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墨書 Inktalez
After the retirement of several veterans, my emotions had yet to settle. Looking at the many empty bunks in the Barracks, I felt that something was missing. Sometimes, while reading in the Barracks, I would unconsciously shout, "He Baisha, go get today's newspaper from Company Headquarters!" But often, after shouting, I would suddenly realize that those people had already left me, and a wave of melancholy washed over me.
At this time, Tang took over the duties of He Baisha and Hainan, always running around for me, preparing wash water and making beds. I felt quite embarrassed and told him several times that he didn’t have to do all that. However, he always insisted. He had been entrusted by He Baisha and Hainan before they left, and although the Squad Leader had high aspirations, his practical skills were average; he had to take good care of me. I felt a pang of sadness in my heart. After all, he was now a squad leader; it didn’t seem appropriate for him to be doing these things. He would always smile sheepishly, aware of his clumsiness, but he couldn’t let down the trust of his comrades. I thought that once the new recruits arrived after the New Year, I could have a more capable soldier follow me around. I couldn’t do anything about it; I just had to let him be.
With the retirement of the veterans, the unit began its rest period and training was halted. When people slack off physically, they inevitably develop many distracting thoughts mentally. With nothing to do during those evenings, I felt lethargic and listless, unable to muster any energy for anything. Even when Old Bi was discharged from the hospital and invited everyone out for dinner with Lulu, I made excuses not to go.
However, I truly couldn’t leave; it seemed that the Company Commander intended to delegate many tasks to me. He was increasingly less involved in the specifics of our unit's affairs; even some educational gatherings were led by me. Back in college, when watching Hong Kong movies, I always thought that gang leaders were impressive with their entourage following them everywhere. Now it was me leading our team at every assembly, but there was none of that excitement from before—only a heavy weight on my shoulders. Even Xuanhua, who had become a squad leader, seemed to notice my changes privately. I thought perhaps it was due to the increased responsibilities.
A week passed like this until one day when an unexpected emergency arose. It was early morning; after breakfast, the Battalion Communicator rushed over to inform me that I needed to report immediately to the Cadre Section.
I quickly informed the Company Commander and hurried to headquarters. The Cadre Section Chief was named Lu; he was also local and spoke with a strong Hunan accent. He liked betel nuts as well, making it difficult for me to understand him at times; if I wasn’t careful, I would miss a lot of information. Therefore, I particularly disliked listening to his instructions.
After Lu Squad Leader signaled for me to sit down, he began giving me directions. It took me a while to understand that there had been an issue with receiving troops in Guangxi; a Military Doctor had fallen ill and needed hospitalization in Nanning. There were only three people assigned for troop reception: one Receiving Unit Leader accompanied by an officer and a Military Doctor. Now that the Military Doctor was unavailable, many tasks could not be completed. A home visit was about to take place; after that, the unit needed to start rechecking everything and required someone to step in as a Military Doctor temporarily. The Leader instructed that I would be designated for this task and needed to depart tonight so that I could report to the Receiving Unit Leader by six o'clock tomorrow morning.
Although I found this puzzling, I accepted the order. Once outside headquarters, I pondered over it and felt something was off; so I decided to turn to Old Bi at the Special Operations Unit for advice.
There were three things that struck me as odd: First was my identity—given the strong professional characteristics within our unit, we rarely crossed into each other's roles. For instance, if you were an officer, you wouldn’t be asked to perform staff duties; similarly, if you were a Military Doctor, you wouldn’t be tasked with leading troops. Since I had now transitioned into being a Squad Leader, returning to perform Military Doctor duties didn’t make much sense to me. Second was the selection of personnel—based on what I knew, even if one Military Doctor fell ill, it wouldn’t be difficult for the unit to send another one over. There were still several at our Health Center who were idly waiting around; among them were five individuals who would likely consider troop reception a good opportunity and wouldn’t refuse it. It made no sense for an outsider like me as a Squad Leader to take on such responsibilities! Third was timing—at this point in time all Reinforcement Units had likely already departed; changing personnel mid-way seemed suspicious since there should have been ample time during a month-long troop reception period for internal personnel adjustments without needing last-minute replacements.
After finding Old Bi and pulling him aside, I shared my thoughts with him. He pondered for a moment but couldn’t come up with any answers either; however, he promised he would check back at headquarters for more information and reassured me that troop reception was indeed a good thing—easy work with food and drinks involved—so why not go? He urged me to hurry back and pack up for departure.
I thought about it and agreed; my mood hadn’t been great lately anyway—a change of scenery might do me good. Just then Old Bi suddenly said mysteriously, "Hey! Let me tell you some good news."
"Good news?" To be honest, I knew well enough that good fortune rarely comes in multiples; I couldn’t help but laugh—how could there possibly be several pieces of good news?
"Don’t laugh! Really! One is about this year-end merit evaluation—the regiment has decided we will each receive a Third-Class Merit! The Commander has mentioned this several times in meetings!"
"Is that true?" My interest piqued; indeed, military honors like this had only existed in my fantasies before—I felt somewhat tempted.
"Trust me—it’s insider information." Old Bi began his theatrics again.
"What's the second one?"
"The second one, huh..." Old Bi looked around and lowered his voice, "In March next year, there might be some adjustments in the team. Your application for transfer has already been approved, so be mentally prepared. You might end up taking over."
"Impossible!" I laughed. "I won't even have two years in the Vice Platoon by June next year. There's no way I would be transferred by then, especially not in March."
"Don't make a fuss about it! Just keep it in mind. What I mean is that you should perform well during this time, be proactive, and don't cause any trouble."
I scoffed, "I'm a rule-abiding person. I always work honestly, follow orders, and obey commands. How could anything go wrong?"
Old Bi's third piece of news was genuinely good: Lulu's parents had decided to come visit him during the New Year. This was a promising sign, and I was sincerely happy for him. After chatting for a while longer, I took my leave to pack my things.
Being a soldier felt like living as a wanderer. I hadn't even gotten used to being back last time before I had to pack again. Fortunately, I was familiar with the routine and quickly packed my backpack. The Battalion Communicator also delivered the tickets that had been arranged by the team; they were for the afternoon train.
After handing over my duties to Unit and briefing Xuanhua on some important points, I changed into civilian clothes and took the team's transport to the train station.
Upon arriving at the train station, I noticed there was still plenty of time, so I went to the waiting room for soldiers and played a mobile game. The game was simple—just pushing boxes—and I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Just as I was getting into it, my phone rang. It was Old Bi!
"Hey, Brothers! Missing me already?"
"Cut the nonsense! I've got something for you; you need to be mentally prepared," Old Bi said seriously.
"What is it?"
"This afternoon, I went to the office to inquire about your situation regarding the new recruits. It seems this time it's not going to be that simple."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"I asked around and got some news: apparently, there's been an issue on their side. The specifics are unclear right now, but the feedback is that no one there wants to take on that vacancy, and no one here wants to either! The Political Commissar ultimately decided that you should go." My head started spinning; what did this have to do with the Political Commissar? Why did it have to be me?
Old Bi sighed on the other end of the phone. "Actually, this is related to the recent merit evaluation. The Commander values you highly; you are brave and resourceful, with strong leadership skills. You are a typical example to be recognized and promoted, so it was proposed at the meeting to award you Third-Class Merit. However, the Political Commissar disagreed, saying you are too young and lack experience, being a recent Cadet. They were unwilling to set such a precedent and kept refusing. But unexpectedly, after the situation with the troop transfer arose, the Political Commissar suddenly agreed to your merit recognition but conveniently pushed you into this vacancy."
I still didn't quite understand what was going on. "Old Bi, I'm a bit confused. What do you mean by all this?"
Old Bi muttered something under his breath that I couldn't catch. "Forget it. What I mean is that since you've taken on this task, just keep your wits about you. The situation might not be as simple as it seems."
I thought about where I was headed—Guangxi Xincheng—a place I had never heard of before. I only knew it was a county; beyond that, I knew nothing. What kind of place was it really?
"Old Bi, how much do you know about Guangxi Xincheng?" I asked.
"Guangxi Xincheng? I don't know much either, but I do know it's in a mountainous area. You might end up in the mountains, which is probably why no one wants to go there. Still, it's strange that everyone is avoiding it like this!" Old Bi grumbled.
After hanging up, I didn't dwell too much on Old Bi's words. Instead, I was curious about how he managed to gather so much insider information. It seemed that when I returned, I would have to have a good chat with him about this topic. Whenever I asked him before, he always deflected my questions. It appeared Old Bi must have some background; otherwise, he couldn't possibly know so much about what was happening in the unit.
That Old Bi! After putting down the phone, the announcement for passengers to board echoed through the station. It was time for me to take the stage again. I shouldered my bag and prepared to board the train heading into the distance. Little did I know that this journey would bring me unprecedented challenges and shocks, even overturning my worldview...
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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