Canteen System Assistance Notes

If only all commanders were like Mr. Ishii, thought Mikitaro, the "unwelcome person." Ever since his unit, the 2nd Company, 1st Battalion, 117th Regiment, was defeated by the Eighth Route Army at Changle Village, and he had survived despite the annihilation of his entire unit, he had become an "unlucky person" that everyone shunned. He had been assigned to the 90th Independent Infantry Detachment of the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade (now reorganized into the 58th Division), assigned here to guard a stronghold.

Almost all the people here are troublesome guys who are "unloved by others and will cause trouble to others". Naturally, they are guarding the end of the imperial army's forces, the Lukou stronghold - which is about 11 kilometers away from Gujiao County and is within the cover range of 6 field guns in Gujiao County.

However, this area was at the far end of the "security zone," and was subject to frequent attacks from the Eighth Route Army. Sometimes it was a barrage of rifle fire, sometimes it was sniper fire from indirect fire cannons. Initially, the 90th Independent Infantry Detachment was able to call on support from field artillery and "tactical guidance" from the brigade in the county town to drive back the besieging Red Army. However, as time went on, not only did this support become less and less, but even their daily food supplies dwindled.

"Mimu, is there any news about food supplies in the county town recently?" Squad Leader Ishii came over and asked, "I remember a few days ago, there was news that the Imperial Army had purchased a large amount of wheat from the Kingdom of Hao. Even though we are just the Foolish Company, we should still be able to have wheat and rice to eat, right?"

"Sorry, sir. I called them before we left, and they still only have mixed noodles," Miki Taro reported honestly. "Even if it's mixed noodles, even the accountant there doesn't know when they'll send it to us."

"Baka-no-ya-lang! These bastards! Damn it, damn it! Not even enough to get their combat rations, but now they're not even giving them their daily rations. Damn it! Is this how these traitors treat the righteous men and women fighting for the Empire? How are we supposed to fight?"

Ishii stamped his feet fiercely and cursed, but in the end, he was helpless. Mikitaro thought sadly, perhaps this is why Mr. Ishii was sent to the 90th Independent Infantry Division.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, the people in the team finally recovered a little. They reorganized and moved forward on the road.

The sky was gradually darkening, the sun setting in the west. The setting sun emerged from behind the group, casting long, dark shadows on the road ahead, a stark contrast to the fiery red sunlight. Mikitaro, carrying his shoulder pole, climbed over another ridge. At the end of the mountain road, he finally saw a village hidden in the valley. Smoke curled from the chimneys.

This is Kangjia Town, the "maintenance village" farthest from Gujiao County.

Everyone's spirits lifted. After a day's hike on the mountain trail, covering nearly 40 miles, they were finally nearing their destination. They definitely didn't have to spend the night in the wilderness. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and began to chat and laugh. Squad Leader Ishii didn't stop them. Under his supervision, the entire day's trek had gone by without any non-combat casualties. It wouldn't hurt to give everyone a break upon reaching their destination.

"Yoshi, everyone, tie the red ribbons!"

Miki heard the squad leader, Ishii, shout, and saw everyone pull a tattered red cloth from their pockets and tie it around their heads. "Oh yes, we have to mark ourselves properly, or we'll probably get beaten." He also hurriedly pulled out a red cloth and wrapped it around his head, looking like a typical old peasant from North China.

After checking everyone, Captain Ishii loudly gave the order,

"Everyone, especially those with guns! When you enter the village in a while, sing a song together first, then go in! And don't shoot, no matter what happens, don't shoot! Today, we are not here to shoot, let alone to fight! Don't shoot, because if you shoot, we will never be able to go back!"

He paused and continued:

"We're here for friendship and shared prosperity! The Imperial Army and all that has nothing to do with us today! We'll just do what we've been told and ignore everything else—and of course, tomorrow, everyone, work hard! Whether the independent unit can have enough to eat depends on your hard work!"

"As for when someone from the brigade comes to question us, I hope everyone will not be ungrateful!" Squad Leader Ishii scratched his neck and said viciously, "Don't say that the Eighth Route Red Army won't forgive you, I won't forgive you either!"

"Hi!"

Chapter 371: Winter of Working (Part 2)

Although it's called a town, Kangjia Town is administratively a village, albeit a rather large one. With a hundred or so households, over four hundred acres of land, a river running west to east, and several lush birch forests, it's a truly remarkable place in a land where most hills are bare.

What is even more valuable to the Japanese army is that there is actually a maintenance association in this village, which can be regarded as a place of "friendship" towards the Imperial Army. If it were placed in the Japanese-occupied area, such a large village could truly be called a "town". If production was well organized, a lot of food could be supplied to the Japanese army every autumn harvest.

However, Kangjia Town is not entirely a "maintenance village".

A few years ago, after the Japanese occupied Jinyang City, Gujiao, not far from Jinyang, naturally became a Japanese outpost, shouldering the heavy responsibility of defending the western part of Jinyang. At that time, Kang Moumou, a large landowner from the Yan clan, joined the Japanese after Yan Laoxi flirted with the Japanese army and became the chairman of the maintenance association. At that time, the Lukou stronghold was still able to live a relatively good life. Thanks to the puppet army's proactive looting and tribute, the garrison troops at the time always completed their missions and made a lot of money.

Soon, however, the Eighth Route Army arrived. They first established peasant associations and resident work teams in the countryside, organized militias, and, with the strong support of the Lüliang District guerrillas, trained a dozen-man basic militia combat team. Leveraging their familiarity with the terrain, combined with mine warfare and guerrilla warfare, they drove the puppet troops into retreat, overthrowing the rule of the Maintenance Association and bringing the area back under the anti-Japanese democratic regime.

The Japanese army immediately mobilized the squadron and led the attack on Kangjia Town to retaliate. This indeed defeated the village militia and guerrillas, forcing them to make sacrifices to cover the transfer of the villagers. However, the victorious Japanese army was halfway back with the supplies they had mopped up when they were caught and beaten by the 120th Division of Northwest Shanxi who had heard the news. They had to abandon the hostages and supplies and retreat into the protection range of the field artillery.

A standoff ensued: small Japanese units would be harassed and delayed as soon as they left the Lukou stronghold, and if they failed to leave in time, they would be surrounded and annihilated, while the main offensive could not be sustained; small Eighth Route Army units attempting to attack the Lukou stronghold would be bombarded, while the main offensive would result in a direct confrontation with the Japanese in the Gujiao area, resulting in excessive losses. Both sides were caught in a dilemma: they could neither attack nor hold back the main force.

As a result, Kangjia Town became a "two-faced regime" with two administrative systems and two groups of people. It was at this time that the unpopular Miki Taro was transferred here along with the 90th Independent Infantry Detachment to take over the defense of the original unit.

Mikitaro carried his shoulder pole and headed towards Kangjia Town. The closer he got, the more uneasy he felt. He had no choice but to tighten the red cloth on his forehead and pray to Amaterasu, hoping that the sentries on the other side would notice the red cloth and not shoot at them.

You guys, don't shoot me! I'm not a bad guy!

It took nearly an hour from the moment they saw Kangjia Town until they actually approached it. Just over the last dirt slope, Kangjia Town would appear before them. But Squad Leader Ishii, at the head of the group, called a halt. He crouched on the top of the slope, peered through binoculars, and after confirming there was a sentry at the village entrance, he retreated.

"Okay! Take out your guns, water bottles, keys, pens, etc.!" He untied his belt from inside his cotton-padded jacket, used a rope to tie up his cotton-padded trousers, and then took off a bundle. He confiscated all the things that "did not conform to the style of migrant workers" from everyone and buried them in a hole dug on the roadside.

"Come on, get ready to sing!"

According to the previous rehearsal, a dozen Japanese soldiers formed a loose line. Then, led by two who could speak some Chinese, they began to howl in a tuneless manner: "Ani... panting!

"Gaga, you're going west. I, your little sister, can't keep you here. I'll hold your hand and send you off to the gate..."

“Ah ...

The rest of the group, including Mikitaro, followed the lead, humming in a haphazard manner. This was such a poor disguise that any Chinese person who got close could tell it was true. However, from a distance, it did feel a bit like a group of migrant workers singing a song—a militia member standing guard at the intersection spotted the porters, turned around, and one of them unleashed his rifle.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh oh oh oh! Captain Lei! Meng Lengzi! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

A slightly plump middle-aged man ran out of the village, waving and shouting. Hearing the man's shouting, the two sentries were a little confused. One of them raised his gun as usual, while the other turned around and asked. "Mr. Kang? Why are you here? Do you know these people?"

"Captain Lei, Meng Lengzi! Huff, huff, huff..." Mr. Kang panted loudly, "I told you not to shoot! These are the people I mentioned before, the ones called to help with the charcoal burning. It's snowing now, but my family has more than ten acres of land, all of which are sloping and dry land. We need to burn the grass and level the land so that we can plant seeds next year. Even if all my family members, young and old, help, plus two tenant farmers, we still can't handle it all.

"Kang Fugui!" Compared to the amiable tone of one person, the other spoke more aggressively. "There are hundreds of households in the village. Why don't you find helpers here?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Meng Lengzi, what you said is not very kind! You know that the strong laborers in the village go to the mines of the Eighth Route Army to work part-time. The conditions there are better and the wages are higher. There is no one in the village during the slack season. Even so, the house of the old boy in the village collapsed, and they are building a new house. They are still putting up the beams these days! How can anyone come to help my family?"

As the three men before him seemingly engaged in a heated argument, Mikitaro remained motionless. According to the Eighth Route Army's custom, if there was only one visible sentry post, there would always be at least five talking trees and exploding rocks hidden in the shadows. With over ten of them now, and no guns in hand, they were likely to face a tough fight against a whole village.

"What are they talking about?" With the exception of two Japanese enlisted soldiers who knew a little Chinese and Captain Ishii, who spoke Concordia, almost no one on the team could understand Chinese. Mikitaro heard people whispering behind him. "They're probably discussing what kind of work we're going to do."

"Be quiet, don't make any noise. What if we are exposed?"

If they were exposed, they might not be able to return. Miki Taro had experienced the overwhelming hostility towards the Imperial Army in this unfamiliar land—perhaps this was also due to the Imperial Army's own actions. However, this time, at least the people in front of him, speaking the secret book, didn't immediately start a fight. After a while, after the middle-aged man spoke to Captain Ishii for a few words, the captain waved his hand and gave a brief order.

"Walk!"

The sun had already set, the orange-red sky fading to a deep blue. The 5th Independent Infantry Detachment wasn't allowed into the village. Instead, they turned east and north, heading toward a ravine outside the village. According to the previous explanation, that was the "Niutou'ao" of Kangjia Town, where the village burned charcoal, with five kilns. A few days ago, during an inspection, the villagers discovered that three of the five kilns had collapsed or were in urgent need of repair.

There was no one else around except the middle-aged man named Kang. Hearing that he was the chairman of the maintenance association, everyone became bolder and started discussing with each other, "Mika-san, aren't we going into the village?"

"Idiot, we're just a handful, unarmed, entering the village. Are we just waiting to be recognized as Japanese and hunted down?" "Then how are we going to spend the night? I'm so hungry, and I don't have any biscuits with me..."

"You hungry pig! Just hang in there a little longer. The squad leader will always find a way!"

Mikitaro cursed the new recruit who was always complaining about being hungry. He felt a little uneasy watching him walk briskly, clutching his stomach. After all, he only had so much to eat on this trip, and after walking from morning till night, his stomach was already empty.

As an unpopular unit, his unit naturally bore the brunt of the army's food shortage. Previously, it was just hunger that made it difficult to maintain normal training and deployment, but now that winter was deepening and rations were further reduced, hunger began to become a constant presence.

"We can start working tomorrow, don't be afraid! We'll have food to eat while we work." "Well...but how can we work when we're so hungry?"

"Damn it, you're the only one who likes asking questions like that!"

Miki couldn't help but feel angry. "I'm hungry too. I want to eat too. Why are you the only one who likes to shout?" He was the senior of this new recruit and a veteran according to Japanese military tradition. Naturally, he could punish the younger generation who disobeyed discipline. He just raised his hand, but a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Miki! This isn't a mistake. Hitting someone is inappropriate."

"Mr. Ishii, I'm so sorry!" Captain Ishii was a very respectable senior. Miki Taro apologized quickly, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so impulsive." "It's okay."

Ishii turned around and said to Chairman Kang in Concordia:

"President Kang, we haven't eaten enough! If we don't have enough, we won't be able to help you chop trees and repair the charcoal kiln tomorrow! Please give us food first."

"Oh! Oh, okay, my lady. Although my family is not as good as the Eighth Route Army... ahem, not as good as those over there, we will not let our servants go hungry. Only when we are full can we have the strength to work."

Small landlord Kang Fugui patted his chest and promised, "Madam, please sit here for a while. I'll go home and get some food! Potatoes, fresh potatoes, not even a single sprout. Steam, fry, bake, or boil them. You can enjoy them any way you like!"

Chapter 372: The Winter of Changing Situations (Part 2)

In Kangjia Village, a village with rolling terrain, the fields are divided into several types. Well-irrigated land near the river is used to grow wheat, dry land with better sunlight and soil fertility is used to grow corn, oatmeal, or millet, and less-fertile land is planted with potatoes. The proportions of these three types of land gradually increase, and the yields vary greatly. This production structure also means that during the winter when farming is not going well, most families in Kangjia Village only have corn grits, oatmeal, and millet porridge as their main source of carbohydrates, with potatoes being the main source of carbohydrates.

Even Kang Fugui, the current chairman of the Kangjia Village Maintenance Association, was no exception. His family ate potatoes as their staple food, supplemented by porridge and other foods every few days, accompanied by side dishes like pickled meats, pickles, and storable vegetables, and occasionally enjoyed white flour and meat. However, compared to the average peasant, his family's living conditions were still better: after all, for most of the year, they could always fill their stomachs and avoid starvation.

And what about Miki Taro?

As a conscripted soldier in 1937, Miki Taro's memories of his hometown still remain from nearly 4 years ago.

Miki Taro, who was eating brown rice and "Tang Eggplant" (pumpkin), received Lu

Before leaving for the war, my family solemnly cooked a pot of white flour dumplings, grilled a few small fish, and drank turbid and bland wine for me to practice.

So for him, changing his diet from "five-eye rice" and candied meat stew to potatoes, dipping sauce, and pickled radish was a bit of a nostalgia for home - especially since there was always plenty of roast potatoes, porridge, and pickled radish here, and as long as you did your job well, you could eat until you were full.

It’s this green onion, it’s a bit spicy... I still won’t eat it raw next time, I’ll feel dizzy if I eat too much...

Mikitaro muttered softly, took a deep breath, hit one end of the firewood with the hatchet, then swung the other firewood in his hand, knocking the sturdy blade into the firewood, splitting the firewood into two, and then into four.

To make a good charcoal kiln, you need a combination of dry and wet wood: dry wood for ignition, wet wood for charcoal. Miki had done this before in the countryside, and his team even had a professional charcoal burner who needed no instruction. Soon, the charcoal burner, who hails from Japan, was guiding several nimble Japanese soldiers into the newly built charcoal kiln. The others formed a single file, passing the chopped dry and wet wood toward the kiln, packing it securely.

"Okay, here I come—everyone, eat first! After dinner, then work!"

Kang Fugui, the Taijuns' employer, came in from the entrance of the valley, pushing a wheelbarrow. This small landowner, newly hired by the Japanese, was still a bit shy; dealing with these devils, he always had to do everything himself. He parked the wheelbarrow in the open space of Niutou Valley and unloaded the wooden barrels from it.

"Oh! Meat, meat! I smell the aroma of meat!"

The new recruit, who was mixing the clay with his hands, poked his dark head out of the charcoal kiln. His hands were covered in sticky clay, his face was black and dusty, and only a pair of eyes could be seen with some white. "There will be meat today! There must be meat to eat!"

"Idiot, you've brought shame upon the Empire!" Squad Leader Ishii, who was standing by the shovel shovel and panting, gave the new recruit a chestnut and pressed down on his head. "It's not like you haven't eaten meat before! The seniors in the team didn't say anything, so why are you making such a fuss?"

"Hurry up and finish your work, wash your hands and then come to eat!" He turned around and

No hurry! No hurry! Kang Fugui didn't understand Japanese, so he just smiled with a bit of flattery, "Madam! Today someone in the village is putting up the beams of a new house. It's a big happy event!" He opened the quilt wrapped around two large wooden barrels, "Today there's a banquet! The ladies have made a contribution by burning charcoal for the village, so they will have a share of the beam-raising dishes!"

all

As the lid of the large wooden barrel was opened, a burst of tender white mist emerged.

Under the protection of the quilt, the still warm wooden barrel protects the delicacy inside - the big stew with glossy oil and rich sauce, just like a hot spring in the snowy field in winter, steaming out hot air and emitting a hint of fragrance.

Like a ribbon swaying in the wind from a songstress's sleeve, she glided and drifted along the chill wind of northwest Shanxi, reaching into everyone's chest, gently enveloping their internal organs, then teasingly tightening a little, giving them a shudder. Then, their hearts seemed to stop beating for a moment, their stomachs seemed to twist and tremble, their lungs seemed to forget to breathe, and the mouths of their "victims" erupted like volcanoes, saliva pouring out.

Oh my goodness! The stew has potatoes, taro, vermicelli noodles, kelp rolls, dried shiitake mushrooms, and (for hot pot) meatballs, roast pork, and fried tofu! (Roast pork is the local name for bacon slices.)

At that moment, the lid of another bucket opened. If the Shanxi-style stew had just been like the bustling bustle of a large market, complete with the shouts of vendors and the hesitant glances of market-goers, the contents of this bucket were like a punch to the face—a whole bucket of bright, shiny, sweet, yellow rice buns!

Even though the potatoes, pickles, porridge, and green onions and radishes of the previous few days had been plentiful, much better than the recent situation of not having enough to eat in the base, the combination of such a pot of stew and yellow rice steamed buns still left everyone, including Squad Leader Ishii, speechless.

"Alas, the food is here, ladies and gentlemen, why aren't you eating yet?"

"Oh oh...everyone, everyone! Wash your hands, grab your lunch boxes, and line up to eat!"

Eat, eat, eat to your heart's content. This is the most sumptuous meal ever—suppressing their pounding hearts, all the Japanese present put away their tools at a speed 30% faster than their usual training, ran to the stream, lined up to wash their hands, then formed a single line, shouting as they ran back to line up.

Everyone, lunch boxes and bowls in hand, waited for three yellow rice buns and a large bowl of stew to land in their arms. Even Mikitaro, who considered himself comfortable with food and drink, couldn't hide his excitement. He clasped his hands together, muttered to himself, "I'm eating," and began to pour the delicious food into his mouth.

A mouthful of steamed bun, a mouthful of vegetable, Amaterasu, so delicious!

He ate, chewed, tears streaming down his face. Aside from the time he had just joined the army and won a victory, it had been so long since he had eaten meat, meat that felt like meat. However, his remaining sliver of rationality kept him eating at a reasonable pace: what if he ate too fast and choked? Wouldn't that be a loss?

"Miki Taro!"

"Hmm..." Mikitaro suddenly heard Mr. Ishii's call. He looked up blankly, only to meet the squad leader's stern gaze. He shuddered, swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth, pounded his chest a few times to get the food down, and stood at attention.

"Hi!"

"Don't get too carried away, or you might choke!" the squad leader yelled. "After you finish eating, follow me! Today is our last day of work, and we're going to collect our pay! Don't forget to bring your shoulder pole and basket."

Ah, is this the end?

Mikitaro felt a little regretful. Although the work had been tough these past few days, the food was indeed good. Although he had to hide and change his identity, he was no longer under the pressure of being surrounded by enemies. The village even thought of him as a part of the banquet. Now that the kiln was dug and filled with firewood, it should be the village charcoal burner who would light the fire, seal the furnace, and make charcoal. It wasn't impossible to do this job myself, right?

As long as they can provide such food, it’s fine. Hehe… He was a little hesitant, but he had to obey the order and move forward.

But after all, we are outsiders in this land and are unwelcome.

Thinking of this, he became a little listless again, and his footsteps following the maintenance chairman and the squad leader seemed heavier. The empty basket on his shoulders swayed, just like his wandering thoughts.

The group quickly reached the edge of the village, where firecrackers and a feast were being held. After a few days, the militia at the village entrance had become familiar with them, and Kang Fugui led them past the checkpoint and into his yard through the back door. The chairman of the maintenance association took a bunch of keys from his wife and unlocked a hidden cellar. Mikitaro took a closer look and saw it was filled with potato pods.

"Chairman Kang, work! We've done a fantastic job!" Squad Leader Ishii nodded and said seriously, "Don't cheat us out of our wages! We can't eat sprouted potatoes! We don't want them!" "Okay, okay, Madam, I wouldn't cheat you out of anything. Come on, ten baskets of yam eggs, one by one..."

Everyone began to carry potatoes out of the cellar. Saburo Sakaki stepped on the ladder of the cellar and acted as a human conveyor belt to carry the potatoes from the cellar up and put them into baskets. If nothing unexpected happened, after a day's walk on the mountain road tomorrow, these ten baskets of potatoes would be the staple food for the people in the stronghold for a period of time. Although they were not as delicious as stews, they would at least be able to fill themselves up.

However, it seemed that luck was not on the Japanese side. Just as the thousand Japanese soldiers had been carrying potatoes for a long time, weighing them in the maintenance committee chairman's backyard, and then dancing and inspecting the potatoes and bargaining, a loud roar suddenly came from the Kang family's front yard.

"Mr. Kang! Kang Fugui! Are you home?"

The voice was piercing even in such a noisy environment, and it was very recognizable. Miki saw the slightly chubby maintenance chairman raise his head. "It's Captain Lei... Captain Lei! What's up?"

"That mute laborer you called over, come find him! He said something happened over there!"

Chapter 373: The Devil’s Life-Saving Technique

(4K update)

"The mute laborer you called, come and look for him! He said something happened over there!" Captain Lei shouted at the door.

The Japanese labor team in Kangjia Town was an unspoken secret, part of a secret agreement between the maintenance chairman Kang Fugui and the 90th Independent Infantry Detachment: Chairman Kang was able to hire a labor force with above-average quality at a rate far below the market price, without even having to pay monetary wages; and the 90th Independent Infantry Detachment was able to "collect" enough food to feed the entire detachment without suffering any casualties.

This was a mutually agreed-upon matter, conforming to market principles under special circumstances. Yet, it couldn't be made public—even though Kangjia Town was nominally a "maintenance village," under Japanese rule and with a maintenance association. But the Japanese soldiers brazenly coming to collect grain and labor was one thing, and sneaking into the village to work "in secret" was another. The villagers of Kangjia Town in 1940 were clearly not as open-minded as the residents of Jiuzi City in 1944, who would accept the Japanese soldiers' "home-based agricultural machinery repair services."

Now, the "dumb laborer" at the door was clearly the Japanese soldier from Niutou'ao. The one shouting was Captain Lei of the village militia. On weekdays, it was they who, along with the farmers' association, organized production and training in the village, protecting the peace of Kangjia Town from small-scale Japanese harassment.

These two men had come to the door. It was obvious that they were Japanese who were rushing towards the village but were stopped by Captain Lei at the village entrance and then brought here. What should I do? What should I do? This time there was no escape or avoidance!