Chapter 3: Military Dog Squad

  After being assigned to the platoon, life became dull and uneventful.

  The military dog squadron is located in the deepest part of our troops' mountain, and it's so remote to prevent infectious diseases and training needs. The whole team has less than thirty people, and the environment is also very old, with 80s-style old buildings.

  When I first arrived here, I was a bit regretful. It's too remote and there are few people. Usually, there isn't even anyone to talk to.

  When the work was assigned, I was assigned to the training class as a deputy class leader. Since two pregnant dogs had not yet given birth, there were no puppies of my own for the time being, so I followed several old class leaders to familiarize myself with the environment.

  The military dog squadron has more than 40 military dogs and 6 assistant training dogs. Except for the breeding dogs and the retired military dogs with meritorious service, there are less than 20 serving military dogs, all of which are German Shepherds, also known as "black backs".

  The breed of the military dogs is very pure, and their bloodline is also very pure. Two male dogs and five female dogs were all imported from Germany as pure breeds, they are specifically responsible for breeding, and do not participate in training during normal times. Their food expenses are 18.5 yuan per day, while our food expenses at that time were only 5.4 yuan per day.

  As I gained a deeper understanding, I gradually developed a clear understanding of military dogs. German Shepherds have good obedience, high IQ, medium to high body shape and sense of smell, suitable for patrol, guard, border defense, search and rescue, strong attack power, intelligent adult dogs can reach the intelligence quotient of a five-year-old child, and are loyal, not biting their masters.

  Troops in order to maintain the military dog breed does not flow out, and special service environment needs. Plus the emotional instability of dogs, so every serving dog is neutered, regardless of male or female!

  So, when people are selling dogs or buying dogs from dog dealers, they often boast that their dogs are from the army, haha, but those are just boasts. The authentic military dogs' service period is only four years, from the second year to the sixth year after birth. Only those with outstanding achievements can have their retirement delayed. After retirement, if there are no outstanding achievements, they will be euthanized. This point has always made me feel uneasy, but fortunately, most military dogs in service can achieve some merit and spend their later years in peace. So, the rule of euthanasia is just a regulation, and it has never been implemented in our unit.

  In addition, each dog is ear-numbered after birth and filed in the archives, with a pedigree tracing back to three generations, that is, from the grandparents' generation.

  The name of a military dog is not randomly given. For example, the breeding mother dog is called "Zhonghua". The first word of her offspring's name must contain "Hua". The names of military dogs are generally unknown to outsiders, and trainers will not casually tell others the dog's name. Because if you know the military dog's name and call it by its name, its vigilance will decrease, and it won't actively attack you!

  Those were the most depressing days when I was helping to feed dogs in the breeding class. If I went home, my family asked me what work I was doing in the army, and if I said that I was feeding dogs in a special forces unit? This doesn't sound too good either, it's basically no different from those who raise pigs and farm.

  Luckily, Jin Gang didn't forget me, his comrade who swept the pigpen with him for half a year, and comes to chat with me every now and then.

  At first, I was really moved by this guy, but later I found out that he had a regular pattern of visiting me. Every Tuesday and Friday evening, he would come over without fail. And these two days were the days when our squad cooked bones for the dogs. Our squad's dogs are fed twice a day, at 10 am and 4 pm, with 8 ounces of granular feed each time, soaked in bone soup. Every week, the quartermaster would go to the market to buy bones for the dogs, four whole pig skeletons each time, and Jin Gang Cannon was coming just for the meaty bones.

  As time went on, this guy didn't dare to come and eat for free all the time, so he came much less often than before.

  "Lao Yu, I've got something good for you." One night, Jin Gang Pao came again, mysteriously pulling out a newspaper package.

  "What?" I paused by the stove adding firewood.

  "Ginseng fruit." Jin Gang opened the newspaper. Inside the newspaper was a piece of plant root as thick as a wrist, over 20 cm long, with a shape resembling a human figure, complete with eyebrows, eyes, limbs and body, and even more exaggeratedly, there were small genitals, unfortunately, the legs were broken off at the knee.

  "Where did it come from?" I took it and examined it closely.

  "A while ago when I was patrolling the power grid, I saw it being washed out by rainwater, half of it came out, but with a bit of effort, it didn't come out completely, and one piece broke off." Jin Gang Pao replied.

  "It's not ginseng, but it looks a bit like He Shou Wu." I flipped through the plant roots in my hand. My grandfather is a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and I have some knowledge of medicinal materials. This root looks similar to He Shou Wu, but its head is unusually large.

  "Put it in the pot and stewed together, maybe after eating can live forever." Jin Gang Pao looked at the big pot that had already emitted a meat fragrance.

  "Ginseng grows on the water-polished slippery tree, but this one is black and was dug up from the ground. Moreover, even if it were true, this thing has a broken leg, you'd have to dig out the whole leg to eat it." Actually, I didn't think that eating this would make me immortal, I just let him go dig up the remaining half out of curiosity, wanting to see what's going on.

  "Let's go, it just so happens that tomorrow is Saturday again, I'll take you to have a look!" Jin Gang Pao grabbed a leg bone and stuffed it into his mouth.

  It was originally just a temporary curiosity, but who knew that following Jin Gang Pao would thoroughly change the trajectory of his life and cause strong turmoil in his materialistic worldview!