Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 914 - 613: Who’s a Fellow Townsman with You!

After six hours of battle, more than six hundred soldiers withdrew; they were exhausted, some sitting paralyzed on the embankment, some lying beneath it, curiously watching the Linghai Reserve Camp's construction.

Many rural soldiers had never seen an excavator, or even a loader, just like Han Yu when he first saw an excavator, filled with wonder.

"How much dirt can they scoop up in one go?"

"Probably one cubic meter."

"I think more than that, the bucket's so big, at least two cubic meters."

"That loader is pretty impressive too."

"That's not called a loader, it's a loader indeed."

"Isn't it a loader if it shovels dirt?"

"It can shovel dirt, but it's called a loader. My dad's factory has one, but not this big."

"Company Commander, are they reserve forces? I thought they were like the reserve forces over there."

The assault team the County Armed Forces Minister brought was similar to civilian soldiers, or more precisely, like migrant workers, only equipped with a few flags, no military uniforms.

The Company Commander turned and looked at the nearby local reserve forces, laughed, and said, "The reserve forces are said to be jointly managed by the military and local authorities, but in fact, it's the local authorities that call the shots. If the local government has money, the civilian militia reserve force will be well equipped. If they don't, the civilian militia reserve will be just a name without substance."

A warrior looked at the flag nearby and asked puzzled, "Company Commander, are they from Binjiang or Linghai? Just now, the Camp Commander said they are the Binjiang Flood Control Rescue Camp, but there's no Binjiang written on their red flag."

"You ask me, who should I ask?"

"Came to mind, Xu Xiaoming from Platoon Five is a Binjiang person, he has so many fellow townsmen here, maybe he can go ask them."

"Company Commander, I'm about to die of thirst, and we can't drink the river water. How about letting Xu Xiaoming go ask his fellow townsmen if they have water?"

The road and bridge leading here were constructed, but the camp's logistical supplies still haven't arrived. The leaders said the road and bridge are temporary, the road is narrow, the bridge is tight, now vehicles transporting rescue materials must have priority access.

The Company Commander saw someone from the Linghai Reserve Camp sent water to the command center on the embankment earlier and thought they could use the local ties to see if they could beg some water for the brothers, and immediately sent a squad leader to find Xu Xiaoming from Platoon Five.

From the moment he saw the Linghai Reserve Camp flag, Xu Xiaoming felt so moved he wanted to cry.

He had wanted to find his fellow townsmen for a long time, but he was working at the time and couldn't slack off. Finally, he could rest, but without the squad leader's permission, he couldn't leave the team, so he could only watch his fellow townsmen anxiously.

Receiving the Company Commander's order, he was overjoyed, hurriedly got up, and ran towards the parking lot.

Just a few steps away, he was stopped by a reserve officer wearing a camouflage helmet, with a walkie-talkie and whistle hanging on his chest, holding a small red flag.

"What are you running around for, didn't you see a vehicle approaching? Go around the west side, don't walk here!"

"Sorry, I didn't notice."

"Watch it, this is a construction site!"

"Okay, thank you." Xu Xiaoming didn't hurry to go around the west side but asked eagerly, "Commander, are you from Binjiang?"

"We are from Linghai, what's the matter?" The reserve officer waved the small flag and directed the loader filled with dirt to pass.

Xu Xiaoming waited for the loader to leave, urgently saying, "Commander, we are fellow townsmen, I'm a Binjiang person."

The reserve officer smiled and asked, "Which part of Binjiang are you from?"

Xu Xiaoming said with a grin, "I'm from the city, my family lives in Chonggang District. I joined the army here last year."

We are Linghai people, you are Binjiang people, we don't understand what you are saying, how could we be fellow townsmen...

The reserve officer was somewhat disappointed and asked, "Does your troop have any Linghai soldiers?"

"No, in our batch, there are only six Binjiang people. They aren't from my unit, they didn't come for the flood relief, only I came."

"Is that so? Since you're here serving, you should work hard."

"..."

"How, is there anything else?"

Xu Xiaoming suddenly realized that the Linghai people wouldn't recognize him as a Binjiang fellow townsman, feeling very distressed, but he couldn't just go back, otherwise, he'd be laughed at by the Company Commander, squad leader, and his comrades, so he reluctantly said, "Commander, we came as soon as we received the order in the afternoon, didn't have time to prepare."

The reserve officer gestured to a loader laden with dirt to pass while impatiently asking, "What exactly do you want to say?"

"Commander, we're thirsty, could you give us some water to drink? I can pay for it!"

"You don't have water?"

"No."

"Have you had dinner?"

"No, either."

"Thirsty and hungry?"

"Yes."

"Isn't there a command center on the embankment? Didn't the command center prepare water and food for you?"

"No," Xu Xiaoming said with a grimace. "Our Camp Commander said we can't trouble the local area, our logistics are supported by our camp. Actually, water and rations have already been sent, but the road to here is letting vehicles carrying rescue supplies pass first, our vehicles can't get through."

This unlucky kid ended up joining the army here.

The foreman officer from the Road and Bridge Company couldn't help but think of his own son who was a soldier in East Guang, and immediately picked up the walkie-talkie: "President Hao, President Hao, this is Wang Dajun, please respond."

"Received, received, what's the matter?"

"I ran into a kid from Binjiang who joined the army here. He said his unit's supplies can't be delivered, they haven't even had dinner, and right now they're both hungry and thirsty. He asked if we have water and even wanted to pay us to buy some."

Before the main troop set off, they distributed water and rations, and loaded a lot of water and instant noodles onto the big trucks, even dozens of boxes of fruit.

The logistics support along the way was exceptionally well arranged by Zhang Erxiao; the water and rations loaded onto the big trucks were completely unnecessary.

Hao Qiusheng not only served as a soldier but also led troops.

Hearing this from his subordinate made him feel uneasy, and without hesitation, he said: "Have that kid call over a few people to move it, I'll talk to the Instructor."

"Alright, I will have that kid go back and call people."

"Wait."

"President Hao, what do you want to say?"

"The Jingzhou Port Supervision Bureau sent not only several boats of rescue supplies but also a lot of bottled water and rations. We have President Zhang in charge of logistics, which we don't need. There are several military units both on and off the dike, have that kid notify their leaders, and I will have Master Xu notify the other units' leaders, so they can all go find the Instructor."

"Understood!"

Although bottled water and instant noodles are not worth much, they are incredibly precious to the over six hundred officers and soldiers whose supplies can't be delivered!

Yang Jianbo and Qiu Xueliang had just finished tallying various supplies when the leaders of several units came over, looking a bit embarrassed.

Zhang Erxiao had prepared a hearty late-night meal for everyone, even readying hot water. Moreover, the logistics support vehicles of the Linghai Reserve Camp had priority passage and had just called saying they would arrive in at most half an hour.

The camp temporarily didn't need that many bottled waters and instant noodles, sausages, and other rations. Yang Jianbo inquired about the numbers of people in several units and immediately had the warriors from the Binjiang Military District's Guard Company help move them.

Many hands make light work.

Once the leaders of several units gave the order, the young men who had been working for six hours were energized again, and soon moved the supplies to their respective rest areas for distribution.

Instant noodles, one packet per person; sausage, two per person; bottled water, one bottle per person.

The soldiers devoured the food ravenously, savoring each bite, and drank with immense satisfaction.

One soldier soon finished his water, patted Xu Xiaoming on the shoulder, and laughed: "Xiaoming, your fellow townspeople are righteous, without you, we wouldn't know when we'd have something to eat or when we'd have water to drink."

"Yeah, Xiaoming, you've maintained good ties with your hometown, you achieved a great contribution this time!"

"I'll definitely vote for you for excellent soldier this year!"

Fellow townspeople?

The Linghai people don't even consider me one of them!

Xu Xiaoming felt joy and sorrow, unsure of how to explain, so he could only grin foolishly. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

...

The construction site was bustling, but they were only in the preliminary stages of rescue construction.

A construction access road needed to be built up to the embankment, and a turnaround had to be structured on the embankment; otherwise, dump trucks couldn't turn around.

Additionally, the river embankment needed to be reinforced, and after the reinforcement, a temporary small dock had to be set up so that excavators could board ferries for piling work in the water outside the sluice gates.

Media reporters and propaganda cadres from various units were equally busy, some filming and photographing at the construction site, some going to the command center on the embankment to interview leaders like Deputy Mayor Xu, Secretary Zheng, and Deputy Mayor Shen, and some interviewing officers and soldiers from participating units...

Old Ge, the Head of the Propaganda Group, did not become less busy because of this; on the contrary, he was busier than before.

Currently, roads and bridges leading here could only allow vehicles transporting rescue supplies to pass; buses transferring personnel would have to wait until dawn to move.

He sat in the Iveco of the Propaganda Group, flipping through the blank materials he had instructed Master Yao to prepare over the phone, looked up, and asked: "Where is the red armband?"

"It's ready and brought along, in that cardboard box over there."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Old Ge got up, walked over, opened the cardboard box, pulled out a red armband marked "Senior Expert Group," and put it on his arm. With the help of Master Yao and Vice Minister Li, he pinned it securely so that others could easily identify him as a senior expert.

Although Vice Minister Li was a deputy regiment-level officer, his political and social standing in Linghai was far inferior to Old Ge, the former powerful Director of the Transportation Bureau. He always showed great respect for Old Ge and seized the opportunity to flatter him: "Director Ge, wearing this armband makes a real difference."

"What's different? The main thing is there're so many people, and everyone is wearing their respective position armbands, which makes it easier to identify."

Old Ge chuckled, then abruptly changed the topic: "Now back to business, hasn't the 132nd Regiment sent a staff officer? Invite him over."

"Alright, I'll go call him."

"Master Yao, you're involved in engineering and technology like me, so filling out these forms shouldn't be difficult for you. Salted Fish is too busy, and President Hao is too occupied organizing and directing the construction, so could you please help fill it out?"

Even though it's rescue work, making it seem like a formality, Yao Lirong thought Old Ge had an unspoken purpose behind this, which made it necessary, prompting a chuckle: "Sure, I'll fill it out."

"Make sure to fill it out carefully and neatly!"