Chapter 414: He Never Considered Us His Soldiers
The young soldier looked anxiously at Zhuang Wan, wiping his hands repeatedly on his uniform.
Feeling a pang of sadness, Zhuang Wan comforted him, “Just finish eating. I’ll prepare a separate portion for your squad leader. Go on, eat up.”
When Su Tao arrived at the cafeteria with the others and learned about the recent incident, she immediately asked Fang Zhi to prepare a box of chocolate energy bars. They were dense, high in calories, and perfect for curbing hunger.
She handed the box to the young soldier and told him to share it with his comrades as a late-night snack.
The young soldier panicked and shook his head vigorously.
“No, no, no—if Regiment Commander Dang finds out, he’ll…he’ll…” He didn’t dare finish the sentence, but the fear in his eyes spoke volumes.
Su Tao reassured him, “Your regiment commander has to listen to me. If I say you can take these back, he can’t say anything. If he gives you trouble, I’ll have your back.”
Trembling, the young soldier reluctantly accepted the box.
He already knew Su Tao was the infamous “Boss Su.” However, her youthful appearance made it hard for him to reconcile the image of a kind, approachable girl with the harsh and authoritarian Regiment Commander Dang. The thought of carrying a whole box of food back terrified him—he feared that if caught, both he and Su Tao would face harsh punishment.
But the memory of his hungry squad leader and comrades gnawed at his heart. Knowing how they struggled every day, barely surviving on water and dry rations, he gritted his teeth and took the box.
Su Tao patted his shoulder. “Go on. Tao Yang won’t ignore what’s happening to you all.”
Still trembling, the young soldier carried the box back to the dormitory.
As he approached the barracks, his courage wavered again. Just the thought of being discovered by Regiment Commander Dang made his legs shake. If caught, he wouldn’t be the only one punished—his entire squad would suffer.
After much deliberation, he decided to dismantle the box. Piece by piece, he stuffed the energy bars into every available space in his clothing—even filling the waistband of his underwear. Every bar was precious; each one could stave off hunger for hours.
By the time he sneaked past the patrol and returned to his dormitory, his back was soaked with sweat, and his teeth chattered from the nerves.
As soon as the door shut behind him, he shook himself, and energy bars rained to the floor.
For a moment, the room fell into stunned silence.
Without hesitation, the squad leader scrambled to gather the bars, stuffing them under the blankets. With wide, alarmed eyes, he demanded, “Where did you get these?”
The young soldier pulled another bar from his waistband, tore open the wrapper, and tried to push it into his squad leader’s mouth, his eyes red with tears.
“Eat it! Please, just eat it!”
But the squad leader held his hand firmly, his face serious.
“This isn’t a joke. Regiment Commander Dang strictly forbade us from accepting anything from Tao Yang—especially food. Just yesterday, a soldier from another squad was caught taking a loaf of bread from one of the tenants. He was thrown in the brig—starved for two days as punishment!”
Hearing this, the young soldier trembled, tears finally spilling over. Days of pent-up frustration broke through.
“Why?! Tao Yang isn’t lacking in food! Boss Su took me to their cafeteria today—they have so much food. There were pork cutlets and fresh green vegetables! I asked her, and she said it’s affordable—we could easily eat there! So why is he starving us? Why is he so cruel?”
The squad leader immediately clamped a hand over the young soldier’s mouth.
“Quiet!” he hissed. “You actually met Boss Su?”
The young soldier nodded furiously.
“And…did she say anything else?”
Still sniffling, the young soldier managed to whisper, “She said Tao Yang won’t ignore us.”
At that, the squad leader exhaled a long breath of relief.
Thank goodness Boss Su was on their side. If she were anything like Regiment Commander Dang, their suffering would never end.
The young soldier once again tried to push the energy bar toward his squad leader. “You didn’t eat dinner…”
Finally, after a pause, the squad leader took a small bite. The rich chocolate and crunchy nuts filled his mouth with warmth and comfort—it was the most satisfying thing he’d eaten in days.
That night, each soldier in the dorm quietly ate their share of the energy bars under their blankets, saving the rest to secretly distribute among their comrades during morning drills.
Before bed, the young soldier crept over to his squad leader’s bunk and softly asked, “Aren’t we Regiment Commander Dang’s soldiers? Boss Su cares about us—why doesn’t he? I heard he was always strict, but…this is too much. I don’t think I can take it anymore.”
In the darkness, the squad leader’s voice was low and distant.
“He never considered us his soldiers. Now, get some sleep.”
He turned to face the wall, but rest didn’t come easily.
Unlike the young soldier, the squad leader understood the truth—Regiment Commander Dang had no intention of staying in Tao Yang. His heart was still set on returning to Changjing. And since the independent regiment would never follow him back, he didn’t care about their well-being. If anything, he seemed determined to break them down.
Meanwhile, outside the military base, Su Tao waited for over an hour.
She had expected the box of energy bars to stir up a storm—to provoke Regiment Commander Dang into confronting her directly. She was ready for a fight, her anger simmering just below the surface.
But the base remained eerily quiet, and her frustration only grew as time ticked by.
Another hour passed with no reaction. Cheeks puffed with irritation, she finally gave up and stomped back to Tao Yang.
Seated in his wheelchair, Zhou Yushan couldn’t help but chuckle at her fuming expression.
“If you’re this angry, why not report him to the President? You have the authority to go directly to him.”
Su Tao waved her hand dismissively. “That’s just petty tattling. I already get enough flak for being young and female—playing childish tricks would only make things worse.”
But inwardly, she added, I’m not above tattling—but only when it really counts.
Regiment Commander Dang wasn’t worth wasting that card on.
Ming Xiaobo, Zhou Yushan’s apprentice, punched the air twice. “Want me to rough him up a bit?”
Zhou Yushan shot him a look. “Your brute strength won’t cut it. Don’t worry—I’ll talk to him tomorrow afternoon. Boss Su, just arrange a meeting for us.”
Su Tao nodded, curious. “Do you really think you can convince him?”
She wasn’t asking for much—just basic decency. Surely, even Regiment Commander Dang could agree to let his soldiers eat properly.
Zhou Yushan’s lips curved into a faint smile. “I can make him not want to stay any longer.”
