roccoschili Chapter 0034: In That Lonely Place
Chapter 0034: In That Lonely Place
The soldiers of the Fifth Platoon often say:
This place is so desolate that you might not even see a single mouse all day, let alone a person.
Therefore, when the two living people visited the Fifth Squad's maintenance station, they were warmly welcomed by all the members of the Fifth Squad.
Zheng Yingqi and Wu Liuyi were warmly invited to sit down by the soldiers of the Fifth Platoon, and then Li Meng called out to the outside:
"Xu Sanduo, come in quickly! Your comrades have come to see you, what are you doing outside?"
As Li Meng was calling out, Lao Wei and Xue Lin said at the same time, "I'll go and pull him in." After saying that, the two of them rushed out.
Wu Liuyi and Zheng Yingqi were a little "restrained" because the soldiers of the Fifth Platoon were too enthusiastic, so enthusiastic that they couldn't help but feel restrained—if this were ancient times, they would have suspected that this place was a shady inn.
"Did you two travel all this way?" Old Ma asked, looking at the two who looked travel-worn.
Wu Liu nodded. "I left in a hurry and didn't take much with me. I have some cigarettes here, have a smoke."
He took out a cigarette from his pocket, only to find with embarrassment that there was only one left. Fortunately, Zheng Yingqi was prepared and casually took out four packs of cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to Wu Liuyi. Wu Liuyi glanced at Zheng Yingqi, took a pack, and skillfully opened and distributed the cigarettes.
"Is Xu Sanduo settling in well with you guys?" Wu Liu asked after offering cigarettes. Before Lao Ma could answer, Li Meng interjected, "Sanduo is a good soldier, a natural fit for our team. Don't worry, our Fifth Platoon will definitely treat Sanduo like family."
Old Ma ignored Li Meng's polite words and instead asked with suspicion, "What's your relationship with Xu Sanduo?"
"I was his squad leader when we were in basic training. We were from the same village, which was only two miles apart."
While Wu Liuyi and Lao Ma were talking, Zheng Yingqi looked around the dormitory.
An old, worn-out television set was the only decoration in the dormitory. Although the dormitory was somewhat tidy, it was still dozens of kilometers away from the military standard. The bedding was folded into neat squares, but only one was of standard quality—that must have been Old Ma's. The other four bedding sets were clearly made by the same person, Xu Sanduo.
A pack of four dogs running in the opposite direction has a dog running in the same direction, and the four dogs running in the opposite direction are now in a dilemma—this should be the current situation of Class 5.
Zheng Yingqi chuckled inwardly. These four guys who were just waiting to coast along were probably having a tough time these next few days.
Just then, Xue Lin and Lao Wei rushed in. Lao Wei said angrily, "Squad leader, that kid says it's not time for the shift change yet, and he insists on staying on guard duty. We can't drag him in!"
"Stubborner than a stubborn donkey!" Xue Lin added.
Old Ma smiled awkwardly. What was a normal thing in the army was called "stubbornness" in the Fifth Platoon. This former outstanding platoon leader couldn't help but feel awkward in front of Wu Liuyi.
Li Meng, oblivious to Lao Ma's complex emotions, added, "That brat, people have been traveling for hours to see him, and he's acting all dramatic? What kind of post is he standing guard in this godforsaken place! Squad leader, that stubborn kid is so unreasonable, why don't you order him to come back?"
"Bullshit!" Old Ma, losing face, glared at Li Meng: "You go and relieve me of my shift!"
Li Meng reluctantly got up, but still muttered, "Really..." He swallowed the rest of his words. Zheng Yingqi got up and said, "I'll go out and take a look too."
As the two walked out of the dormitory, Li Meng complained, "I'm going crazy. Class 5 was perfectly fine, but you guys from my hometown have turned it into a complete mess—okay, I'm sorry, there's no real trouble here, but we four are just trying to get by, and you guys are driving us crazy."
Zheng Yingqi looked at the complaining Li Meng and said slowly, "It's just that he hasn't given up on himself yet, while you have already given up."
On the way here, Wu Liuyi said that Lao Ma was sent here because he was the best squad leader in the Third Company. You can understand this logic without considering the possibility of using an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) system.
The Third Company did not abandon the unit stationed in this area, so it sent its best squad leader.
But the best squad leader gave up on himself, so this place is like this—if it weren't for Xu Sanduo, this place would still be like this.
Zheng Yingqi suddenly thought of Cheng Cai, the soldier who was "returned" by the Old A and settled down here. Then he was recommended by the group army to go to the Old A again. This lonely place is actually easier to achieve results and easier to be seen by others as long as you calm down and don't give up on yourself.
The downside is that most people, including the best squad leader in the Third Company, will give up on themselves here.
The two walked more than fifty meters from the dormitory to the sentry post and stood in front of Xu Sanduo. Xu Sanduo suppressed his excitement, his eyes shining.
Li Meng impatiently waved her hand: "Alright, give me the gun, you can leave. Why did I have to say anything more, really..."
Xu Sanduo, however, did not move.
"Hey, you're not happy about this?" Li Meng got annoyed.
Zheng Yingqi knew why Xu Sanduo hadn't moved, and he answered for Xu Sanduo: "The handover ceremony!"
"What's wrong with him..." Li Meng muttered sullenly, his mind clearly recalling the handover ceremony, but his hands and feet responded with "MMP" to his memory, ultimately presenting Zheng Yingqi with a ridiculous movement resembling that of a puppet soldier.
Zheng Yingqi suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of disgust. He thought: Is this a soldier?
No wonder the Third Company and even the entire regiment were unwilling to come to this place—although many people actually admired the Fifth Platoon stationed here.
Xu Sanduo handed over the unloaded weapon to Li Meng with a standard handover gesture. Li Meng tilted her head and waved Xu Sanduo away, her face full of impatience and dissatisfaction. Then she smiled at Zheng Yingqi, a smile that looked somewhat like a fawning one.
"Yingqi..." Xu Sanduo finally breathed a sigh of relief after finishing his shift, then gave Zheng Yingqi his signature goofy grin: "What brings you here?"
Xu Sanduo still had some bruises on his face, but his silly grin was very unrestrained. He looked foolish and dull. Zheng Yingqi suddenly remembered Xu Sanduo's smile when his face was covered in camouflage, and it was so similar to this smile. But the difference was that back then he was the king of soldiers, the king among soldiers, while now he was a complete failure.
"I've come to see you." Zheng Yingqi smiled, but his smile was somewhat bitter. He regretted that if he hadn't interfered, it would have been better if Xu Sanduo had come directly to Class 5. At least he wouldn't have had to suffer like this!
"I..." Xu Sanduo's eyes reddened, and he lowered his head, whispering, "I made a mistake again... I..."
He wanted to cry, to hug Zheng Yingqi and cry freely, but remembering Zheng Yingqi's words, he dared not cry.
He thought, "Inggi must be very disappointed now..."
(Thanks to my old friend 'Qingtian Yiyinshi' for the generous donation, and thanks to 'Piaomiao Fengyue' for the generous donation! I have no way to repay you, how about I repay you with my body?)