"I think so too, it's all psychological."
Xia Yu put down his teacup and said with absolute certainty.
Respect for the unknown does not prevent Huang You from believing only in caliber and yield; there are no innocent souls under an atomic bomb, and all demons and monsters will be purified for you.
"But Uncle, there's something I need to trouble you with. Could you help me pick a date? It has to be a weekday."
It's better to consult a Taoist priest than to look up the old almanac yourself, but you can't choose a weekend, because the civil affairs bureau is closed on weekends.
The marriage registration must be done in China; he can't let the Germans compile the marriage rate statistics.
"It's the tenth day of the first lunar month. The tenth day is auspicious for getting married, traveling, signing contracts, and receiving money... The auspicious time is Ren Shen hour, which is 3 to 4 pm."
My cousin calculated and said.
It doesn't matter if it's not this time, but Xia Yu's name was given by his maternal uncle, and the date he chose was definitely right.
The person involved was unaware of the matter. Liv thought to herself that she knew a little Mandarin, but the two people in front of her seemed to be communicating in another language.
Old Xia and Lin Shuqin tried to speak Mandarin at home to make it easier for her to study, but Xia Yu is speaking dialect now to hide it from her.
What were you talking about just now?
After leaving her cousin's place, Liv asked curiously.
"They're talking about you. They say you're a lucky charm for your husband, and that you were born to marry me."
Xia Yu said exaggeratedly.
"That's so fake. If it were a priest, he would say that our meeting was God's arrangement."
Liv said I wasn't easily fooled and then added her own creative touches.
While the two were flirting, dozens of kilometers away in Nanjing, at an army command academy that had not yet started its holiday, a group of recently discharged Chinese men were scratching their heads as they listened to the teacher explaining French grammar in the teaching building of the International Military Education and Exchange Center, which only admitted foreign students.
Of all the military academies in the country, not just the two in the north that recruit international students, Nanjing University has trained 6,000 foreign students in the past 60 years, producing 6 presidents and 8 defense ministers.
Today, the school offers four majors for officers of different ranks, including brigade commanders, battalion commanders, junior staff officers, and senior command staff officers, and each major is taught in small classes in four languages: French, Spanish, Russian, and English.
This is why they come to the command academy to study French. Moreover, it's impossible to learn step by step; there's not enough time. They can only work on daily conversations and military-related dialogues.
Huang Jingxiu, a former tank commander of an armored combined arms battalion and a third-term sergeant, was a little distracted. He had planned to transfer to the fourth term next year and develop in the direction of sergeant staff officer. However, after participating in a selection process, he had a dinner party. While eating hot pot and singing songs, he was sent here by a song called "Camel Bells".
It wasn't just him; his entire crew was packed up and sent over.
Since I'm already here, I might as well make the best of it. But French is seriously hard to learn; even counting is a struggle.
"Commander, we flew T-64s when we went abroad. I heard that we'll be divided into smaller classes tomorrow, and we'll have three separate classes each afternoon."
Finally, get out of class ended, and the driver, Little Bear, quickly turned around and asked.
"Probably. They told me to pick up the technical manual tonight. I never thought we'd be able to drive a former Soviet Union tank."
Huang Jingxiu said with emotion.
"More than that, I heard from Lao Yang that they might have modified a German-made infantry fighting vehicle, the Weasel, you know?"
Xiao Xiong was the informant for their crew, or rather, the entire platoon. In just over a month, he had infiltrated the friendly forces.
"Never heard of it. The only German vehicle I know is the Leopard 2. I've never really paid attention to what kind of infantry fighting vehicles they use."
Old Huang shook his head and said.
Russia is normal, but Germany, which is far away, has never been their hypothetical enemy, so naturally they know little about it.
"However, the combination of Soviet tanks and German infantry fighting vehicles is too strange."
This is just making a fuss over nothing. If you actually go there, you'll see even more amazing combinations. Not to mention French tanks, the helicopters can be divided into American, French, and Soviet versions, and the fighter jets even have British people joining in the fun, mainly a mixed bag.
"Hurry up and get ready to go to the shooting range. We need to fire two hundred rounds before dinner. In all my years in the army, I haven't fired as many bullets as I have in this month."
"Gunner Zhou Qianping urged the two of them," he said.
While domestic crews rarely use light weapons, those working abroad face complex battlefield environments, making it essential to improve close-range self-defense capabilities.
Huang Jingxiu's shooting training mainly focused on pistols and submachine guns, like those guys over there...
"Bang bang"
"Put-put-put"
In the firing range, the roar of long bursts from light machine guns completely drowned out the sounds of pistols and rifles firing single shots, and everyone's eyes subconsciously focused on the soldier who was not tall but had a sturdy build.
At first glance, the gun in his hand looks like an M249, but upon closer inspection, it is a CS/LM8 squad automatic weapon.
As the machine gunner in the squad, Zhou Rongliang was more familiar with the Type 88 light machine gun, but 5.8mm ammunition was hard to find abroad, so the domestically produced "Big Pineapple" from Chongqing was more suitable.
After finishing a 100-round shrapnel belt, switch to a new one and continue firing.
"Put-put-put"
The others were the same, but with the background noise of machine gun fire, it was difficult to hear them firing.
For example, those three guys over there playing with submachine guns are using CS/LS06 submachine guns designed and manufactured by the same company as the CS/LM8, and they're loading their magazines with a whooshing sound!
It uses the same magazine feeding system as the Bison, but it has been modified to use a top-feed system like the P90, which makes it very distinctive. It has also been exported to many countries in Afica.
Each crew member has one, and a 50-round magazine is definitely more powerful than the 30-round magazine of the CS/LS03. As for the 50-round magazine, it would be too long inside the vehicle.
The problem with high ammunition capacity is that loading is troublesome. Machine gun ammunition belts are pre-loaded, so they have to load the cartridges themselves.
It's alright, to say the least. Reloading the machine gun takes a few minutes of firing and half an hour of reloading, especially since it's a 100mm rifled cannon.
This "buy one get one free" configuration seems to be used only by them and Russia, modifying the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle, which only has a 20mm autocannon.
There's no need to worry too much about whether the firepower is insufficient. I heard that the company owner integrated four anti-tank missiles into the vehicle.
There's also a difference in the role of the weapons and equipment. The original Marder was meant to do something more similar to the BMP-2, but its cannon had a terrifying 1,250 rounds of ammunition.
A smaller caliber means several times more ammunition can be prepared.
This is also why Xia Yu didn't upgrade the Marder S3 to the S30 standard. After replacing the main gun with a 30mm one, the ammunition capacity was reduced to 400 rounds, which is not as good as the high and low configurations of an S3 and an S30.
Small-caliber weapons are responsible for suppressing fire, while large-caliber weapons ensure precise output, working together to eliminate personnel and lightly armored targets.
And so, these veterans continued their language learning and targeted training at the command academy until the students were released for winter break after their final exams. They then continued their classes with the foreign students who did not return home.
They even formed a support group with the French class of the basic staff next door, practicing each other's spoken language, and everyone made a lot of progress in their language skills.
Xia Yu, who was not in Jinling, was also aware of these things, and he was monitoring their progress remotely.
Lacking the time and energy to organize another selection process to screen for the talent needed for the concentrated fire defense, Xia Yu turned to his hometown as a "headhunter." With these suitable candidates, most of the needs were directly met.
One tank crew, one infantry fighting vehicle crew, and one mechanized infantry squad.
These nine people are combat units. With their addition, the concentrated fire defense can achieve an assault formation of two tanks and two infantry fighting vehicles.
In Syria, a full complement of vehicles is required, but back in Afika, they can be split up to support 5 or even 6 vehicles.
Xia Yu knows how to use people. These veteran sergeants are much more capable than him, a conscript. He can entrust them with heavy responsibilities with peace of mind.
As for non-combat units, he only recruited one.
Among the nine people mixed in with the combat unit, no one noticed that he was a cook.
The reason is simple: the two vehicle crews were original, but the infantry squad was disassembled. He was mixed in with the combat personnel for language, shooting, and coordination training.
Because he acted professionally, and because the old 04 itself had a 7-person crew cabin, no one suspected anything, even though he was clearly a cook!
Cooks also have combat capabilities. The number of non-commissioned officer positions allocated to ordinary troops is small, and many top trainees are retained through the cook squad's quota. This has led to the legend that the PLA cook squad is full of hidden talents.
Old Wu is such an example. After serving his third term in the military, he returned home and went to work in a primary school cafeteria.
After improving the food service to the best in the city, he heard about this opportunity and came here without hesitation.
Soldiers don't go to war because they live in a peaceful era, but the outside world is not peaceful, and Lao Wu wants to go out and see it.
Fortunately, he has maintained a good physique over the past two years, and his military skills have not suffered; it's just that his language skills are a bit lacking.
That's fine. As long as the food is delicious, it's far better than sweet talk, especially since their boss is a foodie.
In order to make full use of Wu's strengths, Xia Yu specially bought a retired XCT97A kitchen trailer.
This single-axle, two-wheel cooking trailer comes in two models: a plains version and a high-altitude version. He naturally wanted the high-altitude version equipped with a pressure cooker, because even if we don't go to fight on the plateau, the beef and mutton stewed in the pressure cooker are incredibly tender.
However, one pressure cooker on the truck is enough, and one truck with four people can provide meals for 150 people. The company has only expanded to 40 people, so it would be better to cut off one pot and add some other functions.
For example, this kind of kitchen cart only has the functions of frying, stir-frying, steaming, deep-frying, boiling, and baking, and the staple food can only be steamed buns and rice.
If soldiers want to eat bread in the field, the cookhouse must have an 83-type bread processing vehicle (our army also eats bread and milk).
With so many foreign employees at Jihuo Defense, they can eat rice and noodles, but they can't eat that all the time. It's important to change things up and have bread again.
Xia Yu specially asked the manufacturer to integrate a bread mixer and a special oven into his XCT97A.
This way you can not only bake bread, but also cakes and pizzas, and even make roast chicken and other things.
Xia Yu went to great lengths to ensure that everyone would have good food during the deployment, and thankfully, this trip back to China finally made things right.
The modified cooking trailer has already been loaded onto a ship along with the Red Cheetah and headed to Kongluga, ensuring both combat and defensive capabilities.
Of the 10 newly recruited employees, apart from Lao Wu who was in charge of the meals, the other 9 only signed one-year contracts.
A contract that is too short is not good for the company's operation, while a contract that is too long will interfere with the arrangements back home, so a one-year contract is just right.
Furthermore, Xia Yu doesn't need to worry about their weapons; just supplying ammunition is enough.
It's a bit boastful, but China can actually produce NATO-style light weapons ranging from 5.56mm to 9mm, and even has a precision marksman rifle that fires 7.62x51mm full-power rounds—the CS/LR14.
Regardless of the gun's design, it completes the NATO small arms system.
Using these export-grade firearms throughout the entire series can be considered as conducting in-depth combat testing, which yields more valuable data than design institutes conducting experiments behind closed doors.
Similarly, this is also a great opportunity to showcase the new guns to more Afica countries.
Countries that are not Afica would be even more welcome, as some NATO member states are likely fed up with the expensive light weapons from countries like Pyrrhic, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
Why not buy a cheaper alternative?
The sale of small arms is not a political matter; Americans even help the US buy PKM!
There's no way around heavy equipment; often, it's not just about buying the best stuff. Buying from a particular brand or brand reveals one's stance to some extent.
Of course, second-hand equipment is not so sensitive, and most countries in Afica can only afford second-hand equipment, so Xia Yu embarked on this path.
…………
After returning from Maoshan, time passed day by day, and soon the day for raising the roof beam arrived.
The date was also chosen by my cousin. Old Xia asked the construction team to control the progress a little, and today was the day to raise the ridge beam.
Several tables of relatives from both sides came, but only a small portion of them were the ones who had initially agreed to lend money.
Xia Yu doesn't hold grudges, because these days, people who are willing to lend money are those who are prepared for you not to pay them back, and they're paying to sever the relationship.
Therefore, lending money is a matter of goodwill, and not lending money is also one's right. Relatives who lend money will give each other jewelry of varying value according to the amount lent.
Many of the spoils of war from Jihuo Defense were rough diamonds and gemstones. Xia Yu only processed some of them, and had the rest cut and set by a designer. He also brought some back as gifts.
Seeing relatives wearing sparkly rings and necklaces while receiving only handicrafts like wooden carvings is more painful than losing money, but who told them to refuse in the first place?
Back then, very few people could have imagined that Xia Yu would be able to turn things around.
Even without the system, in Afica, where the market was still untapped, he could still succeed with his daring and aggressive personality.
The emergence of the system has given Xia Yu Station a higher level and more possibilities.
This is what he is most grateful for, after all, earning the first million is really hard.
"The auspicious time has arrived; it's time to raise the roof beam. Where are the head family members?"
The emcee, who was hosting the ceremony, shouted for people to come. It was the end of the year and the winter vacation, so adults and children alike had time to come. Half the village came, and the scene was so noisy that it was like a battle. Luckily, I didn't need to wear noise-canceling headphones.
"Here it comes, here it comes."
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