gnovel Chapter 0060: Don't swing it!
Chapter 0060: Don't swing it!
Zheng Yingqi was scratching his head.
He realized he had misunderstood – he thought that treating Xu Sanduo coldly would transform him and allow him to rise from the ashes, but when he looked at the stone-paved road, he realized he was wrong.
Does Xu Sanduo lack the basic qualities to become a good soldier?
A soldier who can quietly build such a road will not become a good soldier.
So what went wrong?
On the way back, Zheng Yingqi kept thinking about this problem, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.
Before putting the two down, Gao Cheng said to Xu Sanduo, "Hmm, well done."
This was a rare compliment Xu Sanduo heard in Gaochengkou. With a droopy face, Xu Sanduo revealed a simple smile. The reason Xu Sanduo was sad was that he only found out when he left the Fifth Platoon that Lao Ma was leaving, by the train the day after tomorrow.
"Sanduo, you go first. I need to talk to the company commander about something." Zheng Yingqi finally decided to consult Gao Cheng. After Xu Sanduo left, Zheng Yingqi voiced his doubts:
"Company Commander, look at Xu Sanduo. I think he has all the basic qualities of a good soldier, so why is he still like this?" After saying that, he felt that his words were completely contrary to his usual insistence, so he added, "I have always believed that he will become a good soldier, but I just can't find a way to change him. I thought I had found it before, but now I realize that I was just being presumptuous."
Gao Cheng paused for a moment before saying, "Do you know why I don't like Xu Sanduo?"
Before Zheng Yingqi could answer, Gao Cheng continued, "I've always felt that he lacks self-respect, ambition, and a sense of honor. Plus, he always seems a bit simple-minded, so I don't like him. I don't think a soldier like that will become a good soldier."
"But now I'm wondering if my definition of a good soldier is flawed? Ever since I came out of there, I've been thinking, how can a soldier who can do these things not be considered a good soldier? How can someone who can do these things not be a strong person?"
Zheng Yingqi listened, seemingly lost in thought.
……
Although Zheng Yingqi realized that his approach to Xu Sanduo was flawed, he still couldn't find the "right" way to change Xu Sanduo. He could only change his attitude of deliberately distancing himself from Xu Sanduo and revert to the attitude he had shown before. This improvement in attitude immediately delighted Xu Sanduo.
See? He's just that easily satisfied...
Zheng Yingqi smiled bitterly to himself.
We need to brainstorm how to properly change this guy!
After thinking it over, Zheng Yingqi decided to consult with Shi Jin and Wu Liuyi. He pulled the two aside and talked about the road that Class 5 had taken, which greatly shocked Shi Jin and Wu Liuyi. Shi Jin felt both sorry for Xu Sanduo and felt sorry for him. He also felt sorry for Old Xu. He had promised Old Xu that he would take good care of Xu Sanduo, but he did not expect that Xu Sanduo would suffer so much.
Wu Liuyi remained silent. He hadn't expected this guy to do something like this, and that no one had known about it all along.
"What he lacks is recognition and confidence, so we have to find ways to help him build confidence and recognize him!" Shi Jin said.
"How can we build his confidence?" Wu Liuyi asked.
Shi Jin thought for a moment and had an idea: "Let's start small and gradually build his confidence!"
When Zheng Yingqi finally understood what Shi Jin meant by "minor matters," he broke out in a cold sweat—he never imagined that the minor matters Shi Jin was referring to were starting with letting Xu Sanduo wield the hammer!
Here's what happened:
After the three discussed it, Zheng Yingqi didn't pay much attention. He believed that Shi Jin would handle the situation well, so he went off to train on his own.
When he returned to the dormitory, exhausted, he looked around and, not seeing Shi Jin, Wu Liuyi, or Xu Sanduo, curiously asked Bai Tiejun, who was lying there like a corpse:
"Where are the class monitor and the others?"
"They said they went to teach Xu Sanduo how to clean 207."
207 made quite a bit of a move during yesterday's exercise, so today's move was naturally a full-scale purge—a perfectly normal pace.
But Zheng Yingqi exclaimed "Holy crap!" and then leaped out of bed and headed straight for the garage.
He was always careful not to let Xu Sanduo clean 207. Every time Xu Sanduo cleaned 207, he made sure he was present, for fear that the guy would cripple Shi Jin with one blow. He firmly believed that Shi Jin's eventual retirement was largely due to the injury on his hand.
In addition, just this morning we told Xu Sanduo to start small to build his confidence. If Shi Jin gets carried away and takes the reins himself to let Xu Sanduo swing the hammer, that would be a huge mess!
Watching Zheng Yingqi dash off, Bai Tiejun muttered to himself, "This guy has so much energy... He looks exhausted, but one 'holy crap' and he's back to full strength."
Inside the garage, next to 207.
Xu Sanduo: "Holding the gong is meaningless, but the hammer is meaningful."
This was Shi Jin's way of boosting Xu Sanduo's confidence by teaching him how to clean the tank. Xu Sanduo said this because he felt the wheel hammer was impressive when the tracks were being disassembled.
Wu Liuyi scoffed, "Master Xu, you haven't even learned to walk yet and you're already trying to run?"
As a veteran of armored vehicles, I certainly know how difficult it is to use a wheel hammer—there are very few people in the third squad who can use a wheel hammer, not because they don't want to, but because they are afraid of "accidental killing".
Shi Jin glared at Wu Liuyi. "We agreed to build Xu Sanduo's confidence, why are you undermining it now?" Wu Liuyi shut his mouth when he saw Shi Jin glaring at him.
"Alright, you take the hammer, I'll hold the shovel!" Shi Jin handed the hammer to Xu Sanduo without a word, gripping the shovel tightly himself. "Sanduo, there aren't many people in the squad who can do this job well. If you can, everyone will look at you with new respect!"
Upon hearing Shi Jin's words, Xu Sanduo, who was eager to gain everyone's approval, immediately became excited and couldn't wait to swing the hammer down. Wu Liuyi, who was standing to the side, really wanted to shout, "I don't care if you live or die!" But seeing Xu Sanduo struggling to swing the hammer, he threw those feelings to the wind.
Who knows whether Xu Sanduo was aiming the hammer at the steel spike or Shi Jin's head?
"No! Absolutely not!"
Wu Liuyi hugged Xu Sanduo: "He can't swing the hammer!"
Shi Jin, however, was determined to believe this nonsense today. He shoved Wu Liuyi aside: "Everyone has a first time, Liuyi, think back to the first time you wielded your hammer!"
Wu Liuyi was speechless. Xu Sanduo looked at Wu Liuyi with some worry, afraid that Wu Liuyi would try to stop him again. At this moment, Shi Jin said softly, "Sanduo, I've been waiting for that day. You never told yourself you couldn't do it, and then you'll know you can! Come on, smash it!"
In that instant, Xu Sanduo felt a surge of power, a power that allowed him to easily swing the hammer and smash the steel spike—this was an unprecedented level of trust!
Wu Liuyi was both nervous and scared, and kept praying in his heart.
Xu Sanduo swung the hammer...
……
Zheng Yingqi felt like he was flying—he didn't even feel this fast when he sprinted five kilometers.
"Xu Sanduo, you big idiot, stop the hell from swinging that hammer!"
"Shi Jin, you soft-hearted fool, you bastard, you're a complete idiot!"
Zheng Yingqi roared inwardly as he sprinted toward the garage, praying silently, "Please, please don't let this happen—hands are so important to a shooter, please, please don't let anything happen!"