Incident Occurs

Hao Chengbin followed Wang Jian into the company headquarters and saw Jiang Peng's disappointing face again. Pan Zhaohui was sitting next to him, fiddling with his phone and tapping the table every couple of seconds.

"What's up? Did a new recruit from Eighth Squad cause trouble? That's not my problem, is it?"

Hao Chengbin pulled up a stool and sat down, adopting an attitude of detachment.

Having played the suona at countless weddings and funerals over the years, he could pretty much guess what was going on from their expressions.

Pan Zhaohui muttered something, cursing foully, using anatomical terms.

Wang Jian sighed.

"Jiang Peng stole Pan Zhaohui's phone this morning and sent a text. The person replied, using an internal short code. It's probably his uncle."

Firefighting cadres often have short codes from the Public Security Department. These short codes are updated annually. The first three digits correspond to the detachment, and the last three indicate the department and rank. Basically, seeing a short code tells you which unit and which leader it belongs to.

Soldiers who have worked in the headquarters also have short codes, so when Jiang Peng used Pan Zhaohui's phone to send the message, the recipient knew who it was.

Hao Chengbin suddenly stood up, his tone noticeably more serious.

"Pan Zhaohui, Wang Jian, you're both veterans. Do you still need to ask for my opinion on something like this? Or is it that you don't want to handle it yourselves and want me to do it?"

Jiang Peng quickly moved aside.

Wang Jian sighed.

"Old Pan, show Old Hao the text message."

Pan Zhaohui got up and handed his phone to Hao Chengbin.

"This brat... I finally understand why even you can't handle him."

With that, he walked outside to get some air.

Hao Chengbin picked up the phone, glanced at Jiang Peng, then looked down at the screen.

The message sent was: Uncle, it's Jiang Peng. I really can't stand it here anymore. The squad leader beats me every day. After I switched squads, the new squad leader beats me too. I want to go back to my original squad, but the original squad leader won't let me. Can you let me go back to my original squad?

The reply was: You're in the recruit company, how can you use a phone? Who let you use it? Hand it over immediately, I'll be there in a bit!

Hao Chengbin let out a cold laugh.

No wonder they didn't deal with Jiang Peng.

His uncle's reply was very skillful. First, he pointed out Jiang Peng's mistake, then said he'd be there soon.

The person was coming over soon, so why would they make trouble for him now?

While the message protected Jiang Peng, no one could find fault with the wording.

"Jiang Peng, you damn troublemaker!" Hao Chengbin cursed and put the phone on the table.

Jiang Peng was already starting to regret his actions. He had thought that since he had notified his uncle, nothing would happen to him.

Unexpectedly, Pan Zhaohui had directly shown his uncle's reply to him.

And he, a recent junior college graduate, hadn't grasped the underlying meaning of his uncle's words at all. He just thought his uncle was coming to settle the score with him too.

Of course, if he had been able to understand that layer of meaning, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation.

Hao Chengbin gave Wang Jian a look and walked towards the door.

Wang Jian followed him.

They closed the door and the three of them walked a little further away.

"What should we do?"

Pan Zhaohui spoke first. He was the squad leader now and had beaten Jiang Peng yesterday.

The Regimental Commander had just issued an order yesterday. If this blew up, it wouldn't just be "acting against orders," it would be like dancing on the edge of a knife.

Wang Jian rolled his eyes. "Brother, you're so ruthless. You beat him right after the meeting and now you're asking me?"

"Damn it, Wang Jian, we're fellow recruits!" Pan Zhaohui was also very worried.

Hao Chengbin, however, waved his hand. "I think as long as they're sensible, they won't dwell on this. Let's discuss how to deal with this new recruit first."

Wang Jian immediately shook his head. "Discharging him is impossible unless Jiang Peng's family requests it. With this kind of connection, it's difficult. I think... the Chief of Staff might have to make the final decision."

"In any case, don't foist this new recruit on me again. I won't take him," Hao Chengbin said, knowing Wang Jian wanted to smooth things over, and cutting off that possibility.

Hao Chengbin was also a little scared. Wang Jian was a cadre, after all, and his perspective on problems was different from theirs as non-commissioned officers. His priority was always to avoid trouble. While Wang Jian could usually handle things, with this happening these past couple of days, he might become a scapegoat for the regiment.

Seeing Hao Chengbin's wary expression, Wang Jian immediately adopted a nonchalant attitude.

"Ah, I don't care anymore. If it really comes to it, send me back! It's almost Chinese New Year, and the squadron is swamped! If it weren't for Old Pan, I wouldn't bother! But if the Chief of Staff orders me back, I really can't do anything about it! Old Hao, you'll have to talk to the Chief of Staff yourself!"

At Wang Jian's level, things were difficult. He had to consider the leaders' attitudes from above, maintain unity among the veterans below, and occasionally deal with issues from colleagues, requiring mutual support. It was like how the Political Instructor had been in the hospital since training began, and he was managing the company headquarters alone, which was understandable.

With veterans like Hao Chengbin, he couldn't just issue orders without considering their feelings. He could only pretend to be close and then explain the difficulties.

Life isn't like a military drama, all passion and fire. If you don't use your brain and just bark orders, telling people to execute commands or get lost, it only works if you're so strong you completely crush the veterans, earning their respect, or if you've been around long enough.

Hao Chengbin knew Wang Jian was making excuses.

"Heh, then let's see what Old Hei says! Leading soldiers is like coaxing a child, it's tough!"

Hao Chengbin walked towards Ninth Squad with his hands behind his back, leaving Wang Jian and Pan Zhaohui.

"Can you really not quit?" Pan Zhaohui frowned.

Wang Jian shook his head. "It's not easy. It's not that you can't quit, but quitting just a week after training started... the first time, it can be overlooked. The second time, the higher-ups will definitely investigate.

What happens if there's a situation where you absolutely have to dismiss someone later?

And it's for a reason like this, and the recruit is a leader's relative. This is just causing trouble for the regiment. Even if the report goes up, it won't be approved."

Pan Zhaohui couldn't help but curse, "MMP, I thought coming here to lead a soldier would be like a vacation back in the provincial capital. Turns out, no benefits and I'm covered in shit!"

Wang Jian smiled and advised, "It's not entirely bad. Since the leader has already intervened, you should try to keep this soldier stable and train him well. Maybe when it comes to transferring to the detachment, they'll actually help you. At least on the provincial capital side, you've made a connection. For the Anshun Detachment, you can figure something out yourself. It might just happen.

If you can actually get transferred to the provincial capital because of this, isn't that turning misfortune into a blessing? It just means you need to be a bit gentler in your methods. What's so difficult about that?"

Seeing that Hao Chengbin was difficult to persuade, Wang Jian could only try to find a solution through Pan Zhaohui.

Hearing this, Pan Zhaohui's heart stirred, and half of his anger dissipated.

But he still wore a look of disdain on his face. "Forget it, I'd rather have someone easier to deal with! If you're not strict when leading soldiers, what can you achieve? You don't think Hao Chengbin's good performance in the past was because he's a pushover, do you?

This is your first time leading new recruits, you don't know. I've led soldiers with him before! He used to be a notorious 'new recruit killer'!

Now, there's a capable assistant squad leader in the squad who has saved his face several times, and he's finally starting to delegate!"

These past few days, the ability of Ninth Squad's assistant squad leader had been evident to all. The morning inspections, the daily order of the squad – all worthy of praise. Yet, during his free time, Hao Chengbin was often not in the squad.

Pan Zhaohui had to acknowledge Fang Huai's capabilities.

Upon Wang Jian's reminder, he finally remembered something and smiled, "This Fang Huai is indeed a good soldier. He'd be an asset in any position."

Pan Zhaohui saw through his intentions and chuckled slyly, "It's a shame he's likely to be snatched away to Guiyang! ...Hey, Squad Leader Wang, if you transfer that young man to our class, I promise to help you snatch him to Anshun!"

Wang Jian burst into laughter. "Damn it, Old Pan, you're trying to force Hao Chengbin to come find me and fight me! I know the troop allocation mechanism better than you. Are you trying to trick me? New recruits can't just go wherever they want!

I'll tell you the truth, I've already reported the name to Chief of Staff Huang of the detachment! Once he gets to Anshun, he'll be a soldier in our Development Zone Squadron!

Hao Chengbin's hard work will ultimately be for us to train!"

"Damn it, you're the sly one!"

After breakfast, Hao Chengbin wandered around downstairs. He didn't run into the Chief of Staff and felt a bit unsure, so he didn't go directly to the Chief of Staff's office to find him.

As soon as he returned to the squad, he touched his forehead.

The new recruits stood up and said in low voices, "Good morning, Squad Leader!"

Hao Chengbin waved his hand. Seeing the new recruits sit down and lower their heads, reciting their materials, he let out a breath.

These kids were still obedient.

Fang Huai had actually been secretly writing song lyrics on his notes.

He was racking his brain trying to write "The Lone Warrior," but he could only remember a few lines of the chorus and the melody. He'd heard the verses countless times but couldn't recall the lyrics. It seemed he really needed to improve his memory.

This idea came to him after hearing Hao Chengbin say, "Firefighting doesn't have cultural soldiers." If this song could be produced by firefighters and promoted, it would perfectly fit the theme and earn merits and awards.

Attending military academy took four years, and by then, the system would be almost reformed. What a waste! If this thing had a good promotional effect and the conditions were met, maybe he could even get a promotion to officer!

Besides, he didn't have many military merits. He couldn't always think of snatching them from his comrades; he had to find other ways!

This morning, from the company commander to the squad leader, and then to him, the assistant squad leader, everyone was calculating their own interests.

"Squad Leader, why do you look so upset?" a voice came from the last row of the squad.

Hao Chengbin saw it was Han Yong speaking and quickly controlled his emotions, waving his hand.

"It's nothing, just keep studying... Bring honor to the squad!"

Fang Huai noticed something was off.

He wasn't a god; no one could guess what had happened while Hao Chengbin was out.

However, he had an information advantage. Recalling carefully, he realized the squad leader's behavior after coming in showed some emotion.

He decisively stood up.

"Squad Leader, there's something I need to report to you privately."

Hao Chengbin frowned, but out of trust, he opened the door and left the squad.

Fang Huai followed him out and closed the door.

"What is it?" Hao Chengbin glanced at the company headquarters, then walked a few steps further away.

"Squad Leader, was what happened just now about Jiang Peng?" Fang Huai asked directly.

Hao Chengbin was startled but didn't rush to respond, asking instead.

"What's going on? What do you know?"

Fang Huai recounted what happened that morning.

After listening, Hao Chengbin became somewhat annoyed. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"

Fang Huai sighed. "If I had said something, wouldn't that have been equivalent to indirectly telling you his conditions?

The transfer of the squad leader, the rotation of new recruits, those aren't things I can comment on.

Not saying anything is precisely what I, as a new recruit, should do!"

Hao Chengbin was rendered speechless.