Folding the Quilt (Part 2)

"Oh, I get it, Brother Long! So the other side folds over the same way!"

"Then you fold both sides together, and it becomes a perfect square blanket!"

The new recruits beside him weren't stupid either and immediately indicated they understood what to do.

"Mhm, close, but you still need to fold it horizontally in the middle, and then there's the specific pinching of the edges and corners later, which takes a bit more effort."

"We also need to crease it down the middle, about a finger's width, to form the back wall of the blanket."

(Image 1)

"Then, along this back wall, we fold the blanket in half, and that's the basic outline of the square blanket."

"Finally, it's time for trimming the edges. We follow the line and pinch it with our hands."

"And last of all, it becomes a very perfect square blanket!"

(Image 2)

"My brain gets it! I'm going to try it right now!"

"Me too! I feel so strong right now, like I'm already the king of folding square blankets!"

"Quick! My little quilt! Let your brother dote on you properly!"

After seeing the square blanket Lü Qinglong had personally folded, the new recruits felt like they could do it too!

One by one, they excitedly started folding their own military blankets.

However, this enthusiasm only lasted for less than five minutes, because they discovered that their folded blankets were worlds apart from Lü Qinglong's.

"It's no good, Brother Long, do you have any secret tips to teach us? Mine still look like tubes!"

"Yeah, Brother Long, my brain understands, but my hands just can't get it right! No matter how I fold it, I can't get the effect I want."

The new recruits, with dejected expressions, returned to the open space in the center, trying to learn something more from Lü Qinglong that they had missed.

Meanwhile, Xue Daochao beside them had already folded his blanket quite impressively.

He had already opened up a significant gap between himself and the other new recruits, all thanks to Lü Qinglong firmly pressing down his blanket at the start.

Ji Baichang was filled with regret. He wished he had let Lü Qinglong press down his own blanket, saving him so much effort now in flattening the cotton.

"This kid Xue Daochao is really something, laying his blanket directly on the ground without caring if it's dirty."

Ji Baichang shook his head. Xue Daochao saw things more clearly than he did; this guy's intelligence was definitely no lower than his own!

"There really are no shortcuts. You guys should first press down the cotton inside your blankets. Only when it's compacted will the blanket be easier to fold."

Lü Qinglong explained patiently.

"Alright then, Brother Long."

The new recruits had no choice but to turn back, unfold their blankets again, and carefully start pressing down the cotton inside with their small stools.

A while later, Squad Leader Chen Ting returned to the barracks. Seeing the new recruits diligently pressing their blankets, he didn't say anything. He just sat back on his bed and started playing with his phone.

As Lü Qinglong walked past, he accidentally glanced at Squad Leader Chen Ting's phone. The interface seemed to be Pinduoduo, and he was buying some children's toys.

The entire morning was spent by the new recruits folding blankets, right up until lunchtime.

For lunch, it seemed the mess hall knew a monster had arrived who could eat enough for half a company, so they doubled the portions and made extra food.

"Squad Leader, can I have a whole plate of rice?"

Lü Qinglong stared with his large, captivating eyes, blinked a couple of times, and looked at the duty officer.

The duty officer's mouth twitched, and he nodded stiffly:

"Go ahead and eat. The mess hall really has a lot of food, enough for you."

"Great! Thanks, Squad Leader!"

Lü Qinglong was overjoyed. With one hand, he held a large plate of white rice, and with the other, he held a large basin filled with a mixture of various dishes.

Happily, he sat back down in his seat.

"He took away a plate of rice that usually feeds over thirty people, all by himself. Can he really eat that much?"

The duty officer was a bit confused and finally focused his gaze on Lü Qinglong.

As Lü Qinglong sat down, he placed the plate of rice on the table. Then, using both hands, he held the large basin of mixed dishes and poured the contents onto the white rice.

His lips moved slightly, as if he were muttering something:

"Soul Juice! Pour it on~"

The mixed dishes, along with the steaming sauce, were evenly spread over the white rice.

The duty officer then watched as Lü Qinglong opened his massive mouth, using his normal recruit's mess tray as a spoon, and scooped up a large chunk of white rice mixed with sauce, shoving it into his mouth.

Watching him devour his food made the duty officer swallow hard.

Moreover, his eating speed was terrifying; one bite from him was equivalent to ten bites from other recruits.

"Fifth squad, get your food."

"Reporting."

The duty officer had just told the new recruits of Squad Five to get their food when Lü Qinglong's voice suddenly rang out.

"What's wrong?"

The duty officer turned to look at Lü Qinglong, only to see that his large metal plate was already clean, the rice and stew gone without him knowing when it had happened.

"Squad Leader, can I have another plate? I'm only six-tenths full."

Lü Qinglong said honestly.

Although he looked honest, his eyes were fixed on the plate of food behind the duty officer.

"Uh... then wait until everyone has gotten their food. If you're still hungry, you can have some more then."

The duty officer didn't quite know what to say.

No matter how much Lü Qinglong could eat, he still had to wait until everyone else had finished before getting more food.

Otherwise, before others had even gotten their food, he would have already eaten theirs.

That was a bit inappropriate, to say the least.

"Okay, Squad Leader."

Lü Qinglong nodded and patiently waited until the last squad, Squad Ten, had finished getting their food. Only then did he get up and take all the dishes from the central dining table into his stomach.

"That hit the spot."

Lü Qinglong let out a satisfied burp and took his empty metal plate to the faucet at the back of the mess hall. After a quick rinse, he walked towards the cookhouse.

Inside the cookhouse, several veteran soldiers, who held the rank of Corporal, were sitting together, playing on their phones and complaining:

"What the hell is going on with the First Company? We made so much food this morning, enough for two companies."

"Then halfway through, they came over here saying it wasn't enough and took our steamed buns."

"If that was all, fine, but now they're making us cook more for lunch. Isn't that just increasing our workload?"

"Yeah! I don't get it either. Is the First Company haunted or something? They say there are new recruits who can eat that much, it's really weird that what we cooked wasn't enough?!"

These veteran soldiers in the cookhouse were all the ones from various battalions who didn't want to train, forming a makeshift team.

They just wanted to get by day by day, and they all expressed their dissatisfaction with the sudden increase in workload.

"It's fine, I've already spoken to their duty officer. I told him to have that new recruit who can eat a lot bring his large plate over to wash for us. I want to see what kind of monster he is! So damn hungry!"

One of the veteran soldiers grumbled.