1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 8 Submission
A group of people were laughing incoherently.

"My name is Li Dafu, and we're all from Lichuan..." A slightly overweight man scratched his head, embarrassed as he introduced himself.

"My name is Wang Kang, you can call me Kangzi!"

"My name is Liu Xiang!"

"My name is Li Xiang."

"My name is Zhang Duoyu. Because I'm the third child in my family, and I'm considered 'extra' (extra), my parents call me Duoyu..."

Apart from the three of them, the remaining students in the dormitory introduced themselves one after another.

Squad Leader Li said slowly, "The chubby one is Li Dafu, the one with pockmarks on his face is Wang Kang, the short one is Liu Xiang, the one with the soft voice is Li Xiang, and the one born in violation of the one-child policy is Zhang Duoyu! This handsome one is Zhou Xu, and the one who looks arrogant is Zhou Youcai!"

Alright, Squad Leader Li has now introduced the most outstanding characteristics of everyone in the dormitory.

Zhou Xu had no choice; he was indeed the most handsome.

Because his mother used to be the most beautiful girl in the village, and she fell in love with Guoping, a soldier who had returned from serving in the army and was fighting against landlords, at first sight, while his father was tall and handsome...

Therefore, the outstanding Zhou Xu must be a tall and handsome man, standing at 1.8 meters.

If I had to say, Takeshi Kaneshiro resembles him! Tony Leung resembles him a bit too!
Pshaw, just indulging in a little self-admiration.

Squad Leader Li continued cheerfully, "Rest here for a while, then register at noon. We'll distribute all sorts of supplies to you, then you'll eat in the canteen. In a couple of days, we'll issue your new uniforms."

When you register, they will ask you about your special skills. You know what special skills are, right? They will check them when you are assigned to a team later. Try to say something positive. If you can fix bicycles, say that you can fix bicycles. It will be easy for you to get into the artillery regiment or the motor transport regiment in the future!

"You can dance, sing, play the suona... these aren't things for girls. Don't be shy, just say so if you can, you might have a chance to join the performing arts troupe."

When Squad Leader Li spoke, a group of people nodded.

I never expected this person to be so exceptionally kind.

Zhou Xu was particularly afraid of encountering veterans who bullied people. Not to mention that this didn't happen in China... it was a matter of how serious it was, but it was already a custom in South Korea, and it also existed to some extent in China.

However, Squad Leader Li clearly showed affection for the new recruits and had a good temper.

"Boss?"

"Pah! Who told you to call me 'boss'? Squad leader! I just said that. You look like you've been hanging around the village for too long, Kang the Pockmarked!" Squad Leader Li said unhappily.

Kang Mazi had indeed been around for a long time; his speech was full of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) spirit: "Squad leader, does being able to climb trees count?"

"Bullshit!"

Does fighting count?

"What a load of crap! If you know wrestling or martial arts, fine, but your armed brawl at the village entrance is nothing!" Squad Leader Li retorted.

"Ha ha!"

The group of people burst into laughter.

……

Rested for a while.

The group went to report for duty, at which point they needed to submit their enlistment notices, political background check materials, and household registration documents.

The archival materials were transferred uniformly by the local authorities, and the administrative documents here corresponded one by one.

When submitting the materials, the clerk indeed asked, "Zhou...Xu, what are your special skills?"

Zhou Xu replied without batting an eye: "I can sing, play the suona, and play the erhu!"

"Oh? Someone talented?" The clerk looked him over curiously. Handsome and plays a musical instrument? This kid is a natural-born member of an arts troupe. "I'll remember that."

Write it down and submit it later.

After registration.

Zhou Youcai couldn't help but swallow hard, and walked over curiously to ask, "You can do these things too?"

"I learned to sing in high school from my teacher. As for the suona and erhu, I joined an extracurricular class and discussed them with a few classmates. It wasn't very in-depth, but I can definitely play them with rhythm!" Zhou Xu said confidently.
Anyway, the only person here who truly understands me is Zhou Youcai, and the key is that he never went to high school!
Even if I lied about what high school was, he wouldn't know!

"No wonder you're curious about the performing arts troupe. This clerk has your eye on you! You might get assigned there later."

Zhou Xu smiled slightly; this was his way of ensuring his own safety net.

Because if your submission is rejected, you can still get into the performing arts troupe through your various special skills.

……

After registration, the new recruits' company went to the parade ground outside to assemble. The company commander was a very refined and scholarly general. Zhou Xu could tell at a glance that he was a graduate of military academy who had been sent to the grassroots level for training.

If you really want to get promoted in the military, you have to flatter this kind of person. Eventually, they'll train you to be their confidant, and you'll get promoted too.

But Zhou Xu's mind was elsewhere; he clutched the manuscript in his arms, his thoughts wandering.

The company commander said, "I hope everyone can achieve excellent results in our company and join an outstanding unit. On the first day, we've added a meat dish to the mess hall! Let's eat now."

Upon hearing this, the group immediately cheered with joy!

A meat dish! That's really something! The kids from the countryside are the most eager, and those from better-off families are curious too, but not this unreserved. A group of them walked in unison to the canteen entrance.

Even before entering the door, the aroma of pork belly filled the air, making Zhou Xu's mouth water: "Wow, it smells so good!"

"Are you saying that a company commander of that rank eats this kind of food every day?"

Before he could finish speaking, Squad Leader Li turned around and glanced at him: "Don't talk nonsense!"

Zhou Youcai quickly shut his mouth. He knew that words can be dangerous. It was fine if no one heard it, and it was also fine if others didn't care. But what if they did care?

"Oh... but will we always have these conditions from now on?"

Squad Leader Li introduced to Zhou Xu and the whole class: "The food on the first day was pretty good, but afterwards we basically only had one small meat dish a week, and one meat dish a month! But at least it was enough to fill us up."

But I want to remind you all, no matter what you eat from now on, make sure you eat your fill, because training is very tough.

Resources are scarce these days. In another twenty or thirty years, most soldiers will have meat at every meal.

"Having meat once a week is a good thing!" Zhou Xu licked his lips. He was a modern man who only ate lean meat, and he only ate meat once a month. Now he was about to experience withdrawal symptoms.

"Indeed, you might not see meat for a whole month in the countryside."

Squad Leader Li nodded. He was also a soldier from a rural area: "After you're discharged, your families' financial situation will improve significantly. Being a soldier is no worse than being an officer! You all need to work harder!"

Walk into the cafeteria.

A group of people lined up at the cafeteria window, waiting to get their food.

The stew wasn't particularly delicious, but as long as it had meat and seasonings, it wasn't too bad. Zhou Xu quickly grabbed the iron bowl that had been given to him and started eating.

One dish was cabbage and tofu, another was stir-fried shredded potatoes, and the only meat dish was braised pork.

A spoonful of braised pork was poured over the rice and dishes, and the sauce was completely absorbed into the rice, with a fragrant aroma wafting towards Zhou Xu.

Zhou Xu felt quite happy upon hearing this.

He had a good relationship with Squad Leader Li, so he sat down next to him and asked, "Squad Leader, is this afternoon a free time?"

"Okay, don't leave the camp, and don't go to places with signs! There are some places you new recruits can't go into yet! You can look around the rest of the places," Sergeant Li said slowly.

"I understand, class monitor. I wanted to ask... where is the publicity department?"

Zhou Xu knew that Squad Leader Li was a fairly fair person, much like his own father, so he wanted to offer him a cigarette, but was afraid that the other person would dislike him.

"What are you going to do in that building?" Squad Leader Li pointed to a building and asked Zhou Xu. It was not far from the cafeteria exit.

"Didn't the publicity department say that I could send letters home? I want to send my parents a letter to let them know I'm safe. This is the first time I've been so far away from home!"

Squad Leader Li patted Zhou Xu on the shoulder, not finding him effeminate; many only children from rural areas are like that when they first leave home.

"Then go there later, and ask around when you get inside. Usually, letters are sent to clerks."

"Thank you, class monitor." Zhou Xu nodded.

He said a few words to Squad Leader Li, then slurped his food down.

First comes the rice, picking out the vegetables, then stuffing the meat and rice into your mouth all at once, and the last bite is the happiest.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Xu headed towards the propaganda department building.

Organize cultural and sports activities that officers and soldiers enjoy, organize the study of Party theories, compile detailed materials on outstanding individuals emerging from the grassroots level, and report them to brigade and division-level units to strive for higher-level commendations.

These are also tasks assigned by the Publicity Department.

Of course, the clerks are usually in the publicity department, so you can usually just send letters to the clerks directly without having to go through the publicity department.

However, Zhou Xu was there to submit his work. Many submissions required the propaganda department to conduct confidentiality reviews and political checks before they could be sent to "PLA Literature and Art"!
The propaganda department building was a two-story building. Zhou Xu knocked on the office door and the first person he saw was a round-headed man: "Comrade!?"

The round-headed man, engrossed in his novel, finally realized what was happening: "Hey... comrade, are you here to mail a letter or something?"

"I'm there to submit a manuscript; I want to submit it to 'PLA Literature and Art'!" Zhou Xu said with a smile.

In this era of flourishing arts and literature, there are quite a few people in the military who submit novels, and each unit will have a few who succeed.

However, grassroots troops mostly submit their work to internal small magazines, and rarely submit their work to the most prestigious magazine of the General Political Department, "PLA Literature and Art," in one go.

Comrade Roundhead asked, "Comrade, are you writing about military topics?"

Zhou Xu nodded in agreement: "Yes, it is a story about the peninsula that I compiled based on my father's words."

After putting away the manuscript, Comrade Roundhead wanted to continue reading his novel, so he said with a smile, "In a few days, we will send them to the Political Department of the Wuhan Military Region for review. Only after they pass the review will they be sent to the magazine 'PLA Literature and Art'. It may take half a month for them to reply! You will need to wait patiently."

"Thank you, comrade." After handing in his manuscript, Zhou Xu looked at the various magazines in the propaganda department and asked, "Comrade, could I have a few magazines?"

The novels and magazines supplied to the military are all military-themed. Zhou Xu is very bored and wants to read some novels to relieve his boredom.

"Oh! Take whatever you like."

Zhou Xu picked out a few military and revolutionary novels and then wisely left.

I went back to my dorm and started reading and resting.

(End of this chapter)