In the darkness, Wei Ran led the donkey and walked in the dark behind Mahbubu, who was carrying two oil drums.

"There is a spring in front. It is very small, but the water is very sweet. When I was as old as Multaza, I often herded sheep in this area." Mahbubu introduced as he walked.

"I see you are very familiar with this place."

"Of course, this is where I grew up."

Mahbub sighed when he said this, "But I never thought that one day I would be fighting guerrillas here. During the years when I grew from the size of Multaza to the size of Habibullah, the Soviet Union made

I saw a whole new world, and I changed from a shepherd's child to a university teacher.

From this point of view, I am grateful to the Soviet Union."

"Until 10 years ago," Wei Ran sighed.

"yes"

Mahboob sneered, "It's no different from the description of the British I heard from my father. My grandfather longed for Britain. He could speak fluent English and once served as a translator for the British.

But my father hated the British. He was a soldier who fought against the British and killed many British people.

What about me?

I once yearned for the Soviet Union just like my grandfather longed for England, and I was lucky enough to live in Moscow for a while.

My child Habibullah hates the Soviet Union just like my father hated Britain, and at the same time yearns for the United States.

You see, there is actually no difference.

Even if one day Multaza begins to hate the United States, even if the United States starts to invade Afhan, I will not be surprised at all."

"You are a prophet," Wei Ran sighed, half jokingly and half seriously.

"The foolish and arrogant British united the tribes of Afhan"

Mahbub saw this land very clearly, “The Soviets allowed us primitive people living in the mountains to see a whole new world.

But he chose to invade us like the stupid and arrogant British, and he firmly believed that the war would end soon like the British back then."

"Then this war lasted for almost ten years," Wei Ran couldn't help but say.

"Yeah, almost ten years. In this almost ten years, I lost most of my children and family members, almost all my students, Habibullah lost the opportunity to study in the United States, Multaza even lost

Even the chance to go to school is gone.”

Mahbub shook his head and sighed, "I hope the price we paid can make our Soviet friends learn some lessons."

"They will pay a greater price," Weiran sighed, taking the disintegration of the Soviet Union as the price.

While chatting almost to himself, Mahbub, who was carrying a bucket, finally stopped at the door of a small cave, then took out a lighter and lit it.

Through the faint flame of the kerosene lighter, Wei Ran could roughly see that there was a spring the size of a finger on the rock wall inside the cave, which was less than one meter wide and one meter high but more than two meters deep.

Directly below the spring is a narrow pool made of gravel and gravel.

After pressing the bucket into the pool, filling it up and tightening the lid, Mahbub handed it to Wei Ran, and then pushed the second bucket in.

While the two of them were busy working, the roar of fighter jets came again above their heads. This made Wei Ran, who was helping to hold the kerosene lighter, immediately fasten the lid of the lighter and hide in the cave.

After a while, the roar of the fighter jets came from far to near, then from near to far, and finally disappeared completely.

By the time Wei Ran lit the lighter again, the second plastic bucket had been filled with clear spring water.

Helping Mahbub tie two heavy plastic buckets to both sides of the donkey's body, Wei Ran deliberately went into the cave, took out the British army kettle from the metal book, filled it with cold mountain spring water, and followed Mahbub towards

The direction from which it came.

"Early tomorrow morning, Habibullah and I will take you to the next guerrilla camp."

Mahboob said, "After your interview is over, I hope you can fulfill your promise."

"I will" Wei Ran made a serious promise, even though he was not sure about it.

When the two of them returned to the huge cave, Habibullah had already boiled hot milk and killed a goat. At this time, he was just waiting for the water to be put into the pot.

"We will leave early tomorrow morning"

Mahbub poured water into the pot with the mutton and said, "Multaza, you stay with the sheep. You are responsible for taking care of Ayana and Soraya."

"Okay" Multaza nodded.

"Let's send Victor to Abdul," Mahbub said to his youngest son Habibullah.

"Dad, are you going to let him..."

Before Habibullah finished speaking, he noticed that his father Mahbub pointed at the curtain behind him and made gestures on his stomach with his hand.

"Okay" Habibullah finally nodded and covered the lid of the small enamel pot.

In response, Wei Ran, who pretended not to understand what they were talking about, could only politely accept the cup of hot goat milk from Multaza, and then watched three generations of their grandparents wash their hands carefully.

Spread out a blanket in the corner of the cave, kneel on it, hold your hands in front of you, and perform the night prayer devoutly.

At the same time, he also vaguely heard the faint sound of pious chanting coming from the other side of the curtain opposite.

After tightening the blanket around his body, Wei Ran took off the cover of the British kettle, filled half a cup of water and placed it on the edge of the bonfire. Then he buried the kettle with the lid unscrewed in the hot sand.

Heat it up patiently.

The cold here is different from the winter in Leningrad and the cold in the primeval forests of the three northeastern provinces.

The dry and cold air seemed thin. It was also dry, as if every breath was mixed with floating sand and dust.

There is also despair here, the endless desolate mountains outside the cave, the sound of chanting in the cave as if gods and demons are whispering in the ears, and the sounds of the goats in the sheepfold from time to time and the permeated smell, mixed with the pot.

The slight smell of meat makes people subconsciously have the urge to escape from here and hide in the middle of a warm bonfire.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! I don’t know how long it took, the mountain spring water in the cup and the mountain spring water in the kettle were boiled one after another, and Weiran also tightened the lid of the cup and put it back in

The canvas bottle cover was then stuffed into his arms as a water bag.

Pour the boiling water in the cup into the cup of goat milk that Multaza just sent. Wei Ran sits cross-legged by the warm bonfire and takes sips while quietly listening to the sounds in the dark corner in the distance.

The call to prayer.

Finally, just when he drank up all the diluted goat milk, and just when the small pot where the mutton was cooked began to boil, and an increasingly rich aroma of meat wafted out, the family's night prayer finally came to an end.

.

After a moment of waiting, Multaza gave him a small enamel plate, and Mahbub used a silver fork and a knife to give him a few pieces of mutton and a bowl of broth.

Habibullah, on the other hand, opened up a pile of hot sand beside the bonfire, picked out a few freshly baked hot naans, patted them with a scarf, and gave Wei Ran half a piece.

At the same time, Multaza also greeted the little girl of the same age named Soraya, and brought mutton, broth and freshly baked naan to Ayana on the other side of the curtain.

Wei Ran declined the knife and fork offered by Mahbub. Wei Ran took out the knife and once again used the suitcase as a dining table to eat slowly. At the same time, he listened to the family chatting in their native language through the curtain.

of chatting.

Having truly filled his stomach, Wei Ran wiped the remaining grease from the food knife on his pants. Then he spread the blanket beside the bonfire, lying on his back with the roll of clothes he took out of the suitcase, and watched.

The starry sky outside the sky window of the cave.

Soon after, Habibullah also got up after eating, greeted Multaza who had eaten earlier than him, and blocked the entrance of the cave with a thick bundle of felt.

Without such a large air inlet, the cave suddenly became much warmer. Habibullah then took out a harmonica from his pocket and sat by the campfire, playing a nice but unnamed tune.

To the accompaniment of this song, Multaza, who had been tired all day, was the first to huddle up by the campfire, hugging a little lamb and fell asleep. Soon after, Wei Ran's upper and lower eyelids also began to fight, and finally closed completely

His eyes were wet, and soon he began to snore lightly.

"Dad, do you really plan to take him to Teacher Abdul's place?" Habibullah put away his harmonica and asked softly, "He is the front line. This is too dangerous."

"Leave early tomorrow morning"

Mahboub said, "Even if the reporter does not plan to go, at least the anti-aircraft machine guns and ammunition should be sent there. This is what Abdul urgently needs."

"You stay," Habibullah said. "My sister is about to give birth. If you stay, you can at least take care of her."

"I can take care of myself"

Ayana on the other side of the curtain said, "This is not my first time giving birth. I have experience and with Soraya's help, I can do it myself."

"We will send the anti-aircraft guns and reporters to Abdul and we will come back immediately."

Mahbub said, "It's not that far there. We can get there before dark and get back before dawn the day after tomorrow."

"In this case, let Multaza follow."

Ayana on the other side of the curtain said, "There are no living guerrillas here except Soraya and I. Send all those weapons and ammunition to Teacher Abdul. They will definitely use them."

"You are here by yourself..."

"Multaza can't help me with anything, and I still have Soraya." Ayana said, "You will be back soon, right?"

"Leave those two ewes that are producing milk for you," Mahbub decided. "You need them, and so does the child in your belly."

"Okay" Ayana responded absently.

For a moment, the cave that was barely illuminated by the fire became quiet. Wei Ran, who had been eavesdropping just now, sighed silently, hugged the still hot kettle in his arms, and closed his eyes completely.

He didn't sleep comfortably that night, especially when it was about to dawn in the second half of the night. After the embers of the campfire had lost their temperature, the temperature in the cave became lower and lower, making him feel like he was lying in a refrigerator.

Just as he was wondering whether to add some coal, Mahbub had already gotten up, and then woke up Habibullah and Multaza.
To be continued...