Chapter 6

Shen Guannan was drawn to the carriage by the singing, but the song had already finished when he arrived.

“Where did you go?” Lu Feng asked when he saw him.

Shen Guannan raised the cup in his hand, “I went to get water.”

“Who was singing just now?”

Lu Feng pointed to Lin Shuoyin, “It was that young comrade.” Shen Guannan looked at Lin Shuoyin. Lu Feng laughed, “It was beautiful, like a lark.”

Shen Guannan nodded, “It was beautiful.”

“Comrades, please sing another song.”

After Lin Shuoyin and the others finished singing, the new recruits in the carriage cheered.

At this time, Lu Feng also spoke, smiling, “Four young comrades, please sing another song. The commander didn’t hear your singing just now.” He pointed to Shen Guannan.

Lin Shuoyin and the others looked at Shen Guannan. He was a bit serious, not as amiable as Lu Feng.

The commander had spoken, so they had to sing.

Li Jinye asked, “Shuoyin, what song are you going to sing?”

Lin Shuoyin thought for a moment, “Can we sing ‘Praise Song’?”

They should be able to play this tune.

“No problem.”

The beautiful and moving song echoed through the carriage:

“………. The heroic motherland stands tall in the East

Like the rising sun, its rays shine brightly

Brothers and sisters of all ethnicities gather together

Celebrating our liberation from oppression……. “

This song went particularly well with Wang Yanlin’s flute. When the song ended, thunderous applause filled the carriage.

“Good!”

After these two songs, everyone got to know each other a little better. Li Jinye said, “Let’s divide into two teams and sing.”

Of course, there was a leader among the new recruits, named Chen Wansong.

He divided everyone into two teams, Team One and Team Two. The four members of the art troupe were also divided, two in each team.

Among the four of them, Lin Shuoyin and Wang Yanlin had the most beautiful singing voices. So, Wang Yanlin went to Team One, Lin Shuoyin to Team Two, Su Xiangwei to Team One, and Li Jinye to Team Two.

Lu Feng and Shen Guannan, the two commanders, didn’t participate in the singing competition. They sat on the side and watched them sing.

They used rock-paper-scissors to decide who would start first.

Team One won, so they started first. Wang Yanlin sang, “Sailing the Ocean Depends on the Helmsman…”

Team Two, Lin Shuoyin sang, “All Things Grow Thanks to the Sun…”

Her voice was no less powerful than Wang Yanlin’s.

The two teams went back and forth, one after the other, neither yielding to the other.

At first, except for the four musicians, the others were a bit shy and embarrassed when they sang. But after singing more, they became more relaxed, one song after another.

Lu Feng listened from the side and commented, “These kids, they’re really from the art troupe. These young men can’t compare.”

Shen Guannan looked at Lin Shuoyin, “That comrade Lin has the most beautiful voice.”

Lu Feng said, “Of course, she’s from the singing team. You can’t get in without some talent.”

Shen Guannan nodded in agreement.

The journey was very lively. Everyone was either singing or dancing, and it was very lively.

Two days later, they arrived in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.

Upon reaching the army, they first went to register, then received supplies, uniforms, and military equipment. The uniforms included an army coat, cotton jacket, cotton trousers, army cap, army shoes, cap badge, collar badge, and socks.

They also received daily necessities: towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, cups, water bottles, basins, bed sheets, and quilts.

No wonder Lin’s father said before they left that the army provided everything and there was no need to spend money. It was true. They even provided toothpaste and toothbrushes. Food, clothing, housing, and transportation were all covered. There was really no need to spend money.

“We art soldiers have to go through training too,” Su Xiangwei muttered on the way back to the dormitory.

Wang Yanlin said, “Yeah, they have three months, and we have two months.”

Li Jinye was excited, “Will we get to touch guns during training?”

The three of them shook their heads, “We don’t know.”

Would they give guns to the art soldiers during training?

Training, military training. Lin Shuoyin was both afraid and familiar with it. When she went from elementary school to middle school, she had a week of military training. When she went from middle school to high school, she had a week of military training. When she went to university, she had half a month of military training.

The four of them chatted as they reached the dormitory.

Men and women lived in different buildings, but they were right next to each other. The buildings were not tall, only two stories.

Lin Shuoyin, Li Jinye, and Su Xiangwei’s dormitory was on the second floor, room 203.

“Do you think there are other people in our dormitory, or just the three of us?” Li Jinye asked as they approached the dormitory door.

Su Xiangwei said, “There should be others.”

The three of them reached the dormitory door. There was another colleague in the dormitory besides them. She had arrived earlier and had already made her bed.

“Hello, I’m Sareen.” She was very enthusiastic.

Lin Shuoyin said, “Hello, I’m Lin Shuoyin.”

“Su Xiangwei.”

“Li Jinye.”

Sareen must have played the Morin Khuur (Mongolian horsehead fiddle). Lin Shuoyin saw a Morin Khuur on her bedside.

Sareen said, “Are you all from the same place? I’m from Hohhot.”

The three of them nodded, “Yes, we’re from Sichuan.”

Sareen was very enthusiastic, “I’m glad to meet you.” She took out some dried milk tofu from her bag. It was the hard, dry kind.

“Milk tofu, it’s a specialty of our Mongolian people. Try some.”

“Thank you.” Each of the three took a piece.

Sareen said, “You’re welcome, you’re welcome. If you like it, I’ll bring you some next time I go home. The milk skin is also very delicious.”

In her previous life, Lin Shuoyin was from Inner Mongolia and was of mixed Mongolian and Han ethnicity. She had eaten all kinds of milk tofu, milk skin, and Mongolian fried rice. She loved iron plate milk tofu and candied milk tofu the most.

Su Xiangwei and Li Jinye were eating this kind of dairy product for the first time. It had a strong milky flavor, but it was different from milk candy.

“It’s like candy,” Li Jinye said.

Sareen laughed, “You can eat it like candy.”

Li Jinye asked, “Sareen, how long have you been here?”

Sareen said, “I just arrived a while ago, only half an hour before you.”

“By the way, I play the Morin Khuur. What about you?”

Li Jinye said, “I play the accordion.”

Su Xiangwei said, “Violin.”

Lin Shuoyin said, “Oh, you three all play string instruments. I sing.”