A generation of soldiers begins with Feng Yuxiu traveling through time and space with Xu Sanduo

Chapter 29 Veterans Retired Under the Red Flag
The road was finally repaired after a month of hard work and without any cost or expense.

Three intersections to be exact.

At the center of the convergence point, Lao Ma specially built a big red five-pointed star with red broken bricks.

Old Wei carried the five-star red flag in the dormitory and solemnly hung it on the flagpole.

It is called a flagpole, but it is actually just a piece of wood that does not bend much.

"From now on, we can be considered a military unit. Look, the red flag has been raised." Lao Ma's face was darker than a month ago, and he couldn't hide the fatigue on his face.

But his tone and the look in his eyes were exceptionally bright.

Li Meng, Lao Wei, and Xue Lin looked up at the red flag.

The red flag fluttered in the hot wind.

"Squad leader, why do I feel a little lost?" Li Meng said with his head down.

Lao Ma patted his shoulder and said, "Find something to do. Haven't you always wanted to be a writer? The group is looking for clerks recently. I'm still worth a few favors, so I'll run some errands for you."

"Old Wei, you have two years until your conscription. You're pretty good at cooking, so consider becoming a cook."

"Xue Lin..."

Old Ma sighed. He really couldn't think of any advantages of Xue Lin.

"Sanduo, the group army's assessment results will probably be out in the next few days. I know you're the top soldier who broke two army records. You also saw that idiot from Grassland Class 5."

"We haven't given you anything in the past few months. We're just giving you some instructions because I'm your squad leader. This is the army, and we're all comrades. Let go of that extremely cold and high mountain in your heart."

After saying that, Lao Ma's waist relaxed a little, and he saluted the national flag in a standard manner before turning around and walking towards the dormitory.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a black spot on the blue sky and white clouds emitted a vibrating roaring sound.

"Look, squad leader, there's a helicopter!" Li Meng yelled and waved his hands wildly, trying to let the plane in the sky see what was happening.

Lao Ma immediately turned around and roared, "Grassland Class Five, assemble!!"

In the helicopter, the co-pilot surveyed the earth with an eagle-like gaze.

With a quick glance, I suddenly saw the five-pointed star on the ground.

"Old Wang, look down there. Is that the Red Third Company's Grassland Squad 5's base? Was there this five-pointed star the last time we came here?"

Lao Wang turned the plane around and set his sights in the direction of the Fifth Squad. "No, when did the Red Third Company have these roads?"

"salute!"

Lao Ma stood straight, staring at the helicopter in the sky with a firm gaze.

The plane did not take off directly as usual, but instead began to circle in the sky for a few times before continuing to fly forward.

"Sergeant, you must have seen it, right?" Li Meng asked.

Lao Ma lowered his right hand, his face gloomy as he asked, "Why? Are you building the road for others to see?"

After saying that, he covered his waist and walked towards the dormitory.

"Hey, squad leader, what are you going to do?" Xue Lin asked quickly.

"Go write your discharge report."

Everyone looked at the old horse's hunched back and fell into a depressing atmosphere.

Feng Yuxiu frowned and followed.

Old Ma sat on a stool, his head lowered, his right hand tightly holding a ballpoint pen.

Noticing someone coming in, he quickly raised his head.

Only then did Feng Yuxiu see that the old soldier's eyes were filled with red tears.

"Sanduo, come and sit down."

Feng Yuxiu sat down and stared at Lao Ma. "What's the point of retiring in this era? Squad leader, you've been a veteran for many years, and there's no good future for you if you leave."

Old Ma lowered his head, suddenly twisted the paper in his hand into a ball and threw it away, cursing, "The handwriting is too ugly."

Then he raised his head and wiped away his tears, "Sanduo, you are not me, you don't know, I really can't bear to let you go. Since the instructor left, I haven't slept peacefully. Every time I think of myself wearing a big red flower when I was discharged from the army, I wake up from my sleep."

"But, look at me, look at me in this miserable state. How could the army want me? It's not the army that gave up on me, it's me who gave up on myself." As he spoke, Lao Ma lay on the table and burst into tears.

Outside the door, Li Meng and the other two lowered their heads dejectedly, feeling sad.

"I thought building the road would give me something to pursue, but now that it's finished, I'm lost again. The instructor was right. I'm the one who's lost it, not this place."

At this moment, a strange feeling emerged in Feng Yuxiu's heart for the first time, that subtle emotion called comradeship.

That night, no one thought of making noise.

Li Meng and the other two sat on mats, staring numbly at the TV with snow falling from its screen.

Feng Yuxiu did not go for a night run either. He stood straight at the door and looked at the darkness.

In the dead silent room, the only sound was the rustling of ballpoint pens on frosted paper.

This soft sound made everyone feel inexplicably irritated.

Li Meng was the first one who couldn't stand it anymore, "Squad Leader, stop writing."

Lao Ma lowered his head and concentrated on writing his discharge report.

"Sergeant, if you retire, none of us will be able to serve as human beings. While you are here, we can barely be human beings, and now we are planning to be human beings. If you leave...Sergeant, I beg you, please don't write anymore." Li Meng stood up and shouted and cried.

Xue Lin's eyes turned red and he lowered his head.

Only Old Wei's lips were trembling, he wanted to cry but couldn't.

"Stop trying to persuade me. You guys should be good people and serve as soldiers well. I can't just leave you alone. A few months ago, the instructor said he was trying to persuade me, but I knew it was all about preparing me mentally. What third-class merit? Is that so easy to get?"

"Rather than being eliminated by the troops, it is better to leave in a dignified manner."

Old Ma raised his head and forced a simple smile, but the dark spots on his cheeks made him look particularly old.

No one slept well that night.

Old Ma was sitting outside smoking, tears streaming down his face from time to time.

Only the guard pavilion where Feng Yuxiu stood stood tall and straight.

He closed his eyes, his ears moved slightly, his chest rose and fell vigorously, and the tendons and veins on the surface of his body began to move as if they were alive.

The morning dawned.

The radio static chimed softly, "Cangjie Base, this is Lookout Five."

The phone in the regimental office began to ring.

The phone at the 1st Battalion headquarters began to ring.

The phone at the headquarters of the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion began to ring.

The phone in the fifth squad of the second platoon of the third red company began to ring.

Li Meng and others were looking at Lao Ma in the house in the dark. Lao Ma was standing at attention, answering the phone respectfully, looking very embarrassed.

Xue Lin was puzzled. "This time, it's the battalion headquarters that's calling, asking what we're doing. How could we have alarmed the division headquarters and called to inquire about this?"

Old Wei scratched his head, somewhat confused. "The company commander just called. He said the military headquarters called the regiment directly."

Li Meng sighed, his face pale. "I think we've had too much joy and ended up in tragedy."

Old Wei turned around with some confusion: "We didn't do anything?"

Li Meng smiled bitterly, "Yeah, we didn't do anything but this one thing."

Lao Ma finally came out, his expression becoming particularly serious. "I guess I guessed it. This road is too conspicuous. We are an important base here, so we might have been exposed."

The three of them were a little frightened.

Lao Ma looked up at the sky and said, "I'm going to retire anyway, so I'll take care of this alone."

So three days later.

The supply truck stopped at the bottom of the slope.

This time it was not the veteran squad leader from before, but instructor He Hongtao who led the team himself, followed by a civilian veteran holding a camera.

"This is really the end."

(End of this chapter)