Chapter 4

On the way back to the base with Colonel Zhang, the two walked side by side.

"Hey, Erleizi, forget it, I'll just call you Xiaohao. How are you doing? Can you remember anything from before?" Colonel Zhang asked.

"I can't remember," Hu Hao replied listlessly, feeling very unhappy. He felt that he had been deceived by those novels, all of which said that being struck by lightning would transport you to another time. But when he was struck by lightning, not only did he not travel back in time, but his hair was also burned.

"If you can't remember, that's fine. My life was saved by you. Since you don't have any family, I'll be your big brother. From now on, you're my little brother," Colonel Zhang said.

"Okay," Hu Hao replied weakly, not really paying attention to what Colonel Zhang was saying.

"Are you out of it, or did the lightning strike take your soul, or did Xiaoxin take it?" Colonel Zhang shouted, unhappy to see Hu Hao's listless state.

"Ah, oh, nothing's wrong, I was just thinking. What did you say just now?" Hu Hao snapped back to reality and asked.

"Forget it, consider I didn't say anything. Why am I even bothering with you, Erleizi?" Colonel Zhang said irritably.

"Who's Erleizi? Who are you calling Erleizi? If you hadn't called me that, that girl wouldn't have known my name," Hu Hao shouted, unhappy to hear Colonel Zhang call him Erleizi again.

"Who's Erleizi? I've been calling you that for years. Who in our unit doesn't know?" Colonel Zhang also shouted loudly.

"Forget it, call me whatever you want. I don't care," Hu Hao said, then lowered his head again.

After arriving at the base, Hu Hao followed Colonel Zhang into his quarters.

"Here, this is where you used to sleep. You always stayed close to me before. Remember to stay close to me in the future. You're my guard. Rest now, I have some business to attend to," Colonel Zhang said, showing Hu Hao to his old room, then left.

Hu Hao didn't care and fell asleep immediately, covering his face with the blanket.

"I can't go back. What am I going to do? I haven't even gotten married. Although I'm an orphan, I have a lot of brothers. If they knew I died in that era, would they still remember me?" Hu Hao thought gloomily.

"They probably would. I burn incense and paper for the fallen brothers every year," Hu Hao thought.

"Forget it, if I'm here, I'm here. I've already died twice. Dying one more time isn't a big deal. I shouldn't think about it. Maybe one day a bullet will end me. Why worry about it?"

"Hungry, I need to find something to eat. Where are the eggs Colonel Zhang gave me? Oh, I gave them back to him. I need to get them from him," Hu Hao thought, then got up to find Colonel Zhang.

When he came out of the door, he suddenly didn't know where to find Colonel Zhang. He saw a soldier feeding a horse.

"Hey, how do I find Colonel Zhang?" Hu Hao shouted to the soldier.

The soldier, hearing someone speak, looked up and saw only Hu Hao there. He didn't pay much attention, thinking he had heard wrong, and continued feeding the horse.

"Hey, I'm asking you a question. Didn't you hear me?" Hu Hao said, unhappy that the soldier looked up and then looked down without answering.

The soldier looked up again, looked around, and saw no one else except Hu Hao. He tentatively asked, "Was that you speaking just now?"

"Who else would it be? I'm asking you how to find Colonel Zhang. Do you know or not?" Hu Hao said impatiently.

"Ah, it's really you. Oh, Colonel Zhang is in the courtyard next door," the soldier said, pointing to the courtyard on the right, looking surprised.

"Thanks," Hu Hao said and quickly walked over, ignoring the surprised soldier.

At the entrance of the neighboring courtyard, he saw two soldiers on guard. Hu Hao looked around and walked in directly.

The two soldiers were surprised, "Why is he here today? He usually stays in that courtyard." But they couldn't say anything and just thought it to themselves.

When he arrived at Colonel Zhang's office, he saw more than ten people busy inside. Colonel Zhang was discussing something with a few people in military uniforms.

Hu Hao didn't care and walked over, asking, "Where are my eggs?"

Colonel Zhang and everyone in the room looked at Hu Hao in surprise, not knowing how he had come there.

"What eggs?" Colonel Zhang asked, a bit confused.

"The eggs you gave me at the hospital. Didn't I throw them to you? I'm hungry now," Hu Hao said.

"You said you had no appetite, so I gave them to other injured soldiers at the hospital," Colonel Zhang said. The others continued to stare at Hu Hao.

"Who told you to give them away? Who agreed? I just said I had no appetite, and you gave them away?" Hu Hao said, unhappy.

"You didn't eat them, so why blame me? Should I carry those eggs back and forth?" Colonel Zhang stood up and said.

"Hey, Old Zhang, sit down, sit down. What's going on? Erleizi, are you hungry?" the middle-aged man with glasses asked.

"Ah, I'm hungry. If I weren't, why would I come to ask for eggs?" Hu Hao said.

"The eggs are gone. Here, Xiao Li, go to the kitchen and get a few boiled sweet potatoes," the man with glasses said.

"Fine, as long as there's something to eat," Hu Hao said, finding a seat and sitting down.

"Get up, this isn't your place. If you have nothing to do, go wait outside," Colonel Zhang said, unhappy to see Hu Hao sitting there casually.

"Hey, Old Zhang, you can't treat him like that. In this battle, Erleizi eliminated no less than 200 Japanese soldiers. He's a great hero here. I was just about to recommend him for a commendation. A hero deserves a few eggs. Erleizi, I'll have the kitchen cook you some eggs tonight," the man with glasses said.

"Commissar Liu, don't spoil him. I almost got angry with him today when I brought him back from the hospital. He didn't eat the eggs, and now he wants to eat the same as us tonight. Eggs are for the injured," Colonel Zhang said, disagreeing.

"If you didn't eat them, that's fine. It's not like I've never eaten eggs before. Really!" Hu Hao muttered under his breath.

"What are you mumbling about? Didn't you hear that you should go outside? This is the regiment headquarters. Can't you see we're in a meeting? Go outside, and when Xiao Li brings the sweet potatoes, take them and go back to rest," Colonel Zhang said.

"Fine, I'll go. This headquarters, there's nothing decent here. This table even has only three and a half legs," Hu Hao said, standing up and leaving.

"You little brat, do you need a beating?" Colonel Zhang stood up again, and Commissar Liu quickly held him back.

"Hey, what's wrong with you today? Did you eat gunpowder? You used to be the best to Erleizi, always giving him the best. What's wrong today?" Commissar Liu asked.

"Don't mention it. When I went to see him today and brought him back, he actually flirted with Xiaoxin at the hospital. And on the way back, he ignored me when I spoke to him. He needs a good beating today," Colonel Zhang said, dissatisfied.