What's in Your Bag? Why is it so Heavy?

"Can you tell me how many children my family has?"

Chen Ting's interest piqued, and he looked at Xue Daochao as he asked.

He wanted to see if this guy was just a charlatan pretending to be a Taoist priest or if he actually had some skill.

"Squad Leader, you?"

"Let me see your left hand."

"Don't you use turtle shells and such to divine fortunes?"

Chen Ting asked in surprise, extending his left hand to Xue Daochao.

He had thought Xue Daochao would use those tools for fortune-telling, but he was surprised to find him reading palms instead.

"Squad Leader, using a turtle shell to divine a hexagram would be too costly, and it's unnecessary just to tell how many children you have."

"Squad Leader, please tell me your birthdate and time of birth."

Xue Daochao's face already showed a confident smile as he asked Chen Ting for his birth details.

"I was born on December 30, 1985, at exactly 4:50 PM."

Chen Ting answered, still somewhat suspicious.

"Alright, Squad Leader, I've confirmed it."

"Sister-in-law was born in the Year of the Monkey, and you have three children in your family: two girls and one boy."

"The boy is the youngest, Squad Leader, am I correct?"

Xue Daochao said with a smile, while Squad Leader Chen Ting's face was filled with astonishment.

He was sure he hadn't told Xue Daochao any information about his family, yet he could figure it out!

He even figured out that the youngest was a boy. This guy really had something!

"Alright, then pack up these tools properly, don't lose them."

Chen Ting patted Xue Daochao on the shoulder, his stern tone softening considerably.

He had been a soldier for sixteen years and had never encountered anything so bizarre.

Sometimes, the traditions passed down by our ancestors were indeed worth believing.

The new recruit inspection continued. Soon, the remaining people were all inspected, and it was Lü Qinglong's turn.

All eyes turned to his bag again. His bag was the bulkiest among all the new recruits, which piqued everyone's curiosity.

"I didn't bring much, just normal things."

As Lü Qinglong spoke, he bent down and placed the black bag from the floor onto his lap.

Being strong had its downsides; if he squatted on the ground, he might accidentally push the new recruit next to him away with his backside.

"Four sets of camouflage uniforms, three pairs of size 65 shoes, my toiletries, and a set of casual clothes."

Lü Qinglong stated each item as he took it out of the black bag, as if afraid Squad Leader Chen Ting wouldn't see clearly.

After taking out all the items that basically every new recruit had, his large bag was still quite full.

"What else did you bring in that bag? Why is it so bulky?"

Squad Leader Chen Ting seemed to think Lü Qinglong was taking too long to unpack, so he reached out to take the black bag himself.

Just as he was about to pull it towards him, he suddenly realized something was off – the bag was heavy!

He paused for a moment, then walked up to Lü Qinglong, opened his bag, and started taking things out.

"You also brought two large tubs of protein powder and nitric oxide boosters, and so many bottles and jars?"

"Yes, Squad Leader. I was worried I wouldn't get enough nutrition. I heard training in the military is very intense, so I brought some extra supplements. This isn't against the rules, is it?"

"It's not against the rules..."

Squad Leader Chen Ting's mouth twitched. Then, he finally understood why Lü Qinglong's bag was so heavy.

At the very bottom of the black bag was a thick layer of barbell plates.

At first glance, they were all 30-kilogram red barbell plates.

There were at least four of them, plus some smaller, black barbell plates. Combined, they probably weighed over two hundred kilograms!

"No, while the recruit training corps doesn't have a gym, once you're assigned to a regular company, almost every normal barracks will have a gym, unless it's in a remote area."

"Bringing these barbell plates yourself seems really unnecessary, doesn't it?"

Squad Leader Chen Ting couldn't help but ask.

This Lü Qinglong was even tougher on himself than his own brother.

"Holy crap? Huh? Brother Long, you're really my big brother! A whole backpack full of barbell plates?"

The new recruit closest to Lü Qinglong couldn't help but try to lift Lü Qinglong's bag with both hands. After struggling for a long time, the black bag seemed embedded in the ground, not moving an inch.

"Hiss!"

Ji Baichang couldn't help but gasp. So that's why Lü Qinglong didn't let him carry his luggage – it was too heavy!

The other new recruits also gazed at Lü Qinglong's ridiculously large arm circumference, their hearts trembling involuntarily.

What a damn tough guy, running around with two hundred kilograms of black bags in one hand?

"Squad Leader, I just figured the running intensity wasn't enough, so I brought these."

"If there are any physical training runs in the future, I can string these barbell plates together with the backpack straps and carry them directly on my back while running. Otherwise, I won't feel any intensity at all."

Lü Qinglong spoke with utmost sincerity, but all he received in return was the entire squad's silence.

After a long pause, Squad Leader Chen Ting finally spoke softly.

"Then put your bags away. Just leave the barbell plates under my bed. That way, you won't have to go to the storage room to get them when you need them, which would be too much trouble."

"Thank you, Squad Leader!"

Lü Qinglong smiled at Squad Leader Chen Ting.

My Squad Leader is truly a good person, always considering me.

From Chen Ting's perspective, Lü Qinglong's face was too fierce. Even when he smiled, Chen Ting felt he wouldn't be able to sleep well at night.

"Alright, you guys put your bags back in the storage room."

"After you put them away, you can go wash up."

Squad Leader Chen Ting waved his hand and lay back down on the bed. A moment later, he seemed to be having a video call with his family, laughing and chatting with the person on the other end.

"Xue Daochao, you're something else! You figured out that our Squad Leader has three kids? Why don't you do a reading for me too?"

Ji Baichang, having just put his bag back in the storage room, immediately stopped Xue Daochao, who had an unremarkable appearance.

"I don't usually do readings for just anyone. Today, it must be fate."

"You want a fortune reading? What do you want to know?"

Xue Daochao looked at Ji Baichang with interest.

This guy clearly has the face of someone destined for great wealth and status. There's basically nothing to calculate.

"It's fine, how much is a fortune reading? I'll transfer it to you directly. Money is the least of my worries."

Ji Baichang waved his hand grandly.

"Alright, first tell me what you want to know, and then I'll set the price."

"Tell me, what is my girlfriend doing right now?"

"Just this? Then, when you get your phone, transfer ten thousand to me first."

"Alright. Your girlfriend is playing poker with another guy right now."

Xue Daochao patted Ji Baichang on the shoulder.

"???"

"What did you see? Are you just making things up?"

Ji Baichang wasn't angry. He looked at Xue Daochao with a playful expression.

"Yeah, buddy, you can't just randomly say someone's partner is playing poker with another guy. That's too much!"

The other new recruits, overhearing their conversation, couldn't help but speak up for Ji Baichang.