Chapter 56: Three Months of New Recruit Training p1
Fine particles of snow, as if the sky were scattering salt, fell continuously.
Zhou Wanfeng wore a black wool knit hat on her head, a gift from Yun Jingya, who had said that her ears were red from the cold. When she returned to the rented house, she couldn’t shut out the sound of firecrackers from every household, or the laughter of the children playing with fireworks downstairs.
The room was cold, and a thick, cold air was rampant in the room. Wherever she went, she felt nothing but cold.
Zhou Wanfeng brushed the snow particles off her body. In this weather, she suddenly thought of a hand-pulled noodle shop at the east gate of the university in North City.
She didn’t know if it was because she had been there in person, but it looked a little different from the photos that Sun Mulan had mailed.
In winter, it was even more majestic and solemn. The sentinels on duty were fully armed. Even though they were wearing heavy cotton uniforms, you could feel the sublime spirit that emanated from within, that firm belief and sense of responsibility.
On a cold day, the school gate was rather deserted. There were not many pedestrians, and most of the students inside had gone home for the winter vacation.
Zhou Wanfeng had her hands in her pockets, quietly looking at the straight-standing sentinel on duty. She imagined herself standing there like him. She could be expressionless, or serious and cold, but could she display that kind of spirit?
In her body, in her spirit, would she have such a thing?
From the moment she had woken up in Xujia Village in Dongshan, she had been constantly reminding herself not to go down the same old path as in her past life. After coming out of the high-walled courtyard, her life was half-collapsed, leaving her with few choices. She had died in an abandoned shack in the outskirts. She had a lot of money, and she stood above many people, and was also respectfully called “Sister Zhou.”
But as she got older, she clearly realized that the more she had in terms of material wealth, the more impoverished she was spiritually. Having seen so much betrayal, deception, and other negative things, she longed for that pure spirit. The unity and friendship for family, for friends, for the country, and a strong sense of collective honor.
Zhou Wanfeng wanted to become that kind of person. In that kind of environment, she could kill the darkness in her heart. Having seen so much pure loyalty, and a brave and fearless spirit, could she also be like that?
Until the changing of the guard, Zhou Wanfeng quietly left and went to the pedestrian street at the east gate. She saw a noodle shop that was still open, with wisps of white steam floating out.
Zhou Wanfeng unconsciously walked in.
“Want some noodles? A bowl of shredded chicken noodles?” a man in his late thirties, wearing thin clothes, was kneading dough.
Zhou Wanfeng nodded and scanned the room, her gaze falling on the man’s left pant leg, which was empty.
The shop was not big. While she was waiting for her noodles, the people at the other two tables left one after another, leaving only Zhou Wanfeng.
The owner came over with the noodles, leaning on a crutch.
On the white noodles were sprinkled a few coriander leaves and a pinch of shredded chicken. The steaming hot noodles looked very appetizing, not to mention the yellow and fragrant soup.
“This noodle tastes best with chicken soup. Many of the students on vacation, the first thing they do when they come back is to come to my shop to eat. There’s a long line at the door. It’s a pity you didn’t see it since it’s the holidays. The ones who come to eat are all from the neighborhood,” the owner said, looking out, and then went back to sit at the next table.
Zhou Wanfeng ate her noodles.
The owner sized her up and asked softly, “Are you here to see the school?”
Zhou Wanfeng nodded.
The owner smiled. “I guessed it the moment you came in. A high school student who wants to go to this school?”
Zhou Wanfeng still nodded.
“Yo, this school has very few female students. The whole campus is full of soldier boys. And your grades have to be good. Especially for girls, you have to think clearly. Although you’ll be assigned a job after graduation and have a stable job, it’s very hard. I’ve heard the most complaints from the students in my shop. Some even cry and want to drop out. The training is hard, the management is strict. There are even third-year students who go back to repeat high school and retake the college entrance exam,” the owner said, seeing that the girl’s face was young, and told her about the situation at the school.
“Every year, some of the new recruits can’t take the training and drop out. You say it’s a school, but it’s different from other ordinary universities. It’s almost the same as the army. The students inside are not called students, but cadets. Everything is a group activity. You’re in there for three years, and in the fourth year, you’re sent to the grassroots. You’re thrown to a remote place where you can’t see anyone. They say it’s to train you, but many people stay in that place for the rest of their lives. If your parents are asking you to apply, you should talk to them quickly. If you come in here without a firm belief, many people can’t last,” the owner said with a sigh. He had seen many such things and was just kindly advising her.
“Leaving home, with only a twenty-day vacation a year, not being able to see your parents, your children, and your spouse complaining…” The owner’s eyes seemed to be thinking of something.
Zhou Wanfeng took a sip of the noodle soup, put down her bowl, and said, “It has nothing to do with my family. I’m the one who wants to apply.”
The shop owner before her clearly had a story.
Zhou Wanfeng had no intention of disturbing him and just ate her noodles quietly.
“You want to apply yourself… good. If you can endure hardship, endure the training, endure the loneliness, if you can do all that, you can last. And another thing, you should improve your physical fitness before you come here. No matter how advanced the technology is, how advanced the equipment is, wherever you go to be a soldier, you have to train your physical fitness. They all believe that if you train your physical fitness well, your perseverance and spirit will also be trained.”
The owner went to the sink to wash his hands with a crutch, and then went back to kneading the dough.
When Zhou Wanfeng was leaving after paying the bill, she suddenly asked, “Are you a veteran?”
The owner’s hands, which were kneading the dough, paused. He looked up and smiled at Zhou Wanfeng. “How can you tell?”
“You have the same thing as the sentinels at the school gate. And your noodles are very delicious. Your business would be good wherever you open a shop. The only reason I can think of for you to open a shop here is that there is something here that attracts you or that you are attached to.”
“And thank you for your reminder and advice. This school is my only goal for the college entrance exam. I’m not afraid of hardship, and I’m not afraid of training. My endurance is also okay, and I’m not afraid of loneliness and solitude. From what you’ve said, I feel that this place might be very suitable for me. In two years, when the new students register, I’ll come to your shop to eat noodles again.”
The owner was taken aback and, after a long while, he grinned.
Looking at the girl’s calm and resolute eyes, and her straight back as she walked out, the owner suddenly felt a sense of relief. He went back to his noodle board and started to knead the dough, singing a mountain song that the local villagers used to sing when he was in the army. But the tune was passionate, heroic, firm, and powerful, without the freedom and lyricism of a mountain song.
The cold air on her face, Zhou Wanfeng came back to her senses and looked at the kitchen utensils. She had been thinking about what to eat to fill her stomach. Now, there was nothing better than a bowl of hot noodles.
Unfortunately, the taste was not as good as the shop owner’s.
The noodles were not chewy, and the soup was not rich. A smile appeared on Zhou Wanfeng’s lips. She thought of the owner’s self-praise. She thought that she would probably go and eat another bowl when she registered in two years. She hoped that the owner would still be there then.
After eating the noodles and washing the dishes, Zhou Wanfeng took her backpack to the living room, took out her homework, and started to study. She had to get a high enough score to get into that university.
During the New Year, the sound of firecrackers was deafening, and colorful fireworks bloomed in the night sky. The streets and alleys were filled with the back and forth of candied haws and roasted sweet potatoes, and the laughter of the running children rose and fell. But all of this had nothing to do with Zhou Wanfeng.
She enjoyed the cold and the quiet. She did one workbook after another, completely immersed in the atmosphere of studying. When she was not doing her homework, she would recite the texts, classical Chinese, ancient poems, and English passages, and would listen to English cassette tapes to train her listening.
Even though she had graduated from junior high, Sun Mulan had always been concerned about her. She was like a close older sister to her, and she did her best to help her.
Another person who wanted to help her was Yun Jingya. She was always trying to pull her into the crowd and integrate her into the campus life.
But to her, she was not a real high school student. She no longer had the desire for that kind of youthful and spontaneous behavior. It was more about plans and goals.
Anything else, she felt, was not very important.
Yun Jingya had quietly asked her if she resented her grandmother.
Resent Yang Yijun? Not really. She was disgusted, but she didn’t care much. She didn’t care about things like money. If Yang Yijun wanted it, she wouldn’t stop her. But to take the money and then disgust her would make her uncomfortable.
And Zhou Zhiru was not dead. And a person like him was usually a venomous snake. Even if he were on the verge of death, he would still bite before he died.
Yun Lan had not been ruthless, and the more he valued something, the more viciously he would bite.
Especially since he was not so stupid that he didn’t understand anything. If Yang Yijun had just investigated a little, she would have known that Zhou Zhiru had been planning for a long time.
He had invested heavily in setting up a research and development team, and had recruited talent from home and abroad. This was funded by him personally. The research results and patents were the core.
The research and development funds were allocated for three to five years.
As long as Zhou Zhiru was not dead, he would make a comeback sooner or later.
Zhou Wanfeng had to admire Zhou Zhiru’s long-term vision and ability. Unfortunately, Yang Yijun had disgusting methods, but she didn’t have the ruthlessness to kill a snake… But what did any of this have to do with her? At that time, she should have nothing to do with anyone.
A few days after the New Year, Yun Jingya came over and brought a lot of food and drinks for Zhou Wanfeng. Her small and exquisite backpack had somehow turned into a large travel backpack. Every time she came back from South Lake Mansion, it would be bulging.
She was out of breath from carrying it upstairs. Seeing Zhou Wanfeng, she took out the things one by one like she was showing off a treasure.
She no longer talked much about the people and affairs of South Lake Mansion.
“Wanfeng, come here. I bought you these clothes when I went shopping the day before yesterday. Try them on,” Yun Jingya said. She had not only brought food, but also clothes, shoes, and socks for Wanfeng.
The socks were deliberately bought in bright and pretty colors.
Zhou Wanfeng picked up the socks, her brow furrowed.
Yun Jingya was feeling guilty. “They’re so pretty, cute and festive. And no one can see them. Look, these pants are so long they can cover them,” she said, putting the socks in Wanfeng’s wardrobe’s storage box.
When Yun Jingya came, the rented house became lively, and it even inexplicably felt that the cold air in the room had been dispelled quite a bit.
The two of them would study together and do test papers together. Occasionally, when they were tired of doing their homework, Yun Jingya would take out the tape recorder and play some music.
And when she was in the mood, she would even sing and dance along.
Later, Wang Feili came over, and the Jiang Chen and Jiang Yi brothers came, and then Lu Qing also came.
Every day, someone would come to the rented house. They would cook together, study together, and also go to the bookstore and go shopping together. They even went to the movies together.
And so, the winter vacation passed, and the second semester of high school began.
The classmates in the class were all a little fatter and fairer, and even the homeroom teacher, Xu Lei, was.
The first thing at the beginning of the school year was to put pressure on the students and get them to focus after the winter vacation. The second was to collect the tuition fees, which had been announced a month before the vacation.
Many of the students had brought it directly and paid it.
Some students had forgotten and would bring it after the vacation. Xu Lei then announced the things that the school needed to convey, with the emphasis on the tuition fees. And then there were the old school rules and regulations, which were mentioned at every class meeting, as if to engrave them in the students’ minds.
They were not new students anymore. They quickly adapted to the start of school. Perhaps because they were used to the big fish and meat prepared for the New Year at home, when they came back from the cafeteria at noon, they were all complaining that the school’s food was bad.
Zhou Wanfeng’s deskmate had been changed to Jiang Chen. Wu Junfeng had moved to the back.
Wang Feili and Ding Yanhua were still in the front row. Yun Jingya was diagonally opposite, and the distance was relatively close.
Jiang Chen was quiet most of the time, but when he was rowdy, he was also formidable. And this person had a pair of sharp eyes. He could take care of the front and back of the class. He was sharp-eared and sharp-eyed. There was a reason why he was popular.
At this moment, Zhou Wanfeng was doing a test paper. It had only been a short time since the start of school, and all the subject teachers had handed out test papers. There were more than two for the main subjects, and also for the other subjects. It was as if the teachers had done nothing but make questions and print test papers during this winter vacation.
Yun Jingya had bought folders and clips to organize the test papers, and had also given Zhou Wanfeng a set.
There was one for each subject. The math was organized and clipped, and the date of the test paper was written in the upper right corner. It was very convenient to look at and do, and you wouldn’t miss any or have to rummage through them when you needed them.
Zhou Wanfeng’s foot was stepped on by Jiang Chen. She pulled her leg back, and Jiang Chen leaned over and pulled on her clothes.
“Don’t move. I have something to tell you,” Jiang Chen said in a very small voice, his expression a little embarrassed.
Zhou Wanfeng frowned and looked up. She saw Jiang Chen winking, telling her to look in front. Her gaze was puzzled. She followed his line of sight. She saw Ding Yanhua in the front row, tidying up her desk, standing up and squatting down from time to time.
When she stood up, Zhou Wanfeng glanced at Ding Yanhua and immediately understood why Jiang Chen was embarrassed.
Jiang Chen pointed at himself and waved his hand, telling her not to say that he had discovered it. He quickly pretended to be doing his homework.
Zhou Wanfeng took off her loose school uniform jacket, wrote a note, and handed it over with the jacket.
Ding Yanhua was a very introverted person and not very talkative. Anyway, in the last semester, she had rarely been seen chatting with anyone, even her deskmate, Wang Feili.
But her grades were very good. She was often in the top five in the class, and would occasionally get into the top three if she did well.
Ding Yanhua was tidying up her things when her back was poked. She turned and saw Zhou Wanfeng hand her a note and some clothes. She looked at the note and immediately reached out to touch her pants.
“Thank you,” she said, wrapping Zhou Wanfeng’s school uniform around her waist. After thanking her in a voice as soft as a mosquito, she ran to the restroom.