White Olive Tree

Chapter 11

Chapter 11
In September, in the south-central part of the Eastern Kingdom, Jialuo City.
It was dawn at four o'clock in the morning, and the blue-gray mist was slightly pink, covering this dilapidated and dead city in a thin layer.
On the top floor of a four-storey house in the center of the city, the windows were closed, and the windows were covered with newspapers. The interior is dimly lit, with bare concrete walls and floors, and a table, a chair, and a bed.
A small electric fan whirred by the bedside. Suddenly, there was a sizzling sound, and the fan blades lost energy. It turned slower and slower, wobbled around a few times, and finally stopped.
The power went out again.
Within a few minutes, Song Ran woke up on the bed, rubbed her neck, sweating.
It's September, and the weather is still hot.
These days, the temperature in Jialuo City is always above 35 degrees, and the body temperature exceeds 40 degrees. Song Ran has been stationed for a month, and when he first arrived, it was almost 50 degrees every day.
More than a month ago, the war in the Eastern Kingdom worsened, causing countless civilian casualties. War correspondents from various countries, charitable organizations, volunteers, Doctors Without Borders, and UN peacekeeping troops have all stationed in this country.
Liangcheng Satellite TV also sent reporters over. Several male colleagues went to the front line, and Song Ran stayed in Jialuo, where the UN peacekeeping force was stationed, and was responsible for reporting on the situation of the local Dongguo military and civilians and the peacekeeping force.
She spends most of her time in the Chinese garrison doing record service for her own army, and occasionally attends duty with other teams. Today happened to be another special operation, and we were going to carry out a rescue mission with a team of foreign soldiers.
She set the alarm clock at half past four, and there is still a quarter of an hour left. Song Ran opened the window to let in some air, and saw that Jialuo City was in ruins. She leaned against the window and blew the morning breeze for a while, as if listening to the sound of the city dying.
After a while, the alarm clock rang. She packed herself up, went out, and met Sa Xin, a local reporter from Dongguo, in the old corridor.
"Good morning!" He greeted in English.
"Good morning!" Song Ran said, "There's a power outage, did you know that?"
"I know. There will be more and more power outages in the future, just get used to it."
"So it looks like the situation is not good for the government army?"
Sahin shrugged and spread his hands: "You know, attack from both sides." Half a month ago, extremist terrorist organizations also joined in, adding fuel to the already bad situation in the Eastern Kingdom.
"Will Ale fall?" Ale City is the closest three-party warring town to Garo, and it is also a hub for several forces to seize.
"Only the Lord knows." Sahin drew a prayer symbol on his chest and pointed to the sky.
Sasin is younger than his cousin Ran Chi, only twenty years old. He is a sophomore at Gamma University of Technology in the capital. After the war broke out, he went to the front line with a camera, saying that he wanted to record the truth about his country. He was tall and thin, with deep eye sockets, high browbones, and a face with the deep contours of a native. But he is a student after all, he is too tender, in order to look more mature, he purposely grew a beard.
Today, the two will follow a European and American peacekeeping team to a small town 100 kilometers away to rescue civilians.
Sassin doesn't like Americans very much. He wants to go to the front line to take pictures of the Eastern Army's battles. But after all, he is not a professional reporter and has no such qualifications.
And the American soldiers who were traveling together didn't pay much attention to them, and chatted happily with several European and American war reporters along the way.
Song Ran was sitting in the back of the military truck with a team of soldiers and reporters. She was wearing a helmet and body armor, squinting at the waves of dust rising up behind the truck, and listening to their English chat from time to time.
Halfway, an American soldier named Benjamin suddenly asked her, "I seem to have seen you before."
Song Ran has no impression.
"Next door to us is the Chinese military garrison. You often go there. Are you Chinese?"
"yes."
As soon as the words fell, a British soldier laughed: "How is your soldier growing vegetables?"
There was a burst of laughter all around.
Saxin looked at Song Ran in embarrassment, not knowing how to get out.
The peacekeepers stationed in Garo come from ten countries and are dispatched by the Joint Command. There are mostly European and American military officers in the headquarters. Even on the battlefield, there is discrimination. They see Asians as weak and incapable. Combat matters usually belong to European and American troops. China is mainly responsible for road construction, material transportation, medical rescue, plus protection of volunteers, doctors and other international rescuers.
But the Chinese officers and soldiers took time out to open up a few pieces of wasteland in the garrison to grow vegetables and raise chickens, which has become a landscape.
Song Ran looked at them, and when they finished laughing, he said, "Thank you for your concern. The cabbage is ripe, and the broiler chickens are growing well. Two days ago, our soldiers sent some to the field hospital to supplement meals for the injured American soldiers. Nutrition. Don't you know?"
The laughter stopped.
Benjamin exchanged glances with his companion and said, "We also want to grow vegetables and raise chickens, but we have to go to the front line to fight, and the task is heavy."
Song Ran said: "Planting is also a science. You can shoot bullets, but you don't necessarily sow good seeds."
Benjamin shrugged his shoulders, and stopped talking.
It was nine o'clock in the morning when the team arrived at their destination.
The town is in the north of Garo, not far from Ale City. The town is located in a remote place, and the damage caused by the war is not serious, but it is deserted.
Song Ran followed the team into the small town.
There were laughter and laughter on the way here, and everyone in the town was extremely vigilant.
Song Ran cautiously lurked across an empty and quiet street, when someone stepped on an abandoned soda can behind him and made a noise. She turned around in surprise, it was Benjamin.
Seeing that she was frightened, he and his companions all grinned silently, their eyebrows flying out of their faces. Song Ran ignored their ridicule, put on his helmet and mask, and continued to move forward carefully.
There was no accident during the dive all the way. The enemy army seemed to have withdrawn.
Soon, the peacekeeping team found a group of refugees in the school building in the center of the city, ranging from the elderly to children, about a hundred people.
The soldiers quickly escorted the people to evacuate from the back gate of the school. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard from the school playground, and a British soldier shouted: "There are rebels!"
Song Ran ran away in a second.
In an instant, the crowd frantically rushed towards the back door. The army was resolutely divided into two groups, one for escort and one for reinforcements. All the war reporters on the scene rushed towards the point of fire, except for Sassin, who spread out his arms to protect several women and children in front of him and walked out quickly.
Song Ran was the first to rush to a classroom on the ground floor of the teaching building, just in time for the peacekeepers in the room to open fire with the rebels in the teaching building opposite.
You can tell the difference when you get on the battlefield-these long-term missions are used to this scene, and they are very proficient in loading and shooting, aiming and dodging; the newcomers are a little timid, trembling when looking for cover.
Song Ran hid behind the wall and stared at the camera. A few bullets hit the wall on her side, crackling, but the wall was too thick for the bullets to penetrate. One shot through the window, whizzed past her, and smashed the glass windows in the back row of the classroom. She was so nervous that she forgot to be afraid.
The other party did not have enough personnel, and the exchange of fire stopped within a quarter of an hour. Twenty people were killed or injured by the rebels, and the few remaining alive disarmed and surrendered. It turned out that their team had abandoned the town and headed north.
After it was over, Song Ran felt a little weak in his legs belatedly.
She has been here for more than a month, and this is not the first time she has come into contact with actual combat. The first time I was so scared that my heart almost stopped.
Returning to the back door of the school, I saw Sassin helping the adults carry the children into the car one by one.
Song Ran asked: "Did you follow me just now?"
"No."
"Don't you want to be close to the front line? Such a good opportunity."
Sassin scratched his head and said with a smile, "I didn't realize it at the time."
The rescued people were quickly sent to the refugee camp, and the reporters took advantage of the opportunity to film the refugee camp.
On the way back to Gallo, several reporters were discussing today's gun battle and refugees, as well as the material they took. Only Sahin sat behind the military vehicle, turning his head to look at the devastated land behind him.
At that moment, Song Ran vaguely noticed the difference between Sahin and their group of war reporters--
This is his country, not theirs.
After entering Jialuo City, Benjamin asked Song Ran where he was going.
Song Ran looked down the road and said, "I'll get off at the corner ahead."
"To the Chinese military garrison?"
"Um."
Benjamin went to the front and knocked on the car window, and said to the comrades in the cab: "Turn right ahead, go to the Chinese military garrison."
Song Ran didn't know why he suddenly kindly sent her off. Benjamin just smiled and didn't speak.
After getting off the car, several European and American soldiers in the car waved to her warmly: "See you!"
Song Ran was confused: "..."
Back at the station, Song Ran went straight to Luo Zhan's office. Luo Zhan was the political commissar of the peacekeeping barracks. Song Ran has been here for more than a month, and has already become acquainted with them.
Along the way, many soldiers were practicing. Song Ran took a few photos casually.
At the end, the vegetable garden was lush and green. After a few days, little cucumbers and tomatoes had grown.
Song Ran leaned over to take a look. The little cucumber was only finger-length, with big yellow flowers hanging from its tail; the little tomato was green and hard, not as big as a walnut, round and bulging like an angry child.
She couldn't help but leaned over and took a sniff. The breath was fresh, like the smell of summer.

Walking into the office, Luo Zhan was analyzing the battle map.
Song Ran took off his bulletproof vest and helmet, and said, "The cucumbers and tomatoes have grown."
Luo Zhan raised his head and smiled: "I'll give you a few when I'm mature....Go out with them today, how's the situation going?"
"I met a small group of anti-government troops." Song Ran said, "A French soldier was so frightened that he almost peed his pants."
Luo Zhan was delighted to hear it: "Did you take the picture?"
Song Ran was drinking water and nodded.
"Our anti-explosion troops have been dispatched, and the Joint Command has added the task of mine clearance and anti-explosion. If you are interested, you can follow."
"Really? That's great."
"What's the matter? Those who build roads and transport with us every day, are you bored?"
"...Where is it?"
The two chatted for a while, when there was movement outside, several officers and soldiers were about to water the field. Song Ran touched the braids she had braided for a week, but stopped talking.
Luo Zhan: "What's wrong?"
"Can I use your water to wash my hair? Just rinse it." Song Ran felt guilty and whispered, "It's just right to water after washing."
Luo Zhan laughed: "The area where you live has had a water and power outage recently." ╩pass╩
Song Ran nodded awkwardly.
"The water we pour is rice-washing water."
"I know. Just right, rice water is nutritious and good for hair."
Luo Zhan couldn't help laughing: "Wash it, wash it."
"Thank you Luo Zheng, I will be very economical." Song Ran got up and ran outside.
As soon as she went out, she untied the rubber band and loosened her braid. Her hair was steaming hot and almost ripe.
She walked across the yard to the vegetable field, just as a group of officers and soldiers walked by, all new faces.
Newcomer here?
She turned around in doubt, and suddenly her heart twitched, as if she saw a familiar figure. Take a closer look, it's gone. The team of officers and soldiers passed her by.
She let out a sigh of relief, she must have read it wrong.
Song Ran stood by the edge of the field, bent over and lowered his head, scooped up a ladle of cold water and poured it on the back of his head. The heat all over his body was instantly extinguished, and his heart was completely chilled.
A few familiar officers and soldiers stood by and watched, deliberately teasing her.
Soldier A: "Ten dollars for a scoop of water!"
Song Ran: "Ten dollars? Do you think this is milk?"
Soldier B: "Would you like a hundred for the milk?"
Soldier C: "It's still dry next to the ear."
Soldier D: "Would you like some shampoo?"
Someone brought her a small bag of shampoo.
After Song Ran washed away the foam, he reluctantly poured down a ladle of cold water. It was too hot.
Soldier A: "The water used exceeds the standard."
Soldier B: "Wait, there's still blisters on my neck that haven't been washed away."
Everyone laughed together. A few chickens walked back and forth on the vegetable field, and when water splashed over, the chickens flapped their wings and flew away, bumping into the small cucumbers on the cucumber seedlings.
Song Ran tied her head and wrung out the water from her hair with both hands. Someone behind him smiled lightly, with a voice like Qingquan: "Do you want to come and get the comb?"

Song Ran was taken aback for a moment, then straightened up abruptly and pushed back her wet hair. She was stunned for two or three seconds, and turned her head regardless of the dripping water from her hair.
Across a vegetable field, Li Zan was wearing a camouflage uniform, standing sideways, smiling and looking at her with his arms folded.
Several comrades around him put their hands on his shoulders and smiled at her.