Chapter 8, Arriving at the Rear Outpost

  Wu Shaotong never expected that before Liang Hongkai became famous, he was actually a minor official in the Ministry of War.

  He was truly moved to tears, having traveled through time and space to this era, only to unexpectedly encounter so many future celebrities. The feeling of walking alongside famous people wasn't bad at all.

  "Thanks for the reminder from Brother Liang just now. It's like we've known each other for a long time, why don't we exchange numbers and keep in touch?" He said with a smile.

  Liang Hongkai was a bit unaccustomed to this, as he had previously thought Wu Shaotong was a rigid person, but unexpectedly changed so much. He hastily accompanied him with a smile and said: "Where, where, it's an honor for me to get along with Lord Wu. Coincidentally, I've been thinking of taking the entrance exam for the Military Academy recently, learning some military strategies and tactics. In the future, I really hope to ask Lord Wu for advice."

  Wu Shaotong smiled and said: "This is no problem, where I can help, I will certainly not decline."

  Liang Hongkai was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, Lord Wu! I'll lead the way to the sentry camp first!"

  Wu Shaotong followed Liang Hongkai to a camp area on the east side of the large drill ground.

  The barracks here are very old. The walls are cracked and covered with moss, and the tiles on the houses are like a baby's teeth, missing in many places; all the houses are flat-roofed, and there is a gatehouse in front of each one, but if it weren't for the Qing dragon flag, the Green Standard Army flag, and the Shanziying banner standing on either side of the gatehouse, passersby might think this was just a small village.

  Liang Hongkai told Wu Shaotang that the twelve houses here are the barracks of the rear guard, where Wu Shaotang's soldiers are stationed. He also pointed to the northeast and southeast directions of the large school field, and said the positions of the three camps of the Shanzi front guard, left guard, and right guard. As for the last guard, it was naturally Li Mingshan's own guard, which was stationed on the side of the general camp.

  Wu Shaotang thanked Liang Hongkai and let him return to the Ministry of War to attend to his own affairs.

  After Liang Hongkai left, he slowly walked into the camp. After passing through the gate, the 12 barracks of the rear guard were arranged in a fan shape, and most of the barracks had a small courtyard, but at this time, there was not a single figure outside the entire camp. He couldn't help but wonder, where are his subordinates?

  Just then, some slight noise came from the courtyard of a barrack room on the left, as if someone was coughing.

  Wu Shaotong immediately walked over, he pushed open the slightly ajar courtyard door, and saw that in the courtyard there was a boy of about 15 or 16 years old squatting in the center of the courtyard, using a branch in his hand to pick at a large piece of dried radish spread out on the ground.

  The young man was wearing an ordinary old jacket with several patches on it, and his face, which still had a childish look, was very dirty, as if he hadn't washed it for a long time. If not for the military boots on his feet, he would have looked like a genuine rural boy.

  The young man stood up as soon as he saw Wu Shaotong and asked in confusion: "Who are you? What do you want?"

  Wu Shaotong suddenly remembered that since no one had informed him today, he hadn't worn his official uniform and was only wearing casual clothes. He smiled calmly and asked the young man, "Little devil, can you speak Mandarin?"

  The young man replied somewhat irritably: "I can speak Mandarin, but I'm not a little devil!"

  Wu Shaotong smiled and said deliberately: "Really? In my eyes, you are just a little devil. Are you not even a soldier?"

  The young man let out a snort, puffed out his chest and said: "I'm the soldier on duty here. This is the barracks of the Mountain Character Camp's rear outpost. All idle people, scram! Or you'll be in for it!"

  "Is this the barracks? Where are the other soldiers? You can't be the only little devil soldier, can you?" Wu Shaotong sneered with a smile.

  "They're all asleep, what time is it now?" the young man said angrily.

  Wu Shaotong glanced at the sky, and the sun was already hanging high in the air. Although it wasn't noon yet, the midday scene had almost reached its end. He secretly remembered the young man's words in his heart, originally these old soldiers usually slept until noon before getting up, this wasn't an army, it was even more lazy than a nursing home.

  But he had a number in his heart, and today's performance of the rear guard was not accidental, but reflected the overall situation of the old military discipline being lax during the late Qing period.

  He secretly sighed and asked the young man: "Why did you get up so early?"

  The boy didn't hide the truth and replied, "Uncle Aiqi told me to get up early and dry the radish slices in the sun. If not, there won't be any salty vegetables to eat with porridge for these few days."

  Wu Shaotong smiled and said, "Is that so? Then why didn't Uncle Aiqi come to dry it himself?"

  The young man scratched his head, apparently not thinking much of it, and said: "This, Uncle Qi is old, can't get up so early, anyway I have nothing to do, just help out."

  Wu Shaotong saw the simplicity of this young man and asked: "What's your name?"

  The young man said: "My name is Zhou Xiaohu, and everyone in the camp calls me Hu Zi. By the way, you haven't told me who you are yet?"

  Wu Shaotong smiled and said, "You'll know who I am, but not today. Forget it, that's all for today, you can continue drying the radish slices." After he finished speaking, he turned around to leave through the courtyard gate, but before leaving, he picked up a piece of dried radish and took a bite by himself.

  "It's a bit dull!" He muttered to himself while chewing on dried radish.

  Zhou Xiaohu looked at Wu Shaotong's back, his face full of inexplicable expressions, thinking that this person was really strange!

  At this time, the door of the house creaked open, and a middle-aged man over fifty years old, wearing a dirty robe, rubbed his eyes as he walked out.

  "Hu Zi, who are you talking to?" The old man asked with a yawn.

  "I don't know, that person didn't say who he was, but he said I would recognize him. How strange!" Zhou Xiaohu continued to squat down and poked at the dried radish on the ground with a branch in his hand.

  "Today is the day our new officer takes office, isn't that the officer you just saw?" The old man suddenly became a bit tense, he was an old soldier after all, and knew the phrase "three shots for the new officer".

  He immediately rushed out of the gate and looked around, but he could no longer see the figure.

  He turned around, sat on the threshold of the courtyard gate, and let out a depressed sigh, saying: "It's over, the master must have seen us like this and got angry!"

  "Ah Qi Shu, that man didn't leave in a huff, he even picked up one of our dried radishes to eat!" Zhou Xiaohu said with a calm tone, not as tense as the old man.

  "Really? What did he say?" Ah Qi's uncle asked hastily.

  "He said the radish is a bit bland." Zhou Xiaohu said, picking up one of the smallest radishes from the ground and chewing on it, "The radish hasn't changed much, still tastes like before!"

  A Qi Shu listened to Zhou Xiao Hu's words and couldn't help but stare blankly for a moment, wondering if this person was really the newly appointed sentinel officer.

  "Alas, let it be, it's not like we're the only ones who are struggling. Let this new leader do whatever they want." He sighed and stood up to head towards the house. Just as he entered the house, he turned around and instructed Zhou Xiaohu, "Xiaohu, hurry up and put away the dried radish, once those rascals from the first and second squads wake up and see this dried radish, they'll definitely be making a grab for it. We only have these few kilograms of dried radish left this month, so let's cherish them."

  Zhou Xiaohu nodded and picked up a sack from the side, saying: "I know, Uncle Qi, you go ahead, I'll clean all this up right away."

  Rushing to the top! Dear readers, give me some motivation!