Chapter 480: Reinforcements Have Arrived

He Yuzhu looked around and discovered that the workers were surrounding several wounded men, seemingly mocking them for their groaning.

He took several cans of fruit from the truck, walked over, and distributed them to the two wounded men who had already been bandaged.

The two wounded men took the cans, began holding them to eat, and stopped groaning altogether.

No wonder people in the fifties and sixties always brought canned goods when visiting the sick; they really did have a magical effect.

He caught a glimpse of Man Yatou standing to the side, staring longingly at the cans and licking her lips incessantly. He smiled; when it came down to it, she was still just a child.

He Yuzhu took out a can of peaches, opened it, and handed it to her: "Take this, to calm your nerves."

Man Yatou blushed, took the can bashfully, lowered her head to sip the syrup inside, and squinted her eyes into slits.

Kajia was squatting beside a wounded man, bandaging his wound. Seeing He Yuzhu approach, she looked up and spoke rapidly: "Teacher He, the bullet in Xiao Xu's shoulder is embedded in the bone; he needs to get to the hospital as soon as possible. But we don't have any anti-infection medicine..."

"Don't worry, I specifically brought some penicillin before we set off." He Yuzhu immediately took two boxes of medicine from his backpack.

Seeing the medicine boxes, the tension on Kajia's face visibly relaxed.

"How are the other three wounded men?" He Yuzhu asked.

"They are all through-and-through wounds; disinfection and bandaging will suffice. With penicillin, it'll be even less of a problem!" Kajia said as she took a syringe from her medical kit and efficiently began performing skin tests on the three of them.

He Yuzhu looked around and, not seeing Liu Erhei, raised his voice to ask: "Li Weiguo, where did your Deputy Captain run off to? The team members are all injured, and he's nowhere to be found."

Li Weiguo pointed toward the woods in the distance: "He saw two of the bandits' horses bolt into the woods and chased after them. Captain, you don't know this, but he used to be in the cavalry company; he finds horses even dearer than his own wife."

He Yuzhu shook his head and chuckled. This Liu Erhei was far too casual. When the new factory is built, he certainly can't be the one in charge of the Security Division.

Before long, the sound of hoofbeats approached from afar. Liu Erhei appeared, riding one horse with a heroic air, with another following behind him.

He rode up to He Yuzhu, nimbly dismounted, and grinned: "Captain, we've struck it rich this time! From now on, these two horses belong to our Security Division."

He Yuzhu raised an eyebrow: "Fine. Then you can ride a horse for the rest of the way; there's no room for you in the truck."

Liu Erhei chuckled: "No problem!"

Once Kajia finished treating the wounded, the team set off again.

The convoy bumped along the mountain road for another three hours, and just as they were about to leave the mountains, a team of soldiers appeared, rushing toward them.

He Yuzhu immediately stopped the truck.

A tall officer walked quickly to the front of the truck: "Comrade, where are you coming from? Where are you headed?"

He Yuzhu hurriedly handed over his work ID and stated his itinerary.

The officer took it, read it, and suddenly smiled: "I see. You're staying in Reshui Town, and it was you who captured Xie Hong and Xie Lan. To be honest, we came specifically to capture Xie Zhuqing... These bandits are too cunning; we chased them for a while, but they actually managed to escape!"

"What should I call you?" He Yuzhu asked.

"My surname is Meng; I am the Regimental Commander of the local Garrison. Did you encounter any bandits on the road?"

He Yuzhu nodded and pointed to the mountain behind them: "We were ambushed in that mountain hollow... In the end, we repelled them... The bodies are all buried in the mountains."

Regimental Commander Meng wore an expression of disbelief: "You... how many comrades were sacrificed?"

"Four minor injuries," He Yuzhu replied.

There was still doubt in Regimental Commander Meng's eyes.

He Yuzhu saw his suspicion and pointed to Liu Erhei, who was riding on horseback: "This man here used to be a cavalry Company Commander in the Second Field Army."

Liu Erhei laughed heartily: "Regimental Commander Meng, if you want to talk about someone impressive, it has to be our Captain. He took out most of the bandits himself. You've heard about the time he took down dozens of United States planes on the Korean War battlefield, right? That commander is standing right in front of you!"

Regimental Commander Meng was startled. He looked at He Yuzhu again, then looked down at the name on the work ID, and suddenly realized: "You are Comrade He Yuzhu!"

He Yuzhu smiled and nodded.

Liu Erhei continued: "Regimental Commander Meng, Xie Zhuqing and her group must have headed north. They have over thirty horses, so the tracks on the road should be quite obvious; they left less than two hours ago."

Regimental Commander Meng pondered for a moment and said: "I will go in pursuit immediately, but these people have likely split up, and the road ahead shouldn't be safe for you. I will send a squad of soldiers to escort you until you are safely delivered to your destination."

This was Regimental Commander Meng's kindness. He Yuzhu originally wanted to decline, but thinking of the wounded in the truck and their weak defensive strength, he accepted: "Then many thanks."

He immediately handed over most of the captured weapons to Regimental Commander Meng and also gifted him a fair amount of food.

They hadn't brought much rations for this trip, but Regimental Commander Meng accepted them after a few polite words.

With twelve more soldiers, the convoy suddenly felt crowded.

Liu Erhei was completely out of a seat, so he simply rode his horse at the very front.

He Yuzhu was worried about letting him scout alone, so he also got out of the truck and rode alongside him at the front.

Four hours later, the convoy finally arrived at the county seat.

The first stop was straight to the County Hospital.

He Yuzhu settled the four wounded men into a ward, intending to let them report to the factory after they recovered.

After getting off the truck, Man Yatou was at a loss.

He Yuzhu took two bags of brown sugar and three cans from the truck and handed them to her: "Man Yatou, don't panic. You follow me for now. Once I've settled the wounded, I'll take you to see your mother."

Only then did Man Yatou become happy.

Knowing that this group had come from Beijing, the hospital was very cooperative, and they quickly arranged for the wounded to be admitted to a ward.

He Yuzhu took Man Yatou along, asking for directions, and soon found the ward where her mother was staying.

Carrying the supplements, Man Yatou hesitated in her steps, both wanting to see her mother quickly and fearing to hear bad news.

He Yuzhu saw her unease and comforted her gently: "Your Xie Sanjie said your mother has already had surgery, so there won't be any major issues. Don't be afraid."

Only then did Man Yatou smile and gently push open the ward door.

Upon seeing her mother lying on the hospital bed, she immediately rushed over and began to sob in a low voice.

He Yuzhu quietly exited the room and gently closed the door—at this moment, it was time to leave them to mother and daughter.

Xie Zhuqing led her people in a mad dash for half a day before reaching a backup hideout.

When counting the number of people, her expression grew increasingly gloomy: there were sixty-five people when they set off, and now only thirty-two remained.

She suddenly drew her Pistol, pressed it against An Daiyuan's forehead, and cursed through gritted teeth: "You surnamed An, didn't you say that if we disguised ourselves as refugees we would succeed? How did we fail!"

An Daiyuan lowered his head: "Big Boss, this time it was my miscalculation. If you ask me, Xie Hong and Xie Lan must have defected, otherwise we wouldn't have been defeated so miserably."

"Bullshit! They have no idea about the plan!" Xie Zhuqing's eyes were fierce, as if she wanted to swallow him alive.

"Big Boss, give me ten more men, and I will definitely avenge our brothers," An Daiyuan said sinisterly.

"What do you want to do?" Xie Zhuqing asked.

"I still have some arsenic... I'll find a chance to poison them."

Xie Zhuqing stared at him for a long time before finally putting away her gun: "Fine, I'll trust you one more time. I only have these thirty-some people left now, pick whoever you want."

An Daiyuan grinned: "Don't worry, Big Boss, this time I will make sure they—are completely wiped out."

He Yuzhu and his group checked into the County Guesthouse, booking almost all the rooms.

He gathered everyone in the courtyard, his expression serious: "Once we reach the county, we cannot set up a full defense and can only rely on self-discipline. After moving into this compound, no one is allowed to go out alone."

A worker asked in confusion: "Why?"

"We killed so many bandits, and that female bandit leader is extremely vengeful; she will never let us off easily." He Yuzhu's gaze swept over the crowd, "I'll say this now: whoever disobeys orders and goes out without permission, if something happens, the factory will not be held responsible."

The courtyard suddenly fell silent, everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke again.