The main course of dinner is a pot of chicken soup, plus a few plates of green vegetables and homemade sorghum wine.
By the way, this pot of chicken soup may not be anything to me in modern times, but to me now... Sigh! I don’t know how long it has been since I had hot soup. In my mind, I drank it on the front line.
I've had it a few times, but it was also mushroom soup, not only vegetarian but also without many condiments, so although it was delicious, I always felt that something was missing.
Now this pot of chicken soup is carefully prepared, and the taste is certainly better than the mushroom soup, so I can't hold it back... I immediately held the sea bowl and ate it in large chunks.
The food was delicious, but the appearance was a bit ugly. Fortunately, Zhang Fan's parents are also understanding people. They know that we soldiers live a hard life on the front line, and it is normal to have such a reaction, so not only do they not mind, but they always
He kindly advised me to eat more.
Later I learned from Zhang Fan that this pot of chicken soup was the only hen in their family that laid eggs, and her mother would pick up an egg every day to feed her father.
I regretted hearing this... I originally thought it was just a chicken. In modern times, you can't eat whatever you want. Who would have known that people in this era, even the commander of the military region, had such a difficult life. What if
Knowing this, how can I drink this chicken soup?
But Zhang Fan didn't take it seriously and instead praised me: "My parents know that you saved me twice on the battlefield, but they don't know how to repay you, so the more you eat, the happier they will be!"
""
That's true, but if you really want to repay me, it's very easy... just let your daughter agree with you!
It's just a thought. I'm not stupid enough to say it... What else can I gain from saying this besides making people disgusted?
"Xiao Yang!" After three drinks, Commander Zhang started chatting: "I don't know much about the other battles you fought, but..."
Commander Zhang paused, burped and then continued: "The two times I saved Xiaofan... I heard Xiaofan explain it in detail!"
"Dad, you..." Zhang Fan blushed and was about to protest, but was interrupted by Commander Zhang waving his hand.
"It's not easy!" Commander Zhang handed me a glass of wine and Su Rong said: "Many people say that your battle in the field hospital was due to luck... I don't think so! You have to know that you dealt with well-trained soldiers.
The Japanese agents, and almost one person against a platoon, defeated the special forces using special operations methods...Who the hell has the luck to try to defeat a few Japanese agents!"
"Old Zhang!" my aunt said from the side: "Speak politely, I am a guest!"
Then my aunt turned to me and said: "Xiao Yang, don't mind, your uncle Zhang is also a soldier, he is a rough guy!"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but laugh: "Auntie, you are too polite, aren't I too? If this soldier doesn't have a bad tone, how can he fight the Japanese on the battlefield?"
"Yes... yes, yes!" Commander Zhang patted my arm and said, "This speaks to my heart. A soldier must have a rough tone, be arrogant, and fight like a woman.
What a bullshit! Ignore them, let’s continue..."
"Squeak!" At this moment, there was a sound of brakes outside the door, followed by several knocks on the door and a baritone voice: "Uncle Zhang, I have sent you the documents you asked for!"
"It's Xiao Chen!" Auntie quickly stood up and greeted a young soldier with a fair face and neat military appearance.
I don't know why, but I felt a sense of hostility as soon as he came in. Being sensitive, I quickly realized that it was because of Zhang Fan.
It seems that she is a love rival... Seeing this, I couldn't help but glance at Zhang Fan, but seeing the displeasure on her face, it seemed that she lost interest because of the arrival of the young soldier, so I understood Zhang Fan's intention.
"Well, Xiaofan is back? There are guests..." The young soldier stretched out his hand towards me with a smile on his face and asked, "Who is this..."
"Yang Xuefeng!" I stood up and shook hands politely.
"Well, it turns out you are Yang Xuefeng!" The middle-aged soldier was stunned for a moment, with a trace of jealousy flashing in his eyes. Then he quickly pretended to be happy and held my hand with both hands and said, "Oh, so you are Xiaofan’s savior, thank you so much! Thank you for saving Xiaofan..."
Damn! I couldn't help but curse in my heart: This guy is really good at playing tricks. He seemed to be thanking me, but in fact he was clearly demonstrating to me or hinting that Xiaofan's relationship with him was extraordinary. Well, otherwise what does my saving Zhang Fan have to do with him.
Zhang Fan immediately became unhappy. However, due to the inconvenience of having his parents nearby, he had no choice but to sit aside with an unhappy face and said nothing.
Commander Zhang is also a smart man. How could he not know the tricks he was playing? So he immediately interrupted the young soldier and introduced me: "This is Chen Jiahao, the regimental staff officer of the Ninth Border Defense Division. He and Xiaofan grew up together. We just know each other... Jiahao, you came just in time, let’s listen to Xiao Yang’s introduction to the frontline combat experience, maybe it will be of some help to you!”
Commander Zhang obviously did not put Chen Jiahao on the same level as me.
Later I found out that Chen Jiahao was actually the son of the commander of the Ninth Border Defense Division, and the commander of the Ninth Border Defense Division was an old subordinate of Mr. Zhang. Therefore, Chen Jiahao and Zhang Fan had grown up together since childhood. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were childhood sweethearts.
Everyone can see that he is interested in Zhang Fan, but Zhang Fan just doesn't like him like that, so he always wants to compare me with him...
"Haha!" After listening to Commander Zhang's words, Chen Jiahao laughed awkwardly: "Yes! I heard that Comrade Yang Xuefeng fought many victorious battles on the front line. I want to learn from it! Otherwise... how can I command the troops to fight? !”
Although Chen Jiahao said this politely, I could clearly hear the dissatisfaction in his tone, and even a bit of a picky tone. Especially the last sentence...it was clearly reminding me that he was commanding a regiment!
"Xiao Yang!" Commander Zhang put Chen Jiahao aside and continued to say to me: "This second battle... the more I heard about it, the more surprised I became. One man with six soldiers could actually block the enemy. A company of Japanese soldiers attacked? And most of them were female soldiers... At first I suspected that Xiaofan was bragging, but then I believed it after reading the newspaper... Good fight! Beautiful fight! Come on, let me toast you!"
I knew Commander Zhang was talking about the battle at the Unnamed Highlands, so I replied: "Actually... we had a geographical advantage that time, otherwise we would never have been able to block a company!"
"Eh!" Commander Zhang objected: "No matter how big the geographical advantage is... your Uncle Zhang has also been on the battlefield and fought. Ordinary people would feel weak after seeing that stance, but you can still keep a calm head. Analyze the battlefield situation and rationally use the terrain to allocate firepower, especially the last move... How did you think of hiding in the ruins to deceive the Japanese?"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but secretly praise in my heart. Sure enough, it was an expert watching the show but a layman watching the excitement. Commander Zhang revealed the key to the victory of this battle in just a few words.
"Look what you said!" Auntie interjected from the side: "If Xiao Yang hadn't thought of this trick, then our daughter would still be dead?"
Commander Zhang couldn't help but be stunned, and then laughed: "Yes, yes... look at what I said, you will be punished with three drinks! You will be punished with three drinks..."
Zhang Fan quickly advised from the side: "Dad, drink less!"
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter!" Commander Zhang said with a smile: "I'm so happy today, come... Xiao Yang, let's not get drunk!"
"You won't stop until you're drunk!" I ignored Zhang Fan's glances and clinked several glasses of wine with Commander Zhang. Zhang Fan was so angry that he secretly kicked me under the table.
In fact, I am also greedy...I haven't drank for a long time. On the other hand, I also hit it off with Commander Zhang, so I became interested in drinking.
"Comrade Yang Xuefeng!" At this time, Chen Jiahao raised his glass to me from a distance and asked: "I wonder which military academy you graduated from?"
"I never went to military school!" I said.
"Oh!" Chen Jiahao said with some regret: "I also said... with your merits, it is enough to be a battalion commander. I have never been to a military school..."
"Aren't there many battalion commanders in our army who have never been to a military academy?" Zhang Fan seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and retorted: "Why can others do it but we can't?"
"You can't say that, Xiaofan!" Chen Jiahao seemed to have known that someone would say this, so he replied seriously: "I have done an investigation... There is a common problem in our army, that is, the military quality is not high enough, and many grassroots
Cadres can't even read a map, which will cause a lot of trouble on the battlefield, and sometimes even cause heavy casualties to the troops... From this point of view, I think the rectification of the troops must start from improving the military capabilities of the grassroots troops.
Start with quality!”
I have to admit that Chen Jiahao has two tricks. His approach is to use strengths and avoid weaknesses. On the surface, it is righteous, but in fact, he is specifically looking for my weaknesses to attack.
"That's true..." Zhang Fan retorted without any sign of weakness: "But I don't think this military quality can be obtained from training in military schools. The battlefield is the place where hard skills are learned. Some people have never been there.
The military quality of the military academy is also top-notch. Some people have attended the military academy for several years in vain and dare not go to the battlefield..."
These words made Chen Jiahao's face turn red and white. In fact, it's not that Chen Jiahao has never been on the battlefield, it's just because he works as a staff officer, usually sorting out documents or formulating battle plans at the regiment headquarters.
"Hey! Xiaofan..." Commander Zhang saw something was wrong in the atmosphere, so he interrupted Zhang Fan and said: "If you don't know what happened on the battlefield, don't talk nonsense. I have also been on the battlefield, but the division of labor is different!"
Commander Zhang then turned to me and asked: "Xiao Yang, what do you think about this?"
Then I understood that Commander Zhang was not just just talking to me, he probably wanted to know how to rectify the troops so that they could better and faster adapt to front-line warfare. (To be continued.