I make a living solving crimes.

Chang Wei said that he treated the gold as dirt when more than two tons of gold were handed over, but he felt pain in his heart.

Everyone was eating the mutton head with relish, and no one could understand his sadness.

The night was already as quiet as deep water. Only a few street lights in the distant city were still waking up, fighting against the ubiquitous darkness before dawn.

Chang Wei sighed and recited an ancient poem softly.

I am born to be useful,

The daughter is gone and come back.

Cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle for fun,

I must drink three hundred cups at the party.

"Team leader, do you want to drink?" Du Ye was sitting next to Chang Wei. Hearing Chang Wei's mumbling, he whispered, "Is it possible to not drink in the military camp?"

Ugh!

Chang Wei’s point is not about drinking three hundred cups, what he wants to say is that all the money is gone!

"We can't drink today even if we're not in the military camp." Chang Wei shook his head, pointed to the warehouse behind him and said seriously, "No one is allowed to sleep tonight. You can only rest until someone from the capital comes to transport the gold away."

This was an order, and everyone nodded in response seriously.

More than two tons of gold, beaten into gold foil, would allow Liu Che to hide A Jiao.

The army has a battalion of soldiers stationed on duty around the area, but the core defense line is guarded by the Dragon Group's own people.

That night, the members of the Dragon Group sat outside the house, roasting by the bonfire, wrapped in their military coats, and they dared not close their eyes.

In the early morning, Chang Wei put away his knife and wood, carefully wrapped the carved soldiers in coarse cloth and put them into his bag. He stood up and stretched his waist.

Three circles to the left, three circles to the right

Twist your neck and butt

Go to bed early and get up early, let's do some exercise

Shake your hands and feet

Take a deep breath

Learn to sing and dance like your grandfather, and you won't get old

Chang Wei hummed a strange tune and pulled the Dragon Group members together to do some activities to refresh themselves.

He led the team in front, and seven people followed behind.

The childlike singing voice was very interesting to everyone, and they also followed his example of twisting their waists and shaking their legs.

Until the last line of lyrics is sung...

Chang Wei dodged Jiang Hongxia's angry punch and started practicing Tai Chi in the open space in front of the warehouse door.

Fan Tuan'er smelled the moist and fresh morning air, heard the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs from the village outside the military camp, felt the dew-soaked gravel and weeds under his feet, and watched Chang Wei's sometimes fast and sometimes slow boxing moves, and inexplicably developed a sense of comfort in country life.

The mist was so thick that she couldn't see the nearby playground or the river in the distance.

In the dimness, the only sound was the wind caused by Chang Wei's sleeves cutting through the air.

Chang Wei finished a set of punches, gathered his breath, stood quietly for a while, heard heavy breathing, and then saw an old man jogging past not far away, disappeared in the mist, and passed by again not long after.

That's where the playground is. Because of the gold rush, martial law has been imposed here and the troops' morning exercises have been moved to the fields outside.

Since the old man could run here, he must be a high-ranking official in the military. Chang Wei stood there and saluted for a while until the old man ran five laps and stopped in front of him.

"Little devil." The old man's accent was very similar to Old Wang's.

Chang Wei stood at attention and saluted, "Hello, Chief."

The old man slowly approached, swinging his arms back and forth in the mist, and asked kindly, "How is the old squad leader?"

Chang Wei was stunned for a moment before he realized that this old man really knew Old Wang.

"Old Squad Leader" is the respectful title given to the squad leader of the kitchen squad by the soldiers who have traveled 25,000 miles. No matter whether they are officers or soldiers, when they see Old Wang, they will affectionately call him "Old Squad Leader".

Chang Wei's attitude became more respectful. "Grandpa Wang is in good health. He can drink two taels of wine every day. He is now in charge of our meals."

"Well, we can't take a break. If we do, we'll collapse." The old man pulled Chang Wei to sit on the chair and looked at him lovingly. "Not bad, you didn't lose face for the old squad leader."

People often say similar things in front of Chang Wei.

Those of lower rank mention his father, and those of higher rank mention Old Wang.

He had to listen carefully to this kind of talk that was taking advantage of his seniority.

Those who are now qualified to say such words in front of him do not bother to show off their status. They say these words to show their agreement and expectation.

The old man who could walk around the playground ignoring the martial law must be the division commander, political commissar or chief of staff.

The 66th Army was stationed in Tianjin, formerly the 1st Column of the North China Military Region.

The column was developed from more than 1937 anti-Japanese guerrilla units formed in the Hebei-Shanxi region in 1938, 1939 and 30 with a small number of Red Army soldiers as the backbone.

Its Red Army backbones included some guards who served as guards for the headquarters leaders during the Long March and later served as the Eighth Route Army Headquarters Guard Regiment, and some Red Army soldiers of the 13th Regiment of the Fifth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army who participated in the Pingjiang Uprising and persisted in the Jinggangshan Struggle.

Judging from the old man's accent, he should be from the Guards Regiment.

"The squad leader's rice noodles are a specialty. He even wanted to open a rice noodle shop. Alas, I haven't had the chance to taste his cooking for many years."

"He made it some time ago. When I get back, I'll ask Grandpa Wang to make another one and have someone bring it to you."

"It should be paired with the chopped peppers made by the old squad leader himself."

"Hey, Chief, you know how to eat."

Chang Wei became more and more certain that the old man and Old Wang were not just casual friends.

Not many people can eat Lao Wang’s chopped peppers.

The old man did not talk about work with Chang Wei, but just recalled the past in the Jiangxi base. He did not use the same tone as before, and only talked about trivial things.

The chieftain chased and cursed someone for a handful of chili peppers, the village beauty chased him outside the camp to propose marriage, and the villager's dog chased a rabbit...

Everyone in the Dragon Group sat next to the old man and listened with great interest.

At the end, I felt a little sad when I talked about the failure of the anti-encirclement and suppression campaign and being forced to leave the base.

The old man did not talk about sacrifices or casualties, but only talked about the reluctance of the people to see them off.

"Even though we lost the battle, the villagers didn't blame us. When the eldest brother died, they sent the second brother to the army."

"When we left, the villagers cooked all the corn seeds for us."

"He was reluctant to let us go, and when we were crossing the river, he paddled his boat over to help ferry us across."

"The villagers stuffed their clothes with straw and secretly stuffed cotton into our bedding."

"..."

After leaving the base, he never went back.

I dare not go back!

Whenever he thought of his fellow villagers, he felt guilty. So many children died on the Long March.

He really couldn't face it.

Before they knew it, it was getting light and a guard came running to inform the old man to go back for a meeting.

The old man gathered his thoughts, stood up with a hearty smile, patted Chang Wei on the shoulder, and slowly walked into the mist.

Suddenly, a familiar song came from behind.

The Red Army went down the mountain

Autumn wind (lige) drizzle (jiezhige) lingering

On the mountain (League) the wild deer cried

Tree Tree (Riger) The leaves of the sycamore tree have fallen

Ask my dear Red Army

When will the people and horses return to the mountain?

The old man stopped and looked back at the shadowy figure in the mist. He listened quietly, tears streaming down his face unconsciously.