A bonfire was blazing east of the wooden bridge, and the torch was held high, illuminating a space of more than 200 square meters. Nearly ten teenagers aged 14 or 15 were constantly carrying wood and firewood, wrapping their arms with flame-resistant coarse cotton wool.
The thick hardwood top makes it easy to add kerosene and burn it for as long as possible. Just from the preparation of the torch, you can see Lin Xudong's generosity and authority, not to mention the dozens of respectful men and ten tables of delicacies surrounding him.
.
Setting the banquet on the east bank of Zhuxi on one side of the village was the result of An Yi's insistence. He did not allow the banquet to be held in his military restricted area. Although there were ready-made straw sheds and relatively flat open space in the restricted area, An Yi did not allow it.
Stick to your principles with concessions, so that all brothers can receive a profound education.
In order to allow the brothers to have a full stomach and drink a few sips of wine to ward off the cold, An Yi, Zhang Tianyi and the three temporary team leaders decided after discussing with each other that they would change positions once an hour from the beginning of the banquet to ensure that every brother could eat enough.
After eating well, in the end, An Yi and Zhang Tianyi both took the initiative to take on the task of patrolling the sentry in the middle of the night. This decision deeply moved the brothers, and also deeply admired Lin Xudong, who was watching and listening not far away.
The red charcoal fire in the charcoal stove, the steaming hot and fragrant dog meat soup pot, Lingnan-style fish fillets, chicken and other five or six hot pot dishes are all very generous, and the brothers of the second district team are already salivating before they pick up their wine bowls.
The light food in the past few days has already emptied the remaining oil and water in the stomachs of the brothers. Now even if they eat a piece of raw pork with hair on it, they will definitely feel it is extremely sweet, let alone a veteran of Lincun cooking.
Delicious dishes carefully prepared based on centuries-old techniques.
At the main table, An Yi stood up with a bowl of wine in both hands, expressed sincere thanks on behalf of the seventy-five brothers in the second district team, and humbly toasted to Lin Xudong and several older brothers.
The bold Lin Xudong and several juniors happily drank with An Yi, Zhang Tianyi, and Jin Hongmo. After two rounds of distillation, they drank a bowl of more than 30-degree alcohol, which made their bodies and atmosphere feel better.
It was getting hot. The brothers also raised bowls to drink with the village heroes around them. The cheers kept ringing and the laughter spread all over the place.
Based on the previous agreement, Lin Xudong no longer asked his brothers to persuade him to drink. Instead, he told everyone to do whatever he wanted. However, he picked up three bowls of wine that the young people around him diligently filled and handed them to An Yi, Zhang Tianyi and Jin Hongmo, insisting that the three of them join him.
He touched another bowl before speaking.
An Yi and Zhang Tianyi looked at each other and obeyed the order, and then they were allowed to talk and eat meat.
An hour later, the thirty brothers who had finished changing their posts entered the banquet. An Yi and Zhang Tianyi were relieved. Even though Lin Xudong asked everyone to do whatever they wanted, six brothers were still bullied into submission within an hour, and they were eventually beaten.
They were carried into the headquarters bunker that had been covered with thick hay to rest, including Jin Hongmo from North Korea. It was very laborious for the brothers to lift this tall guy. Originally, An Yi and Zhang Tianyi thought that this guy was strong and had a good drinker.
I deliberately took him with me as a bartender, but I didn't know that this guy had a straightforward personality and would not refuse anyone who came. He fell asleep before eating three pieces of seven or eight bowls of dog meat, leaving An Yi and Zhang Tianyi dumbfounded.
Another hour later, Zhang Tianyi, who had a strong sense of responsibility, led the satisfied brothers to leave. Only An Yi, a soldier, was left at the wine table, chatting enthusiastically with five or six guests including Lin Xudong, A Biao, and other village leaders.
Half of them fell down due to the wheel tactics, and the remaining two tables started a vigorous internal fight, but almost everyone spoke loudly.
Lin Xudong waved away the young men around the main table who were pouring wine and serving food, and looked at An Yi with a red face: "Brother Xiao Yi, how about we brothers have another bowl?"
An Yi quickly waved his hand: "No, I will be on duty in the middle of the night. I will never forget the taste of the Lin family's wine and dog meat. Next time I have time, I will definitely get drunk with Brother Lin and all the other brothers. Haha! Brother Lin, yes
He told me to speak frankly, but it is estimated that the people who can stay with you at this moment are not outsiders."
Lin Xudong laughed and praised An Yi loudly, then lowered his voice and asked with a smile: "A Biao said that you have a very good relationship with the boss of the German 'Lulin' firm. Brother, I suddenly thought of something after hearing this. I thought about it.
I don’t know how to speak. I saw my brother being so cheerful and loyal today, so I feel it’s better to speak out. Brother, let me make it clear first, if this matter is difficult, brother, just pretend that I haven’t said it. Our friendship as brothers remains the same as it is now.
"
An Yi smiled slightly: "Although I have little experience, I can see that there are not many things that can make Brother Lin think about it. Let's talk, since the eldest brother is A Biao's brother, he is also my brother, as long as I can make a decision
Don’t refuse, even if my eldest brother asks me to help buy arms, it’s no problem.”
"Haha...brother is really happy! Big brother is really convinced by you!"
Lin Xudong laughed loudly and was extremely heroic. After a while of laughter, his eyes showed a trace of pain: "Brother, to be honest, we in Lin Village have known for ten years that we can no longer conquer the world with a broadsword or an iron rod.
In this era, we don’t even have a few guns to protect ourselves, and even the best martial arts are of little use in front of bullets. The reason why we still don’t have a good gun is not that we don’t have the money to buy it, or that we don’t want to buy it.
, but you can’t buy it.”
An Yi was surprised and thought that in today's troubled times, buying a gun is not much more difficult than buying rice. How is this possible?
An Yi looked at A Biao, then at a few other people, and finally turned to Lin Xudong and asked in confusion: "Brother Lin, there must be a reason for this, can you tell me?"
Lin Xudong nodded: "Chen Jiongming has long been interested in the young people of Lin Village. He tried to recruit him several times but was severely rejected by us. Therefore, he held a grudge and announced to the whole province that it was strictly forbidden to sell guns and ammunition to Lin Village. Violators would be severely punished. Fortunately,
He remembered the friendship with his master in the past and did not use artillery fire. As a result, all the Cantonese troops did not dare to sell guns to us. Now he has been driven away by you. Besides, Mr. Sun's revolutionary army also hoped that our village strongmen would join the army several times.
, everyone knows that Lin Village has a tradition of martial arts. The master was a descendant of the Cai Lifu sect before he retired. He had close friendship with the martial arts people in the southern provinces. However, when he saw that the war was not going away and the people were living in dire straits, he lost the desire to compete and wanted to win.
Dedicated to keeping the tranquility of Lin Village, thanks to the efforts of the master in the past ten years, our village has the peace it has today. Therefore, we would rather use money to send away various parties and factions than ask for help. Half a year ago, the Guangzhou National Government took the initiative to give us a gift
Fifty long guns and twenty short guns, but there is one condition: a farmers' association must be established. Our joy is gone again. Think about it, all the people in Lin Village have respected each other, helped each other, and lived peacefully for hundreds of years.
How could we let the Peasants Association come in when everyone was in harmony? So we reluctantly gave up! As for the secret purchase from the gangsters, there must be many hidden dangers. In addition, the master’s hometown was unwilling to do this, so he delayed it again and again.
The situation is changing rapidly, and we can no longer sit still and wait for death. If there is a sudden crisis, just relying on hundreds of strong men in the village to go into battle with swords and sticks will only lead to self-destruction!"
After Lin Xudong finished speaking, the surrounding brothers echoed in unison. A Biao begged An Yi: "Boss, if the fourth brother hadn't known about my relationship with you and your character, I would never have brought it up to you today. Boss, you have a lot of connections.
, I have friends everywhere, and no one has as good a relationship with German trading companies as you, so please do us this favor."
An Yi nodded: "I don't dare to say anything now, because I haven't dealt with the Germans for more than three months, and I don't know if their manager Hans is still there, so..."
"Yes! Yesterday afternoon I saw him on Shaji Avenue. He was driving a three-wheeled car very fast. People all over the street were vying to see him, and many people were chasing after him.
, I heard people say that that kind of car is called a three-wheel motorcycle. It has a long hanging bucket on the side, which looks a bit like a tin shrimp boat. "
An Yi raised his eyebrows and laughed: "That's no problem. Before I came to Zhuxikou for my mission, I heard that the 'Lulin' trading firm had shipped a batch of long and short guns. They were originally going to be sold to our revolutionary army, but
We won a lot this time and captured a lot, so we are not in a hurry to buy, so I guess there are still some in stock. But I don’t know how long it will take for this mission to end, and I really can’t spare the time to find the Germans...Brother Lin
, how many do you plan to buy? Which one? If the quantity is not large, I will write a letter and ask A Biao to give it to Hans. It is probably no problem. If it is more, you have to think about it in the long run, because this time is different from the past.
Our revolutionary army is all watching the arms deal in Guangzhou, so we have to be very cautious."
Lin Xudong was overjoyed: "Not many, fifty twenty-shot rifles and five hundred Mauser spears, the kind you carried on your back this afternoon. Are there any difficulties?"
An Yi pondered for a moment: "It's not much. The wholesale price three months ago was 87 yuan for a Mauser 98 rifle with 100 rounds of ammunition, and 62 yuan for a shell gun with 60 rounds of ammunition. It is estimated to be about the same now."
That's the number. The difference is only one or two dollars at most. It's just that it's difficult to get the wholesale price if the purchase quantity is less than a thousand branches. I'll give it a try. I hope Hans still remembers our previous friendship and gives the little brother some face... What's wrong?
Brother Lin, what are you..."
Lin Xudong grabbed An Yi's hand: "Xiao Yi, you are so honest! Big brother did not misjudge you, A Biao did not call you the boss in vain, big brother really admires you!"
"What's going on?" An Yi asked in surprise.
Ah Shen, who was sitting next to him, sighed: "We have inquired about the black market prices, and they are basically the same. Don't think about it. A Mauser long gun costs less than 100 yuan, but a shell gun costs as much as 80 yuan. Bullets are also sold separately, and many of them are refurbished second-hand goods."
...You make our brothers not know what to say, and I, Lin Shen, will recognize you as my brother for the rest of my life!"
An Yi suddenly realized: "Haha, what's the point? Do I still want to make money from my eldest brothers? If so, would I still have the face to see you eldest brothers and A Biao? Haha, my eldest brothers, there are no bargains in the black market, otherwise
What is called a black market? A black heart is the characteristic of the black market. Can it be compared with other big trading houses? Apart from these, I will give Brother Lin a sure letter within ten days. If we withdraw within ten days, I will withdraw it on the third day.
I can give you a clear answer. I will quote Brother Lin whatever price Lulin gives me. Let me repay you for your deep friendship! Haha, I'm sorry, it's late at night and I have to check the whistle.
Go. A Biao will come to my place tomorrow at noon and take my letter into the city and hand it over to the German firm. If Hans is here, he will bring you the reply to me soon. Remember
?"
"Hey! Remember, boss, wait..."
A Biao lowered his head and took out two "Laodao" cigarettes from the bamboo basket under the table and handed them to An Yi: "It's too hurried to come back. I heard from Xiazai that you have been at Zhuxikou for many days. I guess you haven't."
I finished smoking, so I bought two cigarettes and sent them to you, take them."
An Yi unceremoniously took the cigarette and put it under his arm. Seeing Lin Xudong and others standing up with gratitude and wanting to thank him, he quickly waved his hands and whispered: "Brothers, please don't thank me for now. I'll thank you after everything is done."
It won’t be too late, I still want to eat dog meat, haha... By the way, Brother Lin, are there any broken fishing nets in the village? The ones that are moldy and rotten and can no longer be used, it doesn’t matter how rotten or broken they are.”
"There are many. Half of the families in our village rely on fishing for a living. Which family does not have a few broken nets? At least a dozen large nets that cannot be repaired were thrown into the pit in the backyard of Ah Shen's house. I will ask people to collect them tomorrow morning.
I’ll send you dozens of them.”
After Lin Xudong finished speaking, he couldn't help but ask: "Xiao Yi, why do you want to break the network? How about I send you a dozen new networks?"
"No, no! I want the old one. I can't bear to use the new one. You'll know what to use it for tomorrow afternoon."
An Yi smiled and approached Lin Xudong: "After the younger brother leads the brothers to evacuate, the elder brother can go to the position we dug out. If you are interested, you can also dig one on the hill north of your village. Then we will have it.
Five hundred guns occupy these two places, and it is estimated that even a thousand people cannot enter your forest village, haha! Let's go, brothers, see you tomorrow!"
Looking at An Yi's leaving figure, Lin Xudong nodded frequently: "I understand! What Xiao Yi and the others are working hard for is the defensive position!"