On October 12th, Dai Xuan received the enlistment notice and two sets of military uniforms from Guan City's Armed Forces Department. The notice required him to gather at the city's Armed Forces Department compound at 8:00 a.m. on October 18th and set off for the army.
Dai Xuan had a meal with his old friends. There was Director Guo from the steel factory, Director Guo from the Education Bureau, Director Zhao from the supply and marketing cooperative, Deputy Director Chen from the Mining Bureau, and Li Jun, Wang Hanchao, and Teacher Yang from the Armed Forces Department. Everyone encouraged him to work hard in the army and waited for his triumphant return.
After the meal, Dai Xuan gave the jeep that he didn't need to Teacher Yang, and Teacher Yang accepted it without hesitation.
The next day, Dai Xuan invited a few of his close classmates who were studying and working in Guan City to have dinner at Donghe Hotel. There were Yang Liu, Liu Wen, Liu Lang, Chen Zhixiong, and a few others. He Jun and Xu Shengli, who were waiting to join the army in the mine, sat at the same table.
"Tonight, we won't go home until we're drunk. I've already booked a room for you. After dinner tonight, you can sleep upstairs and rest.”
In the hibiscus room of the East River Hotel, Dai Xuan said to his classmates at a table.
The others present were unusually excited. They rubbed their fists and rolled up their sleeves, ready to beat up the three students who were going to be soldiers.
Dai Xuan asked Liu Wen,"How are you guys doing in the technical school?"”
"Very good. There are more than 1,000 students in the school. They are all children of the various mines of the Mining Bureau. We've earned quite a bit of money from you, and we've been living a carefree life. It's not the same for the other students. Our family only gives us a few dozen yuan a month for food expenses. We eat vegetables, carrots, and pumpkin every day, and we can't even bear to eat meat. Now, there's a group of underlings in the class who are following me for a living. I plan to observe and open a food stall at the school gate.”
Xie Hua, who was sitting opposite him, said," Forget it. How many students in our school are rich? All of them were in debt, and the few food stalls at the school gate were about to close down.”
Liu Wen heard this and said,"What the hell is that? You owe me money for eating?" I usually pay. It seemed that he had to find another business to do. Otherwise, that bit of money wouldn't last long.”
Liu Lang, who worked at the steel plant, said,"Even if the food stall at the entrance of your school doesn't owe money, how much can it earn? Every table was for stir-frying conches, stir-frying vermicelli, and stir-frying vegetables. They only charged a few yuan per table. It was still better last year. To be honest, it was not very hard to pick up copper ores. They could earn so much money in a month. Just thinking about it now made them regret it. If they had known earlier, they would have slept less at night and gone to pick up ores.”
Other than Dai Xuan and Yang Liu, everyone else had gone to pick up copper ores before. After hearing this, they all nodded, and their faces revealed a regretful expression.
Not long after, the dishes were served one after another. Basically, they were all seafood. There were steamed lobsters, stir-fried green crabs, braised yellow croakers, secret two-headed abalone, and so on. The students at the table were crying out.
When the dishes were served, everyone began to eat and drink. The local party in the city led by Liu Wen launched a fierce attack on the people who were about to join the army. They seemed to have discussed it in advance. They avoided the enemy's edge and picked the weak persimmons to pinch. They specifically targeted He Jun and Xu Shengli. He Jun was known as the " Drunken Swordsman " in Jianghu. How could he live up to his reputation? The fight between the two sides was quite intense. In half an hour, they had drunk six bottles of Wuliang Ye. Dai Xuan was depressed. Why did no one drink with him after everyone toasted him? Then he would just watch the show himself.
After drinking six bottles of Wuliang Ye, He Jun and Xu Shengli slowly began to lose their strength. After all, they were all people in the martial arts world, not obedient children who did not drink at all. Even Yang Liu had drunk a few glasses with them. They had no choice but to ask Dai Xuan for help in the name of comrades-in-arms. Xu Shengli said to Dai Xuan,"Master Dai, the local gangs are using their numbers to press on our army step by step. You can't leave them to die!”
Dai Xuan spread his hands and said," I have no choice. They don't want to drink with me. What do you want me to do?"”
Tan Zhixiong was no longer afraid of anything. He raised his glass and said to Dai Xuan,"Soldiers are all barrels of wine. If I don't take this opportunity to drink the three of you until you're drunk, I won't have another chance in the future. Come, Grandpa Dai will drink up. I wish you a promotion and wealth as soon as possible!”
Liu Lang, who was sitting next to him, tugged at his clothes. However, it was too late. Dai Xuan raised his glass and clinked it with Tan Zhixiong's. He drank the wine first.
In the end, they drank two boxes of white wine. Dai Xuan didn't force them to drink too much. After dinner, they all went to their rooms to play cards. Dai Xuan drove Yang Liu home. After getting out of the car, Dai Xuan gave Yang Liu a bag and said,"There are two spirit stones for cultivation in there, enough for you to use for the next two years. If you have any problems, write to me. There is also a jade pendant. Use your divine sense to sense it. There is a one-cubic-meter space inside. You can put some small things inside.”
Dai Xuan left a few words of advice and drove away, leaving Yang Liu standing alone downstairs, watching Dai Xuan drive away reluctantly.
Dai Xuan returned to the 203 mine for a few days and went hunting in the mountains. This time, he hunted a lot of things, including two wild boars and seven or eight wild goats. He had a good drink with Wang Aiguo and his fellow villagers.
On October 17th, Dai Xuan drove out of Guan City. He didn't ask Wang Aiguo and the others to send him. He Jun and Xu Shengli didn't join the army on the same day as him. They went to other troops and didn't follow him out.
On the morning of October 18th, the weather was clear. A group of young men in green military uniforms was gathered on the basketball court in the backyard of Guan City's Armed Forces Department. They were all carrying backpacks and luggage in their hands. More and more people joined them. Dai Xuan had just arrived, so he didn't know any of them. He leaned against the basketball hoop and waited alone.
After a while, a person who was alone not far away came over and spoke to him,"Hello, my name is Zheng Hai from Chang County's Meilong Town. How should I address you?”
Zheng Hai looked to be around 17 or 18 years old. He was a little chubby and had a smile on his face. He looked like an extroverted person.
"Dai Xuan, Hua County 203 mine. You seem to have a lot of things. Why are you taking so many things? I heard that the army has everything."
Zheng Hai touched the back of his head and said in embarrassment,""I have a big appetite and get hungry easily, so I brought some biscuits in my bag.”
Dai Xuan nodded. The two of them chatted for a while and became acquainted.
At eight o'clock, a few people walked over from outside the field. Dai Xuan knew Wang Hanchao, and two of them were carrying large cardboard boxes. As Wang Han walked, he picked up the whistle in his hand and blew it a few times. He shouted,"Everyone, gather in the middle and form five rows.”
There were about fifty to sixty recruits on the basketball court. Everyone listened to Wang Hanchao's words and moved closer to the center of the basketball court. Dai Xuan and Zheng Hai also walked over with their things and stood in the last row.
"Everyone, quiet down. I'll start taking attendance now.”When Wang Hanchao saw the recruits lined up, he picked up the name list in his hand and shouted, ready to start the roll call.
"Dai Xuan!"
"Here!"
"Lu Zhenyong!"
"Here!"
"Ye Jun."
"Here!"
“……”
After the roll call, Wang Hanchao handed the name list to a young soldier in his early thirties. After the two of them muttered a few words, Wang Hanchao shouted to the recruits,"Very good, everyone is here. From today onwards, you are all glorious soldiers of the People's Liberation Army. Let me introduce these two comrades to you. They were sent by the army to pick you up. This is Company Commander Luo and this is Squad Leader Ye. Let's give them a round of applause.”
Clapping sounds came from the basketball court. Then, two soldiers holding big cardboard boxes distributed the big red flowers in the boxes. The recruits all wore the big red flowers on their chests.
Not long after, three green trucks drove into the basketball court. In one of the trucks, there were a few soldiers beating gongs and drums.
The recruits all carried their things and lined up to get on the truck. The two soldiers who received the recruits shook hands with Wang Hanchao and the other two and got on the truck's driver's seat. Wang Hanchao also waved to Dai Xuan and gave him a farewell look.
The city's armed forces department was five to six kilometers away from the train station. Three military vehicles carried fifty to sixty new recruits wearing red flowers. They boasted through the city with loud gongs and drums, attracting the attention of many young ladies along the way.
The three big trucks carrying the recruits drove for more than ten minutes. When they arrived at the train station square, the recruits got off in turn and lined up in the square. Dai Xuan paid attention to the people who set up stalls around the square and found that Little Golden Dragon was still teaching Shaolin's secret arts. There were also people selling dog skin plasters. Everyone was quite busy, which made Dai Xuan laugh secretly.
Two rows of recruits followed Commander Luo and Squad Leader Ye into the train station. They lined up in two rows on the platform, waiting for the arrival of the train.
The recruits who were waiting in line for the train didn't dare to move because Squad Leader Ye was watching them covetously. After waiting for almost half an hour, the recruits waited for the train they wanted to take. They lined up again with their things and followed Commander Luo and Squad Leader Ye into a carriage. There were already 50 to 60 recruits sitting in the carriage. The recruits who got on the carriage sat in their seats according to Squad Leader Ye's arrangement.
Dai Xuan, Zheng Hai, Zhang Guosheng, and Chen Hua sat together. The recruits in the carriage were all very excited. They had a yearning for the military life and a vision for the future. Everyone was communicating with each other, hoping to get some tips on being a soldier.
"I heard that the soldiers provide food, accommodation, and money. I wonder how much money they have?”Zhang Guosheng, who was tanned and muscular, said to Zheng Hai.
Zheng Hai swallowed the biscuit in his mouth with difficulty and said to Zhang Guosheng,"I heard that it's more than ten yuan. I just don't know how the food is. Can I eat meat once a month?”
After saying that, Zheng Hai picked up a pancake from the table in the middle of the seat and stuffed it into his mouth. He placed the pancake he brought on the table for everyone to eat. Dai Xuan shook his head as he watched. This kid had never stopped talking along the way.
Dai Xuan took his bag from the luggage rack and took out a tea pot from inside. He was about to get a cup of water to make tea when Chen Hua, who was opposite him, snatched the cup and said,"Brother Dai, I'll get you some water.”，Dai Xuan glanced at Chen Hua. The young man was quite shy and honest, so he let him take the cup to get water.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]