He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

"Soldiers, we've arrived at the Qiaotou Village area to set up defenses today. Tonight, I'll treat you all to meat and white rice—a treat for you!"

"The entire platoon was dispersed and patrolled for five miles around, and was to report immediately upon spotting the enemy."

"Second Row Vanguard"

"Three rows positioned in the center to protect the infantry guns"

"My friends from Sichuan and I will be together until the end."

"Begin the forced march now."

"Set off"

Looking at the soldiers' joyful faces, Leyou was also having a hard time. He ate millet, rice porridge, wild beans, and wild vegetables, and his mouth was so bland.

Recalling those traitors who acted arrogantly and some high-ranking officials who ate meat and fish, when famine struck, some people even said, "Why not eat meat porridge?"

That's absolutely absurd.

……

"Report: Enemy forces have already entered Qiaotou Village."

"The third platoon will split into two groups: half will protect the infantry gun, and the other half will disperse to provide guard duty."

"Divide into groups of three, first and second row."

After assigning the tasks, Leyou said to the boys:

"You stay here too to protect the infantry guns."

"No, we're going to kill the Japanese too. Since we left Sichuan, our lives are in the hands of fate. We won't hold you back. You'll see."

After the boy finished speaking, he unbuttoned his clothes.

Meanwhile, many teenagers nearby were unbuttoning their clothes, revealing the white cloths covering their bodies, and pulling them out.

In the middle was a large character for "death," surrounded by densely packed smaller characters.

At this moment, one of the boys said:

"My old man said that this cloth should be used to wipe away blood and to wrap one after death. Sir, let us go too!"

Looking at those pleading eyes, Leyou reluctantly nodded in agreement.

So he left the first and second platoons to watch over the boys, while Leyou charged forward with his rifle, heading straight into Qiaotou Village.

"bang bang bang"

"bang bang bang"

By surprise, Leyou shot and killed two enemies before being discovered.

Both sides took cover behind the wall and fired at each other.

Seeing the young soldiers rushing towards him, Leyou quickly pulled the trigger and threw the grenade into the enemy's hiding place.

"boom"

"Three people per group, two adults and one child!"

"Act separately"

"Life comes first"

After shouting loudly, Leyou picked up his rifle and ran towards the spot where the grenade had exploded.

……

Gunfire echoed throughout the village. Some villagers spotted the soldiers and took out sickles, hoes, and hammers from their homes, opened their doors, and used the familiar terrain to launch attacks on the enemy.

The enemy squad was quickly wiped out. Looking at his remaining teammates and the young man from Shu, Leyou smiled happily:

"The first platoon should all go out to patrol and guard two miles away, the third platoon should bring in the artillery, and the second platoon should patrol the edge of the village."

After saying that, he looked at the villagers beside him and said:

"Fellow villagers, have any of you been injured or killed?"

"Sir, there were no casualties in our village. We thank you for arriving in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"It's what we should do. By the way, I'm going to treat the team members today. Can you help us cook? We can all come and eat together."

"Sir, is it true? But our village has nearly dozens of households..."

"It's alright. We're all from Great Xia. By the way, could you lend me a donkey cart? I'll start cooking as soon as I get back."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir! Er Gou Dan, quickly bring your donkey cart over here!"

……

Riding a donkey cart, Leyou dissuaded the boy who wanted to come along, then left the village and walked for 5 miles. Looking around and not seeing a single person, he pulled out 30 bags of grain and half a bag of pork and vegetables from his spatial storage, cracked the whip, and sang a song as he drove the donkey cart towards Qiaotou Village.

A series of off-key songs drifted across the quiet fields:

"Year after year"

This is the day I'll spend my whole life

Let bloodlines reconnect

Wipe away the blood and tears in my heart

"Preserve our roots"

……

Before Leyou even reached the village entrance, he noticed a line of patrolling soldiers staring intently at the grain sacks and meat on the cart.

Leyou sighed deeply upon seeing this.

"Stop looking, there'll be food when we switch shifts later."

Before they had gone far, a group of teenagers surrounded them, shouting and yelling.

Staring wide-eyed at the rows of pork on the donkey cart, he swallowed hard.

"You guys are really something else! Come back here right now!"

As the leading boy shouted, the other boys made way for the donkey cart.

"Fellow villagers, I'm sorry to trouble you to cook us some food. We'll all eat together when it's ready."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

Watching the villagers unload their grain and meat, Leyou walked to the stone steps and sat down, lighting a cigarette and quietly watching each household take out their iron pots...

"Sir, my pipe is great, yours doesn't taste right!"

Leyou rolled her eyes at the boy and ignored him.

"Don't look down on him. Do you know that our General Fan once killed that bastard with just two shots when he left Sichuan? One of those shots was this one."

"Really? That's amazing! I'll give it a try."

"Wait a minute, let me light the tobacco."

"Inhale like this"

"Give it to me, I've smoked all kinds of cigarettes."

Leyou grabbed the pipe and saw that it had several lines of text engraved on it.

"Good boy, go fight the cherry blossom bandits on the spot!"

The commander immediately issued an order: "We will not return home until the Japanese invaders are eliminated."

He took a deep breath, mimicking the boy's movements.

"cough cough"

"It's so pungent! Wow, so spicy!"

Leyou quickly returned the pipe to the boy.

The boy chuckled:

"Sir, look, I just took a puff, and look at the words carved on it. It's really fierce when it comes to killing bastards."

"Really? What are your plans for the future?"

"Sir, we originally had more than two hundred people leaving Sichuan, but after passing through Changde and Hengyang, we've only managed to get here to about forty people left."

"Nobody wanted us, and nobody gave us any equipment."

"Sir, can we follow you? You've been the best to us all these years we've been away."

Leyou looked up at the boy in front of her, then at the boys slowly gathering around her; every pair of eyes was filled with pleading.

"Oh, I'm only temporarily assigned here. I'll be going to your Rongcheng Military Academy in a while."

"It was just a fleeting connection; perhaps parting is only for a better reunion."

"Sir, we don't understand anything about separation and reunion, but let us fight the Japanese devils with you."

……

Just then, some villagers ran over and called out:

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"

After hearing this, Leyou nodded and said:

Let's talk about it after we eat.

……

"Folks, let's divide the braised pork, cabbage, and rice into five portions each, according to the size of your pots. Then you can use your pots to distribute the food yourselves, okay?"

Leyou looked at the iron pots on the ground and said.

"Sir, isn't this too much? We don't need this much."

"Listen to me, that's how it is. Third Platoon Leader, notify the Second Platoon Leader and the others to come back. You two platoons and the Shu soldiers eat first. After you're done eating, the Second Platoon will take over, and the Third Platoon will patrol the edge of the village."

Looking at the glistening braised pork, the cabbage stir-fried with lard, and the plump white rice, the soldiers and villagers cheered, while the young people of Sichuan hugged each other and cried.

"The platoon leader must distribute the food and rice, no more, no less; if there's any left over, then distribute it."

"Let's eat now."

Upon hearing Leyou's voice, the soldiers hurriedly lined up to wait. Some used their helmets to hold their food, while others went to the villagers' homes to borrow some...

"smell good"

"Damn it, I'd be willing to accept this even if it's my last meal before I'm executed."

"After all these years, I never thought I'd be eating a whole bowl of white rice and braised pork."

"Thank you, Company Commander."

"Thank you, sir."

At first, everyone ate haphazardly, but towards the end they ate only small bites, licking their bowls or helmets clean.

I would sit quietly to the side and watch my comrades finish their meals before checking how much meat, vegetables, and rice was left in my platoon's iron pot, and then wait in line for the platoon leader to distribute it.

Leyou took a bite of the fatty braised pork. Well, to be honest, she couldn't stomach it; she preferred lean meat.

So Leyou used the chopsticks given to him by his fellow villager to press off the fat, and gave all the pressed-off fat to the boy sitting next to him. The boy then used a dagger to cut the fat and gave a little to each of the other boys, which was just enough to divide it up.

Leyou looked at the small amount of lean meat, finished his meal in no time, and then sat down to smoke.

After finishing their meal, the second and third platoons went out to relieve their troops. Not long after, a series of howling and wailing sounds came from the village entrance.

The row of soldiers, who had gone mad, all gathered around the remaining iron pot, lying on the ground, drooling as they stared at the food in front of them.

"Don't embarrass yourself, the company commander is watching. Hurry up and line up, it's time to get your food."

"Platoon leader, is this really food for us? Am I dreaming?"

Hit me a few times and I'll see if I'm dreaming.

A group of men eagerly shared their questions.

At this moment, Leyou stood up and roared:

"What do you mean by 'real' or 'not real'? Everyone else has finished eating, and you're still too scared to eat?"

If you don't eat it, I'll take it back and share it with others.

The platoon leader immediately ran over and said:

"Company commander, no! Don't get angry with these brutes, we'll eat right away!"

The soldiers beside him immediately responded:

"Yes, Company Commander, we'll eat right away, we'll eat right away."

"Platoon leader, don't just stand there like idiots, hurry up and distribute them!"

Under the guidance of other soldiers, the soldiers who had borrowed bowls and chopsticks from the villagers lined up in order to wait for their food to be served.

"Oh my god, it smells so good!"

"Yeah."

"I suddenly feel like a new person."

"Delicious, delicious, so delicious!"

……