Rebel Demon King

Chapter 1020 Broken World (4)

In the dark night, the bright star curtain hangs down on the flat and barren field, and the dilapidated Mitsubishi pickup carrying a rotten smell continues to move along the road.There is no trace of modern society around. There are no street lights on both sides of the road, and there are no guardrails with reflective strips. The road condition is not very good. From time to time, you will encounter potholes, and then there will be "bang, bang, bang" noise The noise made the silent night.

If it wasn't for a van with a broken taillight in front of him, Cheng Mo really felt that he was in a no-man's land isolated from the world.Cheng Mo, who was sitting in the co-pilot, looked at the van that should be scrapped in front of him. The taillight on its right side was completely out of light, and the good taillight on the left was also covered with thick dust, leaving only a little faint In the light of the Mitsubishi's headlights, it looked like a piece of dusty red plastic.

If you are driving at a high speed, this situation is very dangerous, and if the car behind you is not paying attention, it will cause a rear-end collision.But it’s not so scary on the Syria Highway. After all, the road conditions don’t allow the speed to reach 112.63 mph ([-] km/h), which can make you feel free, and you can only maintain [-] or [-] mph to ensure driving safety. .

But this is really too slow. In Huaxia, even a two-lane national highway would not drive so slowly.

The van dotted with bullet holes in front blocked Cheng Mo's vision, and he couldn't even browse the starry sky, which was the only comfort. The van is like a huge lantern fish (deep-sea anglerfish). When it encounters a bad road, the van starts to bump and shake, so the only red light shakes like a lantern in the wind in the dark like black ink.

Such a depressing scene, coupled with the bouncing and shaking from time to time, made Cheng Mo feel that the pickup would fall apart at any moment, which made him feel uncomfortable even for such a patient person.He was a little puzzled why Khalid still didn't choose to overtake the truck in front of him driving very slowly and there was no traffic on the side.

Cheng Mo turned his head and glanced at Khalid, who was concentrating on driving. Just now he was calm when negotiating with the Syrian soldiers guarding the checkpoint. For young teenagers, Khalid's proficiency is really distressing.

"Why don't you overtake?" Cheng Mo asked.

"Uncle Ashkar told me that it's safer." After a pause, Khalid explained, "In this way, if they encounter armed forces from the government anyway, they will not attack us first, but will give priority to attacking large trucks. , we have a chance to escape."

Cheng Mo never thought of such an irrefutable reason. He still underestimated the danger in Syria, and asked with a frown: "Didn't everyone sign the armistice agreement? It is still so dangerous within the control of the government army." ?”

Khalid smiled bitterly and said: "The large-scale battles have temporarily stopped, and the small-scale ones have never stopped. Today, either the government army is fighting the Free Army, or the Querds are fighting against the Nusra faction, or The Victory Front and the Deepwater Brigade are fighting, and the fiercest one is IS. They are doing trouble every day, as long as the organization is not extreme enough, they will do it. It is not safe even in Damascus, let alone it is close to the area controlled by the government army anyway. He raised his right hand and patted the steering wheel, as if mocking himself, and whispered as if he had resigned himself to his fate, "On the contrary, people will be scared when there is no war. But there is nothing to worry about. This road is important. The transportation line, the protection of the Zhengfu army is fairly tight. Anyway, the government’s armed forces are mostly long-distance firing point shells, or using drones to do things. Generally, drones will not be used unless they are very valuable. Target"

Cheng Mo knows that Ennos is the supporter behind the Zhengfu army, the Lighthouse country is behind the Querds, and the financial and human assistance from the fundamentalist Saudi state is behind IS. He didn't know much about the front and deep water brigade.But even if he doesn't understand, Cheng Mo is familiar with the history, and he can roughly guess that there must be the support of foreign forces behind it, nothing more than the surrounding powers such as Israel and Turchi and the former suzerain country like France.

Such a tragic national situation, as a Syrian, must not feel good.The mental humiliation is secondary, and the anxiety caused by the precariousness and the endless distress that must be faced physically are the root of the pain.

At this moment, Cheng Mo was a little distracted. He remembered the modern history of China, which was the history he least liked to read.He stared at the dim left taillight of the van in front of him and thought: It's a disappointing fact that history never corrects, it just repeats itself.He couldn't help but sighed: "China was like this more than 100 years ago. After the Sino-Japanese War, the great powers divided the sphere of influence in China, and the whole China was divided up. Later, taking advantage of the First World War, when the great powers had no time to look around, China completed The bourgeois revolution overthrew the Manchu rule, but it is a pity that China did not become better and formed a separate regime of the Beiyang warlords, and behind these warlords stood foreign powers. Under their control, the warlords continued to fight year after year. , that was the darkest, most corrupt, and the most miserable era in the entire history of China, compared with that, the current Syria may be a little bit better."

"Huaxia?" Khalid was a little surprised.

It was only then that Cheng Mo realized that he was too relaxed and devoted, and completely forgot that he was a German.But this is not a problem at all in front of Cheng Mo, who has experienced many battles. He shrugged his shoulders very naturally and explained: "My ex-wife is from Huaxia, so I know Huaxia very well and have deep feelings. "

His current identity, Rekitzka, and Athena's Wendy are husband and wife, so he can only arrange for Xie Minyun to be an ex-wife.

Khalid didn't doubt Cheng Mo at all, and said nonchalantly: "I know Huaxia, they have assisted us with a lot of supplies in Syria, and built a lot of refugee camps for us. It was reported on TV that my family's Many daily necessities were donated by Huaxia, as well as mobile phones. My mobile phone belongs to Xiaomi, but there are very few places in Latakia that have a signal, and there is no electricity all year round. It is basically useless. You can only go to Damascus. come in handy”

Cheng Mo finally knew where those familiar enamel water cups came from. He smiled and said, "Huaxia is a peace-loving country."

"Then why don't they help stop the war? Everyone says they are peace-loving, so why is no one willing to help us?" There was no resentment in Khalid's words, only confusion.

Cheng Mo was silent for a while, he really didn't know how to answer this question honestly.As an individual, behavior will be influenced by factors such as morality and emotion, but as a country, a collection of human beings, the only criterion for behavior is interest.

But this answer is too cold and heartless, so Cheng Mo said: "Probably everyone can't beat the lighthouse! After all, the lighthouse has the most powerful force in the world."

The atmosphere in the car fell into a somewhat suffocating dullness, and the unpleasant rancid smell became more and more obvious. Cheng Mo opened the car window to let the cold air pour in, and the fresh and cold evening wind washed away the stuffy air-conditioning atmosphere. The faint rancid smell disappeared without a trace in an instant, which shocked people's spirits.Driving through a bad road again, the trembling sound of "哐, 哐, 哐" was especially loud at midnight, Cheng Mo also felt uncomfortable bumps, and had to hold on to the handrail.

"This is caused by a tank rolling over." Khalid's voice trembled in the cold wind, and he didn't know whether it was because he was afraid of remembering the picture of the tank passing by, or because the car was not driving smoothly enough, "I was 15 years old. I didn't know what war looked like until I was 2011 years old. I only saw wars in books and movies. At that time, my favorite toy was a toy gun that could make the sound of "chu, chu, chu". My father loves reading books very much. His favorite author is George Martin. Our family used to have a complete set of works by George Martin, such as "A Song of Ice and Fire", "Light Gone", "The Windy Harbor", "The Voyage of Tuf" "Influenced by my father, I also loved reading when I was a child, and even fantasized about becoming a writer. Now that I think about my life at that time, I was really happy, although my mother was always strict and cared about my grades, so I didn't have too much I spend a lot of time reading story books and watching TV series, but as long as I do well in the exam, there is always time to do nothing during the holidays, and lie in bed leisurely reading books and watching TV all day long. Everything changed when I was 4. Although I was very young at the time, I still remember it very clearly. At the beginning, it was said on TV and in newspapers that Syria was not influenced by Tulis and Aiji, and that the society was very stable. After a group of middle school students who participated in the parade and painted graffiti on the wall were arrested, things took a turn for the worse. Parades continued all over the country, but everyone still held a rational attitude. No one thought of resorting to force, but with the face Various negative news about the government continued to emerge in books and oil depots, and everyone’s tolerance for the government became less and less, until April 17, 40, in front of a temple in Homs, a group of thugs shot and killed 2018 demonstrators were killed. No one knows who those thugs are. The government said they were Shabiha thugs, while the Internet said they were local plainclothes policemen. Now the facts are no longer important. In short, everything started from that moment Everything has changed. Before it was a protest, then an uprising. At first the government was able to control the situation, but when the vendetta between sects started, things started to get out of control. But at that time our life was still barely able to go on, so I I went to school in an environment of constant riots and killings. With the attack of the government army on the opposition army, the situation began to repeat itself, sometimes good and sometimes bad. Generally speaking, it was gradually getting better. I naively thought that the turmoil would be imminent It's over, thinking about where to go to university. However, on April 4, 14, the lighthouse, England and France launched an air strike on Damascus, and my aunt in Damascus called my parents and said, I have to find a way to get out of here, and the war broke out , many people died, and many people lost their homes. Although the situation has been very bad, and various factions are fighting, everyone is not desperate yet, and the order of life can barely be maintained. The powerful lighthouse, England and France intervene, Let the whole of Syria fall into a terrible war. For the first time, I saw the panic in the eyes of my parents. They woke up me and my sister and started to pack things in the middle of the night. I was not awake at the time, and I was a little unhappy. , but I still complained and started to pack things hard, my computer, my book,There is also my puppy named 'Guard', but my mother threw all my things to me when I got in the car, I hugged 'Guard' and didn't want to let go, never hit my mother directly slapped me"

At this point, Khalid stopped his narration, because the van in front had stopped slowly, Khalid also stepped on the brakes, and parked the car behind the van. He pulled up the handbrake and complained: "It used to take more than ten hours to get from Latakia to Damascus at most, but now it takes at least a day, and there are still no traffic jams and no accidents. It is really terrible that there are dozens of checkpoints on the 300-kilometer road."

"What about the back?" Athena, who had been sitting silently in the back seat, suddenly asked.

"What's behind?" Khalid was stunned for a moment, and then he realized, "I cried behind, and ran for my life while crying."

Cheng Mo glanced at the rearview mirror. Athena was sitting cross-legged in the back seat, as if in a meditation posture. The eyes of the two met in the mirror. Cheng Mo asked in a tacit understanding: "Then your mother wants you to throw away your little one?" Dog, did you throw it away?"

"Oh! Of course not." Khaled shrugged his shoulders. "Seeing me crying, my mother also cried, saying that she couldn't take care of her own life, so how can she control a dog's life. I don't know what to say." Okay, I just cry, and later my father allowed me to carry the 'guard' into the car, but told me that if the guard can't cross the border, he must be released."

Cheng Mo shook his head and said, "It's too late for you to leave. You still have a chance to leave before the war breaks out. When the war breaks out, you won't be able to go anywhere."

Khalid sighed and said, "Yes! My father regretted it too. The road to the border of Turzi was full of people and cars, and everyone was running away. I was sitting in the car and saw many people running away with their bags on their backs. Some people didn’t even know where they were going, they just fled with the crowd, like a flock of sheep being driven by wolves. Everyone was thinking of leaving here quickly, but few of them could really leave. Soon my father died. After receiving the notice that the border has been blocked, some people said that it is better to find a way to go to Cyprus by boat. As a last resort, we had to turn around and go back home before we reached the border. When we came back, riots broke out in the city , There are destroyed police cars and corpses everywhere on the street.” Khalid laughed dryly, “That was the first time I saw a real corpse, it was completely different from the people who died peacefully in the temple, they were lying across the road In the middle, with both eyes open, the pupils can hardly be seen, only the misty whites of the eyes, and bullet holes all over the body."

Cheng Mo recalled the first time he almost vomited when he saw the body shot to death. It was still in Moscow, but now he recalled it so far away.He remembered what Li Jiting said to him: "Death is not terrible. Although a person seldom sees death in his life, he is always accompanied by death; war is not terrible. War is almost as old as our human beings. What is terrible is the human heart. When we lose our rationality and transform into beasts or machines, we are no longer human beings, so we must not let the bestial instincts occupy our hearts." Cheng Mo thought again: "But if you don't become a beast, you can't live. How to do?"

At this time, the pickup truck had already driven slowly to the front of the checkpoint with the big truck. With the pass obtained when passing the checkpoint for the first time, and Khaled gave the soldiers money again, this time it went smoothly, and they didn't stop and wait for a long time. Passed the checkpoint safely.

The Mitsubishi pickup followed the van and continued along the road. Khalid opened a little distance from the van in front, and his field of vision expanded a lot. This made Cheng Mo no longer so depressed, unlike Ready to be stuffed under the car at any time like that just now.

The night wind was like water, constantly flowing in from the car window, blowing the hair of the three of them flying wildly.Khalid scratched his hair and said a little embarrassedly: "Is what I said too boring?"

Cheng Mo shook his head, "No, I'm quite curious about what you experienced in the war."

"Thinking about it now, it seems nothing special. When I got home, my father tried to find a boat that could leave Syria. The price of the boat ticket was scary, and it only accepted dollars and euros. There are seven people in our family, and we can't afford it at all. With such a high ticket price, my father could only sell all the valuables at home, the car, my mother’s gold jewelry, and electrical appliances, all that could be sold, leaving only some hoarded food Sold, everything else was sold, but the exchange rate of the Syrian dollar to the US dollar and the euro is rising day by day, and it can’t even be exchanged at all. The first time I saw him kneel down to someone, he was crying bitterly, holding a bag For money, I hope that I can exchange some US dollars, Euros, at least two or three boat tickets to send me and my sister away, but the man just shook his head and said that he can only exchange it with gold, and the Syrian dollar will not be accepted.”

Khalid's voice choked for a moment, he was silent for a moment, adjusted his emotions before continuing: "I have always admired my father since I was a child. I think he is omnipotent, just like Superman, and everything is difficult. Not to blame him, but that day I found out that my father is just an ordinary person, he can make money to buy a car, send me to a Catholic school, and buy a small building near the sea, but he can’t take us away.”

"We have nowhere to go, so we can only hide at home. Those in the neighborhood who can't escape also return home. Ours is not the main war zone, but the port is. It's a little better during the day, only the continuous There were gunshots, but it was very scary at night. When I opened the window, I could see meteor-like missiles falling on the city. At the beginning, every time the bomb exploded, I would scream and hide in the basement. After getting used to it, I would Can tell the direction of the missile, if it's not coming towards us, I just hide under the bed, if it's coming towards us, I rush to the basement. The closest explosion I remember is Ash The time when Uncle Carl’s house was hit by a missile. I hid in the basement and felt the whole world tremble. I thought the war broke out in our yard. My father and mother kept crying and chanting loudly Reciting the prayer, I never pay much attention in worship, but that time I really panicked. I have never prayed so devoutly. At that time, I only had one thought, begging the Creator to save me, and don’t let the bomb fall on our house. "

"It was really lucky that time. Our house on the whole street was not damaged, and only our family members were not injured, but others were not so lucky. I have never heard so many crying, that crying The sound is scarier than gunshots."

"Afterwards, there is such a life of fear day after day. As the war continues, everyone gradually gets used to it. The war is sometimes fierce and sometimes dull, but no one dares to go out easily. You can hide at home. There are fewer and fewer people. Both the government army and the rebel army are arresting men to join the army. In the area controlled by the Querds, even young women have to join the army." Khaled spat. Angry, he smiled wryly and said: "I am thinner and look younger, but because I have reached the age of 15, I have to be drafted into the army. In the end, my grandfather replaced me to join the army. He said he has lived enough , it doesn’t matter even if you let him be a human bomber.”

"Later, the situation became not so bad, and it may be that we have fully adapted to this kind of life. But the father who was forcibly enlisted in the army has died. He died not heroically. The shells attacked, even the enemy did not see clearly, and fell down very unfortunately. My grandfather was released because of his lame leg. The mother who was always worried and frightened cried and said that finally there was no need to be afraid, saying that my father went to the garden of the creator , she will follow sooner or later. There was not too much chaos at home when my father left. In fact, each of us was prepared for the death of ourselves or other relatives. There are no priests in the temple, so we can only hold a simple ceremony by ourselves. This car was also used to bury my father during the ceremony, and dragged my father’s body to the foot of the mountain we passed by just now. Grandpa told me that my father’s biggest regret was not being able to take us out of here.” Khalid paused , said softly as if making a wish, "So my biggest wish now is to save enough money to take my family out of here"

Khalid's sympathetic past doesn't garner much sympathy from Cheng Mo, who has never been heartless.For him, he is just going deep into a war-torn country, deeply perceiving the real appearance of modern civilization when it peels off its false face, and the human mentality in war.

Of course, he would not mind helping Khalid realize his wish if everything goes well, but it is not suitable to say it right now, so he just whispered meaningfully: "I hope you will realize your wish as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Mr. Rektska. I have never said these words to anyone. My classmates died and fled. There are not many people who can still be contacted. Among the people I know, I belong to them. Most fortunately, most people are much more miserable than me, even if I want to confide, I can’t find the right person to confide in.”

Cheng Mo nodded and said, "I can understand."

Khalid took a deep breath and said, "Maybe we should change the subject and talk about something less serious." He smiled, and seemed to feel a lot lighter. Then he hesitated for a while, and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Reketska, why are you coming to Latakia at this time? Even if you go directly to Damascus, it will be much better. Syria is very unsafe for you."

"We had no other choice. My wife and I were originally going to Beirut, but because of some problems with the boat we were on, we had to stop at Latakia. Otherwise, I would have to wait on the boat for a long time. In order to save money Time and money, I had to disembark, go to Damascus first, then go to Beirut"

"So that's it. I said how can there be tourists coming to our Latakia. Fortunately, you didn't walk around the city for too long before my sister saw it. I was selling cactus fruits in the city at the time, and she ran over and told me , I thought this was an opportunity to make money, so I quickly chased after it. At that time, I was a little afraid that you would be seen by IS, the Black Banner Army, and the Jihad Brigade, and you would be in big trouble." Khalid said with emotion, "Fortunately, there is no .”

Cheng Mo is aware of the grievances and grievances between the Middle East and the West that have lasted for thousands of years, but he doesn't know much about the division of spheres of influence in Syria today, so he guides Khaled to talk about this matter without any trace. The conversation just now made Khalid not as cautious as when he first met, and he knew everything about Cheng Mo.

Not only did he tell Cheng Mo about the various armed forces in Syria in detail, he also described his yearning for the world outside Syria. He imagined that he could go to Europe, live in a real free world, and Eat steak and exquisite snacks, and buy beautiful dresses for my sisters and sisters.

He said that some of his relatives have already arrived in Dresden in the south of Germany, and their lives are very good there. The German government has arranged language classes for them, and also arranged for them accommodation, food and some money every month. , the most important thing is that there is no need to fear the threat of death that may come at any time.

"I'm scared when I hear the sound of fireworks now." Having said this, Khalid turned his head and looked at Cheng Mo with a simple smile, "Fortunately, you are not a lighthouse person, but a German. If you are a lighthouse person, or a person from England or France , I will not help you, maybe you will be hanged in Latakia, and it will be made into a video and broadcast by Al Jazeera."

Cheng Mo knows that Khalid is not alarmist, but is stating a rather extreme possibility. He does not feel terrible about this, but thinks that every human being is an individual full of contradictions, like Khalid, who hates the outside world. The world is full of longing; I can't wait to leave the land under my feet, but it's hard to get rid of the attachment to it in my bones.

Probably human beings are animals that desperately need a sense of belonging, afraid of being alone, wanting to communicate, in order not to be left behind by the group.Just like Khalid and his family, they are obviously open believers, but in order not to be excluded, they have to become extreme.Gain a temporary sense of security through self-sacrifice and compromise.

But as time goes by, the hole in your heart will become bigger and bigger, or you will intensify your efforts to cater to this group in order to gain more recognition; or you will choose to escape
In real life, the country and the nation are the most basic sense of belonging for everyone.

Chengmo once thought that only a strong person can walk toward loneliness without a false sense of belonging.Now it seems that the sense of belonging originates from human beings’ own eager needs for security. According to Maslow’s theory, if the missing needs of physiological needs, safety needs, belonging, love and respect are not met, the high-level growth needs will also be satisfied. hard to develop
To put it concretely, when an ordinary person lives in a country like Syria where basic needs are difficult to meet, it is impossible to grow.

Just like Syria, it used to provide people with a sense of belonging, but now it doesn't.

So countries and nations are not imaginary communities, but real collections of human beings that can actually provide a sense of belonging.

Cheng Mo, as an exquisite egoist and a classical liberal, has no feelings for family and country. In his opinion, patriotism is indeed a business in most cases, but not everyone can do this business. Do.

As an ordinary person, patriotism is a must, because every ordinary person is deeply bound to a country that can provide you with a sense of belonging.Only when the country is better, everyone in the country will benefit and become better.When the country turns bad, those who have money can leave at any time, and the people who lose the most are everyone who makes up the country and cannot leave.

Therefore, there are only two kinds of people who hate the country - those who have received money, and those who are hopelessly stupid.

Cheng Mo is of course a smart person. According to the "Pascal's Wager Theory", he will love his motherland no matter what. Even if he longs for real freedom, he knows that he cannot strip away the attributes that he was born with, nor can he forget the place where he lived. , Those people who have gotten along with each other.

Even if the economy declines and civilization dies, it is impossible for him to forget the adoption signs on Yuelu Mountain, his alma mater by the Xiangjiang River, and the 202 bus that he has taken countless times.
Perhaps, this is the so-called "nostalgia".
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Three more checkpoints passed, and at the fifth checkpoint, the clock turned to 22 o'clock.Because neither Cheng Mo nor Athena knew how to drive, Khaled could only park the car in the wilderness not far from the checkpoint without changing the driver.

The temperature difference between day and night in Syria is huge. During the day, there are still [-] or [-] degrees. At night, the temperature drops to only [-] or [-] degrees. There is no shelter on the wasteland, and the cold wind makes people feel even colder.It was impossible to turn on the air conditioner while the car was idling, so Khalid, who had been prepared for a long time, moved the firewood from the trailer box of the truck, and then picked up a military shovel and dug a hole by the side of the car to clear away the nearby debris. Grass, then piled firewood in the shallow pit, poured gasoline, and after a while, a warm bonfire rose on the field.

It was only ten minutes after all this was done, and the residual heat in the carriage hadn't dissipated yet.It was only when Cheng Mo and Athena got out of the car that they felt it was freezing, and quickly approached the burning fire.

Khalid moved three soft cushions and three blankets down, gave Cheng Mo and Athena each a set, then put the soft cushion in his hand on the front wheel of the pickup, and sat down with his back against the front wheel.

The whole pickup can only rely on the front and rear wheels. If Cheng Mo and Athena don't want to be cold, they can only sit on the rear wheels together.Athena didn't think as much as Cheng Mo did. She waded through the weeds and stepped on the gravel to the rear wheel, bent down and placed the cushion on the ground, and then sat down.

Cheng Mo stood by the bonfire and looked around. Khalid had closed his eyes. It was impossible for him to run over and squeeze with Khalid, so he could only choose to go to the carriage to suffer from the cold, or squeeze with Athena shamelessly. squeeze.
After all, he was not a thick-skinned person. After thinking about it for a while, he opened the car door and got into the car.After taking off the passenger seat, Cheng Mo lay down on the seat covered with a blanket.Such a posture is comfortable, but the car without the air conditioner seems to be colder than the wild, Cheng Mo had to roll the blanket under his body and wrap himself tightly.

The bone-chilling chill made the blankets and clothes extraordinarily cold. Cheng Mo shivered and couldn't close his eyes. The bonfire outside the window was reflected on the glass window, and the faintly rising sparks flew up to the sky by the wind, merging with the bright Milky Way. Became an eternal light.

Cheng Mo thought to himself: You can’t sleep too deeply, it’s not necessarily safe here, it’s impossible to sleep too dead in such a cold, and when you get back Ouroboros, you must get yourself a skill that can emit heat.
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Even in the vast wilderness like no man's land, there are Sanskrit sounds singing the adhan ceremony in the early morning.

When Cheng Mo opened his eyes, he saw Khaled kneeling on the mat, facing east and doing the morning salute.Not far away, there was a big iron horn on the roof of the checkpoint, and the sound of singing was continuously spreading in all directions.Cheng Mo was cold all night and didn't sleep well, so he just wrapped himself in a blanket and got out of the car. Khalid added firewood to the bonfire, and it was burning vigorously. The smoke filled with the smell of firewood made Cheng Mo, whose hands and feet were cold, feel a little warmth .

He walked to the campfire and looked back at Athena, who seemed to be still in a sweet sleep leaning on the rear wheel.

The pale morning light blurred the skyline, and her face was reflected by the firelight. Although the outline of her face was not her original appearance, Cheng Mo could clearly see Athena's flawless face in her eyes.He stopped for a moment, and saw that the plain wool blanket had slipped down to her waist. Cheng Mo stepped lightly, walked to Athena's side, bent down, and carefully pulled the blanket to Athena's shoulders.

Athena opened her eyes, raised her head slightly and stared at Cheng Mo, those deep blue pupils were as bright as a morning star in the black of waking up.

It is also distant and indifferent like a morning star.

Cheng Mo suddenly felt embarrassed, thinking that he really shouldn't do anything unnecessary, it's vulgar, silly, and a bit contrived.But why didn't he think so much just now?He quickly straightened up, curled his mouth and forced a smile and said, "You can still sleep for a while, I'll go and warm up the pancakes and mutton skewers for you."

Athena nodded as a matter of course, without making a sound, and continued to rest on the wheel.

Even in the dry Syria, there was a hint of dampness in the cold morning air. Cheng Mo took out the plastic jug that was originally filled with alcohol from the carriage, but now it was filled with boiled water.

Latakia has not restored the tap water supply so far. Every day, the water must be fetched at a fixed location. The water is more expensive than Huaxia’s mineral water, and it cannot be used directly. It must be filtered through a filter first. Then boil to drink.Cheng Mo put the pot of expensive water on a slightly larger rock, took out the toiletries from Athena's backpack, brushed his teeth and washed his face in the cold wind, tidied himself up, and gave Athena's toiletries to her After putting them on the stones, they walked to the campfire and began to bake naan and kebabs.

Both the naan and the kebabs were made by Khalid's mother, and they just need to be heated, but in the wild, even with a fire, heating is not easy.

In order for Athena to have a hot meal, Cheng Mo took a military shovel and dug a hole again, found a few stones, placed them around the hole, spread firewood on the bottom of the hole, and made a simple stove.Then he spent a lot of effort to find a stone that was slightly flatter. While Khalid was not paying attention, he used a stone the size of the drum of the General of the Seven Sins to cut it into an unusually flat stone slab, and then washed the stone slab with water. It is clean and placed on a simple stove, slightly adjusted the position of the stone as a fulcrum on the edge of the pit, so that the stone slab can be placed on it stably, and a stove for "slate burning" is completely ready.

Cheng Mo found gasoline and ignited the firewood, and waited for the fire to completely heat the stone slab.The fire was very strong, and the gray stones were quickly burned to blackness. Cheng Mo hurriedly brought mutton skewers, picked out some fatter ones, and fried sheep oil on the stone board, so that the aroma rose from the wasteland. of cooking smoke.

Athena, who smelled the aroma, immediately fell asleep. Wrapped in a blanket, she walked up to Cheng Mo, watching the mutton and scones on the slate in the morning light. The mutton wrapped in cumin and chives was sizzling on the slate. The scones soaked in fat turned brown, and the aroma of mutton and wheat mixed together, making your lips and teeth salivate.

Athena swallowed a mouthful of saliva, fixed her eyes on the mutton and the shredded scones and asked, "When is dinner?"

Cheng Mo, who was squatting next to the stone slab, looked up at Athena, and said with a smile, "Go wash your face and brush your teeth first, and then you can eat after you finish washing your face and brushing your teeth." Seeing Athena turn around quickly, Cheng Mo Then he said: "I put all the things over there for you." Athena nodded without looking back, and walked to the stone where the toiletries were placed, Cheng Mo had already neatly arranged the soap, toothpaste and toothbrush Put it on the stone, but help Athena squeeze the toothpaste on without hypocrisy.

At this time, Khalid had already finished the morning ritual and had just washed up. Looking at Cheng Mo who was cooking, Khalid shook his head and said with a smile: "Uncle Reketska is very kind to you, which is not the case in our Syria. unimaginable"

Athena, who was squeezing toothpaste, stopped and asked in a low voice, "Why?"

"In Syria, these things are done by women."

Athena said seriously: "It's what a servant should do."

Khalid didn't expect that he just wanted to say a good word, but he got himself into embarrassment. He scratched his head, "It's different. Although I haven't been in a relationship, I know it's different."

"What's the difference?"

"I don't know, but my mother always said that there is no love in the food outside, only the food made by family can have enough love."

Athena frowned, puzzled.

Khaled smiled and said: "For a servant or a chef, cooking is just work for him, and there is nothing to be happy about, but relatives and lovers are different. I remember that when my father finally came back, my mother always She will prepare carefully for a long time, go to the vegetable market early in the morning, pick out the dishes my father loves most, and buy the freshest ones. She is also full of joy when cooking, especially when watching my father eat, her face is full of joy. There will always be an indescribable sense of satisfaction." Khalid spread his hands and looked at Cheng Mo, "I don't know where the love is hidden, it is probably hidden in those extremely ordinary actions! "

(End of this chapter)