Chapter 26: Iron Army's Furnace Displays Its Splendor and Maiden Heart

  After the arrival of this team, the style of the cotton factory prison was slightly slack. Even He Ruqiu was infected by their cruel training every day, and the requirements for prisoners to go out, ideological and political learning, and labor reform were much stricter than before.

  Ye Haodong's miscellaneous group work content did not change, but the degree of freedom was greatly reduced. These new big soldiers stood guard and didn't talk to prisoners at all. Without the approval of their superiors, they couldn't casually walk past any post. Although still within the Great Wall. In these few days, Ye Haodong finally had the good fortune to witness the training of these big soldiers. After watching it, he thoroughly believed Lu Tianming's words. It was simply not a human being that was being trained.

  In the morning, all the soldiers except those on sentry duty and a reserve team for emergency response participated in training. The first item was an 8-kilometer armed cross-country run, followed by formation training. The loud and powerful slogans echoed throughout the prison: "Politically qualified, militarily strong, with good style, and guaranteed to be effective!" In the morning, the main content of these soldiers' training was shooting accuracy training and basic combat training. For a whole morning, the entire drill ground was filled with the sound of gunfire and shouting, which was both novel and thrilling for Ye Haodong. The shooting training mainly focused on aiming, with nothing special to say about it - just aim for a while, then run laps, and after running, aim again. A cadre stood beside them, timing them with a stopwatch, presumably to check the effectiveness of the training. If the cadre was not satisfied, the soldier who failed to hit the target had to get up and run laps. The basic combat training was divided into three stages: standing stake brick head port brick head strength and endurance training, wooden stick striking full-body anti-strike ability training, and finally confrontation training. Ye Haodong noticed that these soldiers' moves were not fancy, but rather practical and lethal techniques that could kill the enemy on the battlefield with a single move.

  In the afternoon, the training subjects were more interesting. Before 4 o'clock, it was normal training, generally focusing on throwing grenades, obstacle running, and tactical training. Basically, each subject had to run laps, throw grenades to exercise the body, and run laps. Obstacle running was simply running laps, but with obstacles set up, and required a certain speed. Tactical training did not require running laps, but the military cadres organized competitions, and those who lost had to run laps! After 4 o'clock, it became quality training, also known as physical training, with the main content being armed cross-country running. Even the cooks participated in the run, carrying tens of kilograms of heavy pots and food, following closely behind the troops. After a 10-kilometer run, those people were all exhausted and drenched in sweat, but it wasn't over yet. Next was equipment training, namely single-bar and double-bar training, aimed at training body coordination. The soldiers who had just finished armed cross-country running had to start this skill-and-strength training without rest. Only after all these were completed could they have dinner.

  In the evening, after dinner, it was their time to sing and study. The content of their study was unknown, but the songs they sang were all familiar to people, almost all revolutionary songs, occasionally with a popular song, also healthy and red and specialized type. Ye Haodong heard Luo Sibao say that these soldiers had physical training after lights out at night, which included push-ups and sit-ups. From time to time, there would be emergency gatherings, where they had to put on their uniforms, equipment, and backpacks within one minute and assemble on the playground for work.

  After learning this, many prisoners expressed that it's not the prison that's the most bitter, but rather these soldiers.

  Yeh Hao Dong witnessed the soldiers' daily life for years and secretly vowed in his heart that he would not be a hooligan in his next life, but instead join the 39th Army, which is where men can truly show their mettle!

  What happened next gradually became ordinary, and the prisoners and cadres slowly adapted to the existence of this iron platoon. Everything returned to its normal daily routine. Political study, labor reform, people in prison did what they were supposed to do. The rules were strict, but everyone adapted quickly. Before long, it was already the end of June.

  One afternoon, Ye Hao received an order from the squadron headquarters to go and assist in arranging for a batch of prisoners to be brought in. When he arrived at the gate, he was surprised to see a familiar face. Chen Hong, that young prison guard who Ye Hao had suggested should experience the hardships of the 99th regiment, now stood before him as a junior officer in the armed police force. He was the officer leading the team escorting the prisoners this time. It seemed he really had taken Ye Hao's words to heart and treated this iron army like his own crucible for refining himself. When Ye Hao saw him again, he could clearly feel the change in his temperament - more serious and resolute. Chen Hong also recognized Ye Hao, but with their mission not yet complete, he said nothing, only nodding slightly.

  There were five criminals in total, all of whom were handcuffed. It turned out that one of them was an acquaintance of Ye Haodong's, a one-eyed man named *.

  Ye Haodong pretended not to see, silently led the group of people with keys to the new prison cell for holding serious offenders. Chen Hong personally escorted the five people into their cells with a squad of soldiers before signing over the handover documents. After receiving the documents, Zhao Erjie signed off, and only then did Chen Hong come to Ye Haodong's side, smiling: "I've heard about your situation, so let me tell you what happened to those few - Hu Zi was transferred to an adult prison, Zhang Shaowei was released early, he's now in Yanjing developing his music career. Song Chaodu came out a few days ago, I heard he's temporarily learning business from his dad. The four of us haven't forgotten your words."

  Ye Haodong nodded: "They're all nonsense, and you guys actually believed it. You were so gullible back then. If it were now, I probably wouldn't be able to convince any of you."

  Chen Hong confidently said: "You tell me to find a big fire oven of Tai Shang Lao Jun and refine myself again, I chose my grandfather's and father's old army as my Lao Jun furnace, now I am the platoon leader, how about you? Are you okay? Do you still remember your wish?"

  Yeh Hao Dong burst out laughing: "I may not be doing well, but I will never be more miserable than you little brat. With the harsh methods of your unit, even our prisoners are afraid, they'd rather spend their whole lives in here than serve three years with you guys, it's simply an unbearable punishment."

  Chen Hongyu didn't say anything else. The two of them stopped talking and just shook hands, bidding each other farewell.

  Life is never as easy as the first meeting, with changes in time and space, differences in identity and fate, at this moment, it's hard for them to return to the carefree days of speaking freely.

  Chen Hong stayed here for the next few days, it turned out that he was also a member of the company responsible for guarding this place.

  The five recidivists were all treated as if they were in shackles, and according to the requirements of the troops, on the second day, the prison authorities separated them and held them separately in five groups within a small team. They will stay here until the higher authorities come to take over.

  On July 1st, all the prison staff gathered in front of the TV to witness that historic moment. When the Chinese red flag fluttered above the Hong Kong Governor's Mansion Square, Ye Haodong felt very proud. What he was proud of was that the new country established by the Chinese people had finally erased a shameful scar on their body. At this moment, Ye Haodong had new thoughts about the road ahead, even if he could only become an underworld boss, he would be an underworld boss who benefits the Chinese nation.

  In the latter half of August, the daytime in Western China was as hot as a furnace, and at night it became unbearably cold. Amidst this suffering from the alternating heat and cold, Ye Haodong had to endure another unbearable thing - the bold pursuit by a female cadre who claimed her mental age was only suitable for being his granddaughter.

  Aygul couldn't remember how many times she had tried to talk to Ye Haodong. Anyway, this guy never agreed, but once a Uyghur girl made up her mind, she would pursue it bravely. Aygul was no longer the shy and blushing girl she used to be when she saw Ye Haodong for the first time. After returning from the training department, she launched a bold pursuit of Ye Haodong despite everyone's opposition. Wang Fang often came to warn Ye Haodong about this, but every time Ye Haodong firmly stated that he would never think of eating swan meat like a toad. But Aygul was determined to change his mind, and it wasn't easy at all.

  Ye Haodong likes to listen to Hope Band's songs. Lu Tianming, who was teased by Ye Haodong, would often appear beside him and sing awkward Cantonese versions of songs in her strange tone. A pair of hands that can't be repaired, I like you, those eyes are moving, today I, on a cold night watching the snow float away, listening to Ye Haodong wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh, he's afraid that if he laughs, this girl will become even more energetic.

  In response, Ye Haodong always maintained a serious expression, never pretending to be polite. Ye Haodong's performance made the middle-level cadres who were secretly observing him, such as He Ruqiu, very satisfied, and his performance naturally reached Ma Ti's ears soon after. Old Ma was very satisfied but also worried, he had already been considering changing places for his daughter. In short, everyone except Aiguli was very satisfied with this matter, and everyone except Ye Haodong was very happy. Even Aiguli, who was rejected, wasn't unhappy because she could see him often.

  Change always comes unexpectedly. A woman chases a man, separated by a thin sheet of paper, let alone this is a man who has tasted the flavor of hunger and thirst. Some things are more likely to happen when you try to avoid them. It was on the day after Aygul received her father's phone call telling her that she would be transferred out of the cotton mill team.