Chapter Thirty Entering the Mountain

  When the sky was completely dark, I drove a crawler loaded with ammunition into the village. In this place in Guandong, especially in winter, as soon as it gets dark, there are almost no people on the streets. It's too cold, who would have the leisure to stroll around under the sharp north wind? On the way, I didn't meet anyone, which was what I hoped for. After all, this matter is too big, the fewer people know about it, the better. The crawler drove into my family's courtyard.

  My parents heard the noise and came out of the house, saw this full load of stuff, although they didn't know what it was, but they all looked at me with surprised and puzzled eyes, waiting for me to give an explanation, which was hard to explain in just a few words.

  I hurriedly asked Mom to go inside and rest, but I didn't dare tell her what was loaded on the sled first. Only Dad and I were left in the yard. I briefly told Dad about what happened at Sanjiao River over the past few days. Under the lamp light reflected from the window, Dad's body stiffened slightly, followed by a brief silence. Dad pointed to the things on the sled with his finger, and I nodded heavily, confirming his guess. After thinking for a moment, Dad went to untie the ropes and busied himself moving the ammunition from the sled into the warehouse.

  At that moment, a stone in my heart fell to the ground, and I felt extremely relieved. My dad showed his unconditional support for everything I did with his actions. During the moving process, Dad didn't say a word, but his quick movements and careful gestures warmed my heart. My grandfather and I were busy when Xiaoling heard the noise and ran over from next door to help us.

  It's clear that she is also full of doubts, but the clever her didn't ask a single question. This is exactly what I appreciate about this girl, knowing when to speak and when to be silent. With Ling Jie's intelligence, she must have understood in her heart that the things I brought back are not simple, so she chose to remain silent.

  After a busy period, all the ammunition was moved to the warehouse and covered. The horse was unloaded from its saddle and tied to a pillar. Xiaoling carefully took out half a basket of corn stalks to feed the horse, her actions made me appreciate her thoughtfulness and kindness, which is a basic trait that girls should have. This horse has been running for dozens of miles on mountain roads with such a heavy load, it should be treated well. Any living being has the right to survive, except for those Japanese devils!

  I dusted myself off and followed him into the house. My mom had already warmed up the dishes, and a fragrant meal was laid out on the kang table.

  Under the lamplight, I took a look at Ling Jie. This girl had lost a lot of weight. In just a few days, her originally plump face had become thin and pale, with a hint of pallor on her complexion. Those captivating eyes were still bright and black, sparkling with thoughts and intense passion. Seeing this, my heart began to ache inexplicably. I could imagine the turmoil she must have gone through in the many days I was away. How could a girl in love bear to be separated from the one she loves?

  When I saw the dishes, my energy was boosted. I immediately sat down with my legs crossed and threw myself into the grand feast. Mom's cooking is still the best; I'm not used to eating out. Ling Jie unhesitatingly sat next to me, occasionally putting food on my plate, afraid that I would be polite. But this is my own home, so let her be. This is also a kind of enjoyment. Moreover, smelling the fragrance coming from her body made me even more energetic. My movements became natural and casual, as if it should be like this. Seeing our intimate behavior, my dad and mom couldn't help but laugh. Only then did Ling Jie realize what was happening, her face slightly red, and she moved away a little bit.

  After dinner, everyone sat down. "Dad, Mom, and Sister Ling are all here, I have something to tell you, I'm going to lead a team!"

  This was a bombshell that would have been dropped sooner or later, only it came earlier than I expected. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, they had the effect of a thunderclap on a clear day. My dad's expression didn't change, but his eyes shone with approval, as if to say, "You little scamp, you're just as I expected - you're not one to be content with the status quo!" My mom turned pale and looked at me with an unfamiliar gaze, as if she didn't recognize me. The son who had grown up in front of her suddenly became a stranger. Ling sister was shocked and stood up, her eyes filled with confusion as she stared at me, as if trying to see through me. But then her expression gradually firmed up, clearly showing that she unconditionally supported me, no matter what I did. She would stand by my side, which is probably the legendary "if you marry a chicken follow the chicken, if you marry a dog follow the dog". And I'm a dragon!

  No need to mention their reaction, anyway nothing happened, as for my mom? Her work was done by my dad, so there's definitely no problem! My old man is the head of the family!

  The most urgent thing now is to find a place to hide the weapons and ammunition in this warehouse, they can't be left in the village all the time, it's not safe. If by any chance the news leaks out, the whole village will be doomed, and if we're not killed by those little devils, I'd be surprised. We'll become sinners for eternity, and might as well go find a secluded place to kill ourselves. The night is long and full of worries, this must be solved immediately, or I'll worry myself to death. Maybe I won't even be able to sleep, does that not want me to live? I'm still in the growing stage, they say lack of sleep affects development, especially the development of intelligence and some important parts.

  But what's good about it? None of those families in the village are reliable.

  Yeah, our hometown doesn't have much else, but it has a lot of mountains and trees. With so many mountains, there must be plenty of caves too! If we put in some effort, I'm sure we can find a good spot. Let's just do it, say goodbye to Mom and Dad, grab Ling and head out. Where are we going? Of course, we're going to find those key people! Without their involvement, I really wouldn't be able to pull this off. I'll just sound them out on my plan and see what they really think.

  As soon as she walked out the door, this girl pounced into my arms and tightly hugged me. Her scorching lips familiarly covered my mouth, her delicate gasps, her body uncontrollably trembling slightly, silently expressing her fiery passion in her heart. This was a bit sudden, I was completely stunned, too bold, too proactive, Ling's passion ignited the fire in my heart, my brain went blank, tightly hugging her back, as if wanting to melt her soft and plump body into mine. The four red lips greedily searched for each other, entwining, neither willing to part, until they were almost out of breath, feeling a bit suffocated, before reluctantly separating.

  It's really captivating, the feeling of being in love is great!

  Xiao Ling gave me a glance, and in that glance, there were countless charms and thousands of flirtations. She giggled and said, "You scoundrel, how could you use so much strength? My waist almost broke! You've been out for so many days without sending any news, making me miss you every day!" This was a sweet and happy rebuke. I was speechless, sister, are you praising or teasing me? If it weren't for your initiative, could I have responded passively? Besides, your strength isn't much smaller than mine, haven't you seen me panting with my mouth open? But these words, how dare I say them out loud, nor can I explain, only staring at her foolishly like a silly goose. What happened in Sanjiao River, could I have told you about it? If I had told you beforehand, would I have been able to leave the village? Just your tears alone could have softened my legs!

  "Let's go, first to Brother Qiuchun's house!" This little woman has become a spirit, she knows everything I want to do, it's as if she's pierced into my heart. From now on, don't even think about doing anything bad behind her back, there's no way to hide it from her!

  Along the snow-covered street, we held hands, and Xiaoling liked being led by me, putting her small hand in my large one, as if it gave her a sense of security. Of course, I couldn't refuse a girl's small request, after all, I'm a man! To be honest, I also liked holding her small hand in mine, giving me a sense of accomplishment. Moreover, that touch was truly wonderful. Now, I'm in this excited state, enjoying the scenery along the way. Don't think I've forgotten about work, this is just a case of balancing work and romance.

  I went to several homes in a row, and fortunately, no one was asleep. Everyone who saw me was surprised and delighted, and some adults even joked with us. "What's going on? You've just come back and you're taking your little wife out visiting everywhere?" I actually quite like the feeling of being teased like this, it's pride and happiness, it's enjoyable! As soon as they heard that I had something to discuss with them, the adults didn't stop me at all, but rather urged me to hurry up and go.

  The backbone members of the future team are now gathered in my house, and my parents have been pushed out by me to chat with Zhang Dajia next door. The house is now our own world.

  Look at Qiusheng, Qiuquan and Shantiger, they are all looking at me with inquiring eyes, waiting for me to speak. I first asked about the training situation of everyone during this period. As soon as I asked, the atmosphere in the room became lively, and one by one, they reported their training situations to me. It seems that during my absence, no one wasted time, and they all followed my arrangements to conduct targeted training. Qiusheng's leadership and organizational skills are quite good! Especially when it comes to practicing archery, everyone is even more excited. The accuracy of the arrows is not 100%, but it has reached a level of 90% or more. What makes me even happier is that in response to the actual problems encountered during training, everyone has researched and made improvements. The new bow now has a higher accuracy rate and range than before!

  They are not yet clear about the purpose of my archery practice, but they will soon understand. These bowmen will be my secret weapon, and their role in urban warfare and field battles will be even greater than that of a battalion of artillery, because they are flexible, carry equipment with them, and have many more arrows, can take materials locally, no logistical supply worries, however, these bullets need to develop new varieties, little devils, taste the new weapons prepared by Tang Shao for you!

  After everyone finished speaking, I calmly announced the matter of pulling the team.

  The house fell silent, plunged into a somewhat oppressive silence. All this was within my expectations. I understood them, after all, this was a major event that would determine their future path. Once the decision was made, what would happen next on this road, everything was an unknown quantity. Today, they were still ordinary farm children, tomorrow they would pick up guns, bid farewell to their loved ones, and become warriors, engaging in a life-and-death struggle with fierce enemies on the battlefield of blood and fire.

  At the same time, I also appreciate their silence. If they jump up without thinking and agree impulsively, it may not be a good thing. Decisions made without careful consideration are unreliable. They are thinking, and this thinking is also an intense inner struggle. Once they make up their minds, this decision is hard to shake.

  Xiao Ling looked at me with some concern, I gave her a confident smile and a firm gaze.

  Shan Hu stood up first, "Xiao Qiu, it's settled then. I'm with you, we've been together since childhood, can we still be separated?" This guy is indeed my absolute best friend, whatever I say goes, never hesitated.

  Then, Autumn Sheng and Autumn Quan also agreed. Autumn Sheng said that the teachers in the school had long talked about the mountains and rivers being broken, foreign invaders invading, and young people should rise up to resist, but there was no leader, and now Xia Qiu took the lead, what reason is there not to do it?

  Later, in the vast land of Kanto, between the white mountains and black waters, to the land of Yan Zhao, on top of Taihang Mountain, in the state of Qi Lu, in the water town of Jiangnan, by the side of Lake Tai, the anti-Japanese blood-handed team that made the Japanese invaders' heads ache endlessly, lose their souls at the mere mention of it, and turn pale with fear, was born in a small mountain village on the banks of Songhua River, in an ordinary farmhouse. History is often filled with all sorts of coincidences and inevitabilities. My crossing over is a coincidence, but the Japanese invaders' aggression against China will inevitably be met with resistance from the Chinese people. This is the inevitable result. And the feeling of creating history with one's own hands is so moving, it makes one's heart flutter with excitement!

  The three of them turned their gaze to Xiaoling again, implying that they had all made up their minds, but she didn't react at all. Ling sister smiled and leaned towards me, her expression clearly saying "I knew it all along!" The three of them understood, seeing the disdain in my eyes, thinking "Oh, your wife knew about this before we did? You're telling your wife everything first? You haven't even been married for a day and you're already favoring your wife over us? This is typical of prioritizing romance over friendship! I despise you! Strongly despise you!

  Under their gaze, I felt a bit embarrassed, maybe it's because I thought too much, with a thief's guilty conscience, my poor leadership image, the beauty is a curse, no way, I have to shift their attention.

  I turned around and entered the warehouse, leaving the three of them staring at each other in confusion, not knowing what kind of evil spirit I was possessed by or what I wanted to do.

  When he went back into the house, he was holding a shotgun and a Type 38 rifle. Seeing this, their eyes widened in shock, their faces filled with disbelief. Tang Qiu was too much for this kid, an idol, awesome, even this kind of thing was brought out, what else didn't he dare to do, couldn't do? Admiration, it's just admiration!

  Hu Zi excitedly ran over, holding the gun like a treasure in his hand, turning it over and admiring it lovingly. Autumn Sheng and Autumn Quan also hurried over, gently stroking the gun body, and carefully examining the yellow bullets in their hands. From this one action, the character and temperament of each person could be seen.

  Ling Jie's gaze drifted away again, that was intoxication, the passion in her eyes could melt me. "This is my little man, so capable!" The expression on this girl's face moved my heart, being admired and worshiped by the woman I love, what a feeling! If I were to make some further requests at this time, such as what that hand can do, she would definitely not refuse. How could I have such an improper thought? But even a gentleman is human after all.

  "It's too small, it's just a family heirloom, there are many more than these two, open supply, guaranteed one per person," No wonder they're excited, have you ever seen the real thing? Not to mention touching it with your own hands. Understandable, just like us in our past life, we've played with all kinds of guns!

  "This is the second thing I called you all here for today. With so many weapons and ammunition, it's not feasible to store them in the village. We need to find a place to hide them. What do you think?" In fact, I had already made up my mind, I just wanted to see if everyone could keep up with my thinking. "Of course, we can't leave them in the village. This is easy to handle, there are mountains and fields everywhere, finding a cave that others don't know about will do." Alright, opinions are unified, this is going to be the future leadership team.

  "Alright, it's settled then. Tomorrow, Autumn Sheng, Autumn Quan, Hu Zi and I will head into the mountains, searching for caves. Everyone should prepare well and bring what they need to bring. Who knows how many days we'll be gone? Let's just tell our families that we're going hunting! As for the matter of weapons and ammunition, not a word can be leaked out. Any objections?" I made arrangements for tomorrow's trip into the mountains.

  "Come on, we're not new to this mountain, everyone knows what to bring and what not to bring, don't worry about it!" Autumn Sheng took over my words and said, Autumn Quan and Hu Zi also said there's no problem, they're all old hands.

  "I disagree!" Leng Buzi Ling Jie raised an objection, what? What do you have to disagree with, I'm doing something serious here, not going out to pick up girls, your opposition is fine.

  "Why can't I go? What's wrong with that? Can't a woman enter the mountain? Or do you think I'm not as capable as you guys?" Ling sister changed her usual gentle tone, revealing her northeastern girl's fierce side, her voice was very firm and dissatisfied. It turned out to be because of this matter, it scared me, what a big deal is that?

  Those guys simply pretended to be deaf and dumb, Xu Shu entered Cao's camp without saying a word, they all smiled at me, implying that this is your wife, you deal with it, we have no opinion. I had no choice but to force myself to speak the truth and reason, for example, the mountains are dangerous, there are big tigers, wolves come to bite people at midnight, climbing mountains is exhausting, eating and drinking poorly, men and women together are inconvenient, etc., I spoke until my mouth was dry, my tongue was tied, and my eyes rolled back.

  "Is that all?" "That's all," I felt a bit unconvincing, "You think you can fool me with these words? Do you take me for some sheltered young lady who never ventures out? I know more about what goes on in these mountains than any of you. Besides, someone has to take care of meals." Ling Jie said in her clear voice, "That's true, Little Ling has been following Zhang Da Ye into the mountains since she was a kid, she knows the situation here better than anyone!" My Autumn Spring brother, whose side are you on, anyway? Are you helping me or her?

  "As for what you said about men and women being together not being convenient, that's actually true," I thought to myself, this is a real problem that can't be avoided, and I secretly felt happy, thinking that this girl had changed her mind.

  "This is easy, it's inconvenient for me to be with Autumn and the others, so when the time comes, I'll just live in a snow cave with you, okay?" What? What? Did I hear that right? You want to live together too? That's too avant-garde for this era's girls! It's shocking! Is this harming me or helping me? I don't dare guarantee I have the self-control of Liu Xiahui, this thing is unbearable, oh heavens, it's definitely unbearable! Think about it, a fragrant and beautiful big girl, sleeping right next to you, surrounded by darkness, they say that dark nights can stir up men's desires, with these double temptations combined, isn't it going to take my life? If you disagree again, I'll resist and fight back, wearing only underwear, being kicked out of the tent by you, what an image, wouldn't that be a typical wolf-like behavior?"

  "No, no..." I shook my head like a rattle drum, but the few people next to me were laughing so hard they were almost out of breath. "It's settled then, tomorrow I'll go with you all!" This girl was very determined in her attitude and tone, leaving no room for doubt.

  You've turned the tables on me, after all, who's the leader? I was just about to exert my authority as a leader to suppress her, but looking at this girl's attitude, the words reached my lips and were swallowed back down. No way, who made me like her? Can't bear to hurt her kind intentions and good heart, not to mention that little selfishness of mine. But will Autumn Brother and the others agree?

  "Let Xiaoling go, it's an extra pair of hands!" At the critical moment, Autumn Sheng replaced me to get out of the siege, and Autumn Quan and Hu Zi also expressed their agreement. This matter was settled like this. Sister Ling looked at me with a victorious gaze, everyone agreed, I insisted on opposing, that would be stupid, besides, there's still Xiang Yan's snowy night!

  It's settled then, everyone has a psychological preparation, tomorrow morning we'll set off. Alright, go back and rest now. They said their goodbyes and left, Ling Jie was the last one to leave, as she walked out the door, she scrunched up her cute little nose at me and let out a "humph". Her beautiful figure disappeared into the dark night, her expression full of satisfaction.

  What will be waiting for us when we enter the mountain tomorrow?

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