147: Armed training exercise of 20 kilometers.

"At the time, Mom intended for the entire pension to go to your mother. It wasn't easy for her raising two sons, and your Second Uncle agreed to this. But he never gave that money to your mother..."

What?

"I learned this when I previously sent someone to the City Name to demand the money meant for your Paternal Grandmother, around the time they beat up Xiao Dong..."

"So my mother never received this pension, and the people on my Maternal Grandparents' side thought my Paternal Grandmother's family had taken all the pension money, which is why they left with my mother and Older Brothers and never contacted them again."

Regiment Commander Wang nodded.

"That should be the case."

Xiao Niannian talked with Uncle Wang for quite a while.

"I asked this afternoon. The Division Headquarters will have a vehicle heading to the Reconnaissance Battalion at 7:30 later, and I already arranged for you to take the ride back."

"Okay."

Xiao Niannian looked at her watch; the time was almost up.

"Uncle, I'm heading back."

"Alright, don't worry about your Paternal Grandmother here. Your uncle and Aunt will take care of her."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle."

Xiao Niannian went to the entrance of the Family Courtyard and saw that the Division Headquarters' vehicle had already arrived.

"You are Comrade Xiao, right?"

Xiao Niannian smiled and nodded at the comrade.

"I am Luo Zhu, a soldier who served under Squad Leader Li. I've heard him praise you several times..."

"Hello, Squad Leader Luo."

Squad Leader Luo looked at Xiao Niannian and cheerfully ushered her into the car.

"Squad Leader Luo, have some candy."

Xiao Niannian took out two candies from her pocket, along with a small bag of pastries brought back from the Capital City.

"Thank you, Comrade Xiao."

Squad Leader Luo hadn't expected Xiao Niannian to be so polite.

"These hawthorns were sent from my hometown. Please try them."

"Thank you, Squad Leader Luo."

Squad Leader Luo was a talkative person, and he started telling Xiao Niannian stories about his time serving under Squad Leader Li.

"Squad Leader Li used to be so strict..."

Hearing Squad Leader Luo talk about how strict Squad Leader Li used to be, Xiao Niannian actually felt that Squad Leader Li wasn't as strict as he claimed.

However, some people's temperaments change between their youth and middle age.

After arriving at the Reconnaissance Battalion, Xiao Niannian returned to the dormitory.

The comrades-in-arms were extremely happy to see Xiao Niannian.

"Niannian, you're back!"

Zhao You and Cao Huan quickly ran over.

Xiao Niannian handed them a bag she was holding.

"Something I brought back for you to eat."

"Thank you, Niannian."

They knew Xiao Niannian had gone on a mission, but they didn't know where.

"Niannian, we missed you so much."

"Niannian, you're amazing! You're the first person in our squad to go on a mission."

They were in the Logistics Support Platoon, and they rarely went out on missions, at most following the battalion to transport supplies.

So they felt that Xiao Niannian was an exceptionally outstanding person.

"Niannian, did you encounter any danger along the way?"

Squad Leader Xu spoke up.

"Missions must be kept confidential. Don't ask."

Zhao You and Cao Huan widened their eyes when they heard this and quickly apologized.

"We're sorry, we forgot for a moment."

"We're sorry, let's talk about something else."

As new recruits, they indeed didn't understand these things well yet.

"Remember from now on, you must memorize the confidentiality regulations..."

Squad Leader Xu instructed them.

"Squad Leader, we remember."

"Squad Leader, I will keep it firmly in mind."

Seeing their good attitude, Squad Leader Xu nodded.

"You can continue chatting and eating."

Xiao Niannian handed the pastries to Squad Leader Xu. Squad Leader Xu took them and said thank you.

Everyone ate the snacks Xiao Niannian brought back for a while, then they heard the assembly whistle.

Xiao Niannian immediately put her things away and ran out with the others.

"Tonight, we are having night training: an Armed Cross-Country March of Twenty Kilometers."

Hearing this, many people widened their eyes.

Xiao Niannian didn't react much upon hearing this. In her original world, an Armed Cross-Country March of Twenty Kilometers was considered the simplest training. They usually did fifty kilometers, or even a hundred kilometers, and had trained in snow mountains, large forests, and deserts... "You have five minutes. Gather here after five minutes..."

"Dismissed."

Hearing this, everyone immediately ran.

Xiao Niannian and her comrades-in-arms returned to the dormitory and quickly packed their backpacks.

After packing her own backpack, Xiao Niannian helped several comrades-in-arms pack theirs.

They returned to the assembly point and stood in position. Xiao Niannian saw there was still half a minute left.

"Luckily we made it. No tardiness."

"Five minutes—I bet a lot of people will be late today."

"The round trip alone takes three to five minutes."

Xiao Niannian listened to the chatter of her other comrades-in-arms. She stood by and saw a team of people running over not far away.

"Shh."

The whistle sounded.

"You few are late. Fifty push-ups."

"Company Commander, we didn't mean to."

"Company Commander..."

"One hundred push-ups."

Hearing this, the expressions of these Female Comrades grew even uglier.

Xiao Niannian saw that it was Hu Ping and Yang Fang.

She curled her lips. She hadn't expected that after so many days, they were still so useless.

However, they must have been punished often, as they still gritted their teeth and completed the one hundred push-ups.

They finally finished after about five minutes.

"Fall in."

Soon, the team set off.

Xiao Niannian had slept for several hours today, so she was very energetic. On the surface, she still carried some food in her backpack. She thought they might camp outside tonight.

The Battalion Commander and Political Instructor of the Reconnaissance Battalion could definitely pull something like this.

When they were stationed in the field previously, they even set up camp next to a graveyard.

Although they called it a twenty-kilometer march, they had to run there, and the commanders wouldn't let them take trucks back; they would definitely have to run back too.

Aside from the combat personnel in the Reconnaissance Battalion, the physical stamina of the others wasn't great.

Twenty kilometers might take them five or six hours.

By the time they ran back, it would be over ten hours.

Xiao Niannian ran along with the team.

Two hours later, they rested for fifteen minutes.

They hadn't even reached halfway, yet Xiao Niannian could already hear many people discussing it.

"Oh my god, we've been running for two hours, and we've only covered seven kilometers. Does that mean we have to run for six hours?"

"Six hours! My legs are going to be ruined."

"This is too exhausting."

"Why do support staff and communications personnel like us also have to do an armed march?"

"I really feel awful."

Xiao Niannian heard Hu Ping and Yang Fang complaining.

Fifteen minutes quickly passed, and the team started moving again.

After more than six hours, they reached the endpoint of the armed march.

As soon as they arrived, many people sat down on the ground.

"Get up quickly! Stretch, don't sit directly on the ground."

"Hurry, hurry, hurry."

Cadres from every company and platoon were shouting.

Xiao Niannian stretched for a while and took some food out of her backpack.

After running for six hours, she was indeed hungry.