Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

"Comrades of the People's Liberation Army, we've arrived! We've brought two more hot water bottles and a quilt. Quickly, give them to the children." The old lady who had just lent Zhang Anbang the supplies arrived with her neighbors.

"Okay, thank you, ma'am."

The group quickly added hot water bottles to the children's bottles and covered them with a blanket.

"Waaah— Waaah—"

"Shi Jin, did you hear that? They're here. Quick, drive to the intersection."

The sirens of military ambulances and civilian ambulances are different. The military ambulances are equipped with electric piston sirens, which are designed to have a long range of sound, high sound recognition, and are not harsh or disturbing to the public. They emit a continuous, low-pitched whistling sound.

The sound has a low frequency and can travel one to two kilometers in open rural environments without easily startling livestock.

The military jeep had just driven onto the intersection when the ambulance arrived. Its siren was off, but the red cross light on the roof was still flashing. Before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop, two medics wearing red cross armbands had already opened the doors and jumped out.

Upon seeing Zhang Anbang's three-star rank, the medic raised his hand in salute. "Reporting, sir, we are from the regimental medical team. Where are the wounded?"

"In the car, five children, aged eight or nine, fell into the icy water for three or four minutes. They were drowning and hypothermic, but still had slight consciousness. We fed them some warm water, and they had military coats, hot water bottles, and blankets. They have been initially rewarmed," Zhang Anbang quickly recounted the entire situation.

The sergeant opened the car door, reached out to check each child's breathing, and then felt their carotid artery, muttering, "Stable breathing, weak pulse, keep them warm, move them quickly."

Then he shouted to the ambulance driver, "Turn the heater to the highest setting! Contact the hospital emergency room; five children are experiencing mild hypothermia. They should arrive in 18 minutes!"

He then turned to Zhang Anbang and said, "Commander, please assist us in transferring the wounded."

"Okay." Zhang Anbang agreed without hesitation.

Under the guidance of the medics, the group hurriedly transferred the children to the ambulance.

The ambulance was modified by Iveco, and it not only has a large space that can easily accommodate five children, but its heating is also much better than that of a Jeep, reaching at least thirteen or fourteen degrees Celsius.

Zhang Anbang and the other two finally got their military overcoats back on, and it has to be said that wearing them really did keep them much warmer.

"Auntie, we've contacted the police station, and they should be here in about ten minutes. You should go back to the village and ask whose child it is. Since the river is so close to our village, it's probably from there."

Let's clean up the scene and wait for the police. We'll proceed from both sides simultaneously to find out whose child it is as soon as possible so we can get to the hospital.

"Okay, okay, PLA comrades, we'll listen to you, we'll go ask right away." The old woman led the few people who had followed her back to the village in a hurry to inquire.

"How are you, Shi Jin and Liu Yi? Have you warmed up yet? Here, have a smoke. I remember there are backpack straps in the car. Tie up those kids' clothes and give them to their parents later." Zhang Anbang said, taking out his newly bought cigarette and handing one to each of them.

"You've gotten used to it, Deputy Company Commander. It's like taking a cold shower." Shi Jin replied with a smile, but seeing his slightly trembling hands, you could tell it wasn't as casual as he made it sound.

"Deputy Company Commander, this cigarette makes me feel much better. This puff warms me up inside." Wu Liuyi exhaled a smoke ring with satisfaction.

……

"That was really exciting! It's much more exciting than taking a cold shower. But thanks to Sergeant Shi, if you hadn't noticed what was going on here, those little brats would probably be in big trouble today."

"Hey, Deputy Company Commander, what are you saying? We soldiers are here to protect our country. We are the people's soldiers." Shi Jin smiled modestly.

"Alright, Sergeant Shi is right, that's what we're doing. Okay, let's pack up."

During the few minutes they talked, the three of them finished their cigarettes, stubbed them out, picked up their entrenching tools, and the two of them worked together to squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the children's cotton-padded clothes. They then tied them together with backpack ropes and set them aside.

The three of them then returned to the car to warm up for a while.

"Deputy Company Commander, another one. I didn't realize it when I was busy, but now that I've stopped, I really feel a bit cold." Wu Liuyi has a strong smoking habit, though it's not usually this obvious.

After all that, the temperature dropped to minus ten degrees Celsius, which was really freezing.

"Okay, but be careful in the future, smoke less. Cigarettes aren't good for you, and smoking too much will affect your physical fitness."

Zhang Anbang gave him a word of advice and also offered him one. Shi Jin waved his hand and didn't take another. He wasn't a big smoker to begin with, and Baijiang was strong; one of his cigarettes was equivalent to one and a half cigarettes he usually smoked.

A few minutes later, the police car from the township police station arrived. Seeing the military vehicle parked at the intersection, it stopped immediately, and Zhang Anbang led the two men out of the car.

Three people got out of the police van across the street. The one in front was a middle-aged policeman with a silver bar and three stars on his shoulder insignia, indicating that he was the police chief in charge.

The two young men behind him had only one star on their shoulder insignia; they were clearly young police officers who had been on the job for less than four years. "From Shangzhuang Township Police Station!" The police chief, seeing the three men in military uniforms, flashed his badges and saluted Zhang Anbang. "My name is Li Hongjun. I received a call from the military saying a child has fallen into the water here. What's the situation?"

Zhang Anbang returned the greeting, "Hello, Sergeant Li, I am Zhang Anbang. We were passing by when we saw a child fall into the water. We immediately began the rescue operation, while also reporting to the military and notifying the local health center to come to the rescue. We also contacted you."

The five children were taken to the military medical center 20 minutes ago and have now arrived, based on the travel time. They will be transferred to the county hospital later.

Upon hearing this, Chief Inspector Li couldn't help but exclaim, "These kids are lucky. In this freezing weather, they fell into an ice hole. Fortunately, they met you. Otherwise, with the New Year just around the corner, these five families would have had a hard time."

"It's all something we should do; no one would stand idly by in that situation."

……

In the blink of an eye, just a few minutes later, the old woman who had gone back to the village earlier returned with a group of people.

The chatter could be heard from afar. When they got closer, one of the women, who was in her thirties, saw the clothes of the children that Zhang Anbang and his group had hung on the bridge and burst into tears.

He immediately sat down on the ground, crying, "My dog, these are my dog's clothes! Officers, People's Liberation Army soldiers, how is my dog?"

The five cotton-padded coats were all ordinary. After being soaked in ice water and then exposed to the sub-zero wind for half an hour, they were frozen together. However, one of the coats had a striking red patch with a flower pattern.

It was probably because of this patch that the middle-aged woman was able to recognize the clothes as belonging to her own child at a glance.

Based on Zhang Anbang's experience, this cotton-padded jacket should have been passed down to him by Gouwazi's older sister. In those days, most of the clothes for rural children were passed down from older brothers and sisters.

The leading woman grabbed the middle-aged woman and said, "Li family, your son has been taken to the hospital. Didn't I just say that the People's Liberation Army comrade asked me to go to the village to find out whose child he is?"

Zhang Anbang stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law, don't rush to cry. Your dog has already been taken to the hospital. Before he was taken there, he had regained some consciousness and is fine."

"It's freezing cold, and we're worried the children might get sick from the cold, so we're taking them to the hospital for another check-up to make sure they're okay. You can all rest assured then. Have you confirmed whose children the other four are?"

The old woman said, "Comrades of the People's Liberation Army, we've spread the word throughout the village. Now, besides the Li family, there are still six children who haven't been found. These children usually play with Gouwazi."

I don't know if any of them are still inside or have gone to another village, but their families have all come over.

This old lady is quite organized. She must have been quite a character when she was young. She speaks and acts methodically and is very proactive. She might have even been a militia member.

"Auntie, all these children's clothes are here. Although the other pieces don't have any obvious differences, they are your own children's clothes. If you look closely, you'll definitely be able to recognize them. Then go to the hospital to see your child as soon as possible."

Although the clothes were worn by several people, they were still their own children. After careful examination, the people quickly identified whose child it was. After this incident, the other two families also rushed to the neighboring village to look for their own children.

In those days, transportation was inconvenient in rural areas. The military hospital was not far from their base, and Zhang Anbang and his team had an empty seat in their car. The police station's van was practically a godsend; when they received a report, they naturally had to go check on the child's condition.

So the two cars took several parents straight to the military hospital.

"Auntie, when the children's parents come back, I'll have them bring you your quilts and hot water bottles. Thank you so much," Zhang Anbang said, thanking the old woman as he made the promise.

A hot water bottle costs three or four yuan, which is a valuable item for a rural family, not to mention the quilts. Since people brought these things to help save lives, Zhang Anbang had to give them an explanation afterward.

"Hey, PLA comrade, it's nothing, they're all kids from our own village, it's what we should do."

……