The two investigators who were tracking the fleeing civilians returned and reported the situation in detail to Platoon Leader Ye, who was leading the team to rest temporarily in the ruins.
There is a camp on the river bank about ten miles south of here. Because it is an artificial open area, we cannot get close for reconnaissance. The camp is also in a forest, so we cannot see the specific situation. Based on the area, we guess that the scale is not large. There are a few Eighth Route Army soldiers and a few civilians.
Platoon Leader Ye nodded without saying anything. He took out a map and asked the scout to mark the location of the camp on it. Then he made a small mark and wrote next to it: Location No. 16 of the remaining hiding place.
"Platoon leader, should we take this place out? There aren't many of them."
He held the map in his pocket and shook his head: "No need, this is not our job. Just because we go out to rest this time doesn't mean we won't come back. It's not worth it to leak the news for this."
…
Two Eighth Route Army soldiers cautiously appeared at the edge of a woods and looked forward. A ruin on the hillside was silent in the sunlight.
"Sergeant, do you think they are still there?" a soldier muttered to the side.
"Yes, they must be there." It was Ma Liang who spoke.
"But I don't think... there's anyone there?"
"It's precisely because it doesn't look like there's anyone there that you have to first determine if there's someone there."
The soldier scratched his head and finally figured out that the squad leader meant to be careful and not make any mistakes: "Who could they be?"
"I don't know. You hide here and keep an eye on it. Don't come out unless I call your name." Ma Liang carefully shrank into the dense bushes and moved stealthily to the other side of the woods. Then he straightened his back and walked out of the woods and onto a path in the field. While looking around, he walked towards the ruins of Qingshan Village.
The closer he got to the ruins, the more Ma Liang felt that there was something wrong with them, so strange that he couldn't even hear the chirping of insects or birds. The villagers said they looked like their own people, but who in the independent regiment didn't know that the ninth platoon was stationed at the wine station? The villagers said they looked shabby, and they could be friendly troops from the north, or they could be bandits who had wandered here.
He moved his hand away from the holster and gave up the idea of drawing the gun. Even if they were bandits, they wouldn't just shoot them without saying a word, right
He stepped into the ruins and just passed a broken wall when he heard a low shout from the side: "Don't move." A gun was already pointed at Ma Liang.
He deliberately spread out his palms and slowly raised both hands. He was considering whether he should look back at the gunmen, when several gunmen jumped out from the rubble in front of him. Although their clothes were a bit mixed, they were basically Eighth Route Army uniforms. They looked a bit old, torn and dirty, but not as shabby as the villagers described.
A red-faced man in a worn Eighth Route Army uniform came up to him, looked up and down at Ma Liang who had his hands raised, but frowned slightly and said nothing.
Ma Liang looked at the person in front of him, frowned slightly and said nothing, because the man looked a little familiar, but he couldn't remember who he was for a moment.
"Are you... from the 9th Squad of the Independent Regiment?" the red-faced man finally asked.
At this moment, Ma Liang finally remembered who this person was. He let out a breath and put down his hands: "Captain Wang, we were the ninth squad back then, and now we are the ninth platoon."
…
Japanese shouts rang out from the mountain pass blocked by the artillery tower, and the machine guns stopped firing abruptly, and then Platoon Leader Ye appeared, raised his hands and walked towards the artillery tower. Soon after, all the guns in the artillery tower were removed from the firing platform, and a team of more than a dozen exhausted beggars appeared.
The Japanese in the artillery tower distributed the canned food to the beggars on the spot. The Japanese sergeant stationed in the artillery tower and Platoon Leader Ye were talking in Japanese.
After looking at Platoon Leader Ye's credentials, the Japanese sergeant immediately stood up straight and was very respectful to the beggar-like Platoon Leader Ye. Even though Platoon Leader Ye was not from the Meixian area, his military rank was too different from the other's.
Perhaps it was because he had been a fake Eighth Route Army soldier for too long, this feeling made Platoon Leader Ye smile unnaturally.
"Thank you for your hard work. I will send someone to take you to the county seat. The major will be very happy to see you."
Platoon Leader Ye nodded and said, "I found a small Eighth Route Army stronghold right under your noses. It's by the river a dozen miles south of Qingshan Village. There aren't many people there. I think you can take it out when you have time."
"Thank you very much for your reminder. We know about this stronghold because our people have already infiltrated there. We are very clear about their every move." The Japanese sergeant explained, with a hint of pride in his expression.
Not expecting this, Platoon Leader Ye smiled bitterly: "It seems that your work here... is more successful than ours."
…
The Captain Wang that Ma Liang met in Qingshan Village was the same Captain Wang he met on the road when Class 9 was being chased by the detective team and the Japanese. It was also the Captain Wang who took away a strong ox and 3,000 kilograms of food when he knelt down during the food crisis.
A few dozen miles north of Qingshan Village is the area within the range of the friendly army. Captain Wang's activity area is relatively closest to Qingshan Village. This time he only brought a dozen soldiers and accidentally arrived near Qingshan Village. He found that although the village had become a ruin, the crops were not deserted, so he was also curious about who was taking care of these fields.
Before Captain Wang arrived, the villagers who were busy with farming were scared away by Captain Ye's men, so Captain Wang and his men squatted in the ruins and finally waited for Ma Liang to come. Ma Liang originally came for Captain Ye's men, but unexpectedly ran into Captain Wang. He preconceived that these people the villagers saw were indeed friendly forces, and they were the first to have contact with Class 9.
He thought Qingshan Village was an uninhabited area, but he didn't expect that the 9th platoon of the independent regiment was now staying here. The 9th platoon was the original 9th squad. This made Captain Wang a little embarrassed. He didn't know what to say for a moment. He wanted to smile at Ma Liang, but instead he squeezed out an awkward expression.
Ma Liang understood why he was embarrassed, and immediately stood at attention to Captain Wang: "Captain Wang, you must have walked a long way to get here, come to our place to have a good rest and refresh yourself, and remember the way. It's not far, it's towards the South River."
Hearing Ma Liang say this and smiling frankly, Captain Wang could no longer be petty: "Haha, then go and be the guest and get to know the family."
…
Sun Cui wanted to make some achievements before Su Qing arrived. She thought about the mass work in Dabizhuang and Xinghua Village, such as sewing shoe soles, making military uniforms, and promoting support for the army and resistance against Japan. As a backward element, she really couldn't do better than others.
Besides, the newly established Jiuzhan Village had less than 70 people in total. Excluding the militia and the main laborers who went to the farm every day, what achievements could the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled people make by sewing shoe soles? After thinking about it, she decided that if she wanted to stand out, she had to do something that others didn't have and that the Eighth Route Army was in short supply. After careful research with the villagers, she decided to make soap and dyes.
The soap in the city can't be made, but there are soapberry trees in the mountains, and backward elements like Sun Cui who occasionally like to show off know some old recipes. Boil the soapberry fruit, mash it, mix it with flour, and condense it with your favorite fragrant materials to make soap. This is the easiest thing to do at present. The raw materials are all in the mountains. It is better than making shoes, right? At least this is what the health team needs, right? You can definitely exchange soap for shoes, but you can't exchange shoes for soap!
The initial business was finalized, and Sun Cui told everyone to start making preparations. Before leaving the village to cross the river, a woman who was good at embroidery handed a piece of red cloth to Sun Cui: "Sister Sun, this is what you wanted, take a look and see if it fits."
"You finished the embroidery so quickly? Wow, sister, you really have great skills."
"It's just a word, it's not difficult. Here are the remaining thread." The woman smiled sheepishly and handed over a bundle of white thread and a needle.
"Hey, we are all family, you can keep it and use it, look at how your patch has torn." Throwing the needle and thread back to the other party, Sun Cui looked at the red cloth in her hand happily, and walked towards the river without looking up. The woman also happily collected the needle and thread, excited about this unexpected reward.
…
"Girl, you are still reluctant to be the village chief. Come here, I'll give you something good!" Sun Cui, who had got ashore, greeted Xiao Hongying with a smile.
"I don't want a bellyband!" The little girl saw Sun Cui holding a red cloth in her hand, which should be the one she pulled out of her room two days ago.
“It’s not a bellyband.”
"You cut off such a big piece of red cloth. Did you turn it into a red handkerchief?" The little girl was still not impressed.
"Don't regret it if you don't want it!" Sun Cui walked closer and unfolded the object in her hand.
A pair of beautiful big eyes immediately widened, the little braid froze in the air, and there was an armband made of red cloth, on which was embroidered a neat and beautiful white word: RED.
The red cloth was scavenged from the little maid's room, and the words were written by Li Xiang on it, and then embroidered by a woman who was good at embroidery.
"How is it? Is this the thing you like? You really don't want it? Then I..." Sun Cui asked with a proud smile.
Xiao Hongying didn't hesitate any longer. She grabbed the armband and put it on her left arm hurriedly.
"Village Chief Hongying, do you have any objections this time?"
"The village chief is the village chief. I can stand up to Secretary Su, but I can't stand up to the political commissar. Let me make it clear to you first." After pinning the armband on her left arm, the little girl immediately felt that she was so beautiful. What kind of flower hairband, bow, green handkerchief, rag doll, which one can be as majestic as this! This is beauty!
If you don't know the appearance, you are a fool. The little girl with a red armband on her left arm appeared in a neat military uniform under the big tree in the middle of the open space. She stood with her hands on her waist and observed every soldier passing by, just to highlight the word "red" on the armband. Every soldier who saw her was so upset that his face was filled with frowns and his jaw dropped. This effect made her feel elated and happy to the extreme.
Ma Liang, who led Captain Wang and his party into the wine station, was not spared either. He almost fell down when he was not paying attention. What was wrong with this kid? Armband! Oh my! Wouldn't it be more appropriate to write "Pioneer Team"? It's fine if she was arrogant at other times, but she had to show off when the guests came. The ninth row was embarrassed by her.
Captain Wang turned around and was also stunned. This scene was too dazzling, and the contrasting environment seemed unreal. Is this little girl the same little girl as before? I have seen her twice, but I have never paid close attention to her, and just thought she was a child.
Now you have to look carefully even if you don't want to. The small cloth shoes are delicate black, the short leggings are freehand, the military uniform is delicate but the small chest is held high, the exquisite military belt is tied neatly, the small braids are tied unruly, and the red armband with a white "red" embroidered on it is worn on the left arm, which is the finishing touch of arrogance.
Captain Wang murmured subconsciously: "It's impossible for the Eighth Route Army to be so good-looking..."
This voice finally attracted the little girl's attention and turned over: "Huh? Are you... Captain Wang?"
Captain Wang didn't react, and still led a dozen soldiers in ragged clothes and dirty shoes to look at the heroic Xiao Hongying in a daze...