1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 10: Fifty Rings!
After a day of training.

Zhou Xu returned to his dormitory and, without doing anything else, lay down on his bed and started reading a novel.

A group of people were soaking their feet while complaining, "The amount of exercise we did on the first day was equivalent to running several laps outside."

Wang Kang sat cross-legged on the bed: "It's not just running a few laps. I feel like I've never been this tired, even when I'm at home, going up and down mountains or crossing rivers to catch fish. If this continues, I'll fall apart before I even start training."

Squad Leader Li was the last to enter the room. He wiped his sweat and said:
"This is just the beginning, and you're already complaining. Keep going! Some companies have physical training in the morning and shooting in the afternoon. The more training a unit has, the more opportunities there are for promotion, staying in the army, and joining the Party!"

"..." The group glanced at Squad Leader Li, knowing that he had a good temper.

Li Xiang saw Zhou Xu curled up in bed reading a book and asked curiously, "Zhou Xu, everyone's chatting, what are you reading?"

Zhou Xu spread out the "PLA Literature and Art" magazine and said, "I'll just read the novels."

"What novel?"

“There’s a story about revolutionary history in the People’s Liberation Army Literature and Art magazine, about how we fought the Japanese…” Zhou Xu explained slowly.

"You can read?" Liu Xiang asked.

"Hmm..." Zhou Xu nodded.

Zhou Youcai bragged a little: "I didn't even pass the junior high school entrance exam after finishing elementary school, but Zhou Xu finished high school. He was originally going to be assigned to a town, but the team leader dragged him to join the army together!"

Zhang Duoyu looked on with envy: "High school students, class monitor! Can high school students take the military academy entrance exam? And they can even get promoted! Brother Zhou Xu, you've got this covered!"

Squad Leader Li hadn't seen the information on any of them, and only then did he realize that Zhou Xu's calm and composed demeanor these past few days was actually because he had a backup plan!

"Hey! But there are layers of assessments to get into military academy! It's not easy for anyone in the army to get into military academy. I hope Comrade Zhou Xu will work hard and maybe he can bring glory to our company."

"I don't have a chance at military academy. I couldn't even get into university. I'd better just stay in the army and work hard!" Zhou Xu said modestly.

"Yes, the military also has a promising future."

As the group was still talking, a discordant voice broke the silence.

"You're reading novels, playing musical instruments, and singing! You even want to take the entrance exam for an arts school. Do you really want to join a performing arts troupe?" Wang Kang asked with a hint of disdain.

Zhou Xu nodded slightly, without saying a word.

Squad Leader Li grinned:
"Zhou Xu, if you keep up your grades, you'll still have a good chance when the cultural troupe recruits and new recruits are assigned later!"

Wang Kang continued, "I don't think he wanted to go to the performing arts troupe to participate in activities, but rather to see the girls! I heard that all the girls there have long legs...tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to be such a closet pervert, Zhou Xu!"

Liu Xiang and the others exchanged glances, naturally sensing a hint of jealousy in Wang Kang's words.

Zhou Xu performed well and was highly regarded by his superiors... Being tall and handsome, he naturally attracted the jealousy of petty and narrow-minded people.

Squad Leader Li sensed a tension rising between them; such incidents were not uncommon in the recruit training company.

A class has eight people, sometimes more than ten. It's impossible for them not to have one or two minor conflicts! And this veteran cop plays the role of a lubricant: "Hey! Wang Kang, don't talk nonsense. Others don't mind you disturbing their studies, and you're complaining about them!"

Li Xiang scratched his head, feeling that he shouldn't have started the conversation with Zhou Xu, but he didn't want to talk to someone like Wang Kang either, so he took the initiative to approach him.

"Hey, Brother Xu, can you tell me what this book is about?"

"Can you read? Can I lend you a book?"

"don't know!"

Zhou Youcai quickly climbed up from below and immediately put his arm around Zhou Xu's shoulder.

The two brothers used to sleep together with their pants down when they were little, so it would be strange if they disliked him now.

Zhou Youcai said, "Anyway, you're watching it all by yourself, so just pick a short one and read it aloud to everyone!"

On the other side, Zhang Duoyu was the most curious: "Yes, yes, I also want to hear a story, Brother Xu, please tell us one!"

Now that literacy has been achieved, it doesn't mean everyone will listen just because you've explained it...

Some people can read, but only some simple characters. It might be difficult for them to delve into literary works.

Zhou Xu said, "Then I might as well tell you a story. Well, the name of this story is 'Changjin Lake,' and it's about a volunteer soldier."

There was no other way; he had just finished writing the novel, and the outline of it was still in his mind. So he decided to tell this group of people the story that was already in his head.

A group of people looked up.

Even though Wang Kang, who had just had a fight, was lying on his own bed, he couldn't help but turn his ear this way.

…………

Life in the military is fulfilling.

Simply put, you're so busy you don't have time to think about anything else.

And they also get paid.

Perhaps there's also some camaraderie among them.

This is why many people miss the military, but it's not necessarily true that everyone misses their time in the military.

~~~
This simple and unpretentious work has been going on for quite a while.

Finally, they arrived at the stage that every soldier was most curious about: shooting practice.

After all, who joins the army without wanting to handle a gun? Of course, some also want to become officers. Current shooting training focuses on the mainstream equipment of the army at that time, such as the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle and the Type 56 assault rifle, and gradually progresses from weapon principles, disassembly and assembly, aiming postures (prone, kneeling, and standing positions), to live-fire shooting procedures.

A few days ago, I explained the weapon's principles and other preparatory work.

Now, half a month has passed, and they have finally arrived at their recruit company.

A group of people stood at the firing range, and Squad Leader Li began distributing bullets: "There are ten bullets in total, five at a time, which means you only have two chances to shoot!"

In this day and age, resources are scarce. When you were in the military in the 21st century, you could take turns having many live-fire training sessions in an afternoon. Now, each person in the army has about ten practice rounds per month.

Of course, some combat companies are different; they might have more, but their recruit companies only have ten bullets a month.

Shooting training is conducted at the company level, and then at the class level in rounds.

"Class One, get ready!"

The veterans over there started directing the taking of guns.

A group of people were eager to try and prepared to shoot.

Start loading and aiming.

"Get ready! Start!"

Bang bang bang! The old gun's recoil was a bit strong; some cowards fired a shot and were so scared that they dropped the gun.

"What are you doing? What?"

Company Commander Song Zhipeng, seeing his actions, immediately went over and pulled him up, saying, "Why did you put your gun down??"

The soldier's legs trembled with fear: "I...I'm afraid of guns..."

"Stand up and take it!"

“I…” The soldier plopped down on the ground.

"I told you to pick it up!"

"..."

"Damn it. I've never seen such a cowardly soldier. Put the bullets away, don't let him waste them, get out of here!" Company Commander Song Zhipeng shouted angrily.

The rest of the people burst into laughter at the sight.

Zhou Youcai, standing nearby with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, said, "Zhou Xu, see that? Even if you're scared, don't put down your gun! This kind of guy not only won't be able to touch a gun now, but he won't be able to touch one in the future either. He'll probably end up being fed to the pigs!"

Zhou Xu nodded; this kind of mistake was all too typical.

then.

When it was their turn: "Third Shift, get ready!"

Zhou Xu immediately went over.

This was his first time... not quite his first time, he had touched it in college and had some experience with it... the original owner actually often played with the gun left by his father in private.

So I'm fairly proficient with firearms.

Immediately load the bullets.

The officer shouted, "Fire!"

clap clap clap!
"Thirty rings, twenty-five rings... Zhou Xu: Forty rings!"

Zhou Xu immediately became the focus of everyone's attention. After all, he scored 40 points on his first shot, which really shows he is a shooting prodigy!

They had one more chance to shoot, so they went to the back of the line to continue queuing.

The squad leader walked over: "Hey! Zhou Xu, keep up the good work! The company commander has noticed you too. If you perform well, you might even get an award!"

Zhou Xu nodded.

The men in front continued to take turns firing. Because of the embarrassing incident with the pumpkin, they dared not slack off, as a single obvious mistake could ruin their entire recruit career, which was not worth it for anyone.

Zhou Xu made it to the second round.

Because of the shooting just now, he got a feel for it. Although he didn't awaken the shooting system from the ancient times, he could feel that he could do very well this time!
Since he can do it well, he definitely wouldn't deliberately act like a jerk!

He ejaculated several times, feeling a strong sensation, and then finished ejaculating immediately.

"...Fifty...fifty rings?"

The person counting from the pit ditch shouted.

"Thirty rings, twenty rings... fifty rings..." Even the officer announcing the final results couldn't believe it.

Upon hearing this, even the company commander was unsettled.

Getting 50 rings isn't actually that outrageous, but it's outrageous when it happens to a greenhorn.

"Is that really a 50-ring? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

As he spoke, Company Commander Song walked towards Zhou Xu.

(End of this chapter)