Siheyuan, my new life

The old village chief looked at Zhou Xuan gratefully and said sincerely: "Comrade Zhou, thank you for your concern for all the men in Tongjiadong Village. If the scandal of Tong Gouzi colluding with bandits gets out, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for the young men in our village to get married in the future. On behalf of all the men, I thank you two."

Zhou Xuan waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Director Lin sent us here to visit the relatives of the martyrs of Tongshan. If we can help a little, it can be regarded as our contribution to the young and old men of Tongjiadong."

Zhou Huang on the side continued: "There is another reason why I asked you to come here. When I went to the forest to follow Tong Gouzi today, I found that there are many Chinese herbal medicines growing in your forest. Many of them are exactly the varieties that our Director Lin needs. Therefore, we want to find a way for the elders and villagers of Tongjiadong to make a living. Your village can organize people to collect those Chinese herbal medicines and then process them according to the requirements. Our Jingcheng Bureau will purchase these medicinal materials at the market price. This will not only meet the needs of our city bureau, but also increase the income of the villagers of Tongjiadong. What do you think, old village chief?"

The old village chief glanced at the militia captain Tong Dalong, who was already fidgeting with excitement, and said with a smile: "The two comrades Zhou not only gave money to build brick houses for the martyrs' families in Tongjiadong, but also helped to eliminate the threat of bandits in the mountains. Since Director Lin needs Chinese medicinal herbs, we in Tongjiadong are willing to do our best to help collect them. As for the money, we absolutely cannot accept it. This can be regarded as a little thought from the old and young men of Tongjiadong."

Zhou Xuan smiled and waved his hand: "Old village chief, the purchase of Chinese medicinal materials from Tongjiadong is a matter between our municipal bureau and your Tongjiadong Village Committee. The settlement between public institutions should be done as it should be. If you don't have suitable Chinese herbal medicines here, our municipal bureau will not purchase them. Besides, being able to help the hometown of the Tongshan martyrs improve their lives is also a little wish that we retired soldiers can do within our capacity. Okay, you two go back and have a rest. Tomorrow someone will send us pictures of the Chinese herbal medicines that need to be purchased. At that time, you can arrange people to collect them according to the pictures. As for the initial processing, it is also very simple. Some rural doctors can do it."

After sending away the old village chief and the militia captain, Zhou Huang said with a smile: "Brother Xuan, you have been busy all day, so you should rest early. As for those chickens and dogs in the mountains, please don't worry about them. I am familiar with them and can take care of them in a short time."

Zhou Xuan pointed at the other party helplessly and said: "I don't usually see you calling me brother. Okay, go ahead. By the way, don't leave any abnormalities at the scene. All the bandits must be killed by guns, at least on the surface."

Zhou Huang hummed, and then his figure disappeared into the void.

Now there was no need to follow Tong Gouzi in the mountains and forests, so in just a moment Zhou Huang's figure appeared above the canyon.

At this time, two bonfires were lit on the open space in front of the cave. The half-dead stragglers seen during the day were now gathered around the bonfires. Even the guards who were responsible for guarding the canyon entrance during the day appeared here. Everyone was holding a piece of meat and bone in their hands and trying to bite it. The bodies of the two animals above the bonfire were roasted by the scorching flames. From time to time, grease dripped onto the fire below, causing thick smoke with a burnt smell. Zhou Huang clearly saw that the Tong Gouzi he had seen during the day was now crowded together with these stragglers, gnawing on the meat and bones that were still faintly stained with blood.

Zhou Huang snorted inwardly, thinking that he had brought disaster upon himself, and then his hands flashed quickly in the air, as if the pause button had been pressed in an instant. The scattered soldiers and brave men who had just been fighting like vicious dogs snatching food suddenly became motionless like statues.

Zhou Huang ignored these guys who had lost their breath of life, and flashed to the entrance of the cave. The two soldiers on guard seen during the day were not standing here, and they obviously went to eat. Maybe these defeated soldiers thought this place was extremely secretive, and nothing had happened for a long time. What's more, such a group of roving soldiers did not have any strict military discipline, so such slackness would occur.

The middle area of ​​the cave is an open space of about 20 to 30 square meters, which is now used by the leaders of the defeated soldiers as a place for eating and holding meetings.

At this time, more than 20 guys wearing tattered uniforms of the National Army were sitting around two square tables, eating meat and drinking while talking about topics of interest.

A major officer of medium build looked up at the middle-aged man who was whispering and flirting with the female officer sitting next to him and said, "Commander, today that Tong Gouzi came to report that two fat sheep have come to their village. They said that a high-ranking official from the capital sent 200 kilograms of rice and flour, a pile of canned meat, and milk powder to each family of martyrs in their village. He also wants to build brick and tile houses for seven families of martyrs. Should we do something about it?"

The middle-aged man fumbled with his beard under his chin and pondered for a while, then looked to the right at a thin lieutenant colonel with a white face and no beard: "Chang Qing, you are the scholar among our brothers, what do you think?"

The lieutenant colonel named Chang Qing took a sip of the pungent liquor from the rough earthenware bowl in front of him, smacked his lips and shook his head gently: "Commander, the ancients said it well, a little impatience will ruin a big plan, we can't be blinded by the petty gains in front of us, since that Tong Gouzi said that they were two senior officials from the capital, if we touch them, will we be severely suppressed by the higher-ups? You know, we have finally got this safe place to stay, although it looks very secretive, but if a large army really goes into the mountains to suppress, we are less than 20 miles away from that Tongjiadong, do you think we can escape?"

Before the middle-aged man could speak, the major sneered disdainfully: "Sour scholar, don't be so picky. We can't be afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind. You know, we don't have much food here now. The brothers outside can only fill their stomachs by hunting for some wild game. Although it sounds like they can eat meat every day, who can stand not seeing any food for a long time? You, Chang Xiucai, hide in the cave all day long to read books and drink, but if you go out and listen to the complaints of the brothers, I'm worried that someone will disobey orders and act on their own after a long time, and even worse, I'm worried that other accidents will happen. After all, the weather is getting colder and colder. In winter, not only will it be difficult to hunt wild animals, but the salt, tobacco and alcohol we used to get will also be gone. By then, you won't even be able to drink this loose wine."

Chang Qing blushed at what the other party said. He used to be a poor teacher in a private school. Later, he was forced by the commander to hide and flee everywhere. He finally found this secret place. To be honest, he really didn't want to cause trouble.

The commander turned to look at the young woman beside him and asked with a smile: "Staff Officer Yao, what do you think we should do?"

The commander was wary of this nominal staff officer, as he knew her background very well. On the surface, this woman was a radio operator who communicated with his superiors, but in reality, she was an eye sent by his superiors to monitor him. Once she found anything abnormal about him, this woman would probably not care about the friendship they had shared a bed with. He did think about designing an accident to kill this femme fatale, but he could not guarantee whether there were any people sent by his superiors among the people around him.