War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1487 Mars

"Aah sneeze!"

In the soaked tent, Wei Ran, who was almost sitting in the water, sneezed involuntarily as a gust of cold wind blew.

He hardly slept a wink all night. Although the heavy rain in the first half of the night made everyone full and filled all the containers that could be used to store water, it also took away the sultry heat before the rain and the heat after it started. The only warmth left in the tent.

Especially in the second half of the night, when the heavy rain gradually turned into snow and finally into hailstones the size of fingertips, Wei Ran almost felt much colder than the first night after entering this period of history.

Fortunately, the hail finally stopped just over an hour ago, and the shabby tent made of sheets and torn blankets was not torn by the hail.

Lifting a frozen foot that was about to lose consciousness from the cold water and rubbing it, Wei Ran looked at Squad Leader Liu beside him, and then at Nurse Ji and others behind him who were also awake.

"Comrades, roll call." Squad leader Liu started the routine roll call while trembling.

As the names were read out one by one, everyone responded one after another while trembling.

"This is. This is breakfast."

As Squad Leader Liu said, he took out a spoonful of highland barley grains that had been boiled last night and soaked in the remaining two mouthfuls of broth overnight from the copper ladle. "Everyone. Ah! 5 per person. Come on, eat it! Let’s go after eating.”

Shiveringly, he opened his palm and allowed Squad Leader Liu to shake out five poor grains of barley from the enamel spoon.

After making sure that everyone had received the soaked barley grains, Squad Leader Liu threw his portion into his mouth, then stood up unsteadily and said, "Comrades, get ready to go."

Following the order, everyone sat up from the cold water with difficulty, ducked out of the tent one by one, and threw their own breakfast into their mouths.

Everyone knew that they would have to walk a long way today, so they didn't save on a breakfast that would only fill their teeth at most. Instead, they hoped that those few grains of highland barley would provide more energy.

Carefully wringing out the accumulated rainwater and ice on the blanket, and then gathering everyone's tableware, kitchen utensils, and bamboo baskets to protect them from wind and rain, Wei Ran once again put the pole on his shoulders and walked behind Squad Leader Liu.

This time, in order to reduce his burden, Squad Leader Liu and Nurse Ji both carried their respective satchels on their shoulders, and even the anti-Japanese sword that belonged to Wei Ran. At this time. No, strictly speaking, since the photo was taken yesterday , and it was always carried on the little lama’s back.

In other words, at this time, the four bamboo baskets stacked on top of each other at both ends of his pole mainly contained copper ladles, kettles, food, blankets to protect from wind and rain, spare straw sandals, box cannons, etc. . And, of course, there’s the camera he nominally keeps in a bamboo basket.

Although the load was shared a lot, due to the rain and snow all night last night, every time Wei Ran took a step, the cold muddy water would submerge most of his calves and even his knees easily.

This undoubtedly made their progress much slower than they planned, but even so, no one hesitated.

Amidst the sound of wading in the water, a murky swamp that had been disturbed by the rain all night, and as everyone raised their feet, clouds of black mud mist emerged one after another, as well as the stench they had become accustomed to.

In the second half of the team, Li Zhuang, Zhang Erwa and Nurse Ji were not only busy on their way, they were also observing their surroundings, looking for any supplies that could be eaten, used or burned.

"Rumble" A war drum was beaten in the dark clouds above the head after a flash of light, and a moment later, huge raindrops fell again.

What a thief

Wei Ran cursed secretly, gently put down the fluttering bag, and tightened the rope of the bamboo hat on his head to prevent it from being blown away by the wind and rain.

Pushed by the intensifying wind and rain, Wei Ran felt his steps become lighter as he picked up the pole again.

"Follow closely!" Squad Leader Liu reminded loudly. Soon, even his reminders from time to time were completely covered up by the sound of the rainstorm.

But even so, Squad Leader Liu had no intention of asking everyone to stop and take shelter from the rain.

Of course Wei Ran understood what the other party was thinking. The terrain here was low-lying. Even if they stopped to take shelter from the rain, there would be no better position than last night, not to mention that their clothes were soaked through.

In other words, they must at least find fuel for heating before they stop when it gets dark, otherwise. Otherwise, everyone will just freeze to death on this endless grass.

What he can understand, others naturally understand better, so everyone's pace is getting faster and faster.

Gradually, Wei Ran felt that his strength was getting weaker and weaker, and his body was getting colder and colder. Even the hand holding the pole began to tremble uncontrollably under the beating of the rain.

Just at this moment, an arm with water droplets stretched out from behind and took the pole before he could react.

"Hey you——"

Before Wei Ran could finish his words, he felt his eyes turning black, and he quickly tightened his grip on the wooden stick that was stuck in the mud.

"Let me choose for a while!"

Zhang Erwa said, already holding the pole steady, and walked past Wei Ran.

"Let's go, don't stop. If you stop, you won't be able to walk." Nurse Ji said, already grabbing his sleeve and pulling him forward hard.

"I can walk on my own." As Wei Ran spoke, he gritted his teeth and took steps, but was unable to break away from Nurse Ji's support and pull.

Wei Ran didn't know where this thin, pretty young girl got the strength, but she pulled him across the meadows, never letting go of his tattered cuffs.

Gritting his teeth and walking a few steps quickly, Wei Ran grabbed Nurse Ji's bony wrist with his backhand and pulled her forward again and again.

In this mutual support, this team of only 6 people, including Wei Ran, has not stopped since the morning.

What also didn't stop was the heavy rain falling overhead. Even near noon, the heavy rain stopped briefly for only four or five minutes and turned into hailstones the size of cherries!

"Quick! Get together!"

Squad leader Liu shouted heart-breakingly and shouted to everyone to gather around. Zhang Erwa also quickly took out the bamboo basket and distributed it to everyone to put on their heads.

The little lama and nurse Ji who were not assigned to the bamboo basket were surrounded by other people with bamboo baskets on their heads, and the already soaked blankets were covered on the bamboo hats they held up with their hands.

Helping to grab a corner of the blanket, Wei Ran, who had a bamboo basket on his head, carefully curled up to avoid the ice chunks that were smashed down by thunderbolts, but he had no time to worry about the meadow where his legs were trapped, and the very short icicles on the meadow. Over time, a layer of chill brought by hail accumulated.

Fortunately, the crackling sound only lasted for less than ten minutes and then stopped. They even saw the sun above their heads that they had hated yesterday but had not seen for a long time.

But in this short period of less than ten minutes, everywhere you look is covered and filled with fine ice lumps.

"Let's go!"

As Squad Leader Liu spoke, he slowly stood up straight. At the same time, he took off the bamboo basket on his head and put on the bamboo hat again.

This time, the only carrying pole still did not return to Wei Ran's shoulders. Instead, it was carried by Squad Leader Liu himself.

Not in a hurry to get back his job, Wei Ran grabbed a handful of hailstones from the bamboo hat he had just placed at his feet, put a few in his mouth, and then filled the water bottle hanging around his waist.

Waiting for Nurse Ji and Li Zhuang to fill up the kettles and the copper gourd that still contained a complete water bird meat. This team once again followed the original formation, led by the young lama and squad leader Liu, and moved forward bit by bit towards the increasingly clear mountain at the end of the field of vision.

As the saying goes, they can see the mountain but not the horse. Not only are there no horses, but even the road under their feet is extremely difficult to walk. What's more, they only ate a few grains of highland barley in the morning.

"Wow!"

Just after the hailstorm, and the team continued to set off for more than an hour, the young lama walking in front tilted his body without warning and fell onto a meadow soaked in water.

"Little Lama!"

Everyone let out a cry of surprise and gathered around him at a faster pace.

As he got closer, Wei Ran also noticed that the little lama who was carrying the anti-Japanese sword for him had already turned black and blue on his lips, and his whole body was trembling.

Without any hesitation, Squad Leader Liu took off his thatched vest.

"Let him wear mine."

Nurse Ji said, "At least the inside of my brown linen vest is not wet yet."

Before she finished speaking, she had already taken off her vest and put it on the little lama.

"Wear mine." Monitor Liu took off his vest without any refusal and handed it to Nurse Ji. "I"

"Dress!"

Squad leader Liu stuffed the vest into Nurse Ji and said seriously, "All of us can get sick, but you can't. Comrade Ji Chunlan, if everyone is sick, we can still count on you to save them. There are more comrades ahead who are already sick. Waiting for your rescue."

Having said this, Squad Leader Liu looked at Wei Ran and the others, "We have no people in the cooking class, but other comrades are there to cook for everyone. Comrade Wei Ran, the porter, is gone, and there are also people to carry the poles.

The little lama is not yet a Red Army soldier. The consciousness of our Red Army soldiers is to prevent the common people from suffering.

So comrades, even if all of us cannot get out, we must first save the little lama and secondly find a way to let Nurse Ji get out. This is an order! "

"Yes!"

Wei Ran, Li Zhuang, and Zhang Erwa roared out a powerful response in unison amid Nurse Ji's bewildered and panicked look.

"Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa, make stretchers and carry the little lama."

Squad Leader Liu issued a new order, and at the same time handed two stacked diabolo baskets to Wei Ran, "Comrade Wei Ran, please help carry these two."

"You, the cooking squad leader, have to survive, and everyone still expects you to have a full stomach."

As Wei Ran spoke, he involuntarily stacked one of the bamboo baskets containing a lot of sundries on top of his own two baskets, and then took out two spare leggings.

"Stop fighting"

While Wei Ran was making a suspender out of leggings, he said before Squad Leader Liu could speak, "You are also responsible for exploring the road. I'm not worried that you will be carrying so many belongings, or should I be the one to explore the road?"

"It's not your turn yet"

Squad Leader Liu shook his head and stopped arguing. He also took out the spare leggings and tied them to the bamboo basket left for him, and carried it on his back.

After a while, Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa also made a stretcher using two pairs of poles and their tattered blankets, and worked together to lift the little lama onto it.

"Give me two bamboo baskets"

Nurse Ji looked at Wei Ran and said seriously, "Let me do something, and I can carry it!"

Opening his mouth, Wei Ran sighed silently, took out a diabolo basket and handed it to the other party, "One is enough."

Before he finished speaking, he had already carried the remaining two bamboo baskets stacked together on his shoulders.

"How is the little lama's condition?" Wei Ran asked before Nurse Ji was about to say anything.

"He needs to be warmed up as soon as possible"

Nurse Ji glanced at the little lama who was lying on a simple stretcher and wrapped in a torn blanket, and said worriedly, "We still need to eat something, something hot, and we need to eat it as soon as possible."

"The little high ground in front"

Squad leader Liu bent down and picked up the anti-Japanese sword that was originally carried by the young lama and put it in the bamboo basket. He raised his finger and pointed diagonally ahead, "There. It looks higher. Go there."

Without hesitation, everyone followed Squad Leader Liu's footsteps, stepping on the soft but cold biting grass and mud, as well as the ice lumps covering the mud and meadow, and walked towards the small highland little by little.

This time, Wei Ran was in second place. Behind him was the little lama being carried by Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa. Next to the simple stretcher was Ji, who had been holding the little lama's wrist and looking for his pulse. Nurse.

After walking for more than half an hour, Wei Ran and Squad Leader Liu struggled to climb up the small plateau on the slippery grass and mud, almost using their hands and feet. Then they took off the leggings and connected them together, and with difficulty put the rest of the people together. He was dragged up.

Maybe it was due to hunger, or maybe it was because of the altitude. Just this kind of activity made Wei Ran feel like a fish thrown on the shore. He felt like he couldn't breathe at all, and his brain was dizzy.

With difficulty, Wei Ran lay down on his back, patiently taking deep breaths one after another until his body completely recovered, and then he slowly got up again.

"We don't have firewood," Nurse Ji, who was kneeling beside the stretcher and covered in mud and water, said almost desperately.

"We have it."

Squad Leader Liu, who failed to stand up after several attempts, simply sat on the grass. He reached out and pulled out the anti-Japanese sword that belonged to Wei Ran from the bamboo basket, and then fumbled and took out the wooden gun box. box cannon.

"carrying pole"

Squad leader Liu said feebly, "Burn the poles and the gun boxes. If that's not enough, just burn the bamboo baskets."

"Let me do it"

Wei Ran glanced at Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa, who were also tired from carrying the stretcher, and reached out to take the anti-Japanese sword that belonged to him from Squad Leader Liu.

"Cut these skins off."

Squad leader Liu handed the box of cannon to Wei Ran and said, "Wait a minute. Cook it. Cook it and eat it."

"it is good"

As he spoke, Wei Ran took over the gun case, pulled out the cannon inside and returned it to Squad Leader Liu. He used an anti-Japanese sword to cut off the leather on the gun box and put it aside temporarily, and then roughly chopped the wooden gun box into thin pieces. Long wooden strips.

By the time he chopped the two poles into sizes suitable for burning, Squad Leader Liu and Nurse Ji had built a windproof stove with mud and turf, and the copper ladle that still contained a lot of ice lumps was also Put it on top.

Even the little lama, who was hypothermic, was carried to the bonfire waiting to be lit. At this time, Nurse Ji was taking out the small bamboo tube from her satchel, pouring out the butter candle inside, and breaking off some fingernail-sized pieces. Put a piece of it into the little lama's mouth - this is the only treatment method this young nurse can carry out.

Almost as soon as Li Zhuang and others set up a windproof tent with the soaked ragged blanket, Wei Ran also took out the fire sickle and the glass medicine bottle containing tinder from Squad Leader Liu's bag.

Hiding in a sheltered place, Wei Ran first sucked the water stains off his hands with his mouth, and then carefully pinched out a small ball of tinder and pressed it on the flint.

As the fire sickle struck again and again, a cluster of sparks finally fell on the tinder.

Throwing away the fire sickle and blowing carefully for a few breaths, Wei Ran waited patiently for the sparks on the tinder to spread, and then quickly put on top the wood chips he had just scraped off the gun case.

Under his careful care, the sparks gradually turned into flames, which ignited the thin bamboo slices, and then ignited the wooden sticks chopped out of the gun box. Finally, a charcoal fire strong enough to heat a copper ladle was lit in the humid simple stove.

Wei Ran didn't stop at all. After hastily putting away the fire sickle and flint, he quickly picked up the leather just cut from the gun case and looked at it. Then he shook his head at Squad Leader Liu, "These leathers are stained with It’s full of gun oil and you’ll be poisoned if you eat it.”

"Then eat this."

Squad Leader Liu said, taking off his belt from his waist and handing it to Wei Ran.

After taking the belt, Wei Ran raised his knife and chopped it into pieces of skin the size of mahjong pieces, and then threw them into the pot according to Squad Leader Liu's instructions.

Seeing Monitor Liu looking at her, Nurse Ji immediately took out her knife, generously cut off a section less than one centimeter long from the butter candle and threw it into the pot.

After she rinsed the remaining oil stains on the knife in the cold soup, Wei Ran looked at the fuel he had just chopped out urgently, and after a moment's hesitation, he pulled over a soaked bamboo basket.

This bamboo basket must be burned as soon as possible while the remaining dry fuel is still abundant. Otherwise, when only the bamboo basket is left, even if these soaked baskets are broken into bamboo strips, it will be impossible to easily set them on fire. .

As for what to do next without the bamboo basket, let’s survive first and then think about these things.

When the split bamboo strips were stuffed into the stove and pressed on the bonfire, the thick white smoke also dispersed. The trace of warmth contained in the smoke also made everyone around the bonfire shiver.

(End of this chapter)