Under the leaden sky, the streets of Qinghe Town looked particularly deserted with few pedestrians. The biting cold wind swirled through the streets, and discarded tattered newspapers made a rustling sound.
During the years of war and chaos, the once prosperous Qinghe Town also showed signs of dilapidation, and horse traders had not been there for a long time.
The road is not smooth, rogues, routed troops, and bandits appear and disappear, and robberies often occur, and murder and robbery often occur.
The Chongqing government was beyond the reach of the occupied areas. The Japanese soldiers controlled the towns but could not control the countryside. They were also powerless, resulting in anarchy in many places.
Although the several grain stores, cloth stores and money stores in the town are open, few people visit them. The only lively place in the town is the Yingchun Tower, where the Japanese and puppet soldiers are regular visitors.
But today, the Yingchun Building is deserted. In the past, the Japanese and puppet soldiers who used to drink and play for money left the town early in the morning, and those who stayed behind felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.
"What's going on today? There's no one there?" Looking at the deserted streets, a woman who made a living by selling meat had a melancholy look on her face.
In these turbulent years, men can't survive, let alone helpless women like them, so the business of selling meat is also a necessity of life. In order to survive, they don't have to worry about so much.
"I heard that there was a fight in Yuzhuang, and my sweetheart was called away early in the morning." A woman who knew the inside story said, blowing smoke rings from her mouth.
"There are many soldiers stationed in Yuzhuang. Who dares to pay attention to Yuzhuang after eating a leopard?" someone asked in surprise.
Someone looked around and lowered his voice and said: "I heard that they are guerrillas in the Xiaowangzhuang area. I don't know why they went to Yuzhuang in the south. I am afraid they are also trying to get some food and money to survive this winter."
"I heard that the Japanese have sent a lot of reinforcements. I'm afraid the guerrillas will lose everything this time."
"That's not necessarily true. The last time they went to encircle Xiaowangzhuang, didn't they come back disgraced?"
"Don't tell me why this captain has become so prosperous. He was driven out of Qinghe Town just a few months ago, and he has been defeated by the Japanese one after another. Why didn't we realize that he was so powerful before?"
"What do you know? I heard that the guerrillas are no longer under Zhang Liechen's control. What is their name?"
"No wonder, I beat the little devil to a pulp several times. Let me see, our Qinghe Town might change again..."
"Shhh, keep your voice down, people will lose their heads if they hear you."
The madam of Yingchun Tower came in from outside. When she heard the women's discussion, her face turned pale with fright. She looked around and then breathed a sigh of relief.
"If you have nothing to do, please go back and stay with me. If you keep talking nonsense, be careful I won't give you food to eat." The old bustard warned with a serious face.
Several gossiping women also fell silent. They glanced at the empty streets and felt that there would be no guests today, so they returned to their respective houses in boredom.
The madam watched the women go back to the house, and then walked to the backyard with three unsteady steps, where a middle-aged man was already waiting here.
"Have you bought the medicine?" the middle-aged man asked.
The madam took out a packet of medicine from his pocket and handed it to the middle-aged man, then asked in confusion: "Why do you need so much rat medicine?"
The man quickly put it into his pocket and replied perfunctorily: "Of course they are poisonous rats. There are many rats in the kitchen, and a lot of food has been stolen."
The madam didn't have much doubt, because her best friend worked as a handyman in the Japanese camp and was responsible for cooking and cooking for the Japanese.
"Okay, I'm leaving first. I'm rushing back to cook for the imperial army." After walking a few steps, the man turned back and added: "If you have nothing to do, don't go out today. I'll come back to look for you in the evening."
you."
"Don't go gambling. If you lose again, I won't have money to buy anything for you anymore." The madam muttered dissatisfiedly.
The middle-aged man responded, left through the back door, walked through the alley, and headed straight for the Japanese camp.
At this moment, there are not many troops left in the Japanese camp. Most of them have left the town to reinforce Yuzhuang, and only half of the squadron remains in the town.
Soon the middle-aged man arrived at the gate of the Japanese camp. There were still dense craters on the wall, left by the guerrilla attack a week ago.
The Japanese sentry knew the middle-aged man and quickly let him in. The middle-aged man went straight to the kitchen.
"Wang San, what the hell are you doing?" As soon as the middle-aged man arrived at the door of the kitchen courtyard, he met the kitchen steward.
"My mother is sick at home..."
Wang San wanted to explain, but before he could finish his words, the steward interrupted him with a straight face.
"Mom, you're just trying to fool me, right? Someone saw you and entered the Yingchun Building last night."
The lie was exposed, and Wang San was stunned and didn't know what to say.
The steward looked at Wang San and made a tut-tsk sound: "I didn't expect that your boy is quite good at enjoying it, and he would actually find the kiln sister."
"Aren't you in a bad mood because you lost money..." Wang San also had a look of dejection on his face.
"I don't care whether you're in a good mood or not. I'm telling you, if you leave your post without permission, your wages for this month will be gone." The manager made a decision directly.
"Manager Zhang, please don't, I still hope to live on that little money." Wang San immediately begged with a bitter look on his face.
The steward put his hands behind his back, looked at Wang San coldly, and urged: "Hurry up and work for me. If you wait any longer, believe it or not, I will also deduct next month's wages from you?"
Looking at the proud steward, Wang San looked sad and had to help carry the food out of the kitchen to deliver to the Japanese outside.
"You are serious. If you are looking for Sister Yao, just look for Sister Yao. Come back early. Look, it's almost noon now. You've been working for a month in vain."
Another handyman also sighed when he saw Wang San's sad face.
Their relative in charge was Zhang Lezi, the commander of the puppet army battalion in Qinghe Town, so he was showing off his power. They, the hard laborers, couldn't fight, so they had to swallow their anger most of the time.
However, these handymen were recruited by the Japanese to help them work. In order to show that they were helping to establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, the Japanese still paid them some wages. After all, the wool comes from the sheep, and the Japanese did not.
deficit.
The current policy of the Japanese is to use various means to win over the people in the areas they control and gain support in order to obtain money and food. As for the people on the side controlled by the squadron, they mainly use burning, killing, looting, and destruction.
The foundation of the Chinese ** team.
Soon, the handymen were pushing carts and delivering the food and soup prepared in the kitchen to various outposts where the Japanese and puppet troops were on duty in Qinghe Town.
Wang San, on the other hand, quietly poured the rat poison he obtained into several wooden barrels filled with hot soup while no one was paying attention, preparing to give a big gift to the Japanese.