Chapter 15 (1)

Lu Yuanzheng's face changed and he rushed over.

Gao Jiankai quickly gave the order for everyone to rest on the spot.

Shao Yue blinked and whispered to Li Yun who was also stunned: "Sister Yun, we were right next to Wenwen, and the instructor was so far away, how did he manage to catch Wenwen before us?"

She was right next to Xu Wen at the time, and it was she who screamed in surprise when she saw that Xu Wen was in an abnormal condition.

Li Yun lagged behind slightly, but upon hearing the sound, she quickened her pace and ran over.

Xu Wen fainted suddenly and they didn't react for a moment. When they reached out again, Lu Yuanzheng had already caught Xu Wen.

Li Yun shook her head and exclaimed: "Instructor Lu runs so fast! It's like flying."

Shao Yueshen agreed: "This is not the speed humans should have."

Lu Yuanzheng picked up Xu Wen and went to the shade of a nearby tree, where he laid her on the ground with her leaning against the trunk, waiting for the accompanying team doctor to come over and examine her.

The team doctor is also a military doctor borrowed from the army. This is because military doctors have more experience than ordinary doctors in dealing with the physical conditions that soldiers are prone to during training.

He squatted in front of Xu Wen and gave her a simple examination. He said to Lu Yuanzheng, "She's fine. She just has low blood sugar due to excessive hunger and strenuous exercise."

"Too hungry?" Lu Yuanzheng frowned and lowered his head, looking at Xu and asking.

Since meeting Xu Wen, this was the first time Lu Yuanzheng observed her from such a close distance.

There was not a trace of blood on the palm-sized face, and the originally fair skin was faintly tinged with an unhealthy dark yellow.

Her eyes were closed and her red lips were colorless.

He had measured Xu Wen's waist with his own hands.

She seemed to have lost a lot of weight since I first saw her.

The team doctor gave Xu Wen an IV and hung the medicine bottle on a tree branch. He discussed with Lu Yuanzheng, "She won't be able to train for a while. The roads here are all dirt and driving is inevitably bumpy, so it's not suitable to move her during the IV. How about we wait here for her to wake up?"

Lu Yuanzheng nodded, asked the team doctor to look after Xu Wen first, and went to find Gao Jiankai, asking him to lead the main force forward first. He would stay behind to wait for Xu Wen to wake up and send him back to school before chasing after them.

Gao Jiankai refused upon hearing this: "I will take care of Xu Wen, you lead the main force!"

Just kidding! Taking care of students is easier than leading a team.

He has to accompany the students even when they walk dozens of kilometers, okay?

Lu Yuanzheng glanced at Gao Jiankai and said sarcastically, "What? You've been sitting in the office for so long that you don't even want to endure this little bit of hardship?"

"What are you saying?" Gao Jiankai straightened his neck, and said in a righteous manner, "Am I afraid of suffering? I am afraid that you will be bored during your vacation, so I gave these little brats to you to kill time!"

Lu Yuanzheng was too lazy to talk to him and just gave up the job: "Don't talk nonsense! This job was originally yours! Do you really think I'm a laborer?"

Gao Jiankai touched his nose and said, "Alright! I'll give you a break! But first of all, you have to return to the team in the afternoon! You promised to help your buddies, you can't give up halfway."

"Get lost!"

Gao Jiankai knew that he had agreed, so he left quickly.

After separating from Gao Jiankai, Lu Yuanzheng called Li Yun and Shao Yue aside and asked them if they knew about Xu Wen's situation.

Shao Yue spoke quickly, and said: "Wenwen hasn't had a full meal since the start of the school year. Her family is not well off. Wenwen has always been frugal, and this time she seems to be even more frugal than before. She only has a bowl of porridge in the morning, two taels of rice at noon, and a portion of vegetables or nothing at night. We have been training a lot these days, and we have to work after class, so she..."

Lu Yuanzheng's eyebrows twitched, he nodded and asked them to return to the team without saying anything.

Shao Yue looked back as she walked, watching Lu Yuanzheng walking back to the tree to fan Xu Wen, and asked Li Yun in confusion, "Is our instructor what they call a cold-faced but warm-hearted person? He has a cold face but is so caring towards Xu Wen?"

Li Yun looked back for a while. She was older and more sensitive about matters between men and women than Shao Yue. She always felt that Instructor Lu's attitude was too responsible.

When Xu Wen opened his eyes, he saw Lu Yuanzheng's enlarged face. He was so frightened that he wanted to stand up.

"Don't move!" Lu Yuanzheng held her down, "I know how to play drums."

Xu Wen then remembered that he had fainted just now, and apologized very embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, Instructor Lu, I have caused you trouble!"

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, and seeing that her face had finally turned a little red due to embarrassment, he teased her: "Why are you pretending not to know me when there's no one else around?"

During the military training, Xu Wen did not avoid him, but it was not unfair to say that she pretended not to know him.

Xu Wen's face turned even redder, he lowered his head and said nothing.

He is the instructor and she is the student.

It always feels a little weird.

Seeing how embarrassed she was, Lu Yuanzheng stopped forcing her. He looked at his watch and asked her, "It will be almost time for lunch after you finish the infusion. Will you accompany me to have lunch later?"

Xu asked: ???

Seeing her staring with her big round eyes, Lu Yuanzheng looked surprised, and added lightly: "I promised Dongsheng that I would have lunch with him at noon."

Xu asked: "..."

She sat up straight and looked around. It was basically deserted.

The school was located almost in the suburbs of the county. After leaving the school, they walked towards the wilderness for almost an hour, and the scenery naturally became more and more desolate.

Xu Wen didn't know the way, and he didn't want to trouble Lu Yuanzheng to send her to catch up with the main force, so he had to agree, "I'm sorry to trouble you again."

Lu Yuanzheng shrugged, revealing a row of neat white teeth: "With our relationship, there's no need to be polite!"

Xu Wen was dazzled by his brilliant smile and wondered how Lu Yuanzheng's teeth could be so white even though he smoked cigarettes. Then he realized what he meant and looked up at him and asked, "What is our relationship?"

What was their relationship? How come she, as the person involved, didn't know about it?

"Dongsheng calls me dad and you mom. What do you think our relationship is?"

Xu asked: "..."

Okay!

It sounds like the relationship is very close, but in reality, it is completely unrelated. So what kind of relationship is it?

Lu Yuanzheng was amused by her stunned expression.

His low laughter passed through Xu Wen's eardrums and stirred ripples in her heart.

Xu Wen's cheeks felt hot and his face turned even redder. He licked the corner of his dry lips unconsciously.

"You finally have some color on your face. You looked so sick just now, which was quite irritating." Lu Yuanzheng took his own water bottle and found her enamel pot from Xu Wen's backpack, then poured some water and handed it to her.

Xu Wen thanked him, took the water and drank some.

Lu Yuanzheng stood up and searched his pockets. He took out a piece of hard candy wrapped in flowery paper and stuffed it into Xu Wen's hand: "Eating some candy is good for hypoglycemia."

The candy was supposed to be used to coax Dongsheng, but I didn't expect it to come in handy at this moment.

After Xu Wen finished drinking the water and holding the candy in her mouth, Lu Yuanzheng looked at the sun rising higher and the shadows of the trees getting smaller. He hesitated and asked her, "Do you still have the strength to walk now? If you walk later, the weather may get even hotter. You are a little weak now. Don't get heatstroke again."

I can hold her, but what about the IV?

Xu Wen nodded, and stood up with the help of the tree, "I'm fine, let's go!"

Lu Yuanzheng walked back holding the infusion bottle in one hand and pushing the bicycle left for them by the main force with the other.

"Xu asked."

"Um."

"What do you think about what I told you last time?" Lu Yuanzheng asked.

"Ah?" Xu Wen blinked.

"What do you think about marrying me?" Lu Yuanzheng asked directly.

Xu Wen's face, which had just cooled down a little, suddenly became hot again, and he stammered, "I'm sorry, I haven't thought about it yet."

School started right after he proposed to me. I've been trained by him every day these past few days and I've fallen asleep every day. How can I have the time to think about these things?

Besides, after leaving home and going to school, Xu Wen’s desire to get married faded away.

Lu Yuanzheng nodded to show his understanding.

The two were speechless.

Xu Wen remembered that he had said that there was still a month left in the vacation, so she would not have much time to consider. It would not be good for her to keep dragging her feet and not giving an answer when he was so sincere.

"Instructor Lu."

Lu Yuanzheng turned his head to look at her.

"You let me marry you and arranged my future and Dongsheng's future very well. What about you? What can you get from our marriage?"

If Lu Yuanzheng was an ordinary person, marrying her would certainly give him the chance to have a family.

But the journey is long and arduous.

When he proposed to her, there was not a single word asking Xu Wen to fulfill her duties as a wife.

He had planned a life for them that did not include him at all.

"Me?" Lu Yuanzheng shook his head and laughed, "I'll be satisfied as long as I can settle you guys down."

He said the same thing last time.

Xu Wen took a few quick steps, turned around and walked backwards, facing Lu Yuanzheng: "You want to marry me just because you feel you have the responsibility, and you haven't expressed your own needs. Marriage is a matter between two people, even if you propose like a deal. What kind of wife do you need? What kind of family do you want to build? You proposed like you were arranging your funeral... I'm sorry."

Realizing that he had spoken without thinking, Xu Wen quickly apologized.

She just felt that this was particularly unfair to Lu Yuanzheng.

He doesn't need this marriage.

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head to show that he didn't mind. He thought about it and didn't directly answer Xu Wen's question. He said calmly: "Before each mission, we will write a suicide note. If we return safely, the suicide note can be torn up. If we don't come back, the suicide note is really a suicide note. Writing it so many times gradually became a habit. Every time we make a decision, we try our best to arrange for our family or relatives. As for ourselves, we never think about the future."

I dare not think about it.

There may not be a future anytime soon.

Xu Wen had an indescribable feeling in his heart, a mixture of admiration and heartache. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

"There's actually another reason why I want to marry you." Lu Yuanzheng hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth, "Because I think you're different from all the lesbians I've known or dealt with."

"Um?"

Lu Yuanzheng stopped and looked at Xu Wen: "I think you look harmless and easy to talk to, but you are actually soft on the outside but strong on the inside. You don't care that much about other people's opinions, and you won't change your mind easily once you make a decision."

Xu asked: "..."

Unsurely asked: "Is this a compliment or an insult?"

"Exaggeration." Lu Yuanzheng chuckled, "I didn't have the nerve to explain everything to you last time. We are getting married, but not getting a marriage certificate."

Xu asked: “???”

"Even though we are married in everyone's eyes, you are still legally free. After a year, if you find someone you like, you can still get married."

Xu Wen asked without thinking: "What about you?"

Lu Yuanzheng didn't answer, but just smiled faintly.

Xu Wen looked at his smile and suddenly remembered the last time he watched a movie, someone from their production team said that Lu Yuanzheng had not been back for five years.

Why would someone who hasn't been back to his hometown for five years suddenly take a vacation and come back to this hometown where he has no ties anymore?

He came to settle Dongsheng.

To put it bluntly, he was not taking a vacation but was arranging his funeral affairs. He came back to entrust his son to the care of others.

This thought made Xu Wen's heart jump. He stopped and grabbed Lu Yuanzheng's arm, asking him anxiously, "Are you going on a dangerous mission?"

It must have been an unprecedented danger for him to send Dongsheng, whom he had raised for several years, back to his hometown.

"Tsk! You're smarter than I thought!" Lu Yuanzheng sighed and shook his head apologetically: "I'm sorry, for professional reasons, I need to keep it confidential. I can't tell you what my future work will be like."

Xu Wen wanted to say something more, but Lu Yuanzheng didn't plan to talk about this topic anymore. He pointed at her IV bottle and said, "It's empty. I'll take it down for you."

Lu Yuanzheng was very skilled in taking out the needle. Xu Wen looked at him suspiciously: "You can't give an injection, can you?"

Lu Yuanzheng didn't say yes or no. He took the needle he had just taken from her hand and shook it: "Do you want to try to see if I can do it?"

Xu asked: "..."

Thank you for your understanding.

She waved her hand: "Don't take it so seriously."

Lu Yuanzheng pinched off the needle and buried it in the soil, put the soft syringe and glass medicine bottle into the bicycle basket, and stepped onto the bicycle with his long legs, calling Xu Wen: "Get on!"

Xu Wen jumped into the back seat, feeling a little embarrassed.

The hem of his shirt was tucked into his trousers and stuck to his body, and she didn't know how to support him.

The dirt road was uneven and with a bump, Xu Wen almost fell off the back seat. She screamed and stretched out her hands to grab Lu Yuanzheng's waist. As a result, the bicycle fell again and she hit Lu Yuanzheng's back due to inertia.

His back was straight, lean and strong. The warm touch reached her cheeks through her clothes, and her cheeks, which had never cooled down, became hot again.

"I'm sorry." Xu Wen apologized softly.

Lu Yuanzheng could guess Xu Wen's embarrassed expression without even looking, and quickly took the blame on himself: "It's my poor riding skills. But it's hard to change this in a short time, could you please support me first? Otherwise, I'll be guilty if you fall off."

Xu Wen hesitated for a moment and placed his hands lightly on Lu Yuanzheng's waist.

My heart is pounding.

She traveled back from an era of free speech and thought to the 1970s, when people had to be cautious in what they said and did, and has been living in fear ever since.

But with Lu Yuanzheng, she felt at ease.

He gave her an unprecedented sense of security, and the promise he made when he proposed to her was the freedom she had always wanted.

Xu Wen admitted that she was shaken.

Xu Wen insisted on going back to the training base with Lu Yuanzheng after lunch, so Lu Yuanzheng found a nearby restaurant, borrowed a public phone, and called his old comrade's unit to ask someone to help send Dongsheng over.

Lu Yuanzheng is sorry to bother you all the time. Originally, I was planning to settle the students down and then ride my bike back to take Dongsheng to the training base.

When Dongsheng arrived at the restaurant, the dishes ordered by Lu Yuanzheng had already been served.

As soon as Dongsheng saw Xu Wen, he ran towards her happily, "Mom, I missed you so much!"

The first time is strange, the second time is familiar, the third and fourth time will make you accustomed to it.

Xu Wen had already accepted the title of "Mom" well. He took the initiative to hold Dongsheng on his lap and rubbed his little face: "I miss you, too!"

The long journey is a bit unpleasant.

The kid he had raised for more than three years didn't even glance at him when he came in.

Lu Yuanzheng's hand suddenly felt itchy. He stretched out his hand halfway, but under Xu Wen's vigilant gaze, he retracted his hand and rubbed it on the tip of his nose. He called Dongsheng unhappily: "Little bastard, do you still have your father in your eyes?"

Dongsheng turned his head to look at Lu Yuanzheng in Xu Wen's arms and blinked innocently: "Dad, didn't you say that you couldn't have lunch with me at noon and would pick me up in the evening?"

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

You might as well not say anything.

Xu Wen was stunned and looked at Lu Yuanzheng in surprise.

Lu Yuanzheng lowered his head to study the menu.

Xu Wen raised his eyebrows, and his red ears betrayed him. It was obvious that he was not as calm as he appeared.

She pursed her lips and smiled secretly, then lowered her head and said to Dongsheng, "Because I'm sick, Dad stayed to take care of me and came to pick you up."

Dongsheng instantly forgot about asking about Lu Yuanzheng, jumped out of Xu Wen's arms, held her and looked around, and pulled her anxiously: "Mom, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Let's go to the hospital?"

Xu Wen felt warm in her heart and stopped him: "Dongsheng, I'm fine. Don't worry!" She showed Dongsheng the back of her hand with the needle hole, "I've already had the injection."

Dongsheng frowned and blew hard at the back of Xu Wen's hand: "Hoo, mommy, does it still hurt?"

Xu Wen was so moved that he hugged him in his arms, "I'm fine. The pain has long gone. Thank you, our Xiao Dongsheng!"

Lu Yuanzheng leaned against the back of the chair, his arms resting on the armrests, and watched the two fake mother and son interacting leisurely, with warmth slowly rising in his eyes.

After dinner, Lu Yuanzheng rode his bicycle to the training base with Dongsheng in front and Xu Wen in the back.

In fact, the training base is located at the new campus, which is only ten kilometers away from the school.

Of course, the training march cannot be just ten kilometers long, it must be at least fifty kilometers long.

Most of the troops were taken on a journey, but it was not a random journey. They had to fetch water from the river and collect firewood from the mountains before finally returning to the new school site.

Lu Yuanzheng rode his bicycle directly to the new campus, saving a lot of time.

When they were almost at their destination, Lu Yuanzheng suddenly called out to Dongsheng: "Dongsheng, from now on you can no longer call Xu Wen mom."

"Why?" Dongsheng protested unhappily, "Just ask Mommy."

Xu Wen in the back seat was also very curious.

"Because Xu Wen is still a student, if you call her classmates brother and sister and call her mom, won't that make her look old? Besides, if you call her mom, her classmates will laugh at her because her classmates don't have children yet. Do you want her to be laughed at?"

Dongsheng shook his head, "Okay then! I'll hold back from screaming."

Xu Wen was originally worried about this matter, but when he saw that Lu Yuanzheng had communicated with Dongsheng in a few words, he breathed a sigh of relief.

She was not afraid of other students gossiping, but she was afraid that she would not be able to lead the troops normally in the long expedition.

If his son called her "Mom", it would definitely cause controversy, and some classmates who had opinions about him because of his harshness would make a big deal out of it, which would have a bad influence on him.

Of course, her situation would be very embarrassing.

Although the long journey delayed Xu Wen some time, he did not have to take a detour and arrived at the new campus in about the same time as the main army.

The new school site covers an area of ​​more than 20 acres. The terrain is generally flat, but there are inevitably some potholes. There is even a not-so-small puddle in the middle that needs to be filled.

This is an uncultivated wasteland with thorns and various weeds and vegetables that need to be cleared.

Lu Yuanzheng bent his index finger and rubbed the corner of his eye, and said with emotion: "This is a huge project!"

"Yes! Labor reform is just like that."

"What did you say?"

Xu Wen blinked: "I said labor is the most glorious!"

Lu Yuanzheng looked at her with a half-smile.

He, along with the school leaders and Gao Jiankai, had inspected this area in advance and knew where it would be suitable to set up camp.

After Lu Yuanzheng and the other students took a short break, they called a small meeting with the instructors to assign tasks.

Each class divided their area and cleared the weeds before setting up their own tents.

In order to facilitate breaking camp at any time, the tents are not very big and can accommodate eight people.

Xu asked, there are eight girls in their class sharing one tent.

In terms of manual ability, there is still a big difference between female and male students.

Among the eight girls, only Xu Wen grew up doing farm work. The other girls may not be timid but they have definitely never set up a tent by themselves.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing where to start.

Liu Rulan pouted and looked disgusted: "How can people live in this remote place? And this tent is so dirty! It will dirty my new clothes."

Shao Yue rolled her eyes and said, "Who can blame you for wearing white pants and white sneakers when you go out for training?"

"The gathering was so sudden, how could I know that you would leave on such a whim and come to such a far place? I didn't even wear a mask, I will definitely get tanned when I get back!" Liu Rulan stomped her feet, looking angry.

"I don't know why you want to go to high school if you are so vain!" Shao Yue curled her lips, and said with obvious disdain, "Isn't it good for you to stay at home and be a big lady?" Why do you come out to cause trouble for us?

"Do you think I want to come?" Liu Rulan's eyes suddenly turned red. "If my father hadn't forced me to come, I wouldn't have come. If I didn't pass the high school entrance exam, he would have sent me to the farm in his hometown!"

Li Yun was also puzzled: "Your parents seem to love you very much, why do they insist on letting you go to high school?"

High school at that time was different from the previous high schools. There were a lot of labor activities and ideological education in daily life, which was really not suitable for a pampered young lady like Liu Rulan.

Liu Rulan said aggrievedly: "My father said that the college entrance examination may be resumed at any time, so I must not fall behind in my studies and be ready for the college entrance examination at any time."

A girl from another class echoed: "My dad thinks so too."

This time, even Shao Yue did not disagree. "My parents also have this idea. But they know that the hope is slim. They just hope that I can learn more knowledge so that they can find me a lighter job when I go to the factory in the future."

Xu Wen squatted on the ground to figure out how to set up the tent, and felt a little emotional when he heard their complaints.

No matter what era, far-sighted parents will always try their best to pave all possible futures for their children.

If they can really get into college next year, they will definitely be grateful to their parents in the future.

However, the university entrance exam is next year, and the current difficulty is setting up the tent.

Xu Wen clapped his hands and stood up to interrupt the discussion: "We can talk about study later, but if the tent is not set up, we can only stand in the sun and feed mosquitoes at night."

Liu Rulan frowned and resisted: "I don't want to dirty my clothes! Xu Wen, you are from the countryside and must have done hard labor. Can you help me?"

"No!" Xu Wen refused without even looking up: "Why should I help you?"

"Why are you like this?" Liu Rulan pouted and stamped her feet. "We are just classmates helping each other, so what?"

Xu Wen stood up from the ground.

She was taller than Liu Rulan, and she looked down at her: "Liu Rulan, it's okay for classmates to help each other when they are in trouble. But the point is, do you have it? You have all the limbs, but you want me to help you just because you don't want to work because you're afraid of getting your clothes dirty. This is not called helping each other, this is called ordering! I'm not your mother, why do I get used to you?"

Liu Rulan choked, "Isn't it okay for me to pay you? Can I give you a month's meal ticket?"

"no."

Li Yun also advised Liu Rulan: "Rulan, you can't do this. At the very least, you are bribing your classmates. At the most, you are hiring someone, which is a capitalist behavior."

Liu Rulan would not dare to take on this charge. She could only stamp her feet and complain to Xu Wen: "We are all classmates, why are you so ungrateful? You have no sympathy, so you deserve your family to be poor!"

Xu Wen narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Liu Rulan, you were born into a wealthy family because you are lucky. Did you earn a penny of your family's money? That was the result of your parents and even your grandfather's hard work. Why are you so proud? Besides, just because I am poor now doesn't mean I will be poor in the future. With your condition, I won't even need you to carry my shoes in ten years!"

Shao Yue clapped her hands, feeling particularly relieved: "Well said!"

"What are you talking about here instead of setting up a tent?" Lu Yuanzheng walked over.

Except for Xu Wen, the rest of the girls stood up straight as a reflex and shouted, "Hello, Instructor Lu."

Liu Rulan swallowed her saliva, put her hands tightly on the seams of her pants, and lowered her head.

She was afraid of long journeys, especially of them.

Lu Yuanzheng nodded, without even looking at them, and bent over to pick up the tools: "Are you really waiting to feed the mosquitoes at night if you don't start yet?"

"So, Instructor Lu, you are here to help us?" Shao Yue's face was full of joy.

Lu Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows and asked, "Can you build it by yourselves?"

Shao Yue hurriedly shook her head: "Thank you, Instructor Lu."

The other girls also thanked him one after another: "Thank you, Instructor Lu."

No matter how reluctant Liu Rulan was, she dared not to slack off under Lu Yuanzheng's nose, and worked with a tearful face.

Shao Yue saw this and poked Xu Wen: "Look at Liu Rulan, she looks like she lost her parents! It's so satisfying!"

Xu Wen raised his eyes to look at Liu Rulan, curled his lips, and said nothing.

"Where evil will be dealt with, evil will be dealt with by evildoers! Only a big devil like Instructor Lu can deal with a bad girl like Liu Rulan!"

Xu asked: "..."

She glanced at Lu Yuanzheng who was working diligently and stopped Shao Yue: "Instructor Lu is helping us set up the tent. It's good to have more people. Why are you still saying bad things about him behind his back?"

Shao Yue looked at Xu Wen strangely and asked, "Wen Wen, is there something wrong with your situation?"

"Ah?" Xu Wen thought she had seen something, and lowered his head guiltily, "There's nothing wrong with that."

"He tortured you to the point of fainting, and you don't blame him? I'm telling you, you can't be so kind. You can't forgive him just because he accompanied you for an IV. If he hadn't trained you so hard, would you have fainted? He is the culprit! You can't be fooled by him."

Xu asked: "..."

After a while, he nodded sincerely, "You are right."

Lu Yuanzheng, who didn't miss a word, said: "..."

I'm still working as a laborer for you guys. Is it appropriate for you to arrange this for me?

After all the students in the school have built their tents, they still have to assemble the bed boards themselves.

In the days when the slogan "Women can hold up half the day" was shouted loudly, no girl would be called a tomboy just because she could twist a light bulb.

He is very skilled in using all kinds of tools such as hammers and pliers.

Only female classmates like Liu Rulan are the exception.

Everyone was working very hard. By the time we had packed up our accommodation and put our luggage away, the sun had already set.

Before Xu Wen and the others could even breathe a sigh of relief, the assembly whistle sounded again.

Even Li Yun sighed: "Coach Lu is such a devil! Can't he just give us a break?"

For some reason, it was Lu Yuanzheng who was scolded. Xu Wen felt a little guilty for some reason. He rubbed his nose and called out to the girls: "Everyone, hurry up! If you're late, you'll be punished again."

Everyone sighed and gathered quickly.

It's not that I'm not afraid of the long journey and the punishment, it's just that I simply don't have the strength to run.

I started out before dawn and walked dozens of kilometers, fetching water and chopping wood. At noon, I sat under the shade of a tree and ate some cold dry food with salted vegetables. By this time, I was so hungry that my chest was sticking to my back, and my legs felt like they were filled with lead and I couldn't even lift them.

Xu Wen wasn’t much better.

She only eats so little every day, and she has to work and train, so her body is already overdrawn. Although she replenished some glucose and had a full meal in the morning, her stomach is used to being hungry, so she will be full after eating a small amount. By the time she was working in the afternoon, she had already digested everything, and her stomach growled several times.

Fortunately, this time Lu Yuanzheng announced good news: "Students, are you particularly tired now?"

"Yes!" The combined voices of four hundred people were still weak.

Lu Yuanzheng did not ask them to call again and again as he did before, and then asked: "Do you want to eat?"

This time the collective voice was much louder and more excited: "Yes!"

Lu Yuanzheng nodded: "I want to, too. But..."

Upon hearing this, the students couldn't help but wail.

"Have you filed a report? Do I agree with what you said? Anyone who wants to speak, please stand up."

Of course no one dared to stand up, everyone just hung their heads in anger but could not speak.

Lu Yuanzheng knew that everyone was exhausted, so he didn't care and announced directly: "The purpose of our training this time is to train everyone's survival ability in the wild and complete part of the cleanup work at the new school site. So the cafeteria will not provide meals tonight like it did at noon."

There was another round of wailing, and the students were even more excited than before.

After working hard all day, is it okay not to be allowed to eat?

Besides, school meals are not free, so why would you pay for it yourself?

The instructors of each class spoke up to stop them.

Lu Yuanzheng picked up the iron whistle around his neck and blew a few times, "Is it time to start howling now? Whoever howls again will not have dinner tonight."

He has established enough authority in the past few days, and his classmates have all shut up in frustration.

"If the canteen doesn't provide meals, you have to be self-reliant. Aren't you going to learn from us? It's common for us to camp in the wilderness when we march and fight. It's also common for the enemy to cut off our supplies. So what can we do? We can use local materials." Lu Yuanzheng pointed to the wilderness behind him, "There are all kinds of wild animals and plants in this land. All of you students have studied biology, I believe you can identify which animals and plants are edible and which are poisonous."

After saying this, Lu Yuanzheng glanced at his watch and said, "It will be completely dark for about an hour. That means you still have an hour to find food for tonight. The instructors of each class will lead their teams to search separately. Disband!"

Before Xu Wen could leave, Lu Yuanzheng called him and said, "Xu Wen, please help me."

Xu Wen looked back at Lu Yuanzheng, and Shao Yue and Li Yun also stopped.

"It's like this. You met Dongsheng at noon... that's my son. I would like to ask you to help me take care of him for a while. There are bound to be poisonous insects and the like in the wilderness. I have to be responsible for ensuring the safety of my classmates and cannot take care of him." Lu Yuanzheng explained, mainly for Shao Yue and Li Yun to hear.

Xu Wen nodded.

That's a perfect reason.

Shao Yue and Li Yun didn't suspect anything either.

When Dongsheng heard that he could follow Xu Wen, he ran towards her happily: "Excuse me...excuse me."

Shao Yue chuckled: "This kid is quite polite."

Xu asked: “…” Who said no?

Xu Wen nodded to Lu Yuanzheng, took Dongsheng's hand, and walked into the wild.

Shao Yue heaved a sigh of relief only after she could no longer see Lu Yuanzheng's back. "I was so scared when Instructor Lu called your name just now."

Xu Wen didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Why are you afraid if he calls me?"

"Instructor Lu is not the least bit sympathetic to women. Even though Liu Rulan is so good at acting like a spoiled child, he still shows no mercy. I'm afraid he'll ask you to make up for the dozens of kilometers you missed during the day."

Xu asked: “…” That makes a lot of sense.

Li Yun chuckled and shook her head: "He fainted when asked, he is a patient. No matter how strict Instructor Lu is, he can't be so inhumane. But why did he bring the child to training? How hard is it here? Where is the child's mother?"

Shao Yue didn't think as much as Li Yun did. He rubbed his hands together and said with a wicked smile, "Who cares? I tortured us, and we can bully the kid!"

Dongsheng immediately hid behind Xu Wen and made a face at Shao Yue: "I'm not afraid of you, old witch!"

Shao Yue pinched her waist, "I can tolerate the witch, but what do you mean by the old witch? I have been here since I was 18 years old! I will teach you a lesson!"

She clenched her hands into claws and made faces to scare Dongsheng.

"Please...please ask my sister to save me!"

This time, Li Yun was a little surprised: "I didn't expect Instructor Lu's son to be so polite. He was so polite even when asking for help."

Xu Wen patted Dongsheng on the back to comfort him: "She is Sister Yueyue, she is just teasing you." He raised his head to stop Shao Yue, "Don't make trouble later! When the sun goes down, you won't be able to find food. If you can't find it, you will be hungry at night."

The three big ones and one small one stopped playing and started looking for food.

Li Yun grew up in the county town. Although she is not completely unfamiliar with all kinds of grains, she only knows some common crops and a few kinds of vegetables that are commonly grown or eaten in school.

She really couldn't tell which wild vegetables were edible and which were poisonous.

Biology classes don't list all the animals and plants for comparison.

Shao Yue grew up in a commune and is slightly better than Li Yun.

Xu Wen is the best at this and knows the wild best among the three of them, but Dong Sheng is the first in the four-person group.

"Hmm... Ask my sister if this dish is edible." Dongsheng pointed at the horsetooth stalk and recommended it, "You can also make dumplings with it."

Xu Wen praised him: "Dongsheng is really smart!"

Encouraged, Dongsheng worked harder.

"Ask my sister, this wild fruit is especially sweet!"

Li Yun frowned, "Wouldn't such a small wild fruit be poisonous?"

Xu Wen shook his head: "No. This is called wild eggplant. The green one is bitter and the purple one is sweet."

Shao Yue picked one and took a bite: "Eh! Really! Very delicious." She gave Dongsheng a thumbs up, "Little Dongsheng, you are amazing! How do you know so much?"

"My father taught me."

Xu Wen didn't say anything, but rubbed Dongsheng's head.

Dongsheng has definitely not lived the life of a young master during the years he followed Lu Yuanzheng, and he probably has more experience in surviving in the wild than any of them.

It turns out that asking her to take care of Dongsheng was fake, and asking Dongsheng to take care of her was real.

He is...

Xu Wen's mouth curled up.

I have to admit that Dongsheng really helped them a lot.

I pointed out many wild vegetables and fruits that they were not familiar with, and perfectly avoided the poisonous ones.

After the team dispersed at night, the three adults and one child had gained the most among the female students, even more than many male students.

Of course, the male student was very ambitious and was not content to just eat wild vegetables and fruits, so he went out to hunt some wild game and brought it back.

Some people were catching shrimps and fish in the creeks, and some were catching pheasants and rabbits.

Lu Yuanzheng also brought back a few non-venomous cabbage snakes with his men.

After checking the headcount and seeing that all the students had returned, Lu Yuanzheng asked the instructors of each class to lead their teams to find a place to light a fire and cook.

He was in charge of Xu Wen's class, so of course he had to lead them in making fire and cooking.

The things they lack the least in this land are water and soil.

Lu Yuanzheng found a few boys to get soil and water and built a simple stove on site.

The girls were responsible for washing vegetables and fruits, and processing fish and shrimp.

Except for pots and seasonings which are distributed by the school, other tools are self-provided.

Everyone's washbasin can be used to wash vegetables, store wild fruits, and also as a tool for holding drinking water.

The enamelware cup used for brushing teeth can be cleaned and used to drink water or soup.

If you don't have chopsticks, just pull out a few thin branches, peel off the skin and wash them.

After the female students had prepared the vegetables, wild fruits, fish and shrimps, Lu Yuanzheng also led the male students to set up two stoves of different sizes connected together.

One for cooking and the other for making soup.

Lu Yuanzheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the still alive