Chapter 24: Sir, We Love Raising Pigs More Than Anything

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed.

Xu Da never returned to First Squad — he had gone back to his regular unit early.

Because of the assault incident, not only had he failed to receive a Commendation, he had been severely disciplined.

His Officer Promotion was dead in the water, and it wouldn't be long before he was discharged and sent home.

When Lin Hui heard the news, he felt no satisfaction whatsoever. If anything, a pang of guilt settled in his chest.

It was the first time he had second-guessed himself — had he gone too far? In his pursuit of a slacker life, had he made someone else pay the price?

Sure, Xu Da had been harsh on them during this time, and had deliberately used Lin Hui as a scapegoat.

But through their time together, Lin Hui could see that Xu Da was a good soldier at heart.

Just a bit hot-tempered, a bit impatient — not a bad person.

If his education level had been higher, he probably would have gotten his Officer Promotion long ago.

But now…

Lin Hui let out a sigh. Maybe there had been a better way to handle things.

Still, regret was regret — the road ahead still had to be walked.

Recruit Company was only the beginning. The next year and nine months would be the real grind.

* * *

Early that morning.

Military trucks pulled up one by one outside the dormitory building.

Assembly whistles rang out across the barracks.

"Get downstairs and fall in — don't leave anything behind!"

Lin Hui called out, and everyone got dressed and grabbed their gear, rushing downstairs to assemble.

Soon, all the recruits were in formation.

Each company commander stepped forward in turn and shouted their report.

"First Company — one hundred and twenty-five personnel expected, one hundred and twenty-five present. Awaiting orders!"

"Second Company — one hundred and eighteen personnel expected, one hundred and eighteen present. Awaiting orders!"

"Third Company…"

"At ease!"

Zhou Zhongyi gave the order.

Each company commander immediately turned to face their troops. "At ease!"

Swish, swish…

The recruits all shifted to the at-ease position.

"Attention!"

Zhou Zhongyi barked the command.

Everyone snapped their feet together and stood as straight as pine trees.

Zhou Zhongyi smiled with satisfaction. "Over these three months of recruit training, you have all performed admirably. You have successfully transformed from ordinary young civilians into qualified soldiers!"

"From here, I will be assigning you to various units across the 602nd Division. The banner of the 602nd will be carried forward by your generation."

"The safety of our nation and its people will rest on your shoulders."

"I hope that when you reach your new companies, you will stay true to your original purpose, fight with tenacity, and never bring shame to the uniform on your backs or to the people back home who are proud of you."

Zhou Zhongyi raised his hand in a salute to them all.

"Salute!"

The company commanders bellowed the order, and every soldier snapped their hand up in unison, saluting the Regiment Commander.

Next came the rank insignia ceremony.

The company commanders and political instructors went down the line, pinning the Private rank insignia on each recruit one by one.

As they looked down at the epaulettes on their shoulders, every soldier instinctively straightened up, faces filled with pride.

Chen Erhu was trembling with excitement. "I've got a rank! I've actually got a rank!"

"Erhu, calm down, calm down!" Wang Yong shot a glance at Lin Hui, grinning smugly. "Lin Hui, take a good look — tell me, don't I look sharp?"

Lin Hui rolled his eyes. "What, you put on a vest and suddenly I'm supposed to not recognize you?"

Zhou Zhongyi stepped to the front of the formation and announced loudly, "We will now begin the unit assignments. When your name is called, step out immediately."

The company commanders opened their rosters and began calling names.

"Li Ping'an!"

"Here!"

"Mobile Infantry Regiment, Sixth Company — board vehicle three!"

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier whose name was called immediately grabbed his gear and jogged over to vehicle three.

"Wu Xiaopeng!"

"Here!"

"S Regiment, Artillery First Company — board vehicle six!"

"Yes, sir!"

"…"

The crowd thinned quickly.

The members of First Squad dwindled down to almost none.

"Ma Xiaoshan — B Regiment, Infantry Seventh Company, board vehicle five!"

"Yu Chaochao — S Regiment, Special Operations Fifth Company, board vehicle eight!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ma Xiaoshan and Yu Chaochao picked up their gear.

Before leaving, they turned back to look at the remaining three with reluctance. "Hope we'll still get to see each other often!"

Wang Yong smiled. "We definitely will."

Chen Erhu said, "I'll come find you guys when I get the chance."

Lin Hui smiled. "Go fall in. Good luck to you both."

As the people around them disappeared one by one, Lin Hui's brow furrowed slightly.

How come our names still haven't been called?

Something's off.

Soon, every last name had been called — except for the three of them.

The three exchanged glances. "What's going on? They're not going to send us back, are they?"

Wang Yong started to panic. "We're done for. Looks like there's a nine-in-ten chance they're cutting us loose. I was counting on finishing my service and going back to work — if I get discharged halfway through, no one's going to hire me."

"If I'd known, I never would've gotten into that fight with Xu Da. What a damn waste."

Chen Erhu looked like he was about to cry. "If I get sent back, everyone in the village is gonna laugh at me. How am I ever gonna find a wife after that?"

Lin Hui rolled his eyes. "If they were going to discharge us, they would've done it already — not waited until now. We've definitely got something arranged. Don't panic."

"You sure?"

Chen Erhu looked like he'd just spotted a lifeline.

Just then, a military officer not far away waved them over. "You three — come with me."

Wang Yong excitedly grabbed his pack. "Sir, why don't you call our names to confirm, just in case there's a mix-up? I'm Wang Yong, that's Lin Hui, and this one's Chen Erhu."

The officer let out a cold laugh. "You three are the most notorious mediocre soldiers in the entire Recruit Training Regiment. You think I'd mix you up? Get moving!"

The three of them acknowledged the order and jogged after him with their gear.

Chen Erhu asked curiously, "Sir, where are we headed?"

The First Lieutenant shot him a look and couldn't be bothered to answer, heading straight for the minibus.

"So mysterious," Chen Erhu muttered, pursing his lips. "What's the big secret?"

Lin Hui gave him a smack on the back of the head. "Alright, Erhu — be glad we've got somewhere to go. Stop running your mouth. We'll find out when we get there."

Chen Erhu nodded and climbed onto the minibus.

The vehicle soon pulled out of the barracks and headed toward the main road.

After boarding, the officer sat in the front row and closed his eyes to rest.

He was suddenly jolted awake by a commotion.

He turned around to find Lin Hui and the other two in the back row chatting and laughing like they were on a school field trip — and they'd even started singing.

"What a beautiful sunny day, beautiful scenery everywhere, beautiful scenery…"

The First Lieutenant's eye twitched. What a bunch of mediocre soldiers!

Everyone else got picked during the unit assignments, and these three don't have a single care in the world? Any normal person would be sitting on pins and needles right now.

The First Lieutenant shook his head and closed his eyes again, deciding to ignore them.

The vehicle drove further and further into the outskirts.

Before long, it had entered the mountains.

Chen Erhu stared out at the deep forest and asked nervously, "Where are they taking us? I'm starting to feel like we're being sold off somewhere."

Wang Yong frowned as well. "Brother Hui, you know your stuff — any idea where they're taking us?"

Lin Hui smiled slightly. "My best guess? They're taking us to a production base."

"A production base? What's that?"

The two of them were completely lost — they'd never even heard the term.

The officer in front turned his head in surprise. This kid actually knows about production bases?

Lin Hui explained, "Our military has always had a tradition of self-sufficiency. Life is a lot better now than it used to be, but every army still maintains its own production base."

"The vegetables they grow and the livestock they raise all go toward supplying the troops."

"It's also called strategic logistics support."

Chen Erhu's eyes lit up. "So… we're going to raise pigs?"

Wang Yong slapped his own thigh in delight. "That's amazing — we finally get to raise pigs!"

The officer in front nearly spat blood. First time I've ever seen anyone this happy about being sent to raise pigs. What a bunch of mediocre soldiers!