As strong as you

Han Bo was also exhausted that day. He gave me a few perfunctory replies and ran off without making any concrete plans for setting up the sacks. I was deeply mired in the shame of being fired and the frustration of my friend's lack of support. I cursed Yu Zhongjian through gritted teeth for half an hour, then fell into a deep sleep and slept for ten hours. When I woke up again, all the field teams had already set off.

I wandered around the compound seemingly aimlessly, but inwardly I was burning with anxiety. I wandered from the canteen to the warehouse, from the power room to the inpatient ward, going from room to room. I was thinking about how to get back at Yu Zhongjian. I had to get back at him. He showed no regard for my position as the acting person in charge. He humiliated me. He embarrassed me in front of the team members, especially Company Commander Gao. I couldn't tolerate it. I had to get back at him!

Liao Donghui accompanied me throughout the entire visit, talking non-stop about the recent construction progress in the hospital.

"The water purification equipment that Captain Han brought back from the Healthy Pure Water Company has been put into use. Because it requires electricity, the water production must be done on a regular schedule and in a limited quantity. It can basically guarantee drinking water and a small amount of domestic water. The field team is working very hard. Please bear with the situation for now and make do with the water from the artificial lake. Once we get groundwater, the situation will be much better."

Half my mind was occupied with the retaliation plan, while the other half had caught a few snippets of conversation. A question immediately arose: "That old man you mentioned, does he really know how to dig a well? It sounds so unreliable to me. I'm not questioning his well-drilling skills, but finding water is a highly difficult and technologically demanding task. Do you know how many people die during severe droughts throughout history? If groundwater could be found so easily, the people wouldn't suffer such disasters."

Liao Donghui slapped his thigh while holding the folder: "I have to say, Dr. Qi, you have a good eye. You chose the Veterans Hospital as the base. Old Tian immediately said it was a geomantically auspicious place. Not only does it have groundwater, but everything that grows there will thrive. He's lived in the countryside for forty years. He may not know much else, but his judgment of land is absolutely accurate. Pit No. 1 has already shown signs of damp soil, and Pit No. 2 and No. 3 will surely produce water soon!"

I shrugged: "Then let's fight. Pick a good time, make sure to keep quiet, and don't attract a horde of zombies like last time."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I also need to report to you about the inmates. I've been observing the reinforcement of the wall for a few days now. There are a few who are willing to work hard, don't talk much, and are relatively honest. Maybe we could give them a small reward, like an extra meal or a cigarette, to create competition and make them more motivated to work."

"Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit."

It must be said that Liao Donghui was a man who used his true abilities to avoid going out. Although he always exuded a fawning air that made people uncomfortable, he was thoughtful, meticulous, and methodical in his work. Under his coordination, the veterans were put to good use, resources were put to good use, and everyone was assigned to their respective roles: cooking, digging wells, clearing land, cleaning, and providing medical care. Even the issue of the prisoners' labor reform was taken into consideration.

Currently, my father and several other middle-aged and elderly people are doing what they can. Besides Old Tian, ​​who knows feng shui, there's also Grandpa Tang, who's over sixty. He and his sixteen-year-old grandson survived for months on soy sauce noodles before being rescued by Xiao Hei and his team. He's a licensed, legitimate doctor; before retiring, he was the chief physician of the proctology department at the First Affiliated Hospital. Treating headaches, fevers, constipation, and hemorrhoids is a piece of cake for him. Now, he's back in Liu Meili's team.

Meanwhile, a group of minors, led by Binbin, formed a guard patrol team, including eight-year-old Xiao Meng. They walked around the yard very imposingly, each holding an electric baton.

Having weathered the hardships of surviving alone, the women who joined the veterans' family have truly impressed everyone. The logistical work didn't require all sixty of them to work together, so some approached Liao Donghui requesting to join the field support team, saying that if they could handle the "substitute work," they could too; substitute work was good, substitute work was great, and they should take substitute work as their role model. Although I don't know how much of Liao Donghui's statement was genuine, I was deeply moved to hear it. This is the new woman of the new era, the new world—relying on oneself rather than on heaven or earth; we can survive without male protection, and we will live even more brilliantly.

It was this news that inspired my revenge. The male leadership wasn't truly loyal to me; with other subordinates doing the work, they seized on the smallest mistake and accused me of insubordination. Frankly, I knew what I was doing. If I left Team Three and went to any group, they wouldn't be able to handle me. I have a strong personality, and as the acting leader, if I didn't compromise when disagreements arose, it would put the team leaders in a difficult position. Why bother? No matter how much these men praised my abilities, it was all superficial. Those with class would verbally defer to me, while those without, like the man surnamed Yu, would directly try to embarrass me. Why should I tolerate this false respect?

I can't just break up the already divided groups again, so I might as well just form another field team and lead it myself! Using sacks as a tactic is indeed a bit low-level and childish. To humiliate him, we have to prove him wrong with real ability.

After finishing his work report, Liao Donghui started complaining, feigning reluctance and hoping I would ask him. Unfortunately, my mind was wandering, and he was thinking about other things. He mumbled something for a while before finally speaking: "It's about this Captain Zhao, tsk, a bit disobedient. He's always supposed to be guarding the prisoners under the wall for a short while, then he disappears. I don't dare say anything to him, Dr. Qi, what do you think..."

"Which Captain Zhao?" I snapped back to reality as soon as I heard that. The man I beat up last time still avoids me whenever he sees me. Is there anyone this arrogant in the compound? If you don't obey management, then don't eat the veterans' food. Get out of here and have some peace and quiet.

“Captain Zhao Zhuobao,” Liao Donghui said, looking very troubled, “He’s either sneaking off to the cafeteria or to the medical team. Several ladies have come to me to complain, saying… that he’s been harassing us.”

When did Zhao Zhuobao become a team leader? He's the most useless person in the entire veterans' unit. Some are physically weaker than him and mentally sound, while others are mentally unstable and stronger. How could I possibly put someone who's both frail and mentally unstable in a leadership position? Either he's just using someone else's authority to create a title for himself.

I thought for a moment, then sighed and said to Liao Donghui, "To tell you the truth, Zhao Zhuobao used to live here."

"Huh?" Liao Donghui didn't understand. "Stay here?"

"Yes, I'll handle his affairs. Don't interfere too much with his actions, otherwise he can be quite stubborn and difficult to deal with, especially men. There are very few men he likes."

Liao Donghui touched his face: "Oh, no wonder every time I try to persuade him, he always flicks his hand in front of my face. He wants to scratch me."

"Call him here and tell him I'm looking for him. Arrange for someone else to guard the prisoners."

Sitting in the treatment chair in the intensive care unit, clicking the switches, I waited for Zhao Zhuobao's arrival with a confident smile.

"Aifeng, you were looking for me?" This guy was dressed in a special agent uniform, with a beret on his head, and stun guns and handcuffs on his waist, looking quite respectable.

"Come here," I beckoned to him, "There's something I need to discuss with you."

Zhao Zhuobao hesitated at the door: "I don't like this room. Why don't we talk outside?"

The intensive care unit, also known as the electroconvulsive therapy room, is a name that screams grotesqueness. It's said that patients treated here used to experience periods of unfocused stares, drooling, and disorientation lasting only two or three days, or even up to two weeks of dementia and confusion. Later, the government halted the inhumane high-current therapy and replaced it with low-current stimulation combined with anesthetics. This brought a new lease on life for mental patients – they no longer suffered from incontinence.

Zhao Zhuobao served in the military longer than Yu Yu and Xiao Lizi, and having experienced the era of high current, he must have been traumatized.

No one would believe it if you told them, but this kid is actually a rich second-generation heir; his family is in the steel business. His father spends money on Rongjun every year, just to keep his son from being discharged from the hospital. It has nothing to do with family wealth; the main culprit is one of the evil forces that triggered Zhao Zhuobao's illness and caused him to strangle someone—his stepmother is now his stepmother; another culprit is his father's mistress; and yet another culprit is his older brother.

These scandals of the Zhao family are no secret in Huaicheng. Back then, the farce of Zhao Zhuobao stripping naked and hugging every girl he saw on the street was even reported in the evening paper. It was a source of amusement for the people. But who could have imagined that years later, he might be the only son left in the Zhao family?

"Come in quickly, I have something good to tell you!"

Zhao Zhuobao walked in reluctantly: "What is it? I still have to go on patrol."

I scoffed, "Have you been patrolling properly? You're always shirking your duties and flirting with other women, do you think I don't know? Are you tired of living?"

Zhao Zhuobao looked flustered: "No, no, I haven't been unfaithful. I only love you."

I waved my hand dismissively: "Alright, alright, I'm not a petty person. Knowing what kind of person you are, why would I hold a grudge against you? Just don't cause trouble in front of me."

Zhao Zhuobao was moved: "No, no, Aifeng, you're the best. You're the person I love the most."

"I called you here because I'm planning to form an all-female field team, the kind that's all women, recruiting young, beautiful, healthy, capable, and courageous girls into the team. But I don't know much about the girls in the institute, so I plan to entrust this task of contacting them and selecting team members to you."

I thought Zhao Zhuobao would jump for joy after hearing what I said, be extremely grateful, and swear that he would do anything for me. But to my surprise, he just frowned and said, "Women on field assignments? That's not a good idea, Aifeng. The outside world is so scary. How can you take girls out? What if they get hurt... it would be so heartbreaking."

I slammed my hand on the armrest: "Bullshit, I'm a woman too. If I can go out, why can't they?"

"You're different from them."

"What's different?"

"You...you are quite strong, sturdy, and robust."

Me, strong? Me, strong? I knew this kid hadn't been beaten enough and was getting too bold, even slandering me! I was furious, jumped up and kicked the door shut, grabbed Zhao Zhuobao and gave him a good beating.

"Will you listen to me or not? Will you listen to me or not?"

"Listen, listen." Although Zhao Zhuobao was a fangirl, she wasn't stupid. She could feel the pain when she was punched, and she quickly surrendered.

I grabbed his beret and fanned myself: "Do as I say, make good contacts and pick the right people. Once the team is up and running, I'll make you the vice-captain. If you dare to shirk your responsibilities, just wait and see if I skin you alive!"

I don't want to always resort to violence, but with some people, you really have to resort to violence.

During dinner that evening, I watched Zhao Zhuobao flit among the women like a butterfly. He treated them all equally, regardless of age, appearance, or gender, with affectionate eyes, tender whispers, and clumsy little gestures. It made me want to punch him again.

But I held back, and pulled Liao Donghui to sit quietly in the corner, watching him flirt with women everywhere, watching the women he harassed either avoid him, panic, endure it, or curse him out.

"What's that girl's name?" I pointed to a girl not far away who was confronting Zhao Zhuobao. Her face was flushed, but she didn't back down in the face of the shameless, smirking rogue. As soon as Zhao Zhuobao got close, she rolled up her sleeves and clenched her fists. If he tried to touch her arm, she would push him away, yelling, "Don't think you can be shameless just because someone is backing you up. If you dare to touch me today, I'll fight you to the death!"

Liao Donghui didn't even pause. "Her name is Bai Xueying, she's 24 years old, unmarried, and used to work at a clothing company under the Civil Affairs Bureau. Her specialty is sewing and mending, and she can do simple tailoring."

I looked at him in surprise: "Wow, Over, I underestimated you. You can recite the resume of anyone you pick. Your talent is wasted in our veterans' camp. I think you could easily be a secretary to any leader."

Liao Donghui was overjoyed: "With Dr. Qi's words, I, Liao, will definitely dedicate myself to the cause of the veterans until my dying breath!"

The field team returned just in time for lunch, looking exhausted and covered in dust. Many of them had their newly issued special operations uniforms filthy after only one day. They were so eager to eat that they hadn't even sat down yet, showing how much effort they had put in outside.

Han Bo searched around the cafeteria for a while, then spotted me sitting in a dimly lit corner and waved at me. I pretended not to see him and turned my face away. He then walked over, glared at Liao Donghui, and scared him away without saying a word.

Han Bo reeked of rust and his behavior became increasingly rude: "Hey, what did you say to me last night? You were going to beat up Xiao Yu again? What did he do to offend you this time?"

I glared at him and said, "What do you mean 'again'? When did I say I was going to hit him?"

Han Bo chuckled: "You think I was really drunk last time? I was just sleepy. Actually, I heard you rambling on and on. You said Xiao Yu flirted with you and said inappropriate things, and you wanted to put a sack over his head, right?"

"You've been playing dead with me for so long, and now you're asking me what I mean? Why didn't you ask me next year?"

Han Bo clicked his tongue and said, "How am I supposed to ask? We're all family, am I supposed to ask Xiao Yu if you flirted with Da Feng? I can't even bring myself to ask that!"

"I told you to put a sack over his head, not to ask him nonsense."

"I can't do something like putting a sack on my brother for no reason."

"For no reason?" I nodded and smiled. "Fine, fine, fine. I'm so shameless that I'm talking to you about this. You say for no reason? Fine, fine, you two are brothers, and I'm an outsider."

Han Bo leaned in and scrutinized my expression for a while: "Oh, looks like something's really wrong, you're angry."

"Get out of my way, I don't want to talk to you." I stood up, flung my arm, and walked away. It was true that I didn't want to talk, but I wasn't angry. I had serious business to attend to, so I didn't have time to get angry at these scoundrels.

As I approached the canteen, I bumped into Yu Zhongjian leading his team into lunch. He stopped and looked at me as we passed, uttering a single word, "Qi." I walked past him with my head held high, only greeting Guo Yang, Lao Wang, and a few others, and even flashing a smile at Gao Chen.

Do you want to apologize to me? I'm ignoring you, I'll let you sulk.

In the following days, Yu Zhongjian repeatedly tried to talk to me, but I ignored him, disregarding his frequent glances at me, and focused intently on observing Zhao Zhuobao's every move. From lewd looks and flirtatious words to direct physical contact, his harassment escalated, drawing complaints from the women in the courtyard. My mother also came to me, urging me to find a way to control him.

I didn't interfere. There are no psychiatrists these days, and even if I give Zhao Zhuobao his medication, he only takes it sporadically. But he still needs treatment. Doctors have their methods, and I have mine. I'll give him a strong dose first, let him have unrestricted contact with women, let him have as much contact as he wants, until he vomits! Otherwise, if he gets agitated one day and takes off his clothes and acts recklessly again, it will be even harder to control the situation.

Sure enough, when I ignored him, he came to me on his own initiative, covering one eye and limping: "Aifeng, I can't take it anymore. I've been beaten eight times in three days. I don't want to do this job anymore."

I coaxed him gently: "Zhuobao, don't give up. I'm doing this for your own good. Don't you just want to love a bunch of girls and then have a bunch of girls love you back? What a great opportunity, isn't it? Let's keep going."

Zhao Zhuobao shook his head so hard his cheeks almost flew off: "I don't want that. I want a gentle girl. Those other girls are just pretending to be gentle. They're actually just as strong as you."

I suppressed a laugh: "Oh, you don't like strong guys, so you don't love me?"

Zhao Zhuobao looked at me with a pale face, and after a long while, he squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "Love."

The issue of harassment against women ultimately needs to be addressed. After Liao Donghui and I finalized a list of women with potential to become field personnel, I convened the first Women's Congress of the Veterans Hospital survivors. At the meeting, I introduced Zhao Zhuobao's medical history and sincerely apologized for the harassment of the women comrades caused by my inaction over the past few days. This led to the decision to form a women's field team. The first members would be the girls who sternly rebuked Zhao Zhuobao's inappropriate behavior and even bravely raised their fists against him.

“小赵是有病的，他常年沉浸在全世界女性都爱他的幻想中不能自拔，你躲，他认为你害羞，你忍，他认为你喜欢他。他也这样骚扰过我，但是在我天长日久的暴力对待下，他已经对我渐渐失去了兴趣，甚至害怕起我来，所以，纵容就是害他，揍他才是帮他。”

The women burst into laughter. Several particularly beautiful girls, who were constantly surrounded by Zhao Zhuobao, even showed expressions of regret, gesturing with their fists as if reflecting on their previous leniency.

I think there will be more and more strong girls, and Zhao Zhuobao's days in the veterans' camp will probably not be easy in the future.

The meeting lasted a long time. The second half mainly focused on answering women's questions about the establishment of the women's field team. I explained that the list was just a list, and those who did not wish to join the team could apply to withdraw. Of course, as I expected, no one made such an application, and they were all very excited.

After it was over, I was entangled for a while before I returned to my room on the second floor, where I saw Han Bo and Ma Li standing at my door talking.

"You two don't need to stand so openly in the hallway to avoid suspicion, do you? You're blocking my way."

Ma Li said, "I came to talk to you, but I just happened to run into Han Bo."

Han Bo said, "Da Feng, I have some really amazing news to tell you! Hey, the three of us are really destined to meet, how about we find a place to have a drink together?"