Chapter 41 Chapter Forty-One

Pastor James said: "...Jesus Christ was crucified. He had no sin, but suffered suffering and torment on the cross for bearing our sins. The Almighty and Omnipresent Lord, our Heavenly Father, offered His The Son redeems us humans..." Pastor James said: "...Jesus Christ did not die, He ascended to heaven. Jesus Christ put his left hand on his chest, raised his right hand, and blessed the crowd. He slowly turned around and blessed the whole world. Jesus Christ was crucified Boundless light spewed out from the wounds he had undergone, and shed the light of the sky to the world. Jesus Christ slowly rotated and rose in the holy light, rising higher and higher, merging into the high heaven, and entering the kingdom of heaven..."

Pastor James said: "...Jesus Christ will come again, and after the second coming, he will judge everyone according to their deeds. Jesus Christ will live with us and wipe away our tears. There will be no more death, no more Crying, pain, and mourning. The kingdom of the Lord and the will of the Lord are to be accomplished and done on earth as in heaven..." Pastor James said, "...Jesus Christ made us dead to sin that we may live to righteousness..." ... During the most painful days of Cao Ershun's body and soul, Pastor James limped to Kuazipo time and time again, bringing medicines, food, and the voice of God to Cao Ershun's family.It is because of Pastor James’ sincere material help that Cao Ershun was able to carry on the struggle to stop the kiln by himself even after the 2,000 kiln workers in Qiaotou Town surrendered.Cao Ershun couldn't help crying whenever he looked at Pastor James's loving smiling face.However, Pastor James admired Cao Ershun's righteous spirit and valued Cao Ershun's moral courage, but he disapproved of Cao Ershun's stubbornness and the old practice of five liters of kiln salary mentioned by Cao Ershun. Pass Cao Ershun.

Pastor James said, "...you know, my brother, nothing ever stays the same in this world that God has given us. It used to be five liters of sorghum to do a job, but it doesn't mean it should always be five liters of sorghum. It is not surprising that the wages change, but it is strange that the wages do not change! Of course, when I say changes, I do not only mean the reduction of wages, but also the increase of wages.” Cao Ershun said: "Then, why didn't Xiao Taiping increase his wages? He made so much money, opened Xiao's kiln, bought Wang's kiln, and hired Mr. Bai Er's Bai's kiln and Li Wuye's." Lijiayao, the entire coal mine in Qiaotou Town has fallen into the hands of him alone, and he has made such a fortune that the salary should not be lowered, but should be raised."

Pastor James said: "Yes, if we stand on the basis of justice and axiom, we should pay more. However, businessmen in this world always only talk about making money, not about justice. When no one works for him, his The wages must be higher, and when everyone rushes to work for him, the wages will be lower. This is a natural business phenomenon, not only in Qiaotou Town, but also around the world. " Cao Ershun said: "But it's not fair! When I was earning five liters of sorghum, I put in so much effort, and when I was earning four liters of sorghum, I still worked so hard. I didn't lose my strength. He sweated and almost died under the kiln several times, how could he earn less so much?! Pastor Zhan, we... we can ask God, so... does God approve of such a deception? If God approves such a deceitful thing, I...I would rather believe in the devil Satan!"

Pastor James stared blankly at Cao Ershun, speechless for a moment. Being in such a poor family with nothing, facing such an angry and stubborn kiln worker, Pastor James knew that he could no longer use normal logic to talk to him.This kind of dialogue is really too pale, not only can't convince Cao Ershun who defends his own labor interests, but I'm afraid it will lose the glory of God.Besides, maybe the angry and stubborn potter was right. Pastor James gave up his persuasion efforts and said emotionally: "My brother, God is with you. Before God, rich and poor are the same. God never approves of the rich giving away their wealth. The joy with yourself is based on the pain and blood and tears of the poor. Those rich people who only care about making money and ignore justice and conscience are all captivated by the devil and Satan, and will eventually be punished by God."

Cao Ershun said: "Well, I will fight to the end with these devils and Satans! After my injury is healed, my kiln will have to rest! I will go to the Sanjia kiln and say that I deserve the five liters of sorghum! We use our honest labor in exchange for our daily meals, and we didn't let us sweat and starve to death!" Pastor James sighed and said: "My brother, I have no other way to help you. I can only pray for you every day, and I also want all the church members to pray for you. May God bless you and your family! I won the five liters of sorghum that I deserved." Cao Ershun said: "Pastor Zhan, it's not me and my family, but the big guy! Everyone deserves the five liters of sorghum kiln salary. What I want is what the two thousand kiln brothers in the three kilns in Qiaotou Town have. Justice and righteousness."

Pastor James said: "Then, I will pray for all the kiln workers in Qiaotou Town! May God be with you, and justice and justice be with you..." So, Cao Ershun's lonely and tragic kiln break continued. One morning six days later, Cao Ershun went to the entrance of the Baijia old kiln again with his wounds, and publicized his proposition about five liters of sorghum to every brother who went to the Baijia old kiln.With a hoarse voice, I begged all the brethren I knew or didn’t know to stand up and stop the kiln for their own rights and interests of five liters of sorghum.Although the brothers who came to the kiln did not dare to break the kiln with him, most of them sympathized with and respected Cao Ershun.However, no one dared to say anything to Cao Ershun, who was afraid of Xiao Taizhong and the kiln workers who had a fierce look on their faces at the door.Some well-meaning kiln workers were afraid that Cao Ershun's family would starve after taking a break, so they quietly gave Cao Ershun the food they brought.After only a few groups of people passed by, Cao Ershun put a pile under his feet.There are pancakes, steamed buns, and some steamed buns.Qian Chuanzi also specially gave Cao Ershun a sharp short knife, and asked Cao Ershun to keep it "to guard against dogs".

The dogs didn't dare to jump up and beat Cao Ershun anymore.Ever since Cao Yue'e scolded him that day, Xiao Taizhong and his kiln workers just pretended not to see Cao Ershun.Xiao Taiping also confessed that as long as Cao Ershun didn't break into the gate of the kiln to make trouble, let him say whatever he wanted to say. By the way, Cao Er went to say every day that the three kilns took turns going up and down, and the same few words were repeated over and over again: "... I know, since the seventh year of Tongzhi, the kiln salary has been five liters of sorghum. Why does Xiao Taiping blackmail us? Sheng? We all have to stop the kiln! We are all in one mind, we all stopped the kiln, and we can get back the high sorghum! Each of us has to be fair, and we can’t take care of ourselves. We only care about ourselves, the kiln pay Maybe it will be reduced to three liters or two liters. But the usual practice is five liters, and it has been twelve years..."

After a long time, when the ragged Cao Ershun became a familiar scenery outside the kiln, the sympathy and respect of the brothers gradually disappeared.Many brothers didn't want to pay more attention to Cao Ershun, and some even joked with Cao Ershun. They greeted Cao Ershun from a long distance and said, "Hey, second brother, are you here to stand guard on the kiln again? You don't feel tired!" Some people even said: "Brother Cao, you really have the drive to stop the kiln, why not go down to the kiln to earn the four liters of sorghum, what are you trying to do!"

Cao Ershun said in a low voice: "I... I just want to be fair and righteous..." All the brothers who heard this shook their heads. Cao Ershun also shook his head, feeling even more saddened, thinking that these brothers did not quit the kiln for the wages they deserved, but laughed at him, they were really stupid. It's winter, with the first snow falling, and more seasonal kiln workers flock to Qiaotou Town from three provinces and four counties, crowding the town everywhere.Cao Ershun changed his mind and went to the Sanjia Kiln, and stood on the Sankong Bridge in the center of the town to talk to those seasonal kiln workers.The situation was good at the beginning, many people listened to it, and some people followed suit, saying that Cao Ershun was right, it was still five liters at this time last year.Naturally, after a long time, no one paid any attention to Cao Ershun.

Sometimes, when a group of seasonal workers came over, Cao Ershun was about to speak, but he was the first to say: "We know, we all know, 'The kiln wages in the past are five liters of sorghum, this is the old practice for twelve years'... ..." Cao Er chased him by the way and said: "Since you know, you should ask the kiln for it. This is not anyone's business, it is our big guy's business..." ... To the surprise of the entire Qiaotou Town, Cao Ershun's strike alone persisted from the autumn of the eighth year of Guangxu to the spring of the ninth year of Guangxu, which lasted six months and twenty-one days, and became the 125-year history of the coal industry in Qiaotou Town. The longest strike in the world - albeit a one-man strike. Standing at the head of the three-hole bridge in the wind, frost, rain and snow, Cao Ershun will always think of Jesus Christ who was crucified on the cross, and then feel that he is nailed to the head of the bridge by justice and justice.When the "five liters routine" became the laughing stock of everyone, Cao Ershun often talked about fairness and justice. Justice and justice do not exist at all.The carelessness and numbness made the more than 2,000 kiln workers who were scattered like sand lose the possibility of their final resistance under the cruel squeeze of the early primitive capital.No one has seen the dawn of a new era in Cao Ershun's stubborn and tragic actions.The entire Qiaotou Town rebellion thought Cao Ershun was crazy.Even the eldest son Chunwang and his wife Dani, who had already worked as child cart laborers in Lijiayao, thought that Cao Ershun was out of his mind. Only Pastor James respects Cao Ershun. Pastor James said categorically: "...Because of Cao Ershun in Qiaotou Town, the spirit of Christ was honored, and justice and righteousness did not die in the filth and depravity of money and carnality..." ... It took the people of Qiaotou Town 40 years to understand Cao Ershun's lonely and tragic strike. In the fourteenth year of the Republic of China, when eight thousand kiln workers in Qiaotou Town, accompanied by long-sounding sirens, and under the guidance of the banner of "sacred labor", went to Dayang Building on Shengping Road to strike against the British SPRO China Coal Mine Company, Cao Ershun's The name and that lone strike was brought up again and again.It dawned on people that strikes in the past had produced kiln owners Xiao, Cao Lantou, and many brand-new or not-new masters, but they had never produced a "Second Master Cao".If it wasn't for the overall interests of a generation of kiln workers in Qiaotou Town in the eighth year of Guangxu, Cao Ershun could have avoided that lonely strike. Therefore, in the bloody storm of the "May 30th Massacre", in the face of the lure of Cao Jieke, the general comprador of the British businessman with a monthly salary of 1,000 yuan, and the gunpoints of the soldiers supervised by the warlord Long Yuqing, the leader of the Urinal KMT labor group at that time Xiao Yang refused to sell the interests of the workers, and once said to his second cousin Cao Jieke: "...I have a role model, that is, Cao Ershun, the father of my uncle Cao comprador. Cao comprador asked me what I want? In the eighth year of Guangxu, Cao Ershun I don’t want the self-interest rewarded by Xiao’s kiln owner, but the axiom and justice of a generation of kiln workers in Qiaotou Town. Today, what I want is still axiom and justice—the axiom and justice of the world, a country without the power of imperialist capital A world where the blue sky is white and the sun is red and the ground is red..." However, standing in Qiaotou Town in the eighth year of Guangxu, Cao Ershun didn't know that he would enter history by dedicating himself to the justice and justice of a generation of kiln workers.The people of Qiaotou Town did not see the dawn of the new era from him, and neither did he himself.At that time, the future of Qiaotou Town was still shrouded in thick fog that could not be shaken off. What Cao Ershun often thought of was not the bleak future, but the dreamy past. For some reason, in the midst of the bustling crowd, looking at the local or foreign kiln workers passing by in front of him, listening to the lewd voices from Nuanxiang Pavilion in the distance, and smelling the rotten smell of powder in the air, Cao Ershun I couldn't help but recall Cao Tuan, who was forged in the flames of war again and again, without accumulating private money.I felt that the faces of the kiln workers who came and went were very familiar, and the laughter of the brothers in the seventh year of Tongzhi's reign filled the desert river could be faintly heard in my ears... Cao Ershun remembered that evening in August of the seventh year of Tongzhi so vividly that he would never forget it until he died. That was the day when the 304 men, women and children of their Cao Tuan took root in the kiln area of ​​Qiaotou Town, and it was also the day when the Cao Tuan finally ended.That day, the father of the old group was unable to walk, so he pushed the wheelbarrow carrying his father to the road of the Damo River embankment with all his strength, Xiao Taizhong pulled desperately in front.Accidentally, the unicycle overturned, and Dad rolled off the unicycle, Xiao Taiping, the head of the second regiment, came over and scolded... It was so good at that time, Cao Xiao's two big families with 304 people were like a family.Hungry, share the last bite of bun.Thirsty holding a water hyacinth to drink water.Who would have thought that there would be such a polarization between the rich and the poor today?Who would have thought that Xiao Taiping, the second regiment who was once as poor as everyone else, would always take the entire coal mine in Qiaotou Town into his own hands?What's going on?Is it because of Xiao Taiping's great ability, or because of Xiao Taiping's good life? Naturally, at that time, no one thought that this small Qiaotou town would become so bustling and prosperous in twelve years. The coal kilns and flower kilns stand side by side, attracting so many people from three provinces and four counties that they almost surpassed Mohe City. inside...