Chapter 64: Lucky or Unlucky

Just by glancing at the servants' attire, Ding Zixiong decided he must become one of them. Dropping his firewood, Ding Zixiong signed up. As one of the first to register, he easily passed the inspection and was told to go home and find a guarantor. Ding Zixiong returned home and told his parents about this. They were very happy, as the reputation of the divine doctor was excellent, and there were no obstacles. He asked the village head and an elderly villager to be his guarantors, wrote the guarantee himself, and pressed his fingerprint on it.

That wasn't all; the village head escorted him to Zhang's Village, where he officially joined the ranks of the divine doctor's servants.

On the first day of joining, after signing and pressing his fingerprint on the membership document, Ding Zixiong received a backpack, two sets of clothing, two pairs of shoes, a helmet, a cloth cap, two iron basins, a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and a tube of toothpaste. Holding these items, he walked out with a silly smile, but before his happy life could begin, a dark cloud loomed over him.

Haircut! Everyone had to comply with this decision. You could quit, but according to the agreement, those who disobeyed and quit voluntarily had to pay 50 taels of silver. Forget 50 taels; even five coins were beyond Ding Zixiong's means.

He intended to reason, saying that his body and hair were gifts from his parents, but before he could finish saying "dare not damage," someone snatched his backpack and dragged him into a small, dark room, slamming the door shut. The room was small, dimly lit, and reeked of urine. Ding Zixiong was scared, shouting and calling, but no one responded. His voice grew hoarse, but still, no one came. He had no choice but to accept his fate.

The room had no bed, just a pile of straw in the corner and a urine bucket at the far end, from which the stench emanated.

Sitting on the straw, Ding Zixiong buried his head in his knees, tears streaming down his face. He had read books and always felt different from others. At home, he was pampered, and his parents never scolded him. Now, away from his parents, he realized that this place, which was rumored to be wonderful, had a very dark side.

Before nightfall, the adjacent room was also occupied by another unlucky soul. Ding Zixiong heard the same commotion as when he first entered. Shouting and calling, but no one responded. Finally, Ding Zixiong, weak and tired, shouted, "Stop yelling, no one will listen. Just stay calm."

That night, perhaps because there was another unlucky soul next door, Ding Zixiong wasn't as scared. Hungry and exhausted, he hadn't eaten all day and fell asleep at some point. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he heard the neighbor crying and shouting, but he had no energy to console him.

Resistance was undoubtedly useless, and compliance became the only choice. Haircut it would be!

The iron door clanged open, and a man with a helmet and a fierce look shouted, "Ding Zixiong, come out."

At the same time, the same thing happened in the neighboring small dark room. A teenager was dragged out and thrown to the ground. The man at the door said, "Kid, don't pretend to be dead, get up." The teenager didn't respond, so the man squatted down, touched his forehead, and exclaimed, "He's burning up, quickly get a cart and take him to the hospital."

A one-wheeled cart arrived quickly, and the teenager was thrown onto it and dragged away. Watching this, Ding Zixiong's last bit of resistance vanished. These people had no humanity, treating people like objects.

Ding Zixiong, who could only accept reality, was led to a house. A fierce-looking man with a razor cleanly and swiftly shaved his head, removing all his hair. He was then pushed into a room, where he saw the items he had received. He then walked in and saw a row of strange showerheads.

"Kid, pay attention. This is the switch. Turn it, and hot water will come out. Use the soap to wash your body and get rid of the stench. If you don't wash properly, you'll be locked in the small dark room again." Then, the fierce-looking man left. After fumbling for a while, Ding Zixiong finally learned how to shower and use the soap, finally cleaning himself. Facing the issued clothes, he didn't know how to wear them. At that moment, the fierce-looking man reappeared, this time very kindly, showing him how to wear the clothes, socks, and shoes.

After dressing, he noticed the old clothes he had taken off were taken away by the man with tongs, who pinched his nose. Ding Zixiong thought, "Is it that smelly?" He sniffed carefully and realized it was indeed smelly.

Life is like this. After a storm, a rainbow appears. He was led to a place with "Canteen" written on the wall. Ding Zixiong received a new item, a lidded lunch box. Opening it, he found a pair of chopsticks and a spoon, both made of iron.

Then, he was numbly led to a window where a chubby, smiling man with a large ladle greeted him, "Kid, you're in luck. You know, my son wanted to join the servant team, but they rejected him because he's too short."

As he spoke, he took the lunch box, opened it, and ladled a spoonful of rice porridge with a rich meat aroma, which made Ding Zixiong's mouth water. On the lid of the lunch box were two buns and a warm message: "Eat while it's hot, don't let it cool."

Ding Zixiong could swear on his ancestors that he had never eaten such delicious meat porridge. Although he didn't know what the small red meat pieces were, he had never tasted anything so good. One bun, about the size of a fist, was full of oil when he bit into it. At that moment, Ding Zixiong suddenly felt that if he had been fed first, he might not have resisted so fiercely.

Things can't be hypothetical. This process was set by Chen Xie, who wanted the new servants to understand that obedient children get to eat well.

In fact, Chen Xie spent a lot of effort figuring out how to train these new recruits. He decided to have them report in batches, using a gradual approach to deal with them. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that out of 120 new servants, 89 were thrown into the small dark rooms, following the path of their predecessor, Ding Zixiong. The remaining 31 weren't necessarily smarter; they were just desperate people who were grateful for a meal and a monthly salary of 2 taels of silver. For them, even if they had to shave their heads or become monks, it was worth it.

When Weng Zhengxin woke up, he blinked a few times. A ray of sunlight confirmed that he wasn't in the underworld, but it didn't feel like heaven either. The walls around him were very white, and there was a strange but not unpleasant smell. His clothes were unchanged, but he had dirtied the white sheet beneath him. Where was he?

The answer came quickly. A woman in a white coat appeared, her smile gentle, like an angel.

"Awake?" Hongguo asked. The young man looked at her dazedly. Unbothered, Hongguo touched his head, feeling that his fever had broken. She patted his head reassuringly and smiled, "You're fine, kid. Don't blame the rough men in the servant camp; they're doing it for your own good."

Leaving a parting word, Hongguo floated away, leaving a faint fragrance. Weng Zhengqing never forgot this moment. Years later, when he told his grandson about it, his face always wore the most peaceful smile.

When Chen Xie first appeared before the new servants, they had already experienced various strict discipline and harsh training. Because they were literate, they learned quickly. The 120 new recruits were all young, the oldest being 19 and the youngest 16. They stood in groups of 30, each standing very straight.

After a month of drill training, they knew how to stand properly. A month of good food had also brought a healthy glow to their once pale faces.

Standing before these young men, Chen Xie began his first speech.

"You are a group of lucky ones because I, the master, will personally be your teacher, teaching you military skills. In the future, you can proudly tell everyone that your teacher is Chen Xie. Don't be too happy yet. More brutal training awaits you, and some of you will be kicked out of this team for not meeting my standards. You may hate me in the coming months, but when you command thousands of troops and achieve glory on the battlefield, you will thank me. Enough talk, from today, your good days are over."

What is the most important factor in an army? This question puzzled Chen Xie for a long time. In modern society's internet forums, he couldn't find the answer he needed. Finally, by chance, a netizen replied that the decisive factor in a modern army's combat effectiveness is the low-level officers. These people directly face the soldiers and command them on the front lines.

Chen Xie found this very reasonable and made it the focus of his army-building. Thus, the servant team was formed, with the requirement of literacy not being arbitrary but because Chen Xie intended to train them as low-level officers. As for people like Wang Qian, they were truly servants. Of course, if any military talent emerged among the servants, Chen Xie would not hesitate to use them boldly.

The rigorous training began. Just as Chen Xie had tormented Wang Qian and the others, now Wang Qian and the others tormented these new recruits. Every morning, they were taken out to run 5 kilometers, a distance that gradually increased. Then came the drill training, standing in the sun for an hour without moving.

The slightest mistake, and the "instructor's" whip would come down, tearing clothes and leaving wounds. Sweat mixed with the pain, and Ding Zixiong and Weng Zhengqing, these two unfortunate souls, could only grit their teeth and endure. Perhaps because they had been neighbors in the small dark room, they quickly became friends.

Talking about the future one day, Ding Zixiong said, "I will whip that instructor named Biaozi one day." Weng Zhengqing replied, "I want to marry a woman in a white coat."

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End of Chapter 64