A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

The three of them ate heartily while staring intently at the remaining chicken, rabbit, fish, shrimp, and crab. Their faces trembled with regret as they lamented that they couldn't bear to part with the leftovers.

Just as the three of them were gnawing on chicken legs and lamenting their disappointment, several figures suddenly appeared from the woods not far away and quickly walked towards them.

The three were startled and looked closely, only to find that it was Musk and his group.

"What a small world! What's he doing here?" The three of them remained silent, their faces grim, staring intently at Musk and the others with hostility.

Musk, however, didn't seem to care at all. He casually walked over, circled the scene, and looked around at the three people's masterpieces.

"Oh ho, gentlemen, so you sneaked out of campus for this? You three are really unlucky to have been caught by me," Musk said casually, pursing his lips.

He already knew why Song Hongfei and the other two had secretly come here.

As bitter rivals who had fought for years at West Point, Musk and his group kept a close eye on Song Hongfei and his two companions' every move. Before the three of them had even come here a few times to "improve their meals," Musk and his group secretly sent out "scouts" to track them down and observe what they were up to from afar.

However, Musk and his group haven't come here to cause trouble.

Song Hongfei and his group were really annoyed. Zhang Yi said in a deep voice, "I was in a good mood today, but I didn't expect these guys to suddenly appear out of nowhere. It's really disappointing."

Song Hongfei smiled slightly and said, "Hey, Musk, you guys seem to be in quite a mood today. So what brings you all this way?"

Musk shrugged, spread his hands, and didn't say anything. He was still looking around at Song Hongfei and his team's masterpieces in the pot and helmet.

Musk's expression grew increasingly curious as he looked at it. He twitched his high nose, seemingly trying to sniff it. He finally couldn't resist. In fact, the irresistible aroma that filled the air was quite difficult for him to resist.

Musk's eyes darted around, and he suddenly said, "Chinese food?"

Song Hongfei and the other two hadn't reacted yet.

Musk then pulled two bottles out of his backpack, looked at Song Hongfei and the other two, and said sincerely, "Song, I'm joining, OK?"

Before the three could speak, Musk added, "We won't just eat for free, we'll join you. Look." He was holding a bottle of wine in one hand.

He then shouted to the others, "Tony, Tom, Pete, Rickett, get the stuff out here right now!"

Seeing his expectant look, Song Hongfei and the others almost burst out laughing.

The three then noticed that the five people were fully armed, carrying field backpacks. They kept taking things out of their backpacks: bread, cheese, sausages, chocolate, sandwiches, steak, roast meat, and even a few bottles of alcohol.

The three of them looked at each other.

Wang Zhi laughed and said, "Oh, we are very pleased!"

Zhang Yi also said, "Haha, Musk, I thought you guys were going to fight again!" He couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Musk laughed and said, "Oh, Zhang, that's enough!" He then shook the glass in his hand and said, "There's an old Chinese saying: 'A cup of wine can dissolve all enmity!'"

The three were genuinely surprised, never expecting that this die-hard white supremacist would also understand the poetry of traditional Chinese culture.

Song Hongfei smiled and extended his hand to Musk, sincerely saying, "Welcome, friend!"

The chickens, rabbits, and fish that were originally intended to be released ultimately couldn't escape their fate of being eaten.

Musk and his companions devoured the food with gusto, marveling at its deliciousness.

"Mmm, it smells so good!"

"too delicious!"

“Chinese food, very good!”

Faced with the dish called "fried bee pupae" from the wild beehive that the three men had brought over, Musk and his companions stared at it for a long time. Looking at these "food" that looked like golden worms, none of them dared to take a bite, as they had indeed never seen anything like it before!

Song Hongfei and Zhang Yi kept urging from the side, "It tastes like chicken, and it's so crunchy! It has six times the protein content of beef!"

"Try it, try it quickly, it won't taste good when it gets cold!"

Musk finally mustered up his courage, closed his eyes, picked up one, put it in his mouth, and tried chewing it. His expression quickly changed from shock to delight, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Delicious! So delicious!"

As a result, more people immediately began to take action, and the number of bee pupae decreased rapidly.

The three men enthusiastically taught Musk and the others how to use chopsticks, otherwise they could only look at many delicious foods without being able to pick them up with Western knives and forks. Watching them clumsily and anxiously trying to pick up food with chopsticks made from twigs, the three men couldn't help but laugh.

The two sides hit it off and quickly became very close.

Zhang Yi, who has always had a fiery temper, was also the most straightforward and bold. He suddenly turned into a "people maniac" and, when things got heated, he almost dragged Tony and Zhang Yi into becoming sworn brothers!

Musk said, "Last time we were 'fighting hand-to-hand,' all those shouts of 'Kill! Kill!' from you guys were terrifying."

Musk gestured with his hands and feet while awkwardly trying to imitate the Chinese pronunciation.

Everyone laughed.

Musk added, "Being defeated by the strong is not a disgrace. I admire the strong! Let's settle our differences over a drink today!"

Everyone echoed in unison.

Musk opened the bottle, then suddenly looked at Song Hongfei and said, "Oh, Song, you're not even 21 yet. In some states in the US, children under 21 aren't allowed to drink alcohol!"

Everyone burst into laughter again, leaving Song Hongfei feeling both amused and exasperated.

At this moment, Musk's eyes lit up again, and he said, "A warrior with chivalry is a true man, a true strongman, and deserves a toast!"

Everyone laughed and cheered loudly.

Zhang Yi, who hadn't been able to drink for a long time, was an impatient person. He took a big gulp, but then frowned. His originally cheerful face showed a strange expression, and he still had more than half of the wine in his mouth, making it difficult to swallow.

After a long while, he finally mustered the courage to drink it down with difficulty. Then, with a bitter face, he muttered complaints: "What is this stuff? Is it horse urine mixed with water? It tastes terrible, much worse than the Shaoxing Nu'er Hong wine from my hometown!"

Everyone burst into laughter. Song Hongfei, clutching his stomach which was almost sore from laughing, said, "You don't know what you're talking about! This is top-grade XO, it's expensive, one bottle can cover your family's living expenses for several months!"

Zhang Yi looked skeptical as he picked up the field ration box and examined the amber-colored liquor inside. "Really? This stuff is that valuable?"

At this moment, Musk said, "Zhang, it seems this wine doesn't suit your taste. You don't like it." As he spoke, this son of a powerful and wealthy man suddenly seemed to become stingy, and reached out to take the wine back from Zhang Yi's hand with a pained expression.

Zhang Yi hurriedly clutched the lunchbox in his hands and said hastily, "I love it! I love it! I love it!"

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Laughter and cheers filled the air as everyone enjoyed their meal!

Let's drink and have a good time!

Just as the wine was flowing freely and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly lively, an unexpected change suddenly occurred!

Accompanied by the clatter of hooves, a man and a horse galloped in. A figure nimbly dismounted, his expression serious, glaring at the crowd!

quiet!

Shock!

My heart is pounding!

Silence!

In an instant, everyone stopped moving and all sounds ceased!

Song Hongfei still had a mouthful of chicken soup in his mouth and hadn't swallowed it.

The group was gnawing on delicious chicken and rabbit legs, seemingly forgetting that they still had half a leg in their mouths, and stopped chewing.

Musk's hand, which was pouring liquor from the bottle into his field ration, froze in mid-air.

Everyone stared blankly at that person.