First Day
By afternoon, more and more people were arriving at the training base.
But the last roommate in Room 316 didn't show up until after nine that evening.
Tang Wei was a surgeon. He'd had to finish his operations for the day before rushing to catch a flight to the capital, and he'd nearly missed it.
His three roommates, Li Bai, Sun Nanzheng, and Ximen Dong, gave him a warm welcome.
Doctor Tang wasn't the latest arrival, of course. Some comrades came from remote areas where transportation was inconvenient, and simply getting to the airport could take a day or two. Some wouldn't arrive at the training base until the early hours of the next morning.
Dinner at the training base had ended at eight, and the cafeteria wouldn't start serving late-night snacks until eleven.
Although Tang Wei had missed dinner, the others warmly offered him some of their own food supplies.
When you were away from home, stock up on food and don't show off.
Sun Nanzheng's instant noodles, Reporter Ximen's compressed biscuits, and Li Bai's yak beef jerky made the new roommate feel the warmth of the group.
The night passed, and the horizon gradually brightened.
A long bugle call sounded outside the window.
Li Bai, sleeping in the top bunk, threw off his blanket and slipped to the floor without a sound, as if sleepwalking.
He put on his training uniform and got dressed in a flash.
By the time he came to his senses, still groggy, he realized he'd gotten up by reflex. He'd even folded the blanket on his bed into sharp, precise corners, perfectly re-creating the way it had looked when he first reported for duty.
"Ah! Doctor Li, you're awake!"
Reporter Ximen was in the lower bunk. A light sleeper, he'd