"... Little Fang is the person in charge of the leaders’ selection, always hassling for a helicopter, saying it’s crucial for province-wide rapid support in the future. Ha, am I not aware? But where does our whole corps get a helicopter? We don’t even have a pilot!"
Boss Wu briefly explained the situation and its background in just a few words.
The surrounding leaders felt a collective tightness in their chests.
This is trouble.
This Boss Wu is being unusually forthright today. The match has barely started, and he’s already putting the bowl out begging!
A single helicopter isn’t enough to scare the leaders present here today. They all hold financial power, and with the governnt and the Ministry of Public Security overseeing the Fire Brigade Headquarters, it’s only right they give support.
Especially this year.
Secretary General Hao’s presence here is because the firefighting forces have repeatedly perford extraordinary feats amidst frequent disasters. The publicity for this year’s firefighting has at least doubled or tripled compared to last year. Wherever there’s a disaster, they’re there, and the firefighting forces are gaining more attention from the state.
The local areas need them too.
But this plea for support is a bit too blunt.
Inviting us here to support a Squadron-level unit?
At this mont, General Luo, who had a keen understanding of the art of conversation, imdiately added:
"Every family has its own hard-to-read scriptures. Our whole corps has held several etings for this national pilot sche. It’s a major and positive initiative that benefits the entire national firefighting system and has been placed upon us and the Hunan General Team. Unfortunately, when it cos to financial and equipnt support, we fall behind the Hunan General Team. Our whole corps truly finds itself in a tight spot."
This matter is significant. We too want to compete with Hunan, but we just can’t match the support they receive.
The surrounding leaders nodded empathetically with worried expressions, but none of them spoke up.
The only one with a more relaxed outlook was the active duty Colonel from the office.
Besides, I don’t have any money.
We’re just an office.
The Active Duty Office is responsible for the assessnts, promotions, rank assignnts, and placents of the active-duty forces within the three branches of police, firefighting, and border security forces.
Even though it’s a high-level division within the Ministry with a rank equivalent to that of a division, it doesn’t have a financial departnt, so monetary matters don’t concern them.
What they care more about is the combat capability of the firefighting forces.
Finally, soone turned their attention to the start of the conversation.
"Comrade Xiao Fang, do you intend to break all the individual event records? Are you serious? With so many leaders around, there can be no fakery. If you’re thinking of skirting the rules to break records, that won’t do. Records have archives, operational procedures, and I can understand them at a glance."
Even if it’s a scam orchestrated for funding, he was curious to see how high this young fellow could jump.
He knew very well that records are not so easily broken. Shattering four at once is nothing short of a pipe dream.
If it weren’t for the occasion, and his military status, he would’ve already coldly said, "Don’t feed that nonsense."
Asking for money is one thing, but don’t joke with the rules of the troops. Their departnt is there to uphold the regulations of the active-duty forces.
Casually speaking out for money like this can’t beco a common practice.
But Fang Huai, hearing this doubt, showed no signs of intimidation; rather, he grew even more determined, standing tall as he declared:
"If the leaders would agree to my wager, I can break the records all at once within half an hour! However, I can’t guarantee breaking all four, but at least three!"
He said this because there’s the four-hundred-ter equipnt evacuation event.
The participation in that event is incredibly high; the entire firefighting forces train for it day in, day out. The record is updated frequently, and now, it’s beco a solid wall.
Yet, he had upped the ante for himself.
Half an hour, four events, breaking three.
That should be provocative enough, right?
Sure enough, the three Colonels present twitched.
Two wanted to curse, and one wanted to outright explode.
The withholding Boss Wu and General Luo wanted to say: What aweso tale are you spinning them?
The active duty Colonel on the brink of losing his temper wanted to burst out: What kind of nonsense is this you’re telling ?
Boss Wu and General Luo couldn’t give a direct hint, but the active duty Colonel couldn’t hold it in any longer.
"Boss Wu, I’d like to take a look at the rules for these four events!"
The surrounding leaders breathed a sigh of relief; getting a helicopter is no small matter, seeing Colonel Liu looking livid, breaking the records would surely be challenging.
They didn’t even need to read Liu’s expression to know; anyone with even a bit of training common sense would understand the difficulty was unimaginable.
Breaking a record takes days of preparation, and several in a row? Are they treating past records as if they’re made of paper?
Even if they were paper, that would be paper layered by thousands from generations of the Fire Brigade Headquarters.
But now that things had co to this point, Boss Wu also knew it was ti to show whether it’s a donkey or a horse, and had to take it out for a spin today, so he said sowhat helplessly:
"Little Jiang, ask Training Departnt Director Xu to bring over the Martial Arts Competition details."
"Yes!"
Squad Leader Jiang ran off, leaving a lull among the crowd.
Even Boss Wu didn’t know where Fang Huai’s confidence ca from. Seeing his sparking deanor, Boss Wu montarily found himself at a loss for words, only managing to speak up and encourage Fang Huai:
"Little Fang, now that you’ve made your claim, make sure to perform well later! If you truly keep your promise, I can go to the Provincial Governnt and secure funding for the helicopter. But... it’ll have to wait until your Squadron has established the Sub-team and the province-wide reinforcents are formally in place!"
Establishing the Sub-team and implenting the reinforcent plan were necessary conditions for Boss Wu to ask for money from the Provincial Governnt.
Without this, he couldn’t even begin to ask; it would be no more than empty talk to the leaders.
Yet, hearing this encouragent, Fang Huai imdiately felt grounded.
This was as solid as it could get.
This promise, with such a detailed tiline already, just how significant would a helicopter be to an impoverished whole corps? No amount of pressing could make it happen right now.
Fang Huai, buoyed by the promise, felt his heart pounding wildly. As he spoke, an excited smile couldn’t help but spread across his face.
"Yes, Corps Captain! Mission guaranteed to be completed!"
The awe in the soldiers’ hearts about this whole affair sunk into silence.
In their understanding, even the most aweso Firefighting forces could only move on the ground—was there really a possibility that they could soar in the sky?
After the Sichuan Earthquake, those firefighters who were lucky enough to reach the disaster area by helicopter were already objects of great envy. And now a helicopter might co to their Squadron?
Is the world truly such that the greater the courage of people, the greater the yield of the land?
The Second Squadron had never dread that such an exaggerated dream might actually have a chance of coming true. Veins bulging in their hands from excitent, they all wanted to step up and represent the Squadron, but the atmosphere was sowhat off at the mont, and the referee hadn’t allowed them to move yet. Everyone could only stop there and wait for instructions.
This matter seed even more important than the Martial Arts Competition.
Everyone was quite excited. The leaders realized that there was no imdiate need for funds, and they were quite interested in what ca next. In fact, Secretary General Hao quite admired Fang Huai’s resolve, but fearful that he might not perform well, he refrained from voicing his encouragent.
Other leaders had more or less the sa thought process.
Colonel Liu from the active-duty office, however, looked at Fang Huai, shook his head, and heaved a sigh.
So young, yet so presumptuous.
Director Xu from the Training Departnt wasn’t far from the podium and quickly ca over with a set of regulations.
Without a word, Colonel Liu took the regulations, flipped through them quickly, found the pages concerning the individual events, and then frowned deeply, staring at them for a long while.
The more he looked, the deeper his frown beca.
He didn’t understand what this "Ironman Quadrathlon" was, but he did understand each of the individual operations involved.
Together though, he was puzzled.
"This this this... How do you Firefighters have such an exaggerated individual drill? Isn’t this several events combined together? How did they all get mixed up?"
Boss Wu laughed and said, "This year’s individual event is based entirely on the Grand Martial Arts Competition; there’s not a single easy part. In 2008, Firefighting responsibilities are significant, so of course the challenges won’t be easy. Director Liu, what do you think?"
Only then did Colonel Liu really take a serious look at the soldiers surrounding him, regarding them with additional respect, and sighed:
"The drill is extrely difficult, the kind that grinds people down. You Firefighters are competing in this during your Martial Arts Competition. Can your soldiers take it?"
The surrounding leaders grew more solemn upon hearing this.
Old Liu had given such an exaggerated description; this was serious.
Without responding, Boss Wu glanced at the soldiers around him.
Fang Huai’s lips moved, but he too stopped.
However, the twenty or so mouths behind him opened up.
"Leaders! We can handle it!"
"Give us anything, and we’ll train for it!"
"Right, we’re not afraid!"
The answers were not uniform but the mix of voices conveyed a certain resolve, and the leaders sensed an atmosphere akin to facing death unflinchingly.
A regint of Firefighting Ironn.
With them around, the city can rest assured.
A few leaders who had held their tongues until now nodded, feeling the urge to offer funding spontaneously.
The soldiers were dressed too thinly, the machinery turned too slowly, the pressure from the water guns was too weak.
Boss Wu was also visibly moved.
This Ironman drill was not only grinding down their bodies but also forging their wills.
"Director Xu, allocate an area for Little Fang, and give him half an hour."
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