Chapter 369 Prison Life
Er Gouzi didn't dare to ask any more questions. He followed the soldiers' urging and was driven deeper into the camp along with other bandits.
After a while, they came to an open area, where they saw several huge wooden sheds built. The sheds were filled with mist and the sound of flowing water could be heard.
"Go in and wash yourselves!" the soldiers shouted loudly.
The bandits looked at each other, at a loss for a moment.
Er Gouzi was wondering what was going on.
But looking at the shining weapons in the soldiers' hands, he dared not disobey and had to bite the bullet and walk into the wooden shed.
As soon as he entered, Er Gouzi was dumbfounded. He saw rows of buckets neatly placed, filled with hot water, and soap next to them. "Oh my God, I've never seen such a scene in my life. Using soap for bathing?" Er Gouzi muttered to himself.
The other bandits were also so shocked that their mouths widened. They were stunned for a long time. Only at the urging of the soldiers did they take off their dirty and smelly clothes and jump into the barrel.
The hot water wrapped around his body, and Ergouzi felt so comfortable that he almost cried out. He rubbed the dirt off his body vigorously. The dirt was piled up layer by layer, as if he hadn't washed for years.
After taking a bath, the soldiers threw over clean coarse cloth clothes. Although the material was not of the best quality, it was much better than their previous clothes that were tattered, patched and smelly.
The most important thing is that the clothes are very thick. I don’t know what is inside, but it is fluffy and very warm to wear.
Everyone was dressed neatly and was escorted forward again, this time towards a row of barracks.
As soon as I arrived at the barracks door, I saw soldiers carrying out thick quilts.
"Everyone get a bed, don't catch a cold at night." The soldiers' tone was still a little impatient.
Ergouzi took the quilt tremblingly. It felt soft and warm to the touch, and his eyes couldn't help but become moist.
I remember when I was in the mountains, I had to wear a thin, tattered fur coat in the winter and was often woken up by the cold at night. I never thought that now that I am a prisoner, I can sleep warmly.
Ma Zi, who had been given medicine by the guard, also woke up slowly at this time. He looked at everything in front of him in a daze, thinking he was dreaming.
Er Gouzi hurried forward and briefly told him what had happened. Ma Zi's eyes widened with disbelief on his face.
"Er Gou, do you think we are dreaming?"
Looking at the dazed Ma Zi, Er Gouzi couldn't help but doubt himself.
Then, he slapped Ma Zi's face hard.
Looking at Ma Zi's red cheeks and feeling the burning pain in his hands, Er Gouzi couldn't help but laugh.
"The pain in my hand is not a dream."
Ma Zi touched his swollen cheek and smiled.
Then he closed his eyes and fainted again.
The guard next to them looked at the two troublesome people in silence.
"Have you had enough fun? If you have, go eat and sleep! You still have work to do tomorrow!"
After hearing the guard's yell at him, Ergouzi quickly put away his smile and carefully woke up Mazi who had fainted.
Then he was helped to follow the team in an orderly manner.
When everyone came to the kitchen, they saw that the floor was made of tile and was slightly warm, which made it more comfortable and cozy than the cell.
It is many times better than the damp and cold stone ground on the mountain.
The surroundings are all made of bricks and stones, which are extremely solid and not a single bit of cold air can get through.
Many people were eating in the kitchen, and Ergouzi even felt a little hot.
"Stop looking around! Get in line!"
"If you can't eat meat, you're responsible for it!"
Hearing the guard's unpleasant words, Er Gouzi was not angry at all, but instead keenly noticed the key point.
"What? Meat dishes?"
"Can we eat meat?" In his memory, the last time he had meat was more than a year ago when he robbed a rich man.
Although only lean meat was left and it was a bit tough, he still savors the taste.
Hearing that there was meat to eat, Ergouzi's eyes lit up instantly. He hurriedly pulled Mazi and rushed over, following the people in front to form a crooked line.
When they were almost there, Ergouzi stretched his neck and saw the cook in the compartment pouring food into a large bowl one spoonful at a time.
When it was Ergouzi's turn, he saw that there were indeed a few pieces of greasy braised pork in the bowl. Although there were not many, the color was attractive and the aroma was fragrant.
In addition, there are more vegetarian dishes and some golden scrambled eggs.
Ergouzi took the bowl carefully, staring at the meat and eggs, as if he was afraid that they would grow wings and fly away.
The tempting aroma goes straight into my nose.
“It’s really meat!”
Because there were too many people, there was no room left in the kitchen.
The two of them found a corner and squatted down. They took a deep breath, as if they wanted to inhale the long-lost meat aroma into their lungs, before they were willing to pick up their chopsticks.
He took a bite of the meat, it was soft, glutinous and fragrant, the taste exploded on the tip of his tongue, Ergouzi almost hummed with happiness.
Mazi also ate voraciously, his cheeks bulging. The two looked at each other from time to time, their eyes full of satisfaction and surprise.
The old hands around them looked at their greedy expressions and some of them couldn't help laughing and joked: "Eat slowly, don't choke. As long as you work hard, you can eat meat every day in the future."
Er Gouzi nodded hurriedly, feeling more excited about the future.
If he could eat this kind of food every day in the future, he would be willing to stay here until he died.
Although bandits seem to live on the edge of a knife and eat meat with big mouthfuls, it is difficult for minions like them to even have a little soup. The past two years have been bad and they even have to starve.
After dinner, the soldiers took the bandits to an open space behind the barracks, where there were several simple toilets. Although simple, they were cleaned neatly and there was no odor at all.
The soldiers gave a few instructions on what to do after defecation, then let the bandits solve their own problems, and then went back to their rooms to rest.
Lying in the warm bed, Ergouzi tossed and turned, unable to sleep, thinking constantly about the day's experiences.
He secretly made up his mind to seize this rare opportunity, live well, and no longer live the life of a bandit in fear.
Being a prisoner for life doesn't seem to be a bad thing.
Er Gouzi suddenly thought of something.
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
Really useless!
Don’t dream so low.
What's the good of being a prisoner? He should work hard to become a soldier.
Prisoners live so well, what would it be like if I became a soldier!
Countless fantasies arose in Ergouzi's mind.
It was as if I saw the wonderful life with a wife, children and a warm bed. In a state of half dreaming and half awake, I finally fell into a deep sleep.
He slept very soundly that night.
Like him, countless bandits slept soundly that night.
Of course, there are also people who cannot sleep all night, fearing that this is all a dream and will disappear as soon as they close their eyes.
(End of this chapter)
