Chapter 54: The Thousand Mile Famine (Part 2)

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  All bridges and road junctions that must be passed through villages and mountain passes have people assigned to them, and the time of attack is written on each command brief.

  This is a battle with an extremely wide attack surface, complex routes and unclear enemy situation. The General Command only issued some route maps and guiding orders, and the rest were left to each unit to execute according to their specific situations. But Yang Jiong firmly believed that all units would be able to complete their tasks.

  Xiliuzi Village is located at the junction of the northwest plain of Lu and the southeast plain of Ji, although it is said to be the intersection of two provinces, but in the eyes of Xiliuzi villagers, there is nothing different, people are still familiar with themselves, land is still their own cultivated land, just across two provinces. Some families visit relatives and have spanned two provinces. The land here is fertile, water source is sufficient, products are rich, population density is high, and folk customs are simple and honest.

  The willows in the big ditch are luxuriant, their slender branches bringing endless creativity and wealth to the people of the village. Autumn harvest is over, it's time to gather the willow twigs and weave some goods to exchange for daily necessities. The villagers are poor, not because they're lazy, but because there are too many people demanding things: the landlord wants, the newly arrived imperial army wants, and even some armed bandits dare to demand openly. It is said that there are Communist Party members who claim to lead everyone in resisting Japan and overthrowing the current social order - is it true? In private, the villagers weave baskets and other handicrafts while gathering together to chat idly.

  "Wait," said Mrs. Liu, standing up and stomping her numb legs, looking out the door towards the street. "Ah!" she cried loudly, "The devils are coming, hurry and leave!" The women who were gathered at Mrs. Liu's house making things were frightened by this and quickly gathered their finished and unfinished work, in the chaos one of the women was tripped and fell to the ground, shouting loudly.

  "Oh no," a young woman hastily covered her mouth, "the devils like women, if you shout like that, aren't you inviting the devils?" Only then could Liu Dama move her feet, and she quickly closed her own gate and bolted it.

  The women who had been in a flurry all at once hid in the inner room, and the bustling sounds of people coming and going could already be heard on the main street. It was just that there were no chickens flying and dogs jumping like when the devils usually came to the village, nor were there any gunshots. The commotion lasted for a while, then there was no more movement.

  "This is strange, didn't the devils cause a big commotion last time they came? What's going on this time? Don't tell me they're going to bring disaster to our village again? I heard that Wang Village was destroyed just like that." A woman said with a changed expression.

  "'Just a wild guess,' said Liu's wife with a wave of her hand, 'I suppose it wasn't the Japanese troops passing by?'"

  A knock at the door was heard from outside. The woman in the house trembled with fear, but Liu's wife listened for a moment and then smiled: "It is my husband."

  Liu Laogen hastily came in, he was the general wholesaler of the neighbors on the left and right, all the well-made goods were sold to the market by him, sometimes they could even be sold to the big buyers in Shanghai and Beiping, and the price would be better. Liu Laogen was a good man, he never took commission from everyone, only during the holidays, people sent some things to him as a token of appreciation. But Liu Laogen was indeed also a person who had traveled south and north, his vision far exceeded that of others in the village, not much different from Professor Han who taught children.

  "Old Root, where are you back from?" Liu's mother took the cloth bag from him and brushed off the dust on his body. "What's going on with those devils outside?"

  "I just came from Mr. Han's place, and he gave me some water to drink. There were so many people at Mr. Han's place that if you spoke softly, others couldn't hear you." Liu Laogen took a coarse ceramic bowl handed over by a woman. "Don't go out for now, there are devils everywhere on the street," he stopped the woman who was about to leave. "It's strange, this group of devils is really not normal. When I came, others didn't dare to come out. I sneaked along the wall and was seen by a devil. This devil neither shot nor scolded me, but just looked at me and wandered back and forth on the street."

  "When will it be over? I still have to go back and feed the baby." The young woman said, lingering at the door.

  "Come," Liu Laogen fetched a handful of ash from the stove, "apply it to your face, the devils are afraid of ugliness. Put on your aunt's tattered clothes, I'll see you off."

  The woman reluctantly followed his advice, and Liu Laogen quietly opened the big gate. Unexpectedly, several devils rushed in from outside, not even looking at the people inside, but walking straight to the stove, lifting the pot off it and carrying it away. Liu Laogen was so scared that his legs trembled, and he sat down on the ground with a thud, with only the glint of bayonets left before his eyes.

  "Hey uncle, look at your courage, I think this ghost isn't that fierce either?" a woman said with a smile.

  "Three households away, your uncle was scared by the devils. On a spring day, he went to Li Guan village for the fair, and next to him, someone was stabbed to death with a bayonet by the devils. His intestines spilled all over the ground, blood splattered high into the air. From then on, your uncle would shudder at the sight of the devils." Liu Dama said sorrowfully, "The devils aren't people you can reason with. One moment they're fine, the next they turn around and kill someone."

  "Is it?" the woman asked.

  "Yes, I also heard that yesterday, a woman in the Li family building was fancied by the devils and the whole family was killed. It's said that the uncle of that family was a bandit and had a battle with the Japanese, killing many brothers." Another woman wearing a blue cotton jacket said, "The devils are so cruel."

  "Why are the devils here not fierce, but seem quite gentle? Look, this is what that devil deliberately threw away, probably to compensate for your family's pot money." The woman said as she picked up a silver dollar from the ground.

  "This devil is evil!" said Liu Laogen, "To think...". He shook his head and didn't continue.

  In the evening, some news spread: The devils occupied the houses on all four sides of the village, only driving people out, without hurting or scolding anyone. Instead, Baogen cursed a couple of times, but the devils didn't understand and just smiled and ignored him, while Baogen's family quickly pulled him away to his father's house.

  What's even more evil is that it spread on the second day. The child of the Baosheng family was ill with a cold yesterday and wanted to go to Li Guan Tun to find a doctor, but was stopped by the Japanese sentry. However, the Japanese sentry took the child away and carried him into the house where the Japanese lived, Bao Gen's house, and soon had him sent out again, also giving them several packets of Western medicine. Baosheng took it to ask Mr. Han what was written on it, and after looking at it for a long time, Mr. Han was stunned and said that it was good medicine for the child's illness, to be taken three times a day, one packet each time. Baosheng asked Mr. Han if what was written on it was Japanese? Mr. Han burst out laughing and said that it was the most beautiful standard Chinese characters he had ever seen.

  Devils diagnose people's illnesses? Unacceptable! Devils write Chinese characters? Even more unacceptable!

  This book is launched on Starting Point and will be heavily promoted from August 19th, so please come to Starting Point to click, vote, and collect it, thank you.