Traveling through 1942 with space

Chapter 151: Poverty breeds prudence, while wealth breeds conscience

While most of the villagers of Nanjiagou were squatting lazily under the village wall to bask in the sun, there was a lively scene outside Nanjiagou village.

After the villagers ate and took away, there was still a lot of meat and vegetables left. A group of elders from the Hou family led dozens of people and carried pots to the entrance of the village to provide relief.

Although there was not much meat left in the pot, it was still full of oil and juice. Although there were two or three hundred refugee relatives and friends outside the village, it was still enough for each of them to have a bowl.

"Myna, is there any happy event in our village today?

Who is so generous? I saw a thick layer of oil floating in the pot." A married daughter of Nanjiagou in the refugee group asked in confusion while looking at the villagers who were maintaining order.

"It's Xiaomai! Didn't the village help the clan leader some time ago?" When the villager saw that the person asking was the cousin of the clan, he smiled and explained the reason.

"The clan leader is really generous. It seems that his braised meat business has made a comeback recently." The woman was amazed after hearing this.

"Brother Yangmin and I grew up with nothing. He has lived a hard life for half his life. How much money can he have, just like me? The most amazing one is his nephew Heiwa. That kid is a child prodigy.

That guy is not only bold and cruel, but also good at talking. He has established connections with the big shots of the Yanhuang League.

The idea of buying land in the village, now the village's food, his family's braised meat stall, and his two cousins' freight work are all done by him. "The villagers said with emotion.

"Myna, I saw that kid when I went home for the Chinese New Year last year. He was just a snotty kid. I didn't expect him to be so great now." The woman said with envy.

"Yes! No wonder people often say that it is better to offend an old man than to bully a baby.

By the way, Xiaomai, I also met your kid today. He is using a magical crutch and has been staying at my uncle’s house recently.

Today I saw that boy holding a bowl bigger than his head and eating a whole bowl of food, his belly was full." The villager said to the woman with a smile after explaining.

"Hey! The little brat eats well but doesn't even think about his mother. I've raised him in vain." When the woman heard that her son had eaten good food at his grandfather's house, although she scolded him, she had a particularly bright smile on her face.

"Your kid didn't think about it, but the elders thought about the relatives. There are still a lot of meat and vegetables left today, so we can replenish everyone's energy.

I'll ask your sister-in-law to clean out the bottom for you later. There's still a lot of meat left in the pot. You're so thin, so you need to eat some more." The village man sighed as he looked at the girl.

"Thanks, Haha."

The woman looked at the golden oil floating in the pot not far away, tightened the bowl in her hand, and couldn't help swallowing a few times.

"Oh! What are you saying?

But if you have time, please urge your Dacong to save up five dollars as soon as possible, and then we can dig a cave in the village, so that we can live in peace. "The man couldn't help but say as he looked at the thatched hut outside the village that was blown by the northwest wind.

"Ok!"

After Nanjiagou distributed cave dwellings to the villagers, there was still a lot of space left. If it really didn't work, they could dig another layer of cave dwellings on the slope above the cave dwellings, so there would definitely be enough space.

Since the village became famous, some relatives and friends also wanted to move into the village and dig caves to live in, but they were all rejected by several village elders.

This piece of land was bought with real money by the villagers of Nanjiagou. The villagers put in a lot of effort to level the slope, fill the ditch and repair the wall. How could they let others do it for free!

Even daughters are not allowed. After all, these days, married daughters are like spilled water. Even the daughters of many villagers are not allowed to live here.

Later, at the request of the villagers, the village also issued a policy that if relatives wanted to live in the village, they could do so by paying five yuan as land purchase fee.

In this way, the village makes money, the relatives get land and are guaranteed safety, and they can also buy some food cheaply. It's a win-win situation.

But recently, four or five relatives and friends in the village have paid money and moved in. The caves have been dug several meters deep and can barely survive the winter. Among them are the families of my eldest cousin's two uncles.

Hou Yangmin felt guilty about his wife's death, so he gave his two brothers-in-law ten silver dollars each. The two families used the money to buy land and food, and settled down.

When the villagers of Nanjiagou at the entrance of the village were helping their relatives, other refugees living nearby also shamelessly lined up to ask for a bowl of food.

The villagers didn't try to drive them away, and in fact, there was no way to drive them away.

Many of the refugees here have worked for the villagers of Nanjiagou Village and dug caves for them. We cannot afford to offend them, because it is hard to guard against bad guys.

In fact, this is also the reason why the government does not like refugees. Refugees have no assets, most of them are dead, and they are all unstable factors.

Each of the more than 200 refugee relatives had a large bowl, and after taking the meat and vegetables in the bowl, everyone couldn't help but start eating with big mouthfuls.

The refugees who came later to eat also got more than a hundred bowls of food. Although it was a bit watery, it was still oily and could be used to make some bran rice when they go back.

"Sister-in-law, can you let me wash this pot?" Just as the refugees who failed to get the pot went back disappointed, some smart ones came to the pot and asked eagerly.

"No, that won't work. I don't know you. A big iron pot costs several dollars! What if you run away with it?" The villager who was packing up to go back was stunned for a moment and refused.

"Sister-in-law, tell me the truth! I'm attracted by the oil in the pot. My husband has gone to fetch water, so we're just washing here." The hungry refugee woman whispered.

"Oh! Then let's wait here." The villagers understood instantly and just waited for the person who was going to wash the pot.

Hou Xiaoge stood at the entrance of the village and felt a sense of emotion as he saw that the villagers were now so easy to talk to just for a pound of grass seeds.

It really proves the old saying that poverty makes people more careful and wealth makes people more conscientious. It is absolutely true.

After a while, a dozen men and women came with hot water from somewhere and scrubbed the iron pot clean.

After they finished washing the food, perhaps because they were afraid that refugees would snatch it from them, they carefully ran back to the shack, holding the greasy water from the washing pot.

This moment made Hou Xiaoge vaguely recall a story or opera from this era in his previous life, in which his mother worked as a servant for a landlord and supported her son with the leftover water from washing pots.

Hou Xiaoge's eyes also turned slightly red as he thought about it. It is true that when a country prospers, the people suffer; when a country perishes, the people suffer too!

"What a resilient nation! It would be unjust if we don't revive."

.........

Every year in late autumn and early winter, the Japanese would carry out the "Three Alls" sweep policy.

In order to eliminate the anti-Japanese armed forces that had been hard to develop over the past year, the Japanese intensified their mopping-up operations this year, causing serious harm to the nearby anti-Japanese armed forces.

At this time, in the mountainous area of Jin Province hundreds of kilometers away from Chang'an, countless soldiers of the National Government and the Red Army were exhausted. They could only avoid head-on confrontation and hide in various mountainous areas to conserve their strength.

In a hidden mountain cave, more than 200 soldiers of the Eighth Army wearing gray cotton-padded jackets were resting in the leeward place.

Most of these soldiers were covered in dust, had untidy beards on their faces, and were sleeping soundly with their heads drooped in their arms while holding their guns.

"Captain, we are running low on food and ammunition. Many of our brothers are seriously injured and we urgently need a safe place to recuperate." Political Commissar Lao Zhao came up to a middle-aged man with a shaggy beard and bloodshot eyes and whispered.

"Damn those little Japs, Lao Zhao, I, Lao Li, have never felt so miserable before, being chased all over the place like a stray dog.

This won't work. We have to organize our brothers to give the little Japanese a stab and let him know that I, Li, am not someone who can be easily bullied." Old Li looked around at the sleeping soldiers with red eyes and cursed.