Chapter 76 75

Li Siye and his neighbors thought that once the food certificate was issued, it could be applied forever.Old man Li especially hopes this, because he has suffered a lot of wrongful abuse, so he is eager to issue a once-and-for-all food certificate to everyone, to end this incident, and not to be attacked any more. Who knows, the food certificate is only for one time, and it will be invalid when it expires.Everyone immediately thought: every day, or every three or two days, they have to wait for the food certificate to be issued; when they get the food certificate, they must immediately try to get money so that they can go to pick up the food as soon as possible-it is invalid after the expiration date!If Peking people have any ideals, it is to live freely, politely, and comfortably.If this cannot be done, the next best thing is that although someone deprives them of their freedom, they still politely do not cause them much trouble—for example, food certificates can be used for one or two years, and the certificates can be obtained at any time food.snort!The Japanese taught them to wait for the food certificate every three days, and then quickly get money, and they have to go to get the food immediately!Trouble, trouble, endless trouble!They are like eating a fly and immediately want to vomit!

What makes them most terrified is: What if the food certificate is not issued again after being issued once?Even if it is reposted with an interval of ten days and a half months, and there is a space in the middle, what should I do?Can the stomach rest for a few days without being hungry?After guessing like this, they saw the death line, as clear as a white line just drawn on a football field, and it was right in front of their eyes!They panicked and saw death; so they cursed Fourth Master Li even more vigorously.They dare not publicly scold the Japanese, not even Inspector Bai, because he is an official after all.It was also inconvenient for them to scold Sun Qi, he was just the deputy chief.Li Siye is not an official, but also happens to be the head of the village, so he has become a "scratch" created by nature!

Old man Li was in a daze from time to time: It was useless to get angry; it was not reconciled to endure.He also saw death, and when he died, he was ridiculed!Showing his heart, he felt that he could be worthy of heaven, earth, sun, moon and all gods; however, he must be scolded! Perhaps only in Beiping can there be such a summer morning: the bright and joyful sunlight obliquely shines in the cool air, and black and white everywhere is full of light and shadow.The air is cool and the sun is hot. When it touches one place, the cool one is just about to warm, and the hot one is just mixed with a little coolness; when the coolness and warmth are not evenly mixed, the flowers spit out their stamens, and the leaves are shining with dew.Even the small, unseemly place like the Little Sheep Penthouse has its beautiful pictures: the lower half of the two old locust trees are still in the shadow, and the leaves are dark green; The flowers turn golden.A verdant sophora worm hangs from a thin white silk, and the upper half of the silk emits a bright white light.When the dawn wind blows, the silk trembles left and right, like a string of a morning light song.The sun first hit Li Siye's door.The short gatehouse is no longer in order, and a few slender grasses grow from the gaps between the bricks and tiles; once there is sunshine, there is light on the broken gatehouse, and the shiny grass actually has some business.

A few swallows flew back and forth on the treetops, flashing like black lightning.The dragonflies also flew quite high: suddenly a blood-red one took a look at the pagoda tree blossoms, and then plunged into the blue sky; U-turn away. In the days of Taiping, this kind of sky light would make the old people of Peiping, after freshening up, carry the birdcages with "indigo jaw" or "self-black" outside the city, along the banks of willows or reed ponds, Find a wild teahouse to drink tea to relieve boredom.It will make people who love pigeons release dozens of pigeons and dance in the blue sky.It also allows anglers to get out of town early and find a secluded spot to spend the day.Even if you don't travel far outside the city, you will rent a small boat, go paddling in Beihai, or go for a walk under the old cypresses in Zhongshan Park.

Today, people in Peiping can no longer care to raise their heads to look at the sky, the sky of flying swallows and dragonflies; the dark shadow of hunger covers people's eyes.There are no white doves in the sky, and the old people have lost their beloved birds; people have no food, and who can afford to raise birds and doves.Yes, where there is water, there are still fishers and rowers; but, they are Japanese; the Chinese with empty stomachs have no leisure for entertainment.Peiping is half paralyzed in the sunny summer morning. It was on such a morning that Yunmei decided to go get the food by herself.She knew that from now on, she would have to regard the past life - although not particularly comfortable - as a sweet memory; the good days were gone, and the present was suffering and famine.She had to grit her teeth, not rush, not make a fuss, and fulfill her responsibilities.She deliberately put a little smile on her cheeks, so that everyone can see: "I'm still smiling, don't worry!"

Looking at her, Ruixuan felt uncomfortable.To her, all these years, he has never shown any intimacy without distance.Now, seeing her determination, responsibility, and bravery, he really wanted to comfort her, thank her, and encourage her with a few sweet words.However, he couldn't tell.Finally, he just smiled at her and walked off to work.Yunmei made breakfast for everyone, waited for everyone to finish eating, scrubbed and washed their faces, then wiped their faces, put on a clean blue shirt, wrapped the grain certificate in a small handkerchief, tied it around their wrists, and put on a pocket , walked out in a hurry.When she got to the screen wall, she turned back and told the children: "Xiao Shun'er, Niuniu, don't mess around! Do you hear me?"

Niu Niu answered first: "Mom, eat and eat, Niu Niu is good! Don't make trouble!" Xiao Shun'er told her mother: "Take some white noodles, not mixed noodles!" "Huh," Yunmei said as she walked out, "Isn't it what someone gave me?" It was still early, and it was only eight o'clock, Yunmei thought she would not be late.Moreover, the place where the grain was collected was the old Yishun where the Qi family used to buy grain; then, she thought, even if it was a little later, there would always be some accommodation, as we are acquaintances.

Almost to Old Yishun, her heart sank.A large row of people in the dark had already stood for more than half a mile.Knowing that it was useless, she took a few steps away and stood at the end.The gates of old Yishun were tightly shut.She didn't understand what was going on.She regretted being late.What about the children's and old people's lunch if she had to wait until noon?She was in a hurry, and she looked around with big eyes, trying to find an acquaintance to find out what was going on and when the food would be distributed.However, there was no acquaintance nearby.She understood that the people in the sheep pen were never late in matters like receiving rations; maybe they had arrived an hour or two ago and stood at the forefront so that they could get the food earlier. grain.She regretted why she forgot to come earlier.In front of her, an old woman brought a small bench, and another middle-aged woman held a small umbrella.Yes, they are all ready.She had nothing herself; she had to wait for hours with her legs sore and her head sunburned.She doesn't seem to have learned how to be a subjugated slave!

When she first arrived, everyone stood there obediently, and even when talking to each other, they all whispered softly, not daring to raise their voices.At the crowd, there were a dozen or so patrolmen maintaining order, two or three of whom were armed with whips.Take a look at the leather whips, shut up even those whispering to each other; they are used to "peace" and refuse to recruit leather whips on them; they know that the Japanese are backing the police, and the leather whips are very ruthless of. After standing for a long time, the sun became stronger and stronger, and the shadows became smaller and smaller. Everyone began to feel restless, and voices were heard back and forth.The feet and eyes of the patrolmen also began to step up their activities.At first, the eyes of the patrolmen made some people quiet for a while, and then they started to make noise after the patrolmen walked away.In this way, the voice suddenly became louder on one side, but lowered on the other side, and they never became one and became a unified resistance.Gradually, the eyes of the patrolmen lost their effect, and the crowd turned into a moving train from beginning to end, making noise everywhere.

Yunmei was a little flustered, fearing that something might go wrong; she didn't have the habit of crowding and making noise in the street.She wants to go home.However, when she thought of her responsibility, she changed her mind again.No, she can't escape, she must get the food back!She warned herself: You must be careful, but don't be afraid! The hot sun was already hitting her head.At first, she only felt the heat in her hair; after a while, her scalp itched, itching uncomfortably.Her splints and head were covered with sweat.Looking up, the sky is no longer blue, but white air trembling everywhere.The wind has stopped, and the leaves of the trees beside the road are covered with a layer of dust, motionless.On the sidewalk, as soon as the cars and horses passed by, they would bring up a lot of dust, which was gray and smelled of animal dung and urine, which made her nose and eyes itchy.Bored, she took off the small handkerchief from her wrist, wiped the sweat from her head, and then held it tightly in her hand.

When she saw Inspector Bai, she immediately felt more at ease.Inspector Bai's ability and kindness convinced her that with him here, there would be no trouble.She nodded, and he came over: "Mrs. Qi, why don't you have a man?" She didn't answer his question.And asked him with a smile: "Why haven't you distributed food yet? Inspector Bai!" "The rations were distributed last night, and the night workers in the shop are grinding the flour! Wait for a while, and then I can distribute them to everyone." Although Inspector Bai spoke to her, other people would naturally hear him; so she told everyone All feel stable. However, half an hour passed, and there was still no news of food distribution.Inspector Bai's calming words had lost their effect.Everyone thought in unison: "The Japanese are immoral! They deliberately make fun of the poor!" The sun became hotter, and everyone's heads were covered with sticky, greasy sweat.The more you sweat, the thirstier you will be in your mouth and the more restless you will be in your heart.The sky turned from white to gray, and there was a cloud of gray sand flying in the air.The sun, on top of this layer of gray air, is so small, so white, so bright that people dare not raise their eyes; with their heads lowered, the extremely hot light pierces everyone's heads, shoulders, and backs like red-hot needles. and all places that are uncovered.Those with an empty stomach start to faint; those who are thirsty scream; even the most disciplined Yunmei feels anxious and wants to stomp her feet!This is not to receive food, but to be poisoned! However, no one dared to yell openly: "Down with Japan!" Those who were thirsty swallowed desperately; those who were dizzy, supported the person next to them;In order to block out a little sunlight, some wrapped their handkerchiefs around their heads, some put their pockets on their shoulders, some took off their jackets, and raised their hands to build a small shed for themselves.They all tried to reduce their physical pain a little so that they could have peace of mind; and with peace of mind, there would be no danger of shouting "Down with Japan!"There was a sudden fluctuation in front, and the team immediately turned into a fan shape.With her feet bent, Yunmei looked forward: the gate of the grain store is still closed.She couldn't figure out what was going on, but she couldn't help but increase her hopes, thinking that there must be news of food distribution.She forgot about her sore feet, forgot about the poisonous heat of the sun, and only hoped that she would get food immediately and take it home.A few men in front started shouting.Yunmei left the line, and with a little footwork, she realized: a small hole had been newly dug next to the gate of the grain store, blocking a wooden board, which had been half-opened.How many hands stretched out towards the small hole, shaking.She didn't want to be crowded forward, but the fidgeting hands in front seemed to be somewhat attractive, so she couldn't help moving forward a few steps, getting closer to the crowd, as if only in this way could she get food, instead of just standing by and watching the excitement . The whip sounded.Whoosh - shoot!Whoosh - shoot!The sun suddenly became cold, and a cool breeze was born in the hot air. Cold bumps appeared on people's skin, and people's hearts trembled.Yunmei's legs seemed unable to move, although she wanted to run away very quickly.The people in front were rushing, hiding, and shouting; she seemed to be wrapped in a gust of wind, everything was in turmoil, and she couldn't move her feet. "Anyway, I must get the grain!" she suddenly heard herself say.As a result, new strength came to her legs, and she stood there bravely, as if they had taken root. Suddenly, she couldn't see everything.The tip of the whip touched her eyes.She covered her eyes and forgot everything, only felt that the world had become black.She instinctively wanted to squat down, but couldn't; she wanted to walk away, but couldn't move.She didn't feel any pain yet, because her whole body, and her heart, were numb; panic temporarily killed the nerves. "Mrs. Qi!" After a while, she heard this voice in a daze: "Go home!" She opened her uninjured eyes a little, and only saw part of the uniform, but she already realized that it must be Inspector Bai.Still covering her eyes, she shook her head.No, she can't go home empty-handed, she has to get food! "Give me the pockets, money, and food stamps. I'll take them for you. You go home!" Inspector Bai took the pockets and other things almost like a robbery. "Can you go?" Yunmei already felt the pain on her face, but she gritted her teeth and nodded.Still covering her eyes, she walked home in a daze.When she reached the door of the house, her legs softened and she sat down on the stone steps.Taking her hand off, she saw her own blood.At this time, the hot sweat made her wound ache, as if some fine salt had been sprinkled on it.Gritting her teeth, she stood up and walked into the courtyard. Xiao Shun'er and Niuzi were playing at the bottom of the south wall. When they saw their mother coming in, they ran over and said, "Mom!" But, immediately after, their voices changed: "Mom—" and then shouted: "Grandpa! Grandma! Come on!" The whole family surrounded her.She covered her eyes, endured the pain, and said, "It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!" Mrs. Tianyou taught Yunmei to wash the wound quickly, and she went to the house to find the medicine by herself.The two children refused to leave their mother, and those who came out followed her.The little girl couldn't help inhaling, she pushed her mouth high and said, "Mom is bleeding, it hurts!" After washing, Yunmei found that only one piece was broken outside the corner of the eye, but luckily it did not hurt the eye.She was relieved.After taking some medicine, she simply told everyone: "Someone was crowding and making noise, and the policemen swung their whips, and I was accidentally injured!" This is an understatement, in order to reduce the worries of the elderly.She knew that she had to go to collect food again, so it was inconvenient for everyone to worry about her every time. Her wound ached, but she still had to go and make lunch for everyone.Mrs. Tianyou stopped her and went out of the kitchen by herself.Old Man Qi forcefully forced his granddaughter-in-law to lie down and rest, and then heaved a long sigh. Yunmei took a short nap and quickly got up.Facing the mirror, she saw that her face was a little swollen.After being stunned for a while, she felt happy instead: "In the future, I will know how to pay attention and how to act according to the opportunity! Once born, twice acquainted!" she told herself. Inspector Bai brought food—a small sack, which seemed to weigh only four or five catties. Old man Qi took the bag over, wanting to talk to Inspector Bai very much.Although Inspector Bai was very busy, he refused to put down his pockets and leave.He was disturbed by Yunmei's injury and had to explain it to her.Yunmei came out of the house, and he said quickly: "I, Mrs. Qi, I didn't teach them to whip people, but I couldn't stop them either! They are not my subordinates, they are sent by the district office." Yes. They have leather whips, so they are willing to give it a try! Are you okay? Mrs. Qi! Tell you, I don’t need to mention how sad I am! What are you talking about? But I can't help it, they don't belong to me, they don't listen to me. Hmph, I can't imagine how many people in Beiping will be whipped today! I'm a lackey, I can't stop them The lackeys with whips are beating people indiscriminately, what else can we say? Come on, Mrs. Qi, take a good rest! As time goes by, we have suffered, just watch!" Bai Inspector said in a hurry After finishing, he walked out without giving others a chance to speak. When Old Man Qi arrived at the door, Inspector Bai had already gone a long way. He really wanted to question Inspector Bai, but Inspector Bai didn't give him a chance to speak.He thinks Inspector Bai is cute, but also hateful; honest, but also cunning. Xiao Shun'er came running like a frightened little donkey: "Grandpa, come and have a look! Come on!" After speaking, he took the old man's hand and pulled it into the yard. "Slow down! Slow down! Don't pull me down!" said the old man as he walked. Driven by curiosity, Mrs. Tianyou and her daughter-in-law poured the grain into a big green tile basin.They couldn't understand what it was, so they asked the old man to identify it. The old man stood, looked at it for a while, and shook his head.He bowed his waist, touched it with his hand, and shook his head.He knelt down, touched and looked at it, and shook his head again.He has lived for more than seventy years, and he has never seen such grain. In the pot is a compound of various colors, which looks like tea leaves and moistened face. It is not rice bran, because it is much coarser than bran; it is not bran, because it is slightly thinner than bran. .It must not be flour, because it does not fit together softly, but you do yours, I do mine, some loose sand that no one wants to cooperate with.The old man picked up a handful and put it in the palm of his hand to examine carefully. Some of them looked like corn cobs, one by one, although they had been ground, they refused to become powder.Some of them were broken, but they were dark green in color. After thinking for a long time, the old man guessed that they must be the dregs of bean cakes used in fertile fields.Some were quite black and shiny, and the old man concluded that they were sorghum husks.Some... the old man didn't want to take a closer look.Enough is enough, it is enough to have bean cake dregs; people have become pigs!He smelled it, and found that the black and green thing not only had no scent of chaff, but was sour, musty, astringent and smelly, as if it had been dug out of a mouse hole!The old man's hands trembled.Putting the "noodles" on his palm in the basin, he stood up and walked into his room without saying a word. Xiao Shun'er came over and asked, "Master, what exactly is it?" The old man shook his head very slowly and didn't answer, as if not only expressing his lack of knowledge, but also denying his own wisdom and value - people are like pigs. Yunmei decided to give this weird flour a try to see what it could make—dumplings?Noodle?Or steamed buns? Adding flour to water, she froze.When this strange thing meets water, some parts immediately stick to hands and basins thickly, as if there is glue; the other part, whether it is cold water or hot water, always refuses to stick together. If you add less water, these things will remain silent; if you add more water, they will float up, like some small swimming flatworms.It took a lot of work and methods, and finally they were grouped into a large piece and placed on the chopping board. In any case, she couldn't roll it into thin slices - dumplings and noodles were absolutely out of the question.Changing her mind, she started making balls with her hands, trying to make some steamed buns.However, no matter if you pat it lightly or rub it hard, the weird thing is determined not to be united in one place.This is not flour, but horse dung, which crumbles when touched, and can't be reunited when it's broken. Born in Peiping, Yunmei knows how to make pasta; not to mention white noodles, but also buckwheat noodles, oil-wheat noodles, and bean noodles, she has a way to make them into food.Now, she has no choice.Helpless, she went to ask her mother-in-law. Mrs. Tianyou, based on her age and experience, thought that she would not be stumped by teaching this flour.However, she looked, touched, balled, kneaded, rolled, and pressed, but it was useless! "I've lived my whole life, but I've never seen such a disobedient thing!" the old lady said in a low voice, disappointed. "It's just like the Japanese, why are you so unpopular!" Yunmei commented with a bit of laughter. Like two scientists, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law experimented for a long time before deciding on the most primitive method: make the noodles into pieces, spread them on the "supporting stove", and bake them dry!This is neither a cake nor a cake, but after all this strange thing can be cooked. "Okay, you go and rest, I'll do it!" Yunmei told her mother-in-law, and then spread out pieces like adobe by herself.At the same time, she mixed some cucumbers with shallots as a side dish. Old man Qi, Mrs. Tianyou, and two children gathered around a small table, waiting to taste the weird food.Xiao Shun'er shouted excitedly: "Mom! Bring it quickly! Hurry up!" Yunmei brought some pieces of "dobe" and "vegetables", and Xiao Shun'er broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. Before he could taste it, half of it fell into his esophagus, like some dry and loose mud.After choking a few times, the mud neither came up nor went down, making his little face turn purple, and tears came out of his eyes. "Go and drink some water!" Grandma told him. He flew to the kitchen and took a sip of water before the mud pierced his esophagus and went down; he couldn't stop belching. Old Man Qi broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth, chewing it carefully, it stinks!He is not afraid of rough food, but he can't stand the smell.He decided to swallow it.He is the old man of the whole family and must set a good example for everyone.It took a lot of effort for him to swallow the stinky thing; then he straightened his neck and shouted to the kitchen: "Xiao Shun's mother, make some soup!" Eat one more bite of that strange "Adobe". "The soup is here!" Yunmei answered loudly in the kitchen, and asked, "What's the matter?" The old man didn't answer her. Xiao Niuzi broke off a very small piece and put it in the mouth of her little gourd.After beating a few times, she spat it out very rudely, then teased Grandpa with her small eyes, and said, "Niu Niu is not hungry!" Xiao Shun'er followed her mother and brought the soup—it really was boiled shrimp skins with white water.He sat down, broke off another piece, and said with a smile, "See if you're still choking on me this time!" Seeing that Niuniu didn't move her mouth, Yunmei asked, "Niuzi! Why don't you... Come on, mom will give you a piece of cucumber." !" "Niu Niu is not hungry!" Xiao Niuzi said with her head down. "I have to eat it! We have to eat this every day from now on!" Yunmei said with a forced smile. "Niu Niu is not hungry!" Niu Zi lowered her head, her two little hands tightly grasping her knees. "Xiao Shun'er's mother!" Old man Qi looked at Niuzi and Yunmei, and said kindly, "Go and bake her a small cake of white flour! Don't we still have a few catties of white flour?" "You old man can't So used to her! That bit of white flour is a treasure, and you have to keep it for your old man!" Yunmei didn't want to disobey the old man, and she really pitied her little daughter, but she couldn't help but say these words. "Go, bake her a small cake!" The old man knew that children should not be spoiled, but he also knew that this strange cake was really hard to swallow. "Just this time, don't make an example next time!" "Niu Niu, try to take a bite! Do you see why my brother eats so deliciously?" Yunmei still persuaded her little daughter. "Niu Niu is not hungry!" Niu Zi's tears flowed down. Old man Qi looked at Xiao Niuzi, suddenly became angry, and slapped his palm on the table, making the chopsticks and dishes jump up. "I said, bake a little cake for the kid!" he almost shouted. Niuzi plunged into her grandmother's arms and began to cry.Mrs. Tianyou had a small piece of cake in her mouth, but she still couldn't swallow it!Taking this opportunity, she spit it out, and then comforted Niuzi in a low voice: "Master is not angry with you, Niuniu! Don't cry! Don't cry!" She stroked Niuzi's head with her hand, and her own eye sockets were also wet. "Xiao Shun's mother, bake her a pancake!" Yunmei walked away gently.She knew that the old man was a person who never lost his temper easily, and she also knew that his anger today was definitely not to embarrass her, but something forced him to lose control of himself.Even so, she also felt aggrieved, touched the wound next to her eye, and she shed tears.Confused, she scooped out a little white flour from the jar and poured it into the basin, tears falling on the white flour. Old man Qi really didn't want to lose his temper, but he couldn't control himself.After patting the table, he felt a little regretful, and it was inconvenient to apologize to his granddaughter-in-law right away.Stunned, he stared at the strange black cake, his hands trembling. The poisonous sun has sunk the leaves and bowed their heads.There was no sound in the courtyard, there was no sound in the house, the Qi family was as silent as death.