Chapter 3: The Significance of Trends

  New and old soldiers rushed down from upstairs one after another, almost becoming pigs. Ma Liancheng didn't feel anything at first, but He Wenfeng came over with a sleepy expression and complained: "Old Ma, what are you doing? I know you're in a hurry, but this matter can't be rushed." He Wenfeng saw that Ma Liancheng not only spoke clearly but also became humorous.

  He Wenfeng's words would have been better left unsaid, but now that he has spoken, Ma Liancheng is even more furious. If it weren't for this one-time exception "test", he wouldn't know how useless his soldiers are. The new recruits aren't worth mentioning, they're just a bunch of donkeys. But the old soldiers are also crippled horses, half good and half bad. This is enough to prove that these soldiers lack even the most basic sense of tension as soldiers.

  The old soldiers shouted in unison, "Yes!" with a stern momentum. The new recruits also followed suit, their voices neither high nor low, shouting "yes" one after another, and the ferocious faces began to cover up the reverie they had on their way here.

  "What's wrong with you, are you dead or something? Run 20 laps around the playground, if you can't finish, don't even think about sleeping!" Ma Liancheng gave an order. Suddenly remembering his original purpose, he shouted to Lin Jianbing "Forget it, let's run." Ma Liancheng waved his hand and Lin Jianbing saluted as the whole troop began running laps around the playground.

  He Wenfeng knew that Ma Liancheng was the kind of person who would do what he wanted, and ordinary people couldn't stop him, so they might as well let him go. After all, Ma Liancheng's actions often achieved unexpected results, and it was possible that the regiment would even give the Seventh Company an award when they found out about this news. Thinking of this, He Wenfeng had the urge to bring his own Third Company over to run the stadium as well.

  He Wenfeng shook out a cigarette from the pack and handed it to Ma Liancheng, saying: "Calm down, Old Ma, calm down."

  Ma Liancheng reluctantly took over, and He Wenfeng lit a fire for him. After taking a big puff, he shouted in his loud voice to the main force: "What are you doing? Run faster! Whoever runs last will have to run twenty more laps!"

  He Wenfeng knew that Ma Liancheng was dead, so he secretly smiled and said: "Old Ma, I said why you came back so late? Don't you know that the captain has asked us to write a self-criticism?"

  Ma Liancheng's face suddenly changed as he said: "A letter of self-criticism?"

  He Wenfeng lazily spat out a mouthful of smoke and nodded in confirmation.

  Ma Liancheng said: "You write for me."

  He Wenfeng smiled again and said: "I'll write it for you..."

  "Stop stalling and just write it."

  "I'll write it for you."

  "Alright, I'll agree to anything."

  "Uh-huh." Murong Liuyue yawned and slowly walked out from beside him.

  Not just Ma Liancheng, He Wenfeng was also startled.

  Ma Liancheng asked a very silly question: "Who are you?" Before Murong Liunian could answer, he had already recognized that it was indeed Murong Liunian. It was this new recruit who made him miss the train back to his unit, it was this new recruit who made him go to the platform to buy tickets only to find out there were no direct buses to his unit, and it was this new recruit who made him walk for two hours before getting on a public bus...

  "What are you doing here?"

  Murong Liunian certainly couldn't say that he had fallen asleep and hadn't kept up with the group to go running, but this guy was too lazy to make excuses so he simply didn't respond.

  Ma Liancheng had already thought of a grand plan to fix this new recruit in a short period of time, and with a smile on his face said: "You are the last one I will make run twenty laps, otherwise..."

  Murong Liuyue is not just lazy, if he knows what you want to express, he won't even give you the chance to finish speaking. So Ma Liancheng didn't get to finish his next sentence before Murong Liuyue interrupted him. He said: "Earlier you said you'd agree to anything I wanted, now I just want to go back and sleep."

  Ma Liancheng wanted to give this soldier a kick, but didn't expect that Murong Liuyue stretched out his waist at the right time. Ma Liancheng's leg kicked empty air. Ma Liancheng opened his mouth, but Murong Liuyue was one step ahead and said: "Just now you said you would agree to anything I say, now I just want you to stop talking."

  Murong Liuyan looked a bit rascal, and his rascality made him look silly. But at this time, Ma Liancheng forgot to take out the majesty of Lianchang to punish this new soldier, and he couldn't vent his anger that had been accumulating for a long time.

  He Wenfeng thought this new recruit was quite interesting, and with a warm smile on his face, he said: "Your company commander agreed to you, but I didn't agree. Now I'm letting you go run twenty laps, are you going or not?"

  "Just now you promised me everything, now I just want you to let him withdraw the order." Murong Liunian said this to Ma Liancheng.

  Ma Liancheng didn't think that his own company could produce such an unconventional soldier, and for a moment, he was overjoyed. It's not that there aren't soldiers who dare to question their leaders, but it's unprecedented for a soldier to be so rude to their leader and still be in the right. What's more important is that this soldier knew he could make He Wenfeng retract his order. What Ma Liancheng needs is something unconventional. Being unconventional means being innovative, and innovation means keeping up with the times. Although the soldier's handwriting was messier than a chicken's scratch, and although he couldn't recognize many big characters, he also knew that this is a modernized era, and if you can't keep up with the times, you'll be eliminated.

  Ma Liancheng patted He Wenfeng's shoulder and said, "Withdraw the order."

  He Wenfeng was confused and responded with a hum, but it wasn't until half a day later that he realized something was off. By then, Murong Liuyue had already left.

  Lin Jianbing felt something was off from the start of the run, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. It wasn't until he returned to the dorm that he finally realized someone had been missing the whole time - Mu Rong Liu Nian, who was already lying in bed. He was impressed by Mu Rong Liu Nian's speed, which surpassed even the older soldiers' after running around the track. If he knew Mu Rong Liu Nian had returned half an hour ago, he would have been even more "impressed".

  The new recruits were all scattered and weak, vomiting in the dormitory, not a moment's peace. Lin Jianbing was too lazy to care which class it was now, guessing that they were all about the same, except for the old soldiers' classes, of course. However, soon Lin Jianbing felt that something was wrong again, and this time he quickly found out where the problem lay - another person was missing from the class.

  Xu Sanduo is gone! Lin Jianbing whispered "Oh no" and quickly ran downstairs. When the class leader fails to take care of his new classmates, he will be punished. However, this doesn't matter to Lin Jianbing, what he fears most is that Xu Sanduo can't withstand the twenty laps test and gives up halfway through.

  Lin Jianbing rushed to the playground and saw a figure still running around the playground. He walked over and recognized it was Xu Sanduo.

  "What are you doing, Xu Sanduo?"

  Xu Sanduo raised his head and saw that it was the class monitor, so he bared his teeth and said: "The class monitor said to add twenty laps of running."

  "Why?"

  "Because I run the slowest."

  "How did you know you were running the slowest?"

  "I don't know what my dad said, but I was slower than others by one beat even when I was in my mom's womb, so when my mom gave birth to me, she fainted."

  What a poor child.

  Lin Jianbing sighed and didn't bother to feel uncomfortable, so he accompanied Xu Sanduo to run. The two ran while chatting, and the time passed quickly. When they returned to the dormitory, everyone was already asleep. Lin Jianbing found it really hard to get into bed, no wonder Murong Liuyue didn't want to sleep on the top bunk. For the first time, he felt that sleeping on the top bunk could also help people. However, in this short period of time, he had discovered too many things for the first time. At this moment, he just wanted to go to bed early.

  He Wenfeng could have imagined it last night, but he didn't expect the battalion to issue a notice praising Ma Liancheng's rigorous spirit. It is said that in this peaceful era, one should always be vigilant, and even new recruits should quickly adapt to military discipline. He Wenfeng regretted not being able to anticipate it, if he had, he would have definitely brought out the three companies to drill last night.

  Ma Liancheng's mood is not bad, as people say that encountering happy events makes one feel refreshed. For him, it's one happy event after another. The regiment produced an unusual new soldier, which is a good omen. The division headquarters gave the first reward to the seventh company, which is a good sign. He said that the seventh company is always a new company and made it the motto for the division headquarters: "We are always newcomers!" He knows that opportunities must be seized, but he also knows that a donkey can't become a horse no matter how much you try to improve it, so today, apart from the usual training, he didn't add any extra tasks.

  He Wenfeng felt that the opportunity should be seized when the collective had just finished their rest, and his phone rang. This time it was a three-set collective gathering. The effect was very good, at first glance, they were all horses, at least not donkeys. It was clear that they had secretly absorbed the experience of last night's performance by the Seventh Company. Let the main force go to run the playground, He Wenfeng returned to his dormitory with a happy mood and waited for the notification from the regimental headquarters. The next morning, the notification from the regimental headquarters came down, but this time it was not a commendation, but a criticism. In writing, there were only four words: "perverse wind evil spirit". He Wenfeng couldn't understand why a good thing had become "perverse wind evil spirit" when it reached him.

  So in the regiment, Ma Liancheng is just Ma Liancheng and there's only one Ma Liancheng. His way of doing things is unconventional yet effective. He Wengfeng can't be like others even if they follow in Ma Liancheng's footsteps.