Chang Sihao was led by Xu Laojun to the kitchen. This house was originally three private houses, and the roof had been removed. The beams, rafters, and bricks had all been transported to the city wall in preparation for the war. The remaining four walls were half-length, and they could still be a little closer.

wind.

Xu Laojun pointed to a stove and said to Chang Sihao: "Please add more fire to this stove. Don't make the fire too big or too low. Just keep it hot." Chang Sihao drank the broth and felt energetic.

Excited, he responded simply and squatted down to wait for the stove fire. Xu Laojun looked sideways, nodded, and asked: "Boy, what is your name?" Chang Sihao answered, and Xu Laojun hummed,

Said: "My surname is Xu, from now on you can call me..." Chang Sihao said: "Mr.

Don't you dare to call me "Gong" like that. Just like everyone else, call me Xu Laojun!" Chang Sihao said: "I am a child and I am called the same as others. Wouldn't it mess up the generation? How old are you?

, you are similar to my father-in-law, why don’t I call you grandpa!”

This sentence made Xu Laojun feel sad. He recalled that when he was young, he studied hard and was well-known in his hometown. He thought that one day he would be able to obtain a meritorious service, but unexpectedly he was forcibly recruited into the army and fought with the army for decades. Now he has

He is a young man with frost on his temples. Not to mention having children, he has never even been able to marry a wife. He also thinks about the scene when his young children left home and his mother said goodbye. He is reluctant to part with her heartbroken. There has been no sound for decades.

No news, it's today, and I don't know where her bones are or where her soul is!

After a sudden change of thought, tears spilled down his lapel. Xu Laojun came back to his senses, wiped away the tears and let out a long sigh.

Chang Sihao turned his head and looked back. He thought he had said something wrong and was busy apologizing. Xu Laojun waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. I'm very happy if you call me grandpa. How can I blame you?"

After a long time, his mood seemed to have calmed down. At this time, the fire in the stove was weak. Chang Sihao took a piece of firewood from his side, which was about the thickness of an arm. He pressed it twice with both hands, folded it into three sections, and added it to the stove. It was like

Folding a bamboo stick as easily and freely as he did. Xu Laojun marveled in his heart: "This kid has such strong hands!" He asked: "Looking at your hands and feet, you must be a child from a poor family. What does your father do?"

Chang Sihao: "I have two fathers, grandpa, which one do you ask?"

Xu Laojun: "Is your mother one woman and two husbands? Alas... in these war-torn times, it's really not surprising!"

Chang Sihao: "No. My family has been farming for generations. When I was a child, soldiers came to the city to arrest people. They also arrested my father and never came back. My mother died of illness two years later. My sister and I

Xiaohua lived with her father-in-law. Later, when the family could no longer survive, my father-in-law sold me to butcher Zhang, who butchered pigs. He had no son, so he raised me as his son. I also called him daddy."

"I see." Xu Laojun said: "So, you still have a younger sister who lives with your father-in-law?"

Chang Sihao lowered his head and said, "My sister is dead. She died before my father-in-law sold me."

Xu Laojun's expression turned serious: "Starved to death?"

"...Hmm." Chang Sihao bit his lower lip, and there was a faint light in his eyes. Xu Laojun saw a lot of people, and when he looked at this child, his eyes were quite sad, and he seemed to be insincere. He was puzzled in his heart, but kept silent.

.

Suddenly there was a gurgling sound in the pot, and the lid was lifted twice. "The fire is getting louder," Xu Laojun said.

"Yes, yes." Chang Sihao quickly removed some firewood and asked, "Is this pot also stewed with meat? It should be ready."

Xu Laojun smiled slightly: "No, this pot is oil."

"Oil?" Chang Sihao looked at him, his eyes asking.

Xu Laojun said: "This is for backup. If the thieves come to attack the city at night, we will take this pot and pour it out for them!"

It was getting dark, and the soldiers on duty went up to the city after their war meal. The soldiers on guard at the top of the city came down to rest and eat. The cooks were much busier than before. Chang Sihao not only watched the fire on the stove, but also took the opportunity to carry water and bowls.

Busy running around, the other veterans stopped complaining when they saw the child's diligent hands and feet, and they all immersed themselves in their work.

The group of hungry people who came with Chang Sihao finished eating, and then the soldiers drove them up, demolished the houses, collected bricks and stones, and transported them to the city head. At this time, the bright moon had risen, the night was clear, and torches were gradually lit everywhere.

Some of the soldiers were warming themselves by the campfire and talking, while others were sleeping leaning against each other with swords in their arms.

After Chang Sihao and other veterans put away the dishes and cooking utensils, the moon was approaching the zenith. Xu Laojun said: "It's a good moon tonight. It seems that the Japanese soldiers will not come to steal the city. You can have a good sleep!" Looking back at Chang Sihao

Sihao was already very sleepy. He pointed to the thatch pile and said, "I'll keep the fire going and keep watch. You can lie down here and sleep."

Chang Sihao rubbed his eyes: "Grandpa, you are old and must be tired. You go to sleep first and I will watch the fire."

Xu Laojun smiled faintly and said, "Young men tend to be sleepy, so you can go to sleep. Grandpa, it's okay."

Seeing Chang Sihao curled up and sleeping in the haystack, Xu Laojun sat by the stove, stared at the uncertain fire, and silently said in his heart: "Grandpa... Grandpa..." Two words, sighing

Taking a breath, I looked up at the beautiful moon, and my eyes became wet again without realizing it.

Chang Sihao was tired and fell into a deep sleep. I don’t know how much time passed, but suddenly he felt someone poking his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was an old soldier. Chang Sihao rubbed his eyes and looked at the sky, the night was dark.

, the moon has drifted to nowhere with the clouds. The old soldier said: "Get up and start working." Next to him, Laojun Xu scolded: "Why did you wake him up? He is so young, can he do this?

?" The old soldier muttered: "After all, it is a labor force, and he will have to work sooner or later."

Chang Sihao jumped up and shook the foam off his body. Only then did he see that several other veterans had also woken up. They were all very old. It was obvious that they had not recovered from their sleep, and some were struggling.

They moved their waists, eyes and shoulders, some rubbed Lao Han's legs, grinning and enduring the pain of rheumatism. After a while, Xu Laojun led everyone to carry the pot out of the dilapidated house and ran back, pulling a hand on the way.

Chang Sihao wanted to say something, but finally didn't say it.

Several people walked around several ruins and came to a large courtyard. When they opened the door and entered, they were greeted by the smell of blood. Chang Sihao knew it was a slaughterhouse. He had lived with butchers since he was a child and was not afraid of them. He took a look.

, I saw a large pile of white things in the center of the courtyard, piled up like a hill. Next to it were a few large cases. Next to the cases stood a kitchen knife rack with all kinds of knives, wide, thin, thick and heavy, with a green light shining on the edge.

There are several large vats standing in the corner, covered with iron lids, and the fishy smell is the strongest there.

Xu Laojun called on everyone to get their swords and said: "Everyone, let's do it!"

Several old soldiers rolled up their sleeves and ran towards the white hill. The ones in front stepped on the bench, reached into the hill, pulled outwards, pulled down a long strip, and handed it to the people below to pick it up. Chang Sihao came up

I stepped forward to help, but I felt that the things I touched were slippery and cold. When I looked carefully, my hair stood up in shock, and I felt like I was out of body!

It turned out that what the old soldier brought down was a headless naked corpse with its belly cut open and its intestines scraped off! This whole white hill was made up of a pile of headless naked corpses!

Chang Sihao took two steps back, bumped into something, and turned around in shock. It turned out to be Xu Laojun.

Xu Laojun held Chang Sihao's shoulders, expressionless, and said in one breath: "Child, don't be afraid! That's just some meat!"

A warmth came from his shoulders, and Chang Sihao's clenched heart felt a little relieved, and he asked: "What are you doing with all this...meat?"

"Of course it's for cooking!" Another old soldier said in a rough voice, throwing a naked corpse on the long case with a "bang", and then turned around with a knife and made a "chi" sound.

He inserted it into the waist of the corpse, took a small lunge, pressed the corpse with one hand, and used the knife with the other hand to stir and cut the body cavity several times.

After gently unloading, there was a soft "Huo Chi" sound, the bones and flesh were separated, and only an empty skeleton remained in the upper body of the corpse.

The old soldier glanced at Chang Sihao and said with a smile: "Boy, my craftsmanship is far behind. I'll see your Grandpa Xu later. The skin is removed without fat, and the bones are removed without leaving any meat. That's called

You're a master!" While talking and laughing, they cut off the flesh from the arms and thighs of the corpse, threw the skeleton aside, picked up the meat with a knife, and threw it towards another case. Over there, the old soldier held two knives and shot a shot in the air.

To block it, he threw the meat on the table, swung his arms as fast as a wheel, and the table kept making "tuk-tuk" sounds. In the blink of an eye, he cut the meat into dozens of small pieces as neatly as tofu, and then struck with both knives.

Sweep the meat into the big pot with a smooth movement, which is extremely skillful.

Xu Laojun patted Chang Sihao on the shoulder, rolled up his sleeves, received a naked corpse, and began to unload the meat. Chang Sihao suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly: "This is the broth we eat at night...

"

Xu Laojun kept the knife in his hand and spoke very quickly: "Xiaohao, don't be afraid, this is a fact you have to face sooner or later! The army has already run out of food, but the eunuchs of the imperial court have missed the country, and the food and rice reinforcements have been delayed.

Come on, in the past two months, the soldiers and civilians in the city have been feeding on human flesh!"

"These corpses are both those of the Fan soldiers and those of us Han people. We only regard those Fan soldiers as livestock and eat them just like ordinary pigs, dogs and poultry. As for the Han people, they are all our relatives and brothers who died on the battlefield. We

If you eat the flesh and blood of these heroes, you will merge with their heroic souls, and you will be brave and invincible on the battlefield!"

Over there, Chang Sihao had vomited all over the floor, with snot and tears flowing out of his nose, and his stomach and intestines felt indescribably uncomfortable.

Human flesh... human flesh!

Another scene suddenly appeared in his mind.

After years of severe drought, no crops were harvested, and the bark of the trees and wild vegetables were almost stripped and dug out. The family was deprived of food for several days, and the father-in-law, sister, and myself were all so hungry that they were dizzy.

That morning, his father-in-law asked him to go out to dig wild vegetables, saying that he was not allowed to go home if he couldn't dig them. Chang Sihao carried a shovel and a basket and searched for more than 20 miles, and finally found an exposed stretch of land beside a dry river branch.

It took me a long time to dig out the sweet tree root. I returned home happily. When I entered the yard, I saw my father-in-law squatting on the threshold. He shouted: "Father, I found the sweet tree root. Sister, I found it."

The sweet tree has roots!"

The father-in-law nodded with his eyes closed, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to be drawn into a ball. Chang Sihao entered the house and asked his sister to light a fire, but her sister was not there, thinking that she might have gone out to dig wild vegetables and had not returned yet.

Chang Sihao wiped the roots of the sweet tree clean, pounded them with stones, and scooped up a ladle of accumulated rainwater. He opened the lid of the pot and wanted to pour it in, but found that there was less than half of the pot of water in the pot. The water was a little muddy and the surface was floating.

There is a faint layer of slightly yellowish-white oil slick. Looking down, there are also a pile of cleanly chewed bones and a few strands of hair thrown into the stove pit...

As a thought passed by, a tragic scene seemed to be before his eyes. Chang Sihao's pupils shrank, his fists were clenched, and his teeth kept chattering.

An old soldier chuckled and said: "Boy, what are you looking at? Go to work!" Another said: "A person lives for one day, and there are so many thoughts in his head. How can he think about it for a hundred and eighty days?

What the hell are you thinking of?"
Chapter completed!