Chapter Seventeen Which side of you will show up today?

  When soldiers don't love guns, it's like rich people not loving money. Guns are a soldier's second life. When studying, Ouyang Yun saw the Maxim heavy machine gun in the military history museum, which was once revered as an antique during World War I. Under the glass cover, the metallic texture added to its mystery. A classmate who was a die-hard fan of Maxim had his face and hands stuck to the glass cover, like a dog seeing a bone, eager to pounce on it and take a bite. He exaggeratedly said: "If I could touch it with my own hands, I'd have no regrets in this life." Some classmates chimed in, saying: "It must feel as smooth as caressing a lover's **."

  To be a bit vulgar, comparing Mark IV to WWI's ** is a very classic metaphor.

  Soldiers are the country's instruments of evil. Since the advent of gunpowder on the battlefield, human life has become worthless. No matter how high the quality of soldiers is, without good weapons, it's a death sentence.

  The Maxim gun first appeared in the battlefield, in a battle that took place in southern Africa from 1893 to 1894. In this war, a British infantry of over 50 people in Rhodesia repelled an attack by more than 5,000 Matabele people with only four Maxim heavy machine guns, killing more than 3,000 people.

  Then, in 1898, the Battle of Omdurman took place in Sudan, where 20,000 Mahdist warriors were slaughtered by British invading forces, with at least 15,000 falling to the Maxim guns.

  The power of Mauser is evident at a glance.

  The logistics warehouse of the 51st Army was located in an abandoned factory in the southern suburbs of Tianjin. The factory entrance was heavily guarded, with a Maxim gun emplacement on either side. Ouyang Yun's impression of the 51st Army improved greatly due to the strict defense measures. His perception of Chen Shaohua also changed somewhat - this was his territory, and it seemed that this Major General, who only knew how to indulge in food, drink, and pleasure, treating the logistics warehouse as his own personal storage, wasn't completely useless after all.

  But what happened next was beyond his imagination.

  The sentry on duty was very spirited, standing at attention and saluting professionally. However, upon seeing this obvious outsider, he didn't show the slightest vigilance because he was brought by Chen Shaohua?

  He was a little sentimental, when a green-painted truck came out with a loud noise, trailing a vast amount of gray dust behind it, looking like an emergency military situation. He thought it was a military vehicle and showed some respect, quickly making way for it. The truck driver was quite high-quality, driving straight to their front, seemingly just noticing someone, "screeching" to a sudden stop. Then, a young man in a suit jumped out of the car, his hair slicked back brightly, familiarly greeting Chen Shaohua and nodding at him with a smile.

  The car was filled with iron scraps, many of which were gleaming with oil, and there were also seamless steel pipes that looked like cannon barrels. Ouyang Yun took a glance and immediately judged that this was a car full of dismantled "military goods". He couldn't help but feel curious about the young man's identity. His gaze swept over the car again, and he saw a line of advertisements painted on the door: Ma Ji Old Goods Company, specializing in high-priced collection of various scrap metals - his eyes widened in shock, could it be that the car was loaded with nothing but scrap iron?!

  Young Master Ma, Mr. Ma is indeed a collector of old goods, and this car is naturally just scrap metal. Ouyang Yun glanced at the guards nearby, each with their chest out in a standard posture; and those two dark muzzles of the Maxim guns; then looked at Chen and Ma's extremely harmonious eyes and smiling faces - absurd, pathetic, ridiculous - these words suddenly entered his mind, making him feel like he had swallowed a fly, feeling uncomfortable.

  Ma Laozhu and Chen Shaojun whispered to each other for a while, then smiled all over their faces and jumped onto the truck, driving away.

  Chen Shaohua and others drove away, he withdrew his gaze, saw Ouyang Yun's face looking unwell, and knew what he was thinking. Young people, after all, have not experienced the hardships of life, do not know the complexity of society, and it is inevitable that they are impulsive and find some social phenomena unacceptable. He himself was no exception when he was young, but in the end, what good did it bring? He said: "They're all useless, selling them can raise some funds for the military department." After finishing speaking, he laughed self-deprecatingly, this remark could deceive outsiders, but the young man in front of him was an expert.

  Ouyang Yun pouted, originally not thinking much of it, but a thought flashed through his mind and he immediately put on a different face, pretending to be very embarrassed, saying: "Uncle Chen, actually, I also do scrap business. It's just that the capital is quite sufficient, but there's no way to get started, and all I collect are scraps. This Ma boss is really something, using trucks to transport goods, don't laugh when you hear this, my subordinates still use hand-pulled carts."

  Chen Shaohua actually looked down on the junk collector, sneering: "His truck wasn't even bought from me, however..." Just as he said this, he suddenly realized that there was a junk collector right in front of him. But how did one of the "Two Heroes of the Resistance Against Japan" suddenly turn into a junk collector? The contrast was too great, too sudden, and the more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt.

  No, Chen Shaohua was a troublemaker in the 51st Army, but he hoped that this young man who had killed more than twenty bandits overnight was a pure and ambitious youth. Perhaps it was just because he saw his own shadow from back then in them, towards Ouyang Yun and Chu Tian Ge, as well as Qiu Jian and Chu Kuo Ji, he truly liked and sincerely cared for them. Thus, he suddenly and inexplicably became furious: "You're being reckless! You're not young anymore, how can you still do this kind of thing?" He spoke extremely loudly and with great force, just over twenty words, and after finishing, he was panting heavily, his face a deep red, as if he had actually become truly angry.

  He was also taken aback, and Ouyang Yun was also unaccustomed to it. He was stunned and didn't know where the problem lay. After a long time, when his breathing gradually calmed down, he slowly said: "Uncle Chen, we also need to eat and survive."

  This is a big truth, although it's very common. Chen Shaohua was speechless, thinking of past events, and remembered that he himself had been troubled by his mother's medical expenses back then. As the saying goes, "a hero is hard to come by with just one penny", the bitterness in those words is truly not something that can be shared with outsiders, only those who have experienced it themselves would understand. He looked at the young man in front of him and saw a hint of sadness in his eyes, and let out a sigh in his heart, his feelings towards him had changed once again. It was rare for him to speak in a gentle tone, saying: "If life is difficult, tell me about it, even if you're not close with me, we'll definitely try our best to help."

  Ouyang Yun heard the sincerity and kindness in these words, his heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. The carefully constructed facade was on the verge of collapse. This was the first time he had been moved since crossing over into this world. It was laughable that the person who moved him was actually a scumbag, someone he had deeply despised just moments before. Perhaps, this was the complexity of human nature. He recalled a classic advertising slogan: "Which face will you show today?" His heart felt at ease - there were no purely good or evil people in the world; the key question was which face you chose to show today.

  For example, he is now showing off as a shrewd businessman, while Chen Shaohua is obviously showing off as a diligent elder.

  "Uncle Chen, I still want to rely on myself," Later generations of people naturally have better acting skills, and the swindler's performance is very professional. Ouyang Yun said with a mix of truth and falsehood: "However, you must take good care of yourself."

  Chen Shaohua shook his head, looking very disappointed and heartbroken: "Forget it, since you're not interested in this, there's no point in forcing it. Originally, I was going to ask General Yu to find a good job for you."

  "Uncle Chen, take me to the warehouse," The 51st Army was about to leave Hebei and leave the front line. What's the use of a good job if you're leaving? Ou Yang Yun muttered to himself, quickly changing the subject, but thinking in his heart, he would go find Chu Tian Ge as soon as possible, and must not let Chu Kuo Mu poach him away.

  "Oh dear, I was so busy talking, I almost forgot the main thing - let's go, 3rd warehouse."

  The No. 3 warehouse was piled up with old and damaged firearms, a small room was opened at the entrance of the warehouse, three soldiers sat in the room, their clothes looked like they had been rolled in oil, it's unknown how long they hadn't washed.

  The three were originally sitting and chatting, saw Chen Shaohua, like a mouse seeing a cat, stood up straight, saluted, "Commander good!" Then they began to search for the guns in front of them that had been dismantled into a mess.

  Chen Shaohua directly ignored them and took Ouyang Yun inside.

  At this time, his deputy officer rushed in and shouted: "The captain is back!", turning on the light.

  The damaged Mark IV tank was placed at the farthest end of the warehouse, and Ouyang Yun didn't waste any words, walking over to squat down and get to work.

  The aide rushed over and handed him a pair of gloves, saying: "Sir, your gloves are dirty."

  He smiled and didn't take the gloves, what a joke! Wearing gloves, how can you have the feeling of touching your lover?!

  Chen Shaohua saw him touching this bulge and that bulge, with a look of reluctance to let go, and had some confidence in his heart, asking: "How is it? Can it be repaired?"

  It feels great to have finally achieved my long-cherished wish, but unfortunately, I couldn't share it with those two gossiping classmates, which is a pity. Ouyang Yun stood up and said: "Let's take another look, Chen Chu, how about this? First, let people categorize the damage types, and I'll come back tomorrow. The places where Mauser pistols are prone to malfunctioning are just a few, as long as one example can be solved in the same type, the rest will be easy."

  Chen Shaohua was overjoyed: "Indeed a master! Vice Officer Ma, please send Mr. Ouyang to the Brackets Machine. Ouyang, I have something else to attend to, so I won't accompany you there."

  "You're busy."

  Back at Chu Kuaiji's place, Chu Tiange was enthusiastically playing with a "palm-sized thunder" in the courtyard. Seeing him return, he immediately came forward to show off and said: "My uncle just sent it over, what do you think?"

  Ouyang Yun smiled: "The range is too close, defense is not bad."

  "My uncle said so too, big brother, is the gun fixed?"

  "Just took a look, still have to go tomorrow."

  "Then let's not go back tonight."

  "Go on, didn't your uncle say something to you?"

  Song of Chu Tian is vast and obscure, "What?"

  Ouyang Yun was worried that he would be assigned to the 51st Army, "This kid is a bit silly, but absolutely reliable, a good partner and brother." "Didn't he let you join the army?"

  "No, did you want to join the army?"

  "No, no, hehe, I'm afraid you won't want to read books anymore."

  He didn't mention reading, it's fine. As soon as he mentioned reading, Chu Tian Ge's face turned sour and said: "My father called my uncle to ask if I had come here, wanting to catch me back to send me to read at the old house. Big brother, you haven't forgotten that you promised to help me study at Yan University, have you?"

  Nothing happened as feared, and Ou Yang Yun's suspended heart floated down, laughing: "How dare I forget, in a few more days we will return to Beiping."

  "But the Peiping Garrison Command is still waiting for someone."

  "Don't worry, this will pass in a few days."

  "Will they let us go?"

  "En..." Ouyang Yun responded vaguely, not daring to say more. Revealing the "He Mei Agreement" prematurely had already caused no small trouble, and if he were to reveal the terms of the agreement, who knew what would happen?