The morning sun jumped out of the horizon and the sky was cloudless, heralding a good day.
In a valley somewhere between Luoye Village and Lushuipu, not far away, the Ninth Squad and the Second Company were resting. Last night, the Ninth Squad came all the way here and stopped to eat, sleep and rest; the Second Company followed the Ninth Squad all the way, thinking of them as guides, and also stopped here to eat, sleep, and rest. The first element of strong combat effectiveness is adequate rest.
Hu Yi woke up amid the little girl's excited chattering, but was still lying in the grass. With the Second Company nearby, the Ninth Squad didn't have to keep watch, so Hu Yi had a good sleep.
At this moment, except Hu Yi, the other nine groups of people were gathered together.
"You damn mule, you are not allowed to touch it with your dirty hands. Didn't you see I just wiped it clean?"
"How do you know how this thing works if you don't study it?" Luo Fugui was pondering the bicycle, pinching and pressing it here and there, his eyes feeling a little overwhelmed.
This is a 26-inch bicycle, which has been well maintained by the Japanese and looks almost new. Except for the handlebars and rims, the whole body is dark green. There is a cargo rack at the back and a copper bell on the handlebar. An air pump and a small tool box are hung on the large rack. Four inconspicuous small words are engraved on the iron beam: Changhe Factory.
In this bleak country ravaged by war, the people struggling to survive hardly knew that this vehicle, which represented progress, was made on Chinese soil. Two years ago, a Japanese named Kazusaburo Kojima had already opened a bicycle manufacturing factory in Tianjin, which was the Changhe Factory. Some people said that this was a Wrench brand bicycle, while others said that this bicycle was the same as the Anchor brand bicycle made in Japan, so it was also an Anchor bicycle.
"Your grip is so strong, what if you break it?"
"Hey, little girl, even if I don't have any credit, I have worked hard. How can I be so delicate about such a piece of iron?"
Ma Liang, who was standing next to him, pulled Luo Fugui back and said, "You are right, the girl. We finally got this, but your hands are like pliers. You should not touch it. This thing is quite complicated. I will study it. You stay out of the way."
Liu Jianqiang was usually unwilling to agree with Ma Liang's ideas, and immediately said, "What's there to study? In the final analysis, it's a running thing. If the Japanese can ride it, why can't we? Let's go up and try it, and we'll understand everything."
When Xiao Hongying heard this, she thought Runny Nose was right and looked around: "But where is the flat ground in this valley?"
Liu Jianqiang puffed out his chest and said, "Who are we? We are the ninth squad. We can do trench fortifications easily, so how can we make a flat road? Are the three engineer shovels just for show?"
The people on the side were all looking at Liu Jianqiang, speechless. Was this kid sick? Why was he different from usual? Instead of pouring cold water on him, he was a little too enthusiastic, wasn't he
In fact, the reason why Liu Jianqiang behaved like this was not entirely out of curiosity, but mainly because he found that the soldiers of the Second Company had been looking at the Ninth Squad with envy from a distance, with their eyeballs almost falling to the ground, which made him feel a sense of honor, pride, superiority, etc.
Everyone says that Class 9 is selfish and backward, and that there is no hope for them. But now, Class 9 is high-tech and pioneering, creating the history of the independent regiment and the history of the entire division. It's the first bicycle, the only bicycle. How magnificent it is! If we don't show off and show it to them, how can we be worthy of this bicycle
"I'm talking about a runny nose. Are you bored because you've eaten too much? I don't want to..." Luo Fugui was not interested in using a shovel and pickaxe to build a ridiculous road in this desolate mountain and valley.
"Snotty is right, let's do it now. Mule, if you don't, I won't let you touch my car in the future." The little girl pouted and threatened Luo Fugui.
"If you don't want to touch it, then don't touch it. It's nothing special."
"Oh, you're still so stubborn. Believe it or not, I'll go back and dig up all your pots and pans and you won't be able to find them for the rest of your life."
"Then I... just do it. What's the big deal?" Luo Fugui finally had no choice but to compromise.
Ma Liang laughed, but Liu Jianqiang was a little confused: "What are those jars and pots?"
Luo Fugui stood up and glared: "Why do you care about my ancestral grave?"
Gao Yidao stuffed the last piece of Yuliang in his hand into his mouth and chewed it with big mouthfuls. Suddenly, he heard the sound of shovels and pickaxes from the ninth squad. Turning his head, he saw a flat area not far away filled with smoke. Except for the injured Shi Cheng and another injured soldier and Hu Yi who seemed to be still sleeping, the other people in the ninth squad were busy clearing stones, digging soil and filling the pit.
"What do they want?" Gao Yidao unscrewed the lid of the kettle and asked vaguely the fast-footed man who had been watching over there.
“It seems like they need to repair the road.”
Poof—the last bite of food was wasted and all sprayed on the ground.
"Ahem, ahem... Road repair?" I've seen stupid people before, but I've never seen such stupid people. Gao Yidao was speechless. What kind of road repair is this in the wilderness? This wicked Class 9 is obviously doing it for the Second Company to see. They got the bicycles, and they are showing off. Why don't you build houses with mud
"Look at what you have achieved. It's just a broken car with two wheels. What's so good about it? Get back here!" Gao Yidao shouted angrily at the soldiers of the Second Company who were gathered over at the Ninth Squad to gain some experience.
Hearing the company commander start to scold, Kuaitui retracted his jealous gaze and whispered to Gao Yidao: "This is too much of a show-off. The more I watch, the angrier I get. Company commander, why don't I take my brothers to rob him and make them die of anger."
"You have no brains. You can't see after you eat the chicken. You just grab it and eat it. It's a piece of iron. It's still theirs even if you grab it. Is it worth the trouble?"
Kuaitui lowered his head, sighed, and said nothing more.
Suddenly, a sentry ran down from the top of the mountain, leading a dozen people behind him, and ran towards Gao Yidao. When he got closer and took a closer look, he found that the ten or so people were all soldiers from the third company.
"What's going on? Where is Hao Ping?" Gao Yidao was confused.
"It was too dark last night, and our three companies got separated. After daybreak, we were going to the pre-arranged meeting place, but we didn't expect to run into you guys."
"Run away? Haha, I was wondering how come you guys from Company 3 are more promising than Class 9? What were you doing in the dark last night?"
So a dozen soldiers from the Third Company who had deserted the team reported to Gao Yidao in detail what had happened to the Third Company last night.
"…Later, the Japanese suddenly came from the east behind us. We were caught off guard and had to retreat in the dark. However, the three platoons were too far apart and ran so fast that we lost track of each other."
Gao Yidao was speechless, and the fast runner beside him said the same thing.
With Liu Jianqiang's fearless spirit leading the way, and the two super talents Luo Fugui and Wu Shitou, the construction speed of the ninth team can be described as god-level. A straight path about 20 meters long was quickly formed. In order to prevent bicycles and test riders from being damaged, the sides of the road were deliberately dug to make them soft and turn up the sand. Luo Fugui and others stepped back and forth along this new road several times to make the surface as hard as possible.
Although they were scolded by Gao Yidao, the spectators from the Second Company were still interested. Seeing that the company commander was talking to the soldiers from the Third Company from a distance, they went to the side of the new road again, curiously waiting for a miracle to happen.
Xiao Hongying was too small, so she could only stand by with her pigtails dangling. She watched anxiously, jumping up and down, waving her fists, and chattering at the test driver from time to time.
First, Ma Liang, who thought he was clever, went up, then fell, Liu Jianqiang went up, fell again, Luo Fugui went up again, fell even more miserably, and the cargoes of Class 9 took turns to fight, one after another, crying for their parents, fighting again and again, and looking miserable. The audience of Company 2 laughed from time to time, watching happily, completely forgetting the blood and gun smoke of yesterday. In this desolate mountain, they were enjoying the joy of Class 9, and even temporarily forgot that the two sides had long been irreconcilable, and focused on enjoying the rare relaxation in front of them.
Although he was lying lazily, Hu Yi also tilted his head to watch, letting the brats of Class 9 mess around. He liked this feeling very much, it was something he had never experienced before, he felt satisfied and happy, all of this... was worth it.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps beside him. Hu Yi knew that it was Gao Yidao who was wandering towards him. He was still lying in the grass, unable to get up, his eyes fixed on the bicycle in the distance.
"It seems that you are in a good mood." Gao Yidao looked down at Hu Yi lying on the ground. There seemed to be a faint smile on his dark face, a smile that was a little strange.
"At least it was fine until you got here."
"Do you want to know where the extra enemy came from?"
"Not interested."
"Haha, for a bicycle, you led the ninth squad to do stupid things. To gain some achievements, Hao Ping led the third company to do stupid things. You two are both capable people. From now on, I really have to look up to you two."
Hu Yi didn't understand what Gao Yidao was saying and was too lazy to pay attention to him.
"I'll tell you straight, there were three extra ones last night."
"..."Hu Yi finally sat up, tilted his head and looked at the sarcastic Gao Yidao with a faint expression.
"Don't believe me? The soldiers from the third company are eating at my place now."
Gao Yidao looked at Hu Yi's expression carefully, but did not see the surprise or embarrassment he wanted to see, nor did he see Hu Yi's jokes, which made him feel a little disappointed.
Hu Yi's expression was not fake. He was a little surprised when he heard the news, but he was far from being shocked or embarrassed. This was his ninth year in the army. He had seen pigs run even if he had not eaten pork. It was nothing new. It was just that this time it was really his turn.
"Where is the Third Company now?"
"It's broken down into pieces and they're everywhere."
"He can't be unable to defeat that company of puppet troops, right?" Hu Yi was puzzled.
"It was the Japanese soldiers who were chasing me who ran into them."
Gao Yidao raised his eyes and began to look at the bicycle. After a pause, he finally asked, "What do you think about the next step?"
This time, Hu Yi was a little surprised. He didn't expect Gao Yidao to ask him this question. He thought about it carefully for a while before answering: "At least we need to find out how many Japanese soldiers have come out."
…