Chapter 3: Refining 1, Xiao Ying Arrived

  Passersby, tell my loved ones

  To fulfill their entrustment

  I'm lying here

  Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, That here obedient to their laws we lie.

  Many years ago, we brothers were in that mountain valley surrounded by mountains, which we called the "Dog Head Brigade", where we hammered ourselves or each other. What was the point of hammering ourselves back then? Why so fiercely? For what? For whom? Was it to be a hero like those special forces guys in the movies? Bullshit.

  It's not that there isn't, it absolutely is. I knew a soldier in a regiment who really loved military stuff and watching American movies from a young age, he was obsessed. Later on, this kid actually managed to stand out in the military district scout competition and came to the special forces unit. But after he's been wearing his insignia for a week and training in this godforsaken place, you ask him if he still remembers any of those movies or military enthusiast magazines?

  He couldn't even manage a wry smile. Because, the real special forces training is always arduous and dull. The hardship you can imagine, but the dullness is hard to imagine. Is it really as exciting as in the movies? I still don't think so, not just me, ask my former comrades-in-arms, no one would think it's a fun thing to do.

  It's just dry.

  In any field army of the People's Liberation Army, what is hardest to bear is not hardship, nor fatigue, nor danger, but the day-in-day-out drudgery, year-in-year-out drudgery. Because turning a piece of raw iron into steel is a process that requires repeated effort.

  Do you know which year the war was fought? You don't know.

  But do you know when you need to prepare for battle?

  You are always ready 24 hours on standby, at the sound of an order we will be fully armed and not hesitate, when to go to the battlefield, when to start training is not up to us, but it's no problem to start training immediately.

  In my early years in the army, I saw many of Zhu Su's works. It wasn't about being excited or not, but about understanding that a true special forces officer is like this. They extremely look forward to the arrival of war, more so than looking forward to going home to see their wife on the weekends. With such good physical condition, it's really not easy to see each other once a week, and when they go out for training exercises, it's often for half a year or more, making it even harder. But still, they look forward to fighting more than seeing their wives. What about us ordinary soldiers?

  Do you think we are eager to fight? Especially when, apart from me, it's a team of several years of officers, do you really think they are thinking about how brave they will be in battle every day? They are all flesh and blood! Many of them are old officers with wives and children, do you think they are as impulsive as ordinary soldiers?

  Of course not, but once the war really comes, they will no longer care about what is their own or not. I think this is what a true soldier should be like - soldiers are flesh and blood, not always thinking about fighting; although we consider these trivial matters during training, do we still think about them after we're done? I feel that apart from professional military officers, few of us ordinary soldiers will still think about this afterwards.

  I think this is the fundamental difference between a true special forces operative and a military enthusiast.

  Training is monotonous and boring, with so many methods for a single slide down, repetitive practice, often just to improve by 0.1 seconds, you have to practice for an hour; the various methods of opening doors are even more numerous, left open, right open, skillful open, explosive open, impact open, etc., after practicing all morning, what freshness can you still feel? Not to mention the many formations and transformations, the technical data taught in class is too much, many of my fellow soldiers are at a junior high school level of culture, it's good if they don't fall asleep, can you expect them to listen attentively? Their eyes may be wide open, but I estimate that only a few can understand on the spot. So, repeat and repeat, military officers aren't fools, they're all experienced in leading troops, they know what soldiers are like, they know you won't understand at first, so they repeat and explain again and again, isn't it boring? With so much explosive data, electronic data, even university-educated comrades can't understand several of them. I believe that if you attend this kind of course once, you'll be happy to go play bowling or raise dogs from then on, and never think that special forces have any meaning again.

  Those meanings were all fabricated by screenwriters.

  We all feel that the training is dull and unbearable. We are all reconnaissance soldiers who have come from combat, but in fact, we often feel that the training is not as tough as when we were not in a group. It's training, but it's not a collective training, so you can't rush to success, and your skills aren't honed overnight. Special forces aren't created overnight either; gradual progress is the fundamental principle.

  Later on, I was a deputy platoon leader, and some of my younger brothers who participated in an international reconnaissance competition told me that even those competitions weren't as tough as our own internal ones. Domestic military competitions are actually tougher than international ones - I don't know how everyone else views this. My understanding is that when we compete domestically, it's about improving combat effectiveness within a nuclear unit. If your planes aren't good enough, your ships aren't good enough, and other things aren't good enough either, then what's the point of having just a few people with guns? Those officers understand this! It's not their responsibility as commanding officers to deal with these issues; they can't even use their strength effectively. So all that pent-up frustration is directed at us ordinary soldiers.

  As a result, everyone feels relatively toughened up, and when we go abroad to compete, it feels like a holiday in comparison.

  We all have our own fun. The special forces are also the People's Liberation Army, also a unit, also a group of young soldiers, not heavenly soldiers and generals who don't eat human fireworks, the traditional political education and cultural activities of the troops can't be less, sometimes they still play more fancy games. I think the most ridiculous competition is to move logs, it's that style played by my squad leader at the beginning, a dozen or so logs behind the barracks, hey, let us rookie birds carry them back from the physical training field, and the old birds just started moving after finishing their training, on rest days everyone still plays this game, do you think we have too much energy and don't know how to use it?

  After our rigorous training ended, we would find ways to have fun during our free time. The Wolf Tooth Battalion had a lot of city boys, and they even formed a rock band called "Extreme Space". I don't know if you believe it or not, but as soon as the weekend arrived, those brothers would start playing their guitars and drums, shouting out song numbers and singing at the top of their lungs. Their favorite song was "Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty". The battalion commander even enjoyed listening to it, saying that the song had spirit and suggesting that we could modify it to be our own team anthem. The original song given by headquarters was too hard to listen to, like a bird chirping instead of a wolf howling.

  Those brothers who were interested in rock music were overjoyed, and they quickly sent the lyrics to the battalion commander. But then, nothing happened. Those guys with their guitars and drums continued to play, sometimes singing soft rock songs like "Hotel California" or something similar. That's when I first learned about John Lennon and realized that there was a whole world of music out there.

  My understanding of rock music was basically formed during my time in the special forces battalion. When I returned, I found that I wasn't outdated at all! I could even distinguish between heavy metal and soft rock, thanks to the education I received in the battalion. One of my friends is now the lead singer of a band, although they're not famous, just performing in bars. Last year, I coincidentally met him at a bar in his hometown, and he had hair longer than mine. He was the epitome of rock music.

  You might say that being in the military doesn't broaden your horizons? By the way, our officers didn't just tolerate heavy metal music - they actually liked it. During our daily training, if we couldn't hear the sound of guns and horses, we would listen to heavy metal rock music instead. The lyrics were all in foreign languages, so even those who spoke English well couldn't understand them, but that was okay.

  The only time I got punished was because of heavy metal music. It happened during our battalion's joint celebration, when someone imitated a performance by smashing their electric bass guitar on stage. But instead of smashing it on the floor, they smashed it on their own head! The instrument shattered into pieces. I think no band would dare to imitate that.

  The battalion leaders didn't like it and thought that smashing the bass guitar was an emotional outburst during training. They told us not to sing heavy metal music again. But after two weeks, the battalion commander wasn't happy about it either. "How come there's no noise anymore?" he asked. We were all unhappy too. After our training was over, we would climb mountains and listen to those guys howling like wolves. It was our only source of entertainment.

  Then, the battalion commander slammed his fist on the table and said, "Sing it for me!" So they sang again. The political commissar didn't get angry either - he was also a soldier who had been through battles with the battalion commander. Although he was a political officer, he was still at the same level as the battalion commander. Singing rock music wasn't against military discipline, and smashing the bass guitar wasn't a big deal either.

  The commissar just found an excuse for himself, saying that they would be more careful next time and continue to sing their songs. That's how the matter was settled with a laugh. The rock band continued to exist until I left the army. They wrote many of our own songs, which we used to sing together. We even had our own anthems, although they might not have been very good.

  I wonder what happened to those brothers now? Are they still singing their songs? Do they still remember the lyrics and melodies? Ah, my fellow soldiers who are scattered all over the world, do you know the feeling of missing someone so much that it tears your heart apart? I only realized recently what it means to cry like rain. I thought I had become a person without feelings, but whenever I think about those brothers, I still feel a pang in my heart.

  I also wrote a song lyrics at that time, they composed it into a melody, and then we sang.

  I found this song lyrics in my diary. The name of the song is "Oath", it's not written very well, I copied it below, just a faint memory.

  "The Oath"

  Lyrics: Xiao Zhuang

  Composer: Extreme Space Band

  The crisis between heaven and earth is just for an instant

  Time and space spin life and death in just one turn of an eye

  For what we are together

  Why we don't separate

  Because we are comrades in arms, we are brothers.

  This is our oath

  The storm cannot extinguish the flame in my heart

  Snow-capped mountains cannot change our faith

  For what we are together

  Why we don't separate

  Because we are comrades in arms, we are brothers.

  This is our oath

  Silence is our oath

  Dedication is our promise

  Loneliness is our vow

  Sacrifice is our oath

  Don't ask us how much farther we have to go

  As long as you remember the oath in your heart

  Don't ask how much higher we still have to climb

  As long as you remember the oath in your heart

  When I opened my diary, I was stunned for half a day because I couldn't believe it was written by me. But I knew it was mine, because that handwriting wouldn't belong to anyone else. Then I cried.

  At that time, the captain of our squad would say this whenever we gathered: "What is an unknown hero? What is selfless dedication? You are all unknown heroes! You are all selflessly dedicated! By choosing this profession, you have destined yourself to be forgotten and ignored by others! Why?! Because you are a sharp sword sheathed in its scabbard! A sword that can be drawn out at any time! So you must remain silent and unobtrusive!

  A sword, always being carelessly pulled out for people to see? Even the best steel will rust and corrode! Don't ask why there's no understanding or concern, don't ask why there aren't many places to visit and comfort the troops, and don't ask why you're suffering without anyone knowing! Because you are a special forces unit! You are meant for battle, not for display!

  You are soldiers of the special squad, not some garrison troops stationed in Hong Kong for the world to see! What are you? You are the 24-hour standby wolf-tooth special forces squad, ready to start training at any moment with an order from me! Remember that?!

  Then everyone would shout "Remembered!" and the captain would say "Alright" before starting a ball game or a party.

  We really thought that way back then. We were truly hammering ourselves so hard, for our country, our sovereignty, our honor, and our faith. We vowed to spend the rest of our lives in obscurity, burying this experience deep within us, carrying it to our coffins, still in silence.

  Talking about our amateur life, my greatest pleasure at that time was the brief free time after training, writing letters to Xiaoying. At that time, I was really overflowing with literary talent! In this life, I have never written so many love letters, and later I didn't write any more. After I joined the special forces, the wild orchid was inserted into a glass jar on the windowsill of our dormitory.

  I'll change the water every day until I go see Xiaoying, and I'll give it to her personally.

  One thing I never expected was that Xiao Ying actually came to see me.

  She came in wearing the summer uniform of Chinese female soldiers at that time, with a big hat and a rank badge. I still think that Chinese female soldiers wore the most beautiful summer uniforms back then: The army female soldiers had white faces, white hands, white arms, black hair, and wore green hats and light green military uniforms with dark green pants (most of which were modified by themselves). They looked like small scallions with white on top and green on bottom. They often wore small black leather shoes that made a "ga ba ga ba" sound when they walked, making the brothers' hearts itch uncontrollably, wanting to shout out; The summer uniforms of the navy female soldiers were even more beautiful! Oh my, those blue skirts were stunning, with white legs like lotus roots paired with black leather shoes and white tops that made their chests stand out. We started shouting as we flew over in helicopters, even the officers joined in, cursing how lucky the navy sailors were to have such beautiful female soldiers on their ships. Later, I found out that it was actually the cultural troupe of the air force, don't be angry, brothers! The military uniforms of the female soldiers are the ugliest, not just ordinary ugly, but now the summer uniforms have been changed to berets and shirts, which is really ugly, with no special features at all. I don't know if the younger brothers still look forward to seeing the navy female soldiers on the ships during exercises.

  Xiao Ying walked in wearing a small black leather shoe, making "ga ba ga ba" sounds.

  And then walked to the special brigade's comprehensive training ground. Walked on the only cement path in the middle of our training ground. And, not following the army regulations, walked on the left hand side.

  Little leather shoes clattered on the cement road surface. Stepping on the middle line, if one must use a phrase to describe it, it would be "slender and elegant".

  We were all rolling around in the training grounds of various subjects. A female soldier was as slender as a scallion and her small black leather shoes made crisp, clear sounds with every step, but it was definitely a military-style march, not a girly one. What kind of scene is this?

  A petite female soldier walks among a group of dark-skinned, lean and robust warriors, yet she sways back and forth with an air of nonchalance, as if she's on a leisurely stroll. To be honest, if you gave her an umbrella, she'd look no different from a female soldier out for a weekend walk in the park. But there are no scenic views or artificial hills around her - just a group of dark-skinned, robust warriors.

  Everyone was stunned, and all the training slowly came to a halt. At that moment, I was in the mud pit with someone else, shouting "Ah" as I jumped up into the air. As it turned out, my brother didn't mean to block me, so I didn't dare kick him, and instead turned around in mid-air. It was really uncomfortable for me, and I ended up falling back down into the mud pit. Then I realized that my usual casual "Ah" at that moment was extremely inappropriate.

  Because the training ground was quiet. What's going on? I saw the face of my opponent, Shengzi, turning to one side. Then I saw all the brothers' faces turning in one direction, even more synchronized than looking to the right, they were all looking in one direction. I looked too, and then I saw Xiaoying. I was stunned, because I knew he had come for me. Can you not be stunned?! This is my third day in the special forces team!

  Our team leader was on the rostrum, he had seen it long ago. But he didn't look at Xiaoying, if he looked at Xiaoying, he wouldn't be the team leader but one of us little soldiers. Then he waved his hand and the Guangdong officer below ran over.

  First, stand at attention and salute. In front of him was a non-commissioned officer, but Xiao Ying didn't return the salute, just standing there looking at him, still fanning himself with his military cap: "I'm looking for someone." I thought to myself, is this an ordinary NCO? This is our battalion's equivalent of a senior sergeant, the kind you see in "We Are Soldiers", although he wasn't that old, but because he was the shadow of the battalion commander, his status was particularly unique.

  Xiao Ying, Xiao Ying, what a huge hole you've dug for me! I'm so angry I could jump into a muddy pit. The Guangdong officer was taken aback, clearly having never seen such a soldier before. He saluted first but didn't return the salute. I looked at the squad leader, who remained expressionless: "Call her over!"

  I saw our high school team standing by the muddy pit looking a bit unnatural. Can you say he's natural? Xiao Ying followed the Guangdong officer, clucking away. Our brothers were all staring, we hadn't seen one before, and in the mountains for a year, we wouldn't see even one young woman. The officer's family members are really hard to look at, you know without thinking, they're old and ugly, let alone now there's a beautiful and lively little soldier clucking away. Our brothers just stared, staring unblinkingly as she walked up to the platform in front of the battalion commander.

  He's still fanning himself with his military cap. He doesn't take this colonel in front of him seriously at all! Now you know what kind of personality Xiao Ying is, right?!

  "Your unit? How did you get in here? Who are you looking for?"

  Xiao Ying still didn't care, just took the military cap to fan himself, and even turned his body towards us, searching for me among us. Then he said a sentence, at that time I had only one feeling, which was that I was dead! "I am from the Military Region General Hospital, your sentry did not stop me. I'm looking for Xiao Zhuang."

  "Wow, my little shadow, do you know who you're actually facing?! The commander-in-chief of the most elite and powerful troops of the Chinese army, with thousands of soldiers! But Little Shadow doesn't care about any of this. She can't possibly not know that the battalion commander is a colonel, but she's still so nonchalant, even though they all have families and are having kids. The nurses in the obstetrics department of the military hospital are just like her! The colonel even has to put on a smile for me, what about you, Colonel? The generals who come to the military hospital every day are a bunch, what's a mountain village colonel like you?! If you don't believe me, go ask the nurses at each military hospital."

  A female soldier with a big black face and a first-class combat hero, looking for me among hundreds of dark and thin faces.

  I was very close to her in the muddy pit at that time, but I didn't dare to speak. She couldn't recognize me either. After being battered by the sea for a month and covered with mud all over my face, do you think she could recognize me? I didn't dare to speak and didn't know what to do, so I looked at the team leader.

  The team leader's dark face was expressionless, but relaxed a bit with a hint of a smile. Later he said to me, "Xiao Zhuang, your wife is indeed worthy of you, that bird brain! As soon as I saw her come in, I knew she was the little female soldier you were talking about. When finding a wife, one should find someone like this. Don't bother with those other silly calculations. It's settled then, I'll be the master of ceremonies. Ah, what a perfect match for you, that bird brain! You're not as good as her, but... can I decide my own fate, Team Leader?

  The team leader actually smiled, I was even more stunned. Xiao Ying was still looking for me. The team leader coughed twice: "High school team!"

  "Fall in!" The Dog Head High School team hastily stood at attention and ran over, they had no choice, it was the captain's order.

  Xiao Ying saw the Dog Head High School team and burst out laughing, couldn't stop laughing, then said a sentence that made my heart die twice: "Your wife always says you look like a chimney sweep when you wear this black hat, I finally see it today! It's really true!" You guys, can the Dog Head High School team not hammer me? Who else would be a demonstration teaching material for fighting?!

  The dog head high school team didn't dare say anything, and just saluted the captain. The captain was also amused, he couldn't help but laugh. Later on, he told me that his wife used to say the same thing about him, so he strongly encouraged me not to switch with Xiaoying, because Xiaoying's appearance was similar to his wife back then. The captain said: "Go! Call over Xiao Zhuang!"

  "Yes" The Dog Head High School team ran over. I stood there stupidly, and at this time, I realized that the special forces team was located in Xiao Ying's secret place, and the wife of the Dog Head High School team was hospitalized under her care. How could she not know? Later, I estimated that the police communication team's brothers were unsure what kind of person this was, but this doesn't count for anything, because even if it was the deputy commander's car, they would still be stopped according to regulations. But the female soldier, it was the first time we met, what to do? Before I could think of a solution, the female soldier didn't say anything and directly entered the gate. What to do?! The cadres were not around, who knew what to do?!

  Xiao Ying just swaggered into the restricted area of the world's most elite army soldiers as a female soldier in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. And I, covered in mud, was taken away by the Dog Head High School team, forgetting how to stand at attention and salute. Xiao Ying looked at me with surprise, then burst out laughing. The entire playground was filled with her laughter. Then the company commander laughed, not loudly, but he did laugh. And then I heard hundreds of brothers laugh, also not loudly, that special silly laugh unique to soldiers. I became even more flustered.

  Xiao Ying laughed so hard that she couldn't catch her breath, tears streaming down her face as she clutched her stomach: "Oh my god, I'm dying from laughter!"

  I'm covered in mud and don't know what to do, all I can do is laugh stupidly: "Hehe, hehe."

  Xiao Ying laughed enough to wipe away tears and stood up straight. The team leader stopped laughing too. Then everyone else stopped laughing as well. I was even more afraid to laugh. The team leader then said, "High school team, what's today's subject?"

  Kokou High School Team: "Fighting Spirit!"

  Squad leader: "How's Xiao Zhuang doing?"

  Kokuryuu High School Team: "Good!"

  Squad leader: "I granted him a day's leave, what's your opinion?"

  Can you?!!! The Dog Head High School team was unequivocal: "No"

  I was stunned. The platoon leader pointed at me: "Go! Get your muddy self cleaned up! Then spend the day with this female comrade, and come back to the squad before dinner!"

  I'm stupid, won't I? The captain just said: "Don't go yet?" Eyes wide open and ready to eat me.

  "Yes"

  Xiao Ying is walking ahead with a gait. I'm following behind, covered in mud and dirt from head to toe. Then the team leader bursts out laughing: "Damn it, look at you, kid! What a temper!"

  Then everyone burst out laughing.

  Xiao Ying's slender figure, like a small scallion, stood in front of me. Her black short hair was tucked under her military cap, followed by her fair neck.

  Gaga Gaga.

  I am behind Xi La Hua.

  We passed along that long, long cement road. We walked past hundreds of the finest Chinese army soldiers with dark and thin faces.

  Those faces were all smiles. And laughter. That's how we left the comprehensive training ground.

  Female soldier Xiao Ying rushed into the training ground of our army's special forces, and took away a male soldier named Xiao Zhuang from hundreds of elite warriors.

  So I say, Xiao Ying is indeed Xiao Ying.

  So I say, this is what a real woman is like.

  Never saw such a girl again, still haven't today.