Chapter 26: We Traveled All This Way Just to Suffer!

One of the veterans said with a grin, "Sergeant Ma, now that we've finally got some new recruits, we're thinking of handing all the feed work and pig pen cleaning over to them."

Old Ma's eyes went wide. "What are you playing at — trying to slack off?"

"I'm telling you, just because they're new doesn't mean you get to push them around."

"Everyone comes up through the ranks as a rookie. If I'd treated you the same way when you first arrived, how would that have felt?"

Liu Kui quickly jumped in to explain. "Sergeant, we're not trying to bully them — we just want to teach them the ropes so they can get up to speed faster."

Old Ma let out a cold snort. "You think I don't know what you lot are really after?"

"Last time we got a batch of new recruits, you boys gave them such a hard time that not a single one had a good word to say about us when they left. Can't you act like decent human beings for once?"

The veterans exchanged glances, looking more than a little sheepish.

Lu Ming cleared his throat and said, "Sergeant Ma, I'll be straight with you — we've already looked into these three new guys, and none of them are exactly model soldiers."

"One of them is slow in the head and scored dead last on everything. The other two actually got into a physical fight with their squad leader back in the Recruit Company."

"I heard that squad leader ended up getting disciplined over it — thrown in the stockade."

Old Ma's jaw dropped. "That actually happened? They don't look the type."

Lu Ming clicked his tongue and said, "I checked it all out — it's the real deal. The squad leader who got beaten was from the Sixth Blade Company of the Tiger Regiment — an eight-year veteran with a chest full of commendations."

"He was all set to get his Officer Promotion once Recruit Company wrapped up, but because of this whole mess, not only did that fall through, he got slapped with a disciplinary record on top of it."

"Word is, he might have to pack his bags and leave early."

Old Ma's face was a picture of disbelief.

Whether it was the honest and straightforward Chen Erhu, or Lin Hui and Wang Yong — they'd all made a decent impression on him.

How could they have gotten into a fight with their squad leader back in the Recruit Company?

"Could there be some kind of misunderstanding here?"

"What misunderstanding?" Liu Kui said coldly. "Sergeant, the way I see it, we need to give these three a proper show of force right from the start — let them know this is our turf and they'd better keep their tails between their legs."

"Otherwise, once they get comfortable, who's going to be able to keep them in line?"

"This isn't a combat unit, after all. These guys were throwing punches at their squad leader during recruit training — if we don't rein them in now, they'll be walking all over us before long!"

The others chimed in in agreement. "Right, we need to teach them a lesson they won't forget!"

Old Ma frowned. "They're not going to walk all over you — stop borrowing trouble."

"New recruits need proper guidance, not the heavy-handed nonsense you lot are suggesting!"

"I think this approach sounds just fine!"

A voice suddenly came from outside.

Everyone spun around to see Quartermaster Fan Ming stroll in with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Good day, Quartermaster!" The veterans snapped to attention and saluted.

Fan Ming looked over at Old Ma. "Old Ma, I know you're a good-hearted man, but when it comes to mediocre soldiers, you need a special approach — reasoning with them gets you nowhere."

"Only when they've had a taste of hardship will they learn their lesson."

"Whatever their squad leader may or may not have done wrong back in the Recruit Company, that's no excuse for laying hands on someone. New recruits must respect their veterans. These three need a proper show of force — no two ways about it!"

"Quartermaster…"

Old Ma tried to speak, but was cut off immediately. "This is settled. Stay out of it!"

Lu Ming and the others broke into wide grins. "Quartermaster, don't you worry — I've got nine different ways to sort those boys out. Nine!"

Old Ma let out a helpless sigh.

He'd been in the army for over a decade.

He'd seen his fair share of so-called troublemaker soldiers.

These soldiers might seem defiant and unruly on the surface, but most of them weren't bad at heart — they just needed the right approach to communication.

The military was developing at a rapid pace, and everyone was pushing hard to keep up. Nobody had the patience to properly guide these kinds of soldiers.

He understood all of this, yet Old Ma felt powerless to do anything about it. He had no choice but to go along with the arrangement.

"Fine. I'll handle it."

"I appreciate it." Fan Ming patted him on the shoulder, then turned to the others. "And the rest of you — don't think just because the new recruits are here, you get to take it easy."

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone responded with eager smiles.

* * *

That evening, the three of them — Lin Hui, Wang Yong, and Chen Erhu — sat down for dinner in the canteen.

As a welcome gesture, the canteen had thrown in two extra poached eggs for each of them.

Wang Yong stared at his tray with a look of disdain. "It's our first day reporting in and this is what they give us? Talk about stingy."

Chen Erhu was equally puzzled. "Didn't they say there's supposed to be some kind of welcome ceremony when new recruits get assigned to a regular unit? This is pretty underwhelming."

Lin Hui swept his gaze around the room and noticed the odd looks a few of the veterans were giving them. He lowered his voice immediately. "Both of you, keep it down. I think word about us has already made it here."

"What? Already?" The two of them jolted in alarm.

Wang Yong asked anxiously, "We're done for. These guys know we roughed up a veteran — they're definitely going to come after us hard!"

Chen Erhu quickly shuffled a little further away. "I — I didn't throw any punches. I didn't hit any veteran…"

Wang Yong smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't try to distance yourself from this. You were with us, which makes you an accomplice. If they come for us, they're coming for you too."

"You think you can escape?"

Chen Erhu panicked. "Then what do we do? I don't want to get beaten up."

Lin Hui sighed. "Not wanting to get beaten up doesn't change anything. They don't know Xu Da personally, but veterans stick together — that's just how it is."

The more he thought about it, the more irritated he got. He turned and glared at Wang Yong. "When the squad leader was hitting you, you should've just let him. Why did you have to fight back? If you hadn't, none of this would've happened."

Wang Yong got defensive. "You threw punches too! You even smashed the window — you hit way harder than I did!"

Lin Hui's mouth twitched. "That was me trying to save you. What was I supposed to do, stand there and watch you get beaten to death?"

"That's why they say — there's no one better than Brother Hui. A kid with Brother Hui is a treasure through and through."

Wang Yong grinned cheekily and said with a shameless expression.

Lin Hui stared at him, speechless. Where did this guy pick up all these corny lines?

He said seriously, "Alright, enough of that — we can't afford to be this negative. Try to look on the bright side. Sergeant Ma seems like a decent guy; he probably won't just sit back and watch us get pushed around."

The two of them nodded.

Sergeant Ma really did seem like a decent sort — warm and approachable, with a perpetually good-natured smile on his face and endless patience for everything.

Lin Hui glanced at the veterans nearby and sighed inwardly. It seemed that even just trying to get through the days in peace wasn't going to be easy.

For now, there was nothing better to do than take things as they came.

The more time he spent here, the less he felt he understood the military. Back when he was growing up in the Military Compound, he'd always thought being a soldier was pretty straightforward.

He never imagined that actually being here would mean navigating this much human drama.

Lin Hui rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Still one year and nine months to go — how was he ever going to get through it?

* * *

The next day.

The three of them were roused early by the veterans.

There were no morning drills or training sessions here, but feeding the pigs was their morning assignment.

Just past four in the morning, Old Ma had them up and preparing the pig feed.

Over two thousand pigs had an appetite that was nothing short of staggering.

None of the three had ever done farm work before. After several hours of non-stop labor, all three of them felt like their backs were about to snap in two.

It was every bit as grueling as training had been.

After a quick breakfast — barely enough time to catch their breath — they were hauled off to the fish ponds.

Two hundred acres of fish ponds, all of which had to be fed by hand.

The three of them kept at it straight through until noon, and by the end they were so exhausted they nearly collapsed on the spot.

The veteran Lu Ming strolled over with a cold smirk. "Can't handle a little work like this? Don't you do anything at home?"

Wang Yong gasped for breath. "I've done work before, but — but never anything this heavy. This is harder than hauling bricks on a construction site!"

Chen Erhu pulled a long face. "Back in the village I did chores, but we only had one pig and a few chickens — it was done in no time."

"Nothing like this. This is killing me."

If he'd known the logistics unit was going to be this brutal, he'd have been better off getting assigned to a regular unit for training.

Lin Hui was regretting it too. He'd come here with the express intention of taking it easy.

He never expected to end up this exhausted.

If every day was going to be like this from here on out, he'd be worked into an early grave for sure.

But he was already here, and there was nothing to do but accept reality.

* * *

Over the following days, the three of them were up before the roosters and in bed long after dark.

The production base had an endless mountain of work, and there was never enough time to get through it all.

While the pig pens had machines to handle the waste removal, the collected waste still had to be processed by hand.

Either they shoveled the pig manure onto carts with iron spades and hauled it away, or they carried it in buckets to the edges of the fish ponds to fertilize the vegetable plots and enrich the water quality.

That work alone was enough to run all three of them ragged.

The military had its standards, and even here — where there was no combat training — the work absolutely could not be done carelessly. Everything had to be carried out strictly according to regulations.

* * *

Another week passed in the blink of an eye.

After lunch one day, the three of them finally found a rare moment to rest, leaning against a tree and soaking up the sun.

Wang Yong let out a long sigh. "I never thought the day would come when I'd envy the life of an old man — just lying around in the sun like this. Damn, it feels good."

Chen Erhu nodded. "Now I finally understand why there are always old men gathered around a chessboard at the village entrance. This is the life."

Wang Yong suddenly turned to Lin Hui. "Brother Hui, we need to figure something out. We came here to take it easy and live the good life, and instead we ended up as laborers."

Chen Erhu said nothing.

He'd already made up his mind — wherever Lin Hui went, he went. Through fire and flood, he'd follow.

Lin Hui felt utterly helpless inside.

He'd come here expecting a comfortable ride, and instead he'd gotten nothing but hardship.

Up earlier than the roosters, to bed later than the oxen, spending every day tending to a whole herd of livestock — it was no kind of life for a human being.

And over these past few days, he'd also figured out what was really going on.

The veterans were deliberately making things difficult for them — piling all the dirtiest, heaviest, and most grueling work onto their shoulders.

Lin Hui knew that getting them to back off in the short term was going to be nearly impossible.

To reach any kind of truce and earn their respect would take at least a year, maybe more.

Lin Hui took a deep breath. "We can't keep going on like this. The more we back down, the more those guys are going to think we're easy targets."

"Come on — we're going to find the Quartermaster and demand some answers."

Wang Yong's eyes went wide. "Big Bro, are you serious? The Quartermaster is the one leading the charge against us — going to him is like walking straight into the lion's den!"

Lin Hui smiled faintly. "Relax. I've got a plan. I'm not afraid of him."

"A plan? What kind of plan?"

Wang Yong and Chen Erhu exchanged bewildered looks, completely unable to figure out what he had in mind.