The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

Chapter 373: The Happy Life of Refugee Jin Shitou (Part 1)

Jin Shitou is an honest farmer, and his ancestors have lived in Jinjia Village for generations.

Relying on a few acres of thin land, growing wheat and millet every year, and raising a flock of chickens, we can barely make a living. Although life is tight, we can get by.

But this year was different. The previous winter had seen little snow, and in the spring, there was no snow at all. A hot, dry wind blew in gusts, curling the leaves of the crops in the fields into ropes. Shitou looked at the rows of wheat in the field, feeling a pang of fear in his heart—he feared the harvest was doomed.

The country folk believed in destiny, but this time, the heavens were angry with them. The drought had just ended, and the sky was suddenly filled with black clouds. It wasn't rain, it was locusts!

A swarm of locusts descended from the northwest like a dark cloud. Almost overnight, they devoured every edible green leaf in the fields, even the bark of the trees. The people of Jinjia Village watched helplessly as their food supplies turned to locust droppings, practically collapsing on the ground in tears.

A village elder in his seventies leaned on a cane and said with tears in his eyes, "It's over! This year is completely over!"

But country folk were tough, and who wouldn't have some leftover grain for the New Year? They could just hang on, rely on their connections, and perhaps even the town's landlords, borrow some money at high interest rates, and finally make it to next spring—it wasn't impossible to survive.

But people are not as good as heaven.

A few days later, several officers and soldiers in leather boots came to the town, waving grain collection documents stamped by the county government. They said that in order to fight the Japanese, the county had ordered them to collect an additional amount of "military rations" for the general above.

The village chief's beard was shaking with anger. "But we... every household has run out of food. We even have to borrow seeds for next year from relatives. Boss, please be kind and don't take everything away..."

The leading officer snorted coldly, "You have three hundred households in this village, and you don't have any surplus food? You're trying to shirk your responsibility, right? Drag them out and beat them!"

Next, they started smashing things around with gun butts.

Jin Shitou was also kicked, and his knee still limps. He watched helplessly as the only remaining grain in his family, a bag of millet, a jar of wheat, and the seeds hidden under the stove, were all loaded onto mule carts and taken away by those in military uniforms.

Looking at the women and children in the village kneeling on the ground crying and wailing, Jin Shitou knew that he could not stay in this place anymore.

Disaster relief? Wait for the government to release grain? Not to mention Shitou, even the lame Wang who sells tofu at the village entrance knows that the disaster relief grain is for the relatives of the officials, not for their lowly lives.

That summer, Jin Shitou and his family set out to escape famine.

On the way, he heard people say that a great figure had emerged in the south, a Chinese, who was said to have established some kind of country in Southeast Asia and was now recruiting people.

"I heard that they harvest rice every year there, three times a year, and there's more rice and flour than you can eat. Working in the city not only provides food and accommodation, but also wages!"

"Are you stupid? Going to Southeast Asia is like being a pig. Half of them suffocate to death in the cabin, and the rest are used as animals by foreigners!"

"But I heard that this time it's not foreigners who are running it, it's our own people who are giving us free food, shelter, and land!"

"Wouldn't that be heaven?"

The older ones in the refugee group still remember that a few decades ago there was a "paradise" where everyone had land and everyone was equally rich.

"Believe it or not, I heard it from my nephew. He's a teacher in town and he's very smart."

The rumors were mixed with truth and falsehood, and the refugees were hesitant. The bravest of the villagers pooled some money and went to the town to sign up, saying there was a receiving station in the town that could send them all the way south.

But Jin Shitou...he didn't dare.

He could not forget the years his grandfather talked about: some people went to Baiying to build a railway, and after the railway was built, they set foot in the coal mine. More than one hundred people went there and did not return home for more than twenty years. Those who died in the tunnels did not even have their bodies accounted for. In the end, only three came back safely.

Shitou was an honest man, so he decided to continue on his way. He carried his father on his back, his elder brother carried his mother on his back, his sister-in-law held the two children, and they held a little girl hand in hand. Their bags were packed to the brim, and a broken tile was their only possession, so they were reluctant to leave it behind.

The fleeing group grew larger and larger, and the family followed the crowd while praying to God.

I had just walked more than fifty miles when I collapsed.

The stone cried, and they could only dig a hole to bury it and cover it with a layer of soil.

After walking another hundred miles, his eldest brother developed a fever and was shaking all day long. He couldn't even walk steadily and eventually lay down on the side of the road, unable to catch his breath.

"I can't do it anymore... You have to take Dad and our kids out..."

Shi Tou agreed, he had no choice.

Along the way, my sister-in-law didn't cry. Her lips were tightly pursed and her eyes were as red as a rabbit.

Shitou gritted his teeth and carried his father all the way out of the province.

Everyone in their group was emaciated by hunger along the way, and had to survive on wild vegetables, fruits, tree bark, and even by digging rat holes to find food. By the time they crossed the provincial border, Jin Shitou had become a little numb.

But who would have thought that just as they were climbing over a small hill and taking a breath to rest, a group of people in military uniforms rushed out.

"Don't move! Get down!"

A few men with rough voices roared, and a machine gun fired half a burst of bullets into the sky. The more than a thousand fleeing men, women, and children were all frightened and collapsed on the ground.

Just as Jin Shitou was about to protect his father behind him, he was hit on the butt of a gun and fell to the ground.

The soldiers quickly tied them up with hemp ropes, separated the men and women, and marched them down the mountain. Shitou's heart sank: "It's over, I'm afraid I'll be conscripted..."

He had also heard that wherever there was war, conscription was required.

Sometimes, when the troops were short on men, they would arrest anyone they could find, even children and the elderly. Some were forced to carry shells and rations, while others were given guns and thrown into the trenches without even being taught how to load them. Death was considered bad luck; survival was considered a blessing.

They were escorted for more than ten miles. Shitou was covered in sweat and his wrists were purple from the rope. Finally, they were taken to a camp.

The campground was surprisingly quiet and seemed well-organized.

Barbed wire fences were erected all around, and in the middle were rows and rows of large tents, so many that Jin Shitou couldn't count them even with his fingers. Neatly laid beddings were drying outside the tents, white smoke was rising from the stoves, and there were people patrolling back and forth.

Shi Tou saw the group of soldiers nodding and bowing as they said something to a man wearing glasses and a blue uniform who looked like a manager. The man wearing glasses smiled and wrote something on a piece of paper, stamped it, and then tore it off and handed it to an officer.

The ferocious commander was delighted when he received the note. He bowed in a flattering manner and waved his hand. All the soldiers left, leaving only the tied refugees.

"Men and women separate! Stand still and stop arguing!"

Shitou and the people around him were untied, and several people in uniform who looked like cadres began to register their names, places of origin, ages, whether they could read and write, and whether they had any skills.

"Those who are sick should report first, and the elderly, weak and disabled should be arranged first—"

Shi Tou noticed that they were all wearing the same blue uniform, which was much more fashionable than the military uniforms. Each of them had a shiny nameplate on the front, with words engraved on it that Shi Tou did not recognize.

The crowd lined up and walked forward. Soon it was Shitou's turn. Someone asked him, "What kind of work have you done? Do you have any special skills? Is there anything you are good at that others can't?"