Chapter 41: Reconnaissance mission?! Family New Year’s Eve dinner.
After the members of Class 9 returned to the company, they all washed up and it was already around five o'clock.
At Guo Yuanshuai's urging, everyone changed into clean clothes and went out, heading towards the regiment headquarters.
"Deputy Class Leader, didn't you say last time that your sister-in-law wouldn't come until the end of the year? How come she's here so soon?" Xu Ge asked.
"Have you been fooled by your constant training? Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month!" Guo Yuanshuai said unhappily, "Tomorrow, the 29th, is New Year's Eve!"
Xu Ge was in a daze for a moment. Is the New Year coming so soon?
"Deputy squad leader, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to go there empty-handed?" Kai Youmu asked.
Guo Yuanshuai glanced at him and asked, "Why, have the non-commissioned officers' salaries and allowances been paid?"
Kaiyoumu: "I was thinking about whether it would be good to meet my sister-in-law empty-handed for the first time..."
"What's inappropriate about that? She's your sister-in-law, and you're the younger generation. She should give you a meeting gift and New Year's money!"
Guo Yuanshuai looked at Kai Youmu and said, "Run quickly and go to the regiment headquarters to get Li Dongshui. We'll be waiting for you at the gate of the family compound."
"yes!"
Kaiyoumu immediately ran to the front.
Niu Sanxian asked, "Deputy, has Guo Xiaobao arrived?"
Guo Yuanshuai shook his head: "The child is sick, and his mother didn't bring him here because she was afraid the altitude sickness would get worse."
"Hey, what delicious food did sister-in-law bring this time? Do you have any hot dry noodles, squad leader?"
"Of course. I even asked her to freeze the fish jelly in advance. It's made by stewing wild whitebait and crucian carp!"
"Wow, I can't help but drool!"
Everyone chatted and laughed and soon arrived at the regimental headquarters. Walking forward was the military dog squad where Du Hu was, and turning right was the family compound.
Arriving at the gate of the family compound, Xu Ge found that it was just like a small residential complex. There was even a community supermarket inside, and smoke was rising from the windows of many residents. The only difference was that there were sentries standing guard at the gate.
Xu Ge sniffed, and all kinds of smells immediately rushed into his nasal cavity, mostly the aroma of various foods and the smell of daily toiletries.
Guo Yuanshuai lit a cigarette and motioned everyone to wait at the door, while Niu Sanxian went to find the sentry in advance to register the number of visitors and their units.
In less than ten minutes, Kai Youmu and Li Dongshui, carrying a backpack, came over from the regiment headquarters.
"Dongshui, why did you bring the backpack back?" Wang Lin asked.
Li Dongshui grinned: "It's New Year's holiday!"
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Guo Yuanshuai said sternly, "I'm warning you, no one is allowed to tell your sister-in-law about my injury after seeing her. Do you hear me?"
Everyone had complicated expressions and nodded in agreement.
"What the hell are you all wearing? Your sister-in-law is unhappy, right? Smile for me!"
“Hehehe!”
"Well, that's good enough. Keep it up!" Guo Yuanshuai waved his hand, "Let's go eat!"
Everyone followed Guo Yuanshuai into the staff housing compound. When they reached the third row of buildings, they suddenly ran into Xu Can, who was carrying a bag on his back, holding a bag in his hand, and pulling a large camouflage box.
"Hey, Deputy Class Leader Guo, why are you here?" Xu Can stopped and greeted them first.
"It's almost Chinese New Year, and my wife is coming over. She insisted that I invite them over for dinner."
Guo Yuanshuai glanced at the backpack on Xu Can and asked with a smile, "Are you living here too?"
"Yes! The single dormitory assigned to us by the brigade is also here." Xu Can nodded in reply, then moved the box aside with difficulty, motioning Guo Yuanshuai and his group to go over first.
"Xiao Xu, why do you carry so many things?" Guo Yuanshuai was not in a hurry to leave, and asked casually.
Xu Can's expression was a little unnatural: "Nothing, just some personal items."
"Where are you going?"
"There's a car picking me up outside the community."
"Well, let Xu Ge take it to you." Guo Yuanshuai waved his hand to signal Xu Ge to come over, "Help Xu Gong move the boxes and bags to the gate of the community."
Xu Ge and Xu Can were both stunned. Xu Can quickly waved his hand: "No, no, you guys hurry up and eat..."
"Why are you being so polite to us?" Guo Yuanshuai interrupted. "That little bastard Xu Ge treated you badly last time, so he should do the hard work. That's it!"
Xu Ge, who didn't say a word the whole time, had to silently take the handle from Xu Can. He originally wanted to lift the box directly from the snow, but found that it was unexpectedly heavy.
"No need to carry it, just pull it." Xu Can said quickly.
Xu Ge was curious: "What are you installing here?"
Xu Can didn't answer, but just waved to Guo Yuanshuai: "Thank you, Deputy Guo, I'll be leaving first."
"Hey, okay, slow down!"
Xu Ge followed Xu Can and just as they reached the corner, Guo Yuanshuai seemed to remember something and called out, "By the way, Xu Ge, come here. I'll tell you which floor to go down to."
Xu Ge turned around: "Deputy Class Leader, I know..."
"You know shit! Come here quickly and don't waste other people's time!" Guo Yuanshuai suddenly gave a wink.
Xu Ge's heart moved and he hurried back.
"You have to find out what Xu Can is going to do. It looks like flight equipment in her backpack. Don't tell me that my old squad leader is organizing another assault drill during the New Year!" Guo Yuanshuai whispered quickly.
Based on his understanding of Tianlang, Xu Can, the pilot, should have been on vacation at this time.
Xu Ge and the others all looked terrified, with Xu Ge looking even more embarrassed. "Deputy class leader, how can I figure this out? I can't just ask Xu Can, right?"
"I don't care how you ask. If you don't understand, don't even think about eating the food your sister-in-law cooks!"
"oh!"
Xu Ge was speechless and turned to leave.
"Come back, I haven't told you which floor it is..."
"The third floor, I know, the one on the right, right?" Xu Ge said casually.
Guo Yuanshuai: ???
"No, how did you know that?" Guo Yuanshuai was quite surprised.
Xu Ge: "I can smell the sesame paste and hot dry noodles from far away."
. . .
. . .
Xu Ge walked slowly behind Xu Can, and neither of them spoke.
Xu Ge has been wondering how to find out where Xu Can is going and what he is doing, but he can't just ask him directly.
Seeing that Xu Ge remained silent, Xu Can didn't know what to say first.
As they were about to leave the complex, Xu Can finally thought of a topic to talk about. He slowed down his pace and waited for Xu Ge to come up. He asked, "How is the compass I gave you last time?"
Xu Ge also breathed a sigh of relief and quickly replied, "It works great. Thank you, Xu Can!"
"Why thank me? It's not something expensive. As long as you like it, it's fine." Xu Can said with a smile, "Besides, you're still helping me carry the box."
Xu Ge immediately followed up on the other party's words and asked, "Xu Can, don't all of you pilots have your vacation quite early? Going out at this time must be for a temporary mission, right?"
"Yeah!" Xu Can hummed.
Xu Ge: ...
Hmm? Go on, please!
"Was your head hit seriously last time?"
"A moderate concussion, but I'm fine now."
"Oh, I was worried that it would affect your flying. The weather is bad today, and it's expected to snow heavily tonight!"
"It's okay, I'm flying an armed helicopter tonight, so I don't need to fly too high." Xu Can said casually.
Xu Ge was excited and was about to continue asking questions, but he found that Xu Can had stopped. It turned out that the two of them had come to the roadside outside the community gate.
"Thank you for your hard work, Xu Ge. Go back and eat!" Xu Can reached out to take the handle. "I can wait for the bus here by myself."
Xu Ge said stubbornly, "It's okay, I'll wait with you."
Xu Can was stunned and looked at Xu Ge: "You don't want to pursue me, do you?"
Xu Ge: ???
"How is that possible? I already have a girlfriend!"
Xu Ge began to lie, "I just wanted to stay out for a while. If I go back early, they will definitely ask me to help in the kitchen."
"No, your expression is too unnatural." Xu Can stared at Xu Ge for a while, "You're not trying to chase me, but you're refusing to leave... You're trying to find out what I'm going to do, right?"
Without waiting for Xu Ge to deny it, Xu Can nodded to himself and said, "No wonder. I was wondering why Deputy Captain Guo insisted on having you send me off, and why did you keep bringing up my identity as a pilot all the way?"
Xu Ge remained silent, but in his heart he was complaining: How come this woman's brains are much better after being discharged from the hospital? She was cuter when I first rescued her.
"Why aren't you talking? Did I guess it right?" Xu Can continued to ask.
Xu Ge was too lazy to hide it: "Xu Can, just tell me, otherwise my class vice-chairman won't let me eat!"
"Tell you what?"
"Is the brigade planning a surprise drill or something? I heard from the squad leader that our brigade commander seems to like doing this during the New Year."
Xu Can thought for a moment and whispered, "I can't tell you exactly what I'm going there for, but I can tell you it's not a training exercise, it's a real mission!"
"That's all right, thank you!"
Xu Ge turned around and was about to leave, but then he stopped and said, "Xu Can, you just got out of the hospital not long ago, please be careful!"
"Yeah, I know, thanks for the reminder!" Xu Can waved his hand.
Xu Ge's ears moved, and he turned into the sentry box instead of going straight through the gate.
He had heard the roar of a car engine not far away, and from the sound it was the Prado.
"Squad leader, I want to go into the family compound and register." After saying that, he picked up a pen and prepared to write in the visitor registration book.
The sentry was stunned for a moment: "Dude, didn't you register before? Besides, I just saw you come out, why don't you just go in directly?"
"It's okay, squad leader, it's just a matter of writing a few more words!" Xu Ge pretended to write, but his ears were fully focused on listening to the outside world.
On the roadside, Lei Shen, who had parked his car, got out to help Xu Can get something. He immediately caught a glimpse of Xu Ge's back in the guardhouse and asked curiously, "What is Xu Ge doing here?"
"Mr. Guo's lover is here, and the whole class is coming over for dinner."
"Then why is he here alone?"
Xu Can said with some amusement, "This guy is so cunning. As soon as he saw me with my backpack, he insisted on following me and asking me what my mission was. He was afraid that the brigade commander was going to go on a training march."
"Why don't you just tell him directly? We might really need a group of people to help us tonight." Thor said indifferently.
Xu Can frowned. "Isn't this a reconnaissance mission? Why do we need to send out a regiment? Besides, aren't the people from the Eighth Company with us?"
"I just said it's possible, I'm not sure yet."
Lei Shen got in the car and his voice gradually became quieter. "The armed police special forces are busy with other missions and can't get away. The situation is quite complicated. If they really have to take action, a large number of troops will be needed to block the surrounding roads..."
. . .
. . .
Boom boom boom!
Xu Ge knocked on the door, and soon there was movement from inside.
“Here I come!”
The door opened and a capable woman who looked to be in her thirties appeared at the door.
"Hello, sister-in-law!" Xu Ge greeted her quickly.
"Xu Ge, right? Come in quickly, come in. We've been waiting for you!" Shi Xing pulled Xu Ge in. "Are you freezing outside?"
After Xu Ge came in, he felt warm all over.
This is a two-bedroom apartment with heating, and everyone else is already sitting at the dining table.
"How is it? Did you find out clearly?" Guo Yuanshuai asked immediately.
Xu Ge blinked, looking very proud: "I found out everything!"
Everyone looked over, and Guo Yuanshuai immediately asked, "Are we going to practice..."
"You're already asking questions right after the kid walks in. What are you asking?" Shi Xing scolded directly, "Can't you let Xiao Ge sit down to eat first? The food is almost cold!"
Guo Yuanshuai shrank his neck: "Okay, okay, let's eat first, and talk while we eat."
"Xiao Ge, come here. This is a gift from your sister-in-law. Don't think it's too little!" Shi Xing took out a red envelope from somewhere and stuffed it into Xu Ge's pocket.
Xu Ge quickly declined: "Sister-in-law, I really can't accept this..."
"Take it. If you don't want it, I'll be angry!" Shi Xing pushed Xu Ge to the dining table. "Xiao Shui and Xiao Mu have some, so hurry up and sit down to eat."
Guo Yuanshuai also nodded: "Take it if you give it to me. The day after tomorrow, on the first day of the new year, come over to your sister-in-law to wish her a happy new year and get some lucky money. Hehe, the fish pond in my hometown has a good harvest this year, and she has prepared quite a few red envelopes this time!"
"Right, right! Come on, come on, try the lotus roots and fish jelly I brought. They're all from our own fish pond!"
Shi Xing also smiled and called on everyone to start eating. "Eat as much as you can! If you don't have enough hot dry noodles, I'll serve more!"
Everyone stood up and let Shi Xing sit on the table. They thanked her in unison and then started to eat.
Guo Yuanshuai poured himself a drink, looking very satisfied.
Shi Xing was busy serving food to everyone. Seeing Niu Sanxian and Su Liujun fighting over the half bottle of pickled beans, she immediately called out, "San'er, there are two more bottles in the bag on the coffee table behind you. If you like any, take them out. I pickled them all at home."
"Damn it, who dares to touch my sour beans?!"
Guo Yuanshuai glared, "I've already taken out a bottle to share with you guys, bastard...don't be so ungrateful!"
This time, Shi Xing did not side with the soldiers. She smiled and filled her husband's glass with water.
Snore!
Xu Ge was busy slurping his hot dry noodles. While Li Dongshui wasn't paying attention, he stole a spoonful of sour beans from the other's bowl and immediately started stirring it in the bowl. Li Dongshui was so angry that he wanted to spit in Xu Ge's bowl.
"Garlic Bird, Garlic Bird, stop fighting over it. It's also delicious if you mix it with fish jelly!" Shi Xing, who was watching from the side, found it funny and reminded them.
As a result, the two pots of fish jelly became a delicacy that everyone fought over.
Slurp!
Guo Yuanshuai drank a cup of wine contentedly, picked up a piece of fish with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. After savoring it carefully, he asked, "Xu Ge, what's going on?"
"Xu Can really has a mission. He's following Lei Shen and the others to investigate..."
Xu Ge repeated the news he had heard, and everyone immediately became serious.
"So, maybe we'll have to go out on a large scale tonight!"
Guo Yuanshuai looked at Shi Xing and said, "Xingzi, I'm going back to the company to sleep tonight. Don't be angry. Anyway, I'm here, so why can't I..."
"Bah, what nonsense are you talking about! You don't even know your own last name after drinking two cups of dog urine?" Shi Xing immediately spat and cursed with a red face.
Everyone else was trying to hold back their laughter, but Niu Sanxian squeezed out a sentence through his teeth with his mouth closed: "Hehe, a short separation is better than a new marriage..."
Bang!
Guo Yuanshuai picked up the chopsticks and hit Niu Sanxian on the head.
The meal ended around 7:30, and everyone wanted to help clear the table, but Shi Xing stopped them.
Xu Ge rolled up his sleeves and went straight to the kitchen: "Sister-in-law, the deputy squad leader and I have already agreed that when you come, I will be the messenger for a week!"
"What communicator? That's just your squad leader talking nonsense. Don't do anything. I'll take care of everything myself!"
Shi Xing pulled Xu Ge back and said, "To be honest, I'm annoyed that you didn't wash it clean enough! Lao Guo, didn't you say you had something else to do? Let's go back to the company!"
Guo Yuanshuai stood up and said, "Okay, let's go first. I'll pick you up and bring you to the company for New Year's Eve dinner tomorrow."
"good!"
Everyone followed Guo Yuanshuai out of the family compound and walked towards the Sixth Company camp.
On the way, Guo Yuanshuai asked Xu Ge in detail about the specific situation he had heard, and said that it would be necessary to inform the company commander when he returned.
When they arrived at the barracks gate, Liu Guoping was directing the soldiers to put up spring couplets outside. Seeing the members of Squad 9 approaching, he asked without waiting for Guo Yuanshuai to speak, "We've counted the other squads. Squad Leader, besides my sister-in-law, are there any other family members from Squad 9 coming tomorrow?"
Guo Yuanshuai shook his head: "No..."
"Yes!" Niu Sanxian suddenly said, "Company Commander, my aunt is coming."
Everyone was stunned, even Xu Ge was surprised.
Lin Wan is coming? Why didn't she tell me about this?
Then he thought about how he had been drilled by the deputy squad leader every day recently, and he hadn't chatted with Lin Wan before bed for several days.
Liu Guoping was a little embarrassed: "According to regulations, we can only receive the soldiers' immediate family members..."
"Company commander, my aunt is Doctor Lin!" Niu Sanxian added.
Liu Guoping immediately changed his tone: "On behalf of the Sixth Company, I firmly welcome Doctor Lin to come to the company to celebrate the New Year!"
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