Chapter 38 Eating in the Canteen
The group arrived at the commune in a mighty procession and gathered at the meeting place next to the commune. They listened to the commune secretary's speech again, which was nothing more than "Imperialism's desire to destroy us is not dead" and "We must resolutely oppose imperialism and revisionism"...
When they set out from the commune, the procession became even longer. Taoyuan Commune had 13 production brigades under its jurisdiction, which meant that a total of 13 militia platoons set out together. The number of people in each militia platoon was different, and there was no specific regulation on this.
Assuming each militia platoon consisted of 34 men, like Liushutun, the entire commune would have 442 men. Qushui County had eight people's communes, so that would be 3,536 men. Imagine everyone charging with bayonets, shouting "Kill, kill, kill!" The scene would be quite spectacular.
There was also a company commander - the commune armed forces minister, and an instructor - the commune Youth League Committee secretary in the team, who followed everyone to the county armed forces department.
During the entire march, we only took one rest.
They set out from the brigade around seven in the morning, and by the time they arrived at the county, the sun had almost moved to the south.
Everyone knows that if a person's shadow points due north, it's 12 o'clock. Xie Yun observed it and found that the shadow was still a little off, not quite 12 o'clock.
When we got there, there was another round of speeches. The Minister of Armed Forces gave a speech, and the content was similar to that of the team leader and the commune secretary.
After the talk, I was assigned a dormitory, put down my things, and headed straight to the cafeteria.
Although Xie Yun brought a flatbread, she noticed that no one was eating on the road, so she didn't eat either. Even though she was starving in the end.
The dormitory was a small single room with four bunk beds, housing eight people. Xie Yun shared it with Xu Laowu, Zhao Hongxia, Yan Yuying, and four other female militia members from the unit. Two others, because they were slower, had to share a room with members of other units.
Xie Yun quickly occupied an upper bunk. As soon as he put his things down, Yan Yuying said, "We'll clean up when we get back tonight. Let's go eat first."
Although it is military training, the participants are not real soldiers after all, so the organization and discipline are still a little lacking, and everyone still has to fight for food.
Except for Xie Yun and Xu Laowu, the other people in the dormitory were not here for the first time and they understood the situation faster than Xie Yun.
Everyone ran to the cafeteria together. Xu Laowu ran slowly, so Xie Yun and Zhao Hongxia each pulled her on one side. When they arrived at the cafeteria, Xu Laowu almost fell down.
"I can't take it anymore, oh my god, why are you running so fast? My heart is about to jump out of my chest."
Zhao Hongxia said: "I have trained before, and I also practiced with my dad at home."
Xie Yun said: "I practiced it at school before."
Xu Laowu looked at this and that, then looked around, and found that no one was as useless as her. The person who was originally bent over and gasping for breath straightened up stubbornly in an instant.
No one admires Lin Daiyu these days. After all, Chairman Mao himself said, "Don't emulate Lin Daiyu, emulate Hua Mulan and Mu Guiying." He also wrote "Seven-Character Verse for a Photo of a Female Militia Soldier": "Spiritual and heroic, holding a five-foot spear, the first light of dawn illuminates the parade ground. The sons and daughters of China have great aspirations, and prefer arms to red dresses."
Being heroic, tenacious, hardworking and capable is the current mainstream aesthetic.
Xu Wumei stood up straight, rubbing her belly and breathing in, "I got a side stitch."
Zhao Hongxia said, "Then bend down a little bit and straighten up slowly. It might be because you were too excited just now."
Xu Laowu bent her waist a little bit more carefully, and she immediately felt much better.
Everyone followed the line and moved forward. The canteen staff serving food shouted, "Take as much as you can eat. Don't waste it. If you don't have enough, come back for more."
Zhao Hongxia was in line in front of Xie Yun. She turned around and whispered to her, "Come back later and get some, or they'll be gone."
Xie Yun: “…”
The first meal of the training camp was steamed buns, which looked to be made of pure white flour.
Xie Yun saw some men who were particularly experienced. They came with a pair of chopsticks, each with five buns stuck on it, like two giant candied haws. Xie Yun was stunned!
10 big buns!
Can he finish it?
Thinking this way, when it was Xie Yun's turn, she took three in each hand and also copied six.
Zhao Hongxia, who had grabbed five before her, was full of admiration. "Five is my limit. I tried it last year, and I was full after four, and I could still fit in five. You can actually eat six!"
Xie Yun: “…”
She probably couldn't finish them all. But someone else took ten, and if she took less, she'd feel like she'd been shortchanged! She even felt like she'd missed out on four buns!
Yan Yuying also smiled and said, "Binbin's appetite is normal. Sister Jinling could eat seven before. Try it once and you'll know how much to take next time. The food here is not bad, and sometimes there's even meat."
The actual food supply far exceeded the daily quota of one pound. It seemed that the army also subsidized part of it.
She also took five.
Xie Yun quickly finished a bun filled with cabbage and a little oil residue. The bun skin was made of pure white flour. It was essentially a very ordinary bun, but because he was hungry and it was rare for him to eat pure white flour in his daily life, he thought it was very delicious.
She ate three in a row and felt almost full, so she slowed down when eating the fourth.
After finishing the fourth one, Xie Yun looked at the remaining two buns and felt full without even having to eat. The original owner's stomach was not big.
She glanced at the man who had taken ten. He had already eaten seven and was slowly chewing on the eighth, and his speed was as slow as a snail.
Yan Yuying followed her gaze and smiled, "Don't worry, that guy can finish it. He just stuffed it into his stomach bit by bit in the end. But he managed to squeeze it in. I've observed that men always take two more than their normal meal, and they force those two in."
Xie Yun: "...Won't you throw up during this afternoon's training?"
Yan Yuying smiled and said, "This afternoon we have theory classes, no training, it's okay."
Xie Yun: "That's not bad."
Yan Yuying said, "If you can't eat it anymore, just put it back. It's a bun and it hasn't been touched. It's okay. If you've only eaten half of it, then there's nothing you can do. You'll have to finish it."
It is impossible to waste without wasting.
Wasteful behavior is now a blatant offense and will be singled out for criticism. Didn't you see that comrade who was forcing food into his mouth picked up and ate a little of the stuffing on the table when it fell?
She leaned closer to Xie Yun and whispered, "This is my first time here, and it's like eating from the same big pot in the old days. Everyone has big eyes and small stomachs."
Xie Yun carefully felt her stomach and decided that she should listen to the advice. She couldn't force herself to eat, for fear of damaging her stomach.
Xie Yun lowered her head and walked over to the bun basket, put the two buns back, and walked away again with her head lowered, hoping that no one saw her face.
Xu Laowu, who was standing in line behind her and had also taken six buns, followed her with his head down and put three back. She had just run too fast and was overloaded, so her appetite was poor and she only ate three.
Xu Laowu was very upset that she didn't eat two buns. Normally, she should have been able to eat five!
After a few minutes of rest, we filled our bowls with rice soup and then gathered at the training grounds. Following the organization's unified arrangements, we entered different classes and began our own theory lessons.
Each student will receive a notebook and a pen when entering the classroom. There are two students at a table. A copy of the "Militia Military Training Manual" is placed on each desk, and two students share one copy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
