Chapter 2: Returning Home for a Physical Examination

  But I felt a bit uncomfortable leaving home, so I decided to go to an internet cafe where I often surfed the web.

  I went to an internet cafe and got a temporary card. I found a corner seat and sat down, skillfully turning on the computer's power switch.

  Internet cafes now all use ID cards for internet access, but my ID card won't be valid until next month when I turn 18, so I can only get a temporary card.

  This so-called temporary card is a loophole in the ID-based internet access, some internet cafe owners take advantage of this loophole, borrow relatives and friends' IDs, make photocopies of these IDs, and use these photocopies to scan and access the internet.

  I logged into QQ chat software, my username is "Natural Fool". In the friends list, I found a username called "Infected with Loneliness" and this was my childhood friend Zhang Yu. We two are not from the same village but we get along very well. I sent him a text message.

  "Uko, have you enlisted in the army?"

  Not long after, Zhang Yu came back.

  "With loneliness": "I've signed up, next Saturday our village will start organizing physical exams for us."

  " Tianran: "Yuzi, thank you for your hard work, go to my village and help me sign up."

  "With loneliness comes contamination: 'Go. There are still 6 days, can you make it back?"

  "Don't worry, I'll definitely make it back."

  "Alright."

  After talking to Yuzi, I couldn't calm down and went online. I planned to go back and work with my mom, if not, I would leave without saying goodbye and quietly return home for a physical examination. I closed the QQ chat software, settled the bill, and turned off the computer. In my heart, I was making plans, determined to get my mom's agreement to let me join the army.

  Back at the temporary home entrance, my mother was sitting at the door waiting for me.

  "Binzi, come here."

  I slowly walked over to mom and sat down beside her on the step with a plop.

  "Mom, I'm definitely going to join the army, even if you don't agree with me. You can't stop me. The day after tomorrow, I'll take the train back to my hometown by myself."

  I blurted out the thoughts in my heart, and Mom was taken aback after hearing me. She said to me: "Binzi, Mom is afraid you can't bear the hardships of being a soldier. Haven't you seen those soldiers on TV? They suffer so much, are you sure you can take it?"

  "How can I take it anymore? Don't underestimate me, mom. Working 12 hours a day on the construction site, have you ever heard me say that I'm tired or suffering?"

  I saw my mom stunned. I continued to take advantage of the situation and did ideological work on my mom.

  "Mom, think about it, if your son becomes a soldier, how glorious that would be! Who knows, maybe one day I'll make a meritorious deed in the army and you can secretly rejoice. When the time comes, you'll return to our hometown, receive good news, and our neighbors will definitely envy you."

  "What are you envious of me for?"

  Oh yeah, at that time, these words of praise for mom really worked, and at that time, mom's mind was a bit down.

  I immediately stood up, poked my nose and smiled complacently: "Of course, I'm envying me for bringing honor to our family. Think about it, when the government comes to our house with drums and gongs to deliver good news and certificates, neighbors will definitely envy you for having a good son."

  "You little brat, you haven't even gone to join the army yet and you're already bragging." My mom scolded me with a smile.

  I hastily made a promise to my mother, guaranteeing her in a loud and clear voice: "Mom, let's make a bet. By then, I will definitely make achievements in the army and you'll receive good news."

  "Stinky brat..."

  My mother was moved when she heard it, which meant that I agreed to join the army. That night, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep all night, thinking about what the troops would be like and looking forward to their beauty.

  But in fact, when I really arrived at the troops, it was not what I thought. The squad leader and old soldiers there were very strict with us new recruits, every day they would give us a lot of intense training, making us numb from exhaustion.

  Of course, that's another story.

  Got mom's consent, and dad and my brother were also very surprised, didn't expect that mom's work was actually done by me.

  Two days later, my dad bought me a train ticket back home and gave me 2,000 yuan, saying that I should use this money to treat some people with authority in the armed forces department to dinner, so that I could smoothly enter the military camp.

  At the ticket gate, my mother grasped my hand, her eyes red with reluctance, and said to me: "Binzi, you'd better think it over carefully. Being a soldier isn't that easy. You can still regret it now."

  I shook my head "Mom, don't worry, if I join the army and regret it for two years or five years, but if I don't join the army then I'll regret it for a lifetime."

  My mom scolded me after hearing that: "You kid, where did you learn this from? Who brainwashed you?"

  I pouted and ignored my mom's complaints, turning to my older brother who was helping me with my luggage: "Older brother, after I leave, let Xiao Dong help you move bricks. That kid is almost as good as me at moving them quickly and efficiently. He'll make a great little laborer for you."

  Hmph... At that time, this sentence moved my older brother to tears.

  I finally checked in and took over the luggage from my brother who helped me carry it, and boarded the train back home.

  At that time, when I said goodbye to my family and saw the reluctant look of my mother, I felt very uncomfortable in my heart. In my heart, I secretly vowed to make my family proud and let my mother know that she has a good son.

  The green train finally arrived at my hometown PN city after more than 40 hours.

  I am a native rural person, after being away for 1 year, I returned to this small city again.

  As soon as I came out of the station, I saw Zhang Yu waiting for me. Beside him was a pretty girl, and to my surprise, it was my first love, Han Ruoyun. We started dating in our first year of high school, but at that time we were still young, just holding hands and kissing each other's cheeks, never having gone further than that.

  At that time, I was also thinking about it, but my brother often did ideological work on me. At the time when I was in contact with Ruo Yun, my brother would occasionally say to me, "Binzi, don't be ignorant of the value of youth."

  At that time, I didn't understand and listened blankly until later when I found out what "jing" was. It's just something similar to yogurt, isn't it?

  Zhang Yu and Ruo Yun picked me up, originally planning to take the bus back to the countryside. At that time, my wallet was thick, so I shouted at them in a very cool tone: "Take a taxi instead of the bus today, I'll treat you guys to some corruption, let's charter a cab back."

  When the taxi finally arrived at the village, I regretted it. Damn, the meter showed over 120 yuan, which made my heart ache. For this 120+ yuan, how many bricks do I have to move on the construction site, how much urine... no, no, no, sweat, sweat.

  Didn't want to part with it, but I pretended to be generous and threw two red 100-yuan bills at the driver. With a flourish, I shouted to the driver, "Uncle, keep the change."

  When I said it out loud, I regretted it in my heart. What a waste of money on that trivial thing! That few bucks could have at least bought a pack of cheap cigarettes.

  The driver uncle happily found 70 yuan for me, 7 pieces of 10 yuan each. I comforted myself by saying: "Not bad, not bad, two pieces exchanged for seven pieces, made a profit."

  I really didn't think I'd say something so stupid...