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墨書 Inktalez
The team was getting closer, and with the light from my flashlight, I seemed to see a stretcher among them. Could it be that someone was injured? I couldn't help but rush toward the group, shouting, "Village Chief! Old Wei! Are you there? Have you found Mao Mao?"
Honestly, both my worldview and my conscience hoped they would find Mao Mao, even if he was injured.
But no one responded to me. My heart sank as I ran a few more steps and reached the front of the group. I caught a glimpse, and my flashlight slipped from my hands and clattered to the ground.
Two people were carrying a makeshift stretcher made of branches and logs. A body lay on top, covered by a piece of clothing. The lower half was visible, wet and dripping. My eyes followed the movement of the group when suddenly, a bare foot without a shoe flashed past me.
I remembered what Nong had said: "She is very scared; she lost one of her shoes."
My mind felt like it had been struck by lightning, chaotic and disordered. When an explanation that overturns everything you believed is presented before you, it can leave you in such a state.
I don't remember how I returned to Nong's room that night or how I fell asleep. When I woke up in the morning, it felt like I had traveled through time. I thought it was just a dream until I heard the sounds of firecrackers and funeral music outside; then I knew it wasn't a dream. The Village Chief hurriedly came by in the morning to confirm that last night was real; he had to deal with Mao Mao's funeral arrangements and couldn't accompany us.
After informing Nong about the re-examination schedule, Old Wei and I decided to leave Nongjia Village. Before we left, I took a long look at Nong. In his eyes, I saw helplessness, longing, and a desire for a new life.
Years later, after experiencing many things, I asked Nong, "Do you regret joining the army?"
Nong didn't answer directly. In truth, everyone grows up amidst barriers with the world—fearing, pondering, yearning for help yet unable to find it. Fortunately for him, he met me; I believed in him and brought him back to the unit, helping him rediscover his true self.
As for Nong's story, I'm afraid it will have to wait for my second book.
With all home visits concluded here, Old Wei and I returned to the countryside. I didn't tell Old Wei about Nong's story; I only expressed my desire to return to the county town as soon as possible.
Old Wei agreed. The village arranged for a ride back, and on the second morning after returning from Nong's home, I took the bus back to the county town.
The only thing that brought me comfort during this home visit was the unexpected encounter before I got on the car. Old Wei had somehow borrowed a Black Horse, which gently grabbed my sleeve with its teeth, leaving me quite surprised. Old Wei smiled and said that many horses in Guangxi were descendants of military steeds since the Ming Dynasty, and this horse must be one of them. Horses are intelligent creatures; perhaps it wanted to follow its military master into battle. Do horses have dreams? I didn't know, but this trip to Guangxi opened my eyes to many things. I wouldn't easily dismiss anything anymore. I patted the horse's head and said, "Black, we have to say goodbye now. Thank you for all your help. Unfortunately, times have changed, and we can't fight side by side. Still, it would have been an honor to charge into battle on you!" The horse snorted and nudged me affectionately for a moment. I patted its back once more before resolutely jumping into the car and waving goodbye to everyone.
By the time I returned to the Armed Department's Reception House in the county town, it was already past one in the afternoon. I didn’t report to the Receiving Unit Leader but went straight to my room for a nap. When I finally woke up, it was already seven in the evening. I went to find the Receiving Unit Leader but discovered he wasn’t there; he must have gone out for dinner with someone again. So, I sent him a message letting him know I was back, that I had completed my home visit successfully. After closing my phone, I changed into casual clothes and strolled out alone.
The mountain county town in November felt desolate. Around seven or eight o'clock, there were hardly any people on the streets. After some searching, I found a Guilin Rice Noodles shop and walked in, ordering a bowl of Guilin Rice Noodles and slowly starting to eat.
Over the past decade or so, this county town has left me profoundly shocked. As I slurped the rice noodles, I pondered who would have known that beneath such a mountain town lay these Thriller-like events? But then again, does a big city have such things too? Or perhaps we just don’t see them? Are there still dark corners?
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize that my bowl of noodles was empty until I finished it off with two sips of soup. I left some money on the table and walked out of the shop.
As I walked down the street, a gust of autumn wind hit me, and suddenly I felt very lonely. In my previous relationship, I always thought having a girlfriend meant having everything in the world; it wasn’t until losing her that I realized love is just one corner of life. Yet now, I found myself reminiscing about those carefree days spent with her—how could we have experienced all these troubles back then? It seems that being an ignorant college student at that time was truly blissful!
After wandering for a while, I noticed an internet café nearby. Deciding to step in, I planned to play Crazy Tank—a game I hadn’t touched in ages—hoping it would help me temporarily forget my worries about the outside world.
Eating, playing, sleeping, and repeating this cycle made time fly by quickly; before long, it was almost time for our end-of-month re-examination. After completing that, we would return to our unit since transporting troops wasn’t our responsibility.
During this period, the Receiving Unit Leader kept reaching out to me, asking me to give some kids a green light as a Military Doctor. As long as it wasn’t a principled issue—like tattoos, infectious diseases, hepatitis carriers, or physical disabilities—I could turn a blind eye to some problems. However, for the five soldiers from my home visit, they all had to pass their physicals before being taken away. This was the only thing I could do for those villagers.
In the end, everyone was happy with the results: Town Soldiers were strictly controlled with fierce competition; only four out of ten could be taken away while Rural Soldier quotas were more lenient—every one of my five candidates got selected. When the meeting results were announced, looking out at Mo and Nong through the window filled me with countless emotions. Sometimes a single word from one person can determine another person's fate for life; is this society fair or unfair?
Once we confirmed the time for transporting troops and arrival details, our reception work came to an end. In the afternoon, the three of us boarded a bus heading to Liuzhou where we would take a train back to our unit.
After some twists and turns along the way, we finally returned to our unit. As we passed through the gatehouse, a soldier in the duty room called out to me saying, "Wang Pai! Wait up!" Surprised, I asked him, "Do you know me?"
He smiled and replied, "Who wouldn’t recognize you? I'm from Special Operations Unit; it's our turn at gate duty this week. Bi Lianzhang told us that as soon as you return, you should go see him; he has something important to discuss with you."
"Is that so, Company Commander?" I was a bit taken aback.
"Heh heh, yes, Squad Leader Bi is now our Acting Company Commander in the Special Operations Unit."
What the hell! He’s already Acting Company Commander! I was momentarily speechless. I thought about it; since I had to pass through the Special Operations Unit to get to the headquarters anyway, I decided to head straight there without taking the longer route from our company entrance.
When I reached downstairs, the soldier on guard stood up and saluted, respectfully saying, "Ace, you must be looking for Bi Lianzhang?"
I was surprised. "How did you know I was looking for him?"
"Heh heh, our Company Commander often mentions you in front of the whole company as you are Brothers. If you're here, it must be to see him."
"Heh heh, you're too kind." I smiled and walked toward the left side where the Company Headquarters was located.
As soon as I entered the Company Headquarters, I noticed Old Bi sitting with his legs crossed at the large conference table, smoking and mumbling something to himself.
I called out, "Old Bi!"
He suddenly looked up, momentarily stunned, then exclaimed with joy, "Old Wang, you're back! Come here!" Old Bi opened his arms and lunged toward me. I felt a bit awkward; it was as if we were about to embrace even though we hadn't seen each other in a while!
Just as I was feeling embarrassed, Old Bi swiftly grabbed my bag and placed it on the table while rummaging through it, muttering, "Come on, I've missed you so much. Let me see if you brought any good cigarettes. You must have received a lot of gifts from people, right? Give me a pack to try!"
I couldn't help but laugh! "Old Bi, you've got it all wrong. The place I went to was so remote that nothing could survive there; the best cigarettes were only three yuan a pack!"
Old Bi still didn't believe me as he continued searching through my bag. "Don't try to fool me; we're brothers! You wouldn't lie to me. You've changed after going out! If I find any contraband, I'm confiscating it! If you don't give it to me, I'll report you to the Cadre Section!"
I sighed and slowly sat down in the chair. "Take your time searching."
Old Bi flipped through the papers for a while, but found nothing. He looked at me in disappointment. "Seriously, there's nothing?! Are you really going to pick up the soldiers, or are you just hiding somewhere playing games?"
I looked into his eyes calmly. "I didn't find anything. You just refuse to believe me. Do you think it’s easy for me to go home? I have to take a car, then a tractor, and even ride a horse for half the way. Do you believe that my family's best meal is boiled pork with cabbage?"
Old Bi slumped down in despair. "It's over, it's over." I shot him a disdainful glance. "I'm Bi Lianzhang, and you're already a Company Commander. Are you still relying on your brothers for this little bit of smoke? Pathetic!"
Old Bi held his head and lamented, "I'm not after your stuff, brother. The problem is you didn't bring anything back. How are you going to report to the Relevant Leaders?"
"What do you mean report?" I said dismissively.
"Are you joking?! They sent you out to pick up soldiers. You ate and played around, and even if you came back empty-handed, don’t you think it’s customary to bring back some gifts for them?"
Uh, is it really necessary?
(To be continued, more exciting content coming soon!)
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