Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 92 - 83: The First Day

Chapter 92: Chapter 83: The First Day

It was their first meal after arriving at Army A, consisting of cabbage and pork stewed with glass noodles served with rice and steamed buns, featuring pork belly with fat.

As they lined up to get their meal boxes and serve themselves, the sound of swallowing was incessant—a true temptation for most of the female soldiers.

In an ordinary household, cabbage and glass noodles might not be coveted, but pork was rare, and so were rice and steamed buns. Most families ate cornbread or buns mixed with cornmeal. As for rice, few northern families felt they could afford to consume it regularly.

Facing the allure of delicious food, even though male soldiers’ glances occasionally drifted over their way, the female soldiers did not behave as shyly, curiously, or reservedly as they might on the streets. They sat down with their bowls, and as soon as the Squad Leader said they could start, most of them ate with a speed that surely matched the male soldiers.

"Hey, can’t you be a bit more demure?" Yuan Mengmeng scowled disdainfully at the loudest eater at the table, Sun Shangmei. "Is this the first time you’ve ever eaten?"

"Hulala..." The slurping of cabbage soup continued unabated.

"Hey!" Sensing the jeering glances of the male soldiers across the aisle, Yuan Mengmeng frowned and poked Sun Shangmei with her chopsticks. "No one’s stealing your food, can’t you slow down? You’re embarrassing us all!"

"I’m here to be a soldier, not to act like everyone’s darling," Sun Shangmei continued to shovel rice into her mouth without looking up.

"You..." Yuan Mengmeng glared at her hatefully, suddenly stood up, and clapped her hands twice, "If you want to see how a pig eats, look over here."

Feeling the intense stares all pointed at her, Sun Shangmei’s face flushed red. She had seven siblings, and if you ate slowly at her home, you went hungry. Hence, she was accustomed to eating quickly and never felt it was disgraceful.

But being singled out and watched by so many changed things!

Being a proud girl, she couldn’t tolerate such an insult. Without thinking, she threw a punch straight at Yuan Mengmeng’s face.

Caught off guard and gloating, Yuan Mengmeng took a solid punch, and blood began to drip from her nose...

"You peasant!" Yuan Mengmeng screamed and lunged at Sun Shangmei.

Qiao Ningyi grabbed Yuan Mengmeng firmly, "You want to be the center of attention on your first day of reporting?"

Fuming and unable to vent, Yuan Mengmeng glared at Qiao Ningyi with ferocious eyes. "Are you taking sides? Why didn’t you stop her when she was hitting me?"

"Was there time?" Qiao Ningyi snorted coldly. She had no idea they could start fighting at the drop of a hat. This foreshadowed how tough her role as the Squad Leader would be!

"How come there was time to stop me then?"

"What do you think?" Qiao Ningyi frowned, "Enough. If you want to discredit yourself, do it back at the dorm, not here, where you’ll be a spectator sport."

Yang Xiaoli lightly tugged at Yuan Mengmeng, "Let’s eat."

"Yeah." The previously flushed and flustered Yuan Mengmeng responded meekly like a docile cat, picking up her chopsticks and starting to eat as tears fell.

Sun Shangmei scoffed, about to add a few more words, but noticing Zeng Meili, who had approached the table with a stern face, she guiltily withdrew her remaining words and bowed her head to continue picking at her rice.

"Sun Shangmei, Yuan Mengmeng, come to my office after you finish eating."

"Yes!"

The two quickly stood up, responded in unison, then dejectedly sat back down.

...

"Hehe, to be punished on the first day, that’s quite bold."

"What do you know? It’s about catching the leadership’s attention, you know?"

"Does this method really help in catching the leadership’s attention?"

"Maybe it doesn’t help with the leadership, but it surely does with the male soldiers."

"Haha... are you also planning to use this method to find yourself a husband?"

"I’d never be so shameless, you shameless thing. Don’t tell me you want to try it too?"

"If I can’t find a decent husband’s family in a few years, I might just follow suit."

"You shameless creature."

"..."

Ten people stood under the large sun in the main lane of the military region. The passing female soldiers gossiped pointedly, sourly, and sharply, while the male soldiers listened intently, some even smirking secretly...

"Sun Shangmei, if it weren’t for you, would all of us need to face such humiliation across the entire military region? You jinx!" Yuan Mengmeng said spitefully.

"You dragged everyone down and now you’re trying to pin the blame on me? Have you no shame?" Sun Shangmei retorted unyieldingly.