1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 145 Nail House

"Comrade Zhou Xu is really amazing!" Gong Xue looked at Zhou Xu, her eyes filled with undisguised surprise.

Zhou Xu said slowly, "Ahem, I'll continue explaining the play!"

Tang Guoqiang also looked on with admiration: "Teacher Zhou Xu, I understand now that Zhao Mengsheng's character is based on yourself. You were originally afraid of war, but after being tempered on the battlefield, you have become brave and fearless!"

As the saying goes, "Great scholars will always be there to debate your doctrines." Now that he's famous, whatever he does is right in their eyes. Zhou Xu simply nodded slowly.
Gong Xue asked with concern, "Didn't you say you were hit by a rocket launcher? Is your leg alright?"

At this point, Gong Xue looked anxiously at his leg. Zhou Xu exposed his leg, which had been stitched up because shrapnel had pierced his heel, and there were still surgical sutures on his heel.

It's so long, probably more than ten centimeters! It looks like a centipede!
I've heard that there's a seamless scar removal technology in later generations, but Zhou Xu feels that having scars on his body is a mark of honor for a soldier.

Tang Guoqiang gasped. The man in front of him looked even cleaner and more refined than himself, but he was definitely much tougher and braver. Apart from the scar on his leg, there were definitely other scars on his body! These were all from the battlefield.

He said, "After seeing Comrade Zhou Xu, and especially after hearing about Teacher Zhou's experiences, I now understand how Zhao Mengsheng acted!"

Zhou Xu smiled and said, "Really? I'm not an expert in acting, so I won't give you any pointers. If you don't understand the script, you can ask me."

Gong Xue nodded. She couldn't bear to look at the wounds and felt sorry for Zhou Xu for a while. She also added a lot of scenes, such as Zhou Xu bravely fighting the enemy on the front line and fighting bloody battles.

She thought about it for a while longer. What if she hadn't gone to the Shanghai Film Studio but had gone to the front lines with Zhou Xu to perform for the troops? Would the outcome have been different?
Soon, Gong Xue shook her head again; she remained unmoved by Zhou Xu's age difference!
"But after hearing Teacher Zhou's story, I also understand how Han Yuxiu acted." Gong Xue thought for a while and realized that her appreciation and sympathy for Zhou Xu should also be Han Yuxiu's sympathy, love and respect for Liang Sanxi.

Xie Jin said, "I'm so sorry to have troubled you so much today, Comrade Zhou Xu! Let me treat you to a meal!"

Xie Jin took Zhou Xu out for a meal, and Zhou Xu asked, "Ahem, Lao Xie, have you forgotten something?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Jin understood what Zhou Xu was implying: "Our literature department will remit the royalties to you immediately. I'll go back and urge them again!"

Hearing this, Zhou Xu finally felt relieved and left. He wasn't going to pay the royalties! Was he supposed to be a laborer?
After finishing her meal, Gong Xue stood at the door and reluctantly said goodbye to Zhou Xu.

After Tang Guoqiang left, Xie Jin asked Gong Xue curiously, "Does Comrade Zhou Xu really have no feelings for you?"

"Director Xie, you're overthinking it. We were just ordinary friends before!" Gong Xue immediately said.

Xie Jin could only nod: "I was overthinking it, but I was just surprised that you two were so familiar with each other!"

Xie Jin stared at Gong Xue's face, a hint of gossip in his eyes. Gong Xue replied, "Director Xie, what are you thinking about?"

Although Xie Jin was known as a good person, and many directors, such as Jiang Wen, had been taught by him, Gong Xue still saw a malicious smile in Xie Jin's eyes.

"Nothing, nothing! I think Comrade Zhou Xu is really amazing~" Xie Jin said in a coquettish tone, mimicking Gong Xue.

Gong Xue rolled her eyes at him: "Director Xie, you're so boring..."

-

Back at the army base, Zhou Xu returned to the daily grind; military service was inherently mundane and boring. Only those who could endure loneliness could last long, so Zhou Xu thought those who could persist at the grassroots level for twelve years were truly impressive. Even if they were doing it for better security after retirement, twelve years was still amazing.

After a boring and tedious month, Nanjing has finally gotten hot; summer has arrived.

These past few days, most of the school's courses have been coming to an end one after another. Ye Huawei asked, "What are you planning to do during the two months of summer vacation?"

There's no such thing as summer vacation in the military! So, although the school curriculum is reduced during the two-month summer break, there are other things to do.

Sometimes they conduct rotational training and military exercises! If they are performing arts soldiers, they will be organized to visit and entertain in the border areas.

Many teaching and research staff also promote the tackling of major projects and research topics, and some professors even take the lead in reviewing and approving major research projects for the entire military.

Anyway, although there were fewer classes during the summer vacation, the learning was still very solid!
Song Zhipeng said, "I was thinking of applying to go back to the army. Aren't they organizing an exercise? I want to go back and experience some real combat. My dad has arranged it for me; it's his unit!"

After Song Zhipeng joined the army, he no longer refrained from talking about his father. After all, there are quite a few second-generation rich kids in the army, and everyone has taken it for granted!

"An exercise? Tsk? The troops didn't call me!?!" Thinking this, Yu Wenyong stamped his feet in frustration!

For someone like him, although he is not a war fanatic, he definitely has some enthusiasm for fighting!
"Apply yourself? Or how about Lao Yu join my unit? I'll let you lead the charge during the exercises?" Ye Huawei said with a smile.

After he returned, he became the commander of the regiment. At that time, he had his own battalion and wanted to recruit some people he knew and trusted. Yu Wenyong was indeed a good candidate!
Yu Wenyong was somewhat tempted. His situation was different from Zhou Xu's. He was a serving officer and didn't have many leaders in the army who valued him. Following Ye Huawei might really be a good way out!

"Ahem. Let me think for a moment."

Ye Huawei patted his chest: "You're not Xiao Zhou! People have to think a lot more before changing jobs! What do you need?"

Despite the harsh words, Yu Wenyong still took them to heart. He turned to Zhou and asked, "Xiao Zhou, do you have any plans?"

Zhou Xu thought for a moment: "Actually, I don't have any plans yet!? I'm not in the combat unit, so it seems like I can't go to the military exercises you guys are going to!?"

As Zhou Xu said this, he was still quite envious of a group of people. After all, which leader wouldn't want to lead troops into battle?
Ye Huawei said, "If you come to our Guangzhou Military Region, I can ask a friend if we can arrange some training in a military camp for you!"

Ye Huawei's invitation to Zhou Xu was quite sincere, after all, he really wanted to take away the soldiers who could influence an entire unit!

Song Zhipeng said, "Old Ye, you still want to recruit Comrade Zhou Xu?! I couldn't even do that back then!"

Ye Huawei chuckled: "Just kidding, I don't care if Comrade Zhou Xu is unhappy!"

Zhou Xu saw that he didn't seem to be joking, but he really had no intention of going to the Guangzhou Military Region: "Never mind, I'll ask the political commissar when it's my turn to rest. If there's no plan, I'll just go back to the military region with him."

-

A courtyard house in Xuanwu District! A loud, persistent knocking sounded at the door!
The old lady, leaning on her cane, hurried over to open the door: "Who is it? Is it Xiao Xu?"

She secretly hoped that Zhou Xu would come into the house to see the old lady. The old lady's affection for Zhou Xu was simple: seeing something reminds her of someone. Her lover used to be a soldier, so she had a good impression of soldiers.

When she saw Zhou Xu in his military uniform renting a house, she immediately agreed!
Standing outside wasn't Zhou Xu, but a familiar-looking man. The old lady's face darkened, her tone clearly impatient: "What are you doing here?"

The man adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his sharply tailored suit giving him an imposing presence, and his attitude was equally forceful: "Sir, this land is being developed by our company, and your house happens to be on the planned route!"

"Bullshit!" the old woman immediately retorted, raising her voice. "The neighborhood committee told me about the road construction a long time ago. They clearly said they would only stop next door, so how could it be my turn? You're just trying to trick me into giving up my house! Get out of here!"

She knew perfectly well that this man was not a government urban construction worker. Nowadays, the government outsources many demolition and relocation tasks to specialized companies, and this man named Zhang Han was the head of the outsourcing company.

Zhang Han stood with his hands on his hips, taking advantage of his height to look down at the old lady with disdain in his eyes: "Old lady, why are you so stubborn?"

"Whether I'm stubborn or not is none of your business!" The old woman retorted, her voice urgent and harsh. "Get out of here! I don't entertain people like you!" This house was her home; her husband and children had all passed away here. Every inch of the house was etched with memories. How could she possibly bear to leave?

Moreover, this is not a necessary route in the national plan at all. It's just that some people have their eyes on her house and want to force her to buy it. She would rather die than agree to it!
Zhang Han took a deep breath, patiently lowering his tone, but still laced with threat: "If you're after money, we can talk! One thousand? Two thousand? I can give you anything! Don't cling to the house, or if things really get ugly, you won't get a single penny!"

The old woman suddenly grabbed her cane and pressed it straight against his chest, her eyes as firm as iron: "I don't want a single penny, and nobody can take the house from me!"

Zhang Han was forced back half a step by the rebuttal, and immediately lost his patience. He flung his cane away and his voice suddenly rose: "Why are you so stubborn? Everyone else in this area has sold their properties. You're a holdout, an obstacle to national progress!! The district government has already ordered to take over this land! If you're smart enough to sign now, you can still get two thousand yuan in compensation. But if we go through legal procedures and force the demolition, you won't get a penny, and even your belongings will be thrown out!"

He leaned closer, his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses gleaming with a calculating coldness: "Don't think you can get away with this just because you're old. Our company has plenty of ways to deal with this! We'll cut off your water and electricity, and send workers to guard this place every day. Let's see how you manage to stay here! A wise man knows when to yield, old man, don't push us too far!"

"Do you think I'm just a big shot? Where were you, you son of a bitch, when I was carrying stretchers for the martyrs of the War of Resistance in the old revolutionary base areas?! You're the kind of person who's a disgrace to the nation!" she cursed, pointing her finger at the man's nose.

Hearing the curses, the man took a deep breath, feeling like his lungs were about to explode with anger. He waved his hand impatiently and said:

"Forced demolition!!"

The old woman stood in the doorway: "Let's see who dares to do that!!"

Just then, a group of people from the demolition and construction team came up.

The demolition team's footsteps pounded on the concrete, and seven or eight burly men, each with a fierce look on their face, surrounded them, gripping shovels and crowbars.

Her back was ramrod straight, her withered fingers still pointing at the leading man's nose, and a defiant flame burned in her cloudy eyes. Though her voice was hoarse with age, every word was firm and resounding:
"Go ahead and step over me if you dare! This house is the dream my wife and I have cherished all our lives. You can demolish the house, but you can't demolish our conscience!"

The leader, his face turning ashen from her words, roared at his men, "What are you standing there for? Get them! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

The burly men exchanged glances, holding their tools but not moving.

Among the crowd, a group of workers in their early twenties hesitated. He had just come to the city to work with his fellow villagers and this was the first time he had encountered such a strong-willed old lady.

Looking at the old man's gray hair and frail figure, his heart pounded, and his hand holding the shovel slowed down a beat. But Zhang Han, standing beside him, shoved him and scolded, "What are you dawdling for? Wait!"

The young man stumbled and threw down the shovel.

Zhang Han grew impatient. He looked at the group of people who were just trying to scare the old lady into not daring to go up, so he picked up a shovel!
"Ah!" He went straight into the house.

The old woman tugged at him, and he pulled her into the house with all his might.

A shovel struck the top of the wooden cabinet.

The old lady ran frantically to the side!

A muffled thud seemed to strike everyone's heart. The old woman's angry expression froze instantly, her hand pointing at the man fell limply to her sides, her eyes slowly closed, her body swayed, and then she fell straight backward.

"Ouch!" came a gasp from the crowd.

Zhang Han turned pale with fright. The shovel in his hand clattered to the ground. He trembled as he reached out to pick it up, but then hesitated, muttering incoherently, "N-no, it wasn't on purpose..."

His arrogance vanished instantly.

He looked at the old woman lying on the ground, blood gradually seeping from her forehead, his heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat streamed down his back.

"Whatever it is, it's easier to deal with someone who's dead..." He composed himself, took a deep breath, and said.

However, because of the earlier commotion, more and more people gathered outside. Upon seeing that someone had been assaulted, one of the people who was on good terms with the old lady immediately shouted:
"Quick, quick, check on how he is!"

Several residents rushed in and carefully helped the old woman up. Some checked her breathing, while others gently called out, "Grandma? Grandma, wake up!"

But the old lady didn't react at all. Her face was frighteningly pale, and more and more blood was flowing from her forehead, staining the white hair at her temples red.

Zhang Han stood there, his hands and feet were ice-cold, and his mind was blank.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors gathered around and were all in an uproar when they saw what was happening.

"How can you bully an elderly person like this!"

"This is forced demolition that has resulted in injury!"

"Call the police!"

(End of this chapter)