After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Colonel, Hao Chengbin surely won’t be able to speak up.

But if the Colonel comes up here, the Chief of Staff would surely be with him.

Hao Chengbin wanted to follow the Colonel’s team from behind, to find an opportunity to ask the Chief of Staff what was the situation with Fang Huai’s punishment.

But before he could wait in the corridor for the Colonel and his party, Squad Six Leader Yang Hui and Squad One Leader Sun Yi came out of the class.

Upon seeing Hao Chengbin standing in the corridor, Yang Hui hurried over.

"Squad Leader Hao, you’re here? Have you seen Colonel Huang and Colonel Zhang? I heard they’ve already reached the second floor!"

Hao Chengbin was startled, "What Colonel Zhang? The Vice Head of the new recruit group is surnamed Han! Don’t call it wrong later!... Vice Head Han is here too?"

The Vice Head of the new recruit group seldom visited since his appointment, as he also had a lot on his plate, serving mostly in a nominal capacity, and appeared only for meetings.

Suddenly, Sun Yi chimed in, "It’s Colonel Zhang! Our Colonel! When we were new recruits, he was the Colonel of the new recruit group!"

"Detachment Captain Zhang?!"

Hao Chengbin immediately understood!

Sun Yi had been a soldier for four years, now entering his fifth, and Yang Hui into his fourth year. Three to four years ago, the Colonel of the new recruit group was Zhang Zhongting.

Sun Yi immediately nodded, "Right, right, right, now he is the Deputy Regimental Commander of the provincial city, has been Colonel for many years!"

"Seven years as a Colonel, he became one at 35, he was the youngest Colonel in our whole corps back then. This year he is supposed to be promoted to Deputy Division Head, it’s just bad luck for him. With seven years in three posts, he has long qualified for Deputy Division Head, but there has been no position available."

Hao Chengbin spoke leisurely, as if talking to himself.

Sun Yi and Yang Hui immediately turned, with a look of surprise on their faces.

"Squad Leader Hao, you know him?"

Hao Chengbin sighed, hands behind his back as he turned and walked towards the class.

How could I not know him, this guy still freakin’ owes me money!

With Fang Huai’s big protector arriving, staying in the corridor became meaningless.

...

As soon as Hao Chengbin pushed the door, the new recruits sprung up and shouted loudly.

"Good day, Colonel! Good day, Chief of Staff! Good day, senior officers!"

Hao Chengbin was scared into a jolt.

"Damn, what are you shouting for?!"

In less than three seconds, Wang Jian and Liang Longhui also arrived at the classroom door.

They said the same thing, "Damn, what are you shouting for?"

The new recruits too were startled, instantly looking wronged.

Fang Huai’s face twitched, "Report! I just told them the Colonel was coming, and to shout if someone opened the door; the squad leader returns, and... their reaction was a bit too quick..."

Wang Jian patted his chest, calming his racing heart.

He had just put the spare blanket on the bed and was fixing the bedsheets!

"Don’t shout randomly, okay!" Wang Jian instructed fiercely again, pointing at Fang Huai as he did so.

Fang Huai, a bit embarrassed, raised his hand in apology.

Hao Chengbin also laughed, patting Wang Jian’s shoulder, "Don’t worry, with me in the class, nothing will go wrong."

"Okay, when the Colonel leaves, come to the Brigade Department," Wang Jian knowing Hao Chengbin was concerned about Fang Huai’s issue, mentioned it specially.

Liang Longhui looked at Hao Chengbin with a complex gaze, said nothing, and left.

The door closed.

Hao Chengbin sat on the edge of the bed, dusted off his trousers, and even blew a breath of air leisurely.

All the new recruits kept their heads down, appearing studious—the atmosphere was like that of a college entrance examination prep class.

Fang Huai looked up at the squad leader, puzzled.

The squad leader’s face showed none of the heavy concern from before.

In fact, he appeared... angry.

"... Squad leader, you’ve only been out for two minutes, what happened?" Fang Huai asked nervously.

Hao Chengbin chuckled, then bent down again to dust off his leg.

Damn, the squad leader is angry.

Fang Huai’s mind raced to recall that Squad Leader Hao had headed towards the corridor.

Could it be he went to find a few other squad leaders?

The ones who frequently report the class situation to him... Squad Six Leader?

Squad Six Leader...

Damn, Squad Six Leader is a big blabbermouth, damn.

Fang Huai quickly turned and said, "Squad leader, about that ascension channel story you told your uncle the other day, I didn’t mean to tell Squad Six Leader! He was right there, forcing me to say it!"

Hao Chengbin was stunned.

"Pfft!" Lu Zexian, who was pretending to read a book with his head down, couldn’t hold back a laugh, and his snot burst out with it.

Containing laughter is contagious.

The others thought more and more about it and began to laugh out loud.

"I freakin’... Fang Huai! Do they all know now?!" Hao Chengbin roared.

"Haha..." A wave of subdued giggles.

The new recruits outright laughed out the answer.

"I... I didn’t say, Squad Six Leader made me, or he was going to deal with me!" Fang Huai desperately shifted the blame.

I heard Squad Six Leader is also from the Anshun Special Service Squadron, a soldier once led by Squad Leader Hao, a case of misfortune for others but not for oneself.

"Damn..."

Hao Chengbin was so angry he almost forgot about Colonel Zhang’s matter.

After calming down for a few seconds, Hao Chengbin finally got serious and directly asked, "Fang Huai, where did you get a mobile phone to make a call from?"

"From Squad Six Leader! Wasn’t it you who called him and had me answer that day?"

Fang Huai was still caught up in his uncle’s absence.

"You took his mobile and called home?" Hao Chengbin asked with a cold voice.

"No, not at all!" Fang Huai replied, puzzled.

Hao Chengbin saw no sign of deception in him, and doubted that Yang Hui would have allowed it, his expression finally relaxed.

"That’s what the regiment department announced..."

"What?" Fang Huai asked back.

Hao Chengbin waved his hand: "It’s nothing, your uncle is here."

"Huh?" At this, the whole squad looked up and asked.

Fang Huai immediately stood up, exclaiming in alarm, "Damn! Who let him come??"

Damn, I haven’t made my mark yet! I’m about to be punished! Why did you come, uncle!

Hao Chengbin was also amused. Seeing Fang Huai’s reaction, he knew it wasn’t him who had called. He joked,

"Hmm, I notified him to come. It just so happened that I returned today, so I asked Little Zhang to wait for me at the regiment. I have a talking-to to give him."

Fang Huai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Squad leader, who is his uncle?"

"Where’s his uncle at!"

The new recruits were all stunned. Could relatives come to see their family members in the new recruit group?

I’ve never heard of that!

Hao Chengbin was about to speak when he heard something, immediately gestured "Shh," listened again, and promptly stood up.

"He’s here, he’s here, read your books!"

Fang Huai also sat down with a dazed look in his eyes, feeling utterly dejected.

This time around, I’ve let my uncle see me make a fool of myself again.

This start, again not off to a good start... can I restart?

The system didn’t give a shit about him.

Hey, even when Liang Longhui was messing with him, he didn’t think of asking his uncle to come over. He just wanted to achieve some results first.

At least... that would give him more sway, right?

A child’s performance is the capital to act with airs in front of elders. This was certainly true in his family.

Now, Fang Huai’s memories were quite clear.

Back when he took the college exams, his uncle had encouraged him: "If you get into a tier-two university, I’ll give you a red envelope with a month’s salary!"

These days, that’s several thousand yuan!

What kind of pampering is that?

If his uncle saw more of his good side, how much easier would it be to get his uncle to do things for him in the future!

"Squad leader, you’ve got to praise me more later!" Fang Huai hurriedly said.

Hao Chengbin was also stunned: "The colonel is here, what praise can I give you?"

A sensible child like Fang Huai, does he still need praise from others?

Isn’t that clear to his family?

What, too many good kids at home, so the competitive pressure is high?

"Uh... I’ll try to find a way to call you down with me!"

No sooner had Fang Huai finished speaking than the voices outside neared.

It was in his uncle’s tone.

"Hey, Old Huang, look at these accommodations, they’re still not up to snuff. The base is such a large revenue-generating unit, earning so much from training each year. Submit a report and give the New Training Building a proper renovation! If it were me, I’d tear it down and rebuild it!"

"Hahaha... why didn’t you renovate it when you were here? At least I’ve done some refurbishment since I took over!"

"When I was here, everything was turned in! Not like now, when you can retain some of your funds. You’re rich now, the only revenue-generating unit in the whole regiment! And you still complain!"

The two chatted amiably about things most of the people on this floor didn’t understand, completely at ease.

But when the door to Squad Nine opened, everyone saw just how many people were outside.

Damn, it seemed like the cadres of the regiment department and the commanders from 9 brigades were all outside, a mass of twinkling stars; the corridor might not have had enough air for them all.

"Greetings, Colonel! Hello, Chiefs!" Squad Nine’s new recruits shot to their feet and greeted them loudly.

Zhang Zhongting, rather informal, was holding the doorknob and glanced at Fang Huai, saying with a smile,

"Oh? Little Fang, you’re doing alright, sitting in the front row now? Did you ever sit in the front row back at school?"

This tone was just the same as when he teased him as a child. It was very awkward in this context but also very endearing to Fang Huai.

But this comment left the cadres behind him completely bewildered.

What’s the situation? This new recruit knows the leader?

By that tone, it couldn’t be like in TV dramas where the leader had helped buy cigarettes, could it?

"Reporting, Chief! I am Fang Huai, Deputy Squad Leader of Squad Nine, Seventh Brigade!" Fang Huai was utterly solemn, not going along with the leader’s banter at all. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

His uncle sensed the real change in Fang Huai and became a bit more serious as well, nodding and uttering a "Hmm" before looking around the squad.

"Greetings, Chief!" Hao Chengbin promptly saluted.

"Hmm... oh! It’s you, Little Hao!" Zhang Zhongting recognized Hao Chengbin and returned the salute, shaking his hand.

A handshake, a sign of respect reserved for senior non-commissioned officers and elite soldiers.

To Zhang Zhongting, those Squad One Leaders who led recruits were not much different from new recruits themselves.

Hao Chengbin too was excited by the handshake and being addressed directly by the leader.

This treatment was earned by him and signified the leader’s recognition.

He straightened up even more.

"Yes, Chief!"

Zhang Zhongting smiled, "We’re in the same detachment, you should call me Deputy Detachment Commander! How is it, the life in Guiyang Special Duty compared to your previous position in Anshun Special Duty – is it tougher or better?"

Hao Chengbin was both delighted and embarrassed.

I haven’t opened my mouth, how did you bring it up already?

Of course, the embarrassment was on behalf of the leader.

"Detachment Commander... I haven’t been transferred yet; the paperwork hasn’t been done."

Zhang Zhongting was taken aback: "How has it not been done? Is your detachment not letting you go?"

Hao Chengbin felt a bit awkward; under normal circumstances, getting on the wrong side of leadership and having your paperwork stalled meant you had to be careful with your words.

But Fang Huai gave him an encouraging look at just the right time.

After a moment’s thought, Hao Chengbin spoke frankly, "The Special Service Squadron 2 informed me that they are full. I might have to wait until after next year’s Grand Martial Arts Competition to go."