The county town was deserted at this time. Not many people were walking around the streets anymore. A caravan of more than a dozen people walked into the county town escorting several large vehicles. Looking at the streets like this, the middle-aged man at the head said strangely, "We came all the way from Taizhou."
Going north, I don’t know how many villages and towns I passed. As long as the places guarded by the New Fourth Army are mostly prosperous, why are there not many people here?"
With that said, the middle-aged man pointed to the inn in front and said, "You guys go and stay there first. Lao San, Lao Ba and I will go and find out if something happened here."
With that said, the middle-aged man led the two of them towards a teahouse.
Teahouses have a long history in China. According to records, there were already teahouses in the Jin Dynasty. Over the past thousands of years, teahouses have gradually developed their own local characteristics and schools. The teahouse in Bunning is located in Jiangsu and close to Zhejiang.
But it is the Hangzhou style. In this era, teahouses have become the best place for people to relax and a centralized place for information dissemination because they integrate leisure, food, entertainment, trading and other functions.
"These guests have been invited inside. They have all the seats. You can sit wherever you want. I don't know what to order?" The waiter knew that these three people were not poor people when he saw their attire, so he greeted them quickly.
The middle-aged man at the head said, "Just give us some tea. We are businessmen passing by. Why is your place so deserted? You can't even see anyone? Is there a big show somewhere to watch?"
The waiter in the shop said while pouring water, "It's not a big drama, but the government is carrying out a lot of construction projects recently, including building roads and factories. There is a shortage of people everywhere. It's not easy for everyone these days. If you can have a place to make money and eat, naturally you don't want to
Let it go, no, they are all busy outside the city."
When they heard that the factory was going to be built, the three of them looked at each other. The middle-aged man quickly asked, "I don't know what kind of factory we are going to build. We are all businessmen, and this news is the most important to us." After saying that, a big piece of money was stuffed into the shopkeeper's hand.
inside.
The waiter in the shop quickly thanked him and said, "Isn't this the fourth master here? The fourth master beat away the Japanese and said he wanted to use our place as a base and would never leave again. Haha, some time ago, he beat up the bandits from the three mountains and five lakes nearby."
After going through it all, a group of people were arrested two days ago and a public trial was issued. A few days ago, an announcement was issued saying that our taxes would be reduced for half a year. But the fourth master still wants to fight with the devils. If not, we are going to build some
Firstly, the factory can make some money for military pay, and secondly, it also gives us ordinary people a place to make money, but no one knows the details."
The middle-aged man continued to ask, "I don't know how to get to those factories. I want to see them too."
The waiter pointed to the northwest and said, "Go out of the city and follow the road until you see the river."
After listening to what the waiter said, the three of them nodded to each other and asked the waiter to leave. The one called Lao Ba said to the leader, "Second brother, this New Fourth Army looks really different from what we thought. It is preparing to do something big."
ah."
The second brother nodded and said, "Building roads, reducing rents, suppressing bandits and building factories, these are all big things. But you made a mistake in saying something. It's not the New Fourth Army that wants to do big things, it's the Red Party that wants to do big things. Our Rong family is already in a worse position now."
Before, many factories were lost, and only the factories in the concession were still operating, but the Japanese were still unwilling to let us go. This time, our family asked us to come here to take a look, just to find another way out."
The third child asked curiously, "Then why don't you go to Chongqing? Doesn't the Red Party want to share wealth and wealth? Even if we make a fortune here, I'm afraid it will be taken away one day, right?"
The old man laughed and said, "Lao San, please stop practicing guns every day and read more news when you have time. The Red Party has long stopped doing what they did in Jiangxi. Besides, didn't we get news from many uncles?"
They are doing well in Yan'an and Shanxi."
The second brother hummed and said, "But every time they mention the factories and businesses in the hands of the Red Party in their letters, they are often vague. They must have been warned to keep it secret. And I am not optimistic about Chongqing. They
It was a mess back then, but now after retreating to the southwest, the bad habits have not changed. Isn't there such a saying? The front is tight, and the rear is tight. Now Changsha is fighting fiercely, and the front continues to supply ammunition and supplies, but the people in Chongqing and Burma still require handing over and leaving.
Fei Cai was willing to transport those supplies. Xue Yue was so angry that he directly sent electricity to Kong Xiangxi. Kong Xiangxi gave up because he was afraid that things would get serious. Haha... When we go there, I'm worried about being kidnapped and extorted."
Lao Ba agreed and said, "As the old saying goes, a thief is like a comb, a soldier is like a grate, and an official is like a haircut. I felt that the most enjoyable journey was in this anti-Japanese base area. The road was peaceful and there was no lijinka.
Those who pay taxes, even if they meet those who are soldiers, at most they look serious when they see us, and they don't even dare to accept money."
The second brother smiled and said, "Okay, let's go to the place mentioned by the waiter first. If everyone agrees, we will reply to the letter and invest in building a factory here."
The three of them paid for the tea and inquired all the way out of the county town. After walking for a while, they found that the road was being built in front of them. Half of the road was being built, and the other half could still be used. It looked like there would be six carriages wide after it was repaired, heading towards
Looking from a distance, I can't actually see the bottom. They are all people building roads. I don't know how many there are.
Brother Rong and others stepped forward and observed carefully. They were surprised to see that the road construction tools were all made of high-quality steel. During the Republic of China, due to the weakness of China's heavy industry and the warlords' melee, people everywhere
Iron tools are very tight. Most of the crude tools like this are made of pig iron. How can you be willing to use such fine steel? From this point alone, you can see that the New Fourth Army spent a lot of money.
At this time, a carriage came running. There were two people on the carriage. When they reached the place, they stopped quickly and shouted, "The cement is here, come and unload it! Let's go transport it again so as not to delay the construction period."
When Brother Rong heard about the cement, he quickly looked around and saw that it was all made of linen bags. The dust that leaked out from time to time made him think at a glance that it was the best cement.
He saw an old man cooking next to him, so he stepped forward and said, "Uncle, we are passing merchants. Why are the roads well built here? I walked here last time. Can't we still walk on this road?"
As he said that, he handed the old man a cigarette. The old man took it and smiled and said, "Good thing. This road is not broken, but it has not been repaired for many years. The New Fourth Army is here and it will be our base from now on."
We need to build well. We are organized to build roads and bridges, and we are given enough food and wages. Look, what we are building is a good cement road. In fact, I would say that these things should be brought to the front line.
It's a pity that the devil... put it on the ground for us to trample on."
As he said this, the old man looked at the prodigal and shook his head, which only made Brother Rong feel funny.
Eiji asked again, "I see no one in the county town. Everyone is here to build roads?"
The uncle said disapprovingly, "Look what you said, how many people can be needed to build the road? Those who come to build the road are all close to the road, and there are many who go to build water conservancy. Besides, look at whether the children are there."
?”
Eiji took a look and thought, isn't it? These are all adults, where are the children?
The uncle said with some showoff, "The New Fourth Army said that no matter how hard it is, children must go to school. But now there are not enough teachers, so we must first recruit those who are willing to go to school. My grandson is still promising. He knows how to study and make progress. Isn't that right?"
, went to study. In fact, we farmers know the importance of studying best. In the past thousands of years, when have scholars not become officials? "
Eiji quickly nodded in agreement, silently noted it in his mind, stopped dilly-dallying, and continued walking forward with his two brothers.
The road construction army was huge. Unexpectedly, it was noon, and they only saw the rice being distributed. Eiji went over and took a look. The workers were willing to show it to him, but it was white rice and green vegetables with some shredded pork and pickled mustard. Such a meal,
Farmers were not reluctant to eat during the festival, and Eiji immediately understood why these people were willing to work.
Eibach asked Eiji, "Isn't this food too good? How much food does the New Fourth Army have with this kind of food? I heard that they also exempted local taxes for half a year. Didn't the New Fourth Army find some big treasure?"
Eiji cursed, "Where is the big treasure? They probably captured a lot of materials from fighting the Japanese. Come on, let's go to the factory that the waiter mentioned."
After walking for a few more miles, you could see a big river. From a distance, you could see a group of people busy on the other side of the river. Eiji looked from a distance and could already see a factory building being built. He didn't know what it was for.
What.
Rong Er and others were looking around here, while Jiang Cheng and others were chatting and laughing at the construction site.
"This is where we will build the steel plant. We will soon have our own heavy industry base in northern Jiangsu. This is really gratifying." Jiang Cheng said, cupping his hands to Liu Dake to express his congratulations.
Liu Dake pointed to several factories in the distance and said, "We in northern Jiangsu are all plains, there is no hiding place. No, we have built several fake factories. This is just Bunning. I am also planning to build more in other places."
If you build a fake factory in this way, then the fake factory will burn some wood, so that outsiders will think it is working, and those devils will definitely not be able to tell the real thing from the fake."
Chen Yi laughed and said, "This is a tactic, and those fake factories will not be wasted. They are real factories, but they don't have machines. When we have more factories and expand them, we can also use them. That's the blast furnace."
It’s more troublesome, but it’s worth it.”
Jiang Cheng agreed and said, "That's true, our place is too close to the sea, and the Japanese aircraft carrier can come over at any time. By the way, is school starting today?"
Liu Dake hummed and said, "Yes, the children are about to start class today. Today is the first lesson, Chinese people. We want the children to always remember that they are upright Chinese!"
When Jiang Cheng heard this, he couldn't help but think of those clowns in later generations, and couldn't help but feel a little nauseous. He looked into the distance and suddenly saw a few guards escorting the three of them over.
Jiang Cheng looked at Li Qian strangely. Li Qian hurriedly stepped forward and asked. After a while, she came over and said, "My boss, these people asked all kinds of questions as soon as they arrived in the county. They also went to our construction site to inquire about information. Maybe
He's a traitor."
When Chen Yi heard that he might be a traitor, he immediately laughed and said, "Look, what did I say? I'm here to recruit him. Take him into custody. If found out, he will be shot immediately."
When Rong Er heard that he was going to be shot, he immediately shouted, "The boss is wronged. We are businessmen, not traitors. I...I am a member of the Rong family, and I have credentials."
Rong family? Hearing these two words, Jiang Cheng and Liu Dake looked at each other. Liu Dake waved his hand to stop him and asked, "You said you are from the Rong family? Is there any evidence? What are you Rong family doing here?"
Woolen cloth?"
Rong Er immediately broke away, took out the ID in his arms and said, "Look, this is my ID. My name is Rong Yiren, and I am Rong Desheng's son. This is a photo of me and my father."
When Jiang Cheng heard about Rong Yiren, he looked at the man, then recalled the historical photos, and said to Liu Dake, "It should be true. I have seen photos of him, and they look very similar."
After hearing this, Liu Dake quickly said, "It turns out to be Comrade Rong Yiren. Hello, I am Liu Dake. This is our army commander, Comrade Chen Yi. This is not the place to talk. Let's go in and talk."
With that said, Liu Dake took Rong Yiren and others into the nearby lounge.
A few people sat down. Liu Dake looked at Rong Yiren without saying a word. Rong Yiren only felt uncomfortable when he was looked at. Finally, he said, "I wonder if Mr. Liu knows the current situation of our Rong family?"
Liu Dake really didn't know. He looked at Jiang Cheng, who said, "The Rong family is a big business family, but the factories are mainly concentrated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. After the war, most of them were destroyed by the war. Only the concession area was spared."
Rong Yiren nodded and said, "This gentleman is right... The concession is now an isolated island. The Japanese often send traitors and Japanese pirates to come in and cause trouble for us. Although our family has quite a lot of savings, we can't help but make trouble like this. My father heard that our New Fourth Army
We have conquered two cities and sixteen counties in northern Jiangsu, so let us see if we can move our business here."
Liu Dake was overjoyed and said, "We absolutely welcome this, but I don't know why you choose to stay far away from us. As far as I know, many businessmen have moved their businesses to Hong Kong."
Rong Yiren shook his head and said, "Hong Kong is a tiny place. Although it is protected by the United Kingdom, looking at Japan's ambition, it will get involved in Hong Kong sooner or later. Moreover, we are Chinese and do not want to leave the mainland and become other people's second-class citizens."
Liu Dake, Chen Yi and others secretly applauded, and Jiang Cheng asked, "Aren't you worried about us running away? We are guerrillas. When the Japanese invaders or Wang Ni come, your hard work will be in vain."
Rong Yiren laughed loudly and said, "I'm really not worried about this. You are carrying out large-scale construction projects in northern Jiangsu, building factories, setting up schools, building roads, developing water conservancy, quelling banditry, and fighting against Japanese pirates. There is no way to go. I think this place is better."
The concession is a hundred times safer."
Liu Dake stood up, held Rong Yiren's hand and said, "On behalf of the millions of people in the anti-Japanese base area in northern Jiangsu and on behalf of the Red Party, I welcome you. I hope you can come to us and together we will build this place into a base area for our fight against the Japanese invaders."
."
Rong Yiren came back from studying abroad. He was only 24 years old at this time and was still in his prime. When he saw Liu Dake being so polite, he also said, "Okay, please wait for me. I will not only take our Rong family with me this time, but
We will also publicize it well in the concession area so that more people can come to our base to build together!"