In the 1960s,
He Liyuan carried Tao Yuan all the way up the mountain and only put him down when they reached the camp.
Tao Yuan took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat. "Thank you for your hard work."
"It's not hard, I'm not tired." He Liyuan looked at him and said, "There might be poisonous insects and snakes on the mountain, so don't wander around. There's an abandoned temple over there, and the soldiers are cleaning it up. Once it's cleaned up, it'll be used as accommodation for your medical team. If anyone gets injured, they'll be accommodated there too. But you can sleep with me at night."
"Don't worry about me." Tao Yuan said with a smile, "Poisonous snakes and insects will definitely run away if they see me. But I have medicine, and I will never let them escape. I will catch them all and bring them back to make wine."
"You..." He Liyuan became even more worried after hearing this. He said seriously, "Just let them escape. Don't try to catch them. If they bite you, it will hurt even if you're not poisoned."
"I understand." Tao Yuan agreed. "You go and do your thing. I'll go take a look at that temple."
He Liyuan nodded, then turned and left to deploy the battle plan.
Tao Yuan walked into the temple by himself. When the soldiers who were cleaning saw him, they greeted him and he smiled and nodded to them.
Although this temple is not big, it is not very small either. Behind the main hall, there are several rooms and a small courtyard in the middle.
Tao Yuan rested on a stone bench in the middle of the courtyard, thinking that after he wiped out the bandits, he would definitely spend some time collecting herbs and bringing them back to cultivate. While cultivated herbs weren't as potent as wild ones, they were still better than nothing. If only he had cultivated herbs back then, the original owner's mother wouldn't have died.
After the medical team arrived, they sprayed disinfectant throughout the temple and sprinkled insect repellent on every corner. Although the conditions on the mountain were harsh, since this was a place for medical treatment, hygiene must be maintained.
The next day, the Wolf Squadron carried supplies and ammunition up the mountain and set up camp on the other side of the temple. The two squadrons guarded the two intersections leading up and down the mountain, with the medical team protected in the middle.
The soldiers brought Tao Yuan's boxes over. These boxes were heavy, but the things inside were important. Tao Yuan wanted to take some medicinal herbs and poisonous insects and snakes back with him. He couldn't put them all in the space, as that would definitely arouse suspicion, so he had to rely on the things in the boxes.
After opening one of the boxes and taking out a few things from it, Tao Yuan locked the box again and walked out with the things.
The local militia would bring him some food and meat every two days. Out of kindness, they sent a few sheep to the soldiers, but the soldiers ate in the canteen in the army, so you really couldn't expect them to be very good at cooking. The mutton soup he made yesterday was so pungent that it hit him so hard that Tao Yuan couldn't drink it at all.
In order to prevent the remaining two sheep from being wasted, Tao Yuan decided to do it himself.
There were originally four left, but because the Wolf Squadron arrived, two were given to them.
The soldiers had already killed the sheep and cleaned them up, and were waiting for Tao Yuan to come and prepare them.
In fact, when Tao Yuan said they would prepare the sheep and wait for him to come and take care of it, the soldiers did not have much confidence in him. Because Tao Yuan's hands were white, tender, and slender, it was obvious that he must have never touched water.
But since he was kind enough to cook for the soldiers, they couldn't refuse. After all, even if it tasted bad, it wouldn't be worse than compressed rations. As long as it was cooked, they would definitely be able to eat it.
"Sister-in-law, we have cleaned the mutton, and the fire you asked for is ready." When the soldier saw Tao Yuan coming over, he stood up straight out of habit, as if he was reporting on his work.
"Okay, thank you." Tao Yuan nodded and said, "You guys make some big pancakes, and I'll make some mutton soup. I'll tear the pancakes into pieces and soak them in the soup, and that'll be our staple food."
"Okay!" the soldier replied and started working immediately.
Tao Yuan put the things he brought on the clean wooden board next to him, then rolled up his sleeves and started to make mutton offal soup first, and finally started to roast the whole lamb.
Tao Yuan had anticipated that the food these soldiers cooked wouldn't taste very good. So, he brought some food with him, preparing a special meal for He Liyuan and himself. If any soldiers were injured, he could also help prepare meals for the sick.
It might take a long time to suppress the bandits. Since there were many people raising sheep in this area, Tao Yuan knew that he would definitely be able to eat mutton, so he made preparations in advance.
After boiling the mutton soup, Tao Yuan began to prepare the roasted whole lamb.
He opened a jar of wine sent by the local militia, washed the two sheep with it, and then roasted them over the red-hot fire. Tao Yuan called two idle soldiers, smeared the seasoning on the mutton, and had them sit and turn it continuously.
This roasted whole lamb needs to be turned constantly and roasted evenly for two or three hours so that it can absorb the flavors and taste good.
After an hour or two, the aroma of the roasted whole lamb had wafted far away.
The soldiers resting under the big trees or in the tents all smelled the fragrance, and then kept breathing deeply, trying to find the direction from which the fragrance came.
“It smells so good!”
"Is this some kind of meat being grilled? It smells so good! My stomach is growling."
"Are our people barbecuing? It smells so good."
"You're right. There's only our squadron and the Wolf Squadron on this mountain. Judging from the direction the fragrance is coming from, it must be someone from our squadron barbecuing."
"Whose turn is it to cook today? How did your cooking become so good?"
"It seems to be Gu Rui and Yan Bin. I remember they could only make noodles and flatbreads. When did they learn how to grill meat? And it even creates such a delicious aroma. It's really appetizing."
"What are you still standing there for? Just go and take a look and you'll know!"
"Let's go and take a look!"
"Hey, let's go and take a look. Just smelling this fragrance makes my mouth water."
"Come on, let's go and take a look."
He Liyuan was arranging the mission, and the platoon leaders who had been listening attentively became distracted after smelling the scent. They secretly breathed hard, taking in the aroma.
He Liyuan certainly smelled it, but he was determined enough. Although he thought it was pleasant, he didn't let it bother him. Thinking back to Tao Yuan's complaints last night about the strong fishy smell of mutton soup and his decision to make roasted lamb and mutton soup, he could already guess that the aroma must be Tao Yuan's roasted lamb, as only he had such good cooking skills.
Seeing that they were all distracted, He Liyuan put down his pen and said, "It's almost time for dinner. Let's discuss this after dinner."
Several platoon leaders stood up immediately, and after He Liyuan stood up and walked out, they quickly followed him.
Tao Yuan squatted by the fire, took out a knife, and cut into the mutton. After observing the degree of doneness of the mutton, he stood up and turned around. He was startled by the people surrounding him and subconsciously took a step back.
He Liyuan quickly took a big step over and supported him.
"What are you doing?" Tao Yuan asked the surrounding soldiers.
The soldiers didn't say anything either, just looked at him and smiled foolishly.
Tao Yuan looked at He Liyuan, and He Liyuan gave him a helpless look.
Tao Yuan could only helplessly say, "It's not ready yet. You guys go and have a rest first. I'll call you when it's ready."
The soldiers quickly dispersed and found a place to sit not far away, their eyes fixed on the roasted lamb on the fire.
A soldier squatted next to the soldier who was turning the mutton and said, "Are you tired of turning? Do you want me to help you turn it for a while?"
The soldier swallowed his saliva and said, "Go ahead. There's nothing tiring about this."
Tao Yuan shook his head, walked to the makeshift stove, opened the lid of the big pot, and used a large soup spoon to scoop up the mutton soup inside.
As soon as the lid of the pot was opened, the fragrance spread immediately, attracting more soldiers to gather around.
The Wolf Team was also making a fire to cook, and was suddenly stunned for a long time when they smelled the fragrance.
"What's that smell? It smells so good."
"It smells like barbecue." A soldier looked at the processed mutton next to him and said, "Could it be that the Menghu Squadron is roasting mutton?"
"Of course it is! Why don't we grill it too."
"We don't have any spices, only some seasonings. Can we make the grill taste like theirs?"
"Whatever we have, we should just get it. If they can roast it so well, our roast won't taste too bad either. Maybe it's just that the mutton here is good."
"Okay! Let's try it."
"Just do it, let's do it!"
When the roasting time was almost up, Tao Yuan had the soldiers place the mutton on a clean wooden board and chop it into even pieces with a large kitchen knife. Two sheep wouldn't be enough for so many soldiers, so Tao Yuan had the soldiers make bread and pile it up like a small mountain.
The soldiers took their lunch boxes and started lining up early. Each person received a lunch box of mutton soup, a small piece of roasted mutton, and plenty of flatbread.
Tao Yuan and He Liyuan only had a small plate of roasted lamb with only a few pieces in it.
Putting the bowl and chopsticks on the table, Tao Yuan tore the bread into small pieces and threw them into the mutton soup to soak.
"Those sheep yesterday were wasted, and there's not enough for us to eat today," Tao Yuan said. "I saw they really enjoyed eating them, so I bought some sheep from the locals and had the militia bring them up for us so the soldiers could have their fill. Otherwise, each person would only have a small piece, which wouldn't even be enough to fill their stomachs."
"I don't think they can eat enough in one meal." He Liyuan first picked up a piece for Tao Yuan, and then ate a piece himself. "The taste of your mutton is so good. If they don't eat enough for a few meals, they may not even be able to sleep well."
"Then let them eat their fill. They risk their lives to defend their country, but they can't even have a good meal. That's too inhumane," Tao Yuan said. "I've made a lot of money recently, and I'm just worried about where to spend it. I'll buy it for them myself."
Ren Xiuyang, the platoon leader of the Wolf Squadron, walked over to Wang Songming, squatted down, and said to him, "Wang Songming, how about a taste of your mutton?"
"Give you a taste? Are you kidding?" Wang Songming looked at him warily. "I only took one bite. If I give you a taste, what should I eat?"
"I won't taste your cigarettes for nothing. How about I trade them for this pack of cigarettes? These are good cigarettes!"
"Go away, go away! I don't smoke! Even if you give me ten packs, I won't change."
"Then let me have a sip of the soup. We're cooking it over there, and I'll just return it to you later, right? Why are you being so stingy?!"
"Give me back what you made?!" Wang Songming glared at him and said, "If you can make this taste, I'll take your surname."
"You have the same last name as him?" Gu Yu, the second platoon leader of the Wolf Squadron, walked over. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were filled with displeasure. "Why do you have the same last name as him?"
"I'm not taking his last name. I'm saying, if the soup you make tastes as good as my sister-in-law's, I'll take his last name," Wang Songming explained. "This soup was made by our squadron leader's sister-in-law herself. I've never tasted such delicious soup in my life!"
"Is she the sister-in-law who saved your leg?" Gu Yu also squatted down and asked, "Is it really that delicious?"
"If you don't believe me, try it. But don't drink too much. I'm not enough for myself." Wang Songming grew up with him and they had lived and eaten together many times. He didn't mind him drinking his soup.
"Ah, ah, ah, do you have to be so biased?" Ren Xiuyang said unhappily. "Growing up together is so great?"
Gu Yu took a sip of soup from the lunch box he handed over.
Ren Xiuyang hurriedly asked, "How does it taste? Is it delicious?"
Gu Yu gave a thumbs up and said, "It absolutely lives up to the saying, the best soup I've ever tasted."
Ren Xiuyang's heart itched even more, but his face was full of disbelief. "Can it be so delicious? If you don't let me taste it, I won't believe it anyway."
"Believe it or not." Wang Songming rolled his eyes.
"Was your sister-in-law also making that cake?" Ren Xiuyang asked.
"The pancakes were made by Yan Bin and his friends. There are still plenty. Do you want some? Take them if you want." Wang Songming acted very generously.
"Then let me have some soup and I'll try the taste," said Ren Xiuyang.
"Okay, okay, just stay away from it." Wang Songming was really helpless as he was pestered by him.
Ren Xiuyang tore off a piece of bread, dipped it in Wang Songming's lunch box, put it in his mouth and savored it carefully. His eyes immediately widened. "It's really good. It tastes so good. How did you make it so good?"
Wang Songming said proudly, "How could our sister-in-law's cooking skills be bad? Not only is she good at saving people, she's also good at cooking."
Gu Yu had a smile on his face as he looked at him with a proud expression.
The Wolf Squadron also started eating.
Ren Xiuyang grabbed his lunch box and rushed over to get the soup. But as soon as he smelled it, he couldn't help but complain, "Why is it so fishy? The soup over there doesn't smell fishy at all."
The soldier in charge of cooking said, "Sir, we have done our best. Please just drink a little."
Ren Xiuyang reluctantly took a sip of the soup, but immediately spat it out. "What's that taste? Why is it so unpalatable? Even if you didn't add anything, it wouldn't be this unpalatable, right?!"
"None of us have ever made mutton soup, so we just made it blindly."
"Isn't this a waste? Forget it, don't you also roast mutton? Let me have a bite."
The soldiers immediately brought out the roasted mutton.
"It's so black?!" Ren Xiuyang said with wide eyes, "Are you grilling meat or charcoal?!"
"Platoon leader, we tried our best, but it's really hard to control the temperature," said the soldier with regret.
Ren Xiuyang completely lost his temper. "Is there anything edible?"
"We also made noodles," said the soldier.
Ren Xiuyang handed over the lunch box with a stern face.
Ren Xiuyang walked over to Gu Yu with the noodles in his hand and squatted down, taking a bite and sighing, and then taking a bite and sighing again.
"Tell me, is it too late for me to write a report and apply to join the Brave Tiger Squadron?" Ren Xiuyang asked knowingly.
"If it were so easy to apply, I would have applied long ago." Gu Yu said quietly.
"Ah~" Ren Xiuyang sighed again. "Wang Songming is really lucky to be able to follow Captain He. His future prospects will definitely be better than ours."
"Everyone has their own destiny. The most important thing is to rely on your own efforts."
"Aren't we working hard enough?" Ren Xiuyang curled his lips and said, "If we hadn't fought so hard in this exercise, would we have been given the opportunity to fight the bandits? Originally, you should have been the squadron leader, but he..."
Some words are not good to say out loud, and they also affect the mood. Gu Yu remained silent and Ren Xiuyang did not finish his words.
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