Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Troop Enters the Mountain

  In the late afternoon, Tang Qiuli and his group of five stood on a high mountain ridge, looking at the Tang family's courtyard, which was already enveloped in the twilight. They had been away from home for five or six days, during which they even encountered a big snowstorm. Their parents must be very worried and missing them. Thinking of the warm kang, the fragrant food, and their parents' longing gaze, the hearts of these young people had long flown back home, urging their snowboards to speed down the long slope like arrows, rushing towards the village below.

  When they arrived at Tang Qiuli's home, everyone was shocked. This lineup is too grand, right?

  The parents of the several families all gathered at Tang Qiuli's home, seeing that they had returned, and hurriedly surrounded them, asking this and that, chattering incessantly, sizing them up from head to toe, fearing that one of them might be missing an arm or a leg. Seeing that the children were safe and sound, they all let out a sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere in the house eased. Tang Qiuli and the others couldn't help but respond to their parents' inquiries. Tang Qiuli recounted the general events of the past few days, naturally omitting the parts about eliminating the devils and discovering the secret cave. The adults listened with wide eyes and open mouths, marveling repeatedly, their expressions rich and varied.

  From the look in their parents' eyes, several people proudly discovered that their parents were no longer looking at them with a condescending attitude, but instead had a hint of unfamiliarity and more comfort. It seemed that this time they went into the mountains, they had already obtained the right to equal dialogue with their parents, treating them as adults! This feeling made Tang Qiu very excited, it was a symbol, a sign of adulthood, meaning that he could independently solve some things! That freedom and space for maneuvering were much greater!

  Ten days later, on a late afternoon, a team of more than 40 people gathered punctually in the courtyard in the middle of Tunzi.

  This is what Tang Qiu and they decided to do in secret base after researching, pulling the team into the mountain, conducting strict training in the secret base.

  Before that, Tang Qiuli's father and second uncle, as well as Zhang Dage and Huang Dage, more than a dozen people, under the leadership of Autumn Shengge, had already transported all the guns, ammunition and equipment, as well as food and other necessities, to the base.

  In these ten days, Tang Qiulei and the others followed their original division of labor, strictly selecting team members who were between 16 and 20 years old, studying at the village school, having cultural knowledge and martial arts skills, unmarried, with parents fully supporting and psychologically prepared. The Tang family's courtyard did not have any landlords or rich peasants, but rather ordinary farming households with similar living standards, so the political review could be exempted.

  This made Tang Qiuli very happy, the team members had good political composition, this was the foundation for building a strong team, if there were several landlords and rich peasants' sons who were idle and unstable, Tang Qiuli would not dare to accept them even if he was beaten to death, and he would also have to worry about confidentiality issues. As the saying goes: "If they are not of my kind, their hearts must be different!" This is not discrimination, in Tang Qiuli's well-known history, there had been many painful lessons, he did not want the Japanese devils to know that this team was pulled out from Tang's home village, any news could not be leaked, which would lead to bloody revenge and massacre of the whole village, this was also what Tang Qiuli worried about and feared most in his heart.

  It seems that these team members are all passionate young people who have made up their minds to follow Tang Qiuli and go through the baptism of blood and fire, as well as the test of life and death! What makes Tang Qiuli feel interesting is that in the front row of the team, there are nine girls, Xiao Ling is among them, and it's obvious that she is the leader of these girls. It's clear that these girls were mobilized by Xiao Ling. Tang Qiuli had intended not to let these girls join the team, but seeing Xiao Ling and her friends' confident and spirited appearance, he swallowed his words back into his stomach. Anyway, even if the other girls didn't join the team, Xiao Ling would definitely participate, so it's better to make good use of people!

  Tang Qiuli chose to set out at night for three reasons: firstly, to maintain secrecy and avoid drawing attention; secondly, to prevent the team members' parents from coming to see them off, which would lead to tears and emotional goodbyes that might dampen their morale; thirdly, to train the team's ability to march at night, making them understand that training had begun, and in the darkness, they relied on each other, strengthening their sense of teamwork.

  In Tang Qiuli's loud voice, this team of nearly fifty people left the village and plunged into the dark night. The whole team didn't have a single person whose footsteps seemed hesitant, nor did anyone look back at their hometown in the darkness. In the hearts of these young people, their longing and yearning for the future, their speculation and hope for unknown life, made them hot-blooded and enthusiastic, and had long drowned out the sorrow of leaving home. This is the advantage of being young, always looking forward.

  When he climbed to the top of a high mountain, Tang Qiuli looked back at the village with its lights and fires, his mind was filled with thoughts. He would take his companions and comrades on a journey, from then on, each person's fate would undergo a fundamental change and turning point, how many of them could return? Of course, including himself, at this moment, Tang Qiuli felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders, he secretly made up his mind, I must do my best to bring back all my brothers and sisters, even if it means sacrificing my own life, this is a promise to the parents of those wandering children in our hometown!

  Dawn breaks, the sun rises, and the warm rays of light illuminate the ancient land of Guandong. The white snow and green pines, the mountains stretch out like a vast sea, a new day, a new beginning.

  After a night of rapid march, the team members only looked a bit tired. Tang Qiuli secretly admired that this night had basically not stopped, and Tang Qiuli intentionally tested the physical quality of the team members. The physical strength and endurance of these team members were not ordinary, with the characteristics of mountain children who could bear hardships and withstand hardships, which gave him full confidence!

  Tang Qiuli ordered the team to stop and rest for a while, eating some dry rations they had brought with them. He came over to where Xiaoling and the others were, and saw that these girls' behavior was no different from the other team members, nor did they seem more tired than the boys. Under Xiaoling's leadership, they took care of those teammates who were a bit careless, taking out needles and thread to mend the clothes that had been torn the night before. Tang Qiuli couldn't help but smile as he watched them.

  Xiao Ling was busy, occasionally looking up to glance at Tang Qiuli, her eyes following his tall figure, the more she looked, the more she liked him, and couldn't help but reveal a smile. The girls next to Xiao Ling saw her dazed expression and burst out laughing like silver bells, their laughter echoing in the quiet mountain forest. Tang Qiuli heard their laughter, turned around, and looked at them strangely, wondering if girls were born to love laughter? What's so funny?

  Just in time to meet Xiaoling's gaze, he suddenly understood why the girls were laughing. He couldn't help but laugh too. Seeing his expression, the girls laughed even more happily. The laughter attracted everyone's attention, and they all gathered around, took a look, and understood, and followed suit.

  Tang Qiuli and Xiaoling's own affairs were no secret among these companions, on the contrary, they all thought that the two of them were very well-matched, and sincerely felt happy for them. Tang Qiuli saw that things were not going well, wasn't he becoming the focus now? Just thinking of changing the subject, Xiaoling came to his side, stuffed a piece of dry rations into his hand, "Eat quickly, there's still a long way to go later!" As she spoke, she also gave him a white eye, that kind of little girl's coquettishness was likable at first sight.

  As soon as the team took a break, Tang Qiuli was busy talking to each member separately, understanding their mood at this time, and grasping their thoughts. This is an indispensable approach for a team leader, and also a means of grasping the team's dynamics.

  Tang Qiu took advantage of the situation and grabbed Xiaoling's other small hand, last night on the way, he was busy taking care of the team, after all, it was the first time they had a snow-covered night march, there were many things to worry about, running back and forth, during rest time, he also seized the opportunity to have a small meeting with Autumn Sheng, Autumn Quan, and Mountain Tiger, discussing what to do after arriving at the base, didn't take care of Xiaoling, now his heart felt a bit guilty, wanted to use actual actions to express his feelings, it was also their habit to hold hands, but forgot that this was in front of everyone, okay, this time, everyone burst out laughing, happy and youthful laughter brought vitality to the ancient forest, and drove away some fatigue.

  Tang Qiuli didn't expect that the tight move still had such a wonderful use, and he couldn't help but laugh and cry. Seeing that everyone was well-rested and in high spirits, he gave the order to continue advancing. At this time, the team members all took off their snowboards, including the few girls, who were dressed neatly and lined up in a row, sliding down the mountain slope one by one. The snowboarding army of about 50 people was quite spectacular, and they quickly picked up speed. They would probably arrive at the base before noon.

  Without making any stops along the way, before noon, the team arrived extremely stealthily at the entrance of the base and disguised all traces that could reveal their whereabouts. Only then did Tang Qiuli feel relieved to lead the team into the interior of the base.

  As expected by Tang Qiu, all the team members were stunned like they had seen this scenery for the first time, and a few of them even pinched their thighs or bit their fingers to confirm that they weren't dreaming, looking as lovely as can be!

  When they confirmed that they were not dreaming, everyone cheered and was overjoyed, genuinely loving this place. Tang Qiulian announced free time before lunch, and immediately a few mischievous kids started running wildly around the lake, while others used available materials to make fishing hooks and caught fish, truly showing off their skills and nature, playing with abandon!

  Tang Qiu carefully observed each team member's performance in their natural state, and had already made an initial division of tasks for each person in his mind.

  For example, those team members who can still fish quietly in this environment according to the direction of snipers, and those who are agile like monkeys and light as swallows, will be trained in the direction of special forces. This careful observation really found many team members with special abilities.

  Xiao Ling and the other girls were busy preparing lunch for everyone. Tang Qiulai had observed them long enough to have a general idea of each person's character, so he went in to help them prepare lunch, actually looking for an opportunity to be with Xiao Ling. However, he was chased out by the giggling girls, who said that leaders couldn't do this kind of work. This made Tang Qiulai feel a bit depressed. When did I become a leader? It seems that we should quickly determine the team's various positions and leadership candidates, as well as clarify all the rules and regulations.

  Tang Qiuluo walked out of the cave, considering these things in his mind. Before formal training began, he should first undergo political and ideological education. These were no problem for him, as Tang Qiuluo was a commander of a special forces unit in his past life, with rich combat experience. Alright, let's do it this way, starting this afternoon!

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