The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 460 Hidden Crisis
No matter how difficult the tasks ahead may be, that's a matter for later. At least after Hu Biao made the decision and everyone reached a consensus to act together tomorrow, everyone felt relieved.

In this exceptionally relaxed atmosphere, everyone except the wounded and Cao'er was put to work by Hu Biao.

Uncle Bo, the warehouse manager, and Xu Feng, along with Lao Che and three newcomers, Shizi and Xin Huo, took turns being in charge of the guard duty tonight to prevent a surprise attack by the Japanese.

Of the three new recruits, Lao Che and Xin Huo were each issued an M1 Garand rifle with forty rounds of ammunition; Shi Zi was issued a Czech light machine gun with two spare magazines as his future weapon.

The other three new recruits, due to some concerns, decided not to be issued weapons for the time being.

Lao Yu and Mo Shuiyan led the veteran and the two older children, Shiwu, to fetch some water from the surrounding area.

Xiao Cui and Annie, along with the young girl from the performing arts troupe and Sister Yi, carefully treated the wounded soldier's wounds again.

If you need an injection, get one; if you need medication, take it.

Van Gogh and Mr. Nanze, along with Xiao Ding, the foreman, and the boys Xiao Hao, Shi Sui, Xie Liang, and others, went to the neighborhood to gather some firewood and hay.

Firewood, of course, is used for cooking and heating.

At this time of year, the temperature drops to just a few degrees above zero at night. If there's no fire to keep warm, adults might be okay, but children and the wounded could easily catch a cold.

Hay was used as a mat on the ground when sleeping, which was warmer and more comfortable.

Black Star, Huang Adi, Old K, AT, Guard, and Thug were sent out hunting to see if they could get some extra prey.

However, when the six men went out, they were instructed not to fire their guns, lest the sound attract the Japanese soldiers.

That's why Hu Biao and Lao San, who were acting as the chefs, didn't have much hope that these people would bring back any prey.

So I told them that if they saw any wild vegetables, they should also dig some up and bring them back.

We'll cook some broth with canned meat and dried vegetables.

They then used some compressed biscuits and ten steamed buns that Fang Youcai and the others had brought to cook a porridge, which allowed everyone to have a good and satisfying meal.

As for what to do next, since everyone has already eaten most of the emergency food they brought, what should we do next?
Since we're going to be on the move early tomorrow morning, everyone needs to have a full stomach. Then we'll see if we can find some fellow villagers to buy some food, or maybe we can try to get something from the Japanese. Anyway, we can't let the living die from holding their pee.

Then, as darkness fell and a cold wind began to blow, the sky gradually darkened.

Inside this ancient Great Wall beacon tower, built more than 300 years ago, there is a warm fire and a haystack.

Several Japanese soldiers' pork kidney lunchboxes were placed on the fire, constantly heated by the flames.

Among them are either boiled compressed biscuits and broken cornbread; their mushy appearance may not be appealing, but they exude an exceptionally sweet aroma.

Or it's a meat broth that exudes an even more enticing aroma of oil.

Just as the third brother had predicted, the six-man hunting team brought back no prey because they couldn't fire their guns.

Fortunately, we managed to bring back some shepherd's purse, bitter chrysanthemum, and wild garlic. We added some oily canned goods and dried vegetables, boiled them with water, and it felt wonderful.

Finally, everyone gathered around the fire and drank a small bowl of steaming hot wild vegetable and meat soup, and a small bowl of porridge.

Even though I wasn't completely full, after sweating a little, I felt much better and my fatigue was greatly relieved, and I felt completely revitalized.

Especially the four seriously wounded soldiers, I wonder if it was the good effect of penicillin in this era when there was almost no drug resistance.

After being fed some porridge and meat broth, they were able to sit up, and even their faces regained some healthy color.

Seeing this, everyone's mood improved.

Apart from the veteran and the two older children, the other children were all laughing and talking around the fire, saying things they thought were interesting.

In short, Hu Biao and his group of time travelers watched all of this in silence.

It felt so easy and wonderful. I wished things could stay this way forever, without those damned Japanese devils and war.

What they didn't know was that this part of the evening was also the most relaxed time for their team of 43 people...

******
The relaxed and pleasant atmosphere continued until Hu Biao suddenly raised his wrist, glanced at the time, and realized it was already 8:30 pm.

He immediately said, "Everyone, go to sleep early. We have to travel early tomorrow morning." After Hu Biao finished speaking, Mr. Nanze wanted to add, "Be good and listen to me. If you're a good child, I'll ask Sister Annie to add a piece of sugar to your milk tomorrow morning."

The reason for this is that his children make a lot of noise when it's time for bed.

It's chaotic; his wife has to yell at him to calm him down.

As a result, after Hu Biao said that, every single one of the children, including Xiao Hao and the art troupe members, immediately stopped their idle chatter.

They leaned against each other on the haystack and soon fell asleep.

That sensible and well-behaved appearance made one feel inexplicably sorry for her.

Nanze shook his head, deciding that after this time travel ended and he returned to the modern world, if his sons were still so noisy before bed, he could easily afford to use Seven Wolves leather belts.

Afterwards, Hu Biao and the others also went to sleep, and various snoring sounds began to fill the air.

Just as Annie was about to fall asleep leaning against Hu Biao, she saw a figure quietly get up.

At first, Annie's heart skipped a beat.

He was mainly thinking about the contractors and other newcomers who were suspected of being criminals, and worried that they might take the opportunity to do something bad. So he quietly reached his right hand towards Hu Biao's waist.

Don't overthink it. Annie is a decent girl and wouldn't mess around with Hu Biao.

Besides, she and Hu Biao are not even married yet, and they haven't even taken the final step, so there's no way she would stage a night raid on Hu Biao.

She only intended to discreetly pull out a Browning M1911 pistol from Hu Biao's waist.

If they discovered that the contractor was planning something bad, they would immediately shoot him.

But a second later, she withdrew her right hand; because Annie realized that the figure was not the foreman, the newcomer, but AT, her partner.

AT naturally didn't need to worry, but the question is, why did he quietly get up? Was he going to the toilet?

Just half an hour ago, he went to the restroom with Hu Biao; now he has to go again. Isn't his health suffering a bit too much?

Should we send him some gecko medicinal wine after we return to the modern world to help him recover? After all, she's dealt with her sister-in-law once, and she seems like a pretty good person.

Putting aside Annie, her thoughts at this moment were so unpredictable and astonishing.

Actually, AT was just a little worried about the little girl, Cao'er, before falling asleep.

He quietly walked up to Cao'er and looked at the little girl sleeping like a little angel. Instantly, his heart softened.

He resisted the urge to kiss Cao'er's forehead like a loving father would, and instead took off his military jacket and gently draped it over the little girl...

At the same time, in a mountain hollow about two miles away from the beacon tower.

Because of the dim starlight and extremely low visibility in the wild, it was only by getting very close that one could discover that there were actually hundreds of Japanese soldiers crouching there.

After estimating the current time, a Japanese lieutenant squad leader whispered a suggestion to his superior:
"Lord Iijima, it should be almost nine o'clock now. Given the Chinese people's sleep schedule, the targets should all be asleep by now, so shall we take action?"

After all, the warriors were cold and hungry while lying in wait, which was quite unpleasant.

That's right! This Japanese unit was the Iijima Company, which was launched into pursuit under the orders of Major General Goro Mano, the brigade commander of the 2nd Independent Mixed Brigade.

Following the trail left by Hu Biao and his men, they tracked them down to this place at nightfall.

However, although Captain Iijima was a very powerful Japanese soldier, after considering Hu Biao and his men's fighting strength, he decided to lie in wait until midnight to minimize casualties among his subordinates.

Faced with his subordinate's suggestion, Captain Iijima thought for a few seconds and then replied:

"Wait two more hours until Lieutenant Eguchi and his men have completely outmaneuvered their positions before launching our operation; once we have completed the brigade commander's mission, I'll find a village to reward the brave warriors."

The other Japanese soldiers naturally understood what Captain Iijima meant by "reward"—it was nothing more than murder, arson, rape, and plunder.

Upon hearing this promise, the Japanese soldiers were immediately filled with enthusiasm...

(End of this chapter)