In the dark of night, guided by the sound of gunfire, a group of five people and two donkeys moved laterally along the mountain's waistline for more than half an hour. Finally, they encountered a group of five people riding on the branches of a banyan tree, carrying Gurkha Bend in one hand.
knife, and the young monk Sehao holding a Webley pistol in one hand.
While everyone was waiting, the barefoot little monk took off the kerosene lamp hanging on the tree trunk like a nimble little monkey. In the posture of a monkey fishing for the moon, he combined the kerosene lamp with the machete and revolver.
He handed it to Zhou Guochang who was under the tree, then grabbed the branches with his hands and jumped down from the tree.
While everyone was waiting, Zhou Guochang communicated with the young monk Sehao and explained, "The young master found a suitable place to rest, which is not too far from here."
"Then let's go and have a look!" Squad Leader Liang said and made a decision, "There must be a place to rest."
Hearing this, Zhou Guochang immediately informed his young master Sehao of his decision. The latter nodded unhurriedly, took the donkey held by Wei Ran and walked in front.
Under the leadership of the young monk, the crowd continued to move along the mountain's waistline, and finally found a giant rock halfway up the mountain about four to five hundred meters away, covered in two bullets as thick as truck tires.
The dead wood blocked by the big tree.
Under the dead wood and between the two big trees, there was just enough space for everyone to lie down side by side. Not only that, not far away, there was a large banana tree and several clusters of tall bamboo.
After the donkey was tied up, the young monk Sehao was talking and gesticulating, and Zhou Guochang was also translating sentence by sentence.
In fact, even without translation, everyone guessed what he meant. It was nothing more than cutting down bamboo and placing it on a dead tree, and then covering it with broad banana leaves.
"Just do what the little master said."
Squad leader Liang glanced at the fleeting light on the horizon worriedly, and added, "Everyone, speed up, it looks like it will rain soon. Let's learn a lesson this time and light a fire in the shack."
"
"I'm going to chop bamboo!"
Before Zhou Guochang finished speaking, he had already put down his backpack and ran towards the bamboo forest not far away with his machete.
"I'll go chop the banana leaves," Qin Shouzheng, who was holding the deck in his hand, said nonchalantly.
"You go chop the bamboo too," Squad Leader Liang lowered his voice slightly, "Keep an eye on Guochang and don't let him think wildly."
"Leave it to me." Wei Ran nodded, also put down his backpack, took out his machete, and caught up with Zhou Guochang with the young monk Sehao.
In the midst of everyone's busy work, bamboos as thick as a calf were chopped back and the knots were cut through. Then, they were cut into natural tiles that were three meters long.
While the young monk and Zhou Guochang were busy breaking the bamboo, Squad Leader Liang also carefully cleaned up the area under the dead wood, while Wei Ran was busy digging the shallow pits for the smoke stove and the bamboo tiles.
Soon, when Qin Shouzheng came back dragging piles of banana leaves with one hand, everyone immediately cooperated with each other to put the broken bamboo tiles on the dead wood in an interlocking manner, and also put the banana leaves on the dead wood.
Caught in the middle.
Before they could finish their work, another bolt of lightning flashed overhead, and immediately after, everyone heard the deafening thunder. Almost instantly, a torrential downpour poured down with a loud "crash".
"Get the water!"
Squad Leader Liang yelled at the top of his lungs, then called on Zhou Guochang to help. He first carried Luke, who was lying on a stretcher, into the shack that had just been set up, and then he carried their respective baskets in again and again.
At the same time, Wei Ran and the young monk Sehao also tied their unloaded donkeys under a tree next to the shack, covered them with waterproof canvas, and dug in the ground.
The pit was covered with banana leaves.
Before the two of them finished their work, the banana leaf was filled with water, and the two donkeys, who had been thirsty for a long time, put their big heads over and drank heavily.
Instructing Wei Ran to protect him from the rain, young monk Sehao took out a small bamboo tube from his arms, opened it, poured out a small handful of coarse salt and sprinkled it on the banana leaf, and then pointed two meters away.
shack.
By the time they got into the shack, Squad Leader Liang had already disemboweled the little bear that had died on the road, and put the internal organs and other items into categories on the banana leaves that had been prepared in advance.
Not far away from him, Qin Shouzheng had lit the bonfire again in the stove dug by Wei Ran. At the same time, Zhou Guochang also carefully poured the mud dug from outside the shack into the stove next to the smoke diffuser.
Bamboo tiles are used for thermal insulation.
Even Luke, who was lying on a stretcher, was holding a hatchet and helping to chop the firewood he had brought from the cave with the Buddha carved there.
Seeing this, Wei Ran smiled, and simply chopped the machete in his hand hard on the trunk of the big tree that was as thick as a truck tire, then took off his clothes, and then rummaged through his backpack.
I took out the soap and towel I bought in Mansi Town, put on my straw sandals and walked to an open space that was not blocked by the tree canopy.
"Is he taking a shower?" Zhou Guochang asked dully.
"It seems so." Qin Shouzheng rubbed the mud on his neck to prevent mosquitoes, "I want to go there later too."
“If you want to go, go now”
As he spoke, Squad Leader Liang placed the only iron pot on the stove, "I don't think it will stop raining until dawn. Let's take a break and process the meat."
"Still resting?" Qin Shouzheng asked with a grimace, "Can we still catch up with the main force?"
"Can we catch up if we keep walking now? It's raining so hard, I'm afraid we'll be washed away by the time we get to the bottom of the mountain."
Angrily, Squad Leader Liang stretched the enamel pot outside the shack to catch some rainwater and poured it into the pot. Then he threw the fat he had just torn off the bear into the pot, "If you want to wash it, go and wash it! If you don't want to go, just go
Help me light the fire!"
"Go, why don't you go?" Qin Shouzheng deliberately patted Zhou Guochang's shoulder and said with a smile, "I'll leave the job of lighting the fire to you."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After saying that, Qin Shouzheng took out a dirty towel from his backpack and rushed into the pouring rain outside without waiting for the other party's consent.
"You go and take a shower too," Squad Leader Liang said to Zhou Guochang while he was busy, "Look, the little master has gone to take a shower."
"I, I'll help you..."
"Help me! Go quickly!"
Squad Leader Liang took out a piece of soap and a new towel that Wei Ran had given him before and forced them into Zhou Guochang's hands. "Remember to bring them back to me, go quickly!"
"I'll be back soon!"
After Zhou Guochang finished speaking, he hurriedly kicked off the British ammunition boots on his feet, put on a pair of straw sandals and rushed into the rain.
“It’s great to be young”
Squad Leader Liang muttered something envious, and at the same time, he did not forget to use a frying spoon to stir up the pieces of meat that started to sizzle in the pot.
"Or would you like to wash it too?" Luke laboriously moved to the stove, "I can help you cook the bear meat."
"forget it"
Squad leader Liang took out a piece of firewood and lit the pipe, "Our team leader said that your British cooking skills are as unreliable as your promises."
Luke smiled indifferently, stared at the splint on his leg for a long time, and said abruptly, "Liang, even though you said that, I still have something to tell you."
"What's the matter? Going after your British army?" Squad Leader Liang asked nonchalantly, puffing on his pipe.
"It's up to you to decide this matter." Luke shook his head and motioned for Monitor Liang to come closer.
At the same time, Wei Ran, who was standing on a banana leaf outside the shack, finally scrubbed off the stinky mud that had been on his body all day long. He also took off his shorts and top and rubbed them clean.
Not far away from him, young monk Sehao was also taking a bath seriously. Tan Shouzheng, on the other hand, loudly showed off to Zhou Guochang while washing that he hid by the river and watched his sister take a bath before going abroad to fight.
After lending the soap to the young monk Sehao, Wei Ran walked into the shack carrying the washed clothes. Then he realized that something was not right about the atmosphere.
"What's wrong with you?" Wei Ran looked curiously at Luke and Squad Leader Liang who were silent, and couldn't help sniffing at the same time.
"It's okay." Squad Leader Liang waved his hand, "Quickly dry yourself off and put on some clothes."
Hearing this, Wei Ran didn't think much, wiped off the water stains on his body, put on clothes, and hung the washed clothes to dry on the ceiling.
Thanks to the help of the heavy rain, when Squad Leader Liang poured the boiled fat into his precious bamboo tube, Wei Ran also filled everyone's kettles with boiling water, as well as a few extra emergency baskets made from bamboo tubes.
Water storage tank.
Qin Shouzheng and others, who had also finished taking a bath, also spread sheets of banana leaves on the floor of the shack, and honestly allowed the young monk to apply herbs to the wounds on their bodies.
Around three or four o'clock in the morning, the heavy rain continued to fall, but in the center of the shack where everyone gathered, the British army's lunch boxes were already filled with stewed rice and browned crispy rice.
In the bamboo bowl, there is turtle broth with oily flowers and piles of meat.
Not to mention, in the middle enamel pot, there is a large pot full of steaming dried bamboo shoots stewed with bear meat.
Although I didn't sleep all night, although it was still pouring rain outside, and although most people had minor or serious injuries, it was obvious that everyone needed a big meal at this time, even if no one knew why.
This meal is so rich.
Waiting patiently for Squad Leader Liang to come back from taking a shower, everyone picked up the bamboo bowls filled with broth and clinked them together.
No one spoke, and no one said a toast. At this time, everyone including the young monk Sehao and Yusheng were eating meat and drinking soup with spoons or kuaizi, each thinking.
With their own thoughts.
The meal lasted until dawn, and everyone with their stomachs full found a place to lie down, digesting the food in their stomachs, or spending a moment of peace brought by the heavy rain in the lingering smoke of incense.
At some point, Wei Ran, who had eaten and drank enough, also fell asleep, and along with everyone else, he snored in the heavy rain.
When he was woken up again by the banging of pots and pans, the sky outside the shack had gotten much brighter, but the rain didn't stop at all. Instead, Squad Leader Liang and Zhou Guochang were busy cooking porridge and cracking firewood.
Very happy.
"When are we leaving?" Wei Ran reached out and picked up a piece of charcoal and asked while carefully rubbing the dirt between his teeth.
"Wait a little longer." Squad Leader Liang pointed in the direction of the foot of the mountain, "Guochang just went to see it, and now the valley has become a river, making it impossible to cross."
"It took us another day to catch up with the large army," Qin Shouzheng complained as he yawned. "At our speed, there is no way we can catch up with the large army."
Squad Leader Liang snorted noncommittally as a response. After all, he didn't say anything. He just lit his cigarette in silence and glanced worriedly at Luke, who was still sleeping soundly.
