knocks, and the door opened.

Company Commander Wang Jian poked his head in. "Old Hao, it's your squad's turn."

Hao Chengbin nodded, got up, and walked out. The two of them carried the recruits' bags and bundles from the doorway to company headquarters.

They came back shortly afterward, smiles on their faces.

"None of you brought a large amount of cash, right?"

They looked at one another and all shook their heads.

"Good. Continue with the introductions..."

When they gathered downstairs, they heard a huge piece of news: a recruit from Eighth Squad had brought more than three hundred thousand yuan in cash. Apparently, a whole bunch of relatives from the People's Armed Forces Department had worried that he might have a hard time in the army, so one gave him thirty thousand, another gave him fifty thousand, stuffing money into his hands.

Company headquarters didn't dare keep it. Tomorrow, they would have to specifically take that recruit to the bank and deposit it into his card.

The entire Seventh Company exploded. Everyone discussed it as they headed downstairs to assemble.

"Holy shit, his name is Han Yong, right? I heard his dad is Furong Wang's provincial distributor..."

"Damn, rich people's units for counting pocket money aren't even the same as ours..."

"Zhang Wei, he's in your squad, right? Big brother! Won't you have to suck up to him from now on?"

"Suck up my ass! Squad Leader Pan cursed him out for half an hour just now! Told him that if he wanted to be some big-shot rich kid, he shouldn't have joined the army!"

"Yeah, yeah! I heard at home that everyone really looks down on rich kids who join the army! Life's going to be hard for him from now on!"

Fang Huai followed behind them, curling his lip.

What Furong Wang distributor? Furong Wang didn't even have distributors.

Yet these people still had the mood to worry about someone else having it hard. One day, they'd understand what "a father's happiness is beyond your imagination" meant.

Sigh, so young, with all their worries already gone. How were they supposed to live in the future?

Everyone happily ate the welcome noodles.

Tomato and egg, minced pork with green peppers, and two basins of meat sauce. It tasted damn good—who knew how many levels above the soy sauce noodles Fang Huai had eaten yesterday.

Seven or eight cafeteria aunties bustled around nonstop, stuffing everyone full.

Fang Huai had seen plenty of jokes in his previous life saying that the People's Liberation Army's welcome noodles were served in little yellow plastic basins used for washing faces and feet. Looking at the huge aluminum basin more than half a meter wide, though, it looked pretty professional!

It was only usually kept behind the cafeteria, where some dish soap was added and recruits washed dishes in it!

Sometimes, when the swill bucket was full, it was temporarily used to hold some swill too!

That swill was thick with oil and ingredients. Even pigs would fight over it. Why couldn't people eat from it?

As for those utensils that kept appearing everywhere in the army, it was best not to think too deeply about them. The more you thought, the worse you felt.

Looking at that battle-scarred multipurpose aluminum basin, with little beads of oil floating atop the clear noodle soup, Fang Huai still pushed the distracting thoughts aside and forced himself to eat a bowl.

During the meal, Yue Tao even wanted to give him another bowl and told him to eat more.

Only recruits like them, who had arrived early and already experienced the cafeteria food, understood how precious this meal of noodles was.

The base had two cafeterias.

The recruits' cafeteria was the large cafeteria. Eleven people sat at each table, with six dishes and one soup. It wasn't terrible, but there was no choice, and there was always more rice than food.

A hundred meters directly across from the large cafeteria was the small cafeteria, where the base's internal personnel ate. It was buffet-style, and calling it air force food wouldn't have been an exaggeration. Since the base had mostly civilian cadres, there were more field-grade officers than company-grade officers, and more company-grade officers than enlisted men. The average rank was ridiculously high, and so were the food standards. Every meal offered more than ten large basins of buffet dishes, with at least two kinds of seafood.

The two cafeterias were like Africa and Europe.

The base's swill mostly came from Europe. Africa barely had any oil left over.

Today, Africa was celebrating the New Year. Several hundred recruits ate until every one of them was burping, and there was somehow still plenty left in the large basin of meat sauce.

Fang Huai blindly guessed that they would probably eat this again tomorrow morning, though there definitely wouldn't be enough for everyone.

Hao Chengbin led the squad back, told the recruits to head to the washroom, then immediately called Fang Huai and Jiang Peng to the Company Headquarters Office.

When they pushed open the door, only Company Commander Wang Jian and a dark, fat corporal were inside. The two were warming themselves around a stove, with a ring of peanuts roasting on top.

Hao Chengbin glanced at an empty bed in the corner.

"Company Commander Wang, Director Liang isn't here again?"

Wang Jian turned around, tossed the peanut shells in his hand into the trash, grabbed a handful from the table and handed them over. Then he looked at Fang Huai and Jiang Peng behind Hao Chengbin. After a long silence, he said quietly.

"His wife is sick and hospitalized here. Every family has its troubles... if something comes up in the company... try to be understanding."

Hao Chengbin took the warm peanuts, shelled one, tossed it into his mouth, and said.

"If she needs long-term hospitalization and care... it'd be better to ask Regimental Headquarters for leave and send someone else over. There are a lot of matters involving the new recruits. You can't keep handling everything by yourself."

Wang Jian waved a hand. "We're comrades. Director Liang was even in the same military academy unit as me. If I can help, I'll help. Huang Yi is here too, so it's not like we can't finish the work."

As he spoke, he pointed at the dark, fat corporal.

The sergeant named Huang Yi immediately widened his eyes, pushed his stool back, and glanced at the computer beside him.

"Company Commander Wang, you can't dump everything on me alone! I've been working overtime for days straight. Even back in the squadron, I never worked this much!"

Wang Jian smiled and patted Huang Yi on the shoulder. "We'll take turns! I'm not making you do it all by yourself! Don't worry, one of our company's outstanding squad leaders will definitely be you!"

Hearing that, Hao Chengbin immediately turned back with a smug look at Fang Huai and Jiang Peng.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to finish it all. Here—I've brought you some fresh reinforcements! Two guys who know their way around computers!"

Wang Jian and Huang Yi's eyes immediately lit up.

Jiang Peng promptly took a slight step forward, positioning himself in front of Fang Huai.

Wang Jian lowered his head and spat out a peanut shell, then looked up at Jiang Peng, somewhat doubtful.

"You two know computers? Are you proficient?"

Jiang Peng answered with a reserved expression, "Reporting, Company Commander, I type very fast! I can use document software too!"

"What about making spreadsheets? Can you do that?" Wang Jian asked.

Jiang Peng hesitated for a moment.

"Probably... no problem."

Wang Jian was about to ask more, but Huang Yi quickly interrupted him, unwilling to miss this chance to rope in some extra labor.

"Hey, Company Commander Wang, don't set the bar too high. As long as he can type, that's enough! He can help draft reports—as long as there aren't any typos! Let him give it a try!"

Wang Jian had no choice but to nod. He got up, found two clothing-and-equipment inventory forms by the computer desk, and handed them to Jiang Peng.

"Can you fill out forms?"

Jiang Peng took the forms and looked them over, then cautiously asked, "Um... there's a template for this, right?"