Li Ling secretly pondered that the first step of the plan had been successfully completed, and he no longer needed to be high-profile or cause trouble. He could simply do his paperwork honestly and wait for the right opportunity to act.
Although Li Ling knew what Miao Lian was thinking, he still had to do what he was supposed to do; the moment to test his acting skills had arrived.
"Company Commander, what does a clerk do?" Li Ling asked, looking completely clueless, like a complete newbie.
Acting level: Bewildered newbie, hehehehe.
Miao Lian casually adjusted the brim of his hat, but instead of telling him directly, he said, "You can go in and ask the old clerk."
After saying that, he turned and left, heading towards his office.
The company headquarters is on the right side of the second floor. There are only two dormitories: one is a single room for Miao Lian, and the other is the clerk's room. The old clerk is currently living in the other room.
Li Ling already knew who the old clerk was, so when she entered the dormitory, she wasn't surprised at all; she just pretended to be surprised.
The old man was waiting for Li Ling in the room. When he saw Li Ling's surprised look, he chuckled.
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Chapter 36 Only Tactics Win Hearts (Please vote! =^_^=)
Li Ling feigned utter surprise, staring intently at Lao Pao, and asked, "How come it's you? I didn't expect you to be..."
"I didn't expect to be a clerk?" The veteran seemed a little different from when he was a recruit squad leader. He asked with a faint smile on his face.
Seeing Lao Pao's reaction, Li Ling pretended to be a little embarrassed.
Seeing that Li Ling didn't speak, Lao Pao said, "It's good that you're here. I'm relieved to see you here. You can go down to the first squad and be the squad leader now."
Li Ling looked at him for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, "Squad leader, no matter what, you are still my squad leader when I was a new recruit, and the one who guided me on my path to becoming a soldier. You were just fulfilling your duty before, so let bygones be bygones!"
Before the old man could speak, Li Ling continued, "What do you think, squad leader? Of course, I was a bit impulsive before, and I apologize to you here, squad leader."
"After Miao Lian came to see me while I was in solitary confinement, I suddenly understood a lot of things. I think we can actually be friends, squad leader, what do you think?"
Li Ling spoke very sincerely, his eyes fixed on the old man.
The veteran stared at Li Ling for a few seconds before asking, "The truth?"
"That's the truth." Li Ling nodded firmly, his eyes unwavering.
Looking at Li Ling's sincere gaze, the old man finally revealed a knowing smile and said, "Alright, let's hand over our work first. After that, we'll go to the barracks canteen for a meal. It's on me."
"Hehe, of course you can treat. You're a paid professional soldier, while our conscripts' allowances are barely enough to buy a few packs of instant noodles," Li Ling said with a matter-of-fact smile, then took off his backpack and put it where it belonged.
Not far from the door, around the corner, Miao Lian listened to Li Ling and Lao Pao's conversation, a gratified smile appearing on his face. He secretly praised, "What a good soldier! He's got a sharp mind too. It seems this kid has really seen through something."
In the dormitory, Lao Pao first explained the job to Li Ling: "Let me tell you about the duties of a clerk! As a clerk in a reconnaissance company, you must first be a qualified reconnaissance soldier, and even more so, an excellent reconnaissance soldier. Only then can you be a clerk."
The old man asked, "Do you know what a clerk does?"
"I don't know." Li Ling shook his head.
“Miao Lian gets up at 5:30 every day, so you must set your alarm for 5:00. I’ll set it for you now.”
As he spoke, Lao Pao picked up the alarm clock and set it to ring at five o'clock. He continued, "At 5:29, Miao Lian starts washing her face and brushing her teeth. You must squeeze out the toothpaste and prepare the water for washing your face by then..."
Li Ling laughed as he listened, and looked at Lao Pao and said, "Am I a clerk or an orderly? I've never served my dad like this at home."
The old man shrugged and said, "I don't care who you serve at home, this is the job of a clerk."
Li Ling knew the clerk's job, so naturally she wouldn't argue like Xiao Zhuang in the original drama. She nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."
Hearing this, Miao Lian walked towards the office with relief. He was now at ease with Li Ling!
Inside the room, Li Ling looked at Lao Pao with a half-smile and said, "Actually, this was all planned by you guys a long time ago, wasn't it?"
The old man looked at him with interest and laughed, "Oh? So tell me, what did you figure out?"
Li Ling chuckled and said, "I can see... that you're deliberately picking on me, but your biggest goal is to get me into the reconnaissance company. This is all a trap set by Miao Lian, isn't it?"
"I bet that on the day we new recruits arrived at the unit, when you failed to intimidate us and I overtook you, I was already being watched by Miao Lian, right?"
"You keep suppressing us new recruits and inducing us to break the rules, just so that some of us will stand out, become troublemakers, become role models, and become synonymous with trouble."
"This way, other companies won't dare to take in a rebellious soldier like me. After all, no one wants to cause trouble for themselves. At this point, Company Commander Miao can easily get the rebellious one into the reconnaissance company without offending the other company commanders."
"Normally, the training load is too heavy, and I don't have the time to think about these issues. But when I'm in solitary confinement, I calm down and have time to think about these things carefully."
"It wasn't until Miao Lian came to me and told me that the first recruit to beat the squad leader wasn't me, but him, that I slowly understood. Squad leader, is there anything wrong with my guess?"
The veteran stared at Li Ling for a while, and finally gave him a thumbs up in admiration, saying, "Miao Lian was right. You really are a born scout. Not only are you strong, but you're also very clever."
Upon hearing this, Li Ling chuckled and said, "Hey, your acting is pretty good too! You pretended to be a pervert for so long, but I only saw through you at the very end. If you were in the film industry, you could probably win a Best Actor award in just a few years."
"Hahahaha... I was worried that you would really hate me! Now it seems that my worry was unnecessary."
...
"Then I'll leave this place to you. I have to report to the first squad. Don't forget the military canteen this afternoon." The old man slung his backpack over his shoulder and greeted Li Ling.
"Hey, class monitor, take care." Li Ling saw Lao Pao out the door, then returned to the dormitory, shook his head and smiled slightly before going to tidy up the room.
In the days that followed, Li Ling quickly settled into the role of a clerk. After a few days of slight discomfort, she soon got used to the job.
During this process, Miao Lian took the time to talk to Li Ling and gained a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of Li Ling. Li Ling also shared some of the better things he had collected in modern society with Miao Lian.
Of course, different units have different traditions. Moreover, the experience of leading troops that Li Ling collected in modern society came from more than ten years later. At that time, the regulations and rules had changed, especially the rule about beating and physically punishing soldiers, which was explicitly prohibited by the Central Military Commission.