Chapter 11 of Volume 2: The Wine Sentiment That Night (1)

  In late winter and early spring, Chen Zizhong's guerrilla force won several major victories: twice annihilating the South Korean military transport team, capturing a large number of materials and equipment, once blowing up a dam, and flooding three US military positions with hundreds of tanks, armored vehicles, and cars becoming scrap iron in the water.

  The guerrilla force relied on a group of villages in the deep mountains as its secret base. The village group consisted of five small villages, 74 kilometers away from the nearest highway. The South Korean army had once besieged and annihilated the North Korean People's Army here, and more than a dozen households that provided shelter to the People's Army were exterminated, with hundreds of people slaughtered. Most male villagers were forced to join the South Korean army, leaving only women, children, and the elderly in the village.

  The guerrilla band, with their inspiring military achievements and rich spoils of war, easily persuaded the villagers in four villages, but encountered trouble in the last village.

  Dahoe Village is the largest of all villages, with a large population and high terrain, located in the center of the other four villages, overlooking the surroundings, making it an ideal location for a secret camp. Park Dong-ming led a team of guerrilla fighters to Dahoe Village, where hundreds of old men, women and children blocked the village entrance, forming a human shield. Park Dong-ming took out his speech prepared for the other villages, stating that the guerrilla unit was fighting against American invaders and liberating the poor people.

  "Get out!"

  A loud shout and a slap in the face wiped away Pak Dong-ming's smile. The leader of the Korean women, around thirty years old, was pretty, with red lips and white teeth, her long braid tied up in a bun at the back of her head. She wore traditional Korean clothing, a short jacket and long skirt, with green satin trim on the cuffs, the colors faded but very clean. In front of her stood a little girl, six or seven years old, pouting with an angry face.

  "Sister-in-law, we are guerrillas, we have guns and men..."

  "Can guns eat or drink?"

  Park Dong-ming tossed over the sack he had been carrying on his shoulder, which contained canned goods, biscuits and a brand-new blanket.

  The woman lifted the mouth of the sack with her toes, glared at Pak Tong-ming, and suddenly kicked the sack hard. The little girl followed suit and kicked it a few more times, spitting out a mouthful of saliva.

  "Big sister, you may have misunderstood us. We are guerrillas, we don't rob grain or harm people. We're here to protect you. We're one family."

  "Get out! Who dares to bring a speck of dirt from Dahongcun village on the sole of their shoe, I'll bite him to death!"

  The woman put on a fierce expression, her teeth grinding out a crisp sound, and suddenly she sprang up, kicking Pu Dongming in the chest with a flying foot, sending him flying out horizontally, his head down, crashing into the muddy ditch by the side of the road, mud and water pouring into his collar, sleeves, and mouth.

  Park Dong-ming was enraged and jumped up, rushing over with a few soldiers who had removed their guns to follow him.

  "Come on, you have guns, fire at me!"

  Women surged forward, the crowd swarmed like a tide, the old man with a cane trembled, women cursed loudly, pinched the children in their arms, pinched them to tears, and wailed.

  Park Dong-ming panicked and didn't dare to use force, so he circled around and bowed: "Misunderstanding, it must be a misunderstanding. Otherwise, I'll come back later to see you again."

  "Get out, all of you get out!"

  The Dahoe Village is right in front of us, the eaves-tiled building is within reach, but Pak Tong-ming slipped away with a gloomy face, and the woman behind him laughed like thunder.

  In the evening, Park Dong-ming told Chen Zizhong and Ding Rugang about what happened in Daher Village.

  Chen Zizhong's big feet were propped up in front of the stove, wrapped in a steaming hot towel, emitting a pungent smell that wafted out as white smoke. He picked up his shoe and hurled it over: "Let the women clean up, you lazy bum!"