Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2984 Am I a lucky koi fish?

After listening to Ma Pingan and Li Xiaolian's advice, Duanwu pondered for a moment and felt that what they said made sense.

He considered the plan to move the grain for a moment, and then said, "You're right, the grain must be moved. Ma Ping'an, go and inform Ma Shanpao's Chunjiang Second Team and ask him to cooperate with your operation."

Ma Ping'an accepted the order and said, "Yes, Captain! I will go and inform Ma Shanpao immediately so that he can assemble the team as soon as possible."

After saying that, Ma Pingan turned around and left in a hurry.

At this moment, Duanwu looked at Li Xiaolian and said, "Xiaolian, you've worked hard too. You'll be coming along this time to move the grain and help coordinate things. Also, keep an eye on the surroundings and report anything unusual immediately."

Li Xiaolian quickly replied, "Don't worry, Captain, I will definitely complete the mission."

A short while later, Ma Ping'an returned with Ma Shanpao. As soon as Ma Shanpao entered the meeting room, he shouted, "Captain, I heard we need to move grain. My Chunjiang Second Team is on standby, ready to complete the mission!"

"You're so annoying!"

Duanwu pretended to be angry, but then said, "Your second team will have to work hard this time. There's a lot of grain, and you'll have to move it for a while. Can you finish moving it within two days?"

Ma Shanpao immediately stood at attention and saluted, saying, "I guarantee to complete the mission."

Duanwu nodded and said, "Okay, I'm relieved to hear that. Everyone, get ready now. We'll assemble in half an hour and set off to move the grain!"

Everyone responded in unison: "Yes!"

They then went to prepare the necessary transportation for the operation.

Li Xiaolian followed Ma Ping'an the whole time, and they walked for an unknown distance, probably no shorter than the distance she had walked when she met with the Japanese soldiers. Her legs were starting to feel weak and unsteady.

She thought to herself, "I should have chosen a different time to make the meeting. Walking twenty kilometers in one day is going to kill me."

But on the surface, she pretended not to be tired, even when Ma Ping'an asked her, "Comrade Xiaolian, this is the first time you've walked such a long way. If you're tired, just say so. You're a woman, no one will say anything to you!"

Li Xiaolian gritted her teeth and patted her chest to assure him, "Team Leader Pan, don't worry, I can handle this short distance."

But Li Xiaolian's heart was bleeding; she was so exhausted she was about to faint.

Fortunately, we finally arrived at the cave where the grain was stored.

At this time, some members of the Anti-Japanese United Army had already begun busily transporting grain.

Some soldiers were carrying sacks on their shoulders, walking towards the transport vehicles. Others were squatting on the ground, carefully picking up the scattered grains, not letting a single grain go to waste.

Looking at the scene before him, Ma Ping'an said solemnly, "This grain was hard-won; it was bought with the blood of our soldiers. So losing even a single grain is heartbreaking!"

Li Xiaolian nodded repeatedly, knowing the importance of food supplies to the anti-Japanese brigade. But in her heart, she thought, "If the Imperial Army wipes out all this food, how will the thousands of people in the anti-Japanese brigade survive this winter?"

But she was also worried about the authenticity of the grain. What if Qi Dabing discovered her identity and deliberately leaked such important information to her? She wanted to check if the grain was genuine. Just then, a soldier carrying grain passed by her and Ma Ping'an. There was a worn hole in the sack, and golden corn kernels flowed out like beads from a broken string, rolling all over the ground.

Seeing this, Ma Ping'an immediately squatted down with heartache and reached out to pick up the corn kernels, muttering, "These are our lifeline, we can't waste them."

After picking up a few grains, Ma Ping'an stood up and loudly ordered, "Be careful when you're moving them. Check if there are any holes in the sacks. If there are, change to a different sack. Don't waste the grain."

"Yes!"

The soldier beside him immediately responded, and several soldiers quickly got to work. They took the new bags and carefully poured out the corn kernels from the tattered bag; the golden-orange kernels shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight.

Looking at the bright orange corn kernels, Li Xiaolian thought to herself, "Am I some kind of lucky charm? I was just about to investigate the authenticity of this grain when a bag broke open, revealing the grain inside? Could it be that His Majesty the Emperor is helping me?"

Li Xiaolian was secretly delighted, but on the surface she pretended to cherish it very much, squatted down and helped pick up the corn kernels on the ground.

Li Xiaolian echoed Ma Ping'an's words, saying, "These grains were earned by the soldiers with their lives; not a single grain can be wasted!"

Ma Ping'an said happily, "Comrade Xiaolian is right! The moment I saw you, I knew you were a successor to our proletariat. Keep up the good work!"

"Yes!"

Li Xiaolian responded excitedly, because she knew the weight of the phrase "successors of the proletariat." It was the key to gaining trust.

Before long, all the grain that had fallen to the ground was picked up, and the tattered sack was replaced. The soldiers then continued their busy work of moving the grain.

Ma Pingan dusted himself off and said to Li Xiaolian, "Comrade Xiaolian, we can't just sit idly by. Let's go over there and help coordinate to ensure the smooth transfer of the grain."

Li Xiaolian responded and followed Ma Ping'an toward the caravan that was transporting grain.

And this busy work took up the entire afternoon.

At this point, Li Xiaolian stopped being stubborn and lay motionless on the ground. She had walked over forty kilometers of mountain road back and forth; even a strong young man would have found that exhausting, let alone her!
Ma Shanpao laughed until his stomach hurt when he saw Li Xiaolian being carried back.

Ma Ping'an scolded, "Be careful, there are still Japanese soldiers watching us!"

Ma Shanpao then stopped laughing and whispered, "Ma Hu has confirmed that Li Xiaolian left the guerrilla base and made contact with the Japanese. The battalion commander is truly brilliant; he had the reconnaissance squad expand the search area, and they caught all the Japanese in no time."

Ma Ping'an sighed and said, "It seems that the Japanese devils can't win on the open, so they've started using underhanded tricks. They've gone to so much trouble and paid such a high price; they definitely won't just send in Li Xiaolian. They'll surely send in spies as well."

Today I heard from the battalion commander that the Anti-Japanese Brigade is recruiting new soldiers. I suspect the Japanese will try to use this as an excuse.

Ma Shanpao also said with a solemn expression, "In that case, we won't be able to defend against it at all. Because when recruiting soldiers, we can't possibly investigate every ancestry of every person, can we? That's not realistic."

Ma Ping'an nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll go back and discuss this with the captain. Since he brought this up, I think he must already have a solution!"