Why Is No One Coming to Comfort Me? (Seeking Favorites, Monthly Tickets)

(These two chapters are a bit slow, otherwise the dialogue might feel a bit chaotic)

Hao Chengbin thought for a long time before speaking.

"Then you shouldn't have asked. I know what happened, it's not your fault, I'll handle it... Don't tell Han Yong, he shouldn't know either."

Fang Huai shook his head, "Squad Leader, I came to you because I have a way. Can you tell me what's going on? Did his uncle put in a word?"

Hao Chengbin organized his thoughts. He felt that if this matter caused trouble, the regiment would likely question Fang Huai as well, so he pointed towards the stairwell on the other side, indicating they should talk somewhere further away.

After listening, Fang Huai deeply felt Jiang Peng was amazing.

Damn, he even dared to touch the phone by the squad leader's pillow. There were new recruits folding quilts in the hallway outside, and they could enter the squad at any moment. Thinking about it was thrilling.

If this guy were in a unit with guns, he'd probably dare to shoot the squad leader in the back.

"Actually, this isn't that difficult," Fang Huai thought and concluded, "As long as a regiment leader is present, just mention that Han Yong has been performing well in Ninth Squad."

"What?" Hao Chengbin frowned, not understanding.

Fang Huai stated directly, "Han Yong's family also has connections, and they're at the Detachment level. The regiment leaders will definitely know, and they probably won't transfer him around."

Hao Chengbin's eyes lit up with understanding, and he couldn't help but ruffle Fang Huai's hair.

"You clever devil, you pay attention to a lot of things in a day! You're good at this. Do you have any connections?"

Fang Huai was taken aback and quickly changed the subject with a smile, "Of course, I do! Squad Leader, you're my connection! If I get bullied outside in the future, I'll use your name!"

"Hahahaha..." Hao Chengbin burst into laughter.

When the two returned to the squad, they ran into Wang Jian, who had come out to stand guard during the weekend break.

Hao Chengbin had his arm around Fang Huai's shoulder, his smile uncontainable.

"Hello, Company Commander!" Fang Huai stood at attention and saluted, then followed Hao Chengbin into the squad.

Wang Jian was completely bewildered.

What trick did this Fang Huai use to make Hao Chengbin so happy?

Why isn't anyone trying to make me happy?

Around 10 AM, a black Passat with "WJ" at the beginning drove into the base.

The person who got out was in plain clothes and went directly into the base's office building.

The middle-aged man with a broad face and a jacket, Deputy Director Liu, saw the sign for "Director's Office" and knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock."

"Old Yang! Still on duty today?"

Yang Yonghua turned his head upon hearing the voice, a smile appearing on his dark face as he said loudly.

"That's right! How can it compare to your detachment? With winter and summer training here, my work in the Combat Training Department never stops."

The director of the Combat Training Department was Yang Yonghua's position at the base, and he was responsible for the detailed arrangements of various training matters.

"Our detachment is also very busy," Deputy Director Liu said with a slightly embarrassed smile.

You're so busy, and I've come to add to your troubles.

Yang Yonghua got up and poured him a cup of tea, saying, "It's rare to see you. It's good that your detachment is busy. Look, you get promoted faster than us. Unlike us, who are struggling and only get an 'excellent' rating at the end of the year!"

Deputy Director Liu jokingly pointed to the position of his service ribbons on his chest, "Aren't you also a deputy regiment commander? It's just one more star. You should be promoted this year too, right?"

"About that, in the first half of the year." Yang Yonghua took a sip of tea and stopped talking, waiting for him to speak.

Wang Jian had already reported this morning's events to him. Although he was a bit angry, he was used to it.

It's all about human relationships.

When someone comes to pull strings, there are bound to be incidents.

Deputy Director Liu was also perceptive. He leaned closer, resting his elbows on the table, and said proactively, "This morning... did the New Recruit Regiment submit a report to you?"

Yang Yonghua feigned realization, "Oh, you mean your nephew? It's nothing major. I met him a couple of days ago."

"Oh?" Deputy Director Liu was a little surprised, "What do you mean?"

Yang Yonghua waved his hand, "He was a bit disobedient, so I educated him. He said he wanted to change squads, so I transferred him."

Deputy Director Liu showed a hint of blame, "How can you just transfer him if he wants to? Director Huang, the commander of the New Recruit Regiment this year, is my old leader. If he finds out, won't he scold me?"

Transferring squads back then was already irregular; he should have been transferred back!

Yang Yonghua shook his head, "It's fine. It's just that if he wants to transfer again, it won't be easy. Director Huang held a meeting yesterday and said that the ideological issues of the new recruits would hold the squad leaders responsible. If there were problems, the respective squad leaders would be held accountable. I only arranged for the regiment staff to submit the responsibility assignment table last night.

Look, I just switched Jiang Peng's squad, and I specifically arranged for someone to replace this table to avoid mistakes."

Yang Yonghua spoke, taking a form from a desk drawer and placing it with mock seriousness in front of Deputy Director Liu.

Deputy Director Liu took it and also pretended to read it carefully, suppressing a smile.

You worked hard, Old Yang. You even made a new recruit class roster to fob me off in your busy schedule.

However, he also knew Yang Yonghua's personality. There were some things this Old Yang just couldn't stand.

After some thought, he changed his approach and said, "Then, those two squad leaders, can I meet them to understand Little Jiang's situation? Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble."

This time, Yang Yonghua didn't refuse and directly picked up the phone.

"I'll call them over for you."

This Little Pan, causing trouble like this at a critical moment, he deserves a scolding.

Deputy Director Liu offered an apologetic smile.

"Then I'll trouble you! By the way, you said... what happened that day?"

Twenty minutes later, Wang Jian, Pan Zhaohui, Hao Chengbin, and Jiang Peng appeared at the doorway.

"Report!" Wang Jian led, knocking on the door.

Jiang Peng saw who was sitting inside and almost burst into tears.

Every day felt like a year! The people who have my back are finally here!

Deputy Director Liu saw Jiang Peng looking like he was about to cry and frowned. Without a clear subject, he sternly asked, "Were you disciplined by your squad leader?"

This was the first question, directly bringing up the issue of hitting a soldier.

Jiang Peng's tears immediately fell. "Mm... Uncle."

"You deserve it! Who told you to secretly use someone else's phone? Do you know the nature of that?"

This was the second question, regarding Pan Zhaohui using a mobile phone in the new recruit regiment.

Deputy Director Liu's two sentences directly implicated Pan Zhaohui.

Pan Zhaohui cursed inwardly.

Why explain it so clearly? Does he want the Chief of Staff to discipline me?

Yang Yonghua, however, heard another meaning.

He first said he was disciplined, then asked, "Who told you to steal the phone?" It seemed like stealing the phone was the cause and being disciplined was the effect, reversing the cause-and-effect relationship between the two events.

Jiang Peng had stolen the phone because he was disciplined.

The order could be reversed at any time, meaning this matter could have different outcomes.

In a broader sense, first the beating, then the stolen phone, implying Pan Zhaohui intentionally assaulted the new recruit, causing the recruit to be unable to endure it and steal a phone to inform his family.

In a narrower sense, the new recruit stole a phone and was disciplined by the squad leader.

This Old Liu was warning Pan Zhaohui.

Yang Yonghua couldn't help but remind him, tapping the desk. "Little Jiang, wasn't transferring to this squad unsuitable for you? Didn't you request it yourself? We fulfilled your request, so why did this happen? Calling your uncle over, are you dissatisfied with my arrangements?"

Jiang Peng had strongly requested the transfer himself. He chose his own squad leader and was still not satisfied?

Seeing the Chief of Staff's anger, Jiang Peng became flustered. "No... no dissatisfaction, but Squad Leader Pan hit me..."

"Cough!" Deputy Director Liu coughed heavily.

You foolish child, if things are already out in the open, what else is there to discuss!

He then berated Jiang Peng, "Jiang Peng, you still think you shouldn't have been disciplined? How much more serious does something have to be? Does the Interior Regulations permit new recruits to use mobile phones?"

As soon as he said this, even Hao Chengbin put his hands in his pockets and pressed the power button fiercely for a while.

Damn it, not only new recruits, but veterans too!

The use of mobile phones in the fire services was quite special compared to the general military's "one, two, three, four" level of combat readiness.

Fire services only had three levels of combat readiness: Level One, Level Two, and a constant readiness level specific to the fire services.

"Normal constant readiness, and frequent Level Two readiness" was the norm for the fire services.

Only in the fire services would you see the company commander occasionally shouting "Level Two readiness is canceled" in the courtyard, and then a group of people would rush into the company's computer room like crazy to play games.

In any other military unit, a "Level Two readiness" would mean something major had happened, and personnel on leave would have to stop their leave, and troop deployments might even need to be altered.

Under such combat readiness conditions, as long as personnel were in the company, their officially registered "duty phones" could often be kept on.

Hao Chengbin and Pan Zhaohui's phones were registered, but strictly speaking, they should have been for official use during duty or combat readiness.

However, upon entering the new recruit regiment, and not responding to incidents or being on duty, they shouldn't have been carrying them.

His mentioning this was intended to escalate the matter.

I am not repeatedly mentioning the issue of hitting soldiers to give face to the new recruit regiment, but the text message sent from that phone is on my phone.

If the Squad Leader didn't carry a phone according to regulations, how could Jiang Peng send a text message? Whose fault is it?

If they really investigate phones strictly, can these old soldiers with families put up with it?

What a sly old fox.

The Chief of Staff usually turns a blind eye to phone control, but that doesn't stop someone from forcibly prying your eyes open, does it?

Jiang Peng finally sensed the strange atmosphere and didn't speak, uncharacteristically not holding his uncle back.

Pan Zhaohui finally felt the gap between himself and a mature cadre. He gritted his teeth, took out his phone, and said, "Chief of Staff, I..."

Deputy Director Liu interrupted with a smile, "It's Squad Leader Hao and Squad Leader Pan, right?"

"Yes," Hao Chengbin answered proactively.

Pan Zhaohui was too proud to answer the man in plain clothes; Hao Chengbin helped him out of a tight spot.

Deputy Director Liu clapped his hands and laughed, "Squad Leader Hao, you're famous throughout the detachment! Last year during training, I was there too. You and Chen Bin from the Qiannan Detachment on the hook ladder scaling to the fourth floor were both excellent!

An old sergeant, your demeanor is no weaker than Chen Bin's in his fifth year! That Chen Bin also wants to join the provincial special services, but he's still a notch below you!"

Hao Chengbin chuckled, "It's Detachment Commander Zhang who thinks highly of me."

"Yes, yes, yes. I specifically called Army Headquarters to ask. Your paperwork is being signed, and you'll likely be seeing yourself at the detachment soon! Congratulations!"

Deputy Director Liu had no authority over this matter, so he merely issued a few mild warnings before shifting the conversation to Pan Zhaohui.

"Squad Leader Pan, Company Commander Wang, I'm quite sorry about this. It's my fault for sending him to the unit without proper education, causing trouble. As a family member, I beg you to discipline him well!

Your Chief of Staff Huang is also my classmate, and Old Yang's. Next time I come to Anshun, I'll visit him and definitely treat you to a meal!"

Yang Yonghua had been watching from the side and felt that although Old Liu hadn't overstepped his bounds, he was a bit too much of the host. He cleared his throat to remind him.

"Let's follow the New Recruit Regiment's system. You're an old cadre yourself, and you came in person to say a few words. Do you think I, the Chief of Staff, am not doing my job properly? Don't worry! You won't be wronged!"