Chapter 77 76

Those selling sesame seed cakes stopped working; dim sum shops were still open, but the ovens stopped; those selling porridge, hot noodle dumplings, and wontons... all stopped working.No flour.The vegetable gardens on the outskirts of the city are still busy watering vegetables.Crash, clatter——the potter's wheel continued to ring lightly and crisply; cool well water flowed to the vegetable bed in gusts.The dark green ones are leeks, the light green ones are cabbages, and the climbing ones are cucumbers, which are covered with green thorns and have yellow flowers on their heads, as well as black and purple sea eggplants, fragrant coriander and fennel, Pumpkins with various stripes, green zucchini, and golden-red tomatoes... But even if they are produced, who will they sell them to?That weird flour (the Japanese call it "Kyowa noodles". Ha! A mixture of thirty or forty kinds of waste that cats don't smell and dogs don't lick, really needs such a beautiful name!) It can't make dumplings, You can’t steam steamed buns, bake buns, deep-fry triangles, or make pot stickers. Who buys green vegetables for stuffing?Even if people want to stir-fry a little dish, who would spend more money to buy expensive green vegetables and just eat Gonghe noodles?That wronged those vegetables!Gonghe noodles are only served with cucumbers mixed with shallots, or raw pickled leeks!Therefore, everything is expensive, but the price of vegetables and melons has been reduced; bad luck for the vegetable growers!

Without food, Peiping also lost its world-renowned handicraft industry.Hungry people will no longer buy emerald rings and earrings, exquisite gold-plated or real gold jewelry, elegant and beautiful carpets, ingenious children's toys, carved mahogany tables and chairs, cloisonne as colorful as flowers, Cricket jars filled with grout... Peiping people have no time to buy these things, and they have no way to transport them out, so those crafty workers, (really, if they were born in a foreign country, they might be honored as artists!) Go hungry together with everyone.Peiping lost its best workers and production, and only got famine!

The traitors, in this situation, are even more proud.They are glad that they have a far-sighted vision and surrendered to the Japanese early, so now they can get better and more food!However, this is not enough, they must intensify their activities and try to get a higher level: those who can get the third-class food must change to the second-class food; those who can get one, try to get double.Food has become the standard for seeking employment.Not only do they have to eat well and eat a lot, but they also hope to get food that they can't eat so that they can sell it on the black market!

Fat Chrysanthemum did not become the director of the Prostitute Inspection Office.Because there were too many people competing, the Japanese simply abolished this organization and put the military department directly in charge of the flower girl.Fat Juzi quarreled fiercely with Lan Dongyang several times, and even smashed some cheap cups and bowls.She thought her failure was purely because Dongyang didn't exercise with all his strength. Lan Dongyang, after the dictation method was implemented, he also regretted that he failed to give Fat Juzi a successful exercise.If the wife can do what she is good at, wouldn't she get an extra portion of better food!Even if she can't get good food, can't she still get some more money?With money, perhaps it is not impossible to buy good food.

Regret made him grit his teeth, and decided to get a fat job, to teach Fat Chrysanthemum to see his skills, and to comfort himself spiritually.He began to investigate which organ was fat and which organ was thin, in order to find a fat one and take a bite.The more he investigates, the angrier he gets.Some agencies, especially military agencies, not only distribute more and better food, but also cigarettes, tea, and other daily necessities!This made him regret and hate himself, why he didn't start early and break into such an institution! Looking elsewhere from this kind of institution, he found that the students of the railway school were given meals by the government.His eyes suddenly burst into flames, sweat broke out on his green face, and he slapped his hands on the table vigorously: "Ah! Be the principal of this school! The principal!" He raised one eyeball, gnawed his fingernails carefully, and The black mud in the nails is eaten with gusto.Only then did he calm down a bit, and he began to calculate: "Let's take three hundred students as a calculation. Each person deducts one catty of grain, which is three hundred catties a month! Three hundred catties, my God! Hey, um, A few more students are expelled every month, and a few more rations are left behind! Ouch, Ouch, why didn't I think of this sooner?"

He stopped biting his nails, and decided to campaign for the principal of this school. No, you can't give up the director just because you are the principal!All right, part-time job, director and principal!He grinned, thinking that what he thought of would definitely be done, because this era belonged to him! However, does he have the qualifications to be a principal?He never stayed in school, nor was he a university professor.After a moment's thought, he pushed these concerns aside; the tree was no problem.He is the director!The Director is qualified to do everything! However, there is no vacancy for the principal of the railway school!Dongyang gnawed on his nails again.There was blood on the nails, he remembered, and he just planted the current headmaster.Leng said that the principal is hiding "spies" from all over the place, wouldn't he be beaten down at once?good idea!Dongyang immediately saw how many bags of flour were piled up in his house!For these flours, he had to catch a few students, beat them into tricks to make them admit to "collaborating with the enemy", and then took the principal into prison!What is it to kill a few people for the sake of flour?

He decided to go to see Director Niu of the Education Bureau first to find out some news. Before the Japanese occupied Beiping, Dongyang had never been an official, so they did not know the methods and rules of being an official.He became an official entirely by the strength of the Japanese, so, except for the Japanese, he couldn't afford to entertain guests.He never knew proper politeness and politeness, so when he saw the Japanese, he was overly obedient, not afraid of making a fool of himself, but when he saw the Chinese, he was confident.He thought that only in this way could he win the favor of the Japanese and make the Chinese afraid of him.This style of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and acting as a minion for the tiger, is actually called the "Oriental School" by boring people, and it is a class of its own among the traitors.

He has never had any contact with Director Niu.However, he decided to see Director Niu today.He thought that Director Niu became the director because of his qualifications as a professor, but he himself became the director because of his background as a middle school teacher; then, his own ability must be better than that of Director Niu, and his relationship with the Japanese is also better than that of Director Niu. so deep; so he didn't have to make a phone call, or write a letter, setting up a meeting time. Director Niu happened to be another traitor.He is a scholar, he didn't chase the Japanese to seek status, and he didn't know what entertainment and communication are.He only wanted to follow the Japanese's fiddling and save his life and his books and instruments.Therefore, he doesn't like to associate with bureaucrats very much, and he is quite proud of it, thinking that he is very "noble".When his conscience hurts, he will say to his wife: "I am not a traitor! I am not a traitor!" But he can only stop here, because he can't find sufficient reasons to prove himself. Japanese officials, how come they are not traitors?

Ever since he became the chief of the bureau, there has always been a patrolman guarding the gate outside his gate.This made him feel safe, and he ignored that the patrolman might be watching him, and his home was a prison in disguise.Indeed, since he took office as director, he has never done anything to make Ling Laixing foolish or deliberately claimed credit, but his income has obviously increased a lot compared to before, and he did not pay attention to those details. How did the money come from, but I just feel comfortable working under the hands of the Japanese (not traitors!). When Lan Dongyang came to the door with four green trees, he ignored the gate guard and forced his way in.

"Who are you looking for?" The patrolman stopped him. He raised his eyes sharply, feeling that this was a "national humiliation"—a Chinese patrolman dared to stop an official working for the Japanese!His lips barely moved, and he said dryly, "Director Lan meets Director Niu!" "Please give me a film!" The patrolman said politely. Dongyang has a business card, but he is not happy to hand it to the Chinese; his film is printed in Japanese. "Director Lan!" He shouted again. Seeing that his green face was twitching so strangely, the patrolman was inconvenient to ask for a business card. "Wait a minute, I'll report back!"

It took three or four minutes for the patrolmen to arrive, but Lan Dongyang got impatient and kept rolling his eyes.When he was waiting for the Japanese, he often had to stand respectfully for half an hour or three quarters of an hour, but he never felt anxious, because the longer he waited for the Japanese, the more enjoyable he felt, as if praying, the more The longer the more pious.Now, he couldn't bear to wait three or four minutes to see a small Chinese official; it hurt his self-respect, if he had self-respect at all. When the patrolman came back, he said kindly, "I'm sorry, the director is busy!" Dongyang sprayed the policeman's bad breath on the face, "What? I'm Director Lan!" The patrolman could see that if he didn't come up with something powerful, he might not be able to resist the stinky attack again: "The chief doesn't like to see visitors! Sometimes even the Japanese block him!" "Really?" Dongyang's mouth remained open for a long time superior. "Even the Japanese..." There were smile lines on his green face. "Okay, I'll come back another day!" "It's best to call first and make an appointment!" the patrolman taught Director Lan. "Definitely!" Lan Dongyang walked away slowly, thinking in his heart: "Good guy, there are really tall people, even the Japanese are gone! This kid's power has gone far! Maybe his director is still under the emperor." It was sent by the handwritten order!" As he walked, he looked back at the four willow trees.He didn't feel the beauty of the green trees, but only felt that he should go back and stand for a while, expressing his reluctance. As soon as he turned his head, he saw Guan Xiaohe and Qi Ruifeng face to face—his allies, colleagues, and rivals in love. Guan Qi and the others were released because the Japanese could not convict them, and they did not want to spend more food in the prison. Qi Ruifeng's dry face had lost all color at that time.His first thought was to beat Dongyang up.However, he didn't do it.He is the grandson of old man Qi, the son of Tianyou, the younger brother of Ruixuan, and a friend of Guan Xiaohe. He dare not fight, even if he meets the person who robbed his wife face to face. Lan Dongyang knew Ruifeng didn't dare to fight, but he was still a little scared, and his green face became greener. Guan Xiaohe opened his mouth first: "Oh, brother Dongyang! I miss you to death!" Dongyang looked at the two of them, seeing their distressed appearance, he walked away without a word. Xiaohe held Dongyang back with a single sentence: "Brother, do you know that you recruited my younger brother to be a spy?" Dongyang rejoiced secretly: "Fortunately, I didn't offend her!" Immediately afterwards, he called out: "Brother Guan!" Although he also had spies under his command, he probably was directly under the military department if he wanted to recruit his younger brother; It is possible to bully a civil servant at will.Seeing that Xiaohe was bluffing Dongyang, Ruifeng also showed a little cunning: "Dongyang, guess what, I became a spy too!" As he spoke, he put his hand in the front of his clothes, as if he was touching a pistol. Dongyang really wanted to invite the two of them to have dinner at home, but that contradicted his nature at all, so he changed it to: "If you have time, come and talk with me!" "Go tomorrow!" Xiaohe said happily . "Ruifeng, you too..." He was inconvenient to agree on Ruifeng's behalf, because he was afraid that Ruifeng would be embarrassed to see Fat Juzi. Ruifeng was indeed a little embarrassed to go, but after thinking about it, if he could have a meal at Lan's house, he wouldn't be too stubborn. "Is something really wrong?" he asked. "Something! Something!" Dongyang made up his mind: If Zhaodi and Ruifeng are both spies of the military department, he might as well use them to frame the principal of the railway school.The people in the military department not only have special power, but even if they cause trouble, it has nothing to do with him. "We have to get something for us to eat!" Xiaohe said with a smile: "Even if there are four taels of wine, my buddies are always gone, why don't you make out for a while?" Dongyang decided not to fall into the trap, he didn't say to invite them to dinner, he didn't say not to invite them, but he just rolled his eyes. Xiaohe really hoped to have a good meal, so she began to praise Dongyang's eyeballs: "Really, brother, the better your official luck, the higher your eyeballs will be!" Dongyang not only refused to invite them to dinner, but told them They: "Come to my place tomorrow, you two have to change your clothes! People with status often come to my place!" Looking at their shabby clothes, he doubted whether Zhaodi and Ruifeng were really spies. Ruifeng had an idea: "I'm in makeup! I'll dress up like this wherever I go!" Dongyang hurriedly laughed with him: "Okay, see you tomorrow!" Seeing Dongyang walk away, Xiaohe nudged Ruifeng's rib lightly with his elbow: "Make up! Make up! I have you! Wonderful!" Ruifeng was also very proud of his adaptability and smiled with his lips pursed. The two returned to No. 6 first, and in the courtyard, they met John Ding.John Ding stopped them.Xiaohe asked in amazement: "This is my home, why don't you let me in?" "I rented out your home a long time ago! Think about it, you haven't paid the rent for several months?" "Then, Gao What about the first one?" Xiaohe didn't know that she was also in prison. "She was taken away by the Japanese long ago!" "I still have something!" Xiaohe didn't pay attention to Gaodi's imprisonment, he usually didn't like her very much. "You haven't paid rent for several months, how much is that thing worth?" Xiaohe was stunned.Not having a place to live is a serious matter.After thinking about it, he wanted to bluff John Ding: "You know what recruiting younger brothers is for, so you better not offend me!" John didn't like this. "Never mind what she does, you gotta get out, please!" What a beautiful summer evening.In previous years, this was the happiest time for Mr. Qi.At five o'clock, the setting sun caused the west wall to cast shadows on the courtyard, and the half-sized green dates on the jujube trees were all tinged with golden light, like precious stones.Old man Qi will fill a few pots of water and spray the shady place so that everyone can have dinner in a moist and cool place.After the meal, the old man will water the flowers, so that the flowers and plants such as evening primrose will release their fragrance, attracting the bees with long noses, fluttering their wings outside the flowers, like some moving tulle.Dragonflies, dragonflies of various colors, spun around the eaves, breaking through the mosquito formation.The bats flew out gradually, black like some water chestnuts, which made the children throw their shoes up, hoping to catch a big water chestnut.The crow, with rays of light on its back, slowly flew back from outside the city and landed on the big tree outside the south wall.The little swallows landed on the wires in rows, resting quietly after flying for a day.After a burst of red in the sky, it slowly turned gray, and a small cool breeze blew out a strong fragrance of flowers.At this time, the little mouths of the children, who had been talking nonsense for a whole day, no longer opened their mouths very much, and asked the old man to tell them stories.Before the old man's story was finished, they had already closed their eyes and looked at the various small fish and cantaloupe in their dreams. Today, the old man was hungry and refused to tell.He has stopped spraying water on the ground, firstly because he is too lazy to move, and secondly because he is reluctant to bear the water - the sky is hot and the well is shallow, and the two Japanese in the alley are endlessly using water, and the second brother from Shandong who pours water only tries his best Provide them, regardless of whether others have water to eat.As for watering the flowers, I can’t even mention it; the old man has not been busy planting flowers for a long time; even the pomegranates in the pots that have been in the pot for many years are half dead; the ones that are not dead, because of lack of water, only have some half-yellow leaves and even a flower. It didn't open either.The old man's eyes kept avoiding them.The number of crows in Peiping has decreased because they can't find food; on the big tree outside the south wall there are only two or three black crows that have shed their fur and can't make a sound, they seem to be as emaciated as Beiping. Xiao Niuzi still refuses to eat things made of Gonghe noodles, so every meal must be noisy for a while.After the quarrel, she was sobbing with tears in her eyes, while she fell into her grandmother's arms and closed her eyes as if sleeping.She was not usually a crying child, but now she cried out every now and then, venting the grievance in her petite eyes.On this sunny summer evening, there are sunset clouds, dragonflies and bats, but without the laughter of children, the more beautiful the sky, the more silent the courtyard is, which is terrifyingly quiet!Everyone's only hope is to lie on the bed quickly, so as not to peek at each other and find nothing to say. It was on such a sunny and embarrassing evening that Qi Ruifeng came home—with Guan Xiaohe. Xiao Shun'er was the first to see them, he ran over and shouted loudly: "Second Uncle! Are you back?" Xiao Niuzi was pretending to be asleep in her grandmother's arms, when she heard her brother shouting, she quickly opened her eyes and called "Second Uncle!" Old man Qi was sitting in front of the steps of his house.Seeing the second child, he couldn't help being happy.However, the sufferings of the past few years have taught him that he should not only think about the four generations living together, but tolerate the second child.He put his head down.Ruifeng called out "Grandpa," and the old man didn't agree. Mrs. Tianyou's maternal love originally made her want to ask her second child if he had been wronged in prison, but seeing the old man's indifference to his grandson, she decided not to say anything. Ruifeng thought that everyone would welcome him warmly, like a hero returning from an expedition.He called grandpa and mother in a trembling voice, and wanted to tell everyone about the situation of being imprisoned immediately with tears in his nose, like telling a story.When he saw the indifference of his grandfather and mother, he froze. Yunmei understands the feelings of her grandfather and mother-in-law, but it is inconvenient not to give the second child some warmth.She is the housewife of the family and should take care of everyone.She gave him a little smile: "Yo, you're back, second child? Haven't you been wronged?" The second child rushed to his sister-in-law, wanting to tell everything about the prison.However, when he turned around and saw his grandfather staring at him, he closed his mouth helplessly.After being stunned for a while, he asked his sister-in-law in a low voice: "Mr. Guan has no place to live, can you give him an idea?" Guan Xiaohe tugged at the front of his clothes, bowed to Mrs. Qi and Mrs. Tianyou, and then said to Yunmei with a happy face, "Even if it's just for one night! I can find a solution tomorrow, so don't bother me anymore! Seriously, Recruiting my younger brother to be a spy, can the spy's father still have no place to live?" Yunmei was still smiling, but her tone was quite firm: "Mr. Guan, then I can't make the decision!" Old man Qi didn't want to make a sound.As a result, I feel lonely in my stomach, and I really can't cheer up to speak.Secondly, he knew that Yunmei had a sense of propriety, so she wouldn't just leave Guan Xiaohe behind.Thirdly, not to offend others is his old way, he hoped that Xiaohe would go out quickly, so it would be inconvenient for him to speak more.However, he suddenly opened his mouth; years of suffering seemed to have forced him to give up the method of being kind to a dog and being polite to wicked people.His world has changed, he must distinguish between black and white, no longer perfunctory.He stood up, pointed at Xiaohe's face and said, "Go! Get out! Don't provoke me!" Then, he turned to Ruifeng: "You, you don't know good or bad! If you want to get this person away, I will die, I will fight with you! " Seeing that his grandfather was really angry, Ruifeng didn't dare to say anything, so he pulled Xiaohe and walked out.He knew that if he dared to disobey the old man, the old man might really stop giving him food.Pulling Xiaohe outside the street door, he just said "I'm sorry!" and closed the door.He ran into the courtyard again, thinking that everything would be safe and sound, so he went to have dinner.Who knows, his grandfather is still waiting for him.As soon as they met, the old man stopped his grandson and brought up all the actions of Ruifeng since the Japanese occupied Beiping, scolding him while talking.It seems that the old man is no longer Ruifeng's grandfather, but an outsider who can see clearly; he no longer forgives his grandson from the standpoint of a grandfather, but scolds objectively, like a person with a sense of justice and insight who scolds someone who doesn't know Anyhow, as merciless as a worthless villain. After scolding for more than half an hour, the old man, whose stomach was empty, began to tremble.Mrs. Tianyou and Yunmei didn't speak well of Ruifeng, but only came to comfort the old man, fearing that the old man would get sick from anger.They persuaded the old man with good words, and the old man sat on the steps and wept. Ruifeng didn't think about the old man's scolding in detail, but only felt wronged and unfair. He thought that since he had just been released from prison, he deserved the welcome and comfort of his family. The old man treated him so ruthlessly.Seeing the old man sitting down, he ran into his room and complained for himself in a low voice. After sitting for a long time, the old man gradually calmed down, and when Yunmei helped him up, he told her in a low voice: "Get him some food!" Yunmei smiled bitterly and nodded. Ruixuan came back a bit late today.On weekdays, he always goes home after work, in order to show: "I am a parent, I will go home when the time comes, and I will never spend extra money for myself outside! Although I failed to go out and participate in the War of Resistance, I At least I'm worthy of the whole family!" In this way, although he didn't forgive himself too much, he couldn't underestimate himself too much. Recently, since everyone eats Gonghe noodles, he is too lazy to go home.Sometimes, after work, instead of taking the tram, he wandered the streets frightened.He was afraid of going home, seeing his old grandfather and sick mother face to face, and eating things that pigs and dogs wouldn't eat; he didn't even want to hear the little girl's crying and Yunmei's dilemma.As soon as he saw, heard, and cried, he felt that this was no longer a family, but hell!The eyes of the old people have lost the kindness of old age, and the eyes of the children have lost the luster of innocence, and all show fear and despair.This made him see that he not only failed the country, but also failed to save his family.His whole plan—not to save the country, but to support his family—was all wrong! Looking at the aggrieved young and old, he felt that he should tell a few jokes to make everyone laugh.However, that is deception!He could only lower his head and swallow the unswallowable things, although he knew that those things were just a hole in his stomach, which would not do him any good.If those things without any nourishment do him any good, they kill the old and the children very quickly; they are poison!Thinking that the children would also starve to death, cold sweat broke out on his head.Gou'an, Gou'an, Gou'an's true intention is to kill his own children and cut off his children and grandchildren! Sometimes, Mr. Fushan saves some bread and snacks on purpose, wraps them in oiled paper, and secretly puts them in Ruixuan's old leather bag.The old man also put another note and wrote in English: "Please forgive me, Ruixuan, if this can make the children happy, my merits and demerits will be offset." Like coyotes, the two children swallowed the bit.It wasn't until they finished eating that they thought: "Why didn't you give some to grandpa and grandma?" Xiao Niuzi waited for Dad specially, hoping that he could bring back some bread or something.Seeing that Dad didn't bring anything back, she would say: "Daddy! Niuniu is good! Niuniu doesn't want bread!" This made Ruixuan's heart hurt like a knife. He has stopped teaching Xiao Shun'er to read, because knowledge can't save a child who is starving to death.Melancholy and hunger made his stomach ache, and he had sour water, so he lost the energy to talk about culture and history; famine would destroy culture and history! In his frightened wandering through the streets he discovered many new things which made him sad.He saw a restaurant jointly run by China and Japan, and the equipment inside was a combination of China and Japan: high tables and high stools were prepared for the Chinese, and some low tables were for the Japanese.Japanese color prints are hung on the four walls, and odd-shaped bonsai that the Japanese love are placed on the table.Other restaurants, because of the control of grain, rice, pigs and sheep, have been fishing for three days and drying nets for two days, so they can’t set fires every day; this joint venture between China and Japan can always get rice and noodles at low prices. Grab the business of other houses, so it is crowded with people every day.Here, one can get a big plate of white rice and some simple Japanese dishes for not much money.Several times, Ruixuan's sour stomach and mouth that hadn't eaten rice for a long time forced him to eat such a big plate of "he set food".However, he gritted his teeth and hurried away.In any case, he told himself, he couldn't be so lowly, to eat Japanese rice, to help the Japanese restaurant business flourish, to eat together with the Japanese!He knew that this kind of passive resistance was useless, but he still felt that it was something to be proud of with such a stubborn attitude. He also saw many Japanese shops in the Wangfujing Street area.This, he did not feel so strange.There are even Japanese houses in the small sheep pen, and there should be Japanese shops on this street.However, when he saw that the Chinese shopkeepers also decorated the plaques in Japanese style, his head could not help but lower his head.He felt that this was not a cultural absorption, but a shameless surrender. Similarly, he saw small bonsai in Dong'an market: a thick and short pine tree leaning against a strange-shaped rock; small tree with a flower or two.He knew it was for sale to the Japanese.The "nature" of the Japanese must be cruelly concocted, and the flowers and trees are cut and twisted to show their unnatural "beauty".The Chinese have also learned this trick!The Chinese are smart and can learn everything, but they have not learned how to be tough and resist! Go home, it's scary; wander the streets, and get emotional; he just doesn't know what to do.He dared not escape from Peiping, and it seemed that Peiping had left him, leaving him nowhere to go.It was in this mood that he walked home slowly today. Guan Xiaohe was sitting on the stone steps outside the Qi family gate.Seeing Ruixuan, he hurriedly stood up: "Ah, Ruixuan! My second child and I came out safe and sound! Can you..." Before he could finish speaking, Ruixuan had pushed open the door and walked in. Then he bolted the door. Yunmei told him softly: "The second child is back!" Without saying a word, he went into the house.