"Jieyang" mountainous area, mostly hilly landform, the mountain is not high, but criss-crossed, layer upon layer. On the side of the mountain is the pine waves lapping the shore, the whistling sound is rolling, and the bottom of the mountain is the ravines from the horizontal, the bushes are thick, and the artemisia grass is long. Over the mountains and mountains, you can go to Xicheng County in the north, and you can pass Liangyou and Dadeng in the south. Walking in the mountains, the road is very difficult, artemisia grass cuts people, mosquito bites, thorns pierce the skin, poisonous snakes attack and harass, and the pain is unspeakable. The comrades of the Brigade Headquarters and the Fourth Squadron of the Tanliang Guerrilla Brigade were struggling through the mountains, they had not eaten a cooked meal for a long time, and the corn nests they carried had already been eaten up. Hungry and tired, the guerrillas' movement began to slow down, and the ranks grew longer. The team came to a three-way junction and stopped, and the captain Hou Liang walked up with a stick in his hand.

"Captain, where are we going?" The comrades looked at the captain, Hou Liang did not answer, but called the guide Lao Qin, and walked to the front to explore the road together, asking as he walked: "Lao Qin, where do these two roads lead?" Lao Qin pointed to the road on the right and said, "This road goes all the way down to Xicheng County." He also pointed to the road on the left: "Go this way, go all the way south, and you will reach the area of Liangyou and Daden." Hou Liang turned his head, pointed to the road on the left with a stick, and said to his comrades: "Comrades! Go this way, that's the way we're going. ”

"Captain, where are we going?" One of the team members asked.

"When you arrive, you will naturally know the way." Hou Liang called Deputy Political Commissar Zhao Qi and whispered a few words, and Zhao Qi walked towards the back of the team. Hou Liang said: "Comrades! Let's go, hold on a little longer, and find a cooler place to rest. The team followed the path on the left and continued on its way. Zhao Qi deliberately slowed down and fell behind, he thought of what the captain said just now, the captain said that we must pay attention to observing the situation of the team during these times, not only to grasp the ideological state of the comrades, but more importantly, to prevent internal problems. In particular, we must find a way to find out the Kuomintang spies hiding within us. Zhao Qi sometimes chatted with this one about family life, sometimes talked with that one, and quietly observed the changes in the surrounding situation.

"Osmanthus and Xiangmei, can you two still go?" Zhao Qi saw Chen Guihua and Qin Xiangmei supporting each other, walked over, and asked with concern. "Political Commissar Zhao, you can underestimate people, don't look at us as lesbians, but along the way, which of us are worse than gay men, Sister Osmanthus, you say yes?"

"Come on, Xiangmei, I think your mouth is more powerful than your feet." Osmanthus said with a smile.

"Really? How do I not know the way? Sister Osmanthus, then I'll try it. Anyway, he pushed up the osmanthus and walked forward a few steps quickly, he was already very tired, this was strong, and he consumed a lot of physical strength, he was so tired that he was out of breath, and quickly grabbed the osmanthus arm with his hand, and said breathlessly: "Sister Osmanthus, I can't do it, really...... It's true...... I can't walk anymore. Osmanthus slapped Xiangmei lightly and said, "Little girl, see if you can still succeed?" Shake off Xiangmei and walk forward.

"Sister Osmanthus, wait for me!" Xiangmei beckoned and rushed forward.

Zhao Qi saw it, smiled, shook his head, looked back, and saw Wei Shichang, the logistics assistant, followed by Wei Degui, the clerk, and not far away was Ye Qin, the leader of the logistics detachment. Ye Qin held a wattle in his hand, and from time to time he hit the leaves on the side of the road as he walked. Zhao Qi asked Wei Shichang: "Old Wei, is there anyone else behind?" ”

"No, just a few of us." Zhao Qi shouted: "Comrades in the back, speed up the pace!" ”

The guerrillas followed the mountain road on the left and walked a little longer, and came to a relatively shady place with a mountain on the back. Hou Liang shouted to his comrades: "Comrades, pay attention! Everyone has a rest in this place, a bite to eat, and a drink of water. As soon as this order was given, everyone sat down on the ground as if they had broken up, and they were talking and laughing in spirit just now, but now they were silent and silent. Oh, yes! The comrades were so tired that they had retreated to Mawei Village until now, and the comrades had not taken a good rest, nor had they eaten a hot meal, Hou Liang beckoned to Wei Shichang, the logistics assistant, and said, "Old Wei, come here." Wei Shichang saw that the captain called him, and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Go to the ditch to get some clean water, and then find some wild vegetables, boil porridge with rice, and give everyone to eat, this hot day can not only quench thirst, quench the heat, but also replenish physical strength."

"Yes! Let's do it. ”

Osmanthus shouted, "Assistant Wei, I'll help you do it together." "Pull up Xiangmei, He Zhifang, Shan Huimin and the comrades of the two cooking classes to work together.

The cooking staff was divided into three groups, one group was led by Wu, the elder of the cooking class, with Xiangmei and a cook, to get water from the ditch, and the other group was under the command of Assistant Wei, preparing to make a fire to cook, and one group was picked by Osmanthus, He Zhifang, and Shan Huimin.

Wu is an authentic local and is very familiar with the topography of this area. He carried a long stick to open the way in front, and from time to time he knocked on the grass on both sides, and Xiangmei and a cook carried the cauldron and followed behind.

"Good! That's it. Lao Wu chose a place where a few people could stand, stopped, stood aside, looked around, and said, "The water here is deeper, so it's easy to draw water." ”

"Is it so particular about asking for water?" Xiangmei asked puzzled.

"Of course, in this kind of wild environment, it is not easy to get some clean water." Lao Wu pointed to the puddle of water that looked quite big next to him and said, "The water there can't be drunk." ”

"For what? Isn't it all water, it's not far from here, why can't you drink it? ”

Lao Wu patiently explained: "The water there is stagnant water, growing a lot of parasites and toxins that are difficult to see with the naked eye, if people drink it, they will have diarrhea and diarrhea, stomach pain, or schistosomiasis, and the serious dead will not be saved." ”

"Oh my God! Then it matters. "Xiangmei is speechless.

"Look at the water over here, it's very clear, it's flowing, but it's too shallow." Lao Wu used the wooden stick in his hand and lightly clicked it, and the mud at the bottom of the water floated, "Look at this water, you can't drink it." Lao Wu heard the sound of water flowing in front of him, looking for the sound and looking, not far away, there was a small stream, at the turn of the stream, there was a small pool of water, and there were some stones around it, so he asked Xiangmei to take the water there. Xiangmei and the cooker slowly poured the pot into the water, for fear of muddying the water, and then slowly lifted it up, and a pot of clear and transparent water appeared in front of them.

"Old Wu, tell me quickly, why is the water here so clear and drinkable?"

Lao Wu took a wooden stick and pointed to the upper and lower waterways, and said: "Xiao Qin, you see, the water above flows here, and after it collects and precipitates here, it flows down again, and the water here is not only rich and deep, but also living water." ”

"I see, 'running water doesn't rot' whatever." Xiangmei bent down and the cook was about to lift the pot up, when a black and white, more than one meter long, a poisonous snake, disturbed by the sound, kept spitting snake letters in its mouth, and crawled towards Xiangmei's feet. The cook's eyes were sharp, and he shouted: "Captain Qin, the snake ......" Xiangmei looked sideways, the snake had pounced on her feet, and screamed in fright, you must know that she was most afraid of snakes since she was a child, and when she heard the snake's legs, she became weak, not to mention, for the first time in her life, she was so close to the snake, and she couldn't hide this time. The snake has retracted its body into a "zhi" line, and as long as the body flicks forward, it can bite the target. The snake began to attack, it pounced hard, but it pounced on a wooden stick, and was blocked by the stick, the snake seemed to be very unconvinced, twisted its body, turned the snake's head, and tried to bypass the wooden stick and complete its unfinished attack mission. When the snake bypassed the stick for a moment, the stick gently flicked out, and the whole snake was pushed out of the long way and fell on the grass with a "snap", and the panicked snake hurriedly fled to the distance. It turned out that Lao Wu, who had been holding a stick and observing the situation on the side, saw the snake rushing over, and at the critical moment, he used the stick to block the snake's way, and then pulled the snake out of the way and saved Xiangmei.

"Thank you! Lao Wu, without you, I would have been bitten by a snake. Xiangmei said gratefully, her expression still not relieved.

"Hey, thank me for what, this kind of thing can't happen in the first place." Lao Wu said with a smile.

"For what? If you hadn't taken the snake away, I would have been bitten by the snake. "Xiangmei doesn't understand what is going on.

"I'll tell you." Deputy Captain Yang Ruping, put away the shell gun, bent down, and carried the water with the cook, talking as he walked. Just now, Yang Ruping, the deputy captain, was resting under a pine tree, when he heard Xiangmei exclaim, there is a situation! He jumped up, pulled out the shell gun from his body, and quickly rushed down. Other comrades quickly seized the surrounding terrain and raised their guns to prepare for battle.

"Comrades, it's okay!" Yang Ruping shouted to the people above the ravine, and the people above the ravine, hearing the shouting, put away their guns, and returned to their original positions to continue to rest. Lao Wu walked in front with a stick, Xiangmei followed behind, and Yang Ruping and the cook carried the water hall behind.

"Xiao Qin, you don't know that in the deep mountains, the terrain is complex, it is the place where insects, snakes and beasts are the most infested, and if you are not careful, you will be bitten by poisonous snakes, once you are bitten by poisonous snakes, it is difficult to treat. In our area, one of the most poisonous snakes is the cobra, commonly known as the wind snake, also called the flat-headed wind, when it wants to attack, most of the body can stand up, the mouth 'whirring', sometimes spewing venom, the appearance is terrifying; the other is the eye king snake, commonly known as the mountain wind, the size is larger; there is the krait, the silver krait. The pattern on the krait snake is black and yellow; The snake is black and white. Just now, the snake that escaped was the silver krait, and like the krait, the venom was a neurotoxin. If you are bitten by this snake, it doesn't hurt, but it will slowly rot and die. Yang Ruping said.

"Oh my God! It's so terrifying! Thanks to the old squad leader for saving me. Xiangmei said with palpitations.

"But that's not going to happen to you."

"For what?"

"Didn't you see the long stick that squad leader Wu was holding in his hand? If you hold it, it is an ordinary stick, but in the hands of squad leader Wu, it becomes a magical stick. It can be used not only to find paths, but also to drive away poisonous snakes and wild beasts. Let's take the trick that squad leader Wu teased the snake just now, but it's exquisite. Speaking of which, Yang Ruping deliberately played a trick.

"Deputy Captain Yang, say it quickly! How to pay attention to the law? Xiangmei asked eagerly.

"Old squad leader, then I'll sacrifice ugliness?" Yang Ruping looked at Lao Wu, but Lao Wu smiled but did not answer.

"When the silver krait rushed over, Lao Wu's stick had been inserted into the snake's neck, if the stick lifted the snake's head at this time, because the snake's head was light and the body was heavy, the snake's head would naturally slide off, and the snake would still bite the target. Squad Leader Wu's stick accurately slammed into the snake's seven inches and the center of gravity of its body, and pulled the snake out of the coffin. This force is used just right, and if it is used lightly, the snake will not be far away, and the snake will still be able to continue to attack, and if it is too strong, it will bounce the snake to its head and cause a catastrophe. ”

"Deputy Captain Yang, you know so much!" Xiangmei said with a sigh.

"It's not that I know more, it's that I have a good teacher."

"Who is your teacher?"

"Far away, close at hand."

"Then it must be Lao Wu?"

"Of course! Who else is there besides? He is a know-it-all for our guerrillas, from astronomy and geography to customs and medicine, he can tell you why. So, I said that the snake would never bite you. Xiao Qin, are you scared? ”

"If you say that, I won't be afraid, because I have a protector."

"Old Wu, the poisonous snake is so hateful, why don't you kill it?" Xiangmei was angry when she thought of the snake that almost killed her just now.

"Actually, the snake doesn't attack people, but it attacks us only when we violate it and disturb it. People tend to blame all their sins on snakes, which is unfair, not to mention, snakes are also a life! Lao Wu said seriously.

"In that case, it is our fault that we are the intruders who have ruined its peaceful life." Xiangmei smiled.

"Squad Leader Wu, you won't be merciful enough to become Mr. Dongguo's second, right?" Yang Ruping feels that in the natural world, purely from the territorial consciousness of animals, the struggle against aggression is understandable. But from a human point of view, sometimes being too merciful to one's enemies is tantamount to being cruel to oneself.

"To be merciful to the enemy is to harm oneself. I still understand this truth. Lao Wu replied.

Wei Shichang, a logistics assistant, chose a place with a good view and a relatively flat view, ordered someone to pick up stones, built the stove, and personally led people to pick up pine branches, cut a lot of half-dried and half-dried artemisia grass, and prepared to make a fire for cooking. After the elder Wu and the cooks put the pot in place, pour in the rice, and then, roll the grass into a ball, light it, stuff it into the stove, and use the hat as a fan tool, suddenly, a thick smoke billows up, straight to the sky, the fire in the stove gradually burns up, and the cook adds grass to the stove from time to time. The people who picked wild vegetables also came back, and everyone's hat was full of wild vegetables, and Xiangmei greeted her excitedly: "Sister Osmanthus, Zhifang, Huimin, you have picked so many wild vegetables, I will help you." "Help the osmanthus and tidy up the wild vegetables.

"What kind of wild vegetable is this? Fuchsia. ”

"This is called red myrtle, usually fried with sour bamboo shoots, it is delicious, sour and delicious, haven't you eaten it?" Shan Huimin said.

"Haven't eaten it. My parents don't give me anything to eat. Xiangmei shook her head and said.

"That would be a pity! This is one of the most famous wild vegetables in this area. ”

"What are these called?" Xiangmei asked, pointing to the wild vegetables in the other hats.

"This is called stone vegetables, and this kind of wild vegetable is rare, and it is not easy to eat. This is called button vegetables, which is a common wild vegetable, which can be picked at the water's edge or in a humid place, which is cool and can go to the fire if eaten. Osmanthus introduced.

Captain Hou Liang sat with his head resting on his arm and took a nap. Suddenly, he woke up and looked around vigilantly, but found nothing unusual. But his heart was still not steady, so he stood up and walked around, bowing his head as if thinking about something, but to no avail. He raised his head and looked ahead, which was where the cooking class was cooking, and suddenly saw the smoke billowing into the sky, and immediately understood what he was worried about, he hurriedly ran to the place where the fire was lit, and shouted: "Hurry up, hurry! Put out the fire. Seeing the captain's serious face, everyone hurriedly threw the dirt into the stove and did not stop until there was no smoke.

"Whose idea was to get such a big cigarette out?" Hou Liang asked sternly. Everyone, you look at me, I look at you, no one is silent, what's wrong? Don't you always cook rice like this? "Do you know what are the serious consequences of making a fire to cook rice like this?" Everyone shook their heads, still not understanding, "The large amount of smoke generated by lighting a fire and cooking will expose the specific location of our guerrillas, and provide an opportunity for the enemy who is pursuing us to surround us. Hou Liang said with some excitement. When everyone heard this, they all lowered their heads and felt that the problem was serious. Wu Wu, the elder of the cooking squad, blamed himself and said: "Captain, it's my fault, you can punish me, I didn't think about my work thoroughly, and it brought unpredictable consequences to the guerrillas." Wei Shichang, a logistics assistant, also stepped forward and said: "I am also responsible, I didn't do a good job." Hou Liang said: "Okay, it's also to blame me for not calling it clear." Wei Shichang instructed everyone to quickly pack up their things and prepare to evacuate. Hou Liang stopped: "You still have to eat rice, how can you do it without eating?" "People are iron, food is steel", the physical strength of the troops urgently needs to be replenished, everyone use their brains, think of a way, see what to burn, where to burn, there will be less smoke. ”

The comrades of the cooking class chose a low-lying depression and built a stove. They also picked up dry firewood and used it to cook rice, and built a simple shed, the roof of which was covered with leaves, so that the small amount of smoke produced by the fire could be dispersed to achieve the effect of very little smoke.

Hou Liang walked to the top of the mountain, looking around, the mountains and mountains, the pine waves rippled, the sky in the distance floated a ball of translucent white clouds that resembled a horse, across the eyes, the sunlight was blocked by the white clouds, leaving a huge black horse on the mountainside, the black horse with the departure of the white clouds, quickly crossed the mountains. Ah, what a good horse! Crossing thousands of mountains and rivers in an instant, horses, horses, can they take our guerrillas to gallop across the field? Nearby, at the foot of the mountain, a faint light veil retreats to the sky with the shape of the mountain. Hou Liang looked at the place where the guerrillas made a fire to cook and smiled, even if we guerrillas make a fire to cook, we can still overcome difficulties and strive for victory.

After eating the fragrant porridge of wild vegetables, the guerrillas were more energetic, they picked up their guns, packed their bags, and continued through the mountains and forests......