On this sleepless rainy night while resting by the pine forest, Wei Ran deliberately guided the conversation and chatted a lot about the future with the insomniac Monitor Liu and Nurse Ji. At the same time, he also used the bonfire that burned all night and the temporarily freed copper ladle.

A lot of charcoal was burned that could be used to filter dirty water and be used as fuel.

As midnight approached, the hail had already stopped, and what fell overhead turned into ice-cold snow. Not surprisingly, within a very short period of time, a layer of ice armor formed on the already soaked tent.

.

Before hunger struck, Wei Ran and others each fell asleep.

When they woke up again, the sky had not yet completely lit up, and everything around them was completely white, and even the bonfire only had a few embers left.

After hurriedly pressing down a few pieces of firewood, everyone, who had almost woken up from the cold, lay down beside the bonfire puffing out their cheeks and blowing air, finally making the bonfire rekindle and start to dance with warm flames again.

Sitting cowering by the campfire, Squad Leader Liu grabbed a handful of snow grits from the tent and threw them into a copper ladle.

"Comrades, roll call."

As usual, Squad Leader Liu counted everyone's names one by one and received responses one by one.

"We'll set off once we've finished eating and it's warm."

As Squad Leader Liu spoke, he had already placed the enamel jar with frozen ice inside on the edge of the bonfire, "Take advantage of this little time before dinner to allocate tasks."

"Yes!" Everyone who was also shivering from the cold responded to Squad Leader Liu with uncontrollable trembling.

"The little lama and I are still responsible for exploring the road."

Squad leader Liu said, "In addition, everyone except Wei Ran is given a bundle of firewood. Comrade Wei Ran, you are responsible for carrying everyone's kettles and sundries, dry food, and the precious charcoal you made."

"Yes" Wei Ran responded simply.

"This morning, in addition to the bark, each person can eat three pieces of beef."

Squad leader Liu said rather proudly, in fact, the so-called beef is just the skin that is still being cooked in the pot.

Even so, everyone around the campfire was still very happy. They happily put on the simple cloth shoes made yesterday, and then each shared a large vat of scalding hot soup.

Before it was completely light, everyone packed up their tents, each carried a bamboo basket or a homemade frame, put on a bamboo hat and climbed to the top of the short mountain with wooden sticks, and then walked non-stop from the other side.

Going down the mountain on one side of the slope, I walked into the cold mud without hesitation, stepping on those equally cold, but soft and useless straw mats and walked forward step by step.

Wei Ran, who was walking in the middle of the team and at the back, could see that although they had rested all day yesterday, everyone's physical strength was obviously a little weak due to the lack of food, especially since they each carried a large bundle of firewood on their backs.

Although the firewood has been dried by the campfire, each bundle weighs at least ten kilograms. Especially Squad Leader Liu and Nurse Ji, who are carrying the firewood in bamboo baskets, may weigh more than 15 kilograms.

This weight may not sound like much, but don't forget that they have been hungry for a long time and have walked for a long time on this endless high-altitude rotten grass.

Not to mention them, even Wei Ran, who thought his physical fitness was quite good, felt that the kettles, copper ladles in the bamboo baskets behind him and the damp tent cloth covered with ice were extremely heavy.

"There is a river ahead"

Captain Liu, who was holding a wooden stick, struggled to pull his calf out of the knee-deep mud. He took a difficult step forward and said, "Let's keep some distance later and tie the leggings around our waists in case we are trapped."

Don't struggle, just lie down and wait for the people behind you to save you!"

"yes!"

Everyone following behind responded in unison, even though they heard this reminder almost every day on the road.

As he took one step after another with difficulty, Wei Ran, who was chewing the leather in his mouth, gradually felt that his legs had been soaked in cold mud and became more and more numb, to the point where he completely lost consciousness.

I don't know when, as I was lifting my legs again and again, the straw sandals worn outside the "cloth shoes" had been sucked away by the mud, and the layers of wrapped leggings had long been covered with mud filled with stench.

Even so, everyone did not stop at all. Only the three kettles filled with hot water, either wrapped in towels or covered with canvas covers, passed the warmth back and forth in the hands of the six people.

But this thief God seemed determined to keep the group of them here forever. Not only was the sun that had just popped up on the top of his head covered by clouds, but even the top of his head was smashed down again.

Freezing rain.

This is nothing more than this damn hell...

Wei Ran muttered to himself, but without any delay, he gulped and swallowed the saliva accumulated from chewing the leather.

Under the wash of the heavy rain, the swamp under their feet became more and more turbid, and the sky became darker and darker, so that they even had to bend down and test again and again with the wooden sticks in their hands to find the dividing line between the meadow and the swamp.

.

But even so, they still followed the route marked by their predecessors with wooden sticks, approaching the winding river little by little.

However, as the distance gets closer and closer, the mud under the feet becomes deeper and deeper. From the beginning, it only submerged half of the calf to almost submerging the knees. Now, with every difficult step, the stinky mud almost touches everyone's skin.

Crotch.

"Comrade!"

The little lama walking in front shouted suddenly, and at the same time he raised his hand and pointed straight ahead.

Getting a little closer, Wei Ran could barely see clearly in the icy rain. Not far ahead was the small river, which was not too wide.

There were several ropes pulled above the river, and the two ends of the ropes were each tied to a wooden stake driven deep into the mire.

"Let's go! Let's cross the river!"

After Squad Leader Liu finished speaking, he waved to the little lama again, "Jianpa Kelsang! Come back!"

Although the little lama didn't understand Chinese, he understood what Squad Leader Liu was saying. He simply turned around and walked back, holding his hands in his pockets while saying something in Zang language.

"Li Zhuang, you hold on to the little lama's leggings."

As Squad Leader Liu spoke, he had already crossed over to the little lama, used the wooden stick in his hand to pick up the lama, and threw the leggings tied to his belt to Li Zhuang. At the same time, he kept saying, "I am the squad leader, and I am also the squad leader."

Party member, so I will cross the river first. Zhang Erwa, you are a probationary party member. If I fall, you will be the second to cross the river. If I do not fall, you will be the last to cross the river."

"Yes!" Zhang Erwa raised her chest and raised her head in salute.

"If I were swept away by the river"

Squad Leader Liu, who was walking forward, looked back at everyone, thought for a moment and said, "If I am washed away, Zhang Erwa, you will be the acting squad leader, and you will be responsible for taking everyone out."

"Yes!" Zhang Erwa saluted again and responded loudly, and the others also saluted each other.

Raising his hand in return of a military salute, Squad Leader Liu did not hesitate at all, let alone Wei Ran who had already raised his camera, and walked toward one of the rope bridges carrying firewood and a wooden stick.

"Click"

With the sound of the shutter masked by the rain, Wei Ran took a picture of the people still saluting, as well as the back of Squad Leader Liu and the simple rope bridges - this is the 19th photo.

Almost at the same time that he put away the camera, Zhang Erwa also followed Squad Leader Liu to the river, tied the leggings tied to his own belt with the leggings tied to the other party's belt, and wrapped them around the man who could

It was as thick as a thigh, and seemed to be on a wooden pile cut from the jungle behind him.

After trying to explore with the wooden stick in his hand, Squad Leader Liu carefully buried his feet in the river.

In just a moment, the seemingly gentle river water suddenly submerged up to his chest, and everyone who stayed on the shore subconsciously screamed in surprise.

Fortunately, because Zhang Erwa was behind him to help hold the safety rope, and because one of Squad Leader Liu's own hands could only hold the hemp rope that was stretched across the river and was as thick as a mineral water bottle cap, he

But he was not rushed out.

Under the nervous gaze of everyone with clenched fists, Squad Leader Liu stood firm with difficulty, grabbed the rope with both hands, and moved little by little to the other side.

In the end, Captain Liu, who was almost exhausted, dragged the rope and almost crawled onto the muddy ground on the other side, and finally stood firm.

"Next!"

Captain Liu on the other side used himself as an anchor, grabbed the leggings tied to his belt and said, "Li Zhuang, come here first! Erwa, tie the leggings around his waist!"

"yes!"

Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa responded to the order in unison. The former also allowed Zhang Erwa to take off the leggings from his waist and tie them to his belt. Then he grabbed the rope across the river bed with a wooden stick and waded chest deep.

The cold water of the river was pulled up by the opponent's squad leader Liu.

After a while, the leggings originally tied to Li Zhuang's belt were thrown over by him. Squad Leader Liu, who had regained his composure, said, "Comrade Wei Ran, it's your turn!"

"good!"

Wei Ran responded, took the soaked leggings and tied them around his waist.

"Be careful with your camera!" Zhang Erwa reminded.

"Don't worry, it's at the top."

Wei Ran patted the bamboo basket he was carrying behind him, and then carefully walked into the river with a wooden stick.

As soon as he stepped down, the cold and biting river water poured into all parts of his body in the blink of an eye. Moreover, although the river looked calm on the surface, it was actually flowing at a very slow speed. Especially when he was carrying a bamboo basket, he was inevitably affected by the current, and his body was also affected by it.

He couldn't help but tilted a little.

At this moment, squad leader Liu and Li Zhuang on the opposite side pulled the leggings straps together.

"Move forward! Take a step!"

Squad leader Liu reminded loudly, and Wei Ran took steps almost subconsciously. With the help of the other party, he resisted the cramps of the body due to low temperature and the dizziness caused by hunger, and finally climbed into the mud on the other side with difficulty before losing strength.

.

"Little Lama!" Squad Leader Liu regained his composure and called out to the other side. Wei Ran also helped to throw the leggings that served as a safety lock to the other side.

Hearing the sound, the little lama immediately walked to Zhang Erwa and let him tie the leggings around his waist.

Because there was another Wei Ran on this side of the river, it was naturally extremely easy for the little lama to cross the river. He was almost dragged up by the three of them.

They also rested for a while, and after everyone who had crossed the river had taken a breath, the leggings were thrown to the other side again, and Zhang Erwa tied them to Nurse Ji's belt.
To be continued...