He'd only had a steamed bun and an egg. He'd mainly asked because Lü Qinglong had been eating so enthusiastically that he couldn't help wondering how it tasted.
"It's good! I'll get you a plate!"
Lü Qinglong cheerfully took Ji Baichang's tray, scooped a plateful from the large metal pan he'd brought over, and handed it to Ji Baichang with a grin.
"That's too much, Qinglong! Way too much—I can't eat all that."
Ji Baichang waved his hands repeatedly, but he couldn't refuse Lü Qinglong's kindness, so he could only start eating.
After a couple of bites, though, he realized it didn't taste all that special. It was mostly that watching Lü Qinglong eat made the food look delicious.
"Ten Squad, come get your food!"
When the duty officer called for Tenth Squad to get their food, the last squad of recruits stared in silence at the empty metal pans on the table.
"Squad leader, it looks like there's only a little fried rice left. Are we having fried rice for breakfast?"
One of the recruits asked cautiously.
"Uh... yes. Have some fried rice for now. The Cookhouse Squad is out of food too."
The duty officer explained awkwardly.
The half-pan of steamed buns he'd brought back from the Cookhouse Squad had been eaten by the veteran soldiers there. There really wasn't any extra breakfast left.
"Feels great."
"It's been ages since I've eaten this well."
Lü Qinglong contentedly patted his belly. Two large empty metal trays sat in front of him.
He'd eaten a whole tray of big white steamed buns, a huge bowl of fried noodles, and drunk two bottles of milk.
The recruits around him didn't know what to say. They could only silently give Lü Qinglong a thumbs-up.
"Damn, now I understand why people say they could eat a whole cow. This guy really can eat!"
"Shh! Keep it down. Look at the resentful looks from those recruits in Tenth Squad."
Perhaps because the mess hall was getting a little noisy, the duty officer, who had just sat down to eat breakfast, stood up and called out:
"Quiet! No talking while you're eating in the mess hall!"
All the recruits fell silent at once and obediently ate their food.
Only after most people had finished eating did the duty officer direct the recruits to get up and wash their trays.
Since this was the recruits' first time doing this, they weren't familiar with the routine. As the duty officer, he had to pay extra attention on the first day. They'd get the hang of it later.
The general routine for meals was to assemble in front of the barracks, then be led to the mess hall entrance for a song before eating.
After singing, they went inside and got their food in squad order. Once they'd eaten, they went out to wash their dishes, then formed up by squad and were led back together.
"Hm? Lü Qinglong, your blanket's folded to regulation. How about you teach them this morning?"
The recruits in First Squad had just returned to their squad. Lü Qinglong, at the end of the line, was immediately singled out by Squad Leader Chen Ting, who was sitting on a bed.
"Sure, Squad Leader. I'll give it a try."
Lü Qinglong nodded and answered.
Only then did the other recruits look at Lü Qinglong's blanket.
A perfectly neat, tofu-brick-shaped blanket sat right before their eyes.
"What's going on? Brother Long, you folded that blanket? You're incredible! If you hadn't told me, I'd have thought it belonged to a veteran!"
"Yeah, Brother Long! Teach us!"
After spending half a day together, they'd realized that Lü Qinglong didn't seem as frightening in his manner as he looked.
Aside from that shout in the morning before he'd gotten out of bed, he seemed like a pretty decent guy.
"Sure. I'll show you how."
With everyone gathered around him, Lü Qinglong felt a little embarrassed.
After all, it was a feeling he'd never experienced before.
"The army's great,"
Lü Qinglong thought.
He casually picked up Ji Baichang's blanket and spread it out on his bed.
But the bed seemed too small to work on, so he asked Ji Baichang:
"Maybe I should spread it out on the floor. Are you okay with me laying your blanket on the floor to demonstrate?"
Ji Baichang heard that the blanket he slept under was going to be laid on the floor. The floor was so dirty!
Ji Baichang, who was a bit of a neat freak, immediately waved his hands.
Xue Daochao, on the other hand, handed Lü Qinglong his own blanket and said he didn't mind having it laid on the floor.
"Thanks."
Lü Qinglong thanked him, took the blanket, and spread it flat on the floor. The recruits immediately gathered around all four sides, with just enough room to stand.
"My father and older brother were both soldiers, so they taught me ahead of time how to fold a proper tofu-brick blanket. That's why mine looks better than yours."
As he spoke, Lü Qinglong folded one inner edge of the blanket over by a third and pressed the crease flat with force.
(Figure 1)
The cotton inside the military blanket had been uneven and lumpy, but under his hands it was shaped into a perfectly straight line. His strength was obvious.
"Then we fold the other side over the same way."
Lü Qinglong folded it again, and the blanket was now one-third of its original width.
(Figure 2)
Then he pressed his whole body down onto it. The sudden, terrifying weight flattened the cotton inside the blanket.
Lü Qinglong pressed the blanket down with great force and care, flattening every nook and cranny.
Once he was done, he didn't hurry to the next step. Instead, he said to the other recruits:
"First, fold yours to look like this. Use the three-fold method and show me. If everyone in the squad can do it, I'll move on to the next step."
As soon as Lü Qinglong finished speaking, the other recruits eagerly rushed to their own blankets and started folding them the way he'd shown them.
But they soon realized something was wrong.
"Wait, why is my blanket so puffy? Brother Long, why does yours look completely different in your hands than ours do in ours?"
After folding his blanket, one recruit looked at it, then at the blanket on the floor, and couldn't help asking.
"You haven't pressed yours down enough. Put some muscle into it and pack the cotton down inside. That'll make the next step easier."
"Oh, oh. Okay."
The recruit nodded, then knelt on his blanket and tried to press the cotton down little by little, copying the way Lü Qinglong had just done it.
But his progress was painfully slow. He pressed for ages without making any difference.
"Come on, man! You don't have Brother Long's strength, do you?"
"Use a little stool to press it!"
Song Si couldn't bear to watch any longer and reminded him in a Guangxi cousin's accent.
As he spoke, he gestured toward the little stool in his hand.
"Oh, oh! I get it. I'll use the stool to press it."
The recruit nodded and picked up the stool to press down on the blanket.
"Forget it, I'll press them for you."
"Hold on, Lü Qinglong. Don't press other people's blankets for them. You all have to press your own."
Chen Ting, who had been sitting on his bed drinking tea, suddenly spoke up and stopped Lü Qinglong from helping the others press their blankets.
"I'll teach everyone hands-on!"
Before you continue