Chapter 471: Encountering Bandits

Kajia said happily, "Teacher He, why don't I go back to deliver the message? You stay here and watch over this prey."

He Yuzhu shook his head. "Forget it. In case you run into fierce wild beasts on the road, you won't be able to handle them. How about this: you carry those pheasants and rabbits, and I'll carry one wild boar back. I'll have some of the people at the camp slaughter the pig and cook, and I'll bring some people back to get these wild boars."

Kajia nodded in agreement.

Two hours later, everyone had transported all seven wild boars back to the camp.

Liu Erhei was responsible for slaughtering the pigs, while He Yuzhu set up a large pot to make pork stew with vermicelli for everyone.

He stewed an entire pig.

Wild boar has a strong, gamey odor, so He Yuzhu used a large amount of seasoning to suppress the smell.

After more than an hour, the aroma of the pork stew with vermicelli began to permeate the air.

The area around the large pot was already crowded with people—although He Yuzhu hadn't let anyone go hungry on this journey, opportunities to eat meat to one's heart's content like this were truly rare.

For one, there was no time, and for another, it was hard to buy this much meat.

Although it had been several years since the liberation, in many places, it was still far from the point where one could eat meat freely.

He Yuzhu took twelve bottles of Erguotou from his own stock, distributed them to everyone, and instructed, "It's cold, so everyone drink a little to keep warm, but don't drink too much; we still have to stand guard tonight!"

Liu Erhei cheered as soon as he saw the liquor, patted his chest, and said, "Don't worry, Captain. I've already arranged for the people on guard duty. We'll circle the trucks, and those on duty won't need to get out; they can just keep watch inside the vehicles."

He Yuzhu nodded and added, "You must arrange hidden sentries on the road at both the front and the back. The bandits in this area haven't been completely cleared out yet!"

Liu Erhei looked troubled. "Captain, but it keeps raining. If people stay outside for a while, they'll be soaked through..."

He Yuzhu's tone was firm. "I'll give you raincoats. Hidden sentries must be arranged, and I'll guard the front. If no one is willing to go to the back, you go yourself. This stretch of road is the most dangerous part of our journey."

"Alright!" Liu Erhei had no choice but to agree.

"Dinner's ready!" With a shout from Kajia, the crowd immediately surged forward.

"Give me more! A bit more!" the workers shouted, staring longingly at the ladles in the hands of He Yuzhu and Kajia.

Liu Erhei laughed and scolded, "Come back for more after you finish; there's plenty of food today!"

"Deputy Captain Liu is lying!" a worker muttered while eating.

"Over two hundred catties of meat for fifty people—isn't four catties per person enough?" Liu Erhei gave his backside a light kick.

"Two hundred catties of meat won't be two hundred catties once it's cooked!" the worker retorted with a cheeky grin.

"Even so, there's over a hundred catties. Can you really eat two catties of cooked meat?" Liu Erhei glared.

"I can eat three catties when I eat shabu-shabu!" the worker continued to banter.

"You'll burst!" Liu Erhei laughed and scolded.

Seeing everyone eating happily, He Yuzhu felt happy as well.

Although he had tried his best to let everyone eat well on this trip, they were carrying a lot of coarse grains, and it was common to eat cornmeal buns and pickled vegetables for dinner. Today's meal finally allowed everyone to fill their stomachs.

Kajia leaned over to He Yuzhu and asked in a low voice, "Teacher He, the clothes you mentioned giving me... do you have any more?"

"Yes." He Yuzhu put down his bowl and chopsticks, turned, climbed onto the truck, and took a down jacket and a trench coat out of a box.

Kajia's height was not much different from He Yuzhu's, just thinner, so his clothes fit her well, though they were slightly loose.

As soon as she put on the down jacket, Kajia felt a wave of warmth envelop her entire body. She opened her eyes in surprise. "Teacher He, this coat is too warm! Where did you get it?"

"There's an Xueru Clothing Store on Qianmen Street; it's run by my wife, and most of my clothes are made by her," He Yuzhu explained with a smile.

"Teacher He, when did you get married? Why didn't you tell me?" Kajia was very surprised.

"There are some twists and turns to it, and it's not something I can explain in a moment," He Yuzhu said in a calm tone.

The firelight flickered in the tent, and it was warm and cozy.

Everyone hadn't had such a good time in a long while. Someone started it, and they all began to sing "Sing for the Motherland" and "We Workers Have Strength." People in this era were simple; a good meal and a few sips of white liquor were enough to wash away the fatigue of the journey and reignite their drive.

He Yuzhu looked at the continuous rain outside the tent and felt a bit worried—the road would definitely be harder to travel tomorrow.

He raised his hand and flicked away the cigarette butt he had smoked to the end.

At this moment, the group of students he brought surrounded him, chattering, "Teacher He, you're not being fair! You didn't tell us about such a big event as getting married. We didn't get wedding candy, and we didn't get to drink the wedding wine!"

"Doesn't today's liquor count?" He Yuzhu asked with a smile.

"You haven't given us the wedding cigarettes and candy yet!"

"Fine, I have them with me. Follow me to get them."

He Yuzhu led them to the truck he was driving, opened a large wooden box, and took out ten catties of fruit candy and twenty cartons of Da Qianmen cigarettes.

The camp suddenly became lively again, with laughter and cheers mixing with the sound of the rain, drifting far away.

On a distant mountaintop, a pair of bloodshot eyes were hiding behind a Telescope, staring fixedly at the camp.

An Daiyuan urged in a low voice, "Guo Heshang, did you see clearly? What exactly is the situation?"

"They're fat! Fifteen brand-new large trucks... there must be no small amount of cargo inside, and there are actually six fat pigs..."

An Daiyuan snatched the Telescope away and said with dissatisfaction, "Don't just look at the useless stuff, look at how many guns they have!"

He observed intently for a moment, put down the lens, and said, "There are quite a few people, about fifty, and at least ten guns. We should call more brothers... there's no guarantee they don't have a Machine Gun."

Guo Heshang disagreed, "Our two teams combined have fifty people; can't we take down their dozen or so people with guns?"

An Daiyuan shook his head. "To be safe, it's best to call the people of that woman Xie Zhuqing too; that would be secure."

Guo Heshang sneered, "That woman ran off to Xupu. By the time she comes back, the opportunity will have passed! We must act tonight. Once their trucks start moving tomorrow, how are we supposed to catch up on these two legs?"

An Daiyuan was still uneasy. "A team that can have fifteen trucks is definitely not simple; we cannot underestimate the enemy."

Guo Heshang patted his chest. "Once they are fast asleep, we'll sneak over. What kind of resistance could they have? If you're afraid, I'll lead the charge!"

An Daiyuan got up and walked down the mountain, and Guo Heshang hurriedly followed.

This An Daiyuan was a spy for the Military Statistics Bureau, ordered to lurk in the Taoyuan area. He organized a so-called "People's Self-Defense Army" and often harassed the local grassroots government.

Yesterday afternoon, a subordinate responsible for reconnaissance accidentally discovered He Yuzhu's convoy, and he reported it immediately.

Upon hearing there were fifteen trucks, An Daiyuan immediately concluded there must be important supplies inside, but with only ten men under his command, it was difficult to succeed, so he sought out Guo Heshang of the "People's Protection and National Salvation Army."

Guo Heshang was originally a Nationalist Army officer. After retreating in defeat, he gathered the remnants to form this bandit armed force. At its peak, it had over four hundred people, but after multiple suppression campaigns by the People's Liberation Army, only about forty remained.

The two hit it off immediately and decided to pull off a big job.

Back at the campsite, after He Yuzhu settled everyone in, he walked about two kilometers forward alone.

He chose a large tree halfway up the mountain and built a simple shack in it, which could both shelter him from the rain and allow him to monitor the road below.

Guo Heshang and An Daiyuan returned to the bandit den and immediately gathered their men.

Guo Heshang stood in front of the crowd and shouted, "This haul is fat! They have six slaughtered, big, fat pigs. Once we wipe them out, we'll drink wine from big bowls and eat meat in big chunks!"

Someone below yelled, "Commander, then let's just charge over there now! Slaughter them and start the feast on the spot!"

"What's the rush? We have to wait until midnight to make a move. If you can wait until then on an empty stomach, I have no objections!" Guo Heshang said.

"Well... we'd better eat our fill before we go then." Most of the people lost their enthusiasm.

An Daiyuan leaned in close to Guo Heshang and lowered his voice, "Old Guo, how do you plan to fight this battle?"

Guo Heshang was dismissive, "Old An, are you annoying or what? They're just a transport team, not a regular army; one charge and we'll take them down."

"Caution is the parent of safety. In my opinion, we should send a few people to scout the path first."

"If the scouts get killed, are we still doing the job tonight?" Guo Heshang retorted.

An Daiyuan was momentarily speechless.

Guo Heshang patted his shoulder, "I'll take the vanguard this time, and you bring up the rear. But... as for the spoils we get, I get the Datou."

An Daiyuan nodded, "Brother Guo is heroic; tonight will depend on you."

After the meal, Guo Heshang swaggered to the front of the group, waved his hand, and shouted, "Move out!"

An Daiyuan followed silently at the very back; for some reason, he felt a faint sense of unease in his heart.

Around one o'clock in the morning, He Yuzhu in the tree shack suddenly opened his eyes.