Chapter 2

  At that time, I remember it wasn't from the city where I lived, but from a place called Leng something Jiang to take the train, and it was said that it was because of some recruitment indicator or something.

  Got on the car and then saw what it means to see someone off before departure.

  How can I describe the farewell scene?

  First of all, it was the scene.

  I said that year's train station and the weather at that time were really suitable for filming a farewell scene in a TV series.

  The old wall was either water-stained or cracked, and the trains carrying soldiers were all covered in brand-new uniforms, but the train itself looked like it hadn't been washed for ages. Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like the kind of thing that might not come back once it left.

  The sky is gray and overcast with dense dark clouds, and the north wind blows gently with a hint of chill, but cannot disperse the haze that fills the sky.

  The loudspeaker at the station was playing military songs and the like with great fanfare, but it seemed that the loudspeaker had been overworked for years, so its voice was a bit hoarse, with a hint of weakness in the middle, and it sang the military song to the point of exhaustion.

  And those mass actors are absolutely many times better than those drama enthusiasts outside the North Film Factory!

  Everyone has seen the revolutionary martyrs in the movie before being executed, and the crowd outside is crying and wailing, with either a handkerchief or a towel covering their eyes, shouting loudly.

  Those may be crocodile tears, but these people are really crying!

  It seems that this is how people see others off at the train station.

  As for those new recruits sitting in the train, they didn't look so great either.

  Except for a few older brothers who still looked like they had a bit of the "wind and frost" and "heroic" air about them, all the younger brothers were stretching their necks to look out the window.

  Look at the old father and mother, look at brothers and sisters, especially those red-eyed crying emotional sisters and emotional younger sisters. Looking at them, looking at the eyes of those brothers also turned red, and there were a few who followed and cried out...

  Anyway, at that time I was older after all, and had mixed with some entertainment venues for a few days, so I was much stronger than those seventeen or eighteen-year-old brothers in some things.

  At least I can still sit calmly in my seat, looking at the Western-style mirror and taking the opportunity to evaluate which of the brothers' wives is more auspicious.

  Especially when the shrimp guy yelled that the train was about to start and everyone closed their windows and paid attention to safety, I still managed to forcibly pull open a brother who was crying so hard he almost fainted, with a girl hanging on his arm. After closing the window, I lit a long Kent cigarette with a cow-like swagger, but it was snatched from my mouth by that shrimp guy.

  As soon as the train started, my heart skipped a beat for no reason!

  The long and winding road from Hunan to Xinjiang!

  I used to run the farthest during winter and summer breaks, following my mother back to Shanghai to visit my grandparents. Even a two-day, one-night train ride would make me feel uncomfortable all over.

  This Xinjiang, it seems like we've already reached the edge of China, I reckon it'll take at least five or six days to get through?

  It's far away from home...

  Xiaomi, that guy didn't even bother to respond to me. Anyway, since we got on the train, Xiaoming had a seriously unhappy face, and he wasn't as enthusiastic and gentle as when he was persuading me to join the army.

  Shrimp and rice bumped into a nail, idle is also idle, I just turned my head to take a look at that giant grandson. I said, brothers, we are now on the same boat, at home relying on parents, out relying on friends, and in the future relying on brothers, so take care of each other more. What's your surname?

  That big grandson hadn't spoken yet, that guy who cried almost to the point of fainting suddenly let out a loud wail and said "What's going to happen to me now?!!!"... My cousin's belly probably has my little hair in it already...

  I don't know if anyone else can turn crying into something so sorrowful and artistic?

  Anyway, at that time I felt that the guy was at least raising his dantian and then resonating with the three cavities of the chest, abdomen, and head to cry out the first sound, just like the beautiful opening of the fat man's voice. And even those few sentences of scolding had the flavor of Beijing opera's recitation, that's absolutely the foundation that only a professional Beijing opera actor can have!

  Take another close look at the overall shape of those guys and suddenly found a common point!

  It seems like this guy and I are both long-haired monsters, at least not that kind of flat-inch hairstyle!

  Take a closer look at the luggage placed beside this guy, apart from the standard-issue military travel bags and whatnot, there's actually a huge musical instrument case.

  Look, Xiaomi is not here, I quickly lit a cigarette for the crying brother and said, "Brother, are you from Lengjiang? Judging by your demeanor, you shouldn't be an ordinary soldier. Are you an art soldier?"

  That brother nodded and said yes, yes, I'm not an ordinary soldier, I'm a literary soldier. Looking at your behavior and appearance, you are also literary soldiers?

  I haven't spoken yet, and that big grandson's brother hastily chimed in saying we're both! I dance modern dance, he sings songs, what do you play?

  That brother took my cigarette and didn't even put it to his mouth, looking like he's going to smoke, but in order to protect his throat, so he smokes less. He said I'm a professional erhu player, can also blow the saxophone, and is also a singer!

  My god...

  My heart turned cold at that time.

  Needless to say, others are more talented and skilled than me.

  They all play music, and their vocals are absolutely better than mine. They look smaller than me but have a more powerful voice. Who made me a self-taught musician and smoke every day? ...

  This Xi'an Music Academy is probably too mysterious!

  After messing around for half a day, it's finally sorted out.

  That big grandson's buddy, surnamed Jiang, is called Jiang Kuan. His grandfather was from the Whampoa Military Academy, but didn't get to fight many battles before the country was liberated, and his grandfather became a prisoner of war of the People's Liberation Army. Because of some historical reasons, the old man in their family never got to be a soldier until this generation. In order to fulfill his ancestor's wish, he tried every means possible and wore a military uniform.

  That crybaby's name is Yang, and his family is quite well-known in the local area as a big clan. Moreover, this kid is the only son of the family with 30 mu of land. If he hadn't somehow gotten himself into a relationship with a girl six years older than him, which his family strongly opposed and could only be broken off by sending him to join the army, it's likely that this guy would never have put on military uniform.

  This is great. Two of the three artistic soldiers joined the army because of women, and Jiang Kuan wore a military uniform to fulfill his family's dream. To be strict, our motivations for joining the army are really worth thinking about...

  All the way, there was almost nothing to say after all, everyone was not very familiar with each other, just sitting in the car and then transferring. That Xiaomi guy is really a sly merchant, seeing that I and Yang Ke are both music players, he said that on the way, first teach these brothers some military songs, and actually asked me and Yang Ke to teach those brothers to sing, and specifically sing some revolutionary songs.

  No choice, can only force myself to teach those brothers to howl!

  After some thought, I still have a bit of an impression of learning from Lei Feng's return and the like. Yang Ke that fool actually seriously wrote down the lyrics on the table and even brought out the simplified score, it seems he plans to give those brothers a good supplement in music knowledge.

  It's okay, Xiaomi discovered this problem early and told us that it was enough to teach sentence by sentence without having to make it so formal. Then the two of us stood at both ends of the carriage and started shouting.

  It's really strange to say, looking at those brothers who seem quite smart, but singing seems to be not so easy to grasp. Especially a few tall and handsome brothers don't know if it's intentional or born with five-tone deafness? That shooting back alive made them howl into heavy metal rock, turning the triumphant return of shooting back into the tragic desolation of defeated soldiers walking through the city.

  It was easy, a car full of brothers had learned two songs, the train was about to enter Xinjiang's territory, and suddenly I saw Xiaomi's face change color, he was running back and forth in the carriage like a mouse, his eyes were also not right when looking at us three.

  The train arrived at Dachigou, and suddenly, the shrimp-like guy pulled us to the connection of the three carriages, with a serious face, he said: "Just received a notice, the cultural troupe is immediately disbanded. As compensation for you, you can choose which troops to serve in. Either the engineering corps or... go to the special forces, but it depends on whether you can persist until the end of training! Before the train arrives at Turpan, you must make a decision!"

  Huh?

  The river is wide, I don't know, this big grandson never wants to say what he felt at the time. Anyway, Yang Ke told me later that at the time, he felt a blackness in front of his eyes and almost fell directly in front of Xiaomi's guy.

  Isn't this guy a villain?

  The cultural work team was replaced by an engineering corps?

  Isn't that just digging tunnels?

  It's been many years since the War of Resistance Against Japan was won, and those little devils have all been chased away. I reckon they wouldn't dare to come to China again. Why would I go dig tunnels?

  What else?

  Special Forces?

  I've never heard of such a unit before.

  Three people were at a loss for what to do when I saw my instructor.

  Estimated at the time, the instructor did not see us three. Even if he saw us, he didn't know that we three were those feathered literary soldiers. The instructor was staring at a man with two pips on his shoulder.

  Among the rhythmic clanging of the train, the instructor's Henan accent was particularly clear: "No! I don't want it! What kind of crappy literary soldier? If they can survive three days under my command, I'll write the word 'life' upside down! Originally, this time's new recruit quota wasn't many, and you're stuffing these inexplicable things in here, do you think I'm running a garbage dump?"

  In comparison, the two military ranks seemed to be used to guide the one with three: "Old Shang, old Shang, isn't this helpless? The cultural work team said it was disbanded and that's it. You just consider it as helping a brother out."

  At that time, I really didn't understand the rules of the army! I actually rushed over with a straight face and scolded the instructor: "Who are you calling trash? I'm a literary soldier, and I've stepped on your tail!"

  What's going on?

  Not even seen each other's faces yet and already been labeled as trash, what an incredible unit?

  Forget it! It's just Xian Conservatory of Music, who cares?!

  As soon as I finished speaking, I regretted it...

  I saw four or five lieutenants suddenly rush out from behind the instructor, all with one stripe and two stripes on their shoulders, and fire in their eyes!

  I don't know if you guys have ever seen that kind of eagle's gaze? The kind of eagle's gaze after being kicked by an ignorant rabbit?

  Anyway, at that time, I suddenly got goosebumps all over my body, and my teeth started chattering uncontrollably.

  To be honest, Hunan is a place with a fierce folk custom, and young people with strong personalities often take to the streets with knives in hand at the slightest disagreement.

  I've been through the social scene for a few years, and... well, I've had my fair share of small fights and brawls. With this face of mine, I've never really been afraid of anyone.

  That day, I will remember for the rest of my life, I was really scared, it's that kind of fear that seeps out from the bones!

  Later I realized that when I was on the street holding a knife and cutting people, I thought I was quite fierce at the time, but compared to these guys who came down from the Vietnam battlefield...

  Have you seen a mouse pinching a cat to death?

  At that time I was just a sewer rat who lived in the city and had never seen blue sky or green fields, not even cows and sheep.

  Those ones with one hair here and there, shouldn't be counted as cats at most they are just felines.

  For example, tigers and the like, especially those that have tasted human blood!

  I still remember, one of the blockheads, a lieutenant about my age, with a cold and low tone in his Beijing accent, said to me: "Do you know what you're talking about? New recruit, are you tired of living?"

  The instructor looked me up and down a few times, then suddenly roared at the several lieutenants: "Get out! What business do you have here?"

  Then, the instructor beckoned me over: "Come here!"

  I followed the instructor to another carriage, where he grabbed a bottle of Jian Nan Chun and poured a full cup of wine from an iron thermos lid, handing it to me: "Drink!"

  I was really a mess back then!

  If I had a bit of common sense about the army, or if I knew that my instructor was once a fierce general who had been rewarded with wine by General Xu, I really wouldn't have dared to take that jar of wine!

  But I don't know.

  I'm just a hoodlum who sings in a nightclub, what do I know about the army? What do I know about military ranks and old and new soldiers? What do I know about brave generals who emerged from mountains of corpses and rivers of blood?

  I really don't know!

  I took over the jar of wine and drank it all in one breath.

  Luckily I drank that jar of wine, still with a heroic and carefree air, the full-bodied flavor poured down my throat.

  Luckily, the instructor was once a general under General Xu's command, able to fight bravely and fearlessly, with the same small standards as General Xu for evaluating people - if you can drink, you can fight, even if your quality is poor and your training is lacking, at least you have guts. This soldier is probably not bad!

  So, after I fell down, the instructor scolded and grabbed my file and those of Jiang Kuan and Yang Ke in his hand, then scolded again while pointing at me who was already drunk like mud, telling someone to cover me with a big coat so that I wouldn't freeze to death.

  The car arrived in Turpan, and I was awakened from drunkenness by several heavy slaps on the ear. Dazed and confused, I followed the person in front of me onto a large bus.

  The person in front of me is a native Beijinger who speaks fluent Beijing dialect.

  That guy, with whom I spent ten wonderful months in the same big room.

  I will remember him for the rest of my life!

  "Mom's, you have the ability to see what I've written. You come to Hunan this time, it's my turn to take care of you now?"

  You just watch me knock you down and give you a few good smacks!

  You scoundrel!

  My elder brother, Kuang Ming.

  I miss you, little brother!