Chapter 17 seventeen

When the heavy rain came down in the afternoon, Zhou Amei was arguing with his wife again about "whether or not to go". The same three words "whether to go or not" came from the mouths of Amei and his wife, but each has its own meaning.Zhou Amei's "whether to go" refers to whether he and his colleagues in the same factory have finally given in and accepted the boss's conditions to go to Hankou with the factory; The "good news" of Shi Quansheng, a foundry worker: a factory in the French Concession is expanding to recruit skilled workers. "Did you find a job with a crooked face?" Zhou Amei yelled at Sister Azhen with a tense face. "You just believe his nonsensical rumors, which annoy me to death every day!"

"Ah, yo, you really don't know good people. They don't want sand-turning workers! Shi Quansheng kindly informed you, but you..." "What should I pour?" Zhou Amei was picking up a cup of tea and put it down with a bang. "Don't want to ask that Yao man? I don't believe Yao Shaoguang's bullshit!" "Whether he is true or not, it doesn't matter if you ask." "No!" "If you don't want to go, I'll go! It's a waste of asking, and it won't hurt my stomach." "You are not allowed to go either!"

Zhou Amei jumped up suddenly, her face was flushed, and she stared at Sister Azhen with wide eyes angrily, which was a little too much.Sister Azhen pouted, said repeatedly "I'm going", and walked out.As soon as Zhou Amei grabbed her, she pushed her into the room.The quarrel was about to develop into a fight.But at this moment, across the plank behind a gray cloth, the sleeping brother suddenly burst into tears; the cry was like a bucket of cold water, which quenched the anger of the couple. Sister Azhen ran into the gray cloth that was used as a curtain, and immediately screamed.Zhou Amei pulled back the piece of cloth, and when she saw her younger brother, she held her in Sister A Zhen's arms as if she had been picked up from the water. The plank was covered with water.The biggest leak came down from the half-collapsed roof and hit the planks with a bang.

The two couples didn't bother to change the wet clothes for the younger brother, and were busy saving their things first.After laying it down, the ground has already accumulated an inch of water.A month ago, despite the chaotic bombing and shooting, a half-old leather suitcase rescued from their old residence in Nanshi was soaked in water. "Ah! It's over!" Sister Ah Zhen suddenly screamed and ran to the corner of the room with a pair of small windows.Zhou Amei also jumped over the overturned plank.There was a waterfall in the corner of the house, running down the earth wall. Half a sack of rice and a sack of flour on the ground were flushed, and the water seeping from the side of the flour bag was already milky white.

Sitting on that broken table, the little brother who was like a drowned rat just opened his mouth and cried. Fortunately, two people came.This is Xiao Changlin and A Shou.They helped Zhou Amei and his wife to put everything that was submerged in the water into place.Sister Azhen also changed the younger brother into dry clothes, hugged him, and took a pot to the tiger stove to make tea. The sound of wind and rain is like ten lathes running at high speed.Three men sat at the broken board table in a square shape, and no one spoke first. Sister Azhen came back with the teapot, put it on the table, and said:

"Brother Changlin! Come and comment on this theory. I advised him to ask Yao Shaoguang, is that factory really recruiting workers? He seemed to have eaten raw rice, and he didn't say a word. He said that the machines in the factory were dismantled. , everyone will go to Hankou; but now the boss is pretending to be stupid and drying us here in the shade. Sitting and eating, no matter what kind of work, it is better than nothing!" Zhou Amei didn't make a sound, and took out half a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and saw that they were already soaked in water; he lazily threw the water-stained cigarettes on the table, and cursed.Xiao Changlin took out his own cigarette, gave Amei one, poured himself a cup of tea, and said calmly:

"Sister-in-law, don't worry! Everyone cares about the long-term." "Yao Shaoguang's mouth is unreliable." Ah Shou also helped. "If there is a job, I won't go either!" Zhou Amei said loudly, taking a puff of cigarette. "Everyone made it very clear that day. If Boss Yan refuses to agree to our request, we will sue him to the social bureau! I, Zhou Amei, swore it myself. I will not betray my co-workers and go find a job by myself!" Xiao Changlin nodded, but did not speak. "Tsk tsk tsk, social bureau?" Sister Ah Zhen hurriedly said. "The Social Bureau doesn't care!"

"Everyone is of one mind, we are not afraid that the boss will not agree!" Ah Shou said again helping Ah Mei. "Sister Azhen, don't worry, there are three days left, let's see the color!" "Okay, okay, look at the color! The factory has already been demolished, and we are not waiting to start work, so Boss Yan is not in a hurry!" Sister Ah Zhen said angrily, she put the baby on Ah Mei, and then went to take care of the water-stained clothes. Sister A Zhen's words touched Zhou Amei's heart.Yesterday Tang Jicheng told them: Cai Yongliang was looking for a house and was going to store those boxed machines.Boss Yan was originally reluctant to relocate the factory to the mainland, but now he just rescinds his promise to relocate the factory under the pretext that the workers' demands are too high.

The demands of the workers are: the factory should subsidize one hundred yuan per person for moving expenses. From the time of departure from Shanghai to the day when work officially starts in the future, each person will receive 20% of their original salary temporarily, and the remaining 20% ​​will be paid after the start of work. The workers who went to the mainland with the factory this time will not be fired by the factory without reason.These three requirements were put forward when the disassembly work was about to be completed.Boss Yan delayed for three days without replying.When the disassembly work was completed, Cai Yongliang only agreed to the last one on behalf of the factory.The workers were very dissatisfied, and because Boss Yan played tricks again, he was even more indignant, so he insisted on the original request and refused to make concessions.This stalemate has lasted for four or five days.Chief engineer Zhou Weixin initially acted as a mediator, but when he saw Yan Zhongping's insincerity and the workers went to extremes, he became negative and resigned from Yan Zhongping.

Only Tang Jicheng was still tirelessly trying to get Yan Zhongping, Zhou Weixin, and the workers to continue to cooperate.However, he did not understand the violent parties among the workers. While arranging those water-stained clothes, sister Ah Zhen muttered, "Social Bureau! Hmph! How many times has the Social Bureau not helped the bosses? Now you want to ask the Social Bureau to show signs? " "As long as everyone is united, we are not afraid that Boss Yan will not agree." Ah Shou reiterated his opinion. "This morning, I also had a quarrel with Shi Quansheng. He yelled as soon as we met. There is good news! Huh, what good news? Isn't it an old tune? Tang Jicheng mediates! However, this time he found The way I heard was wrong. He found Boss Yan's brother!"

"Hmph, who wants him to meddle in his own business!" Zhou Amei said. "However, Mr. Tang is a good person, and he has a good heart." Xiao Changlin, who hadn't spoken for a long time, spoke.Apparently he was not without an opinion, but was looking for an appropriate opportunity to express his opinion. "We were fooled by Yao Shaoguang this time..." "Tang Ji is a good man, but it's not right for him to ask the third boss to find a solution. Isn't the third boss on his brother's side?" A Shou hurriedly said, his face was red and he seemed to be ready to quarrel.But Xiao Changlin didn't accept his challenge, and just said his own words: "Yao Shaoguang persuaded us to make a request, Amei. At that time, you said that this guy just wanted to please everyone, consolidate his position in the union, and fight for power with Cai Yongliang. Yes, this guy has this trick! But, this time, He and Cai Yongliang were in collusion, and he was instructed by Boss Yan. We were duped!" "If you are not duped, what are you talking about?" Zhou Amei replied angrily. "Shouldn't we make a request? We rescued the machine for Boss Yan. The bomb fell on our house. Boss Yan snatched all the machines in the factory, but what about my own things? This is the only box left! It's getting cold , I don’t know where the winter clothes are? If we don’t ask Boss Yan for subsidies, who should we go to? We can’t say that Yao Shaoguang wants to use us, and Boss Yan is colluding with him. We should just follow him to the east and west naked oo?" The more Zhou Amei talked, the more angry she became, forgetting that she was still holding a little brother in her arms, she raised her fist and hit the table.The child was sitting on the edge of the table, playing with two nuts the size of chess pieces. Ah Mei's punch made the two nuts jump up. The younger brother was startled, and when he looked up, he saw his father's angry face again. Then he burst into tears.Ah Mui got even more angry and slapped him.Fortunately, Sister Azhen had already put those water-stained clothes away, and ran over to greet the child. "Ah, brother Changlin, you saw it. We were eating bombs that day, but we lost our lives and lost our things. There was no place to live. Amei had to go to work. I hugged my brother and found this shack Hey, how does it look like a human residence? I tidied it up for three days, and it looked like a house, but I didn’t even have a bench. I begged Cai Yongliang repeatedly, and finally he showed kindness and let me go to the factory to pick it up. The few planks and this broken table they regarded as garbage, they even said they lent us, and wrote an IOU on the spot!  …” "We were too honest back then!" Ah Shou shouted angrily, interrupting Sister A Zhen's conversation. "It's a conscience to be the boss when you focus on the boss's machine!" "That's not right! Ah Mei didn't even make a sound! But Mr. Tang was very sorry and told Chief Engineer Zhou that he got twenty yuan allowance from Boss Yan. What is twenty yuan enough? It costs more to buy a quilt ..." "Forget it, forget it!" Zhou Amei irritably stopped Sister A Zhen. "Just repeating old sayings, there is a fart use for it!" "Yes, there is no need to mention the old saying," Xiao Changlin said taking advantage of the situation, "to discuss the matter at hand. I heard that Boss Yan's brother understands the truth. He told Mr. Tang that the workers should not be too disadvantaged. However, If we don't budge at all, things will come to an end." Neither Zhou Amei nor A Shou made a sound. "Mr. Tang also discussed with Chief Engineer Zhou," Xiao Changlin continued, "Chief Engineer Zhou came up with an idea. How about other factories? We can't be worse than other factories, but we can't be higher. Mr. Tang said To be clear, if we agree with Chief Engineer Zhou's idea, then Chief Engineer Zhou will stand with us..." "What is the solution?" Ah Shou asked impatiently. "From the day we left for Shanghai, the boss took care of the food and housing. When we arrived in Hankou, the boss took care of the lodging alone and paid half the salary. If we had a small family, we would get a little food allowance." "It's not going to work! It's too far away!" Ah Shou yelled loudly. But Zhou Amei asked coldly, "What about the moving fee?" "No. But don't worry, listen to me. Didn't the boss take care of us after we arrived in Hankou? The factory gave us dormitories, as well as beds, tables, benches, stoves, and pots—we don't need to pay for these things ourselves. In addition, you can also get some allowances, which can be regarded as half of the salary after the dismantling work is completed, and it is also counted until Hankou.” "Ah!" Sister Ah Zhen supported the toddler who was holding on to the bench with one hand, and at the same time turned her head to look at Xiao Changlin and said, "The bosses have really good calculations! This is half salary, that is half salary, they can't Only half a person is alive!" Zhou Amei lowered her face but remained silent. "I knew that the surnamed Yan was capricious," Ah Shou said bitterly, "I didn't dismantle the machine for him back then, a bomb would be a fucking bastard..." "No, no!" Zhou Amei suddenly jumped up and said loudly, "This condition is not acceptable!" Xiao Changlin also stood up, blushing, and shouted loudly: "Amei, Boss Yan just wants us to say no!" He turned to look at A Shou. "Why did we try our best to save the machine for him? For some fucking money? Or do we hope that Boss Yan will remember our benefits and give us dozens of dollars for nothing?" "Come on! You are so generous, you don't care!" "I'm not big-hearted, and you and Amei are not small-minded. We both knew that dismantling Yan Zhongping's machine not only helped him preserve his property, but also urged him to move the machine to the mainland, start manufacturing goods, and fight Japan. Brat! Boss Yan’s machine has been preserved now, and we rescued it with all our efforts; when will we move to the inland to start work? Boss Yan has already pushed back and forth, duplicity. But we gave it to him There is a reason for him to bite back. It’s not that he doesn’t want to move the factory, but that we bargained too high and he can’t do it. We fought our lives for him at first, and now we have fulfilled his trick, and we have also taken responsibility; Amei , Ah Shou, is it because we are too arrogant?" When Xiao Changlin said these words, sister Azhen placed the younger brother on a broken mat in the corner of the room, and picked up a pair of vise for the younger brother as a toy; but she was listening to Xiao Changlin's words with all her heart.What worries her the most in the past few days is that Ah Mui will lose her job.She hoped that the factory relocation would become a reality, but it was just because she was not sure about finding a job in Shanghai.When she heard Xiao Changlin's discussion, she couldn't help interjecting: "I'm afraid we lowered the conditions, but Boss Yan still won't agree. Bosses always make progress." Before Xiao Changlin answered, Zhou Amei interjected: "Sacrifice, sacrifice; as long as the enemy is not in vain. There was a bomb at South Station that day. How many people died? We still have one life left." Seeing that Zhou Amei finally understood, Xiao Changlin looked at A Shou again and asked: "Ah Shou! Why don't you speak?" "According to the method of other factories - everyone agrees and I agree." "Of course there will be a meeting," Xiao Changlin said and walked out, "but first we have to explain the truth to everyone. Amei, you blew up everything Yes, you go to someone to reason with them, and they will convince you. I still have something to do, so I'll come back tonight." At this time, the rain also stopped. Zhou Amei looked at Xiao Changlin's tall back and said to herself: "It's a good word. The machine is moved to the mainland to start work. This is more important than anything else." The tall back is invisible No, Zhou Amei's eyes were still fixed.Suddenly he patted the table, stood up and said to Ah Shou, "Let's go! Let's go find the workers! Some guys are arrogant, so we have to be patient to explain them." Not long after Ah Mei and Ah Shou left, sister Ah Zhen was sitting at the door chopping firewood with the child on her back.The faint setting sun shines on the big and small puddles on the road, and the dry places on the side of the road are already full of stalls - old clothes, broken furniture, bottles and cans, everything, which is newly added after the war. An industry, mostly refugees. Sister Azhen looked at the owners of these stalls and felt that her life was much better than theirs.She knew that each of them had a similar experience: they were driven out of their homes by gunfire or bombs, so they lost their jobs and lived on the streets, the only means of subsistence in front of them was this little old thing lying on the ground.Some of them have also entered refugee shelters.A woman who was not a few years older than Sister Azhen told Sister Azhen that she would rather beg for food than enter a refugee shelter.That is where people are not treated as human beings.The woman went in with two children, and within half a month, a four-year-old child fell ill and developed a high fever for three days and three nights. No doctor came to see him, and he watched him burn to death.However, such poorly managed shelters are about to run out of food, and now they are only allowed to leave, not to enter. Sister Ah Zhen sighed, her eye circles were a little red; she felt that although she was living better than them now, she might end up in this situation one day.She gathered the wood, went into the house, laid the child on the plank, and let him play by himself.With both hands free, she opened the bag of flour, scooped out the water-stained flour with a bowl, and there was a shallow earthen basin; she thought about it, divided half, and went out of the house again. The woman with the dead child was found on the street stall. She came back with an empty bowl, and as soon as she entered the door, she saw a pock-marked man holding his younger brother in both hands, laughing, swinging deliberately, to tease him.The child is about to cry. "Where's Amei?" The man put down his younger brother and asked in a rough voice. Sister Ah Zhen recognized him as Li Jincai, the foreman in the factory, so she asked, "Why are you looking for him? Is there any news from the factory?" Li Jincai smiled strangely, sat down on the bench, picked up the teapot and poured a bowl, but didn't drink it, looked at Sister A Zhen and said: "What news? It's not just those two words: It's over! But what about Amei? Where did he go on a rainy day?" Sister Ah Zhen panicked when she heard the word "It's over". At this time, the younger brother was walking up to her with unsteady steps. She immediately hugged him and hugged him to her chest, but at the same time asked anxiously : "Why is it over? Boss Yan didn't move the factory to Hankou?" "Whether he moves or not, it's none of my business anyway. I quit!" "Ah! You're quitting?" Sister A Zhen looked at the pockmarked child in surprise, but the pockmarked face was shiny, and there was no sign of misfortune at all. "But," Li Jincai's expression and tone suddenly became very serious, "Sister Azhen, are you determined to follow the machine?" Sister A Zhen nodded, but then asked: "What exactly is Boss Yan planning? Will he move the factory?" Li Jincai shook his head, gave a cold laugh, and then replied: "Three boats were bombed and sunk the day before yesterday, and another boat was sunk yesterday; even people and machines have gone to see the Dragon King of the East China Sea! This waterway , It’s difficult to walk every day, no one dares to be safe; Boss Yan is not a fool, he left the machine in the concession, what’s wrong?” Sister A Zhen stared blankly at Li Jincai, and remained silent. "But, no matter what he does, I will quit. There is no need to lose my life! If you are capable, you can earn money wherever you go; like Ah Mui, you are not afraid of not being able to find a job. " "Oh!" Sister Ah Zhen's eyes widened in surprise.Why did this Li Mazi show his affection in such a way today?However, the fear of losing her job overwhelmed her doubts. Sister Ah Zhen bluntly confided her thoughts: "Amei is too honest. Brother Li, what opportunity do you have, don't forget to introduce Amei!" Li Jincai smiled, noncommittal, rolled his eyes, looked at the dilapidated house back and forth, then stood up suddenly, and said to Sister A Zhen seriously: "There is a chance, but Ah Mei's Temper, you know, if a word is wrong, he doesn't care about people's kindness." With that, he turned to leave. This sentence immediately produced a very complicated reaction in Sister Ah Zhen's heart.She wanted to catch up with Li Jincai and say something nice, hang on to this "opportunity", but she couldn't quite believe that there was such a good opportunity that Li Jincai would come to her door.She was hesitating, seeing that Li Jincai had wobbled to the door, she hurriedly called out: "Brother Li, sit down and go, Ah Mei should be back." As expected, Li Jincai stopped and turned around; Sister Ah Zhen wanted to be more sincere, but the little brother in her arms suddenly started whimpering and struggled for some reason.Sister A Zhen felt restless, scolded "little devil", and immediately put the child on the ground.At this time, I heard Li Jincai say: "Hey, it's a long way to go, with children, and the planes of the Japanese devils are chasing and bombing, sister Azhen, this is not fun!" "But, Brother Li, you said there is a chance?" "But, if Amei doesn't want to, what's the point? Amei's mouth is straight and quick. He doesn't go by himself, but he wants to promote it everywhere. There are some old people with hunchbacks in our factory. If this group Babies heard that I have connections, and they all came to me: Hey, big brother, help me, help me! But what can I do if you call me Li Jincai?" Li Jincai turned around as he spoke, as if he was about to leave again.At this moment, the little brother half-crawled and half-walked to the door.Sister Azhen rushed to the door by calling out to the child, and when the door stood still, she said to Li Jincai with a hint of pleading: "I'm sure I won't ask Brother Li to cause more trouble." Li Jincai glanced at Sister A Zhen, and then said as if making up his mind: "Okay, let me tell you! Compared with Guohua, the wages over there will only be more, not less; there is another advantage: Sister Azhen, you can also find a job. You have worked in domestic and foreign cotton mills like you. Veteran; how can you not be popular!" "Ahhh," Sister Azhen couldn't help but smile all over her face, "It's really the best. What kind of factory is it called? Where is it? Where is the border of Great Britain? France?" Li Jincai's face suddenly turned a little strange, but he still replied in a solemn tone: "Not in Shanghai, but in Tianjin! There is a war in Shanghai, so where will there be job opportunities!" The smile on Sister A Zhen's face faded little by little. She looked at Li Jincai and said hesitantly, "Oh, Tianjin! It's also a thousand miles away?" "There is a disk fee, it is enough, and there is still some left over." "Doesn't Tianjin fight wars?" "Don't fight! The Chinese soldiers have already left. There will be no bombing." "Then, is it the world of the Orientals?" "Hey, Tianjin is also a big port, and there are also concessions." "But, Brother Li, are you going by yourself?" "Me?" Li Jincai smiled, "I'm done greeting them here, maybe I'm going." Sister Azhen lowered her head and remained silent.The younger brother crawled on the ground and picked up the broken pieces of wood.Sister Azhen hugged him up and leaned sideways against the door frame. "Call me back tomorrow if you want!" Li Jincai gave this final instruction and left. Sister Azhen leaned against the door, looking at the roadside stalls.Now she was completely at peace.She didn't study what Li Jincai's "good opportunity" was. She only knew that someone in her "Sister Tao" was recruited in the same way more than ten days ago—it wasn't Tianjin but Ningbo. There is no news when I go, and God knows where it is!Her only hope now is that Boss Yan will not be so vicious that he ignores the workers and only cares about himself. It was getting dark gradually, but Amei hadn't returned home yet.The wind blew the sound of distant cannons, which became clearer and clearer after a while.