Chu Yu couldn’t stand it any longer, reaching out to push away the annoyance…
Jingu City.
586th Regiment, XXX Division, XX Army.
At 7:45 in the morning, the loudspeakers in the first battalion’s compound promptly began broadcasting the melody “The East Is Red.”
As the battalion commander overseeing three infantry companies and one machine gun company, Chu Yu had no leisure to ponder whether the tune was pleasant to listen to.
At that moment, he was bent over his desk, transcribing the report just submitted by the second company into his notebook, intending to present it during the division headquarters meeting…
“What’s keeping you so busy this early in the morning?” Political Instructor Sun Guangming knocked twice on the door as a formality before walking in on his own.
“Something up?” As partners in their work, there was little need for secrecy between them. Chu Yu added, “Around four in the morning, sentries from the third company spotted what appeared to be a signal flare launched in the southwest direction.”
This was no trivial matter. Sun Guangming wiped the smile off his face. “Have you sent anyone to investigate?”
Chu Yu: “Yes, I’ve already dispatched the reconnaissance platoon to examine the site.”
“Right, you’re always so cautious—I shouldn’t have even asked.” Sun Guangming reverted to his usual cheerful demeanor, offering a half-hearted compliment to his partner before heading straight for Chu Yu’s personal drawer and pulling it open without any reservation.
Chu Yu casually grabbed a crumpled ball of waste paper from the desk and threw it at him, laughing and scolding, “You’ve got some nerve showing up here! You’ve already gone through all my good tea.”
“Hey! Missed me!” Sun Guangming deftly dodged the “projectile” and couldn’t resist gloating.
Chu Yu had no way to deal with his thick-skinned partner. “Just tell me, what are you really here for?”
Finding no tea, Sun Guangming wasn’t disappointed. He fished out a cigarette from the drawer, lit it, and finally replied, “No reason. Aren’t we heading to the division headquarters for the meeting? Let’s go together.”
“…” Seeing his partner evade the question, Chu Yu simply buried his head and continued working.
Seeing his good friend like this, Sun Guangming found it hard to hold back. After hesitating for just a few seconds, he resignedly dragged a stool over. “Hey, Old Chu, do you really want to transfer out? What’s so bad about here? Others would fight tooth and nail to get in. If you really leave, it’ll be hard to come back later.”
Jingu City is located in the northeastern part of the North China Plain.
Since ancient times, it has served as both a protective barrier and maritime gateway to the capital, holding extremely important strategic significance.
The XX Army, as a long-term garrison in this area, holds a position that speaks for itself.
But Chu Yu had a different perspective: “As long as I’m still wearing this military uniform, I can serve the country anywhere.”
“That’s true enough…” But officials in the capital have always held higher status. Having worked with Old Chu for many years, Sun Guangming knew all too well about his capability and ambition. Having worked hard to get where he was, transferring out now would be such a pity.
Chu Yu quickened his pace, soon finishing up. He closed his notebook and unscrewed his fountain pen while advising, “Alright, don’t look so glum. Being able to fulfill both loyalty and filial piety is something many people can only dream of. I’m just worried…” worried that even if he wanted to transfer, he might not be able to.
Understanding what his friend left unsaid, Sun Guangming didn’t respond this time. He just took a deep drag of his cigarette, letting the swirling smoke mask the worry on his face.
After years of working together, he knew his partner’s temperament well—once a decision was made, it was hard to change.
But given Old Chu’s background, getting into the Northern Theater Command really wouldn’t be easy.
So the matter circled back to the beginning, just as he and the regimental commander had discussed: finding a female comrade with advantageous background to form a revolutionary partnership.
At this thought, Sun Guangming flicked his cigarette ash heavily into the military green enamel ashtray beside him and fumed, “That bastard Zhao Youliang… The regimental commander finally found a female comrade from a family of eight generations of poor peasants who doesn’t mind your class status, and he actually snatched her away!!!”
Truth be told, compared to women, the jealousy between men cuts deeper with every blow.
Zhao Youliang was the deputy battalion commander of the third battalion and had always regarded Old Chu as his imaginary rival, albeit one-sidedly.
The reason was simple: his own class status wasn’t great either—he came from a rich peasant family.
But strictly speaking, it was still much better than Old Chu’s family.
Even so, Zhao’s promotion speed still couldn’t match Old Chu’s.
So, when the regimental commander finally managed to find a female comrade with a good class status from a distant relative, who was willing to marry down, and planned to introduce her first to the desperate Chu Yu, Zhao Youliang stepped in and intercepted her.
That bastard, though not as imposing as Old Chu, was still decent-looking and smooth-talking.
He quickly won over the simple-hearted female comrade, who was barely literate and had never left her village, stirring her heart with spring feelings.
Moreover, before the female comrade arrived, the regimental commander hadn’t explained the specific situation of the potential match to her…
Thinking of Zhao Youliang, who had already registered his marriage the day before yesterday, Sun Guangming crushed his cigarette butt forcefully and cursed under his breath, “That bastard Zhao is definitely targeting you on purpose. His situation isn’t even that serious.”
This was a case of losing in open competition and resorting to underhanded tricks!
Despicable!!!
“What’s there to be angry about? The regimental commander never even mentioned the matchmaking to me.” Chu Yu truly wasn’t annoyed. Frankly, Zhao Youliang was quite capable, and he had never held any ill will toward him before, but now he genuinely looked down on him.
Not because of the unseen female comrade, but because he felt Deputy Battalion Commander Zhao was narrowing his own path. Though it might seem like he had won for now, he didn’t realize that his actions were seen by most comrades as a clear betrayal.
For such a person, Chu Yu naturally wouldn’t—and didn’t need to—waste his emotions.
Besides, he always believed that difficulties were only temporary and would eventually pass.
Unaware of his partner’s calculations, Sun Guangming only grew angrier: “You were out on a mission then—how could he tell you? By the time you returned, it was already a done deal… Why did it have to be such bad timing?”
Seeing his friend about to flare up again, Chu Yu had no choice but to soothe him: “I really have no feelings for that unknown female comrade. I have my own plans. I’ll tell you about it later. Let’s go to the meeting now.”
The meeting was scheduled for 8:10. Sun Guangming glanced at his wrist and realized it was indeed almost time, so he reluctantly fell silent.
In his heart, however, he was already planning to call his parents later and urge them to cast a wider net. He refused to believe they couldn’t find a female comrade who wouldn’t mind his buddy’s class status.
It was ironic to think how popular Old Chu had been with the opposite sex just a few years ago, and now he had become such a hard case…
=
Chu Yu’s regiment was located in the same core area as the division headquarters, command department, political department, and other administrative units.
Therefore, it took less than ten minutes to walk from the battalion headquarters to the division office building.
On the way, the two encountered many comrades heading to the same destination.
Most men in the army were straightforward and disliked the roundabout ways of the outside world.
So, apart from a few who were wary of Chu Yu’s class status and acted somewhat coldly, the rest gathered around them as usual, laughing and chatting.
The group talked and laughed all the way to the conference room, arriving just after 8 o’clock.
The spacious conference room was already filled with many people, the sea of green military uniforms making the walls seem to glow.
Regiment 586’s Commander Qiu had arrived early. Seeing his subordinates, he boomed in his rough voice: “You little rascals, even your old man got here before you!”
Sun Guangming, ever the lively one, retorted immediately after sitting down next to the Political Commissar: “Old Qiu, you’re just making small talk. We’re not late anyway.”
Commander Qiu glared: “Why do you have so much to say? Next time you dare cut it this close, you’ll be running ten kilometers with full gear!”
Sun Guangming surrendered instantly: “We had a reason for being late. Old Chu received word from the sentry post…”
“Report!”
A booming voice suddenly cut through, as if hitting pause on the entire conference room.
At the doorway, Xiao Zheng from the communications office stiffened under the collective gaze of the senior officers, quickly straightening his posture to announce his purpose: “Is Commander Chu Yu of Regiment 586 here? There’s a phone call for you.”
Chu Yu’s heart jumped. He stood up abruptly, striding toward the door while urgently asking: “Is it from my family?”
Xiao Zheng nodded: “She said she’s your sister. I told her to call back in five minutes.”
It really was Xiangxue? Calling so suddenly… Had something happened? Chu Yu’s mind raced with anxiety, though his expression remained calm. Only his quickened pace betrayed his true feelings.
Sun Guangming, somewhat concerned, leaned toward the leader beside him and whispered: “Political Commissar, I’ll go check on him.”
Political Commissar Liu nodded: “Go ahead. If anything’s wrong, tell Xiao Chu not to act impulsively.”
Commander Qiu added: “Tell that Chu kid we’ll help him figure things out together no matter what happens.”
Sun Guangming nodded in acknowledgment before hurrying out after him.
=
The communications company was located near the headquarters building.
Chu Yu, being tall and long-legged, quickly reached the telephone.
But the communications operator said there were still two minutes until the scheduled call time.
Two minutes…
Normally they’d pass in the blink of an eye.
But at this moment, the slow-moving clock hands felt like dull knives cutting flesh – both slow and painful.
Just as Chu Yu glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time, the slightly shrill ring of the telephone finally sounded.
After answering and confirming it was for Battalion Commander Chu, the operator handed over the receiver.
Chu Yu immediately took it, urgently asking: “Xiangxue? What’s wrong?”
On the other end, sensing the tension in her older brother’s voice, Chu Xiangxue quickly laughed to reassure him: “It’s me, brother. Don’t worry, it’s good news.”
Though the voice coming through the receiver was somewhat distorted, Chu Yu could still hear the lightness in her tone and immediately breathed a sigh of relief: “What good news?”
Military calls had time limits, so Chu Xiangxue didn’t dare delay and got straight to the point: “Big brother, you don’t have a female comrade you like, right?”
Never expecting his sister to ask such a question, and guessing what she might be implying, Chu Yu was speechless for a moment before honestly replying: “No! You’re quite the nosy little girl.”
Communication technology in the 1960s wasn’t great, with loud external sound being one of its drawbacks.
So not only could the monitoring communications soldier hear the conversation, but even Sun Guangming standing close by caught every word. He immediately shouted at the top of his lungs: “Little sister, it’s your Brother Sun here! Are you trying to set Old Chu up?! He’s single!!!”
The volume… could only be described as frantic. Chu Yu found it utterly annoying, pushing the bothersome fellow away before saying to his sister: “Go on.”
Chu Xiangxue was thoroughly amused: “Big brother, I really want to set you up with someone. Her name is Gu Fangbai, she was my high school classmate…”
Twenty-four years old, Peking University graduate, newspaper editor, with three martyrs in her family…
The more his sister elaborated, the tighter Chu Yu’s dashing eyebrows furrowed.
When she went on to praise the female comrade’s appearance as if she were a celestial beauty unmatched on earth, his earlier good mood plummeted to the depths: “Xiangxue, have you… suffered some kind of shock?” Why are you talking nonsense?
Chu Xiangxue choked on her words, gritting her teeth after a long pause: “I’m not crazy!”