Chapter 86
Seeing Tong Shu's curious expression, Wen Shaocheng smiled slightly: "Our team's code is that everyone learns a different bird call."
Tong Shu suddenly realized that their special forces team actually had such a skill; the bird calls they made were so realistic that they could be mistaken for real birds.
Before long, several dusty figures climbed down from the surrounding trees. It took Tong Shu quite a while to recognize them. Apart from Liu Wanqi, who had also changed a lot, she recognized the others; she had seen them in the neighborhood before.
"My boat is a bit small, it might not be able to take so many people over," Tong Shu said, somewhat embarrassed.
“It’s alright, we also have boats hidden along the riverbank,” Liu Wanqi said.
Tong Shu led his men back along the river. Liu Wanqi's boat was hidden not far from Tong Shu's small boat, covered with several layers of vines and leaves, so that it could not be seen from the outside.
Tong Shu blushed and dragged her small boat out of the water plants. Compared to these soldiers, her concealment was really too clumsy.
Wen Shaocheng's team consisted of only a dozen or so people. They crossed the river quietly in two trips. When Tong Shu brought them to her courtyard, even Wen Shaocheng, who was mentally prepared, was greatly surprised, while Liu Wanqi was even more dumbfounded.
“This… how can there be such a well-preserved house now? No, this doesn’t look like an old house at all. It must be newly built, right?” Tong Shu led everyone into the courtyard. Except for Wen Shaocheng, the others kept turning their heads. This small courtyard, which could be described as rough before the natural disaster, now looked like a small world of its own in their eyes.
Tong Shu glanced at Wen Shaocheng, pursed her lips, and said vaguely, "We came earlier than you. We farmed and planted crops here, then collected bricks and stones. Later, we met people on the other side of the river, traded materials with them, and slowly built the courtyard."
Wen Shaocheng knew her background and knew that what she said was probably not a lie, but she deliberately obscured the source of the cement and other materials. He smiled and helped Tong Shu change the subject: "You've been up in the tree all day, is there anything to eat at home?"
"Yes, yes, we caught a few pheasants a few days ago, but they haven't been slaughtered yet. I'll go tell my mom and ask her to cook them for you." Tong Shu breathed a sigh of relief and went to open her front door.
The people inside had already heard the commotion outside. Even though they heard Tong Shu's voice from inside, the Tong family members didn't open the door rashly. Only when Tong Shu came in did they relax. Tong Songming, who was standing at the front, immediately saw Wen Shaocheng following behind Tong Shu. His wariness instantly turned into surprise: "Major Wen?! What are you doing here?"
Wen Shaocheng smiled faintly: "I just happened to run into Tong Shu on the other side. I didn't expect you to be here too. What a coincidence."
“That’s right, that’s right, it’s all fate. Come in quickly.” Tong Songming immediately invited the group of soldiers into the house. “Ahua, quickly steam some more rice and add some vegetables. The major and the others must be hungry.”
The entire Tong family was bustling with activity. Seeing familiar faces again in a foreign land, especially the reassuring soldiers like Wen Shaocheng, was a great joy for the entire family. The meal had already been prepared, just waiting for Tong Shu to return. Now the stove was heated up again, Grandpa Tong deftly slaughtered and plucked a chicken in the yard, and Grandma Tong went into the chicken coop to collect eggs. Everyone was busy at work.
“These wooden cabins are where we lived before the house was built.” Tong Shu pushed open the door of the cabin and said to Wen Shaocheng, “I’ll bring you some blankets and pillows later. My grandparents always come in to clean this house when they have nothing to do, so it’s quite clean.”
"This is so much better than where we usually live!" a young soldier said happily.
As they were talking, SuSu darted out of the room barking. The group of strangers who had entered its territory with unfamiliar scents made SuSu very wary. Unfortunately, it was not very big yet. Even though it bared its teeth and acted fiercely, its fluffy fur still made it look extremely cute.
"Wow! There's a puppy too!" Liu Wanqi's eyes lit up. He stepped forward, grabbed Susu by the neck, lifted her up, and pried open her teeth to take a look. "It's a Tibetan Mastiff puppy. It's so well-bred. It's obviously a purebred. Amazing! In this day and age, you can still get such a good-looking Tibetan Mastiff!"
Liu Wanqi clearly knew about dogs. Tong Shu took the howling Su Su from his hands and explained, "It was given to us by the boss of the opposite base. He said it could guard the house. Look, this tiny little thing can already bark at strangers."
Upon hearing this, Liu Wanqi quietly glanced at Wen Shaocheng. Wen Shaocheng noticed out of the corner of his eye that Tong Shu wasn't paying attention, so he subtly shook his head at Liu Wanqi.
Tong Shu didn't notice the subtle exchange between the two of them. She handed Su Su to Qin Xiaoxiao, who had rushed over, and then led them to see the pigs, chickens, and sheep she raised.
"Your sister seems to be doing well now?" Liu Wanqi whispered as he leaned closer.
"Yes." Tong Shu nodded: "After arriving here, I raised some animals and gradually got better."
Tong Shu hadn't known before that Tian Zhaozhao and the others had encountered that group of Japanese people. She had even brought Qin Xiaoxiao to the other side of the river. Now that she knew who it was, Tong Shu was extremely grateful that she had brought Qin Xiaoxiao back in time. Otherwise, she really didn't dare to imagine what would have happened.
After leading a group of people on a tour inside and out, and picking several baskets of fresh fruit from the transplanted fruit trees, Tong Shu told them to go back to the cabin to rest first, while she went to check on how Shu Hua and the others were doing with the cooking.
"Captain, this girl is amazing! After we wipe out those bastards, let's build houses and a base around here too," a young soldier said longingly.
As the person closest to Wen Shaocheng, Liu Wanqi knew a little about Wen Shaocheng's thoughts. He glanced at the man sitting by the window, saw that he didn't know what he was thinking, and smiled, then patted the comrade who was talking.
"How old are you? You're already calling her 'little sister'! Next time you see her, remember to call her 'older sister'!"
Wen Shaocheng glanced at Liu Wanqi but said nothing.
"Isn't calling her 'little sister' a good thing? It makes her sound much younger..." the young soldier muttered, then turned and huddled together with a few other soldiers to whisper among themselves.
"I thought I'd never see her again, but I never expected to run into her here in such a big country like China." Liu Wanqi slyly approached Wen Shaocheng: "Captain, you and Tong are really destined to meet!"
Wen Shaocheng glanced sideways, not really wanting to talk to him: "Aren't you here too? How come it's not you and that person destined to be together?"
Liu Wanqi shook his finger: "How can that be the same? My relationship with them is one of military and civilian."
"What a coincidence, it's the same for me and her."
Liu Wanqi raised an exaggerated eyebrow: "No way, Captain? Did I guess wrong? You don't want to have any other kind of connection with him?"
Wen Shaocheng was silent for a moment, then said, "They didn't mean that, don't talk nonsense."
Liu Wan realized. Oh, so it was still unrequited love.
"What fate? Are you talking about us? What a coincidence! My family has been saying that we're destined to meet!" Tong Shu came in carrying a box.
Liu Wanqi quickly stepped forward and took it: "Yes, I was just reminiscing with the major about how we're destined to meet! Hmm? What's this? Juice? Why is it so green..."
"It's the juice from a plant we found on the mountain. It can make you immune to the poison of the poisonous mushrooms, it's..." Tong Shu said.
Upon hearing this, the soldiers who were resting scattered in the rooms immediately gathered around.
"What? There's actually something like this?"
"That's amazing? Is it true?"
...
One soldier, incredibly bold, grabbed a bottle, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig. Before Tong Shu could even warn him, he had already swallowed it.
The soldier who drank the juice of the vine immediately burst into tears, and his sun-darkened face turned red. He hissed and yelled, sticking out his tongue as he searched for water. Fortunately, his comrades understood what he was doing and quickly brought him a water bottle to give him water.
"...It just didn't taste very good." Tong Shu finally finished speaking.
It took the soldier a long time to recover, and he refused to go near the bottles of Lala Vine juice. The others stared at the oily green liquid, also showing hesitant expressions.
Tong Shu propped her neck up and told them about Yangshan Village, omitting the part about their transaction. Wen Shaocheng listened attentively, and when Tong Shu finished speaking, he took the initiative to walk over, picked up a new bottle of Lala Teng juice, and drank half of it without even frowning.
"...Captain, are you alright?" Liu Wanqi asked cautiously.
"It's alright, not that bad," Wen Shaocheng said casually.
Liu Wanqi, without suspecting anything, picked up the rest and divided them equally among the soldiers. The soldiers had different expressions, but they all opened the bottle caps and drank the grass juice.
Suddenly, the entire cabin was filled with the sounds of retching, some loud and some soft. Even Liu Wanqi, who was usually very composed, started fighting with his teammates for water bottles.
"...Poison! This stuff is poisonous!" A soldier who failed to grab a water bottle lay prostrate on the ground, tears, snot, and drool flying everywhere, completely dazed.
"Is it really that bad?" Tong Shu scratched her head. "How about I add some sugar? It usually tastes better with sugar. Maybe it's because I'm used to drinking it every day. I thought you soldiers would have a better tolerance for it than us..."
With tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, Liu Wanqi looked at his captain, who possessed superhuman endurance, and Tong Shu, who had brought the Devil's Grass juice. His tone carried a hint of serenity: "So... it's something you have to drink every day? Could you please, Tong Shu, give me two extra spoonfuls..."
"Ignore them, there's no way we have that much candy to squander," Wen Shaocheng said coldly, looking at his teammates who were all different.
Tong Shu glanced at him cautiously and realized that he seemed to be serious, so she could only say "Oh": "Then, come next door after you're done drinking, the food is ready."
"Let's go ahead first, Lao Liu will bring them over later." After Wen Shaocheng finished speaking, he followed Tong Shu away, leaving behind a group of teammates who were howling like ghosts.
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