1942, I lived on hunting

After stewing for an hour, Li Hao opened the lid and added salt, then covered the pot and continued to cook on low heat. He stewed for another half an hour until the salt had absorbed into the meat. He opened the lid and sprinkled some MSG and a handful of chopped green onions. It was done!

It was freezing cold, with snow and wind still blowing. After a busy morning, we finally prepared a delicious meal.

Some villagers brought their wives, some brought their children, and brought all kinds of pots and pans from their homes to the kitchen to get food. Although the villagers were not as disciplined as the soldiers in the army, they were still in good order. The older ones lined up in front, and the younger ones lined up in the back. Each family quickly got their own share, and happily carried it back, being careful not to slip on the ice and snow. Captain Li and Lao Yang kept telling everyone that if they didn't have enough food, they could get some more pork soup and vegetables, and they must eat well!

The greedy child wanted to taste the food first on the way, but was scolded and stopped by the adults. He had to give up the delicious food at his fingertips, resisted the temptation and quickened his pace to go home. As a result, he almost fell down and was cursed in Chinese.

The villagers took the food home. Some of the more frugal ones immediately put some of the meat and vegetables in the cupboard. After all, there was plenty of pork soup, which was enough to fill them up. In cold weather, they didn't have to worry about the meat going bad. The remaining meat was stewed with some vegetables to make it look meaty. It could be eaten slowly for several days. They understood the principle of taking things slow and thrifty, and completely ignored the children's eager expectations.

After the villagers finished eating, the bugler blew the horn to start the meal, and the soldiers gathered the team. Captain Li and the instructor said a few words respectively. It was cold and cold, so they didn't say too much. They announced the start of the dinner and everyone started eating!

The team was divided into teams and received their own portions, then each found a warm place to eat. It was not that they did not want to eat together, but they did not have the conditions. The houses in the village were not big, and there was not even a building that could serve as a dining room.

After the soldiers were arranged, Li Hao and his friends started to eat. After a busy morning, everyone was hungry, so after the soldiers started to eat, everyone in the kitchen team also started to eat.

Dong Hongjun originally brought breakfast for Li Hao, but later she was too busy to eat it. Li Hao was now eating a bowl of cabbage, pork and vermicelli stew. Dong Hongjun sat next to Li Hao. She thought the fat was greasy, but she liked the fried blood tofu with peppers. She held the oil cake in one hand and ate it with the spicy blood tofu, smiling so much that her eyes narrowed. Captain Li and the instructor liked the big fat meat with oil dripping from their mouths, and they ate it very happily. The instructor was probably from Shandong. He had a big oil cake rolled with green onions, fat, peppers and shredded potatoes. He ate it with a bite of the cake and a bite of pork soup, nodding his head repeatedly!

Li Hao finished a bowl of Chinese cabbage, pork and vermicelli stew and a steamed bun, and then went to get a bowl of pork soup. Drinking a bowl of hot broth on a cold day makes every pore of the body feel comfortable!

After dinner, Li Hao helped clean up the mess and was busy.

Dinner was not complicated, just some pork soup and some flatbreads. There was no training today, and the hardworking soldiers came to help after dinner, so Li Lahu had nothing to do this afternoon. Li Hao, Dong Hongjun, Maodan and others pestered Li Lahu to tell a story.

Li Lahu also loves to be lively, and he started to talk after being encouraged by a few young people.

When Li Lahu was born, the village had moved to Sichuan many years ago. Although he was an outsider, he had basically integrated into the local community. When he grew up, he often played with people of the same age from the neighboring village, and looked like a Sichuanese. The story was told by a friend of his age. He didn't know whether it was true or not, but he just took it as a story.

His friend's surname was Fan. Because he was in adolescence and had acne all over his face, his friends called him Fan Mazi. He was also an energetic young man. Once, Li Lahu and several friends made an appointment to go hunting in the mountains, and he was among them.

Hunting is very simple for mountain people on weekdays, and they don't need to prepare too much. As long as you go out, there are mountains. You only need to bring a bow and arrow, a hatchet, salt and pepper. The mountains will naturally provide the rest of the things you need.

That day, several young people came to a mountain called Houlong Mountain not far from home. They searched for a long time but didn't see any decent prey. Just when they were cursing and preparing to change the hill, Li Lahu found a muntjac. This muntjac was unlucky. It hid itself tightly. It finally waited until several inexperienced hunters were ready to leave. A squirrel ran over at this time. Li Lahu's attention was attracted by the movement of the squirrel. He followed the squirrel and found the muntjac. Li Lahu made a gesture to stop his companions' noise, drew his bow and shot an arrow. However, this arrow was disturbed by a small vine, and only injured the muntjac, but it was not immediately fatal. After being injured, the muntjac jumped suddenly and began to flee for his life. Several young hunters also chased after it.

A group of people chased after the deer and found that the deer had disappeared. However, the prey had been shot and injured, so they could not let the duck fly away. They dispersed to search. In the end, they did not find the deer, but found a cave. Several people were young and impatient, and their attention was easily diverted. When they heard that a strange cave was found, they all ran over to watch.

The cave entrance is not small, about the height of a two-story building, about ten meters wide, and semicircular in shape. It is strange because there is a clear green pond not far from the cave entrance. It is unknown how deep it is, and it extends to the deepest part of the cave as far as the eye can see. The water level of the pond is only one or two meters above the ground outside the cave entrance. The cave entrance is covered with mosses and ferns, and it is obvious that it is very old.

The clear water pool without green algae indicates that there must be running water constantly pouring in. The cave entrance only has a one or two meter high gravel and soil layer as a natural small dam. Logically, the water in the pool should have overflowed and flowed down the mountain. However, there is no stream here, which is extremely abnormal!

Li Lahu found a vine, tied a stone to one end, and threw it into the pool. The vine, about 5 meters long, sank directly and did not come out at all. Even the shadow of the vine underwater could not be seen, indicating that the depth of the pool was far more than 5 meters. The emerald green water even had a bit of blue. If someone with a fear of deep water saw this, his hair would stand on end and he would have nightmares at night!

Several friends were chattering about how deep the pool was and how deep the cave extended. Some brave ones were even ready to dive in to test how deep the water was. Another guy was whimsically ready to make a bamboo raft and paddle in to see where the cave led to. They were really brave and fearless!

At this time, Fan Mazi suddenly exclaimed: "I remember it, it's right here!"