“Ah, sister-in-law is here,” the cookhouse squad leader said.
“Sister-in-law, it’s nothing. It’s just a small matter,” said a soldier from the cookhouse.
A small matter? If it was a small matter, was there a need for so many people to gather around and look so bitter? It was obvious that they were lying.
“Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll help you think of a way to resolve it.” Qiao Mei took a small stool and sat down to hear them out.
Everyone looked around at one another and finally decided to tell Qiao Mei about the issue.
“Sister-in-law, don’t tell our Commander Xia about this. This matter is indeed quite strange…” the cookhouse squad leader stammered.
Qiao Mei nodded and said, “Alright, tell me what kind of problem you’ve encountered?”
“It’s like this, sister-in-law. Our water storage tanks are actually not quite big enough to contain the amount of water needed for our military purposes. Last night, when we went to check on the water storage tanks, they were still fine. There was enough water then, but now, more than half the amount of water in the tanks had disappeared. I’m afraid that after everyone used up the water tonight, there won’t be enough to prepare meals for everyone tomorrow,” said the cookhouse squad leader.
“How can that be? Are there leaks in the water tanks?” Qiao Mei asked.
Qiao Mei had seen the water storage tanks at the camp. All of them were very big and sturdy, but a few were made of solid wood, so it was inevitable that there would be some leaks.
“It’s true but there are no water stains on the ground and the water has just disappeared. We have rules to follow when we need to get water. We can’t just take it as and when we like. I don’t know why there’s so much less water all of a sudden,” the cookhouse squad leader said in frustration.
The more Qiao Mei thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong. She had only just washed her clothes today and then there was already water missing at the camp, for which no one could find any reason.
“Then do you have any clues?” Qiao Mei asked.
“No, we don’t know where to start. Can it be that someone secretly stole water from the tank?” a soldier from the cookhouse said.
“Why don’t we talk to Deputy Commander Zheng?” the cookhouse deputy squad leader looked at the squad leader and asked.
Zheng Yuan again? Could this matter have anything to do with her?
“Why don’t you look for Xia Zhe about this?” Qiao Mei felt puzzled and asked.
“Sister-in-law, you probably don’t know this. Matters regarding the logistics troops are all under the care of Deputy Commander Zheng. It’s like if there are any problems with the military troops, they have to talk to Commander Xia,” the cookhouse squad leader explained.
Qiao Mei lowered her head and pondered. Today, she had encountered one incident after another, and all of them had to be with her. Also, this person called Zheng Yuan was involved in all the incidents. Was it a coincidence or was this person targeting her?
However, what good would it do to target her, unless it was because this person wanted to vent her anger?
There was silence all around again and everyone did not know what to say.
“What if you can make up for the missing water?” Qiao Mei said.
The soldiers looked at one another and felt that this idea was not very feasible.
“Sister-in-law, we’ve already checked this whole area and there’s no water source. That’s why there’s not enough water despite the water storage tanks. Otherwise, we would have gone to collect water every day,” said the cookhouse squad leader.
“That’s right. If we report this matter, there’s a high chance that we’ll be punished. Punishment is a small matter, but if there’s no food for the soldiers tomorrow, what are we going to do!” the cookhouse deputy squad leader said as he slapped his thigh angrily.
Everyone lowered their heads and blamed themselves. It was the cookhouse squad’s failure to patrol the area properly that caused such a serious matter to happen. They could not let the cookhouse squad leader take the blame for this matter alone.
“Squad leader! It’s my fault for not being thorough when I did the night patrol! It’s my fault! I’ll go and talk to Deputy Commander Zheng!” a young soldier from the cookhouse stood up and said.
This young soldier was one of the squad leader’s trainees and felt strongly for the squad leader. If needed, he would go through hell and high water for the squad leader. The squad leader had done a lot for him in the past and he felt that it was his responsibility to help the squad leader in this matter.
“Sit down! How can a young boy like you fight to take on such a matter? Do you think it’s a good thing to do? Don’t cause trouble for me!” the cookhouse squad leader said sternly.
“But!”
“Sit down! Follow orders!”
The young soldier wanted to retort, but he still decided to obey the squad leader’s orders.
Qiao Mei watched the interaction between the two of them and was deeply moved by the relationship between these brothers-in-arms.
