Chapter 88

The platoon leader of the second company's first platoon is Xiong Mingyang, a student from Fudan Public School who once incited opposition against Chen Ke at his school. He also participated in the Shanghai uprising, engaging in a firefight with the police. After being rescued from the police station by Chen Ke, he followed Hua Xiongmao to Anhui first. Later, he joined the military training organized by the People's Party in Anqing and, due to his outstanding performance, was selected as a platoon leader. Tonight, after the transport fleet arrived in Fengtai, Xiong Mingyang was ordered to lead the first platoon to guard the ships. This young platoon leader was not pleased.

Xiong Mingyang had a fiery temperament and harbored great anger towards the dark realities of this era. As a young man, he, like others, firmly believed in the necessity of using radical means to cleanse the world. However, in these thoughts, Xiong Mingyang always saw himself as a leader, directing his subordinates. After starting work in Fengtai, this young man no longer had the energy to think about such matters. The revolutionary fervor and enthusiasm he imagined quickly lost its romanticism in the face of practical work.

After accepting the task of guarding the ships, Xiong Mingyang was quite resentful. Everyone had worked hard to get here by boat, so why did the first platoon have to take on the night guard duty? Of course, according to custom, these tasks would be rotated. Tonight, the first platoon would guard the dock, and tomorrow it would be another unit's turn. Moreover, during the cleanup of the ships and the dock, the first platoon did not have to take on these tasks.

"Platoon leader, how are we going to eat?" Xiaochuan You'er, the life affairs officer of the platoon, asked in a rather stiff Mandarin. All seven Japanese youth students had joined the People's Party, and Chen Ke treated all party members equally, assigning positions based on ability. Xiaochuan You'er's family ran a restaurant, and he studied medicine, so he was assigned to the position of life affairs officer. This role involved not only cooking and other kitchen duties but also sanitation and epidemic prevention.

"First, arrange for the toilet," Xiong Mingyang replied almost instinctively, following the temporary military regulations.

After a flood, there is often an epidemic, a point Chen Ke repeatedly emphasized at party meetings. Moreover, Anhui frequently experienced floods, and the local soldiers were well aware of this. Therefore, ensuring sanitation was a key focus for the insurance team.

"There is already a toilet at the dock," Xiaochuan You'er replied.

This answer slightly surprised Xiong Mingyang. Xiaochuan You'er's next response was even more unexpected. "The residence has running water."

Running water was something Xiong Mingyang had only seen in Shanghai. He never imagined that the dock would have running water. "Let's go and take a look," Xiong Mingyang said excitedly.

On the empty dock stood a newly built house with brick walls that had not been plastered, looking very simple. However, Xiong Mingyang did not underestimate it. He remembered the first time he saw the dock.

The major flood in Anhui had also submerged Fengtai. At least the dock and the surrounding area had been underwater for a month. When Xiong Mingyang and his unit arrived at the shore, there was no sign of any dock. All he could see was a vast expanse of water. However, the People's Party needed a reliable dock to transport supplies, so Chen Ke personally led a group of students and experienced construction workers under Yuwen Bada to formulate a plan.

First, they gathered enough straw bags through various channels and made some themselves. They filled them with soil and stacked them along the shore. Xiong Mingyang's work site was not far from the shore, and he led his platoon in hard labor. Occasionally, he would look at the growing pile of straw bags, unable to understand what they were for. Further away, several People's Party members, with ropes tied around their waists to prevent being swept away by the current, were measuring the water depth with poles.

With hundreds of soldiers and hundreds of refugees, they worked for two days to stack thousands of straw bags. These bulging bags formed a small mountain along the shore. Xiong Mingyang, who had traveled widely and attended university, roughly understood Chen Ke's plan. However, understanding did not mean acceptance. Chen Ke intended to use these soil-filled straw bags to create a usable dock from the vast expanse of water. The scale of labor required was enormous. The People's Party's insurance team had only about 400 people, and the floodwaters stretched for miles, with heavy rain continuing for over a month. The sky had not been clear for over a month, and it was always dark. The wind and rain created various patterns on the vast expanse of water. Even if they managed to build a dock, what if the water rose higher? Would they have to build more?

Chen Ke's attitude was exactly as Xiong Mingyang had expected. After preparing enough straw bags, Chen Ke ordered the unit to rest. After eating and resting for a while, the work began. Over 400 strong young men, two to a bag, started filling the bags into the water under the guidance of the engineers. Each bag thrown into the water only caused a splash and quickly disappeared. At first, the comrades had enough strength, and the bags were close to the shore. After a few minutes, the bags no longer sank to the bottom but splashed and partially emerged from the water. After a minute, the bags were half-submerged.

"Keep throwing forward. Keep throwing forward," Chen Ke's loud voice echoed through the wind and rain. Xiong Mingyang wiped the rain from his face and, with the soldier beside him, lifted a sandbag and moved forward. Stepping on a sandbag, he felt a slight slip and almost fell. Ignoring this, he and the soldier moved a few steps forward, swung the bag a few times, and shouted "one, two, three" before throwing it. The bag flew into the water and disappeared instantly.

This process continued without pause. Everyone in the insurance team worked hard, except for the engineers standing in the water with poles. Behind them, some idle people watched from a distance, likely afraid of being forced to help. Despite the rain, Xiong Mingyang could hear them laughing and whistling, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

Xiong Mingyang was furious. "We are working so hard, and the beneficiaries will be you scoundrels." Not only Xiong Mingyang but many soldiers felt the same way. Some slowed down, and a few stopped to look at the idle people.

Xiong Mingyang cursed inwardly. "Damn it." But as a platoon leader, he had developed a habit of following orders. At that moment, the idle people burst into laughter, and someone shouted in a strange voice, "What are you looking at? Get to work!" This was followed by even louder laughter.

"You motherf**kers!" Some soldiers started to curse back.

"Shut up and get to work!" A roar silenced the others. Chen Ke was walking over, carrying two sandbags, one on each shoulder. Everyone was working in the rain without shirts. Chen Ke's muscles were taut, showing the effort he was putting in.

"Company commander, those people are too infuriating," a soldier said angrily.

"Are you going to listen to the organization or them?" Chen Ke shouted. His handsome square face was filled with anger, but in the context of the labor, it looked fitting.

"Listen to the organization," the soldier replied instinctively.

"Then ignore their shouting and get to work!" Chen Ke shouted and continued forward, throwing the bags into the water and returning to the shore to get more.

Despite their reluctance, the soldiers, seeing Chen Ke's effort, could only glare at the idle people and continue working.

After two days of preparation and over four hours of rain-soaked labor, the insurance team managed to build a new dock on the submerged old dock using the sand-filled straw bags. Although small, it was sufficient for ships, especially large ones, to safely dock at the "new dock."

The dock Xiong Mingyang now saw was the old one. After the floodwaters receded, the old dock was completely exposed. At the end of the old dock was the new temporary base of the insurance team.

Entering the base, Xiaochuan You'er led Xiong Mingyang into a separate room. Xiong Mingyang had seen such rooms before, in the dormitories of the Renxin Medical College in Shanghai. It was a water room with a large water tank and two rows of faucets. The faucets were made of bamboo and looked very simple. But when he turned one, a clear stream of water flowed out. Xiong Mingyang drank a few mouthfuls. The water was very pure, with no muddy taste, unlike the water he had been drinking for days.

The flood had contaminated the water sources, as the insurance team had explained. Although everyone drank boiled water and filtered it when collecting it, the taste was still terrible. Suddenly drinking such pure water, Xiong Mingyang felt refreshed. He quickly asked Xiaochuan You'er, "Where does the water come from?"

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End of the chapter.