War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 828
In the night, under the guidance of gunfire, a group of five people and two donkeys moved laterally along the waistline of the mountain for more than half an hour, and finally met a man riding on a branch of a banyan tree with a Gurkha bend in one hand. A knife, and the young monk Sehao holding a Webley pistol in one hand.

While everyone was waiting, the barefooted little monk took off the kerosene lamp hanging on the tree trunk like a nimble little monkey, and in the posture of a monkey fishing for the moon, he put the kerosene lamp, machete and revolver together And handed it to Zhou Guochang under the tree, and then jumped down from the tree holding the branch with his hands.

While everyone was waiting, Zhou Guochang communicated with the little monk Sehao and explained, "The little master found a suitable place to rest, and it's not too far away from here."

"Then go and have a look!" Squad leader Liang made a decision, "There must be a place to rest."

Hearing this, Zhou Guochang immediately told the young master Sehao of his decision, and the latter nodded unhurriedly, took the donkey that Wei Ran helped lead, and walked in the front.

Under the leadership of the little monk, the crowd continued to advance along the waistline of the mountain, and finally at a position about four or five hundred meters away, they found a stone lying halfway up the mountain, surrounded by two large truck tires. Dead wood blocked by big trees.

Under the dead tree and between the two big trees, there was just enough space for everyone to lie down side by side.Not only that, but not far away, there is a large area of ​​banana trees and several clusters of tall bamboos.

After the donkey was tied up, the little monk Sehao made gestures while talking, and Zhou Guochang also translated sentence by sentence.

In fact, even without translation, everyone guessed what he meant. It was nothing more than cutting off bamboo and putting it on a dead tree, and then covering it with large banana leaves.

"Just do what your little master says"

Squad leader Liang looked worriedly at the flickering light in the sky, and added, "Everyone, speed up, it looks like it's going to rain soon. Let's learn a lesson this time and start a fire in the shack. "

"I'm going to chop bamboo!"

Before Zhou Guochang could finish his sentence, he put down his back basket, and ran to the bamboo forest not far away with his machete in his hand.

"Let me chop banana leaves." Tan Shouzheng, who was holding a deck in his hand, said indifferently.

"Go chop bamboo too." Squad leader Liang lowered his voice slightly, "Keep an eye on Guochang, don't let him think wildly."

"Leave it to me." Wei Ran nodded, put down the basket as well, drew out the machete, and chased after Zhou Guochang with the little monk Sehao.

In the busyness of the crowd, bamboos as thick as calves were cut back and split in two to cut through the bamboo joints, and then they were cut into natural tiles with a length of three meters.

While the little monk and Zhou Guochang were busy breaking the bamboo, Squad Leader Liang also carefully cleaned up the place under the dead wood, and Wei Ran was busy digging the smoke stove and the shallow pit for fixing the bamboo tiles.

Soon, when Tan Shouzheng came back with one hand dragging piles of banana leaves, everyone immediately cooperated with each other to put the broken bamboo tiles on the dead wood in a positive and negative way. caught in the middle.

Before they could finish their work, another flash of lightning flashed above their heads, followed by deafening thunder.Almost instantly, the torrential rain poured down with a "wow".

"Catch the water!"

Squad leader Liang yelled at the top of his voice, and then called Zhou Guochang for help. First, he carried Luke, who was lying on a stretcher, into the hut that had just been built, and then carried their respective baskets into it one after another.

At the same time, Wei Ran and the young monk Sehao also tied their unloaded donkeys under a tree next to the shack, covered them with waterproof canvas, and dug a hole on the ground. The pit was covered with banana leaves.

Before the two of them finished their work, the banana leaf was filled with water, and the two donkeys, who had been thirsty for a long time, moved their big heads to drink in big gulps.

Signaling Wei Ran to protect himself from the rain, the little monk Sehao took out a small bamboo tube from his arms and opened it. He poured out a small handful of coarse salt and sprinkled it on the banana leaves, then pointed to the place two meters away. shack.

By the time they got into the shack, Squad Leader Liang had already disemboweled the little bear who had died on the road, and put the internal organs and other things by category on the banana leaves prepared in advance.

Not far from him, Tan Shouzheng had already lit the bonfire again in the hearth dug by Wei Ran. At the same time, Zhou Guochang also carefully pasted the mud dug from the outside of the shack on the side next to the smoke stove. Bamboo shingles are used for thermal insulation.

Even Luke, who was lying on a stretcher, was holding a hatchet to help chop the firewood he brought from the cave where the Buddha statue was chiseled.

Seeing this, Wei Ran smiled, and simply chopped the machete in his hand on the trunk of the big tree that was as thick as a truck tire, then took off his clothes, and then turned over from the back basket Out of the soap and towels bought in Muncie Town, I put on straw sandals and walked to an open space not blocked by the tree canopy.

"Is he taking a bath?" Zhou Guochang asked dully.

"I guess so." Tan Shouzheng rubbed the mud on his neck to repel mosquitoes, "I want to go too later."

"Go and go now"

Squad leader Liang put the only iron pot on the stove while speaking, "I don't think this rain will stop until dawn, so let's take a rest and get rid of the meat by the way."

"Still resting?" Tan Shouzheng asked with a bitter face, "Can we still catch up with the large army?"

"Now keep going and catch up? With such a heavy rain, we might be washed away when we reach the foot of the mountain."

Squad leader Liang angrily extended the enamel pot outside the shed to catch some rainwater and poured it into the pot, then threw the fat he had just torn from the bear into the pot, "If you want to wash it, go quickly! If you don't want to go, just go Help me light the fire!"

"Go, why don't you go?" Tan Shouzheng patted Zhou Guochang on the shoulder deliberately, and said with a smile, "I'll leave the job of lighting the fire to you."

After finishing speaking, Tan Shouzheng didn't wait for the other party to agree, he randomly pulled out a dirty towel from the back basket and rushed into the pouring rain outside.

"You go wash up too." Squad leader Liang said to Zhou Guochang while he was busy, "Look, little master has gone to take a bath."

"I, I will help you"

"Help me! Go!"

Squad leader Liang dug out a piece of soap and a new towel that Wei Ran had given him from his bag, and stuffed them into Zhou Guochang's hands, "Remember to bring them back to me, hurry up!"

"I'll be back soon!"

After Zhou Guochang finished speaking, he hurriedly kicked off his British ammunition boots, put on a pair of straw sandals and rushed into the rain.

"It's nice to be young"

Squad leader Liang muttered enviously, and at the same time, he didn't forget to use the frying spoon to turn the pieces of meat in the pot that started to sizzle.

"Or do you want to wash it too?" Luke struggled to move to the stove, "I can cook these bear meat for you."

"forget it"

Squad leader Liang took out a piece of firewood and ignited the pipe, "Our team leader said that your British cooking skills are as unreliable as your promises."

Luke smiled indifferently, stared at the splint on his leg for a long time, and said abruptly, "Liang, even though you said that, I still have something to tell you."

"What's the matter? Going after your British army?" Squad Leader Liang asked nonchalantly, clicking on his cigarette pouch.

"It's up to you to decide." Luke shook his head, signaling Squad Leader Liang to get closer.

At the same time, outside the shack, Wei Ran, who was standing on a banana leaf, finally washed off the stinky mud that had been stuck on his body all day, and took off the shorts and top he was wearing, and rubbed them indiscriminately.

Not far from him, the little monk Sehao was also seriously taking a bath.Tan Shouzheng, on the other hand, was showing off loudly to Zhou Guochang while taking a shower, that he hid by the river to peek at his younger sister taking a shower before going abroad to fight.

After lending the soap to the young monk Sehao, Wei Ran walked into the shack carrying the washed clothes.Then it was discovered that the atmosphere seemed a bit wrong.

"What's the matter with you?" Wei Ran looked curiously at the silent Luke and Squad Leader Liang, and at the same time couldn't help sniffling.

"It's okay." Squad leader Liang waved his hand, "Quickly dry yourself and put on your clothes."

Hearing this, Wei Ran didn't think much about it, he dried the water stains on his body and changed into clothes, and also hung the washed clothes on the ceiling to dry.

Thanks to the help of this heavy rain, when Squad Leader Liang poured the boiled fat into his precious bamboo tube, Wei Ran also filled everyone's kettles with boiling water, and a few extra emergency made out of bamboo tubes water tank.

And Tan Shouzheng and others who had also taken a bath also spread banana leaves on the floor of the shack, and honestly let the little monk apply herbal medicine to the wounds on their bodies.

At about three or four o'clock in the morning, the torrential rain was still falling non-stop, but in the center of the shack where everyone gathered, the lunch boxes of the British army were already filled with stewed rice and browned rice. In the bamboo bowl, there is turtle broth with oily flakes and chunks of meat.

Not to mention, in the middle of the enamel pot, there is a large pot full of steaming dried bamboo shoots and stewed bear meat.

Although I didn't sleep all night, although it was still pouring rain outside, although most people were slightly or seriously injured, it was obvious that everyone needed to eat a big meal at this time, even if no one knew, why Such a great meal.

Waiting patiently for Squad Leader Liang to also go outside to take a shower and come back, everyone picked up bamboo bowls containing broth and bumped into each other.

No one spoke, let alone a toast.At this time, including the little monk Sehao, everyone who survived the catastrophe was using spoons or chopsticks to eat meat and drink soup, thinking about their own thoughts.

After eating a meal until dawn, everyone who was full of stomachs found a place to lie down, digested the food in their stomachs, or spent the moment of peace brought by the heavy rain in the lingering incense smoke.

At some point, Wei Ran, who was full of food and drink, also fell asleep, and along with everyone else, snored in the rainstorm.

When he was woken up again by the knocking of pots and pans, the sky outside the shack was much brighter, but the rain didn't seem to stop at all, but Squad Leader Liang and Zhou Guochang were too busy cooking porridge and chopping firewood. It's fun.

"When are we going to leave?" Wei Ran reached out to pick up a piece of charcoal, and asked while carefully rubbing the dirt between his teeth.

"Wait a little longer." Squad Leader Liang pointed to the direction of the foot of the mountain, "Guochang just went to see it, and now the valley has become a river, so it's impossible to get through."

"It's been another day with the big army," Tan Shouzheng yawned and complained, "At our speed, there is no way we can catch up with the big army."

Squad leader Liang snorted noncommittally as a response, but didn't say anything after all, but just silently lit the cigarette, and at the same time glanced worriedly at Luke who was still sleeping soundly.

(End of this chapter)