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墨書 Inktalez
"What the hell!" We were all stunned. Was this magic? I couldn't help but pinch Liu Zhi's cheek; it was real, not silicone! "Liu Zhi! How did you do that?!" the Third Company Commander asked in surprise. I added, "Third Company Commander, I thought this was the show you prepared! It's really a face-changing act—absolutely amazing, a true folk Freak!"
The Third Company Commander awkwardly replied, "Freak? What Freak? We were preparing a Sichuan opera face-changing performance, and Liu Zhi here is giving us a live demonstration of it!"
We gathered around Liu Zhi, some pinching his face while others leaned in closer to get a better look, making Liu Zhi's face turn red. Curiously, I asked him, "How did you manage that? You suddenly look like a different person."
Liu Zhi scratched his head shyly and said, "Actually, this is a family heirloom technique for changing faces. By kneading the facial muscles, I can control their distribution for a short time to alter my appearance. As for my voice, as long as I can tighten my throat, I can change it too."
"And your height?"
"I can shrink my bones; it's just a few centimeters of change. It's also a family tradition. My grandfather used to be a street performer in our early years. Through training, he mastered some skills to change body shape and facial features, and it has been passed down through generations. I learned this just for fun; sometimes I use it to trick people."
I suddenly realized, "Oh, now I understand! When you saw me earlier and ran away, you were changing your face! That's strange; were you scared of me?"
"Not really scared; just embarrassed to see you," Liu Zhi lowered his head.
"What's there to be embarrassed about?" I said dismissively.
"Ah, but this is an incredible skill!" the Third Company Commander interjected. "Well then, we have another item added to the evening program!"
I felt so frustrated; not only did I come to the Three Teams without any gains, but I also helped someone else start a show! After lamenting with the Third Company Commander about Liu Zhi for a while longer, I took my leave and planned to return to the Unit to discuss the program with Old Tang.
When I got back to the Unit and told Old Tang about Liu Zhi, he was left speechless for half a minute. He had never heard of or seen such an extraordinary person before and wanted to rush over immediately to see for himself. I had to remind him that we still had two programs that weren't ready yet; if we wanted to enjoy the spectacle, we needed to handle our current tasks first.
After sitting together for a while longer, Old Tang suddenly shouted, "I've got it!" I looked at him in surprise and asked, "Old Tang, what do you have?"
"I have a program!"
"What program?"
"Face Change!"
"What?" I thought Old Tang had taken something wrong.
"What kind of face change can we perform?!"
"Haha, you don't know yet. Don't worry about it; just leave it to me. I'm responsible for one program. You take care of the other!"
I couldn't understand what Old Tang was up to, but since he was insistent, I had no choice but to come up with another program myself. Fortunately, I had been a key member of the student council in college and had seen a few performances. I planned to stage a pantomime depicting a day in the life of a squad leader and his soldiers, showcasing the new recruits' tense yet orderly lives and their mixed feelings of fear and respect towards their leader through several short scenes lasting just over ten minutes.
After finalizing four programs, I reported them to the camp. The evening performance would not have rehearsals; it would be an authentic impromptu show by the soldiers, ensuring that both good and bad performances were fairly judged. There was no complicated order either; simply, each company would present one program in sequence from Company One to Company Three, repeating this three times until all programs were completed, which would take about an hour.
In the following days, our unit was exceptionally busy. Besides regular training, we also had to work overtime rehearsing our programs. The first program was simple—a choir. When I submitted the program list, I informed Old Tang about it and arranged for him to be the choir conductor. During rehearsals, Old Tang took charge effectively. After a couple of sessions, the choir became quite impressive; starting with this would set a great tone for our New Recruits Company’s atmosphere and identity.
On the other hand, Old Tang kept his face-changing act a secret from me. I noticed that whether during training or in daily life, he always carried a camera around the unit, snapping photos even during lunch breaks and evenings. I was quite curious about what ideas he was concocting.
However, I was also busy developing the script for the pantomime and couldn’t pay much attention to what Old Tang was up to. For the pantomime, I decided to cast Xuanhua as the squad leader; his clumsy yet introverted nature suited the role well and added a comedic effect. As for the three new recruits, I planned to use Sheng Xiong, Mo Ping, and another recruit from the city to represent three distinct characters: strong but simple-minded, obediently honest, and clever yet sly. To avoid disrupting training schedules, we could only rehearse during lunch breaks. Thankfully, since it was a natural performance, these four did quite well; eighty percent of their acting reflected real-life experiences while I added some exaggerated elements for stage effect.
As we got caught up in preparations, time flew by quickly until we reached the night before the performance.
After dinner, I checked the time—it was just before six o'clock. We were scheduled to gather at seven-thirty and enter by seven-forty-five; there was still some time left. I instructed the duty Squad Leader to blow a whistle downstairs to notify everyone to rest in the barracks.
I poured myself a glass of water and sat in the Company Headquarters meeting room watching soldiers return in small groups after dinner when suddenly a wave of nostalgia hit me. When people are busy, they often don’t think much about things; but when things quiet down unexpectedly, many thoughts come rushing back.
I realized another year had passed without me noticing; it had been two Spring Festivals since I last returned home. Although I regularly called my family—being an only child didn’t make me particularly homesick—on this special day, thoughts of home filled me with longing. I wished to be with my family watching the Spring Festival Gala together while enjoying food and drinks as we ushered in another year.
I wondered how my family would celebrate this year. Last year when I wasn’t home, my parents felt quite down during the festivities; they found watching the Spring Festival Gala particularly dull without me around, which made me feel terrible inside when I learned about it. After pondering for a moment, I took out my phone and called home. It rang briefly before being answered.
"Son, have you eaten yet?" It was my mother’s voice.
"I just finished eating. Mom, where are you planning to have dinner this year?"
"This year it's your turn, Fourth Uncle's family for the gathering. I'm preparing dinner for your dad; he hasn't come back yet." Fourth Uncle is my Aunt Four, and my mom is Old San.
"I can't go back this year because I'm with the new recruits. Mom, how are you and Dad spending New Year's Eve?" Even though I had already informed the family that I wouldn't be taking leave this year, I still felt a bit apologetic.
"We'll go to relatives' houses to socialize, play some cards, and chat. After dinner, we'll head home to watch the Spring Festival Gala."
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say, so I just responded with a simple "oh." In truth, I really wanted to go back and see them. It had been a year and a half since I left home at the end of July 2000.
"It's okay if you can't come back; work is important! But how tiring is it to train the new recruits? Are they easy to manage? Don't be too hard on them; they're all precious kids..." Mom started her usual "nagging."
I listened quietly without speaking, but my eyes began to moisten slowly. The sadness came from two places: one was the love of a mother; a child travels a thousand miles while the mother worries. The second was for those of us in the military. I know that a country can remain at peace forever, but it cannot be without soldiers for even a moment. Someone has to serve; some will be stationed at places like Border Island or Plateau Region during the New Year. It’s fine; even if we are just one soldier on an island reef, as long as we are there! Even if we do nothing, it is still a contribution to our country and our people! There are always people in society who claim that soldiers are useless in peacetime, and others who insist that soldiers don’t need benefits or pay. Some think that those who serve are foolish… There are too many prejudices, and many groups in society lack an objective understanding of this special group of people. At that moment, my feelings about this profession were mixed. Well, since I am part of this group, regardless of what others think, let us protect our families!
...
After hanging up the phone, I was lost in thought for a moment. When Sheng Xiong came to remind me of the assembly time, I hadn’t fully processed everything yet. The switch from son to Company Commander was too sudden. I forced a smile, checked the time, and said, "Notify the Duty Squad Leader; assemble the whole company!"
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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