“I want the cookhouse squad leader to come with me after making the arrangements. Get the deputy squad leader to lead the team to the site. After you’re done, come and explain to me what’s going on,” Xia Zhe said.
“Yes!” The cookhouse squad leader went to make the arrangements.
Zheng Yuan stood where she was and watched Xia Zhe organize everything. Her plan had failed, but she was unwilling to accept the fact. She wanted to make it clear to Xia Zhe that Qiao Mei was a bad woman and that they were not suitable for each other!
Zheng Yuan’s father was the regiment commander, so Zheng Yuan had grown up in the army and everyone took special care of her. Within her world, she was like everyone’s daughter and she had never come into contact with the outside world, so it was inevitable that her character was a little domineering.
“Xia Zhe! You can’t just deal with it like this!” Zheng Yuan said aggrievedly.
Xia Zhe looked at Zheng Yuan, not knowing what to say. Qiao Mei raised her eyebrows and looked at Zheng Yuan’s distressed expression. Zheng Yuan was still so arrogant just now, but she looked so aggrieved the moment she saw Xia Zhe. This was really a difficult woman to deal with.
“You can tell me about it later. I’ll get back to you after I understand the situation from the cookhouse squad leader,” Xia Zhe said.
The naive Zheng Yuan thought that Xia Zhe was feeling sorry for her and wanted her to go back and rest. He even said that he would come by to look for her.
“Alright, come and look for me later!” Zheng Yuan left in a happy mood.
Qiao Mei looked at Xia Zhe and gave him a slight smile as she said, “Are you going to go look for her?”
“Mei Mei, that’s not what I mean. This is about work and I don’t intend to go and look for her. What I meant is I will ask her to come and see me. She had misunderstood what I meant,” Xia Zhe explained in a state of panic.
Qiao Mei knew that Xia Zhe did not have any crooked intentions, but the fact that Xia Zhe did not have any bad intent did not mean that Zheng Yuan also did not have any. She just wanted to remind Xia Zhe to be careful and to watch his own actions.
“I’m off to get water.” Qiao Mei waved her hand and left with the rest of the team.
“Yes, go.” Xia Zhe looked worriedly in the direction that Qiao Mei had left.
The cookhouse squad leader ran to Xia Zhe’s side, stood at attention and said, “Report. The preparations are completed.”
“Let’s go. Follow me to the tent.” Xia Zhe and the cookhouse squad leader walked back to the tent together. Before they could enter, they bumped into Zhuang Hua.
Xia Zhe looked at Zhuang Hua and asked, “Do you need something?”
“I heard the commotion and came over to take a look,” Zhuang Hua said.
Zhuang Hua was in charge of the troops’ equipment and vehicles. When Xia Zhe allowed the cookhouse staff to use the army trucks, they would definitely have gone to Zhuang Hua to make the arrangements. He already knew that something had happened and actually wanted to come by and eavesdrop, but he did not expect to be discovered.
Zhuang Hua touched the tip of his nose with a guilty conscience. Xia Zhe knew what Zhuang Hua was thinking and did not expose him. After all, they had a brotherly relationship, and it was also not a big deal to let him know about these matters. Moreover, Xia Zhe had indeed authorized the use of the vehicles under Zhuang Hua’s care.
“Come in for the discussion. I’ll explain to you why we need to use the vehicles in the middle of the night,” Xia Zhe said.
Xia Zhe, Zhuang Hua and the cookhouse squad leader walked into the tent. Zhuang Hua sat on the bed in a familiar manner. After all, apart from the bed, there was only one table and one chair in the tent.
“Get down!” Xia Zhe said as he looked at Zhuang Hua.
“Sigh! How petty of you! I used to… Ah, I have a sister-in-law now. Alright, alright, I’ll sit on the chair then,” Zhuang Hua stood up and said.
Xia Zhe nodded and sat on the bed while Zhuang Hua sat on the chair. The cookhouse squad leader stood there earnestly, not knowing how to start.
“Don’t be nervous. I’m not here to accuse you of anything. I just want to know what happened. So you can relax,” Xia Zhe said gently.
“Yes, Commander. I’ll definitely tell you everything I know,” the cookhouse squad leader said.
“It’s nothing much. I just want to know what difficulties you have encountered,” Xia Zhe asked.
Zhuang Hua thought to himself, “You sly old fox, taking a soft touch. I’d better watch the show quietly.”
“Last night, all of us saw there was still enough water in the water storage tanks, but when we went to check again tonight, we found that more than half the amount of water was gone. There’s simply not enough water for everyone to use tomorrow morning,” said the cookhouse squad leader as he explained the cause of the matter.
Xia Zhe lowered his head in deep thought. There were too many incidents today. First, there was the news that Qiao Mei had left the camp on her own accord, then there was the fake news that Qiao Mei had suffered a serious waist injury, and now there was the theft of water from the water storage tanks. Everything had happened on the same day.
