Chapter 5 Chapter Four
Xu Sanduo stood in the dormitory with his belongings and bedding, never daring to put them down without an order, so he looked even more stupid.Because the owner who lives here is absolutely not a model of housekeeping, only two of the three upper and lower bunks were used, the remaining one was unloaded and the lower bunk was used as a storage space for sundries, and half of the quilts on the four bunks were not folded at all. There are several decks of playing cards scattered on the table.If this is in the recruit company, it will be regarded as a scourge.
Xu Sanduo looked curious, this was the first time for a recruit to enter the living space of a group of so-called veterans.
The veterans stood silently at the edge of the mess they created, Li Meng, Lao Wei, and Xue Lin.Li Meng pays more attention to the deck of cards on the table, because the cards are so good that they are still held in the same way as they are in their hands, which makes He Hongtao feel more dissatisfied: "Where is your squad leader? You said yesterday that recruits are coming, why not?" Not even a welcome? Look at how much it hurts the emotions of new comrades? How can your internal affairs be so thieves? Xu Sanduo, put things down. You guys, talk."
The three of them poked and shied away for a few seconds, and finally Old Wei came out with an unlucky look on his face.
"Report to the instructor, the squad leader has lost the card, and the noodles are being cooked in the kitchen."
No matter how good He Hongtao's temper was, he was about to explode, and the squad leader rushed in like a gust of wind, wearing a standard cooking class apron, and the non-standard note on his face hadn't been torn off, but he was very approachable.
As soon as he spoke, the note was blown away by the airflow in his nostrils: "Hey! Report to the instructor, why are you here? I thought it would be dark."
If his salute is still standard, the tone of voice and the note on his face would have discouraged He Hongtao, and he was helpless. With a sigh, He Hongtao stretched out his hand and tore off the note on his face, "What should I say about you? It's been longer than me. Look at this internal affairs..."
The old horse turned his head: "Li Meng, Lao Wei, Xue Lin, what do you want me to say?"
Those few lumped up the quilt, gathered up the poker and threw it into the drawer, which was considered an explanation.
Li Meng reacted quickly: "Welcome new comrades!" He applauded, leading to dry applause from those few, and He Hongtao frowned even more.
The old horse leaned forward: "What's the name of the new comrade?"
Xu Sanduo was too timid to drill down: "Xu Sanduo."
The old horse applauded more enthusiastically: "Welcome Xu Sanduo to come to our red three company, second row and fifth class! Comrade Xu Sanduo is really sorry, I said I would line up for you to welcome you, but I didn't make it right! My squad leader will first apologize to you, sorry ..."
Xu Sanduo blushed: "Thank you. It's really nice here."
The old horse couldn't help being stunned, and then looked at the boy's face of admiration and yearning, then he was stunned again and then changed his face, because he wanted to speak to the three: "Do you know how to treat the new comrades?"
So he served He Hongtao and Xu Sanduo a glass of water each, Xu Sanduo looked a little weird after taking a sip, but serving that glass of water to He Hongtao was a bit malicious.
Li Meng said mischievously: "Instructor, please drink slowly. This water has high copper content, so it can be regarded as mineral water. I just don't know whether it is good or bad for the body."
He Hongtao raised his neck, thumped a few times, and filled a glass of water clean: "I have a message, the water pipe will be connected here in the second half of the year, and you can drink clean water - connect a water pipe for four people, don't worry about it." Said that the 353 regiment doesn't have you in mind."
Old Wei continued: "Just pick up another club."
Not to be outdone, Xue Lin said, "Just take over the Three Five Three Group."
Li Meng glanced at Xu Sanduo: "It's connecting water pipes for five people. Instructor, do you have any new comrades in mind?"
He Hongtao was also a little speechless, and found that Li Meng, a bad boy, had refilled his glass of water for him.
He didn't want to drink any more, and said to Li Meng: "Take the new comrades to familiarize themselves with the combat readiness environment, and don't be so cynical."
Xu Sanduo mechanically followed Li Meng and walked out.
He Hongtao turned to Lao Ma again and said, "Old Ma, I have to talk to you."
The old horse suddenly waved the spatula in shock: "Noodles, the noodles are mushy!" He turned and ran out.
Li Meng led Xu Sanduo wandering on the grassland without saying a word, he intentionally made the atmosphere dull: "Did you look out from the car just now?"
"I've been watching." Xu Sanduo replied respectfully.
"Then you're already familiar with the combat environment. How many hours have you been here since the recruit company?"
"Four hours and fifty-four minutes." Xu Sanduo was very precise, as precise as Xu Sanduo.
"Then you are familiar with the geographical location. Well, that's it, let's go back."
Xu Sanduo: "I don't seem to be familiar with it yet. I'm stupid and slow to learn."
Li Meng glanced at him: "It's not stupid, it's serious. What is there to be familiar with? Four crooked rooms, five... no, you are not qualified... four hard-working people. This class says it's not far away, it's close Nearby, five hours’ drive from the regiment headquarters, the supply truck runs every three days to unload supplies, letters and other things. The underground extends in all directions, and all automatic pipelines and oil pumps are in place. The main task of my squad is to guard these things and ensure that the field troops are trained. Fuel supply..."
Xu Sanduo looked around: "Where is it? What are we looking at?"
Li Meng turned his head back to find the direction: "Five meters below the feet, dig deep. I have been with this place for a year and a half and I have never seen it. It is automated and we don't care. We are like scarecrows in the field. Poke here and stand at attention." Stand still! To scare people...I'm so exhausted, I haven't said so much in three days, do you have any cigarettes? What are you doing at attention?"
Xu Sanduo quickly relaxed: "No... yes."
He gave Li Meng a cigarette, and Li Meng lit it, but he didn't forget to give it to Xu Sanduo, and Xu Sanduo shook his head.
"I don't smoke? Are these cigarettes for veterans?" Li Mengle said, "Is it very good? Let me tell you, we are safe and sound, the people here are simple, and the enemy agents destroy it? I didn't even think about stealing oil. After thinking about it, natural disasters such as storms and hail are rare in a century, and underground pipelines are also professionally maintained by engineers. Whether this area is bitter or not, it is definitely not tiring, just two words-boring... What are your hobbies?"
Xu Sanduo thought for a while: "Hobby? No."
Li Meng waved his hand: "Hurry up and find a hobby, or life will be short and long and the night will be long, and you will be idle for five minutes. Tell you, have those in the class seen it? Xue Lin, love the lost lamb When he sees a stray beast like seeing a big girl, he never tries to praise him, he just tries to talk to people outside the fifth class. Old Wei, he calls people ten nicknames a day. Old Ma, our class leader, don’t be fascinated now Chess is over, and I'm studying bridge... these idiots."
Xu Sanduo was stunned for a long time: "You... what do you like?"
"See you, my name is Li Meng." Li Meng suddenly became very solemn, "My hobby, to be honest, I can't realize it if I don't come to this grassland, but I will definitely be able to realize it when I come here."
Xu Sanduo looked at the prairie under the twilight, the prairie made him at a loss, and the humans in front of him now made him even more at a loss.
"I write novels, and I start writing novels in a calm and down-to-earth manner. Regarding life, I am already twenty-one, and I will write a novel about life with two million words. If I am in a busy city, I will definitely not be able to complete it, but fate... ..." Li Meng looked at Xu Sanduo, "There is a great writer who wrote a masterpiece because he was imprisoned. Do you know his name?"
Xu Sanduo could not help but start to reverence: "I don't know."
Li Meng nodded again: "I knew it before, but I forgot it now. I will be like him."
Xu Sanduo: "You will."
Li Meng suddenly became vigilant: "Don't let anyone other than you know about this."
"If you kill me, I won't say anything."
Li Meng smiled with satisfaction: "Did the instructor tell you that this is a glorious and arduous task?" Xu Sanduo nodded.
Li Meng took Xu Sanduo's cigarette case, "Give me another cigarette. I'll take it first, you don't want to smoke - the instructor is speaking in an official tone, he doesn't understand the meaning of these words, the glory lies in the ordinary, the difficulty is because of the length, no matter what , We can use our finite lives for unlimited careers, the instructor understands all of this."
Li Meng sighed as above towards the wasteland.Xu Sanduo's admiration knows no bounds, but we must not believe that he understands.
He Hongtao sneezed violently and almost put a bowl of noodles on his face.
With a blank expression on his face, Lao Ma handed over something that looked like a rag, and He Hongtao wiped his mouth warmly.
He Hongtao: "Old Ma, do your best, this is... a glorious and arduous task."
Lao Ma is like a man who has seen mirages ten thousand times, he has long since stopped being impulsive: "It's glorious, it's difficult."
He Hongtao was so angry that he put the bowl heavily: "Squad leader fifth! I say you... stand at attention! Look at me! Don't turn your eyes around!"
The old horse immediately poked into a human stake, but his eyes flickered, avoiding He Hongtao's angry expression.
He Hongtao hated Tie Buchenggang: "You were so good before. How about now? Now you are like those soldiers in that room."
To a person who used to be the model squad leader of the third company, these words were very serious. He Hongtao thought that the old horse would be stabbed, but the old horse just sighed leisurely.
"One and a half years." He Hongtao sighed, "It only took one and a half years to become the best squad leader of Hongsan Company. Why?"
The old horse did not speak, and looked straight at the horizon outside the window.He Hongtao also took a look, there was absolutely no difference between the horizon of this window and the horizon of the other window, and the desert also eliminated his anger invisible.
He Hongtao noticed the change in his eyes: "Are you talking about this place again?"
"I don't know, maybe it's up to me."
He Hongtao patted him: "Okay. I know the hardships, and Lianli also remembers your benefits. Lianli is striving for third-class merit for you. To put it bluntly, if you can stay in this place, you should have unconditional third-class merit. It is useful to get out of the army and find a job. Don't let you waste here."
The old horse lowered his head: "Don't, don't! I didn't say I was leaving, the instructor."
He Hongtao was surprised and angry again: "Then what should we do? Is the fame of the whole life not guaranteed? You didn't take those few with you, but let them spoil you! If you don't get an honorable discharge as soon as possible... what are you thinking?"
The old horse sighed: "I don't know....Does the instructor know? There are only a few people in this tens of kilometers. If you want to stay well, you have to understand that the majority is good and the few are bad."
Such unprincipled words almost made He Hongtao angry again, but he just glared at the old horse and shook his hand violently, it seems that he also expected to get a lifeless reaction.
Most of the people that Lao Ma mentioned, that is, Li Meng, Lao Wei, and Xue Lin, were staring at the side of the road. with.
The driver didn't know whether he was appalled or dismissed by them, and he didn't even look back.
He Hongtao finally came out with a blue face, and the old horse followed him after chatting about everything.Xu Sanduo actually followed the old horse even more closely, it was because of panic, as soon as He Hongtao left, he completely lost contact with the previous world.
But He Hongtao didn't realize that he had two tails until he walked to the car door, and frankly speaking, the situation of Class 5 worried him more than Xu Sanduo's mood.
He Hongtao patted Xu Sanduo on the shoulder: "Come back, you...you can take care of yourself."
The old horse stared at those who were stunned, and tried his best to raise his voice: "Salute!"
Finally, those people were brought back to their senses, and when the sloppy military salute came out, He Hongtao had already closed the car door, he really couldn't bear to watch.The air-conditioned car drove away empty, and Lao Ma and Xu Sanduo watched him off, their expressions full of abandonment.
Li Meng and the others had already returned to the house with everything in order.
The old horse looked at Xu Sanduo, both of them were as dazed, he pondered over Xu Sanduo carefully, just like a person ponders the shadow in a mirror.
"Your name is Xu Sanduo... you don't like talking?"
Xu Sanduo nodded.The old horse smiled: "The instructor said that you can't make a sound with a hammer. Don't worry about it. I was also like this when I was a recruit. I didn't like to talk and didn't dare to talk."
"I can't speak."
"Then your realm is higher than mine." The old horse crossed his legs, "Xu Sanduo, just treat this as an island. How is your impression when you arrive on the island?"
Xu Sanduo was very sincere: "Very good."
The old horse didn't listen to the truth: "Really?"
Xu Sanduo unexpectedly quickly had an expectation: "Squad leader, is our squad firing guns?"
Shoot?The old horse stretched his waist: "Fat. The gun is not loaded. There are no bullets here."
"Just fire the gun!"
The old horse smiled wryly: "You are quite good at talking. I like to hear that."
Xu Sanduo didn't see what Lao Ma meant, and continued: "It's very good. The instructor said that this task is both glorious and arduous. Li Meng said that it is glorious because it is dull, and it is difficult because it is long."
Lao Ma was a little disdainful: "Did he say that he is writing a novel with two million words, his life or something?"
Xu Sanduo's eyes widened: "He said...he said he wouldn't tell others."
Lao Ma: "Even the rats on the prairie know it. They tore it up and tore it up. After a year of tossing around, it's still a 200-word preface. But Xu Sanduo, you're new here, so I just have one request, to be united, to be united day and night. These faces cannot be united without unity; a suggestion, find a way for yourself, or you will get bored and sick here."
Xu Sanduo didn't understand: "What is thinking?"
"It's something that keeps you from counting the minutes. Experience it yourself."
Xu Sanduo still didn't understand: "The monitor, what are you thinking?" Lao Ma was a little angry when asked, but he was happy again.
"Don't dig out the roots next time." Lao Ma talked about his favorite topic, "Li Meng must say that I am a stinky chess basket, a stinky card basket or something. A lot of soldiers, now the soldiers are different from before, some people care about it, and no one cares about it, so I will lead you well. I don’t like to say the word dedication, but sometimes... life is like this. "Old Ma stared at the wilderness again and sighed, Xu Sanduo once again admired him endlessly.
At night, in the dormitory, Li Meng rummaged through the pile of manuscript paper on his desk, tore off the first sheet, and threw it into the personal wastebasket. The manuscript paper below was all white.And this was a signal, Xue Lin winked at Old Wei.
Old Wei took the lead and shouted: "Tolstoy is done! Yan Xishan, Shen Wanshan, how many tables are there?"
A few people started a poker game again, and Xue Lin was not happy about it: "Old Wei, when will I change my name to Yan Xishan again?"
Old Wei said: "You Shen Wanshan, he is Yan Xishan. I was going to make five mountains for our class, so I came up with two."
The three veterans were chattering, and Lao Ma and Xu Sanduo walked in, "It's on again? Stop first, and I'll be serious with you."
Old Wei slapped his cards: "Yes, great Comrade Frunze."
Lao Ma cleared his throat, and to be honest, he was not used to speaking formally like this: "The instructor once again expressed his opinion on the situation of the fifth class. You can wear military uniforms anyway..."
Li Meng didn't even raise her eyelids: "I checked every day and I folded the quilt three times a day, but he didn't come once a month!"
The old horse got a little angry: "Stand up! Is the internal affairs inspected by people?"
Xue Lin made amends in a low voice: "It's for my own comfort, so we did a good job."
The old horse was completely annoyed: "Everyone stand up! The cards are thrown away! The whole class line up! Is this against you? Like a soldier? No one is allowed to play cards today! According to the schedule, now... watch TV now!"
But this annoyance is also a daily leisure, a few soldiers took their mazars and lined up, and Xu Sanduo lined up at the end of the line in surprise. What he didn't understand was that the squad leader was angry and the soldiers were surprised, as if something routine had finally happened outside things.
Old Wei whispered, "Get angry, get angry!"
"The last time was two weeks ago." This is Xue Lin.
Li Meng concluded: "I just said that the instructor has to come often, otherwise the squad leader will not be so energetic."
The old horse adjusted the TV vigorously: "Fuck your sense of humor! Let it go! Sit!"
So he put Maza down and sat down. All this was made into a comedy by the old horse. The four of them sat neatly by the TV, staring at the squad leader fighting for life and death with the snowflakes on the screen.
Lao Ma used a world-famous repair method and smashed the TV. The TV made noise, but the picture was still missing.
Li Meng listened with joy: "Why is the Central People's Broadcasting Station on TV? This is an infringement..."
The old horse interrupted him: "Don't talk, listen!" On the TV, there was probably a military program vaguely talking about soldiers at a certain border post.
Old Wei actually said seriously: "I envy them."
The old horse was so satisfied that he was pleasantly surprised: "Look! Look! Well, everyone can talk about their ideas."
Xue Lin puffed up his chest: "I envy them, because they are thousands of kilometers away from the city, and they have a beautiful memory of a stalwart figure. We are only three or four hours away by car. Dare you say it is hard? Think about the 25,000 Red Army, dare you say tired? Wash and go back to the house and go to bed."
Li Meng also took up the conversation: "Squad leader, I really want to sacrifice my life to rescue the children who fell into the water. The two necessary conditions are water and children, right? I finally heard the cry for help yesterday. Guess what, the mouse that stole food fell into our water." It's in the tank!"
The old horse couldn't hold on any longer: "Disband!" He seemed to have finally found the right opportunity for a moment of silence, "Want to complain? If I don't tell you, I will smother you to death!"
Everyone cheered, and the game started again.The old horse waited and watched, he knew very well that he had failed again, but he had a good temper and had failed like this many times.After thinking about it, he leaned forward and asked, "Do you play bridge?"
Xue Lin didn't show any face at all: "It's played by you people with status. The little ones like to play the mouse and the landlord."
Li Meng didn't even look at the old horse: "The monitor is in a good mood and gives a lecture to the recruits. Xu Sanduo, listen to the monitor, he is a good man!"
Xu Sanduo hummed and followed the old horse.The old horse scratched his head, and just took out a few decks of poker, and put them in a bridge pattern.
Xu Sanduo: "Squad leader, do you want to tell me something?"
Lao Ma remembered that he was the squad leader, and looked at the card in his hand with some embarrassment: "What are you talking about? What are you going to say?" In China, there are really few squads like ours..." He paused, and then he recalled the pride of a soldier long ago - he said with certainty, "It can be said that this is the only one... Have you eaten yet?"
Xu Sanduo shook his head, he also realized that he was really hungry, his stomach was rumbling.
The old horse patted his head and stood up: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Hurry up and eat! I really envy you for having something to do. We've already eaten. Shall I go with you?"
On this wasteland, the huts of the fifth class are a few abrupt buildings, which seem out of place, and sooner or later they will be swallowed by the years and this too vast space.As the sun rises and sets, Class 5 seems to never change a bit.
The sunshine here is always good, and in the morning light, one person climbed up from the bunk, it was Xu Sanduo, and he began to lightly arrange the bedding.Xue Lin looked at him dazedly: "What are you doing?"
Xu Sanduo thought about what he was doing. It was a habit to get up early, so he didn't want to do anything, but Xue Lin fell asleep again.
Xu Sanduo tiptoed out.
Copper ore is exposed on the hills of the grassland, and the vitality of the vast desert and semi-desert land in the distance is vast and magnificent.
Xu Sanduo ran over, already out of breath, usually in this kind of place, watching the sunrise in the distance, anyone would stop and sigh for a while.
Xu Sanduo began to kick the goose step, and he began to practice a posture, which reminded him of a sentence Wu Liuyi said to him not long ago: "I can't let you go all the way to the new company like this." .”
To be honest, he played a lot better than before.
Li Meng sat on the bunk, smoking a cigarette, staring at Xu Sanduo's tidy bed, feeling dazed after falling asleep.
The old horse turned over from the upper bunk. It is an unwritten rule in this army that the squad leader lives on the upper bunk, and usually sleeps on the upper bunk of the recruits, in order to relieve the inevitable loneliness of the newcomers. The old horse still subconsciously continues with.
The old horse looked at Li Meng: "Why are you in a daze?"
"I'm not in a daze." Li Meng replied dissatisfied, "You think I'm thinking when I'm in a daze."
The old horse glanced at him and didn't even bother to ask, he knew that Li Meng would definitely say what he was thinking about.
Sure enough, Li Meng didn't stop: "I'm thinking about how long people's inertia and inertia can last, and how long can this recruit keep his housekeeping?"
Therefore, Lao Ma looked at the house again, and found that there was a little change, except that the place where a few people slept was in a mess. People did it, only Xu Sanduo's quilts were folded.
Ma: "Is this called inertia and inertia? Look at what your bed looks like?"
It looked like a dog gnawed on it, and four or five dogs had bitten it. On the other two beds, Old Wei and Xue Lin still covered their heads with pillows, and they didn't open their eyes until the last moment.Li Meng continued to smoke fiercely with a deep expression on his face.
The old horse suddenly smelled it: "What kind of cigarettes are you smoking? Yuxi? Give me one... No, where did this come from?"
"I bought it."
"Damn you! The nearest cigarette stand is twelve kilometers away. Take Xu Sanduo! Spit it out!"
Xu Sanduo came in dripping with sweat, but Li Meng took it out reluctantly.
The old horse snatched the cigarette and looked back at Xu Sanduo: "Why did you go?"
Xu Sanduo was full of enthusiasm: "I ran around again before you got up."
The old horse held up the cigarette case in his hand: "Xu Sanduo, Li Meng forgot to return the cigarette to you."
"I don't smoke, Li Meng smokes."
Li Meng hurriedly snatched the cigarette back and lit another one, then he was stunned, Xu Sanduo was folding his quilt.
"Don't move my quilt."
Xu Sanduo didn't stop his hands, and answered him in his mouth: "The squad leader said that we should help each other on internal affairs."
Li Meng turned back and stared at the old horse: "What did you say?"
Xu Sanduo: "The recruit company. Squad leader Wu of the recruit company said."
After Li Meng was stunned for two seconds, he competed with Xu Sanduo to fold his quilt, which was a matter of face.
There were a few more people staring at the quilt in a daze with Li Meng, including Xue Lin and Lao Wei.
Everyone's quilts were folded meticulously. For these guys who took sloppiness as their own responsibility, there was a feeling of being trampled and trampled on.Old Wei whispered: "It's been a week, why is it still like this?"
When Xu Sanduo was in the room, Xue Lin stabbed Old Wei: "Keep your voice down, people have good intentions."
Old Wei had no choice but to shake his head helplessly: "Go on with the tractor."
As soon as he got up, Xu Sanduo rushed over, wiped off the butt marks of the people who had just sat on the bed, and pulled the sheets.
Then a few people sat at the table, looking at the decks of playing cards, they didn't know how to reach out, and they didn't know how Xu Sanduo did it. He folded the decks of poker with furred edges as if they had just left the factory. Tofu cubes are also the same as Menshuimo Kungfu.
"Where is this going? I'm not in the mood to play."
"Still playing? I don't even know where to put my butt."
Li Meng turned around to trouble Lao Ma: "Squad leader, can you tell me about him?"
The old horse spread his hands: "He did the right thing, I don't say that you are doing well."
Li Meng was in a hurry: "Then we have to sit in the Maza every day?"
The old horse was very proud: "It's wrong to sit on the bed! Now there is nothing you can't sit on. You just have to grit your teeth, be cruel, and sit down!" So Xue Lin raised his eyebrows and wanted to sit down.
The old horse squinted at him: "If you feel worthy of your military uniform!"
If there is one difference between those few and ordinary people, it is the military uniform, so Xue Lin had no choice but to sit on the saddle honestly.
Xu Sanduo was sweeping the floor, and now he decided to clean the deserted land between several houses.
Li Meng and the others were muttering, prepared, and slipped out of the kitchen.
One was holding a small paper flag of "excellent internal affairs", dripping with ink, obviously just made, one was holding a basin, and the other was in charge of applauding.
The three of them put the small paper flag on Xu Sanduo's quilt, and clapped desperately.
The voice in the loudspeaker of Li Meng's mock conference speech: "I would like to pay tribute to Comrade Xu Sanduo who won the first outstanding internal affairs award in the history of the fifth class. I hope that he will accept it as soon as he is good, and don't..."
The old horse let the noise come in: "What are you doing? Put it all away! Xue Lin, you also copied out the dough bowl, why don't you use your own washbasin?"
Xue Lin was wronged: "I can bear it or can't bear it..."
The old horse roared: "Shut up!" So they all shut up, those few knew a limit, don't let this good old man really get angry.
The old horse glared at the three of them: "Maza, take it out and sit down for me! Now the class meeting begins!"
Continue to do it honestly, because the veins on the old horse's forehead have not retreated.
"The class meeting is now being held, Comrade Xu Sanduo, this is a trivial matter, don't take it to heart..."
Xu Sanduo: "I know. I will continue to work hard."
The old horse was stunned, Xu Sanduo was a little shy and a little happy, for Xu Sanduo who had never tasted praise, this small honor with malicious intentions made him quite happy.
The old horse sighed, and didn't forget to give those few more glances: "That's good, that's good... To be honest, Xu Sanduo, I like you to maintain this good military style from the bottom of my heart. Good soldiers and bad soldiers can be seen at a glance..."
Xu Sanduo immediately stood at attention: "Report to the monitor, I feel that I have not done enough, and I will continue to work hard."
Lao Ma: "But to be honest, what's more important is that everyone be harmonious and united, and not cause conflicts. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Everyone treats me very well. I will definitely have a good relationship with everyone."
Lao Ma had no choice but to stop talking, he was never a person who talked to death.
Li Meng was extremely disappointed: "The squad leader has made a big detour, I think it's strange that he understands."
Xue Lin looked at Xu Sanduo: "Thank you, Xu Sanduo, but stop folding our quilt."
Xu Sanduo was a little confused: "Shouldn't we help each other?"
Li Meng took the conversation: "We don't need your help on this matter, understand?"
Xu Sanduo finally understood: "Well—squad leader, what else do you want to say at the squad meeting?"
"Yes? Oh, the meeting is over."
Xu Sanduo went out.Several soldiers felt a little guilty for a while, watching.
Xu Sanduo started to torture the rifle again, a disassembled Bayigun rifle, and Xu Sanduo quickly restored the parts to the ready state.
He aimed at a distant point on the steppe.
Old Wei came in from the outside, returned to the poker table and said, "He's fine, he's playing with guns."
The old horse jumped up and was about to rush out: "Guns? The guns were all brought out and they said it was okay!" Before he got up, he was held back by Xue Lin and Li Meng.
"Squad leader, as you know, there is not a single bullet in the search here. It is better for him to carry the whole thing."
The old horse was in a hurry: "The whole thing, are you afraid that he will do it? You feel my conscience and say, is he the one who made the whole thing?"
The old horse was getting angry, and although those few didn't feel their consciences, they were all a little downcast.
Xue Lin: "That's not true. In fact, this person is pretty good."
Old Wei: "The main reason is that they are different from us."
Li Meng: "The main reason is to have less tendons."
The old horse glared over again: "I see you have a few more tendons that shouldn't be there!"
In Lao Ma's standard of life, this is definitely called swearing. Li Meng also knew it, and scratched his head resentfully.
Xue Lin smoothed things over: "If you don't fix things, you don't have to worry. Squad leader, calm down."
Lao Ma: "I'll fuck you! Don't you care about his mood? He's so far away from home. He's here, and he swallows all his grievances by himself! You guys, are you embarrassing? I don't want to be lazy. Take care of your kennel, they worry about you every day."
Old Wei realized immediately: "Yes, yes." He turned around and ran out to look again.
Li Meng continued: "But he alone has disturbed us. Let's just say you, the monitor, have you ever blushed with us? How much have you gotten angry with us these few days because of him?"
The old horse hesitated for a while, he always thought that he was on the outside, and he was deeply affected when he arrived.
The old horse stared at Li Meng: "Suddenly remembered what your great writer often said: What most people grasp is not necessarily the truth."
Li Meng nodded unexpectedly: "It is very likely that what he grasped is the truth, but it may also be vanity."
"It's the truth in your hands, but it becomes vanity to others?" Lao Ma was upset, "Is that how you intend to write your novel? It's fine, but when will you write it? The manuscript paper you tore up There must be more than a dozen stacks, right? Do you have any questions? Xue Lin, don’t be happy, how many sheep have you collected recently? Have you talked to the little herdsman girl with this sheep? Did you? Pull the sheep from other people's flock to ask for credit?..." At this moment, Old Wei turned back: "It's nothing, he is practicing aiming."
Xu Sanduo was still practicing aiming on the grassland, but this time he moved to the hill, practicing horizontal shooting against the horizon.
The old horse came up listlessly.
He stared dully for a while, looking at Xu Sanduo and also at his target, the place was so deserted that his eyes lost focus.
"What are you doing?" the old horse asked.
"Report to the squad leader, I'm practicing shooting posture."
"The posture is right, better than my standard."
"But I'm running the target."
The old horse smiled wryly: "That's too little shooting. Marksmanship is learned by feeding bullets. You need to change to a decent company. If you are fed with bullets, you have already become a sharpshooter."
Xu Sanduo smiled innocently: "That won't happen." He continued to aim.
If Xu Sanduo didn't aim now, he would have noticed that Lao Ma's expression was unusual now, a bit like Wu Liuyi, like Shi Jin, like a soldier who has been hammering in combat troops all year round.
The old horse didn't look at Xu Sanduo, but looked into the distance: "You are right, I really want to uphold principles, but I have to uphold unity first, sometimes this is a pain.... Xu Sanduo, don't take aim, I'll tell you the truth Said, our fifth squad is equipped with a gun, but it doesn't fire bullets. This gun may not be able to hold a single shot when it is scrapped. Compared with others, our squad is hollow, you have to understand."
Xu Sanduo unloaded the magazine, looked at the emptiness inside, and loaded it again.
"The company commander said that a soldier should not think about whether the gun in his hand will be useful, but only think about whether he can use it well when he does use it."
The old horse looked at Xu Sanduo with some embarrassment: "Which company commander?"
"A company of recruits."
The old horse smiled wryly: "Seventh Company Commander Gao Cheng? Of course he can say that. He is the most promising officer at the first level of the 353rd Battalion Company...Maybe I am wrong to say that?"
"Oh." Xu Sanduo's "oh" did not express an attitude, but meant that he did not understand.
The old horse continued to smile wryly: "I'll tell you a story. Five dogs were imprisoned in the dog pen, four dogs ran in circles clockwise, and one dog ran in circles counterclockwise. Later, the four dogs who ran along the clock all had families. , the one that ran backwards was slaughtered for meat, because the one that ran backwards was not gregarious and not familiar with it, four dogs... Anyway, their value is one dog multiplied by four-do you understand ?”
"Oh?" Xu Sanduo's "oh" this time expressed doubts.
The old horse patiently said: "Let me analyze it for you. Sometimes you may think that what you are doing is right and everyone else is wrong, but don't be too convinced that you are right, and think that what most people do is right, understand?"
Xu Sanduo didn't understand: "But... I don't think it's right or wrong to go up or down."
The old horse waved his hands angrily: "It's just such a reason that everyone is drunk, do you want me to grind my mouth?"
"Oh." The "oh" this time means that I hear it, but I still have doubts and think deeply.
The old horse continued to inspire: "Maybe right or wrong, but I am doing it for your own good. You are always right when you think about it."
He decides to go, with an "I've finally got it all figured out" look on his face.
Xu Sanduo stood up suddenly: "Squad leader, I understand!"
The old horse turned his head expectantly, Xu Sanduo was standing on the top of the post, and even against the sunlight, he could see the suddenly enlightened expression on his face.
Xu Sanduo: "I'm the dog running backwards, right?"
Maybe it was angry, maybe it was the back, the old horse kicked a rock and narrowly escaped rolling down the mountain.
Xu Sanduo is now attached to the old horse, and no matter when, this is already three or two days after the old horse told the story. "Squad leader, I figured it out again!"
The old horse was cleaning up the small stones on the ground sullenly.
"Oh." Lao Ma's "oh" expressed depression, because he had obviously been entangled by Xu Sanduo for a long time about this matter.
Xu Sanduo ignored him, and went on to say that he "understood" - it would be fine if the dog ran forward for a while and ran backward for a while.
The old horse obviously choked: "Why... what?"
"Because...we are in the circle anyway, so it's more interesting to run around..." Xu Sanduo was a little hairy from the old horse's stare, and swipe his finger clockwise and counterclockwise, "It's not easy to get dizzy when you run like this... run a circle, It's easy to get dizzy."
The old horse muttered in a low voice: "I'm convinced." He got up and went into a simple warehouse.The old horse's face was covered with dark clouds.
Xu Sanduo: "And..."
The old horse couldn't bear it anymore and turned back: "What?!"
He seems to want to kill someone, and if he is replaced by a thick-skinned soldier like Li Meng, he may have already been killed.
Xu Sanduo said timidly: "In this way, this dog can learn from those dogs and learn from them..."
The old horse pointed at the dormitory of Class Five: "Can you learn from those dogs?"
He entered the house and slammed the door hard.Xu Sanduo glanced at the dormitory, the chair was by the table, the cards were on the table, but Li Meng and the others were not there.Seeing Xu Sanduo's expression, he seemed to have just realized that the four dogs were his comrades in the same pot.
Xu Sanduo looked at the mess on the table, usually his first reaction was to go over and clean it up immediately.
The old horse was locked in the house and was pulling a few simple tools, Xu Sanduo timidly opened the door a crack.
“好了好了。我道歉，这两天邪火大，跟你们都没关系。”老马有些发火。
“李梦捡到一只羊，他们三个给老乡送羊去了。”
“我知道，我准的假。”老马竭力让自己回到平时那样，无所谓有无所谓无，心事很重但老好人一个。
“我、我又明白了。”许三多很快听到老马重重吞下一口空气的声音，似乎呼吸被空气噎到。于是他就越发胆怯，“我知道我总是把事情搞错，而且我笨，每次就能明白那么一点点。”
五班最怕软话的人叫老马。老马就立刻把那口气吐出来，赶紧往回收：“没有啦。你认真思考是很好的，只是有点……想得太多了。”
“可我刚才还是想明白了。”
老马只好没精打采地鼓励：“哦。想明白了什么？”
许三多很认真，认真到说话都有点一字一顿：“打扑克牌是不对的。”
老马做好了再被噎一下的准备，可这回他结结实实被吓了一跳：“打扑克牌有什么不对？价廉物美，又能动脑又能打发时间。许三多我必须跟你说清楚，现实地讲，扑克牌是五班的根本，因为它需要四个人齐心协力，尤其在这种环境下，有助于维护集体的团结。”
许三多眼直直地看着他，老马被看得有些赧然，现实的道理很多时候听起来就是歪理。
“哦。”许三多哦得茫然，因为不信服。
老马叹了口气，他不大自信：“我在找一种五个人的玩牌方法，你好和大家打成一片。”
这事让许三多坚定得不像许三多：“我不玩，玩扑克牌没意义。”
老马又叹了口气，这些天他快把山也叹倒了：“什么有意义？”
许三多很有主见地道：“我二哥就是玩牌玩得就不大回家了，虽说我倒不觉得像爸说的那样，他变坏了。”
“可是什么有意义呢，许三多？人这辈子绝大多数时候都在做没意义的事情。”
“有意义就是好好活。”
老马又有点噎：“那什么是好好活呢？”
“好好活就是做有意义的事情。”许三多看一眼老马后强调，“做很多很多有意义的事情。”
老马听到这里几乎想冷笑，幸亏这个人并不擅长做出那种偏激的表情，他对生活中常见的碌碌无为甚至不会愤怒，只是有一天就发现，自己已经消磨成现在这样。
老马站起来：“你跟我来。”
所到的地方并不远，就在仓库门外。老马对这块小小营地划了一下手，把几间东倒西歪屋全包括在里边。许三多就看这块杂草与砂石间生的营地，这永远是片被岁月侵蚀的土地，朔风和时间永远在消磨这几间房和这里的人。
“你看。”老马指着营地说，“是不是很宽敞——对五个人来说。这里最多的时候驻过一个排，三五三团最好的一个排，排长是现在三五三团的团长。”
许三多哦了一声，对这种事他不大有感觉，因为他甚至连本营营长都不曾见过。
“他们被这地方荒的，也被日子给耗的，那时候的排长，也就是现在的团长就想修条路，做有意义的事情。”老马从脚下直指到了远处。
许三多瞪眼看，可即使是调来世界一流的侦察器材也绝看不出这里曾有过路的痕迹。
“最后没修成，一个满员排，三十多人，也半途而废。意义是经不起耗的，今天明天你说有意义，今年明年呢？过一个十年呢？还是这地方，还是这荒土，你看得出意义来吗？”
许三多抓了把土，砂质从指缝里漏下，剩下是什么都派不上的小石子儿。
“明白我说的么？”老马看着许三多，希望他明白，这地方抱太多希望不好，会失望。
许三多好像没听懂：“修路很有意义。”
老马傻了一下，凑得更近地看许三多，他确定一件事，不管是聪明人碰上笨蛋，还是有经验碰上零经验，刚才的话全白说，根本不在一个思维频率。
老马一番苦口婆心全成了白扯，生气了：“那你修条路吧，许三多，有这么一步宽就行。”
“那太窄了。”许三多看了老马一眼，老家叫它田埂道。
“那就五步。”老马把自己气乐了，“坦克车体的宽度，标准吧？咱们是装甲步兵团嘛。”
许三多很认真地想着：“是命令吧，班长？”
老马苦笑着走开：“如果我会命令你们做做不到的事，嗯，那就是命令。”
他打算回宿舍，今天就算到此为止了。
许三多脸上抑制不住地兴奋：“班长，这是我到五班接到的第一个命令！”
老马回头看看他，许三多兴奋上脸的表情让他再走两步又回头看看，这次回头老马忽然有一个感觉：他也许是惹了祸。
草原的夜里风很大，声音能在黑暗里传出很远：高高的山上一呀一头牛，尖尖的角来歪着一个头。李梦几个谈笑风生地自黑漆漆的草原里归来，忽然愣住。
几间屋之间用石灰划上了整齐的白道，这也没什么大不了的，但就此地的一成不变，那算一个改变。几人犹豫了一下进屋。
老马独坐桌前在摆桥牌，那三人进来：“许三多呢？”
老马瞟他们一眼：“捡石头去啦。”似乎有点心虚，“他……想修条路。”
三个人都傻了。
老马接着说：“一条路，从这到哨位那，他觉得那很有意义。”
老马挠挠头，他越发心虚得没边：“也许我说错了话……好像下了那么道命令……”
李梦他们的似笑非笑终于爆成了笑，那三个家伙你拍我打，李梦和薛林甚至互相三击掌，再撞了一下屁股。
老马正为那道命令不安，于是瞪他们：“搞什么？这没有妨碍你们打牌。”
薛林乐了：“何止啊？班座！这意味着，许三多终于入乡随俗，不再骚扰我们的生活！你想啊，一个人，修条路，在这，从这到哨位……班座，你不会插手吧？”
老马摇头不迭：“我？干点什么不好？根本不可能的事情。”
“对呀！就是根本不可能的事情，根本是不打算完成的事情嘛！就是一个打发时间嘛！……你们看着我干什么？你们笑什么？我说错什么了吗？”
他们四个人在打牌，心烦意乱地一声不响，绝对没了平时的咋呼。
外边多了一种漫长的敲击石块之声，简直是无休无止。
薛林忍不住了：“这他妈的……”
老魏挠挠头，几乎没心看自己的牌：“什么时候是个头啊？”
老马瞪着自己的牌：“他干扰你们了吗？”
老魏：“他干扰你了吗，班座？”
“当然没有。”可老马瞪着牌的眼睛完全没有焦点，所以老魏绝不相信地看着他。
老马干咳一声：“你们在打发时间，他一样，在这谁都有权打发自己的时间。”
薛林竭力让自己的语气热情一点，对着窗外：“许三多，我教你打升级好吗？”
许三多的声音在窗外，敲击的声音也未停：“我不爱打牌。”
“你爱干啥呢？棋？象棋，军棋？卡拉OK？你要不唱卡拉OK？”
仍在敲着：“我不会，什么都不会。”
李梦对着薛林挤眉弄眼：“忍一会儿，再忍一会儿，再忍个三五天他就歇啦。”
薛林不信：“这话你三五天前就说过啦！我恨不得就……”
“恨不得什么？”老马把牌放下了，“我跟你们几个说，他没有做错，你们也不准胡来。如果再有这类有损本班安定团结的言行，我就——”他一巴掌拍在牌桌上。
这天几个人从营地里走过时，走得都极不自在，因为驻地间忽然有了条路。
车体宽度，长度还没跨出驻地，只能说初具其形。路一边堆着许三多从各处捡来的石头，都比荒原上常见的为大，而且因为此地富含矿脉，有着各种色彩。另一边是已经被砸碎的石头，砸成同等的大小再分门别类，考虑到这是一个人干的，又是一个小奇迹。他们都存心避开那条刚初具雏形的路，老马亦然。
傍晚的时候，李梦在窗口瞧着，外边在敲击。窗外的暮色金黄而辉煌，外边的人应该是不折不扣的沐日而作。李梦对着屋里的人说：“他根本就是块木头，对着那么好的景色不会抬头去看，这样的人干巴、枯涩，全无情趣。”
屋里无人回应，但李梦说话的习惯向来是只要有人听见。
“这哪是在修路？是在……在磨路。以为他拿石头砌出个路沿来就算了，结果他号称要把这条路用石头铺上。这是半沙化地，草原，你们说那些石头他从哪块翻出来的？你们说？”
无人回应。于是李梦问窗外：“许三多，你把石头一个色放一堆干什么？”
“我想砌……砌……图案”许三多自己也不知道砌什么图案。
李梦向着屋里摊手：“听见没？还图案。他以为他在搞艺术，我看他要被艺术搞……你们看着我乐什么？”李梦匆匆从窗前走开，“我要把他写进我的小说，我一定要把他写进我的小说。”于是宿舍里的字纸篓里又扔进了两个刚揉就的纸团。
许三多捡石头去了。
李梦，薛林和老魏过来，三人你捅捅我，我捅捅你，然后三人不约而同开始做同一件事情：跳上石堆，连踢带刨，把些石头洒得遍地都是，一泄心中怨气和怒气。
薛林一跤摔倒，三个做贼心虚的家伙连滚带爬，一窝蜂逃回宿舍。
许三多进来，那几人破天荒地第一次没有打牌，薛林在翻书，李梦在写和撕，老魏在发愣，三人都有些心虚。
许三多兴高采烈，精神头十足，这可能是那几位不喜欢他的主要原因，他真有事情干，尽管是那几个绝对不打算去做的事情。
许三多：“草原上的风好大呀！我捡的石头都给吹跑啦！”
老马瞧那几位一眼：“什么歪风能吹得跑石头？”
许三多：“也没吹多远，我捡回来就是啦。班长，你看见我工具了吗？”
老马又看看那几个：“李梦、薛林、老魏，你们知道吗？”
“啊？哦？灶眼堵了，我们拿去捅火了。”
“你家捅火用锤子？一分钟之内放回原处。”
薛林和老魏飞跑着出去。老马神情郁郁，他并不太清楚自己的立场，只是在就事论事地解决问题。
Today is a windy day, overcast, full of flying sand.窗外的路已经延伸得很远，尽头处有个小小的人影，那是许三多。李梦又在窗前施展他的口才，事情已经在往极端上发展，每个人都在失去原来一直恪守的分寸。李梦则是干脆地在对着那个远影大叫。
“你这傻子！给个棒槌当针使的凯子！不分香臭的驴子！”
他嚷由他嚷，那条路现在已经是这么个长度，风沙下，路那头的许三多绝听不见他的喊声。倒是老马抬头瞄了李梦一眼：“嗳嗳，适可而止吧。”
可李梦绝没要止住的意思：“我说哥几个，大家伙心照不宣吧。班长，你要不要把你算在我们里头，是你自己的事。”
老马停了在摆的桥牌，有点惊讶地又瞄了一眼：“不知道你在说什么。”
“咱们为什么能心安理得？一只走失的羊都能让咱们高兴半天，咱们怎么就能在这么个地方待下来？”
谁都看看他又低头，似乎没人在听，但每个人都在等他的答案，他把五班最敏感的问题提上了桌面。
李梦很自信地翻出答案，可说有些过度自信：“因为我们不抱希望。”他看看那几个人阴沉的脸色，决定稍微收敛一些，“或者说，我们只有希望，我们抱定一个在这里无法完成的希望，我们在做的事情都不可能完成，也不打算完成。”
风沙很大，远处的许三多也就小而模糊，他正逆着风在把新铺就的路面夯平。
李梦的说话也有些风沙的凛冽：“现在来了个傻子，他真的打算，一门心思地把他的事情做完。我不讨厌他，说真的我们都不讨厌他，可我烦，你们别不吭气，你们也烦。现在砸石头的声音听不到啦，可外边有个人在干活，干他不知所谓的活，我们很烦，以前做得很高兴的事突然没了意义，我们突然觉得也该干点什么？”说到这里，他很惨淡地笑——“可是干什么？我们能在这干什么？你们知道吗？我那次去团里办事，抱着一棵树哭，我一边哭一边想，哭什么？这只是一棵树，一棵树，一棵树……”
他狂态毕露，那几个人的脸色也越发阴沉。生存在一片绝对看不到树梢的风沙星辰之中，每个人都有同样的苦楚。
薛林忽然将手里快洗烂了的牌重重拍在桌上。
老魏：“闭嘴！”
李梦毫不示弱：“别冲我吼！你们真想吼的人不是我！你们不要吼两句吗？我刚试过了，他听不见。”
薛林到窗前，声嘶力竭：“白痴！！”
老魏索性打开因风沙而紧闭的窗：“二百五！”
老马终于愤然而起：“你们有够没够？”
李梦回头拉老马：“班长也要吼一下吗？你真的很需要吼一下。”
老马是那种容易疑惑的人，而且一疑惑就忘了原本的怒气：“我为什么要吼？”
李梦很认真地看着老马：“打他来这最早过不安稳的是谁？”
老马看着他：“我为什么要过不安稳？”
薛林、老魏两个刚喊掉了火气，一边捂着嘴偷乐，老马狠狠瞪了他一眼。
老马忽然叹了口气：“你们就是想我下个命令，让他把那路停下来，对不对？”
几个人不说话，不说是也不说不，但确有一种期待。
老马摇摇头：“我不会下这命令，知道为什么吗？”他单对着李梦说，“许三多不聪明，可不是个混蛋，你聪明，总能让多数跟你站一边，总能让大家的矛头指着你想对准的人，可是多少……有点混蛋。”
这就是总结，李梦再笑不出来，脸上青一阵白一阵，老马嘘口气想走开。
李梦在他身后冷冷地说：“好了，他已经成功地让咱们咬起来了。”他语气冰冷，这是从来没有过的事情。
老马站住了，他能忍受一切但不能习惯这种冰寒彻骨，他几乎要打个寒噤。老马看着窗外，那个小小的人影还在忙碌，这屋里的世界似乎伤不到他，这屋里的世界似乎就根本与他无关。老马看起来很疲劳也很悲伤。
几个兵稀里哗啦地在伙房里吃饭，前天蒸的馒头，像粥一样的面条，伙食并不差，但因为这地方不大有军纪约束，五班吃饭看起来十足是单身汉们的凑合。
许三多对老马说：“报告班长，我明天请一天假，路先停一天，好吗？”
一时所有的吸溜声和咀嚼声都停了下来，这份安静把许三多也吓了一跳：“嗯，那就算了。”老马忙着擦嘴：“别算了，为什么算了？”
许三多：“我想在路边种点花。我想去店里买点花子，我来这快半年了，还没去团部看过，我想上团部看看，我还想看看我老乡……”
老马：“应该应该！太应该了！合理要求！一天假不够？要不我给你两天？这路可远，你自个会走吗？”
“我记路特厉害。”他很疑惑，他不知道老马何以这么热情，而李梦们又何以那样关心。
老马就着许三多眼神看去，李梦几个正捅咕着无声地大笑。
李梦开心地说：“我们觉得许三多同志这种愚公移山的精神是可敬的，但确实应该看看山那边是啥样再做这份苦力。”
老马没理李梦，他转向许三多：“你一定要上团部看看，看看真正的部队是什么样的，你得开开眼。”
李梦做出很纳闷的样子：“这不和我说的一回事吗？”于是他语重心长地揉着许三多的肩膀，“许三多同志，你就好好地去吧。”
当许三多仰望路边一队静止但未熄火的坦克炮塔上的军人们时，他正坐在一个牧民拉羊的拖拉机上。
那些兵倨傲的眼神从他头上扫过，他们不愿意看见一个穿着军装的人和拖拉机斗里的几只羊待在一起，如此的灰头土脸，全无军威。
许三多看看坦克，又看看身边簇拥的几只羊。自卑从他离开五班封闭的小天地开始，就又找上了他。
许三多下车，拖拉机开走，他看看门上的八一军徽和几个雕塑般的士兵，威严得让他发毛，第一感觉是这地方绝不会姑息他的渺小，于是很没底气地往里挪。
一只手理所当然地将他拦住。
哨兵仍然是目视着前方，但手却伸在许三多身前：“证件。”
许三多越发没了底气：“我是这个、这个三五三团的。”
哨兵的手指向另一个方向：“登记。”
于是打算去登记，一队步战车打靶归来正进营门，引擎声和口令声顿时响彻了营门，许三多回头看着，这些战车