1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 112 Level 3 Screenwriter
That evening, Zhou Xu chased the two men away.

I never sleep with men, but maybe with female soldiers...

Pooh.

I got up early again the next day. The sun was very strong that night, so strong it felt like the sun was high in the sky. I felt like my clothes were soaked with sweat.

After getting up, Zhou Xu, the junior leader, started getting dressed and then put on his hat.

We arrived outside the door.

He went straight to the canteen, sat down with a bowl of dumplings, and Zhang Fangfang from the drama troupe came over with Li Ziqiang: "Comrade Zhou Xu, how is the capital?"

"It's alright, isn't it? It's quite fun." Zhou Xu felt that his status had changed quite quickly. Now he would soon be a junior leader within the group. Thinking about this, he couldn't help but hum softly.

There's no way around it; he was a transmigrator, and since he was originally quite young, he was rather immature. It's normal for him to become arrogant after achieving some small successes.

“…Tsk, I also want to go to the capital. I hope I have the opportunity to study there someday.” Zhang Fangfang’s eyes were full of stars.

Who doesn't yearn to go to the capital?
However, Zhou Xu refused invitations from the Air Force Political Department and the General Political Department twice, saying that he loved his original organization.

"But there's still a chance this year. Mai Sui and He Jing, who are quite talented in the group, have both left. Maybe you'll get a spot this year if there are any openings," Li Ziqiang encouraged.

"This is boring..." Zhang Fangfang said helplessly.

"Hey? Comrade Zhou Xu..."

Zhou Xu finished eating and then got up and left.

"..."

The life of a soldier is actually quite dull. They are all young men in their twenties and thirties. Every day is either training or eating. It is inevitable that they will be bored and daydreaming. Someone like Xu Mumu, who can guard the company alone for half a year, is really a genius.

Zhou Xu spends his days either holed up in the archives reading or going out to manage trivial matters, looking rather pathetic.

I was out for a walk today.

Even from a distance, we could hear shouts like, "Thief! That thing stole our pork!!"

Upon hearing this, not only Zhou Xu's eyes lit up, but also those of the group of male members of the performing arts troupe.

A group of people immediately put down their instruments and ran out of the dance studio, with Zhou Xu following behind to watch the excitement.

"Chase them!" the cook shouted.

Zhou Xu ran after them, some carrying iron pipes, others carrying wooden sticks, and they ran forward!

The political commissar came out upon hearing the commotion and quickly asked, "What's going on? Why are you making such a fuss?"

Upon seeing the political commissar, the group of people stopped in an orderly manner.

The cook came running up, panting. He said hurriedly, "A fox or a badger just came and dragged away the pig liver we prepared today! How awful!!"

The political commissar glanced into the distance and said, "Oh, is that so? What are you all doing here...?"

Zhou Xu scratched his head: "Isn't this why I came out to help? Everyone's chasing that wild animal too!"

"Oh! Then you guys go and get them back!! Go now!!" The political commissar waved his hand. After all, it's easy for a group of young people to get bored and restless within the regiment. He was really afraid that they would develop some kind of problem from being bored every day.

"Bring them back for extra food!" the political commissar shouted.

"Alright, alright!" The group members rubbed their hands together, eager to get started, and immediately ran towards the back of the mountain.

Troops stationed in the mountains or suburbs probably have similar experiences, often hunting wild animals like rabbits and wild boars, which improves their physical fitness, and most importantly, makes them happy.

They looked south towards the mountain, behind which lay a forest area. Wuhan hadn't yet opened up this area to the public, and there were plenty of wild animals, including wild rabbits, foxes, badgers, and wild boars, though they were relatively rare.

Even if you can see finless porpoises in the lake.

Of course, I'm not saying the environment is great now; I'm just saying it's not open to the public yet, so there are still plenty of animals in the forest.

Besides, there are no wildlife regulations yet, and the country even encourages hunting wild animals, so there's really nothing wrong with them hunting.

"..."

Zhou Xu was just bored out of his mind, so he came out to chase the fox.

Several people ran around the mountain.

Immediately someone shouted, "Come over here quickly!"

Everyone looked over there, and there was indeed a dark figure. Because it was dragging a rather large piece of pig liver, it wasn't moving very fast.

"That's a fox!"

Someone recognized it, and Zhou Xu also recognized it as a fox.

He ran ahead after them.

Hey hey hey.

Soon, Zhou Xu, the fastest runner, was in the lead. He didn't have any decent weapons, just a wooden stick in his hand! He looked just like the Croods!
The fox was only ten meters away from Zhou Xu. Standing on a boulder in the forest, it saw the man getting closer and closer, so it dropped its liver and ran away.

It darted off the rock and into the bushes.

Zhou Xu wasn't afraid and continued to chase after him!
The woods obscured his vision, but having been on the battlefield, he found the chase relatively easy...

Ten meters!

九米
……

Three meters!

Heave-ho! Zhou Xu leaped forward and brought his stick down, hitting the fox's tail squarely.

It leaped with all its might and made a sharp turn.

Zhou Xu turned around and continued running.

Another blow came down, *thud!* It hit the fox on the head, knocking it unconscious...

He picked up the fox, and fearing it was feigning death, struck it on the head with a stick before letting go. The squad leader behind him followed Zhou Xu closely: "It seems there's chaos. What are they chasing?"

Zhou Xu glanced to the side and saw several soldiers still chasing something. Upon closer inspection, he realized they had spotted a wild rabbit and were frantically chasing it.

After all, the cultural troupe was thrown into chaos as soon as they ran away. A group of people didn't care whether it was a fox or a badger or not; they got excited whenever they saw wild animals.

"Should we go back?" The squad leader looked at Zhou Xu, who was the only officer here.

Zhou Xu coughed and said, "Let them play for a while, then they can go back later. Anyway, the political commissar said we should catch them and eat them, but he didn't say what we should catch and eat."

"..." The squad leader gave a thumbs up.

……

In the afternoon, a group of people, covered in mud and dirt, some carrying wild animals, others empty-handed, returned to their unit.

The political commissar stared blankly at what they were holding: "What is this?"

"Rabbit...rabbit!" Li Ziqiang said embarrassedly.

"Didn't I send you to catch foxes?"

Zhou Xu explained, "Political Commissar, one fox isn't enough to satisfy everyone, so I had them catch some other wild animals."

"Oh... so what are you holding when you're catching wild animals, Zhang Yibing?"

Zhang Yibing was holding a turtle in his hand: "I accidentally ran to the lakeside just now and saw that the water level had dropped, so I fished out a big turtle!"

The political commissar laughed, "Foxes and badgers! You've done a pretty good job with them. Take them to the kitchen!"

A group of people carried the wild game back to the kitchen. In just one morning, they had swept through the back mountain. After all, there were about a hundred male members, which was like a combat company.

The cooks were very skilled at preparing lunch.

Some were made into a big mixed stew, while others were stir-fried wild game.

Actually, there's not much meat in wild game; it's mostly about the umami flavor. Not everyone likes wild game, but in this day and age, where we only eat meat once or twice a week, wild game is certainly delicious.

Zhou Xu was quite happy about the hunting trip, feeling it was one of the more interesting experiences of his military career.

"..."

in the afternoon.

The political commissar then called Zhou Xu over.

The political commissar, noticing the grease on his lips, asked, "Does the wild game taste good?"

Zhou Xu pondered, "It's quite delicious. Didn't you just eat some, Political Commissar?"

"I have bad teeth," the political commissar shook his head.

"Oh, next time I'll catch you a wild, large crucian carp to stew."

"...Ahem, alright, let's get down to business. Do you know why I called you?" The political commissar coughed and then became serious.

Zhou Xu nodded immediately: "I know! It's about the rating, right?"

"Yes, of course it's about the rating! I have good news for you. You are now officially a Level 3 screenwriter and a deputy battalion-level officer!" The political commissar took out the materials that had just arrived from under the table.

The materials were still a little warm, Zhou Xu took them apart and examined them.

Seeing the words "Approved! Zhou Xu is awarded the title of Third-Class Screenwriter!" made me feel a warm current flow through my body, and this excitement was hard to suppress.

It usually takes three years for a company commander to be promoted to deputy battalion commander. Even in the TV series "Soldiers Sortie", Gao Cheng, the son of the military officer Zun, served in the Seventh Company for three years before becoming a battalion commander.

Zhou Xu has been in the army for two years and is already a deputy battalion commander, which is equivalent to a deputy town head in the commune.

Tsk, how could he not be excited?

What if we stay for a few more years?
Well, the future is still quite something.

Besides, he'll be back from military academy training, so he'll probably get promoted at least one rank, right? Then he'll be a real battalion commander.

It has to be said that administrative staff can indeed get promoted very quickly these days.

"..."

"Thank you, Political Commissar." Zhou Xu walked out of the office, holding the documents.

"Now I can apply for military academy for you with peace of mind. You will serve for two years soon, and your rank will be just right as a deputy battalion commander! Although it is a bit low, it shouldn't be difficult for you to get two first-class merits."

"I see."

Upon arriving at the studio, Lei Yuansheng asked with great concern, "Is it about the rating?"

Zhou Xu nodded slowly: "More or less."

Lei Yuansheng exclaimed, "You're level three now?"

Zhou Xu raised his head high: "Yes."

"..."

Hearing this, Lei Yuansheng felt a pang of jealousy. He had only been in the performing arts troupe for three years since graduation, and this year he had already cultivated from Level 4 to the Great Perfection of Level 4! He was just one step away from entering the early stage of Level 3.

I never expected that this young man, Zhou Xu, would take this step before me!
A prodigy.

Zhou Xu coughed and said, "Salute to the leader!"

I remember when I first arrived at the regimental headquarters, I saluted Lei Yuansheng.

Lei Yuansheng immediately raised his hand in a standard salute. After all, the two had a good relationship now, and he could joke around: "Is that alright, Battalion Commander?"

"Yes, you have potential."

Zhou Xu strolled around and felt very satisfied. Was this what it meant to be a braggart slapped in the face?

(End of this chapter)