Chapter 165: Chapter 164: Refusal, Grasslands

Early the next morning, Ling Chengyan got a few kids of all ages up and took them to the large training ground next door to train with the soldiers.

After training for the first day, each child had sore arms and legs and kept grimacing. After a few days, they toughened up, could keep pace, and stopped crying out in pain.

Instructor Wu Yushu found Ling Chengyan: “I’ve noticed you’re training the kids well. The summer holiday is coming soon, and they’ll be like horses freed from their reins. How about we set up a summer camp to rein in these wild horses?”

Ling Chengyan raised her eyebrow slightly. This kind of thing happened in previous years, but it was usually the task of the Guard Company. The Automobile Company doing special training was something never done before.

Ling Chengyan did not agree immediately. She only mentioned the future driving tasks, making Wu Yushu’s smile slightly stiff as he said, “I know it’s tough on our comrades. It’s not like we need to practice all day, just join the morning exercise. There aren’t many kids, only those from our company and a few from the Communications Company…”

Ling Chengyan said, “The main thing is that our comrades haven’t performed this kind of task before; they don’t know how to handle kids. If one of them gets hurt, it’ll be hard to explain.”

Wu Yushu pursed his lips and waved his hand, saying, “Alright, let me think it over.”

Ling Chengyan turned and left without a moment’s hesitation.

Wu Yushu said to Lian Changjiang, who walked in, “I just saw how Ling Chengyan teaches her kids well; each of them is respectful and well-behaved. I wanted her to help teach the kids…”

Lian Changjiang poured a cup of water and said lightly, “Nowadays, there are fewer kids, unlike before. They’re precious.”

Wu Yushu echoed the sentiment: “You’re right. I’ve seen a family where the couple said having one grandson was their contribution and didn’t want more kids. If you saw that only child being pampered, the grandparents would put him on a pedestal; they’d fetch a star if he asked.”

Lian Changjiang shook his head: “These are little matters.”

In ten or twenty years, it might be hard to recruit soldiers.

With every family having only one child, who would be willing to send them to the military for hardship? What if the country faces war? Who will fight?

Disregarding the worries of these two people, Ling Chengyan left the company headquarters with a smile: Teaching kids was something she could do but didn’t need to. There was no need to take on the Guard Company’s tasks.

Moreover, she was truly busy. After two days, she received a long-distance task to travel to the grassland, just her and a vehicle.

This time, Ling Chengyan selected Zhang Wanxiang to accompany her.

Before leaving, she reminded Hongling and Xiaoyu to go out together and not wander alone. Also, she told the kids not to loiter around the streets.

She had caught troublemakers a few times; those street thugs might hold a grudge. The last time they could pick a fight with the kids, who knows if they would retaliate with dirty tricks?

Wang Liansheng saw her worry and said, “Be careful when you’re out, don’t stress about home, I’ll watch over the kids.”

Previously, Ling Chengyan took a trip to the north, but that was early spring when everything was frozen for a thousand miles. This time, close to summer, the grasslands must be lush by now?

She couldn’t help but recall guarding the border, where the winds swept the grass low, revealing cattle and sheep, the sky was a clear and lofty blue, the ground was lush green grass, and there were herds of cows.

The summer grasslands are extremely beautiful.

But, the grasslands can also be bloody and cruel. How many Great Qi warriors have been buried in the Desert Grassland, never returning home?

Ling Chengyan drove on the grassland highway. With the ice and snow melted, and the wind’s roar gone, she could clearly see the landscape of the grassland—lush green grass, hills, rivers, and the ancient Great Wall, beacon towers, and military forts eroded beyond recognition by wind, sand, and rain.

She didn’t ask Zhang Wanxiang to stop the car, simply observing her map silently, overlapping her memories with her current sights, then carefully noting the positions on the map.

The grassland has sparse habitation, with simple military posts built along transport routes. There are only a few low houses, and fetching water requires going several miles to haul it in. Vegetables and grains need regular resupply.

The grassland had just thawed in May, with the green grass and wild vegetables sprouting. Eating wild vegetables marks a good season. Last winter, when Ling Chengyan came, the people at the military post couldn’t get any vegetables, and their mouths developed ulcers.

With plenty of time, Ling Chengyan and her group arrived at the military post quite early, just as the people there were digging up wild vegetables and preparing to make stuffed buns.

Ling Chengyan wanted to help but was pushed aside by the young men, who invited Zhang Wanxiang to work instead.

“Yan Jie, you take a break, just wait to eat the buns.”

These young men have been stationed on the Desert Grassland for years, mostly seeing transport soldiers, and there are few female transport soldiers nationwide. With Ling Chengyan’s arrival, being a female, she received special treatment.

Seeing this, Ling Chengyan simply walked out of the military post, finding the setting sun and solitary smoke of the desert quite picturesque.

The post raised horses; Ling Chengyan, a horse-lover, naturally went to take a look whenever there was an opportunity.

A short soldier was grooming a horse. Seeing Ling Chengyan approach, he took out candy from his pocket to feed the horse, smiling somewhat shyly, “Are you Yan Jie?”

Ling Chengyan raised her eyebrow slightly, “You know me?”

The young soldier laughed sheepishly, “I heard the squad leader talk about you.”

“Oh,” Ling Chengyan handed over some candy, unwrapped one for herself, and casually asked, “What did your squad leader say about me?”

The young soldier, carefully unwrapping a piece of candy and putting it in his mouth, suddenly heard the question and instinctively replied, “The squad leader said even though you’re a woman, you’re tougher than men, you’ve fought in battles defeating enemies. He told us to respect you and not to provoke your temper, saying it’s explosive and you’ll injure with your hands, nicknamed mother tiger…”

The soldier suddenly realized he had slipped and his face changed, quickly raising his hand to cover his mouth.

Ling Chengyan chuckled, looked at the sunset in the west, and said lightly, “Don’t cover, finish grooming the horse.”

The soldier blushed, dropped his hand, feeling apprehensive yet not leaving.

Seeing the kid’s honesty, Ling Chengyan didn’t tease him further. Instead, she asked again, “Has your horse drunk?”

“Oh, not yet!”

“Then what are you waiting for? Let’s go, I’ll accompany you to water the horses!”

As the words faded, Ling Chengyan led out the horse she fancied, fitted a saddle and bridle, and before the young soldier had fully equipped, she rode off with several other horses, leaving the post.

The young soldier shouted anxiously, “Yan Jie, wait for me, you don’t know the way.”

Ling Chengyan cracked a crisp and clear whip movement, tossing back a distant phrase, “I’ll ride leisurely, you urge your horse to chase.”

The young soldier hurriedly equipped his horse, jumping a few times to mount before riding swiftly to catch up.

Ling Chengyan wasn’t lying; she rode leisurely. However, she overlooked that the grassland horses crave to gallop; without human restraint, how would they not break into a full sprint joyfully?!

Old horses familiar with the way, the steeds daily visit the watering hole, having become accustomed to the route, naturally heading to the watering hole on their own.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep