Starting (two)

  Everyone immediately fell silent, each carrying their own luggage, foolishly standing there, just like the slaves being sold in ancient Roman slave markets, quietly waiting for the selection of their masters!

  The captain saw that we were all standing in line and smiled slightly, then looked at the old soldier and shouted "Sergeant!"

  Da Hei Lian immediately stood up straight and replied "Reporting!"

  "Go and recruit soldiers"

  Yes

  The big black face took a step forward, and then walked over in lockstep! He looked at our group of rookies, his face without a hint of a smile, just like on TV, quietly gazing at each person as he passed by!

  I stood in the second row, watching him walk over slowly, and couldn't help but stare at his eyes which started to tremble! I quietly took a step back and swapped positions with a fellow rookie behind me.

  The black-faced man noticed my movement and quickly turned his head to stare at me, pointing at me with his hand and saying "You, what are you doing? Who allowed you to move around in the formation!"

  I felt even more tense in my heart when I heard his words! Unconsciously, I returned to my previous position again.

  A big black face walked over and stood in front of me, loudly asking "Who allowed you to move?"

  I looked at him without saying a word, but in my heart I was increasingly disgusted with him! What right did he have to be so arrogant in front of me?! But later I found out that he indeed had the qualifications for it, because not only was he our class leader, but also had that layer of mysterious achievements shrouded in secrecy!

  I was thus muddle-headedly selected into the class by him. It wasn't until later that I found out he chose me because of my boldness! Among so many new recruits, only I had a little movement in the lineup! He felt a bit displeased with me in his heart, but also somewhat liked my boldness!

  "My name is Xu Feng, and from now on I am your squad leader! In addition to our daily training, I will also be like an elder brother to you all. From now on, I will accompany you through the dull days in boot camp! First, let me introduce some basic rules for formation: Firstly, it is strictly forbidden to whisper or laugh with each other while in formation! Secondly, if anyone has any questions, they must first say 'report' and wait for approval before proceeding. Thirdly, when hearing the whistle, no matter what you are doing, immediately stand up straight! Fourthly, when your name is called, respond with 'present', and when given an order, respond with 'yes'. Do you all understand these points?"

  "Got it!" We rookies replied in a disorderly manner.

  "Haven't you eaten?"

  "I understand!"

  I started my first step towards the army in his class - the new recruit camp! At the beginning of the new recruit camp, the intensity was not as great or cruel as described on TV, because they were gradually increasing the intensity of the training, giving us an adaptation phase.

  The week before the start of training, the training subject was to tidy up internal affairs! Just like on TV, fold your quilt into a tofu block! People who have not been soldiers may not know how such a tofu block is "trained". Those who have been soldiers basically all know, but each has their own way!

  My quilt doesn't know why it can't meet Da Hei Lian's requirements. In Da Hei Lian's words, it's like a steamed bun!

  I helplessly picked up the quilt and threw it to the ground amidst the loud shouting of "big black face", then I grabbed the small stool from under the bed and pressed down on it with all my might. This pressing lasted for a whole week!

  A week later, the originally thick quilt became as thin as a sheet! I started my career as a tofu block in excitement! However, things didn't go well, and it was too thin to be stacked into a square shape. Helplessly, I went to find Big Black Face with a hardened scalp.

  He came over with a sullen face, took a look and said "Take it outside to dry! It's too thin!"

  And just like that, a single "Too thin!" negated my efforts for the entire week! Honestly, at that moment I really had the urge to rush up and punch him! Although I couldn't beat him, I really had that thought! But this is the army, the army is a collective unit, it's taboo to fight among ourselves! No matter if you're with an old soldier or a fellow recruit, such things are not allowed to happen!

  So, in my patience, my quilt finally enjoyed a complete sunbath for the first time! Although the sun that day was not strong, it still saw sunlight once.

  In the afternoon, after putting away my own quilt, I seriously followed the requirements of Da Hei Lian and continued to stack tofu blocks. Finally, it was stacked into a decent shape, but unfortunately, several corners couldn't be closed!

  My neighbor is a big guy, he's from Hebei Province, his name is Gao Qiang, and he lives up to his name. He's 1.82 meters tall and is the leader of our class! It was him who turned around and gave me a stupid idea - using water to wet those "cocked-up" blanket corners! But the method actually worked pretty well.

  In the evening, Da Hei's face passed by my bed and inexplicably touched the corners of my quilt with his hand. After that, his face suddenly fell! Then he shouted "Yin Bing!" in a high-decibel voice.