The old man and the woman didn't say much, they just supported each other and silently followed Tangcheng. Accompanied by the sound of the heavy donkey cart and the occasional painful pain, the loose team moved slowly along the winding dirt road.
If he could maintain this speed, it might only take him three or four days to reach Nanjing. But Tang Cheng was not so optimistic. He knew that the physical fitness of the old, weak, women and children could not be counted on at all, and they could just stop and go during the day.
You have to be wary of Japanese air raids, and you have to be careful to prevent freezing, slipping, and loss at night. The worry and fatigue along the way are unavoidable.
It is unrealistic for one person to greet many people with his ability. Tang Cheng quickly made up his mind: the old couple looked like people with great knowledge, and the little girl was destined to him. No matter in public or private, he would
We should take good care of this family. As for the other people in the team, they should help whoever can help. If there is really no other way, we have to let God arrange it.
At around four o'clock in the afternoon, the always early dusk appeared. The temperature also began to drop significantly. The little girl nestled in the donkey cart fell asleep with sugar in her mouth. Tang Cheng untied himself almost without thinking.
He took out the new clothes he bought in Suzhou and covered the little girl's body. The humidity at night would be very heavy, so it was naturally not as comfortable as the quilt, but Tangcheng still tried its best to create a small warm space for the little girl.
.
After walking like this for another half an hour, the black-faced man in the lead finally turned around and gave the order to rest on the spot. Today's trip was quite relaxed compared to the previous two days, and Tang Cheng didn't feel tired at all.
But the refugees around him felt like they had been amnesty. They were breathing heavily, beating their backs and looking for a place to rest. Tang Cheng turned to look at the old man and the woman. Although they were not exhausted, they had turned gray from the old man's hair.
Judging from their faces and the woman's staggering steps, it seems that their condition is not much better.
After returning the small suitcase to the old man, Tang Cheng discussed in a low voice with the dark-faced man that there was a bush not far from here. While it was still dark, he could go find some firewood so that he could camp at night.
Then you can have a warm sleep. The black-faced man took the adult men in the team to search for firewood. Tangcheng stayed behind to take care of the remaining old and weak women and children. The donkey cart carrying household items had some that they had obtained this morning.
As long as they can find dry firewood, they can cook porridge and drink it.
After taking off her own baggage from the donkey cart, the old woman was about to reach out to hug the sleeping little girl, but the little girl was sleeping soundly. This might be the first good sleep she had had in many days, so Tangcheng asked the old woman
She shook her head slightly and put her right index finger in front of her lips to make a hissing gesture. The old woman was a little surprised, but she did not insist on her opinion. Instead, she stood in front of Tangcheng and stuck her head out to look at the people on the donkey cart.
The little girl felt relieved when she saw that the little guy's face was rosy and the corners of his mouth moved occasionally.
"It's a pity that we don't have much food reserves ourselves!" The old man hiding under the bonfire shrugged, and when he turned around, he handed Tang Cheng a bowl of gruel, "Eat it quickly, it won't be good if it gets cold!" Tang Cheng took it.
The bowl of vegetable porridge made from biscuits, flatbreads, dried vegetables and wild vegetables, and the vegetable porridge that had lost its original taste had been sipped in small sips. The old woman had already followed the old man to the luggage storage area, looking at their slightly rickety legs.
The back view of Tang Cheng, who was holding a bowl of porridge, was a little dazed.
The war is cruel. Maybe before the war, the old couple lived in a beautiful big house with no worries about food and clothing, but now they have become refugees like those ordinary people. In such a war, whether it is China or Japan,
, a large number of young and strong men were killed or disabled in both warring countries. Even if the war is over, the old, weak, women and children who were lucky enough to survive really don't know whether they should be called luck or suffering.
I hope that the man who stayed in Shanghai can survive for a few more days. Tang Cheng prayed silently in his heart, hoping that God would transfer his good luck to him for the time being, so that he could safely reach Sichuan or some other safe place.
.Obviously not everyone has Tang Cheng’s mentality. The refugees around him naturally speculate about this war. Listening to their discussions, Tang Cheng smoked silently. No news is good news, as long as there is no large-scale war.
With the defeated troops fleeing, the situation in Shanghai will naturally not be much worse.
A young body naturally has the advantage of youth, but the elderly, women and children accompanying them are getting weaker and weaker. More and more people stop to rest alone or in twos and threes. During the day, every time Tangcheng turns his head, he will always find that the length of the team is gradually getting longer.
Large. According to the normal proportion, there are actually not many adult men in the team, but they carry luggage in their hands and occasionally support the old and weak who are staggering, so their physical exertion is even greater than that of the old, weak, women and children.
some.
A quarter of an hour's rest, or two or three hours' rest, in Tangcheng's view, would not help alleviate the embarrassing situation at hand. Civilians are civilians after all, and their physical strength and mental will cannot be compared with soldiers who have withstood the tempers of war. Temporary
Encouraging and motivating cannot work for a long time. "Uncle, Uncle" the little girl's voice rang out in the quiet wilderness, but the little girl woke up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and the first thing she did was not to look for her grandma or grandpa.
Instead, she waved her little hand towards Tangcheng. Seeing that "uncle" was still there, the little girl sitting on the donkey cart smiled sweetly. The piece of chocolate in the afternoon was a sweet moment for her.
Seeing the old couple packing their luggage, Tang Cheng put aside these random thoughts for the time being and walked over with the little girl in his arms, then quietly sat down next to the old woman. "Grandma, hehe, grandpa." The little girl happily hid in Tang Cheng's arms.
He was laughing playfully, stuffing his mouth with half a piece of dark chocolate left in the afternoon.
The old woman lifted her shawl back slightly, then turned around and gave her daughter a faint smile. "Come to grandma, let uncle rest for a while." The old woman's voice was very soft, and she stretched out her hands, but the little girl
She huddled in Tang Cheng's arms and shook her head desperately. "Good boy Guo'er, uncle is injured, come to grandma." The old woman continued to coax Guo'er in Tang Cheng's arms.
After the old woman said this, the little girl looked at Tangcheng hesitantly, then turned to look at her grandparents, and finally reluctantly opened her hands and hugged them with both hands, but the old woman's movements seemed a little...
It was difficult. After carrying her granddaughter back, the old woman lowered her head and whispered to her. He could only hear the little girl giggling from time to time. To Tang Cheng, who had been living in a state of nervousness and hesitation, such sounds made him feel like he was in heaven.
It was late at night and it was cold. Tang Cheng found his baggage from the donkey cart and took out the military blanket wrapped in it. The military blanket he exchanged with the defeated soldiers in Suzhou smelled a bit unpleasant, but now was not the time to pay attention to that.
He stood up and shook the blanket a few times. Tang Cheng met the eyes of the old woman and the little girl and gently covered them. He even carefully tucked the hem of the blanket under the woman's feet. "Thank you, uncle, uncle is so kind!"
"The little girl murmured happily, and the old woman holding her also had a mist in her eyes.
"Well, you guys should rest first. I'll go take a look around." Tang Cheng reached out and touched the little girl Guoer's pigtails, then smiled at the old couple, got up and left. According to the records in Xie Bo's battlefield notes, Tang Cheng
The city also arranged a guard post when camping. In the first half of the night, it was Tang Cheng and three adult men, and in the second half of the night, it was the wounded lying on the donkey cart. Only in this way can the refugees sleeping in the wild feel safe.
After walking around for a long time, Tang Cheng, who was carrying a shell gun, found nothing out of the ordinary. The exhausted refugees huddled around the campfire and took a nap, or simply unfolded the warm items they carried with them and huddled on the ground and screamed.
Sleeping. He added dry firewood to the three fires, and Tang Cheng made some work around the fires. He had already developed the habit of cleaning his gun in his spare time. He casually took a suitcase and laid it flat on the ground, dismantling it.
The pistol parts were spread out on the suitcase.
"They all say you are a bandit or a one-legged thief, but I don't think so. You must have been a soldier, right?" At some point, the little girl's grandfather, the old man surnamed Wu, sat next to Tang Cheng.
"There are good and evil people in the grass, but they don't have eyes like yours, very clean eyes." The old man's words made Tang Cheng's movements stiffen slightly, but he didn't answer, still lowering his head and wiping his hands.
part.
"You are a good boy. Guoer likes you very much." Seeing that Tang Cheng did not say anything, the old man surnamed Wu smiled and continued, "Guoer's parents are both in Nanjing. Her mother is a Chinese translator and doctor at the German Embassy.
Guo'er's father is also a soldier. I see that your posture when holding a gun is similar to his, so I think you must have been a soldier. It's too late. I'll go to bed first. Thank you for escorting us old and weak people to Nanjing.
, If it weren't for people like us, you might have arrived in Nanjing long ago." The old man patted Tang Cheng on the shoulder when he left.
Turning to look at the old man's stooped back, Tang Cheng's eyes flickered. He didn't care if the old man had figured out his identity. He just liked the atmosphere when the two of them were sitting around just now, like friends and family. He sighed softly.
, then turned around and looked around at the people who had fallen asleep, Tang Cheng continued to wipe the parts in his hands. If the little girl named Guoer was still awake at this time, she would definitely be able to see the corners of Tang Cheng's slanted mouth and face.
The smile on.
"I will definitely send you to Nanjing safely." After assembling the cleaned pistol, Tang Cheng stood up again and added some dry firewood to the bonfire, then slowly disappeared into the night and carefully walked around the campsite.
Searching for possible dangers. The three consecutive days of walking consumed a lot of energy from everyone, including the three adult men who served as night guards. They had also fallen asleep. There was only one person in the entire camp, Tang Cheng, wandering around like a ghost, accompanying him.
The only ones left were the three bonfires in the campsite.