Chapter 47: He wanted to keep him, so he couldn't leave!

Li Tieshu, the instructor, appeared on the second day of the military training class. He neither apologized nor explained, as if nothing had happened yesterday.

He still called out various training commands in his hoarse voice, mercilessly pointing out the students who made mistakes or whose movements were not standardized, and made them step out to redo the exercises. His methods of punishing the boys remained severe.

He was like an iron tree, impervious to knives, axes, and even rain.

The students in Class One felt a deep sense of dread. They knew that Instructor Li Tieshu must have kept yesterday's incident in mind and would take revenge on them during the training.

As everyone was guessing how harsh the training would be, the noon military training session was about to end.

"Attention!" Instructor Li Tieshu loudly issued the command. His voice had been hoarse from shouting for so many days.

Upon hearing his words, the boys in Class One immediately stood straight, their eyes fixed on the front.

"At ease," he called out.

The students relaxed a bit but still did not dare to completely let their guard down.

Li Tieshu scanned the entire class, from the shortest, Li Yu, to the tallest, Zhang Quanwei, not missing a single face.

Then, he smiled.

His face was thin and dark, so when he smiled, his teeth appeared especially white.

Everyone was stunned!

Instructor Li Tieshu had always been secretly called the "Black-faced God" for his strict style and stern demeanor. What was going on today?

"I want to apologize for what happened yesterday," Li Tieshu said in a gentle voice. Everyone realized that he had a gentle side. They all thought his voice was just loud and rough. "The weather was hot the past few days, and I had a cold, so I didn't have much appetite. I didn't expect to suddenly get a stomachache."

"I was lying in the hospital, receiving intravenous drips, and I caused you a lot of trouble. It was my negligence. I should have asked other instructors to take over or to dismiss you. I'm sorry."

Li Tieshu bowed deeply to the boys.

"Instructor, don't do that. We can't bear it."

"That's right. I've had acute gastritis before. I was in so much pain that I couldn't think of anything else."

"Instructor, you should smile more. You look quite cute when you smile."

Students are so simple and straightforward. When you are strict with them, they will reject you. If you suddenly become gentle, they will be unaccustomed to it.

Li Tieshu nodded and said, "I'm afraid there won't be any chance. I have to leave."

A murmur of surprise spread through the crowd.

Because of Li Tieshu's strict training style and harsh punishment methods, many boys thought he was brutal and a psychopath.

However, when he said he was leaving, the boys couldn't accept it.

They felt a deep sense of loss, as if something had been taken away from them.

"Instructor, why are you leaving? Is your illness very serious?"

"Instructor, you can't leave. Our military training isn't over yet."

"Instructor, please stay. We all want you to stay."

The boys spoke up, trying to persuade him to stay.

"This is an order," Li Tieshu said with a smile. "As I taught you on the first day, soldiers must obey orders. I have no right to change the orders from my superiors. I was supposed to leave today, but I asked the commander for some time to come and say goodbye to you all."

"I know you may not like me. My voice is too loud, and I'm too strict with the movements, and I often make you run twenty laps around the playground. But this is what I want to teach you. Some things don't allow for negotiation. Some people don't allow for negotiation. Understanding this early will be beneficial for you."

"Regardless, we have met. I am grateful for your cooperation and for calling me 'instructor.' Originally, this gift was meant to be given to you after the military training performance. Now, I can only give it to you early."

Li Tieshu glanced at everyone, a bit embarrassed, and said, "I'll teach you a song. I hope you like it. I'll sing it first, and then you can follow me."

Li Tieshu cleared his throat, gathered his emotions, and then sang softly:

"The cold wind blows, leaves fall,

The army is a green flower.

Dear comrades, don't think of home,

Don't think of your mother.

I call out day and night, so many words in my heart,

Don't shed tears when we part.

The military camp is our warm home,

Mother, don't worry."

Li Tieshu's voice was thick and belonged to someone who couldn't sing well. However, whether it was due to a change in his mood or because he truly put his emotions into it, everyone listened intently, and some of the boys who knew the song hummed along softly.

"This song is called 'The Green Flower of the Army.' It was the first song I learned when I joined the military. I really like it. Come on, let's sing it together," Li Tieshu said with a smile.

"Back home, there's a good girl," Li Tieshu led.

"Back home, there's a good girl," the students of Class One followed.

"I often dream of her," Li Tieshu's tone was steady.

"I often dream of her," the students of Class One raised their voices, as if they wanted to vent their anger.

"The men in the army have feelings too,"

"The men in the army have feelings too,"

"Willing to accompany you to the ends of the earth,"

"Willing to accompany you to the ends of the earth,"

——

Instructor Li Tieshu left.

When the song "The Green Flower of the Army" ended, and he saluted the students with a solemn face, many boys cried out loud.

They realized how much they respected and loved this man with a black face, a hoarse voice, a violent temper, and a variety of punishment methods.

Third Dining Hall.

Tang Chong was eating a pancake, but the fried chicken wings on his plate remained untouched.

"Second, what's wrong? No appetite?" Hua Ming asked with a smile, grabbing a chicken wing from Tang Chong's plate and putting it in his mouth.

Tang Chong looked up at him, put down his chopsticks, and said, "The instructor left too unfairly."

"Yeah," Liang Tao agreed. "Lu Yifei is a bastard. He wanted to show off and made the instructor take the blame for his trouble."

"That's not the most important thing," Tang Chong said. "Those selected to train the new students are usually the best soldiers from their units. If they complete this task successfully, it will benefit their promotion in the military or their job placement after discharge."

"What do you mean?" Hua Ming frowned.

"From what Instructor Li Tieshu said, we can tell that he is the son of a farmer with no background. For him to become a military training instructor at Nan Da, he must have worked much harder than others. This should have been a good opportunity for him. However, due to the fainting incident involving several students, his task was revoked halfway through the training."

"The impact of such an incident is extremely negative, and it might be recorded in his file," Tang Chong sighed softly. "In Hateshan Prison, there is a guard who is a former soldier. He was once a skilled soldier, but a small incident led to a note in his file. After discharge, he couldn't get a good job and ended up working in the prison. For a young man, whether as a prisoner or a guard, entering the prison ruins his life. It's rare to find someone like Dangjia who treats the prison as home."

"So serious?" Liang Tao frowned. "Then Instructor Li Tieshu won't have a future?"

"Is there any way to keep him?" Li Yu asked. Although he was one of the 307 group, he rarely spoke or expressed his opinions. Today, he spoke up, showing that he didn't want Li Tieshu to leave.

Tang Chong shook his head. "Didn't Instructor Li say it's a military order? He can only follow it. We can't help."

"What? Second, you want to keep Instructor Li?" Hua Ming asked, picking his teeth with his chopsticks.

"What can I do?" Tang Chong smiled bitterly. "I'm not a military commander."

"Hey, although you're not a military commander, your words carry more weight than a commander's."

"Bullshit." Tang Chong waved his hand, stood up, and said, "It looks like you have no appetite. Let's go back to sleep."

Liang Tao also put down his chopsticks and said, "I wonder what the new instructor will be like."

"You go ahead. I need to go to the bathroom." Hua Ming said and ran to the restroom of the third dining hall.

When he reached the restroom door, he didn't go in but turned to a garden behind it.

He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then took out his phone, searched for a number, and made a call.

The call was quickly answered.

"Hua Ming?" A steady male voice came from the speaker. Despite the distance, Hua Ming could imagine the man sitting there with a stern face.

"Uncle, it's me," Hua Ming said, putting away his usual carefree expression and speaking seriously.

"Uh, what's up?" The man asked, his voice softening slightly.

"Uncle, I have a favor to ask," Hua Ming said with a smile. "The 135th Regiment that came to our school for training is under Uncle Wei's jurisdiction, right? When I came to Mingzhu, you asked me to visit him."

"That's right," the man said.

"Can you give him a call?"

"Why?"

"Well, I have an instructor who was involved in an incident during the training and was prematurely relieved of his duties by the responsible leader. We are worried that this will affect his future," Hua Ming explained in detail.

The man on the other end remained silent.

Hua Ming waited for a moment and then asked, "Uncle? What do you think?"

"Do you know what it means if I make this call?" the man asked in a steady voice.

"I know," Hua Ming sighed softly. He knew that if his uncle made this call, it would mean a lot for Li Tieshu. Given his uncle's position, calling the main leader of the 135th Regiment for a small soldier would show how much they valued him.

The rest would be clear to those people, and they would know how to support and cultivate Li Tieshu.

"This is Tang Chong's idea," Hua Ming said.

"Did he instruct you to come to me?" The man on the other end still spoke in the same tone, but his voice was filled with a sense of suppression and decisiveness.

"No," Hua Ming explained. "He wants to keep the instructor, but he can't. I said I was going to the bathroom and sneaked out to make this call."

"What do you think?"

"He wants to keep him. He can't leave," Hua Ming said firmly. His usually playful and gentle face became serious and determined.

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