"Hey! Yan Zheng! Be careful not to cut your hand."
The veteran's reminder suddenly woke Yan Zheng up from his sleepy state. He opened his almost closed eyes. The potatoes in front of him had been cut. At some point, the hand holding the kitchen knife had moved to the other hand. If it hadn't been for The veteran warned in time that he must have cut off the other hand by now.
"How late did you sharpen your kitchen knife yesterday? Why are you so sleepy today?"
The veteran came over and asked with some concern. Everyone had noticed something was wrong with Yan Zheng since he got up early this morning. He always insisted on getting up early and stayed in bed for a rare time, forgetting about training at the martial arts field. At the back of his mind, although he had a lot of fun and drank a lot during the day yesterday, and stayed up late and worked overtime at night, a young man in his twenties would never be so tired.
"I'm fine, just go wash your face and it should be fine."
Yan Zheng put down the kitchen knife, said hello to the veteran, turned around and walked towards the water room. He washed his hair with water and wiped his face. Under the stimulation of the cold well water, his sleepiness was obviously reduced. , this feeling of sleepiness does not seem to be the reason for not having a rest last night, but rather a side effect caused by the excessive consumption of scarlet blood due to repeated repairs to the body, because Yan Zheng can now clearly feel the scarlet mist in the meridians in his body. It has become a lot lighter. It seems that this ability of immortality also has certain limitations. At least with Yan Zheng's current level, he cannot overcome them all. He patted his face with his hand, cheered up, and persisted. By noon You can take a good rest.
On the way back, Yan Zheng accidentally bumped into Wu Zhang Lu. He was just about to say hello, but when he saw Lao Lu's expression was unkind and the horrible scars on his face were unnaturally tangled together, he thought it was because he was in a bad mood. , and did not step forward to ask for trouble. However, after seeing Yan Zheng, Lao Lu stopped him, "Yan Zheng, where did you go just now? I am looking for you everywhere."
"I felt a little sleepy, so I went to the water room to wash my face, and now I'm going back to the kitchen to continue helping." Yan Zheng said, "What do you want me to do? If it's not urgent, wait for me to finish the work in the kitchen. I’ll find you when I’m done.”
"My things are more important. You don't have to go back to the kitchen now. I'll ask others to help over there." Lao Lu waved his hand and pulled Yan Zheng towards the dormitory regardless of whether he wanted it or not, because it was too much. Exhausted, Yan Zheng's mind was still a little unclear. He didn't understand what happened, but looking at Wu Zhang Lu's expression, it seemed that it was indeed a very important matter. What happened to the guard station? Or was it discovered what happened last night?
After the two of them entered the dormitory, Lao Lu closed the door matter-of-factly and motioned for Yan Zheng to sit on the chair. He sat beside the bed as usual, his expression gradually softened, and asked: "Yan Zheng, How long have you been here? Everyone is usually busy with work, and I haven't been able to have a good talk with you. I want to hear you talk about your family situation, your previous experiences, and by the way, what are your plans for the future? , do you want to stay in the army after two years? Or are you ready to leave the army and return home in glory?"
The expected interrogation did not happen. It seemed that Commander Lu was just doing a routine thing, talking to his subordinates to understand the situation, so naturally what happened last night was not discovered. Yan Zheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, Commander Lu said to him He was very caring, and he was unwilling to lie in front of Commander Lu unless he had to. However, this matter was too involved, and not telling others was the greatest protection.
It's okay not to be asked about it. Thinking about everything in the past again, especially the fifty-seventh exploration operation that had a profound impact on him, Yan Zheng couldn't help but feel a little sentimental. The sacrifices of those comrades did not cause such a big wave. The Supervisory Censor's investigation was nothing more than an excuse for the emperor to make these people's sacrifices more reasonable. You don't need to think about it to know that their sacrifices will not be widely publicized, and they will only get more money for their relatives.
"Since the last exploration operation, if I remember correctly, I have probably stayed in the Eighth Guard Station for more than three months. I feel that I get along well with everyone, and I have completely adapted to life here."
"I was born in a small village called Qingyun Village in the Northeast Province. I grew up in a poor family, but at least I had food to eat and clothes to wear. My parents were both in good health. I had a field at home where I grew some rice and sugar beets, and I paid my dues every year. The food left after the taxation is not only for my own consumption, but also a little surplus. If I had not joined the army, I might have been a farmer like my father, working hard every day and earning a living."
"Later on, the border was not peaceful, and taxes increased a lot. Even if I helped my father farm the land, the food left after paying the taxes every year was barely enough to keep for myself. Sometimes I even had to collect beets. They bought cheaper sweet potatoes on the market so that the family could have enough to eat. I was the only child in our family. My parents were afraid that I would not even have the money to marry and have children in the future, so they kept frugally saving money for me. I heard that I would join the army. I could cut a lot of taxes, so I chose to join the army."
"After arriving at the Seventh Guards, like most recruits, I trained hard to improve my skills. My talent is not very good, so I usually help with farm work at home. My endurance is slightly better. I work hard. According to I received a monthly military salary and didn’t have any big expenses at the guard station, so I sent most of the money back home to relieve some pressure on my parents. After two years of stay, I was selected to participate in the 57th expedition. After taking action, he came to our place and got to know you, Chief Lu."
"I have already thought about my future plans. I will continue to stay in our health center. When I have stayed for four years, I will apply to stay."
Yan Zheng's calm tone made Lao Lu feel a little moved. Like most of the young people he had taken care of, Yan Zheng's family was poor and his life was difficult. His parents could only provide him with very little help. But what was different from those people was that, Yan Zheng's words did not reveal any complaints or dissatisfaction with his origin, nor did he complain about everything and others like others. He accepted his origin calmly and tried his best to change the status quo.
"I thought you had only two outcomes. Either you would be proud of your ability to come back from the Netherland, or you would be hit by the exploration operation and never recover. I didn't expect you to choose a completely different third path. I admire your courage. In the first few days, A veteran said that your attitude and actions were just pretentious, but it seems that is not the case now. You are indeed an excellent warrior, and your efforts are obvious to all, and I do not regret teaching you the Steel-Breaking Technique."
Wu Chang Lu has always impressed people with his loud voice and bad temper. It was the first time in Yan Zheng's mind that he spoke in such a gentle tone. He could hear Lao Lu's approval and everyone's affirmation from it.
Lao Lu looked at Yan Zheng and continued: "However, I hope you can tell us the truth if you have any difficulties or problems you encounter. Although I cannot represent the Eighth Guard, I can at least represent the veterans working in the kitchen. We, even if everyone quits the army in the future, we will still be your big brothers, and you can still come to us if you encounter difficulties at home."
The implications of what Commander Lu said were very obvious, and Yan Zheng understood it immediately. He stood up from his chair and bowed deeply to Commander Lu. What he was doing was not a military salute, but a grand ceremony between master and disciple. .
Yan Zheng lowered his head and said: "When you came to me just now, I wondered if you had discovered what I had done. Now it seems that it is true. I wanted to hide it, but you still discovered it unexpectedly. .”
"You have done a great job. If I don't find out, no one else will." Lao Lu accepted Yan Zheng's gift generously, then walked over and helped him up from the ground, "Although they I’m with you every day, but I may not really know you, but from the first time I saw you, I realized that you are different from these veterans. There is something inexplicable in your eyes, like I was forced to shoulder certain missions or responsibilities, do you think I am right?"
Yan Zheng felt hot in his heart and his eyes were moist. This was the first time since he came to this world that someone truly understood him and told him what he was thinking. This made him a little touched, but he quickly restrained himself. He lost his emotions and said: "You are right, something did happen to me. It happened suddenly last night. I had no choice but to hide the body in the pig pen. I wanted to move it away as soon as possible, but I still can't hide it from you. Follow me The relevant matters involve too much, and if I tell you the truth, I am worried that it will affect you and the brothers, so I am sorry that I cannot explain it, and I hope you can understand."
"You have your difficulties, I won't force you." Lao Lu sighed. He had already said it for this reason. Yan Zheng did not hide anything, so he didn't need to hold on to it. "I don't know how to do this. If you mention it to others, you don't have to worry about the finishing work over there, I will handle it for you."
Yan Zheng stood up from the chair and bowed to Commander Lu again, "Your kindness will never be forgotten by Yan Zheng!"
"What are you doing with all the red tape? Just be more diligent and do your work well. Just chat with me when you have time." Lao Lu laughed, and the gloom on his face was swept away. He was sure that Yan Zheng was fine for the time being. He felt relieved and soon returned to his usual bold self.
"Ah, ah, it's useless to just ask you, I almost forgot the most important thing." He patted his head, as if he suddenly remembered something, "It has been announced above that the 58th exploration operation is about to begin. , our Eighth Guard Station will be responsible for executing it, I hope you can think about it carefully when you go back."
The fifty-eighth exploration operation? !
Hearing the news, Yan Zheng was stunned. It seemed that what Liang Yunchuan said in the restaurant was true. The emperor actually made such a decision. After the fifty-seventh exploration operation failed, , continue to carry out the 58th exploratory operation.
