The Departing Youth (Part Two) (This chapter is free)
Huan Shiqian laughed heartily and said to Chen Caozhi, "Officer Chen, your younger brother's courage and strength are without equal. He will first serve as a squad leader, then be promoted to commander of a hundred-man company after three months' experience with the army."
Compared with Chen Caozhi, who had studied diligently for years before attaining an official rank, Ran Sheng, relying on his innate valor, would earn promotion to company commander just after entering the army-his advancement was certainly faster than Chen Caozhi's. But lower-ranking officers needed only courage and strength; to rise further to such middle-ranking posts as Household Troops Commander or Army Sima required both courage and strategy.
Just then, a subordinate of Wei Chang, chief secretary of the General's Residence, came to invite Huan Shiqian to the Grand Marshal's banquet. Seeing Xie Xuan and Chen Caozhi, he said delightedly, "Officer Xie and Officer Chen are here too! I was just going to invite you both. Let us go together."
Chen Caozhi then went to the General's Residence with Huan Shiqian and Xie Xuan, while Ran Sheng stayed in the Inner City. He would have one day off every five days and could return to Gushu to see Chen Caozhi.
Chen Caozhi rode out of the Inner City and looked back. Ran Sheng stood before the city gate, watching him leave. This sixteen-year-old youth, built like an iron tower, had now embarked on a soldier's path, never again to enjoy the simple, leisurely days of the past. The youth who had spent an entire night praising Gu Kaizhi's poetry on his behalf with cries of "Wonderful!" was gone, never to return, perhaps. How many people would change overnight? Was this the melancholy of growing up, or helplessness before