A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Wang Tianfang's figure merged into the group of new recruits and soon disappeared from sight.

The group walked back in silence. They had come with heavy hearts, and on their way back, it felt as if a piece of their hearts had been hollowed out.

As soon as we entered the courtyard, the sorrow of parting welled up again. Inside and outside the house, it seemed as if Wang Tianfang's presence still lingered. The stool he had sat on yesterday, the bowl he had used, and the wood shavings he had left on the ground while chopping firewood all reminded everyone that he was gone.

As soon as Chen Yuxiang entered the room and saw the empty house, tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Get moving, everyone!" Wang Jinzhu's voice rang out again, with an undeniable force. "Sister-in-law Guilan, you and Second Sister-in-law go and scoop out the petals and drain them. Mother, you start the fire. Eldest Brother, you go and scrub the stone mortar in the yard again."

She herself went into the workshop in the west wing, rolled up her sleeves, and began weighing the oil.

Seeing her busy figure, everyone could only suppress their sadness and find their own work to do.

The backyard quickly returned to its former liveliness, the aroma of cooking oil and the fragrance of flowers and plants overshadowing the sadness of parting.

It was late at night, and everyone had gone to sleep.

Wang Jinzhu lay in bed, the bedside empty. After sleeping with someone for so long, suddenly being alone felt a little strange.

She stared wide-eyed at the dark roof, her mind filled with Wang Tianfang's face. His grinning face, the way he listened intently to her, the way he blushed when she spoke to him, and his retreating figure as he left, too ashamed to look back.

"Fool," she muttered under her breath, but her heart was pounding.

She reached out and touched the hard bed beneath her, then rolled over and buried her face in the pillow.

The pillow still retained the faint smell of his sweat and soap.

Wang Jinzhu took a deep breath, as if that would keep him by her side.

"Wang Tianfang, you must come back alive. I'll have your baby then."

Wang Tianfang, along with a group of new recruits, was taken to a large camp in the west of the city.

This place was originally the drill ground of the prefectural garrison, but it has now been temporarily converted into a recruit camp. As far as the eye can see, yellow dust fills the air, and rows of simple barracks stand there, the air thick with the stench of sweat and horse manure.

More than a hundred new recruits were herded into a large courtyard and made to stand like a swarm of headless flies.

A dark-skinned captain, with a burly build like a bear, stepped forward, carrying a thick, long whip. His eyes, like those of an eagle, swept across everyone's faces.

Those who were seen by him instinctively shrank back.

"Stand up straight, all of you!" The dark-faced captain suddenly cracked his whip, which struck the ground with a crisp snap, startling everyone.

"From today onwards, you are no longer ordinary citizens! You are soldiers! Soldiers who eat the government's food and pay!" Captain Zhang's voice boomed like thunder. "Once you've entered this gate, you must abide by the military discipline here! Anyone who dares to disobey, this whip of mine doesn't discriminate!"

He paused, then pointed to several veterans beside him: "You, take them to collect their bedding and assign them barracks! Assemble at the drill ground in half an hour, upon hearing the drum! Anyone who's late won't get dinner!"

"Yes, sir!" the veterans responded in unison.

Following the crowd, Wang Tianfang received a thin, musty-smelling quilt and a dusty gray prison uniform.

He was assigned to the Geng-class barracks.

As soon as he opened the door, an even stronger smell of mildew and sweat hit him, almost knocking him over.

The camp had a large communal sleeping area where dozens of people were crammed together. The beds were lined up against the wall, with only a thin layer of dry straw on the wooden planks. Blankets were thrown on top, and that was it.

Wang Tianfang found a spot in a corner and put his things away.

People gathered in twos and threes in the camp. Some were sighing, some had a sad face, and a few who looked like thugs were loudly boasting about how powerful they used to be.

"I can take on five men by myself on the docks!" a burly man with a face full of scars said, spitting as he spoke.

"Tch, that's nothing!" another weasel-faced guy scoffed. "I've never gotten caught cheating at the casinos in the south of the city!"

Wang Tianfang stayed far away from them, listening quietly.

Soon, the urgent drumbeats of troop assembling resounded across the drill ground.

Everyone rushed to the drill ground.

Captain Zhang was already waiting there, his face even darker than before.

"Look at you bunch of cowards! You have no manners, no bearing! You think you can fight on the battlefield? You're just asking to be killed!"

He cursed, "From today onwards, I will be in charge of your training! My name is Zhang Kui! You must respectfully address me as Captain Zhang, and you can curse me in your hearts as Black-Faced Zhang, but anyone who dares to sneer at me will be hung on the flagpole at the gate and whipped!"

The new recruits were terrified, standing ramrod straight, not daring to utter a sound.

"Now, begin the drill! First item: Stand at attention!" Captain Zhang roared. "All of you, stand tall with your chests out, feet together, hands at your sides, eyes straight ahead! One hour! Anyone who dares to move will be punished double!"

One hour!

An uproar immediately erupted below.

"How...how long are we going to have to stand here?"

"My goodness, won't my legs break?"

"Silence!" Captain Zhang cracked his whip. "Anyone who dares to whisper will be given ten lashes!"

The drill ground fell silent instantly.

Wang Tianfang stood in the correct position as instructed, but he wasn't flustered at all.

This little bit of hardship is nothing compared to hunting in the mountains. Lying in the snow for half a day waiting for prey is much harder to endure than standing still like this.

He adjusted his breathing and quickly got into the zone, standing firmly in place like a pine tree.

Time passed slowly, and the sun beat down fiercely on our bodies.

The new recruits had never experienced such hardship before, and it wasn't long before some of them started to stagger.

"I can't stand... my legs..."

With a "thud," the first person fell down.

Lieutenant Zhang didn't even glance at it, and directly told the veteran next to him, "Drag him away, tie him to a stake, and punish them all later!"

Once there's a first one, there's a second, and a third.

More and more people fell on the training ground.

Wang Tianfang's forehead was also covered in sweat, which stung and hurt when it got into his eyes. His legs were also starting to go numb, feeling as heavy as if they were filled with lead.

But he gritted his teeth and remained motionless.

Next to him, a fair-skinned young man who looked like a wealthy young man from the city was looking at the fallen people with disdain.

This man is called Li San. He was the one who boasted the loudest in the camp just now. Although he was also sweating, he stood up straight and had an arrogant air about him.

Wang Tianfang noticed that Li San's posture was very standard and his breathing was very steady, which clearly indicated that he had some martial arts skills.

An hour felt like a year.

When the gong finally sounded to signal the end of the battle, less than half of the soldiers remained standing on the drill ground.

Wang Tianfang felt like his legs weren't even his own anymore. He plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.

"Those who can still stand, come over here!" Captain Zhang's voice rang out again.

Wang Tianfang and the rest of the men struggled to their feet and walked up to Captain Zhang.

Captain Zhang glanced at them, his gaze lingering a moment longer on Wang Tianfang and the young man named Li San.

"Not bad, there are a few real men here." He nodded. "You guys, two extra flatbreads each for dinner tonight! As for those lying down, you're not getting any dinner tonight!"