September 17, 1931, was a day that could not be more ordinary for the Northeast Army in Beidaying, Fengtian.
Even though the guns were locked in the warehouse, the army still had to go out for training.
From the playground, the sounds of soldiers shouting, running, and officers giving speeches could be heard continuously.
The morning passed quickly.
After lunch, everyone returned to the barracks to rest. At this time, the people in the second platoon of the second company were looking at the kang on the big bunk bed next to the door and laughing.
The person they were looking at was of course Shang Zhen, who had now become the laughing stock of all of them.
Although Lu Da Jiao was sitting with his shoes on under the strict order of Platoon Leader Wang Laomao, many people still smelled the faint smell of intoxication in the air.
With that smell, it was hard for them to imagine what Shang Zhen felt like after being stuffed with that sock all night.
"Don't be fooled by your thin appearance, you have a good appetite!" A soldier who was walking in said to Shang Zhen who was sitting cross-legged on the kang obediently.
Shang Zhen looked up at him with a bitter face and said nothing.
He was a newcomer and had no intention of talking to the veterans.
Because his third brother Li Fushun had already enlightened him.
If you want to make a living honestly, you have to be obedient.
They just stuffed their smelly socks into your mouth and you didn't suffer any physical injuries. You have to endure it.
The soldier who just entered the room was laughing at Shang Zhen, implying how smelly Lu Dajiao's socks must be!
Not only did you not vomit it out, but you also ate so much at noon today!
The soldier saw Shang Zhen staring at him without saying anything, feeling humiliated, and said angrily, "Look at you, you coward! Your face is twitching like a shoe horn. Who are you trying to please?"
The soldier shuddered when he mentioned Shang Zhen.
But just when the soldier was about to show off his power and wanted to grab Shang Zhen's ear, his ear was already grabbed by someone else's big hand.
"Get lost! Are you trying to bully my brother?" A voice sounded in the soldier's ear. It was Li Fushun who had returned.
Li Fushun is a veteran and a squad leader.
Last night when he was going to bed, it was the platoon leader Wang Laomao who gave the order to discipline Shang Zhen, so he didn't say a word.
But he can give face to Mr. Wang, but who is this soldier?
The soldier naturally knew the relationship between Li Fushun and Shang Zhen. He was originally angry, but when he turned around and saw that it was Li Fushun, he quickly responded with "Okay" to Li Fushun's words.
Li Fushun let go, and the soldier covered his ears and walked back into the house in shame.
"Waiter, what did you dream about last night that scared you so much?" Li Fushun asked Shang Zhen while sitting cross-legged on the kang.
Shang Zhen felt safe after seeing Li Fushun's concerned expression, so he whispered a single word: "Gun."
"Oh." Li Fushun suddenly realized.
This is the third day that Shang Zhen has been in the military camp.
On the first day he entered the barracks, all their guns had not been collected yet, and a soldier accidentally discharged his gun while fiddling with it.
Fortunately, the gun went off accidentally and no one was injured.
Unfortunately, the bullet pierced the head of the German Shepherd Dog that was being led, and then the bullet pierced the copper bugle hanging on the waist of a bugler.
The German Shepherd was the favorite of their regimental commander and the only dog in their base. The bullet almost hurt someone, and the regimental commander was so angry that he personally stepped forward and gave the soldier who accidentally fired a bullet a slap in the face, and then put him in solitary confinement.
When the gun went off accidentally, Shang Zhen happened to be next to the black dog.
Li Fushun was there at the time and saw Shang Zhen tremble for a moment. It seemed that Shang Zhen was frightened by the gunshot.
"I remember you weren't so timid before?" Li Fushun said.
But Shang Zhen didn't respond, as if he was recalling the power of the shot.
Li Fushun joined the army when he was fifteen years old.
Shang Zhen's family has two biological brothers. Li Fushun was picked up by Shang Zhen's parents and is considered his sworn brother. There is a two-year age difference between the three of them, and Li Fushun is the oldest.
Li Fushun remembered that when he left home, Shang Zhen was still a naughty boy, climbing trees to touch birds and going to the river to catch fish, and he never had a moment of peace.
Li Fushun is already 22 years old this year, and Shang Zhen is already 18 years old.
Just a few days ago, when Li Fushun returned to his home outside Fengtian, his mother, Shang Zhen's biological mother, told him to take Xiao Er with him, so he took Shang Zhen out to join the army.
Li Fushun has been serving in the army for many years, and his impression of Shang Zhen only remains of Shang Zhen when he was a teenager.
But how could he have imagined that Shang Zhen's courage would become so small?
Now he already regretted bringing Shang Zhen out.
If Shang Zhen made any mistake because of his cowardice, how could he face his mother?
As for how to give an explanation to my mother, there is no need to say more about that, because my mother is already seriously ill, and it would be good enough if she can survive this winter.
Shang Zhen's eldest brother has already started a family. Without his father and mother, Shang Zhen has no one to rely on. This is why his mother asked him to bring Shang Zhen out.
Li Fushun's idea was undoubtedly good, but when he saw Shang Zhen's timid look, he could only shake his head helplessly.
Li Fushun lay down on the kang. He wanted to rest for a while.
At this time, Shang Zhen, who was looked down upon by everyone as a sticky person, had the image of the killed German black bass appear in his mind again.
At the sound of the gunshot, he saw a hole in the big wolfdog's head, and then white brain matter and red blood splattered out.
It was this scene that made Shang Zhen's head buzz.
At that moment, he seemed to see several people in ancient costumes falling down one after another in front of him.
Blood also splattered from the backs of those men, and he saw them twitching under his feet!
At this moment, he felt as if his heart was pierced by a sharp needle.
He felt the excruciating pain and the inescapable fear of firearms!
Shang Zhen is already eighteen years old this year. Logically speaking, he is not young anymore. Many people have already married and had children at the age of eighteen.
Just as Li Fushun thought, he was not timid since childhood.
But when he was 17 years old, he felt as if his brain had turned into a field of crops.
Why do I say that? Because he found a “seed” sprouting in his mind!
He always dreamed of dead people, those dead people wearing ancient clothes, and at the same time felt pain from the bottom of his heart.
Inexplicable ancient terms often popped up in his mind. For example, when he saw matches, he would think of fire sticks. When he saw a courtyard, he would think of a mansion. When he thought of the toilet, he would think of the toilet...
And that would be fine, as from time to time some strange language would pop up in his mind.
Sometimes when he said it without paying attention, his mother and his elder brother would look at it with extremely surprised eyes, as if he was saying words from another world.
He didn't sleep well at night, and the dream was mixed with reality, so that his thinking became confused.
A person whose thinking is a little confused and who becomes timid and fearful naturally cannot think of a clue.
Soon the lunch break was over and the afternoon training began. The afternoon training was over and in the blink of an eye it was dark again.
When the light of the electric lamp illuminated the military camp again, Wang Laomao, the platoon leader of the second platoon of the second company, looked at Shang Zhen with ill intention again.
"I promise not to shout tonight." Shang Zhen said timidly.
Shang Zhen has become timid and fearful now, but that doesn't mean he is stupid.
He will never forget the pair of smelly socks last night!
So he was eager to express his opinion and took out a piece of cloth in front of everyone.
Shang Zhen's behavior was so strange that everyone's eyes turned from malicious to curious. What was this kid going to do?
The answer appeared immediately, because Shang Zhen consciously tied the cloth strip around his mouth and then tied it behind his back!
With a loud "boo", the whole room burst into laughter.