Chapter 17: Old Wang Has Wronged Me!

“From a farming village?”

The squad leader continued selecting recruits, taking two more steps to the right before stopping in front of the fourth recruit in Chu An’s row.

This recruit’s skin was somewhat darkened, clearly from years of sun exposure.

“Reporting, squad leader, yes!”

The recruit stood tall and proud, responding loudly.

Not everyone had been prepared in advance by the squad leader.

In Chu An’s dormitory, as far as he knew, only one other person besides himself had been selected.

Because of this, the recruit was eager to prove himself.

The logic was simple: first, this squad leader, who got to pick first, must be doing well in the army. Being chosen by such a squad leader was undoubtedly a good thing.

That was the thought running through the recruits’ minds.

“Hmm, not bad, step out!”

“Yes, sir!”

There were no lengthy questions—after all, you couldn’t interrogate recruits too thoroughly during selection.

If you asked too much and picked off all the best soldiers, what would be left for others?

“Do you have any special skills?”

“Reporting, squad leader...”

Time passed slowly. Among Chu An’s group, only two were ultimately chosen by this squad leader.

He then moved on to the next formation.

There were five recruit groups altogether, and he picked eleven recruits in total.

Except for the largest group, from which he chose three, the others each lost two.

“First squad leader of the second company!”

With the first squad leader finished, the instructor called out again.

Instead of continuing sequentially with the first squad leader of the first company, the next to select was the first squad leader of the second company.

Of course, this was perfectly reasonable.

Soon, this second company squad leader also selected eleven recruits. When he passed in front of Chu An’s group, he merely glanced at Chu An without any other indication or questions.

After all, he had heard Chu An’s earlier response.

Next came the second squad leader of the first company.

This time, it was Sergeant Liu—the same one who had accompanied Lieutenant Tong to Chu An’s hometown to pick up recruits.

There was no hesitation; his intentions were clear.

Upon reaching Chu An’s formation, he pointed directly, “You! Step out!”

Chu An was stunned—he’d been singled out!

“Reporting, squad leader, me?” Chu An asked uncertainly, even looking around and behind him, thinking perhaps Sergeant Liu had made a mistake.

After all, he had already been earmarked by Sergeant Wang, and Lieutenant Tong had given the nod.

Sergeant Liu was definitely under Lieutenant Tong’s command and must be well acquainted with Sergeant Wang.

“Don’t waste time, step out!”

“Yes, sir!”

Chu An immediately straightened up and saluted sharply.

Before stepping forward, he glanced once more at Sergeant Wang.

Sergeant Wang was watching him too; upon seeing Chu An look his way, he smiled faintly and nodded.

“What’s going on?” Chu An wondered silently but didn’t dwell on it and stepped out.

At the same time, another soldier from the second row stepped forward.

This was from another dormitory, already under Sergeant Liu’s management.

He was slightly shorter than Chu An—about 1.7 meters—but robust. Chu An had heard on the train that this soldier’s grandfather was a soldier, one of the founding veterans, and that he himself had trained since childhood under his grandfather in martial arts and various military skills.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his military skills and physical fitness might surpass many seasoned soldiers present.

Such a recruit being pre-assigned and then chosen first by the sergeant who brought him in was no surprise.

Only, this fellow seemed a bit arrogant. When they stood side by side after stepping out, Chu An glanced at him, but the recruit didn’t even look his way.

The counting continued.

After selecting two from his own group, Sergeant Liu moved on to other formations like the others.

One squad leader after another came forward to choose recruits.

The numbers in the assembled groups steadily dwindled.

As time wore on, the remaining recruits became visibly anxious, even uneasy.

Everyone else had been picked.

Regardless of what else it meant, being left unchosen implied being inferior to the others.

But no matter their thoughts, the decision lay with each squad leader coming forward.

Finally, all eighteen squad leaders finished selecting.

The numbers were fairly even; apart from those taken earlier by the staff officer, each squad now had eleven soldiers.

“The first company, assemble!”

“Second company, come here!”

As the selection ended, the two company commanders began issuing commands.

All the recruits gathered their luggage and backpacks and followed their new squad leaders to assemble before their company commanders.

Since Chu An was already there, he only shifted slightly.

Soon, all nine squads were lined up neatly before Lieutenant Tong.

“Fall in!”

Without any speeches or announcements, Lieutenant Tong turned and left after issuing the command.

Immediately, the recruits hurried to follow, carrying their gear.

They moved through the camp toward the foothills at the back.

There, a large training ground awaited, equipped with various training facilities.

On both sides of the ground stood rows of red brick buildings.

They were simple one-story structures with tiled roofs, their outer walls left unpainted and unwhitewashed.

Chu An and the others followed Lieutenant Tong to the row of red brick buildings on the left.

“This is our first company’s area. Now, everyone follow your squad leader and settle in!”

Lieutenant Tong called back, and the squad leaders began calling out.

“First squad, follow me!”

“Second squad...”

The rows of red brick buildings were spaced about ten meters apart. Squads one through three were led to the front building, while squads four through nine were directed to the second row.

Chu An followed Sergeant Liu, but after only a few steps, Liu called back, “Chu An, go find Sergeant Wang!”

“Ah!”

Chu An was momentarily taken aback.

“What ‘ah’? Sergeant Wang wants you. I’m just helping pick. Go on!”

Just then, Sergeant Wang approached, accompanied by a soldier he recognized from the neighboring dormitory under Sergeant Liu’s care.

“Thanks, Old Liu!” Sergeant Wang greeted warmly.

“Alright, take him with you. You’re the only one who cares about this ‘rice bucket’!” Liu waved him off, leaving Chu An speechless.

When had he ever been a ‘rice bucket’?

Well, after all, he had called himself that in front of the entire camp before. Now, it seemed everyone in the recruit camp had tagged him with the same label.

At the mess hall, he ate everything and in large quantities, but when asked what he was good at, he always said he didn’t know.

If that wasn’t being a ‘rice bucket,’ then what was?

Old Wang really misunderstood me!

...