Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 382: Troublemaker Zhang Zhao

When everyone in the room heard He Yuanchao talking about compensating the troops for supplies, they subconsciously looked over.

Even Zhang Zhao, who was still heartbroken, couldn't help but raise his head and look at Captain Liu with clear eyes.

He is a little gullible, but he is not stupid.

He knew the situation at home very well. If he could convert the food into money and return it to the troops, there would be no problem at all and things could be done smoothly immediately.

But if I have to return the food, it would cost me my life. Where can I get so much at this moment?
Captain Liu lit up his cigarette and took a puff. He glanced at the faces of everyone in the room before speaking:

"In theory, one thousand kilograms of cornmeal and two hundred kilograms of flour are not a lot. In the past, it would be fine to lose money or food. But you are aware of the current situation, so the division and the regiment have decided that food is necessary."

He Yuanchao contacted the grain dealers on the black market and felt more confident. His facial expression did not change and he was still smiling.

Zhang Lide was also fine. Although the result was as expected, he was mentally prepared. His expression changed slightly and then he returned to calm.

Zhang Zhao was not as calm as the other two. He was the one who caused the disaster, and if the army were to investigate, they would only look for him.

As soon as Captain Liu finished speaking, before He Yuanchao and Zhang Lide could say anything, Zhang Zhao's eyes turned red and he stood up with a bang.

"Captain, it was wrong of me to embezzle the troops' food, but the regiment can't force me to death because of this! Where do you want me to buy food at this time? Even if I take out all the rations in my family, it won't be enough to fill this hole!
If the regiment insists on returning the food, it would be better to just pull me out and kill me now to save trouble."

As he spoke, Zhang Zhao's face turned grim as he walked towards Captain Liu's desk. His resolute expression was like Jing Ke assassinating the King of Qin, and he had the momentum of never coming back.

"Xiao Zhang, calm down."

Li Hongtao was sitting next to Zhang Zhao, the closest person to him. Fearing that something bad might happen, he quickly stood up and held him back, saying:
"If you have anything to say, please speak up. If you have any difficulties, you can also raise them. The regiment will not be unkind. Come, sit down and tell us what difficulties you have, so that the regiment can report them to the division. After all, you have been in the regiment for so many years. Even if you have no merits, you have worked hard. The division will definitely take it into consideration."

Captain Liu usually has a strong personality, and he was a little annoyed by Zhang Zhao's behavior. As soon as Li Hongtao finished speaking, he took over the conversation.

"It's no use complaining to anyone. We must compensate for the food. I can't let one or two thousand people in the entire group starve because of the mistake of one person."

The army's food supply is limited at the moment, and the usual training consumes a lot of food. Most soldiers have to tighten their belts to get by. The loss of more than a thousand kilograms of food will not cause them to starve, but it will make the situation worse.

Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, it basically conforms to the current facts.

But what Zhang Zhao heard was that Captain Liu was ruthless and was determined to deal with him in order to make a good impression in front of the division leaders.

"Captain Liu, I can't take your words seriously. How much of more than a thousand kilograms of food can be distributed to each person? Will the entire regiment go hungry because of these few ounces of food?
I cannot bear such a great sin, let's go to the division leader and explain everything clearly, and I will accept it whether I am shot or go to jail."

Seeing Zhang Zhao, who had just been forced to sit down by Li Hongtao, still not obedient and struggling to get up, Captain Liu suddenly became furious and slapped the table with his hand, saying:
"Old Li, let him go. I want to see what he is going to do. He is rebelling! He made a mistake and not only did he not reflect on it, but he also dared to be so arrogant. He simply did not take the military discipline seriously.

I think the punishment he received was too light, he should be punished more severely according to the disciplinary rules so that he will remember this lesson."

The verbal conflict between Zhang Zhao and Captain Liu came too quickly.

By the time He Yuanchao and Zhang Lide reacted, things had already happened. The two looked at each other and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

He Yuanchao cursed Zhang Zhao in his heart as a stupid teammate. He pretended to be deep and dumb when he should be speaking, and acted scary when he shouldn't be speaking. It was clearly a responsibility he should take, but he acted as if he had suffered a great injustice.

No matter how much you complain, since you have followed your father-in-law here, you still have to do what you have to do. Even if you don't want to give face to the monk, you have to give face to the Buddha!

"Captain Liu, calm down. My uncle is a stubborn person. He must not have recovered from his demobilization yet! If nothing else, considering that we have been together for so many years and have the same feelings for the army, you should be magnanimous and forgive him. Don't bother with him..."

While He Yuanchao was saying nice things to appease Captain Liu, Zhang Lide was also busy.

When he came to Zhang Zhao, he raised his hand and slapped him in the face without saying anything. It is said that you teach your son in front of others and scold your wife behind their backs.

Zhang Lide's move not only stunned Zhang Zhao, but also dissipated the anger in Captain Liu's heart.

The cadres in the army now have a habit, and that is to protect their own soldiers. They can beat and scold their own soldiers as much as they want, but no one else can touch them.

What Zhang Zhao said was quite irritating, and it was obvious that Captain Liu was somewhat unhappy about being beaten.

"Mr. Li, take Zhang Zhao to your office first."

Upon hearing this, Li Hongtao responded without any further ado and then pulled Zhang Zhao, who was still in a daze, out of the regiment commander's office.

When Captain Liu saw the two men leave the house, he asked He Yuanchao and Zhang Lide to sit down and said:

"Comrade Zhang Lide, I have to say a few words to you. Zhang Zhao's words are sometimes unpleasant to the ears, but you can't do anything!

You are also a leading cadre. When dealing with Zhang Zhao, you should be more tolerant and understanding, just like you treat your colleagues and subordinates..."

Captain Liu gave a lecture, and when he saw Zhang Lide nodding repeatedly with a look of agreement on his face, he finally felt relieved about his soldiers being beaten.

He stopped talking, picked up the water cup on the table and drank a sip of water, then changed the subject and said solemnly:

"Regarding the food compensation, it was the division's decision, and our regiment can only implement it to the letter. If there are any difficulties, we should go to the division to report the situation to the leaders and see if there can be a compromise."

He Yuanchao and Zhang Lide both understood what Captain Liu said.

Zhang Lide subconsciously glanced at He Yuanchao with a questioning look in his eyes.

He Yuanchao shook his head slightly, then looked at Captain Liu and said:

"More than a thousand kilograms of food is not a small amount for us. It will be difficult to gather them in a short period of time. I wonder how much time the army can give us?"

"Half a month."

Captain Liu opened the drawer of his desk, took out a notice with a bright red seal, handed it to He Yuanchao and said:

"Look, according to the notice, you must replenish the food within 15 days from the time you receive this notice.

Food is in short supply right now, and I understand your difficulties. After discussing with the group, we decided to give you five more days. This is the only thing our group can do to help Zhang Zhao."

He Yuanchao handed the notice he had read to Zhang Lide, and then said with a sincere smile:
"This has helped us a lot. Thank you, Captain Liu. Please also thank the other leaders of the group on our behalf."

"Nothing to thank you for."

Upon hearing this, Captain Liu said nonchalantly, "Zhang Zhao is from our group after all, so we will definitely lend a hand if we can."

Zhang Lide was a little anxious after reading the handling notice, but when he saw He Yuanchao talking to Captain Liu calmly, he felt a lot more at ease.

Without Zhang Zhao's interference, the compensation issue was quickly finalized.

Captain Liu was very happy that the matter had come to an end. When He Yuanchao proposed to leave, he not only called Li Hongtao and Zhang Zhao, but also followed them to the gate of the office building.

(End of this chapter)