Chapter 143: The Beginning of Pain, The Change of Company Commander
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Do not be afraid of pain, do not be afraid of injury. We are soldiers, scars are honors, calluses are skills.
It’s been almost two months since you all joined the army, don’t you understand this principle yet?
Look at your fists now, is this how a man should be?
With such tender and delicate appearance, do you think your fists can defeat the enemy?
Give it all you’ve got! Let me tell you, Dr. Ye and the others are watching.
Today, if anyone’s wooden stake doesn’t have bloodstains on it, they won’t be allowed to eat later. You must hit it until 1 am satisfied before you can have your meal!”
Behind the dormitory building in the new recruits’ camp, there was a large lawn of unknown use. Before, Wang Ye and Wu Jianfeng used to sit on the concrete road beside it, roasting sweet potatoes.
But at that time, Wang Ye didn’t dwell on what the lawn was used for.
But now, he knew.
The lawn actually had pits, and at noon today, all the new recruits in the platoon were assigned to carry wooden logs. Each log was two and a half meters long. They carried the logs here and stood them upright in the pits on the lawn. Then, they filled them with mud and sand. Finally, all the squad leaders tied the logs with hemp ropes. After spending the whole afternoon hanging water bottles on the logs and holding their rifles, at five o’clock during the physical training time, the entire platoon of new recruits was brought to the wooden stakes they had prepared in the afternoon.
Punch.
Just one word.
In martial arts training, they start with the flesh and skin.
As Wu Jianfeng put it, everyone’s fists must develop calluses within half a month, and they must continue hitting the wooden stakes until they don’t bleed anymore.
This was a painful beginning.
Even with the hemp ropes wrapped around the hard wooden stakes, hitting them with force would still make the fists ache. Especially after a few minutes of punching, the skin on the fists would be abraded, and then hitting them again would bring a tingling sensation.
Wang Ye, wearing his training uniform, had fine sweat quickly oozing from his forehead and even his whole face. Actually, it wasn’t that hot now; it was winter, and even in the southern part of the country, the temperature was only a little over ten degrees in the evening. However, the combination of exercise and pain made Wang Ye sweat continuously.
Pain.
Right after breaking the skin, hitting it again with a fist would make it hurt as if it was connected to the heart.
Fortunately, Wang Ye was already accustomed to this kind of pain.
Since the day of firing the gun until now, ten days had passed. In these ten days, if you looked closely at the palms, elbows, and knees of Wang Ye, you would know how hard the training was.
Tactical training, even though Wang Ye had reached a high level on the first day, full of experience and skills, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t get injured during training. Having delicate skin and tender flesh would result in injuries like the ones on Wang Ye’s shoulders from dragging tires.
Of course, others weren’t any better off.
These days, the overall quality of life had improved, and even if some people had rougher skin than Wang Ye, it was still not rough enough. Everyone was covered in scars from the training.
A few more minutes passed, and the hemp rope in front of Wang Ye was now covered with small dark red spots.
At the same time, the expression of Wang Ye, who was clenching his teeth, began to relax gradually.
Numb.
The pain was diminishing.
The skin on his fists had long since begun to crack open, but there was no blood in sight. Even the flesh wasn’t visible anymore, as the knuckles were all black now. A little blood oozed out, but it was immediately soaked into the hemp rope on the wooden stake.
“Very good, Wang Ye is getting into the zone. Keep going, everyone! Qin Li, are you tickling yourself? Try a bit harder. If there’s no trace of blood on the wooden stake after one minute, I’ll let you knock it with your head and train your iron head skills. By then, you’ll have a callus on your forehead!” Ye Sanshi came over, seeing the situation on Wang Ye’s wooden stake, he was very satisfied. But when he turned around and saw Qin Li’s stake, he immediately became furious.
Hitting the wooden stakes was a task that couldn’t be slacked off because you had to draw blood! You could easily tell from the condition of the stake.
“This is not about using force just because the squad leader is here; you can’t slack off once the squad leader leaves.
His words made Qin Li feel embarrassed, but he clenched his fists harder.
At that moment, on the edge of the training ground, Wu Jianfeng shouted again, “Let me tell you all, you must pass this test.
We are soldiers of the Chinese military, and the world’s best army is not just a boast.
It is achieved through skill and ability.
I’ve told you countless times what real ability is.
The honor accumulated from training scars is what real ability is.
When you have calluses all over your body, even if you are not as tall as foreign soldiers, just one glare from you will make them shrink back because you are a qualified soldier of the Chinese military.
Your eyes will be filled with the self-confidence accumulated from your regular training.
Of course, this confidence cannot be gained by slacking off.
So, give it your all, fight fiercely, and imagine the wooden stakes in front of you as the person you dislike the most.
For example, your squad leader, me, or even the commanding officer, anyone goes!”
Wu Jianfeng didn’t avoid portraying himself or even the squad leader as a villain.
After roaring, he looked at everyone for a moment, then turned around and walked slowly toward the shade of a tree.
There, two figures were sitting under the tree.
One long table, three chairs.
Well… There was another chair behind that was currently empty; that was the seat for the platoon’s medic, but he hadn’t arrived yet.
“Doctor Ye, you might have to wait a while longer. If you’re bored, you can go back and take a rest for now,” Wu Jianfeng said with a smile as he walked over.
His attitude was completely different from when he was training the new recruits.
Ye Su also smiled, “We’re not bored. It’s quite interesting to watch the new recruits train!”
Next to them, Ouyang Mingyue chimed in, “Oh, it’s just a bit distressing. I’m glad we, as military doctors, don’t have to go through this kind of training!” “Haha!” Wu Jianfeng burst into laughter, “You medical staff have different responsibilities; you can’t go through this kind of training. Besides, your hands are going to be sewing and performing surgeries. If they get calloused, you won’t be able to do delicate work anymore!”
“That bastard! We’re here, sweating and bleeding, while he’s over there flirting with girls. 1 really want to go over and kick him!” Everyone noticed Wu Jianfeng’s actions. Although it had become a common occurrence, every time they saw this scene, they still gritted their teeth in anger.
Of course, they were all gritting their teeth in pain now too.
“Go for it, I support you!” Next to Yan Zhiming, Liang Fan turned his head, grinned, and replied softly.
Yes, it was Yan Zhiming who said those words just now.
In the past ten days, he had completely integrated into Class Five.
No one ostracized him, and he was not isolated anymore.
Compared to his time in Class Eight, Class Five felt like heaven to him.
“Hehe, Brother Fan, I’m just talking. Look, even the squad leader doesn’t dare to do it, so how could I dare to!”
“Yan Zhiming, if you dare to be sneaky again, be careful that I pull you out to train alone!” Suddenly, a voice came from behind Yan Zhiming. He shivered instantly and then clenched his fists, hitting the wooden stake in front of him like a rain of punches.
Wang Ye saw this scene and smiled wryly. Of course, he didn’t stop hitting the stake. Now he had enough experience; if he stopped, it would hurt later. Just keep hitting until the training is over, then it’ll be fine.