"Heh heh." The crowd chuckled sheepishly and straightened up, not daring to act up again.
"Your sister-in-law brought this from home, a special treat for lunch," Gu Xingdong said, handing the pheasant, rabbit, and eight-treasure dish in his hand to one of the soldiers.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law!" This time, everyone had a tacit understanding. Without anyone calling out a slogan, they all shouted in unison. Fearing they would be lectured by Gu Xingdong, they all quickly darted away like mice.
Chen Lishu watched the backs of the departing soldiers and then looked at Gu Xingdong, whose face was already dark, and couldn't help but purse her lips and smile, "You really should smile more."
If he didn't smile, his subordinates would be this unruly. If he really did as she said, these guys would probably turn the heavens upside down.
"Let's go," Gu Xingdong said, then took the lead towards the mess hall.
"Camp Commander, Sister-in-law, this way." Li Weimin and a few other soldiers waved when they saw the two enter.
Li Weimin: "Sister-in-law, this is your first time in the mess hall, right? Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll have those brats get it for you."
The mess hall's breakfast consisted of steamed buns, porridge, and eggs. Soon, a young soldier brought over the meals for Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong.
"Thank you." Chen Lishu was at a loss for words for the soldiers' enthusiasm and quickly took the breakfast with a smile.
"Sister-in-law, our company commander said that you must feel our highest treatment so that you'll know how good we are and introduce us to wives," the young soldier said honestly.
Li Weimin, standing beside him, put a hand to his forehead and simultaneously kicked him under the table.
How could all the things said in private be let out by this kid? Was this something to be rushed? Had he learned tactics from dogs' bellies, didn't he know about proceeding step by step? "Hurry up and go sit down and eat," Gu Xingdong said expressionlessly to the young soldier, then turned to Chen Lishu and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense."
The young soldier glanced at his camp commander's expression, then thought of the kick from his company commander, and only then did he belatedly realize that he might have said the wrong thing.
"Sister-in-law, I'm not rushing you. I'm only nineteen this year, and our company commander is already twenty-three. You can introduce someone to him first."
This time, not only did Gu Xingdong's face darken, but Li Weimin's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Chen Lishu, seeing such a cute young soldier for the first time, couldn't help but laugh, "If I find suitable people, I will definitely introduce them to you."
As soon as she agreed, the other soldiers who had been pricking up their ears and listening stopped pretending to be quail. They all seemed to have been injected with chicken blood and started introducing themselves to Chen Lishu.
"Sister-in-law, I'm squad leader Liu Dazhuang of the first company."
"Sister-in-law, I'm soldier Wang Changgen of the second company."
"Sister-in-law..."
What was supposed to be a good breakfast in the morning turned into a blind date session. Gu Xingdong couldn't take it anymore. He gritted his teeth, slapped the table, and sternly reprimanded, "So much energy? All of you get out and run twenty laps around the training ground. No one comes back for food until you finish!"
Under his usual intimidating presence, everyone dared not delay. Following his orders, they put down their things and ran out quickly.
A crowd rushed out, and Chen Lishu and Gu Xingdong's ears finally became quiet.
"Although they are all blockheads, keep an eye out if you find someone suitable," Gu Xingdong said to Chen Lishu after the crowd had left.
"Heh heh." Chen Lishu couldn't help but chuckle at his serious demeanor.
Gu Xingdong narrowed his long, narrow eyes dangerously. "What are you laughing at?"
Chen Lishu immediately shook her head, "Nothing." Then, she wisely buried her head and ate her breakfast obediently.
After breakfast, they walked to the entrance of the camp.
This time, they didn't trouble Xiao Sun. They planned to take the bus together to the provincial city's park and wander around.
There was a bus stop about a mile from the camp. There was one bus a day in the morning and one in the evening, running back and forth. Originally, there was no bus service here. After the military family housing was built and people started following their husbands, the authorities specially applied to extend one of the bus routes that ran in this direction by three stops to facilitate travel.
Because it was in a remote area, there weren't many people on the bus when they boarded. They found seats near the back of the bus.
Since it was the suburbs, the cement roads hadn't been built yet, and the road was not very smooth. Besides the bumps, the vehicle kicked up a lot of dust when it ran.
They took the bus for an hour and a half before finally arriving at Nanhu Park in the city.
The park was full of green trees, blooming flowers, and pleasant air. Many elderly people were strolling, and occasionally they would see a few couples on a date. Even though the gap between them on the bench could accommodate a person, the sweetness in their eyes was evident to anyone at a glance.
The weather got hot at noon, so they found a state-run restaurant for lunch. Gu Xingdong then took her to the zoo.
At this time, the zoo had not yet been relocated to the suburbs due to urban planning, nor did it have as many varieties as later. However, for the two of them, with their beloved by their side, it didn't seem to matter where they went or what they saw.
In the evening, they took the bus back to the camp. Since Gu Xingdong's vacation would end the next day, they went to bed early after dinner.
The next day, as soon as the reveille sounded, Gu Xingdong got up to go for his morning exercises. When Chen Lishu woke up, breakfast was already on the table, and she knew that Gu Xingdong had taken time to come back. After tidying herself up, she ate breakfast, then locked the door and prepared to take the bus to the city for a stroll.
She walked out of the camp gate to the bus stop where Gu Xingdong had taken her yesterday. The bus arrived not long after. As usual, there weren't many people on the bus, so she casually chose a window seat in the back.
After a bumpy ride to the city, she transferred to another bus to reach the city's textile factory. The workers were all at work at this time. Chen Lishu went to the reception room as usual and chatted with the elderly man at the reception room indirectly. As soon as she mentioned the word "private," the old man suddenly said indignantly, "Although there are new exploiters who engage in corruption, theft, and speculation, and such phenomena cannot be completely eliminated in the long run, as a member of the great socialist proletarian family, I resolutely resist the occurrence of this situation. The great leader once taught us that..."
Chen Lishu not only had her words stuck in her throat by the old man, but she was also dragged by him to study the leader's quotations for nearly half an hour.
After finally getting away from the old man, Chen Lishu looked at the reception room behind her and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. She no longer had the courage to mention her desire to seek out the leaders of their factory.
After leaving the textile factory, she happened to see a bus coming. Fearing that the old man would react and report her, Chen Lishu got on without even looking at the route sign.
It wasn't until she saw some familiar scenes ahead that she realized she had unknowingly arrived near the commercial street again.