The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 340: A Great Gain (Two Chapters Combined)

The last time travel began on September 4th of the 12th year of the Republic of China and ended at 9 AM on December 9th.

In total, it took more than three months.

Compared to previous time travels, which lasted anywhere from half a month to a mere week, this time travel was unprecedentedly long.

It is precisely because of this that, after completing this long journey through time...

The group of time travelers who returned to the modern world, especially the few newbies who had just participated in the time travel this time.

Although they returned safely, their minds were still greatly affected, leading to some rather interesting events...

At the same time, just as Annie, feeling sorry for her husband, abandoned her intention to teach him a lesson and instead hugged Hu Biao's head to comfort him.

Mina dashed into her cousin Annie's kitchen, where she was currently staying.

When they saw the Shanxi aged vinegar on the spice rack, which was more than half full and used for seasoning, their eyes lit up immediately.

He quickly picked up the aged vinegar, opened the bottle cap, put it to his lips, and started showing off.

With a series of 'glug glug' sounds, she downed at least 400 grams of aged vinegar in one go; after finishing, she let out a burp that was so sour it could probably knock someone out.

Only then did a look of extreme satisfaction appear on his face.

There was no other way! The base area of ​​the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was really too poor, and life was truly difficult.

Especially in the two weeks leading up to their return, in order to wage a high-intensity guerrilla war against the Japanese, they were either sniping at the Japanese or on their way to snipe at the Japanese every day.

Every day, the food consisted of frozen, rock-hard multigrain steamed buns, accompanied by a handful of snow. They didn't even take a sip of a slightly flavorful drink like aged vinegar.

As time went on, the poor, cheap sister-in-law felt like she was about to lose her sense of taste.

Having finally traveled back to the modern world, of course I had to quickly down a bottle of aged vinegar to satisfy my craving.

And so! After downing most of a bottle of aged vinegar, Mina's breath carried a strong sour smell; but from head to toe, in her Northeastern dialect, she felt perfectly fine:
That feels great! That feels so good.

However, soon after, Mina seemed to realize something and cursed, "What a disaster!" while covering her face, which was both funny and crying.

Why? Mainly because she's only just realized something:
The place she is in now is not the impoverished Shanxi-Northwest base area of ​​1938, where people were so poor they were urinating blood; it is a modern world with abundant resources and easy access to them.

With fine wine and delicious food, why would anyone want to drink aged vinegar?

With this speechless feeling, Mina began her sweeping raid.

Using several fruit platters filled with seven or eight kinds of fruit such as cherries, durians, grapes, and bananas, the girl also filled the eldest dining table with the braised pork knuckle, pig's head meat, duck necks, chicken feet, and chicken wings that Hu Biao had made in the refrigerator.

Next, Mina went to the liquor cabinet and started picking through the pile of drinks, eventually choosing two bottles of vodka.

Don't ask why I chose vodka! It's just that this stuff is strong.

Even so, Mina still felt quite inadequate.

When she was in the base area, she craved not only fruits, wine, and meat, but also sweets, those calorie bombs that she used to avoid at all costs.

So she picked up her phone again, logged into a platform, and ordered a bunch of cream cakes.

After placing the order, the girl ate a bite of braised pork head and a sip of vodka with great relish; she had never felt so happy eating meat and drinking alcohol.

The only thing I'm a little dissatisfied with is that I didn't notice it before, but now I feel that Hu Biao's braised food is a bit bland. It would be better if it were saltier and spicier.

Regarding this question, Mina suddenly understood what was going on after eating the dessert delivered by the delivery guy.

That's because in the past, chocolate cakes were so sweet they were almost sickening to her throat, and she would often feel overwhelmed by them after just a couple of bites.

I easily finished the whole thing today, and I even thought it would taste better if it were a little sweeter.

So, after traveling for more than three months, due to the long-term lack of food, I've now developed a taste for strong flavors?
For the same reason, why is foreign food always so oily and cloyingly sweet?

It's because they were used to being poor and had nothing to eat. When the Age of Exploration broke out, they developed this strong-flavored eating habit.

After a whirlwind meal, it was almost six in the morning.

Although she hadn't used her phone for more than three months, Mina found it incredibly fun to browse her WeChat Moments or watch videos, and she simply couldn't get enough of it.

But after washing up, I forced myself to put down my phone and go to sleep.

There was no other reason than that she only realized her enormous inadequacy in this area when she was piloting the only plane of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment, the only one of its kind, to attack the Japanese.

She planned to get five or six hours of sleep before going down to continue her practical flight training.

To be fair, although Mina, Hu Biao's mistress, is a bit of a playboy, she's actually quite reliable when it comes to serious matters.

The problem was that at 8:00 AM, she first sent a message to the coach, the content of which was:

Coach, I'm not feeling well today, so I need to ask for leave from this afternoon's flight lesson.

Then, she dialed her cousin Annie's number directly and started crying, "Cousin! I have an upset stomach. I've been to the bathroom so many times in the last two hours."

When are you coming back? Bring me some medicine back with you...

"That brat Mina got a stomachache from eating too much, and it seems pretty serious; so I can't stay in the shop today because I need to take her to get an IV drip, otherwise oral medication probably won't be very effective."

After hanging up the phone, Annie said to Hu Biao apologetically.

She had already promised her boyfriend that she would spend some time with him at the store today, to comfort Hu Biao, who hadn't seen her for almost half a month.

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao knew that important matters were at hand, and quickly asked:
"Is it that serious? Should I drive you there?"

That's right! Hu Biao is awake now, and he looks incredibly energetic, the kind of person who feels like he could kill a bull with a single punch.

Hu Biao performed so well because, after three or four hours of deep sleep, he felt that his mental and physical energy and emotions had all recovered.

In addition, there are two other reasons.

On the one hand, since this time travel, Hu Biao's physical attributes have been enhanced five times in total by that mysterious being.

As the number of times increased, the quantitative change led to the qualitative change, and Hu Biao felt that he was terrifyingly strong.

Putting everything else aside, he should be able to carry a 300-kilogram load and climb a dozen or twenty floors in one go.

As for their actual combat strength, that can only be determined by actually having them fight in real combat.

Even so, in the last time he traveled through time, Hu Biao, who had only been strengthened four times, wielded a large sword and used the "Eight Blades of Breaking the Edge" in hand-to-hand combat. He never encountered a Japanese soldier who could withstand more than three of his blows.

Even a Japanese corporal with a Japanese flag emblazoned on his rifle couldn't withstand three blows in a one-on-one situation.

On the other hand, the first thing he did after waking up was to take stock of all the gains from this time travel with Annie.

I discovered that, perhaps because this time travel took longer than before, the gains were far more astonishing than ever before.

First of all, this time the reward wasn't just a few signature dishes, but an entire Shandong cuisine.

Goodness! Shandong cuisine is one of the eight major traditional Chinese cuisines.

It is the only spontaneous cuisine among the eight major cuisines, representing Northern cuisine and the foundation of Chinese home-style cooking. It is the cuisine with the longest history, the richest techniques, and the most skillful cooking, representing the culinary culture of the Yellow River Basin.

Before he traveled through time, Hu Biao was worried about his small shop. He planned to offer several tables of private dishes every day, but his few signature dishes were simply not enough to fill a table.

Now it's great, it feels like someone has delivered a pillow when you're sleepy, I'm so happy.

Moreover, although Shandong cuisine was not as prominent as it was during the Republic of China era in the capital, seven of the eight famous restaurants at that time served Shandong cuisine, while only one served Jiangzhe cuisine.

However, Shandong cuisine still enjoys considerable influence and a large following today. Secondly, the spoils of this trip were exceptionally plentiful.

Some photos of him with Zhao Zheng and others, photos of the base, and items such as pistols, samurai swords, helmets, gas masks, binoculars, and bayonets are omitted.

It's something that's commonly found among previous spoils of war; it's not particularly rare.

What's truly remarkable is that Annie and AT had prepared two large bags of antiques in Taiyuan City beforehand, and one of them was brought back intact.

In total, there are six paintings and calligraphic works by famous painters from the Ming and Qing dynasties, including Tang Yin, Zheng Banqiao, Jiang Qing, and Shi Tao.

Although none of these works are representative of these artists, each piece is worth between hundreds of thousands and one or two million.

Eleven jade pendants, five jade hand-held pieces, and three jadeite hand-held pieces. The materials and craftsmanship of these jade pieces are all quite good, and even the worst one is worth tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan.

There are thirty-one small items in total, including snuff bottles, purple clay teapots, fan paintings, ivory carvings, inkstones, and Buddha statues. Even the worst ones can sell for tens of thousands of yuan.

Even with all of these factors combined, Hu Biao and Annie were unable to estimate the actual price.

But one thing is absolutely certain: even if all the spoils from the previous four raids were added together, they could not compare to the value of the spoils from this raid.

Of course, this excludes the case of that great man's calligraphy and painting.

Otherwise, the calligraphy that the great man gave to Hu Biao alone would be considered a priceless treasure.

In short, even if the time-traveling team goes all out on a big purchase of equipment this time, everyone will still be able to share a large sum of money.

The amount that Hu Biao himself received might allow him to take Annie back to his hometown in Hunan Province three or four months earlier.

Just thinking about this made Hu Biao incredibly happy.

When Hu Biao kindly offered to deliver the food, Annie remembered that she had a van at the store later that was used to deliver some braised food to the Majuqiao branch.

While shaking his head in refusal, he also gave Hu Biao some other instructions:
"Never mind! It's easy to get a taxi here, I'll just take one."

If you have time later, go to Panjiayuan and find a reliable shop to have all these items appraised and valued. If the price is right, sell them all.

If we raise the money sooner, it will allow Uncle Bo and Zanana to purchase the equipment they need for the next trip in advance.

Oh, and there's that good thing too. Remember to cook it and eat it; I bought it especially for you, so don't give it to Four-Eyes or that miser.

When it came to the last part, the usually poised Annie became unusually serious, even a little stingy.

"Actually, I don't need these things and I'm perfectly fine with them," Hu Biao explained, both amused and exasperated.

Then, Annie relayed the butcher's words to Hu Biao: "It often takes three to five days to get one of these. So, what do you think, do you want it or not?"

"Yes, definitely. I need to talk to the butcher tomorrow and make sure to save all of them for me if there are any in the future."

Hu Biao gave a similar answer to Annie's at the time.

Well! He was confident that his physical abilities were quite strong, but what man wouldn't want to be even stronger?

You should know that he is the only male heir in the Hu family this generation. The old man, Hu Jianshe, had long ago instructed that he should have at least five sons in the future.

When I was ready to retire, I decided to forget about having children for the Hu family.

However, Hu Biao now has some leverage, and he must at least ensure that this wish is fulfilled for the old man; if he can exceed that, all the better…

*****
"Honey! I miss my father at home and want to go back to sweep his grave. I'll book a high-speed rail ticket later and it will take about three days round trip. You'll have to take good care of the family and the kids."

At the breakfast table, Old Ma spoke very solemnly to his wife.

Old Ma had actually been pondering this idea for quite some time.

And as time went by, this idea grew stronger and stronger, to the point that it became somewhat uncontrollable, so he told his wife what he was thinking.

The reason he did this is simple and very reasonable.

After returning from his time travel, he discovered about a dozen photos among his spoils of war.

The top picture shows him and his grandfather, Xiao Ma, with their arms around each other's shoulders in front of a cave dwelling in Zhangjiayu, both with smiles on their faces.

The old man, still young in the photo, looked so radiant, his eyes sparkling.

Old Ma clearly remembered that he and the old man had spent many times in front of this cave dwelling, but they had never taken any photos together.

After all, the only thing in the entire base area that nominally belonged to Hu Biao, that deadbeat, was that old Leica camera that the taciturn Lao Yu had been borrowing.

Taking a photo with this thing, are you trying to get yourself killed?

Therefore, the source of this photo must be that mysterious entity that managed to secretly capture it.

Of course! It doesn't matter if you just snap a photo; the key is that after looking at this photo, the scenes from your memory flood back to Lao Ma like a tidal wave.

For example: Before discovering the old man's identity, he patted him on the shoulder and jokingly said:

"What a coincidence! We're both Hui people. My name is Lao Ma, and yours is Xiao Ma. What a coincidence! Remember to call me Big Brother from now on."

After learning the other party's identity, the old man, riding a bad horse, desperately tried to save himself after the Japanese soldier blew out one of his eyes.

In Pingding County, the grandfather and grandson pushed a makeshift tank together, desperately pushing forward against the dense bullets of the Japanese soldiers.

Especially when she thought of her teammate Mr. Nanze, who was able to send off his grandfather Nanfeng on his final journey after traveling back in time and fulfilling the old man's regrets, her mood inexplicably plummeted.

The desire to go back to sweep the old man's grave and talk to him at the gravesite grew stronger and stronger.

However, faced with his impulsiveness, his wife simply asked a question that immediately sobered him up, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him:

"Three days? What about your students? Will your principal approve your leave?"

As mentioned earlier, although Old Ma looks big and burly, he is a schoolteacher.

What about the profession of a teacher? To outsiders, it seems like they have weekends off, statutory holidays, and even long winter and summer vacations, with countless holidays.

The salary isn't high, but it's quite stable, and it comes with five social insurances and one housing fund, making it definitely a good job.

In reality? In addition to grading homework and preparing lessons, students also need to spend a significant amount of time sending messages and making phone calls to communicate with parents outside of class.

Things are very different now than they were back then.

Many families have only one child, who is pampered from a young age. Even for the smallest things, regardless of right or wrong, some parents will complain.

In addition, there are countless other trivial matters, such as filling out forms, preparing for inspections, holding meetings, and conducting training, which take up a lot of time.

Working from 7 a.m. to 7 or 8 p.m. is commonplace, and working overtime on holidays and during winter and summer vacations is nothing new.

If he wants to ask for leave, even a day would be difficult for him, given his position as a teacher of graduating classes.

Three days? Unless something really serious happens at home, the principal simply won't approve it.

Besides, I was also worried that taking such a long leave of absence would affect the students' grades.

After finally finishing his breakfast, Lao Ma went to work feeling quite depressed; he habitually squinted along the way, focusing on the eye he had lost while traveling through the world.

Damn it! After traveling back in time, this eye was indeed perfectly restored.

As a result, he found it rather uncomfortable, and squinting one eye was more comfortable, which could be considered a side effect of time travel.

What Old Ma didn't know was that the aftereffects of this time travel were far more than just this...

(End of this chapter)