Gao Linbing watched the new recruits running under the scorching sun with sandbags strapped to them and laughed, saying to Qi Taiguo beside him, "You've got guts. These guys are all fresh here, and you're putting them through such an ordeal right off the bat. Aren't you afraid they'll hold a grudge against you?"
Qi Taiguo replied, "A deputy battalion commander afraid of some rookies? How would I survive then?"
Gao Linbing chuckled, "A few of them came from military academies, and they're quite the hotheads. I heard they have quite the backgrounds."
Qi Taiguo smirked and said, "I'm not afraid of them being hotheads; I'm just afraid they'll be useless softies who look tough but aren't."
"It's a heavy responsibility, but you've got to temper these sons of the military a bit. Keep it up, brother!" Gao Linbing patted his shoulder and added, "By the way, Old Zhou said he wants to come back next month for the Mid-Autumn Festival and get together with our comrades."
