Chapter 22 of the first part: The reason for being a soldier

  Vacation is here! Although it's only a meager twenty-odd days of annual leave, the entire 14th Middle School team is overjoyed, especially those new recruits from distant places. Just thinking about returning to their homes they've been away from for half a year, just thinking about their mothers' warm smiles at home, just thinking about the delicious food at home, their hearts have already flown back.

  At 4 pm, Captain Yan Weidong announced some matters about the holiday in front of the team and emphasized the time to return to the team, then smiled and said: "Holiday!"

  "Hurray!" A cheer erupted in front of the 14th team. Immediately, a chorus of cheers and applause came from the direction of other student teams.

  Everyone laughed and returned to the dormitory to change into casual clothes, patted each other on the shoulder, said some New Year's greetings, and then rushed to the playground under the command of the team leader to send off the large trucks.

  Soon, Class 6 was left with only two people: Deputy Class Monitor Li Dongkuan and Qu Mingjun. After calling home, Qu Mingjun's uncle said he would come to pick him up, while Li Dongkuan took the train the next morning.

  "Come on, Qiu Mingjun, lend a hand. Let's stick the seal." Li Dongkuan mumbled with a cigarette in his mouth, holding the sealed date, vaguely calling out to Qiu Mingjun.

  Qu Mingjun got up and carried the stool, following Li Dongkuan out of the classroom to the window. Li Dongkuan asked while sticking a seal: "Why didn't I see you buying tickets with the team? It's New Year's Day, how did you get here?"

  Originally, every year when the students of Lu Institute went home for holidays, ten days in advance, they would specially invite railway station staff to come and uniformly purchase tickets for everyone, so as to ensure that the students could buy train tickets back home smoothly during the busy Spring Festival travel season.

  Qū Míng Jùn didn't want people to know about his family background, and the information he filled out when he entered school was all fake. Luckily, Hei Shu found someone to help him, or else he wouldn't have passed the political review. The materials said that his parents were from a working-class family? Even if you added up the income of 10,000 working-class families, it still couldn't compare to Qū Míng Jùn's family.

  "Hmm, I'm in no hurry." Qu Mingjun also started pretending to be confused.

  Li Dongkuan pasted the seal well, rubbed the sticky paste on his hands, looked at Qu Mingjun, and finally didn't ask any more questions.

  "Qu Ming Jun?" At the door were two locals from Shi Men, and one of the guards who had been left behind suddenly called out.

  "Arrived!"

  "Phone call!"

  He Shu had already brought the car over. Qu Mingjun hastily gathered his belongings, bid farewell to Li Dongkuan, and set off on the journey home.

  Qu Mingjun had already told He Shu beforehand, don't make a big show of bringing over several good cars, it's completely unnecessary. It just so happened that everyone was leaving the hospital at that time,

  What a great car, and it seems like they're intentionally showing off everywhere.

  Yeah, it's pretty good. This time, He Shu brought a Buick business car over. Qu Mingjun hastily got in the car at the parking lot on the north side of the college, afraid of being seen by acquaintances.

  "6688? Or a black license plate? What a great license plate number." Li Dongkuan couldn't bear his curiosity, and secretly followed Qu Mingjun from behind, watching as the unassuming Buick business car sped away before he stood up in shock. Could it be that Qu Mingjun was really the son of a high-ranking official?

  Let's put Li Dongkuan aside for now. In the car, He Shu bowed respectfully to Qu Mingjun and asked how he was doing, then explained the travel arrangements: "Young Master, this time we'll head straight to Beijing. We'll rest there tonight; I've already booked a restaurant and our flight for tomorrow morning. By tomorrow afternoon, we can see Grandfather and Madam."

  Qu Mingjun felt that something was off after hearing these words. He didn't used to feel this way, had he changed after being in the military academy for half a year?

  "Uh-huh! Thanks, Uncle He." Qu Mingjun replied faintly.

  He Liti's heart was filled with emotion as he saw the young master. In the past, this young master had been cold and distant towards them, although not harsh. But after serving in the army for half a year, he now even initiated greetings and used polite language in his daily conversations. It seemed that Old Master's initial opposition to the young master joining the army was misguided, as the military was indeed a great melting pot.

  ……

  Qiu Mingjun stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the 15th floor of the Beijing Hotel's Palace Suite, gazing out gloomily. In the distance outside the window was the Forbidden City at night, with the magnificent and resplendent Tiananmen Square illuminated by lights, welcoming wave after wave of tourists who came to see the night view.

  As the Spring Festival approaches, Tiananmen Square is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, filled with a joyful atmosphere. However, the lively scene not only failed to bring Qu Mingjun a better mood, but seemed to make his mood even worse.

  To be honest, this Spring Festival, Qu Mingjun really didn't want to go home. But if he didn't go back, where could he go? Besides, he had promised his mother and little Yaoyao that he would return for the New Year. However, as soon as he went back, he couldn't avoid facing those old guys in the family, as well as those brainless and gluttonous cousins of his.

  Qu Ming Jun felt depressed and looked at the dense flow of cars and people not far from his feet, feeling more and more alienated. He had been stuck in the military academy for half a year, and it was hard to believe he had such good patience. It seemed that being isolated from society for so long would also make him less adaptable to society.

  "Ding-dong!" The doorbell rang out, interrupting Qu Mingjun's train of thought. He impatiently shouted: "Come in!"

  It was He Litie, He Shu, "Young master, would you like to go down for dinner or have them send it up to your room?"

  Qiu Mingjun weakly walked from the bedroom to the living room, leaned on the sofa and said: "Send it over. Just make something to eat."

  "Master, you...you're not feeling well?"

  "It's nothing, Uncle He," Qu Mingjun forced a smile, "I just thought of some unpleasant things. Let me be alone for a while."

  "Alright young master, dinner will be sent over right away." He Litie turned around and gently closed the door.

  Qu Mingjun's expression was somewhat gloomy as he thought back to the phone call from his mother when he had just entered the restaurant. It turned out that this guy named Jiang Anjie was also coming over for New Year's this year. Damn it, didn't their unit need to be on duty?

  ……

  In the spring of 1995, on the sixth day of the first month, the main gate of the Qu family's mansion in Hangzhou was wide open, with lanterns and streamers hanging everywhere, and luxury cars coming and going constantly. Although the Qu family's business spanned all over the world, only some elderly relatives lived in their ancestral home in Hangzhou. However, every year during the Spring Festival, unless absolutely necessary, all members of the Qu family had to rush back to their ancestral home for the holiday. And on the sixth day of the first month, it was a day when relatives and friends came to visit.

  The main hall of the Qu family is decorated in traditional Chinese style. Although the interior wiring and heating are extremely modern, the surface design still follows the traditional Chinese house style. The walls are snow-white, with green lines on the corners, and solid square gold bricks on the floor. On the main hall, there are also couplets and a central scroll, all of which are masterpieces by famous artists. In the spacious hall, only Ming-style Huanghuali wood furniture is placed. On both sides of the hall, the museum shelves used to separate spaces display some valuable antiques worth a fortune.

  At this time, there were many people in the hall, either sitting or standing, some tasting tea, some chatting, and some musicians tuning their instruments on the west side of the hall. The atmosphere was lively and extraordinary. However, inside the east wing of the hall, the atmosphere had become somewhat solemn.

  "Jun Er, how dare you speak to your elders like that? Don't you hurry up and kowtow to admit your mistake!" Qu Ming Jun's father, Qu Jia Qing, shouted loudly.

  "Hmph, young and reckless, no respect for elders, speaking wildly. Ah, Ha Qiang, your son is quite well-raised!" A bald old man sat on a chair to the side with an extremely unpleasant expression.

  "Elders, I shouldn't be speaking here today. However, since this matter was caused by me, please don't blame Ming Jun's younger brother. I apologize to all the elders here." The speaker is a sturdy young man who is now sincerely pleading with several seated elderly people.

  "Hmm..." The bald old man nodded in approval.

  "Don't pretend to be a good person! Hypocrite!" Kneeling on the ground, Qu Mingjun suddenly turned his head and glared at Jiang Anjie who was pleading for him.

  "Ah ya ya!" The bald old man slammed his hand on the table and stood up, pointing at Qu Mingjun and shouting loudly: "You bastard, you don't know what's important, you don't know what's good or bad. On the day of our family's Spring Festival gathering, you dare to be so reckless and unreasonable. Who do you think you are? Hmm? Do you want to make our family a laughing stock in front of all these relatives and friends? Come here..."

  Jia Jian's face turned pale, and upon hearing this, he "thudded" to his knees. "Jia Jian is unfilial, and I have failed in teaching my son. I hope that you uncles will consider Ming Jun's young age and give him another chance."

  The host hastily finished speaking, not waiting for the old man to speak, and turned around with a loud slap on Qu Mingjun's face, shouting: "Are you still not kneeling down to apologize? Do you have to be punished by family law before admitting your mistake?"

  Next to him, Jiang Anjie saw the situation develop into this state, although he was also annoyed at Qu Mingjun's attitude in his heart, but still stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying: "Everyone, today Jiang Anjie came to the Qu family to celebrate the New Year on behalf of my father, and had some misunderstandings with Mingjun younger brother, I also have responsibility. Today is a good day for guests, please don't let our little things disturb everyone's interest."

  "Hmph!" The bald old man's anger subsided slightly, but he still felt a sense of injustice.

  "Alright, Old Ninth." An elderly man standing beside him, wearing a traditional Chinese shirt, put down his teacup and said, "An Jie is right. Today is indeed a good day, and it's not suitable to make a big fuss. Let's just let Jia Qing take him back home and educate him properly. It's normal for young children to fight and play-fight."

  The host was overjoyed and hastily said: "Thank you, Fifth Uncle, thank you. I'll take this rebellious son back and teach him a good lesson."

  "Hmph!" The bald old man sat down on the stool, panting heavily through his nose. "Qu Mingjun, you're considered a talented young man, but you're so slow in treating guests and so immature and impulsive. Today, there's someone who came to plead with your Fifth Grandfather on your behalf, but as for the Spring Banquet, I don't think you need to attend it anymore. Go back and reflect on yourself!"

  Qu Mingjun was reluctant and unwilling, but seeing his father's anxious expression beside him, he had to respond with a "yes" and stood up to leave.

  "Hold on!" Qu Jiajiu stopped Qu Jing and his son, "Don't you apologize to An Jie? Are we, the Qu family, so lacking in discipline?"

  "I...I'm sorry." Qu Mingjun struggled for a while, finally succumbing to the angry gazes of his family elders and bowing apologetically to Jiang Anjie.

  Jiang Anjie smiled and stretched out his hand to pat him lightly, saying: "No need for that, I'm not perfect either. Please forgive me, Brother Mingjun."

  Qū Míng jǔn yá chǐ yǎo de shēng téng, zhuǎn shēn jiù wǎng wài zǒu qù, jiù tīng dé shēn hòu chuán lái jǐ gè zhǎng bèi de huà.

  "This child is so disobedient. Look at the children in the Jiang family, they are..."

  "Hey, An Jie has been a soldier after all, and now he's a company commander?"

  "Right."

  "However, An Jie was also exceptional as a soldier, far surpassing our generation of the Qu family."

  "Uh, I heard Angie was also at..."

  The voice behind him grew fainter and fainter until he could no longer hear it. Qu Mingjun walked towards his own house with a hint of hatred.

  Qu Jianying always sent Qu Mingjun into the house before saying: "You also don't understand, usually you compete with your own brothers at home, that's fine. This is Jiang Anjie's first time coming to our house, what are you competing with him for?"

  "I just can't stand those old guys saying this is good and that's good. It's as if our Qu family doesn't have anyone."

  "How old are you? What is Jiang Anjie anyway? His abilities are well-known in the Liberation Army headquarters, with a bright future ahead. What can you compare to him?" Qu Jiaqiang said discontentedly, "Alright, reflect on yourself here, I'll go back first. Lunch will be sent over by someone later."

  This is the first time Qu Mingjun has been rejected and not allowed to enter the house after attending the Spring Festival dinner. For 16-year-old Qu Mingjun, this is a great shame. Especially those few cousins who didn't get along with him, they must be sneering at him somewhere.

  Isn't it just being a soldier? What's so great about that? Humph, if I were to become a soldier, I would definitely be better than him!

  After the storm passed, Qu Mingjun went out alone, saying that he wanted to experience the life of an ordinary person. His family didn't pay much attention to it either. Unexpectedly, with the help of his family's fabricated materials, he secretly signed up for the college entrance examination two years later and was even admitted to a military academy. This led to the scene where Qu Mingjun enlisted in the army at the school gate.