Chapter 789 Attitude
"I want to drink red wine and eat steak, not this kind of 'junk', and the conditions here are too simple. There is not even a blanket in this bed, how can I sleep on it?" One person Igor, a Portuguese officer, called from the room.
The meal that Igor called "junk" is actually the standardized meal of the East African Army. At the same time, two additional cans were prepared for this senior coalition official, namely beef brisket stewed with potatoes and mango. , and also comes with two bottles of beer and a pack of cigarettes. This kind of treatment is not common even for ordinary soldiers in East Africa.
"Stop howling, Igor, this is already very good. I don't believe you have never eaten anything worse than this. Although the taste is weird, the food is still good." Igor's said his roommate, Lieutenant Michiel from the UK.
"And even if you scream, the East Africans outside will not meet your demands. You should be lucky that they did not drag us out to work as coolies."
After hearing Mihir's words, Igor sat down at the table again impatiently, but he still complained: "Look at this environment, it's so dark and cramped, and there are two people living there. It's unimaginable, and it doesn't even have the basics." There is no bedding.”
“It’s December now. The air is as hot as an oven, what else do you want? On the contrary, it's cool to live in this kind of "cellar", and it's good that East Africa doesn't let you live in dormitories, and there are probably no dormitories in East Africa, other soldiers and prisoners said. Maybe we can only use the earth as our bed and the sky as our blanket," Mihir exaggeratedly retorted.
Although summer in the southern hemisphere is winter in the northern hemisphere, southern Mozambique is close to the subtropics, so it is not too hot. Igor just complained, and Mihir could only follow Igor's "bitter woman" " said.
However, the effect was very good. Igor was indeed relieved a lot. Mihir was quite scornful of the behavior of this Portuguese noble. Now that they have lost the war, it would be considered merciful for East Africa not to execute them directly. Not to mention the pay is pretty good now.
“Look at this rice, why don’t we prepare bread? Do we want to eat the same as the big-headed soldiers in East Africa? Also, this dish looks like it is stewed in a big pot, and there is very little meat. So many wild vegetables." Igor still said pickyly, but his mouth was tough and his tongue was not deceptive. Igor kept talking and ate while eating, and he quickly finished the food.
Regarding Igor's complaints, it is not actually the Guards Division's intention to make things difficult. It is actually that things in Mozambique are difficult to deal with. Among other things, most East African soldiers are very satisfied with things like wild vegetables.
The proportion of undeveloped land in Mozambique is even more exaggerated than that in East Africa. As a landlocked country, except for farmland and plantations that have been reduced to battlefield front lines, there are no fruits and vegetables nearby. Fortunately, East African soldiers are in Africa. After staying for a long time, I learned about many edible plants from the indigenous people. It is good to improve the food occasionally.
Using wild vegetables to improve food is also an operation of East African soldiers, because when they were on the mainland, there was no shortage of oil and water. The animal husbandry in East Africa was not developed, but it was large-scale, and the army was especially well supplied.
It’s just that in this cross-sea battle, the logistical supplies of the Guards Division must also be transferred from the sea to the land, so it is difficult to send many things. Meat is okay, but fruits and vegetables are not easy to preserve. It is even more difficult to use local materials, so using local materials is one of the important lessons for East African cooking soldiers.
Moreover, the chefs of the Guards Division considered that these coalition officers were usually used to big fish and meat, and many of them had big pot bellies. They were afraid that they would not be used to eating, so they specially gave them more wild vegetables. .
And even if the food is unpalatable, the taste of the canned food is uniform and should be able to satisfy the tastes of most people. Only a "hateful woman" like Igor will never be satisfied.
His roommate Mihir is more open-minded. He is very satisfied with the current environment. After all, he has suffered a lot. This can also be seen from the difference between the British army and the Portuguese army. The British army is far away. Far less corrupt than the Portuguese army.
Although the British army also has huge corruption, the rules and regulations of the army are more complete than those of Portugal, and the "education of suffering" received by the British aristocrats is much better than that of the Portuguese aristocrats.
Especially for someone like Michiel who comes from a small aristocratic family and was born in the army. Although it is not as strict as Prussia, the family education is also much stricter. In particular, military training is an indispensable item, and military An important item in the training is "hard work and hard work" in a battlefield environment.
And now that after being captured by East Africa, it was not considered abuse at all, but preferential treatment, Mihir was even more satisfied.
He didn't say anything about Igor's complaints, but he found it difficult to agree with them in his heart. As far as food was concerned, it was actually harder for him to accept it than for Igor. Igor was Portuguese, and Portugal also grew rice. Even if it's not in the recipes of Portuguese nobles, you should at least have seen it. Mihir has never seen this kind of crop in the UK. Maybe the British who are used to it in India can accept it more easily.
......
After the meal, the East African soldiers took away the tableware. At this time, Igor was lying like a dead pig on the bed that he was very unaccustomed to. Mihir, on the other hand, applied for books from East African soldiers.
“I’m so bored here, can you guys find a book for us?”
Although they could not understand Mihir's English, the East African soldiers reported Mihir's situation to their superiors, and soon an interpreter arrived.
"Hello, Mr. Mihir, what do you want!"
"I hope you will find a book. I am so bored now, and my days here are like years."
Michel’s words made it difficult for the translator. After all, who goes to war with books!
However, after two hours, Mihir's request was still resolved, and an English book was actually found in East Africa, which is quite rare.
If it were just German books, then many officers in East Africa would still have them in stock, and some soldiers might also have books with them. Reading is already relatively common for many East African soldiers who have received compulsory education.
But English books are really rare in East Africa, especially in military camps. After all, English is not popular in East Africa, and the printing industry in East Africa is not yet developed. Limited resources naturally tend to be more German-language products.
However, many people in East Africa are bilingual or multilingual. For example, Chinese immigrants can speak Chinese and German. There is no conflict. Although most people cannot write or understand Chinese characters, you cannot speak He won't.
Even in Germany, there may be people who immigrate from the UK or take the initiative to learn English, so there are many people in the East African army who can speak English, French, and Russian.
Of course, it is not too much to cover the Guards Division, but there is a soldier whose grandmother is British, so he can speak English. When he immigrated to East Africa from Europe, he brought a box of English books. This time on the battlefield He also carried an English Bible.
So Mihir could only hold the Bible and read it, but this was also in line with Mihir's wishes. Nothing could soothe his soul more than a Bible in this terrible state.
After all, it is a product of religious culture and has psychological implications. In this case, Mihir’s anxious mind after being captured seemed to have been baptized. For Mihir, this is not God’s love for him. tests conducted.
Of course, it would be perfect if your roommate is not "Igor".
(End of this chapter)