The westbound highway is a salt store, leading to Dingbian where the Eighth Route Army was collecting salt.
The southbound highway is Jiamidian, leading to Yuncheng.
To the north is a mule and horse shop, leading to Linfen.
These three stores supported the village's economy and made the village a trading center in this area. Whenever someone was short of rice or salt, they would go to the three stores to purchase goods in large quantities. Over time, a market was formed here, selling cloth.
There are countless people selling oils and medicinal herbs.
This makes Sanjiadian a relatively prosperous village nearby, and it is no exception in these difficult times.
The three stores maintain a guerrilla force of seventeen people, whose captain is Wu Junbo.
Wu Junbo's nickname is Lao Bo. In fact, he is just a young man in his early twenties. He got this nickname because he is a little mature.
The old man used to be a soldier in the main force of the Eighth Route Army... When he was charging at the Japanese during the battle, a shell fell nearby. Three of his left toes were cut off, and several pieces of shrapnel were shot into his thigh. There were still some fragments inside.
I couldn't take it out, so I was limping when I walked, and it hurt every time it was windy or rainy.
Such soldiers were obviously not suitable to continue fighting in the regular army because it would affect the marching speed, so they were transferred to Sanjiadian to organize guerrillas.
The old man received the news on the phone that the Independent Group was coming to Sanjia Store for rest... The telephone may be difficult for other villages, but for Sanjia Store it is a piece of cake. Today there was a rumor that they wanted a telephone.
Someone will bring it to exchange for rice tomorrow, and of course the phone line will be available as well.
This is one of the benefits of the trading center. Many things are delivered to you by others.
When the old man heard that the famous independent group was coming, he was very happy.
He immediately gathered the guerrillas and said, "Comrades, I have good news for you. A troop is coming to our village to rest and recuperate! Do you know which troop it is?"
The team members were intrigued and guessed:
"What troop?"
"Is it the logistics force?"
"I think it's probably the medical team!"
…
The team members knew that the three stores were far away from the front line, so they guessed that they were second-line troops.
The old man puffed up his chest and said majestically: "Let me tell you, this time, it is an independent group!"
The team members "coaxed" and started making a fuss:
"Captain, is that Li Yunlong's independent group?"
"The independent group that bombed the Japanese airport and attacked Yucun?"
"Will Xiao Dongbei come too?"
…
The achievements of the Independent Regiment have long been spread throughout the army, and of course the guerrillas have also heard about it.
Even not just the guerrillas, but people everywhere also know about the Independence Regiment.
This is actually due to the needs of war... An army in a state of war will publicize its victory as much as possible to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians. This is especially true for troops with weak equipment like the Eighth Route Army.
The old man nodded heavily and said proudly: "It's this independent group! They just occupied Yunjing County and seized a large amount of equipment to break through the encirclement. The superior asked them to rest in three stores. The superior also said that the independent group might
Staying in three stores for a long time requires us to be prepared. We are also asked whether we can afford the supplies for the independent group...Comrades, do you think we have this ability?"
"Yes!" the team members replied in unison.
The three stores may not have confidence in other things, and it is not a big problem to scrape together some food to feed a few hundred people.
Then the old man immediately worked with the village chief to mobilize the whole village to prepare for the reception.
The village chief's name is Li Dahe. Although he is over sixty years old, he is still in high spirits.
It is said that he was the one who took the initiative to open a mule and horse shop in the north of the village, and then there were three shops in the village. He was highly respected in the village, and he deserved the title of village chief.
The old man thought he was well prepared, but he was still shocked when he saw the formation of the independent regiment... Darling, this is both a tank and a car. Those who didn't know better thought it was a Japanese army.
This made the old man panic a little... Tank, where should the car park?
This is not to say that there are no tanks in the village, where cars are parked, and there are empty spaces everywhere in and outside the village.
But we can't stop randomly. If the Japanese reconnaissance plane flies this way, we will immediately know that the independent group is in Sanjia Store.
Then the old man remembered a canyon one mile north of the village. If he hid it in it and covered it with branches, the Japanese would not be able to find it.
It can be seen from this that the old man is quite good at counter-reconnaissance.
Wang Xuexin and other infantrymen got off first.
As soon as the soldiers got off the bus, they were surrounded by fellow villagers who offered them tea and water. They were very enthusiastic.
The old man came forward with the village chief and saluted first, then held Li Yunlong's hand tightly and introduced himself: "Welcome, Commander Li! I am Wu Junbo, the captain of the guerrilla team, and this is Comrade Li Dahe, the village chief.
!”
Even though Li Yunlong was usually fierce towards his soldiers, he was very polite to his fellow villagers. He hurriedly stepped forward to hold the village chief's hand and said, "Village Chief, we are going to cause trouble for you and the villagers!"
"Where are you talking?" the village chief hurriedly replied: "Come here, we are happy and why don't you come in a hurry? How can we say it's troublesome! Come on, please come in!"
Wang Xuexin was not so free now. He was surrounded by a large group of people, including guerrillas, ordinary people, and even children. They all looked at Wang Xuexin with reverence and asked eagerly:
"Comrade Wang Xuexin, I heard that you defeated more than two hundred Japanese. Is this true?"
"Comrade Wang Xuexin, who is the biggest enemy officer you have defeated? Is he the commander?"
"The Japs don't have commanders, they call them generals!"
"The general is not as big as the commander, he must be the commander!"
…
Wang Xuexin didn't know how to answer, so he managed to free himself with a few perfunctory words, and saw Liang Guisheng walking towards him with an old man wearing a turban and a dark face.
When Liang Guisheng saw Wang Xuexin, he said happily: "Company commander, I heard that you are here too, and I insist on letting you come to our house!"
This is indeed the case for the Eighth Route Army. If it passes through a certain village or is stationed for a period of time, it will temporarily stay in people's homes.
Of course, it is not free of charge. The soldiers can chop firewood, carry water, mend the roof, etc., and do whatever they can to help the fellow villagers.
If you don't have enough money or rice, you will have to write an IOU if you borrow it from a fellow villager.
The old man stepped forward with a smile on his face and said: "Company Commander, you take such good care of my dear students. It's rare for you to come here, so please bring a few comrades to live with me! The place is not big, but it is still better to make room for five people in one room."
No problem!”
Wang Xuexin was not polite and thanked him repeatedly.
Wang Xuexin looked up at this ordinary village and then at the simple and enthusiastic people here, feeling like a wandering duckweed.