Chapter 115

Ilya was very busy, and Jiang Wenxing rarely had time to spend alone with him.

The longest time was when he left Kush in a truck. He was lying on a stretcher, and the truck swayed gently with the bumps in the road. He was drowsy and disoriented. Ilya sat next to him, holding up the IV drip for him, and told Old Zhang to drive slowly.

The mountains were quiet, and through the gaps in the damaged canopy, one could see a narrow strip of sky.

The slight sound of branches hitting the carport, the flowing river, the silent captain, the still mountain mist and dew made Jiang Wenxing feel sad. He guessed it was because he couldn't bear to part with it, but he eventually fell asleep and woke up on a helicopter flying to the capital.

He didn't say goodbye properly to anyone, just as he hadn't properly greeted anyone as a comrade at the beginning.

Ilya didn't leave. He bent down and touched the bed. The cot creaked under the weight. He turned and glanced at Jiang Wenxing.

When guides come to the border defense, their biggest concern is the living conditions of the residents.

Jiang Wenxing checked it from the beginning: "It seems that the screws are loose."

Ilya rolled up his sleeves and flipped the bed over. Jiang Wenxing was about to say, "I can do it myself," but he looked around, found his tools, and obediently squatted down next to Ilya.

Ilya glanced at him. Jiang Wenxing was handsome in a somewhat gloomy way, with a proud and refined appearance and a strong sense of self-esteem.

But his obedient appearance made Ilya a little itchy to touch him. He couldn't explain why, but he attributed it to being too idle lately.

Ilya's hands were large, with beautiful bone structure and long, slender fingers, giving the impression of a fine sentry's hands, but they had many calluses and nicks.

The bed was repaired quickly. Ilya stood up, and Jiang Wenxing had already prepared a coat and handed it to him. Ilya hesitated for a moment before silently taking it and putting it on. He put on the hood and asked in a low voice, "Why don't you live with them?"

Three guides can share a room; it's not crowded.

Jiang Wenxing opened his mouth but didn't say anything, looking somewhat unhappy.

Jiang Wenxing was indeed unhappy. He was a little annoyed by Zhu Ning and Yano, but he didn't say anything: "It's more convenient for me to be alone."

Ilya said, "So you still haven't finished organizing it?"

That's a rather harsh statement.

Jiang Wenxing stammered. Being a loner on the border is no small matter. Border guards need to unite people as one, and those who don't fit in easily can't stay.

Ilya's concerns are normal, but Jiang Wenxing really doesn't want to live with Zhu Ning and the others. In his previous life, he could ignore Ilya with a long face, but in this life, he doesn't want to cause Ilya to misunderstand. But what can he do?

Jiang Wenxing was reborn, but God didn't give him a silver tongue.

Ilya watched as Jiang Wenxing pursed his lips and remained silent. His expression wasn't one of stubbornness or disobedience, but rather one of bewilderment. Finally, he spoke slowly.

"Then I'll move in with Zhu Ning and the others."

Ilya felt that Jiang Wenxing seemed to be able to tolerate him easily, just like he had done on the train at the beginning. This discovery surprised and amazed him.

The giant wolf growled and slapped its tail against the ground. It was more sensitive to emotions and wanted to lick the guide, but its master was cold and unresponsive, so it didn't dare to move a single paw.

Ilya stood there, watching Jiang Wenxing bend down to pack his luggage. He reached into his pocket, took out a pair of gloves, and handed them to Ilya: "Captain, these are yours."

Jiang Wenxing felt he accepted it; he could treat Zhu Ning like air, and it was normal for Ilya to distrust him now. However, when he handed the gloves to Ilya, it did convey a sense of "I don't want your things."

Ilya didn't take it, but gave Jiang Wenxing a deep look, then pressed the fountain pen: "Take it."

It had a somewhat commanding tone.

Then Ilya said, "It's not that it's more convenient for you to live there yourself."

As if he wasn't the one who disagreed just now, Jiang Wenxing was speechless again. After thinking for a while, he straightened up and said, "Then I'll hurry up and get ready to go to the meeting."

"You decide what to do."

Ilya opened the door and went out, effectively blocking the cold wind that was blowing in. The door closed gently again, leaving Jiang Wenxing alone in the room once more.

Jiang Wenxing roughly organized the items. The military has very high requirements for internal affairs, from the placement of items to the orientation of toothbrushes and the number of times towels are folded, there are uniform regulations.

It was 7:54 p.m. when Jiang Wenxing finished packing. He grabbed his things and hurried to the conference room.

The meeting was supposed to start at eight o'clock, but everyone arrived quite early.

Alena, Junin, Arno, and another new guide were chatting in a warm room with radiators.

Jiang Wenxing pushed open the door and glanced around. The room fell silent instantly. Alena greeted Jiang Wenxing first, followed by Arno. Zhu Ning and the other guide remained silent.

Jiang Wenxing nodded casually and pulled out a stool to sit down.

Alena's lioness was accompanied by a snow leopard. At first, she didn't like Arno, but after chatting with him, she found that Arno was a nice person. Like her, he came from the frontier, was very smart, and had a kind heart.

She wanted to ease the tension between Yano and Jiang, but as soon as Jiang entered the room, he opened the "Border Guardian Study Manual" and seemed unwilling to talk much, so she had no choice but to give up.

The old captain entered the meeting room three minutes early.

He was a sturdy old man from the Tanas ethnic group. His Mandarin was not very standard, but his eyes were bright, somewhat indifferent and sharp, like the strictest homeroom teacher in high school.

He himself is a legend. When Kush only had a force of ten, he held the position against a strong attack by a full squad. He was the only one left, but he did not let the enemy cross the Kush boundary marker.

He refused the good job assigned by the state and chose to retire after recovering from his injuries. He returned to Kush, where Captain Ilya found him and submitted a report to rehire him to do political work.

This story was covered in middle school textbooks.

So the newly arrived director Xiang Yuxi sat up straight, like a well-behaved child.

The official words coming from his mouth were inexplicably convincing. He briefly talked about the training manual and did not go into depth. Instead, he asked about the current research direction of Santa and their views on outposts and opinions on border outposts.

Jiang Wenxing simply kept his head down taking notes, because the old captain had never really liked him.

In his past life, Jiang Wenxing tried very hard to impress him, hoping to get a recommendation spot. He was probably very utilitarian and goal-oriented, so the old captain always treated him with indifference.

Guides who come to Kush to gain experience will more or less come into contact with the old team leader, and there must be many guides who want his recommendation. Jiang Wenxing is certainly not the first.

When Jiang Wenxing had the accident, the old captain seemed to have come to visit, but he only looked around and then left.

The old captain himself was indifferent to fame and fortune, lived a simple life, and preferred the easygoing and unassuming Yano, so he even adopted him as his godson.

Jiang Wenxing himself felt alienated from Yano's friends and relatives.

He had no complaints about the old captain himself, but he also didn't feel that he had let the old captain down. In his previous life, he was competitive, but he also did solid work, so he had nothing to be ashamed of.

He didn't say anything, but the old captain looked at him several times.

Arno was very talkative, always talking to everyone with his arm around their shoulders. He called Jiang Wenxing several times, and Jiang Wenxing slowly raised his eyes to look at him, gave a perfunctory "hmm", and then slowly lowered his head again, ignoring him.

Over the years, the old team leader had met many new guides. He knew that most guides from the city were arrogant and couldn't endure hardship, especially since Jiang Wenxing had done very well in the exam.

But before the training, Director Liu subtly suggested, "Would you like to personally mentor that newcomer? The top student in the province?"

The old team leader sipped his tea slowly without saying a word, while Director Liu walked around the area with his hands behind his back, then left dejectedly.

Back to the present, the old captain looked at the silent man in the corner: "Jiang Wenxing, what do you think is wrong with the border outpost?"

Jiang Wenxing paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "As for living conditions, we could grow some vegetables in a greenhouse to improve our lives."

He was just thinking about how to persuade Ilya to build a greenhouse. He had heard about this concept while he was hospitalized. The country provided greenhouses for the border guards, so that the sentries could eat fresh vegetables, which would be good for their physical and mental well-being.

When asked suddenly, he answered instinctively.

Only after I finished speaking did I realize something was wrong.

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, Arno chuckled, drawing everyone's attention. He cleared his throat and said casually, "I think the conditions here are already quite good... Wenxing is probably just getting used to it."

"No wonder, haha, the conditions here are incomparable to those in the city. You'll get used to it after a few days. Everyone goes through this."

The old captain's expression softened slightly, and even Alena couldn't help but frown, feeling that Jiang Wenxing was indeed a bit too delicate.

Zhu Ning gave Jiang Wenxing a meaningful look.

The room was quiet. The old captain coughed twice, glanced at Jiang Wenxing, and his face, which had brightened slightly, darkened again, as if he was not happy.

Jiang Wenxing then realized that the most annoying thing for the border guards was guides who couldn't endure hardship, demanded special treatment and extra care.

After listening for so long, all he focused on was how bad life was on the border. How is that any different from those pampered "flowers"?

Jiang Wenxing was annoyed, but he had no other desires and was also annoyed by Yano's sarcastic remarks and his inarticulateness, which made it difficult for him to refute. Therefore, he just sat there confidently, too lazy to look at him, and treated Yano's words as nothing.

He felt that he was likely to make the old captain look bad, but he didn't care.

"You want to grow vegetables?"

The old captain suddenly asked a question, which surprised not only Jiang Wenxing but also Yano.

They all knew that the border area had a large temperature difference between day and night and a cold climate. There were no vegetables available in autumn and winter. During this season, the sentries would pick and eat any edible green plants, such as wild vines and grasses.

This is a very difficult problem.

Jiang Wenxing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

The old team leader remained silent with a stern face. Besides the meeting, he had other tasks today, such as assigning work to the guides.

As a result, Jiang Wenxing was inexplicably kicked out of the medical ward and thrown into the cooking squad alone.

He was so embarrassed when he went to report for duty. A group of grown men in aprons were working hard in the kitchen, smelling of scallions, ginger, and garlic. Someone stared at him with wide eyes and asked, "Hey, what is this thing?"

Author's Note: