Besides the three water bottles, Li Shaoyang also had a large backpack filled with more important items that he had to take back. This was information that had been obtained at the cost of several comrades' sacrifices.
Li Shaoyang was also carrying two metal buckets filled with water, so one could imagine how heavy his load was. Ye Shuning didn't want to add to his burden.
The two stopped to drink some water.
Ye Shuning said, "Drink the water in my bucket first. It's boiled. It's best to boil the water in your kettle before drinking it. If that's not possible, save it for last. We both need to try not to get sick, otherwise it will be very dangerous."
Li Shaoyang nodded and said, "You are right."
They really shouldn't drink raw water, as that would easily make them sick. There were only two of them, and they had to reduce any chance of getting sick.
Li Shaoyang took off his things and poured some water for Ye Shuning to drink first, then he drank some water and sat down to rest. Ye Shuning had wanted to rest for a long time, and now she was so tired that she wanted to lie on the ground.
Li Shaoyang looked at Ye Shuning, who was drooping, and asked, "Do your feet hurt?"
Ye Shuning rubbed her feet and replied insincerely: "It's okay, I'll be fine if I hold on for a while."
Li Shaoyang said, "Take off your shoes and see if your feet are hurt."
Upon hearing this, Ye Shuning took off her shoes and socks and saw that her feet were indeed a little red and swollen.
Li Shaoyang looked at Ye Shuning's white and tender little feet, which were obviously red and swollen. If this continued, Ye Shuning's feet would definitely become more and more serious, which would directly affect their walking speed.
He didn't care about anything else and grabbed Ye Shuning's feet and started pinching her feet regardless of her dodging.
Ye Shuning didn't expect Li Shaoyang to massage her feet, and she cried out, "Oh, Brother Li, it hurts, stop it."
Li Shaoyang held onto Ye Shuning's feet and said, "Don't move. Your feet are so red and swollen. If you don't massage them, you won't be able to walk soon. Don't worry, my technique is very professional. I really don't know how you were able to walk in this desert before."
Ye Shuning didn't dodge anymore and endured the pain and said, "Just rest if you're tired. You don't mind my feet smelling."
Li Shaoyang rolled his eyes at Ye Shuning and said, "It's better to pinch your stinky feet than for you to be unable to walk later."
When Ye Shuning heard this, she wanted to pull her feet back. It would be embarrassing to have someone pinch her stinky feet.
Li Shaoyang grabbed Ye Shuning's ankle and said, "Alright, your feet don't smell. Be obedient. Rubbing them can relieve your pain. Otherwise, do you want me to carry you?"
Ye Shuning chuckled when she heard that and said, "That's not necessary. I'd better try to walk on my own."
Li Shaoyang curled his lips and said, "I don't know who it was that didn't want to walk by himself when I was little and asked me to carry him on my back."
Ye Shuning still remembered the original owner pestering Li Shaoyang to carry her on his back. It seemed like they were very close when they were little.
She chuckled and said, "I was young and naive back then. Is Uncle Li still in the same military region?"
Li Shaoyang replied: "After your father was transferred to the south, my father was also transferred to Kyoto. My eldest brother is now in the south, and I am in the Northwest Military Region."
Ye Shuning nodded and said, "You and Big Brother Li were both developing in the army, while Third Brother Li was a technician. But why didn't I meet Third Brother Li at that time?"
Li Shaoyang said, "The third child was very smart since he was young. He often skipped grades in school. He left his parents early to study abroad. Of course, you haven't seen him."
Li Shaoyang's dark, rough hands formed a sharp contrast with Ye Shuning's white, tender, and delicate feet. Only then did Li Shaoyang realize that he was massaging a girl's feet, which was indeed a bit intimate.
His impression of Ye Shuning was still mostly stuck in her childhood, forgetting that she was already a grown woman. But now there was nothing he could do, he had to treat the special situation specially. He had too many things to carry Ye Shuning on his back, so she had to rely on herself to walk.
Ye Shuning didn't think too much about it. She was completely distracted by the pain. This foot really hurts too much. Li Shaoyang pinched Ye Shuning and screamed.
She didn't want to scream, but she couldn't help it.
In the end, Ye Shuning's scream made Li Shaoyang blush, and he had no choice but to let Ye Shuning go.
But after kneading it like this, Ye Shuning's feet felt much better.
After a short rest, the two continued on their journey. They walked and stopped for two days. On the morning of the third day, Ye Shuning felt like her whole body was about to fall apart.
She had just been ill for a short time and was already quite thin. It was really hard for her to walk for such a long time.
Ye Shuning wore Li Shaoyang's telescope on her chest, and she would look around from time to time, hoping to see the end of the desert as soon as possible. Even if she could only see a tree or a blade of grass, it would be good.
After walking for a while, Ye Shuning picked up the telescope and looked into the distance. Suddenly, she seemed to see something different from the yellow sand. When she looked carefully, she found that it was wild grass swaying in the wind.
Seeing the weeds, Ye Shuning was extremely surprised. She shouted loudly: "Brother Li, I see weeds. There are weeds over there."
Li Shaoyang was surprised to hear this and said, "Really? Give me the telescope quickly so I can take a look."
Li Shaoyang took the telescope, looked carefully, and turned to Ye Shuning and said excitedly, "It really is wild grass. Maybe there's a water source there. Let's go and take a look."
Seeing hope, both of them were motivated and moved quickly towards their goal. As they got closer to their destination, they saw more wild grass and bushes. They also saw a large lake.
Ye Shuning happily pulled Li Shaoyang and said, "Brother Li, there really is a water source. That's great, we can get some water."
The two walked for about an hour before finally arriving at this oasis where there wasn't much green.
It is a great blessing to find water in the desert.
It was a fairly large lake, surrounded by reeds and other weeds, as well as a few sparse, low-lying shrubs. However, the reeds were dry, the shrubs leafless, and the lake itself was frozen.
Even so, the two of them were very happy.
They came to the lake and were delighted to see the relatively solid ice surface, which allowed them to replenish their water supply.
Li Shaoyang said happily: "We can have some hot food today."
Ye Shuning smiled and nodded heavily, saying, "Just use my aluminum pot. I have instant noodles here, we can cook some. But how do we break the ice?"
Li Shaoyang pulled out a dagger from his leggings and said, "This can break the ice. Let's eat first, then boil some water, let it cool down, and then pour it into the bucket."
Ye Shuning nodded and said, "You go break the ice, and I'll go collect firewood."
The two men put down their things and went their separate ways.
Ye Shuning quickly collected a bundle of dry reeds, then she found a suitable place and dug out an earthen stove on the ground, put the aluminum pot on it, and poured water from the iron bucket into the pot halfway.
She straightened the dry reeds and put a handful of them into the earthen stove, then lit the reeds with a match. Soon the fire was burning brightly.
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