Free Web NovelChapter 515: Chapter 410: You’re Only Seeing a Part of the Picture
The meeting was met with enthusiasm, as everyone’s imagination and wisdom were sparked by Fang Huai’s description, trying to offer suggestions and strategies for the new squadron.
Some ideas were quite good and filled in some gaps.
For instance, the idea of rotating logistics squads.
With more people in the future, cooking was too much for Chang Ming alone, so an additional cook and stove were needed. Everyone still hoped for finer meals and didn’t want to settle for communal pot meals. Logistics couldn’t rely solely on new recruits; each squad would take turns in logistics, and when it was their turn, they would avoid dispatching police as much as possible.
Moreover, the future Logistics Officer will have more items to manage and more tasks at hand. The squadron should have a cadre working in tandem with the Logistics Officer for managing logistics procurement. Entries and exits would be regularly audited and signed by the secretary, with the three acting as checks on each other and establishing a Party member supervision system.
Everyone was very eager, with each soldier hoping their suggestions would be adopted, and they offered opinions on others’ ideas with an air of authority.
This atmosphere was positive, and Fang Huai gave them about fifteen minutes to discuss and record everyone’s ideas. When dismissing the meeting, he told them that in the future, they should communicate their thoughts to the party members representing them. At each Party branch meeting, their ideas could also be brought up.
This sparked another surge of interest in joining the Party.
The before and after resonated well.
After the meeting, Cao Yi didn’t leave and pulled Fang Huai aside.
Ye Jiahong and Huang Zhongjiu also stayed behind.
Hao Chengbin and He Zhijun, who felt they deserved to stay as well, settled in their seats.
Seeing that the others weren’t leaving, Cao Yi cleared his throat and finally spoke up.
"Why didn’t you explain to them the concept of dealing with multiple disasters and major emergencies? Ideas like training firefighters from neighboring areas, why not share these with everyone? And things like the logistics support vehicles, the concept of a major emergency that you talked about at the Squadron Department, these thoughts are very constructive and should be shared, right?"
Fang Huai smiled, "What’s there to say? We do things step by step. If I say too much all at once, people have limited capacities, and it will only clutter their minds. See how actively they suggest ideas? We slowly absorb the feedback and gradually implement plans, isn’t that good?"
"Hmm..." Cao Yi nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, let’s take it step by step."
"Eh?" Hao Chengbin bristled at "people have limited capacities," "If you have something on your mind, why not say it all at once! What, do you think the cadres will understand, but you’re afraid I won’t?"
Ye Jiahong felt somewhat superior and patted Hao Chengbin on the shoulder, "Joint logistics and training, and special logistics support measures, are a complex system. You haven’t learned it, we’ll teach you slowly!"
Hao Chengbin wasn’t content to be outdone. Hearing this, he immediately retorted:
"What’s there not to understand? Joint logistics, right? That’s combining other departments, isn’t it? We in firefighting have our own command, logistics departments, etc., working together! Right? Where does this sense of superiority come from? My wife’s organization is also involved in joint logistics!"
Cao Yi was a bit incredulous, "Yo, you understand this too? I’m actually impressed..."
Fang Huai laughed.
"Instructor Cao, do you think that just coordinating with the Detachment and the forces from neighboring businesses is what joint logistics is all about? Is the concept of a major emergency that simple?"
The others fell silent.
"What do you mean?"
"Ding ding ding..."
Fang Huai’s fingers tapped back and forth on the table, then he said leisurely:
"The real concept of a major emergency goes far beyond our current simple actions.
What we’re doing now can only be called emergency measures. They are far from meriting the word ’major.’ Ask yourselves, with our current disaster response capabilities, can we truly handle a major disaster?
Since you want to hear it, I will briefly tell you.
What I envision for a genuine major emergency system is, first, joining forces with enterprises such as those in the oil, coal, chemical, construction, geological survey, aviation, and water conservancy industries to form a set of comprehensive support systems for professional disaster assessment, engineering equipment, and aerial rescue. Of course, the focus would primarily be on state-owned enterprises.
Second, government departments such as forestry, resources, water resources, and health, under the primary combat scenario of firefighting, how they can provide us with professional technical support.
Third, the emerging full-time teams and corporate fire brigades in various localities, under what circumstances should they be under our fire department’s unified command to expand the mobilizable forces.
Fourth, intelligent technology and command systems, that is, our command center, should undergo a technological upgrade in response speed.
Fifth, propaganda should gradually evolve from the existing fire prevention publicity to a comprehensive disaster variety.
There are many other aspects that I will not mention.
This concept is not about one squadron, or two squadrons, but about positioning the entire firefighting forces at a strategic level of disaster emergency response; frankly, it is a pathway of continuous progress for the entire firefighting department.
Even if the current plan cannot be described as the tip of the iceberg, it is merely skimming the surface; as we continue to work, the entire plan will need to undergo two or three upgrades.
What we ultimately want to do is not to pilot a single squadron; my idea is to at least take the entire city as a target and create a perfect joint emergency response system. We are not just showing this to the entire firefighting department, but to the entire country. Can we, the Chinese Firefighting, catch up with the emergency systems that the United States has been researching for forty or fifty years, like FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), NEOC (National Emergency Operations Center), FHWA (Federal Highway and Disaster Management Agency), within 20 years!
These matters involve a very large authorization issue, from squadrons to detachments, and even up to the whole corps, ministries, and government—the challenges are numerous, and we will break through them one by one.
Moreover, there are so many professional aspects involved here, and I need to learn gradually too.
So I don’t speak of these things, not just to the soldiers, but even when I talk to you, I don’t mention them to the leaders either, talking too much would only distract.
So, comrades, we shall take it one bite at a time."
As the speech ended, you could hear a pin drop.
That’s an exaggeration.
This damn thing, are you turning the fire bureau into the Ministry of Firefighting?
I thought he was tinkering with the gas canister to cook a meal at home, but he’s actually building a missile!
Fang Huai smiled faintly.
If our level isn’t high enough to be promoted in the future, I’ll raise the rank of the entire department myself. At the very least, we must take an absolutely leading position in the entire emergency management system.
With the help of the system and a 15-year head start, this is just the first year; we have enough time.
The few people who were just feeling a bit exceptional suddenly felt that in Fang Huai’s eyes, they’re probably muggles.
Only Hao Chengbin was proudly puffing up his chest.
This soldier is trained by me! When he becomes a general in the future, he’ll still have to call me squad leader!
Old Hao, looking at the stunned Ye Jiahong, felt incredibly satisfied inside and said with a smirk:
"So, do we still want to coordinate joint operations? Still think you’re awesome?"
Ye Jiahong and the equally dazed Cao Yi and Huang Zhongjiu looked at each other, then saluted Fang Huai with a fist.
"I, your bro, have been swaggering through life for over twenty years, and I just realized today that it’s you who has the real insight. Brother, I am impressed!"
"Heh, you’ve just been blowing hot air, brother, I am the real deal."
...
The next day, morning.
Sha Chong South Road.
Comrade Colonel Zhang Zhongting walked into the Headquarters’ elevator lobby, and the officers he passed greeted him with eager courtesy.
"Captain Zhang, good morning."
"Captain Zhang, good morning."
A simple "Captain Zhang," yet it brought smiles to the faces of those at the headquarters.
Even the colonel who came down from the elevator, Director Zhong of the Political Department, greeted him enthusiastically with a wave.
"Old Zhang, you’re here."
But Old Zhang just smiled and nodded, seemingly preoccupied as he entered the elevator.
The young officers who got into the elevator with him quickly stepped aside to give Captain Zhang, who stood at the center, a respectful distance.
This man, he was someone formidable.
When he first arrived, everyone thought he was the new Deputy Chief of Staff, as he was a colonel and often visited the Command Department.
Then, it was said that he was going to be the future Chief of Staff.
Before long, the rumor changed again; he wasn’t seen going to the Command Department as often, and word was he’d soon become a deputy head of the whole corps!
Moreover, he was seen in the offices of Boss Wu and General Luo quite frequently, seemingly on good terms with both.
A curious phenomenon had arisen: department leaders, despite being deputy division commanders themselves, would submit their signed documents for a final review by "Captain Zhang."
Tsk, tsk.
He was on his way to becoming the real number three man.
Commissar Zou had returned to his hometown, and with the headquarters in a period of power transition, Boss Wu and General Luo’s takeover seemed all but confirmed, just waiting for a meeting to make it official.
In the next term, if Boss Wu and General Luo left, would he, too, climb the ladder?
As soon as the elevator doors opened, sure enough, he went straight to the far end, towards the office of Boss Wu.
"Knock, knock."
"Boss Wu."
"Zhongting? Come in."
Boss Wu personally opened the door, revealing half of his body, and everyone could see the smile on his face.
As the door closed, it left behind countless speculations.
"It seems like there’s good news today; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Boss Wu smile so happily." freewёbnoνel.com
"Oh, don’t guess wildly, hurry up and ask the Southwest Guizhou Detachment to submit their report on the methanol explosion fire at Xinghua Chemical. It’s Monday today, and the ministry is waiting for it. If Boss Wu loses his temper again later, we won’t be able to cover for it."
"Heh, I’m still waiting here to report on the Grand Martial Arts Competition to Manager Zhang. Our Instructor Xu said that the procedures and subjects have to be reviewed by Manager Zhang."
"Yikes... you just keep calling out; last time I called ’Manager Zhang,’ I got a good scolding!"
"Got it, got it, Captain Zhang, Captain Zhang, heh heh, thanks for the reminder."
Inside the office.
"Boss Wu, the internal notice has come through."
Zhang Zhongting sat upright in the office, his demeanor not affected by the rumors, even more cautious than before.
"Hmm, I’ve just arrived too, let me have a look."
Boss Wu took a cigarette from the case on his desk, tapped it lightly against the table before lighting it, neatly adjusted his somewhat sparse hair at the forehead, then put on a pair of glasses and turned on the computer.
The internal network’s interface was still in red tones.
He opened the webpage, and on the right side, under "Notices and Announcements," the top few entries were all significant events.
The National People’s Congress reviewed and passed the newly revised "Fire Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China," progressively strengthening emergency rescue work.
The State Council’s 13 ministries jointly organized the "Chinese Firefighting Volunteers Action."
The nationwide Public Security Fire Brigade achieved breakthrough results in the three-year "three basics" project construction.
The Fire Department of the Ministry of Public Security appointed Yan Weiwen, Han Hong, and Zhu Jun as "Chinese Firefighting Publicity Ambassadors."
Boss Wu looked again at the first pinned title, sensing the importance of improving emergency rescue work, and nodded slightly before scrolling down a bit.
After scrolling through a couple of pages, he found it.
"Notice on the establishment of comprehensive emergency rescue pilot squadrons in Hunan and Guizhou provinces."
He was about to click on it.
Then he noticed a title just below that one and furrowed his brows.
"Public Notice for the Promotion of Comrade Fang Huai."
A soldier’s promotion notice... why would it appear here?
He leaned in for a closer look.
Fang Huai.
Boss Wu couldn’t help but open that title first.
The agency had decided to recommend Fang Huai, a soldier from the Guiyang Brigade Special Service Squadron Second Squadron of the Guizhou Province Public Security Fire Brigade Headquarters...
The cigarette kept burning.
The office was very quiet.
Zhang Zhongting stared at the growing ash on the cigarette, while Boss Wu didn’t even raise it to take a puff.
It seemed he was contemplating something.
Only when the ash bent with its own weight did Boss Wu finally pick up the cigarette and snuff it out in the ashtray, wasting the whole two-yuan cigarette.
"This kid... we haven’t even filed a report, how did he get promoted?"
It seemed like he was talking to himself, but after he spoke, he turned to look at Zhang Zhongting.
Zhang Zhongting had prepared to say, "He didn’t know either," to make it clear that he hadn’t meddled.
But he had called the Command Department just yesterday to ask if there was any paperwork on Fang Huai at the General Office.
Now, he could only manage an awkward smile.
"Boss Wu, I only found out about this yesterday too."
