Chapter 32: The Welcoming Crowds and the Secret Warehouse of the Bai Family
After making a tour of Kaili, he could not wait to hang Bai Jiasheng’s head above the gate of the Bai family mansion. As for Lin Tong, he hurriedly ducked into a local villager’s home to scrub himself repeatedly from head to toe. Yet, whether it was because the stench of rotten eggs had soaked into his skin, no matter how much he washed, Lin Tong still felt that the odor lingered on him.
In the afternoon, the main force of the Red Army marched into Kaili. By then, the townspeople had already lined the streets to welcome them, with the air filled with the sounds of gongs and drums. This time, the people were stuffing things into the soldiers' hands again, but it was no longer rotten vegetables or eggs; instead, it was countless salted duck eggs, chicken eggs, cured meat, ham, sausages, various pickled vegetables, fresh produce, and some villagers even shoved live chickens, ducks, and geese into the arms of the young soldiers. The most extravagant gesture came from an old man who led a large yellow ox, insisting that the 18th Red Army Regiment accept it, or else he would kneel on the ground and refuse to rise.
Long Wencheng finally understood what it truly meant to "bring food and drink to welcome the royal army." Although he had seen similar scenes in his previous life when the military conducted disaster relief efforts—with local residents frantically feeding the troops—it was only by experiencing it firsthand that he deeply grasped the profound bond between the army and the people.
The Red Army maintained excellent discipline. After entering the city, in addition to carrying out basic administrative tasks, they began recruiting soldiers. Unlike before, the criteria were raised, with priority given to those with combat experience or prior military service. Beyond that, the work of land distribution began. They had seized numerous title deeds from Bai Jiasheng, representing farmland he had snatched from peasants over the years, and even residential properties belonging to ordinary townspeople. Now, these lands and properties were being returned to their rightful owners, and a portion of the captured military grain was distributed as well.
After these arrangements were made, Long Wencheng gave each soldier in the 18th Regiment two silver dollars as pocket money, allowing them to go to the Kaili markets to buy whatever they wished. However, when the soldiers arrived at the market, they found that the merchants refused to take their money, instead stuffing goods into their pockets and arms. Long Wencheng had issued explicit orders that they must pay, or face criticism and re-education upon their return.
By dusk, the various tasks had come to a temporary lull. Compared to the county towns of Jianhe and Taijiang, Kaili was much larger, more densely populated, and made the procurement of supplies much smoother. Huang Kecheng requested additional funding from Long Wencheng, as materials and supplies that could not be found in the previous two towns were readily available in the Kaili markets. This delighted Huang Kecheng, who promised Long Wencheng that they would certainly be able to repair the damaged firearms and artillery. Currently, although Long Wencheng had six artillery pieces, only four were functional, with two suffering from varying degrees of damage.
Many firearms were also damaged in battle, particularly two heavy machine guns and five light machine guns. If these could be repaired, they would be enough to arm at least another battalion.
Bai Jiasheng’s mansion had become the temporary headquarters, though the entrance remained foul-smelling despite being washed several times. Just then, Lin Tong trotted over and entered the headquarters. As soon as he approached, Long Wencheng was hit by a wave of rotten egg stench and instinctively covered his nose and mouth. Lin Tong gave an awkward laugh and cleared his throat. "Commander, that man Bai San took us to Bai Jiasheng’s secret warehouse. There are many good things there; would you like to go and take a look?"
"Go? Of course, we must go." As Long Wencheng spoke, the smell invaded his mouth and nose again. Seeing Long Wencheng’s grim expression, Lin Tong realized the cause and scratched his head sheepishly. "Commander, I was hit by the villagers' rotten eggs. I’ve scrubbed myself several times, but the smell still lingers." He looked helpless, clearly finding the stench a nuisance in his daily life.
Long Wencheng offered a suggestion: try using lard mixed with wood ash to scrub his body, which should neutralize the odor. Wood ash acted like activated carbon with strong adsorption properties, and lard could be used to make soap. Of course, in World War II, Germany used the fat of another creature to make soap, but that is a topic for another time.
They left Kaili and traveled less than five kilometers south to a karst cave. Guizhou’s landscape is defined by its karst topography, with various caves hidden beneath the mountains. This location was quite concealed and difficult for the average person to find. It had previously been guarded by Bai Jiasheng’s men, but they had been wiped out in one stroke by the cavalry company led by Lin Tong.
As the soldiers moved items out of the cave, Long Wencheng took a look and saw many valuable things, including a radio, two semi-automatic cigarette-rolling machines, two gasoline generators, over a dozen barrels of gasoline, and printing presses. In Long Wencheng’s view, these were treasures that would secure the regiment’s future prosperity. After all, the domestic cigarette market was vast, and the cigarette factory later established by the New Fourth Army had generated significant profits by selling in occupied territories—to the point where even the Yan’an leadership had to borrow money from them.
However, to rough-hewn men like Lin Tong, these were useless gadgets; the real prizes lay elsewhere. Lin Tong led Long Wencheng to another area under heavy guard, where many crates were stacked, covered by several ox hides. Upon opening one, he found it filled with sulfanilamide.
"Medicine!?" Long Wencheng’s eyes lit up. At that time, there were no antibiotics like penicillin, and sulfanilamide was the most effective anti-inflammatory agent available. Although it had side effects, it was a life-saver in critical moments. Even if not used for medical purposes, it was highly valuable on the market. In the chaotic era of China, where war had raged for decades without peace, anti-inflammatory drugs like sulfanilamide were precious.
In addition to sulfanilamide, there was aspirin for pain relief and fever reduction, quinine—rare in the country and effective for treating dysentery—and several boxes of Yunnan Baiyao. These were the scarcest medical supplies on the Red Army’s Long March. If they had been well-supplied with these, it could have prevented the loss of at least ten thousand lives.
"Why on earth did he hoard so much medicine?" Long Wencheng asked, puzzled, turning to Bai San, Bai Jiasheng’s adjutant.
Bai San replied, "The master... no, that bastard Bai Jiasheng said that big wars were coming, and big wars mean death and injury. He figured that by hoarding medicine now, he could sell it later for a massive fortune."
Long Wencheng mused to himself that Bai Jiasheng truly had a head for business, realizing that medicine would only become more precious and valuable over time.