When Zhao Dabao and Zheng Changdong just came back from the county town, Zhao Xingguo heard about what happened to his sons and others in the county town, as well as the chaotic situation in the county town at that time.
Zhao Dabao and Zheng Changdong were hiding in the county town during those days, and they learned a lot about the situation in the county town.
For example, in the West District, some people were looking for living people to sell as two-legged sheep. Many women started to engage in the flesh trade for a little food. Some people also followed the example of Li Yuan and his friends and formed small groups of three or five to rob others.
Many people were unwilling to steal other people's things, nor were they willing to eat human flesh, so they could only starve to death, or gnaw on wild grass and tree bark. They had eaten almost everything that could be eaten around the county, and they were all starving to the point of being skin and bones.
"There are not many people in our village, especially young and middle-aged men. We may not be able to bring back all the food if we go to the county town. So the main reason why I came to discuss with you this time, Commander Meng, is to ask you to bring your subordinates with us to the county town to take a look. If we can find the three warehouses mentioned by this group of robbers, the people in our village can only take one-third of the supplies. I plan to distribute some of the supplies equally to the villagers, and use the rest as the daily expenses of the village committee patrol team." Zhao Xingguo told Meng Changlong what he had thought of last night.
"As for the other two-thirds, I want to give one to you, Commander Meng, as a reward, and the other half can be used to help those who really need it, as you said before. What do you think, Commander Meng?" Zhao Xingguo can be called a good person, but good people also have their own ideas and plans.
In these chaotic days, and with the prospect of things getting worse,
All Zhao Xingguo could think of was to protect the people in his village first.
There are too few people in his village. If he wants to take the food from the robbers in the county town and bring it back to Wanxi Village safely, he must rely on the sixty or seventy people with guns in Meng Changlong's hands.
Meng Changlong frowned and said nothing, but a hint of hesitation appeared on his dark and resolute face. "Are you planning to give us one-third of the supplies as our reward?"
"That's right. That's exactly what I planned." Zhao Xingguo nodded, his tone serious. "I saw that Commander Meng and the others returned this time without any supplies except for some simple luggage. The environment is getting increasingly harsh, and life is extremely difficult both in the mountains and at the foot of the mountain. Commander Meng, even if you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider the others in the team."
"The environment is becoming increasingly harsh, and the global climate has undergone tremendous changes. No one knows when these changes will return to normal. The situation here has been very serious since last autumn. If it weren't for the current increase in grain production, farmers in Yunhai City would usually only grow one crop of rice... Last autumn, I'm afraid we would have had no harvest at all!"
This is also a problem that Zhao Xingguo has always been worried about.
In Yunhai City, the harvest period for single-season rice is September, while the harvest period for the last season of double-season rice, that is, late rice, is generally in October.
On weekdays, the weather in October is already quite cool, which is suitable for rice harvesting.
However, the temperature in October last year was comparable to that in summer, even hotter than the hottest time of summer. People walking on the road might even faint from the heat, and there were countless people suffering from heatstroke. Under such high temperatures, even the water in the rice fields was evaporated, and the rice in the fields had no way to survive, and the harvest was completely lost.
If the situation this year is as serious as last year, it will still be a question whether we can receive food this year.
Think about it, the environmental changes began at the end of September and October last year.
Zhao Xingguo was in a particularly heavy mood. He took out one-third of the food and gave it to Meng Changlong. He not only wanted him to help them transport the food back from the county town, but also wanted Meng Changlong to remember the kindness of their village for the sake of the food and help their village when they were in danger.
The reason why they were able to catch all the robbers this time was ultimately because of good luck, not because their village had the absolute strength to defeat the other party.
"There is no problem in helping the village transport the supplies out of the robbers' warehouse. As for whether to get one-third of the supplies, I need to discuss this matter with other people in the team." Although Meng Changlong is the biggest leader in the base, he still needs to discuss some important matters with other people in the base on weekdays.
and……
Meng Changlong did not want to keep this one-third of the supplies for himself.
However, Zhao Xingguo's words also reminded Meng Changlong that the other party was right. The current food reserves are getting less and less. This can be clearly felt from the situations they encountered when rescuing disaster victims outside these days.
Meng Changlong's face was serious, his mind wavering. He had just said something when the door suddenly burst open. A young man in a green military coat suddenly walked in. "Don't think about it. I think this is a good idea. Leaving the remaining one-third to the brothers will be a guarantee for ourselves and a way out!"
"Yue Junhong, why did you come in suddenly? We need to discuss whether to keep that one-third of the supplies. It's not a decision that can be made now." Meng Changlong turned his head and saw his deputy, frowning and said.
"What are you still thinking about? You don't have to think about these things at all! I think this is good enough!" Yue Junhong stared at Meng Changlong and said bluntly: "Meng Changlong, even though you are the leader of the base, you can't help but consider these brothers in our base!"
"People are like iron, and food is like steel. Even if you want to save others, you can't let them starve with you! If you do that, don't even think about saving others, you might even end up losing yourself!"
Zhao Xingguo looked at the scene in front of him in confusion, having no idea what was going on.
However, seeing the tense atmosphere between the two sides, Zhao Xingguo wisely shut his mouth and stood aside listening to the conversation between the two.
"Meng Changlong, look at what kind of life we brothers have been living these days! I won't say anything else, as soldiers, it's our duty to help disaster victims. But no matter what, there must be a limit! We were all raised by our parents. These days, during earthquakes and snowstorms, we are always on the front lines of rescue. Even when we knew that our home had also experienced an earthquake and snowstorm, none of us returned!"
"But look at us. We braved the heavy snow to transport those disaster victims to the temporary base, helped build houses there during the blizzard, and searched and rescued the injured. What did we get in return?!"
"Those guys at the temporary base treated us like slaves! Now that the affected villages and towns around the base have been cleared, and the new houses at the temporary base have been built, and everything is back on track, the first thing they do is kick us all out of the temporary base!"
"That Monkey guy in our team is young and weak, so he fell ill right after returning this time! If the guys at the temporary base had let us rest for a few days afterwards, Monkey wouldn't have had a high fever and been bedridden!" Yue Junhong became angrier and angrier as he spoke. He stretched out his hand and slapped the table next to Meng Changlong, causing the glass teacup on the table to clang and almost fall over. "Besides, can our base still accommodate so many people now?! Most of the base was destroyed by the earthquake and landslide. We mentioned this to the people at the temporary base, but they didn't care at all. They just told us to come back to help the nearby villagers!"
"We've already left the temporary base. Do you think they'll let us move in later? Absolutely not!"
Meng Changlong frowned and said nothing, his expression also very ugly. After several seconds of silence, Meng Changlong spoke in a hoarse voice: "The leaders at the temporary base just want us to rescue more people... It shouldn't be..."
"Not what?! Not what?! Do you believe what you said?!"
Yue Junhong growled, the veins on his forehead bulging with anger. A sarcastic sneer appeared on his face. "Even if the leaders of the temporary base really wanted us to rescue more civilians, they should have given us more food and ammunition before we left, instead of letting us leave empty-handed!"
The food, guns and ammunition they brought with them this time were all the things they brought with them when they first went to the temporary base!
"Stop kidding yourself! The day before they let us go, I secretly heard from the people at the temporary base that they were running low on food. They're helping ordinary people, not only will they get credit, but each person only needs a bowl of porridge a day. If they want something else, let them go out and find it themselves!"
"But we're different! As long as we stay in the temporary base for one day, we'll have to eat and drink their food! Not only will we not achieve any political achievements, but they'll even have to share some of the credit with us!"
"They already have two teams under their command, and those people are more than enough to maintain the safety of the entire temporary base. We are all working for them. While we are in the temporary base, they naturally dare not deny us food, nor do they dare to openly withhold our food."
"Before, they needed our help, so naturally they wouldn't say anything... But now they don't need us anymore, and we're still eating the food in the base every day. Naturally, they're unwilling to work anymore, and naturally they want to send us away as soon as possible!"
Yue Junhong's words made the atmosphere in the entire space a little stagnant. Meng Changlong was also shocked by these words. Even though the expression on his face remained the same, his hands clenched on his legs with veins exposed revealed his inner feelings at the moment.
Seeing his superior's expression, Yue Junhong's voice gradually softened and was no longer as aggressive as before.
"We've been in that temporary base for such a long time. Although no one says it out loud, we all know in our hearts that the days ahead will probably be difficult. Otherwise, the higher-ups wouldn't ignore us. Look at the changes in the world, the recent developments in the world, and the attitudes of those people in the temporary base..." Yue Junhong patted Meng Changlong on the shoulder and said, "I know you're a good person and want to consider the people affected by the disaster... But I think it's time for you to be flexible. We've been rescuing people for more than two months, but the scope of the natural disaster is too wide. There are so many people in the world, and we can't save them all at once..."
"Many of my brothers are planning to pack up and go back home. I also plan to go home after this trip to see if I can still find my relatives... We also need to bring some food for the journey."
Yue Junhong's palm patted Meng Changlong's shoulder, as if patting Meng Changlong's heavy heart.
"In today's world, don't talk about whether it's an army or not. Look at our small base. It's almost the same as not having one. No one gives us food and supplies. We have to find a way to survive. We can't just starve to death. And - Meng Changlong, don't you miss your wife and daughter? Listen to what the kidnappers said when they confessed. I'm really worried that my family will encounter the same thing."
They have suffered so much hardship and suffering these days.
They had originally faced the sudden earthquake with hope, believing that the authorities would not ignore them or the other affected people. Even if their families were in their hometowns, they would be protected by the local police and army.
But now...
After hearing what happened in Ningyong County, everyone became uneasy, especially those who had known about the earthquake in their hometown for a long time, and they were extremely anxious.
We are all raised by our parents, and many people even have both parents and children. How can they feel at ease about their families?
Although there had been incidents of looting supplies at the temporary base, nothing more serious had occurred. They were also unaware that people in Ningyong County had resorted to cannibalism due to a snowstorm blocking the roads.
Now that they knew about this, everyone's inner anxiety was clearly spreading. Last night, some people were discussing going home, and under these circumstances, no one could bring themselves to ask others to stay and help the other victims.
"Is this the conclusion of your discussion last night?" Meng Changlong thought of his family still far away and sighed deeply. His brows were furrowed for a long time and his tone was particularly heavy. "I understand this matter. If that's the case, then let's do it this way. After we've dealt with these matters, if you're willing to go back to your families, then you can go."
He should really consider his brothers in the team.
Zhao Xingguo, standing by, saw that Meng Changlong and Yue Junhong had finished their conversation and had apparently reached a decision. He smiled and said, "Since we've reached a consensus, let's take these people to the county town early tomorrow morning. We'll deal with them then bring back the supplies!"
"Okay! This group of people really cannot stay in the village. We have to teach them a lesson so that they will never dare to rob and kill people at will again." Meng Changlong came back to his senses from his originally depressed mood and made the decision.
If there weren't so many people like this, even if a natural disaster happened, without the support of the state machinery, the country would not be in such chaos as it is today.
…………
The next morning, when the chickens were just crowing in the village, the whole Wanxi Village was in an uproar. Meng Changlong and Zhao Xingguo each brought more than 50 adult men, and forced more than 60 robbers out of the village with their bags on their backs.
The women and children who stayed in the village watched the other group leave, hoping that they would come back soon.
Qin Suyun also followed the others, standing at the entrance of the village, watching everyone leave.
Life in the village was actually quite simple. After Meng Changlong and Zhao Xingguo and their group left, everyone went back to their usual tasks. Some began preparing for the upcoming spring planting, while others worked hard to make bricks and chop wood for their new houses, which hadn't yet been completed.
In addition to these, Qin Suyun also noticed that the village secretary was organizing several people to dig traps near the village. Some of them even expanded and repaired the simple traps that had been dug that night. After what happened that day, everyone fully understood the shortcomings of their village.
In order to allow everyone to sleep peacefully at night, many places in the village were rearranged.
The villagers did not ask women to help much with these physical tasks. The men all went to work on their own initiative. However, some women felt that they were stronger and would also join in the work.
Qin Suyun was not very good at things like digging traps. She was still at home feeding livestock and preparing for spring planting.
However, before the spring planting was ready, she discovered that the hens at home had started broody again, leaving no chance for the incubator to develop.
Qin Suyun stared at the two hens hatching eggs in the chicken coop. For some reason, she felt that the main reason these guys were so diligent was because they were afraid of being turned into dog food?
"So this is an illusion?"
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