After returning, Zhou Lin didn't tell Zheng Sanfu.
Zheng Sanfu had been sleeping and was unaware that Zhou Lin had gone out.
Zhou Lin also didn't inform Zhou Weiguo. Everyone has their own secrets, and Zhou Lin has his own.
Moreover, if Zhou Weiguo knew about the situation with a few staff members, knowing Xiao Nian's plan to target them, would he become anxious? If he did, it might alert the enemy.
Zhou Lin wouldn't allow anyone to ruin his plans.
In the middle of the night, Zheng Sanfu was on duty while Zhou Lin slept.
The next day, Zhou Lin went to the artillery position and saw Xiao Nian wiping the cannons, while a few old soldiers nearby were smoking and chatting.
"What's got you guys so cheerful?" Zhou Lin inquired.
The gunnery sergeant replied, "Isn't New Year's Day coming soon? New Year's Day is like celebrating Chinese New Year. We were discussing how we'll celebrate this year."
Zhou Lin asked, "How did you celebrate in previous years?"
"In previous years, we were in Nanjing."
"Yes! That year was comfortable."
"Three days before and after New Year's, we'd have a big holiday, eat big meat, and drink big wine!"
"We could also go out to find women and go to the casino."
Zhou Lin asked, "Is it like this every year?"
"Every year! Who are we? We are the artillery regiment. We are the heart and soul of the regiment."
Xiao Nian thought to himself, "The heart and soul can also be eaten."
Zhou Lin speculated that even though this year was a wartime year, the three days of the artillery regiment would probably be the same. After all, it was tradition.
If that was the case, it would be somewhat dangerous.
Xiao Nian, on the other hand, had a different idea from Zhou Lin. He was thinking of obtaining the layout of the artillery regiment and sending it out, so that the imperial army's planes and heavy artillery could destroy this Chinese artillery position.
With a somewhat joyful mood, Xiao Nian returned to the dormitory.
As soon as he entered, he was pushed out by someone.
The squad leader pointed to the clothes in the basin outside and said, "New recruit, wash these clothes for me."
Xiao Nian's previously cheerful mood vanished instantly.
He angrily said, "Wash your own clothes."
"Wow! You've got some guts. Thinking of rebelling? Brothers, let him learn some rules of life."
So, an old soldier rushed out and kicked Xiao Nian.
If this kick had landed, Xiao Nian would either be dead or injured.
Xiao Nian dodged the old soldier's kick and delivered a kick of his own, hitting the old soldier's leg.
The old soldier immediately cried out, "My leg is broken."
The squad leader, upon hearing this, cursed, "Dare to hurt someone? Let's all get him, and disable both his hands and feet."
Another old soldier and the squad leader rushed towards Xiao Nian from both sides.
The squad leader threw punches while the old soldier used his feet.
Xiao Nian dodged the old soldier's kick and charged towards the squad leader.
At this moment, the squad leader's fist flew past Xiao Nian's shoulder.
Xiao Nian grabbed the squad leader's fist.
The squad leader tried to pull away, but couldn't. He then ordered, "Let go of my hand."
Xiao Nian complied and with a swift motion, grabbed the arm, twisted it, and then lifted the squad leader from behind.
With a throw, he flipped the squad leader over his shoulder and slammed him onto the ground.
There was a tremor on the ground, followed by the squad leader crying out, "My back is broken."
The last old soldier, seeing Xiao Nian's fierceness, turned and ran.
As he ran, he shouted, "Murder! The new recruit killed someone."
People from neighboring dormitories heard the shouting and rushed over.
They saw two old soldiers lying on the ground and a new recruit searching them.
They weren't dead yet, so how could he be searching corpses? This should be called robbery!
Everything on Xiao Nian had been taken by the old soldiers previously.
Now, he was reclaiming his belongings. The old soldiers' belongings would serve as compensation.
He took out a pack of cigarettes from the squad leader and a windproof lighter from another old soldier.
This lighter was a U.S. military windproof lighter, something the old soldier had acquired at great cost. Now, it belonged to Xiao Nian.
Xiao Nian lit a cigarette and looked at the onlookers outside. Ignoring them, he went straight back to his bed and lay down.
The onlookers outside were indignant. "This new recruit is too audacious. Daring to fight the old soldiers."
"He's asking for trouble! The tradition of our artillery regiment is that new recruits must endure a thousand punches and kicks before becoming skilled. He's openly defying our tradition."
"This sets a bad example. New recruits will learn from him in the future."
At this moment, personnel from the political department arrived.
"Why did you start a fight?" they asked.
Xiao Nian replied, "I acted in self-defense. They attacked me first, and I only fought back."
The political officer asked, "How did you fight back?"
Xiao Nian kicked one of the old soldiers and said, "He used his feet to kick me. I didn't want to be kicked by him, so I retaliated with a kick. We exchanged kicks. Who knew he couldn't handle it and ended up like that."
Xiao Nian approached the squad leader. The squad leader crawled away in fear.
Xiao Nian pointed at the squad leader and said, "He punched me and threatened to break my limbs. I didn't want to let him succeed, so I dodged. As I dodged, his hand passed over my shoulder. I was scared, so I grabbed that hand and flipped him over my head. That's how he ended up like that. Sir, I really didn't want to fight. I was just defending myself."
After hearing this, the onlookers wondered if this guy was explaining the situation or protesting!
The personnel from the political department asked the two injured soldiers lying on the ground, and after understanding the situation, said to them, "You bullied the new recruit, and nothing happened, we wouldn't intervene. But when the new recruit fought back against you, we won't interfere either. You brought it upon yourselves."
They called a few people to take the two injured soldiers to the regimental infirmary.
Now, those two soldiers would be comfortable in the hospital for the next ten days or so.
After everyone left, Xiao Nian got up from his bed.
He wanted to thank the informant. If it weren't for him telling Xiao Nian that he could resist the old soldiers, Xiao Nian would be the one in the hospital today.
The next day, Xiao Nian went to the artillery position. When he went to get a cloth to wipe the cannons, he found someone already doing it.
The person wiping the cannons was originally assigned to do so. When Xiao Nian arrived, he handed over this task to Xiao Nian.
Last night, he heard about Xiao Nian incapacitating two old soldiers, which scared him.
This guy is so fierce? Luckily, he didn't come after me. If he did, it would have been disastrous.
Thinking about how he had bullied Xiao Nian before, the old soldier's hands trembled.
The personnel from the political department stated, "Regardless of whether they're new recruits or old soldiers, whoever has the upper hand in a fight has the authority to command."
His own fist wasn't as strong as Xiao Nian's, yet he had commanded him for several days. This was his mistake that needed correcting.
That's why, once Xiao Nian arrived, he couldn't find anything to do.
When Zhou Lin came, he saw Xiao Nian idle and said, "Find something to do yourself! Move the artillery shells."
Each gun was a war artillery team.
There was one gunnery sergeant, one gunner, one aiming hand, one direction finder, one elevation hand, one loader, and three ammunition handlers.
What Zhou Lin had Xiao Nian do was practice as a loader.
(End of this chapter)