Love one another with brotherly affection

  "Haha, Lian Chang and they have arrived, Lian Chang and they have arrived." Liu Mingjiu and Zhao Bilin hadn't even entered the cafeteria when they heard the commotion and shouting from inside. Upon hearing such shouts, he couldn't help but feel a little excited, but he awkwardly glanced at Zhao Bilin who was walking in front of him. Zhao Bilin also heard the noise, her face instantly turning bright red. All of this was seen by the leading guard, Han Zhen, but he didn't say a word.

  Han Zhen was the only son of a martial arts family in Cangzhou, Hebei. When he was 14 years old, his father and uncles were persecuted by corrupt officials in Cangzhou. It was not uncommon for families to be destroyed during this era. After Han Zhen's elders were framed and killed by the corrupt officials, only he himself was secretly released by a close friend of his father who was a constable. He ran away to Tianjin alone and became a porter at a commercial firm in Tianjin. Later, when the Eight Trigrams Escort Agency arrived in Tianjin, they coincidentally encountered Han Zhen being attacked by a group of people after he refused to offer tribute to the labor head. Tong Quan, the leader of the agency, was impressed by Han Zhen's exceptional martial arts skills and his upright demeanor, so he rescued him and brought him back to the Linglong Tower. Liu Mingjiu decided to keep him by his side because Han Zhen looked very much like one of his childhood friends from a later generation.

  As Liu and Zhao walked to the door, Shen Fengyun said softly to his comrades in the cafeteria:

  "Shh, stop making noise, or Lao Zhang will come and scold you alone." The entire cafeteria immediately fell silent.

  Liu Mingjiu walked into the cafeteria and saw his subordinates all lowering their heads, stealing glances at him and Zhao Bilin with the corner of their eyes: "Didn't you all make a big fuss just now? Why aren't you making a fuss anymore? Lift your heads for me."

  The officers and men of the Eighth Company didn't know if their company commander was serious or just teasing them again. One by one, they lifted their heads and looked straight ahead, no longer daring to look at Liu Mingjiu. Seeing that his subordinates had all become honest, Liu Mingjiu made a gesture to Zhao Bilin, and the two of them walked over to the table and sat down together.

  Wu Tongjin watched the two of them from the side, muttering softly to himself: "They've already hit it off, but they're still hiding and not making a move."

  "Who knows, Bi Lin is so beautiful and a university student, I don't know what kind of Bodhisattva he still wants to pretend to be." Luo Xi Liang, who was sitting next to Wu Tong Jin, also whispered in agreement. Although the voice was not loud, it had already reached the ears of Liu Ming Jiu and Zhao Bi Lin, who were not far away from them.

  "Big spoon, are you done?" Liu Mingjiu pretended not to hear and turned around to shout towards the back of the cafeteria. As he shouted, he sneaked a peek at Zhao Bilin with the corner of his eye, only to see her face flush red once again.

  "Is Lian Chang really stupid or just pretending to be? Look, Bi Lin's heart is written all over her face, and Lian Chang can't even see that?" Wu Tongjin whispered to Luo Xiliang beside him.

  Before Luo Xiangliang could speak, Liu Mingjiu spoke up: "What are you muttering about? Are you not doing your job as the steward? Go and help Old Xue hurry up and bring me the dishes."

  Wu Tongjin heard that Liu Ming arrived at nine o'clock and could only stand up, make a helpless expression to Luo Xiliang beside him, turn around and walk into the kitchen to help the cooking class carry dishes and rice to the cafeteria. While working with his hands, he was not honest in his mouth: "Today I personally spent money to let Old Xue buy two dishes to entertain my brothers. Firstly, it's to entertain Zhao Xiaojie who came to our broken place for a visit, secondly, it's to celebrate that she and the young man from the Chu family successfully broke off their engagement and became modern youth together. Come on, everyone, don't be polite, there are two more dishes tonight."

  Call off the engagement? Liu Mingjiu was taken aback by Wu Tongjin's words. He immediately turned his head to look at Zhao Bilin beside him and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you two both in Beijing? And you've been together since childhood, how can you call off the engagement?"

  Zhaō Bìlín still lowered her head and replied softly: "My relationship with him is just like siblings, he also started dating a senior sister of mine in Beijing. We've long wanted to dissolve this arranged marriage by our parents."

  Liu Mingjiu didn't know the true purpose of Zhao and Chu's return before, but after listening to Zhao Bilin, he remembered that this era was a time when new and old ideas were rapidly colliding in China. In cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin, which had been influenced by Western powers for a long time, Western ideas had already prevailed. As both Zhao and Chu had received higher education, they naturally came into contact with and absorbed these new ideas at the first level. Once he understood, Liu Mingjiu didn't ask any more questions, as this matter was not related to him, and he never spoke unnecessarily.

  "Come, Lian Chang and Bi Lin, I've got braised carp and steamed donkey meat. This is all on me." Wu Tongjin said as he brought over two dishes and set them down on the table, interrupting Liu Mingjiu's train of thought.

  Liu Mingjiu raised his head and looked at Wu Tongjin; "What's good about it? Others have become new youths, what are you following for?"

  "Haha, I'm not happy, I'm happy for some people. When that person brings back the beauty, I'll let him double the money he spent today and return it to me." Wu Tongjin looked at Zhao Bilin with a sly smile, then looked at Liu Mingjiu, and quickly ran towards the kitchen while speaking.

  Zhao Bili raised her reddened face, which was as red as a ripe apple, and glared at Wu Tongjin with anger in her eyes: "What's wrong with you? What nonsense are you talking about?"

  "I'm just talking nonsense? Hehe, who knows what's in their heart. If you like someone, just like them, say it out loud, anyway he doesn't have a fiancée or wife, and doesn't even have the chance to meet other women..." Wu Tongjin ran towards the kitchen while teasing Zhao Bilin, making her face even redder as she buried her head in her chest again.

  "Haha." After hearing Wu Tongjin's words and seeing Zhao Bilin's expression, the soldiers in the cafeteria suddenly burst into a loud laughter.

  "Stop smiling, what's so funny? Have you forgotten the rules? Anyone who laughs again will have to run 10 miles outside, and if they don't finish, they won't be allowed to eat dinner. Tonight's night training will proceed as usual." Liu Mingjiu now understood that Wu Tongjin and Zhao Bilin had grown up together since childhood and were close friends who shared everything. The fact that Wu Tongjin could say those words and Zhao Bilin reacted in such a way meant that his suspicions had been correct. Seeing his subordinates teasing him, even if Zhao Bilin was just an outsider, Liu Mingjiu didn't want to be driven away by their jokes.

  As soon as Liu Mingjiu's rebuke sounded, the entire cafeteria immediately fell silent again. The cooks were also startled, but seeing that nothing was wrong with them, they quickly put all the dishes on the table. Wu Tongjin couldn't tell if Liu Mingjiu was really angry or just pretending to be, and he didn't dare speak again. After serving the meal, he sat down quietly at one side, and when everyone had taken their seats, he shouted "start eating". The cafeteria immediately echoed with the symphony of bowls and chopsticks, but there was no sound of anyone speaking.

  Zhao Bili didn't raise her head for a long time, and when she finally did, she was shocked by the scene in front of her. The soldiers were lowering their heads and quickly shoveling food into their mouths, finishing one bowl without making a sound, then walking to the rice pot to refill their bowls, and returning to the table to continue eating silently and swiftly. Those who had finished eating placed their hands on their knees, sat up straight, and remained silent, as if the empty plates in front of them were none of their concern.

  When her father was around, she and her siblings would often go play at the Fourth Company, and after playing enough, they would eat lunch together with the soldiers. But the soldiers in front of her now made Zhao Bili extremely surprised - this unit not only fought well, trained hard, and had strict daily discipline, but even their meals were eaten with such great discipline! No wonder people outside said: "The Wei Army is brave and powerful, no one dares to offend them. The Second Division is invincible in the north. The Eighteenth Regiment produces iron men, and the Eighth Company is the first company of elite soldiers." With such discipline, how could this unit not be an elite fighting force?

  Zhao Bili looked at the other soldiers in front of him and was already shocked. When he turned his eyes to Liu Mingjiu beside him, he finally found the answer. Although Liu Mingjiu didn't eat like some soldiers, with rice all over his face, he was also lowering his head, quietly and quickly putting chopsticks into the dish one after another, picking up a mouthful of vegetables and sending them into his mouth, and then quickly shoveling the rice from the bowl in his hand into his mouth. "What kind of general leads what kind of soldiers", "The general is fierce, the soldiers are also fierce" - Zhao Bili had heard such words many times from his father's mouth before. With such an officer, how could his subordinates be like those other troops with loose discipline?

  "Everyone has finished, stand up, and each class leader will lead you back." Just as Zhao Bilin was lost in thought, a loud command came from Luo Xiangliang's mouth. Zhao Bilin raised her head to find that the soldiers had already finished eating and were standing up one by one, forming queues behind their respective class leaders, who led them out of the dining hall with their utensils neatly arranged. Liu Mingjiu, Han Zhen, Shen Fengyuan, Wu Tongjin, and several platoon leaders nearby also sat up straight after finishing their meal, waiting for Zhao Bilin to finish hers.

  "This, I'm eating slowly, how can you eat so fast?" Zhao Bihua saw that everyone else had finished and was waiting for her, and said with a hint of embarrassment. She then took out an English pocket watch she had bought in Beijing from her bosom and glanced at it. Ten minutes had passed: "This is too fast, only ten minutes!"

  "It's okay, you eat yours. Hehe, the battalion commander only takes care of his own soldiers, don't worry, eat slowly and fill up." Liu Mingjiu saw Zhao Bilin staring at him in shock, smiled and continued to say to her, then turned around to face Wu Tongjin and said: "Wu Tongjin, take the personnel directly under the battalion back. Monkey (Shen Fengyuan is thin and weak, so he got the nickname 'Shen Monkey') and Iron Fist (Han Zhen once knocked down seven porters in Tianjin, his fists are hard enough to break a foreign wine bottle, earning him the nickname 'Han Iron Fist') don't need to stay either, follow us for training."

  Wu Tongjin stood up after hearing Liu Mingjiu's words: "All personnel, attention! Stand at ease, stand to attention, right turn, quick march!"

  The squad leader, the cook and the soldiers who had been saved by Liu Mingjiu, the military doctor and the feeder, stood up in unison with the other soldiers after hearing the order, and walked out of the dining hall in an orderly manner. Only Liu Mingjiu and Zhao Bilin were left in the dining hall. Wu Tongjin winked at Zhao Bilin as he was walking out, but received a fierce stare from her instead.

  Zhao Bili saw that the huge cafeteria was empty in the blink of an eye, leaving only the two of them. She looked at Liu Mingjiu, who was still sitting upright and waiting for her, and said: "I'm really sorry to keep you waiting until I finish eating, but you guys eat too fast, even faster than when my dad brought you to that four-star hotel before."

  "Hehe, no big deal. Otherwise, I wouldn't have trained with them this afternoon either. The one leading the team training this afternoon is 'Guizi Liu'."

  Liu Mingjiu smiled at Zhao Bilin and continued to explain: "In the past, the 4th company was the 4th company, after I took over the 8th company, I've been following this rule. Hehe. Your dad also wanted to lead the 4th company better back then, but unfortunately didn't have time to think about it, and I had time to think when I took over."

  The two of them started talking in hushed tones, one sentence at a time. The few little heads that had just poked out from under the window were scared away by Liu Mingjiu's cold gaze and ran back to continue their training on the playground. In the afternoon, Liu Mingjiu brought his guards and communication officer with him to accompany Zhao Bilin on a stroll around the town for an entire afternoon before sending her back in the evening. As she was about to leave, Zhao Bilin asked Liu Mingjiu with a shy and blushing face if he could come visit often, leaving Liu Mingjiu deep in thought for several days. People are not made of wood or stone, who can be without emotions? However, what he thought more about was that with his current identity, once on the battlefield, bullets don't have eyes. If he accepted Zhao Bilin's subtle expression of love for his own selfish desires and then died in battle, wouldn't that be a pitfall for this good girl? He could only continue to suppress these emotions deeply.