Chapter 34
“Stand at attention! Don’t assume that I won’t discipline you just because of the fourth class monitor. I will continue to discipline you, and if you want to fight back, go ahead and try. Or if you want to learn from the idiot in class four, then leave now and go home. If you have such thoughts, speak up. I won’t look down on you, but I will undoubtedly despise you from the bottom of my heart!”
The recruits were once again positioned on the stairs near the basketball court in a military posture, as Squad Leader Li had previously instructed.
Ye Sanshi paced back and forth in front of the recruits with his hands behind his back, and the new recruits dared not utter a sound. Standing in the military posture had already drained their energy, and they had no strength left to make a sound.
After a few minutes, their feet had gone numb, and they were struggling to maintain their balance. Ye Sanshi yelled, “Get back in position! Five more minutes!”
Curses were thrown around every now and then.
Standing in the military posture was an excruciating experience for Wang Ye. He had been looking forward to leveling up his military posture, but he did not want to suffer through such pain to do it. Unfortunately, he had no choice in the matter.
Despite the rising temperatures, it was still December, and the highest temperature was only 26 or 27 degrees. If it were any hotter, some recruits might have even fainted from standing in such a rigid posture.
Finally, after enduring another 40 minutes of the military posture, they were given a 10-minute break before they resumed the rotation method. It was then lunchtime.
The recruits of the fifth squad felt like their feet were floating as they made their way to the canteen. However, they could not skip the process of eating, even if their legs felt weightless. As usual, they were forced to endure the torture of singing before they were allowed to enter the canteen.
Wang Ye felt envious of the smaller classes on duty, who could leave the exercise class early and enter the cafeteria without having to sing. It was yet another small perk that they enjoyed.
….
“Sigh, when will these days end?”
After dinner, Ye Sanshi ordered, “You all work overtime to press the blankets,” before leaving the dormitory. As soon as he left, the recruits began to chatter, with Gu Yingnan letting out a sigh of exasperation.
The sports school student, Wan Baojiang, spoke up tiredly, “I hope the afternoon will be a little more relaxing!”
But Song Yuejin replied helplessly, “Forget it, we don’t even have an afternoon nap now. We can’t hope to relax in the afternoon!”
Everyone groaned in agreement. They were all very sleepy, especially after having eaten their meals.
Despite having been forced to stand in a rigid military posture to combat their sleepiness in the morning, the recruits were now feeling even more tired and lethargic after having eaten their fill. They were all longing to lie down and rest, but they knew they couldn’t.
“Fuck, I really want to join the army!” Deng Hai cursed and sighed once again. This was the second time in half a day that he had expressed his regret for signing up for military training.
“Sigh, who isn’t regretting? If I had known that the army was so tough, I wouldn’t have listened to him even if I severed my father-son relationship!”
“Boohoo, I want to go home!”
Suddenly, someone collapsed on the ground and sobbed.
The others were stunned for a moment. Then, they quickly surrounded him and tried to console him.
Deng Hai quickly tried to reassure the sobbing recruit although he was the one who had just expressed his regret. “Hey, brother, it’s not that serious. We’re already here.”
Others joined in and offered words of encouragement, “That’s right! We’re just joking. We can definitely handle the training. Being a deserter is a serious offense. We just need to persevere and it will pass in two years.”
Wang Ye patted the recruit’s shoulder and offered some advice, “You’re a man. You’ll bleed, sweat, and not cry. You won’t die. We’ll be by your side through the hardships!”
Wang Ye was not skilled in persuading people, especially men. He found it easy to comfort a woman when she cried. He would say something kind and treat her to a meal, drinks, or entertainment. If that didn’t work, he could always use force to cheer her up by knocking on the wall, treating her to a night out, or buying her something nice.
But this man was weeping, and Wang Ye was at a loss for what to do. Even in his two lifetimes, Wang Ye had only encountered it a few times!
“It’s too difficult!”
The recruit held his head with both hands and let out a sobbing sound. His choked words made everyone feel the same way.
Was it really that tough? It certainly seemed that way. Everyone’s legs were still numb from the morning’s exercises. And yet, it was only half a day into the training, and the recruit was already feeling tormented. The reality was that the new company would require three months of training, and the following company would need two years to become a soldier!
Before enlisting, he thought that two years was a relatively short time. But now, it felt like an eternity.
A few recruits were not in the mood to continue persuading him. Some even sat on the ground, feeling regretful.
Born in the 1990s, many of them were only children who grew up being cared for by their families. Now, they were suddenly being tormented like this. The stark contrast between the military camp in their dreams and the reality of it all made everyone feel regretful, and it was understandable.
Wang Ye realized that he didn’t know how to persuade the recruit, so he decided not to try. Besides, they were no longer underage children, and it was impossible for them to run away or retreat. They thought their families would disapprove, and the army would not allow it either.
Wang Ye realized that as long as the recruit could adapt to the military lifestyle, everything would be fine.
“I’ll go press the blanket at the door. When Old Ye comes back, I’ll cough to signal him,” Wang Ye said after a moment of thought. Seeing that no one was in the mood to move the blanket, he took the initiative to pick it up and walked towards the door.
He carefully pressed the blanket in place, making sure it covered every corner. Although the floor at the entrance was not as clean as the bed, the army’s strict hygiene standards ensured that the corridors were relatively clean.
Furthermore, the army green blanket was designed to be resistant to dirt, making it easier to maintain its cleanliness.
Wang Ye carried the blanket and a small stool as he walked out of the dormitory. Once outside, he realized that he wasn’t the only one pressing a blanket on the ground. Other squad leaders and their recruits were also doing the same thing.
This was because the beds were too small, and pressing the blanket on the ground provided more space for them to move around. Wang Ye didn’t communicate with them and continued to work on pressing the blanket.
Ten minutes later, footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Wang Ye immediately coughed to signal the return of Ye Sanshi.
Immediately, there was a little panic in the dormitory, but when Ye Sanshi returned, everyone immediately became serious. As Deng Hai had predicted, it was unlikely that he would be a deserter on the very first day.
Shortly after, a few class monitors appeared at the entrance of the building. Wang Ye looked up and saw Ye Sanshi carrying a stack of books. Ye Sanshi noticed Wang Ye pressing the blanket at the entrance of the dormitory but didn’t comment on it and just walked into the dormitory to stand beside Wang Ye.
“These are the regulations, one for each person. You don’t have to worry about them now. There will be a class at night, and I will give you the key points and requirements!”
Once inside the dormitory, Ye Sanshi distributed a book to each person’s bed before addressing Wang Ye at the door. “If you’re going to press the blanket, do it properly. Wang Ye is doing a good job. The beds are too small, so learn from him.”
After a brief pause, he suggested, “How about we leave a few recruits to press blankets inside the dormitory, and a few to press them outside?”
Once he finished speaking, Ye Sanshi sat on his bed and added, “I’m going to take an afternoon nap. Keep your voices down under the blanket, and no chatting.” He then pulled the folded quilt over himself and fell asleep, ignoring the resentful looks from the recruits.
His body was completely flat, resembling a corpse lying motionless.