Beiyuan City, in the southern outskirts, within the Tang Army's defensive position, a child was guzzling water into his mouth from a canteen.
He drank his fill with relish, then grabbed the bun in front of him and stuffed it into his mouth. For him, this might have been the best-tasting thing in the world.
After swallowing two buns, he reached for the third, but a large hand held him back. A squad leader carrying a Thompson submachine gun stopped the boy's action and said, "Come back and eat after you finish the task."
"I'm afraid I won't come back," the boy said honestly, expressing what was on his mind with a hint of pleading in his eyes.
"You've been starving for so long, you can't eat up! You can only eat this much! Otherwise, you'll be bloated to death in a while," another old soldier, with a cigarette in his mouth, warned the boy.
