Qiao Desheng, despite being lower in rank than Shang Kun, acted twice as fast, if not more. He greeted the political commissar on the same day and immediately went to see Feng Qingxue to arrange a meeting with Fang Ning.
Feng Qingxue was speechless for a moment.
She glanced at her wristwatch. It had been only half an hour since she told Qiao Desheng about Fang Ning’s reply.
Was she being too hurried?
As if he saw what was going through Feng Qingxue’s mind, Qiao Desheng scratched the back of his head and laughed, "Sister-in-law, one should seize the opportunity when it comes. Now that Fang Ning agreed, I should take advantage of this chance. What if she suddenly doesn’t want to meet? I haven’t even apologized to her yet. Nowadays, many soldiers are interested in getting married. There are too many monks and too little porridge, how dare I delay?"
"Are our women members of the art troupe seen as porridge?" Don’t dehumanize people too much.
Qiao Desheng quickly replied, "Just a metaphor, Sister-in-law. What I mean is that there are way fewer female soldiers in the art troupe compared to the number of single men in the camp. Everyone envies the good fortunes of Commander Su and Staff Officer Shang."
With men outnumbering women and everyone wanting to get married, would there be any trouble from those who couldn’t get a spouse? Feng Qingxue was really worried.
It is often said that a woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea, but men’s hearts can be just as elusive.
When some soldiers can’t find a wife while others are happily married, it can easily lead to emotional issues affecting their daily training.
The senior officers in the army are aware of this issue, yet they are helpless. With a gender imbalance, where can they find suitable female comrades to solve the bachelor problem in the army? The harsh climate in the plateau area is even more severe than in the Great Northwest, and many people are discouraged by the difficulty in breathing alone.
The only thing they could do was to solve the singlehood problem of a portion of soldiers first, then apply to the government to recruit willing female soldiers or students from all parts of the country.
They were even more concerned than Feng Qingxue about the emotional changes of the soldiers.
Like Shang Kun and Yang Fengying, Qiao Desheng and Fang Ning decided to report back to their superiors after just a few minutes of meeting.
Fang Ning held Xibao in arms. Yes, Xibao has become a lively treasure that helps ease the awkward atmosphere between the men and women meeting for the first time. Qiao Desheng and Fang Ning met, and Fang Ning insisted on keeping Xibao at hand. It was both helpless and amusing for Feng Qingxue.
And what about Xibao himself? Contentedly hugging the beautiful woman’s neck, with candy in his mouth.
He can’t eat candy every day. What if it ruins his teeth?
Feng Qingxue made up her mind and told Qiao Desheng and Fang Ning: "Since you have decided, then make it as soon as possible. Although I introduced you to meet, I know that there are many brothers hoping that you won’t hit it off!" Meaning that there were others waiting for their date to fail, so they could ask her to arrange a meeting with Fang Ning.
"I’m going right away to report!" Qiao Desheng hated those who were eyeing like a tiger ready to seize the opportunity. If he found out about soldiers from his unit among them, he must train them well for a period.
However, Fang Ning told Feng Qingxue: "I quietly asked a few female soldiers in our department. Those who have been punished and always been ostracized and ridiculed by others. Before I left, two of them asked me in private. They didn’t want to be arranged by the troop because it’s hard for them to know about the candidates chosen by the army, they can’t decide on anything. So they asked me to relay this to you. They hope you can introduce them to reliable heterosexual partners who are upright with no bad habits. Also, if the men were to be older than them, it shouldn’t be more than ten years."