Chapter 189: Night Talk

Lin Xing couldn't quite grasp what Director Wu meant. Thin—wasn't that simply the natural state of things? Only wealthy landlords and high officials carried fat on their frames. Common folk had always been thin. There was nothing strange about skinny children.

But Wu De's thoughts ran deeper. The children he'd just observed filled him with a creeping sense of urgency, their physical condition genuinely worrisome. As labor affairs supervisor, he understood worker health all too well. Most newly recruited workers, though strong and willing, were actually burning through their life force—their underlying constitutions simply couldn't sustain such heavy labor. That's why he'd always pushed to improve food supplies, largely to help these chronically malnourished workers build healthier bodies. Now, while the adults were slowly improving, the children were following the same grim path of malnutrition. At this rate, how could the population's physical quality ever hope to improve?

He thought of recently recruited soldiers and their poor condition. If they ever had to fight the Jurchen "Wild Boar Skin" warriors—men renowned for their brute strength—their builds would be a genuine liability.

Wu De turned these problems over in his mind. The current food rationing system could be completely abolished after New Year, replaced by a full monetary distribution system—though that depended on whatever currency policy the Finance Department planned to implement. Cheng Dong had been investigating recently. Comprehensive currency reform would be promoted after the holiday, and the employment and civil administration systems would need improvement as well.

He returned to his quarters in the commune compound—a suite with an outer office and inner bedroom—and glanced at the whitewashed walls. A "People's Navy Defending Our Territorial Waters" recruitment poster featured the Type 037 anti-submarine patrol boat he'd once served on. The sight always stirred something familiar in his chest. When would he get back to naval service? This commune director position was genuinely difficult.

Chuyu hadn't gone to sleep. She sat waiting for him, and the moment he appeared, she rushed to fetch water for washing and prepare tea. Noticing his fatigue, she quickly knelt to remove his shoes and wash his feet. This was one pleasant aspect of feudal-era women. Wu De had initially been uncomfortable with such service, but by now he was thoroughly accustomed to it.

After changing him into straw sandals, Chuyu asked softly, "Would Master like a midnight snack?"

"No thanks, too much trouble." Wu De knew the cafeteria's night snacks consisted of nothing more than porridge and salted fish—he had no interest. Better to find an opportunity to organize a hunting trip with a few people. Commune members said you could hunt wild boar and deer on Gaoshan Ridge. Wild boar didn't interest him, but deer meat was good, and there were plenty of pheasants and rabbits besides. Those North American fellows seemed to be hunting enthusiasts—he'd invite them.

Thinking of hunting led naturally to thoughts of guns. He hadn't cleaned his two firearms in a while. Not yet ready for sleep, he decided to maintain them. The office had a meeting table. He turned on the electric light, and under its glow, he placed his Type 54 pistol and Type 56 semi-automatic on the wooden surface. He disassembled them methodically, all parts going into a paper tray. From his shoulder bag he retrieved the 56 semi's small oil bottle and some cotton waste, then began his maintenance.

Hainan's winter nights were pleasant—eighteen degrees or so—and the sea breeze blew lightly, carrying a coolness that was almost refreshing. No rain had fallen on Lingao for months, bringing the humidity down.

Both guns had been soaked in seawater during the landing, and Hainan's air remained humid. The 56 semi was eighty percent new; aside from being brought out during the first counter-encirclement, it had remained sealed in its gun bag. Its condition was good. The 54, however, was an old gun—it had followed him for over a decade. Now faint yellow rust was beginning to appear.

As a certain revolutionary mentor had said: Protect your weapons like you protect your eyes. This was absolutely true. If weapons weren't kept in good condition at all times, using them would cost blood. Wu De remembered a former brother who'd died capturing a fugitive when his pistol misfired due to rust.

He ejected bullets from the two Type 54 magazines, used his Swiss knife's small screwdriver to pop the catch at each magazine base, letting the springs air out. Otherwise springs would rust and the magazines would be ruined. As for bullets, Type 51 pistol rounds were steel-cased—rusty ones were also ruined. Bullets were now more precious than diamonds.

Chuyu sat beside him, watching blankly as he cleaned weapons. She remained silent, though her eyes sparkled with apparent interest.

"You like them too?"

"This slave wouldn't dare—"

"How many times have I told you? Don't say 'slave.' We don't use that here—" Wu De said while examining a bullet.

"Um, Chuyu thinks these items are very exquisite. Like jewelry made by master craftsmen."

Comparing pistol parts to jewelry was a novel perspective. Wu De found it amusing.

"These are deadly weapons. One shot hits a person, they die."

Chuyu showed no fear. "If it couldn't kill, why call it a weapon?"

"Well said." Wu De smiled, though feeling somewhat wary. Why was this girl so interested in guns? He'd have to be more careful about weapon storage in the future.

"Would Master teach Chuyu to shoot?"

Wu De was so startled he nearly dropped the bullet.

"You're a young lady. Why learn this?"

"It's so impressive, like those female chiefs. And when you sleep, I can protect you by your side. When we go out, I can watch places you can't see. If anyone tries anything, I'll shoot them."

Wu De burst out laughing. "You want to be my bodyguard?"

"Being a maidservant, being a bodyguard—whatever is fine."

Wu De thought this girl was truly determined to attach herself to him. Not that he lacked feelings for a young lady—he was, after all, a grown man with normal physiological needs. Their eyes met, lingering in ambiguous hesitation.

Suddenly voices came from the courtyard: "Is A'De there? Is A'De there?"

Chuyu shot an annoyed glance outside, then went to greet them. After a moment, she returned to report, "Someone from the Army wants to see Master. Will you see them?"

"Of course." Wu De thought—we're not at the stage of putting on airs with our own brothers. But he was puzzled. Besides a few Army leaders, he wasn't familiar with Army personnel. Why would they seek him out?

He continued wiping bullets. A voice came from outside: "A'De is cleaning weapons."

Looking up, a young man in his twenties walked in.

"Mm, according to regulations, weapons need regular maintenance." Wu De continued working, responding half-heartedly.

"I'm Wei Aiwen." The newcomer said. "Need help?"

"You're the Training Battalion's First Company commander, right?"

"That's right."

"Sure, have a seat." Wu De gestured.

Wei Aiwen sat down beside him. From his posture, he'd definitely served in the military.

Wei Aiwen took the 56 semi, expertly retrieved the accessories from the stock, removed the cleaning rod, attached the barrel brush, dabbed some oil, and began cleaning the barrel.

"Done, maintenance complete." With efficient movements, a 56 semi appeared in his hands, twenty bullets wiped clean and lined up.

"Your 56 semi is practically new. Never out of the factory, really—looks like it's never been used. By the way, has it been zeroed?" He raised the gun, aiming at something distant through the window.

"Been zeroed. Haven't fired it in a long time." Wu De replied.

"But your short piece clearly gets plenty of use."

"Sharp eyes. How can you tell? Explain." Wu De was interested now.

"Easy enough. Your 54's bluing is almost worn off. The rear sight is polished shiny. And the grip's wrapped in all that electrical tape. Only comes from frequent use."

"Good eye!" Wu De praised, pressing the last bullet into the magazine, loading it, and holstering the pistol under his arm.

"Your holster isn't standard issue."

"Right, bought online for 100 yuan. Originally meant for a Big Black Star airsoft replica. Even so, still better than those leather holsters. Besides—when has the military ever issued holsters for left-handers?"

"Hahaha..."

With beloved weapons as their conversation topic, the two chatted back and forth, and the atmosphere warmed considerably.

"You didn't come here on New Year's Eve just to help me clean guns, did you?" Wu De asked directly.

"Hehe." Wei Aiwen laughed awkwardly. "I came to pull strings."

Wu De was puzzled. "Pull strings?"

Wei Aiwen finally revealed his purpose. The Army was jealous of the Navy's creature comforts and wanted their own relaxation base. Ever since Xi Yazhou had been expelled from Wu Nanhai's demonstration farm for "allegedly" stealing two ducks during his convalescence there, the Army had become persona non grata. So now they were actively working to establish their own Army Club. Location and materials were already secured; design and construction had been agreed upon with Mei Wan. They just lacked manpower and hoped Wu De would assign them some labor. Naturally, this help had to be unofficial—the Executive Committee wouldn't allocate resources for such non-essential projects.

"Speaking of labor, would the Army possibly be short of people?" Wu De seriously doubted this. The Army currently had over four hundred men—trained soldiers with better organization and coordination than his laborers.

"It's all that fat pig Xi's fault!" Wei Aiwen said through gritted teeth. Apparently Xi Yazhou's crimes extended well beyond duck-stealing.

It turned out that during the Baitu expedition, Xi Yazhou had traded having troops help Wu Nanhai with farm work in exchange for farm horses, avoiding foot-marching. He'd grandly ridden "Alarci" and made a show of it. Now the entire Training Battalion, except those on duty and training, had been pulled to Wu Nanhai's farm to dig ditches. So the Army couldn't spare manpower.

Damn, ignoring serious work while being meticulous about eating, drinking, and pleasure. Wu De silently criticized the attitude. But thinking it over, it was understandable—human weakness. Besides, with the Navy living so comfortably, the Army feeling unbalanced and wanting compensation was perfectly normal.

"Why didn't Xi Yazhou come himself?" Wu De asked. His relationship with Xi Yazhou was much deeper; he barely knew Wei Aiwen.

"Him? Who knows which young lady he's cultivating emotional connections with now! That playboy!" Clearly Wei Aiwen was quite dissatisfied with his battalion commander too. "The Army has so many people, but looks like only me and Zhang Bolin are the two idiots actually working!" he said indignantly.

That was true—those two had a bit too much energy. Wu De thought this but couldn't say it aloud. After consideration, he decided it was better to satisfy this request—balancing Army-Navy relations was preferable to intensifying conflicts.

"Alright, I'll assign you one hundred people. But let me be clear upfront—they're just laborers, no skilled workers."

"No problem." Wei Aiwen's face lit up. He quickly added, "We've agreed with Mei Wan that technical workers will be his responsibility."

"When do you need them?"

"Starting the third day of New Year, for one week. We can only work during the holiday—"

"Fine. Third day it is. But meals during construction are on you." It went without saying that the Army helping Wu Nanhai meant Wu Nanhai provided meals. But the Planning Committee wouldn't reduce Army food allocations. This saved ration income was probably the Army's corruption fund. Wu De made a mental note that this kind of loophole should be pointed out to the Planning Committee.

"Done, done." Wei Aiwen was excited. "A'De, you're a real friend! Worthy of military training!"

"You've served too?"

"I was in the Armed Police." Speaking of military service, Wei Aiwen had done two years with the Armed Police, becoming an expert marksman.

"So you're Navy?" Wei Aiwen said with feeling. "I didn't think so. Look at those Navy guys here—so pretentious!"

"Can't say that. The Navy has always emphasized etiquette and discipline." Wu De had originally planned to discuss Army-Navy disputes with He Ming. Now, with one of the Army's young turks here, he seized the opportunity for a good discussion.

Over the next several minutes, Wu De employed psychological tactics learned in judicial work, discussing the differences between Army and Navy, their respective strengths, and their interdependent relationship. He particularly emphasized that in Hainan's environment, joint Army-Navy operations were the most common and effective combat method.

Wei Aiwen was clearly distracted. Wu De realized his lecture wasn't having much effect. Disappointed, he was mid-explanation when Wei Aiwen received a phone call. The company had just finished distributing soldiers' goods and was asking whether to let soldiers stay up for New Year's Eve or have them sleep immediately.

"Tell everyone to sleep early. Those who want to stay up can. Keep up the guard." Wei Aiwen replied carelessly. "I wanted to hold a party, but all the platoon leaders went to watch movies. Who's going to organize it?"

Wu De asked, "You didn't go check on your company?"

"I originally said I would, but Battalion Commander Xi slipped away during the day. The Chief of Staff isn't here either. New Year's Eve has so many demands. I'm the stand-in company commander, so I'm handling battalion business. No time. I'm planning to go first thing tomorrow morning. Right now only Old Tiger You and Dongmen Chuiyu are at the three companies."

Wu De was silent for a moment. "I hear your company does the best political work?"

(End of Chapter)