Chapter 532 - 419: Is There a Whirlpool?_3

"Hey, it’s so boring just sitting here, why don’t I call a couple of brothers to play some ’Fight the Landlord’ with you? Let’s see your memory skills in action."

Fang Huai’s mouth twitched, "You guys brought cards with you?"

Captain Zhao looked around and said quietly, "To be honest with you, we’ve given up hope on finding the person, how could we possibly pull them up? But the leadership won’t let us leave, so we’re just here waiting to see how long it’ll take for the body to float up. If it’s tangled up like you said, who knows how many days we’ll have to wait. It’s boring to just stand around, so we let the brothers find something to pass the time."

Fang Huai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Alright, alright, but let’s keep it small, huh?"

...

The group chatted and commenced battle inside the car.

At first, Fang Huai didn’t want to win and was just playing casually.

But the ’Fight the Landlord’ game with a base of one dollar quickly exhausted everyone, including Captain Zhao who was bored out of his mind and wanted to join as a substitute, even suggesting to play for five yuan.

That’s when Fang Huai started counting cards.

Although his memory wasn’t as clear as the QQ Landlord Card Memorizer, as long as he carefully thought about a card, he could remember when and how many had been played.

If it weren’t for being sabotaged by his teammates a few times, Fang Huai would have won all one thousand yuan from them long ago.

After 6 o’clock, the Southwest Guizhou Detachment’s command car arrived, and everyone hurriedly started to put away the cards.

Only then did Fang Huai pinch the handful of money that welcomed him, roughly seven hundred plus, and happily divided it into three parts.

"Captain Zhao, you lost 220, right? Sergeant Jiang, 330, Sergeant Wu, 175. I’m not counting the small wins and losses from the one-yuan bets, this is all what I won from you guys. You can divide it amongst yourselves."

The three of them were taken aback.

"No, no, no, we honor our bets!"

Fang Huai laughed and stuffed the money back to them, "Slap a hundred yuan note with a note! If it’s still not found by tonight, sleep with the note pasted on."

Captain Zhao also felt that Fang Huai had won a bit too much, especially since one non-commissioned officer had lost quite a lot, but seeing Fang Huai not taking the money, he felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Well... how about we treat you to a meal?"

Fang Huai said with a smile, "Sure, I heard Wanfeng Lake’s egg fried rice is very famous. If you’re free later, just get me a portion."

Captain Zhao praised with amazement, "Brother, I’m impressed! Not only can you remember the cards, but you also remember exactly how much each person lost! You’re this!"

He said, giving a thumbs up.

"I’m flattered, flattered!" Fang Huai laughed and returned the gesture with a fist held to his chest, seeing gratitude on the faces of the others and feeling quite satisfied inside.

Without spending a penny, he had spread his good reputation to Southwest Guizhou.

Then, looking out the window, he pointed at the man descending from the command car and asked,

"That’s... Captain Li, right?"

"Crap, Li Zhi is here, let’s go, let’s go!"

Several people disembarked from the car, and Captain Zhao quickly ran to another car, calling everyone out.

"Hello to the Regimental commander!"

Fang Huai also went up to greet, "Hello Captain Li!"

Captain Li saw Fang Huai and smiled,

"Yo, Little Fang, you’re here too!"

The surrounding people, hearing Captain Li call Fang Huai by his surname, all looked envious.

Especially Cao Yi, who couldn’t count how many high level leaders had earnestly instructed, advised, and placed great expectations on Fang Huai.

Fang Huai’s name was getting more famous by the day within the whole corps, and in the future, it would likely resonate beyond it.

This couldn’t be achieved by just being a "person with connections"; managing not to leave a bad name while carrying that label was an achievement, and yet Fang Huai turned everything into positive energy.

Fang Huai also saluted promptly and said loudly, "Yes!"

Captain Li had a deep impression of him, and Fang Huai felt the same.

Captain Li, Li Shiyong, would later be transferred to the Guiyang Regiment, where he would serve for many years until the restructuring, before Fang Huai was reborn, where he remained the commander.

In the future, he might need to seek favors from him.

Li Zhi patted his shoulder with a laugh, "You little rascal, so cunning! That time you helped Captain Zhang scam that money, how much did your squadron share?"

Last time during the earthquake exercise, he was also on the command car, only to find that the Southwest Guizhou Detachment didn’t get a single hair’s worth, and that grudge stuck with him.

But along with the flood incident, the young man’s two outstanding performances deeply imprinted themselves in his heart.

Fang Huai then chuckled, "Captain Li, what can I say, we cultured people can’t call it a scam. The majority is with Lord Zhang, go ask him for it!"

"Clever boy, so how about it? Can you come up with some ideas for this operation?"

Fang Huai pondered and said, "Hmm... let’s see after I get in the water."

Li Zhi looked toward the calm waters not far away, considering the dangers below, and couldn’t help but remind, "Safety comes first, don’t take risks in deep waters."

"Understood."

...

The next morning, 7:30 AM.

The rising sun illuminated the broad expanse of water,

but visibility wasn’t high, and what rippled on the surface was the color of the distant mountains.

On the shore, three sets of diving gear were already laid out on the ground.

In the water, several kayaks from the Southwest Guizhou Special Services were already waiting for them.

Hearing that someone was going to dive, many units dispatched by the government came to watch.

The tax office, police, and even hospital staff had all stayed through the night without leaving.

The most significant contribution of the doctors there was probably just to comfort the family members.

They were not here because they believed the person could be found, but rather to see what was happening.

Fang Huai looked at He Zhijun and Lian Xu and said, "If either of you two can’t hold up later, take a break."

Lian Xu laughed, "He Squad Leader and I managed to get a few hours of sleep downstream. We’re feeling energetic."

He Zhijun added, "I’ve been wanting to try a real operation for a while now."