Chapter 97: Third-class Merits As Common As Cabbage, Awards Piling Up
The regiment’s year-end grand competition lasted a total of three days, with all fifteen companies in the regiment sending competition teams to participate, completing competitions in three major subjects and fourteen projects.
Steel Seventh Company took first place in eleven individual events, becoming the biggest winner of this competition.
The undisputed first place!
The troops’ efficiency was extremely fast. All competition projects were completed by the morning of the third day, and the year-end competition commendation conference was held in the afternoon.
Steel Seventh Company performed so excellently that it turned the grand competition into a solo show, becoming the biggest winner of the competition.
It received special praise from the regiment commander right from the start.
Praise from all angles without any blind spots.
It was then officially and solemnly announced in public that Steel Seventh Company was the first place winner of this regiment competition.
The mobile red flag for first place in the regiment competition was also transferred from Red Third Company to Steel Seventh Company. The company commander of Red Third Company brought the red flag on stage and handed it over to the company commander of Steel Seventh Company under the witness of applause from the entire regiment.
Gao Cheng was very nervous, even more excited.
His hands were trembling slightly.
He solemnly took the red flag and held it high above his head. Seeing the envious gazes below and the applause like ocean waves, his mouth couldn’t stop grinning.
However, this was merely just the beginning.
Subsequently, the political commissar, representing the Political Department of Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment, personally awarded Steel Seventh Company the honorary title of “Pioneer Company of Brave and Martial Spirit” to commend its brave and martial spirit in the competition.
Regiment Commander Wang, representing the Regiment Headquarters of Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment, awarded Steel Seventh Company the honorary title of “First-Class Military Training Company.”
The competition team of Steel Seventh Company was also awarded “Collective Third-class Merit.”
Steel Seventh Company received so many brocade banners at once that Gao Cheng alone couldn’t hold them all, so he had to call Chen Jun and Wu Liu Yi up on stage.
Each of them held up a brocade banner with both hands—mentioning how glorious First Platoon looked was unnecessary.
Hundreds of people from the other companies below watched the grand scene, their eyes turning red with envy, yet not a single one had any objections.
Because they were convinced from the bottom of their hearts.
They were indeed no match for them.
After the company-level honors were awarded, next came a series of commendations for the outstanding performances of Steel Seventh Company’s competition team members in the competition.
The first to come on stage was Gao Cheng.
As the current company commander of Steel Seventh Company and the team leader of the competition team, he was the head of Steel Seventh Company, and the competition team’s results were closely tied to him.
Without Gao Cheng’s unconditional support, even Chen Jun’s abilities would have been in vain.
And because of his trust in Chen Jun, Gao Cheng gave birth to such a formidable competition team and was awarded the commendation of “Four-Haves Excellent Officer.”
He also earned third-class merit once!
This was the first time in all these years since Gao Cheng joined the troops that he earned third-class merit through his own abilities—no need to mention how happy he was inside.
His emotions were simply too intense; his eyes turned red with excitement.
He almost shed some tears.
Next up was Chen Jun, who broke multiple records. Due to his excessively outstanding performance, he was rated as “All-around Elite Soldier,” “Advanced Individual in Training,” and “Sharpshooter,” receiving three brocade banners at once.
He was also awarded individual third-class merit once.
He received so many brocade banners that Chen Jun alone couldn’t hold them all, so he had to pull all the competition team members on stage.
If it were anyone else receiving so many awards at once, they would probably be as excited as Gao Cheng, with trembling hands.
However, the battle-hardened Chen Jun remained very calm at this moment, smiling lightly as if it were nothing, with only three words in his heart—
“Not enough!!”
Next were the outstanding Wu Liu Yi and Cheng Cai, who performed slightly worse than him.
The two of them also broke multiple records and each took more than two individual first places, their strength unmatched in the entire regiment.
Therefore, they received the same rewards and were both rated as “Excellent Training Model” and “Sharpshooter.”
They were also each awarded one third-class merit.
The remaining competition team members who participated in the competition didn’t perform as outstandingly, but compared to competitors from other companies, some had individual highlights.
They too were awarded various prizes next, big and small, with everyone gaining something.
This resulted in Steel Seventh Company receiving so many various awards, brocade banners, and honors that even the entire competition team on stage wasn’t enough to hold them.
Each person had to hold more than two to barely carry all the honors down.
The crowd below watched as the thirteen people from Steel Seventh Company each held their arms full, standing in a row like a sea of red.
Their hearts were so sour.
Sourer than eating a lemon in one bite.
…
The competition award segment was extremely stimulating. Everyone from Steel Seventh Company became major winners in life, and their future military careers would change because of this.
With the “weight” of earning merit and receiving awards on them, it would be hard to live uncomfortably in the troops.
And this was merely just the beginning.
Because with the end of each regiment’s grand competition, the division grand competition’s stage was about to unfold, set just three days later.
When participating in the grand competition at the division level, it would be a confrontation among regiment-level experts.
The intensity of the confrontations would inevitably be higher then, and the grand competition was destined to be even more brutal, making victory even harder.
According to the division’s competition rules, all units under T Division could send two competition teams.
Whether the four regiments, battalions, or Reconnaissance Battalion.
All two!
One competition team was limited to the regiment first place, which, although representing the regiment in the competition, actually also represented the strength of this grassroots company.
The other competition team was limited to ten people, but there was no restriction on which company they had to come from.
Instead, elite soldiers were selected from all the competition teams to form a brand-new ten-person elite soldier competition team as each regiment’s representative to participate in the competition.
In total, there would be twelve competition teams heading to the division-organized venue for “peak” showdowns.
Regiment Commander Wang didn’t specifically inquire about the strength performances of other regiments’ competition teams, only hearing that someone also broke a division record.
Those who could break records were all fierce!
There was still pressure!
And because Regiment Commander Wang issued an order, all competition-related information from 702 Regiment was not leaked, not even reporting the record breaks upward.
Although it was a small loss for the competitors, it would bring greater benefits overall.
Especially since Steel Seventh Company’s performance was so outstanding, beyond everyone’s expectations in the entire regiment, rising dominantly almost like sweeping everything.
This made Regiment Commander Wang eager and impatient for this division competition.
In the past, Regiment Commander Wang, who never went to the division with competition teams and always excused himself with busy official duties even if requested, made the unprecedented decision to go this time.
And he would personally lead the team!
To shine everywhere and reclaim the face lost by Tenth Company earlier.
Regiment Commander Wang personally participated in selecting the elite soldier team, gathering all the strongest competitors from the other fourteen companies without missing any.
Plus Steel Seventh Company, which was already ridiculously strong and had a high hope of taking division first.
Regiment Commander Wang ambitiously envisioned.
This time, not only to strive for first in the division grand competition, but even to take second as well, making 702 Regiment the most dazzling light in T Division.
