Insufficient balance

  We got first place in the competition!

  Three days later, we had just struggled out of bed in the infirmary when a messenger came to take us to the battalion headquarters.

  "Report!"

  "Come in!"

  Pushing open the office door, a middle-aged colonel with an angry face sat in a chair staring at us fiercely. Our direct training officer, Major Jin Zhenfeng, stood upright behind him. The colonel's eagle-like eyes scanned our two bodies several times before solemnly saying: "Soldiers, at ease!"

  Feeling the oppressive atmosphere in the office, I exchanged a puzzled glance with Zhang Sun Ting, and this situation didn't seem like it was going to be a commendation for our outstanding performance.

  "Bang!" The middle school slammed a document heavily on the table and shouted: "New soldiers Fu Yinxue, Chang Sunting, do you know that because of your reasons, a new soldier in our training camp was suffocated for as long as five minutes, with more than a dozen bruises and abrasions all over his body, and was rushed to the military hospital for emergency treatment for 24 hours before he barely escaped death?

  "I don't know, sir!"

  "Don't you know?" The middle school student suddenly stood up, slammed the table and shouted loudly: "Do you know that this is a highland with an altitude of nearly three thousand meters, and the oxygen in the air is far lower than your living environment?"

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Do you know that with new recruit Yang Qing's physical condition, it is impossible for him to run around the barracks ten times without strict training? Do you know that he had already fallen into a state of dizziness by the ninth lap?"

  "Yes, sir!"

  "Do you know that you still dare to carry him running, causing his lungs to be compressed and unable to breathe, eventually leading to severe asphyxia?! Do you know that you still dare to move him around like a commodity, throwing him around until he is covered in scars and bruises? In the army, soldiers are closer than brothers, and only by trusting each other can they entrust their lives on the battlefield, unleashing the strongest combat power. If it were your own family members, would you still treat them like this, carrying them around and throwing them around like commodities?"

  "In the army, we need heroes, but not self-proclaimed heroism! We don't need thugs who threaten their own brothers with knives to achieve their goals! What qualifications do you self-proclaimed guys have to run for class leader and what qualifications do you have to be a qualified soldier?! Tell me, why are you doing this?"

  "I took a deep breath and replied loudly: 'Report to the superior, because I want to win, because I want to be the best! I want to prove it to everyone, even if we have to bear the burden of trash, but we are still the strongest!"

  "What?!" The middle schooler took a step forward and stared at me with an icy gaze: "You actually called your own brother trash?!"

  "We haven't even had a chance to respond, and Chang Sun Ting loudly said: "Yes, sir! In our eyes, unqualified soldiers are just trash! If it were on the battlefield, such trash would only consume precious war resources and drag down the entire army. Although China's land army may not have the best equipment, we possess the strongest combat power, because we are all elites among elites! People like him who don't meet requirements and only see the military camp as a stepping stone for their careers are simply not worthy of being by our side!"

  "Is this your answer?" The middle schooler was furious and laughed, saying: "You immediately go out to reflect on yourselves. Now I cancel your new recruit training qualifications. If you don't want to do it, I can approve your departure immediately!"

  Watching me and Zhang Sun Ting pay their respects and then walk out of the office with standard military strides, Lieutenant Colonel turned around and asked: "What do you think of those two?"

  Jin Ze said after a moment of hesitation, "They made a big mistake. It's been just a few days and the whole X Corps is buzzing with the news. However, it can't be denied that they have the potential to become the best soldiers. I think they've already earned the respect of their comrades through their determination and strength. My opinion is to give them another chance, but we need to find a way to dampen their arrogance first."

  Zhong Xiao nodded, "They are your soldiers in the training camp, how to deal with them is up to you!"

  "In our 3rd battalion, 2nd company's kitchen team, we are still short of two cooks. Zhang Pangzi has been pestering me to add more personnel, I think it's better to let them go there for training now."

  "Kitchen squad?" The middle school finally smiled: "From now on, I will never go to the cafeteria of your 3rd Battalion and 2nd Company to inspect work. Eating the meals made by these two guys is simply unthinkable."

  "Yes," Jin Zefeng smiled and said: "Passing these two treasures on will give Zhang Baozi from the cooking class a headache."

  Zhang Ban Zhang is a veteran with four years of military service. He has passed the second-level chef exam and his cooking skills are so good that even the battalion commander applauds after eating his dishes. His culinary skills have earned him a good reputation within the battalion. However, corresponding to his excellent cooking skills, his belly has been getting bigger and bigger. At first, he tried to maintain his figure through dieting and wearing tight belts, but eventually, he gave up and let his body shape approach that of a quince fruit. This year, he crossed the 200-pound mark and is now jokingly called "Zhang Pàngzi" by people familiar with him.

  The kitchen has always been the most tiring and dirty place in the army, not to mention that being surrounded by oil fumes every day can easily lead to cancer. Moreover, it's easy to get fat, and there's no future prospects. No new recruits are willing to join, resulting in a constant shortage of personnel. Suddenly receiving a notice from the superior saying that two new recruits will be assigned to the kitchen, which really delighted Hong Baozi.

  As he walked into the kitchen, Hong Baozi picked up a basin and knocked it loudly to get everyone's attention. After clearing his throat, he said: "Xiao Yang, Er Huozi, Da Tou, please note that in 15 minutes, our cooking class will have two more comrades joining us. Please use the next 10 minutes to clean the kitchen again, so we can leave a good impression on our new comrades. Then, we'll line up to welcome the new comrades who are joining us."

  "Good!"

  "Wow... finally free!"

  "Heh heh, I can finally hand over the work I'm in charge of to those who come after me..."

  A cheer erupted from the kitchen, and "Big Head", who had the smallest body but the largest head, asked a question: "Squad leader, wasn't it said that we would be assigned two new recruits only after the new recruit training was completed and other places had been allocated? How come we're being taken care of first just a few days later?"

  "This superior didn't tell me," said Hong, scratching his head, "but I heard that they were probably cancelled from training qualifications by the team leader for being mischievous and causing trouble. Maybe it's because the kids just arrived at the troops and wanted to give them a chance to redeem themselves, so they sent them to our cooking class."

  Er Huizi, from a mountainous rural area, was scrubbing the stove with a rag while saying without lifting his head: "What can you achieve by coming to our cooking class? Like our class leader, the dishes he makes are even praised by the superiors, but after several years, he's still just a class leader?"

  Xiao Yang noticed that the class leader was a bit unhappy, and quickly secretly kicked Er Huizi with force, accompanying him with a smile: "What's wrong with the class leader? Our class leader is a master who has obtained the national second-level chef qualification. After retiring from the army and re-enlisting, opening a restaurant will be like the Yangtze River water, rolling in endlessly! Maybe in two years, when we meet the class leader again, we'll have to respectfully call him 'boss'!"

  "Everyone, let's move quickly! They'll be here soon. Let's show them our best spirit and let the new comrades know that although we're just a cooking class, we're a disciplined and skilled team that has won first place four times in a row in competitions against other cooking classes!"

  The other three cooks replied in unison: "Yes, boss!"

  Ten minutes later, four soldiers of different heights and weights stood spiritedly in front of the door. As soon as the company commander walked into the kitchen, they began to applaud vigorously and shouted in unison: "Welcome! Welcome! Warm welcome!"

  Lian Chang glanced at him four times, "You, Zhang, always like to do this kind of thing. However, the few soldiers under your command look quite spirited. Today I'm sending over two new recruits for you, and your management difficulty will increase a lot. You should also be mentally prepared."

  Zhang class leader nodded repeatedly: "Thank you, Commander Lian, for your concern. How can I, who have been a class leader under your leadership for two years, be stumped by two new recruits?"

  "You have this confidence is good, so be it. If it really doesn't work out, just let me know and I'll send them back, then we can think of another way to supplement you with new troops."

  Lian Chang shouted loudly towards the outside of the door: "You two come in!"

  Two new recruits walked into the kitchen with their backpacks, and with just one glance, Sergeant Zhang, who had four years of seniority, was certain that these two new recruits did not belong here. Although they stood silently behind the company commander, they stood tall and exuded a strong and heroic aura that naturally emanated from them. How could such elite soldiers be sent to the cooking squad as laborers instead of being trained in the most elite anti-terrorism special forces unit of the X Corps? Were this year's new recruits all geniuses among geniuses, so talented that they were overflowing everywhere?

  "It's them two who are going to join your cooking class, they've just arrived at our X Academy for four or five days, one is called Fu Yinxue and the other is Chang Sun Ting." As soon as Lian Zhang finished speaking, Da Tou let out a loud shout of surprise and excitement, "You're the two legendary freaks from this year's new recruit training camp?!"

  The legendary pervert raging bull?!!

  I exchanged a puzzled glance with Zhang Sun Ting, and suddenly Big Head rushed over and grabbed our hands, exclaiming: "You two are really my idols! As soon as you arrived at an altitude of 3,000 to 4,000 meters, you can carry a big fatso around the military camp for ten laps. Oh my god, look at the solid muscles on your body, it feels like stone when I knock on it!"

  I was about to smash his head with a stone, and no matter how I looked at it, he seemed to be disrespecting us. He even dared to stand on tiptoes in front of my chest, making loud noises with his mouth: "No wonder you can carry a big fat man so far, just relying on this physique, I'm afraid even an ox would be knocked down! If I had such a physique, who would dare laugh at me for looking like a tack?!"

  Drawing pin?

  I and Zhang Sun Ting stared at his oversized head and malnourished body, finally unable to hold back our loud laughter. The discontent of being demoted to the kitchen squad as a laborer was somewhat alleviated by being teased by a clown-like soldier.