Chapter Two

  A group of people sat in the middle of the alley, completely blocking traffic. They were mostly squatting, and their anger usually started with spitting and ended with spitting. One of them, a thick and non-spicy Hunan accent, was the biggest spit bubble among them. He was oily when he was calm, but also showed his anger when he was angry. He was always carrying a kind of pure and true anger, and he had a kind of primitive vitality from the countryside. With this, although he was just a superior soldier, he often took the lead in a group of soldiers who listened to heaven's fate.

  "...when our stomachs are hungry, who do we shout to? Heaven?" The guy made a disdainful gesture towards the vast sky above the alley, "Nonsense. He can't hear it. If he could hear and see, I would have been struck by lightning just now." He revealed his riddle, "We should shout to those who can hear."

  I was blocked and felt it necessary to intervene, "Not spicy?"

  Not spicy, looking at me using my finger to draw a line under my neck, this action reminds of the meaning far more than warning, a group of people thus fell silent, but in the silence, a low hum from my abdomen betrayed all reminders and warnings.

  The oily face began to smile, "Even the officer didn't get it! They shouted that they had a egg to use! Want to shout with those who have eggs! Shout with the county master!"

  "Whatever." I muttered, lowering my head and squeezing through the narrow passageway that had just been vacated by the crowd. Behind me, Kang Ya was asking Nuo for needle and thread.

  "Do you have thread?"

  Don't pluck even one hair from him.

  Now, I and Kang Ya have entered our territory, a relatively open sky well, which is considered to be one of the larger empty spaces in this alley. However, there are far fewer people gathered here compared to outside, as both idleness and anger require at least some audience. The people wandering around like lonely ghosts and wild demons mostly have no direct relationship with me, except for a few who are gathered near a pile of waste materials, including Hao Shouyi, Dou Bing, Yao Ma, and She Pi Gou. I and Kang Ya should have walked directly towards them, but the mysterious dragon at the entrance of the sky well is an existence that we two officials cannot ignore.

  The man from the White Mountain and Black Water, Mí Lóng, a top-notch soldier, had a bamboo reclining chair, which he used to guard the warehouse behind him and a sign that read "No cheating or debt". He was currently playing dice with his trusted sidekick, Yáng Dàn Zǐ, on a small stool next to the recliner. The stakes were hilarious - whoever lost would get kicked in the butt by the winner. Mí Lóng had an unfair advantage, winning seven or eight out of ten times, while Yáng Dàn Zǐ would only dare to lightly tap him even when he lost. Mí Lóng didn't like to hold back his strength. It was hard to tell that Mí Lóng was just a top-notch soldier because he wore a uniform that was too small for him and had torn off the sleeves to stay cool. His lower body was clad in light silk pants, which accentuated his muscular physique, making him look like a bandit who had just made a fortune. Whenever he won comfortably, he would fan himself and eat a slice of watermelon that Yáng Dàn Zǐ had cut for him earlier. Junior Officer Lǐ Wū Lā stood beside them, wanting to speak but always being silenced by Mí Lóng's sharp elbow whenever he tried.

  As a fellow officer, this scene is infuriating, but apparently there are more things worth being infuriated about, so I drag my legs and head straight to the group that belongs to me.

  Heaven has famine, we have education. I was educated. Not bragging, but it's not like that, shouting and getting only one iron peanut, those of us who are educated and disciplined formed a foraging team, a group of people foraging is better than one person foraging, on the other hand, a group of people starving is better than one person starving. The Japanese army dispersed us, food brought us back together. I am the deputy leader of this team, they are my teammates.

  Hao the veterinarian was examining a festering sore on his arm, using all the diagnostic techniques of looking, smelling, asking, cutting and feeling, subjectively and objectively, in a disorderly manner. He used every possible method of diagnosis that could be done without any equipment, but had no means of treatment. The old man was fifty-six years old, or rather, just fifty-six years old, and we bluntly called him "old man" and "old immortal". He was the only doctor among us. No one knew whether he was a military officer or a soldier. When he was a civilian, he rushed to the battlefield to rescue wounded soldiers, then was swept away by the tide of retreating soldiers, put on a military uniform, and became a military doctor. His medical skills were strange, one-third traditional Chinese medicine plus one-third Western medicine, plus one-third experience from long illness, he had never cured anyone, so we called him "veterinarian".

  It can be determined that the snake's buttocks and the two candidates waiting next to it are just barely passing the time. Their wish to receive treatment is sincere, but they do not trust the doctor in front of them.

  Everyone couldn't help but notice the kitchen knife hanging from his waist, with a string around his neck and snake fangs on it. The owner of the fangs had long been in his belly, and this thing was left as a talisman to ward off evil. There are only three things known about Guangdong Snake Butt: First, he fought in the Battle of Shanghai; Second, all the snakes that can be found nearby have been eaten by him; Third, he carries a kitchen knife with him because he loves cooking, because if he puts it elsewhere it will be stolen, and when there's no food to cook, the knife can be used for self-defense.

  Bean cake stared with his eyes surrounded by several people in the middle, he was a experimental white mouse, he was chewing grass, picking out from a handful of grass on his numb hand, one root at a time, don't think he's bored, he really hoped that could fill his hunger, only from his expression it seemed he also doubted if people could take this as food. This is a nineteen-year-old Henan boy, five years ago he went down to cut wheat, was recruited by a certain regiment commander, started his first long journey in life, the journey has not ended until now, because wherever he arrived was a place he had never been before.

  Mao was observing, his expression changing with the bean pancake's expressions, although he still maintained an encouraging expression for the bean pancake, but our temporary botanist had already been scratching his head repeatedly. If it weren't for those two onlookers who were holding a "it's not me eating" attitude and continued to add new herbs to his hand, he might have already interrupted this research. Mao and Xiang Jun are sworn brothers, but Mao is much more cautious than Jun, so Jun was shouting outside while Mao was eating grass here, so it wasn't him eating, it was the bean pancake eating, so he was a lower-ranking soldier, and Jun was a higher-ranking soldier.

  Kangyao behind me started another round of begging, "Do you have a lighter?"

  He asked Hao Shouyi, a veterinarian, who pulled out a cloth package containing dry matches and other items. Kang Wan had fire and started searching his body for the buttons that had been taken from me. Kang Wan was the real name of this Shanxi boy, we loved this name because it sounded worse than his nickname. The fortune teller said he would not live past thirty if he kept his birth name, after changing his name, Kang Wan believed he would not live past twenty-five, and he is now twenty-five years old. This time he asked the right person, Hao Shouyi couldn't cure people but always collected things that others might need.

  Kang Yao persisted in continuing his endless 25-year-old life, "Is there a needle and thread?"

  Hao Shouyi picked up a package, opened another one, and this package was full of needles and threads, even the old man carefully divided them into several types and colors. Kang Yao belonged to that kind of person who wouldn't get angry when not given anything, and wouldn't say thank you when given something, while I patted his butt, planning to squeeze in between Hao Shouyi and She Pi's butt.

  The dragon on the other side shouted: "I'll kill you!"

  Something happened on his side: the puzzled dragon finally got tired of Li Wula's nagging, turned around with a loud scolding, pinched Li Wula's neck with his elbow, and gave him two hard punches on the back of his head, and still didn't stop assigning the next action to Yang Danzi.

  "What's wrong with you? Flies? — Never mind, go move the goods."

  Yang Eggzi farted and left, Mi Long's dominance over him was both physical and material. Mi Long let go of his hand, Li Wula lay down straight, Mi Long returned to his own couch, Li Wula supported the wall and stumbled out.

  It's just a small matter, I continue to sit on my butt, while Hao Shouyi helps Kang Ya find the needle and thread he wants - we try not to look at Mi Long, but we can't help but look at Mi Long. Northeasterner Mi Long and Northeasterner Li Wula have a deep-seated grudge, it seems that when Li Wula was a squad leader, he bullied Mi Long, who was then a superior soldier, and later handed the entire Northeast squad over to the Japanese. Now, compared to his past, Mi Long is a three-time elder statesman of this place, black market boss, gambler, and tyrant, with fists and canned goods, and doesn't owe anyone clothes or food. The officers want to restore their dignity, but if he says that officer uniforms can be exchanged for canned goods, we'll become naked, so it's better not to mention dignity.

  Fine, anyway Mo Long is acting as if we don't exist, and once we're sure he won't get up again to beat anyone else, then we'll stop caring about him. After all, we have nothing to exchange with him. Our hundred postures are still ongoing, Kang Yi has already taken off his clothes and is bare-chested, but he doesn't even have the skill to thread a needle, but what does that have to do with me?

  Kang Yao started pestering me, "Help me sew?"

  "Shut your mouth."

  But with someone helping him sew, Dr. Hao took the clothes over and skillfully threaded the needle to sew on buttons.

  "What's for dinner?"

  I turned to the most numerous among us and asked, Hao Shouyi looked up from his needlework, Dou Bing was still there trying hard to taste the hundred herbs, Dou Bing was almost a machine that would listen to anyone's words.

  "Deputy group leader, it's you. You didn't know I'd find out?" Then the old man couldn't bear it anymore and unleashed his not-so-fearsome old authority, "Stop playing with bean cakes! Do you think just because animals eat something, humans can too?"

  Come on, just try it, he won't mind.

  Bean cake nodded hastily, "Nothing, nothing."

  But he had to force a few mouthfuls of bean cakes down his throat, making him spit out those already masticated grassy fibers.

  I don't care about these things, although I'm looking around, but actually I don't care about anything, I only care that as long as our team leader doesn't take on too much, we can have something to eat. "Where's the team leader? Ask the team leader what to eat."

  The snake pointed its butt at a corner that was hard to see from my angle, "Forget it, this useless thing wants to cook wooden soup for us."

  I turned my head and saw our squad leader, Ah Yi, in the corner watering a small potted plant. In such circumstances, meticulously watering a single flower was almost abnormal, but Ah Yi was doing just that. Ah Yi, the most neatly dressed among us, if I were to describe him as aloof, he would be downright autistic. He watered the plant, even gazing at a butterfly that, like him, didn't fit in with this dull and dusty place. It seemed that was his entire world. His sorrow didn't evoke sympathy because it made people feel depressed - he looked out of place in this world, not in a simple effeminate way, but in a more lethal way, forever unable to blend in, yet always trying to fit in like a moth to flame. Captain Ah Yi, from the picturesque Jiangnan region, a member of the Three Youths League and a graduate of a certain military officer training program. Don't be intimidated by his credentials; he's indeed the only company-grade officer here, but also the only one who has never been on a battlefield, a greenhorn through and through. Listening to the distant artillery fire, he retreated all the way from his hometown to this place. The things he once believed in and adhered to had all fallen apart; now he tried to use his nonexistent abilities and personal charm to make us rebuild our faith.

  That's all, everything left beside me after the big retreat.

  Kang Ya's interrogation ended and I looked around discontentedly, "Is there anything to eat?"

  A dilapidated military vehicle drove past the refugee camp, dragging mud and water, with the wounded soldiers' listless feet scattered among the wheels.

  Bugle calls were making stirring proclamations, while Zhenjiang was becoming a chaotic militarized city due to being overcrowded with defeated soldiers.

  "...The 33rd Division of the Japanese army used a pincer movement to capture the north and south banks of the Ping Wall River with two regiments, while our expeditionary force fought against overwhelming odds, shedding blood and sacrificing lives to rescue over 7,000 British soldiers and recover over 500 journalists..."

  It was talking about the battle of Renan Qiang in April 1942, a rare victory in the first Yunnan-Burma war, but what does this have to do with us abandoned soldiers in these collection stations?

  In the ceiling of the shelter, A Yi finally began to perform his duty as a team leader. He scribbled on a wooden board, but his body blocked what he wrote. When he finished writing, we couldn't see it because he had placed the board upside down.

  We put on a show of having a small meeting, looking at each other. We were very impatient, and most people had an expression that said "I'm really giving you face", which made A Yi tense, his throat rolling, his eyes slightly scattered, he looked at me for help, and I was watching him with a poker face.

  Extinguishing passion and never speaking the truth is the scattered grave I dug for my own life. But Ah Yi has never fought a battle, only throwing himself into the line of fire, forever tense with anxiety, life hasn't given him anything good, he closed his eyes, yet still spoke of a bright future - thus his fate was extremely clear, that is to forever face our negation.

  In the face of negation, Ah Yi almost lost control of his tone, often bringing out a sharp, out-of-control voice in his fake tone. As he spoke, he used the white chalk to make meaningless scribbles on the ground, destroying his own confidence.

  "Our army is about to win a great victory! This is certain! —— My friend above told me……."

  Kang Ya Lian asked with a smile, "Who among you has connections upstairs?"

  The snake's buttocks happily picked up the conversation, "Up, up. In the sky. Dead."

  The yawn comes from wanting to curse, almost seeing the throat, such an exaggerated yawn is absolutely not indicating sleepiness.

  Ah Yan, cannot be denied, he was sometimes very strong, “……Chinese Iron Army, ally of the United States, ally of England…….”

  Shepi Guni started performing a pantomime, swatting at a nonexistent fly hovering above the tofu's head and making the tofu let out a pained cry when he struck. Dr. Hao pulled Shepi Guni down into his seat, not for A Yi's sake, but because Shepi Guni's blows were too heavy-handed.

  Mother warned Snake's butt: "Don't bully him."

  The snake counterattacked with a somewhat weak tail, because it wanted to play, usually pouncing on the hemp and not spicy "are you only allowed to bully him?"

  "Aya still persisted, '... iron stream... converged into this iron stream... this iron stream... I'm sure of this iron stream......'"

  He's completely messed up, and the biggest blow came from a loud shout from the direction of the Dragon Beating Sky Well, "You must be kidding! Are you fighting?"

  The dragon is still closing his eyes and taking a nap, you just look at him and really can't believe it's him who shouted; Kang Ya is trying on clothes with a button that finally has one button, although the button on the chest makes his lower hem still exposed to his navel, and the military uniform is worn as a short cloak. Ah Yi is angry and ashamed, but it's an obvious fact, he can't afford to offend the dragon. I'm playing with my fingers desperately, feeling irrelevant, until Dr. Hao pushes me gently. He complains: "You're the deputy team leader."

  Also. I twirled my fingers and seemed to be muttering to myself: "Just say what's good to eat or not?"

  A Yi suddenly lifted the wooden board behind him with an overly fierce movement, and then faced the crowd of stunned people. He now looked like a meritorious official.

  Braised Noodles with Pork and Cabbage

  Literates like me and Hao veterinarian are almost suffocated.

  Semi-literate people, such as Kang Yao, are laboriously counting the number of words.

  Illiterate people, such as wanting to eat a snake's fart, have no reaction, without our physiological response from the brain directly hitting the stomach, and then from the stomach rolling back to the mouth, making the whole mouth moist and throat twitching.

  "White - meat - rice."

  "Ai starts to expand his offense, drawing a line under each element with his white chalk, "Cabbage - Pork - Stewed Noodles! We're having this today! --- Cabbage and Pork Stewed Noodles!"

  We were stunned, we were dazed, and we were shocked by that guy who was always the least persuasive.