BSI Chapter 0020: The Best Soldier in the Recruit Company
Chapter 0020: The Best Soldier in the Recruit Company
"No! Absolutely not!"
Before Gao Cheng could speak, Wu Liuyi jumped up. As Xu Sanduo's squad leader, Wu Liuyi knew Xu Sanduo all too well.
"In the Fifth Platoon, and even the entire company, he's the soldier who makes the most mistakes. Although he's not exactly the worst off in the company now, he's like a donkey that can only move when driven. Without Zheng Yingqi's encouragement, can he improve? Right now, he's also the slowest to learn. Even with these basic training programs, he's so slow to accept and learn. If he were to come to our company, would he be able to keep up?"
Wu Liuyi explicitly objected.
Gao Cheng wasn't as agitated as Wu Liuyi. He said seriously, "No matter what kind of soldier I am, I will try to find his strengths. Xu Sanduo has strengths, such as resilience and memory, but apart from these two points, I really haven't found anything else. My squad leader, I know you sympathize with him, but this kind of person doesn't care if you treat him badly, but if you treat him well, he will stick to you every day. I don't like people who have no self-respect."
After saying that, he added, "The surrender incident doesn't affect my impression of him, but I've observed him carefully, and this soldier isn't the kind of soldier my 7th Company wants!"
Because of Zheng Yingqi's sophistry, Gao Cheng didn't really remember Xu Sanduo's gesture of raising his hand by the freight car. However, he often paid attention to the people who were doing extra training, and the two figures who were often there were Xu Sanduo and Zheng Yingqi. As the company commander, he paid more attention to them. Zheng Yingqi did not disappoint Gao Cheng's expectations. After being trained, he became the horse in Gao Cheng's heart, the best Akhal-Teke horse. But in Gao Cheng's heart, Xu Sanduo was just a mule.
An incorrigible mule!
Wu Liuyi calmed down as well. Looking at the disappointed Shi Jin, he concluded, "He'll wear you down."
If a soldier like Xu Sanduo were to join the 7th Company, which squad leader would dare to take him? He could only come to Shi Jin's 3rd Squad. But a soldier like that would be a nightmare for Squad Leader Shi Jin!
Shi Jin still wanted to try harder, but Gao Cheng, seeing this, asked, "How does the company evaluate a squad leader's performance? And even decide his fate? Comrade Shi Jin!"
Shi Jin sighed. He understood what Gao Cheng meant. These few words were enough to dispel all his thoughts!
Gao Cheng took the notebook from Shi Jin and closed it, once again demonstrating his attitude through his actions. Shi Jin sighed again; from the notebook Gao Cheng had closed, he had already determined Xu Sanduo's fate.
"Some people aren't suited for competition. If you really like someone like him, just put him in a less competitive place. That's a way of making amends," Gao Cheng said, looking at his beloved general's dejected expression.
……
Since his first shooting practice, Zheng Yingqi sometimes wondered if he had undergone a complete transformation. How come his performance was getting better and better? In the past, he and Cheng Cai would take turns being number one, but now it seemed like Cheng Cai had been left behind, and he was always number one.
After winning the squad leader position for three consecutive cycles, Zheng Yingqi began to feel a profound sense of loneliness. However, he also gradually noticed that Platoon Leader Shi Jin seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally avoiding Xu Sanduo. He paid special attention and observed him several times, and after confirming this, he guessed what was going on.
The soldiers for the 7th Company have been selected. Shi Jin, who feels sorry for Xu Sanduo, is deliberately distancing himself from and avoiding Xu Sanduo.
Zheng Yingqi is no longer worried about his future: How could someone as outstanding as me not join the Steel Seventh Company?
Even the slow-witted Xu Sanduo noticed this phenomenon. After searching several times and discovering that he was being deliberately avoided, he said to Zheng Yingqi with a wronged expression after extra training:
"Yingqi, I...did I do something wrong again? The platoon leader...the platoon leader is avoiding me now."
Perhaps because it was nearing the end, only Xu Sanduo and Zheng Yingqi remained in the extra training session. The two slumped against the wall, and Xu Sanduo, speaking with a wronged tone, even wiped away his sweat, afraid that Zheng Yingqi would say he was crying again.
Zheng Yingqi also saw this scene and sighed silently. He was both angry and pitiful at Xu Sanduo's ingratiating attitude.
"I think the list of new recruits assigned to the company has been finalized, and the platoon leader can't let you into the 7th Company. He feels sorry for you, so he's avoiding you." Zheng Yingqi revealed the cruel truth, and Xu Sanduo's eyes immediately reddened upon hearing it.
"I...I just want to be with you...and the platoon leader..." Xu Sanduo's voice trembled with a long-lost sob. "I know...I know I'm bad...but I've tried my best...I want to catch up with you...I..."
Zheng Yingqi patted Xu Sanduo on the shoulder: "I know, I know all about your sacrifices."
"I know you used to cry alone from exhaustion, but that's life. You can't always do what you want."
Xu Sanduo burst into tears. For nearly three months, he had trained desperately, just so he could continue to be with Zheng Yingqi and continue to be under the platoon leader's protection. But now, everything had come to nothing. At this moment, grievances, heartache, and despair intertwined, tormenting this seemingly simple-minded soldier.
Zheng Yingqi also felt quite heartbroken. In the past, he could have stood there and said it without a care in the world:
Sanduo, it's alright. You'll still return to the Steel Seventh Company in Hu Sanduo's style.
But after training together for nearly three months, seeing Xu Sanduo put in more effort than others, and seeing Xu Sanduo's dedication to pursuing this simple or perhaps hopeless dream, how could Zheng Yingqi not be out of breath when he said this?
"Sanduo, I once heard a saying: 'As long as there is one percent hope, you should make one hundred percent effort!' Before the troops are divided, anything is still possible. Listen to me, don't give up, you still have a chance!" Zheng Yingqi said sincerely, patting Xu Sanduo on the shoulder.
Xu Sanduo rubbed his eyes, his vision blurry, and asked, "Really?"
"Really!" Zheng Yingqi nodded firmly, and in an instant, Xu Sanduo's eyes were filled with hope again.
Zheng Yingqi wasn't sure if lying to Xu Sanduo like this was the right thing to do, but seeing Xu Sanduo's憨笑 (simple and honest smile) full of fighting spirit, he suddenly felt a little cruel...
……
With less than a week until the division of troops, the intense and rigorous training suddenly seemed to relax. The recruits in the recruit company happily accepted the new situation of relaxed training.
But there is one exception.
He is Xu Sanduo.
He started practicing even harder, almost as if he were possessed.
Shi Jin stood by the window with a look of shame on his face, gazing at the lonely figure on the training field. Finally, he turned his head away sharply, pretending not to see anything.
Gao Cheng stood by the window, expressionless, watching the figures on the training field, silently lost in thought.
Wu Liuyi pulled Zheng Yingqi along, pointing at the figures on the training field: "Bring that kid back!"
"Squad leader, he's willing," Zheng Yingqi said calmly.
"So far, he's practiced every subject he's learned in basic training, except for that damn five-kilometer run, three times already. Tell me, what exactly is he trying to do?" Wu Liuyi was practically roaring.
In the past, extra training sessions were always done in that corner, but this time, this idiot is practicing these things right here on the training field—is he trying to prove that he's doing well?
Wu Liuyi wanted to dump the assessment results on Xu Sanduo and yelled at him:
"If you had performed like this earlier, you should have been fucking amazing!"