Autumn outing?

With mountain vegetation turning slightly yellow and the crisp autumn air, getting together with close friends to climb suburban mountains, resting halfway up when tired, taking out prepared food, enjoying nature’s infinite scenery while eating delicious food and appreciating autumn views – that’s what you’d call an autumn outing.

But carrying pots, bowls, and ladles, could that be called an autumn outing?

Without distinguishing between male and female students, everyone carrying 10 kilograms – this wasn’t an autumn outing, this was load training!

Besides the 10-kilogram backpack, everyone had to carry a Type 56 rifle, a weapon they were all familiar with from target practice. Though there were no bullets, carrying both the field pack and rifle made everyone feel like a real soldier!

Just leaving the military camp, some were still smiling brightly, especially the male students. After these days of tough training, the combined weight of the field pack and Type 56 rifle, around 15 kilograms, wasn’t much of a burden to them.

Compared to the monotonous training in camp, this kind of field exercise was certainly more entertaining.

The female students found 15 kilograms quite heavy but could manage at first.

In late September, with the crisp autumn air, the massive group followed the flag bearer’s lead at the front. Gradually, many began feeling uncomfortable. Their shoes were soaked – constant walking had drenched their socks, and the poorly ventilated shoes became humid and stuffy, making them feel like they would explode from discomfort.

And the pack on their backs – why did it feel so heavy?

Xia Xiaolan’s breathing was becoming irregular. Though she appeared delicate, she paid special attention to physical exercise and had above-average fitness among girls her age. If even she felt tired, one could imagine how others felt.

The petite Lu Yan was almost crushed by her large field pack.

Seeing her stumbling while walking, Xia Xiaolan said, “Give me your rifle!”

She couldn’t take Lu Yan’s entire backpack – another 15 kilograms would make Xia Xiaolan collapse on the spot. But carrying an extra rifle was bearable if she gritted her teeth.

Lu Yan spoke between heavy breaths: “I… I can… still… manage.”

Managing, my foot.

Zhou Limin was most adapted to this heat, being from Canton which was naturally hot. Though she was also exhausted, she was better off than Lu Yan.

“Let’s all share your load, each person carrying a bit extra, and you can pretend to carry an empty pack – the instructors won’t notice!”

Lu Yan wasn’t just petite; she was also the youngest in the dormitory, having just turned 17 this year. By modern standards, in Room 307, only Lu Yan was underage, and everyone unconsciously took extra care of her.

The commotion among the female students caught the attention of their male classmates.

At the start of school, they had been shy about talking to female classmates, but after these days of military training, everyone had become familiar.

Architecture Class 2 only had five female students among dozens of male students – couldn’t they help carry some luggage? Before Xia Xiaolan could help share Lu Yan’s load, even her field pack was taken by the boys from Class 2. The instructors certainly saw this commotion but didn’t intervene at all!

Xia Xiaolan vaguely felt that the instructors’ expressions were even somewhat gratified.

What was the purpose of field load training?

Besides testing willpower and physical fitness, perhaps it was also about character.

Though they emphasized everyone carrying their field packs before setting out when someone truly couldn’t manage, wasn’t it natural for “comrades” to lend a helping hand? The Architecture Department’s initiative influenced the entire group, and soon basically no female students were carrying their packs. Even in departments with more females than males, what did it matter if they weren’t from the same department or class? They were all part of the “Tsinghua” collective – helping female classmates carry their packs… no problem!

The female students couldn’t completely feel at ease letting the male students carry their loads.

Carrying their rifles became their final bottom line.

Someone started singing military songs, which soon turned into group singing. Even with hoarse voices and labored breathing, they kept shouting. Though it was more physically demanding, they drew strength to persevere from the group singing. Xia Xiaolan joined in, her throat burning, her steps heavy, but her spirit refusing to yield!

Zhou Cheng frequently looked back, constantly worried that Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t be able to continue.

Brief rests were necessary, but he couldn’t order long breaks just because of Xia Xiaolan. How long between rests and where the destination was had all been discussed and agreed upon by the training instructors.

Finally, a long whistle sounded!

“Prepare to make camp, we’ll continue after eating!”

Though everyone thought they couldn’t persist, they had reached the camping spot.

The instructors said they had walked 20 kilometers that morning, all mountain paths, and pride was written on every student’s face. They were exhausted but incredibly proud. When it came to setting up camp and cooking, the male students were too tired to move – even sharing the carrying of the field packs, they had barely managed to reach the campsite.

So what to do?

The camp was beside a small river, convenient for water. Regarding setting up the stoves, though Xia Xiaolan didn’t want to move either, she finally massaged her lead-filled feet.

“Classmates, I have a suggestion – why don’t we let the male students rest a while, and we female students handle the cooking?”

The girls were tired too.

But they were one collective, needing to be considerate of each other.

Xia Xiaolan’s suggestion won everyone’s approval.

The male students felt quite embarrassed, but with the female students taking the initiative, they tried their best to help, lifting stones to build stoves and gathering dry firewood nearby. Seeing his future wife still in good spirits, Zhou Cheng felt proud of her too, and pulled aside an instructor to emphasize:

“Don’t let them touch anything from the mountains – most people can’t distinguish which mushrooms are poisonous.”

In September, wild mushrooms could still be found in the North Hebei mountains, but Zhou Cheng didn’t dare let students eat these things – a few poisonous mushrooms mixed with many non-poisonous ones could be disastrous if eaten.

Yang Yonghong felt quite disappointed.

She had planned to do this and had tried to convince the Room 307 residents to join her. How could Yang Yonghong not know what mushrooms grew near Kong Family Village? She wasn’t the only student from North Hebei province among the freshmen, but once the instructor spoke, all the other students who had been itching to try also gave up the idea.

Xiong Baiyan and several male students had directly challenged Zhou Cheng before. Though Zhou Cheng had won against him, the gap wasn’t very obvious, and in marksmanship, he had even tied with Ji Jiangyuan.

Always wearing a cold expression, as if someone owed him money!

“Old Ji, shall we take a walk? Look how hard everyone’s worked today – if we catch some wild game, we could add something extra to everyone’s meal.”

Ji Jiangyuan was tempted.

He was inherently bold, otherwise, why would he play with guns?

“Wild game, you mean wild boar? Wouldn’t that be dangerous? We’re carrying rifles, but there are no bullets.”

Target practice training had been very strict – they counted bullet casings for however many rounds were issued for practice, fearing someone might hide bullets and cause trouble. Xiong Baiyan chuckled: “With all the noise we’re making, we might only scare some pheasants into hiding in their nests waiting for us to catch them. Are you thinking of encountering a wild boar? Impossible!”

Several male students left the campsite under the pretense of gathering firewood.

After quite a while without returning, the instructor responsible for them became anxious.

“Let’s go look for them.”

Zhou Cheng patted the instructor’s shoulder, indicating not to alarm the main group to avoid causing panic among the students.