The sky was getting light in the east, and it was getting light. The heavy wheels were slowly rolling out two deep ruts, making strange creaking noises. A strong ox was breathing heavily with its nostrils wide open. A rope passed through the ox's nostrils was tightly held in Xiao Hongying's hand, and the others were pushing the cart desperately from behind.
There was too much food. It was supposed to be 2,500 kilograms, but in fact it was almost 3,000 kilograms. The oxen had a hard time pulling it. Li Youde's cautious generosity made him suffer. Less than two miles out of Luoye Village, he was untied by Hu Yi and joined the ranks of cart pushers. He was now sweating and exhausted.
The heavy ox cart finally climbed to the top of the slope, and Qingshan Village in the west was in sight. Hu Yi wiped the sweat from his head, ordered everyone to take a temporary rest, and then walked towards Li Youde, who was exhausted and dusty.
"Okay, you can stop here."
"Can I go now?"
Hu Yi nodded.
Li Youde couldn't help but let out a long breath. This feeling of comfort was not because of his freedom, but because he was able to escape from the suffering of pushing a cart. He had been pampered and had long been unable to hold on.
Seeing that he did not leave immediately, but looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, Hu Yi thought he was worried about something, so he added: "If I wanted to kill you, I would do it in front of you. I have no interest in robbing you from behind."
Li Youde smiled awkwardly: "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to talk to you alone. Look..."
This was beyond Hu Yi's expectation. What could we talk about? However, Hu Yi did not hold back and walked out for a distance.
"explain."
"Well, I want to ask, is there any way to contact you in the future?" Li Youde's tone was cautious.
Hu Yi shook his head. It was obvious that Li Youde should have seen through the identity of Class Nine long ago.
Li Youde lowered his head and thought for a while: "That's it, I'll leave you a way to find me. Outside Luoye Village, three miles to the north, there lives a mute. If you want to contact me, go find him alone and tell him you want to burn incense, that's all."
Li Youde left. Hu Yi was very puzzled. He couldn't understand why this maintenance chairman had such a reason. He hoped to contact him again in the future. Could it be that he was addicted to being kidnapped
…
Taking advantage of the early morning, before the villagers opened their doors, the 9th squad drove the fully loaded ox cart and quietly passed through Qingshan Village. Not far from the village, Hu Yi asked the 9th squad to stop again, and at the same time sent Ma Liang into the mountains to find Lao Luo's miserable guerrillas.
If the people from the second and third companies are not counted, this amount of food is enough for the rest of the independent regiment to eat for a month without reducing the amount. The ninth squad has exceeded the task. In this case, it doesn't matter if there is another 200 kilograms less, so Hu Yi plans to leave some food for Lao Luo and his men. If we pass by, why not do a good deed.
Lao Luo said Hu Yi was his benefactor, and this was true. He never dreamed that in just a few days, the small team of nine could bring back such a large cart of food. When the big sack of food was unloaded at the feet of Lao Luo and his friends, they were so excited that they almost cried.
Lao Luo immediately grabbed Hu Yi's hand and said, "Captain Hu, what can I say... This is too..."
Hu Yi smiled calmly: "There are many people in the independent group and they are talkative. I am on a mission and cannot keep you for long, but it should be enough for you to deal with for a while."
Suddenly, Lao Luo felt someone tugging at the corner of his clothes. He turned his head and couldn't help but tremble in his heart. The pair of pigtails that Lao Luo would never forget in his life were standing beside him.
Xiao Hongying looked very uncomfortable. She held a big rooster tied with ropes in her little hand and handed it to Lao Luo, saying, "Take this back too."
This little girl was so scary when she was holding a gun. She really didn't distinguish between friend and foe. She was very clear about it. I was so impressed that I couldn't sleep for three days. Now she looks like a good child, but for some reason, Lao Luo still doesn't dare to treat her as a child. It seems that she is sick.
"No, no, I absolutely don't need this. You guys should keep it." Lao Luo declined, but did not dare to touch the little girl's hand.
"Just take it if she gives it to you. There's more in the car." Hu Yi also spoke.
Lao Luo then took a closer look at the ox cart and was immediately stunned. There were still chickens, plenty of them. Hanging upside down on the front shaft were a row of live chickens.
Luo Fugui is really promising! Hu Yi thought that it was embarrassing enough for him to go into the Li family compound and catch chickens in public with his big face. He didn't expect that this shameless man got more and more excited, and the chickens and dogs were jumping around and crawling. Everyone in the yard was watching his performance. It was not until the food was loaded and it was time to set off that he looked back every few steps and left the Li family reluctantly. If there were no outsiders present, Hu Yi would have kicked him down on the spot. He not only lost the face of a soldier, but also the face of a bandit. What a lunatic! How could he have the face to mention such a thing to others.
Lao Luo didn't ask why. He smiled sheepishly, scratched his head and said, "If that's the case, can I change to another chicken?"
Hu Yi and Xiao Hongying were both puzzled. They quickly turned around and took a closer look at the chickens hanging on the shaft of the cart. It seemed that the big rooster that Xiao Hongying picked out for Lao Luo was already the biggest one, right
Lao Luo quickly explained: "Haha, this, change a female so that it can lay eggs."
…
An Eighth Route Army soldier staggered and ran, his steps seemed a little weak. He climbed over a small hill and shouted to the team that was resting on the slope: "Company commander, company commander, there are people on the road ahead."
"If there is, then there is. Why are you panicking?"
"They were pulling an ox cart, and the cart seemed to be full of food. It was food!"
"What?" The company commander stood up suddenly after hearing this. He suddenly felt dizzy and had to bend down. After taking a while to recover, he ordered again: "Everyone, get up and go check it out!"
Dozens of soldiers got up in a mess and followed the company commander to run to the side of the road.
The team hid on a low slope beside the road and looked to the east. Sure enough, there was an ox cart filled to the brim with bulging sacks. Five or six people in civilian clothes were surrounding the cart, pushing and pulling it.
The soldiers next to him couldn't wait to see it: "It's obviously food, it must belong to some wealthy landlord, Captain, now that things have come to this, let's grab it!"
The entire regiment had been out of food for several days, and the wild vegetables nearby had been dug up dozens of times, and finally even the grass roots were almost dug up. Although this was not an enemy-occupied area, and although the enemy might be good people, and although doing so would violate discipline, they could not care less. The company commander waved his hand decisively: "Go!"
…
After leaving Qingshan Village, even if they had left the Japanese-controlled area, they were not far from their own territory. The mountain road was difficult to walk on, so Hu Yi withdrew Ma Liang, the pioneer who was exploring the way, and asked him to join the ranks of pushing the carts.
They thought they were safe, but something unexpected happened. They suddenly saw a team rushing towards them. The hearts of the people in Class 9 sank immediately. They hurriedly grabbed machine guns and grenades and dispersed to find cover nearby.
Although they clearly saw that several people here were armed with guns, the other side just ignored them and kept rushing towards them.
The people in Squad Nine did not open fire because they saw clearly that the people rushing over were all wearing Eighth Route Army uniforms, and they even had their guns still on their backs. They were just running towards here in a mess.
Hu Yi frowned and left the pit on the side of the road. He stood on the road again with his rifle in hand, waiting with his horse and sword to see who this immortal was.
They finally got closer, but their physical strength seemed to have been exhausted by the distance. Some people began to fall, and those who were still running were staggering.
When both sides could see each other's faces clearly, Hu Yi was stunned, and the company commander on the opposite side was also stunned.
"Captain Wang?"
"You are... Squad Leader Hu?"
…