Chapter 4 The Flag Flutters (Part 3)

  Dazed and confused, Zhang Songling heard people talking non-stop beside his ear, sometimes it was Tian Qingyu and Han Qiu, sometimes it was Lu Ming and Liu Jing, and then again it was Fang Guoqiang and Peng Xuewen. They no longer argued about whether to go south or north, anyway wherever they went was to fight the devils. Peng Weiwei didn't hide from him anymore, but blinked her big shining eyes, teaching him to sing that May's flower song together. And old military advisor Wei Ding, still looked so casual, closed his eyes, raised his legs on a recliner listening, as if all the songs were sung by his juniors for him to listen...

  He slept for a long time. When Zhang Songling opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright. The sunlight shone through the snow-white window paper and warmed him up, making him feel cozy and soft, not wanting to move at all.

  That kind of window paper is called "Clever Nang Paper", famous for its white transparency and flexibility. It was once very popular in Old Zhang's warehouse, but with the influx of Oriental glass, wealthy families stopped using window paper, while ordinary families couldn't afford the high price of Clever Nang Paper, gradually losing its market. However, during the summer, some traditional old residents still like to buy a few rolls of Clever Nang Paper, paste it on the lattice windows, which is breathable, transparent, and can prevent mosquitoes, with a hint of nostalgia.

  "I wonder what Father and Big Brother are like now?" As soon as Zhang Songling thought of Qiao Niang's letter, he couldn't help but think of his home in Lu City. At that time, he left with great fanfare, but now thinking back, he realized he was too reckless. Even if he didn't dare say goodbye to his father and brother, at least he should have written a few more words in the letter to explain the purpose of his trip north more clearly. Now it's all well, he just left without a word, and the area around Beiping is in chaos, his family still doesn't know how worried they should be!

  As he thought about it, his nose felt a bit sour and his eyes felt hot. He quickly adjusted his posture to lie on his side and secretly stretched out his hand from under the quilt to wipe away tears. Before he could even finish wiping one eye, he heard a loud "Boom!" coming from above his head, followed by a woman with a big mouth yelling fiercely: "Are you awake? If you're awake, get up quickly and eat, don't lie there pretending to be dead!"

  "Who's pretending to be dead?!" Zhang Songling quickly rubbed his nose, asking back in discontent. Turning his head around, he happened to see a majestic dark cloud.

  A robust nurse with broad shoulders, over three feet away, slapped the rice bowl onto the small cabinet in front of the hospital bed and shouted with her eyes wide open: "What are you doing lying on the bed pretending to be dead? You have a total of four small mouths all over your body, do you want me to feed you while you're lying down?! Let me tell you, there's no way!"

  There are only four small mouths in total? Zhang Songling was most excited to hear this news, and as for the nurse's scolding, he just treated it as a breeze in his ear. He pulled open a small gap in the quilt and put his head on himself. But when he saw that there was nothing but a bare skin bag inside the quilt, not even wearing underwear.

  "Ah!" Zhang Songling's face immediately turned bright red, and he quickly pulled the quilt up to cover himself. The nurse sister, however, rolled her eyes in disdain and scolded: "What are you covering? You act like I've never seen anything before! All the wounds on your body were washed by me! What can be seen has already been exposed!"

  "You... " had never seen such a fierce woman, Zhang Songling was both ashamed and angry, his face red like an eggplant. The fellow patients in the same room burst out laughing, pounding on their beds as if they had picked up some precious treasure, "Haha, haha, hahaha, haha, don't cover it, don't cover it, Wu Dajie has long passed that age! Two more eyes won't make a difference!"

  "What are you laughing at!" The nurse turned her face, using the iron tray to knock against each bed head, "I'll make you laugh, I'll make you laugh. Later when it's time for the injection, I'll intentionally poke the needle into your crotch, and see if you can still laugh then!"

  The laughter suddenly stopped, and the wounded soldiers, under the stern gaze of Nurse Wu, lay on their beds, covering their mouths with the corners of their quilts, each one enduring great hardship.

  "Hmph, that's what you get for being cheap! You asked for it!" Wu Da Jie single-handedly defeated the group of heroes, feeling proud in her heart. She snorted, scanned the surroundings with a glance, turned around and walked away swiftly.

  "Bang!" The door was slammed shut from the outside. Immediately, a burst of laughter erupted in the ward again. Zhang Songling was also tormented to the point where he had no temper left, and tentatively sat up from under the covers, using his quilt to cover his lower body, eating with his bare back exposed.

  It's called a patient's meal, but it's just millet with a few pieces of boiled white vegetable stalks, and the meat can only be smelled by the nose, not seen by the eyes. Compared to the officer's meal he enjoyed in the Iron Blood Society, this difference is really quite big. The only advantage is that the portion is sufficient, with rice and dishes combined, weighing a total of two catties. No wonder the nurse didn't want to carry the rice bowl to feed the patients one by one!

  Zhang Songling was a bookworm and had always been relatively refined in his eating habits. Added to the fact that he had just woken up from a daze, his chopsticks moved even slower. The other dozen or so patients in the same ward, however, were like whirlwinds sweeping away the clouds, clearing an entire bowl of food in one swift motion. After finishing their meal, they let out satisfied burps and then lay back on their beds, staring blankly into space.

  His bed was against the wall on one side, and on the other side, it faced a forty-year-old veteran. His skin was very dark, and his facial wrinkles were also very deep. The deeper the place, the heavier the color, as if there were many brown dyes, ready to flow out along the wrinkles at any time.

  The rice in the bowl had been finished for a long time, and the old soldier with a dark face was bored to death. He put on his clothes and sat at the head of the bed, stealing glances at Zhang Songling's slow and deliberate eating posture. After a while, he found that the young man didn't seem to be stopping, so he deliberately coughed and asked with a smile: "Brother, what's your surname?"

  "My surname is Zhang, and I'm Xianggui. And you?" Zhang Songling put down his rice bowl and responded very politely.

  "You ask me, my surname is Liao, and I'm the eldest at home. Just call me Lao Da Liao!" The dark-skinned man was very talkative, and upon hearing Zhang Songling's response, he immediately reported his full name.

  "Liao wants to share some? I have a small appetite, and they gave us too much food here, can't finish it!" Zhang Songling also wanted to ask someone about the situation around him, picked up his own large rice bowl, and asked with a smile.

  "No, no, I'm full already!" Liao Lao Da said with a smile, but his hand was holding the rice bowl and moving it forward. Zhang Song Ling understood that he was being polite, smiled and tilted his own rice bowl, scooping half of the food into Liao's bowl. "You're helping me out, I really can't finish this much. My appetite is small to begin with, and I just woke up!"

  "That's enough, that's enough!" Liao Lao Da used his spoon to stop Zhang Song Ling from scooping more rice into his bowl. "You should eat a bit too, otherwise your wound won't heal easily."

  "Just now, Nurse said that the wound on my body is not serious!" Zhang Songling smiled and put away his rice bowl, lowering his head to examine his own body. His left chest, lower abdomen, and left thigh were each wrapped with a few rounds of bandages, but he could no longer feel any pain. There was still one on his back, which seemed a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn't too serious, at least not as bad as before when even the slightest movement felt like being stabbed by a knife.

  "She says this to everyone, can't wait for us to roll out of the ward immediately!" Liao Lao Da scolded while eating with his head down. "As if this hospital is their family business, afraid of spending a penny on us!"

  Zhang Songling smiled slightly, not making a sound. The nurse's attitude was indeed not very good, but she should have taken care of the patients' bodies. At least, the bandages on his body were wrapped very neatly, and he was cleaned up very thoroughly from head to toe.

  Thinking of himself being washed all over by the nurse like a little pig while he was unconscious, Zhang Songling felt his face heat up again. He pulled the quilt up and smiled, saying, "I think I'm really fine. I don't even feel where my wound is anymore. When the nurse comes over later, I..."

  "Are you stupid?!" Liao Laoda quickly interrupted, turning his head to see if anyone had heard Zhang Songling's words, and scolding in a low voice, "This place, others can't even get in! What are you so anxious to go out for?! Don't be foolish, you must wait until your wound is fully healed before going out. Otherwise, once infected, you'll be the one who suffers!"

  "Ah!" Zhang Songling didn't quite understand the consequences of wound infection, and with a "whatever" attitude, he responded in a low voice. Liao Lao Da saw that his reminder seemed to have no effect on the other person, so he glanced at him and continued eating. After finishing the half bowl of food that Zhang Songling had given him, he put down the bowl and stretched his waist contentedly. "Thanks, little Zhang brother. Which department are you from? Is this your first time here?"

  "I am..." Zhang Songling suddenly realized that he had forgotten to ask Commander Ji's unit number before falling into a coma for the second time. He smiled and added, "I used to be with the Iron Blood Alliance, I just joined your army. Don't know where to report yet. And you, which part are you from?"

  "Platoon!" Liao Lao Da frowned, a hint of disdain flashing across his face. "I'm from the 31st Division's Independent Regiment, Second Battalion, Third Company, Deputy Platoon Leader, Lieutenant rank!"

  The last four words, he emphasized particularly loudly. This led to other patients turning their heads, smiling on their faces, and teasing: "Old Liao, have you promoted yourself again? Your independent regiment fought hard this time, I estimate that after going out, at least you will be supplemented with a battalion commander?"

  "Me? I was originally going to be a deputy?" Liao's bluff was called, and he shouted with his neck stiff.

  He felt a bit bored, shouted for a while, and then fell back onto the bed, covering his head with the quilt to sulk. However, he couldn't bear the hot weather for long, and after just a few minutes, he poked his head out from under the quilt again, looked at Zhang Songling with a serious expression, and said in a low voice: "Don't listen to them, they're not good people. If I get promoted to deputy battalion commander this time, I'll transfer you to our battalion, at least..."

  Before he could think of what official position to give Zhang Songling, someone next to him laughed and said: "Old Liao, you can't be an official, but you're still not convinced! Look at your eyes, this brother Zhang has a delicate complexion, big ears with fleshy lobes, it's a rich and noble appearance. You think you can get him to carry a gun for you? If you switch roles, it would be more like you carrying a gun for him!"

  Liao Lao Da was once again made a fool of, and he was so angry that his eyes were about to spout fire. But taking a closer look at Zhang Songling's smooth and delicate skin, he had to admit that the reminders from his comrades made sense. A militiaman like him could actually stay in the military department's field hospital, and what's more, it was a good spot right next to the wall. This fact alone could explain many things. Only someone whose brain had been hit by a shell would be oblivious to so many details.

  He thought to himself that he might have unintentionally provoked a formidable figure just now. Liao Lao Da's heart felt somewhat apprehensive, and he jumped out of bed, forcing a smile as he fished out a cigarette from behind his ear that he was reluctant to smoke, and handed it to Zhang Song Ling with both hands, "This, this Mr. Zhang, have a smoke, have a smoke!"

  The cigarette was an unknown brand and had been stuck behind his ear for who knows how long, with a layer of black oil stains on it. Zhang Songling felt nauseous and quickly pushed it away, "No way, no way, I really won't do it! Liao brother, you smoke it yourself!"

  "Really won't?!" Liao Lao Da put the cigarette back, wanting to put it in his mouth, but couldn't bear to part with it. After hesitating for a moment, he still tucked it behind his ear again. "You're a rich and noble person, I reckon you wouldn't even look at this kind of thing. My eyes got water in them just now, didn't see your identity clearly. If I've offended you, please forgive me..."

  "What did Liao say?" Zhang Songling was confused by the other party and asked with wide eyes, "What have I done to offend you? Weren't we chatting pretty well just now?"

  "Ah, ah. It's fine, it's fine!" Liao Lao Da heard this and quickly got off the donkey. "What status do you have, why bother with such a small matter? I was just overthinking, overthinking!!"

  "I really didn't feel offended by you, besides I'm just a member of the people's militia, a small leader!" Zhang Songling couldn't bear the other person's frightened appearance and smiled again to comfort him.

  Liao Lao Da finally felt a bit at ease, and sat back down on his own bed. He sat idly for a moment, then poked his head over again, hesitantly asking: "So, Mr. Zhang, is there someone upstairs?"

  "No!" Zhang Songling didn't like the other's servile appearance and shook his head in denial.

  Liao was stunned, refusing to believe it. But Zhang Songling didn't say anything, and he didn't dare to investigate further. After all, there were big shots standing behind him, and it wasn't worth arguing with him about the details of his position as a battalion commander. Moreover, how long he could hold this position was uncertain - in the fierce battle a few days ago, the Independent Regiment not only failed to hold its ground but was also completely dispersed. Being disbanded and merged into other brother units was just a matter of a word from above.

  If merged into other brother units, it would be even more difficult to guarantee the original position. Thinking of his own dull and unremarkable future, Liao felt increasingly indignant. He looked around, steeled himself, bent down, and suppressed the feeling of humiliation, asking Zhang Songling: "Mr. Zhang, can I discuss something with you?"

  The tone of his speech, and that cheap smile, were almost identical to those of Old Military Advisor when he begged Zhang Songling to call him "grandfather". As soon as Zhang Songling arrived, he felt a sour taste in his heart. Just as he was about to respond, the robust nurse came over with a hardcover book, looking fierce, and said: "Bed 2, Liao Wen Hua, pack your things, you're being discharged!"