Chapter 4 Unexpected Discovery

  Due to the special nature of the troops, the mountain peak where the troops are located is surrounded by an electric net, with a two-meter-high cement wall below and three live wires above that are electrified all year round.

  The scope of the electric fence is very large, and the patrol of the electric fence is jointly responsible by the engineering squad and the military dog squad. Each time the electric fence is patrolled, it is two people and one dog, starting early in the morning and returning at dusk, circling around the entire mountain. Each time the electric fence is patrolled, the superiors will provide a subsidy of twelve yuan, and the old soldiers basically don't want to do this hard job, basically only new soldiers who are eager to show off go on patrol, first to show themselves, secondly because at that time our monthly allowance was only thirty-five yuan, which was indeed not enough for those who smoked fiercely.

  The next morning, Jin Gang wore camouflage clothes, carried an 81 rifle and held a large machete to ask me to open the way. At that time, I didn't have a dog with me, so I followed him alone. Because of the different nature of each squad, our squad usually had no chance to touch guns unless there was a special task. Jin Gang's engineer squad was equipped with rifles and could bring one for prevention during patrols.

  Veterans basically don't carry them, first because they rarely encounter any situations, secondly it's really too far and carrying a gun is too tiring. The power of the cannon is abundant, but most importantly, it feels incredibly cool to carry a gun, so every time they do.

  He didn't expect to encounter an unexpected situation. Some time ago, this guy was on patrol when he came across a couple who had crawled in through a hole in the wall to make out, and at gunpoint, he marched them back to the barracks for half an afternoon. It's said that the scene was similar to Japanese devils forcing our ordinary people at gunpoint, making them walk from the front while he followed behind with his gun, scaring everyone to tears.

  After returning, the captain looked at the two people's student IDs and let them go. After finishing, he gave him an oral commendation and instructed him to handle such things flexibly in the future. I reckon Jin Gang Pao definitely didn't understand this flexible handling as letting people off, because later he encountered another old lady who crawled in from a wall hole to pick up firewood and still took her back.

  "Your turn, you lead the way." When we reached the edge of the forest, Jin Gang Cannon handed me his large machete.

  "Why don't you open the way?" I turned away and didn't take the machete from his hand.

  "Then you carry the gun." Jin Gang Pao handed me the gun and took a machete to walk in front, chopping and clearing some overgrown branches and weeds that were too close to the electric net. I removed the magazine and found one blank cartridge and two live rounds inside.

  Because the troops were stationed here as early as the beginning of the founding of the country, more than 50 years of closure have made wild animals particularly abundant, and small mammals such as rabbits and badgers often dart out.

  Three hours later, they arrived at the back of the mountain and stopped at a hill with sparse trees. "Lao Yu, I remember digging that thing was right here."

  As he said that, I began to observe the surrounding area. The trees around were very lush, but this hill was bare with only a few sparse clumps of what we commonly call "ghost ginger" grass. On the north side of the hill was a steep slope, at the bottom of which was a small dead water lake. The water was a pale blue and seemed to be very deep. In addition, there were many withered branches and fallen grass floating on the surface of the lake, making one feel fearful at first glance.

  The cannon looked left and right, and finally found the small pit on the sunny side of a small hill.

  "This is my reference!" He sneered, pointing at a pile of black stuff beside the small pit.

  "What is this?" I crouched down and examined it carefully.

  "I'm going to take a dump." Jin Gang Pao said with an evil grin.

  "Grass." I took out a small shovel from my backpack and continued digging along the small pit he was pointing at.

  "Old cow, when was your last visit?" The small pit wasn't deep, and I easily dug out the remaining part of He Shou Wu that had stayed in the soil.

  "What happened last Saturday?" Jin Gang pounced down.

  "How did it grow so long in just one week?" I pointed at the half of He Shou Wu "The one you gave me yesterday was cut off from the knee, how did this one already have half an ass?"

  "Lao Yu, you believe now? This thing is Ginseng Fruit." Jin Gang Cannon's eyes widened.

  I still understand the basic natural law, and there is no plant that can grow so rapidly in just one week. And it seems to be repairing itself in its original shape. Although I was puzzled, I didn't think too much about it, took out a newspaper-wrapped half of He Shou Wu and put it in my bag.

  Down the hill, the two of them casually found a cave to cool off and drink water. The mountain peak where the troops were located was surrounded by abandoned caves, which should have been shelters during battles in the War of Resistance Against Japan. They came in all sizes, with some as large as basketball courts and others roughly the size of our living room at home. Those near the troop headquarters had already been renovated and deepened by the troops to store uniforms and supplies, while those farther away from the headquarters remained abandoned.

  I and Jin Gang pao rested in this mountain cave, which was about two meters high. The entrance had little grass and no trees, facing due south, so the sun at noon could shine into the cave halfway. After entering, we found a clean place to sit down. Jin Gang pao took off his backpack, dug out two bottles of beer and several sausages, handed me one bottle, I looked at it and threw it back to him, "I don't drink, give me a cigarette instead."

  He asked me for a cigarette, lit it and lay down puffing out smoke rings. Seeing me blow smoke rings, Jin Gang put down his beer, lit one himself, took a hard drag, looked straight at the round smoke rings I had just blown and suddenly puffed out a straight line of smoke that went right through my smoke rings. "Haha, Old Yu, look at this!"

  I glanced at the cannon without saying a word, and when I looked up, I discovered a strange phenomenon - the smoke we exhaled actually floated into a seam on the top of the cave.

  "Old cow, give me a lighter." I stood up and went out to drag back a few withered branches.

  "It's all short sleeves now, what are you lighting?" Jin Gang cannon muttered and threw over the lighter.

  "I suspect there's a hole up there." I pointed upwards with my finger.

  Ignite the withered branches, and it can be seen more clearly. All the smoke drifted into the gap at the top of the cave.

  "Come over here." I yelled at Jin Gang Pao who had been smoked out by me and was running to a big tree to drink beer.

  "What's up?" Jin Gang walked over with a bottle of wine.

  "Were you sleeping during the survival skills class?" I reminded him. "Look at the direction this smoke is going."

  "How come everything is going up and nothing is drifting out?" Jin Gang Pao looked up.

  "This means there is space up here." I nodded and said.

  "Are you saying there's a hole in this?" King Kong Cannon suddenly realized.

  "Right!" I nodded definitely, "And the space is not small either."

  "Let's dig it open and take a look, maybe it was a place where they stored guns and ammunition during the war. If we hand it over, who knows, we might even get some credit for it." Jin Gang started talking nonsense.

  I turned off the kettle and put out the fire, to be honest I was also very curious, but I didn't expect there would be wartime leftover weapons inside, anyway just curiosity.

  "Human ladder!" I shouted as I pulled out a small shovel from my backpack and rushed towards the Gold Cannon.

  "Come!" Jin Gang cannon quickly drank up the remaining beer, walked over and squatted down against the wall.

  "Up." I stepped directly onto his shoulders.

  He tilted his head, swung the shovel upwards and dug, unexpectedly smoothly, without using many shovels, a hole of about one square foot was dug out, inside it was dark and nothing could be seen, on a hot summer day, he felt a cool breeze blowing from the hole.

  "Did you bring a flashlight?" I jumped down from Jin Gang Pao's shoulder.

  "What am I carrying this thing for in broad daylight?" The cannon patted the grey dust off its shoulders.

  "It's pitch black inside." I shook my head and said.

  "Light a torch." Jingang Cannon had an idea.

  "Go and cut two branches." I accepted his suggestion.

  This guy is indeed from the engineering troops, chopping trees and whatnot with high efficiency. Before long, he dragged back two pine logs as thick as wine bottles.

  "It's too crude, let's just make do." I used the gun oil in the rifle accessory box and two towels to quickly tie up two torches.

  "After you go up, pull me up, if I went first and pulled you, it would be a disaster." I crouched down with my back against the wall.

  "What's going on inside?" I raised my sore shoulder and looked up.

  "It's pitch black and you can't see anything, come up quickly," said Jin Gang Pao, as he lay down and reached out to pull me up.

  "Hurry up with the torch." Jin Gang cannon took out a lighter and lit the torch.

  By the faint light of the torches, they took a general look around and couldn't help but take in a breath of cool air.

  "Lao Yu, this doesn't seem like a place to store ammunition..."