Chapter 74 73

When Da Chibao was imprisoned, the great war in Europe had already begun.The newspapers in Peking are full of irony and laughter, and they don't know how to report the bloody cannonballs in the West.Seeing the invincibility of the German army, the Japanese and the traitors felt ecstatic, and were willing to use the largest typeface to promote the War Demons.However, the lightning attack and victory of the German army just happened to make the Japanese feel ashamed of their incompetence, and they did not have the ability to destroy China all at once.They have to do propaganda for Germany, and they seem ashamed to wave the flag for others, which reduces their own prestige.

Ordinary people in Peking, however, did not pay much attention to these matters.They are used to hearing rumors, so they don't easily believe news from fake newspapers.Besides, if they believed the news, they were hopeless: Germany had conquered Europe, the Japanese had conquered Asia, and of course they would be slaves forever.To give themselves a little hope, they took the news as rumors.That is to say, they did not believe that Germany could conquer Europe, nor did they believe that the Japanese could destroy China. In addition, their personal problems also make them have no time to care about and analyze world problems with a long-term perspective.They must live.However, they had no coal and no food.The rumbling of their own bellies, and the wailing of their children, above all else, must be dealt with first.Hunger and cold are the greatest things in the world, because they are followed by death.

The German army captured Warsaw, the German army occupied Denmark, and the British and French armies failed... A series of news came, as if the god of war, like the big red bag, had gone crazy.However, the eyes of the people in Peiping are looking at Mai Qiu everywhere.They look forward to a good harvest and new flour to eat. The new wheat was harvested in North China, but the people of Peiping not only did not see the new wheat, they also lost sight of all miscellaneous grains. The Japanese ordered that all flour mills and rice mills in Beiping shut down, and all grain stores, big and small, stopped trading.All the stored grain was handed over, and the new grain was waiting to be picked up.The machines in the flour mill stopped working, and the large oval baskets in the grain store were turned upside down.Beiping became a foodless city.

Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Baoding have built huge grain depots and stockpiled grain in preparation for a long-term war. The most capable person in the sheep pen, Mr. Li, has no other way.During decades of suffering, no matter whether the president replaced the emperor, or foreigners or warlords occupied Beiping, he could always find food from some gap; not only to satisfy his own hunger, but also to help others as much as possible.Today, he has no choice.He went to see it himself: there was no sound in the flour mill, the big baskets in the grain store were upside down, the bakers turned off their stoves, and the wonton and noodle sellers stopped working.On weekdays, he always reported bad news to his neighbors, not to disturb everyone's hearts, but to teach them to be prepared.Today, he went home with his head bowed, and he didn't dare to warn his neighbors, because he only saw troubles, but he had no way to help them.The Japanese make useless the wisdom and kindness of the old.

Old Man Qi lost his temper.Hearing the news of the food shortage, he went to inspect the rice and noodle jars in person.He wished to see three months' supply of provisions--his invariable precaution against danger.However, he found that there was only enough food in the jars and tanks for another ten days.He got angry and blamed Yunmei for not following his old rules.Yunmei has a reason to defend herself: food has been getting more expensive and harder to buy every day, and she doesn't have that much money, and she doesn't have that much ability to buy stored food.However, it was inconvenient for her to argue with the old man.She is an old-fashioned virtuous woman, unwilling to make the old man even more angry just to clean herself up.

Mrs. Tianyou knew the details and knew that the old man had wronged Yunmei.But she didn't dare to speak out.She only thought of her husband's tragic death, and cursed herself: "I am useless, why don't you teach me to die, so that everyone can save a ration of food!" Even Xiao Shun'er and Niu Zi seemed to feel that a catastrophe was imminent.They followed the old man to look at the jars and vats, and then ran to the jujube tree and muttered in a low voice: "There is no food! There is no food!" Because Sun Qi was working in a grain store, he became more panicked when he heard more news.He found out that every grain shop would no longer have free trade in the future, but would instead receive miscellaneous grains from the Japanese, grind as much flour as they received, and then sell it to residents at a certain price and within a specified time with the grain certificate. them.In this way, the grain store is no longer a business, but a voluntary organization for distributing grain for the Japanese.In this way, the people in the grain store have nothing to do except when they receive the grain, so each family has to lay off people; if there are ten employees, only one or two will be enough.Hearing this, Sun Qi's heart turned cold!Other shopkeepers have already laid off people, and now grain shops have been added.How can he survive?The more shopkeepers lay off workers, the less business he has!

When he got home, he wanted to complain to Cheng Changshun and scold the Japanese.However, he didn't dare to curse at the top of his voice, he knew that there were two Japanese families across the door.He squeezed his short-sighted eyes and cursed in a low voice, hoping not to be heard by the Japanese, but also to gain Changshun's sympathy. However, Changshun is married and will soon be a father, (his wife is pregnant) is no longer as angry, nosy, and talkative as before.He still hated the Japanese, really, but he didn't grit his teeth at the mention of the Japanese like he used to, and wanted to escape from Peiping and join the army.Now, he seems to put the support of his grandmother and wife as the first thing, and put the national affairs in the second place.Sometimes, he even has to deliberately forget about the Japanese, so that mother-in-law can find some joy in daily life.

After finishing the batch of rags and rags for military uniforms, he found out a little about the rules and conditions in the "small market", so he used the little money that John Ding gave him as capital to buy a set of burdens. Become a "drummer". This business is not easy to do.First, the drummer must have eyes; when he sees something, he must immediately be able to judge whether it is good or bad, and whether there is a way out.Those who have eyes can buy "pretty"—maybe you can buy a rare book for the price of bad paper, or buy an ancient bronze ware for the price of broken copper.On the contrary, those who have no eyes can only buy things that are obvious to all, and of course there is no beauty.Second, you must be extremely careful.If you buy the stolen goods out of greed, you may face a lawsuit immediately; the police and detectives will only pick up the stolen goods from the hands of the drummers, but the law does not protect them-if they can't get the criminals, they will arrest the drummers come.This was true before, and even more so under Japanese rule.Third, you must be ruthless.Those who play drums are the same as those who lend money. They both eat the poor.The more anxious the seller was to spend money, the more the drummer gritted his teeth to bid.Buying at the lowest price and selling at the highest price is what every drummer must do; if you don't have the heart, don't do this business as soon as possible.Fourth, you must endure hardships.Every day, I have to get up very early to catch the morning market.Then, carrying the burden to the small alleys, beating the snare drum to wake up the attention of the poor.Walking through many alleys, you may only do No. 1 business, or you may fail completely; however, if you do not move your legs and feet, you must not be lazy.

When choosing this business, Grandma and Changshun spent a lot of thought and discussion.Changshun knew that he had no eyesight.He only knows rags and paper, but the drummer must know everything.Secondly, he knows that his heart is not vicious; he himself is a poor man, and he cannot practice the theory of "If you don't kill the poor, you will have nothing to eat."However, he also saw that experience does not come in a day, and if he dares not try it, he will never get it. Besides, he did know he wasn't afraid to run errands.In the past, chanting gramophones along the street, and rushing to the morning market to buy junk were all errands, and he would like to continue doing this.Besides, even though you have to run every day, wandering has its own freedom.The legs are your own, and you can go wherever you want to go; when you want to start or stop, you can start or stop when you want.He has complete freedom.This, I am afraid, is the biggest temptation of this business.

As for whether his heart is not vicious, he thought that it was not an important matter.He wants a fair deal.If it can be fair, there will be more business, and he can still earn a living. What grandma worried most about was that Changshun bought the stolen goods and got caught in a lawsuit.Changshun vowed not to be greedy for cheap, so he must be very careful—he would write down the appearance, age, and location of the seller in a small paper so that he could be traced; As for suing. He bought a pole and a snare drum. At first, he only bought old newspapers and old bottles and so on. These almost all have a certain price, and he will not lose money.When sold in the market, these things also have prices; they don't make much money, but there is a certain amount of profit.He had to exert a lot of energy to pick and choose these tattered and heavy things, but he didn't dare to spare the effort: he already had a family and had to take care of his wife.

Mrs. Xiao Cui (now Mrs. Xiao Cheng), under Mrs. Ma's hands, is much cleaner than before.She didn't seem to be able to tell whether she liked Changshun or not, but she just felt that she should try her best to please Grandma Ma and live a good life.She now has food, clothing and a place to live.Whether she likes Changshun or not, she has to work hard to operate it.Without this remarriage, she knew, she would end up as a beggar or a prostitute.Naturally, she has not forgotten the embarrassment and shame of remarrying, especially when she has to see a grandmother Ma who has been chaste for many years every day; but, "as a last resort" can forgive everything, what better way can she have?She also failed to forget Xiao Cui, when it came to his birthday or their wedding day, she did not dare to speak out, but shed tears in secret.She was especially afraid of hearing the word "Japanese". Whenever she heard it, her eyes would straighten and she would suddenly become stunned! Cheng Changshun saw this and decided not to say a word.He knew that he had to work hard, earn more money, and if he could make her eat better and dress better, she would be satisfied, and gradually forgot about Xiao Cui.At the same time, he didn't dare to talk about the Japanese in front of her anymore, and he didn't even mention the word "Oriental". From buying and selling old paper and broken bottles, he gradually boldly bought old clothes and broken shoes.He saw that someone could buy a sofa, or an elegant table and chairs, for a very low price.He wouldn't dare to buy it, even if he got the chance.He knows that in Beiping now, old things that can be worn and used are more useful and promising than sofas and good wooden furniture.However, what he knows, others also know.Since he became a drummer, the number of people in this group has doubled or tripled.Everyone can see that Peiping is getting poorer and poorer, and people are more and more able to sell and buy things—they sell the best, and buy the second best; Not very good, buy bad ones... There are many peers, and competition is bound to occur.What he is willing to buy is also what others are willing to get.He had to pay more, and earn less if he paid more.He figured out another way.He asked his grandmother and wife to help him, and they would wash the things that should be washed and mend the things that should be mended.Although they can't restore the old as new, but after all, they can make the tattered things a little better, and they can sell them for a few more money.In this way, grandma and wife will have something to do. Apart from shabby clothes, shoes and hats, copper, iron, lead and tin are the most valuable.In addition to teaching the people of Peiping to donate copper and iron on a monthly basis, the Japanese also go around buying them;Changshun refused to buy or sell copper and iron.He knew that if he didn't buy it himself, others would still take it in and sell it to the Japanese.However, he made up his mind not to move copper and iron, in order to prove that he still had a conscience, and refused to collect raw materials for the Japanese to make cannonballs—cannonballs for hitting the Chinese. Ever since he chose this line of business, he has been determined to close his eyes and fool around, not caring about anything else, but only to keep the family of three from freezing or starving.However, walking through the streets and alleys all day long, he seemed to have unconsciously pressed his fingers on Peiping's wrist.He could see that rags were valuable because the Japanese controlled cotton yarn; a scrap of iron was also valuable because the Japanese plundered scrap iron.At the same time, he also saw that most of the middle-class families in Peiping could no longer remain "medium" because they had already started selling things; while the poor families had no food or clothing.Sometimes, he would bring over a jacket or a small dress, still hot—it had just been taken off by a woman or a child!He still gritted his teeth and asked for a bargain, but he really wanted to cry.He couldn't help adding more money, forgetting that he was in business!After buying or not buying such a piece of clothing, he will carry the burden and go far away, forgetting to beat the small drum in his hand in a daze!He knew that Peiping was "over"! From an old man he bought a long pipe with an ebony stem and cupronickel mouth.After several days failed to sell it, he kept it for himself.He wants to be strong and refuses to get any hobbies.However, he needs a cigarette.Seeing sad things on the street, he would find a shady or secluded place, lay down his burden, pack a bag of cigarettes, and smoke lightly.Seeing Lan Yan swirling in front of him, he felt a little more at ease. When he came home, he was either busy helping his grandmother and wife to clean and repair those broken things, or sitting on the steps outside the house and smoking a bag or two of cigarettes.Peering at them from the corner of his eyes, he said in his heart, "I have many things on my mind, but I don't want to tell you!" He picked out his broken gramophone and ancient records countless times, but they never sold.He didn't wind up the strings any more, and sang to himself. Occasionally, because he had bought some good things, he was happy and hummed a line or two without knowing it.However, as soon as he heard his own voice, he immediately shut up.He likes to sing, but when he moves his voice, he can't help but think of Xiaowen and his wife!Yes, he wanted to concentrate on doing business, forgetting about state affairs and the Japanese; however, the Japanese, like some ghosts, always followed him! Sun Qi's love of talking and love of Taoism has not attracted Chang Shun's happy reply.Sun Qila kept talking, Changshun just curled up his neck and smoked the leaf cigarettes, without saying a word.When Sun Qi asked him anxiously, he murmured and said, "Who knows!" Today, he used these three words to answer Sun Qi's worry about food shortage.Sun Qi was about to lose his temper: "You have become a little old man!" Chang Shun was not in the mood for bickering, he tapped the cigarette pot lightly on the stone steps, and walked into the house. Ever since he started trading junk, Changshun stopped talking to Ruixuan.Seeing Ruixuan, he would always strike up a conversation and grunt twice, then quickly dodge.In front of Ruixuan, he always thinks of himself two or three years ago.At that time, he had courage and enthusiasm. Although he didn't do anything amazing, he still had a touch of humanity.He was ashamed to talk to Ruixuan again. Ruixuan, ever since his father was forced to death, he had thought that sooner or later there would be a man-made famine in Beiping!The Japanese, having imposed control over cotton yarn and many other goods, must not have forgotten control over grain alone.For all his foresight, he was unprepared.One is that he has no spare money to save food, and the other is that he is similar to most literati, only worrying, not thinking about practical solutions. From the disturbances caused by the Japanese and the British in Tianjin, and from the outbreak of the European War, he also saw that the Japanese might attack the British military strongholds and fortresses in the east.If this will become a reality, the Japanese must desperately search for supplies and food, and prepare to expand the war. He wanted to talk to Mr. Fushan about it many times, but the old man always managed to avoid him.The old man knew everything Ruixuan knew, knowing that the situation was not good, but he insisted on believing that the Japanese would not dare to challenge the British Empire.He was happiest in arguing with others, but now he was silent.He is anxious for the Chinese, but also for the British.However, he thought that Britain was Britain after all and could not be compared with China, and he refused to admit that China and Britain were in a dangerous position together. Seeing that the old man was not happy to talk, Ruixuan wanted to concentrate on his work so as to stop the worries in his heart.However, he couldn't concentrate.After a while, he thought of the war in Europe, and speculated that the world would gradually be divided into two camps, and China would have the hope of assistance and victory.For a moment, he imagined the horror of his grandfather, mother, and children going to starve.Such worries and joys made him feel anxious. Changshun didn't dare to greet him, and he didn't dare to greet Changshun either.He felt that he was no better than Chang Shun.They both seemed to have grown old, their bodies not yet old, and their hearts no longer scented with the flowers of youth. Xiao Shun'er has reached the age of school.Ruixuan decided not to teach him to go to school - his son can't go to slave education.Both Mrs. Tianyou and Yunmei opposed this method, but Ruixuan was very firm. It seemed that not teaching his son to be enslaved was his last line of defense against Japan! Soon, he began to laugh at himself: "Do you want to use a little doll to block the aggression? To wash away the shame of the family's lingering life?" However, he still refused to change his mind.Whenever he is free every day, he personally teaches Xiao Shun'er how to read and write.In addition, he also told the children about Chinese history and culture in detail.He clearly knows that this is not in line with the principle of education, but this seems to be the thing he is happiest doing.While talking in this way, he can temporarily forget the peril and shame in front of him, and see the brilliance, everywhere is the China of Zhou Tonghan tiles, Tang poetry and Jin characters, and Meiling lotus pond.At the same time, he also forgot his own obedience, and thought about Xiao Shun'er's future—a most hopeful and bright future! In order to save lamp oil, Yunmei always spends her time working during the day and goes to bed early at night without having to light the lamp.Even when the lamp is turned on, the lamp cap is twisted very small.In order to teach Xiao Shun'er to read, Ruixuan ruthlessly twisted the lamp head up!No, he can't delay his child's education just to save a little gas!This light in the house seems to be the only light in the dead city, a lighthouse in the storm! In the cold weather, he put Xiao Shun'er's little hands in his cuffs, and told them about the past and the present face to face.While talking, Xiao Shun'er dozed off.He had no choice but to put the child on the bed.On hot days, father and son would sit in the courtyard and study hard.At this time, Xiao Niuzi often pretended to sit down and listen to the lecture.If Xiao Shun'er protested: "Niuniu, you don't understand!" Ruixuan said gently, "Teach her to listen, and she will understand!" In the last two days, while talking like this, she suddenly remembered the current man-made famine , Ruixuan suddenly felt cold all over.He saw a child who was about to die of starvation. He still looked like Xiao Shun'er, but he was so thin that only a layer of skin remained!He couldn't go on. "Xiao Shun'er, go to bed!" He knew that this little education would not save Xiao Shun'er, and he hated himself for being incompetent and ridiculous even more. Therefore, he loves Xiao Shun'er even more.Xiao Shun'er is his hope, Xiao Shun'er will do everything he can't do, Xiao Shun'er must not starve to death! However, who can guarantee that in a city without food, children will not starve to death?