The downpour of rain hit the blue, white and red nylon cloth canopy like a rapid drum beat, and by the way, a beautiful small waterfall was formed on one side of the canopy.
Under this semi-artificial waterfall, the young demining students worked in unison and used the dug stoves to cook several appetizing Vietnamese and Chinese dishes, not forgetting to boil them.
He poured a large pot of rootless water and gave Wei Ran and Zha Xifeng each a cup of fragrant Vietnamese coffee.
Seemingly satisfied with Wei Ran's surprised expression, Zha Xifeng explained with a smile, "These young people not only need to master the techniques of risking their lives to clear mines, but they also need to learn some means of survival in a normal society.
In my school, cooking is the most popular course, after all, it is a skill that can at least fill your stomach."
"A school like this doesn't make money, does it?" Wei Ran asked pointedly.
Zha Xifeng smiled but did not continue the topic, "Wei Ran, do you really think we can find something if we search along this valley?"
"Who knows?"
Wei Ran took a sip from the coffee cup he held up noncommittally, and also changed the subject, "It seems we can't go back tonight. Is there anything I need to pay attention to?"
"Remember to clean up the locusts and put your boots in the tent. It's best to hang them up with shoelaces. These are enough." Zha Xifeng replied with a smile, as if he had forgotten the question he just asked.
"When do you think this rain will stop?" Wei Ran put down his coffee cup and asked a new question.
Hearing this, Zha Xifeng looked up at the heavy rain outside the nylon curtain, and then shook his head, "It's the rainy season now, and the rain may continue until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, or it may stop suddenly tonight.
"
Having said this, Zha Xifeng turned to look at Wei Ran. After all, he couldn't hold it back and asked the curiosity that had accumulated in his heart for a long time, "Wei Ran, um... what is in that lunch box? I...
Who is my adoptive father? At least, what is his name?"
"A few letters and some photos."
Wei Ran answered truthfully, "The recipient on the envelope is Squad Leader Dao, but I didn't read the content of the letter."
"It turns out his surname is Dao..." Zha Xifeng felt relieved while muttering to herself, "So he can go home?"
"Definitely," Wei Ran replied firmly.
There was a tacit understanding that they did not continue the topic, and the two of them enjoyed the various delicacies cooked by the young students with peace of mind, as well as a bottle of Xifeng wine that was unexpected but expected.
"How often do you enjoy life like this?"
Beside the bonfire lit in the iron bucket, Wei Ran raised a half glass of wine and touched it with Zha Xifeng and asked curiously.
"enjoy life?"
Zha Xifeng snorted with full mockery and let a young student throw the snake gall that had just been taken out of a venomous snake into his wine glass and prick it with a toothpick while staring at the green wine.
Liquid recalled, "What they are doing now is what I did when I was young with my adoptive father. The only difference is that when I did these things, there were dangerous minefields around me.
Many times, when my adoptive father and I were halfway through demining, it suddenly started to rain heavily."
Having said this, Zha Xifeng couldn't help but shuddered and drank all the snake gall wine in the cup, "Heavy rain is a good thing. Although heavy rain will bring flash floods, the possibility of landslides on the mountains, and people."
It can cause hypothermia and a cold, but it can also break out of landmines buried in the soil.
Often at this time, my adoptive father can easily dig out a lot of mines, and then I, hiding under the sky or in a tent, can remove them from danger."
"Are you demining on a voluntary basis?"
"Obligation? No, no, no, how is that possible?"
Zha Xifeng shook his head and let Wei Ran help him refill the cup with wine and explained, "My adoptive father has been looking for his comrades, and they will inevitably go to the minefields. Over time, we have been in several surrounding villages.
As our reputation grew, people gradually invited us to clear mines. Of course, my adoptive father had no reason to refuse. After all, bees alone could not support the two of us.
I still remember the first time we helped someone clear mines for a fee, and exchanged more than 20 landmines for a female buffalo whose legs were lame from the mines. The buffalo gave birth to a calf the next year."
"Were those days happy?" Wei Ran asked, lowering his head and filling his glass with wine.
Hearing this, Zha Xifeng became quiet until Wei Ran handed over a red pagoda, and then she replied, "It is indeed very happy for me, but for my adoptive father, he is in pain every day."
It won't hurt for too long, I promise.
Wei Ran made a promise in his heart, picked up the cup and clinked it with the other party, drank it down again, stood up, and staggered into the tent that belonged to him.
In the blink of an eye, it was around 7 o'clock the next morning, and the heavy rain that had raged all night weakened without warning, turning into drizzle and thick fog.
Wei Ran, who was sleeping soundly in the tent, was also woken up by a call from Qin Er.
"Brother, the lunch box was received, and the sender of those letters and the person in the photo were also found."
As soon as the call was connected, Qin Er on the other side suppressed his excitement and excitement and said, "And you will never think that I know the person who sent the letter."
"What did you say?" Wei Ran, who had been sleeping in a daze, reacted for a moment, "Do you know him?"
"I don't know you,"
Qin Er explained, "I majored in the history of astronomy, and I am familiar with the teachers at the observatory."
"so..."
"The sender of the letter, Lu Yao, is a teacher at the Observatory. He is about to retire. When I was in school, there was a professional class whose textbooks were all written by his lover, Teacher Bai."
Qin Er speeded up his speech and explained, "There is also his son Lu Ming, who is a well-known weirdo in the astronomy circle. Besides..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At this point, Qin Er on the other end of the phone also lowered his voice, "The news I found here shows that Teacher Lu Yao has an unusual family background."
"How to say?"
"His father seems to be a scientist, but he never knows what he studies specifically."
After a moment's pause, Qin Er continued, "Teacher Lu's eldest brother was an airborne soldier and died in the early 1990s. His second brother was even earlier and died in southern Xinjiang during the 1.7 battle. Even this teacher Lu
He also lost a leg on the battlefield in southern Xinjiang. Thanks to the disabled leg, he was the only one of the three brothers in the family to survive.
As for the specific situation of the recipient of the letter, Squad Leader Dao, and the combat records of that year, I have also found out, and I will send them to you later."
"Where did you find this out?" Wei Ran asked pretending to be surprised.
"Cats have cat urine and mice have mouse paths."
Qin Er made a random catchphrase that he probably created to get rid of Wei Ran's inquiry, and then changed the subject and said, "I am now taking the lunch box sent in late autumn to visit this teacher Lu's house. What's the situation at your place?"
How about it?"
"Wait a minute," Wei Ran said abruptly, "Don't go yet, and don't notify the other party yet."
"What's wrong?" Qin Er immediately asked nervously, "I'm almost there."
"The identity of the knife squad leader has been confirmed, but the remains of the comrades he has been looking for have not yet been found."
Wei Ran paused and said almost to himself, "Wait a little longer, let's notify Teacher Lu when we find it.
Otherwise...otherwise, what's the difference between this and announcing a funeral? Apart from regret, you can't give the other party any comfort."
"That's right...that's right"
Qin Er did not hesitate much, and did not even doubt whether Wei Ran could find Squad Leader Dao's comrades, "Then I will go to the airport and fly over to you now, and I will take Xia Shushi with me to help."
"Wait for me, Laoshan," Wei Ran said and hung up the phone.
He didn't pay any attention to the young students who were busy breaking out of camp, and he didn't share the good news with Zha Xifeng. He just urged the other party to set off immediately, clinging to the mountainside and continuing towards the upper reaches of the river valley where the flood flow occurred.
Wei Ran, who didn't even wait to reach the end of the flash flood and looked at the GPS from time to time, stopped.
At this time, the coordinates provided by the metal book seemed to be separated by a mountain from themselves, but the mountain torrent they had been following began to turn.
Not only that, he also clearly heard the clear sound of water hitting directly in front of him.
"Is there a waterfall ahead?" Wei Ran raised his hand and pointed in the direction where the sound of water came from.
“Not a waterfall”
Zha Xifeng explained unsurprisingly, "The underground river emerged due to the rain causing the water level to rise temporarily."
"Go over and take a look?" Wei Ran suggested.
"I originally planned to pass there," Zha Xifeng explained, waving the obstacle removal knife and speeding up his pace slightly.
We walked only a hundred meters along the mountainside. A little further down the mountainside, about three or four meters away from the water level of the flash flood, a stream of water spurted out from between a few boulders that were as big as the front of a truck.
What a clean "spring water".
Unfortunately, although these gravels are huge, the gaps between the gravels are not too big, otherwise there would be no spray effect.
Ignoring Zha Xifeng's kind reminder, Wei Ran jumped onto a boulder and squatted down, taking a closer look. The widest gap in the rock where spring water spewed out from the edge of the boulder was only about ten centimeters.
Not to mention humans, even a cat would have to work hard to get out of this width, but...
Wei Ran glanced at the coordinates displayed on the GPS again in disbelief. However, the coordinates provided by the metal book seemed to be deep in the mountain behind the rock.
Just as he was staring at the boulder at his feet in trance, a black and yellow venomous snake was pushed by the water flow from the crack in the rock. It rushed out in a particularly embarrassed manner and fell onto a piece of land that had been washed away by the water with a "snap" sound.
On the boulder, a terrifying body that was more than four meters long was twisted and was washed into the flash flood.
"Get out of there! Get out of there!"
While Zha Xifeng shouted at Wei Ran, he quickly picked up the shotgun in his hand and fired a shot at the venomous snake that seemed to be about to swim ashore.
"boom!"
Amidst the dull gunfire, the long snake also tore open its skin and flesh, and along with the waves stained red with its blood, rushed into the more turbid flood downstream.
Just when Zha Xifeng loaded the second bullet into the gun chamber, Wei Ran, who was also startled by the snake, stood up quickly, turned around and jumped off the stone.
"Wei Ran, were you bitten just now?"
Before Zha Xifeng finished speaking, she had already rushed to Wei Ran's side, and panicked to help him check whether there were any wounds on his limbs.
"I didn't get bitten. Is that snake very poisonous?"
Wei Ran quickly replied that the snake did not bite him just now, but its tail did indeed sweep the back of his hand.
"That's a King Cobra"
Zhaxi Feng explained with lingering fear, "Let's get out of here quickly. There might be more poisonous snakes in the cracks between the rocks."
"Don't worry"
Wei Ran grabbed the other person and asked curiously, "Why is there a snake coming out of there?"
"When the water is not rising, that kind of place is most suitable for poisonous snakes."
Zha Xifeng was not surprised, "It's hard to get out those slits, but the space inside is definitely not small."
"When it doesn't rain, I mean during the dry season."
Wei Ran said, bent down, picked up a stone and threw it towards the boulders, "When it doesn't rain, is there a waterfall here?"
"No, at most it can only be regarded as the flow of mountain spring water." Zha Xifeng replied, "But this kind of mountain spring water is generally not clean."
"Have you ever gone in to look for it?" Wei Ran asked abruptly.
"What did you say?" Zha Xifeng was stunned, "Where are you going to look? There are only so many holes there..."
"Maybe there are other exits," Wei Ran guessed without giving the other party a chance to finish his sentence, "Anyway, have you ever gone in to look for it?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! When this question was asked, Cha Xifeng had already frowned and fell into silence.
Seeing this, Wei Ran was not in a hurry, and took a few steps back to get further away from the water. He lit a red pagoda mountain to himself, fuming the mosquitoes around him, and sorting out his guesses.
After about a minute, Zha Xifeng said, "We have never gone in to look for them, and it is impossible for them to be inside."
"Why?" Wei Ran asked.
"There's no way the captured white man could have gotten out of such a narrow hole."
Zha Xifeng pointed to the turbid spring water spurting out between the rocks and said, "Although the water is turbid, there is basically no big debris in it. This shows that the rainwater seeps into the underground river, and then..."
"That's true now"
Weiran reminded, "But are you sure this was the case before the artillery battle in April 1984?"
"You...what did you say?"
Zha Xifeng clearly heard what Wei Ran said, but even so, it still made the hair on his body stand up.
"I asked, are you sure this was the case before the shelling in April 1984?"
Wei Ran repeated it again, "Whether it was the exit here that was bombarded, or the entrance that might have existed in the past."
"You mean, here..."
"Guess, just guess."
While Wei Ran was talking, he took out his tablet computer, called up the satellite map that had been screenshotted in advance, drew a few random handwritings on it with his finger, handed it to the other party, and said, "Look, this is where we are currently. Keep going, the valley
It will turn away from the place where you and your adoptive father met. The mountain torrents follow the valley, so the mountain torrents will definitely turn as well, okay?"
"go on"
"Then there's the other side of the mountain"
Wei Ran redrawn his handwriting, "There is a river on the other side of this mountain, which seems not too far from where you and your adoptive father met."
"It's really not far, and the river continues to flow forward for about five kilometers and will bypass several mountains, and then there is a mountain col that looks like a natural sluice in one section.
When it rains, the river water rises, and a considerable amount of water flows from that mountain col, forming the source of the flash flood around us."
"So you think the white prisoner drifted all the way from that mountain col?" Wei Ran asked.
"We have also looked for this mountain"
Zha Xifeng answered Wei Ran's rhetorical question in another way, "There is no cave on the other side."
"Want to try?"
Wei Ran raised his chin towards the boulders, "By the way, let's see how your demining students' blasting skills are like?"
“Then give it a try”
At this time, Zha Xifeng was completely treating a dead horse as a living doctor, and immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie on her shoulder and started calling.
Soon, the young demining students who were carrying supplies caught up with them and began to build a rest camp without taking any rest.
"How are you so sure this is where it is?" Zha Xifeng asked Wei Ran curiously after the camp was set up.
"I'm not sure"
Wei Ran waved his hand quickly, and at the same time called up the satellite map again and began to analyze, "First of all, if the white man had the strength and luck to float ten kilometers along the flood route and be rescued alive and die, then he must have the strength to climb halfway.
Once ashore, it wouldn’t have drifted this far.”
"What else?" Zha Xifeng asked thoughtfully.
"If you feel suspicious, go in and look for it."
Wei Ran gave a straightforward but impeccable reason, "Especially since you have never gone in to search. Since this mountain has been searched all over, but that cave has not been searched, then why not go there?"
"I can't find any reason to refute"
Zha Xifeng looked at those huge rocks and murmured to herself, "I don't want to refute it. Even if there is a slight possibility, I am willing to look for it."
"Then let's look for it"
Wei Ran also looked at the hole and muttered to himself, but compared to Zha Xifeng, who was a dead horse and a living horse doctor, he was undoubtedly more confident in his heart.
During the slightly long wait, when the camped demining students used the bamboos cut around and the mineral water they brought in to steam rice in bamboo tubes, another group of people used bamboo poles to carry rice in groups of two.
They came over with various supplies and some equipment. Behind these people, there was also Brother Yang who was carrying a Bayi rifle.
“The item has been delivered”
As Brother Yang spoke, he stood beside Wei Ran and handed over a backpack, "I brought you a change of clothes."
"Thank you very much"
Wei Ran took the backpack from the other party and said, "I received a call from the Second in the morning. He is on his way here."
"Wei Ran, have you found my adoptive father's family?" Zha Xifeng asked abruptly.
After a slight hesitation, Wei Ran nodded slightly, watching the other person burst into tears for a moment, as if... like a child.
