It was past noon, and the sun was shining brightly, so bright that it was hard to open your eyes. The yellow earth on the road and the emerald green in the distance were all blindingly illuminated.
The sky is clear, blue and spotless, and coupled with the dazzling sunlight, it seems as if the whole world has increased its contrast, making all the lines clearer and more obvious, as if they were repeatedly traced by pencil.
A bicycle, shining with metallic light in the sun, was parked among the messy ruins; a dull-looking Eighth Route Army soldier was sitting in the shade under a broken wall next to the bicycle, sweating, quietly looking at the fields outside the ruins.
The fields are green and the small flowers are inconspicuous in the sun. A petite figure with two pigtails is running and skipping in the fields and among the flowers. A butterfly is hurriedly taking her away.
At the edge of the boundary between the ruins and the fields, stood a tall soldier, with bright heat light shining on the brim of his hat, darkening his eyebrows and eyes under the brim. He calmly looked around the ridges of the fields outside the ruins.
On the mountain road, twenty-three Eighth Route Army soldiers formed a long line and approached the ruined village sweating profusely.
Walking into the ruins, the soldiers slumped in the shade, wearily unloading the things they were carrying. Ma Liang unbuttoned his collar, took off his hat and fanned himself with it, walked through the ruins, passed the bicycles, passed Wu Shitou, patted him on the head with his hat, and finally stopped beside the upright soldier.
Not long after, Liu Jianqiang and Shi Cheng also appeared, and the four of them stood outside the ruins of Qingshan Village.
"Brother, what should we do next?"
Liu Jianqiang tightened the lid of the kettle: "If you ask me, we should rebuild Qingshan Village."
Ma Liang glanced at Liu Jianqiang and said, "It's easy to say, but look at this place, how can we build it? To the east is Luoye Village, and to the southeast is Lushuipu, both are not far away. There is no place to defend or hide on the hillside. After we build it, let the devils come and tear it down again? Besides, there is not even a person here. Are we going to build it for the devils to see?"
"It's not for the ghosts to see, but for the devils to see. If they demolish, we rebuild. If they demolish again, we rebuild again. This is a matter of attitude!"
"Runny Nose, can you please think before you speak? Is this an overreaction?" Ma Liang frowned.
The two of them were arguing with each other. Hu Yi just kept looking at the fields around him without saying anything, so Shi Cheng also expressed his opinion: "When our group was fighting guerrilla warfare here in the past, we basically stayed behind the North Mountain. The terrain is complicated and easy to hide but difficult to find. Why don't we go there?"
At this time, Qiu Huyi turned around and looked at the three squad leaders: "First, we need a base. Qingshan Village is definitely not suitable. Although it is easier to hide in the north, it is more difficult. I have thought about it before coming here. Let's go south from here."
"Go south? The river is just over ten miles away!" Shi Cheng was very familiar with this place and couldn't help but say so.
Hu Yi nodded: "That's right, let's go to the river to find a base."
"But... isn't the range of movement in the south too small?" Ma Liang was worried that he would be blocked by the Japanese in the future.
“Once you learn how to cross a river, the scope is no longer small and retreat is easier.”
After being trapped by the river twice, Hu Yi finally made up his mind that the 9th Platoon must learn to swim. If the garrison is set up by the river, the environment will be more comfortable and life will be more convenient. In case of an accident, they can directly cross the river to solve the problem. At the same time, they can get close to the 2nd Company and practice swimming.
The three squad leaders suddenly realized that they were worried that the range was too small and they would be forced to fight with their backs to the river. However, if they could swim, the river would no longer be an obstacle for them, but a natural barrier that would cut off the enemy.
Hu Yi added: "But we can't just ignore Qingshan Village."
“…” The audience was puzzled again.
Pointing to the ridges of fields outside the ruins, he said, "In two or three months, these crops can be harvested. We can't let these fields go to waste. Once the station is determined, your three squads will take turns to come here and take care of these fields until the autumn harvest."
"..." Still want to farm? Are you really not going to rely on the regiment? Are you really going to be self-reliant? The three squad leaders looked at each other without saying a word.
"Okay, tell them to scrape this ruins. All tools, pots, pans, shovels, and other daily necessities, as well as boards and wood that have not been burned and can be used, should be gathered and prepared for removal. Remember, especially the salt, not a single grain can be left behind! I will lead Team Nine to head south first, and I will send Xu Xiao to inform you after we have determined the location."
The three squad leaders turned around and walked into the ruins to give orders.
Hu Yi shouted to the distant fields: "Girl, let's go!"
…
As the setting sun fell behind the western hills, ripples appeared on the surface of the river.
This is located in the south of Qingshan Village, more than ten miles away. The quiet Hunshui River flows into a "J"-shaped bend here, forming a miniature peninsula surrounded by the river on three sides. It is nearly 200 meters wide and more than 300 meters long. The west side faces the upstream, and the water is turbulent at the bend, washing into a rugged gravel river bank. The east side faces the downstream, the river surface is quiet, and a beautiful beach is piled up. The sight is lush and green, and both sides of the river bank are full of green.
A wisp of smoke slowly floated up. On a clearing in the woods of the peninsula, a broken pot was supported by a few stones. Fire was burning underneath the pot. Li Xiang squatted beside it, opened the lid and sprinkled some salt into it; Xu Xiao hurriedly ran to the pot with an armful of branches, put them down, and then stood aside wiping his sweat.
Ahem… The smoke from the fire was floating around, choking Luo Fugui who was sitting on the tree stump and making him cough. He raised his big hand and subconsciously fanned his nose twice, saying to Xu Xiao in dissatisfaction: "Look at this thing you picked up, do you want to choke me to death? What are you doing standing there? Keep picking up things, and pick up the ones for tomorrow's breakfast, you little loser."
Xu Xiao quickly ran towards the woods again.
There are now six people in Class 9, monitor Hu Yi, deputy monitor Luo Fugui, Xiao Hongying, Wu Shitou, Li Xiang and Xu Xiao. Although Luo Fugui is the deputy monitor, he is actually the monitor of Class 9 now, because Hu Yi's monitor title has become nominal.
In order to be lazy and avoid the task of transporting things from Qingshan Village, the lazy bear took the initiative to assign the cooking work to the ninth squad. He ordered Wu Shitou to fetch water, Li Xiang to wash rice and cook, and Xu Xiao to collect firewood. He couldn't order the little girl around, so the bear sat comfortably on the tree stump, watching the little girl drawing turtles on the ground nearby, and had no interest in intervening in the impromptu meeting between Hu Yi and the squad leaders of the ninth squad not far away.
“…How many people know how to swim? Have you counted them?” Hu Yi’s voice, which was not far away, could be barely heard here.
"There are two in our class and three among the new recruits." It was Shi Cheng who answered.
"Starting tomorrow, apart from working, farming and standing guard, all training will have only one content: let those who can swim teach us how to swim. No one should be left behind, and we must learn as soon as possible. In addition, we must make a raft temporarily in case of emergency..."
Hearing this, Luo Fugui threw the branch in his hand at the little girl's feet: "Hey, girl, did you hear that? You will be a duck starting tomorrow. What are you going to do? Do you have to follow us naked men into the water?"
"Bah! You wish. The fox said he would teach me alone." The little girl continued to scribble on the ground with the branch without raising her head.
"Oh, so you two are going to go in the water naked?" Luo Fugui clearly wanted to take the opportunity to disgust the girl.
"Yes, I think so too." The answer was even more powerful.
With a cry of "Ouch", Li Xiang's hand was scalded by the edge of the pot.
The voices from the other end continued: "… The base will be set here. First, we will live here. If we don't get enough rest, we can't do anything. There is no shortage of sand, stone and wood nearby. We will start building the house tomorrow. You will be the first shift... the second shift and the third shift..."
Hearing this, Luo Fugui chuckled: "Did you hear that? Teams 1, 2, and 3 are responsible for building the house, and Team 9 has nothing to do with it. I can't help but accept it. Boss Hu really takes care of me!"
The little girl used the branch to draw the last stroke, and another little turtle was completed. She replied to Luo Fugui, "You wish!"
Luo Fugui was stunned when he heard this, and asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
"The fox told me that squad nine will start repairing the bunker tomorrow."
"What the hell?" The two bear eyes instantly became as big as copper bells.
"Build a bunker." The little girl emphasized again, "It's at the opening in the north of the woods, blocking this place."
"Oh my grandma... who will cook?"
"Originally I was just planning to have our Class Nine repair the bunker. But since you've brought in the cooking job as well, we have to cook and repair the bunker." Anyway, it had nothing to do with the little girl, so she said it in a nonchalant way.
With a cry of "Ouch", Li Xiang's hand was burned by the edge of the pot again.
…
The next morning, smoke rose again, and the small peninsula by the river began to get busy. Some were cutting wood, some were digging sand, some were mixing mud, and some were moving stones. More than 20 soldiers began the basic work in an orderly manner.
Hu Yi left alone. What he had to do was to conduct preliminary investigation. He had to personally grasp the situation of the two access roads in and out of the mountain, Lushuipu and Luoye Village, so that he could have a clear idea of the situation and make subsequent preparations for the task assigned by the political commissar.
Last night, we considered using this muddy river to build a new passage. We learned from Shi Cheng and other local soldiers in the first squad that although the river flows eastward through Lushuipu, there are several sections that flow through cliffs on both sides and are impassable. You can go out by drifting with the current, but you can't come back. You can only go out but not come back, which is considered a half passage, but unfortunately it is useless for the task of getting supplies into the mountains.
We first arrived at the mountain pass in the direction of Lushuipu. When we came back a few days ago, the foundation of the artillery tower had already been built. The Japanese and puppet troops were standing guard around the mountain pass, and hundreds of civilians were working hard under the muzzles of guns and whips, working day and night. Now the bottom floor of the artillery tower has been built and the progress is quite fast.
Then we arrived at the mountain pass in the direction of Luoye Village. Last time, we returned to the Independent Regiment from here under the cover of darkness, because at that time, this place was still under survey and there were not many Japanese and puppet troops. But now, construction has also begun here, and the scale is basically the same as that of Lushuipu, except that the foundation has just been laid.
Hu Yi was worried. Judging from the current situation, if there was news soon that the supplies could be delivered to the mountain, it would be fine. But if it took too long, it would be difficult to deal with the situation once the artillery tower was completed.
Hidden in the distance, he was observing the construction site with a frown on his face...