Compared with the devastation and ruins of Gaojia Village, the situation in Lijia Village is much better.
Perhaps the Tokugawa Squadron left in too hasty, or perhaps it was the final tacit understanding between the two parties. In short, Lijia Village was not destroyed by the Japs, especially Li Yao's ancestral home, which belonged to a wealthy family. If it was burned down by the Japs, it would be difficult to rebuild it again. It's a lot of money.
The fact that Liuzhen and other places were burned to ashes by the Japanese has spread throughout Lijia Village. In addition to cursing the Japanese atrocities, the villagers are also secretly grateful that their homes have escaped the disaster.
Through this Japanese raid, the people of Lijia Village fully realized the atrocities committed by the Japanese and the importance of having a strong militia company. If the armed workers and the eldest son of the Li family had not been around to deal with and fight the Japanese on the periphery, Lijia Village would not have suffered any losses. so small.
In order to help Liuzhen and other places rebuild their homes, under the initiative of the military worker captain Chen Erxi, the villagers of Lijia Village donated money and materials to support the workers. This was truly achieved. When a family was in trouble, support came from all directions.
As a squire of Lijia Village, Li Yaozu naturally had to express his feelings. This time he gave 3,000 silver dollars and 5,000 kilograms of grain to support reconstruction, which made Li Chendong very unhappy.
"Isn't this a disguised attack on local tyrants? Chu Xiong's policies in Liu Town have crossed the line! Dad, you don't have to pay attention to them."
"Boss, it's not your turn to make the decision in the Li family now. Your father donated money and food to support Sangzi. It has nothing to do with Chuxiong and Hanxiong. Stop talking nonsense."
Li Yaozu had a strong point in his heart. Although he did not agree with what Chu Xiong and others did in Liuzhen, he could also see that the Eighth Route Army was really working for the township parties.
Lijiacun escaped a disaster this time. Who dares to say that it will have such good luck next time?
If Chuxiong could rebuild Gaojia Village, he would be able to provide money and effort for Lijia Village next time. In the hearts of squires like Li Yaozu, they have a simple idea of helping each other, and they also need reputation among their families.
Li Chendong encountered a minor problem with his stubborn father, so he decided to stay out of sight, out of mind, and worry about it later.
The people in Lijia Village were busy helping other villages rebuild. Only he, Li Yuanzheng and others were idle. The situation outside was not very clear yet, so he did not dare to risk leaving the town.
Li Yuanzheng, who went to Liuzhen and other places to inquire about information, finally came back. He brought back a definite message to Li Chendong:
"Captain, the Japs have fallen into the hands of Chu Xiong this time. A whole field regiment with only 180 people escaped. I heard that they also captured Anping City. The Japs don't care about Liu Zhen at all now." Chu's will burn high incense if he doesn't bother them."
"Expedition, are you not mistaken? Don't listen to their nonsense, they are a group of devils!"
Li Chendong asked again in disbelief. This had simply refreshed his knowledge.
"Captain, you can't be wrong. It took hundreds of people to transport the Japanese equipment they captured back to the mountains. It's no less than the equipment of a regiment! The guy named Chu definitely has a lair in the mountains!"
Li Chendong didn't care how many lairs Chu had. The cunning rabbit still had three burrows. It was normal for a ghost named Chu to occupy several bandit villages in the mountains.
What he is concerned about is that a man named Chu actually annihilated a Japanese regiment with an independent battalion. Such a person is definitely a potential danger to the party and the country, and must be taken seriously.
Li Chendong is not only the leader of the 338th Regiment of the Jinsui Army, he has a special mission when he returns from the Central Army to the Jinsui Army. Even Li Yuanzheng doesn't know this.
"Expedition, then did they really put a lot of effort into rebuilding in Liu Town, or was it just a superficial effort?"
Li Chendong once again asked a question that interested him.
Li Yuanzheng quickly replied:
"Captain, the reconstruction of Liu Town is progressing very quickly. The foundation has been laid. The brick and tile workshops are also firing bricks and tiles day and night, and tens of thousands of people have been organized to work. The current Liu Town is a large construction site. Judging from the situation, Soon, a new Liu Town will be built!"
After listening to this, Li Chendong couldn't help but admire:
"This guy named Chu is really a talent. If it weren't for his position, I would have wanted to make friends with him. Unfortunately, he is from the opposite side and is destined to be our enemy in the future!
The more powerful he is, the greater the threat to us in the future. Now I am suddenly looking forward to competing with him! "
"Captain, since he is so powerful, why don't I find an opportunity to kill him?"
"Yuanzheng, stay calm. Now is not the time to fall out with them. This will only give the Japanese an advantage! I hope he can survive the Japanese sieges again and again!"
"Expedition, since the Japs have been taken care of by Chu, let's also take care of ourselves and prepare to leave.
Seeing Chu fighting the Japanese makes my hands itch. We have to rebuild the 338th regiment as soon as possible. Only someone with a gun can compete with Chu. Even a militia company commander like Chen Erxi dares to challenge me. Yell. "
When Li Yuanzheng heard that he could finally go back, he was so excited. If he stayed in Lijiacun any longer, his childhood playmates would almost forget that he was still the battalion commander of the Jinsui Army.
The person named Chu is also a battalion commander!
Three days later, Li Chendong and his two brothers left Lijia Village silently with a dozen iron rods and 10,000 silver dollars borrowed from Li Yaozu.
This is different from before, when the eldest young master of the Li family went out, even if he didn't play gongs and drums, he would still set off a few firecrackers.
When Li Chendong left, except for his mother who sent him off to the east end of the village, no one else paid attention at all. Even his father, Li Yaozu, didn't come to see him off.
He took Li San to see his crops. There were only a few months left before the winter harvest, so he had to keep an eye on them.
"Li San, no son is reliable. Farming is much more reliable than raising a son!"
"He ran away in a hurry before his injuries were fully healed. Wouldn't the pond in Lijia Village hold his big fish?"
"If people named Chu aren't also prospering in Liu Town, why can't Lijia Village fight the Japanese?"
…
Li Yaozu once again turned on the Xianglin Sister-in-Law mode, and Li San followed him like a shadow behind him, never leaving for a moment.
Just like his son has been following the eldest young master, for a person like him, the master's family is heaven!
Gaojiacun, Gaodashuanjia
Their new house has begun to take shape. Several Eighth Route Army soldiers from the town have been helping his family build a house. This time, Gao Dashuan built three tile-roofed houses in one go, which was also his previous wish.
"Comrade, you are quite good at masonry work. Have you done it at home before?"
Gao Dashuan saw that the big man next to him was very agile in his work. He saw that he had done it before. Company Commander Yang was right. The Independent Battalion was a team of poor families. It not only fought against the Japanese but also made decisions for the poor families.
"Brother Gao, I used to build houses for people when I was working as a long-term worker at home. We poor families don't pay that much attention. The beauty of the built house is secondary. The most real thing is that the family can live in warmth."
Chu Xiong couldn't help but brag about his experience as a long-term laborer, and the stones around him couldn't bear to expose him.
In Chen's family, he had never worked seriously for several years, and he had not experienced much hardship. The second lady of the Chen family often secretly stuffed eggs into him, and gave him as many eggs as possible to plug his mouth.
Shitou suddenly missed the eggs given by the second lady!
