Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang boarded the small boat that Jiang Lin had brought specifically for carrying people. They looked at each other curiously. They were both landlubbers who grew up in inland cities. Zheng Yang could at least swim and had been traveling long distances for many years, so he was quite knowledgeable. Jiang Ruyu, on the other hand, was a girl who had never seen much of the world. At most, she had only splashed around in the swimming pool when she was a child.
"Sister, Brother Yang, hold on to the railing. I'm starting. It's windy and there will be waves at sea, so be careful." As a naval officer, Jiang Lin not only needs to be trained in jungle combat skills, but also in things like sailing, operating ships, underwater warfare, surface warfare, and being able to swim. These are all necessary courses.
Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang obediently gripped the railing. The small boat's engine roared, and in a flash, the boat sped away. Jiang Ruyu was thrown backward by inertia, letting out a shrill scream as she nearly fell over. Zheng Yang caught her with his arm.
"Hey kid, slow down! You almost threw your sister off the road!" Zheng Yang yelled at Jiang Lin, seeing his girlfriend's face turn pale with fright.
Jiang Lin scratched his head and looked apologetically at his sister: "I'm sorry, sis, I didn't mean to. I was in a hurry when we came, and I pressed the accelerator too hard and forgot to adjust it."
Jiang Ruyu patted her startled heart and glared at Jiang Lin: "Luckily it was me. If Grandma had done that, her blood pressure would have skyrocketed."
Jiang Lin chuckled awkwardly and obediently stopped driving at high speed.
Jiang Ruyu truly experienced what it meant to be on edge. The boat drifted with the waves, and her heart pounded up and down with it, which was quite unpleasant. Fortunately, they weren't too far from the island.
Upon seeing the island in the distance, Jiang Lin excitedly pointed and said, "Sister, look, that island is our military camp."
Jiang Ruyu craned her neck to look over: "It's quite big. How many people live on your island?"
"Sister, this is a military secret and I can't tell you."
Jiang Ruyu covered her mouth: "Okay, I won't ask anymore."
"Wow, there are so many islands in this area. Are they all inhabited?" Jiang Ruyu couldn't help but ask again when she saw the numerous islands of varying sizes in the distance.
“Some are islands inhabited by fishermen, but this area is our troops’ defense line, and there are people stationed and patrolling here.”
Jiang Ruyu and Zheng Yang didn't understand, and upon hearing this, they didn't ask any further questions: "Hey, can we go to other islands to play? Can we go beachcombing?"
"Sure, I can take you to any island you want to go to. You can also go beachcombing. The marine resources here are very abundant. Sometimes when we go out to sea on patrol, we use nets to catch fish, which are much bigger than the fish found on the shore."
They arrived at the dock while chatting and laughing. Jiang Lin went down first, secured the small boat, and took two bags. Zheng Yang helped Jiang Ruyu off the boat, her legs still a little weak when her feet touched the ground.
"Sis, wait here for me a moment, I'm going to change boats."
Jiang Lin said something and ran towards the guard post not far away, but returned shortly afterward.
"Come on, sis, let's go register and then we can go in."
Jiang Lin, along with his sister and future brother-in-law, filled out the registration information and then excitedly led them to their dormitory in the camp.
"Sis, have I not told you yet? I've been promoted! I got a small promotion, and now I'm a platoon leader." Jiang Lin said to his sister as they walked, showing off the secret he had kept hidden for a long time.
"So fast? You've only been in the army for a short time. Is there something you're hiding from us?" Jiang Ruyu wasn't stupid. For people from ordinary families like theirs, getting promoted to officer or even higher ranks in the military was difficult enough.
Jiang Lin stammered, "Well, last year in the military region's new recruit competition, I came in second in the whole region and was promoted to officer. Later, I was ordered to go on a mission and got a second-class merit, so I was promoted again."
Jiang Ruyu felt a dull ache in her chest. This kid hadn't said anything for so long; he must have been injured back then.
"Is your injury healed?"
Jiang Lin chuckled sheepishly: "It's all better now, really. I've resumed my normal training and even added extra training. I'm in great shape, so don't worry, sis."
What could Jiang Ruyu say? No soldier is immune to injury and bloodshed: "You, your sister just hopes you can be alright. When you're on a mission, don't be reckless or impulsive. Think things through carefully. Your family is very worried about you, you know?"
"Sister, don't worry, I'm the best at running away."
It took them more than twenty minutes to reach the barracks dormitory. Jiang Lin led them into his own dormitory, and Jiang Ruyu raised an eyebrow: "Wow, not bad, Da Linzi. Your male soldiers' dormitory is quite tidy. You've never had such a clean dormitory at home."
"Hehe, we get punished for not keeping our quarters tidy. I had to run so many laps around the training field to avoid being punished for this 'tofu block' (a type of folded tofu block)."
Jiang Ruyu laughed: "Which bed is yours?"
Jiang Lin's dormitory was a four-person room with single beds. Next to each bed was a two-door wardrobe and a desk. Under the beds were porcelain basins and shoes, all neatly arranged.
Jiang Lin pointed to the bed on the south side: "That's my bed."
Jiang Ruyu took the package for him and opened it: "Here, take a look. This is what Grandma, Grandpa, and I prepared. There are a few sets of clothes, as well as underwear, socks, and things like that. I know you usually wear training clothes, but you also have holidays. When you go out of the island to play, you can wear casual clothes."
"Also, you should send half of your future allowance to your own pocket. Keep some for yourself. If you meet a suitable woman and want to pursue her, it would be embarrassing if you didn't even have money to see a movie."
Jiang Lin's face turned bright red: "Sister, what are you saying? In our unit, apart from the few women in the medical room, they are all married. There are almost no young girls."
"Hey, what's the big deal? Every year during National Day and Chinese New Year, the military has a cultural troupe coming to perform for the troops. If we happen to run into them then, we can keep them just in case." Jiang Ruyu ignored her brother's reasoning. This silly boy, can you really predict fate? It's just a matter of when you might run into someone.
"Hey, here are some sausages my aunt made. Their production team has started raising pigs, and my aunt learned how to make sausages herself. After marinating them, she smoked them with pine and cypress branches she found on the mountain. I've tried them, and they're pretty good." Jiang Ruyu told her grandfather about this trip, and he was very interested in coming along. However, he was too old and his health was not good. Her uncle and the others didn't dare let him travel, fearing something might happen.
Jiang Lin was happy that his family was worried about him: "Sister, I definitely can't keep all these things of yours. When they come back later, they'll pounce on them like hungry wolves and snatch them away."
Jiang Ruyu waved her hand: "That's alright, it just means you two get along well. I don't believe you wouldn't snatch something if someone sent it to you."
Hehe, that's true.
"There are a few bottles of mushroom meat sauce here, and I also tried making a pot of chili oil. It's very fragrant when mixed with rice or noodles, but it's quite spicy, so eat less of it as it can cause internal heat."
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