Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 19: Thousands of people, thousands of faces, different splendor
Perhaps because the camp is located in a remote area, the overall construction of the dormitory buildings here is very simple.

There are only two floors in total.

Fortunately, the building is long enough. If three buildings are connected together, it will extend fifty or sixty meters horizontally from east to west.

Lao Pao led Chen Mo to the middle building, walked to the second floor, turned right to the last dormitory, and pushed the door open and walked in.

The furnishings inside the dormitory are simpler and clear at a glance.

Apart from four bunk beds and a rusty metal cabinet with peeling paint at the entrance, there were only eight desks piled in the corner of the dormitory.

Nothing else.

Walking into the dormitory, Lao Pao pointed to one of the metal cabinets and said, "Chen Mo, cabinet number two is assigned to you."

"You can put your military uniform and underwear inside. You can choose which bed to sleep in. Move the tables in the corner over and place them against the wall."

"Pick the desk that's closest to your bed. That will be your desk from now on."

"Go downstairs and on the left is the bathroom and toilet. Go get a mop and mop the floor. Next to the bathroom is the utility room. Go find some tissue paper and wipe the rust off the metal cabinet."

"The standard is to polish it until you can see a person's reflection."

"Go."

"Yes!!"

After Chen Mo received the order, he did not waste any time.

First, I opened the metal cabinet No. 2 and stuffed my luggage into it. Then I chose a lower bunk on the inside, put the packed backpack on the bed, rolled up my sleeves and prepared to go downstairs.

Perhaps because he saw that Chen Mo was quite capable, the old man who had been observing him from the side finally couldn't help but speak again.

"Chen Mo."

"arrive!!"

"I saw the enlistment letter you wrote at the political commissar's. In it, you said you'd made a lot of preparations for joining the army. It seems you weren't just talking nonsense."

"Let me ask you, how do you feel after arriving at the military camp? Is it the same as you imagined?"

"Or do you miss home right now?"

Facing Lao Pao's continuous questioning, Chen Mo rolled down his sleeves and responded: "I miss home, but I can overcome it."

"Don't worry, squad leader, I will never embarrass you."

Hearing this, Lao Pao stared at Chen Mo meaningfully for a few seconds before nodding and saying, "Remember to report when you answer questions in the future. This is the rule in the military camp."

"Okay, let's go get our stuff and clean up the dorm."

"Yes!!"

Chen Mo watched Zhou Yongjie leave the dormitory, and then he grinned.

Of course he knows the rules of the army.

However, the old soldier is the squad leader after all, and his responsibility is to teach the new recruits so that they can be sensible and have good eyesight.

But you can't know everything, right? You have to leave some room for the old squad leader to show his abilities.

So, sometimes you have to make small mistakes.

This will be his dormitory from now on. Chen Mo has no intention of being lazy and takes advantage of the time when Lao Pao is away.

He went to the first floor alone to find a broom and a mop, as well as sandpaper for grinding iron sheets, and moved them all to the dormitory.

Prepare to start.

the other side.

After Zhou Yongjie went downstairs, he slowly walked to the place where the new recruits gathered.

Seeing him coming, Cheng Dong, who was smoking in the distance and was the company commander who went to Fucheng to recruit soldiers, waved to him: "Old Cannon, come here."

heard movement.

Lao Pao walked up to Cheng Dong, took a Wutaishan cigarette from him, put it in his mouth, lit it, and nodded in the direction of the new recruits: "Company Commander, aren't we going to divide the squads yet?"

"Division, you go pick it first."

Captain Cheng puffed out two streams of thick smoke from his nostrils, then leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I'm telling you, old gunner, you're going to have to deal with me this time."

"I'll let you pick the people first. Give us a few good candidates for investigation. And you should also pay attention to that scholar."

"Do you want me to send another person to your squad eight?"

"No, save it for the other classes."

Zhou Yongjie grinned, quickly finished the cigarette in his hand, threw away the cigarette butt and walked towards the line of recruits.

Their old Seventh Division is a mechanized unit, and they are usually accustomed to leading troops according to the specifications of a mechanized infantry squad.

This also applies to the recruit company.

Each squad consists of eight people, and according to regulations, the squad leader and deputy squad leader must be veterans.

But Lao Pao is very capable, and as a veteran, the superiors also give him face and don't care about trivial matters.

Other classes have two veterans leading six people, but his class, Class 8, doesn't need any assistance from other veterans at all.

Walking to the front of the line of new recruits, Zhou Yongjie looked up and scanned the line. If he saw anyone dodging or lowering their head when their gaze met his, he would not even look at them.

I specifically look for the type who has a stiff neck, a raised face, and a somewhat rebellious expression.

"You, you, you, and you, the six of you, step out." "Grab your things and follow me."

Lao Pao selected six new recruits in a row, just like when he selected Chen Mo just now.

He just walked in front and let the six new recruits follow behind.

Over here in the dormitory.

Chen Mo was squatting on the ground, holding gauze in his right hand, polishing the rusty metal cabinet with a "rub, rub, rub" sound.

Suddenly hearing some noise coming from the corridor outside, Chen Mo quickly stood up.

When he returned to the dormitory, Lao Pao took a look at the floor, which was cleaner than before, and the sandpaper in Chen Mo's hand.

He nodded slightly and said, "Well done, let's put the work aside for now."

He took out a notebook and a pen from his pocket and handed them to Chen Mo: "These people behind will be our class from now on. You are responsible for recording their names."

"Come in, what are you doing standing there?"

After giving instructions to Chen Mo, Lao Pao turned around and looked at the new recruits he had brought in, who were still crowded at the door.

He frowned immediately.

From now on, they are all comrades in the recruit company, so I didn’t wait for Lao Pao to continue.

Chen Mo was the first to speak to the newcomers: "Hello everyone, my name is Chen Mo, Erdong Chen, Mo for default. I'm from Henan Province, and I'm very happy to join this big family of the military camp."

“It’s nice to meet you all, too.”

Probably because he saw someone else doing the sample work, one of the new recruits, who was tall and thin and looked like a stick, took the lead and walked into the dormitory. He said, "My name is Feng Junling, and I'm from Sichuan and Chongqing."

"Wei Jiahao, I'm from Shandong."

"Yue Jinyuan, I'm from Shandong too."

"Yang Dali, Anhui Province."

"My name is Li Zhiang, and I'm from Hebei Province."

"Zhu Gaituan, I'm from Henan Province, just like Chen Mo."

Chen Mo listened to their self-introductions, wrote down their names one by one, and then returned the notebook to Lao Pao.

He glanced at the notes on the paper to make sure they were the same as what he heard.

Zhou Yongjie then folded the paper and put it in his pocket.

Raising his voice, he said, "Now that you have all introduced yourselves, it's my turn."

"My name is Zhou Yongjie, and I'm the squad leader of the eighth squad of the third platoon of the second company of our recruits. I have a few unpleasant things to say up front."

"I know you've just arrived at the army, and before you come, everyone has all sorts of assumptions about the army."

"But there is no need to guess now, because coming here means that you will become a qualified soldier."

"Why do I say will?"

After Zhou Yongjie scanned everyone's face, he added, "That's because you are not yet."

"A soldier needs to stand and sit with dignity, and be a man of steel wherever he goes."

"But what about you?"

After scolding him for a few words, Lao Pao grabbed Yang Dali's sleeve and said, "Who told you that you can roll up your military uniform to your elbows?"

"put it down."

"And you, Feng Junling, do you still look like a soldier with those pants on?"

"You've turned my good military pants into underpants."

"I'm telling you, in the army, you have to listen to me during training, even if you have to be beaten."

"If anyone is dissatisfied, just tell me directly. If you have the ability, I respect you as a man. If you don't have the ability and still give in, you are a troublemaker and a coward."

"Everyone is here now, put down your luggage."

"Turn around and march in step."

"Ya Er Yi, Ya Er Yi."

Lao Pao led people downstairs while shouting slogans.

He doesn't need to care about what happens in other classes, nor does he want to care.

But since he is asked to lead new recruits this year, he must make sure that the new recruits in the class at least look like soldiers from beginning to end.

In Zhou Yongjie's eyes, there is no difference between new recruits and old soldiers, only the difference between those who can do something and those who can't.

Even if it is the first day, the students in Class 8 must show their true style.

Chen Mo had met this veteran squad leader several times.

He felt that the other party was not as fierce as he had imagined.

However, everyone is different. Now that I am back in the barracks, my unit has changed and my new comrades have also changed.

The military camp life that is about to begin should be different and exciting.

(End of this chapter)