War Military: From 1978

Chapter 268 The Train Home!
"Please wait for your train in an orderly manner. All military personnel should use the designated military entrance. There are military-only carriages on the train."

At the train station, officers on duty were constantly shouting instructions.

There was no special train for military personnel on this trip home to visit their families.

But taking a civilian train is actually quite similar, with special carriages for military personnel.

This is considered preferential treatment, but they deserve it.

Especially now at the train station on the southwestern border, the fellow villagers boarding the train are also from this area. They have exceptional respect for the soldiers and have no objection to the soldiers having a dedicated carriage.

Even inside this small train station, a five- or six-year-old child came up to Chu An and his group and saluted.

Chu An, the highest-ranking officer from the original military rank who came out of the C Regiment on this trip, is now standing on one side of the group.

Seeing the little guy, Chu An hurriedly put down his luggage and raised his hand to return the greeting.

"Uncle, thank you for driving away the Vietnamese devils! I'll treat you to some candy!"

The little guy raised his head, stood in front of Chu An, and actually took out a few candies from his pocket.

"Thank you, little friend, but I don't eat candy. Candy will ruin your teeth. Besides, fighting the Japanese invaders is what we uncles should do!"

Chu An spoke while squatting down and touching the ground.

After he finished speaking, he looked behind him and saw a well-dressed man and woman standing there.

"I'm sorry, the child is just being silly and has disturbed you!"

The man was wearing a gray suit, had his hair slicked back, and was wearing mousse.

They're clearly not ordinary people.

But it's actually quite normal; these days, people who can afford to take their kids on regular train journeys are unlikely to be ordinary citizens.

"Hehe, it's alright, the kid is very cute!"

Chu An smiled and chatted with them for a few minutes.

But it was only a few sentences.

Soon, the little guy was taken by his parents to wait for the bus on the other side.

Chu An stood up again.

"By the way, do you know how easy it is for people from our hometown to take the train these days?" Chu An asked Qin Wanqiu, who was standing in line.

"I'm not too sure either. It seems like short trips are easy. Look at us here now, there's no ticket check or security check. They probably just buy tickets on the train. But for long trips, they need a certificate!"

After a pause, Qin Wanqiu looked at Chu An again and asked, "Is this your first time riding a train?"

"Not really, I rode one last time when I joined the army last year, but this is my first time riding one in a civilian vehicle!"

Chu An wasn't lying, but that's excluding his past life.

But if you really count them, he wasn't wrong.

The trains of this day are completely different from the trains he rode when he grew up in his previous life.

In his previous life, after graduating, he also rode the old green train a few times.

But back then, even the green-skinned trains could reach speeds of 100 km/h.

Unlike trains nowadays.

It's the same green-skinned car, but its speed is so slow it makes your heart tremble.

Southwest Province and Hunan Province are actually two bordering provinces.

But now a train journey can easily take three or four days.

But there's nothing we can do; that's just how times are.

"I've only ridden a military train once, but I've ridden civilian trains many times before!"

"I know, I know, didn't you say your grandparents live in the countryside?" Chu An nodded with a smile.

The two have been in a relationship for about a month now. When they were in the military, they often went out together, which naturally involved their respective families.

Qin Wanqiu comes from a wealthy family.

Her father was also a soldier, but he retired from the military a couple of years ago. Now he is a deputy leader in a state-owned factory, where her mother also works.

Strictly speaking, Qin Wanqiu's background was much better than Chu An's.

But it's not surprising.

These days, no one who can become a female soldier comes from an ordinary family.

After all, there are too few female soldiers.

“Yes! My grandparents’ generation said they couldn’t get used to living in the city and refused to move there!” Qin Wanqiu continued the conversation, following Chu An’s lead.

Chu An casually continued the conversation.

But it will only last a short while.

Soon, with a faint clanging sound, the gate in front of them was opened.

"go!"

Chu An and a group of soldiers from Regiment C walked toward the platform.

This is just a train station in a small town, not even a county, so there's only one platform and just one railway line inside the station.

All trains pass through here, and when a train enters the station, it is always here that trains come and go.

"The military-only carriages are numbers one through six. Please wait here! Do not board the wrong carriage and ride in the same carriage as civilians."

The train station staff called out again.

Chu An and the others had no objections.

Having a dedicated carriage means it's definitely more comfortable. Besides, these days, civilian carriages aren't very safe either.

The bus is a mixed bag, and petty theft and even robbery happen from time to time.

When soldiers and civilians mingle together, especially when soldiers who have been on the battlefield mingle with civilians, it is inevitable that some incidents will arise.

What's even more worrying is that many soldiers who have been on the battlefield experience stress reactions, and some even suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

This train won't arrive in a day; it will take several days and nights. If a soldier has a nightmare about being on the battlefield while sleeping on the way, or if a fellow villager accidentally encounters a soldier with a stress response, it wouldn't be surprising if something happened.

Soon, a train billowing thick smoke gradually appeared at the end of the winding railway line.

Actually, it wasn't thick smoke; the steam coming out of the locomotive was steam.

What Chu An could only see in museums before his rebirth is now diligently fulfilling its mission on the railway.

"Woo~"

The steam train slowly pulled into the station.

"Suck~"

With a hiss of air being released, the train stopped, and Chu An and the others lined up to board.

"Which military unit is stationed here?"

"There are quite a lot of people, huh? There are even a few officials among them!"

The vehicle was already filled with soldiers.

As Chu An and the others boarded the car, everyone immediately looked at them.

As you can see, some people noticed that Chu An's face clearly showed a look of confusion.

Several months have passed since the war, and the extensive media coverage of the time has faded.

Although Chu An can still occasionally be seen in some newspapers, it is now rare.

And these soldiers from other units could not possibly remember the faces of all the heroes who were reported.

Of course, there is another reason.

The newspapers were full of black and white photos, and because Chu An was a special agent company commander with reconnaissance troops, all the photos submitted to the newspapers deliberately did not show his face.

"Hello, comrade, which unit are you from?"

Chu An led Qin Wanqiu and some soldiers from Regiment C to sit in carriage number two, while others went to carriage number three to find seats under Chu An's instructions.

Before Chu An could even put his luggage away, a cadre sitting opposite him, who also wore a four-pocket suit, spoke up with a smile.

It was clear that he was asking Chu An, but his eyes were fixed on Qin Wanqiu.

Don't blame him either.

In fact, all the soldiers in the carriage were now either secretly or openly observing Qin Wanqiu.

There are already few female soldiers in the military, and beautiful ones are even rarer.

In particular, many regimental-level units don't actually have any female soldiers at all.

Chu An had previously heard veterans who had joined the reconnaissance platoon say with a smile that in their original camp, only male rats roamed around.

That's obviously a bit of an exaggeration.

However, if the military camp is in a remote area and there are no fellow villagers nearby, it is quite normal for many soldiers not to see a woman for one or two years.

In this situation, any woman will appear to have a built-in beauty filter in their eyes.

"The Iron-Boned Heroes Corps!"

Chu An put down his luggage and replied with a smile.

When you're out and about, there's no need to mention group numbers like C.

The newly acquired title of Hero Team is the best calling card.

Sure enough, as soon as Chu An spoke, many of the soldiers in the carriage sat up straight.

"They're from the Iron Bones Heroes Squad! Impressive!"

"Your regiment has only just withdrawn from the front lines?"

"I remember your group also has a hero with an honorary title, right?"

"Yes!" Qin Wanqiu's big eyes crinkled with laughter.

Her boyfriend's reputation was so great that, as his girlfriend, she was naturally very happy.

"I remember now, his name was Chu An, right? I heard he was the one who discovered the Vietnamese army commander-in-chief in the Gao P area, which led to our army's successful capture of him!"

"That's not all! He took Hill 312 with just over a dozen men and held it for most of the day. No wonder he's a fierce warrior who earned that honorary title!"

As soon as the name "Iron Bones Heroes" was mentioned, everyone in the carriage quickly started talking about Chu An.

This made Chu An chuckle twice, but he didn't say anything.

However, it must be said that Chu An was actually quite pleased with himself.

Listening to their conversation and seeing Qin Wanqiu's gaze beside him, Chu An felt even more pleased.

He's no saint either. The achievements he fought so hard on the battlefield are now being discussed, and it would be a lie to say he's indifferent.

"By the way, comrade, what's your name? My name is Wei Chunyang, from the 18th Border Defense Regiment." The cadre opposite Chu An asked again after Chu An sat down.

"Chu An!"

"Uh"

(End of this chapter)