That evening, there was a piece of fish meat weighing nearly half a catty, paired with a piece of fish roe the size of a ping pong ball, and unlimited supply of fish head soup in a copper kettle. Of course, there were also a small amount of wild vegetables, which were not even salty.
, but the food was delicious enough to make Wei Ran barely full for the first time in so many days.
After pouring himself another bowl of thick white fish soup, Wei Ran collected a large cup full of snow grits from the tent and poured it into the kettle.
Although they had a rare meal now, they did not have much firewood. However, according to the current weather, they might not be able to stop the bonfire this night.
Although it is inevitable to worry about whether you will get cold at night due to lack of firewood, there is good news.
Apart from anything else, at least the little lama is no longer thin and has some color on his face.
In addition, after dinner, everyone gathered around the campfire and continued to use the remaining horsehide to make several pairs of wear-resistant fur shoes.
By the way, everyone also dried their feet in accordance with Nurse Ji's request, and allowed the latter to apply the spores from horse manure packets to the wounds on their feet again.
The third good news is that the wounds on both Wei Ran and Little Lama's feet have scabbed over.
Once again, he signaled the little lama to chew two pieces of charcoal. Wei Ran picked up a piece of firewood and put it on the bonfire at the entrance of the tent, and suggested, "Let's rest early while we still have firewood. When the firewood is gone, we will
It’s time to leave.”
"You sleep, I'll take care of the fire." Zhang Erwa said without refusal.
"I'll do it for you in the middle of the night," Wei Ran, Li Zhuang and Nurse Ji said in unison.
"Go to bed quickly," Zhang Erwa said, having already refilled the enamel jar with snow grits.
Lying side by side on the damp grass under the tent, the cold temperature under their bodies made everyone shiver involuntarily. Before they could say anything, Zhang Erwa, who seemed to have matured a lot overnight, had already picked up the tattered blanket.
covered them.
This was destined to be a comfortable but difficult night. The comfort came from the warmth brought by the full belly and the scalding fish soup, but the difficulty came from the getting lower and lower temperature in the second half of the night.
When he woke up from the cold again, Wei Ran wrapped himself up in a thatched vest that had been dried before going to bed, but now became damp again. He leaned over and filled the bonfire at the entrance of the tent with a piece of firewood the size of a cucumber.
By the way, I also took a look at the bamboo basket containing firewood next to the campfire.
At this time, there were only a dozen firewood left in the bamboo basket. Although he didn't know what time it was, he knew that these firewood would definitely not last until dawn.
"Weiran"
"What's wrong?"
Wei Ran looked at Zhang Erwa who got up quietly in the night.
"Do you think I can be a good acting monitor?"
Zhang Erwa asked confused and hesitantly, "I...I'm worried that I won't be able to complete the task assigned to me by Squad Leader Liu."
"What are you afraid of? Aren't we still there?"
Wei Ran tried his best to sound as natural as possible, just to dispel the other party's concerns.
"I don't know when we can get out of this grassland."
Zhang Erwa sighed worriedly, "I'm even afraid that there will be no firewood tomorrow night..."
“It’s no use thinking so much.”
Wei Ran, who was also helpless, could only console him, "Instead of worrying about this, it's better to go to bed early, sleep a little longer, and take everyone to take a few more steps tomorrow."
"Can we really go out?" Li Zhuang lowered his voice and joined in the chat.
"Yes, definitely."
Zhang Erwa paused and said decisively, "At least let the little lama and nurse Ji get out alive."
"How about we leave now?"
Nurse Ji also joined the conversation, "I've been woken up by the cold several times. Not only can I stay warm while walking, but I can also save some firewood for burning tomorrow night."
Hearing this, Wei Ran and the other three all looked at the little lama who had also woken up.
"Little Lama, can you go?" Zhang Erwa asked, and at the end she pointed in the direction of progress.
"Comrade!"
The little lama immediately patted his chest and added in Zang language, "I can leave."
"Eat this first"
As Wei Ran spoke, he pulled out two pieces of red charcoal from the bonfire, dipped them in a kettle of fish soup with a stick to extinguish the embers, and then brought them directly to the little lama's mouth.
The latter started chewing without thinking, and without Wei Ran reminding him, he took off the water bottle he had been holding in his arms and poured the last bit of salt water left in it into his stomach.
Seeing that the little lama seemed to be in good spirits, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and started making preparations for departure in an orderly manner.
Thanks to Squad Leader Liu's self-sacrifice, they now have seven kettles and a boiling kettle, as well as an aluminum lunch box and the copper ladle they already owned.
Needless to say about the copper ladle, the fish inside has been cooked until the bones are soft, but these foods are not what we eat now.
Even the copper kettle picked up from the horse carcass was filled with a pot full of hot and thick fish head soup.
While Wei Ran was busy, the thick fish soup that had been boiled all night in the copper ladle was poured into the lunch box for preservation. Even the remaining bit of broth in the copper ladle was not wasted, and half a pot was poured directly into it.
The water sloshed, and after Zhang Erwa poured a cup of fish head soup for everyone, he immediately poured the "water for cleaning the pot" into it.
This was not over yet, everyone went around to collect bitingly cold snow grits, melted them and boiled them, then filled the kettles one by one with each person's hand.
Everyone drank several large bowls of fish soup until their bodies warmed up, until the snow grits in the copper kettle melted and boiled, until the bonfire was about to go out, until everyone folded the oilcloths and blankets and tied them into bundles, until the guard
Burning back the bamboo basket that caught nothing.
Zhang Erwa then tied the lid of the kettle with a cloth strip and plugged the spout with a wooden plug. At the same time, she said in a nervous voice, "Cooking class! Roll call!"
"Brush!" Everyone, including Wei Ran and the little lama, lined up in a horizontal row beside the bonfire.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Cooking class! Li Zhuang!" Zhang Erwa stood up and shouted with the greatest strength and voice.
"Yes!" Li Zhuang stood at attention and saluted, and also responded in the loudest voice.
"Ji Chunlan!"
"Yes!" Nurse Ji also stood at attention and saluted, making the loudest response.
“Jianpa Kelsang!”
"have!"
"Wei Ran!"
"have!"
"ready to go!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison to Squad Leader Zhang's order.
Compared with yesterday, not only did everyone carry a scalding kettle filled with hot water in their arms, but also the bamboo basket at one end of the pole carried by Wei Ran contained a bundle of oilcloth, as well as a bundle of oilcloth wrapped in the oilcloth.
Inside, there were lunch boxes filled with fish soup and a kettle, and in the bamboo basket at the other end were three bundles of tattered blankets covered with patches.
Underneath the ragged blanket were several pairs of horsehide sandals and a remaining piece of horsehide that was only half a meter wide and one meter long, as well as the pair of iron-legged horses and fire sickles left behind by Squad Leader Liu.
In the middle of the blanket were two aluminum wood-filled kettles also filled with fish soup, as well as the gun originally assigned to him by Squad Leader Liu.
On Nurse Ji's back, she also helped carry the last small bundle of only a dozen firewood sticks.
When everything was ready, everyone picked up their weapons and followed Zhang Erwa, who was carrying a storm lantern. They braved the intermittent snow and walked down the high ground in the not-so-bright light.
Different from yesterday, this time, Zhang Erwa, who was already the squad leader, was at the forefront of the most dangerous situation.
Wei Ran, who was carrying the burden, was in second place. The burden was heavier than before, but he felt extremely secure while carrying it.
Walking side by side behind Wei Ran was the little lama who was being supported by Li Zhuang and Nurse Ji - even though the little lama felt that he was fine, even if he kept shouting in chants that he could walk, he could even go to the front as before.
Pathfinding.
Because the burden on Wei Ran's shoulders increased, because the little lama was ill, and because of the dark sky and the dim oil lamp, their speed was undoubtedly much slower.
But just like Nurse Ji said before setting off, they didn't walk long before their bodies warmed up. Wei Ran even started to sweat on his forehead because of the last cup of fish soup he drank before setting off.
"I still can't figure it out"
Li Zhuang, who was walking behind Wei Ran, suddenly said, "How come we can suddenly catch such a big fish? The more I think about it, the more I feel that God is deliberately disgusting us."
"Isn't that just disgusting?" Nurse Ji echoed with a hint of hatred.
"Yeah, why is there such a big fish..." Zhang Erwa, who was walking at the front, couldn't help but muttered.
"Big fish..."
Wei Ran was stunned for a moment, then his heart sank, "I...I probably know why there is such a big fish."
"Why?" Zhang Erwa asked first, and he even stopped.
"river"
Wei Ran sighed and said worriedly in the flickering firelight, "Only when there is a river can there be fish. In other words, only when there is a big river can there be such big fish. It is impossible to raise them just by relying on the mud soup in the meadow."
Such a big fish, so there must be a river nearby."
"There is another river..."
Everyone fell into silence, not only hoping that they might be able to catch another such a big fish in the river, but also worrying about how wide the river that could support such a big fish would be, and whether they could successfully cross the river.
I don't know what he thought of, or maybe it was too cold. Zhang Erwa, who was walking at the front, shivered. The oil lamp he was holding also swayed, making a series of "squeaking" sounds.
sound.
After walking for an unknown number of steps, when they successfully jumped from one meadow to another, stepping on the cold mud soup, Zhang Erwa suddenly stopped and turned his back to everyone and said, "Li Zhuang."
!”
"have!"
Li Zhuang, who was originally supporting the little lama, immediately responded.
"if..."
Zhang Erwa paused, gritted his teeth and said firmly, "If there is a river in front of me, if I am honored, you will be the acting squad leader of the cooking class. You must ensure that the little lama, Nurse Ji and Comrade Wei Ran have enough food.
Make sure they have fire to roast them and water to drink.
I guarantee that the three of them will walk out of the grassland alive, go to make revolution, fight against Japan, and overturn the three mountains of the common people! Go and save every poor person."
At this point, Zhang Erwa, who was only 16 or 17 years old, turned around, raised the weather lantern in her hand a little higher, and asked extra seriously, "Comrade Li Zhuang, are you confident in completing the mission?"
"have!"
Li Zhuang, who was also only sixteen or seventeen years old, stood at attention and saluted seriously. He roared in the drifting snow and gave a firm response, "Promise to complete the mission!"
