Free Web NovelChapter 278: Chapter 219 Teo Steals, Stealing You
Tonight’s Special Duty Team, unlike yesterday’s, changed completely.
Every member sported a new haircut.
Fang Huai stood in front of the mirror at the barbershop on the third floor of the squadron, scissors hanging around his neck, clippers in his right hand, contently admiring his handiwork.
Tony Fang’s skin, officially launched.
In the mirror, Hao Chengbin looked refreshed and bright.
This haircut was not just a rushed job done with clippers, but a top-quality buzz cut finely shaped with scissors.
Moreover, Fang Huai’s barbering skills were both fast and steady, five minutes per head, with hairstyles to choose from.
But it was only the buzz cut, cadres’ trimmed side-part, special forces’ bowl cut, and crew cut, just those four styles.
No help for it, he’d exchanged a bit of military merit value for "Introductory Hairdressing," and those were the styles he knew.
However, the error rate was extremely low, virtually nonexistent; his hands were deft and stable.
The hairdressing knowledge he had once bitterly complained about, at this moment, shone brilliantly.
Truthfully, Fang Huai hadn’t expected that with this half-baked skill, he would earn such high praise from everyone.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Fang Huai, if you’d told us earlier you had this skill, those squad leaders in the new recruit group who couldn’t get leave to go out for haircuts, wouldn’t they have been lining up to give you cigarettes?
Do you know how many people, when they take leave, have to spend half their time getting a haircut?
With this skill, how could you not mention it?
Damn it, if you knew more than just a few haircuts, I’d immediately bring over your sister-in-law."
Hao Chengbin marveled.
Fang Huai had indeed overlooked the fact that everyone’s leave time was precious. It was hard to get leave, and inevitably they needed a trim. If they encountered a busy barbershop, they could easily wait for 20 minutes.
At that moment, Cao Yi, now sporting a youthful cadre’s standard side-part, leaned against the doorframe, feeling deeply moved:
"Since Squad Leader Jiang left, this barbershop in the Second Squadron hasn’t been used; and the skills of Squad Leader Jiang... only new recruits would want to let him cut their hair.
Fang Huai, you’re damn well cut out to be a soldier. If you leave, the whole squadron will miss you.
If you could also learn Chang Ming’s cooking skills... Right, I never asked you, do you know how to cook?"
This question made Fang Huai pause for a moment.
After a while.
"... I might know how, but it’s probably better not to for now."
Damn, exchanging for culinary skills is costly.
And knife skills alone would cost 5 points, advanced knife skills, 30 points.
Fang Huai always wondered if there was some sort of martial art involved in that.
Actually, the expert level of hairdressing was quite expensive too, 80 points, but he guessed he would never need it in his life.
"Hao Chengbin, listen to what he’s saying! Does it seem like he’s still hiding something?"
Cao Yi said, sharing a glance with Hao Chengbin.
Hao Chengbin also ran his hand through his hair, meticulously checking his "handsome face," laughed, and said:
"You’re just realizing this? I’m already used to it!"
Fang Huai was speechless.
Just as the two were about to continue teasing Fang Huai, Chen Zhenghai outside had already grown impatient, tapping on Cao Yi:
"Instructor Cao, Squad Leader Hao, can you come out and talk? We’ve got seven or eight others waiting in line!"
The Logistics Officer behind was also annoyed.
"Right! Other people finish their haircuts in five minutes, and you two have been at it for more than ten minutes. Even leaders shouldn’t have special privileges, right?"
The two walked out, somewhat embarrassed.
As soon as Chen Zhenghai entered, he immediately switched to a flattering demeanor:
"Master Fang, I want a distinct line on my sideburns! Shave both sides clean, leave the top thicker."
While speaking, he gestured around his head.
Fang Huai wore a stern face, picked up the spray bottle, and sprayed a few times on his head, saying:
"It’s just a high and tight! Sit still and don’t move!"
"Eh, eh."
...
The next morning, outside the District Public Security Bureau.
The office of the Special Duty Squad was located inside the Public Security Bureau.
Adjacent to it was the Special Duty First Squadron.
Across the street, right at a bustling intersection, there were vendors selling vegetables in the morning, with lots of coming and going.
It was precisely because of the geographical location of the Special Duty First Squadron that there was no way to expand the squadron; to expand would mean relocating.
And Fang Huai, choosing this lively spot, decided to set up his stall "to do business" there.
Free haircuts for the elderly, blood pressure checks, and blood sugar tests.
Indeed, at no cost except for the disposable blood sampling needles used for blood sugar checks.
These items were in excess at the squad, all donated by businessmen who had previously donated medical equipment.
Squad Leader Hao took charge, Fang Huai got out of the car, and with a few same year soldiers, they opened up the folding canopy, laid out the stall, set up the table, placed the stools.
He took out a loudspeaker and pressed play.
"Free haircuts for the elderly, blood sugar and blood pressure checks."
The nearby old men shopping for vegetables became restless, their gazes sweeping over.
In future generations, the old folks would all have WeChat groups for these kinds of free activities.
They would line up for free eggs, let alone a haircut that could save seven or eight yuan.
And what’s more, these were the people’s soldiers, right?
Plus, it was right outside the Public Security Bureau.
No one doubted it anymore; they all started walking over.
Several new recruits immediately took the poster stand for the fire protection publicity from behind the pickup truck, kept adjusting the angle, and placed it directly opposite to the haircutting chair and next to the table for blood sugar testing.
"Hey, young man, where can I get a haircut?" An old man saw that it was all old men and women gathering around here, so he sneaked up a few steps and took the high ground first.
Seeing this, Fang Huai grinned and said, "Old man, right on that chair, sit down!"
As soon as the old man sat down, Fang Huai took out the prepared haircutting tools, a basin, and a towel, poured some hot water from the kettle, and started working.
"Old man, did you turn off all your appliances at home before you came?"
"Turned them off, turned them off!"
"I just saw you crossing the street outside of the crosswalk, you’ve got to be careful!"
"Mhm! Say, young man, since I’m the first one getting a haircut, can I skip the line for the blood pressure and blood sugar check later?"
As soon as he said this, another old man who was lining up for the blood pressure check got unhappy:
"You were just quicker than me by a step, getting your head shaved first, on what basis do you get to skip the line for the blood pressure and blood sugar test?"
Fang Huai grinned and said, "Old man, we’re not just shaving heads here, we’re properly cutting hair! I learned hairdressing before I enlisted; I charged 20 for a haircut!
But, I only cut hair for old men!
And it’s not that you can’t skip the line, just recite 5 slogans from this promotional poster, and you can skip the line for a haircut or the blood sugar and blood pressure tests. If you can recite 8 slogans, you can skip all the lines!"
Fang Huai blurted out the nonsense effortlessly.
The surrounding old men and women were invigorated.
"Young man, where do you cut hair, 20 for a haircut?"
Fang Huai said with a touch of pride, "Chongqing!"
"Wow... from the big city, no wonder..."
As they talked, Fang Huai had already wet the hair of the old man in front of him and started trimming.
He originally didn’t have short hair, so Fang Huai gave him a rather sharp side-parted hairstyle.
Scissors flew up and down.
It really wasn’t just a simple buzz cut; as people saw the old man’s hair taking shape, many who hadn’t wanted a haircut became interested and immediately switched sides, lining up for a haircut.
"Don’t push, queue up nicely! Don’t worry, if we’re free on Wednesday morning, we’ll all come!
If you want to skip the line, recite the slogans from the poster!"
Seeing that Fang Huai was becoming popular, Hao Chengbin immediately parked the car in the Second Squadron, a dozen meters away, ready to come out and help him call out and attract people.
...
After mingling in the Second Squadron for a while and coming out with a crowd of onlookers, a group of old men and women had already started reciting the fire protection slogans from the poster.
And they were picking the easy-to-remember ones.
"A lifetime of hard work... can be destroyed by fire in a moment."
"A fire in the mountains, and the director will come looking for me."
"In case of fire, find your family first, friends? Better to dial 119."
Everyone was astonished.
Dammit, they had never seen such sensible old men and women, actually reciting the fire protection slogans with their eyes half-closed and heads tilted back!
In the past, they also did blood pressure screenings and such, but anytime they tried to educate them on fire safety, they acted as if they hadn’t heard.
But at that moment, an aunt was speaking loudly on the phone.
"Hello! Hurry up and come, in front of the District Public Security Bureau! What? No, I’m not being arrested! They’re offering free haircuts here! And they’re really good, 20 bucks a pop, now for free!
Stop nagging, they cut really well, hurry up and come, let me get this chicken’s nest of a head shaved! I had a hard time memorizing the slogan, you hurry over, I can help you skip the line!
Hey, don’t talk! The more you talk, the more I forget!" frёeωebɳovel.com
Meanwhile, Fang Huai, who was cutting hair, couldn’t help but laugh: "Remember these slogans, and you can use them to skip lines in the future!
If nothing else, we’ll be coming every Wednesday morning!
But I can only cut hair for old men! And not too young ones, they can’t get a cut! The hair salons still need to make a living, if we cut too many, they might come to the fire brigade to complain! Limited offer!"
The people around burst into laughter, followed by another round of mumbling like chanting.
Many people stopped to watch the spectacle, admiring the skill of the young soldier.
There were also plenty of praises for the army and the firefighting community.
Captain Huang of the First Squadron was utterly floored.
He knew exactly how Fang Huai landed in his unit, and there had been a bit of competition with the Second Squadron over him as well.
Latter on, Master He told him not to fight over him, since the recruit’s uncle was Captain Zhang and he preferred to follow his own squad leader.
He had thought it was just a new recruit with some outstanding abilities, but that was all.
Then, rescuing people and receiving a banner, breaking the pull-up record, composing propaganda songs, reciting equipment attributes by heart, winning first place in the whole corps martial arts competition!
Master He said that the fellow was even planning to sponsor a Special Duty Cup!
The man had achieved almost a whole year’s KPI for a single squadron!
And he even organized a grand beef feast, took care of hero families, and donated a hundred thousand!
Generous and righteous!
Now, the work in the Second Squadron was getting better and better! Hearing that this guy became the Special Duty Squad leader and was reforming the training!
Now, he even damn well knew how to cut hair!
He was clear on how He Zhijun had been transferred over there, without Fang Huai, He Zhijun would have struggled on his own.
With a golden phoenix in hand, the whole corps moved over other mythical beasts as well, wanting to assemble an ancient tome outright.
All the lavish fortune had damn well fallen on Old Cao’s head!
His heart was bleeding.
After a long moment.
Huang Yi turned to Hao Chengbin and said, "Old Hao, why does this soldier you’re leading know how to do everything? Dammit, if I had known, I would have fought to transfer you over, buy one get one free would’ve done it!"
