Chapter 19

For the people in the shelter, it is still too early today. People like me are still sleeping in the space squeezed out under the porch, while people like Dragon and his recliner occupy a cooler and more peaceful space.

Zhang Lixian and Li Bing rush in, to this lazy world, they shout like killing pigs: "Fall in! Fall in!'

We get up in a daze, even more dazed by this long forgotten order. We just get up and cluster into a pile, without making any effort to gather together. In fact, our efforts will be in vain, just because of our diverse sources.

Yu Xiaoqing comes in, like a walking gun, and the group of people like Zhang Lixian are knives surrounding him. He looks at us, he is dissatisfied, but he won't reveal his dissatisfaction.

"My surname is Yu! My name is Xiaoqing! My superiors told me that if I go to war in Burma, they'll give me a well-equipped reinforced regiment! I said, I appreciate your kindness — why?"

He scans us, and we lower our heads. He even glances over Dragon outside the circle. Dragon shakes his fan unnecessarily in the temperature that is not so high and freezes when he is swept — Yu Xiaoqing's eyes are long spears.

"Because what I want is my regiment! My brothers in the same uniform, I want that when you mention the name 'Yu Xiaoqing' and think of my chief in your heart! When I mention my brothers in the same uniform, I think of my regiment! — My superiors got angry, he said then I would give you Sichuan regiment! He knows, I also know, the Sichuan regiment is a regiment that had already been wiped out! I said, great! I want the Sichuan regiment, because the Sichuan regiment fights with the Japanese very bravely and fiercely! Someone from the Sichuan regiment once said that as long as there is one Sichuan man left, the Sichuan regiment is not dead! I come from Hunan! I am a damn Hunan guy who fully admires the Sichuan regiment!"

I am like a sleepwalker, with no excitement on my face, but I don't need to look back to know how many people are getting excited and go wild. The leftover of the Sichuan regiment Yaoma is for sure, and it is highly possible for Hunan guy Bula. Yi's face must be flushed now. That guy Yu Xiaoqing is as direct as a bullet hitting our foreheads, without any humble words like "please". The words "I" are shouted out by him like gunpowder.

Bula looks at Yaoma with great glory: "He's a Hunan guy."

Yaoma responds with great displeasure: "So what?"

Yu Xiaoqing doesn't look at anyone but shouts: "He Shuguang!"

We find that He Shuguang is not only a guard, but also a walking scabbard. Yu Xiaoqing pulls out the machete from his back. It is a machete which is very conducive to chopping. The handle is long and flat, with a wide blade that extends from the tip, it seems like it could cut a horse into half. Yu Xiaoqing waves his machete in his hand and says: "This is a machete I made myself when I was twenty years old. I have been using it to chop people. The Japanese stab us with bayonets, and we use machetes to chop them. But you don't need to chop this time! You have better ones!"

Originally, He Shuguang is also a movable gun rack. Yu Xiaoqing hands the machete back to him and takes off the Thomson on his back. Yu Xiaoqing is very skilled in handling the gun, but then, I think he meant it. He lets a whole box of bullets pour down on the eaves a few meters above Dragon's head, which is not his fault. Dragon, who refuses to flock together, finds himself in a very prominent position.

The shattered bricks and tiles fall down, and Dragon crosses his arms to protect his head and face. In that moment, we think that Dragon will be killed, but after the dust and smoke cleared, Dragon and his recliner are still in the rubble. The most impressive thing is that Dragon pats off the debris and dust on his arms, ignoring the blood marks — he is still lying down.

Yu Xiaoqing and Dragon briefly exchange glances, as if the tip of the spear has hit a sleeping lion. I am almost certain that Yu Xiaoqing views this matter with admiration — then he throws the gun back to Zhang Lixian and never looks at Dragon again.

Yu Xiaoqing feels it is necessary to explain to us what that thing was just now. "Thomson portable machine gun, with. 45 bullets that could kill even a horse. It's yours if you go. — Li Bing!"

Li Bing hands over him the Zhongzheng rifle he is carrying, and Yu Xiaoqing pulls the bolt and loads it. Several rapid single shots are fired, and a tile in the neighboring courtyard explodes several times.

"Type 24 rifle. It is much more accurate than Japs' rifle. Yours. — Zhang Lixian!"

Zhang Lixian takes the Czech ZB26, and Yu Xiaoqing takes it over and hits a whole shuttle. We dodge, and another corner of the brick wall in the yard is gnawed off.

"The Czech light machine gun, the Japanese's machine gun can't even compare with it, yours. Browning machine gun, air-cooled, too heavy to carry, yours. Tanks, anti-aircraft machine guns, anti-tank guns, heavy mortars, field guns and mountain guns, all yours."

He reaches out a hand, and Yu Zhi knows what he wants — what Yu Zhi pulls out is actually a mortar shell. Yu Xiaoqing playfully weighes it in his hand and says: "You suffered from being hit by Japs' grenade launchers? The American 60mm mortar is more powerful, more accurate, and farther than it. If you go, it's yours." He throws the shell back to Yu Zhi. Watching them throw it like stone, which really makes us worry and envy. "If you go. We have enough guns and bullets, enough food and clothing, three meals a day. There are field hospitals, American doctors, American medicine, American aircraft transportation and soldier's pay. You get money if you die, and the important, the most important thing — there are japs to kill."

He stares at us, while I am trembling. But it isn't me who is trembling, it is Bula who next to me is trembling, causing me to tremble together. Adoring, admired, and intimidated, there is no single eye on my left, right, and back that is not radiating such a message. Yu Xiaoqing looks at us in front of me, and the elites behind him are like statues. Dragon lays motionless under the eaves behind these elites, and I don't know what he is thinking.

For many of us, he is a deity with the magic of turning a puddle of mud into a spear. I look at him, look at the phoenix, flying over the flock of chickens, making them no longer content with reality, but the chickens have to peck in the mud in the end. He made me tremble, but after that, I still don't feel like I have a soul now.

For Yu Xiaoqing, his words are nearing the end. He has a lot of things to be done before the expedition. "I am Yu Xiaoqing, 30 years old, from Hunan. Brothers in the same uniform who come with me should remember that the most respected warrior in my life is Yue Fei, and the most respected literati is Qu Yuan. If I were with Qu Yuan in the same era, I would fight for him to death, and never throw myself into the fucking Miluo River. — That's all. Those who want to go with me come to take part in the medical examination at once. We are the Sichuan regiment, priority is given to Sichuan soldiers, to those who have studied, to those who have the fighting experience. See you at the front."

Yaoma gets proud now: "Heard that? You Hunan donkey."

Bula becomes resentful: "These years, Hunan guys have begun to betray themselves."

Yu Xiaoqing goes out without warning, and several of his elites follow him, leaving behind Zhang Lixian and He Shuguang.

Zhang Lixian can hardly conceal his disdain for us, "Line up for inspection! Line up for inspection!" But most of us just sit down in the same spot.

Kang Ya has not yet regained his composure from the shock just now. "My god," Shepigu touches his kitchen knife handle and says: "I'm going, I'm going." Bula changes his tone and declares, as if he hadn't scolded Yu Xiaoqing just now: "That's what a true Hunan man is!" Yi has a carried-away expression and say: "No matter where he comes from, he can lead us to win a war!"

He Shuguang exclaims: "Line up! You dead shit! Do you know what is 'line up'?"

At this moment, Dragon finally jumps up, and it is more like smashing away all the bricks and debris.

He roars up to the sky, "What bullshit? !"

We start queuing in the courtyard, and I stand behind the seventh or eighth queue. I take off my left shoe and throw it away while no one see it.

Zhang Lixian looks around and calls out: "Doctor! Doctor! Who is doctor?"

Vet Hao squeezes out the ugly queue and replies: "I'm a doctor."

I crowd next to Vet Hao, "I'm a doctor."

Amidst the surprised gaze of the crowd, I exchange glances with Vet Hao, who hesitates, but I stare at him. The old man hesitates for a while and says: "... He's my assistant."

He Shuguang points to several tables that have already merged together and says: "Go and begin to check!"

I follow Vet Hao towards there, but am stopped by Zhang Lixian. "What's wrong with your foot?" I show him my left foot without shoe. "Lost one shoe, the ground is rough."

"Where is it?"

"Being held by a dead jap and buried together," I say.

Zhang Lixian is really easier coaxed than the people of Chanda, "Fine."

I manage to limp as much as possible instead of mopping towards the few tables, spreading out a very limited number of diagnostic tools on them. "Line up! Examine! Examine!" I shout even louder than Vet Hao.

Shepigu looks at me in surprise and says: "Does this work?"

I push him down on the table, poke him with a stethoscope, and pinch him, "Shut the fuck up."

Kang Ya squeezes behind me and scratches his ribs. "Fanla, remember writing down the word 'shameless' and sticking it to my bedside to let me have a better understanding."

"Do you have a bed? Can you recognize it after pasting it? You can distinguish between 'face' and 'ass hole'. Coz There's an extra word. Can you recognize it when it's changed into 'buttocks'?" I scratch his hand back.

Vet Hao smiles bitterly at me across the table and says: "Okay, okay, you win. But can I get the stethoscope back? You can't use it as a bayonet after all.

He's also right. Zhang Lixian and He Shuguang don't pay much attention to our side. To be honest, they try to stay away from us as much as possible, while I keep poking Shepigu with the metal edge of the stethoscope.

I return the stethoscope to Vet Hao and pick up a piece of chalk to mark the qualified product. The jerks chuckle and stop saying anything, watching me draw a hook on Shepigu. When I turn around, I bump into Yi, the only one who isn't chuckle, and his solemn expression has a greater killing effect on me than others' teasing.

"Meng, I know what you're doing. You've finally done something that moved me." he says sincerely to me.

I freeze for a few seconds, then settle him down on the table, desperately pressing down on his weak stomach, making him laugh and cry.

"Are you all in need of tidying?!" He hasn't sat down since he stood up, putting his hands on his hips and glaring at us, and we all know that what he is shouting is a serious provocation in Northeast China — like he is challenging all of us alone.

But what else does it matter now? The words "crazy man" and "head smashed by the toilet" quietly spread among us. Zhang Lixian and He Shuguang listen attentively, so they regard him as a crazy person and never look at him again.

Dragon stares gloomily at the sky.