nycdaug Chapter 247 Solved!
Chapter 247 Solved!
Wu Mantun said with some concern:
"Yuemin, don't make a big deal out of this. I just want to stay in the army. I heard that Zhang Qiang has a relative who is a leader in our army, and not a small one."
"Is that all you're worried about? Why are you just carrying this burden for others?"
Zhong Yuemin said:
“That’s not how you’re supposed to be a good person, Mantun. I know you don’t want to cause trouble and want to perform well to stay in the army, but sometimes the more you care about that, the worse things get. People will only think you’re easy to bully and will take you for granted. In a way, this is my fault, and you’ve suffered an undeserved disaster.”
"what?"
"Don't worry about it," Zhong Yuemin patted the man's shoulder and stood up.
"Stay here for the next few days, eat and drink well, and don't worry about anything else. So what if they have connections? We have them too."
Then left.
Without hesitation, to prevent Zhang Qiang from destroying the 'evidence,' Zhang Haiyang was instructed to call Deputy Director Yu's wife, claiming that the chicken had been found. When they arrived at Zhang Qiang's dormitory in Class One, the boy was fast asleep in bed. Seeing the company commander, political instructor, Zhong Yuemin, and others approaching menacingly, he felt guilty and got out of bed.
"Company commander, what...what's going on here?"
"Little Zhong, where is my chicken?"
Deputy Director Yu's wife's eyes were scanning the dormitory room with the keenness of a radar.
Zhong Yuemin walked over to the bedside and said, "Get off!"
He shoved the person away.
"What...what are you doing?!"
He pulled back the pillow, and sure enough, there was a book underneath. Zhong Yuemin picked it up, flipped through it, and sure enough, there was a chicken feather tucked inside. The feather was very brightly colored. He showed it to Deputy Director Yu's wife, his words dripping with sweetness.
"Aunt Wang, look at this chicken feather. Is it from the rooster that was stolen from your yard?"
Deputy Director Yu's wife recognized him at a glance, and grabbed him.
"Yes, yes, this is the rooster I raised. I raised it from a chick to adulthood. I can recognize its feathers very clearly."
Her voice was trembling with tears, and her eyes were red; it seemed she was truly moved.
Li Ming stepped forward, his face cold.
"Zhang Qiang, did you steal the chickens from Deputy Director Yu's house? Tell me the truth."
"I...I didn't steal it!"
"Where did these chicken feathers come from?" Zhong Yuemin interjected.
"Can't I... I found it on the street?"
"Found it? Heh!" Zhong Yuemin sneered.
“Our company only has a few chickens in Deputy Director Yu’s yard. You picked them up from his yard, didn’t you? Zhang Qiang, you better tell the truth. You’re still denying it at this point. How would we know there was a chicken feather in the book under your pillow? Do you understand? Your accomplices have all confessed to stealing chickens and framing Wu Mantun. You’re still being stubborn. Your accomplices have sold you out, saying it was your idea and you were the mastermind…”
"fart!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiang immediately panicked and jumped out of bed.
“It was Li Si and Wang Wu who did it. I... I just lent a hand. How did I become the mastermind?”
Zhong Yuemin sneered. What an idiot! He gave away everything with one trick. What a terrible teammate.
He turned his head and said, "Company commander, it's all yours now."
Three days later, the regimental headquarters issued the relevant disciplinary action. Li Si and Wang Wu were directly dismissed and discharged from the army. Their personnel files were also blacklisted. Just for their misdeeds of slandering and spreading rumors about their comrades, even outside employers would have to think twice. These days, personal character is extremely important. If one's moral character is not up to par, no matter how outstanding one's personal abilities are, it's useless.
Zhang Qiang was just a helper; he was transferred to a company in another regiment next door. Luckily, he had some connections, otherwise he would have ended up like Li Si and Wang Wu.
The matter itself wasn't serious—just stealing chicken—but the nature of it was extremely malicious, as it involved deliberately slandering and defaming others, which is absolutely unacceptable in the military.
As for Li Yuanchao, he's lost both his right-hand man and left-hand man. He's incredibly cunning. He definitely knew about the conspiracy, but he didn't "participate." He's certainly capable; I wouldn't say I admire him, but I have to admit it. He had already planned his escape route and was transferred back to the higher military region ahead of time. I heard he's in the operations staff office.
See? Having a good father certainly saves a lot of trouble, but this guy really has a knack for attracting misfortune. None of those who get along with him end up well. Take Du Weidong, the traitor in Beijing, for example, along with his cronies and troublemakers, and now Li Si, Wang Wu, and the like.
That's true for all of them!
It was the same small canteen in the company camp. Zhong Yuemin, Wu Mantun, Zhang Haiyang, and Ning Wei sat down around a square table. There was wine and food on the table. Wu Mantun was treating today. He poured wine for the other three, then poured some for himself, and then got up.
"Yuemin, Haiyang, and Ningwei, thank you so much for your help. Otherwise, I might have already been discharged from the army and returned to my rural hometown. This toast is for you."
"Why are you saying this? Sit down, sit down!"
Zhang Haiyang pulled the man back to his chair, then raised his own glass.
"Yuemin, Ningwei, come on!"
The two men raised their glasses, and the four of them clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp. Zhang Haiyang put down his glass, picked up a peanut, and chewed on it.
“Mantun, you’re a good person in every way, but you’re too much of a nice guy. Look at those bastards Li Yuanchao, Li Si, and Wang Wu. You respect them, but they don’t appreciate it. Instead, they think you’re easy to bully and they’ll go to great lengths to mess with you. We know you want to stay in the army, but not like this, being bossed around like this.”
"Alright, Ocean, that's enough!"
Zhong Yuemin said:
"Don't talk like that without understanding the situation. Mantun has no choice. Someone like you, if you didn't have a good father, would be in the same boat. Of course, I would be the same. Whether I could even join the army is another matter."
However, Mantun, what Haiyang said makes some sense. To stay in the army, you can't just beg and compromise, abandoning your dignity to please others. Don't worry about staying; Zhang Haiyang's father has many connections in the military here. A word from him will suffice."
"No, no, that won't do!"
Wu Mantun waved his hand repeatedly.
"Everyone wants to stay in the military, which is not easy in itself. I can't let Haiyang give up his spot to me because of me."
"You think too much!"
Zhong Yuemin said:
"Mantun, to be honest with you, you value staying in the military so much, but Haiyang and I are eager to retire and return to Beijing as soon as possible. We have no intention of staying in the military for long."
"Yuemin, the ocean!"
Wu Mantun sincerely said:
“You two are outstanding. You even won a prize in the company’s skills competition last month. Plus, you have family connections. If you can stay in the army, your future will be bright. Why are you thinking about leaving the army?”
Zhang Haiyang took a picture of Mantun's shoulders.
“Mantun, let me tell you, in Beijing, there are plenty of girls waiting for Yuemin to pamper them. Imagine having them on your left and right, surrounded by soft, fragrant flowers. How comfortable would that be? In the army, you train every day, and every few days there are emergency drills in the middle of the night. It's so tough. Who would want to stay there? Don't you think so?”