Chapter 11: Getting Tangled Up While Watching the Drama Unfold

“Everyone, place your shoes with the toes facing inward. Although you just arrived at the unit today, this is a small trick of military life. If there’s an emergency assembly during the night, having your shoes arranged this way makes it easier to put them on in the dark.”

After making the beds, Sergeant Ma took the opportunity to teach them a little something. But that was about it.

Once everyone hurried to arrange their shoes, he said, “You’ve all been on the road and must be tired. The conditions here aren’t great for sleeping, but there’s no alternative for now. Once everyone is here, we’ll assign you to your respective companies. For the next two days, just bear with it and get some rest!”

With that, Sergeant Ma turned off the lights. Naturally, the new recruits didn’t dare say a word.

Some might have been silently grumbling—like Chu An, who hadn’t slept well on the train and had hoped to finally get a decent rest at the unit, only to be met with this.

But as Sergeant Ma said, there was no choice.

He was just a newly enlisted soldier; he had to follow the unit’s arrangements.

The dormitory grew quiet. Neither Sergeant Ma nor the veteran squad leader spoke.

The new recruits, having just arrived in an unfamiliar environment and having slept on the train during the day, were too unsettled to fall asleep immediately and didn’t dare make a sound.

Only the occasional rustle of restless shifting broke the silence.

Chu An, however, was not as restless as the others.

He lay quietly beneath his blanket, eyes closed, reviewing the memories he had integrated earlier.

He drifted off without realizing it.

He was awakened by a faint sound beside him.

It was subtle—seemed to be a new recruit named Niu quietly getting up. Chu An looked at him, but Niu didn’t notice Chu An’s gaze.

He got up stealthily, without properly putting on his clothes, just grabbed something and tiptoed toward the door.

Chu An stared, puzzled.

What was he doing?

Could he be trying to escape?

That seemed unlikely. From what he knew, these days, everyone was eager to join the military, especially back home where recruitment was highly competitive.

When recruitment officers conducted home visits to confirm enlistment, they thoroughly discussed with the recruits, considering their thoughts and attitudes.

Under these circumstances, calling someone a deserter—especially before training even began—would be absurd unless the person was mentally unstable or had a split personality.

But if he wasn’t a deserter, why was he sneaking out quietly before dawn, while the sergeant and veteran squad leader were still asleep?

Was he going to the bathroom?

That didn’t seem right either, because the night before, Sergeant Ma had said anyone needing to use the bathroom must report to him or the squad leader first.

Yet this recruit just opened the door and left without reporting.

And he did so so stealthily.

Chu An glanced quietly toward Sergeant Ma.

Their eyes met.

“Shh!” he mouthed silently, and Sergeant Ma’s gesture of placing his hand to his mouth confirmed the warning.

Obediently, Chu An lay back down.

Moments later, as footsteps faded outside, Chu An saw Sergeant Ma quietly get up.

“I’ll go check it out,” Sergeant Ma whispered softly, not addressing Chu An directly.

He looked toward where Squad Leader Wang was, then glanced back at Chu An.

“This isn’t your concern. Go back to sleep,” he said in a low voice, putting on his shoes without a jacket and heading for the door.

Naturally, Chu An wasn’t about to sleep now. His curiosity was burning inside him.

He watched Sergeant Ma silently approach the door.

Ma didn’t open it but peered through the crack.

Nearby, Li Guoping was softly snoring.

The other recruits remained asleep.

Clearly, the vigilance of the veterans far surpassed that of the newbies.

Chu An had no idea what Sergeant Ma saw outside or what the recruit was doing.

He only noticed that Sergeant Ma peered out for over a minute before quietly opening the door and stepping out.

“What on earth is going on?”

Truth be told, Chu An wanted to get up and follow to see for himself.

But that would be inappropriate, so he forced himself to wait quietly, suppressing his eager curiosity.

Minutes passed.

After about seven or eight minutes, someone returned.

The door opened and Sergeant Ma came back in.

He said nothing, silently retrieved his jacket from his sleeping area, and put it on.

“If you can’t sleep, get up. But remember, be quiet and don’t disturb the others,” he said, looking at Chu An.

Chu An stared at him, wide-eyed—he wasn’t blind!

“Yes!” Chu An replied softly, then slowly got up.

Dawn was breaking, and it wouldn’t be long before wake-up time anyway.

Since he was already awake and couldn’t sleep, and the sergeant had given permission, Chu An had no hesitation.

He might as well step out and see what was happening.

Quickly dressing and putting on his shoes, Chu An followed Sergeant Ma, who seemed to be waiting for him, and together they opened the door and stepped outside.

But Chu An’s steps faltered.

He spotted the recruit who had gotten up earlier.

He was in the yard, holding a broom and sweeping.

What was going on?

“Comrade Tian Weizhong is a fine comrade. Back home, I had heard he often did good deeds and fully embodied the spirit of Lei Feng. Now that he’s in the unit, he gets up early to clean the yard. This kind of spirit deserves recognition and emulation!”

Chu An was speechless.

He’d been eager to see some drama, but this wasn’t sweet fruit—it was bitter melon.

“Sergeant, I’ll help!”

Sergeant Ma had spoken, and Chu An was already out. There was no way to go back and lie down again.

Standing around doing nothing was also out of the question.

So he could only join in.

“Keep it quiet. Don’t make noise near the dorms. Everyone still needs to rest!”

“Yes, sir!”

Though he hadn’t brushed his teeth yet and his mouth tasted bitter, Chu An responded and hurried over to help the recruit sweeping the yard.

...

“Beep beep~”

The wake-up horn sounded, but it came only after Chu An had been sweeping the yard for over twenty minutes.

Holding the broom, he looked toward the dormitory.

At just that moment, the door of another dorm opened.

After watching Chu An go out to sweep, Sergeant Ma hadn’t returned to his own room but had gone to that dorm.

Now he came out and beckoned to Chu An and Tian with a wave.

The two of them hurried over with their brooms.

“Put down the brooms and prepare to assemble!”

“Yes, sir!”

Chu An had been waiting for this order.

As a modern young man, laziness was a basic virtue, and after sweeping for so long, he was ready to drop the broom.

They put down their brooms and returned to the dorm entrance.

Inside, the sound of rustling was heard.

No one was still lying in bed, and no one was sulking about waking up.

...

“Hey, intellectual, when did you get up? I was wondering why you disappeared after waking.”

The door opened, and Li Guoping came out, puzzled upon seeing Chu An.

Chu An smiled faintly. “I’ve been up for a while.”

He didn’t mention the half-hour spent sweeping. No doubt Sergeant Ma would bring it up soon.

And indeed, when the entire group assembled, Sergeant Ma’s first words were:

“Today, I want to highlight Comrade Tian Weimin!”

His voice was loud enough that not only Chu An and the others heard, but also the soldiers who had arrived yesterday from other units.

“Comrade Tian Weimin fully embodies the spirit of Lei Feng. At first light this morning, he proactively got up and took a broom from the mess hall to clean the yard!”

He paused, watching the mixed reactions of the new recruits, then smiled.

“Of course, Comrade Chu An deserves praise as well, as he also got up and joined in!”

At that moment, Chu An glanced sideways and saw Tian Weimin standing nearby, his face flushed with excitement.

He looked like a young child in kindergarten who had just received a big red flower from the teacher!

...