Chapter 20 twenty

The major's adjutant briefly flipped through the stack of documents, then pushed them back to Cai Yongliang and said: "None of these! There's no way, it's business, we have to check!" Cai Yongliang was very unhappy at first, because the major and adjutant shouted and shouted as soon as he jumped on board, and he almost regarded his surname as Cai as a clerk with no background.Now seeing the major's adjutant looking through those documents casually, he concluded that they were all wrong, he couldn't help but sneered, and replied: "Please be patient and look more carefully, okay?"

"I said 'neither,' and I couldn't be wrong!" The major's aide-de-camp also looked at Cai Yongliang with squinting eyes.Suddenly he felt that Cai Yongliang's style was not a person without power, so he softened his tone and said: "Actually, I don't need to look to know it's not true. We just came here yesterday morning to receive defense, and we haven't even issued half a pass yet!" "Oh! That's how it is!" Cai Yongliang's face also changed. I'm more docile. "However, adjutant, you just need to see that we have received so many passports, from the garrison headquarters, all military departments and division headquarters, all of them are complete. This alone can prove that we have not only the machines of the Guohua factory on board , raw materials, semi-finished products, and absolutely no other illegal products! Our factory was ordered to relocate, there is a whole plan for the project, and there is a deadline on the road. We have no disadvantages, and we are afraid of inspections. What we are afraid of is that the inspection will delay the time!"

The major's adjutant tilted his head, as if he was listening to Cai Yongliang's words, but his eyes kept turning, looking at the furnishings in the middle cabin.After Cai Yongliang finished speaking, the major's adjutant seemed to be polite and rash, and suddenly asked: "What position do you hold in Guohua Factory? May I ask your surname?" Cai Yongliang smiled, and was about to take out his business card, when the mouthless Ah Si standing outside the curtain shouted loudly: "This is the Assistant Manager in our factory! Cai Assistant Manager!" Cai Yongliang couldn't help being startled when he heard Ah Si call him "assistant", but the arrogance of the major and adjutant was washed away by the word "assistant".He took out his diary and searched through it for a long while before he found his own business card.

"Ah, Major Li, I'm sorry!" Cai Yongliang held the business card and cupped his hands. "The house is Wuchang, oh oh! Ah Si, respect cigarettes!" The major's adjutant took a "Three Fortress" from Ah Si's hand, glanced at the brand printed on the cigarette, and with a snort, Ah Si struck the match.However, the major's adjutant calmly tapped the end of the cigarette on his thumbnail.The second match chirped again.The major's adjutant then lowered his head and smoked the cigarette in Ah Si's hand.After a puff of smoke, the adjutant major said:

"Hey, Cai Xiangli, I'm here. For your sake, it doesn't matter if you are so-so. However, there are three or four obstacles to go down, and they are also our troops. They still have to look at their official business; if you have no official business, you still have trouble ?” "Then what should we do?" Of course Cai Yongliang understood the subtext of the major's adjutant, but he still pretended not to understand. "A pass must be obtained!" the major and adjutant had to say bluntly. "Then please! It's all about strength!" Cai Yongliang still pretended to be stupid, but he was thinking about the amount of money in his heart.

"Your brother understands!" The major's adjutant laughed for the first time, and took another puff of smoke, "The master is not in town, brother can be half the master, but, but, there are still a few councilors, secretaries, aside They are not very good!" The words have already reached this stage, Cai Yongliang can't pretend to be stupid anymore, but he still wants to make things difficult, so he deliberately smiled frankly: "That's very good. Of course I have to visit those few." As he said that, he stretched out his hand to give way to the guest, and said with a smile: "Major Li, I have to ask you to give me some kind words and help me a lot."

The two walked to the shore one by one.The rain had already stopped, and the pedestrians who kept coming and going had already absorbed the mud on the road.A few steps away from the shore, in the middle of a hawker stall selling snacks, in the noisy crowd, two soldiers and seven or eight workers were arguing.The boats moored along the coast were also full of people, watching and discussing at the same time.Some workers on the Guohua Factory ship stood on the sheds and "camouflages", shouting loudly to cheer for the workers on the shore.Those two soldiers were originally with the major's adjutant to carry out inspections, and quarreling was commonplace, the major's adjutant pretended not to see them and just walked away.But a person came from the slanting stab, grabbed Cai Yongliang and asked:

"Are you ready? It's illegal for them to check!" Seeing that it was Tang Jicheng, Cai Yongliang said a few words about what had happened, and sighed, "They are here today, and they are the emperor. If you want to talk to them about the law, you will suffer a lot." The major's adjutant, who was about ten feet away, said in a low voice, "I've already given up on it, and I just want a few dollars!" "Are you going to give it or not?" "No, of course we have a solution. Call back to Shanghai and ask the boss to come and find their superiors. However, if we do this, we won't be able to walk within ten or eight days!"

Tang Jicheng nodded, but did not speak.Cai Yongliang sighed again, as if he was very wronged, he went on to say: "I'm really tired of negotiating with these gun-bearing classes, and I'm afraid of it! Hey, brother Jicheng, this time, please drive me, how about it?" Can't imagine why Cai Yongliang suddenly came to be so hypocritical, Tang Jicheng only said "oh", but didn't answer; suddenly someone patted Cai Yongliang's shoulder from behind, and shouted loudly: "I'll go, I'll go! I have a lot of experience in negotiating with armed comrades."

This is Yao Shaoguang. He has been eavesdropping behind them for a long time. Tang Jicheng smiled at Yao Shaoguang, shook his head at Cai Yongliang, and walked away. Cai Yongliang turned his face to look forward, but he saw Major Li standing in front of a teahouse on the corner of the street. "Oh! Are you going?" Cai Yongliang looked at Yao Shaoguang in a blink of an eye, and said half-truth, "But if Boss Yan refuses to admit it later, I can't help you!" This is a scoop of cold water, Yao Shaoguang is not as excited as before.However, seeing such a good opportunity let go in vain, he felt that he couldn't help himself.

Feeling anxious, I had no choice but to say with a straight face: "Hey, Lao Cai, please help me! When I arrive in Suzhou another day, eating restaurants and playing with girls are all mine!" Cai Yongliang didn't answer, just laughed, turned around and left. "Then, I'll help you," Yao Shaoguang chased after him, "I'll keep the secret. But, Lao Cai, please accommodate fifty yuan! I'll treat you to the restaurant as usual." Yao Shaoguang yelled while chasing like this, causing passers-by to stop and look at them.Cai Yongliang felt that it was too unseemly, Huo Di turned around and stopped, and asked with a straight face: "What are you going to do? What secret do I want you to keep? Can you tell me clearly?" Yao Shaoguang seemed to wake up suddenly, and regretted his own Meng Lang a little; but for the sake of face, and because he still refused to give up the fantasy of "taking profit from it", he changed his tone again, and replied with a salivating smile: "Lao Cai, why take it seriously. The friendship between the two of us didn't happen overnight, your business is mine! Oh, I was just about to tell you that someone on the boat said bad things about you. Hey, it's unreasonable. It's not that way, ——In terms of food, you—hey, forget it, don’t tell me, you understand. In short, they want to mess with you! Shi Quansheng on my boat, I gave him a lesson yesterday. However, There are others too. Lao Cai, of course you also know a little bit about it, it is Tang Jicheng." "Thank you, thank you!" Cai Yongliang looked at Yao Shaoguang's hesitation, and then replied with a smile, and at the same time turned around and walked towards the teahouse on the corner.This time, Yao Shaoguang stopped chasing him. He looked at the major and adjutant from a distance and said a few words to Cai Yongliang, and the two turned around the corner. Yao Shaoguang returned to the river bank listlessly, and listened to people bargaining among the snack and vegetable stalls.The two soldiers who quarreled have left, but the people on the shore and on the boat are still talking excitedly. "Calling others as traitors, what is he himself? What is he doing with so many boats detained? Why don't he ask for money! If you give money, a real traitor will become a good person; if you don't give money, a good person is a traitor! He What the hell are they?" Zhou Amei was on the second ship, and she was also scolding the two soldiers who made trouble just now. The fourteen ships of the Guohua factory are now moored scattered along the coast of this town. "No. 2" is facing the main street from the center of the town to the river beach. Sitting on the bow of the boat, Zhou Amei can also see Cai Yongliang meeting with the major and adjutant at the corner of the street, and Yao Shaoguang can also be seen slipping through the crowd. Go, look around.However, what Zhou Amei paid attention to was these soldiers wearing brand new grass-green military uniforms.From the main street to the river, they come and go in groups of three or four; the bright grass green on their bodies seems to be particularly eye-catching among the crowd of people in all kinds of robes and short coats. Because the two soldiers who made trouble just now called others traitors, Zhou Amei now also feels that anyone wearing a grass-green uniform is "all the way" with those two. His opinion was immediately confirmed by a guest on the neighboring ship. "They beat people up this morning! The two just saw that everyone was arguing and started arguing, so they only cursed a few words and it was over." The guest was holding a hookah, snorting and smoking while talking.From his appearance, he was in his fifties, wearing a greasy blue silk jacket, wrinkled face, and a pair of gentle and fearful eyes.He was alone in a small boat. According to his own account, he was the owner of a grocery store in a town sixty miles away. His surname was Wang. He always came to this town once a month to buy goods and collect bills. "But this time I waited for a day and a half in vain, and I still can't go back." The owner of the grocery store sighed and wiped the mouth of the hookah with his cuff, then raised the pipe with both hands, and said to Zhou Amei across the boat: "Hey, friend, how about a breath?" Zhou Amei thanked her, but took out her own cigarette, said "please", and threw one to the grocery store owner. Both were smoking cigarettes, and the conversation turned to the state of the town and the latest prices in various places along the route. Because it is on a traffic artery, this town has suddenly become extremely prosperous in the past month.Some wealthy people in a small town in Daxiang, near the Songhu War Zone, hired boats to carry their families and their families—some of them even carried better furniture. The town is used as a stop for a while to wait and see.The few small inns in the town were already full, and people who came a little later simply stayed on the boat. "It's a good deal!" Boss Wang explained enthusiastically, "This boat is chartered, and the cost of chartering for a day will not be more expensive than staying in a hotel. Besides, if the news is not good, it will not be comfortable to live here, and you can leave at any time. .Look, how convenient it is!" Half of the large number of ships moored here are the temporary mansions of these "rich landowners".The fourteen boats of the Guohua Factory were sandwiched in the middle. Although they were small in number, they were quite distinctive. Their "disguise" was like a few elementary school students in school uniforms sandwiched between a large group of citizens in long robes and short coats. "With so many ships crowded together day and night, aren't they afraid of bombing by Dongyang planes?" Zhou Amei asked anxiously, and at the same time remembered that she should tell Tang Jicheng that if the "pass" was not available, it was best to move to a calm place tonight. "That's right," Boss Wang interjected, "It's just to prevent bombing, so what kind of traitors will come out!" "Ah! There are traitors?" "Who knows!" Boss Wang said angrily, arching his hands into his sleeves. "Everyone lives on the boat, so it won't work if we don't light a fire at night, right? But the team said that this is a signal to Dongyang Chilao, and that they want to check if there are any traitors,-hey, man, they Checking for traitors is not about people, but about things! Inevitably, some things have become traitors. However, if you spend a few dollars, you can avoid inspections. Dude, if you spend the night here tonight, don’t forget this point.” "So, are the lights on at night?" Zhou Amei anxiously asked again, and at the same time stood up and looked around, trying to find Tang Jicheng. "Don't worry, just order it!" Boss Wang replied calmly, and bent his fingers to make a circle, "Just have this! Dude, the river surface is really beautiful at night! It's really brightly lit! Here, there is a There is a Tongchun House on the street, which sells tea as well as wine, and the business lasts until midnight, with a few gasoline lamps, shining brightly, and the little singing girl walks around, ordering four plays for one yuan. Hey , man, this has only been done in the last few months." Zhou Amei didn't want to listen anymore.He has suffered from enemy planes, and he understands the significance of blackouts; especially since yesterday they encountered enemy planes flying along the river for reconnaissance on the road, he felt that this small town was also within the range of the enemy's attention.However, the people here, and even the team, are so careless, that's not for fun. It was almost noon at this time, and the market was going on sale on the town street.All kinds of boats near the river are also busy preparing lunch.Along the river, the snack vendors rushing to the morning market here are still hawking with all their might, while the vegetable sellers over there are packing up their baskets and are about to close the market.Zhou Amei got to the shore and squeezed through the crowd. Needless to say, Tang Jicheng was nowhere to be seen, not even one of her own.He strolled towards the main street, and when he was approaching the teahouse on the corner, he saw Quezui A Si, carrying his big bamboo basket of "purchased" vegetables on his shoulders, sweating profusely, walking towards him step by step lazily. The short-mouthed Ah Si breathed out his mouth full of alcohol, and shouted from a long distance: "Amei, Amei! Help me, it's very heavy!" As she spoke, she put the big bamboo basket on her shoulders on the ground. Zhou Amei went up to have a look, most of the items in the basket, except for a few handfuls of cabbage, tofu about the size of a palm, and a thin stack of venetian leaves, the rest were all radishes with leaves and mud. "It's very expensive. There are a lot of refugees, and the prices of all the vegetables and tofu have gone up!" Quezui Ah Si wiped the oily sweat off his face and said angrily. "Did you see Mr. Tang?" The mouthless Ah Si didn't answer, but still complained that the vegetables were too expensive, and even swore that he lost money if he lost time and strength.Zhou Amei didn't bother to pay attention to him, turned around and squeezed into the crowd again. There is an inn on the left side of the road. There are three big red characters on the sign board on the door: "Quanfuji".Two well-dressed young women stood under the lamp plaque coquettishly teasing a few men, one of them was wearing a grass-green military uniform with a V-belt on it. After walking 20 or 30 steps of "Quanfuji", I saw the "Tongchun Tower" that Boss Wang had mentioned.A radio with a hoarse voice was singing "March of the Volunteers."The teahouses downstairs were packed to the brim, and there was a lot of noise. The waiters, carrying shiny and dazzling copper pots, yelled loudly and squeezed back and forth among the dense crowd of tea drinkers.On the left wall of the tea house, there is a row of four or five stoves in the street, steaming hot, and it is hard to see how many people are there, but the sound of ladles knocking on the iron pot, like machine guns being fired. Upstairs is probably a wine seat.Those carrying dishes, those holding jugs, those doing business in neat clothes, and those in military uniforms without military caps or V-belts. The first-class women all squeezed up and down the narrow and old stairs like a revolving lantern, squatting and screaming. Zhou Amei glanced into the teahouse and thought to herself: "Mr. Tang might not come here?" But he saw Yao Shaoguang, a crooked face and another sand-turning worker.Seems to be groping the dark road for a long time, and suddenly saw her family, Zhou Amei called their names, and dodged the hot big copper pot oncoming, and squeezed in. Those three were talking well, when they were suddenly surprised to hear someone calling them.When he saw that it was Zhou Amei, Yao Shaoguang winked at the crooked face.But the crooked face couldn't be ignored, and he still happily shouted: "Amei, it's just in time! Let's sit down and discuss it together." "I'm looking for Mr. Tang." Zhou Amei stood sideways behind Yao Shaoguang, and did not see Yao Shaoguang's furtive expression. "I told you, don't let Mr. Tang know!" The crooked face cried anxiously. "Hey, hey, sit down and talk." The foundry worker gave up a corner of the stool, Zhou Amei sat down, and asked in surprise: "What did you tell me?" "It's about the food—" Before finishing a sentence, Yao Shaoguang kicked the crooked face heavily under the table, winked again, and the crooked face stopped talking. "Ah, what about the food? I just saw the good food that Quezui Siban brought. But, have you seen Mr. Tang? I am worried that the Dongyang plane will come to bomb. With so many ships crowded together, the target is not very big Is it?" Hearing the word bombing, Yao Shaoguang felt a little uneasy, and quickly asked, "Is the sun out?" Zhou Amei shook her head.Yao Shaoguang breathed a sigh of relief, and said confidently: "As long as it's cloudy, you don't have to be afraid. But, Ah Mei, have you seen the delicious food that Quezui Ah Si has prepared today? Have you inquired about the price?" Before Zhou Amei could answer, the foundry worker rushed to tell the crooked face everything they had heard.According to the plan made last night, Crooked Face and his wife followed Que Zui Ah Si from a distance this morning, and inquired about the real price of every dish.They even knew how much Quezui Ahsi spent in a small tavern to drink a catty of rice wine.There was only one thing they didn't pay attention to, and that was that after Quzui Ah Si bought the public dishes and distributed them to the ships, he went to the town street and spent 1.67 cents to buy special dishes and cigarettes for Cai Yongliang. "I have the evidence," continued with a crooked face, "I want Cai Yongliang to look good later on. Amei, do you agree that Mr. Yao will take care of the food? " Yao Shaoguang kicked his face under the table again, but he heard Zhou Amei say unexpectedly: "I agree! It can't be any worse anyway!" "Hey, hey, I'm really not good at these affairs!" Yao Shaoguang suppressed the joy that came from the bottom of his heart, and said with a straight face on purpose. "Besides, don't spoil Lao Cai's face too much. Give him a warning and let him improve!" "No, no!" The crooked face and the sand foundry worker, the two honest people, shouted at the same time. "Can Cai Yongliang improve? No, no!" Yao Shaoguang was no longer modest, he thought that since he had accomplished his great achievements, there was no need to sit here anymore, and if he was not polite when paying the tea money later, it would be a matter of decency, so he might as well get away first. "You guys discuss it carefully," Yao Shaoguang stood up in a grand manner. "I'm going to study what the weather is like today." Yao Shaoguang walked away proudly.About half an hour later, Crooked Face and Zhou Amei also returned to the boat. Yao Shaoguang and Crooked Face never imagined that when they decided on the plan to "dump Cai" in the teahouse downstairs in Tongchun, Cai Yongliang and the major adjutant surnamed Li in the upstairs restaurant were also very smooth. Get the terms of exchange right.Crooked Face and Zhou Amei had just returned to their respective boats, and then Cai Yongliang also rushed back happily, and announced: sail immediately, the pass has been received. This was a blow to Yao Shaoguang's plan.The 14 ships of Guohua Factory were moored scattered among the large group of miscellaneous ships, and they couldn't get in touch with the people on each ship in a short time anyway.A conference that was scheduled to be held had to be temporarily put on hold. At this time, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and the sun appeared and disappeared.There is no doubt that the weather will improve.Yao Shaoguang was afraid of air raids, Tang Jicheng was in a hurry, and most of the workers felt that this noisy town, its "rich landowners" who had fled for their lives, and its arrogant garrison troops were not enough to miss. As soon as Zhou Amei jumped onto the boat, sister Azhen told him face to face: my younger brother has a fever.He blamed Amei again: "I can't find you no matter what!" "It doesn't matter," Lu Jiren, the doctor on board, comforted them. "I caught a little cold. Fortunately, we have some medicine with us. Take another dose after three hours, and you'll be fine tomorrow." "I don't think the food is hygienic." Tang Jicheng leaned against the side of the boat and said, looking at the sky. "Children have poor resistance, so it's better to eat less!" "Damn Cai Yongliang!" Zhou Amei cursed without thinking, and ran to the back cabin with Sister A Zhen to see the child. Doctor Lu pondered for a while, and then said to Tang Jicheng: "The workers seem to want to do something! Originally, the food is difficult. It costs 20 cents per person a day, small dishes, with oil and salt sauce, and you can't eat fish or meat if you want to. However, hygiene should be taken care of. Nutrition is enough, Green vegetables and tofu are not bad either. However, like the rotten meat and rotten fish from the day before yesterday, I don’t know where they came from!” "Besides, it's not an economical solution to separate the ships and burn their own food," Mrs. Tang said. Tang Jicheng glanced at his wife and Dr. Lu, nodded his head, and agreed, but still said: "Anyway, I will arrive in Zhenjiang in a few days, and then I will think about improving." "But the workers are planning to do something!" Dr. Lu said again. "They just kept it from you, they said you were protecting Cai Yongliang." Tang Jicheng smiled lightly, but before he could speak, Mrs. Tang rushed to ask: "Doctor Lu, how do you know? Who told you?" Doctor Lu smiled and raised his finger to the back cabin. "Amei?" "No. That's Sister Azhen. She told me again and again not to tell Brother Ji Cheng; The workers suspect that you, brother Jicheng, belong to Cai Yongliang's party! " Tang Jicheng couldn't help laughing. At this moment, a sound of gongs came from the water.This is the signal from Cai Yongliang's boat to sail.At the same time, sister Ah Zhen asked loudly in the back cabin: "Mr. Tang, Mr. Lu, is it time for dinner?"