War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1493 The corpse you can eat

In the haze, Wei Ran felt as if something hot was touching his lips. Then, he woke up from his coma and saw Nurse Ji feeding him soup with a spoon.

"Comrade Wei Ran is awake!"

Amidst the not-so-real exclamations, Wei Ran vaguely saw Squad Leader Liu and others surrounding him.

"Wei Ran, Comrade Wei Ran, how are you feeling now?" Squad Leader Liu asked with concern.

First, Wei Ran looked blankly at the round moon above his head, then murmured guiltily, "I'm sorry for delaying everyone."

"What nonsense did you say?"

Squad Leader Liu patted his thigh and said guiltily, "It's all my fault, if I hadn't been in such a hurry."

"I don't blame you, why should I blame you?"

Wei Ran said quickly, struggling at the same time, and sat up unsteadily with the help of Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa.

After getting used to the dizziness in his head, Wei Ran looked around. It was a small highland. There was no rain or even wind. Not far in front of him, there was a bonfire, and the copper ladle on it was steaming. Son.

Looking through the steaming mist, he could vaguely see that the pot was filled with broken bones.

"How far did you take me?"

Wei Ran asked apologetically. He had already noticed that his simple cloth shoes had been taken off and placed beside the bamboo basket to dry. Even the wounds on his feet were covered with horse manure bags, and there were still pads under his feet that he originally wore. The thatched vest on his body.

"Don't worry about this for now"

Nurse Ji said and handed over an enamel jar, "Can you drink it yourself?"

"can"

Wei Ran nodded, stretched out his trembling hands and took the enamel jar.

In addition to a small piece of bone, there are also rich oily flowers floating on the surface of the soup. In the soup, there were many strips of meat that seemed to be bone marrow, as well as a piece of dried meat and a dozen grains of highland barley that Wei Ran had given to Squad Leader Liu to distribute.

There was even something floating in the soup that seemed to be tree bark powder and two pieces of leather that were almost boiling.

Without bringing it to his mouth at all, Wei Ran swallowed and poured the cup of luxurious hot soup into the still-heating copper ladle.

"Hey, you comrade"

“If you want to eat, let’s eat together”

Wei Ran said, directly scooping up a cup of hot soup from the copper ladle with an enamel jar and pouring it back. Not only did he rush the remaining ingredients in the jar into the pot, but he also completely stirred up what he poured in.

Before the others could say anything, he had already picked up the enamel spoon, scooped up a bowl of hot soup and poured it into the bowl.

"Then let's eat together"

Nurse Ji said before Squad Leader Liu could speak. By the way, she picked up the spoon that Wei Ran had just put down and filled a bowl for everyone.

"tomorrow."

"I'm fine," Wei Ran answered first, "I can get up early tomorrow. I've adapted to it."

"let's talk tomorrow"

The worried squad leader Liu muttered something and reached out to take the enamel jar handed over by Nurse Ji.

"How far have you taken me?" Wei Ran changed the communication partner and threw the unanswered question to Li Zhuang who was sitting next to him.

"There"

Li Zhuang raised his finger and pointed in the direction, "It's probably a hundred feet away. Everyone has no strength. It's hard to carry you here."

"Li Zhuang" Squad Leader Liu glared at Li Zhuang, "Eat!"

"Yes!" Li Zhuang responded quickly, then smiled apologetically at Wei Ran, who also looked apologetic, lowered his head and concentrated on sucking the hot soup in the enamel vat.

Because it didn't rain, this dinner no longer had unlimited refills like yesterday. Instead, Wei Ran got an extra cup of soup because of his weakness.

Stubbornly pouring the cup of soup into the pot again, Squad Leader Liu shook his head helplessly. In the end, he could only pick up the copper ladle. Under Wei Ran's insistence, he shared the remaining soup equally among everyone.

There is no doubt that because Wei Ran fainted due to exhaustion, not only did they fail to shorten the distance between them and the large forces ahead by traveling at night, but they also wasted more time.

The consequences of this were undoubtedly disastrous. Not only was the distance to the front longer, but also because of the good weather, drinking water and fuel were once again insufficient.

This can be seen just by watching Captain Liu and others hurriedly extinguish the campfire and wave the firewood after dinner.

"Or should we keep walking now?"

Wei Ran asked after careful consideration, "We have just eaten, and the weather is rare. I believe you have had enough rest. In this case, we can continue on our way with the light on."

Seeing Squad Leader Liu and others looking at each other, Wei Ran continued, "When it rains during the day, we will have water to drink.

Even if it doesn't rain, at least it won't be as cold as at night, and we can save a lot of firewood. The only thing that needs to be consumed is lamp oil. "

When these conditions were laid out by Wei Ran, the eyes of the others finally lit up.

"I think it's okay"

Zhang Erwa agreed, "It's much better than being exposed to the sun during the day."

"What's your opinion?"

Squad leader Liu, who was also moved, looked at Li Zhuang and Nurse Ji. As for the little lama, he couldn't even understand Chinese, so it was really troublesome to ask him for his opinion.

"Then let's go"

Nurse Ji was the first to express her opinion, "We have all rested in the afternoon. We can walk as far as we can. Anyway, the lamp oil is of no use."

"I'll carry the pole!" Li Zhuang expressed his stance in a more direct way.

"Let me come first"

Zhang Erwa said without any doubt, "I am a probationary member of the party, it is not your turn yet."

"Comrade Wei Ran is not a party member either," Li Zhuang said dissatisfied.

"I'll do it"

As Wei Ran spoke, he had already picked up the rags and leggings hanging by the bamboo basket, "I am a porter, you can't take my job."

"Stop arguing, pack your things quickly, and we'll set off right away." Monitor Liu urged.

"Yes!" Everyone responded in unison. The little lama who was shaking the prayer wheel looked at everyone in surprise, then silently stood up and started packing his things.

After some fighting, Wei Ran finally picked up the pole as he wished, but at this time, apart from the tent blankets, there were only three kettles and a copper ladle filled with broken bones in the bamboo baskets at both ends of the pole. , and a water bottle case that nominally holds a camera.

As for the rest of the things, especially the anti-Japanese sword that belonged to him and the native gun that was assigned to him during the day, they were divided up by others.

On the road again, the little lama used the old sleeve assigned to him to carry the oil lamp and once again walked behind Squad Leader Liu. Wei Ran was assigned to the penultimate position, in front of Nurse Ji.

With the cold moonlight overhead and the weather lantern, at least everything under my feet could be seen barely clearly.

"Shh-"

Less than half an hour after we stayed there on the small highland, Squad Leader Liu who was walking in front suddenly stopped and reminded softly, "Listen, there is a frog croaking."

Hearing this, everyone stopped in unison, and a moment later, they heard the frog's cry of "lonely and lonely" not far away.

"gollum"

Everyone, including Wei Ran, swallowed in unison, but then, Squad Leader Liu took a step forward again.

There is no need to explain at all. Even Wei Ran knows that in this kind of weather, for a group of people like them who are hungry and exhausted and suffering from night blindness, trying to catch the courting frog by sound is far more difficult and dangerous than those who grew up in peace. those people’s imaginations.

"When I used to herd cattle for the landlord, I often went to the paddy fields to catch frogs and fish and roast them." Zhang Erwa swallowed her saliva as she said this, "The biggest one I caught was as big as a duck egg. It was so fat. , it becomes sizzling and oily when roasted over fire.”

"I caught it too"

Li Zhuang, who was walking behind Zhang Erwa, also swallowed, "I prefer catching snakes. They have a lot of meat. If you catch one, you can have a good meal. The snake meat is delicious. The meat is as white as snow. Gululu ——”

Before Li Zhuang finished speaking, everyone heard someone's stomach growl.

"Is that you? Erwa?" Li Zhuang teased with a smile.

"It's not me"

Zhang Erwa denied it flatly, "I think it's you or Comrade Wei Ran. I heard the voice came from behind me."

"It sounds like it's coming from behind me," Li Zhuang quickly agreed.

"I also heard it coming from behind."

Wei Ran, who had been listening quietly, said nonsensically, "That must be Nurse Ji."

"It's not me!"

Nurse Ji, who was walking at the end, swallowed her saliva as she spoke, "I've never eaten toads or snakes before, how evil they are. Gululu——"

Before she could finish her words, the sound of abdominal rumblings reached everyone's ears again. This time it was really coming from Nurse Ji's stomach.

After a brief silence, except for the little lama who didn't know what was going on and Nurse Ji who was blushing behind Wei Ran, everyone else laughed in good faith.

"I really can't imagine what kind of good life it would be like if everyone could have enough to eat in the future."

Squad Leader Liu, who was walking at the front, murmured, and then his stomach growled, and as expected, these young soldiers who were enjoying themselves burst into laughter again. This time, they couldn't even understand. The little lama they were talking about was laughing very happily.

"At that time...well."

Wei Ran only started to speak, but he felt that his throat was being strangled by a large invisible hand, and his eyesight went black.

After this small warning, Wei Ran did not dare to participate in this topic and could only quietly listen to the thoughts of Squad Leader Liu and others.

In their "scarce" imagination and "simple" expectations for the future, the annual harvest is enough to feed the whole family, so that they can survive the lean years without having to work for the landlords to pay their rent.

Even when he had the guts to ask, "What is your favorite food?"

After racking their brains for some thinking, Squad Leader Liu, Li Zhuang, Zhang Erwa, and even Nurse Ji, who was born as a landowner, the answers they gave were only highly similar "fat meat" and "eggs" and " Brown sugar” is all.

During this late-night musing about food, everyone's stomachs rumbled more than once, including Wei Ran and Little Lama, and everyone laughed more than once.

During this late night journey, the weather lantern swayed on the muzzle of the gun carried by the little lama and never went out, and everyone never stopped - even if they no longer had straw sandals to wear.

I don’t know how long it took, but the moon that had been accompanying them was blocked by clouds, and a cold wind blew on the grass.

The cold wind blowing in the face was also mixed with the vague smell of corpses.

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”

Monitor Liu's tone could not tell whether he was happy or worried, but he followed immediately and asked, "Do you smell it?"

“Smell it”

The first person to respond to him was Wei Ran, who was second to last, "Corpse odor, very fresh corpse odor."

"Be careful next time," Squad Leader Liu said, "We should find a place to stop."

Hearing this, everyone increased their vigilance and used the wooden sticks in their hands to check the reality of each step before taking a step forward.

From one meadow to another, as the wind intensified, finally, the rapid raindrops crackled on everyone's bodies, bamboo hats, and the oil lamp that was not afraid of wind and rain.

"Wow—"

In almost a moment, the rain suddenly intensified, and Wei Ran could no longer even see the people in front and behind him, and could only see the shaking oil lamp.

"Nurse Ji! Hold on to the bamboo basket!"

Wei Ran turned around and greeted loudly, but because he used too much force, his eyesight began to turn black.

He clenched the wooden stick stuck in the mud and stood firm. Wei Ran untied the spare leggings around his waist and handed it to Nurse Ji behind him. It wasn't until the other party tightened his grip that he stepped forward again. He quickly caught up with Li Zhuang, who seemed to be waiting for him, and took a leggings strap from the other party's hand.

Soon, a group of six people connected each other with ropes. They followed the leader Liu and moved little by little under the pouring rain.

After walking like this in the wind and rain for ten minutes, Captain Liu who was walking at the front stopped, then took another step and adjusted his direction.

Although he didn't know what was going on, Wei Ran still increased his vigilance and looked around every step he took.

However, the sudden heavy rain not only flowed down the edge of the hat in a very short period of time and filled his already empty water bottle, but also obscured his vision. In addition, the light was dim and it was too far away from him. , he couldn't even see clearly the ground one meter away.

They were led away like a nearly blind man by Captain Liu for nearly half an hour. He gradually noticed that the ground was rising little by little. Although they could not completely leave the muddy water in the end, at least the grass under their feet did not feel like they were walking on. It's a spring bed with nowhere to focus.

"Tent! Set up a tent!" Squad Leader Liu roared loudly, and Wei Ran's indefinable excitement was hidden in his unintelligible tone.

Without bothering to ask, Wei Ran immediately put down the bamboo basket he was carrying. Immediately afterwards, Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa also opened the tattered blanket that had been filled with rainwater. With the help of the others, they struggled to set up a tent that could barely block most of the rainwater.

"just!"

After Captain Liu sat down, he hung the oil lamp carried by the little lama on the pole supporting the tent, pointed in the direction they came from and shouted excitedly, "Where I turned, there seemed to be a drowned horse there. The horse!”

Before anyone could react, he placed a copper gourd outside the tent to catch the rainwater while continuing to shout, "A horse floating on the mud! His belly is swollen and round! Let's go take a look when it gets daylight! Maybe we can Get some meat to eat!"

"it is good!"

Everyone responded excitedly, and their kettles, enamel jars, and any other containers that could be used to hold water were placed outside the tent like a stall, and were picked up one after another in less than a minute. Full.

Can we eat meat when the sun rises?

Everyone couldn't help but swallow when they picked up the enamel jar filled with rainwater, and then poured the cold rainwater into their stomachs, as if the rainwater was mixed with meat.

The cold brought by the heavy rain and the temptation brought by meat made it destined to be an extremely long and difficult night.

In fact, the temptation to eat meat was far greater than the chill brought by the heavy rain. In short, everyone crowded in the small tent had insomnia.

While tossing and turning, Wei Ran himself didn't know how many times he fell asleep and was woken up by the cold. He only remembered that the rain never stopped, and among the people, the oil lamp that could barely be used to keep warm was gone. Always burning.

However, as time went by, the people around them crowded tighter and tighter because of the lower and lower temperature. Later, when the sky gradually turned white and the rain became somewhat lighter, everyone began to sneeze and inhale. Sniffles.

“Can’t wait any longer”

Squad leader Liu said worriedly, "Nurse Ji, come and light the fire. The rest of the comrades, let's go see if the horse can still be eaten."

"Go! Go!"

Li Zhuang and Zhang Erwa, who had been waiting for this order for a long time, were the first to get out of the tent, but they inevitably sat down again due to dizziness caused by excessive movement.

"Take the bamboo basket"

Squad leader Liu called on the little lama and Wei Ran to help Li Zhuang and Li Zhuang up and said, "You also need to take everyone's leggings. Comrade Wei Ran, take your big knife and pole. You can leave the rest without them." Without!"

"Yes!"

Except for the little lama who was a little slow due to the language barrier, the rest of the group responded to Squad Leader Liu's order in unison, and began to take off the leggings on their legs and the spare leggings on their waists, connected them into a rope and threw them in In the basket.

Finally, after getting the necessary things, Wei Ran gestured to the little lama to temporarily leave the box gun on his waist and the old sleeve he had been holding on to all night long. Only then was he fully prepared.

Squad leader Liu was still at the front, and the little lama was still holding the oil lamp. Everyone stepped on the cold grass and walked towards the direction they came from, amidst the sounds of sneezing and sniffing from time to time.

Finally, when Squad Leader Liu stopped again, there was a wooden stick tied with a cloth stuck on the edge of the meadow not far ahead. As expected, there was a stinking horse floating in the mud less than two meters away from the wooden stick. corpses of military horses.

just

But everyone could clearly see that the horse, whose belly was bulging and round and seemed ready to explode at any moment, still had a leg stuck in the stirrup that still existed on its side.