The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 14: A Feast

...According to a regulation on the food standards of the National Army issued in 1935:
During daily training, each soldier could receive 22 taels of rice or 26 taels of flour per day; in addition, they received 4 taels of fresh meat and canned meat, taels each of dried vegetables and pickles, qian of salt, and qian of soy sauce.

During wartime, in order to soothe the soldiers' tense nerves, the daily supply of liquor and sugar was increased by two taels.

Even though one catty weighed sixteen taels during the Republic of China period, the above daily food supply standard was still enough to meet daily energy consumption.

Unfortunately, standards are just standards. During the long War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, such standards were never truly fulfilled. Many times, the brothers were hungry and fighting desperately with the Japanese.

Before you die, you can't even die of fullness.

...Excerpt from Hu Biao's diary collection "Hu Shuo"...

Around 6:40 in the morning, Hu Biao, Zhou Kun and a group of five people were squatting in a row, holding a large bowl in their hands, and drinking porridge with big gulps.

Perhaps it is because there is no oil in the food, but the physical energy consumption is quite astonishing.

It's only been over a week since these five unlucky guys who came here from the modern dimension have more than doubled their appetite.

Even so, I often feel hungry again less than two hours after eating.

In such a situation, the company commander Feng Yaozu did not have a stern face. He walked straight past the five people with a smile and came in front of Zhou Youcai who was smoking a pipe.

He said to the old squad leader: "Squad leader Zhou, I see that the brothers have worked hard in training these days.

So I used some connections to get some pork and flour from the logistics department, and someone will deliver it this morning. You can do something so that the brothers can have a good lunch."

Faced with this request, the old squad leader opened his mouth and said:
"Maomada (no problem), I'll make some oil-splashed noodles and roujiamo for the kids. I'll pair them with garlic, and they'll taste amazing~"

Because the conditions of the special forces company's temporary base were very limited, the so-called kitchen was just a shack, so there was naturally no possibility of a dedicated canteen.

When eating, each person usually holds a large bowl and squats near the kitchen to eat and drink.

Therefore, the conversation between the company commander and the old squad leader fell into the ears of everyone in the special forces company.

By the way! Those who have never experienced a long period of time without any oil or water in their stomachs cannot understand the body's desire for fats, proteins, etc., which seems to come from the cells.

When the people in the special forces company heard that they could have a feast tonight, they all cheered loudly.

Let such a morning be filled with an indescribable joyful atmosphere.

Perhaps it was because he saw that Young Master Feng, who was usually serious, was in a surprisingly good mood today. Zhou Kun swallowed his saliva caused by the thought of the big fat meat, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.

That’s right! Young Master Feng is the nickname that everyone in the Special Agent Company privately calls Company Commander Feng Yaozu.

In the past two or three days, everyone has used various channels to find out more about their own Captain Feng.

For example, their young Captain Feng came from the Feng family in Wuhu.

The Feng family is one of the wealthiest families in the area, with considerable influence and connections in both government and business circles. Feng Yaozu is also the eldest son of the eldest son, and can be said to be a young master born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

This young master Feng is also very capable and has been famous in Wuhu for his intelligence since he was a child.

Originally, the Feng family's parents planned to send Feng Yaozu to the West to broaden his horizons after he finished studying at a domestic university, and then gradually take over everything in the Feng family.

But after graduating from high school, Feng Yaozu felt that the country was in a difficult situation, so he directly entered the Whampoa Military Academy and became a student of the 11th class.

He had good grades in school, but before he officially graduated, the National Army fought with the Japanese at Lugou Bridge. Feng Yaozu wrote a blood oath and used his connections to eventually become his company commander.

In short, this Captain Feng is a rich young man.

This can be seen from the fact that in his spare time he often takes out a Leica IIIA camera and takes pictures everywhere.

Because this thing cost three or four hundred dollars to buy during the Republic of China period, and all the film had to be imported, it was not something that ordinary people could afford.

Zhou Kun happened to be a serious photography enthusiast and had long been eyeing this classic antique camera.

However, he still had some ideas. He knew that if he asked directly for the camera to play with, Master Feng would definitely not agree, so he changed his idea.

With a shameless face, he stepped forward and suggested:
"Sir, many of the brothers in the company have never had their pictures taken. Since the weather is nice today, why don't we take a group photo together? I once studied with a photographer for two months, so why don't you let me give it a try?"

"Okay, let's take a group photo after breakfast. But forget about letting you take it. It wouldn't be a good idea to have a group photo of the whole company without you. I'll find someone to help then."

After hearing this, Feng Yaozu smiled and gave another explanation.

Although he did not get the chance to play with the antique camera, Zhou Kun was quite satisfied as he thought that it would be a good result if he could have a special photo.

So twenty minutes later, all 168 members of the special forces company stood together on the training ground according to their height.

"Everyone remember, follow me and shout one, two, three, eggplant." After shouting this, Zhou Kun signaled to a man who was temporarily found to help press the shutter, and said he was ready to start.

Letting everyone shout along was naturally intended to prevent these colleagues, most of whom had never taken photos, from being too nervous later.

Finally, as the sound of "eggplant" filled with accents from all over the country rang out, the flash light lit up with a gentle "click".

Faces with various expressions, including nervousness, curiosity, fear, and confusion, were frozen on the film...

******
Young Master Feng did not fool everyone. At around 10:30 in the morning, an Opel Lightning truck, which should be from the German manufacturer, drove into the temporary base of the special forces company.

At this moment, everyone was taking a break after training.

After they thought of something, they immediately swarmed over.

As expected, the contents of the carriage included a small amount of ammunition, a piece of pork, some flour and fresh vegetables.

Perhaps it was because pigs in the Republic of China era were not very big, so this cleaned piece of pork was estimated to weigh only about 50 to 60 kilograms.

There are nearly 170 people in the special forces company, and each person can only get 3 or 20 grams.

But the moment that half piece of pork appeared, almost everyone's eyes widened.

After unloading all the ingredients into the kitchen, the old squad leader, under the watchful eyes of everyone, arranged them with the dignity of a great general:
"Hu Biao, Gao Yi, you two should make the dough rise first so that you can make Baiji steamed buns and noodles later.

Zhang Wei, follow me and cut the meat. The fat can be used to make oil. When the time comes, pour it over the noodles and chili peppers. It will taste delicious.

The pork belly is braised, chopped up and put into steamed buns; the oil residue cannot be wasted, so it is added with some salt and given to the officers to eat with wine.

Wang Peng went to fetch water, and Zhou Kun chopped wood to make the fire."

"Old squad leader, just wait and see. We will make sure to do it beautifully for you~" Hu Biao and the other five people agreed in unison, their voices full of saliva.

Normally, at this time, Hu Biao and other people in the kitchen should be cooking, while the people in the special forces company should continue training.

But at this point, no one had the heart to continue training. Their eyes kept looking at the people busy in the kitchen under the shack.

Fortunately, although I don’t know why, Young Master Feng is in a really good mood today.

"You greedy fools, that's all you can do." He first scolded his men with a smile, and then he started shouting:

"Alright! Since you've all gone to the kitchen, forget about the rest of the training this morning.

But after eating, I have to cheer up in the afternoon and make up for the lost time.

The voice fell, and huge cheers rang out again, among which there was even a "Master Feng, no! Captain Feng is wise~"

"Don't worry, Captain. I'll give it my all this afternoon training~"

"If this happens every now and then, no! Even if it happens every ten days or so, I, Henan, will sell my life to you, Master Feng."

The above sounds one after another were full of joy, and the morale of the special forces company was unprecedentedly high.

But every soldier, whose hearts were filled with joy, didn't notice that a trace of guilt flashed across Young Master Feng's face, and then turned into an indescribable determination...

(End of this chapter)