"Unity is strength! Ready, sing!"
"Unity is strength, this strength is iron, this strength is steel..."
"Louder, all of you! Didn't you eat?"
Outside the mess hall, the recruits from the new recruit company sang military songs at the top of their lungs as they waited to go in and eat. So they really hadn't eaten...
They sang the military song twice. Someone talked, so they stood at attention for ten minutes. Someone fidgeted, so they stood at attention for another ten minutes. In short, the point was to break these recruits in and grind away their little tempers and bad habits.
After being put through that for half an hour, they finally got into the mess hall. But they still weren't allowed to eat. Instead, they began practicing how to sit. Only once no one was talking, their posture while taking their seats was passable, and the food had cooled down did they finally sit properly and prepare to eat.
The food was pretty good: celery; shredded potatoes garnished with seasoned pork strips; chicken stew with potatoes; pork stew with green beans; stir-fried cabbage—commonly called Big Head, or gada bai in Northeast China. There was also egg soup. They had two staples: noodles and steamed buns. The food was served in basins, and there was plenty of it.
This bunch of half-grown boys who could eat their fathers poor had just arrived at camp, collected supplies, stood at attention, and then been put through the wringer before dinner. They had been starving for ages.
But the problem was, they were still at the "prepare to eat" stage. The meal hadn't officially begun yet...
The recruits didn't know that. One by one, they picked up their chopsticks and went straight for the meat, their chopsticks clattering like they were fighting