Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 316 Rank doesn't matter, treatment is the real signal
Hear a familiar voice.

Chen Xuejun and Liu Fenglan finally recognized the person in front of them as their son in their memory.

The changes are too great! If we hadn't run into each other at our doorstep, the two elders probably wouldn't have recognized each other on the street.

Chen's mother walked up to her son and looked at him carefully.

"Mom, don't you recognize me?" Chen Mo smiled brightly and casually took off his military cap.

“I recognize him, I recognize him. Of course I recognize my eldest son. He must be starving. I’ll go heat up his food.”

Liu Fenglan wiped away her tears of joy and reheated the dinner she had prepared for the child again and again. She was finally relieved that the child had returned.

Panicked, she quickly turned and ran towards the kitchen.

When a mother sees her child, she will always first ask if the child is hungry or cold.

As for the rest, none of that matters.

"dad."

"Eh."

Chen Xuejun, on the other hand, was somewhat reserved. He was so excited that he kept rubbing his hands together, but he didn't know what to say.

This man, who holds his family together, sees his children return home.

Judging from the situation, he even became a leader. As the head of the family, he probably felt both the joy of his children's success and the embarrassment and bewilderment that his children no longer needed him.

With other guests present, Chen Mo couldn't keep chatting with his parents. He looked at the two leaders from the Fengxian Armed Forces Department and immediately stood up straight: "Greetings, leaders."

"Good, good, good!"

"You are welcome."

Cao Deming was completely bewildered and instinctively stood up to return the greeting.

This is my hometown, and there are still many villagers nearby, so there's no need to salute.

With his and Political Commissar Dong Guoqiang's discerning eye, they could immediately tell Chen Mo's military rank.

Although a leader from the Jinyang Military Headquarters called to say that Chen Mo from their Feng County was coming back and wanted to take his family to live in Jinyang, and asked the local military region to cooperate in handling the issues of housing and land.

It was also mentioned that Chen Mo is now a major and a battalion commander.

But after all, they were the ones who watched Chen Mo sign up for the army and sent him to the military.

The fact that he was appointed battalion commander in such a short time should have made them both suspicious. After coming back, everything has changed. He doesn't look like a private coming home at all.

Not only could they take a car back, but they could take three cars at once.

It should be noted that the entire Fengxian Armed Forces Department only has one off-road military vehicle, and the rest are just two troop transport trucks, which were retired from the provincial military region.

What shocked them even more was that the four people who followed them back were not ordinary soldiers.

His gaze was sharp as a knife; he became alert as soon as he got out of the car. His right hand was noticeably raised higher than his left, and his wrist was always taut. This was an armed guard.

Be nice!

The lowest rank required to be a bodyguard is a deputy corps commander. What was Chen Mo doing at the military region?
He went to become the battalion commander of the Shenji Battalion?
Even the commander of the Divine Machine Battalion shouldn't receive this treatment.

"Major Chen, you've just gotten back. Take a rest and spend time with your family. We can talk about it tomorrow."

The two leaders from the armed forces department responded somewhat awkwardly.

The information provided by the Jinyang Military Region was clearly false. These were not ordinary battalion-level officers; both of them were colonels, although they belonged to a local military region and were not part of the field army.

But at least he's a regimental commander; I've never seen a battalion commander have such a lot of influence.

"Alright, thank you for making the trip, sir. I'll go to the county tomorrow."

"No trouble, no trouble."

Dong Guoqiang waved his hand repeatedly.

It was already past 10 p.m., which is considered late at night in the countryside, so Chen Mo felt embarrassed to keep them there any longer.

After exchanging a few more polite words, he left in a hurry.

As they passed guards who were opening their trunks to take out gifts, the two men took a few extra glances to make sure they had guns on their hips before hurriedly getting into their car and heading back to the city.

They were going to try to find out what was going on, and even if they couldn't find out, the county's attitude shouldn't have been that only the two of them came.

Less than a year later, his status and position have quietly changed, if the eldest son of the Chen family is indeed special.

Local authorities also need to cooperate and take some action, even if it's just visiting people's homes to offer condolences and leave a good impression. If they become successful in the future, they will remember the people or things from their hometown and help with its development. That makes all the difference.

The main issue is that they were accompanied by armed guards, which is not just frightening, but outrageous.

Chen Mo watched the two leaders leave.

Seeing Chen Feng standing there like a stick, staring at him without saying a word.

Chen Mo chuckled and said, "What are you standing there for? Don't you recognize your brother?"

"Come help me move these things."

"oh oh!"

Chen Feng only reacted when he heard the call, and rushed outside to get his things. The few remaining neighbors in the courtyard also helped.

Chen Mo quickly took out a cigarette and offered one to the group. He didn't want to trouble his neighbors, but they were too enthusiastic and he couldn't stop them.

He was so enthusiastic that he couldn't even squeeze to the front of the car.

Chen Mo felt somewhat helpless and turned to look around the yard.

He noticed Chen Jing clinging to the edge of the door, her small figure standing there timidly looking at him.

He crouched down and beckoned, and Chen Jing finally moved over.

She stared at it for a long time, her eyes still filled with doubt. It seemed somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

Clearly, a considerable amount of time has passed, and the impressions in the children's minds fade quickly.

"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?"

Chen Mo reached out and pinched his little sister's face, then picked her up and took a can of syrup from Chen Feng who was passing by. He unscrewed it, poured the syrup into the can, and handed it to Chen Jing.

With food available, Chen Jing became noticeably more lively and stopped yawning and feeling sleepy. She held the lid in her little hands and ate by herself.

"Why did you buy so much stuff? It's such a waste of money." Chen Xuejun helped his neighbor carry the load five or six times before finally finishing, and couldn't help but grumble.

But there was no hint of scolding on his face; he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Old Chen, your child is so filial to you, and you're still not happy about it."

Tie Zhu returned again and again to help, and only after he finished moving things did he walk up to Chen Mo and reach out to touch the sleeve of the uniform with envy: "Wow, the material of this military uniform is really good."

"It's thick and warm."

"Xiao Mo, tell your uncle the truth. The county leader just said you became a leader in the army. Is that true?"

"There's no such thing as being a leader; I'm just a low-ranking officer leading troops."

Chen Mo held his younger sister in his arms, then took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered them to the people around him.

"That's incredible! You've only been in the army for a few days, and you're already leading troops?" Tie Zhu said with a gossipy look on his face. "I heard you're a battalion commander, not a low-ranking officer."

"The battalion commander is quite high-ranking, several ranks higher than Li Shuanzhu's eldest son, who is a deputy company commander in Wangmingzhai."

"Hey, you're talking about Li Shuanzhu's eldest son. I heard from people that he was never a company commander in the army, he just spouts nonsense."

"Hey, who told you that he's a liar?"

"Who told me that? The woman Old Li married was from Dongdaqiao Village, and she didn't want to stay with him anymore. Besides, there's an officer in the military in his family, so why don't we see county leaders sending oil and meat to his house?"

A group of neighbors, their expressions as if they were plotting a major national affair, their demeanor remarkably confident.

Chen Mo wasn't interested in these things and didn't know the details. Seeing that his mother had reheated all the dishes, he simply invited Xu Dong and the others, as well as the neighbors present, to sit down and eat together.

"Dad, Mom, Xiaofeng, you should eat some too. There's too much food for us to finish."

We definitely can't finish it.

Currently, pork in town costs 2.7 yuan per jin (0.5 kg). Prices in the small town are not high. Chen Feng bought more than 3 jin and, along with the lard given to him by the Armed Forces Department for National Day, stewed a large pot of pork slice soup with cabbage and vermicelli.

There was also a large basket of steamed buns made from wheat flour.

Let alone five people, even ten people couldn't finish it.

“We’ve all eaten, Xiao Mo, you guys eat. It’s not easy for us to be reunited, don’t worry about us.” Several neighbors stood around the door, not coming in.

"I'm not eating anymore, I'm already full, you go ahead and eat." Chen's mother urged with a smile, and served her second son another bowl. The old couple sat down happily beside him.

Watching the eldest son feed the youngest daughter, then looking at the second son, and seeing several taciturn soldiers sitting nearby.

The elderly couple were increasingly delighted as they looked at it.

The neighbors who had been huddled at the doorway peeked in for a while, but seeing that it was getting too late, they didn't linger. After exchanging a few casual words of gossip, they got up and went home one after another.

Dinner lasted until after 11 p.m. Perhaps Chen Jingzhen remembered her brother, because she went from being timid at the beginning to clinging to him like a koala after dinner.

Liu Fenglan waited until her daughter fell asleep before carrying her away and putting her inside.

She didn't need to do anything to clean it up.

Chen Feng and Xu Dong quickly washed the dishes, while the other three went out and never returned.

Chen Xuejun felt very uncomfortable watching the guests help clear the dishes. He tried to stop them several times, but Xu Dong kept telling him it was okay.

He could only sit awkwardly to the side. When he wanted to roll a cigarette, Chen Mo took out two opened packs of cigarettes from his pocket and placed them in front of him.

"Dad, smoke this one, it's less strong."

"Hey, hey." Chen Xuejun nodded and took the cigarette pack, his rough hands stroking it. He sat quietly, neither smoking nor moving, seemingly lost in thought.

After Xu Dong finished cleaning up the dishes and left, Chen Mo also finished helping, wiped his hands, and came out of the kitchen.

Liu Fenglan put her youngest daughter on the bed, then cleaned up Chen Mo and Chen Feng's room, and cleared out another old bed, laying out bedding on it.

Looking around the courtyard and not seeing the four taciturn soldiers, he asked curiously, "Did those kids go to find Maozi?"

"No, Mom, they've all gone out."

Chen Feng, a high school freshman, is at an age where he admires heroes. Now, seeing the group of people who came back with his brother, they look just like the heroes described in his textbooks.

Being around them is really cool.

“I’ve already made up the bed, Xiaofeng. You’re as dark-skinned as Jingjing, so stay in my and your dad’s room for now. Squeeze in. Your brother and our guests will stay in your room.”

“Sure, I’m fine with anything,” Chen Feng readily agreed.

"Mom, we don't need to worry about them or ask too many questions. I guess they won't be staying in the house."

Chen Mo shook his head slightly. He had never met the people from the Security Bureau before, but Xu Dong had mentioned them briefly when he was clearing the dishes.

Two people sleep at night, and two people are on duty, taking turns.

I sleep in the car to avoid the hassle of going in and out of the house.

These people weren't from the Blue Army battalion. His suggestion as the battalion commander was just that—a suggestion. Whether they listened or not was up to the guard.

At least until the armored regiment's guard platoon was established, this group's mission was protection.

Normally.

If your own child says such things when entertaining guests, they will definitely be scolded and lectured by your parents.

But today, so many unexpected things happened that Liu Fenglan and Chen Xuejun didn't know where to begin asking questions.

Chen Mo always reported good news and never bad news. He was always happy when he called home and never mentioned whether anyone in the army was bullying him. His family didn't even know about his leadership position.

This sudden change is a bit hard to process.

Only when there were no outsiders around did Chen Xuejun take out a match, strike it, and let the flame illuminate his father's weathered face as he took a deep drag on the cigarette his son had given him.

He then said somewhat nervously, "Xiao Mo." "Yes, Dad," Chen Mo quickly sat up straight.

“Tell your family the truth, did you get into trouble in the army? If you really did, just say that we have some money and we’ll talk to the county leaders.”

"If all else fails, ask your uncles and aunts for help. They can put in a good word for you. We have to take responsibility for whatever trouble we've caused. As long as we change, that's fine. I've never been in the army, but I can tell that those people who were eating earlier weren't ordinary soldiers."

"Was he sent by your superiors to supervise you?"

Chen Xuejun spoke these words with an extremely serious expression.

You know your own child best. Although Chen Mo was quite sensible when he was young and didn't cause any trouble for the family, he was only a little mischievous, raiding bird nests, catching fish in the river, and occasionally getting into fights.

But he was stubborn and too opinionated, and he wouldn't listen to anyone's advice, Chen Xuejun knew that perfectly well.

Hearing him say that, Liu Fenglan also became nervous.

On the contrary, Chen Feng stood firmly on his brother's side and was about to speak up to argue when Chen Mo smiled and patted his brother's arm, indicating that he didn't need to speak.

Given their limited experience, it's normal for parents to have such concerns; arguing about it is pointless.

"Dad, I didn't cause any trouble. Who else would cause trouble and still buy so much stuff?"

Chen Mo pointed to Cheng Dong, and the Shanxi provincial specialties, rice, flour, and cooking oil that Fang Peijun and the others had bought for him.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuejun's worried expression eased somewhat. Indeed, those things were all grain, a precious commodity that every household was in need of.

How could you send this to someone who caused trouble?

Having found a breakthrough, Chen Mo continued, "Dad, Mom, and Xiaofeng, I'm back this time to take you all to Jinyang."

"Listen to me first."

Seeing that his parents were about to make excuses again, Chen Mo quickly said, "Jinyang is a big city, and my sister is still young. The conditions for her to study there will be much better than in our hometown."

“Going out of the big city means you’ll be a city dweller, and you’ll be able to find a respectable job. Xiaojing is still young, and we can’t let her stay in our hometown forever. It’s good for her to go out and see the world and broaden her horizons.”

"Dad, Mom, you'll have to work a little harder. A change of environment will make it easier for me to go back later, and Xiaofeng and Xiaojing will also have better opportunities."

Chen Mo knew that her parents did everything for the good of their child.

If you only talk about the convenience of big cities when accompanying your spouse to the military, and only talk about how convenient other things are, your parents definitely won't go. You can bring up your younger siblings instead.

Chen Xuejun and Liu Fenglan exchanged a glance; their train of thought had been completely swayed by Chen Mo's change of topic.

I can't even remember asking about the trouble I caused earlier.

Chen's father finished his cigarette, put it on the ground and crushed it out. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Before you came back, the county leaders also said that our family was going to become a working-class family. It's good to study in a big city, and the education must be better."

“If we go to the city, what will happen to our land? We don’t have much land, but we have three mu, which yields a good amount of grain every year.”

"And then there's this house. If it's not used for a long time, people will trample on it. Your grandfather built it, so we can't let it fall into disrepair."

"Oh, Dad."

Chen Mo pressed on, saying, "We can rent the land to people in the village to farm, or we can tell the village and let them manage it for us. No matter who we rent it to, the brigade can give us money or grain every year."

"As for this house, we're just going to live in the city. This will always be our hometown. If we want to come back for holidays, it's easy to take the train from Jincheng to Fengxian, so we can always come back."

"I usually ask my uncles or comrades from the armed forces department to come and clean up a bit and add some life to the place."

“Dad, I want to study in a big city. I’ve wanted to go for a long time,” Chen Feng added immediately.

He was speaking in support of his brother, but it was also the truth.

In this era, the allure of big city life, becoming a working-class family, a proud worker, and earning a wage is still quite strong.

Especially in resource-rich cities like Yingcheng, there was no 92 unemployment wave, workers had a high social status, and they lived a good life.

“And my sister definitely wants to go too.” Chen Feng added, “Of course, the most important thing is that it’s close to my brother. He can come home to visit anytime. This place is too far away.”

As the second child in the family, he was not as valued as his older brother nor as loved as his younger sister, although this bias was not obvious in the Chen family.

But children feel things most deeply, so Chen Feng has had the excellent quality of being observant and perceptive since childhood.

Liu Fenglan hesitated for a moment: "The main problem is that our family won't be able to make a living in a big city. Your father's health isn't good, so even if we arrange a job for him, he won't be able to do it."

“I can do odd jobs, but Xiaofeng is in school and Xiaojing needs to be picked up and dropped off at school, so I can’t find the time.”

"Don't worry, Mom. As long as you make the arrangements, I'll definitely be able to do it. I'm already planning to arrange jobs for the families of many comrades so that more family members can join the army. There won't be any problem."

Chen Mo patted his chest confidently, as if making a guarantee.

To put it bluntly...

The military probably knows his family's situation better than he, as their son, does.

I reckon they've checked three to five generations back several times. They know where the father works, the family income, and his health condition. There's nothing the higher-ups don't know.

Since Political Commissar Liao had promised to arrange a job, Chen Mo had every reason to believe that his father was capable, that he wouldn't be too tired, and that the salary wouldn't be very high, but it would be enough to support the family, with three or four hundred yuan a month.

In addition, there are the benefits of military family housing during holidays, as well as free education and medical care.

Either way, it's better than staying in my hometown.

Besides, the Blue Army battalion is about to be relocated, so he can rest assured that things are settled at home.

If one day, when the bugle sounds and you are asked to die for your country, you will have no regrets.

With family members settled, the former leader will likely become the dean of the sergeant academy.

He had no further concerns but to stride forward.

The state will protect us after we pass away.

"Well, I'll talk to your mother about it again." Chen Xuejun was still somewhat hesitant.

However, Chen Mo and Chen Feng, who knew their parents' character well, exchanged a glance and knew that the matter was already more than half settled.

As long as the children are mentioned, the elderly couple can't refuse.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Chen Xuejun and Liu Fenglan couldn't resist their sleepiness any longer and got up to go back to their room to rest.

In the early morning of October 10th.

The moon and stars are rare.

The two brothers sat under the eaves. Chen Feng didn't say anything, just quietly kept his older brother company.

In fact, ever since the night Chen Mo wrote the letter to the Armed Forces Department last year, Chen Feng had noticed that his older brother had changed, but he couldn't quite put his finger on how.

However, the trust he had built up since childhood made him firmly believe that Chen Mo would definitely make a name for himself in the army.

That's why they say brothers are brothers.

Chen Mo also gazed at the night sky, recalling the night he wrote the letter. The night sky was not much different from today's.

The difference lies in the people sitting under the same night sky.

Even he didn't expect that he would have changed so much when he returned.

. . . . . . . . .

It was a little after six o'clock in the morning on the 10th.

Chen Mo was sound asleep when he was awakened by the noise outside. He hadn't stayed at home for a long time, so he slept very soundly.

Just as he was about to get up to see what was going on, he turned around and saw Chen Jing holding a jar of syrup in both hands, sitting on a small stool next to his bed.

Seeing Chen Mo open his eyes.

The little girl happily got up and placed the can in front of her: "Brother, open it for me."

"it is good."

Chen Mo smiled and ruffled his little sister's hair: "Why didn't you sleep a little longer? Why did you get up so early?"

"I can't sleep, so I got up to see if you've left."

"I'm not leaving, and even if I do, I'll take you with me." Chen Mo quickly put on his coat, picked up the little girl, and went outside to see what was happening. Only then did he realize that a lot of neighbors had gathered at the door.

They all looked familiar, but Chen Mo had been away from home for too long in his previous life, and hadn't stayed for more than a few days in this life, so he couldn't remember the names of many of them.

Fortunately, Chen Jing was there. Seeing her brother's predicament, she leaned on his shoulder and introduced him to his fourth aunt and sixth uncle one by one, which finally helped him out of the predicament.

Good morning, Fourth Aunt.

"Hey, isn't this Old Chen's eldest son? I almost didn't recognize him. Goodness gracious! I heard you're a battalion commander in the army?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Chen Mo nodded.

"I knew from a young age that Old Chen's eldest son would amount to something, and look, I was right."

Fourth Aunt shouted loudly.

This almost caused Chen Mo, who was fearless and audacious, to flee in panic.

His aunt's words gave him goosebumps. Besides, he didn't remember his aunt ever praising him.

"Not bad, not bad at all. They look different from the people in our village. They're like big leaders. They're really good."

Uncle Liu, along with several other neighbors, also gave their comments.

Chen Mo barely managed to get by. When he reached the door, he noticed that Xu Dong and the others had changed into civilian clothes.

But honestly, changing into casual clothes was completely unnecessary.

His black, suit-like outfit made him stand out even more in the village.

Nothing feels as fitting as wearing baggy shorts.

But one good thing about Chen Mo is that he never talks about things he doesn't understand. Maybe the guards deliberately changed into eye-catching clothes because there were many people during the day.

The purpose is to distinguish the gazes of those around them.

"If you're sleepy, go inside and take a nap. You don't need to be so cautious back home, do you?"

Chen Mo walked up to him and said.

"It's nothing, I slept during the night shift." Xu Dong shook his head, then gestured towards the village entrance with his chin, saying, "The armed forces are here again."

"But this time it's not just them, there are also many labor teams organized by various units in the county. They are planting trees and sweeping the streets right now."

"I expect a leader will be coming over around noon, so you should get ready too."

"Ugh, my head hurts."

Chen Mo sighed. It was really difficult for a soldier like him to handle these matters.

But he also knew that bringing guards back would be too presumptuous, and this step was unavoidable.

As long as the armed forces department has the ability to find out from the military region that these guards are real, regardless of whether they are from the guard bureau, they will make a big show of it.

Sometimes, rank isn't important; treatment is what matters.

Seeing Chen Mo's worried expression, Xu Dong smiled faintly.

Before leaving the guard station, they were given only ten minutes to memorize Battalion Commander Chen's personal information and family background.

Nothing else was particularly appealing, except that the information indicated this person was a troublemaker, a shrew, and full of cunning and wicked schemes.

When the two met for the first time, Xu Dong immediately noticed that the major dared to eavesdrop on the meeting room of the leader in front of the guards.

I'm afraid this is the only oddball in the entire army.

If it were any different officer, wouldn't they all be very proper and serious?
Eavesdropping in front of the guards? What are the guards for? They're not just mascots standing at the door; they're there to block off the corridors and ensure the safety of the meeting.

He even eavesdropped through the door in front of two guards; he's really taking advantage of the situation.

Now, seeing the other party suffer a setback.

Xu Dong felt incredibly happy.

(End of this chapter)