He Looks Pretty Unhinged

The show-off ate a full three bowls of noodles.

The Ninth Squad soldiers were all dumbfounded.

Fang Huai was starving, but his stomach was nowhere near as fragile as someone who had gone hungry for a long time. By the time he got his third bowl, even the noodle topping was gone. He added a little soy sauce and still ate with great relish.

Hao Chengbin watched him wolf everything down and said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Brother, with an appetite like yours, weren't you being a little too modest at mealtimes these past two days?"

Zhao Bing smiled honestly and gave an answer close to the truth. "Squad Leader, maybe he used up too much energy this morning and got hungry. Back when I was farming at home, I could eat several bowls after working the fields too."

"Mm..." Hao Chengbin nodded.

"A good appetite is a good thing. When we were recruits, we could eat seven or eight bowls too."

That said, they had eaten from small 4.5-inch bowls back then, while Fang Huai was using an 8-inch soup bowl.

This meal could have fed a 200-pound pig until it burped.

Fang Huai felt as though none of it had even reached his stomach. All that remained was the lingering taste of chewing in his mouth.

"Squad Leader... can I have another bowl?" Fang Huai asked after draining the last of his noodle soup and wiping his mouth, still wanting more.

He definitely had not replenished enough energy yet, but he already felt full of strength.

The nine people beside him had already lined up, staring at him like they were watching a monkey.

"Stop eating. Your stomach won't be able to take it in a while! And we can't have everyone waiting for you forever! Whoever's on dining duty at noon, get him two extra bowls of rice!" Hao Chengbin frowned, dragged Fang Huai into formation, and shoved him into line.

"The dining duty stays behind to wash dishes! Destination: Seventh Company, Ninth Squad! Forward, march!"

Hao Chengbin had originally planned to make everyone run upstairs, but seeing how Fang Huai had eaten, he was afraid of hurting his stomach.

This recruit had completely thrown off his rhythm. Calling him troublesome did not seem right—he was quite self-aware, knew the rules, knew housekeeping, knew everything, and trained like his life depended on it.

But calling him worry-free was not right either. He trained like his life depended on it.

He even ate like his life depended on it.

Even Hao Chengbin, a freak himself, thought he looked pretty freakish.

Ten minutes later, Seventh Company, Ninth Squad.

Yue Tao clutched his thigh, looking aggrieved.

Hao Chengbin crossed his legs and pointed at the recruits.

"Remember this from now on: when you see a squad leader, stop moving, keep at least half a meter away, and loudly say, 'Hello, Squad Leader!' Loudly, not shouting! I'm telling you, people have stress responses! If you stick your face right in a squad leader's face and yell 'Hello, Squad Leader!' like Yue Tao just did, then even if you get beaten up, you deserve it!

"Yue Tao, forget everyone else. How many days have you been here? Did I teach you the rules or not?"

Yue Tao said sheepishly, "Squad Leader, I understand! But Squad Leader Pan's whip kick just now was really cool!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Hao Chengbin laughed as he cursed.

"You thick-skinned brat!"

Fang Huai fell into thought.

Shameless people were invincible. Someone like Yue Tao, with skin as thick as a wall, who could take a scolding without holding a grudge, would still be liked by leaders even if he was useless at everything else.

"Alright, down to business." Hao Chengbin's face turned stern.

"From now on, you get up at five every day. I've set your alarms. The order from Regimental Headquarters has officially come down. It's half an hour earlier than the winter training schedule. At six-thirty, the company blows the wake-up whistle for washing up, and at seven, morning drills begin. You must have your housekeeping done before six-thirty.

"Mandatory requirement: spend at least half an hour every day rolling your quilts. The hallway outside—the location is up to you. The moment the wake-up call sounds, I inspect your housekeeping. After you head to the training ground, the company will also conduct random inspections. If you come back from training and find your quilt missing, that means it was thrown downstairs. Go pick it up yourselves.

"If you think you can't finish your housekeeping in an hour and a half, have some self-awareness and get up earlier. For every person whose housekeeping fails inspection, before morning drills, that person does fifty extra push-ups, and everyone else does thirty alongside him!"

"Huh?" Jiang Peng's expression darkened.

"Squad Leader! What if someone just can't fold their quilt properly?"

As he spoke, he glanced at several squadmates whose quilts were folded poorly.

Hao Chengbin said sternly, "Then figure out a way to help him! Remember this! In the military, everyone is one whole! We share honor and disgrace! Anyone who abandons his comrades and only cares about his own progress is trash!

"Especially in the fire service, there is no rule about responding to calls alone! Emergency Rescue dispatches at least one truck. Once there's a fire, we operate by squad, with at least two trucks!

"Jiang Peng, if you're the number two hoseman carrying the water hose, and the number three behind you goes down, or something happens to the water supply man, do you help? Without them, can you handle it alone?

"Don't think the water cannon isn't dangerous!

"Once the supply pressure exceeds two Megapascals, no matter how tough you are, the hose can still drag you all over the place. Above three Megapascals, if no one is behind you holding it down, one whip from that hose and you'll fly straight into the air! If you lose hold of the water cannon, it can knock you unconscious!

"Not to mention the Emergency Rescue equipment. Carbide saws, multipurpose chainsaws, diesel-powered equipment, hydraulic tool kits—which one of those can't easily kill someone? Do you know how heavy those things are? How many people does it take working together to operate them properly?

"A single company's equipment and vehicles alone are worth at least ten or twenty million. Can you handle all that by yourself? There are too many places where teamwork is needed!

"The first thing you need to learn is to encourage each other and grow together with your comrades! We firefighters train troops for a thousand days and use them for a thousand days. You have chances to go into battle every day. When it matters, the comrades at your side are what keep you alive!

"I'm also the Special Operations Squad leader in the company. I don't want soldiers trained by me to be called trash by others! First learn to be a decent person, then learn how to do things. If you can't understand the importance of unity, then don't leave this New Recruit Regiment under me! Once you get assigned to the grassroots units, you'll be a disaster for everyone around you!"

After that speech, everyone understood one basic principle: it was fine if their physical fitness was lacking, and fine if their housekeeping was poor, but they could not be disunited.

If they were not united, they might get beaten up and looked down on.

Jiang Peng hurriedly admitted his mistake. "I understand, Squad Leader! I'm sorry!"

Hao Chengbin chuckled and waved a hand.

"You haven't wronged me. You've wronged your comrades... Also, Jiang Peng, don't think you're something special just because your education is a little better than theirs. The world is huge, and there are plenty of capable people. Squad Leader Huang, the company clerk, is still a university graduate from a second-tier college. He didn't get promoted to officer, so isn't he still working honestly?

"I see plenty of people in this squad who are steadier and more capable than you! Fang Huai's family has served in the military for generations! Has he ever mentioned it? Sun Lianhai's family is extremely well-off. His father is a civil servant, and his mother is a doctor. Has he ever mentioned it?

"Who were you putting on that long face for after we came out of the company headquarters yesterday? I just couldn't be bothered to say anything. Did you really think I didn't see it? Fang Huai is good with computers—Squad Leader Huang admitted it himself!

"Once you join the military, everyone is equal! Yue Tao only just turned seventeen, but I think he handles pressure far better than you, a twenty-one-year-old!"

Fang Huai rolled his eyes internally at all the praise.

Oh my god, brother, lecture him all you want, but don't drag me into it!

Since when has my family served in the military for generations?

If I bring out Chairman Jiang's Military Medal, will you take responsibility for recognizing me as a descendant of a martyr?

Sun Lianhai, who had also been mentioned, looked humble. "Squad Leader... my family isn't really..."

Fang Huai quickly tugged Sun Lianhai.

Workplace rule: when a leader praises you, especially in front of many people, do not contradict him. At most, say thank you, or give the credit back by saying the leader taught you well.

Maybe he was using you to criticize someone else, or perhaps to indirectly highlight his own ability to lead outstanding people. What was the point of modestly denying it?

Besides, Squad Leader Hao was scolding someone right now. It was enough to put on a grief-stricken face.

The core meaning of sharing honor and disgrace was this: when someone scolded your teammate, you had to feel like everyone had sold that tower together. At the very least, your expression had to be right.

Jiang Peng truly looked as though his parents had died.

He had never dreamed that he, who considered himself the most likely candidate for Assistant Squad Leader in the squad leader's eyes, would draw so many insults because of one sentence.

In truth, Hao Chengbin was merely warning everyone.

Jiang Peng was simply the pig pushed to the front of the storm to take the scolding.

Judging subordinates was also part of establishing authority.

Hao Chengbin raised a finger.

"I'll go over the rules once. Aside from the housekeeping rules I just mentioned, when you meet veteran soldiers, say, 'Hello, Squad Leader.' When you meet officers, say, 'Hello, Chief.' If you need something, report it. Going to the toilet: three minutes for a big one, one minute for a small one. Without permission, you cannot leave the squad!

"Starting today, I'll either be in the squad room or at the company headquarters. Do not leave my sight. Especially: you are not allowed to go downstairs without permission! This is the most important rule. Break it once, and the whole squad will be punished—severely! Keep an eye on each other!

"The rest of the rules are all in the regulations. You'll have time to copy them out. The squad rules will be posted on the wall by the door shortly. Go read them yourselves. If you don't understand something, ask me!

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

"We understand, Squad Leader!" Fang Huai quickly set the example again.

The voices soon became uniform. Hao Chengbin seemed to swallow back another half-formed lecture.

Fang Huai noticed it.

He was not really someone who enjoyed unity. The mindset he had developed over more than a decade of workplace scheming had not fully changed yet.

But this was not then.

Rather than sharing honor and disgrace, they were more like grasshoppers tied to the same rope. He had no choice but to pay attention to every word and action of everyone in the squad if he did not want to get caught in the crossfire.

The talk about rules soon ended.

"Ahem, Fang Huai."

"Here!" Fang Huai snapped to attention.

"Come here."

Hao Chengbin beckoned him outside the squad room.

After the door closed, Hao Chengbin glanced at him and slowly said, "I know you may have received some military-style education at home, but your comrades need to find their own way as they grow. There's a difference between helping and doing things for them. Do you understand?

"Like Peng Yingqirui's quilt this morning—you folded it for him, didn't you? You can tell him how to do it, but don't do it for him. And don't let him simply imitate what you do. He has to figure it out himself, or he'll never truly learn. Do you understand?"

Those two questions made Fang Huai ponder deeply.

Maybe he had been too selfish.

He stood at attention and said, "Understood, Squad Leader! But this morning, I saw he still hadn't folded it properly, and I was afraid the company would inspect us and our squad would lose points! From now on, I definitely won't try to force his growth!"

As Fang Huai spoke, he sighed inwardly.

An old squad leader really is an old squad leader! He's hardly ever around, but he knows everything!

"Mm!" Hao Chengbin patted Fang Huai on the shoulder.

"With you in the squad, I'm fairly at ease! I originally didn't plan to appoint any Assistant Squad Leader—it isn't good for unity! But I think you have potential! Work hard!"

"Yes, Squad Leader!" Fang Huai rarely showed such excitement.

He had no choice but to take the initiative. He was genuinely afraid that Hao Chengbin would not appoint an Assistant Squad Leader even after they joined the company. If that happened, who would pay the bill for his Merit System?