Chapter 33: The Photo on Li Weiguo's Body

  "Defend the country, defend the country..." Zhao Zhibang carried Li Weiguo back, but at this time he had no breath left. In this small counter-ambush battle, the company won a complete victory. Except for Li Weiguo, only one soldier in the whole company was injured when he accidentally fell off the mountain and dislocated his leg during the charge. The 21 Japanese daredevil commandos who sneaked up were all wiped out without exception.

  "Zhi Bang..." Zhang Da Mao pushed through the crowd of onlookers and walked to Zhao Zhi Bang's side, calling out softly.

  "Platoon leader, he died to save me... Platoon leader, he was trying to save me..." Seeing Zhang Damao and Li Liansheng arrive, Zhao Zhibang burst into tears.

  "I know, I know... the little guy is good... " Zhang Daman looked at Zhao Zhibang and sat down beside him, gently wiping Li Weiguo's face as he spoke.

  "Zhibang, don't be too sad, fighting is like this... Fighting is like this..." As he spoke, Zhang Damao suddenly choked up with sobs as well. It was unclear whether it was because of Li Weiguo's death that pained him or the place they were in now that made him sad, for this was where Zhang Quan had fallen under the machine gun fire of the Markov position during the day.

  "Zhi Bang, clean up for the little guy." Li Lian Sheng looked at Zhao Zhi Bang just as he was about to reach out and hug Li Wei Guo, but was pushed away by him.

  "They're all bastards...". Zhang Damao wiped away the tears on his face and shook his head at Li Liansheng, meaning to tell him not to bother.

  "Hey, you... bring me that soldier's clothes over here!" Zhang Damao said, pointing at a soldier in front of him while pulling Li Liansheng down to sit beside him.

  "Successive victories..."

  "Who wants a drag?" Zhang Damao took the clothes that were thrown over, and from the pocket, he fished out that crumpled pack of cigarettes. He pulled one out and lit it up. Li Liansheng took the pack from his hand and also pulled one out. Then, he took the lit cigarette from Zhang Damao's hand and sucked on it fiercely several times.

  "Come on... this is what I snatched from the squad leader's bag... it's good stuff, but precious! Zhang Dashuai said as he took a few strong puffs, then pulled out another one and stuck it behind his ear, before tossing the cigarette box to a soldier in front of him."

  "Zhi Bang, take a puff too..." Zhang Da Meng took another fierce drag, then lay down beside Zhao Zhi Bang and asked with his face sideways. Zhao Zhi Bang looked at Zhang Da Meng and shook his head, but after hesitating for a moment, he took the cigarette from Zhang Da Meng's hand himself.

  "Cough, cough, cough..." Zhang had already lain down, but he was startled and looked at Zhao Zhibang without saying a word. This was the first puff of smoke that Zhao Zhibang had inhaled since birth, and because he inhaled too vigorously, he was choked and coughed repeatedly.

  "Ah, maybe after ten or twenty years, no one will know that our group of people once fought against the devils here. But I know that as long as we are still alive, everything that happened here will be remembered for a lifetime." Zhang Damao looked at Zhao Zhibang, knowing it was his first time smoking, and took back the cigarette butt from his hand, taking big puffs while speaking.

  At this time, the entire camp fell silent, and everyone sat down around them, quietly passing a cigarette with flashing sparks, perhaps Zhang Damao's words had touched their hearts, no one spoke, not even a facial expression.

  "Brothers, all listen up... ...after the battle is over, as long as there are still living brothers, every year at this time don't forget to come here and take a look at them, give them a cigarette... ..." Zhang Damao said, sitting up from the ground and looking at Li Weiguo in Zhao Zhibang's arms.

  Silence or silence... Time is quietly consumed in silence, and before long, the sky has already brightened.

  "Zhi Bang..." Zhang Da Meng looked at Zhao Zhi Bang and called out, Zhao Zhi Bang didn't say anything but just nodded his head, he knew what Zhang Da Meng meant. After gently putting Li Wei Guo on the ground, Zhao Zhi Bang took off his outer garment and then removed the white shirt he was wearing underneath. This white shirt was different from Zhang Da Meng's, it was something he had worn when he left Bei Ping, and it was a birthday gift that Shi Jing Xiang Zi had given him on his 25th birthday.

  Zhang Damao and Li Liansheng did not lend a hand, but just looked at him like that. They had just lost their own brothers, fellow villagers, and comrades-in-arms, and they understood this feeling too well. This was also the only thing their dead brother could do for them with his own hands.

  Zhao Zhibang didn't make a sound, preparing to take off Li Weiguo's military uniform that had already been stained with blood. However, Li Weiguo's hand was pressed on the right pocket of his clothes and couldn't be pulled open no matter what. Zhao Zhibang looked at Zhang Daman suspiciously, then used force to pull open Li Weiguo's tightly clenched hand. As he pried open Li Weiguo's hand, he felt that there seemed to be something inside the pocket. He undid the button on the pocket and pulled out a few folded papers from inside. He carefully opened them, and suddenly a photo fell out.

  Just as Zhao Zhibang picked up the photo from the ground and stared at it blankly for a while, he suddenly shouted loudly and fell to Li Weiguo's side, fainting.

  "Zhi Bang... Zhi Bang..." Seeing Zhao Zhibang fall down, Zhang Daman was startled and quickly helped him up.

  "What's going on?" Li Liansheng took the photo from Zhao Zhibang and looked at it himself before handing it to Zhang Daman, who also looked at it with a puzzled expression. They knew that Zhao Zhibang's fainting was related to seeing this photo, but they couldn't figure out what connection he had with it. The only thing they were relieved about was knowing that Zhao Zhibang had just fainted and shouldn't be seriously hurt.

  Zhang Damao waved his hand, and several soldiers came up to take off Zhao Zhibang's white shirt and put it on Li Weiguo. Then they buried him beside Zhang Quanqi.

  When Zhao Zhibang woke up, Li Weiguo had already been carried away. He stared at Zhang Damao's flustered shouting, his two eyes scanning the ground around him, as if looking for something.

  "It's all here..." Li Liansheng took out the things from Li Weiguo's body from his own pocket and handed them over to Zhao Zhibang.

  "I said it was so familiar... I said it looked so familiar... I didn't think of it... I... Zhao Zhibang took the letter and photo from Li Liansheng's hand, holding the photo in his hand and looking at it carefully for a long time, muttering to himself with regret."

  "Zhao Zhibang, are you okay?" The two of them asked in unison upon seeing Zhao Zhibang's appearance.

  "Even the company commander, platoon leader, squad leader, and even the guards were all just kids, they were still students, only 15 years old..." Zhang Damao and others looked at Zhao Zhibang with puzzled expressions, unsure what he was trying to say.