What a coincidence! There are three soldiers named "Zhang Shuo" in a battalion, and so many interesting things happened.

On a early spring morning, three soldiers named "Zhang Shuo" were active at the training ground of the Gansu Armed Police Corps Pingliang Detachment—

At the 400-meter obstacle training ground of the Kongtong Squad, Private Zhang Shuo took a deep breath and accelerated towards the single-log bridge, his steps steady; dozens of kilometers away at the Chongxin Squad, another Private Zhang Shuo skillfully completed a "roll-up" on the horizontal bar, earning cheers from his comrades. Meanwhile, Private Zhang Shuo from the Zhuanglang Squad was at the tactical training ground, discussing the techniques for crawling through obstacles with his teammates.

During their time in the recruit company, the three soldiers named Zhang Shuo participated in a sprint competition together (the one on the left is the current soldier Zhang Shuo from the Chongxin Squad, the one in the middle is the current soldier Zhang Shuo from the Kongtong Squad, and the one on the right is the current soldier Zhang Shuo from the Zhuanglang Squad)

It has been several days since the recruits joined the company, and the three Privates with the same name have begun to write their own military stories at their respective posts. Because of the special fate of having the same name, they have packed away those interesting and warm stories from their "initial soldier days."

Last autumn, on a train traveling from Henan to the northwest, when the personnel officer was counting the new recruits, the name "Zhang Shuo" was called out three times in a row. Even more coincidentally, not only do the three share the same name, but they also come from the same county, and after arriving at the unit, they were assigned to the same recruit company.

Having three soldiers with the same name in the same company has led to many amusing "little episodes."

During the first evening roll call in the recruit company, the duty officer called out: "Zhang Shuo!"

"Here!" "Here!" "Here!" The three responses rang out almost simultaneously, loud and clear. The duty officer was taken aback but quickly realized: having three "Zhang Shuo" in one company cannot go without distinction! Later, during roll call, each "Zhang Shuo" had to have their class added before their name.

Because of their identical names, the three "Zhang Shuo" became particularly close, competing with each other on the training ground and caring for each other off the training ground.

During a 3000-meter run baseline test, the Zhang Shuo from Class Two turned pale and struggled to finish, barely making it to the end. That night, he sat silently on a bench in the study room, head down.

The Zhang Shuo from Class Three and the Zhang Shuo from Class Seven noticed and sat down beside him, one on the left and one on the right. "Everyone starts like this; when I couldn't finish my run, I felt like the sky was falling," said the Zhang Shuo from Class Three, patting his shoulder.

"You need to lose some weight first; otherwise, the pressure on your joints will be too much," suggested the Zhang Shuo from Class Seven, who had studied medicine. "Let's set a plan; I'll help you adjust your diet, and we can add extra practice in the evenings."

Starting the next day, the silhouettes of the three "Zhang Shuo" running together appeared on the playground after dusk. In the equipment area, they also took turns helping to lift and protect each other... Before each extra practice, they encouraged each other: "With three 'Zhang Shuo' together, we can't fall behind."

The mutual competition and assistance were not only reflected in training. During the internal affairs evaluation, the blankets of the three "Zhang Shuo" also became the focus of everyone's attention. The blanket of the Zhang Shuo from Class Two was not crisp enough, so the Zhang Shuo from Class Seven used his break time to help him repeatedly pinch the seams and corners. The bed sheet of the Zhang Shuo from Class Three was not flat enough, so the Zhang Shuo from Class Two shared his "secret technique."

Through repeated mutual encouragement and assistance, the bond between the three "Zhang Shuo" deepened, and changes and progress quietly occurred. After a few months in the recruit company, the Zhang Shuo from Class Two lost 20 kilograms, and his 3000-meter run passed the passing line; the Zhang Shuo from Class Three improved his parallel bar performance from zero to over ten; the Zhang Shuo from Class Seven nearly doubled his push-up score!

After joining the company, although they were assigned to different squads, all three "Zhang Shuo" performed exceptionally well. The Zhang Shuo from the Kongtong Squad had good endurance, always leading in the 3000-meter run; the Zhang Shuo from the Chongxin Squad had outstanding coordination, often demonstrating during equipment training; and the Zhang Shuo from the Zhuanglang Squad, having studied medicine, became the "health consultant" of the class. When mentioning them, the leading cadres said: these three "Zhang Shuo" are all good seeds!

Although they no longer train and live together, the three "Zhang Shuo" are still fully committed to growing and improving, and they all share a surprisingly consistent thought: since we are all named "Zhang Shuo," we cannot bring shame to this name!

Source: PLA Daily

Author: Wang Zhiguo

Images: Zou Jiajun