noveltune Chapter 0061: My Son Has Grown Up?
Chapter 0061: My Son Has Grown Up?
He ran all the way to the garage, and at the door, Zheng Yingqi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Because he saw Xu Sanduo swing the hammer!
Holy crap!
Zheng Yingqi cursed under his breath, then took a step forward and pounced on Xu Sanduo just as Xu Sanduo was about to swing the hammer.
Bang
bang
The two men fell to the ground, the hammer slamming down with two resounding thuds that sounded like interwoven music.
The sudden turn of events left Shi Jin and Wu Liuyi stunned. It wasn't until Xu Sanduo sat up innocently that Shi Jin scolded him, "Zheng Yingqi, what are you doing? Sanduo, are you alright?"
Panting heavily, Zheng Yingqi almost choked and died – I saved you, and you're still concerned about whether this guy got hurt?
Fortunately, Wu Liuyi was loyal enough to help Zheng Yingqi, who was panting heavily, to his feet.
"You...you want to die...don't...don't hurt him..." Zheng Yingqi gasped for breath, glaring at Shi Jin. He swung the hammer, and although it was Xu Sanduo's fault, the root cause was Shi Jin's own doing!
Xu Sanduo sat there silently, looking aggrieved. His initial enthusiasm had vanished as if doused with a ton of cold water. He was used to being questioned, but being questioned by Zheng Yingqi still made him feel extremely wronged.
Shi Jin was furious at Zheng Yingqi's interference—what happened to the promise to cultivate Xu Sanduo's confidence!
Finally catching his breath, Zheng Yingqi said, "My dear Squad Leader Shi, we have to take things one step at a time. You want Sanduo to swing the hammer, but you can't just jump right in the first time, can you? At least let him be able to swing the hammer and hit the target first, right? If he swings the hammer and makes a mistake, he'll smash his hand, boss!"
"Yes, yes, that makes sense," Wu Liuyi finally found a kindred spirit and immediately chimed in, "Squad Leader Shi, if there's even the slightest mistake, it'll be disastrous. Let's practice first, let's practice first. Sanduo, come on, let's practice the swing hammer first."
As Wu Liuyi spoke, he dragged Xu Sanduo outside. Zheng Yingqi followed, carrying a hammer and a steel shovel. Outside, he stuck the steel shovel into the flower bed: "Here, swing this thing and smash it ten times. If you get zero mistakes, you can swing the hammer from now on. If you make mistakes, you have to practice. Once you've practiced without making mistakes, you can actually do it—this thing can easily smash your hand if you're not careful, and if you're unlucky, you'll definitely break your bones!"
Xu Sanduo was furious. Since you all don't believe me, I'm going to smash you with this hammer today!
It's only ten times.
Isn't it just about zero mistakes?
Watch closely!
He swung the sledgehammer, laboriously raising it high before slamming it down with the force of Mount Tai.
Shi Jin also came out and looked on curiously, Wu Liuyi watched idly, and Zheng Yingqi calmly waited for the result—which came out in that instant.
The sledgehammer slammed down, grazing the steel chisel, causing Xu Sanduo to stumble. Fortunately, Zheng Yingqi reacted quickly and caught him.
Wu Liuyi broke out in a cold sweat after witnessing this scene. "Oh my god," he thought, "if Zheng Yingqi hadn't arrived in time, Shi Jin's hand would probably have..."
Xu Sanduo's face also turned pale. He thought swinging the hammer was very simple, but he never expected that even though he aimed so accurately, he still missed.
Shi Jin couldn't help but swallow hard, then said dryly, "San Duo, aim carefully, don't use too much force..."
Wu Liuyi glared at his friend, giving him a look that said, "See for yourself." Shi Jin, feeling guilty, pretended not to have seen it.
Zheng Yingqi patted the dirt off his backside: "You guys keep practicing, I'm leaving. I've been practicing for ages, I'm exhausted."
Then, leaving behind a dashing silhouette, he departed with a deep sense of pride, concealing his achievements and fame.
……
Three days after the exercise ended, the day after Xu Sanduo almost hit Shi Jin, he asked Shi Jin for leave to see Lao Ma off. On the day the exercise ended, Lao Ma told Xu Sanduo about his discharge from the army. At the time, Xu Sanduo did not realize anything, but after seeing Lao Ma off today, he suddenly understood the meaning of the words "discharge from the army".
At the door, Xu Sanduo encountered Zheng Yingqi. Zheng Yingqi seemed to have been waiting for Xu Sanduo. Seeing Xu Sanduo return looking dejected, he said indifferently, "You're back?"
"I'm back..." Xu Sanduo sat on the steps like Zheng Yingqi and suddenly said, "When I saw Lao Ma off just now, I... I didn't cry... but I still feel pain here."
He pointed to his heart, as if talking to himself, and said, "Old Ma said I would definitely be a good soldier. Yingqi, from now on, I want to be a good soldier."
"You've got potential!" Zheng Yingqi praised, giving a thumbs-up.
"Then tell me, can I become a good soldier like you?" Xu Sanduo became insecure again.
Zheng Yingqi smiled, making Xu Sanduo feel awkward. He knew Zheng Yingqi was a good soldier, both in basic training and in the Steel Seventh Company. He knew what Zheng Yingqi meant: a good soldier praised by countless people!
He... probably can't do it...
"How did it feel to see Lao Ma off today?" Zheng Yingqi asked.
"I can't bear to part... I... I don't like separation."
"This is the army. Have you ever heard the saying, 'The camp remains, but the soldiers come and go'? Xu Sanduo, we are all soldiers who come and go. Some things are unstoppable, like the squad leader's retirement." Zheng Yingqi said calmly. This was the real reason he was waiting for Xu Sanduo. After returning from the maintenance station, Zheng Yingqi thought about it and finally decided to use Shi Jin's decision to stay or leave to provoke Xu Sanduo.
He couldn't understand honor, and his heart was filled with self-doubt. So, he was forced to fight. But fighting with a purpose and fighting aimlessly are two completely different things!
"The squad leader is retiring?" Xu Sanduo didn't understand at first, but after a few seconds he realized what was happening, and instantly turned into a prickly hedgehog, "How could the squad leader retire?"
The sound was sharp and piercing.
Having just experienced separation, he learned what separation meant—separation means that from now on, you may never see this person again!
"Is that strange?" Zheng Yingqi spread his hands: "Do you know what factors the company evaluates for a squad leader? Individual combat effectiveness, and the squad's combat effectiveness!"
Our squad leader's individual combat effectiveness is undeniable; he's an outstanding soldier, no exaggeration. But what about the squad's combat effectiveness?
Sanduo, before you came, our platoon was a pilot class, and our class was the best. With this achievement, our class monitor was guaranteed to stay on the team! But look at us now, we lost the little red flag for "Advanced Class Collective" yesterday. You understand how our fighting spirit is now, right?
Tell me, why did the company commander keep our squad leader on?
Why should our class monitor be kept?
These words struck Xu Sanduo like a thunderbolt. He couldn't imagine what he would be like if he were to be sent away like Old Ma!
"Yingqi, what should we do? What should we do? I don't want the squad leader to leave!" Xu Sanduo was already sobbing, shaking Zheng Yingqi as if he had grasped a lifeline.
"It's simple. Unless Class 3 becomes the most combat-effective class in the entire company again—do you know the barrel theory? The capacity of a barrel isn't determined by the tallest plank, but by the shortest. The true determinant of our Class 3's combat effectiveness is you." Zheng Yingqi revealed his true intentions, but still deliberately provoked him with the question: "Unless you leave Class 3."
"I don't want to leave Class 3, I don't want to leave you and the class monitor." Xu Sanduo shook his head desperately.
"Then let's be good soldiers, strong men, and fill in the shortest plank so that the third squad, like a barrel, can hold more water!"
Xu Sanduo certainly wanted to be strong, but he immediately began to doubt himself as usual: "But I'm stupid, and I get carsick, I... I'm afraid I won't do well..."
"These are minor issues. The key question is, do you really want to do it? This isn't about you just sitting around doing extra training with me; it's about fighting tooth and nail to become stronger!"
"Yes! I want to!" Xu Sanduo said confidently as soon as he thought about his squad leader leaving.
"Okay, let's talk about what you call stupidity first—let me explain to you that there are no truly stupid people. So-called stupid people are just lazy, too lazy to use their brains. Take our infrared detection exercise for example, you memorized the manual, but why did you stupidly take the eggs and almost kill us?"
"Let me tell you, that's because you just blindly memorized it without thinking about it. It's typical rote memorization. You never thought about applying what you've learned!" Zheng Yingqi analyzed for Xu Sanduo.
Xu Sanduo nodded blankly, then scratched his head with a silly grin, realizing he hadn't thought about it much.
"Let's talk about motion sickness again," Zheng Yingqi said excitedly. He, Wu Liuyi, and Shi Jin had just discussed this topic. Wu Liuyi suggested that Xu Sanduo practice abdominal bar exercises, which should cure motion sickness. Speaking of abdominal bar exercises, Zheng Yingqi thought of the terrifying San San San from the original story.
He was naturally looking forward to Xu Sanduo making history and dazzling a bunch of people with titanium alloy eyes!
Xu Sanduo was even more excited than him after hearing this. Motion sickness was practically a demon in Xu Sanduo's heart, and he desperately wanted to overcome it!
"Motion sickness? Easy cure! Go do abdominal crunches. If you can do 30, I guarantee you'll never get motion sickness again!"