"Hurry up, from here to the south, across the meadow, there is a Muling River waiting for us." Hideko Kono said expressionlessly.

Xiaobao stared at the leather boots on his feet and secretly scolded that today's leather boots seem to be reimbursed.

"When you go to the front, you have to change your clothes when you find the village." Hideko Kono said.

The sky dawns early in the northeast, and it is cloudy at more than three o'clock in the morning of April in the lunar calendar.

Two men in the grass and bushes all the way south. The farther south you go, the closer you get to the Muling River, the more sandy land and water bubbles there are. The road is also more difficult to walk. Xiaobao was miserable.

"Lieutenant Kono, south of Muling is the Soviet border. If Andre didn't go south, why did he go more than 100 miles to the east? Xiaobao asked puzzled.

"I also want him to go south. We also sent people along the way. But crossing the border is not that easy, and someone needs to pick it up and lead the way. If he goes south, it means that he is not professional enough and is not the person we are looking for. Hideko Kono replied.

No matter what Hideko Kono says, Xiaobao has already made up his mind not to seek merit, but to seek no fault. It's best to come back safely.

"Go that way, there's a house over there." Hideko Kono's words woke up Xiaobao, who was still thinking about his thoughts.

Xiaobao looked in the direction of Hideko Kono's finger, and saw four or five thatched houses scattered next to a blister.

The two men walked briskly towards the houses.

It was past three o'clock in the morning when I got off the bus, and it was more than an hour of walking, and now it's at least five o'clock. In the village, the adults have long been working in the fields.

Xiao Baomeng stood in front of Hideko Kono and strode towards the village. This girl won't try to save trouble, just pull out the gun and bang bang. Xiaobao thought as he walked.

Hideko Kono followed closely behind Po.

"Anyone?" There were still twenty or thirty meters away from the nearest thatched house, so Xiaobao pulled his neck and shouted.

An old lady in her sixties and seventies was at the door when she saw two men in Japanese military uniforms approaching, and she turned around in fright and walked into the house.

"Be careful, don't fall." Xiaobao blurted out. After speaking, he hurriedly glanced at Hideko Kono and trotted into the house.

Inside the house, behind the old lady was a girl of seven or eight years old, and a woman of about thirty was holding a nursing child. Both of them looked at Xiaobao and Hideko Kono, who entered the house later, in horror.

"Don't be afraid, auntie. We just passed through here. Did you sell us two pieces of clothing you were wearing? Xiaobao hurriedly said.

Hearing Xiaobao's northeastern dialect, the old lady and the woman settled down a little.

Xiaobao hurriedly took out the money from his pocket while the iron was hot, "We really need it urgently." Then you buy new ones with your money. ”

"The clothes are all patches and patches, how can they be sold for money?" The old lady said boldly.

"It's okay, we want the patch too, and we will give the money too." Xiaobao thought as he spoke, it would be nice if Xiaolin Juncao was here. He is happy when his clothes show his ass, and only in this way is it realistic.

Turning his head to look at Hideko Kono, seeing her nodding, Xiaobao was relieved.

The old lady looked at the woman holding the child, and the woman hurriedly walked back to the back room. After a while, he brought out two sets of clothes.

"Are they all men's clothes?" Hideko Kono asked with a frown.

"What kind of men and women are there these days, it's good to be able to wear them." The old lady said.

"If you want to say something better, then it's my shroud." The old lady added.

"Don't!" Xiaobao said reflexively.

"What is a shroud?" Hideko Kono asked puzzled.

"Shroud is the garment that a person wears when he dies." Xiaobao explained in a whisper.

"Don't," Hideko Kono said flatly.

Xiaobao picked a better one and handed it to Hideko Kono, and walked out of the door with another set to find a place where no one was to change clothes.

When Xiaobao changed his clothes and came back, he happened to see Hideko Kono wearing a dress full of patches, looking up and down awkwardly.

Xiaobao handed over twenty yuan and said, "Find two more pairs of cloth shoes." ”

The old lady couldn't believe that Xiaobao would really give money, and took the money tremblingly. "It doesn't take so much." He said it, but his hand was holding the money tightly.

"Daughter-in-law, go get two pairs of cloth shoes." The old lady said.

The woman turned around and took out two pairs of cloth shoes, the uppers of which were also of different colors. It was clearly made from different rags put together.

"Auntie, what's the name of this village?" Xiaobao asked while changing his shoes.

"It's called Shagang Village." The old lady replied cautiously.

"Do you have a boat to cross the river here?" Xiaobao asked.

"Then what kind of boats, they all cross the river with drifters. That is, in the middle is a plank, and two pieces of wood are tied on both sides. Anyway, the Muling River is not wide, and it is passable. The old lady explained.

Xiaobao and Hideko Kono glanced at each other, and Hideko Kono nodded.

"If you can take us across the river, we'll give you another sum of money." Xiaobao said.

Since she had already received the money once, the old lady did not doubt Xiaobao's words.

"I'll have to wait until my son comes back. Let him carry you across the river. He went to the field to hoe weeds. It's time to come back when it's time to eat. The old lady said.

Only then did Xiaobao notice that the cauldron on the stove was steaming. Apparently there's something steaming inside.

"Here, close to the Muling River. It's all sandy land. I don't like to grow other crops, so it's suitable to plant sweet potatoes. That's what is in the pot. You don't like to eat some. The old lady said.

After tossing all night, Xiaobao was already hungry. He heard the old lady say this, and nodded his head in agreement.

"The girl went to call your father back for dinner, saying that there was a guest at home." The old lady instructed the seven or eight-year-old girl.

After a quarter of an hour's work, a middle-aged man with swarthy and bare feet walked into the courtyard with the little girl.

He stared at Po with wary eyes, and his expression softened when he saw that Hideko Kono was a woman.

"You're going to cross the Muling River?" The man asked.

"It's not like the aunt of the two-person class has given birth to another child, and the two of us are going to take a look. As a result, I got lost. Xiaobao began to ramble.

"Where are you?" The man asked again.

"We're from Jenin," replied Bao.

"Oops, don't ask. Eat quickly. Send them across the river in a moment. The old lady looked impatient.

The man closed his mouth, but his eyes were still rolling over the clothes that Koho and Hideko Kono had taken off.

"Big brother, I'll be honest with you. I'm a little nail chief in Henin. This time I went out to make this tiger skin support scene. No way. Xiaobao said with a bitter face.

The middle-aged man smiled a little at the corner of his mouth and nodded.

A large basket of steaming sweet potatoes was placed on the table by the old lady.

Xiaobao doesn't care about thirty-seven twenty-one, grabs one and eats it. It took half of the meal to come to his senses, and he picked one and handed it to Hideko Kono.

"Eat some pickles, just sweet potatoes and heartburn." The old lady said to Hideko Kono with a smile on a plate of pickles.