Chapter 28

  The snow-white sheets and quilt, the snow-white ceiling and grass-green wall skirt, plus the thick smell of disinfectant water, I knew I was in a hospital.

  I suddenly felt like I was home.

  I grew up in the hospital since I was a kid, when I just learned to walk, I followed my mother's white coat and ran wildly in the ward, and at that time there was also a very strange thing.

  I didn't even need to look up at the person wearing a white coat, I could open my mouth and very accurately call out their name. Anyway, at that time, I relied on this skill to earn snacks from my uncles and aunts.

  I thought of getting up and taking a look around to see where I had actually arrived, whether I was already home, and if my mother was standing beside me watching me.

  Then I was pressed down by a palm. I saw Gangming brother's pair of bright red eyes staring at me, saying "Bald head, you woke up, you almost scared the old man to death."

  I've reacted already I'm still in Xinjiang I haven't gone home I'm still in the army.

  I asked Brother Kuangming how many days I have been sleeping and why I feel so weak all over?

  "Big Brother Kuang Ming says, how dare you say that? I've been taking care of you for three days now, and you're still lying there motionless, with a burning fever, and talking nonsense about everything being outside!"

  Do you know or not, yesterday when the nurse was giving you an injection, you grabbed her hand and wouldn't let go, and kept saying "Sister, don't leave tonight, just stay with me." If I hadn't quickly grabbed the nurse's hand, I reckon you would have gotten a slap in the face right then and there!

  You young rookie, you're not old but how come your mind is so depraved? You were running a high fever and still couldn't forget to flirt with the nurse, be careful or you'll end up in solitary confinement again!

  I couldn't help but let out a weak, silly laugh. I said it's been ages since I've seen a woman, right? I'm also a man, and both physically and mentally, I'm perfectly normal, even more so when I have a high fever... at that time, the string of class struggle in my brain must have been burned out...

  I was still in the midst of boasting and bragging, when I saw Brother Kuang's face change, anyway it had a bit of wanting to laugh, a bit of embarrassment, and a bit of schadenfreude.

  Then I heard the voice of a nurse beside me: "I'm telling you, Xia Le, today is your first time giving muscle injections to patients. Don't be nervous, just follow the injection technique and inject with force!"

  I quickly turned around and took a look, at that moment I felt dizzy.

  I've also seen a few women. Back then, in the song hall, I saw those heavily made-up ones and those who were pure and elegant in school, I've seen them all, but never had that stunning feeling that people talk about.

  Look at this little soldier in front of me...

  I'm telling you, once the military jacket is on, girls look particularly stylish and refreshing, and that kind of tough yet charming little flavor is quite dizzying.

  But looking at that little soldier's eyes, how did they have a hint of sinister and ruthless taste as well as a bit of cunning?

  Then I looked at another little soldier standing behind the female soldier, and in my heart, I felt even more of that cool and refreshing feeling of being calculated by others.

  I grew up in the hospital and I dare not say anything else, but when a nurse walks two steps in front of me with a waist-shaped basin, I can tell whether this nurse is a newcomer or an old hand.

  The person in front of me is definitely a new recruit who has just finished the nurse basic training course and is being taken to the ward by a veteran for internship.

  I just watched the new soldier walk over with a basin, one step at a time, shaking and trembling, iodine and alcohol swabbing my butt with a flourish, then shakily holding up the syringe and striking.

  I'm not afraid of pain, it's just the vanity of good-looking old men that's at play. I'm in pain but I have to maintain the demeanor of a gentleman, I'll endure to the end with a stern and nonchalant expression.

  During training, I called a few particularly capable brothers to fight, and I withstood it without making a sound. But today, this little female soldier actually ruined my signboard that can endure hardship, withstand beating, and die stubbornly!

  That little soldier girl was probably the first time holding a syringe to inject a living person, when she started, she already had a bit of a guilty conscience and timidly held the syringe half-hidden in her hand, with just a light poke, the needle only entered about half an inch into the flesh. Then looking at it not reaching the necessary depth for muscle injection, she gritted her teeth and twisted it downwards with great force, rotating as she poked it in.

  My dear mom...

  At that time, I didn't shout out but my face was twisted in pain. My mouth was wide open like a fish that had been fried in a pot of oil.

  I told the nurse, sister, when you give injections, just do it in one go, it only hurts for a second, why do you have to do that decompression action and move step by step so standardly?

  I guess she saw the expression on my face, so the little female soldier standing beside me to supervise and guide said, "Xia Le, don't worry, it's just like this when you get an injection. You'll get used to it after a few more practices." And this patient is also cooperative, right?

  What can I say?

  That needle is still poking in my butt, I want to say that the nurse sister got excited and twisted it again, what should I do?

  The nurse sister who gave me the injection nodded and inserted the needle into my muscle, then pulled it out.

  It's broken.

  I just heard a loud crash and I knew it was definitely broken.

  I told you to pull it outwards in the direction of the needle head, why are you waving your wrist around?

  This is terrible, the needle has been left in the meat.

  Then there was a commotion, but fortunately an experienced old nurse came with a hot towel, applied it and massaged the muscle for a while before using tweezers to pull out the needle.

  But I've been punished severely for this crime!

  After all the commotion, I felt something was strange.

  Normally, I hate to see these little brothers suffer, sometimes the protective instinct kicks in and when it gets urgent, my face turns white with anger and I almost fight back.

  Today I suffered a lot, why didn't my brother make a sound? He just stared blankly with his eyes unfocused and the corner of his mouth twitching as if he was about to laugh but dared not.

  I followed Brother Kangming's line of sight and took a look, and I understood.

  That little soldier girl in charge of supervising the execution, her eyes were also fixed on me, Ah Ming's brother, flashing constantly. The two people's lines of sight converged and merged above my sickbed, almost sparking a firework, an electric shock!

  When the female soldier who was supervising the execution left, there were only my brother Kuangming and I left in the ward. I didn't hesitate to ask my brother Kuangming: "I said, brother, is that nurse named Xia Le?"

  Kuang Ming's brother shook his head and said it wasn't him, that nurse was called Hou Jing, she graduated from military school last year and just came to the hospital for training this year. She is also from Beijing, her family lives in Haidian District, her parents are both soldiers, she seems to be single, and she is three years younger than me.

  I finally understood, I smiled at my brother and said that it's not suitable for you, the door is opposite, they are all wearing military uniforms, age, education, everything is equal, truly a match made in heaven.

  Kuang Ming's face was all smiles as he said that, and I thought it was suitable too. I plan to find an opportunity to launch a reconnaissance in force first. If that mountain head is really suitable, I will establish a permanent fortification and then directly start the attack!

  I just couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

  My brother is good at fighting, but when it comes to chasing girls, especially female soldiers, he's really off the mark! He still thinks this is a battle and does reconnaissance? I said, brother, are you planning to make me stay in the hospital for a few more days so that you can take advantage of the situation and get close to the nurse?

  Kuang Ming brother's face turned red with a bit of anger and said to me, "You new recruit, you have no respect for your elders or your juniors. Do you believe I'll hit you?"

  I just laughed and said I didn't believe it! If you really dare to frame me, I'll report you to the instructor for deliberately bullying new recruits to flirt with female soldiers, and you won't be able to get away with it!

  Kuangming brother just laughed and sighed, saying I should find a woman too! My classmates and friends are all married, only I'm still single, I'm not worse than anyone else...

  I won't say anything either.

  Brother Kangming, when others were making money and falling in love and getting married, you were fighting with the Vietnamese at the front line with a submachine gun!

  How did you get the chance to fall in love?!

  Before I could even discuss with Gangming brother how to carry out this major operation, the door of the military hospital room was pushed open and a chubby lieutenant wearing a brand new uniform came in.

  How can I describe this old man?

  In my left hand, I'm holding a mesh bag containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, towel and some personal care items like facial cream. In my right hand, I'm also holding a mesh bag with fruits, snacks and several magazines.

  The hat was pulled down over his forehead, and the back of his head shone with a sleek, oily sheen. The round face was plump and chubby, and no matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like the face of a military man.

  I don't know what happened but I suddenly felt a surge of energy?

  I turned around and made a lip language gesture to Gangming brother, I said why does this guy look so awkward? Is he here to be hospitalized or to sing a comeback home?

  Kuang Ming's face muscles twitched violently and his lips curled up at me, saying "You new recruit, don't spout nonsense!"

  Then stood up and saluted.

  Although the military branches are different, the rules of the army are still there.

  That chubby old man nodded towards Gang Ming and then turned to a young nurse who followed in and said, "Why did you put me in the same ward as this rookie? Don't you have single rooms? Didn't your superiors tell you anything?"

  Huh?

  I really haven't heard that a military hospital has separate rooms for officers and soldiers? I looked at Brother Kuangming, his face seemed to indicate that he didn't know about this either.

  I think that little nurse also didn't understand why this captain was so arrogant?

  Moreover, the little nurse in the army hospital has seen many 2nd lieutenants and is used to it, and didn't take the lieutenant colonel seriously. She turned around and walked away while throwing out a sentence saying that soldiers who come for treatment, unless they have severe or infectious diseases, generally do not get sent to single rooms and are all housed in large wards!

  The captain stood there dazed for a moment, then suddenly turned around and walked out of the ward.

  Kuang Ming's brother sat down, and the color on his face was a bit off. Before I could ask, he fiercely said, "What bad luck is this? How did we run into a sickly good-for-nothing like you today?"

  I was taken aback.

  The phenomenon of "Bubble Disease" is absolutely visible in the military, and this phenomenon appears universally during the new recruit training phase and before the old soldier retires.

  New recruit egg son misses home and can't bear the training, or for some other reason. There are those lazy new recruits who lie on their beds and refuse to get up, humming and muttering that they're sick and can't participate in training.

  Before the old soldier retired, he naturally had an uncomfortable feeling in his heart that didn't want to leave the troops or had some unfulfilled wishes. He would lie on the bed and hum, and absolutely wouldn't do any training subjects anymore.

  Fortunately, however, among the duties of a platoon leader is one that specifically deals with managing this kind of malingering phenomenon.

  The usual routine is for the instructor to sit at the head of the bed, first smiling and asking where it doesn't feel comfortable? Is everything okay at home? What's on your mind? Let's have a good chat about family matters.

  Then the cook, Old Dai, came in with a bowl of noodles cooked with eggs and fragrant oil that smelled appetizing.

  The patient eats, the instructor accompanies and coaxes, no matter how fake the patient is, he can't hold on for two days, and naturally wants to get out of bed. Whatever you want to say, tell the instructor clearly and straightforwardly.

  Then it's just a matter of treating the symptoms, and in a few days at most, the soldiers who were hospitalized will reappear on the training ground, and they will be even more energetic and determined to train with all their might.

  Otherwise, I owe it to the cook who brought me three meals a day with his own hands, and even more so to the instructor who untied the knot for me and got rid of the trouble.

  People all have a conscience!

  To be honest, with my level of military rank, I've never seen an officer who also dates a nurse.

  I guess it was the rare and strange expression on my face that made Kuangming Gege look at me with a smile, and then he stuffed fresh grapes into my mouth while saying "Bald head, don't be surprised."

  It's rare for an officer to be a malingerer, but it's not unheard of.

  New recruits join the army, old soldiers retire, not adapting or a little dissatisfied, so they pretend to be ill and vent for a while. It's just that their hearts are stuffy. After eating a few days of sick leave food, the instructor will follow up with ideological work, and I estimate that those brothers who pretended to be ill will immediately become energetic.

  But once a slacker appears among these officers, nine out of ten are just one word - lazy!

  It's not wartime now, generally speaking, the most tiring thing in the army is to do some kind of assessment or complete hard targets, and also to rush overnight to improve facilities or simply to carry out emergency construction tasks when superiors are about to come for inspection.

  At this time, some lazy officers who didn't want to get up at the fifth watch and sleep in the middle of the night would rush to the hospital to stay there. Anyway, they would live in a small single room every day, eat some tonics for minor illnesses, and wait until their comrades were exhausted before checking out of the hospital and returning to the troops to enjoy the fruits of victory!

  People like that are generally looked down upon by grassroots supervisors and soldiers, and they usually have a small background, so few people are willing to offend them.

  This type of guy is absolutely useless when it comes to doing real work, but if you ask them to secretly backstab someone or spread rumors, they're absolutely top-notch!

  There was a guy who had been scolded by an old soldier in public before, and he had been holding a grudge ever since. But this guy had been keeping it to himself and didn't make a move until the old soldier was about to be promoted to military officer. Then, at the discussion meeting, this rascal suddenly came out with a sentence: "This comrade is still not bad in all aspects, but just in terms of lifestyle..." It's said that...

  In the army, style of work problems have always been a high-voltage line, whoever touches it dies! Let alone those who can't even manage their belt, how can they stay in the army and become professional soldiers?

  The old soldier could only leave the barracks with tears in his eyes!

  While stuffing grapes into my mouth, Gang Ming Ge said that the troops of this guy are currently building a new base and it's a busy time for him, but he still comes to recover from his illness in a single room, this is really not an ordinary rascal.

  The two brothers were talking when suddenly there was a commotion outside.

  Kang Ming's brother stuck his head out and took a look, then furrowed his brow and muttered, "This is weird."

  Who dares to compete with Air Force Ma? Bald head, lie still and don't move, I'll go take a look! Isn't that guy fed up with living?

  I couldn't lie still anymore so I slowly got up and rubbed my butt as I crept to the door to see who was so fearless.

  It's said that the soldiers around here, regardless of their military branch, all know that Ma Lao Da is an absolute tough guy. The first highland radar station was built under his personal supervision and effort back in the day.

  At that time, the environmental conditions were not to be mentioned. Let alone a decent highway, even the mountain trails that could barely accommodate people were trampled out by sheep herds grazing in the mountains during the summer, genuine goat trails.

  Machinery and equipment, materials, what wasn't carried up by the brothers of the air force on their shoulders or in their hands?

  Ma Lao Da is an outstanding model figure among them.

  Two hundred kilograms of cement on his shoulders, one hand supporting his waist and the other holding a steel trowel as a crutch, Ma Lao Da led his brothers up the mountain like a pack mule.

  The mountain was steep and treacherous, and if one wasn't careful, it was possible to roll down the precipitous slope with people and things. At that time, a soldier had one foot in the air, and he was about to tumble down the cliff.

  Ma Lao was a tiger at the time, his whole body covered in sharp stones that cut him bloody, two of his ribs were broken, but he still managed to grab onto the soldier's armor on the edge of the cliff.

  Ma Lao Da was a technical force in the air force and at that time, the construction of the radar station really couldn't be done without Ma Lao Da's years of experience. With two broken ribs, Ma Lao Da managed to get by with a plaster cast, sitting on the construction site every day directing his brothers to work.

  After a rib fracture and being wrapped in plaster, it's hard to breathe even in a normal environment, let alone on the plateau?

  One day, Ma Lao Da had oxygen inserted into his nose and was suffocated three times.

  For three consecutive days, Ma Lao Da kept fainting and waking up, only to faint again...

  The brothers of the air force are really crying and working hard just to get their horse old big down the mountain as soon as possible to see a doctor.

  Ma Lao Da was finally forcibly sent to the hospital at the foot of the mountain by the company commander and his soldiers.

  From then on, no matter what kind of soldier it was, when they saw Old Horse, they would definitely salute respectfully. Every time Old Horse went to the hospital for a check-up or something, even if there was a long queue, he would definitely be called by the soldiers to go to the front of the line.

  The soldiers all showed their respect for Old Horse in their own way.

  I saw Gangming brother go over and salute Ma Lao first, then stood in front of Ma Lao, made a gesture towards the lieutenant who had just asked for a single room, and directly pushed him aside.

  Then comes the classic line in the cold and icy tone of Ah Kung - "Are you tired of living?" Do you know who this is?

  I reckon that guy with the rank of corporal still hasn't realized how a guy with a lower rank than his own dared to lay hands on him? The person standing next to him, Hou Jing, actually added a sentence with a somewhat husband-and-wife-like tone, saying this is Air Force Old Ma! Anyone with ears and brains, even a three-year-old, would know who he is!

  Kuang Ming's brother naturally turned his head and looked at Hou Jing as if he were looking at his own wife, saying "What's going on? How is it that there are still people who dare to compete with Old Master Ma in this place?"

  Hou Jing's mouth was full of feminine charm, and with a flick of her tongue, she said that the single room was reserved for Ma Lao Da. But this Shang Wei comrade actually said that Ma Lao Da's military rank was not as high as his, and he also mentioned something about who came first and who came later? It seemed that this Shang Wei comrade was still someone's younger brother-in-law or something? It seemed that if we offended him, we would have to wait for our dismissal and go home to farm the land.

  The cold smile on Brother Kangming's face is something I still can't learn to this day.

  That's the kind of disdainful look that can only be seen on a young man from a military family when he looks at a thug who hasn't bathed for several days.

  Kuang Ming's brother coldly laughed and said, "Alright! I'm a member of the Kuang family from Beijing. If you have a mouth and ears, go ask around and see if your brother-in-law can take off my vest!"

  As soon as Brother Kuangming's voice fell, Hou Jing that girl immediately followed with another husband-and-wife duet saying that our Beijing Hou family may not be a famous door, but if you want to take off my jacket... Hmph!

  Sometimes, the most direct and simplest way to deal with that kind of arrogant and deceitful thing is to bring out an even more powerful force.

  I watched as the captain's face changed again and again, but he didn't say a word, turned around and quickly slipped out of the ward.

  I didn't know what background Hou Jing's family had at that time, but I knew that my brother Kou Ming's family was in the military.

  Unless you're deaf, shouldn't you have some impression of it?

  Kuang Ming's brother sneered coldly again, turned his head to look at Ma Lao Da with a respectful smile and asked: "How did you come today? Is this for inspection or to take a break?"

  The words were directed at Ma Lao Da, but Kou Ming Ge's eyes seemed to be gazing gently at Hou Jing.

  Ma Lao Da smiled and said, "Ah, it's Xiao Kuang! Long time no see! Isn't that the kid at home who got sick? The army unit is taking care of him and asked me to come over?"

  Kuang Ming's brother's face changed and said, "Is sister-in-law ill?"

  Old Ma just said it's nothing, nothing, just a minor illness.

  Hou Jing said on the side, "Is it still a minor illness? It has already developed into chronic myocarditis!"

  Kang Ming's brother asked again and knew that for one after another construction of radar stations, Lao Da hadn't returned home in eight years.

  Ma Lao's family relied on his wife to take care of the elderly and children, and his sister-in-law was also very hardworking and never complained, not even a single word. In the end, she got exhausted and fell ill...

  How much allowance can a lieutenant have?

  This is something that almost every brother who has been trained in the army knows, and it's barely enough to eat a slightly better Cantonese-style breakfast.

  The cost of seeing a doctor has also become a problem.

  Fortunately, the local civil affairs department and the troops had a friendly consultation, and then the civil affairs department took care of Lao Da Ma's family, while his wife rushed to the troop hospital for treatment.

  At the same time, the two also met each other.

  It's been eight years since the little devils were chased away, but the two of you still haven't had a good fight yet.

  With the hard work and dedication of Old Horse in the army, and with his wife's eight years of hard work at home taking care of their parents and children without letting Old Horse worry about his family, isn't it a trivial matter to give them a single room, let alone a whole building for the couple to live in?

  The hearts of soldiers are the most genuine.

  So when Old Horse's wife was helped into the hospital entrance, more than 300 soldiers lined up to welcome her and someone led the chant of slogans.

  Long live sister-in-law!

  Sister-in-law looked at these soldiers with tears in her eyes and waved her hand repeatedly, saying that she couldn't bear the responsibility.

  The soldiers were still applauding and shouting with bayonets at the ready...

  Long live sister-in-law!