Chapter 257: This Is “some”?!
About ten miles outside Beiping City, in a desolate small village, the adobe houses overgrown with weeds on the roofs and in front of the doors indicated that it had long been abandoned and no one had lived there for a long time.
A convoy of cars drove into the village and stopped. Cao Weida jumped down from the car and commanded:
“Move all the grain and supplies into that house.”
Before coming here, one tenth of the grain and supplies had already been transported midway to the base area. The remaining nine tenths of the supplies were all here.
If it’s agreed to take only one tenth, then it must be only one tenth.
In cooperation between both sides, credibility must be upheld!
Without credibility, who will cooperate with you next time?
Besides, they weren’t losing out. They easily got one tenth of the supplies for free, which was already very good, not to mention they also got so many trucks!
The guerrilla team members and drivers who came with the trucks immediately got to work without a word, unloading the cargo and carrying it, everything in good order.
At that moment, a box with “sulfonamide” written on it appeared before his eyes.
Hao Pingchuan blinked and said dryly:
“Cao Ye, can we trade these sulfonamides for something else?”
“Like that grain? If it’s not enough, we can think of other ways?”
Twenty boxes of sulfonamide, twenty boxes per box, five packets per box, one tenth is one hundred packets.
The remaining nine tenths would be 900 packets of sulfonamide!
Although sulfonamide’s efficacy couldn’t compare to penicillin, required larger doses, and came with minor side effects, it was still an anti-inflammatory medicine. For the base area short on anti-inflammatory drugs, it was still something they eagerly awaited!
Not to mention sulfonamide—even drugs like Bailangduoxi, which had a high chance of side effects after use and were gradually being phased out, were still in hot demand at the base area!
“Comrade Hao Pingchuan, we can’t break the rules!” Cao Weida rejected him sternly. This wasn’t about money; agreed matters must be handled as agreed!
If you trade today and trade tomorrow, who will trust you in the future?
“I spoke out of turn.” Hao Pingchuan gritted his teeth inwardly, but his face couldn’t hide it, full of disappointment.
He rolled up his sleeves and was about to join the carrying when Cao Weida pulled him back.
“Come with me.”
He pulled Hao Pingchuan into the thatched house next door and shone the flashlight into the inner room.
Inside the room were wooden chests. Hao Pingchuan walked in, touched a chest, and asked curiously: “Cao Ye, what are these??”
Cao Weida smiled: “I know you’re disappointed about not being able to trade for that sulfonamide. Rules are rules; they can’t be broken.”
“However, I’m not without something prepared for you.”
“These boxes are all filled with penicillin, a total of one thousand doses. After the supplies are unloaded, move these onto the trucks and take them away to deliver to the base area as soon as possible.”
Upon hearing it was one thousand doses of penicillin, Hao Pingchuan’s hand trembled on the wooden chest, and he nearly jumped up in excitement.
Touching the rough wooden chest, Hao Pingchuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he said in a trembling voice:
“Great, that’s truly great! Now, how many brothers can be saved!”
He had withdrawn from the front-line battlefield and knew best the organization’s scarcity and desperate need for medicine, and even more so the agony injured soldiers endured without anti-inflammatory drugs.
How many brothers died slowly in helplessness and despair just because of the lack of anti-inflammatory drugs!
Last time, Cao Weida sent them a batch of medicine. After it reached the base area, how many brothers gained hope of survival!
In his eyes, this batch of penicillin wasn’t medicine—it was the lives of brothers!
“What, not disappointed now?” Cao Weida said in a teasing tone.
“No, not disappointed—no, it should be said to be a pleasant surprise!”
Hao Pingchuan was a straightforward rough man who didn’t know any twists and turns or fancy words, but that didn’t mean he was stupid!
He knew good from bad, and knew quality from junk!
His face flushed red from excitement, he pounded his chest loudly and said excitedly:
“Cao Ye, I won’t say much in thanks. Old Hao isn’t good at that. I’ll just say this: if you tell me to go through fire and water, as long as you say the word, if I so much as frown, then I’m no hero!”
“Enough, enough. Why would I want you to go through fire and water? I don’t lack oil, and you wouldn’t squeeze out much anyway.”
Cao Weida laughed and waved him off:
“Alright, skip the pleasantries. You’re a group fighting for the people. As a Chinese, isn’t it only right to help within my ability?”
“I respect you all, and admire your faith and national righteousness—that’s why I’m doing this.”
“Besides, I’m not doing this without purpose. The little devils have committed heinous crimes in China; I hate them to the bone! Only if you get stronger can you help us kill more little devils to avenge our compatriots!”
These words brought tears to Hao Pingchuan’s eyes. Who wouldn’t hope for support and understanding for their revolutionary faith!
At the same time, it made his blood boil. With countless people like Comrade Cao Weida who cared about China and the people, our great China would never perish!
“Great! Rest assured, Cao Ye! I’ll definitely arrange for people to transport these things in batches, all safely to the base area, all put into the anti-Japanese cause, and absolutely not let down your kind intentions!”
As for why he wouldn’t deliver them himself, it was because he had to stay to protect Cao Weida’s safety!
Right, because of his good skills and knowing Cao Weida’s identity, the organization required him to stay near Cao Weida, specifically responsible for protecting Cao Weida’s safety!
Zheng Chaoyang was responsible for continuing infiltration at the police station, always watching Cao Weida’s safety. Old Luo was to handle transporting supplies to the base area. Safety matters would henceforth be handled by Hao Pingchuan!
At the same time, this batch of guerrillas would cease guerrilla tactics and instead infiltrate Beiping City, awaiting Hao Pingchuan’s orders at any time!
As Cao Weida’s contributions to the base area grew more and more, the Communist Party grew ever more attentive and close to him.
“Alright, alright, let’s not be so polite. You’re making my blood boil.” Cao Weida smiled and quickly changed the topic; he really couldn’t stand this sentimentality.
“In the room next door, there are some little devils’ weapons and ammunition—a little gift from me to support your organization. Take it all with you!”
When Hao Pingchuan went next door and saw the weapons and ammunition, he fell silent.
30 M1941 semi-automatic sniper rifles, with 5,000 matching bullets.
Two Type 92 infantry guns, 600 artillery shells.
Three Type 94 75mm mountain guns, 700 artillery shells.
20 mortars, 500 artillery shells.
50 Type 11 light machine guns, 30,000 bullets.
10 heavy machine guns, 100,000 bullets.
Three military high-power radios.
“Cao Ye, you call these… some?!” Hao Pingchuan stared dumbly at these supplies; he couldn’t connect them to “some” no matter what.
What he thought of as “some” was at most a dozen light machine guns plus some rifles. Cao Weida had provided those during the previous night raid; he wouldn’t be surprised.
But now, seeing these, he couldn’t help but be shocked.
It could be said that among these supplies, light machine guns were already the most ordinary weapons!
Even M1941 semi-automatic sniper rifles were much more precious than them!
Not to mention heavy machine guns and mortars—even mountain guns and infantry guns were there!
Artillery shells and ammunition were abundantly plentiful!
The mortars alone could match four divisions of the Communist Party!
Don’t doubt it; just look at the numbers.
In 1944, the entire 120th Division had only 4 mortars, and the entire 129th Division had only 6 mortars!
Just these 20 mortars equaled twice the total mortars of the 120th and 129th Divisions combined!
Infantry guns and mountain guns were even rarer—pitifully few; even combined with the New Fourth Army, they wouldn’t fill one hand!
Artillery shells were especially precious, counted individually, and every shell’s use required an application!
“With these weapons, the troops won’t be suppressed by the little devils’ blockhouses anymore. When attacking blockhouses, we won’t have to fill them with brothers’ lives!”
Hao Pingchuan trembled all over in excitement, tears streaming down silently.
It could be said that Cao Weida’s supplies hit right at the Communist Party’s heart without exception!
“Alright, alright, don’t make such a fuss. You’re a grown man, still crying.” Cao Weida couldn’t stand seeing men cry, especially these battle-hardened pioneers.
He knew why they cried, and precisely because he knew, he couldn’t stand it—it made his heart feel blocked.
The revolutionary predecessors’ days were truly too hard!
He feigned impatience, waved dismissively, and urged: “Didn’t you just say you were going to help unload supplies? Hurry up, finish early so this old man can rest early.”
Hao Pingchuan felt no displeasure at Cao Weida’s attitude; instead, he grinned, and as he exhaled through his nose, two thick long strings of snot sprayed out.
Cao Weida jumped back in fright and said with disgust: “Don’t come near me, stay away!”
Hao Pingchuan’s rugged face flushed red. He hurriedly wiped his nose, then his tears, grinned at Cao Weida again, his honesty fully evident, then dashed out.
He couldn’t wait to transport these supplies back. Luckily they had these extra trucks; otherwise, with so few people, they really couldn’t move them all!
Cao Weida smoked on the side, watching them bustle about carrying.
He couldn’t help sighing inwardly: People of this era really can endure hardship—simple-minded and firm in faith!
If it were modern people, asking them to fight desperately without salary, poorly fed and clothed—he didn’t know how many could hold out.
