Free Web NovelChapter 139: Chapter 95: The Love of the Squad Leader, Irrefutable!
Brother Yong’s passion had been forgotten about 30 seconds later.
When serving the food earlier, they were too nervous; several new recruits didn’t notice what the dishes were.
Once the food was on the table, the aroma alone was soul-stirring.
Spicy shrimp, chicken gizzards with celery, double-cooked pork, sour cowpeas with minced pork, crisp pork with cabbage soup...
Four tables, seven or eight people per table, nine dishes per table, eight dishes and one soup.
Today, as the new recruits joined the squadron, the standard of food was obviously better than usual.
The new recruits’ eyes were shining.
This is the legendary army food!
In the new recruit group, there were eleven people per table, six dishes and one soup, at most two to three meat dishes, and the soup in the middle had no trace of oil, either plain squash beans or tomato soup with bean sprouts.
After the survey questionnaire, only one more meat dish was added, and even the meat was pitifully scant.
And the portion size wasn’t even as much as here!
What the hell were they eating?
Not to mention Han Yong, who could hardly close his mouth from laughing at this point, even Fang Huai felt that the good days had finally arrived.
The squad leaders couldn’t stop praising today’s food.
"Chang Ming, your chef certification is no joke indeed! Not bad! Even better than Squad Leader Liang’s cooking skills!"
Chang Ming just chuckled sardonically, "Just now, Zhang Yang said I was no good! He said without him, our year of soldiers would be useless!"
Chang Ming hadn’t left the kitchen during the assembly, nor had he heard Cao Yi’s address, and he hadn’t quite grasped the situation.
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere immediately went silent.
Many non-commissioned officers began to laugh softly, looking at Zhang Yang but not saying anything.
In today’s Second Squadron, almost half of the non-commissioned officers had been transferred after a large exodus of the original squadron’s personnel.
This batch, including Zhang Yang, wasn’t trained by them, even if there were problems, it wasn’t up to them to deal with it.
They just found the remark ridiculous.
Zhang Yang’s face turned green with ridicule.
That backstab from a same year soldier was like being hit by a flaming, armor-breaking shot.
"Zhang Yang? Is that what you said?" Squad Leader Zhao, who had just been giving the lecture, put down his chopsticks and said.
Zhang Yang was so enraged by this accusation that he clenched his teeth and retorted,
"Squad Leader Zhao, I only said Chang Ming’s physical fitness wasn’t good! If he isn’t convinced, have him compete with me!"
Cao Yi put down his chopsticks, a teasing glint in his eye,
"Zhang Yang, so you’re saying you’re excellent at physical fitness? How about this, during the national martial arts competition selection, we let you go, what do you say?
You were trained by our squadron from a new recruit, so you’ve got to stand up for us!
I’m not expecting you to get an overall individual ranking like He Zhijun, just a top ten in one event! If you can’t get one or two rankings, don’t bother coming back, what do you say?"
Zhang Yang was left speechless by the mocking.
The national martial arts competition selection spots were precious, and if he overconfidently took one and came back in disgrace, he probably wouldn’t be able to stay in the Second Squadron any longer.
After a brief silence, the whole kitchen erupted in subdued laughter.
Whether recently arrived or original members of the squadron, there were plenty of non-commissioned officers who were top-notch in physical and professional skills.
Talking about this in front of us, you’re still too green.
At the new recruits’ table, Squad Leader Xiong had no smile on his face. He looked at the recruits who were beginning to lose their appetite and directly scooped food into their bowls with his spoon.
"Don’t listen to that, just do your job well. Finish eating, take a nap after lunch, and in the afternoon, I’ll take you to put away the hoses in the backyard."
The new recruits nodded in agreement.
A nap after lunch? What a kin!
But, soon, something felt off.
Squad Leader Xiong’s spoon, seemingly like a vacuum cleaner, heaped great spoonfuls of food into their bowls.
With each scoop, meat drenched in broth, along with garlic shoots and scallions, was dumped into their bowls.
"Eat more meat to have the strength for training. Come on, eat up."
Liu Jianfeng was also piling double-cooked pork into the new recruits’ bowls.
Suddenly, their bowls were almost overflowing.
Even Han Yong started to panic, "No... no need, Squad Leader, I can serve myself."
Squad Leader Xiong waved him off, "Ah, when you’re on special duty, you need to eat well. You look pretty chubby; how is this much meat enough?
Xiao Haishan, you’re so tall, you need to eat more too! Both of you, pass over your bowls, let me scoop you some more!"
As Han Yong tried to decline, he ended up getting an extra spoonful of meat, and Xiao Haishan suffered the same fate.
Their bowls were so full that the broth almost spilled over the edges.
Fang Huai was another special focus of Squad Leader Xiong, who watched his bowl of meager rice get completely submerged by the greasy soup, obliging him to quickly eat the vegetables. Only after the squad leader had finished scooping could he stir the rice to mix it with the oily broth.
The squad leader’s love couldn’t be refused!
For the first meal, he thought it was best to just eat up and voice any complaints later if necessary.
That’s what Fang Huai thought.
But within a few minutes, he felt he had underestimated the situation.
After downing the first bowl, the squad leader forcibly added another serving for them.
After the second bowl, the squad leader told them to help themselves to another.
With the third bowl down, the canteen staff had all left, and only Squad Leader Xiong remained at the new recruits’ table, continuing to transfer leftovers from other tables into their bowls. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
At this rate, if just a couple more new recruits were added, the squadron wouldn’t even need a water bucket.
Four of them ate so much they were uncomfortable.
In this state, who could even think of napping?
If you really tried to nap, just the slightest wrong position could make you throw up from fullness.
Since they’d need to walk it off anyway, why not seize the opportunity to show what they could do?
Fang Huai gave a knowing look to the familiar Han Yong and Xiao Haishan and stood up.
"Burp..." Fang Huai let out a long, satisfied burp and began to collect the bowls and chopsticks as everyone else had finished eating.
"Squad Leader, after we help out the chef, we can go tidy up the hoses. Just tell us how to properly store them."
"You guys don’t know how. Wait for me to get up and I’ll teach you," Xiong Jie said, taking a sip of water and waved dismissively.
Fang Huai smiled, "Han Yong, Xiao Haishan, and I were all in the new recruit group’s late training class. We’ve learned how to tidy up the hoses, but it seems Song Lin hasn’t. I can teach him later."
Xiao Haishan also said, "Right, we’ve learned before. Plus, Fang Huai is especially good at winding hoses—really smooth!"
Xiong Jie was curious, "Oh? Maybe I’ll have a look later?"
Fang Huai looked distressed, "Squad Leader, let us take care of it now, and I can show you another time? Just now I saw there’s quite a bunch of hoses at the back needing to be collected, you just leave it to me, and you can go rest."
Fang Huai actually just wanted an opportunity to tidy up the hoses so he could chat with them a bit. With the squad leader there, what’s the point?
Moreover, this guy, he intended to show off only once Hao Chengbin arrived.
Xiong Jie thought for a moment and then nodded, "Okay, come with me first. I’ll show you around the garage and the equipment room so you can familiarize yourselves."
Han Yong and Song Lin, realizing that their midday nap was off the table, seemed a bit disappointed but didn’t say anything and got ready to leave.
"Wait for a second, Squad Leader. Let me go have a word with Squad Leader Chang," Fang Huai said, and without waiting for Xiong Jie to respond, he ran towards the kitchen.
Chang Ming was busy sorting out vegetables for the afternoon in front of the refrigerator.
Fang Huai knocked on the cabinet, "Squad Leader Chang?"
Without turning around, Chang Ming said, "Finished eating? Bring in the plates and bowls and start cleaning."
"No, Squad Leader, we need to go learn about the hoses..." Fang Huai was explaining when Chang Ming suddenly turned around, his anger flaring up instantly, "Who told you to go?"
"Squad Leader Xiong," Fang Huai stated plainly.
Chang Ming was silent...
The mention of "Squad Leader Xiong" seemed to take the edge off his anger.
Fang Huai shifted the emotional tone, and seeing that Chang Ming’s face had darkened but he wasn’t in the mood to burst out, Fang Huai walked into the kitchen and said with a smile:
"Squad Leader, we were thinking since we will have to collect the hoses in the afternoon anyway, if we manage to get them sorted out at noon, we can come back early to help out in the kitchen!
You can rest easy, we’ll have a look at where the hoses are and come back as soon as possible. We’ll definitely clean up the kitchen and the dining area thoroughly."
Chang Ming’s demeanor softened immediately as he nodded repeatedly.
Hmm, quite sensible.
But after a moment’s thought, his mood shifted again, and he waved his hands, "No, no, you won’t clean it properly, and if something goes wrong, the Instructor and the Captain will blame me!"
Quick to reassure, Fang Huai snapped to attention, "You can count on us, Squad Leader! Go have a rest, and if we haven’t done it right, you can come back in an hour to check. By that time, the midday break won’t be over yet. If it’s not clean... we’ll clean it again!"
Fang Huai wasn’t very familiar with Xiao Haishan and Song Lin, so he hesitated to make any guarantees.
What he promised was, essentially, no different from not having made any promises at all, as they’d have to clean the area again if it wasn’t clean. But by volunteering, his attitude was clear.
Chang Ming looked at Fang Huai skeptically. Considering that someone from the new recruit group had earned a third-class merit, he probably wasn’t totally unreliable, so he reluctantly pointed towards a side door:
"Through that door is the water bucket, wipe the pots dry after washing and put them on the stove, the bowls, plates, and utensils go on the shelves organized."
"Yes, Squad Leader!"
...
The garage.
"This truck is called Gräf & Stift," Xiong Jie pointed at the fire truck in front of them, opened the rolling door, and showed the different compartments, saying:
"This is our Car 1, also a must-use vehicle for fires, with two dividers and three multifunctional water guns, and four auxiliary nozzles.
As for the hoses, as you can see, each type has its own compartment, the 80mm hoses go on top, the 65mm ones below, each compartment size is different.
These doors here and the one next to it, that’s where the hoses are stored. You need to fill the compartments and secure the safety straps.
The rest go in the equipment room we visited earlier, just stack them neatly on the ground, got it?"
"Got it!" Fang Huai was the first to nod.
The other three new recruits nodded after him, "Got it!"
Not everyone needed to understand the details, as long as Fang Huai got it, that was enough. Should any confusion arise, they could ask him.
Xiao Haishan and Han Yong placed a fair amount of trust in Fang Huai.
As for Song Lin, he had heard of Fang Huai’s reputation and was quite eager to see what this legendary same year soldier would do.
"Alright, Squad Leader, I’ve got the lay of the land now, you go and rest easy. We’ll tidy up the kitchen before we collect," Fang Huai reassured as he touched the familiar Gräf & Stift.
There are countless fire trucks out there, and some are impressively expensive, but the ones that are actually used daily and accompany everyone on police calls are these old reliables.
"Fine, if you really can’t figure it out, come get me. I’ll be in the squad room," Xiong Jie said, his patience evident. It was precisely this temperament that convinced the Squadron Cadres to appoint him as the new recruit squad leader.
Last year’s new recruit squad leader was Zhao Jinchen, who, like Xiong Jie, was in his sixth year and had a hot temper. However, last year’s new recruits ended up being a mess—scheming against each other and never satisfied.
So this year, they chose someone completely different.
Fang Huai smiled and said, "Don’t worry, Squad Leader. If we don’t understand something, I’ll come get you."
Xiong Jie nodded, seeing Fang Huai’s proactive attitude and the fact that the other three unexpectedly didn’t object, he couldn’t help but smile a little.
This batch of new recruits needed a leader that could earn their respect.
