In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 714 Exhausted

Three hours of training time is not particularly long, but the physical exertion is undoubtedly enormous.

You should know that the weapons used by the Brave Battalion during their training are guns, which are nearly four meters long and weigh more than three kilograms. Imagine how tiring it would be to swing a gun that is nearly four meters long and weighs three kilograms for three hours.

After three hours of training, Zhang Xiaoniu felt his arms were sore and he was completely exhausted.

If it weren't for his strong willpower, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold the gun properly during training.

"calf."

Wei Kui, who was very close to Zhang Xiaoniu, smiled and moved closer to Zhang Xiaoniu, asking, "Are you tired?"

"It's alright."

Zhang Xiaoniu glanced at the tall and imposing Wei Kui, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.

Unlike Zhang Xiaoniu, Zhang Xiaoniu was able to join the Brave Warriors Battalion because he had made meritorious contributions on the battlefield and had remarkable perseverance. He passed the Brave Warriors Battalion's physical fitness test with his strong perseverance and was thus successfully selected for the battalion.

Wei Kui was chosen by Commander Yang as soon as he joined the Yang Family Army because of his naturally tall and strong physique. He was then personally assigned to the Brave Warriors Battalion by Commander Yang.

Simply put, Zhang Xiaoniu entered the Brave Warriors Camp through hard work, while Wei Kui was blessed with good physique, allowing him to join the Brave Warriors Camp without any effort.

This is also why Zhang Xiaoniu always felt envious whenever he saw Wei Kui. Wei Kui, with his strong physical abilities, could always easily complete his daily training, while he himself...

Every day after training, I would be exhausted, feeling like my body was about to fall apart.

"Little Niu, I really admire you!"

As Wei Kui walked with Zhang Xiaoniu, he said, "You're so thin, yet you manage to stick to your daily training. That's really impressive!"

Wei Kui's words were not flattery, but a genuine expression of admiration for Zhang Xiaoniu.

Being a soldier in the Brave Battalion is never a secure job. To stay in the Brave Battalion, one must endure high-intensity training; those who cannot will be eliminated.

During this period, Wei Kui had lost count of how many people had been eliminated from the Brave Warrior Camp because they couldn't withstand the training. However, Zhang Xiaoniu, whom he had never been optimistic about, was able to persevere every time, which surprised Wei Kui quite a bit.

It's worth noting that Zhang Xiaoniu is small in stature and extremely thin. Many people who are stronger than him were eliminated, but he was able to persevere, which is simply incredible.

"I don't want to be eliminated."

Zhang Xiaoniu said with a bitter expression that he was able to persevere because of his strong willpower. If it weren't for his strong willpower and his perseverance every day, he would probably have been eliminated from the Brave Warriors Camp long ago, given his physical condition.

The reason why Zhang Xiaoniu insisted on staying in the Yongwu Camp was simple: the food was better and the pay was higher. Staying there meant he could not only eat well but also receive more pay to send to his family back home who were starving and freezing.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's go eat!"

Wei Kui smiled and put his arm around Zhang Xiaoniu's shoulder, walking briskly towards the military camp's mess hall.

Wei Kui's background was not much better than Zhang Xiaoniu's. He was also born into a poor peasant family. Because of his family's poverty and his own large appetite, Wei Kui could hardly remember ever being able to eat his fill. Most of the time, he could only eat about 30% full, and occasionally he could eat about 50% full. Moreover, he could only eat two meals a day.

This made hunger a constant companion throughout Wei Kui's childhood.

Especially after the cold disaster struck, life became even worse for Wei Kui's family. Before, they could eat about 30% full, but later they could only eat about 20% full, and sometimes they could only eat one meal a day. If it weren't for Wei Kui's natural strength, which allowed him to go to the city to do manual labor and earn some money to supplement the family income, Wei Kui's family would probably have starved to death long ago.

But as the cold weather worsened, Wei Kui earned less and less money, and his family's life became increasingly difficult, with them going hungry one meal a day and not having enough to eat the next...

Fortunately, just when Wei Kui's family was about to go downhill, Yang Zheng started a rebellion.

Yang Zheng's raising of the banner of rebellion seemed to ignite the anger of the entire Liangzhou people. Countless starving people joined Yang Zheng's rebel ranks, causing Yang Zheng's Yang Family Army to grow rapidly like a snowball until it swept across the entire Liangzhou and he became the de facto ruler of this land.

Just as Yang Zheng occupied the entire Liangzhou, Wei Kui, having heard of the reputation of the Yang Family Army, resolutely chose to join it. He was very fortunate to attract Yang Zheng's attention on his very first day in the Yang Family Army, and was subsequently personally assigned to the Brave Warriors Battalion by Yang Zheng.

Since joining the Yang Family Army, Wei Kui felt like he had entered paradise. He had never eaten his fill before, but in the Yang Family Army, he finally experienced what it meant to be well-fed. Moreover, the rice and steamed buns he ate were of excellent quality and tasted delicious. This made Wei Kui feel extremely happy, and he trained very hard during his daily training, fearing that he would be kicked out of the Yang Family Army.

Wei Kui has been a member of Yang Family Army for several months now. He has gotten used to military life. Apart from daily drills and receiving his pay, what he looks forward to most is mealtime every day.

In fact, Wei Kui wasn't the only one looking forward to mealtimes.

The soldiers of Yang Family Army were almost all from impoverished backgrounds, who had never had enough to eat, even wheat porridge, since childhood. However, in the military camp, they could have enough to eat every day. For these soldiers, life in the military camp was almost like paradise.

"I wonder what the meal is today."

Looking at the kitchen right in front of him, Wei Kui's face was full of anticipation. The Shenwei Army's meals usually consisted of two kinds: either rice or steamed buns.

Compared to rice, Wei Kui prefers white steamed buns because they taste sweeter.

"It should be a white flour steamed bun."

Zhang Xiaoniu twitched his nose and said that he could smell the aroma of steamed buns in the air. His eyes lit up because his love for steamed buns was no less than Wei Kui's.

"That's great! Little Cow, let's hurry up."

"Ah."

The two quickened their pace and soon arrived at the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, many soldiers were already sitting at the tables eating. Wei Kui glanced at the food on the other soldiers' tables, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "How come they still have meat to eat?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaoniu followed Wei Kui's gaze and his eyes widened involuntarily.

On the table, there were not only plump white steamed buns, but also a small bowl of meat in front of each person. The meat seemed to possess a magical power, firmly attracting Zhang Xiaoniu and Wei Kui's attention.