Chapter 39

When it was almost noon, Wang Wankai, holding two pheasants, went to the hospital. As soon as he arrived at the ward, he saw that Colonel Zhang, the division commander, and Political Commissar Liu were already there.

"Brother, I've brought you some pheasants. I'll take them to the hospital kitchen first and ask them to cook them for you," Hu Hao said, lifting the two pheasants and leaving.

"This kid, it seems he really listens only to you, just as your soldiers said!" Political Commissar Liu said.

"Commissar Liu, this kid has a bit of a problem, don't take it personally!" Colonel Zhang said, pointing to his head.

"I don't take it personally, I just envy you. This kid, he always thinks of you. Even the coat, four of them, he gave one to Xiao Xin, and the rest are all yours. And the pistol, he gave one to the doctor who treated you and one to Xiao Xin to take good care of you. Oh, such a person, everyone likes him," Political Commissar Liu said.

"Commissar, you haven't seen him cause trouble. He's so lazy, he won't do any work. He must have meat every meal, or he won't eat. He also wants white flour, or he won't eat. I'm already at my wits' end," Colonel Zhang said.

"Enough, stop showing off. I heard that the white flour and weapons he looted last time were all given to you. Otherwise, how would you have had so much ammunition in this battle? But after this battle, your regiment's weapons and ammunition are quite sufficient. Don't come to me for those things anymore," Commander Chen said.

"Commander, I don't need weapons and ammunition, but this time, two battalion commanders and five company commanders of our regiment were killed. Could you send some cadres over?" Colonel Zhang said.

"There are no cadres to send. You have to cultivate them yourselves. Where can I find cadres for you? After this battle, many of your soldiers have been awarded. You can promote some of them," Commander Chen said.

"But their experience is not sufficient. There are not many left who have been through the Long March," Colonel Zhang said, a bit dejectedly.

"You can promote Er Lengzi. I think he's quite capable in battle. The landmines he planted even had to be dealt with by the Japanese. This is a skill. And this time, he killed so many Japanese. He is also an old Red Army soldier. He should be promoted to company commander," Commander Chen said.

"No, no, Commander Chen, just pretend I didn't say anything. If I promote him, I'll have to clean up his mess every day. He's already exhausting me on his own. If he leads a company, he'll drive me crazy. Besides, that kid definitely won't do it," Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, I've already sent the pheasants to the kitchen. They'll bring it over to you soon," Hu Hao said as he entered.

"Um, Er Lengzi, Commander Chen just said he wants to make you a company commander. What do you think?" Colonel Zhang asked.

"No, no way. It's boring. Leading those new recruits is no fun, and I won't have any freedom," Hu Hao shook his head and said.

"Er Lengzi, you're a Party member, right? How can you have no awareness?" Political Commissar Liu said.

"Brother, am I a Party member? I didn't know," Hu Hao said.

"You didn't know you were a Party member?" The commissar looked at Hu Hao with wide eyes.

"What's so strange about not knowing?" Hu Hao retorted.

"Commissar, his membership card is still with me. He doesn't even know, and I've been paying his Party fees for him," Colonel Zhang said.

"Ah! Colonel Zhang, you didn't tell him?" Political Commissar Liu pointed at Hu Hao.

"Why should I tell him? It's useless," Colonel Zhang said.

"Ha, Er Lengzi, I appoint you as a company commander. Can you do a good job?" Commander Chen said.

"No, no way. It's boring. Brother, I found something good in the spoils of war," Hu Hao took out a small box from his pocket.

"What is it?" Colonel Zhang asked.

"Flint, for our lighters. Now you can use them with peace of mind. This flint will last us for years," Hu Hao said.

"Really? Let me see," Colonel Zhang took it and opened it to look.

"What are you two brothers discussing? What flint could make you so happy?" Commander Chen asked.

"Commander, it's the flint from the lighter Er Lengzi captured last time. It's an American one, uses kerosene, and is windproof and waterproof. I've been using it well, but I was worried about running out of flint. Now Er Lengzi has brought it back," Colonel Zhang said.

"Is that so? Is it a Zippo? You got the flint? Give me some, I have one too, but I can't use it without flint," Commander Chen said.

"Sure," Colonel Zhang poured some out for Commander Chen.

"Er Lengzi, do you have cigarettes? Take them out quickly. This morning, you said you'd give me half, but they were all Japanese, and I'm not used to them. Bring me a few packs of Chinese cigarettes," Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, don't you roll your own cigarettes? Why do you need Chinese or Japanese ones? Anyway, you don't smoke," Hu Hao said as he took out the cigarettes and gave them to Colonel Zhang.

"Good kid, you found such good cigarettes. They're all mine," Colonel Zhang looked at the cigarette box, which read "Alliance."

"No, Brother, give me two to take back," Hu Hao said.

"Sure," Colonel Zhang took out two and gave them to Hu Hao, then distributed cigarettes to Commander Chen and Political Commissar Liu.

"Really nice. My old one was also good, but I ran out of flint," Colonel Zhang handed the lighter to Commander Chen, who lit it and said.

"Um, all good. Er Lengzi, do you have more? If you do, give me one," Political Commissar Liu said after lighting his.

"No way! I'm keeping them as spares. I just found them in the warehouse," Hu Hao said.

"Er Lengzi, give one to the commissar. Why do you need so many? One is enough. Hurry up," Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, why can't you change this habit of giving things away?" Hu Hao said reluctantly.

"Here, here, Colonel Zhang, the chicken soup is here," Xiao Xin came in with a bowl of chicken soup.

"Try it, I heard it's from Er Lengzi," Xiao Xin placed the chicken soup on the table beside the bed.

"Wait, why is there only so little meat in the soup? Where's the rest?" Hu Hao pointed at the bowl of soup. "Are we saving it for dinner?"

"What are you talking about? There were only two chickens. Colonel Zhang got two pieces of meat because it was you who brought them. Most of the other soldiers only got one piece," Xiao Xin said.

"You, I brought two pheasants, and you only gave my brother two pieces of meat. This is unreasonable. I brought them specially for my brother," Hu Hao shouted.

"Shut up, having soup is already good. Don't you know there are many wounded? Let the soldiers taste it, it's good for them. I can eat less," Colonel Zhang said.

"Brother, the doctor said you lost a lot of blood and need to supplement your nutrition," Hu Hao said.

"Isn't this nutritious? Other soldiers need nutrition too. If it's not enough, you can bring more tonight. No shouting, the soldiers need to eat too. Bring more," Colonel Zhang said.

"Okay," Hu Hao said, lowering his head.