Chapter 44 Fan's conduct

The counterattacks against the Japanese army in the South Pacific became increasingly fierce. Only then did the military realize the power of the enemy's large amount of supplies without knowing the bottom, so they immediately appealed to the island of Taiwan, seeking to frantically increase production.In response, the donate metal movement has intensified.All metal objects, including pots and pans, must be donated.The work of this donation is centered on the police station, and carried out through the township office and Baojia personnel.After a considerable amount of metal products have been collected, they are gathered together, and an 'Exhibition of Metal Supply and Export to the Country' is held in every street.To promote the publicity effect of donations.And every exhibition, the staff of the association will be mobilized to visit, so the staff choose an appropriate time to visit the exhibition.

On that day, Taiming invited Fan to visit the exhibition together. There were piles of white tin cans, sub-lead plates, rusted agricultural tools, iron window bars, iron beds, iron buckets, iron plates, rails, bells, gongs, etc. in the exhibition hall. The field is full of piles.On the other side of the warehouse, iron filings piled up like a mountain.Another special showroom displays iron products, aluminum products, copper products, silver products, etc., as well as precious artworks, or family treasures passed down from ancestors, just like an antique shop.Red copper vases, ashtrays, fairy statues, Buddha statues, gold and silver decorations, etc. There are many items worth from one hundred yuan to several thousand yuan each, and the name plates of the donors are attached to the valuables. It's all about famous people.

Looking at these items, Taiming felt strange for some reason.Famous works of art from the hands of famous craftsmen will soon be turned into rifle bombs or sharp knives for the purpose of mass murder.It's really a symbol of peace and war.The same metal, depending on the maker and the purpose of making it, can be an excellent work of art or a murder weapon.A work of art made by a famous craftsman painstakingly, but it has to be transformed into a tool for killing people.What a foolishness it is.Thinking of this, his interest became dull and he felt pain even in the venue. He urged Fan to leave the venue in a hurry.

As the war situation became more and more intense, the 'production volunteer system' was in full swing.In Taiwan, all men over the age of 18 and under 38 are subject to conscription.The association has also received instructions from above to recruit volunteers from serving personnel.But it's not so much recruitment as it is compulsory, unless there is a legitimate reason to enlist.And the so-called just cause refers to the blind or useless handicap.But Taiming is already past his age, so there is no problem. Under such circumstances, Fan refused to volunteer to join the army no matter what. The director lobbied him several times but still had no effect, so he was finally dismissed by the association. It's impossible to turn Kuangtao back, but I hope I can surpass it. From the attitude of this young friend, Taiming unexpectedly discovered that he was strong?spirit is encouraged.

'Hope we stay true to each other and stay strong! ' Taiming encouraged him. After Fan left, Taiming suddenly felt lonely.Even when I went to the association to work, I felt unmotivated, and I planned to resign in my heart, and I made this preparation more and more every day. One day after get off work, Taiming was walking alone on the street, not for any purpose but just strolling.There was nothing in the street that interested him, and there was nothing on display in the desolate street that he liked.Tired of walking, he entered a tea shop. He hadn't been to the tea shop for a long time, so he ordered a cup of black tea. There were quite a lot of customers in the shop. He looked around while drinking tea, but he didn't see any acquaintances.He took a sip of black tea in one breath, the reddish color of the tea reminded him of the old red wine in the mainland, and he couldn't help but miss his wife and daughter who stayed in the mainland.

"Has Ziyuan grown up?"If she followed Shuchun to live the life of the Anti-Japanese War, maybe she didn't study hard. As he thought this way, the real feelings of parent and child welled up in his heart, and his urge to return to the mainland became more and more intense.He feels that working in the association is confusing, and even living in Taiwan feels meaningless. Suddenly he found a man sitting in the opposite corner watching him, Taiming felt as if he had seen that man somewhere before, but couldn't remember it for a moment.The man left his seat and walked towards Taiming, saying hello to Taiming: "Are you Mr. Hu?" In that instant, Taiming recalled the past from his tone of voice, and recognized that person as Sato.He had known Sato quite a long time ago. Taiming had met him on a ship on his way back to Taiwan after graduating from a Japanese technical school.At that time, Sato was still very young, thinner than now, and the big mole on his left cheek was still the same as before.Although it was only a few days together, it somehow left a deep impression on him. Sato's sharp criticism of things has always remained in his mind.

The two were very happy to have such an encounter.Sato said that he only came to Taipei recently, because no friends tried to persuade Taiming to come to Taipei. Taiming followed Sato's advice and planned to resign from the association, but he couldn't resign immediately due to various reasons, so he waited for the right time. One day, the head of the accounting section slapped the ruling file on Taiming's desk. This was a certain attitude towards Taiming, and it also had something to do with what happened two or three days ago.The section chief said he wanted Taiming to help him get some peanuts. To help was an elegant word, but he actually wanted Taiming to give him some peanuts.This is a common method used by people in the upper echelons to obtain materials that are difficult to obtain during the war. Although Taiming understood it, he did not help him.So he embarrassed Taiming face to face.Taiming calmly opened the file, and saw that many lines were drawn with a red pen on the original official document.It is really unreasonable for him to carefully review the revised text.

The section chief or director, probably because they have nothing to do, always revises the original official document, which means that they have read it.As for the method of modification, it was modified for the sake of modification. For example, if the diary reads "XX visits the hall", it is changed to "XX inspection". Correction. But the new article that has been revised does not make sense. If the official document is sent out like this, the branches will definitely be confused. Although the official document that has been judged is too clear to be responsible, he still has no courage to send it. To be on the safe side, he asked the sub-division chief for instructions on such official documents. The sub-division chief was probably surprised by the incomprehensible writing, and immediately called the section chief for questioning. As a result, the sub-division chief understood the intention of the section chief to correct it. , the sub-division chief smiled wryly and ordered him to revise. The sub-division chief dismissed it with a wry smile, but then left a question that could not be settled with a wry smile. The next day, the section chief quietly called Taiming to him, and severely reprimanded him. That is an unreasonable and completely emotional reprimand, and finally said: "Okay, I won't let it go like this, you remember it for me!" There is nothing to remember or not, and Taiming's heart has already decided He couldn't bear to stay in such an atmosphere any longer. He submitted his resignation on the same day.

It took him a long time to return to his hometown, and he hadn't seen him for a year. His father, Hu Wenqing, looked ten years old.The villagers all seemed to be obviously hungry, with high cheekbones, sunken eye sockets, fleshy cheeks, and bloodless faces. Coupled with the tattered clothes, they looked even more sloppy.The ababa outfits that were once popular to improve life have also disappeared, and the original Taiwanese clothes have returned.When friends meet, they always tell each other the pain of lack of food. Taiming is surprised that the world has changed so quickly, and he thinks it is caused by the war.

Hu Wenqing was very happy with Taiming's return, and was still talking in Taiming's room until late at night. 'Tai Ming!I always feel that the people are a little bit cornered, what to do in this situation? ' He expressed his uneasiness about the current situation.Because he is a Chinese medicine doctor, he has professional anxiety.Due to the cut off of traffic, the medicinal materials of traditional Chinese medicine can no longer be imported, and the substitutes are ineffective. Therefore, patients who could have been cured often die without help.The doctor is finished in this situation, he is already terrified of himself as a doctor.Even so, there are many people seeking medical treatment, and it is difficult to deal with them.In particular, rice is rationed, so the number of patients has increased, and they eat porridge every day with the rationed amount, and there are still ten days a month without rice to cook.Moreover, there are neither food substitutes nor non-staple foods, and they are always undernourished.Doubling the work without enough food, the weakened body has no resistance, and the people can't bear it just to participate in intense labor services.

Hu Wenqing's inner anxiety came from this. He was old and wanted to rely on Taiming very much, so he shed tears easily, and he said: "Taiming, the current era is simply beyond Qin Shihuang's evil government." ' he said with a sigh.The Qin Dynasty adopted Shang Yang's reform to enrich the country and strengthen the army, implemented the policy of obscuring the people by burning books and burying Confucianism, built the Great Wall to enslave the people, and implemented the iron chain policy of the Baojia system.Therefore, it is called the tyranny in the history of China.Hu Wenqing told Taiming about the construction of the Great Wall that had been passed down through word of mouth: "One out of three people, two out of five people, even a single child must do it." 'That is to say, a family with three strong men must serve one person, a family of five strong men must serve two men, and a single or only child must also serve.And it is requisitioned with the joint and several liability of Baojia, so no one can escape.Hu Wenqing said that the proportion of soldiers, military family members, workers, and service members recruited by the government has exceeded one out of three and more than two out of five.Moreover, the implementation of the rationing system, which does not allow evasion, has fully exerted the coercion above the Baojia system. Taiming couldn't find words to comfort his aged father's sigh. He could only say that he would get better if he endured it for a while, but how long would it take for the "temporary" he said?Taiming himself didn't understand either. Also, the reason his father was worried was that under the current situation, when he died, he might not even be able to buy a coffin. 'Blessed is your mother, the funeral and coffin can be handled well at that time. ’ As he said this, he timidly asked Taiming: ‘Taiming!I want to buy a coffin and put it there now..." Taiming felt indescribably desolate when his father was so physically strong but his spirit was so weak. However, Hu Wenqing still urged his old body to fulfill his responsibilities as a doctor. Every morning, many patients flooded into his clinic. Most of them were diseases caused by overwork or bad food.Taiming probed into the examination room, and learned that the tragedy of the war was more serious than he expected, and it appeared in the medical place. He couldn't help but feel dark.There was a patient who said to himself, "I went to work on the public land in "Qingpuzai". The sanitation there was poor, and feces were everywhere. It's all feces, and I can't eat at all when I think about this situation.look!My skin has become like this! ' he said, pinching the skin of his forearm with his fingers for everyone to see.A woman waiting for a doctor next to him took his words and asked Hu Wenqing worriedly: 'Sir!Will my illness get better?So weak...' She said she had been married for six years and had never been ill.But since last year, when her husband was drafted into the army, he has been suffering from insomnia every night.Missing her husband, worrying about raising her children, and thinking about dawn, her body gradually weakened and her chest felt uncomfortable.To any doctor, it is said that worry is not good for the body, but worry can never be eliminated, she said with a deep sigh. Hu Wenqing listened to the patients' complaints, and responded one by one, saying that he was listening carefully and giving the patients the comfort they deserved.He turned his head and said to Taiming: "There is a poem in the Tang Dynasty: In the boudoir, there is only empty memory, and there is no sorrow on the battlefield. This poem probably describes such a situation." Hu Wenqing showed Taiming the helpless expression that he could not save the patient's heart. One night, Taiming was entertained by a farmer he knew well.Taiming returned to the village after going out to work for a long time, so the farmer wanted to treat him to some food.Taiming was embarrassed to ignore his kindness, so he walked two kilometers to the farmer's house at night.When I arrived, I saw four or five familiar farmers sitting under the dim shadow of a portable oil lamp made of bamboo.When they saw Taiming, they all stood up and gave up their seats.Taiming sat down, and one of them said, "Sir, there are no boars in the city, so you can't eat them?" 'Percupine' is a catchphrase for black market pork that is not rationed.Then: 'Sir! He greeted, and suddenly lowered his voice: "Actually, tonight, here I am..." He said, making a gesture of killing a pig.It means that the pig is killed, and Taiming is asked to eat it.Having said the words of private killing, everyone waited late at night. It was eleven o'clock, and the pot was full of boiling water. The three farmers went to the pigsty, only to hear a little noise, and the silence of the night returned.It took only ten minutes to put the pig into the cage.Put the cage and the pig into the pool, the pig didn't cry at all, just heard the pool water gurgling.After a while, the water returned to its original calm.The farmer dragged the pig cage up and carried it back.Taiming was surprised by such a simple handling.When he was a child, every July in Zhongyuan, he would see the butcher worshiping the pig. A sharp knife pierced the throat of the pig, and the pig wailed hoarsely. It is not easy for the pig to die suddenly if it is not slaughtered neatly.Taiming recalled what he saw when he was a child, and couldn't help but be amazed at the ingenuity of the private slaughter. Farmers scalded drowned pigs in boiling water and peeled them. Seeing that the carcasses were cleaned up and opened, nearby people gathered without notice to get a few catties.Taiming also got four or five catties.The pork was allotted, and the farmers immediately started cooking. While cutting the meat, the farmer said: "Sir, the fresh tenderloin is delicious..." The farmer said so and showed Taiming the tenderloin that was still trembling. Think, the cooking done by a layman is so-so.When the pork was cooked, the farmer first served a bowl for Taiming to taste.Taiming took a bite and was amazed because it was too delicious.Maybe it was because of an empty stomach, or because he was good at cooking, in short, it was almost a delicacy that he had never tasted in his life.He drank rice wine and ate unceremoniously.While eating, I listened to what the farmer said: The recent private slaughter is ingenious, and it will never be spread, so I feel at ease.The whole village is hungry, so no one will inform.In the black market, the hearts of the villagers are completely unanimous. Not only that, everyone foresees the catastrophe in the future and feels the need to work together.This is the resistance of the weak.The so-called "hungry chickens are not afraid of beating", hungry chickens will steal food no matter how they are beaten. Similarly, hungry people are not afraid of anyone.This is a lesson for Taiming. The next day, Taiming went to his brother Zhigang's Baojia office to say hello.Some elders were gathering there, discussing the supply of ducks.Each A is assigned to supply four.But the black market price of ducks has risen to ten times the public price, so no one is willing to supply ducks at the public price, so countermeasures are being discussed. As a result, it was decided that the ducks were converted according to the black market price, and the difference was borne by each household. After the discussion, an old chief Jia said to Taiming: "Mr. Hu, we often pay extra taxes.In the past, there were so-called righteous thieves who robbed the rich and helped the poor, but now they want to rob the poor and help the rich.I am seventy years old, and this is the first time I have seen such an era. "Old Chief Jia believes that the livestock and vegetables supplied by the people are used as special rations for the "Mandarin Families" with Japanese names and black coupons for the Japanese, which is regarded as a practice of robbing the poor and helping the rich.Zhigang immediately questioned and said: "What are you talking about? Even the son is not our own, but belongs to the country. If you think about those who are called into the army, you can't complain about providing some food." Old Chief Jia was very panicked. Taiming felt disgusted with his elder brother's attitude, so he came out without exchanging greetings. Another thing happened that day, when Taiming was walking near the pool of Ngawang, who was famously stingy in the village, he saw two or three strange youths in national uniforms fishing.He thought it was a police officer from the police station, but he didn't think so, he looked like someone from the township office.Everyone caught several rather large mullets in their fishing baskets.While watching, Taiming caught another tail. 'If the stingy Awang saw it, he must be very angry. ' Taiming thought.But he didn't go far from there when he met that stingy Ngawang. Awang knew that those people were fishing in his pool, so he complained: "Yammen dogs, these people are like living Hades." The stingy Ngawang has nothing to do with these people.The food supply and national mobilization are all handled by them. If they are targeted by these people, it will be over. Not only will the food supply increase, but unexpected things will also happen.Since the war, the privileges of the people in the township office have gradually increased, and now they are as feared by the public as the police officers in the police station.Whether Taiming's brother Zhigang or the people from the township office, they are all behind the back of the powerful and bullying others. Another unpleasant thing is that Zhida, who went to Hainan Island for a while, came back. He did not know how to get a young and beautiful girl who was said to be the daughter of a millionaire. Zhida took her to visit relatives and friends everywhere, bragging proudly .According to him, after he arrived in Hainan Island, he used his sharp skills honed as a lawyer and interpreter for many years, made a lot of money, attracted the attention of a millionaire elder, and got his daughter as a concubine. Zhida also visited Taiming's house that day, and the girl was indeed beautiful.But from the perspective of the women Taiming used to see on the mainland, he naturally felt that her education was low, and she didn't look like a lady of a big family.Zhida doesn't brag in front of Taiming, a China expert.Judging from what Zhida said, he was just a spy of the Japanese military.Zhida was originally a policeman, and it is Taiming's opinion that he is good at this. While talking, Zhida purposely showed Taiming a fine gold watch made in a foreign country, saying that it was a gift from a senior official over there.Taiming felt that this was clearly unrighteous.After Zhida left, Hu Wenqing asked Taiming: "In your opinion, how is he?" The words 'how is he' are meaningful and can be interpreted in various ways. Taiming learned from his father and said: 'Zhida is like a military ticket without material guarantee after all. What Taiming meant was that Zhida is like the military tickets used in Nanyang today, because without credit, it will gradually become worthless.Hu Wenqing responded: "Yes. There was a sympathetic expression on his face, and he said: "Anyway, there are people with his personality everywhere..." Hu Wenqing pointed out Zhida's character for criticism.Taiming thinks that not only Zhida is like this, but some free riders in the current situation are all selfish people. Not long after Taiming came back, he witnessed all kinds of realities, but he no longer felt sad. He thought it was an inevitable phenomenon in the transitional period, and he said to himself, instead of worrying, it is better not to lose yourself.