Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 145 This farewell was really unconventional.

In the clerical office.

Chen Mo kept looking at his promotion notice over and over, while Liang Hongjie paced back and forth like a spinning top.

He looked extremely anxious.

"Platoon leader, what's up?"

Chen Mo looked up and asked curiously.

"It's not that I have something to do." Upon hearing this, Liang Hongjie pulled up a chair and sat down in front of Chen Mo, scratching his head as he asked, "Do you know about the Shimen Lu Academy?"

"I know."

Chen Mo nodded; he definitely knew.

In my previous life, I studied at the Army Command Academy, which was right next to the zoo. I often ran into people from the academy taking time off to visit the zoo.

At that time, he also had a minor altercation with the soldiers of the 25th Company of the Army Academy.

But that's nothing. Soldiers are all grown men, and they're all hot-tempered.

Because of a few disagreements, too many things were done.

Seeing Chen Mo's completely unconcerned expression, Liang Hongjie waved his hand helplessly: "Fine, the order has already been given, I won't bother you anymore."

"Anyway, as far as I know, the reconnaissance department at the Army Academy is pretty strong, so you should be mentally prepared."

"Thank you, platoon leader, I understand."

After Chen Mo thanked him, Liang Hongjie left to take a lunch break.

In the entire office, only Chen Mo remained, sitting there blankly in a daze.

After all, it's a promotion. Actually, the term "promotion" is no longer applicable to this era. A real promotion doesn't require further training; it's a direct transition from soldier to officer, just a change of rank.

Strictly speaking, his admission to the school was through a direct admission program.

As for the reconnaissance department that Liang Pai mentioned, Chen Mo knew what was going on. If his memory served him right, in May 1999, the reconnaissance department of Shihmen Army Academy seemed to have only one 30th Squadron.

The squadron consists of reconnaissance detachments and cadet detachments. The detachments are "natives," meaning the troops stationed at the academy.

The members of the student teams were much more diverse, including those who were admitted through special admission programs, those who took entrance exams, and those who took the national college entrance examination. There was not much competition among them in terms of academic subjects.

But the competition in physical education classes is terrifying.

There's no way around it. No matter the era, the military values ​​physical fitness. If you're physically strong, you'll be respected.

You can doubt someone's education level if they meet the admission standards, you can doubt that they are illiterate, but you absolutely cannot doubt their military skills.

Sitting in the chair, Chen Mo stared at the scorching sun outside, feeling momentarily disoriented.

Since joining the army, he has been working hard. The political commissar even promised to help him recommend a college. Unexpectedly, this time he didn't rely on others and achieved results on his own.

Overwhelmed with excitement, Chen Mo picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number from his hometown.

He wanted to tell his family the news, so that at least they could be happy too.

Hearing the "click-click" sound from the microphone, Chen Mo involuntarily straightened his back, and his mood became quite excited.

Normally, he would rarely call home.

It's not that I don't want to fight.

The main problem is that he doesn't have to pay to make calls, but his parents have to pay to receive calls, and they don't have a landline at home.

Roaming fees are expensive, and every time I call the village chief's house, even if we're from the same village and have a good relationship, I always have to pay him two or three yuan each time.

The family wasn't well-off, and the two elderly people had been frugal for most of their lives. Chen Mo didn't want to cause the family to spend a large sum of money every month just because of frequent phone calls.

"Hello? Who is it?"

The call was finally connected, and a middle-aged man's voice came from the other end.

Chen Mo hurriedly said, "Is this Uncle Zheng? I'm Chen Mo. Could you please call my parents?"

"Oh my! Xiao Mo, haha, you haven't talked to your family in a while. You wait here, I'm coming right now."

"It's just that Xuejun might not be home. I saw your dad ride his bike out early this morning."

"Wait ten minutes before you hit me, kid."

Before Chen Mo could respond, the call was abruptly ended.

The charge is different for the first minute and for more than one minute.

Chen Mo stared at the clock on the office wall, and when the time came, he dialed home again.

This time, the response was very smooth.

"Hello, is this Xiao Mo?" came the voice of his mother, Liu Fenglan, from the other end of the line.

"Mom, it's me. Has Dad gone to work again?"

"Well, a family in Tianzhuang is getting married next month and they asked your dad to make a TV cabinet. He's been busy with that these past few days. Xiao Mo, how are you doing in the army? Have you been hungry? It's getting hot every day, do you have any lighter clothes to wear?"

Hearing his mother's concern, Chen Mo felt both heartbroken and somewhat amused. It was impossible for soldiers to wear cotton-padded clothes in the middle of summer.

"Mom, I'm doing well. Oh, and Mom, your son got promoted."

"Promotion to officer means going from a soldier to an officer through study, attending military academy, and becoming a cadre in the army."

If it were to be about promotion or military academy, Liu Fenglan might not actually know anything about it, as the village was poorly connected to information and had little contact with the outside world.

But if we're talking about cadres, Liu Fenglan definitely knows them.

Liu's mother was stunned for a while before nervously asking, "Child, do you mean you want to go to school and become a cadre?"

“Oh dear, this is a big deal. I’ll go find your dad and see if he can give some gifts to the school leaders. You haven’t been studying for so long, so we need to buy some things and try to find someone to help you.”

"Hey, Mom, this isn't the school in our hometown."

Chen Mo was also startled by his mother's reaction. He really didn't know when his family's connections had become so strong that they could actually send gifts to the Shimen Lu Academy.

It took a lot of effort, and with the village chief acting as an advisor beside his mother, Chen Mo finally explained the necessary relationship between attending military academy and being promoted to officer.

In the words of the village chief, it was as if the ancestral graves of the Chen family had manifested their power.

A military officer is going to come from our family.

The village also needs someone to become an officer in the army.

After figuring out what had happened, Liu Fenglan wiped away her tears and said, "Xiao Mo, do your job well. Don't worry about anything at home."

"Xiaojing has also gone to the preparatory class. Xiaofeng should be fine for the high school entrance exam this year. How much is the tuition for the military academy? I'll have your dad mail it to you."

“When you get to school, make sure you get along well with everyone, visit people often, and don’t hold grudges. You’ve always been an honest child, so call home often. If you need anything, have your dad mail it to you.”

Liu Fenglan gave detailed instructions for a long time.

Throughout the call, Chen Mo didn't utter a single rebuttal. Having been reborn, he truly enjoyed the warmth of family life. The two chatted for quite some time before ending the call due to his mother's urging to stop because she complained about the expensive phone bill.

It was lunchtime.

There's no way we can go back to the dormitory. Right now, Liang, the new medic, and Zhao Wuliang are either fast asleep or playing cards with the deputy company commander.

It wasn't good to bother them in the past.

Chen Mo simply rummaged through the office and pulled out his military overcoat, spread it on the floor, and fell fast asleep with the hem of the coat covering his belly.

He was indeed quite exhausted.

I've been busy organizing the files of veterans lately. This morning I saw them off and then took a stroll around the Second Battalion.

When I returned, the promotion notice had already been issued.

These days were incredibly exciting; during his lunch break, Chen Mo kept dreaming.

I dreamt of the scene from my past life when I went to report for duty, I dreamt of a debate competition, and I dreamt of my old boss.

I also dreamt that when I applied for a demobilization, I handed in my armbands and shoulder patches, and left without telling anyone, carrying only a bag.

The sense of loss and desolation he felt at that moment lingered until he woke up and stared at the ceiling; he hadn't yet recovered from the feeling in his dream.

But soon, Chen Mo was startled by the scene before him.

As his pupils slowly focused and his gaze swept around, he saw not an empty office.

Instead, it was a group of veterans who had somehow appeared, numbering a dozen or twenty, who filled the entire office.

Everyone was carrying backpacks, wearing helmets, and holding rifles, looking at him with sinister grins.

"I rely on!!"

Chen Mo, who rarely swears, was so shocked by the scene before him that he couldn't help but curse out loud.

What are you doing?

"Hehe! You're sleeping soundly."

"Scholar, you even shed tears in your sleep. Are you reluctant to leave us?"

"As a reconnaissance soldier, your counter-reconnaissance awareness is so poor. We've been standing here for so long and you didn't even notice. You still need to practice."

Everyone spoke in all directions.

But they didn't just talk; several veterans rushed up and, without saying a word, hung their heavy backpacks on Chen Mo's body.

His military cap was snatched away in a flash, replaced with a heavy and uncomfortable helmet, and someone even shoved a rifle into his hands.

Chen Mo didn't need to say a word at all.

A group of veterans forcibly armed him fully, and then each of them held one of his arms, carrying him from the company headquarters office to the drill ground.

I just woke up and was forced to turn on.

When Chen Mo landed, he still felt a little lightheaded. Looking at the training ground, he saw that all the soldiers of the company had arrived.

He chuckled dryly and said, "Squad leader, what's going on? You don't need to be so enthusiastic, do you?"

"What for? I'm just seeing you off, of course."

"Yeah, Scholar, our company may not have much else, but we have plenty of training subjects. You son of a bitch, you've been giving us a hard time lately, and now you want to just pack up and leave?"

"Don't waste your breath on him, let's do a 10-kilometer run to warm up."

A group of veterans jeering and shoving Chen Mo onto the track.

Seeing that things were getting out of hand, if I didn't get away from these old foxes soon, I might really be bullied to death by them.

Taking advantage of the veteran's inattention, Chen Mo took off running, followed by a large crowd of people who shouted and chased after him.

Damn it, these veterans say they're seeing you off, but they're all ruthless in their actions.

You, scholar, aren't you physically strong? Don't you like to show off?

It took an entire afternoon.

The 10km run was really just a warm-up; there was no regard for any particular method or technique. It was all about frog jumps, duck walks, pushing a bike through laps, and climbing the "despair slope"—anything to torture you.

It wasn't just Chen Mo who was gritting his teeth and persevering; everyone joined in, working themselves to the bone under the scorching sun.

They weren't targeting Chen Mo, nor were they targeting themselves.

The military camp was too monotonous, and they had nothing else to vent their emotions. So many people left, and they might have cried at the time, but they wouldn't have felt much.

What's truly painful is seeing familiar faces in the dormitory during lunch break after everyone has left, and then not being able to find your comrades with whom you usually eat and live when you gather again.

Think about the fact that the other person will never come back.

This is when the emotions truly break down.

The reconnaissance company trained until sunset, when the golden sunlight shone on the ground, creating a beautiful twilight scene.

Chen Mo dragged his tired body, took off his backpack, and lay down comfortably on the ground.

Enjoying this moment of peace.

"Congratulations on your promotion, scholar."

Among the collapsed crowd, someone shouted, but judging from the tone, the person wasn't jealous; it was a genuine blessing.

"Scholar, a good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown. Don't disgrace our reconnaissance company when you go out. If anyone bullies you, fight them. If you can't beat them, call me and I'll ask for leave to go and deal with them."

"Scholar, military academy is not like the company. Try your best and don't forget your goal. We can all see that you have a lot on your mind."

"Do you know, scholar, that life is very long? It's so long that we were fighting side by side yesterday, but you might run away tomorrow, you son of a bitch."

"Don't listen to their nonsense. When you get to military academy, just study hard and don't try to show off. I've heard there are a lot of tough guys in the Army Academy's reconnaissance department. Don't go against them."

"Damn it, you dog scholar, remember to come back after you graduate. I still haven't kept my promise to treat you to drinks."

Chen Mo lay on the ground, listening to the voices around him, gazing at the twilight sky.

He really wanted to talk to these veterans, but unfortunately, he simply didn't have the energy.

Damn it, the reconnaissance company is great in every way, and the company commander and political instructor are both nice people.

This farewell ceremony was absolutely awful.

It's fortunate it was him; if it were any other private, after a few hours of drills, he would definitely be urinating blood.

The scenery at dusk is truly beautiful; I'll have to wait until I come back next time.

I guess it will be next year.

(End of this chapter)