SWDnovel Chapter 0033: In That Lonely Place
Chapter 0033: In That Lonely Place
After the meal, Wu Liuyi set off with Zheng Yingqi. Before setting off, Wu Liuyi said in advance, "It's a very desolate place, we may have to walk there."
In response, Zheng Yingqi made a lame joke: "Just consider it as running a few five-kilometer runs."
He knew the maintenance station for the oil pipeline was far away.
The two set off simply like that. Wu Liuyi walked very fast, and Zheng Yingqi followed closely behind. Noticing the complex expression on Wu Liuyi's face, Wu Liuyi finally spoke after a long while:
I really don't like him.
Zheng Yingqi knew that Wu Liuyi was talking about Xu Sanduo. How could someone like Wu Liuyi like a soldier who had no self-respect, no pursuit, no ambition, and not even excellent military qualities?
"But he..." Wu Liuyi sighed, "He always makes people feel sorry for him... always makes people want to pity him, but this is the army. We are all protectors, not those being protected. Wearing this uniform, we cannot be pitied!"
Zheng Yingqi didn't actually have the same sense of honor as Wu Liuyi, and he couldn't deeply understand what Wu Liuyi was proud of, admired, and was proud of. But he understood one thing—Wu Liuyi disliked Xu Sanduo only because he disliked his cowardly character, not because of the person himself.
So after hearing the news, he set off.
"Actually, it's not so bad to let him stay at the maintenance station." Wu Liuyi sighed, but Zheng Yingqi disagreed: "I've said it before, he's a tiger at heart, a tiger that roams the mountains and forests. It's just that his upbringing turned him into a cat. Believe me, sooner or later we'll see him take off his cat's coat and reveal his tiger's bones."
Wu Liuyi couldn't understand why someone as strong as Zheng Yingqi would value Xu Sanduo so much, even to the point of praising him so highly. He was too lazy to argue with Zheng Yingqi on this issue, and simply said:
"I hope so..."
Zheng Yingqi, unusually serious, said, "It will be very soon."
This is a training ground, a training ground capable of deploying mechanized troops. It's destined to be a vast, desolate area. As the two walked, Wu Liuyi said:
"Did you know that Lao Ma, the squad leader of the third squad of the Third Company, was the best squad leader in the company? After the maintenance station was established, the task fell to the Third Company, and the company ultimately decided to put Lao Ma there. Do you know why?"
He must have offended someone!
Zheng Yingqi thought to himself, but didn't dare to say it out loud. Wu Liuyi finally gave the answer himself: "That place will ruin a person, so the Third Company sent its best squad leader there."
"But..." Wu Liuyi shook his head, recalling the scene at the maintenance station on the training ground last time: "That place ultimately ruined the best squad leader of the Third Company!"
Old Ma is no longer the best squad leader in the Third Company. Wu Liuyi is certain of this. Physical fitness declines if you don't train for a few days. Old Ma at the maintenance station has become completely mediocre.
After a long pause, Zheng Yingqi finally said, "In the end, someone has to make a sacrifice."
Wu Liuyi looked at Zheng Yingqi in surprise, even stopping in his tracks. After a long while, he finally said, "You have no right to say that."
The two fell silent for the rest of the journey. Zheng Yingqi sensed Wu Liuyi's dislike for him, but he didn't understand why Wu Liuyi had suddenly become unhappy. After a long while, Zheng Yingqi finally spoke:
"Squad Leader Wu, let's have a competition! Let's treat it like several 5-kilometer runs and see who can last the longest!"
"Alright! Let's—run!"
Wu Liuyi and Zheng Yingqi ran freely. Zheng Yingqi held his breath and followed closely behind Wu Liuyi. They ran for an unknown amount of time before the two stubborn men finally collapsed on the vast Gobi Desert, unable to run any further.
The two, looking at each other in their disheveled state, caught their breath and burst into laughter. Wu Liuyi said, "Although I don't like you, you're a good prospect!"
"Squad Leader Wu, I don't like your temper either, but you're a really good squad leader!" Zheng Yingqi retorted, and the two laughed again before continuing on their way.
After lunch, the two left the camp. It took them a full four hours, during which they sped up for quite a while, before they finally saw the maintenance station deep in the distance next door, a lonely and shabby place standing on the ground.
"We used to rest here during training, but after Lao Ma went there, we stopped going. The company commander said, 'Don't provoke him...'" Wu Liuyi gazed at the lonely building in the distance: "But do you know, beneath that shabby building are expensive oil pipelines. It's these oil pipelines that allow our regiment's and division's heavy machinery to roam freely here!"
"It's a very important place, but it's also easy to ruin a soldier." Wu Liuyi commented on the place, a sneer on his lips: "This place is quite suitable for that kid."
Looking at this place, Zheng Yingqi thought: This will be the starting point for that kid. The kid you all look down on will rise again here and fight his way back to the Steel Seventh Company like Hu Sanduo.
You wouldn't believe it, would you?
……
Xu Sanduo was "assigned" from the 8th squad of the 3rd platoon to the 5th squad of the 2nd platoon the day before yesterday. After getting through the discomfort of the first day, he settled into the role of a member of the 3rd squad, but he was still not a good fit for the group.
In basic training, he lagged behind, but through his continuous efforts, he earned everyone's forgiveness and recognition. In the 8th Platoon, he lagged behind again, but eventually angered the platoon leader. After a good beating, the platoon leader was dismissed, and he was transferred to the 5th Platoon.
But in Class 5, he was just as unsociable.
Xue Lin, Lao Wei, and Li Meng lived their lives in a daze, while Lao Ma reminisced about the old days, constantly hesitating between persisting and giving up. Meanwhile, the simple-minded Xu Sanduo was thinking about what Zheng Yingqi had told him, what Shi Jin had said, and what Instructor He had said.
So, just like when he was in basic training, just like when he first joined the company, he fulfilled all the duties of a soldier: standing guard, keeping watch, and doing housework, before looking for something meaningful to do.
When Zheng Yingqi and Wu Liuyi appeared at the maintenance station, it was just as Xu Sanduo was on guard duty.
"Am I seeing things?"
Wu Liuyi stared blankly at the "statue" in the sentry post, unable to stop his steps—this was a maintenance station, a maintenance station without even a rat. The reason why the troops trained here would rather take a detour than come here in person was because there wasn't even a sentry here, and it didn't look like an army at all, which was why they hesitated to come.
"It's our Sanduo." Zheng Yingqi knew who it was without even looking.
Wu Liuyi said incredulously, "Is this Old Ma's way of showing his power?"
Zheng Yingqi knew the reason, of course, but instead of explaining it, he suggested, "Why don't we sneak in and take a look?"
Wu Liuyi looked at the drafty maintenance station and nodded.
So the two of them quietly went around, avoiding the "statue" in front, and sneaked into the maintenance station dormitory from behind.
Inside the dormitory, four veterans were sitting there full of complaints. Xu Sanduo's arrival was like a normal person coming into a mental hospital—if this normal person couldn't integrate into the group, it would be a disgrace to every member of the group.
"Play cards! Play cards! What are you all standing there for?"
"Fight my ass! How long do you think that kid outside can hold out?"
"Two days?"
"Five days?"
The conversation coming from inside was that of a group of bored soldiers, and the conversation also revealed a definite fact.
Wu Liuyi muttered to himself, "Is this kid going to do something meaningful?"
Suddenly, Zheng Yingqi blurted out, "Isn't it a soldier's duty to stand guard?" For Xu Sanduo, this was of course not a meaningful thing—the meaningful thing for Xu Sanduo was to repair roads, something he wanted to do but couldn't when he was still a regimental commander or platoon leader.
"Let's go in through the main entrance."
The two travelers, who had successfully completed their eavesdropping mission by taking a roundabout route, quietly circled back and appeared in front of the sentry post.
"Squad leader! Zheng Yingqi!"
Xu Sanduo, who was on guard duty, noticed the approaching figure. When the figure got closer, he exclaimed in surprise, then showed his signature silly smile and lowered his head in embarrassment.
He thought:
I made a mistake again; I'm on guard duty...
But the surprise was impossible to suppress.