1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 46 Operational Hospital
Two days later.

Zhou Xu packed his backpack, checked his camera, and cocked his pistol.

The comrades of the 54th Army have already begun their operations, and the field hospitals are also taking action.

The field hospitals now include those on the border and those built in enemy territory; the one he was assigned to was near the border.

The fighting over the past day or two has pushed the battle forward, but Zhou Xu was completely clueless about where it had gone, as he didn't know much about counterattack warfare.

morning.

The current company commander, Xu Feihu, is walking at the front.

The others followed him, heading towards the wartime hospital.

Their primary task remains protecting the safety of wartime hospitals.

Zhou Xu's main task was to interview wounded soldiers and nurses, and then write various articles to inspire and encourage the soldiers.

He followed the troops to the front of the car, and a group of people got on the vehicle in a rush. Xu Feihu gave a hand, and Zhou Xu immediately followed and climbed on.

They are more than 100 kilometers away from the border.

Most field hospitals are located within ten kilometers of the front lines, and some are even less than ten kilometers away.

They rushed towards the field hospital ahead.

Chen Hui sat in the car, taking a drag of his cigarette: "The noise these past two days has been really scary. I was still sleeping when it woke me up all of a sudden."

Liu Menghai nodded: "I've never seen so many cannons firing at once before."

The car shook violently. Chen Hui, smoking a cigarette, said, "It's a real pity. Actually, I really wanted to go to the front lines."

“Being in a field hospital is considered the front line, not the rear! You have a chance to kill enemies and make meritorious contributions!” Xu Feihu patted his shoulder.

The vehicle was traveling very fast.

We arrived at the field hospital.

A group of people got off the bus.

As soon as Zhou Xu got out of the car, he smelled an extremely pungent stench of blood, and then he turned around to look at the hospital entrance.

The entire hospital was filled with busy figures amidst the smoke and the stench of blood. It was a makeshift wartime hospital converted from a cement factory, and tents had just been erected outside.

All I saw were soldiers being brought over in truckloads, with blood everywhere.

Under the makeshift canvas tent, the operating table was made of wooden planks, and the white cloth covering it was soaked with blood and turned dark brown. The doctors' surgical gowns were wet from the chest to the cuffs.

A row of soldiers lay in the corridor awaiting surgery. Some had blood-soaked bandages wrapped around their legs, while others pressed their hands to their chests, blood bubbles still seeping from their wounds as they breathed.

The nurses ran by carrying their medical kits, their heels clicking on the blood-soaked ground. They started an IV drip for one wounded soldier and then rushed off to change the dressings for another soldier who was crying out in pain.

In the sterilizer not far away, surgical instruments clanged and clattered, the stench of blood filled the entire room, and even the windows were covered with a layer of bloody mist—there were no extra cries, only the sounds of instruments, doctors' instructions, and the occasional muffled groans of soldiers enduring pain.

Zhou Xu watched all of this unfold.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea surged up from my stomach.

He immediately ran to the grass and started spitting.

This was the first time he had ever seen such a bloody scene, especially the blood-soaked legs and the soldiers with incomplete bodies. He couldn't help but feel pity and nausea.

This reaction was the first physiological response. Zhou Xu felt that he probably wouldn't want to eat any meat for the next few months.

"Ugh!" He vomited up the dumplings he had eaten that morning.

Company political instructor Liu Menghai said, "It's really not pleasant to see these things for the first time. There are tents over there, why don't you go and rest for a bit!"

Zhou Xu picked up his water bottle, took a big gulp of water, took a deep breath, and said, "It's okay, I can handle it. Let's go arrange the tasks first."

"Well... alright then." Xu Feihu nodded. Zhou Xu let out a sigh of relief, finally feeling a little better for a while.

He held up his camera, found the right angle, and took a picture outside the hospital.

They followed the company to the office inside the hospital.

A simple door, inside which are various documents and a telephone receiver.

"Reporting to the political commissar, I am Xu Feihu from the xxth Company of the xxth Division of the 54th Army."

The hospital's political commissar glanced at Xu Feihu and immediately said, "You've finally arrived."

"Please give instructions, Political Commissar!"

"As you can see from the current situation, I hope you can send one or two squads to assist with patrols, and another squad to participate in the transfer of the wounded, receiving the wounded sent from the front lines at the hospital entrance..."

"And could someone help move the supplies, and set up temporary tents... I'd really appreciate that."

Field hospitals are almost always understaffed.

Zhou Xu listened attentively and took notes slowly, as these were all materials for his own reporting.

"I understand." Xu Feihu and instructor Liu Menghai left the office and began directing the soldiers' work.

A company of over a hundred people seemed insufficient at this time.

The risk of sacrifice at the front lines is very high, and the aftermath of such battles is often overwhelming.

"Political Commissar, what about me?"

"You're a reporter sent here, aren't you? Go walk around the compound and interview the comrades who have been bandaged up!" The political commissar said, and then shooed Zhou Xu away.

Zhou Xu left after reporting for duty.

They went directly to the hospital ward.

The nurse noticed the camera around Zhou Xu's neck and exclaimed, "What's this? A reporter has arrived!"

"Hey!"

Now, interviews are conducted by journalists who interview and write reports about "model figures," so when Zhou Xu arrived, they led him toward the model figures.

Even many parts of the hospital are off-limits to him! Reporting on military secrets such as the hospital's specific location, the number of wounded, troop numbers, and weapon and equipment models is also prohibited.

Anyway, it's very restrictive.

Zhou Xu followed the nurse to a comrade whose head was wrapped in gauze and whose body was also wrapped in a lot of gauze.

"Hello comrade, I am Zhou Xu, a reporter sent by the military region!"

The soldier is recovering quite well now; apart from many barely visible wounds, his voice is not weak.
"I am Chen Haisheng, the company commander of the xxx Company of the 54th Army."

"Could you tell me about your experiences on the battlefield?"

Zhou Xu was holding a newspaper.

"On the night of the all-out assault, we went deep into the monkeys' territory, and our company ran right onto a bunker. Many of our brothers died there."

The shells were duds; they hadn't been used for over ten years. I had no choice but to grab the explosives and rush over to blow up the bunker. And this is where I last woke up.”

"You are truly a brave man!" Zhou Xu wrote down his deeds: "Could you tell me some details? Details of the battle!"

"It was dark at the time..."

However, the duds that Chen Haisheng mentioned do exist, after all, there had been no action for more than ten years, coupled with the great upheaval... and at that time, the war preparedness and logistics were somewhat... well.

A movie depicted this scene, and the production team even apologized to the arsenal for it.

(End of this chapter)