Who Here Smokes?

"Well, all right, Squad Leader."

"I've also got some local specialty tea here. Squad Leader, this shouldn't count as contraband in the military, right?"

Ji Baichang grinned as he took a tin of tea out of his bag.

Chen Ting narrowed his eyes at the words on the tin:

"Pu'er Golden Melon Tribute Tea"

Although he had never tried this kind of tea, he could tell from the packaging alone that it had to be expensive.

"Tea isn't contraband. Is this tea any good? Isn't Pu'er from Yunnan?"

Squad Leader Chen Ting asked with some confusion.

He had served for years and was about to be discharged. He drank quite a lot of tea in his day-to-day life.

After all, it helped clear his head and kept him alert, so he drank it regularly. Even the insulated cup he used to brew tea was still sitting on the table.

"We have this kind of tea back home too, Squad Leader. It's delicious. Let me open a packet for you to try."

As Ji Baichang spoke, he opened a small packet and handed it to Chen Ting before Chen Ting could respond.

"Since you're a new recruit and I'm a veteran, I can't just take your things. How much does this tea cost? I'll pay you for it."

As he spoke, Chen Ting tried to add Ji Baichang on Alipay.

"Squad Leader, there's really no need. You're my squad leader now. There's no need to stand on ceremony!"

At that, Ji Baichang waved his hands repeatedly. He knew all about social etiquette. How could he let a veteran pay for the tea?

"Cut the nonsense. I know exactly what you're up to. Give me your Alipay account."

"All right, Squad Leader. How about this: just send me twenty."

"Twenty, right? Fine, I'll transfer it to you."

Only then did Squad Leader Chen Ting accept the packet of tea. He got up, went to the washroom for hot water, and slowly brewed it.

As soon as the tea had steeped, a refreshing aroma filled the room. Just smelling it made everyone feel more alert.

"Now that's good tea! This must be expensive, right?"

Chen Ting took a sip and was immediately amazed by the flavor. He had never tasted tea this good before.

"This tea... it has to be worth more than twenty, right?"

Lü Qinglong looked at the tea's packaging, as if he vaguely recognized it.

He seemed to remember someone giving his family this kind of tea when he was a child.

But they had only given them one small packet, just like the one Squad Leader Chen Ting was holding.

Even so, his father had been delighted at the time. He brewed the tea seven or eight times, steeping it until it had no flavor left, and still couldn't bear to throw it away.

"Is there anything else in your bag? If not, we'll move on to the next person."

Squad Leader Chen Ting took a sip of tea. He seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Reporting to Squad Leader, there's nothing else. Just a wallet."

Ji Baichang took out his wallet and showed it to Chen Ting. Besides a few bank cards, there was nothing else inside.

"All right. Next, Song Si."

Song Si began taking things out of his bag one by one. Nothing was particularly unusual, though he did take out a carton of Hongtashan cigarettes.

"Hey, don't tell me you're going to do the same thing as Ji Baichang and give me the whole carton to smoke."

Chen Ting looked at Song Si with interest.

Hongtashan cost ten yuan a pack. It was something you smoked yourself; it was far too cheap to give as a gift.

So this Song Si was a heavy smoker, huh?

"Uh... Squad Leader, I was actually planning to smoke these myself."

"Squad Leader, why don't you hold on to these for me? I won't smoke during the three months of recruit training. I'll start again after I join my company."

Song Si gave an awkward smile and dutifully put the carton of Hongtashan on Chen Ting's bed.

"You more or less understand the rules of the military."

"First, about smoking. Who else among the nine of you brought cigarettes?"

"If you brought cigarettes, put them on my bed. It'll be a problem if I find them when I search your bags."

Chen Ting cleared his throat and took another sip of tea from the table, his expression calm.

The five remaining recruits exchanged glances. Then they silently took the cigarettes out of their bags and dutifully placed them on Chen Ting's bed.

"Good grief. Six out of nine smoke. Do soldiers these days really smoke that much?"

"Lü Qinglong, do you smoke?"

Hearing Chen Ting call his name, Lü Qinglong immediately stood straight and answered:

"Here!"

His booming voice startled the recruit standing beside him.

"Reporting to Squad Leader, I don't smoke."

"Smoking is bad for your health, so no one in my family smokes."

"Good. It's better not to smoke."

The answer sounded familiar. Chen Ting nodded to show that Lü Qinglong could sit down.

He was so tall that when he stood, his head nearly touched the ceiling. Even sitting down, he was still a little taller than the others who were standing.

"Each of you, identify your own cigarettes. I'll hold on to them for now. Come see me before you join your company, and I'll return them to you unopened."

"Any questions?"

"No questions, Squad Leader."

The six recruits who smoked all shook their heads.

The inspection continued. Most of the remaining recruits had done their research beforehand and had brought no contraband besides cigarettes.

Inspecting new recruits was much simpler than inspecting veterans who were about to be discharged.

The inspections before veterans left the military were the strict ones.

They basically dragged out every bag and inspected everything. All kinds of odd things turned up.

Getting caught by the military police and having to take one of their white hats home was a minor matter.

In his sixteen years of service, he had seen far too many unusual characters.

But this time, the new recruit in his squad named Ji Baichang had brought something that really surprised him.

He had brought two hundred thousand yuan in cash, just like that. And he was from Yanjing, so his family definitely wasn't short of money.

"Hmm? What's this tortoise shell for?"

Squad Leader Chen Ting stood in front of the recruit named Xue Daochao and asked in confusion.

There were no cigarettes. Apart from his daily necessities and clothes, the tortoise shell stood out the most.

"Squad Leader, I use it when I tell fortunes."

"Some fortune-telling methods were passed down in my family. I've been learning them since elementary school, and I've only just managed to master a few."

Xue Daochao wasn't lying. He pointed to his tools and explained each one to Chen Ting.

"Hmm? You tell fortunes? You're a Taoist priest?"

Chen Ting was taken aback. Even Taoist priests were enlisting these days?