Double-Cut During the War of Resistance: My Wife Came from 1937

After getting up, Ma Hongwei and Xia Weiwei mixed some milk powder and oatmeal with hot water and ate it with some fried dough sticks for a quick meal.

They bought those crispy fried buns in town that afternoon.

Time seemed to stand still in the storage space; the crispy fried dough looked exactly like it had just come out of the oven.

After having breakfast, Ma Hongwei arrived at the division headquarters.

Today, he will also instruct several Eighth Route Army soldiers from the communications and confidential departments to continue learning how to use computers.

Incidentally, Ma Hongwei also plans to teach some Chinese Pinyin.

There are only a few typing methods, and Pinyin is much simpler and easier to learn than Wubi.

……

the other side.

The 770th Regiment's encampment.

Some of the soldiers have already changed into brand-new winter uniforms.

They wore wool-lined cotton military overcoats, cotton military caps, and leather boots, while still wearing their previous Eighth Route Army uniforms underneath.

Commander Zhang looked at one of the soldiers and asked, "Why are you all wearing your shirts down?"

The soldier replied, "Commander, this cotton-padded coat is really thick. It must have used at least four or five pounds of cotton, and there's also a thick layer of wool inside. It's really a bit hot to wear."

They lacked supplies in northern Shaanxi. A complete set of cotton-padded clothes, including a cotton-padded coat and trousers, only used 3 jin (1.5 catties) of cotton.

Only cadres could use slightly more material, but it was only a little over 4 jin of cotton, at most 5 jin.

However, this one piece of cotton used more than their entire set, and it also had warm wool on top.

"Yes, Commander!"

Another soldier said, "At first, I wore those thermal underwear underneath, but the thermal underwear was also lined with fur, so it was even hotter on my body, and I just took it off."

An old Red Army soldier said, "I'm not wearing thermal underwear either. I'll put it on when it gets colder in a few days."

Commander Zhang glanced at the other man and asked, "Old Jin, why didn't you change your shoes?"

"I've fought a lifetime of war, and I've never worn such fine shoes!"

The old Red Army soldier stroked the leather boots with obvious delight and said, "These are clearly made in a large factory. The materials are so good; even the Kuomintang troops probably wouldn't have had the chance to wear them. They really couldn't bear to wear them!"

Upon hearing the other party's words, Regiment Commander Zhang shouted, "Commander Liu said that from now on, we don't need to worry about a lack of supplies. We just need to focus on fighting the Japanese, and leave the logistical support to him!"

"real?"

Everyone looked on with suspicion.

They have been lacking various supplies since the Red Army era.

Over the years, no one has been able to solve this problem, and they have all gotten used to it.

Regiment Commander Zhang retorted, "What? You don't believe what the commander says?"

He had personally witnessed so many supplies; they had only moved a small portion, and the rest was definitely enough to clothe more than 10,000 people.

"Dinner's ready!"

Suddenly, Political Commissar Xiao walked over from a distance and said to the group of Eighth Route Army soldiers, "Go line up for food. I just checked, and the food today is excellent!"

"Political Commissar, what will the division headquarters offer us as a treat?"

Old Jin asked with a smile, "Could it be that they hunted some wild boar or roe deer in the mountains?"

Political Commissar Xiao smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll find out when we get there!"

Then, the Eighth Route Army soldiers of the 770th Regiment began to line up for food.

When the people in front arrived at the food station, they were immediately stunned.

There were large wooden basins piled high with white rice.

Judging from the whiteness of the rice, it is clearly a type of refined rice that is rare even in the city.

In the other large vats and pots, there was a stew of potatoes, cabbage, and glass noodles.

Although I couldn't see any meat, it smelled like meat, probably because it was made with animal fat.

On the table to the side were steaming cans, some round and some oval, with a fishy smell, but not particularly fishy.

"Whoosh!"

Upon seeing this scene, the soldiers of the 770th Regiment were all in an uproar.

None of them expected that the food at the front lines would be so good.

They had rice and canned meat; they never got to eat such good food during the Lunar New Year before.

Commander Zhang and Political Commissar Xiao, maintaining order, said, "Everyone, line up. Everyone will get a share. In a little while, we'll distribute one can of braised beef and one can of dace with black bean sauce to every two people. You can share them together."

"No, is it right for us to be eating canned beef and white rice first thing in the morning?"

"Didn't the commander say that besides canned beef, they also have canned fish!"

"I've almost forgotten when was the last time I ate rice!"

"Could this be a farewell meal for us?"

"Let's see him off then. This last meal before he dies is enough."

"Exactly! After such a delicious meal, I have no regrets. I'd be more than willing to fight the Japanese right now!"

"..."

Upon hearing Commander Zhang's words, the Eighth Route Army soldiers began to discuss among themselves.

They already knew they would be going to the battlefield in four days, so they weren't afraid of it.

Because all of them were veterans who had been on the battlefield.

Don't be fooled by their young age; they've fought in many battles.

The soldiers who had gotten their food immediately huddled together in pairs after returning to camp.

Old Jin and a young soldier of seventeen or eighteen years old found a place to sit down.

The young soldier glanced around at the people and couldn't help but ask, "Were all these canned goods captured? There are quite a lot!"

Old Jin, however, said, "It shouldn't be something that was seized."

"what?"

The young soldier asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why?"

"If we're going to seize it, we'll definitely have to seize it from the Japanese. It should have Japanese writing on it."

Old Jin pointed to the canned beef and said, "But look at this, there isn't a single Japanese character on it."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of beef and began to eat.

"This beef smells so good! There's plenty of seasoning, and it's so tender and delicious—even better than the beef I used to eat at restaurants! I wonder how they make it!"

"Awoo!"

The young soldier also picked up a piece and put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and then swallowed it whole.

He said to Lao Jin, "Squad leader, I haven't eaten at a restaurant yet, but this beef is better than any other meat I've ever had."

"If it's delicious, eat more!"

Old Jin smiled, picked up another piece of dace with fermented black beans, and shoveled some more fermented black beans and chili oil into the bowl.

Old Jin took a bite of the dace and his eyes lit up. He nodded as he ate, saying, "I think this one tastes even better. It's very oily, salty and fragrant, and slightly sweet. Even the bones are soft enough to eat directly."

"Speaking of fish bones, I'm reminded of the time we climbed snow-capped mountains and crossed grasslands. Back then, food was almost gone. To survive, the comrades would try anything edible: tree bark, grass roots, cowhide belts, and even fish bones and wild animal bones. They would roast them over a fire, grind them up, and eat them..."

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.

During the arduous Long March, they lost or went missing approximately 40,000 comrades.