After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 237: Chapter 181: Every Dad is a Hero - 2

The arm-wrestling match turned out to be far less exciting than the buildup.

As soon as the man locked hands with Fang Huai, he began to exert force to test the waters, thinking that if Fang Huai showed any sign of slack, he would power through and win the match in one fell swoop.

But his probing proved fruitless.

The man only felt that no matter how much effort he put in, Fang Huai remained unmoved on the other side, without any intention of overwhelming him.

On the opposite side, Fang Huai was silently counting down.

Five seconds.

These five seconds were out of respect for the semi-military reputation of your unit.

"Come on! Master Liu, you can do it!"

The man was already going all out, and as soon as the five seconds passed, Fang Huai began to push down the man’s wrist.

"Whoa, whoa! He’s about to be pushed down! Master Liu, keep it up!" Lu Zheng began to exclaim.

Before he could finish his sentence, the man had already been pushed down, grimacing in defeat.

"Big brother, you’re amazing, next one," Fang Huai said calmly.

"Tsk tsk." The man shook his sore palm in disbelief, "Brother, have you trained in arm-wrestling?"

Fang Huai finally cracked a smile, "Every day, but we train with iron."

"Beast."

The man gave a fist bump and withdrew.

Everyone around was a bit stunned, as there was no one in the crowd visibly stronger than this man.

Yang Shaoqing eyed the man’s burly frame and then looked at Fang Huai, her surprise mingling with an appreciation for the hardships Fang Huai had endured in the past months.

The change was truly significant.

She wasn’t a delicate flower, although she rarely argued with others, she was braver than most boys when it came to confrontations.

She didn’t feel the need to be protected, believing that at any time, she could use the law to protect herself.

But at this moment, watching Fang Huai look at her with a light smile, she unexpectedly felt a sense of safety.

The Lu Zheng man returned to the crowd and seeing the woman he was interested in looking at him somewhat annoyed, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud, trying to salvage some face:

"Quick, quick, quick, go on! He’s already exhausted from me taking away seventy percent of his strength!"

Everyone started to get excited again, as representatives from different units psyched themselves up to try their luck against the strongest man present, encouraged by their leadership and female colleagues, and stepped up to the challenge one by one. fгeewebnovёl.com

An opportunity to match against the strongest man around.

This time, Fang Huai wasn’t holding back; if he took it slow with everyone, he wouldn’t have been able to last.

Fiscal authority, out.

Water resources, out.

Ministry of Civil Affairs, out.

...

In three minutes, he had taken down representatives from seven units. It was only a police officer from the police station to whom he gave a few seconds of leeway, even letting the officer gain a slight upper hand before counterattacking.

Xiong Jie, Zhao Jinchen, and finally the last unit admitted defeat, prompting applause and cheer.

Everyone clapped in admiration.

"The Fire Brigade is something else."

"Are you kidding me? You see the Fire Brigade next to our unit? They train so hard every day!"

"Yeesh, they’re Troops, soldiers! What are you even comparing with? Look, only the police and Lu Zheng could last a few seconds against these fellows!"

"Mom, Dad! The fireman uncle is amazing!"

The crowd was filled with praise, yet no one else stepped forward to challenge.

Just as Fang Huai was about to stand up,

"Dad, Dad, you’re a soldier too, a great hero! Go on, defeat him!"

A little boy, one hand held by a middle-aged woman, the other holding a shiny toy gun, boasted about his father upon hearing a little girl praise the fireman uncle.

The couple was suddenly the center of attention, feeling slightly embarrassed.

The man was a laid-off worker, and in order to make their child obey and not feel inferior, the woman often told the child about the father’s past military stories.

The woman looked apologetically at everyone, bent down, and said to the child, "Dad used to be a soldier, a hero, but he got hurt. The fireman uncle is also a hero, just as amazing. Do you understand?"

After hearing this, the little boy immediately ran to his father and asked loudly, "Dad, where did you get hurt?"

The man cleared his throat but said nothing.

"Dad isn’t hurt; he’s a hero. Heroes only appear when the world is in disaster, to protect everyone, understand?"

Fang Huai, sitting on a chair, spoke up and signaled the man with his eyes, then glanced at the table.

The man took a few steps forward in a daze, looked at his child, and then turned his head, "May I try?"

Fang Huai smiled, "Of course, today’s open day, everyone is welcome to try."

The man took a seat at this invitation, while the little boy beside him cheered up, "Dad, you can do it!"

Fang Huai didn’t know the man’s situation, but after noticing the repaired cuff button on his navy-blue long-sleeved shirt and the stain on his chest, along with the child’s brand-new toy gun and the woman’s relatively stylish dress, he understood why the woman was so protective of the man and why the child idolized his father so much.

Perceiving something, the man subtly shifted his hand to cover it.

"Let’s start." Fang Huai spoke and then began to apply pressure.

The man also tried hard.

His grip was strong, slightly stronger than the police officer before him.

Fang Huai’s hand was gradually pushed down, his face turning a bit red, while the little boy and a few other children around exclaimed in surprise.

"Dad, keep it up! You’re going to win!"

"Hmm..." Fang Huai’s arm weakened, and he let the man push it down.

"I won, I won! Dad won! Dad is a hero! I want to be a hero too when I grow up!"

The little boy raised his hands in joy and shouted.

People around began to clap.

Everyone understood that Fang Huai was preserving the image of the child’s heroic father, and no one spoke up to break the child’s joy.

Moved, the man stood up and gave Fang Huai a proper military salute, saying:

"Thank you, brother."

Fang Huai returned the salute but said nothing.

His thoughts, probably no one in the entire venue could guess.

Was it really good to let the child admire brute force so much? free𝑤ebnovel.com

With the child waving his toy gun excitedly, it was almost a bit too much like Somalia!

Thinking this, Fang Huai looked around and patted himself down.

He actually found a lapel pin.

Forget it, by regulations, he couldn’t give that away, and it belonged to Old Cao. They had just updated their uniforms, and new lapel pins were scarce. Taking such liberties might earn him a chase down several streets.

Upon further thought, Fang Huai took off his watch, bent down, handed it to the little boy, and smiled, "Dad won, but we can’t play with this machine, it’s very dangerous. This will be your prize!

If you want to be a hero, you must cherish time, study hard, and if you get into the Military Academy, you can become a hero! How about it?"

"Yes!" The boy’s innocent face lit up with joy once again.

The man rushed over to take the watch from the child’s hand, but Fang Huai stopped him, chuckling softly, "It’s okay, old squad leader, the watch is cheap, and the child needs encouragement."

Only then did the man relax, sincerely saying, "Thank you, comrade."

"No trouble at all."

The whole venue erupted in applause for this touching scene.

At this moment, Yang Shaoqing’s eyes twinkled as she watched Fang Huai, her heart pounding; she had a strong urge to pinch his cheeks.

He was truly heartwarming.