Free Web NovelChapter 131: Chapter 88: Water with Affinity?
Fang Huai hadn’t turned on this mobile phone for a week.
The agreed upon 30 minutes, Fang Huai, to be safe, even charged it for an extra 10 minutes.
But just half a minute after powering on, a barrage of text messages filled his heart with warmth from 400 kilometers away.
"Hello, good night."
"Today, I got scared by the little white dog outside your house! It snarled at me!"
"I didn’t go to your place, just passed by there~ I saw your parents. They look as young as ever and still remember my name. Aunt Zhang said I’m getting prettier, ha~ everyone in your family is so nice."
"Good night."
"Good night good night good night."
"Good night good night good night good night."
"Hello, don’t they let you make calls during New Year? Even Brother Yang called home, yay."
"Haha, Uncle Zhang gave me a call. He said you couldn’t use your phone, so he called me to wish me a happy new year. Alright, I won’t count it as you breaking your promise."
"Mom and I are shopping for New Year’s goods at Carrefour Supermarket in Yangjiaping, do you want me to buy something for Uncle Fang and Aunt Zhang? It’s very close."
Very close?
Yangjiaping is in Jiulongpo, over 20 kilometers away from his home, right?
A smile lifted the corners of Fang Huai’s lips.
Is this girl always so full of energy?
Scrolling down to the last message: "I brought some fruits and tea for Uncle Fang. He’s always smoking. I chatted with him for a while, talked about seeing you in the troops. He said you only called once and mentioned you were busy. I told him you indeed are, but he still scolded you for 20 minutes, smoked 4 cigarettes. It’s funny how he scolds you, but you should persuade him to quit smoking~ Happy New Year! I’ll be watching TV with my parents tonight, so good night in advance."
PM: 3:25.
Sent four hours ago.
Actually, this morning, the brigade arranged for a call, but Fang Huai didn’t go.
He had called the old man before. When he made the call, he had thought of many comforting words, but ended up not using any of them. As soon as the call connected, he was bombarded with a lecture, questioning him on how he could use a phone, whether he was hiding one, how his training was going, and where he would be posted in the future?
In the end, the old man even asked him how he felt about being in the troops.
A soul interrogation from an old soldier.
What could I feel? Ever since I joined the troops, I dare not even think!
He hastily claimed to have something else to do and hung up abruptly.
Calling home too often isn’t good, especially with Dad.
Half a minute of concern followed by two hours of scolding seemed like he owed the troops from when he left, and sending his son to serve was like paying off that debt.
It was as if he wasn’t even my real dad!
After the calls this morning, with everyone’s eyes red, Fang Huai felt nothing inside, almost wanting to laugh. He loitered at the door of the ready room and then stepped out.
He had intended to call Brother Yang, but having used the phone too freely before and never having bothered to memorize her number, after struggling for half a day, he realized he didn’t possess the kind of photographic memory that could remember details with just a glance and had to let it go.
For a middle-aged man living alone in a decade’s time, the feeling of the New Year’s was not particularly strong. Celebrating the new year with overtime at the company, earning several times the overtime pay, was not a new experience for him.
It wasn’t until dinner when the group leadership raised a toast in the center of the staff canteen wishing everyone a happy new year, accompanied by the thunderclap of distant fireworks, that he felt he should send a text to those who cared about him.
Making a call... forget it, he didn’t want to be nagged.
Time was running short, and Fang Huai began drafting a message to his parents after selecting their names:
Dad, Mom, happy new year. Your son is doing very well in the troops, earned a commendation, outstanding soldier, and may earn more. For details, please consult my uncle.
Dad, try to smoke less, Mom, you need to supervise him.
Looking over it, hmm... seems a bit cheeky.
Added another line below: Wishing you good fortune in the new year and perfect health.
Hmm, looks much more proper now. Sent.
Brother Yang’s was much easier.
Having agreed to "report" back, Brother Yang kept her promise, and Fang Huai didn’t want to break his.
He just poured out all the trivial details:
The little white dog’s name is Mourning Piao, raised by a kid who likes to watch "Young and Dangerous". Call it by its name, and it won’t bark at you.
The MV has been filmed, it should soon be promoted on television and online, remember to watch it.
How was your New Year’s Eve dinner? We had pressed duck, spicy chicken, pig’s trotters, braised fish, Mei Cai Kou Rou, pumpkin cake...
Thank you for what you bought. It might be a long while before I can text you again after the new year, but I’ll train hard to become a friend you can be proud of.
Happy New Year... forget it, too old-fashioned, only suitable for parents, delete.
Fang Huai thought for a long time, came up with countless drafts in his mind, but in the end, he sent a more vibrant one:
As we bid farewell to the old year, fireworks usher in the new. Days are lively hot, the world endearing. Wishing Yang Shaoqing, a little friend, in the new year: a glistening galaxy beneath your eyes, and a refreshing breeze in your laughter.
Your best friend: Fang Huai.
Fang Huai stared at the mobile phone for a long time, no reply.
Once he confirmed the message had been sent, he turned off the phone and placed it on the table.
Hao Chengbin, who was also hastily texting by the bedside, was somewhat surprised.
"That’s it?" freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Looking out at the intermittently bright and dark sky through the window, Fang Huai couldn’t help but laugh:
"With the people closest to you, you can either chatter on endlessly or remain silent most of the time, with occasional succinct words making the most profound statement.
Without the condition to ramble, it’s better to say less, keep those words in your heart, and save them for yourself to hear."
Hao Chengbin reminisced briefly upon hearing those words and nodded in agreement.
But the new recruits in the squad also began to stare out the window, appearing deeply touched.
Yue Tao said with a tinge of sadness in his eyes, "That’s beautifully said. I miss my mom... She makes dumplings for me every New Year’s and cooks my favorite braised pork in the afternoon. I called her this morning, and she even asked what I was going to eat tonight. I said I didn’t know, but after seeing all the good food tonight, I especially wanted to tell her..."
"I miss my dad too..."
"If only we could go home."
"What... What is she doing right now?"
The more they talked, the more ridiculous it became.
Shit, they’re going to fly off the handle!
Seeing that the new recruits were becoming emotional, like they’d listened to "Green Flower in the Army," Hao Chengbin immediately shouted:
"Bullshit! When you join the troops, you should train hard and strive to make your parents proud with your achievements! Stop wallowing in self-pity every day!"
With that, he shot Fang Huai a resentful glance.
"And no more fanning the emotional flames, or you’ll be dealt with for spreading rumors!"
...
New Year’s Eve was a feast.
Aside from skits like "Unlock" and "Torchbearer," which everyone watched intently, the rest of the time was spent digging through the snack boxes prepared by the Brigade Department.
Sprite, Cola, glass after glass was poured.
All the things they couldn’t usually have were in those boxes.
The Brigade Department didn’t let the new recruits go to the Staff Canteen across the way to buy snacks, because a flood of new recruits into the canteen would unquestionably be a delightful disaster for it.
New recruits were also not allowed to carry money on them.
So a registration form was distributed in advance, asking them how much they voluntarily wanted to chip in for snacks, and everyone signed it. The money collected was averaged to a round number, then the old soldiers would make the purchases in bulk, with a new recruit supervising to ensure fairness.
In the end, it didn’t matter what the average amount was; every unit spent about 100 yuan per person.
The money for the snacks was deducted from the cash that the new recruits carried with them. Those who didn’t bring cash had to borrow it themselves and would repay their debts when the allowance was collectively retrieved sometime before the end of the training cycle.
Thus, Seventh Company gained a major creditor.
General Han initially had put away a round figure of 300,000 yuan, with over 6,000 "change" left unbanked, kept at the Brigade Department.
This bit of "change" made him seem exceedingly rich, and Han Yong, being quite generous, with a sweep of his hand, collected 26 IOUs from Seventh Company, including one from Fang Huai.
The squad leaders were also happy for the relief, since everyone had borrowed from Han Yong, it was easy to just return the money to him all at once.
In the days that followed, in the absence of squad leaders, Han Yong enjoyed special treatment and even earned a nickname: Han Banlian.
Almost half the company owed him money.
Whenever Han Yong stepped out, the new recruits would greet him with a smile, "Hello, General Han."
Fang Huai also took good care of his creditor; whenever they did the five-kilometer evening run, Fang Huai would complete his run and then go back to find Han Yong, urging him, "Speed up! Speed up!" freewebnøvel.coɱ
This always made Han Yong shout "Pay back the money!"
And every time, Fang Huai would laugh and mimic the System: "I lent you the money for that bowl of beef noodles with interest, so these 100 yuan have just been settled."
Finally, on a night when the playground lights were dazzling and a southeast wind was blowing fiercely, Han Yong sweated profusely, and the System Prompt indicated that the task was successful for Han Yong.
pounds!
Although there was a bit of dehydration involved, the achievement did not come easy.
This time, the System offered a new skill as a reward for completing the task.
[1. Fire hose proficiency Lv1 (Skill description: Even the unskilled can become adept)]
[2. Enhancement of hand strength]
[3. Enhancement of abdominal strength]
Fang Huai didn’t hesitate at all and immediately picked the first option.
Firefighting involved a lot of hose-related operations, as did Police Dispatch, and even though the second option was the most enticing and offered immediate benefits, this was the skill he had to choose.
Besides, the System had challenged him to achieve 20 deadlifts through sheer effort, and after resting for two days post-New Year’s, his performance had actually declined slightly, and he hadn’t completed it yet.
Who knew if choosing hand strength enhancement would affect Task Completion?
The moment the system text disappeared, Fang Huai felt the slight sandpaper-like texture of the hose glide across the palm of his hand.
In his mind, he had a sense of how to control the hose, and he felt that this sensation... shouldn’t be called hose proficiency but rather hose affinity.
Fang Huai suddenly became interested in the hose, feeling an urge to understand it more comprehensively—the desire sprang forth naturally.
"Fang Huai? Move around after running! Don’t stand here; you might catch a cold," Zhijun chided, snapping Fang Huai out of his reverie with a pat.
"Oh, right, squad leader!" Fang Huai replied, starting to move his arms and legs on the spot and looking at Zhijun’s resolute profile, he asked curiously.
"Squad leader, when you practice with the hose, do you have the urge to learn more about it? Its structure, components, and even... the desire to take it apart to see the inside, then put it back together?"
Zhijun frowned and glanced at his hands.
"You just practice! Keep practicing to build muscle memory! Oh... you mean hose repair, right? The hoses in the squadron often leak, so I fix them frequently, just cutting off a section and reattaching it!"
A load of question marks raced across Fang Huai’s mind.
Forget it, it’s no use talking about such subtle topics with this kind of hardcore man.
(Damn, I caught a cold from staying up all night and my head is groggy. After getting up, I’m not sure what I wrote. After looking at it, the third Chapter is a mess. I won’t publish it yet; I’ll revise it after another sleep.)
