Chapter 41 of 100
Chapter 41
16 min read3,905 words
Hu Hao stood in the confinement room, took a deep breath, and tightly held the letter his mother had given him. It was cold, and he felt something was wrong.
Hu Hao pushed open the door, and there was a guard standing outside.
"Hey, Er Lengzi, why are you out? Get back in quickly. If the commander comes and sees you, he'll add more days to your confinement," the guard said.
"It's too cold. I'm going to find my brother for a coat," Hu Hao said and started walking towards the headquarters.
"Er Lengzi, aren't you in confinement? How did you get out? Did you sneak out?" the soldiers on the road shouted when they saw Hu Hao.
"Don't talk nonsense. I walked out openly," Hu Hao said.
When Hu Hao arrived at the headquarters, Captain Li saw him and quickly pulled him aside.
"Er Lengzi, don't you learn? The commander just put you in confinement, and you're already out. Do you know the commander's belt is still on the table, not even put on yet?" Captain Li whispered, "Go back quickly. If the commander sees you, he'll beat you again. Weren't you scared enough just now?"
"Hehe, no problem. My brother didn't hit me; I dodged it all. I won't talk to you anymore; I'm going to find my brother," Hu Hao said and headed towards the headquarters. Captain Li tried to stop him but couldn't.
"Brother, brother!" Hu Hao shouted as he entered. Commander Zhang looked up, his anger rising! He grabbed his belt and was about to hit Hu Hao.
"Brother, wait, I have something to say," Hu Hao said.
"What? Don't you know you're in confinement? Don't you know you can't leave? Ten more days, forty days," Commander Zhang said.
"Brother, even a hundred days is fine. Let's talk. The room is too cold; I can't stay there for a day. How about I stay in our room for confinement?" Hu Hao said.
"Nice try, but no. You can only stay in that room," Commander Zhang said.
"Then I won't go. Do what you want. You're just mad because I used a gun to hunt wild boars. There were so many; I couldn't kill them all with a knife. Even if I used a knife, I couldn't kill that many!" Hu Hao sat down on the ground.
"You, you, you fired a gun in the camp. Don't you know it could cause misunderstandings among the soldiers?" Commander Zhang said.
"What misunderstandings? You have sentries. They didn't report it, so why are you worried?" Hu Hao said.
"Fine, I see your mouth is getting sharper. Forty days of confinement, go now, and don't bother me," Commander Zhang pointed to the door.
"Not going, it's too cold!" Hu Hao said, not getting up.
"Then what will it take for you to go?" Commander Zhang asked.
"If you put a kang (a traditional heated bed) in there, I'll go. Otherwise, no way. It's too cold; I could freeze to death in there," Hu Hao said.
"Impossible. I'll allow you to make a fire and take the coat. If it's cold at night, you can cover yourself with the coat. If you step out of the confinement room without my order, I'll add ten more days," Commander Zhang said.
"Alright, I'll go," Hu Hao took the coat and left. Before entering the confinement room, he carried a pile of firewood inside. The room heated up quickly with the fire. Hu Hao thought it was a waste to just have the fire for warmth, so he considered going out to get a pot and some wild game or fish to cook.
But the commander said going out would add ten more days. Hu Hao thought about it and decided to go anyway, even if it meant being confined for a year.
Hu Hao put on the coat and went out.
"Er Lengzi, you're going out again. What if the commander comes to check?" the guard asked.
"You're just idle. I told you to come in and warm up, but you insisted on freezing here. I'm going to get some food. If you're cold, come in and warm up," Hu Hao said.
"Er Lengzi, I think you shouldn't go. Someone will bring food soon. There will be wild boar meat tonight. You killed so many; every soldier will get a couple of pounds. If the commander sees you're not there, it will be trouble," the soldier said.
"Why do you care so much? If you're cold, come in. By the way, give me your gun. My gun and knife were taken by my brother," Hu Hao said.
"Er Lengzi, do you want the commander to kill me? If I give you the gun, he'll shoot me. Here, take this," the soldier pulled out a bayonet from his leg bindings and gave it to Hu Hao.
"Fine, this will do," Hu Hao took it and left.
Hu Hao went out to get some wild game and secretly returned to his room. After confirming Commander Zhang wasn't there, he took a small pot and went to the confinement room.
Hu Hao skinned a rabbit and called the soldier over.
"Hey, go get some clean water for the pot. I'll prepare the rabbit. We'll have a stew later," Hu Hao said to the soldier, who couldn't resist the temptation. It was so cold outside, and Hu Hao was warming up inside. The soldier decided to come in and warm up with Hu Hao, chatting.
Confinement was supposed to be solitary, and chatting was not allowed. But here, Hu Hao was treating it like a rest.
"Hey, Er Lengzi, if the commander sees us like this, will he shoot us?" the soldier asked before leaving to get water.
"Why would he shoot us? Just go get the water. I'll be done preparing the rabbit, and we can start stewing it," Hu Hao said.
When the soldier returned with the water, Hu Hao put the rabbit meat and spices in the pot, hanging it from a rope on the ceiling to cook over the fire.
Hu Hao looked at his watch and said, "Go check if the food in the kitchen is ready. It's 5 PM; it should be almost done. Get some main dishes. When you come back, the food will be ready. Oh, and bring some sweet potatoes. Roasted sweet potatoes are better than boiled ones. I haven't had sweet potatoes in months."
"Alright, don't go out. If you go out again, I'll be in trouble," the soldier stood up and went to the kitchen.
About 20 minutes later, the soldier came back with a large basket.
"Er Lengzi, you have some influence. When I said I was getting food for you, the cook gave you the best meat and a lot of steamed buns. He said if you want anything, just ask, and he'll make it. Here are the sweet potatoes," the soldier said, taking out the buns and food.
Hu Hao took the sweet potatoes and threw them into the fire, using a stick to bury them in the ashes. "We need to wait. The rabbit needs more time to cook. It's edible now, but the spices haven't fully infused," Hu Hao said.
"No problem, we can wait. The kitchen hasn't started serving yet," the soldier said.
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