After confirming the identities of the group of people and knowing that they were armed police officers, Sinan and his group felt a genuine trust in the people's soldiers and they all slept soundly in the second half of the night.
At about five forty in the morning, when the dark sky welcomed the first ray of light, Sheng's mother, who was a light sleeper, got up and started cooking.
Everyone smelled the fragrance and got up one after another and walked out of the tent. They found that Sheng's mother was steaming buns in a large aluminum pot, and mung bean porridge with mung beans was cooking underneath. After it was cooked, she didn't ask them to eat, but called Sheng Youqing and Sheng Youbin, a brother and sister, to help carry the buns and the large iron pot to the armed police officers and soldiers 30 meters away.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Sheng Youqing hesitated to speak.
Mother Sheng endured the heat and put two steamed buns into a gauze bag. She also took out half of the five-pound bag of dried meat that Cheng Wei gave her. Without even looking up, she said, "I went to see their dinner yesterday. It was just watery porridge with a little salt in it. There was not even a side dish to go with it or anything to fill their stomachs. How can this be? They are all strong and muscular guys. If they don't eat enough, how can they have the strength to deal with those vicious criminals?"
"But Mom, we don't have much food to begin with. It's Sister Nan and Miss Cheng who help us. If you keep delivering food to the armed police officers and soldiers, what will we eat?" Sheng Youbin covered Kong Lao Lao's left sleeve with his right hand, disapproving.
Mother Sheng paused her busy work, and an awkward smile appeared on her half-white face: "Mom knows, I feel sorry for those kids. They are about the same age as you, and because of their duties, they have to do those dangerous things. If I were their parents, I would be heartbroken to see them working so hard and not even having a good meal."
Sheng Youqing and her brother were silent together. No matter when and where, the people's soldiers are always trustworthy and respected by the people. If the soldiers want to live up to the trust of the people, they must endure what ordinary people cannot endure and suffer hardships that ordinary people cannot endure. Their perseverance and persistence are worthy of respect from every citizen of Country Z.
They compromised silently, and the brother and sister, carrying a large aluminum pot on each side, followed Sheng's mother to the armed police officers.
Seeing this, Si Nan whispered in Cheng Suming's ear, "I want to send some food to those armed police officers."
"Okay." Cheng Suming nodded.
The two men carried out two 50-kilogram bags of rice, two 50-kilogram bags of flour, and a box of hundreds of small bags of various pickled mustard tubers that Si Nan had taken out from the space from their tricycle. The two men carried them with great effort and followed behind Sheng's mother and the others.
Cheng Wei saw their actions and knew what they wanted to do. She turned her head to look at Yang Wentao.
Yang Wentao understood immediately: "We will take as much as your brother and sister-in-law take, and we will also give them some Lao Gan Ma, fried crispy meat and dried meat from the day before yesterday, and give them half of it."
"Wentao, you're so nice!" Cheng Wei happily gave Yang Wentao a kiss on his rough face and stretched out her slender arms to help carry the supplies.
When they arrived in front of the armed police officers, Yan Hongyi and the others had already woken up.
Mother Sheng greeted Sheng Youqing and her brother and placed food in front of them. "Comrades of the armed police, you have worked hard all day. I made some porridge and steamed buns. Eat them while they are hot. Only when you are full will you have the strength to work."
Yan Hongyi stood up and said, "Sister, we can't take it. We have our own rations. Our superiors have ordered us not to take even a single needle or thread from the masses..."
Before he finished speaking, Sheng's mother picked up a steamed bun, stepped on tiptoe and stuffed it into his mouth, smiling kindly: "Hey, why are you being so polite to us? It is said that the military and the people are one family. Without you soldiers, we ordinary people don't know how much hardship and fatigue we have to endure. It's just some porridge and steamed buns. I didn't give you any big fish or meat. It's not a violation. Eat quickly. After you finish eating, we will go on the road together. You must cheer up and protect our safety."
The steamed bun in my mouth was hot, with a long-lost sweet taste. It was completely different from the hard steamed buns that the military simply fermented and steamed without adding sugar in order to save rations.
Yan Hongyi, holding a steamed bun in his mouth, looked back at the soldiers he led. Every soldier was unkempt, covered in dust, with dry and cracked lips. They were ten or twenty pounds thinner than before the earthquake, and their faces were as pointed as those of the refugees.
There was desire in their eyes, but no one spoke a word, as they all remembered the army's discipline and regulations.
Yan Hongyi felt very uncomfortable. He turned around, took the steamed bun from his mouth, and saluted to Sheng's mother solemnly: "Thank you for the food, elder sister. This time, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you on behalf of my soldiers. Don't send it next time, we have..."
Before she could finish her words, Si Nan interrupted her: "Commander Yan, this is a small gift from me and my husband. Please don't refuse and accept it."
"This is a little gift from me and my girlfriend. Please accept it." Yang Wentao, who arrived later, placed four bags of rice and flour on his shoulders in front of Yan Hongyi, and forced a smile uglier than a smile on his ferocious face.
Cheng Wei took the bag of crispy meat and dried meat and ran to the armed police officers who were sitting, lying or leaning on the ground. She gave each of them a large piece of crispy meat and dried meat, and said with a smile: "Brothers of the armed police, don't be polite, eat them all. I also got you a box of Lao Gan Ma. If you feel that your mouth is bland, you can put some Lao Gan Ma in your steamed buns. It tastes very delicious."
The soldiers got up from the ground one after another, holding large pieces of crispy meat and dried meat in their hands, staring at Yan Hongyi in confusion.
Yan Hongyi closed his eyes, a helpless look on his resolute face, "Eat it, don't let the people down."
The soldiers then thanked Cheng Wei and the others one by one, and took a bite of the meat they had not eaten for a long time. A look of happiness appeared on their dark faces.
"It smells so good. How long has it been since we had such delicious crispy meat?"
"It's been about a year and a half. I've been eating porridge and steamed buns every day. I can only eat a can of military meat during festivals. The taste is completely different from freshly cooked meat."
"This meat jerky is quite chewy. It should be able to be stored for a long time if it's dried this way, right? I'm going to save a small piece every day to satisfy my meat craving."
"Look at what you have done. We are in the wilderness here. We have guns. If we encounter wild boars, pheasants, rabbits, etc., we can just kill two of them and it will be enough for us to eat."
"It's easy for you to say that. Are wild boars, pheasants, and rabbits that easy to encounter? They can run very fast. Can you catch up with them?"
"You're really stupid. When we were soldiers doing field training, who among us hadn't set traps and caught wild animals? Oh, I forgot. You always failed the field training and always fell behind. You have a diploma from a prestigious university, know some military technology, and were originally a civilian..."
Si Nan, Sheng Youqing and Cheng Wei helped Sheng's mother scoop porridge and distribute steamed buns to the soldiers. When they heard their conversation, they all smiled slightly.
These days, food and clothing are a problem, and meat has become a scarce commodity. Being able to eat a bite of meat now is like being a living god.
The soldiers were enjoying their meals here, while the serious criminals with their hands and handcuffs on over there were staring at the soldiers eating with their eyes wide open, feeling very depressed.
Most of them are felons who have killed someone or committed other serious violations and have been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
Although the armed police officers and soldiers had supplies, they were not much, so they gave the criminals a bowl of porridge last night to keep them alive.
They were starving to death. When they woke up this morning, the armed police officers and soldiers had food to eat, but they did not. The resentment, anger and hatred in their hearts were all revealed on their faces, but because they were handcuffed and handcuffed, and the armed police officers and soldiers were standing by with guns and watching them closely, they did not dare to move even if they had the idea.
When Si Nan finished distributing the steamed buns to the last soldier and did not give the criminals any food, a bald criminal who looked very ferocious suddenly stood up from the side and tried to scare Si Nan.
Unexpectedly, just as he stood up, Si Nan glanced over and saw his intention. He raised his leg and did a roundhouse kick, directly kicking the criminal several meters away. With a cold and pretty face, he scolded: "Criminals should act like criminals. Be honest! Don't think that a woman is easy to bully! Believe it or not, if you make me angry, I will cut off your offspring!"
As she spoke, she took out the willow-leaf scalpel that Cheng Suming gave her for self-defense from her clothes pocket, pretended to cut the bald man's leg twice, and raised her middle finger at him.
The whole grove fell silent, and everyone looked at her in astonishment.
The criminal was quite tall and weighed at least 140 kilograms, but she kicked him several meters away. How much force must have been used, or how long must she have practiced physical combat training to achieve such an effect.
The action just now was no different from that of a female special forces soldier, okay!
For a moment, the armed police officers and soldiers looked at her with eyes full of admiration, curiosity, and inquiry.
The bald man who was kicked away was shocked and angry, thinking about how he had killed countless people before the end of the world. No matter who they were, they were killed in the most brutal way in his hands.
Now he was kicked away by a woman who looked so weak. He felt that it was because he was careless and caught off guard.
He climbed up amidst the laughter of the criminals, clenched his fists and wanted to attack Sinan again. The handsome armed policeman who had taken the last steamed bun, who was no more than 27 years old, loaded his rifle and pointed at him and shouted, "Hei Lao San, do you want to die? Get down right there!"
Hei Laosan looked at Si Nan unwillingly, his eyes full of coldness, then he quickly looked away, raised his handcuffed hands, and squatted on the ground with his head in his hands.
This episode made Sheng Youqing look at Si Nan with new eyes and admire him immensely. When they returned to the tent area to make breakfast, Sheng Youqing kept holding Si Nan's hand and said, "You were so handsome just now! Do you know that your kick just now hit me directly in the heart? Ah, Si Nan, when did you become so handsome! Why aren't you a man! If you were a man, I would definitely marry you and give birth to your children!"
Everyone likes to hear compliments, especially from their sisters.
Si Nan laughed loudly and held Sheng Youqing in his arms. He stroked his unnecessary beard and said with a smile: "Don't worry, my beloved concubine. In the next life, I will definitely be reborn as a man and live with you forever."
Cheng Suming, who was heating steamed buns nearby, heard this and said:
I suddenly feel a little depressed. What's going on?
The conversation was still going on. Sheng Youqing put her arm around Si Nan's waist and said, "Si Nan, seriously, when are you going to teach me all your skills? I want to be like you, so I can deal with those vicious people in a cool and handsome way."
Si Nan patted her hands and said, "Don't worry, wait until we get to the Shishan base and settle down there, then I'll teach you."
"Sister Nan, can you teach me too?" Sheng Youbin, who had picked up a pile of dry firewood, put the firewood next to Cheng Suming. He looked at Si Nan with his delicate face and said, "Sister Nan, I want to become stronger too! I want to protect my family and all the people I care about. I don't want to hide behind others all the time, be protected by others all my life, and become a burden to others."
Cheng Wei was sitting in Yang Wentao's arms, pulling his newly grown stubble for fun. When she heard Sheng Youbin's words, she was shocked. She looked up at Yang Wentao, stood up silently from his arms, raised her hands and gritted her teeth and said, "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, I also..."
Si Nan smiled and said, "Okay, I can teach you if you want to, but I only learned the basics from Su Ming. If you want to learn the orthodox fighting and self-defense techniques, I think Su Ming and Yang Wentao would be good teachers."
Cheng Suming opened the lid of the pot, took out the steamed buns, put them on a plate, and said without raising his head: "My self-defense skills are just physical training and actual combat training. There is no technique to speak of."
Yang Wentao stood up, helped him carry the plate and said, "Brother Cheng is right. Any fighting technique is based on a healthy body. Without a solid body, even if you learn fighting techniques, they are just fancy moves and will not stand up to a single blow. If you really want to learn, after you arrive at the base, you should run five kilometers with me every day for training. Other physical exercises such as sit-ups, horizontal bar ceiling hanging, military boxing, etc. should start at two hours. When your body is trained to a certain level, I will teach you fighting and self-defense techniques."
"Ah? We have to do so much training for so long?" Cheng Wei's face slumped: "I think I..."
Sheng Youqing grabbed her hand and said, "You can do it. Let's train together and work hard together. One day, we will become like Si Nan, protecting ourselves and others!"
Cheng Wei swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth, and nodded with a bitter face, "Okay..."
The breakfast they eat is similar to that of the armed police officers and soldiers, the difference is that they have more homemade crispy meat and dried meat, so they don't have to be frugal.
However, their crispy pork and dried meat are made differently and taste different.
For example, Sinan likes to put chopped ginger and peppercorns in the crispy meat, then add more egg liquid and sweet potato flour to make it into a paste, add appropriate amount of salt, stir, fry it in the pan twice and then take it out of the pan.
The crispy meat made in this way is golden with red meat color, fried to be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. When you take a bite, you can taste the gravy. The aftertaste is full of the unique peppery and spicy aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and the fresh taste of ginger to remove the fishy smell. Paired with some spicy chili powder, it feels incompatible with the crispy meat without a bottle of beer.
There was no beer, and even if there was, Si Nan could not take it out in public. He could only drink it with porridge and eat a steamed bun that was cut in half and stuffed with pickled mustard tuber and Lao Gan Ma. The meal would make his stomach full.
The armed police officers were still urging the criminals to make their breakfast. It was still early before departure, so Sinan asked everyone to check their backpacks, which should contain enough food and drinking water to sustain themselves for three to five days, hemostatic powder, bandages, band-aids, various medicines for treating dysentery, diarrhea, and colds, Huoxiang Zhengqi water, a set of brightly colored outdoor windproof clothes, outdoor flashlights, small outdoor self-defense knives, masks, etc.
After she married Cheng Suming, she developed the habit of carrying these things with her whenever and wherever she went. As Cheng Suming said, if they got separated one day, the things in the bag could save their lives.
When the earthquake struck, Sheng Youqing and her family didn't grab the food in their bags in time. They got two bottles of water in a hurry and shared them for three days. Later, when there was no water, Sheng Youqing and her two children were buried under the rubble and became dizzy and hungry. The feeling is unforgettable.
As soon as Si Nan reminded them, they all lowered their heads to check their backpacks to make sure everything was ready. Then they began to dismantle the tents, put them back on the tricycles, and prepared to set off with their backpacks on their backs.
On the other side, where the armed police officers and soldiers were camping, Yan Hongyi asked the handsome armed police officer named Yin Peng, who was a squad leader at a young age, "What do you think of that group of people?"
Yin Peng stuffed the clean handkerchief he used to wipe his gun into his tactical jacket pocket, looked eastward at Sinan and his group who were dismantling their tents, and said, "They were generous enough to give us so much food. I think they stockpiled a lot of supplies before the earthquake and lived a good life. They have the old, the weak, and the disabled, and they can even raise two geese. Most importantly, they seem to be strong and have a sense of loyalty. Such people are rare today after the natural disaster. I think it won't be a burden to us if we take them along."
Yan Hongyi nodded: "Your analysis is correct. We will take in many disaster victims into our team and go to Shishan together. When there are too many people, we will inevitably ask them to help maintain order."
Yin Peng frowned and said, "Captain, we are escorting a group of desperate criminals. It is not appropriate for us to accept civilians as our companions. If the criminals escape together and take civilians as hostages, our work will become more difficult. We may even be resented by the civilians. Why do you insist on..."
Yan Hongyi waved his hand and said, "This is an order from our superiors. There is only one small town at the foot of the Stone Mountain with a small population of less than 10,000 people. At least half of them will die in this earthquake. Excluding the elderly, children, women and children, there are only a thousand able-bodied people who can do manual labor. If we want to build the entire base before the next natural disaster, we will need a lot of manpower and material resources. We must mobilize more disaster-stricken people to go to the Stone Mountain with us to build a safe base so that we can cope with the next natural disaster. If there are any difficulties during this period, we have to solve them ourselves."
Duan Peng sighed and looked back at the criminals who were carrying various broken and shrunken bowls and containers and eating the porridge they made themselves. Behind every two criminals stood a comrade holding a gun, watching their every move.
It seems that their armed police are suppressing those criminals and they dare not act rashly. But in fact, those criminals are all serious criminals who have committed multiple murders or are drug dealers, rapists and murderers of women, embezzlers, etc. and they deserve to be put to death. Their cruelty and cunning are beyond people's imagination.
In order to catch this group of criminals some time ago, many of their comrades were killed or injured. Yin Peng and his team were already exhausted just keeping a close eye on that group of criminals. If they were to take in the disaster-stricken people and divide their attention to protect the people, Yin Peng had a feeling that this journey would not be peaceful.
After the criminals finished their meal, Sinan and his group packed their luggage and pushed their tricycle over.
Several armed police officers came forward to help them push the tricycle onto the highway. Sinan and his friends did not refuse, because there were really too many things on the tricycle, and it was a bit difficult for just a few of them to push it from the wasteland under the highway to the road. With the help of the armed police, it became much easier.
The supplies for the armed police officers and soldiers were much lighter. Each armed policeman carried a military marching bag, which contained everything needed for wartime. In addition, there was a wooden cart and an iron bucket cart for transporting cement from a construction site that was dug out from the ruins, which were filled with rice, flour, grain, oil, and simple pots and pans.
Apart from that, they did not have any household items such as clothes or tents. They were all lightly equipped. Several armed police officers with guns ordered the criminals who were tied in a line with ropes to take turns pushing the carts. It looked very easy.
Sinan and his team all knew that behind the seemingly easy situation, it was actually not that easy. The criminals who were being escorted by these armed police officers with live ammunition and kept a close eye on them must be ruthless.
In order to avoid being targeted by the criminals, Si Nan and his group walked at the back of the team, trying to keep a distance from the criminals in front to avoid accidents.
In this way, they walked along the highway, crossing mountains and rivers, avoiding crowded roads, and walked for about five days. During this time, they met many survivors walking on the highway to seek refuge in remote countryside, or when they camped in deserted fields and towns to rest, they saw many survivors rummaging through supplies in dirty ruins, sitting or lying against the ruins, with empty and desperate eyes. They persuaded them to follow them, and the number of people increased from the original 160 or so to nearly 300.
When there are so many people, the problem of food becomes difficult to solve. Although the armed police officers and soldiers have food, it is only enough for themselves to eat, so the survivors they accept are those who have a little food stored.
Those who did not have much food stored would use labor to exchange for food. For example, if they encountered a large number of rocks and trees blocking the road, the survivors who had eaten all the food would help clear a path for people pushing carts to pass.
Sometimes when we encounter wild boars, pheasants, rabbits and other wild animals in the mountains, we have to help set traps and follow the armed police to hunt for food, etc.
That night, they stayed in an abandoned field near the highway, not far away from a small village with scattered houses.
Yan Hongyi sent Yin Peng with a few armed police officers to see if there was anyone there. When they learned that the houses were destroyed and there was no one there, they set up camp in a large field overgrown with weeds that had not been planted with crops for a long time.
As soon as they received the signal to set up camp, Si Nan and his men got busy. They chose a wasteland far away from the crowd of criminals and on a slightly higher ground to stop. After taking out the tents from the tricycle to set up camp, they took out the pots and pans and started a fire to cook.
They have tried to keep a low profile these days, eating steamed buns and porridge similar to the armed police officers and soldiers. Despite this, they are still envied by other survivors.
Sinan and his companions had food and tents, and the tricycle was loaded with many supplies. Everyone looked very healthy both mentally and physically. They were completely different from the other survivors who just carried empty backpacks or simply used bed sheets and quilts to wrap up something. They were skinny and dry, dirty from head to toe, hadn't taken a shower for a long time, and exuded strong sweat and body odor. How could one not envy them?
The author has something to say:
Statement: I do not support any jungle behavior. This article is just for the plot needs. Please do not imitate!
In addition... I have to say shamelessly that after finishing this article, I will go back to fill in the apocalyptic novel "One Person in a Different World". Those who are interested can go to the author's column to collect it and take a look. Thank you everyone.
Happy National Day to everyone!
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