The Cookhouse Squad Is So Nice!

"Meal call for Tenth Squad!"

"We're finally up!"

As soon as the duty officer's voice rang out, the recruits of Tenth Squad jumped to their feet, impatiently clutching their trays and rushing toward the tables in the center of the dining hall.

"There'd better be braised pork with radishes! Damn it, there has to be!"

The recruits of Tenth Squad muttered to themselves.

They rushed to the metal tray that was supposed to hold the braised pork with radishes, only to find it so clean it looked as if someone had licked it. There wasn't a trace of the dish left.

The recruits of Tenth Squad froze, suddenly at a loss.

"Wait, what? Where's my braised pork with radishes?"

One recruit refused to believe it and thought he must have gone to the wrong tray. He peered into the next few large metal trays.

Those were just as empty, as if someone had licked them clean.

Only a dish of fried carrots and white radish sat there all by itself.

Aside from that, there was still half a basin of white rice, enough for them.

"Mom, I want to go home. The army's not nice at all."

Tears slipped down the recruits' faces, falling from the corners of their mouths and eyes.

After dinner, Lü Qinglong rubbed his half-full stomach, washed the large basin in the sink, and carried it one-handed toward the cookhouse.

The cookhouse door was still closed, but this time Lü Qinglong knew that all it took was a little push to open it.

So he didn't bother knocking. He put his right hand on the door and gave it a gentle push.

The tightly shut door swung open, and Lü Qinglong ducked his head and walked inside.

It was mealtime, and a few veteran soldiers were eating.

They looked a little stunned when they saw Lü Qinglong walk in.

Lü Qinglong set down the clean basin and was about to leave, but before he did, he noticed that the veterans' meal included beef!

Beef was an excellent source of protein. As a fitness enthusiast, Lü Qinglong fixed his eyes on it, overcome by a deep, soul-level craving. He took one step after another toward the veterans.

There had been no beef in his dinner, which meant the cookhouse veterans had secretly prepared themselves something special.

It was common for the cookhouse to make a separate meal for themselves in the army.

As long as the inspectors didn't catch them, the company commander and Political Instructor usually turned a blind eye.

"Squad leader, do you have any food left in the cookhouse? I'm still a little hungry."

Lü Qinglong rubbed his stomach, his eyes fixed on the bowls in their hands.

"We're all out—"

"Cough!"

The Second-term Sergeant in the cookhouse had just started to refuse when a thunderous sound burst from Lü Qinglong's mouth, making them jump!

W-w-wait! Was this recruit threatening the cookhouse veterans?!

Where did he get the nerve? Didn't he know that all of them had come from combat units?

He dared to threaten them?!

Fine!

He'd picked the wrong fight—he was in for a soft landing~

"We've got some! You're still hungry, right? I'll go get you some!"

The Second-term Sergeant's expression changed completely. Grinning, he hurried to the kitchen and soon returned with a large tray piled high with food, topped with stir-fried beef.

Come on! The recruit in front of them had fists more than twice the size of a sandbag. They were supposed to fight him?

They'd have to be out of their minds!

"Wow! You guys are so nice, Squad Leader!"

Lü Qinglong took the large tray from the veteran and immediately tipped his head back, wolfing down the food.

His throat had felt a little uncomfortable just now, but after coughing, it felt much better!

Lü Qinglong seemed to think chopsticks were too slow, so he grabbed a spatula used for stirring the cookhouse's side dishes and shoveled big mouthfuls into his mouth.

Two minutes later, he took a bottle of juice from the Corporal beside him and drained it in one go. Satisfied, he let out a burp:

"Burp!"

"Squad Leader, you guys are so nice. I'll wash this tray for you, too."

Lü Qinglong started to head out, but one of the Corporal veterans stopped him, saying they would wash it themselves.

"Hey, b-brother—big brother, if you're ever still hungry, just come to the cookhouse and find us."

"As cookhouse veterans, we can't let our new recruits go hungry, right?"

"Wow! You guys are so nice, Squad Leader!"

"All right! Next time I'm still hungry, I'll come straight to the cookhouse and find you!"

Lü Qinglong waved with a smile and said goodbye to the cookhouse veterans, who were so easy to get along with.

"Holy crap! He ate all our beef? Is he a hippo? How can he eat so much?!"

As soon as Lü Qinglong left, one of the cookhouse Corporals couldn't help complaining.

He'd only had two bites of the beef!

He wanted to eat beef!

And Lü Qinglong had eaten it all.

It was bad enough that the last time he'd startled himself by opening the door. Now he'd stolen his beef, too! That was too much!

"What can you do about it? Fight him?"

"Forget it. Let him eat. I asked around, and this weirdo is called Lü Qinglong. Apparently his squad leader is a Fourth-class non-commissioned officer from the Special Operations Brigade. Sounds like a tough guy, too."

"Huh? Veterans from the Special Operations Brigade are coming to the New Training Brigade to train recruits now?"

The veteran looked a little puzzled. That was very unusual in previous years.

They belonged to the New Training Brigade, and most of them had been transferred from various heavy, medium, and light combined-arms brigades.

Very few veterans had been transferred from the Special Operations Brigade. There were probably only a handful in the entire New Training Brigade. He couldn't believe that this strange recruit's squad leader had just happened to come from there.

"Who knows? Anyway, letting him mooch off us won't kill us. Better to let it go than make trouble. Don't sweat it."

The Second-term Sergeant got to his feet and shrugged, then turned and headed toward the barracks.

After leaving the cookhouse, Lü Qinglong walked back into the dining hall and sat down again.

Since they'd been the first squad to get food, the other recruits in the squad had already finished eating and returned to their seats one after another.

When Lü Qinglong came back, all the recruits from First Squad were there. Ji Baichang called out:

"Fall in. Head outside and assemble."

The recruits filed out of the dining hall. Led by Ji Baichang, they returned to their squad in good order.

That was also what the duty officer had required. He had especially emphasized that it was a matter of discipline: they had to return to their company in formation instead of wandering back one by one.

"Hey!"

"I heard the squad leader next door say we're going to watch the news at seven."

Ji Baichang came in through the squad room door, looking mysterious.

Squad leader Chen Ting was still eating in the dining hall and hadn't returned yet. The other recruits were gathered together, chatting.

Hearing Ji Baichang, they all looked at him in confusion.

Watch the news at seven?

Was that another army tradition?