Chapter 42: Helping Tian Yifei

  Tian Yifei made a profound self-criticism in front of the whole regiment on the day he came out of solitary confinement.

  From that day on, Hu Xingwei, Zhang Yu and I got up at 5 o'clock every morning to go for a long run with Tian Yifei.

  At first, just let him run lightly.

  We all know his foundation is poor.

  Gradually, we increased his training volume.

  I got a bulletproof vest and leg guards from the class leader.

  That day, we went for a long run at 5:00 as usual.

  The three of us pulled Tian Yifei up from the bed.

  Forced him to equip his back and leg bindings.

  These two items weigh a total of 20 kilograms when worn on the body. Especially the lead blocks on both feet.

  The four of us stood at the starting line, and I said to Tian Yifei: "Tian Yifei, for a while now we've been taking it easy. This time, you must break through your own limits. No matter what, we have to run back to our company before reveille."

  "Alright, I'll listen to you." Tian Yifei nodded towards us and said.

  Hu Xingwei patted Tian Yifei's shoulder: "This time, we will run from our company to the new recruit battalion and back to our company. There are several uphill routes in between, and it will be a 10-kilometer route. You must persevere, this is an opportunity for us to expand our range that we have fought hard for with the squad leader."

  Tian Yifei nodded firmly and replied: "Come on, I will definitely hold on."

  "Depart."

  With my order, the four of us set off.

  We ran all the way towards the new recruit barracks.

  Because our feet were tied with lead blocks, we didn't move very fast.

  "Yi Fei, come on, follow us, don't fall behind." I shouted encouragement to Yi Fei as I ran and turned my head back.

  "Good."

  As we passed by Tongxin Lane, we saw a familiar figure.

  This is our new comrade-in-arms "Zheng Hao" from the same troop.

  At this time, Zheng Hao was on duty at the communication relay station. As we passed by him, we smiled and continued to run forward, while he responded with a salute.

  Actually we all know.

  Zheng Hao really wants to be in the same regiment as us.

  When we ran up to what our new recruit unit called "Fatigue Slope", Tian Yifei was already somewhat out of breath.

  At this time he was running uphill with great difficulty.

  We stopped after we found it.

  Hu Xingwei and Zhang Yu grabbed Tian Yifei's hands, one on the left and one on the right, pulling him up, while I pushed him from behind with all my might.

  "Adjust your breathing and hold on tight, we're almost at the new barracks."

  At this time, Tian Yifei suddenly stopped.

  "It's no use, it's no use, I can't run anymore. Can the lead blocks on my feet be removed? My legs have no strength left at all."

  We three didn't expect Tian Yifei's willpower was so weak.

  "Panting with rage, I cursed: 'Damn it, have you forgotten what the squad leader said? In boot camp, we can't say 'no'!"

  "Tian Yifei, don't make me look down on you, get up quickly and charge for me. If you don't charge, believe it or not, I'll settle the score with you." Hu Xingwei was also anxious at this time.

  "Third Blade, Zhang Yu, stop wasting words with him. Drag him up quickly, or we won't make it to the assembly point before dawn."

  Hu Xingwei twitched his mouth and squatted down, preparing to remove Tian Yifei's weighted leg wraps.

  I didn't want Tian Yifei to give up like this, so I shouted at him: "Tian Yifei, if you let Hu Xinnuo take off the lead block on your feet today, we won't help you again in the future. If you don't want to be looked down upon by the whole row, then show some backbone!"

  I didn't expect it, but this sentence really stimulated Tian Yifei.

  Tian Yifei gritted his teeth, shook off Hu Xingwei's hand and shouted loudly before charging upwards.

  Zhang Yu gave me a thumbs up in admiration.

  "Come on, kid..." Hu Xingkui also smiled at me.

  I smiled and replied: "Run, or you won't make it to the company before reveille."

  Then we three also started rushing up.

  We treat Tian Yifei's training method, all of which are taught by our class leader.

  When we returned from the back mountain that day, we reported our plan to help Tian Yifei to the class leader. At that time, the class leader listened and supported us very much, and also told us that the regiment would soon conduct an assessment of the entire regiment, and our whole company would participate, and at that time, there would be an excellent company evaluation.

  Moreover, the excellent companies in previous years were all our new first company, and the Red First Company of our regiment has always wanted to replace us.

  I also heard that this time they are preparing for war from the platoon leader to the company commander, and plan to win against our new company no matter what.

  When we ran back to the company, we were still late. At this time, the whole company had gathered in the queue training ground, and the company commander was speaking in front of the queue.

  We three pulled Tian and ran into the company gate, and were caught by the company commander at a glance.

  When we arrived, Tian Yifei lay directly on the ground, panting heavily.

  I, Hu Xingwei and Zhang Yu were also extremely tired, we three supported each other, panting.

  Lian stood stupidly staring at the four of us for a long time, then shouted to the ranks: "Comrades, give them a warm welcome."

  Unexpectedly, Lian Chang didn't scold us, instead he let our comrades give us applause.

  We two are very happy, such hard work is worth it.

  All comrades-in-arms didn't know, we three worked so hard in order to enter the Reconnaissance Company.

  Lian Chang walked up to us at this time and said: "You three are good soldiers."

  "Thanks, Lianzhang."

  We three spoke with one voice.

  At this time, two comrades-in-arms from the same squad helped Tian Yifei up.

  We returned to the queue.

  Lian Chang stood up again and walked back to the front of the queue facing us.

  "Comrades, taking this opportunity, today I want to commend these four comrades. During this period of time, I have been observing everyone's performance. When you were still sleeping until the wake-up call sounded, Xiao Bin, Zhang Yu, and Hu Xinrui, these three comrades started strengthening their self-cultivation before dawn. When they learned that their comrade Tian Yifei was lagging behind in physical fitness, they took the initiative to help Tian Yifei improve. This kind of spirit is worth your learning."

  "Bang bang bang..."

  Another round of applause.

  Comrade Lian Chang continued: "Comrades, next month on the 8th, the regiment will organize a seating arrangement assessment for our several companies. In previous years, it was always our New First Company that took first place. I hope all comrades in the company can think of us, the New First Company, and strive to take first place in this assessment again."

  It can be seen that Lian Chang attaches great importance to the assessment of our respective companies in the regiment.

  When we returned to the squad, our squad leader had us all sit on the cement floor at the entrance of the squad rooms. We saw the squad leader return to the squad and take out 7 bound certificates from his metal cabinet.

  "Third-class labor team, third-class labor row..."

  I looked at these seven certificates and was a bit tongue-tied.

  The class monitors were wiping the honor on the floor with towels.

  Class leader Zhao ZhiJie wiped his sweat and said to us, "Brothers, this is the honor that my soldiers and I have won over the years. Originally, I didn't want you to see it, because it's not worth showing off yet. However, your performance in recent days has made me look at you with new eyes. Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson about what collective honor is."