The meeting started. Ding Deyi didn't say a word and went straight to the point: "The kitchen team and the supply department have carefully calculated that if we continue like this, we will run out of food in half a month. I gathered you here today for only one purpose: food! I held this meeting so that you can find a way to solve the food problem!"
Everyone was silent for a moment. This was really a difficult problem. The surrounding areas had already been plundered by the Japanese. What could they do
Ding Deyi tapped his fingers on the table, scanning the whole room. Seeing that no one said anything, he decided to start calling out the names of the generals: "Lao Niu, you are in the kitchen, you speak first."
Uncle Niu put out his pipe and stood up slowly: "I'm slow-witted and can't think of any good ideas. But I think we should reduce the amount of food from now on, change three meals to two, one dry and one liquid, so that we can last longer."
Uncle Niu sat down after he finished speaking. Ding De nodded slightly and turned his attention to Li Suanpan from the supply department. These departments that were related to food should naturally take the lead.
Li Suanpan stood up with one empty sleeve hanging down: "We still have some money in our hands. My suggestion is to buy as much food as we can."
There were grain merchants in the enemy-occupied area, but it was basically impossible to buy grain from them because the Japanese would not let them go. Even if the grain merchants dared to sell, they could not transport the grain out of the city. So Ding Deyi asked, "Where can I buy it?"
Li Suanpan immediately replied: "Go west out of the mountain and buy it on Yan Laoxi's land."
The mountains are high and the roads are long. Water from far away cannot put out a nearby fire. Under the current situation, there must be many friendly troops doing the same. It is estimated that the food prices over there may have skyrocketed. The situation is not optimistic. Ding Deyi said nothing.
First the kitchen team, then the supply department. Bao Si, who was sitting at the bottom of the square table, understood that the political commissar was asking about the logistics department first, and the next would naturally be the medical team. So without waiting for Ding De's call, he took the initiative and said, "Political commissar, I really can't think of a solution. But I promise that starting tomorrow, I will lead the medical team to the mountains to dig wild vegetables every day, so that we can at least add some."
At this point, Ding Deyi stopped asking Su Qing beside him. He was originally going to find a solution from the combat troops, and asking the logistics first was to give them some time to think. Now, Ding Deyi finally glanced at the three company commanders: "How is it? Who of you will speak first?"
Hao Ping stood up first and said, "Political Commissar, I think the best way now is to find the landlords and gentry, do their work, and persuade them to donate grain, or even borrow it."
Gao Yidao, who was sitting diagonally opposite, curled his lips and said, "Our base is only this big, with Dabei Village and Xinghua Village. When we first settled down, the landlords ran away. Who are you going to ask for donations? Who are you going to ask for loans?"
No matter which meeting he attended, as long as he spoke, Gao Yidao would always be the one to find fault with him. Hao Ping turned his head and said, "Of course I mean to borrow money from outside!"
Haha, Gao Yidao smiled and said, "Outside? Who among the landlords outside would dare to deal with you? Who are you? You are from the Eighth Route Army! Aren't you afraid that those landlords and gentry will sell you out to the devils?"
Hao Ping couldn't help but feel angry when he saw Gao Yidao's behavior: "According to what you said, all landlords and rich people are bad people? Aren't you just arguing?"
"Who's arguing? This is not a good idea!"
"You can! Then tell me a good idea!"
Hao Ping and Gao Yidao, standing one on the other, were sitting diagonally opposite each other, shouting at each other, so absorbed in the conversation that they forgot that they were in a meeting and that the political commissar was present. Everyone in the room was looking at them. Su Qing tilted her head to look at the political commissar beside her, not knowing what the political commissar was thinking. She did not speak to stop the two, but just looked down at the table and slowly drew circles on it with her fingers.
Gao Yidao stood up and faced Hao Ping: "We have guns in our hands, not firewood sticks! Is there any need to be so servile? Isn't it easy to ask for food? The Japanese have plenty of food, so let's fight!"
Tsk—Hao Ping thought that a reckless man is a reckless man, with no other strengths except courage: "You mean you want to attack the Japanese granary? Do you know your own weight? Do you believe that you can't even enter the city gate?"
"Do you think there is only food in the granary? Can I attack the grain transport team? Can I wait outside the stronghold for the food delivery?" Now that the argument has started, Gao Yidao is determined to argue with Hao Ping to the end.
Haha, Hao Ping smiled and said, "Do you think the Japanese are all fools? Knowing that we are short of food, don't they have soldiers in their food transport team? Are they waiting for you to rob them? Not to mention the speed of reinforcement, the Japanese who are escorting the food alone will make you pay the price!"
"That's better than your bad idea!" Gao Yidao counterattacked without any hesitation.
Cough—um—Political Commissar Ding Deyi finally spoke. Hao Ping and Gao Yidao then realized their mistake and quickly sat down again, looking at each other and saying nothing more.
Ding Deyi looked at Hao Ping, then at Gao Yidao, and nodded seriously, saying, "You are indeed the pillar of our independent regiment. You speak very well and have good ideas. Not bad, not bad." Then he turned his gaze to Wu Yan, who had been silent the whole time, and said, "Wu Yan, do you have anything to say?"
Wu Yan, who looked like a consumptive patient, shook his head slightly and said nothing.
The injury of the regiment leader made Wu Yan feel deeply guilty and felt that he had failed in his duty. In addition, he himself was also injured and in a very bad condition, so Ding Deyi did not intend to make any demands on him. He nodded and finally looked at the man sitting on the bench by the door, counting the cracks in the bricks with his head down, and said, "Hu Yi."
Hu Yi was distracted. Although the Ninth Squad was nominally an independent organization, it was too small. Even in this short-staffed independent regiment, it was still too inconspicuous. He never thought that the Political Committee would let him, a small squad leader, attend the meeting. Therefore, he thought it was enough to just go through the motions and did not pay too much attention to the meeting. He only occasionally observed Su Qing who deliberately avoided his sight, and then he began to count the cracks in the bricks with his head down. As he counted, he became distracted.
The commissar suddenly called Hu Yi's name, catching him off guard. He immediately responded with a habit he had formed over the years. He stood up abruptly, clasped his legs together, straightened his legs, chest, neck, and looked forward, while answering in a deep and powerful voice, "Here!"
This startled everyone in the room, and they almost sprained their necks. Gao Yidao grinned, this unlucky guy, is he crazy? He looked quite impressive. He couldn't help but look at Hao Ping again, thinking to himself: You, Hao Ping, always yell at the third company to stand at attention, and you act so serious, thinking you are the model of the independent regiment. Now look at how this guy named Hu stands! He is not even as good as a Kuomintang deserter. I wonder if you, Hao Ping, will have the nerve to say you are a model in the future!
Su Qing had been deliberately avoiding Hu Yi's gaze throughout the entire meeting. Her idea was that out of sight, out of mind. But now Hu Yi's sudden standing at attention made her raise her eyebrows. It seemed that he was not as annoying as she had imagined. Perhaps it was because his military posture was very heroic. This was the reason Su Qing thought.
Ding Deyi was surprised for a moment, then smiled and said, "Hu Yi, tell me."
Hu Yi finally realized that the political commissar was asking him a question. He had been distracted for a long time, so how could he have any ideas? So he answered without hesitation: "Political commissar, I have no ideas."
Wu Yan didn't express his opinion because he was confused, and Ding Deyi didn't mind. But Hu Yi said he had no idea, and Ding Deyi didn't believe it. He thought Hu Yi was embarrassed to express his opinion because of his low position, so Ding Deyi said in a commanding tone: "You must also come up with an idea, otherwise you are not allowed to sit down!"
Hu Yi was helpless. How could he come up with an idea at this moment? He simply thought of a way to save money like Uncle Niu and Bao Si and dealt with the political commissar's order. From now on, the food for the independent regiment will be greatly reduced. The little girl is growing up. Luo Fugui can eat as much as three people. When it comes to reducing the amount of food, he will be the first to faint. In order to save money for the regiment, the ninth squad might as well be self-reliant. We will think of a way later.
After a moment of silence, Hu Yi spoke up: "Political Commissar, I request that Squad 9 be given two days' worth of food and then be released."
Everyone in the room was confused and didn't understand what Hu Yi was saying.
Ding Deyi frowned and said, "Please tell me more details."
"Since we don't have enough food, I want to take Class 9 out. With fewer mouths to feed, it's easier for them to get food and drink. We should be able to get by. At the same time, we can save some food for the group. If we can find more food, we can bring it back. That's all I can think of right now."
This time Ding Deyi understood that Hu Yi meant to "cut off the firewood from under the cauldron". Regardless of whether he had a way to get more food, at least by taking Squad Nine out, the Independent Regiment would have reduced the number of mouths to feed.
Ding Deyi did not expect everyone to come up with any brilliant ideas when he convened this meeting. His purpose was to gather ideas from all sides and then combine all the methods, so he allowed Gao Yidao and Hao Ping to argue without interrupting them. Now, Hu Yi's idea finally made Ding Deyi's thoughts clearer. After a moment of silence, he made a summary and arrangement.
Uncle Niu’s suggestion was adopted, and the independent regiment’s three meals were reduced to two meals, one dry and one liquid, and the wounded were not included.
Li Suanpan's opinion was adopted. Although distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, we must prepare for the worst. Li Suanpan led the people from the supply department to buy food. It is better to have a plan after the event than to have no plan at all.
Of course we have to dig wild vegetables. No matter how thin the leaves are, they can still get stuck in our teeth. However, it is not only the medical team that goes to dig them. The kitchen team also sends people to participate.
Hao Ping wants to borrow food, that's fine, but the secrecy of the independent regiment and Dabei Village must be guaranteed, and he has to make his own decision; Gao Yidao wants to rob food from the devils, that's fine, but your Second Company must do what it can, don't expect the whole regiment to risk your life with you, safety comes first. The additional condition is: Second Company, Third Company and Ninth Squad will only be given two days' worth of food per person, and then the regiment will not be responsible for anything, and they have to go out and find their own food. Even if they can't get more food, they have to feed themselves and share the worries of the regiment. At regular intervals, they will send people back to report their whereabouts and progress.
Yi Lian, who was recovering from his injuries, stayed in Dabeizhuang to keep guard.
This immediately reduced the number of mouths to feed by more than half. Ding De breathed a sigh of relief. Although he didn't know whether the second and third companies could achieve any results, doing this would allow the independent regiment to hold out longer.
So, the second company, the third company and the ninth squad were all thrown out by Ding Deyi...