Chapter 45 Chapter Forty-Four

Zhou Liyan opened the door, carefully carried the doll out, and placed it under the straw stack in front of the door.This has been four consecutive days. In the evening four days ago, Zhou Liyan and his fellows were having dinner in the burning workshop, when suddenly there was the sound of a baby crying outside the door, crying so panickedly.Zhou Liyan knew that this was the case again, and when he went out to look, he saw a bundle of bundles under the straw stack at the door, and that was where the crying came from.Zhou Liyan unwrapped the bag, and inside was a three-pronged male doll, as thin as a mouse, with black lips from crying.Recently, some people who couldn't afford to raise dolls deliberately put them in front of the Shaofang, hoping that Zhou Liyan would pick them up.

This is already the fifth.Zhou Liyan carried the baby back and asked the buddy to pour him some wheat noodle soup.As soon as the baby had something to eat, it immediately stopped crying.Zhou Liyan asked him to spend the night in Shaofang, and put him under the haystack at dawn.He couldn't keep the baby, not because he couldn't afford it, but because he couldn't set this precedent.If you adopt one during the year's famine, there will be a hundred in the future!He runs a burning workshop, not an orphanage, and these dolls are generally not orphans, and their parents may be watching him around.

The first four had already been carried back by their parents. He hoped that the parents of this baby would take him away today, because he was going back to his hometown today, and no one would take care of this little guy anymore. Yesterday his father sent a clerk to send a message, asking him to transport all the food from the oil workshop back to his hometown, and they are going to put food in Jiangzhang Town.Zhou Liyan is the one who listens to his father the most, and besides, there are fewer people drinking during the famine, and the business of the burning workshop is not good. After placing the doll, Zhou Liyan looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to the doll.Still unable to see it, he left the haystack and went to the downtown area.In the evening, the shipment of food was about to start, and there were still some sacks missing. He had to go to the grocery store to buy them.

The scene along the way made him worry.There are beggars everywhere, and every place that sells food is surrounded by layers of refugees. The timid ones are drooling on the outer layer, and the bold ones are squeezed inside.The seller is also cruel enough, chasing after him, thinking that he is unlucky if he can't catch up, and will beat him to death once he catches up.Anyway, there are too many dead people these days, and no one cares about how they died. What Zhou Liyan couldn't bear to see even more was the prostitution.There was a father who sold his daughter and yelled loudly, buy it soon, and you don’t need money to take it away, or I will kill her!Zhou Liyan saw that the girl was about seven or eight years old, her father was pinching her neck like a chicken, the girl was trembling and her face was blue.There are people who sell people like this, isn't this a threat?

Zhou Liyan thought the man was joking, but he waited for a while and saw no one was paying attention, so he twisted his daughter's neck hard, and the girl fell limply to the ground without making a sound.Pedestrians all looked sideways, the man smiled and said that you are all witnesses, I killed someone, go to the police!Put me in jail!He shouted like crazy, I want to go to jail!He yelled and yelled but started to cry, crying heartbreakingly, squatting beside his daughter's body and crying so hard that he couldn't stand upright. Passers-by have seen this incident a lot, no one goes to the police, and even if they do, the police don't care.Prison is a blessed place at this time, where you have food and clothing, you can’t just get in if you want to, and the police only charge people to lock people up.Zhou Liyan didn't dare to look at it, bought a sack and hurried back.Feng Xiang is so hungry, and his hometown is not much better, he really should transport the food back to help the villagers.

The food delivery had to go overnight, and Zhou Liyan was worried that he would be intercepted during the day.Fengxiang is short of food these days, and the government does not allow food to leave the country. During the day, the gates of the city are closely guarded, and only at night can they find a way to sneak out.Of course there are vigils at night, but there are few people and they take turns. Zhou Liyan is going to pay off the watchmen at that time.This is of course a risk, but there is no other way.At dusk, all the food had been packed, and seven carriages were piled up.After the animals were fed and harnessed, and the people had dinner and tea, they waited for the dark to set off and set off on the road.

But at this time there was another doll calling at the door.Everyone looked at each other and smiled, Zhou Liyan said, look at this matter, we are still entangled.He came out and saw that the baby that was placed under the haystack that morning was still there. It seemed that his parents were determined not to want him.Zhou Liyan thought to himself, what should I do?It's impossible to transport him away too. Zhou Liyan carried the doll back, poured some paste soup into it, found a small cloth bag, dug four bowls of wheat from the sack, put it in, called a clerk, and told him to take the doll to the street , whoever wants this doll, you just give him this bag of food.

The guy came back after a while, and he said that people outside were rushing to get the doll.Zhou Liyan said, we have nothing to worry about.But the guy said, shopkeeper, I'm worried that the man wants the doll for food, will he throw the doll away again? Zhou Liyan sighed and said, I don't know, it depends on his fate.Everyone was speechless for a while, only the sound of horseshoes scratching the ground could be heard. At this time, it was getting dark, so Zhou Liyan went to the gate of the city alone to explore the way.There was a money bag around his waist, and the money should have tempted the gatekeeper.What made him happy was that the gates of the city were not closed. The gatekeepers were probably annoyed by the waves of refugees coming in and out. Who would have the patience to open and close the gates for these people from time to time?And what can these people check?The gatekeeper went to sleep by himself.

What a godsend!When Zhou Liyan came back to greet everyone, his carriage was the first to start, and the other six cars drove out of the Shaofang yard one by one.When they arrived at the gate of the city, no one stopped them, and they went out smoothly.Zhou Liyan's hanging heart suddenly fell to the ground. He asked everyone to light up the torches and rush eastward without stopping.At this speed, they will be able to reach their hometown tomorrow afternoon. After more than twenty miles out of the city, Zhou Liyan saw a faint light on the side of the road from a distance.He didn't pay attention, thinking that there was a village in the darkness, it was the lights leaking from the village.But when they came to the front, several men with guns jumped out from the side of the road. They stood in the middle of the road and shouted loudly: "Stop!"

Zhou Liyan panicked. He didn't know whether these people were bandits or the army. No matter which family they were, he would suffer.Needless to say, bandits, if it was an army, it must be Fengxiang's garrison. This place is very close to Fengxiang County. It turned out that they opened the city gates and set up barricades outside to intercept food.If they caught him, he would be in big trouble. In the lightest cases, the food would be confiscated, and in the serious cases, he would be punished. Don't let them stop!How can he see his father without food? Zhou Liyan's heart turned violent, and he slammed the whip heavily. The whip tip hit the horse's ears, and it hurt like a knife cut. The horse galloped vigorously, and the grain truck rushed over.

The man with the gun stepped aside and fired at the carriage. As soon as the gunshot rang out, a light lit up in the darkness. It turned out that a team was stationed here.A senior officer rushed out of the tent and asked, what's the matter? The sentinel who fired the gun replied: Report to the battalion commander, a team of carriages rushed to the checkpoint. What's on the car?asked the magistrate. I don't know, it's all sacks.The sentinel replied. Don't let them go, the officer ordered, Squad Leader Ma, get on my horse and stop them! In the dark, a man stepped on his horse and rushed out of the camp, followed by a group of people running. Zhou Liyan's motorcade had already run some distance.He was glad that he dared to take the risk, because those who held guns were infantry, they couldn't run horses, and they couldn't shoot at night.But he didn't expect that there would be a horse chasing after him soon. The solo horse was faster than his carriage, and he could see the man when he turned around.There was only one person and one horse, and he was not too scared, and wanted to try his luck again.The man ordered him to stop, how could Zhou Liyan listen?He flicked his whip and drove the carriage.At this moment, a gunshot rang out, and Zhou Liyan's back shook, and he fell off the carriage.The torch was extinguished, and the horse couldn't see the road, and stopped after a few steps forward.When the car in front stopped, the cars behind were blocked. The man who fired the gun jumped off his horse, kicked Zhou Liyan who was lying on the ground, and cursed, "Damn it, let's see if you run faster or my gun is faster!" The team behind quickly surrounded them, and they escorted the carriage back to the barracks.Zhou Liyan was covered in blood, and was carried to the carriage by his buddies and dragged back to the barracks. As soon as he arrived at the barracks, squad leader Ma immediately reported to the officer that the cart was full of grain. what!The officer was overjoyed, patted Mazi and said, Mazi, you have done a good job.He came out with Mazi, touched the sacks on each car one by one, and estimated that there were more than 30 shi, which was not a small amount. He happily said to Mazi, go and tell Deputy Zhou Ying to make him happy too. Soon an officer came out of another tent, and he said to the officer in front, Commander Liu, this is really a successful start.The battalion commander Liu said, yes, it's a good sign. The Zhou Ying deputy turned his head and asked Mazi again, did he hurt anyone? Mazi said, knocking over one, running like a dog. Deputy Zhou Ying asked, is he dead? Mazi said, I don't know. At this time, the burning shop guy next to him whispered that he was not dead, but he was seriously injured. Although the voice was small, Deputy Zhou Ying heard it.He asked, where is the person?The man led him to the carriage, and Zhou Liyan was placed in the trough for feeding the animals. Bring the torch, Deputy Zhou Ying ordered.Immediately, the torch was handed over, and he approached Zhou Liyan with the torch, why is this man's face so familiar?Zhou Liyan was wounded on his ribs, and the bullet pierced through there, causing blood to flow out continuously.The blood was on his body, not on his face. Although his face was pale, he was recognizable. Third brother?Make a statement! Deputy Zhou Ying cried out. Deputy Zhou Ying is Zhou Lide.This team is the Taibai Garrison Battalion. They received an order from the provincial government a few days ago to assemble in Xi'an.Song Zheyuan, chairman of the provincial government, has been re-appointed as the acting commander-in-chief of the National Army and is ready to march eastward at any time.The soldiers and horses went ahead without using food and grass. Now Song Zheyuan's biggest headache is the army food.There has been a severe drought in Shaanxi for a long time, and it is difficult to raise food and wages.But Song Zheyuan didn't care about this. He publicly stated at the military and political meeting that he would rather let the Shaanxi people die than starve the army. He must ensure the supply of the front line at all costs, and the troops assembled in various places must provide food and grass by themselves.When giving orders to Liu Fenglin, Song Zheyuan privately said to this relative, pay attention when you go all the way, and don’t let go of any opportunity to raise food. As long as you raise more food, I have a reason to keep you behind as a quartermaster , There is no need to go to the front line to touch a gun. As a result, Liu Fenglin mustered all his energy to get food, which was a matter of life and death for him.Unexpectedly, two days after the troops set off, they ran into Zhou Liyan.This is also a coincidence.Originally, this team would not come here. From Taibai Mountain to Xi'an, they usually take the south road along the Weihe River, but Liu Fenglin is superstitious, and he wants to detour to Famen Temple, the largest temple in the West Prefecture, to burn a stick of incense for the Bodhisattva. Bless him to stay in Xi'an as he wished this time.In this way, the team climbed up to the North Plateau, and camped here the next day after the march. Not long after they set up their camp, the sentinels discovered the convoy. Zhou Lide saw his third brother become like this, and immediately ordered him to be carried into the tent, and asked the military medical officer to rescue him quickly.After bandaging Zhou Liyan woke up, Zhou Lide called in his ear, third brother, it's me, I'm your elder brother! Zhou Liyan barely opened his eyes and saw Zhou Lide, his mouth twitched weakly.Zhou Lide burst into tears, he put his ear close to the third brother's mouth, and listened to a sentence intermittently: Father's food... has to be transported... back... I must!Zhou Lide said. A smile appeared on Zhou Liyan's face. Zhou Lide grabbed the third brother's hand, and his hand gradually became cold.Zhou Lide called out tearfully, third brother, Li Yan!But the third brother just refused to agree to him, and gave him a smile stubbornly. Give him medicine!inject!Zhou Lide yelled at the medical officer. The medical officer shook his head helplessly and said, Battalion Commander, he was hurt in the heart, it was too serious. Fuck me!Zhou Lide touched the gun angrily, but his hand was tightly grasped by the third company commander next to him.The third company commander said, Battalion Commander Zhou, calm down, calm down.I calm the fucking cunt, I fuck that bastard who beat my brother to death! Both Liu Fenglin and Squad Leader Ma were standing in front of him. They knew that the injured man was Zhou Lide's brother and they all followed up the tent, knowing that they had caused trouble.Misunderstanding, Liu Fenglin said to Zhou Lide, Deputy Zhou Ying, I'm sorry, this is definitely a misunderstanding.As he spoke, he kicked Squad Leader Ma beside him, motioning him to kneel down.Mazi was so frightened that his face turned pale. He kowtowed and said, Commander Zhou, I really don't know, I can't see clearly. Can't see you and shoot?Zhou Lide roared.Pockmarked marksmanship is very accurate, he is the squad leader of Liu Fenglin's guards. I yelled and told them to stop and check, but they didn't listen.Mazi argued. Shoot if you don't listen?You have a gun and I don't have a gun?Zhou Lide went to draw his gun again, the third company commander was faster than him, and had already removed his gun. You are so stubborn!Liu Fenglin shouted, come here, put this dog in custody for me.Immediately, two guards rushed in and dragged Mazi away. Mazi shouted, Battalion Commander, I have been wronged.Of course Liu Fenglin knew that he was wronged, but if he continued to defend himself here, Zhou Lide might really kill him.Mazi is Liu Fenglin's confidant, and Liu Fenglin must protect him. Liu Fenglin said to Zhou Lide, Battalion Commander Zhou, I am also responsible for this matter, and I feel very sad. Your brother is also my brother. Let's bury my brother generously, and I will pay for it. What about the food?Zhou Lide asked. This is Lord Lingtang's, of course it has to be returned.Liu Fenglin said. Zhou Ligong took Qin Shankui and the others after a long journey and finally returned to his hometown.At this time, he could hardly recognize his hometown. After leaving for just over two years, the village surrounded by green trees and surrounded by the Wei River has become completely devastated.There is not a single crop in the field, all the trees have been peeled and their leaves picked, and most of them are dead. The houses on the side of the road have been torn off their roofs and covers, and the broken walls and ruins are bared.Zhou Ligong gasped. He had been staying in the city. Although he knew and felt that the famine was coming, he did not expect that the drought would be almost devastating to the countryside.This strengthened his understanding that the fragile agriculture is vulnerable, the backward countryside has no way out, and the only thing that can save China is modern industry.The current drought is indeed serious, but it is not worth saving, because such backward villages and agriculture can only rely on the sky for food. God is not deterministic. Natural disasters are inevitable. If you save today, you cannot save tomorrow.But modern industrial people are determined to conquer the sky, they don’t look at the face of God, and they always make a steady income, so his father’s method of using money to relieve disasters is completely ignorant. He sits on the sky and has no idea of ​​the trend of the times. Talk about it well, let his father open his eyes and understand that the only way to do it is to invest funds in him. When the group arrived at Zhoujiazhai, Qin Shankui did not leave. He told Zhou Ligong that he and his people lived in Jiangzhang Town, and asked Zhou Ligong to go home alone to persuade his father that the matter was settled. When the grain cart was on the road, he would lead someone to escort it, and if there was any problem, he would come to the town to find him in time. Qin Shankui was afraid that brother Xiucai would recognize him, so of course he didn't want to show his face.Things went well, he caught up with the escort car halfway, but Zhou Kewen was not seen.Things didn't go well, and it was going to be tough, he and his brothers blackened their faces, and Zhou Kewen couldn't recognize him. Zhou Ligong felt strange, this Qin Shankui is from Xi'an, why is he so familiar with his hometown?He asked Qin Shankui, Qin Shankui smiled and said, I have done business here.Zhou Ligong no longer doubted, and the two broke up. Qin Shankui took his brothers to Jiangzhang Town to settle down. He immediately changed into rags, covered his face with dust, covered his head with a shabby straw hat, disguised himself as a beggar, and went to Zhoujiazhai to set foot on the site.When a bandit develops the habit of being cautious, he has to find out the situation clearly before each action. After entering the stockade, Qin Shankui was taken aback. There were soldiers everywhere in the village!He asked someone to inquire, only to find out that it was the eldest son of the Zhou family who brought the team back.He is very afraid, but also very yearning.He didn't dare to go further into the village, but he didn't want to leave immediately either.He wanted to meet this man, his friend and his savior.He cats in a corner of the street, pretending to bask in the warmth, waiting for Zhou Lide to appear on the street.Although he didn't know him, he could guess him. Hard work pays off.After waiting for almost three bags of cigarettes, a young officer riding a maroon horse came from the opposite side. He was tall and straight, and his clothes were clean and tidy. He wore a cowhide belt crossed across his left and right shoulders, and a box cannon was inserted at his waist. At a glance, he looked majestic and heroic.Qin Shankui was refreshed, and felt that this person should be Zhou Lide, his face was so similar to Brother Xiucai, it was almost cast from the same mold. Qin Shankui said to the people next to him, look at this military master, he is so majestic! That man is from the Zhou family village, he said, is he just like his father, to show off, to glorify his ancestors in his hometown. Qin Shankui's guess was confirmed.He was very excited and wanted to rush forward and say a few words to the eldest son.But he didn't dare. If he wants to get to know Zhou Lide, he must have Zhou Ligong build a bridge in the middle, and he can't be rash. Qin Shankui returned to Jiangzhang Town.