At the base entrance.
The sky hadn’t lightened yet.
Biology’s internal clock woke He Liang.
Opening his eyes, he saw that the rain outside continued, unabated, but had lessened significantly, the prolonged precipitation had cooled the temperature, though it was a bit warm inside the car with its windows closed.
"Team leader, are you awake?" Chu Sheng had awoken even earlier than him.
Still not adjusted to the ti difference, he woke up startled several tis during the night, eventually losing the urge to sleep and took over the shift watching the car’s screen from the duty officer.
He Liang grunted in affirmation.
He rubbed his head.
"I’m going to take a walk."
With an umbrella in hand,
He Liang got out of the car.
Breathing in the fresh air, which carried the scent of earth, he stretched and saw Fang Tie jogging over from a distance, a smile appearing on his face at the sight of a comrade in foreign lands.
One of life’s great joys.
Fang Tie approached and gave He Liang a punch, laughing, "You look like you didn’t sleep well, I told you to go sleep inside the base but you wouldn’t listen."
"Leading by example, I dare not forget," He Liang replied simply.
Without questioning, Fang Tie said, "Okay, I ca to call you for a al. Knowing you would be coming, we’ve prepared more dishes: dumplings, stead buns, dough sticks, and even seaweed egg drop soup."
Upon hearing this,
"Are conditions here that good?" He Liang asked, puzzled.
He had heard that the food provided by the United Nations was sowhat laughable, that al tis for these peacekeeping soldiers were very unstable, the food average at best, and supplies often failed to be delivered.
"You think we’re eating chaff and swallowing vegetables every day? What’s on your mind?" Fang Tie said, irately.
He Liang smiled awkwardly, "No, just curious."
"It’s impossible to go every day without enough food. The United Nations can’t be that bad, but the food they provide is of a lower standard, fortunately, although it’s not as good as dostic als, it’s still edible.
We get our supplies from Rwanda, so they are delivered promptly, but other places are not always so lucky. In unstable areas, supply transportation inevitably encounters problems, and sotis they can only make do with simple pickles and potatoes."
Fang Tie slowly explained, peacekeeping was hard, dangerous not to ntion, the guarantee of good als could not be absolute, but as mbers of the United Nations, as a rapidly rising power,
this ’duty’ is inescapable.
"I know you have it tough, co on, once we have more supplies on our side, I’ll send so your way," He Liang patted Fang Tie’s shoulder, alluding to the deep pockets of his company.
Their mining field would definitely not be short on supplies in the future.
"I’ll thank you in advance then, go ahead and get your people to eat." Fang Tie did not take it seriously, those who ca here for mining were wealthy indeed, but that didn’t an they were rich in supplies.
At most, they had enough space in the mining field to plant so vegetables.
"Alright."
With that,
He Liang activated the walkie-talkie pinned to his shoulder.
He instructed his team mbers to take turns eating.
He followed Fang Tie into the base.
Apart from Chinese, he also found many Westerners here.
Fang Tie introduced them:
"These are doctors from the World Health Organization, mainly for epidemic prevention and injury assistance, and there are also people from international environntal organizations and biodiversity research organizations. Lake Kivu is not far from here, and its aquatic life is also a research subject. It is unsafe in other places, so they have settled down here with us."
Along the way, He Liang saw many foreigners greeting Fang Tie.
Obviously, they got along very well.
He Liang asked quietly, "From the United States?"
"No, there are no Aricans here, they are all from European countries," Fang Tie replied.
He Liang uttered an "oh."
And didn’t bother asking why.
Walking past a building, a stretch of green appeared before their eyes.
Fang Tie imdiately pointed ahead, proudly saying, "This is our vegetable garden, where we grow so vegetables that aren’t available locally. We’re in great shortage of dostic food, so we can only grow so ourselves.
When we first arrived, it scared us to death. If it were any other province in Congo Gold, we could buy a variety of vegetables, but here, there are only two kinds, neither of which we recognized, and they looked like wild plants. We had no choice but to find a way ourselves.
Look, over there is the World Health Organization hospital. If people nearby get sick, many of them will co here, but they won’t co unless they absolutely have to, and the patients they do receive are usually in their last days..."
Along the way.
Fang Tie kept introducing the base’s situation, ntioning what he could, while He Liang just kept nodding.
Soon.
They arrived at the cafeteria.
Many people were already eating. He Liang had heard that the cafeteria’s al schedule wasn’t very regular; so people had tasks to carry out, and so patients might wake up and need to eat.
Shift work.
Plus other unpredictable al tis.
Resulted in the cafeteria being open almost all day.
Today, since an important neighbor was coming, the cafeteria chef had cooked an abundant al. He Liang took a few buns, a bowl of congee, over a dozen dumplings, and a stack of pickled vegetables. They were all big guys, so their breakfast portions weren’t small either.
Finding an empty seat.
Just as He Liang sat down, he saw Huang Hai co over and gestured to him.
Huang Hai got his al and sat down at the sa table.
"How’s the culinary skills of our cook team?" Huang Hai savored a dumpling. His als were no exception. Only because so many Chinese had arrived this ti, and they would be neighbors in the future, could he enjoy such a al.
The last ti he ate was during Chinese New Year.
As He Liang swallowed a mouthful of bun, he nodded continuously, "No words needed, it’s delicious, not inferior to our company’s chefs’ skills, especially this filling, which reminds of the taste back in the military camp."
"Haha, glad you like it. The conditions here are simple. Maybe we can celebrate the next holiday together. By the way, He Liang, what are your plans for today?" Huang Hai asked.
He Liang thought for a mont then said, "Nothing big, but quite a few. We’re heading over to the designated area to build a temporary camp, which the exploration team had already chosen previously.
Tomorrow morning, the supplies from our company coming from Rwanda will reach the border. The main task for the next half month will be to build living quarters and harden the main roads in the mining field. Official mining won’t start for another two months. Equipnt, roads, transportation, it’s busy."
Huang Hai nodded and then said, "I see. He Liang, if the mining field needs help in the future, just let us know. We can send so resting people over to lend a hand, as it’s better than doing nothing. Even though we’re abroad, we’re all about military-civilian camaraderie, so please don’t be shy."
Upon hearing this.
He Liang imdiately stood to attention.
Or rather, he felt proud.
Because he had once been a Soldier of Huaxia.
"Then I’ll thank you on behalf of the company first, and we won’t just take your help for granted. We’ll ensure food, enough to fill you up," He Liang said with a smile.
That was a promise he could keep.
"Haha, that’s good to hear. Later, I’ll have Fang Tie take you guys over. The tribe over there has a bit of a temper, but with us around, they should also give so face," Huang Hai suggested.
He Liang gave Huang Hai a sowhat surprised look.
"That sounds great."
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