Chapter Sixteen: Brothers Reunited

  Chen Dabiao is a sturdy fellow, although not tall in stature, but years of ironwork have given Chen Dabiao a robust physique, and although his arms and body bear many scars from sparks burns, isn't he the epitome of a capable man?

  However, Chen Dabiao was worried for a while. His wife took their two children back to her hometown, but there has been no news from them for over a month now. When the little devils occupied Sanshilipu, he and several craftsmen in the town were captured by the little devils and became laborers for them.

  Although he was furious, Chen Da Biao chose to cooperate for the sake of his wife and children. However, unexpectedly, he was taken by the little devils to Changshuitown again. Although he had made arrangements with his neighbors in Sanshiliupu that if his wife and children returned, they would come to Changshui town to find him, so that they could be reunited as a family. But more than a month has passed, and there is still no news of his wife and children. This makes Chen Da Biao's heart anxious beyond measure. Even though he was worried sick, he didn't dare leave, because if the little devils found out, his life would be over.

  But when Chen Dabiao, who was going out to buy something one day, suddenly saw Chen Youde from the same village, Chen Dabiao excitedly greeted Chen Youde, and also saw that Chen Youde was staring at him with a shocked face.

  Chen Dabiao pulled Chen Yude to a deserted place, wanting to ask about his wife and children, when Chen Dabiao learned from Chen Yude's mouth the entire experience of Chenjia Slope.

  After listening to Chen Youde's words, Chen Dabiao was stunned on the spot, standing there blankly, not knowing what he was thinking about, and then turned around and left.

  All the way, Chen Da-biao didn't even know how he got back to his residence. Changshui Town was a logistics base, where nearly two-thirds of the ammunition reserves and almost half of the food reserves of the Japanese 40th Division were stored.

  Although the little devils were very cruel and poisonous, they still gave some care to those who could work for them. With Chen Dabiao's outstanding performance, he had a single-person residence outside the little devils' barracks and warehouse, which was simple but clean.

  The dispirited Chen Dabiao had no idea how he got back, and found himself sitting alone on a stool, silently staring out the window.

  "Why is this? Why is this? Father's gone, mother's gone, wife's gone, children are gone, what's the point of me living?" After who knows how long, Chen Da Biao let out a loud wail and shouted.

  Having said that, he stood up and suddenly rushed towards a hitching post in the courtyard with his head lowered.

  Luckily, Chen Youde saw Chen Dabiao like this and was afraid of an accident, so he didn't leave. Seeing the situation in front of him, he hurriedly hugged Chen Dabiao tightly and said loudly: "Dabiao brother, what do you want to do? Is it fun to seek death like this? My uncle, my aunt, and your sister-in-law and Xiaohuzi, if they see you like this, can they be happy? Even if you follow them to the King of Hell, if they ask you, have you avenged us? How will you answer? And say that our family's Daxiong is still alive, waiting for you to reunite with him." While talking, he hugged Chen Dabiao tightly.

  After hearing Chen Youde's words, Chen Dabiao's body suddenly shook violently, then slowly stopped struggling and stood still in the same spot. After a while, Chen Dabiao turned his head to Chen Youde and said: "Youde, you say Dayong is still alive."

  Looking at Chen Da Biao, who was staring at him with a pair of blood-red eyes, Chen You De hastily said: "Yes, Big Biao brother, Da Yong is still alive. That day, I and Da Yong, Da Kui and several others went to Qin Da Ge's place to practice shooting, and we dodged those damned little devils." Then, Chen You De quickly recounted how they launched a night raid on the devil's camp, annihilating every last one of them.

  Chen Dabiao's face turned even more ferocious after hearing this, his teeth chattering with rage as he said: "Good, great, you guys have done a great job, that little devil should be dealt with like this."

  "Yes, yes, Big Brother, if you die now, my uncle and aunt in heaven will be heartbroken and say that you are unfilial. And what about Big Courage? If he finds out his brother died like this, who knows how sad he'll be? After all, there's only two of you brothers left. But this is still better than me, I'm the only one left in my family." As Chen Youde spoke, he quietly shed tears, now envying Chen Dayong for having a brother after all.

  Seeing Chen Youde's tears, Chen Dabiao has come to his senses. He gently patted Chen Youde on the shoulder and said softly: "Youde, from today on, the remaining people in our Chenjia Slope are just close brothers. I now have a deep hatred for the little devils, Youde, take me to find your Commander Qin to fight against the devils."

  Chen Youde wiped away a tear with his hand and said, "Dabiao, I see that the place you're living in now is quite close to the little devil's warehouse. You know, around here, either they're translators for the little devils or some of their technicians. How did you end up living here?"

  Chen Dabiao let out a bitter laugh and said, "You think I wanted to stay here? When I was in Sanli Puzhen, I was caught by the little devils and taken to their repair shop to do some repairs. Later, one of the little devil technicians thought my craftsmanship was pretty good, so he had me brought to Changshui Town, where there's a big repair shop for the little devils. I'm still working for them, although they're quite cruel, but they take care of those who can help them get things done. Plus, that technician who took a liking to me, Hirata Kōji, has some connections, so I haven't suffered too much. But those brothers who do hard labor for the little devils are really out of luck - every day they're hungry and cold, and if they make even the slightest mistake, it's a beating. In this time alone, several have already been beaten to death, and the little devils just wrap them in a mat and throw them outside the town into the mountains, where they're left for the wolves to dig up without even being buried."

  "Alright, Big Biao, I now know where you are. My opinion is that you should continue working for the little devils here. In a few days, I'll let Da Yong come over and arrange for you two brothers to meet." Chen Youde said to Chen Dabiao after thinking for a moment.

  "You're kidding, right? Xiao Guizi and I are sworn enemies, and you want me to work for them? Do you think Big Brother Da Biao is afraid of death?" As soon as Chen Youde finished speaking, Chen Dabiao's eyes widened in shock.

  "No, no, how can I think that?" Chen Youde waved his hand and lowered his voice: "Big Biao, this time Qin Big Brother asked me to come to Changshui Town, it was to let me investigate the situation of the little devils' garrison here. Who knows, one day we'll give the little devils a good beating."

  "Oh, you're saying I should be a mole here." Chen Dabiao wasn't stupid either, and as soon as he heard the implicit meaning behind the words, he understood what was going on.

  "Okay, Big Biao, you stay here for a few more days first. In a few days, I and Da Yong will come over and have a good talk with you." Chen Youde looked at the warehouse not far from the devils, his eyes flashing with a hint of coldness.

  Then Chen Youde bid farewell to Chen Dabiao and quickly returned to 'Yi Xian Tian' to report the matter to Qin Wei.

  This led to Qin Wei finding Chen Dayong.

  That day, Chen Da Biao, who had finished his work at the Japanese devil's place, sat alone on the kang, drinking wine with a plate of peanuts and a bowl of salted vegetables. He thought to himself: How come De hasn't returned yet? It's been so many days, will something have happened to him?

  Just as Chen Dabiao was indulging in wild fancies, he heard someone knocking at the gate, "Bang, bang, bang."

  "Who?" As he spoke, Chen Dabiao put on his shoes and walked out.

  "Big Brother Da Biao, I'm here." A voice that had been on Chen Dabiao's mind day and night came from the doorway.

  "Ah, you've finally arrived! Is Da Yu here?" Chen Dabiao asked hastily while opening the door.

  As they spoke, the courtyard gate was already open, and two figures flashed in.

  Chen Dabiao, who had come to open the door, took a closer look and found it was Chen Youde and his own younger brother Chen Dayong.

  "Great courage, great courage." Looking at his own younger brother, Chen Dabiao's eyes immediately welled up with tears, and he took a step forward to hug Chen Dayong.

  But what Chen Dabiao didn't expect was that Chen Dayong suddenly broke free from his grasp and with a 'thud' knelt down on the ground.

  "Brother, I'm sorry, I didn't protect our parents and my sister-in-law and Little Tiger, I'm guilty, I'm guilty." Chen Dayong said with tears in his eyes, kowtowing several times, "thud, thud, thud". After that, bloodstains could be seen on Chen Dayong's forehead.

  "Big courage, big courage, what are you doing? Are you not thinking of letting your brother continue to live? It's not just our parents and your sister-in-law, Little Hu Zi, who have bad luck, but also those damned little devils. If you were there, our old Chen family would have lost another life." Chen Da Biao hugged his younger brother's head and burst into loud sobs.

  At that moment, the two brothers hugged each other and wailed in grief. They didn't know how much sorrow was released at this moment, but they knew: A man has tears, but doesn't easily shed them, only when he reaches the point of heartbreak.

  Looking at Chen Dabiao and his brother crying their hearts out, Chen Youde's eyes were also filled with tears. At this moment, he thought of his parents, brothers, and sisters. However, Chen Youde was still very vigilant and closed the courtyard gate. If others saw such a scene and it reached the ears of the Japanese, it would be difficult to explain.

  In the midst of grief at the mourning hall, Chen Youde pulled up his two brothers, Chen Dabiao, and said in a low voice: "Hurry into the house, if others see this, it will be hard to explain."

  Upon hearing these words, Chen Dayong, who had already shown some military demeanor, suppressed the sadness in his heart, wiped away the tears on his face with his sleeve and echoed: "Right, De has spoken rightly, let's hurry into the house, if the devils find out it won't be good."

  Chen Dabiao was taken aback for a moment, then hastily said: "Right, right, hurry inside."

  As he spoke, he pulled Chen Youde and Chen Dayong into the house.