Chapter 199 Qianqian, I want to go to Xiaoshan Island

Company Commander Li didn't say anything more, but just looked out at the dark sea through the gaps in the tent.

There, on a small island eighty nautical miles away, it is currently submerged in the icy seawater, like a stubborn bone being gnawed at by the wind, waves and gunfire, yet it refuses to break.

A layer of white frost had formed on Xia Qianqian's eyelashes. She took out the penicillin bottle from her bosom, the glass digging painfully into her palm.

It turns out that this life-saving medicine is a luxury that people in some places can't even dream of.

Xia Qianqian was staring at the tent in a daze when a familiar voice suddenly entered her ears.

"Qianqian, we're back."

She turned around abruptly and saw Lu Zheng leading Peng Fei and others out of the smoke of battle.

The last rays of the setting sun slanted in through the gaps in the tent, gilding them with a golden-red edge.

Each person carried a gun on their shoulder, their backs ramrod straight, their military boots stained with mud and dark red blood, frozen stiff, but their eyes shone like tempered steel, more dazzling than the stars on the battlefield.

"Sister-in-law! You didn't see that!" Peng Fei was the first to rush up, rubbing his hands which were red from the cold, his voice louder than cannon fire, "We went on a raid on the front lines today, and every shot was a kill! Guess how many we killed..."

"Take care of your arm injury first." Lu Zheng glanced at Peng Fei's arm, his tone tinged with a hint of helpless disdain.

Peng Fei cried out in pain, only then realizing that the strip of cloth wrapped around his arm had already bled and frozen into a hard shell by the cold wind. Now, when Lu Zheng lifted it, he grimaced in pain.

The brothers around him burst into laughter. One of them patted him on the back and joked, "Still bragging that you haven't lost your skills? You got injured in your first battle, all clumsy!"

Peng Fei blushed crimson, scratching the back of his head and muttering, "How can you blame me? Those stray bullets seemed to have eyes..."

Xia Qianqian had already grabbed his wrist and deftly cut the strip of cloth.

The wound wasn't deep; it was a bloody gash left by shrapnel, with dirt and sand still clinging to the edges. She pressed an iodine-soaked cotton ball against it, and Peng Fei gasped in pain, but stubbornly refused to utter a sound.

Xia Qianqian looked at the stubborn Peng Fei and said, "Are you all hungry? I'll go cook you something hot."

Upon hearing that there was food, Peng Fei's stomach rumbled loudly, making everyone around him laugh.

Company Commander Li nodded in agreement, patting Peng Fei on the shoulder: "You're right, you need to recover from your injuries. The cooks made some mixed grain porridge today, plenty for everyone!"

"Just...just porridge?" Peng Fei's smile froze.

Company Commander Li's wrinkles deepened as he pulled a deflated grain sack from his pocket and poured out sorghum mixed with sand: "Our grain is being prioritized for the front lines. A bowl of hot porridge is better than eating frozen cornbread."

He lowered his voice, with a hint of guilt, "The brothers all understand, as long as we don't go hungry, that's fine."

“That’s right!” The wounded soldier lying in the next bed suddenly spoke up. He had a broken leg, but his voice was full of energy. “We who are lying in bed don’t need to eat well. Let’s save it for the brothers on the front lines!”

"Yes! Thin liquid is fine!"

"Don't waste food!"

A chorus of agreement erupted from inside the tent.

Xia Qianqian looked at the sorghum rice in Company Commander Li's hand, and at the wounded soldiers whose lips were pale from hunger, yet they still smiled and said, "Just drink thin porridge." Her nose suddenly stung with tears.

It turns out that when they said "enough is enough," they just meant to keep their stomachs from being too empty; and when they said "no waste," they meant saving the rations meant for those who were more likely to survive.

She quietly turned her face away, took a piece of candy from the bottom of the medicine box, and stuffed it into the mouth of the young soldier next to her.

The child was only sixteen years old. His eyes were injured in the explosion. At that moment, he had a candy in his mouth, and suddenly a tear rolled down his eyelashes, hitting Xia Qianqian's hand and burning her heart.

Xia Qianqian unwrapped the White Rabbit milk candy and, like Er Ya, offered it to the little soldier's mouth, her voice soft and gentle: "Have another one."

The young soldier took the candy, but gave it to the veteran who had been shot in the abdomen.

"Uncle... please eat." The young soldier's voice was softer than a mosquito's buzz, yet he stubbornly stuffed the candy into the old soldier's mouth.

The veteran's unfocused pupils suddenly sharpened, his chapped lips took a piece of candy into his mouth, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty: "So sweet..."

Before he finished speaking, his hand suddenly fell to his side, a trace of sweetness still lingering on his lips, but his eyes closed forever.

The candy wrapper in Xia Qianqian's hand fluttered to the ground, and the wind carried it to the old soldier's cold hand.

She knew all along that war would kill people, and that death on the radio was just a cold statistic.

But at that moment, the veteran's last words, "It's so sweet," were like a red-hot needle, piercing her heart. She could no longer hold back her tears, which fell onto the blood-stained gauze, spreading a small dark patch.

"Lu Zheng, come with me." She wiped away her tears abruptly, her voice hoarse.

Seeing that her eyes were red, Lu Zheng followed without saying a word.

The two found a sheltered spot behind the tent. Xia Qianqian had a sudden idea, and bags of rice, flour, cured meat, and fresh fish suddenly piled up into a small mountain, along with several baskets of emerald green cabbages, carrying the earthy scent of Peach Blossom Spring.

"My goodness—" Company Commander Li walked in, reached out and touched the rice bag, then pinched a cabbage leaf, and cried out in pain, "Ouch!"—it wasn't a dream!

"Comrade...this...this is..." Company Commander Li stammered, looking at the white rice and then at Xia Qianqian, his lips trembling as he couldn't speak.

"Let's make sure everyone has a good meal tonight." Xia Qianqian squatted down and picked up a cabbage. "Only when we're full will we have the strength to heal our wounds and go to the battlefield."

“But this is such a waste!” A wounded soldier, leaning on crutches, shrank over and shook his head at the grain. “We cripples…”

"Who's crippled?" Xia Qianqian suddenly looked up, her eyes shining brightly. "Those who come back alive from the battlefield are heroes! You should eat, drink, and live well!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a hammer.

Company Commander Li was the first to react. He wiped his face and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Cooks! Get over here! Start the fire! Chop the meat! Make braised pork and dumplings for the brothers tonight!"

The wounded soldiers were stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into a deafening cheer. Some limped to fetch firewood, some picked cabbages with their uninjured hands, and even the young soldier with the injured eye groped his way to start a fire, but Xia Qianqian pressed him back onto the bed: "You lie down obediently, I'll save the biggest dumpling for you later."

The stench of blood inside the tent seemed to be somewhat masked by the aroma of meat and the sweet scent of cabbage. Xia Qianqian watched the busy figures, and her eyes welled up with tears again.

—Perhaps there's not much she can do, but at least she can ensure these heroes have a full meal.

The braised pork in the iron pot simmered and bubbled, the rich aroma of oil mixed with soy sauce filling the air. The wounded soldiers in the tent were all engrossed in their meal, their snores rising and falling.

Lu Zheng, however, had little appetite. He poked at the plump white dumplings in his bowl with his chopsticks, but didn't put them in his mouth for a long time.

He suddenly looked up at Xia Qianqian, hesitated, and said, "Qianqian, I want to go to Xiaoshan Island."