That day, the sky was clear during the day, and no one expected that it would rain heavily in the middle of the night.
It was raining heavily, and the raindrops fell on the ground, making a pattering sound, which woke up Shen Qingyun and Yin Xiaoman who were sleeping.
Shen Qingyun got up, stood by the window and looked out for a long time with a worried look on his face. I’m afraid that if the rain doesn’t stop, it will delay the progress of road construction tomorrow.
But Yin Xiaoman was secretly praying in his heart, wanting the rain to last a little longer, even until dawn, so that people could do one less morning exercise, which would at least give them a break.
No matter what the two of them thought, the rain kept falling and was getting heavier.
It's six in the morning, the usual time to get up. But the rain showed no sign of slowing down. Shen Qingyun got up, took a look, sighed, then lay back on the bed and closed his eyes.
However, this time, Yin Xiaoman did not have the opportunity to take a break as he wished.
Just a few minutes after I lay down, someone slammed the door outside.
The voice of the platoon leader Shi Lei was heard: "Captain, Captain, open the door, the rice is gone!"
With these words, not only Shen Qingyun sat up suddenly, but Yin Xiaoman also opened his eyes.
"What's going on?" Shen Qingyun quickly got out of bed and ran out to open the door for Shi Lei.
Yin Xiaoman followed closely behind.
Shi Lei was soaked like a drowned rat, with his clothes and hair all wet.
He said to Shen Qingyun nervously, "I don't know! He was still there when we turned off the lights last night, but when I got up this morning, I found that he was gone.
A squad leader said that his quilt was very cold and it seemed that he had been away for quite some time.
Battalion commander, I checked the entire dormitory, not only was there no one there, but umbrellas and raincoats were also intact. I was afraid that the boy had gone out to play somewhere last night and hadn’t come back all night! ”
His words made Shen Qingyun and Yin Xiaoman both furious!
The lights in the guard camp dormitory were turned off at 9:30 in the evening, and the rain didn't start until almost 11 o'clock.
Da Mi is just a little kid. What could possibly have the need to go out so late in such weather?
Moreover, he didn’t come back all night?
"Battalion Commander, could the rice...have fallen into the sea and been washed away by the waves?" Shi Lei said again.
Yin Xiaoman's heart skipped a beat and he suddenly felt a pain.
Zhongshan Island is a volcanic island, full of large rocks formed by the solidified lava from the volcanic eruption.
On the entire island, only one side has a flat beach, and the rest of the island is full of rugged cliffs.
If Da Mi was at the rock last night, it wouldn't be impossible for a big wave to hit him and knock him down, and then he would fall into the water.
Even if there were no waves, the ground would be slippery due to heavy rain. What if that kid lost his balance and fell down...
Yin Xiaoman shuddered.
"Why don't you send someone to look for him?!" Shen Qingyun shouted, turned around and went back to the house to change his shoes.
Yin Xiaoman quickly ran in and grabbed two raincoats, stuffed one into the man's pocket and put the other on herself.
Shen Qingyun frowned.
"I'll go too. Otherwise I'll be worried and scared at home." Yin Xiaoman said firmly.
Shen Qingyun thought about it and didn't stop her.
After several people left the house, Yin Xiaoman deliberately locked the door from the outside. I was afraid that the two kids at home would hear it and sneak out to look for it.
That would just cause more trouble.
Before leaving, he thought about it and was still worried, so he went to wake Dabao up and gave him a few more warnings.
When Dabao heard that his brother Dami was missing, he was very worried, but he also knew that he must not add to the trouble at this time.
Shanya quickly patted his chest and promised that he would stay at home and take good care of his sister.
It's still raining heavily outside. Even with a raincoat on, my head and face were soaked in an instant.
Shen Qingyun no longer cared about Yin Xiaoman at this moment and began to assign tasks quickly.
He divided all the people in the camp into small teams. Except for the normal patrol personnel, all the others received orders and dispersed to the mountains, the seaside, and some around the islands to search along the coastline.
No one gave Yin Xiaoman any work, but she still gritted her teeth and followed the team into the mountains, searching patiently along the back mountain.
After calming down, Yin Xiaoman no longer believed that the rice would fall into the sea and be washed away by the sea water.
This kid had lived alone on this island for more than half a year. She didn't believe that he didn't even have this much safety awareness.
But where can this kid go?
What is he doing again?
Shi Lei discovered that the rice was missing at six in the morning. At 6:15, all the soldiers in the battalion dispersed to look for the little guy.
However, the mountains are high and the rain is heavy, and the back mountain has not been developed. On weekdays, apart from feeling the branches scratching clothes and the rocks tripping people, people don't have any other feelings.
But at this time, all those became obstacles.
The woods were dense and without the sun, it was dark everywhere. The low visibility made it seem like a child could be hiding anywhere, yet nowhere could be seen clearly.
The rocks were extremely slippery, and climbing the mountain was much more difficult than usual.
At around ten o'clock, Yin Xiaoman was stopped by Shi Lei.
Because they had to climb a steep slope of almost sixty or seventy degrees.
Looking at the straight up and down stone slope, Yin Xiaoman wisely gave up. She knew that if she insisted at this time, she would only cause trouble.
After returning home, Yin Xiaoman simply changed into some dry clothes and went into the kitchen without even washing her hair. She wanted to make something hot for everyone quickly.
Although there must be people left in the kitchen squad and she doesn't have to worry about the soldiers' meals, her man is still outside in the rain!
And that troublesome rice!
Thinking of this child, Yin Xiaoman didn't know whether he felt more heartbroken or angry.
But no matter what, she had made up her mind that she would never let him live in the camp with the soldiers again.
This kid is so smart. I wonder what he is thinking about every day?
At his age, he feels that he has grown up, knows everything, dares to do anything, and dares to take risks, but he does not know how to avoid risks at all.
It really won't work without an adult watching over you.
Yin Xiaoman still can't figure out how he managed to avoid the soldiers patrolling at night and sneak out of the camp?
She cooked ginger sugar water and made lunch, but even when the meal was cold, the two people still hadn't returned.
She was completely panicked, and her mind started to run wild with uncontrollable thoughts.
Although she didn't have much contact with Da Mi, he was a living child, a child who was in front of her every day!
She simply couldn't accept the possibility that the child would be in danger!
She really couldn't sit still in the house. Although it was still raining, she ran to the door and looked several times.
Erniu didn’t know that something had happened to Dami and always thought that he didn’t come because it was raining.
She had nothing to do, so she kept humming at home and insisted on going to the camp to play with her brother.
The humming made Yin Xiaoman feel dizzy.
Although Dabao didn't dare to ask, he must have been panicking. He was being perfunctory with his sister, but he would also glance at his mother from time to time.
He looked as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
The air in the house is frozen.
Da Mi was brought back by Shen Qingyun at around three or four o'clock in the afternoon.
He was already unconscious at that time.
It is said that the small team led by Shi Lei found him in a cave in the back mountain.
At that time, he had a high fever and was curled up on a mat made of banana leaves that was soaked by rain, unconscious.
Da Mi, who was held in Shen Qingyun's arms, had her eyes tightly closed, her clothes were all stuck to her body, her little face was black and blue, and her lips were bloodless.
Only two abnormally red spots on his cheeks showed how high his body temperature was at the moment.
Seeing him like this, Yin Xiaoman didn't care about anything else. She grabbed the blanket she usually used, wrapped him up, then took it from Shen Qingyun's hand and put it on Dabao's bed.
When she held the child in her arms, the light weight made her hands pause, and she realized how thin the child was!
Dabao is heavier than him.
After she took the rice, she urged Shen Qingyun to take a shower and change clothes, then she went to the kitchen to fetch warm water so that she could help the child wash.
As soon as he put the basin down, Shi Lei rushed over again, holding some spare clothes for Da Mi and some antipyretic medicine from the camp.
Seeing that he had already changed his clothes, Yin Xiaoman did not refuse his request to help wash the rice.
After all, although the child looks thin, he is several years older than Dabao and the others, so it is not very convenient for her to help with changing and washing.
While Shi Lei was helping her change clothes, Yin Xiaoman finally asked the question in her mind: "Where did you find him? Why did this kid go there alone in the middle of the night?"
Hearing her ask this, Shi Lei sighed: "Alas, it's also my fault that I didn't think of it beforehand. Yesterday might be the anniversary of Da Mi's father's death. I only thought of it when I found him. The cave is not far from where his father is buried."
Yin Xiaoman was so shocked that he couldn't speak.
Shi Lei was the only one in the security battalion who went to the island with Captain Lu, and he was also one of the first people to discover rice.
In his words, when they found the rice, the child refused to go with them and said that he wanted to stay here with his father.
After asking them, they found out that Daddy Mi had been dead for more than half a year, and it was the child who dug a hole with his hands and buried his father.
The environment on Zhongshan Island was humid and hot, and under the circumstances at the time, there was really no way to bring his father's remains back.
So, after discussing with the children, they built Daddy Mi's grave on the mountain, a place with its back to the mountain and facing the sea, where they could see their hometown from afar.
It had been so long that Shi Lei had honestly forgotten about it. Moreover, since he was not familiar with the environment, he could not remember the exact place where Daddy Rice was buried.
When he found the rice in the small cave, he accidentally glanced at the tombstone written by the regiment commander himself for the man not far away, and then he remembered this incident.
Counting the days, now is the time when Da Mi once said his father would die.
"Oh, it's all my fault. If I had thought of it earlier, the rice wouldn't have been soaked in the rain for so long." Shi Lei said with a look of regret.
Yin Xiaoman touched the little guy's hot cheek and knew in his heart that it would be useless even if Shi Lei had remembered it earlier.
Can anyone stop this child from doing what he wants to do?
I'm afraid he had already made up his mind to stay with his father tonight?
It is more likely that he so readily agreed to let Lupin come to Zhongshan Island just to accompany his father.
Thinking of this, her heartache and headache for rice increased.
The energy of children is something that adults can never envy.
Da Mi's fever seemed to be severe, but after taking antipyretics and having Yin Xiaoman serve him some porridge and steamed buns, he just took a nap and was full of energy again the next day.
On the contrary, Yin Xiaoman was caught in a cold for several days after being caught in the heavy rain.
For this reason, Da Mi might have felt a little guilty. In the next few days, it was obvious that he was avoiding Yin Xiaoman. He didn't dare to look her in the eye or stay alone with her. However, he was more proactive and hardworking at work than before.
But even so, he still couldn't escape being beaten up by Shen Qingyun.
After making sure that he was completely fine, Shen Qingyun took him away and brought him back to the camp.
I don’t know what the man said to him, but when he came back, he was soaked in sweat and you could wring out half a pound of water from his clothes.
His body and face were covered in dust and mud, and he looked in a very miserable state.
But even so, he followed Shen Qingyun without any resistance, holding the small package of clothes he brought to the island.
That dejected yet well-behaved and obedient look clearly showed that he was fulfilling some promise.
Yin Xiaoman didn't ask any questions and pretended that she saw nothing, letting them solve the problem in their own way.
Sure enough, not long after they returned home, Shi Lei brought a few soldiers, laughed and carried the bunk beds, and quickly replaced Dabao's single bed.
From then on, Dami settled down completely in the Shen family.
Mr. Hua and Mr. Ning were among the first group of experts who arrived on the island a week later, along with five other people.
One of the couples, who looked to be in their forties, was a married couple and were said to be both engineers in physics.
The other three younger ones are their assistants.
The couple and the three young people all chose dormitories that were closer to the outside. In their words, "When we come back late from overtime work, we can walk less."
Just as Yin Xiaoman thought, Mr. Ning and Mr. Hua chose to be their neighbors.
The two old people chose a house in the front row of their house. That house also had two bedrooms, one for each of them, which was just right.
The house has a small balcony outside the master bedroom. The balcony is open and has a small door.
It’s just a few steps through the small door and you can reach Shen’s house.
Yin Xiaoman has been on this island for some time, but he had no idea that there was a mystery beneath the volcano on the island!
If this group of experts had not gone to the island and if ships had not delivered equipment over several days in a row, she would have had no idea that the mountain had been hollowed out and that a very, very large warehouse was hidden inside.
She couldn't tell exactly how big it was, but the supply ship probably made two trips a day, and each trip would carry a ship full of various instruments, equipment, and supplies. It took seven days to ship, but the warehouse was still not full!
This surprised her so much that she couldn't even close her mouth. However, when she occasionally heard Ning Gong and Shen Qingyun chatting, she actually heard them expressing regret and complaining that the construction speed was too slow. They said that they wanted to build several more warehouses like this in the future.
Yin Xiaoman was extremely excited after hearing these words.
Although we haven't seen it yet, we can imagine that in a few years, Zhongshan Island will no longer be overgrown with weeds like it is now, but will be built to be prosperous and full of vitality.
Such thoughts made Yin Xiaoman more optimistic about his future life.
Now that the experts have arrived, it is natural for her, as the exclusive cook, to start working.
She didn't have time to think too much and spent several days in the kitchen making various preparations.
The members of the expert group do not eat in the camp’s canteen.
As soon as Lupin picked up Yin Xiaoman at the port, he gave her a special vaccination.
Tell her that the reason why experts are equipped with dedicated cooks is due to the nature of their work.
Once they arrive on the island, their workload will be very heavy and working overtime will be the norm.
In order to ensure that these national treasures have adequate nutrition and do not let these external factors affect their work, not only must the meals be delicious, but the meal times must also not be the same as for the soldiers, with only three meals a day.
Lupin asked Yin Xiaoman to ensure that there was always hot food on the stove; no matter what time the experts requested extra meals, they must be supplied in the shortest possible time.
So, after settling down, when the kitchen team leader Ren Ping'an came to ask her where she wanted to arrange the canteen for the expert group, Yin Xiaoman decisively decided to arrange it in her own home.
Only in this way can she be more convenient to be available at any time.
So, the dormitory where they live now has been renovated.
The accommodation was not moved, but the kitchen was expanded.
Not only has the area been expanded, but the stove has also been changed from a single burner to a double burner.
Not only that, Ren Ping'an was also considerate and took the young soldiers from the kitchen squad to help her build a row of small coal stoves along the edge of the kitchen.
When it is not in use, you can cover it with a wooden board and use it as a countertop. If you really want to make soup or stew something, you can use it whenever you want.
In addition to the kitchen, Ren Ping'an also led people to enclose the open space outside their house into a large yard according to Yin Xiaoman's request. In this way, she cleared a space in the yard to grow onions, garlic, ginger and other fresh vegetables, which would be easier to pick.
Anyway, his family originally chose the one closest to the inside of this row, so there is no possibility of taking up walking space for other families.
In order to make it convenient for the expert group to eat, Ren Pingan and his team included the adjacent house in the yard when they enclosed it, and connected all the dormitory rooms to form a large single room.
In this way, four large square tables can be placed in the room at the same time, accommodating more than 30 people to dine together.
Seeing that Ren Ping'an and the others had made such a big fuss, Yin Xiaoman was actually a little worried.
After all, she is alone, and her only assistant, Da Mi, is still a child. Wouldn't it be a bit difficult for her to cook for so many people at the same time?
But after this group of people arrived on the island and worked for a few days, she realized that she was worrying for no reason.
These people are really busy.
Not to mention seven people dining at the same time, except for the first day when Engineer Ning and Mr. Hua came to chat with her and had a meal here, no one came to the newly opened cafeteria to eat since then.
Basically every day when it was time for dinner, she and Dami would deliver the meals to their laboratory, or any one of the three young assistants would hurried over to serve them.
When the delicious and nutritious menu that Yin Xiaoman had painstakingly thought out was submitted for their review, it was rejected by the experts.
They replaced it with dry food that was simply enough to satisfy hunger and could be eaten right away.
When Yin Xiaoman saw the menu that had been sent back by the assistant and had been changed beyond recognition, he couldn't describe the feeling in his heart.
While showing more respect to these most lovely people, I also made up my mind——
We must do our best to ensure their nutrition and make sure they eat comfortably while being convenient for them.
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