The old man's eye twitched, and he said in a deep voice, "Who told you to sleep now?"
"I'm tired, I want to lie down for a while."
"Are you tired?" Old Pao pointed at the others in the class and said casually, "Don't they know how tired they are? Huh?"
The veteran glared fiercely at Li Ling, then ordered all the new recruits, "Everyone assemble at the gate, another five-kilometer run."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiwa, who was standing behind Li Ling, made a bitter face and said, "Class...class monitor, it's almost time to eat."
Old Pao glared at Chen Xiwa and said coldly, "You think you know how to eat? Today I'll show you that the army's food isn't for nothing. Assemble at the gate."
The recruits didn't say anything, and walked out of the platoon dejectedly. When the recruits behind Li Ling passed by him, they patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's okay."
Li Ling silently apologized in his heart: "I'm sorry, brothers."
Li Ling's deliberate actions today will indeed punish these new recruits, but Li Ling knows in his heart that even if he hadn't provoked them today, the veteran would have found other reasons to punish them.
Therefore, although Li Ling felt apologetic, he didn't feel particularly guilty.
Chen Xiwa patted Li Ling on the shoulder and comforted him, "Zhuang, no one will blame you for dragging them down. The brothers all know that that hillbilly just wanted to train us."
“Even if you don’t break the rules, he’ll still find fault with you to train, let alone when we give him an excuse. It’s too easy for the squad leader to find a reason to train new recruits.”
"Who knows, one day he might not find a reason, and he might even find something funny about which leg you step into the classroom first. For example: 'New recruit Zhuang Yan, why did you step into the classroom with your right leg first? Go, five kilometers.'"
"Pfft..." Li Ling couldn't help but laugh, looking at Chen Xiwa with a wry smile, and said, "I didn't realize that Xiwa is not to be underestimated. You look honest, but you are quite good at persuading people."
Chen Xiwa chuckled and scratched his head: "Isn't it all because you told me about literature? I feel like I've understood a lot of things lately. Sometimes I understand a lot of things in my heart, but I just can't put them into words, hehe."
Upon hearing this, Li Ling smiled with satisfaction. It was worth the time he spent tutoring Xiwa recently; the kid was a promising talent.
He gently patted Chen Xiwa on the shoulder, and the two walked out the door. However, because they were walking too slowly, they were added three kilometers.
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Chapter 28 The Old Gun's Difficulties
The next day, after a day of training, it was time for the pre-meal debriefing.
Old Pao casually walked up to Chen Xiwa and asked, "Xiwa."
"arrive!"
"Let me ask you a question: What is an army?"
Chen Xiwa shook his head blankly. The old man walked away with a stern face and said to another recruit, "Um...you, tell me, what is the army?"
No, I don't know.
After asking several people, who either shook their heads or didn't know, the old man finally walked up to Li Ling and said jokingly, "You should know, right?"
“Reporting to the squad leader, I do know.” Li Ling looked at him defiantly.
"Okay, tell me."
"The army is a disciplined force forged in iron and blood. End of text."
"Well said, that's a good answer." The veteran nodded first, affirming Li Ling's answer, then walked away, glanced at the other recruits, and changed the subject, saying, "But do you understand the meaning of that sentence?"
"Look at you bunch of cowardly soldiers! How can you defeat the invaders? You're all good-for-nothings, all you do is eat and waste food!"
Chen Xiwa was on the verge of tears. Damn you, you hillbilly! You can say whatever you want, but what do you mean by looking at me like that?
I don't eat all day long! It's clearly you who doesn't let me eat at mealtimes!
The old man, of course, had no idea what Chen Xiwa was thinking. He just kept talking to himself: "Some comrades! They're always whining and complaining down there. What are you whining about? Huh?"
At this point, the old man glanced at Li Ling without making a sound, then turned his head to look at the others and continued, "I see you guys aren't tired yet. I've been too good to you, so you still have the energy to whine, right?"
"Not tired? Okay, then you guys do a five-kilometer cross-country run right away, let's go."
As he spoke, the old man tilted his head and waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.
"Report."
As Lao Pao expected, Li Ling spoke up. Lao Pao looked at Li Ling expressionlessly and said, "Step forward."
Li Ling stepped forward and said calmly, "Squad leader, I know you're talking about me. This is all my fault, and I'm willing to accept the punishment myself."
The veteran smirked, ignoring Li Ling, and shouted at all the new recruits in front of him, "What did I say? If one person makes a mistake, the whole class will be punished."
Li Ling shouted even louder, "I'm willing to be punished. There are nine people in the class, and each person runs five kilometers. I'll run forty-five kilometers by myself."
At this moment, Lao Pao walked up to Li Ling, stared at him, poked Li Ling in the chest, and shouted, "What is this? Individual heroism? This is a collective!"
Li Ling looked deeply into Lao Pao's eyes and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the squad leader, this is not personal heroism, but a sense of responsibility, a man's responsibility. I just don't want my situation to implicate the other brothers."
Old Pao looked Li Ling up and down, then turned his head away, seemingly helpless, and said, "Fine, fine, since you've made this request, I won't object. You're willing to run, right? Go ahead!"
Li Ling took one last deep look at Lao Pao, said nothing more, turned around, and started running towards the cross-country track outside the training ground.
Once Li Ling had run far away, the old man ordered the remaining recruits: "Everyone else, disperse immediately and prepare for dinner."
After giving the order, he turned and left, while the new recruits looked at each other, and in the end, no one said a word. They all silently rushed towards the cross-country track.
...
"Pat-pat..."