Free Web NovelChapter 411: Chapter 325 You Go to the Vegetable Market
The front-row seat occupied by Zhang Zhongting harbored silence for quite a while.
In his mind, there were only four words.
Don’t bother with it.
Firefighting drills, unlike those of the People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police, required everyone involved in the rescue operation to wear bulky combat uniforms. The rescue equipment varied in size; wearing a full set of combat gear alone was a significant burden, let alone carrying all that equipment. It wasn’t possible to expect movement on foot so readily.
Moreover, the issue was mainly with the hypothetical enemy.
Firefighting is about rescue; there isn’t a single firefighting drill that assumes operations need to be conducted under the guise of deception. Besides, with today’s transportation environment, all roads lead to Rome, and there’s simply no need for a forced march to be a part of the exercise.
That’s not to say there were never scenarios that called for a forced march. For instance, the first batch of over 1,200 special duty officers and soldiers who entered Sichuan had mostly made their way into the earthquake zone by forced march.
But this was a large-scale exercise, not one tailored specifically for special duty personnel.
Having "moonlighted" at the Command Department for several months, he was well aware of the physical readiness of the officers and soldiers throughout the province. Not everyone could meet the army’s physical fitness baseline, which was why the Command Department issued so many circulars criticizing the situation annually.
Even reaching that minimum standard wasn’t particularly noteworthy.
Of course, Fang Huai understood this even more clearly, as in his previous life, he had been one of the weak links in the army.
It goes without saying that with the current level of training intensity at Special Service Squadron 2, even a single day’s training there could make the troops from a regular squadron howl in despair for a week.
But it was precisely under such conditions that they should be put through rigorous intensity.
A real earthquake is much more brutal than merely running a 10-kilometer march in full gear. If they couldn’t handle the foreplay, there was no point in talking about climaxes.
Fang Huai saw Old Zhang ignoring him and leaned back in the rear row, resting his hands on his canes and arching his eyebrows slightly before letting out a long sigh:
"Ah... when real trouble comes, it’s still the special duty forces that can withstand it."
In front, Zhang Zhongting felt an itch on his back.
He knew this goddamn kid would definitely make him uncomfortable. He had firmly decided not to listen to him during the trip.
However, after shifting his position several times, he still felt discomfort under his buttocks. Annoyed, he pressed the electric seat adjustment button hard, reclining the seat all the way back.
"Hey, hey, hey! You’re crushing my foot!" Fang Huai retracted his seat in the back in alarm.
Only then did Zhang Zhongting lean back comfortably in his seat and smiled contentedly.
Fang Huai cursed inwardly with multiple expletives but dared not utter them aloud, considering he was under someone else’s roof and was riding in Old Zhang’s car. He just regretted not letting Zhang Zhongting sit in the back with a bit more courtesy when he got into the car.
Zhang Zhongting sat in the front row specifically to lie down for a nap, worn out from a day full of tasks. Soon enough, he actually fell asleep.
But after a while, Zhang Zhongting abruptly sat up straight as if revived from death.
The seat was adjusted back to its original position.
He picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Yeah, Little Zhou, notify all detachments to start the movement two hours earlier. Yes, the end time remains the same, two days, depending on when the tasks are completed."
"Also, add a 12-kilometer forced march, full gear, with basic rescue tools.
The special duty team will carry the baggage.
As for the route and disembarking point, have the director’s department plan it. Make sure it’s not too smooth; replicate a real environment as much as possible, create conditions to weed out personnel during the route, and try to have the medical team follow by vehicle along the highway."
"As for reporting, don’t worry about it; I’ll call Boss Wu directly to report."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Zhongting glanced back at Fang Huai.
Fang Huai, who was sitting up trying to eavesdrop, immediately leaned back and stretched, raising his hands to touch the car’s ceiling and laughing: frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Taking over three places! Long live the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army... Long live the 38th Army! It’s just a pity that I wasn’t born in those times!"
The driver, Squad Leader Qiu, laughed.
Zhang Zhongting also smiled.
Stories of the Volunteer Army aiding Korea were what these old soldiers had listened to from a young age, and the object of their longing and admiration upon enlisting.
The Ice Sculpture Company, the precursor to the Steel 7 Company of the 113th Division 337th Regiment 3rd Company, the Seventh Penetration Company...
True hero collectives, even heroic collectives, were too numerous to count.
Such stories had inspired countless Chinese soldiers and struck fear in the hearts of foreign adversaries.
In battle, one swift victory was better than enduring a hundred blows.
From an exercise like this, if these peacetime soldiers could exude even one-millionth of the spirit from those past battles, that in itself was a dream come true for them.
Just mentioning this caused Zhang Zhongting himself to feel a rush of passion, suddenly feeling that he had been overly cautious and should definitely add more intensity to the training.
After a moment, Zhang Zhongting shook his head with a smile and said:
"Kid, you’ve got me all fired up... If there’s a real fight, taking you for a pre-battle mobilization speech would be unfortunate for us and just as unfortunate for the enemy."
...
Upon arriving at the scene.
A dilapidated factory building, four rows of old houses.
In front of them was an open space suitable for assembly, and behind it lay a barren wilderness with low slopes.
Fang Huai, supporting himself with his canes, clicked his tongue in admiration; this place was a really good choice.
There weren’t many vehicles, just a couple of buses and some command cars, and a few excavators parked in front of the buildings, carefully digging out some ruins.
But there were plenty of people, a couple hundred scattered in uniform and civilian dress, half and half. Some were setting up in the factory building, while others dug petrol ditches on the hillside.
Every detail testified to the expense and sincerity put into this exercise.
Zhang Zhongting looked back at Fang Huai, who couldn’t stop smacking his lips, and walked toward the command car with a smile on his face.
I play for realism.
The driver, Squad Leader Qiu, came over with a smile and offered a pack of King’s Zhonghua cigarettes.
"Want one?"
Fang Huai smiled and shook his head: "I quit, thanks though, Squad Leader."
"Quitting is good," remarked Squad Leader Qiu, lighting a cigarette for himself and puffing rings of smoke, gazing over the factory area and saying,
"Huge production, huh... Back when we were soldiers at the base, who had ever seen such a setup? The exercises asked us to take turns demonstrating equipment against a small ruined house. Apart from testing our skills, it also tested our acting. Before it was our turn to go up, we had to watch other units demonstrate several times—how could we take it seriously? Now... times have changed."
Yet Fang Huai gently shook his head in response.
The times were just starting to change.
The exercises to come would be the real grand affairs.
In some training bases, real inclined floors built for earthquake drills, combined with open spaces for practical combat simulations, offered a host of equipment options for any one scenario.
How advanced was it?
A one-kilometer front required ten kilometers of preparation.
Not to mention rescuing people, even altering the landscape of disaster sites was feasible.
More and more high-tech, the problem wasn’t for those solving the issues but those setting the questions.
However, actual rescue operations, even fifteen years later, were still more in line with the exercises of this era.
It primarily relied on people carrying equipment into disaster sites, as the microscopic operating capabilities of high-tech automated equipment and urban terrain, coupled with policy restrictions, were far from reaching the point of mechanical automation in rescue operations. Otherwise, firefighters wouldn’t be called firefighters but rather "firefighting operators."
Perhaps, such a day would come.
Eventually, firefighters might shed their heavy combat gear, say goodbye to sweat-soaked training fields, and spend their days operating machines.
The advancements brought by technology, might be welcomed with relief, but of course, they would also carry regrets.
Fang Huai looked around with quite an interest, leaning on his crutches and walking around.
Those from the firefighting government agency next to him also looked at him with a touch of curiosity.
Of course, as Fang Huai observed some of the on-site preparations, his mouth wasn’t idle, nor was his expression.
"How could you possibly prepare equipment like this? You have the workers prepare the tenons for them, for immediate use? Are these things available at an earthquake site?"
"Add two steel bars here, please! The bent kind, and it’s best if they’re a bit rusty! There’s some in that waste ground over there, cut two and weld them on, the kind that can give you tetanus if you get cut! It’s only with realism that one becomes extra careful!"
"Leave the broken glass near the window as is! If everything is cleaned up, then what are the people coming for?"
Muttering all the way, non-stop.
Having just left the earthquake area a month ago, he looked closely at the scene and felt there was still a huge gap compared to a real earthquake-damaged building.
The level of danger was also far too low.
But the captain in command next to him, spotting the crutch on Fang Huai’s camouflage clad shoulder and the crutch in his hand, was getting impatient.
"Soldier, which detachment are you from?"
Those present today for preparations were staff officers, police duty squadrons or temporarily borrowed ones, almost all of whom had never been part of an earthquake.
The old soldiers who had entered the earthquake area earlier were basically the subjects of this drill, not the director group.
The lieutenant was one of the second batch of reinforcement personnel who entered Anshun Detachment later, part of those outside the 108 people.
He had been to Guangyuan, although not one of the most severely affected areas, it still counted as one, and he had seen many quake-damaged buildings, which is why he was assigned to manage the site layout.
And this soldier had the nerve to come and nitpick.
Normally, Fang Huai would have turned a blind eye and not offended him.
But today, he was particularly serious.
Fang Huai straightened up on his crutch and reported, "Guiyang Special Service Squadron 2, Guiyang Detachment!"
The captain was somewhat surprised.
"Provincial duty... How did you come here today?"
At that moment, Squad Leader Qiu, who had been puffing away, ready to step forward and explain, dropped his cigarette and shook his head in disapproval.
A leader descended from the command car, the very Detachment Captain Li of the Southwest Guizhou Detachment from the flood scene at Wangmo.
He was about to speak when he suddenly stared at Fang Huai, then smiled, "You’re that one, that one..."
"Report, Guiyang Special Service Second Squadron, Fang Huai!" Fang Huai reiterated.
"Ah, right! The First Class Meritorious Service!" Li Zhi smiled and approached, saying:
"Young man, last time I saw you, I didn’t know about the accolades you’ve earned in the earthquake zone. I only heard about it afterward. You really do hide your light under a bushel."
Damn, First Class Merit!
That leg... was it from earning the First Class Merit? Indeed, a First Class Merit had to be received while lying down!
To receive the First Class Merit... surely half of the foot under the plaster must be missing, right?
And yet this guy could still walk with a crutch, what indomitable spirit!
The faces of the surrounding staff officers exhibited admiration.
Luckily Fang Huai did not know their thoughts, or else he would have unleashed another round of unrestrained cursing.
"Report to the commander, I think their preparations are not very good, and I would like to correct them!"
At that moment, Old Zhang finally showed half of himself from the command car and waved:
"Shiyong, he’s my nephew, Fang Huai!"
Li Zhi’s eyes widened: "No wonder, Old Zhang’s nephew? Like father, like son! You’ve got father-son soldiers on the battlefield! Impressive, very impressive!"
Afterward, he patted Fang Huai heavily on the shoulder, laughed, and turned his head to walk towards Old Zhang.
"Old Zhang, your nephew is something else! Last time at the Lewang Reservoir..."
Old Zhang smiled at Li Zhi, turned his head towards the captain, and gestured: "Let him handle the scene! The kid can’t sit still, he’s been to Beichuan Hanwang! Listen to him!"
"Yes!" The captain promptly saluted.
The people around fell silent, all staring at Fang Huai with reverence in their eyes.
The captain also took a look at him.
"...Fang Huai? You tell us, what should we do? We’ll follow your lead."
Only then did Fang Huai take a few more steps leaning on his crutches.
He drew a breath, feeling it insufficient.
Turning to the captain, he smiled and said, "Go near the vegetable market and collect some spoiled meat, the stinkier, the better. Then find a damp place to keep it overnight, if someone catches any rats or insects, have them bring some over as well."
The smiles of those around him disappeared at once.
