Chapter Twelve

  I've been thinking for a long time about whether I should say something or not.

  How to say?

  This matter is a bit against the rules if we go by the book, but if we consider human feelings, it's absolutely the right thing to do!

  I'd better say it!

  The first time I went to the county town near the training camp was with Kuang Ming and his brother Jiang Kuan.

  It's just going to the procurement class for all the brothers' daily necessities, such as toothpaste, soap, letter paper, envelopes, and bringing along Guangming brother to buy two boxes of cigarettes. We'll secretly bring some snacks back to slightly corrupt our mouths and stomachs.

  Changed into casual clothes and went out.

  No way out, at that time our group of new recruits hadn't received their ranks yet.

  The first time we strolled through a small county town in Xinjiang, the local customs and people really opened our eyes, us frogs at the bottom of the well.

  The Uyghur girls are beautiful with big eyes looking at us without any shyness, laughing and showing their small dimples that make people dizzy.

  The smell of smoke and fire wafted from the barbecue stall on the street, making people want to eat just by smelling it. And when they saw it, they stretched out their hands from their throats, wanting to grab a piece of mutton to stuff into their mouths.

  There's also watermelon, grapes, peaches, apricots, pomegranate, fruit preserves, honey, and lemon iced tea.

  So enviable!

  Kuangming, however, was used to seeing us often and led us directly to the military service club next to the county hospital for a big purchase, refusing to let us take another look at those delicious food and drinks.

  There were not many people in the military service company, and the two forty-year-old military wives standing behind the counter smiled and said, "Little Kuang has come."

  That guy's face is beaming with a bright smile, saying "Sister-in-law, I'm here! How have you been lately? How's the family recently?"

  I felt a bit dizzy at that time, I think Jiang Kuan's grandson was also.

  Tuan Tou, once placed in a local position, is equivalent to a county magistrate's level.

  It's more than enough for a director or something like that to get mixed up.

  These officials' wives, I think they should be holding a Pomeranian or a Bichon Frise in their arms, then gathering around to play mahjong and gossip while two maids stand by to serve tea and snacks.

  How could I end up working as a salesperson in a military service center in a small county town in Xinjiang?

  To put it bluntly, I didn't understand this matter until many years later.

  Zao said that this team leader is absolutely diligent and selfless, never using his power for personal gain.

  In short, this is called empathy and sharing the same hardships with brothers below, so as not to be stabbed in the back.

  Describing our team head and participant's behavior with a four-character noun is actually quite simple, and everyone has heard this word many times.

  Communist Party member!

  Before I could even react, Kuang Ming had already paid for the things and was saying to the two sisters-in-law: "Sisters-in-law, I'm leaving. Give my regards to Team Head, ask about Zhang Ze's well-being, and ask about the family."

  Two sisters-in-law said it's all good, old Shang is still doing well, haven't seen him for a long time?

  It's clear that instructors are busy training new recruits and there are just too many things to handle.

  They were still talking when a commotion broke out outside the military service company.

  Lifting the curtain, I saw a few hooligans wearing leather jackets and hats bullying a middle-aged vegetable vendor.

  I have something to say here.

  I don't know what the situation is like in Xinjiang now, but at that time, the people selling vegetables in that small county town were all farmers from inland China. The locals didn't even have the concept of growing vegetables back then.

  Also because of this, the occupation of vegetable farmer can still make some money, anyway, it is self-produced and self-sold, renting land and buying seeds costs almost negligible, it's just that people are very hardworking.

  So, when it's time for the Hurba Zaza, or what we call a fair, there are always a few local hooligans who go to cause trouble. They can get away with swindling money for a pack of cigarettes, and if not, they'll even snatch two cabbages.

  This phenomenon is almost nobody cares and also lazy to care about it.

  Anyway, in that small county town in Xinjiang, when those Uyghur brothers of mine mention these little hooligans, they just say they're a bunch of lazy good-for-nothings and don't even bother with them.

  So the vegetable farmers just let it go and gave them two dollars as if they were giving alms to beggars.

  That day, the vegetable farmer was probably being continuously harassed by those hooligans and lost business, so he got angry and exchanged a few curses with them. Those hooligans, relying on their numbers, started beating people up.

  Sometimes, for some reason, some little rascals really are unscrupulous.

  Anyway, as long as no one was killed, the police would have to consider the bigger picture and let them off with just a warning.

  I reckon these little rascals knew about this, and when they started fighting, they were really ruthless and vicious. At that time, although I hadn't received much training, I had seen fights at home before, so I knew which places to hit would cause internal injuries.

  He was beaten by that vegetable farmer until he couldn't even cry out, and he lay there spitting blood mouthful by mouthful.

  No one dares to intervene beside him!

  At that time, I saw Kangming's fist clenched and loosened again, and his small white face had the same expression as when I saw him on the train, his eyes also began to blur as if they were out of focus.

  I think this is probably the kind of gaze a tiger has before it eats someone?

  Then I heard two sisters-in-law, the wives of two regimental cadres, say in unison.

  "What's wrong with you, staring blankly like that?"

  Kuang Ming turned around and glanced at the two sisters-in-law, then compared me with Jiang Kuan.

  "Stay inside and don't go out!"

  Rushed over there.

  I and Jiang Kuan hugged a pile of soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, letter paper, envelopes, and appreciated what is called "Lion Pounce Rabbit", what is called "Hungry Tiger Down the Mountain", and what is called "Destroying the Withered and the Weak".

  In just twenty seconds, I saw Gangming brother use a series of kicks without even using his hands, including front kicks, side kicks, hook kicks and a cool spinning kick.

  All six thugs fell to the ground, two of them still flailing about like ducks with their air cut off.

  Then Kuangming ran back and told me and Jiang Kuan to hurry up and leave.

  We ran all the way back to the training camp at a speed much faster than usual.

  I didn't understand at that time, saying "Ah, great hero, why are you running away? Aren't we supposed to be upholding justice?"

  With your skills, you can easily take down a dozen more. Plus, I and Jiang Kuan are also here, if all else fails, I can take down two or three of them with my brute strength, right?

  Kuang Ming didn't say much more and just said one sentence: after going back, keep your mouth shut tightly and don't let out what happened today!

  Later, after serving as a soldier for a long time, I also understood what it means to consider the overall situation.

  It's no wonder that Daxia Ke was so brave and righteous at the time, but now he's dragging his brothers along to do something wrong, as if they're running away with a guilty conscience...

  Later on, I heard that the local police station did indeed send someone to investigate this matter.

  It is said that we must catch the culprit who beat people up, otherwise there will be no way to explain it to certain people and avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

  There really was a fearless soldier who went into the military service company and asked two sisters-in-law.

  His wife was quite straightforward and said in one sentence - I don't know that person who hit him, where is he from, and I'm not a police officer.

  You think you're fearless? Alright, I'll tell you this: if you two are aware of the situation and choose not to report it, that's considered harboring a criminal and you'll be held legally responsible. Believe me or not, I'll take both of you in for a few days!

  The head of the household's wife was very capable and carried a strong official tone, humming a sound, then pointing to the fearless one behind her and saying, "Alright, I'll tell my husband to send you a quilt and some prison food."

  Those who were not afraid of death turned back to take a look and then quickly left without daring to turn back again.

  At that time, our team leader was standing at the entrance of the military service company.

  Our team leader is very famous in that small county town!

  At that time, when his sister-in-law came to the unit, the team leader went alone by car to the long-distance bus station to pick her up.

  On the road, I ran into a dozen or so drunkards bullying two elderly Uyghur men.

  The team leader got off and dealt with it for a while, then asked the two Uyghur old men to get on the bus and even sent them to their doorstep.

  At that time, those more than ten drunk men were all about 1.7 meters tall and in their early twenties, while our team leader was just over 1.7 meters tall and already in his fifties.

  Those big men all had Yingjisha knives in their hands, cutting iron like mud.

  Our team leader is empty-handed and only used his left hand.

  Tuan Tuo is from Hebei Cangzhou.

  Later, we all said that the team leader was not thick-skinned. You said that your family's ancestral iron sand palm, with one slap, even a strip of cowhide would be torn apart. Moreover, you're a left-hander, and the strength on your left hand is obviously greater than your right hand. How could you use your left hand to hit those dozen or so drunk ghosts?

  Isn't this bullying?!

  There is a saying in the army that the virtues of the commander are reflected in the soldiers under his command, and they will not deviate from them by much.

  If we say our team leaders are the strongest among the strong, then the brothers below can't be easily messed with either.

  But let's not say that our brothers also have times when they are bullied and can't fight back!

  In the troops, sometimes in order to save a little bit of food expenses, they would generally set up a farm or something to plant some vegetables or other crops, so that the brothers can eat more nutritious food with less food expenses.

  This is for self-reliance and thriftiness, secondly it's also because our food expenses really can't keep up with the soaring prices.

  Although eating one's fill is no problem, the big shots upstairs can't bear to see their brothers downstairs always having cabbage and potatoes as their staple food; even if they go for a long run, they'll be farting all the way.

  So I just started a farm and planted some vegetables.

  The brothers in the troops work hard, weeding and fertilizing during the day, irrigating and preventing theft at night, and lighting fires to prevent frost. The land is faithful, with one part of cultivation and one part of harvest, so the vegetables grow exceptionally strong.

  Just looking at these dishes can make brothers' mouths water, and seeing the joy of several brothers on the farm is also delightful.

  Unexpectedly, it turns out that even if we grow and eat our own food, if there's too much of it, we can take it out to give to our Uyghur compatriots, and the military and civilians can build together. This way, we can also interfere with other people's business!

  It's still those vegetable farmers who are causing trouble.

  At that time, there was a province, I won't say which one, or everyone will get angry again. Anyway, it was the province with the most people who went out to work in other places, and gradually formed a natural village scale, all of whom were vegetable farmers.

  Normally, most of the products from these vegetable gardens are sold to the troops and they make a good profit. However, seeing that the vegetables in the farm can almost meet the needs of the entire troop and are even given away for free to other local people, these individuals became unhappy.

  If the troops don't take their vegetables and others have free vegetables to eat, won't their products be sold at a lower price?

  Among these people, there was a leader who looked at the terrain and came up with a bad idea.

  The irrigation canal of our farm just passes through the middle of their fields, and we even helped to repair that canal before. These guys just blocked the canal and opened a hole on the side, rather than letting the water flow away for nothing, they wouldn't let the farm have water for irrigation.

  The brothers who went to negotiate with the farm in the past, the leader of those guys actually said ambiguously that this water loves to flow wherever it wants, no one can control it, as long as you have the ability to call that water not to pass through our territory, then go ahead, but if it passes through our territory, then you'll be in trouble...

  The farm brothers were so angry that they almost buried him in the irrigation ditch with a shovel on the spot.

  It's really helpless! Those guys have made a promise, whoever lets the water channel pass through their own land will be blamed by them if anything happens later.

  This is really suffocating our farm's brothers!

  Get moving?

  What does it look like now?

  Not moving one's hands?

  The vegetables in that land are withering away day by day, looking limp and lifeless.

  Report it!

  It is said that at the time, the team leader didn't care about the participants or the instructors, and only a few officers including Kuang Ming were left to discuss and come up with an idea.

  Anyway, during that period of time, the fields rented by those guys who deliberately cut off the water supply were plagued with theft every day, and whenever we went out for an emergency assembly or something, we would definitely encounter people shouting "Catch the thief!" every day.

  What else is there to say? Let's just get on with it?

  One night a thief was caught and almost all the vegetables in the field were destroyed.

  After catching a thief for a week in a row, those guys also connected the water pipe very consciously.

  Later, Brother Kuangming found out about this and hummed a sentence saying "You're just a small fry! Can't I handle you few hoodlums? When I wasn't in the army, I saw many hoodlums in the 49th city, but none of them dared to be arrogant in front of me!

  Who's that? Tell Sanbanlang earlier, tonight the thief should sleep well and won't go out!