They are all in the army, who is in love?

Chapter 270 Meeting Captain Chai again and being invited as a guest

Um? ! !
It had been busy just now, and there were many people at the flag presentation ceremony, so the place was noisy. When Chen Ming sent Wang Junwei and others away just now, he didn't even notice that there was a car parked not far away.

Looking back and seeing the person coming, Chen Ming smiled in surprise and said, "Captain Chai, when did you come here?"

"I came here a little late. I didn't come down in time for Commander Feng's mobilization."

Chai Shuyao raised her hands to tuck her hair, feeling inexplicably embarrassed. This time the Tiger Wolf Battalion was officially awarded a designation, and meetings and discussions were being held in the war zone. The news came out too late.

She only heard her grandfather talking about these things when she was having breakfast. She hurried over slowly, but she was still late.

Chen Ming didn't know what to say when he saw Chai Shuyao again. He was the first person he came into contact with outside the artillery brigade when he first entered the military camp. noodle.

He talked a lot about loyalty, and he was very high-spirited at that time. In addition, when he had just returned to his youth, he blurted out bold words and had the attitude of doing something great.

Now that several years have passed, Chen Ming has grown a lot and learned a lot in the military camp. He understands that being a soldier is not just about being an officer, it is not just about staying in the team and developing.

Understanding the responsibilities on his shoulders, he indeed shouldered more missions, but he became more silent than before.

At least those heroic words at that time will not blurt out, and they will no longer be told to others with high spirits.

This may be another transformation of his life.

"Well, let's go. It's your first time in the Third Battalion. I'll show you around our staff headquarters and the combat command room."

"You've never been here before."

Chen Ming was the first to speak, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere and inviting with a smile on his face.

"Okay, let's go."

Chai Shuyao readily agreed and quietly threw the camera in his hand into the back seat of the car. He was late and there was basically no need for this thing.

"Fortunately you are here, otherwise I might have to walk back to the camp headquarters."

Chen Ming walked around the military jeep, looked at the graphic slogans of the War Zone Propaganda Department, and unceremoniously pulled away the co-pilot and got in.

Boom boom boom.
The vehicle started and drove quickly towards the battalion headquarters.

at this time.

The No. 15 Battalion headquarters was bustling with activity. Battalion Commander Du Longfei had just returned from the Joint Logistics Department. He pulled the instructor to the entrance of the battalion with a proud look on his face. There was an open space [-] meters in front of the door.

Pointing to the ground, he said: "Old Zhang, I have done some research, and this location is very suitable for placing the stele of our second-class hero camp."

"I have already said hello to the Joint Logistics Department. Give us a big stone that is four to five meters high and two meters wide. Put it here. You can say whether it is exciting or not."

"Build a stone to block the intersection of the camp headquarters?" Zhang Jintao looked at the location he chose and was speechless for a while, "It's unreliable. Don't mess around there. The military camp is not a scenic spot. Why do you need such a big stone?"

"It costs a lot of money to purchase those things. Do you want the political commissar to ask you to write an inspection?"

"Besides, the military camp is open all the way, and the road leads east. We are a quick reaction force. You put such a big stone to block the door. How can you arrange it like this?"

"No, no, if you ask me, just put a half-person-high, 1.5-meter-wide stone on the side and write it on the second-class hero camp. It weighs a few hundred kilograms. It's not too heavy. We can also carry it when we move the camp." superior."

"You've done such a big job. We'll probably move as soon as the layout is completed. Who can take care of it then?"

"You don't understand, second-class collective work. In the new camp, the movement must be louder. The bigger the stone, the higher the morale." Du Longfei curled his lips and retorted: "Otherwise, let's ask Lao Chen when he comes back later. Let's see. What did he say?"

"Three people and two votes decide. If he agrees with you, then I will go to the Joint Logistics Department to make changes. If he agrees with my arrangement, then you don't say anything."

"Okay, let's wait for Lao Chen."

Zhang Jintao smiled and agreed. Just as the two of them finished their discussion, the sound of a car engine came from outside the battalion headquarters.

A vehicle with the words "Eastern War Zone Cultural Propaganda Department" printed on it drove into the battalion headquarters in a swaggering manner.

Since today was a special day, there were no soldiers on duty at the door, so no one stopped or checked my ID.

The vehicle just drove in without hesitation, turned right and headed straight towards the parking lot.

Du Longfei and Zhang Jintao stood there, both stunned.

"What's going on? Someone is coming from the war zone?"

"I don't know, let's go and have a look."

According to their estimation, the strategic assault division was established and the Tiger Wolf Battalion was given the code name. This kind of thing was considered a major event for the entire war zone.

It makes sense for someone from the Propaganda Department to come to interview.

When he ran over, Du Longfei did not forget to adjust his military uniform, fastened his belt and put his hat straight, as if he was going to be interviewed.

But when the vehicle came to a stop, I saw Chen Ming, the co-pilot, getting out of the car, followed by a tall female officer in the driver's seat.

Since the parking lot was still far away from the door, Chen Ming did not notice the two of them. He smiled and pointed to the staff headquarters in the distance and invited: "Captain Chai, let's go. Thank you for your long journey from the war zone."

"Go and have a glass of water and rest first. The camp is busy right now, so you don't have to be polite here."

"Okay, it's up to you." Chai Shuyao agreed happily, and the two of them walked side by side towards the staff headquarters, talking and laughing.

This scene.

He was stunned to see Du Longfei and Zhang Jintao running over from a distance.

"Fuck?!!!"

"Not for an interview?"

Du Longfei saw that only one person from the Propaganda Department came over, and he didn't bring any relevant shooting equipment. He looked at the instructor with a somewhat surprised expression.

"What's going on, Lao Zhang? Why do I feel that Chen Ming is very familiar with this officer from the Propaganda Department? It's not like we met on the first day?"

"Well, I also think there's something fishy."

"Could it be that someone who signed up for the sorority saw Chen Ming's information and asked for leave to come and see him?"

"After all, the sorority is shared by both parties. Lao Chen can see the information of lesbians, and others can also see the information of gay men. Lao Chen is promoted to major at such a young age, so he must be the first choice."

Zhang Jintao touched his chin and analyzed. The more he talked, the more he felt that his judgment made sense. It was rare for the camp to have such a leisurely time, and the two chief officers felt a lot more relaxed.

"Tsk, this old Chen is so defensive when he talks about the sorority every day. He never responds directly. I didn't expect that he was just pretending."

Du Longfei gossiped with interest.

"What's the point of this thing? Men should get married when they are in college, women should get married when they are in college, and soldiers are no exception. However, your judgment, Lao Zhang, should be wrong. Those government agencies or scientific research units generally do not choose field wars when selecting candidates. People from the army.”

"Especially since our Strategic Assault Division has just been established, and we have been busy at the new station for more than half a year. Who can find a girl like our unit?"

"I don't know how to divide the houses when I get to the new station. I can't go back home once every six months. It's not going to be easy."

"It's not your turn to say whether it's going to work or not. This is Lao Chen's family matter. What are you worried about?" Zhang Jintao curled his lips and retorted.

I don’t plan to join in the fun anymore.

If it is a cultural promotion in a war zone, and you want to do a program for the Tiger Wolf Camp, you must prepare well. If you are interviewed by the war zone, you will soon be featured in the nearest military column.

It is a big deal to broadcast to the outside world. As a mixed brigade, their 169th Brigade has not received much attention. If it is adapted this time, it will be strengthened to a strategic assault division. It will be a matter of time to be interviewed. There is no rush.

The two of them looked at each other, and both thought Chai Shuyao was someone who had read the sorority documents and came for a blind date.

I didn't care, everyone was busy with their own things.

In fact, Du Longfei and Zhang Jintao got half of their guesses right. Chai Shuyao, as a director of the Information Department of the Cultural Propaganda Department, actually knew about the friendship organized by the Department of Veterans Affairs in Pengcheng.

Not only people from the military region signed up, but also local women from Pengcheng outside the country signed up. It was designed to help soldiers in the army solve major life events. How could the Propaganda Department not know about such an important event?

Staff Department, inside Chen Ming's office.

The clerk Kong Wu made two cups of light tea and brought it to the two of them, placing one cup next to Chai Shuyao.

"Chief, Staff Chen, please have tea."

"Call me if you have anything, and I'll be busy outside."

"Okay, thank you, comrade." Chai Shu smiled sweetly, took a sip from the cup, and asked, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally: "Major Chen, I received an interview two days ago about you. The 71st Army has a sorority here."

"I saw your name on it. Are you joining the sorority too?"

Chai Shuyao spoke with a faint smile, took a sip of tea, and then gently placed the water glass in its place.

"It's a sorority party." Chen Ming laughed dryly, "How can I talk about this?"

"The political commissar of our brigade mentioned it to me when we were training troops in southern Xinjiang, but I didn't expect that his name would be given to me when he came back."

"You told me about this a month ago, and I didn't care." "To put it bluntly, a sorority is just a blind date. Now, um, I'm not quite able to accept this."

"Oh"

Chai Shuyao smiled lightly. She didn't even realize that Chen Ming's attitude towards this matter made her breathe a sigh of relief unconsciously.

"It's really time to consider it. I heard from grandpa this morning that our eastern theater will establish a strategic assault division. Your battalion is currently the only battalion in the division."

"Follow-up development may be larger, officer transfers will be more frequent, and there will be major moves in the military region. Seniority and age will no longer be the main considerations."

"But starting a family and starting a business, the higher-ups still value this very much. You have to plan and make plans in advance."

Chai Shuyao pretended to be careless and told the story, but there was one very important point that she did not say.

That is, if a unit like the Strategic Assault Division is established, the heads of various military regions and theaters will inevitably find ways to arrange for their direct descendants to join the Strategic Assault Division.

The secret competition will be particularly fierce.

This is not to say that there is a backdoor for those who are incompetent. The establishment of the Strategic Assault Division has far-reaching consequences. Everyone wants to seek a good development for the people they bring out. This is human nature.

Of course, after all, this is an order issued by the Army and the Theater Command at the same time. The fierce competition will be strengthened with the Synthetic 169th Brigade as the main framework.

There is no need to worry about the brigade commander, political commissar, chief of staff, etc., because they will be promoted as soon as they are mobilized. These generally do not parachute other people to take command.

The war zone and military headquarters will not allow such actions.

The company commanders, platoon commanders, and soldiers below don't have to think about this, and their changes will not be great.

The only ones with big changes, big opportunities, and big room for promotion are battalion-level cadres like Chen Ming, who may rise to the top in one fell swoop and be directly transferred to brigade headquarters or division headquarters.

Even if it is not a one-stop success, the establishment of new units and the re-activation of regiment-level combat units require the deployment of a large number of commanders and fighters, which will invisibly increase the competitiveness behind them.

After all, the Strategic Assault Division is backed by the entire Eastern Theater Command. It is not surprising that there is some competition among the more than 20 people in the theater.

At this juncture, family is not the only criterion, but it is the best reason for rejection.

Chai Shuyao is not a fool. Of course she knows this. Chen Ming also knows it, and Xu Guoyang, the political commissar of the brigade, also knows it.

So when a little bit of news came down from above, Xu Guoyang was keenly aware of it and started talking to Chen Ming.

But he didn't expect that the adaptation would come so quickly.

It can be said that it was a major military training that promoted the establishment of this strategic assault.

Chai Shuyao seemed to say it casually, but her words directly attracted Chen Ming's attention.

"You just said that you heard your grandfather mention the Strategic Assault Division?"

Chen Ming asked in surprise.

He didn't know Chai Shuyao's background at all. People in the military region and brigade headquarters could guess it because they had contact with the chiefs in the war zone.

People who have been in the army for decades are all talented people. You can understand what is going on just by thinking about it.

But Chen Ming had never had any contact with the top command in the war zone, so he could only guess where he would go.

"Yes, otherwise why do you think I am so well-informed?"

Chai Shuyao said with a smile: "By the way, my grandfather also knows that I am coming to your third camp today. He wants to invite you to have a casual meal at home. I wonder if you have time?"

"invite me?"

"Well, you are invited."

This sudden news made Chen Ming, who was usually as shrewd as a monkey, feel a little confused.

He regarded Chai Shuyao as a friend, and it was understandable that the elders of his friend's family invited him. The key was that his friend was of the opposite sex, and the relationship was not good enough for him to be a guest at his home.

Then the meaning changes.

However, after all, people who had been struggling in society for decades quickly realized that something was wrong.

Chen Ming pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "Grandpa invited me, so I'm naturally happy to go there. It's just that there are a lot of things going on here in the Third Battalion recently, so I might have to take some time."

"Um, your grandfather was also a soldier?"

"Yes."

Chai Shuyao looked at Chen Ming constantly testing himself, and found it quite interesting, and said with a smile.

But when asked here, Chen Ming no longer had to ask. Even if he didn't get the answer, he could basically guess it.

Chai Shuyao is three or four years older than him, and should be 27 or 60 years old. Even if the older generation gets married early, her grandfather should be in his [-]s.

For an old man in his 60s to know so accurately the news about the establishment of the Strategic Assault Division in the Eastern Theater Command, his position is probably not low.

Because so far, I am afraid that many combat troops in the 71st Army are not aware of this matter.

After making a rough guess, Chen Ming was both surprised and a little disappointed. He didn't expect that Chai Shuyao had such a big background, but now that he thought about it carefully, he was surprised.

If he hadn't had such a big background, he had been awarded a second-class merit award once when he was in the Second Battalion of Yuanhuo during the Spring Festival war preparations. That time it was Chai Shuyao who brought the military medal to the battlefield.

He didn't think much about it at the time, because the performance of meritorious service in the exercise was different from the usual evaluation of merit and awards. The Spring Festival combat preparation operation was a military operation and was considered a mission.

Since it was a mission, it must be kept confidential. It was normal not to hold a ceremony under the circumstances at that time. It was normal to even arrange for someone to send the military medal to him privately, or wait until the military exercise was over to give it to him.

This time during the military training, they achieved second-class merit again. The brigade commander came and awarded military medals. This was done under the condition of elimination, without affecting the battle situation, and to mobilize morale.

When Chen Ming sent the good news to his family, he called and asked. The local armed forces did not mention why he had performed meritorious service this time. They just said that he had performed well in the army.

Thinking about it now, Chai Shuyao was able to directly and accurately find the location of the Second Battalion of Yuanhuo with a military medal when such a confidential matter was involved. This was probably not something that ordinary people could do.

While Chen Ming was thinking, he felt a pair of small hands shaking in front of his eyes.

"What do you think?"

"Our family is not a dragon's pond and a tiger's den." Chai Shuyao muttered dissatisfiedly.

"My grandfather is a soldier. There is nothing special about him, and his position is not high. You don't need to care so much."

"Let me see, tomorrow is Sunday. Have you considered asking for a day off to go? It's not too far from here."

"Going tomorrow?"

Chen Ming's scalp felt a little tight, and he quickly shook his head, "Tomorrow is too urgent. Besides, the third battalion only granted the designation today. Why don't we find another opportunity next time."

"It's been pretty busy here lately."

"It won't take you long. Don't worry. My home is only more than 300 kilometers away. Three hours of driving is enough."

"You can take a day off. It's enough for a round trip. Just have a light meal and go back the same day. Think about it."

Chai Shu invited again. Her grandfather Chai Yansong did say that Chen Ming would be a guest, but it was just a joke that he laughed at before.

Chen Ming performed well in preparations for the Spring Festival. It was Chai Yansong who recommended him to join the National Defense Science and Technology University's sword-sharpening program.

Later, Chai Shuyao returned home early with the exchange group and talked about Chen Ming's performance.

Chai Yansong joked about inviting this young comrade to his home as a guest, but he did so only after knowing what his granddaughter was thinking.

Now she lied that it was today.

But it's not a big deal. Chai Shuyao is the youngest granddaughter in the third generation of the Chai family, and she is usually quite popular with the old man.

It won't be difficult for her to practice more after returning.

But Chen Ming was stumped. It all happened too fast.

More than 300 kilometers.
Chen Ming secretly calculated that the headquarters of the Eastern Theater Command was in Jinling, which was not far away. Chai Shuyao's family should be settled right there.

He was not close to Chai Shuyao, but he was indeed the only friend he had known who did not belong to the same unit since he entered the military camp.

She had helped him many times, and even Chen Ming himself didn't notice that when Chai Shuyao invited him again, his tone became a little anxious, as if he really wanted him to be a guest.

"Okay, then go to my brigade and ask for leave."

"By the way, I'll go to the service center later to buy some things. I can't go empty-handed."

Chen Ming nodded and agreed. According to his estimation, Chai Shuyao's grandfather was probably the head of logistics in the war zone and retired at home.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t be so well-informed.

(End of this chapter)