On a muddy field road, a gray donkey walked leisurely carrying two 20-inch large black pots.
Right in front of the donkey, where the muzzle of the Enfield rifle that Qin Shou was carrying, were tied to three bananas picked up from the roadside.
Perhaps it was precisely because of the temptation of these three bananas that the donkey walked particularly happily. Not only did Wei Ran, who was responsible for holding the reins, not have to worry at all, he and Squad Leader Liang, who was walking on the other side of the donkey, could also compete with this hard-working fool.
The donkey lends some strength to help him walk more easily.
During the leisurely journey, Wei Ran also learned from the chat between squad leader Liang and Qin Shouzheng that both of them seemed to be members of the cooking team of a company under the new 22nd Division.
In the previous battle, most of their company had been sacrificed and a smaller half was injured. They had all followed the Fifth Army headquarters to retreat in cars. Squad leader Liang and Qin Shouzheng, and of course the extra guard Ran, the three of them
However, due to the fighting situation, he was separated from the large army and could only retreat with the 288th Regiment of the 96th Division.
After asking around all the way, Qin Shouzheng finally learned from a fellow soldier who was a communications corpsman that the wounded soldiers were now stationed in Mo's village. This was the scene where the three of them separated from the 288th Regiment and rushed on their way ahead of time.
Of course, Wei Ran asked more than just this. He also learned from the chat that not only did Squad Leader Liang and Qin Shouzheng come from the city in Gui Province where later generations became famous for their snail noodles, but also before joining the army, Liang
The class monitor was actually Qin Shouzheng's primary school teacher.
However, although both teachers and students are considered to be educated people, in Qin Shouzheng's words, Squad Leader Liang's handwriting is good, but his shooting accuracy is really not very good. It is precisely for this reason that he was
Arranged in the cooking class.
According to Squad Leader Liang, Qin Shouzheng, who joined the army a few years after him, was not very smart when he was studying, but he had a lot of strength and could make animals, so he taught him this
The student chose the cooking class he was in charge of.
The teacher and student were able to make free calls from China, and because the ungrateful British betrayed their teammates and ran away, which cut off their escape route, they had to retreat back to China. Naturally, they were very sad.
"Let me tell you, my grandfather is a serious scholar!"
On the sultry and humid mountain path, the bearded squad leader Liang was chewing on his pipe and talking about ancient times, "During the Republic of China, he worked as a bookkeeper in a big tea shop in Peiping."
"Then why did he come back to our Liucheng?" Qin Shouzheng asked curiously.
"My grandfather spoke with a strong accent, and those people from the north couldn't understand him. They even said he had pornographic films in his mouth!"
Squad Leader Liang clicked his pipe and pot, "Because of this, my grandfather was laughed at a lot."
"Team Leader Liang's Mandarin is quite good," Wei Ran complimented him with a flurry of compliments.
"My grandma is from the north and came to Liucheng with my grandpa as he fled."
Squad Leader Liang explained in a calm tone, then he tapped the big black pot on the donkey's back with his pipe pot, raised his finger and pointed in front of him and said, "Shou Zheng, there seems to be a fork in the road ahead. Let's stand on the big rock under the banyan tree.
Take a break, these new shoes bite your heels.”…
"I've wanted to change to straw sandals for a long time."
As he spoke, Qin Shouzheng took two steps quickly, sat down on a large damp blue stone by the side of the road, reached out and plucked three green bananas hanging from the muzzle and put them aside, and then began to untie his shoes.
bring.
At the same time, Squad Leader Liang also pulled the donkey with its thick lips and tied him to the aerial root of the banyan tree next to the stone.
After a while, Qin Shouzheng also ran over with bare feet, and together with Wei Ran, they worked together to remove the big black pots on both sides of the donkey's body and the cloth bag on its back.
It was only then that Wei Ran noticed that on the wooden frame of the donkey that was used to carry pots, there were bamboo baskets on both sides of the donkey's body that were originally held by two large black pots.
Outside the backpack, there were actually several pairs of straw sandals tied with straw ropes or rag strips. In addition, there were several wet British army kettles hanging on the wooden shelves that fixed the cauldron and the backpack.
I walked around to the other side of the donkey and took a look. In addition to the bamboo baskets tied with several pairs of straw sandals, there were also two German lunch boxes tied with cloth strips, a shit-green Japanese lunch box, and two lamps protected by wooden frames.
A burning kerosene lamp and a greasy American kettle.
"Squad leader, where did this American kettle come from?" Wei Ran asked curiously.
"Which one?"
Qin Shouzheng, who was about to open his backpack, glanced at the kettle pointed by Wei Ran. Before Squad Leader Liang could speak, he rushed to explain, "I picked it up. The lid of the kettle has a screw-on lid that doesn't leak. It's better than the British one."
The kettle is good, just for storing foreign oil. The electricity-free place is as damp as my sister’s crotch seam. If you don’t dip it in some foreign oil, you won’t be able to light a fire when cooking.”
This is a metaphor
Wei Ran grinned and was about to pick up the two German lunch boxes hanging on the wooden shelf and ask, but squad leader Liang grabbed his wrist and said, "Don't touch these two treasures."
"I'll just watch"
"You can't get out of the cracks in your eyes," Squad Leader Liang said with a smile, "Don't think twice about these brown sugars, they are for wounded soldiers."
"If you don't want to look, don't look." Wei Ran simply took a step back and moved closer to the two backpacks. Of course he didn't lack the candy, he was just curious about what was in those water bottles.
Seeing this, Squad Leader Liang didn't care, untied the tether on the lid of one of the backpacks, and then took out a neatly stacked piece of oilcloth.
Only then did Wei Ran see clearly that in the backpack, in addition to a small eucalyptus board, kitchen knives, frying spoons and other kitchen utensils, and an enamel kettle, there were also an engineer shovel, an engineer pickaxe, and a
An ax and a hatchet. In the remaining space, there was a canvas bucket, and there seemed to be a damp fishing net in the bucket.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In another bamboo basket that Qin Shouzheng opened, in addition to being covered with a neatly folded tarpaulin, there was also a small bundle inside
I don't know where the sugar cane came from and four bamboo tubes that were at most half a meter long and wrapped in cloth strips.
On the tops of these bamboo tubes, the words "tobacco leaves", "tea leaves", "salt" and "pepper" were clearly written in white calligraphy. In the remaining space of the backpack, there were two stacks
Cloth bag together.…
This is a small kitchen.
While Wei Ran was grumbling secretly, Squad Leader Liang had already picked up a kitchen knife and said with some regret, "Throughout this journey of escaping, these are the only things left behind as a cook."
"At least the food is not lost." As Qin Shouzheng spoke, he had already taken out three pieces of sugar cane as thick as a child's wrist and handed them over.
After receiving the sugar cane, Squad Leader Liang used a kitchen knife to cut off the red and moldy hair on both sides of the sugar cane, and handed it to Wei Ran and Qin Shouzheng. He also inserted the kitchen knife back into the wooden knife sheath in the basket on his back.
The three of them each found a seat on the big rock under the tree. However, Qin Shouzheng was not in a hurry to eat the sugar cane. Instead, he first gave the three bananas that had been hanging on the muzzle to Wei Ran and Squad Leader Liang, and then picked them again.
I dropped my backpack and used it as a pillow to lie on the big rock. I took out a small purse from my pocket, rolled up a cigarette leisurely and put it in my mouth.
"Shou Zheng, after you finish eating the sugar cane, go to the other side of the road and cast two nets to see if you can catch a few fish."
"I'll go as soon as I finish smoking this cigarette," Qin Shouzheng responded with his eyes narrowed.
Hearing this, Squad Leader Liang said nothing more. Instead, like Qin Shouzheng, he took off his new boots, lay on the big rock with his backpack on his back, and chewed sugar cane slowly.
Wei Ran also put down the Enfield rifle and backpack he had been carrying. At the same time, he also took off the British army water bottle slung on his body and took off his muddy boots.
Pulling the bolt and checking the chamber, he couldn't help but shook his head. Although this weapon had an excellent magazine capacity of 10 rounds, there were only four bullets in the gun. As for his body
, stuffed in the ammunition bag was a can of 666 powder to prevent leech and a bottle of anti-mosquito oil.
Unwilling to give up, I opened my backpack and rummaged through it. In addition to a mosquito net and two anti-mosquito masks, the remaining space contained only two quinine pills and a box of Rendan produced by the Japanese, plus some shoes before departure.
I came with three pairs of socks, as well as shoe polish, beeswax and a small brush in the socks.
On the outside of the backpack, there were two pairs of yellow straw sandals and an enamel small cup. After thinking for a while, Wei Ran put on the straw sandals with his bare feet, walked to the edge of the pond across the road, sat down, and washed them carefully.
Feet and wipe them clean with socks.
This wasn't over yet, he also carefully brushed the mud off his boots, then took his straw sandals and walked back to the opposite big rock to sit down.
Use socks to carefully wipe off the water stains on the boots. Wei Ran dipped a small brush in some shoe polish and wiped the boots carefully. After they were dry, he carefully applied a layer of beeswax.
By the time he put on a new pair of socks and put on the waxed boots again, both Squad Leader Liang and Qin Shouzheng had finished eating the sugar cane and put on straw sandals. And the donkey, which had been temporarily relieved of its load, was also walking slowly.
He came over and ate the sugarcane bagasse and banana peels all over the floor.
"What's the use of polishing it so brightly?" Qin Shouzheng, who was standing by the pond organizing fishing nets, asked jokingly, "The wild mountains and ridges here are not in the city. There are no women to even look at us."
"Apply oil to waterproof"
Wei Ran, who was still wearing straw sandals on his feet, went to the edge of the pond and explained while carefully cleaning the pair of socks that had only been worn recently...
“How comfortable are straw sandals?”
While Qin Shouzheng was speaking, he had already thrown the fishing net out and successfully made a circle on the water.
“It’s really not as comfortable as straw sandals”
Wei Ran wrung out his socks and agreed with a smile. In this environment, these exquisite cannonball boots are indeed not as comfortable as straw sandals. They are not even as comfortable as the German-style boots that he wore for who knows how long before setting off - at least that pair.
Open mouth boots are breathable enough.
But for him, wearing straw sandals and rushing in these barren mountains and ridges, his feet were not only inferior to Zhao Shengli on the battlefield of Zhaoxian, but also inferior to the two people in front of him.
It is almost foreseeable that once the sole of his foot is injured, the next trip, even if he has received KGB training, will become a complete burden.
Because of this, wearing boots, and wearing a pair of boots that are waterproof enough, has become the only choice for Wei Yan.
"Why do you, with your skin and tender flesh, act like a new recruit?" As Qin Shouzheng spoke, he had already begun to close the net.
"I'm not a new recruit."
Wei Ran put the washed socks on a stone on the shore without getting up in a hurry. He just asked curiously, "How long have you been a soldier?"
“It didn’t take long”
Qin Shouzheng pointed to Squad Leader Liang on the other side of the road, "I am a recruit recruited by the 22nd Division before going abroad. My gun has not been used since I picked it up."
"Pick it back?" Wei Ran raised his eyebrows.
"Isn't it just picking it up?"
Qin Shouzheng reached out and picked out a small fish from the fishing net and threw it on the shore, "Don't you remember? Even the British gun in your hand was picked up from the British warehouse. Unfortunately, it was just bullets.
It’s a little less, but it’s still much better than the old socket I used before.”
He is really a new soldier. Guard Ran muttered secretly, then asked curiously, "Shou Zheng, why do you want to join the army?"
“Didn’t think much of it”
Qin Shouzheng once again threw the fishing net out and said matter-of-factly, "My father went to fight with General Li Zongren when I was a child. He didn't even come back when I joined the army.
When Squad Leader Liang was still a teacher, he said that in order to save China, the first step was to drive away the Japs. When he went to join the army, we sent him off."
"And you joined the army?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Yes!" Qin Shouzheng's accented answer was both natural and unabashedly proud.
"What about you?" Qin Shouzheng asked while pulling the net, "Why are you here? Your shoes are so polished, you must be from a rich family."
"me."
Wei Ran shook his head, stood up and walked towards the big rock on the other side of the road and said, "I don't know either."
"Our company commander also said so!"
Qin Shouzheng responded without looking back, "He said he didn't understand either. He also said that it's not important that he doesn't understand. The important thing is to drive away the little devils first. After driving them away, you can think about it slowly."
oh!"
"That's right!" Wei Ran waved his hand without looking back, "I'll think about it after I drive away the little devil!"
"The company commander has died"
Squad leader Liang on the other side of the road took over the topic in a calm tone, "He died a month ago. His body was not even found, so he buried it in a broken oil barrel. He has plenty of time to think about it!"...
Hearing this, Wei Ran's body trembled subconsciously. After a brief pause, he silently tied his socks to his backpack and waited patiently for his feet to dry before putting on new socks and putting on his boots again.
Then he peeled off his own banana and stuffed it into his stomach in two or two bites.
Throwing the banana peel to the hard-working donkey, just when he was about to bite his section of sugar cane, Qin Shouzheng, who was standing by the pond, shouted vigilantly, "Hide!"
Before he finished speaking, Squad Leader Liang, who was lying on his back on the stone smoking a second ago, had already hurriedly turned over and hid behind the stone. He leaned up to the side of the donkey and gently ordered it to lie down on its side.
From the wooden gun box on his waist, he hurriedly pulled out a box gun.
At the same time, Qin Shouzheng on the opposite side was already lying in the grass by the pond, raising his unopened Enfield rifle.
Wei Ran, who had also taken cover, replaced the sugar cane he had just picked up with a rifle, and then cautiously looked in the direction of the fork in the road ahead.
Although the distance between the two sides was almost more than a hundred meters, he could still clearly see two people jumping off their horses in the distance, and then each slapped the horses they were riding on the buttocks hard.
With a whip, they were allowed to neigh and run towards the direction where Wei Ran and others had originally planned to rest their feet and continue moving forward.
But the two people who got off the horse supported each other and bent down to get into the jungle on the roadside. Wei Ran could even see that the one walking behind seemed to be carefully cleaning them on the road.
traces left behind.
"Are those two our people?" Qin Shou asked in a low voice from the grass on the other side of the road.
"It doesn't look like it, wait a minute." Squad Leader Liang also responded in a low voice, "They are running in such a hurry, there must be someone behind them."
As if to verify Squad Leader Liang's judgment, less than five minutes later, four more horses carrying people on their backs chased them from the direction they came from.
The four horses only stopped for a moment at the Y-shaped intersection, and then they all ran out in the direction where the two horses in front disappeared.
However, what Wei Ran and others did not expect was that at the same time that the four horses disappeared from sight, the two people who had got into the jungle on the roadside actually returned to the road, and they were still alive.
These two people actually chose the opposite direction to the two horses they let go, and ran towards Wei Ran and others!
