The camp was bustling with activity, after all, this was the most important holiday. Most of them hadn't been home for the Spring Festival for many years, and this was a rare opportunity for them all to rest together.
The entire camp was divided into two parts. Soldiers not on duty gathered in the kitchen. Whether they helped or not was another matter. The main purpose was to create a lively atmosphere. After the gathering, families who were with the soldiers could go back home to celebrate the New Year together.
Those on duty didn't slack off at all, and were even more rigorous than usual, with several extra patrols. Better safe than sorry, but it's precisely when you think things should be fine that it's easier for the other side to take advantage of you.
They've accumulated a lot of experience over the years, and they've almost never let them have a peaceful New Year. They always come to join in the fun, and every year some soldiers get hurt.
Actually, Commander Lin was quite troubled.
Last year, he was so angry that he personally led people to stand guard and patrol, but he still couldn't prevent someone from taking advantage of the situation. In the end, someone secretly set a fire.
This year, Battalion Commander Xu led his men on patrols, and the number of guards and shifts doubled. Regiment Commander Lin will be stationed in the camp to celebrate the New Year with the soldiers. This year, there is also a political commissar and Cheng Chao. Supplies have just been distributed, and the whole camp is bustling with activity.
The family compound was also brightly lit, with people staying up all night for the New Year. This custom is especially important in rural areas. There is not much entertainment in winter, so the family stays up all night, eating snacks that they usually can't afford, chatting, and some families also have the custom of burning paper money to worship their ancestors at midnight on New Year's Eve.
Moreover, on New Year's Day, even if you usually eat two meals, you eat three meals. Lunch is a little later, and dinner is dumplings eaten in the middle of the night.
That way, staying up until midnight won't be so difficult.
For children, the Lunar New Year is the time when they are most daring and can be as mischievous as they want. After all, there is an old saying that it is not appropriate to hit children during the Lunar New Year. Even if they accidentally break a bowl, they will only say, "May you have peace and safety every year."
No matter how much you try to prevent it, you can't stop someone from wanting to cause trouble.
This time, the people on the other side of the border didn't even show their faces. Battalion Commander Xu stared intently with his big eyes until late at night, but the other side remained completely silent.
Cheng Chao and Qin Qinghuai returned and ate a hot meal of dumplings with various fillings. They were overjoyed and chatting happily with their pregnant bellies when Qin Yi arrived with a grim expression. He didn't even bother to say a New Year's greeting.
"Brother Huai, Company Commander Cheng, something's happened."
Cheng Chao slapped the kang (a heated brick bed) and jumped off the bed.
"What's going on? Why are you being so cheeky and provocative again?"
I'm going to check on those bastards.
Fearing something might happen, even though they were visiting their family home for the holidays, they didn't dare to relax at all and didn't touch a drop of alcohol.
"Tell me in detail, what happened?"
Qin Qinghuai also quickly got off the ground and hurriedly put on his clothes.
"Is anyone injured?"
Qin Yi's expression darkened further.
"It's quiet on the other side. It's not Battalion Commander Xu's side, it's the camp area."
"We heard a commotion during patrol. Someone threw two freshly slaughtered pigs down the mountain behind the camp. They were still steaming and covered in blood. Brother Zheng went up for a quick look, and the bloodstains on the mountain were clearly not hidden. There was also a wild boar on the hillside, its blood almost dried."
They certainly wouldn't think it was about receiving gifts; that was impossible. That was...
“Wild beasts, they want to use the smell of blood to lure the wild beasts from the mountains.”
Qin Qinghuai's face also darkened, and there was not a trace of doubt in his tone.
Qin Yi remained silent; the answer was obvious.
"They're keeping a close watch here, and there were no obvious footprints in the snow. It's possible they came from the mountains within their territory."
However, although the last two snowfalls were not very heavy, there were signs of the snow melting from the previous blizzard, and the ice became extremely slippery when it re-frozen. The snow was thin these two times, and it was even more difficult to walk on the ice with a thin layer of snow on the soles of the feet.
The situation in the mountains is not optimistic.
At this time of year, even the wild animals are probably hungry.
That makes it sound heavy.
After a moment of silence, Cheng Chao spoke, his voice somewhat cold.
"Has the situation been handled?"
Qin Yi jolted awake and immediately stood up straight.
"When we caught up, the person was already gone. They were very fast. The wild boars from the scene and the hillside have been taken back to the kitchen. Now Brother Zheng is leading people to clean up the bloodstains in that direction."
Qin Qinghuai reached out and buttoned the top button of his cotton-padded coat, then glanced out the window.
"Go and see. The fact that no sound is coming from here is good news."
Has the regimental commander heard the news?
Qin Yi pursed his lips.
"The regimental commander was still worried about the outpost, so after we dispersed, he took Xiao Hu there. They might have arrived by now."
The two men exchanged a glance, then turned and walked out.
After a quick thought, she put on a thick cotton-padded coat and went out as well. Perhaps the wild animals in the mountains could help her.
This mountain is very large, and the camp area here is almost entirely adjacent to it. If you go around from the entrance of the family compound to enter the camp area, there is a long stretch of steep mountain wall behind the camp area, as well as a gentle slope. However, if you go up the mountain from this side, you will not be far from the territory of the neighboring country.
So it was unnecessary and to avoid potential trouble, they only patrolled and defended this area and almost never set foot there. Who knew that they would take advantage of this loophole.
As they traveled along the way, the news had spread. The situation was somewhat better in the family compound, but the lively atmosphere in the barracks had completely disappeared. All the soldiers who heard the news had spontaneously gathered in an open area not far from the foot of the mountain.
When Qin Qinghuai and the others arrived, there were quite a few people at the scene, but it was very quiet.
Some people silently stepped forward and followed Zheng Aiguo and his team to clean up the bloodstains at the scene.
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