"Where did you get this batch of medicine?"
"On my way back from Shiquan County town, I saw some Japanese devils escorting this stuff.
So I took my men and robbed them.
I found a whole large truck just carrying these things,
and they even stuffed a lot of cotton and such in there.
I figured it must be something very important,
but I'm illiterate.
I happened to be passing by your place, Uncle Chen,
so I thought I'd come ask you to take a look."
"Uncle Chen, what do you think?
Is it something good?"
"Hmm, it's not something good, it's useless."
Qin Yangming, who had originally intended to wait for Commander Chen to say the word "penicillin"
and then feign surprise, was now genuinely shocked.
"Good heavens,
Uncle Chen, you old rascal with the big eyebrows and big eyes,
you're even trying to trick your eldest nephew."
"Alright, you're wasting my time.
If there's nothing else, go get some rest.
I'll arrange a room for you.
I'll treat you to drinks tomorrow at noon.
I'll have someone come pick up these things later,
so you don't need to worry about it."
Commander Chen put on an indifferent expression and motioned to take Qin Yangming away.
However, the upturned corners of Commander Chen's mouth were impossible to hide.
"Uncle Chen, it must be something good.
This is the same look you had when you tricked me out of my New Year's money when I was a kid!"
"Fine, fine. If you think it's something good,
then you can take it.
I absolutely won't stop you."
Commander Chen turned sideways, adopting a 'suit yourself' attitude.
If Qin Yangming truly didn't know that the item was penicillin,
he might have actually believed it wasn't anything good.
"Hmph, if you won't tell me,
then I'll go find Uncle Zuo.
He knows foreign languages too."
"Alright, alright. But you'll have to wait until morning, won't you?
Fine, come with me to rest first."
"Yo, Commander, who is this?"
"Young man, what is that you're holding?"
Just as Commander Chen and Qin Yangming were pulling at each other,
the Political Commissar entered the reception room, wearing a coat.
Seeing the Political Commissar arrive, Commander Chen quickly signaled to him.
However, the Political Commissar's gaze had already been drawn to the box in Qin Yangming's hand.
"Penicillin!"
It was clear that the Political Commissar also knew some English.
As soon as the Political Commissar spoke, Commander Chen helplessly closed his eyes.
Penicillin wasn't exactly a household name.
However, most cadres at the brigade level would certainly know something about it.
Qin Yangming, who had been in Yan'an half a year ago, would definitely know about this.
"Uncle Chen?
Since penicillin isn't very useful,
I'll be taking it then."
"Since it's not useful to you, I'll send it to Headquarters. Maybe it'll be useful there."
Hearing Qin Yangming's address,
the Political Commissar understood Qin Yangming's identity,
and leaned against the door with a chuckle, enjoying the show.
"Ahem, young comrade,
I just heard you say you just returned from Shiquan County.
Is that right?"
Hearing the Commander's question, Qin Yangming nodded somewhat strangely.
"Yes, what about it?"
"Hmph, hmph, what about it?"
"I ask you, what is your current position?"
Commander Chen wasn't in a hurry now,
circling Qin Yangming while looking at the remaining boxes of medicine.
"Battalion Commander of the Vanguard Battalion, New First Regiment."
The more Qin Yangming spoke, the weaker his tone became.
He had already guessed what the Commander was about to say.
"You brat, you still know you're a Battalion Commander?
I ask you, a Battalion Commander abandoning his troops and running off elsewhere,
what kind of behavior is that?"
"The Commander asked me about your situation yesterday."
"Kid, how do you think I should report this?
You know the Commander's temper, don't you?"
"Uncle, Uncle, just tell me how much you want, stop playing games."
"Hahaha, that's more like it.
You think I can't guess what you're thinking, kid.
You definitely know what this stuff is,
otherwise you wouldn't have brought it to me overnight."
"Alright, you can take a quarter of a box of sulfanilamide.
You can only have twenty doses of penicillin.
My brigade headquarters will keep one hundred doses.
The rest are to be sent to Headquarters.
Some also need to be sent to Yan'an."
"Go get some rest. I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow at noon.
I'll pay out of my own pocket to treat you to meat."
After returning from the brigade headquarters, Qin Yangming began to reorganize his troops according to his plan.
However, since he now had over 300,000 points,
he no longer needed to use equipment of various calibers, which would increase the logistical burden on his troops.
Considering that the Maxim heavy machine gun was not effective in the arid north, and the Type 92 heavy machine gun had poor endurance.
He decided to replace all the heavy machine guns with the Russian Goryunov heavy machine gun.
The Russian heavy machine gun was not only air-cooled, but also had a quick-change barrel,
and had two small wheels, allowing the machine gunner to quickly change positions.
For long-distance marches, as long as it wasn't mountainous terrain, it could be dragged along, greatly reducing the burden on the troops.
Originally, he had planned to replace all weapons with Soviet-made ones, so that the ammunition for light and heavy machine guns and rifles could be unified.
However, the Russian Degtyaryov machine gun lacked a quick-release barrel.
When the barrel heated up, it took seven to eight minutes to change it.
After all, the regions where Russians lived were not high in temperature,
and it was even colder in winter, making it difficult to heat up the barrel.
Its firepower sustainability was not as powerful as the ZB vz. 26.
Therefore, the Zhongzheng rifle and the ZB vz. 26 light machine gun would remain the primary weapons.
As for the Type 38 rifles, Type 11 light machine guns, and Type 92 heavy machine guns, Qin Yangming didn't waste them; he directly handed them over to the new recruit company for use.
In order to train the combat effectiveness of the new recruits, and to find a reason to bring the weapons he had exchanged back to the troops.
During the new recruit training,
Qin Yangming would frequently lead them to harass bandits, puppet troops, and blockhouses.
Even Qin Yangming's garrison was moved to a bandit lair they had captured.
Eighth Route Army Headquarters.
The Deputy Chief of Staff, who heard from Commander Chen that his eldest nephew had sent a gift, was also curious about what exactly he had sent.
"This brat, when did he learn to send gifts?"
"Hahaha, Commander, isn't it just that the little fellow cares about you?"
"I heard you were also involved, and our Commander Chen even sent a company to escort it."
"I wonder what it could be that required such a grand escort."
"It couldn't possibly be Shinozuka Yoshio's head, could it?"
"Hahaha."
As everyone waited, a troop of Eighth Route Army cavalry, escorting several ordinary wooden boxes, arrived at the front of the Headquarters' parking area.
"Report, my cavalry company has arrived under orders to escort supplies, please verify."
The Commander and the Deputy Chief of Staff, seeing about ten boxes, stepped forward together and opened them.
After seeing what was inside the boxes, the Chief of Staff spoke first.
"The little fellow has truly sent us a great gift."
"Yes, go back and tell your Commander
to tell that kid that I really like the gift."
After counting the quantity,
the Commander immediately laid out the distribution plan.
"Allocate three boxes of sulfanilamide.
【 Commander Chen has already repackaged them, using those ammunition boxes again, one thousand pills per box）
Allocate two hundred doses of penicillin to be sent to Yan'an together."
"All the rest will be sent to Headquarters Hospital."