Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 776 775 Life in All Its Forms

August 4th, early in the morning.

Wu Aijun carried the bedding that his mother Lu Lan had packed for him and prepared to go out.

"Wait a minute, you're such a grown-up, why are you still acting like a young boy at work? Look at your collar, it's still not put down. It's only been a few days, and you've lost the good habits you developed in front of the discipline mirror at the Municipal Bureau?" Lu Lan called her son to stop, and while complaining, she straightened her son's collar with her own hands.

Wu Aijun just grinned and didn't say anything back.

"Are you so happy that you've gone silly? When you go to the Public Security College, listen to your teachers and learn from the outstanding comrades. Don't make the same mistakes as those people in your Municipal Bureau." Seeing his son's happy look, Lu Lan couldn't help but laugh too.

"I know, Mom. If you keep saying it, my ears will get calluses." Wu Aijun had heard his mother say this several times and had already memorized it.

"It's good to have calluses, don't ignore them. Let's go, and be careful on the road." Lu Lan smiled and patted his son, then opened the door and sent him out.

Seeing Wu Aijun coming down the stairs, Lu Lan felt very relieved.

There are several children in the family, and Aijun is the youngest and the least noticeable.

Although she is a high-level cadre, she is also a mother. As a mother, Lu Lan hopes that her son will have a bright future. Before, her son's performance was ordinary and he had no excuse to rely on. Unexpectedly, her son made a contribution in this fraud case and will soon become a cadre.

Now that the training is over and the process is completed, should my son’s marriage be put on the agenda?

Wu Aijun didn't care what his old mother thought. He went downstairs, got on his bicycle, and rushed to Muxidi humming "Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention".

The Public Security College moved to Muxidi in October 1952, becoming one of the earliest professional colleges in the city. However, this college is somewhat special in that it does not recruit students from outside, and most of its students are selected from the military.

As the son of a police officer, Wu Aijun has been going to the Public Security College many times since he was a child. When he was young, the Public Security College was called the Public Security Cadre School.

The Public Security Cadres School is a place for training cadres for the public security system. After the name change, its functions have changed. While training new police officers, it also takes into account the rotation training of in-service leading cadres.

Given his living environment since childhood, Wu Aijun was not very fond of studying and was always thinking about joining the army to serve his motherland.

Since his mind was not on studying, his grades were naturally not very good, especially when it came to summarizing the topics in the Chinese textbook. Every time Wu Aijun was asked a question, he couldn't give a clear answer.

It is only because it is not popular nowadays to say "it expresses the author's homesickness", otherwise Wu Aijun might really do such a thing. After all, in the eyes of his teacher, he is just a naughty child.

After graduating from junior high school and playing at home for a year, Lu Lan couldn't stand his son's pleading and sent him to the army as a child soldier.

Although Wu Aijun was not old enough, fortunately his family was financially well off, his nutrition was adequate, and his height and physical fitness were both acceptable. In addition, many people in the army at that time also liked the "little devil", so he got what he wanted.

Wu Aijun was full of passion and he had fantasized more than once that he could go into battle and kill the enemy, serve his country, and then bring back a military medal for his mother. However, when he joined the army, the country was already basically stable and many troops were even used for infrastructure construction, leaving no room for him to display his talents.

Later, the two older brothers went to work in other places, leaving only the parents at home. They were worried, so they encouraged Wu Aijun to change his career so that he could help them supervise his parents and get more rest after work.

Due to limited qualifications at the time, Wu Aijun was not able to enter the Public Security College for further studies.

This time, because of the fraud case, Wu Aijun was awarded the third-class merit, which filled the missing link.

Although it was only a third-class merit, Wu Aijun was very content because he also obtained the qualification of a "team leader". After the training was over, he would be able to form a team and solve the case on his own.

Wu Aijun not only kept his mother's advice in mind, but also took it as a warning.

A while ago, the Grain Administration and the Public Security Bureau took joint action to crack down on grain coupons of unknown origin on the black market. Not only did the Grain Bureau catch a group of traitors, but the Public Security Bureau also uncovered a number of them, most of whom were Manchus.

The Manchus in the Public Security Bureau are a historical problem.

Before the demise of the Qing Dynasty, there had always been a saying of "iron crops", and as long as one was a Manchu, he could get a share of "imperial grain", but in the later period it was in name only.

The Manchus at the lowest level also had to eat, so most of them used connections and racked their brains to find jobs.

The jobs in the government office are naturally the best. They guarantee a stable income regardless of drought or flood. Even if the salary cannot be paid, as long as you are in that position, you will naturally find ways to make money.

Later, the Qing Dynasty was over, and the Beiyang government did not have much energy to rectify the administration of officials. Many departments followed the old rules. For example, the Public Security Bureau only changed its name and appearance, but not only did not change much, but the situation of sons inheriting their fathers' business began to appear.

Faced with all kinds of chaos after liberation, the government did not simply take a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead carried out targeted rectification and retained some of those who had not committed any crimes.

Unexpectedly, it is easy to share wealth with someone, but difficult to share adversity with him.

There were some people who were not firm in their stance. After the food supply became difficult, they found that it was profitable to trade food coupons. They could not resist the temptation and became the umbrella for criminals...

Wu Aijun went to the training session happily, but Zhang Xinping couldn't rest yet.

As many places are currently affected by disasters, the Homecoming Office has been trying to find ways to "increase revenue and reduce expenditure", such as working with train stations to limit tickets, checking passengers' certificates outside stations, strengthening patrols, repatriating refugees, etc.

All possible methods have been tried, and they did work for a period of time, but after a while the number of refugees will increase, and it seems that they are fighting guerrilla warfare with the Homecoming Office, and they specifically set up camp in places where police force is weak.

Some even hide during the day and come out at night to target grain stores, snack shops, and grocery stores.

No matter what store it is, protective measures are limited now. In addition, salespersons are in a strong position, so there is no one on duty at night.

After being robbed several times, the pressure came to the Municipal Bureau, but the Municipal Bureau was short-staffed to begin with, so how could they have so much energy?
In the end, we had to negotiate and asked these stores to increase their staff, improve protection, and keep people to work night shifts, which made them very dissatisfied.

The Municipal Bureau did not do nothing. At least in the past few days, they have investigated the background of the refugees. Apart from solving a few individual cases, they have also basically figured out how the victims entered the city.

It is said that "every policy has its countermeasures". The ticket sales limit is of little use to the victims. Even if there is no limit, they have no money to buy tickets. Most of them quietly climbed on the freight trains and came to the old city.

They did not get off at the station on the Sijiucheng side, but waited for the train to arrive in Sijiucheng. When the train slowed down before entering the station, they climbed out of the freight train car, jumped off, and then dispersed in all directions.

It’s difficult to chase and intercept!
Faced with this situation, Zhang Xinping felt it was very difficult, but he had to do it. He could only write a report to ask his superiors for more people and expand the staff.

When Zhang Xinping was helping to handle official business in his hometown, he asked the victims why they had to come to the city. The victims said: This is the capital, we won't starve.

Zhang Xinping felt uncomfortable with this statement, but he had to do it because he was in this position. There was not much spare capacity in the city. At present, the refugees only targeted grain stores and non-staple food stores, and now these stores have strengthened their protection. In a few days, will the victims who have nothing left to rob directly enter the houses?
By that time, public security will be further deteriorating and the pressure on the Municipal Bureau will be even greater!
After finishing the report, Zhang Xinping checked it and handed it in. Then he sat at his desk, smoked a cigarette, and took out some stationery to write a letter.

Zhang Xinping just received a notice yesterday that Anhua Building finally met the occupancy requirements and he got the key.

After getting the key, Zhang Xinping immediately went over to take a look. He couldn’t get enough of it. The two spacious rooms were a hundred times better than the storage room where he lived now!

Zhang Xinping didn't want to live in the storage room for even a day longer, but he knew what was important and that his job had to come first.

He planned to write a letter to Cheng Hai and Tang Zhitong, asking them to help him move on Sunday and to get together.

And Wu Aijun was notified verbally when he got the keys yesterday.

Some are happy while others are sad. Even a rich man like Tong Wang has his own difficulties.

At this time, he was waiting for Tang Zhitong at the bell and drum tower as usual, but the waiting place had moved from inside the room to outside the room, and then to the gate again.

Tong Wang sat on a bamboo chair with a book in his hand. He read a few times and then glanced at the passers-by, afraid of missing Tang Zhitong.

The book is a serialized book with a history of at least a hundred years, and it describes some things that happened when the Manchus were in power.

What Tong Wang was reading at the moment was the inscription on the "Monument to the Famine and the Warning to the World":
In the Dingchou year of the Guangxu reign, there was a great famine in Gaoyi, and the population fled. As a result, nine out of ten villages and towns were destroyed, and more than half of the city walls were destroyed. The remaining people were not able to fill the ditches, and they were only emaciated and had no hope of survival...

In the winter of the first year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, bandits started a rebellion, plundered four counties in Hebei, and took refuge in many cities...

They peeled tree bark, cut grass seeds, picked mulberry leaves, and shoveled melon vines. They slaughtered mules, horses, cattle, and sheep, and the chickens and dogs were silent. They ate everything that could fill their stomachs.

At that time, families with enough food and clothing were killed by plague. They sold their wives and daughters for 300 yuan but could not get it. They sold their houses and tried to exchange for 500 yuan but could not get it. There were countless people who committed suicide due to poverty. As for the extremely poor families, many died of starvation. There were also many who killed their children to save rice. There were also fathers eating their sons, brothers eating their younger brothers, husbands eating their wives, and wives eating their husbands. Infants and young girls were abandoned on the roadsides and scattered all over the fields. It was a tragedy that could not be endured. People who died of hunger were secretly picked up and cooked...

Mishan Town seized jars full of human bones, and the living ate the flesh of the dead. In Ruzaili Village, two basins of nun’s blood were seized, and the living peeled off the skin of the living…

White flour is 110 wen per catty, rice bran is 60 wen per dou, banana bran is 30 wen per dou, sesame oil is 280 wen per catty, pork is not available, mutton is 110 wen per catty, and a chicken is 800...

Gold, pearls, silk and satin used to cost a few taels of silver, but now they only cost a few thousand. Even fine clothes and beautiful utensils can hardly buy a meal...

When Tong Wang saw this, he sighed. If he blamed the famine entirely on God, he would be struck by lightning. In the final analysis, the cause was the government's ineffective rescue efforts.

Looking at what his master had done, Tong Wang compared it with what he had heard and seen, and felt that the current situation was much better than before. At least his family could buy some meat with money, and they were not starving.

The Tong family does not have any meals to commemorate the bitter past. Most of the time, they cook three meals a day at home.

Although we had stockpiled some food a while ago, meat was in short supply, especially pork and mutton.

Ever since the story of the "long-tailed rabbit" spread throughout the city, Tong Wang no longer dared to buy small pieces of meat and only bought live chickens.

Since the chickens are delivered to customers’ homes, the price of live chickens skyrocket due to the manipulation of middlemen.

At the moment, the Tong family can be described as "eating up all the resources".

Faced with this situation, Tong Xiangsong, under the instigation of outsiders, came up with the idea of ​​lending money at high interest rates.

This thing makes money quickly, and I have done it before, so I can do it easily.

But when Tong Wang found out, he immediately stopped his son's irrational behavior.

It is true that no one cares about loan sharking right now, but that does not mean that no one will care in the future. What is your status? It is good enough if you are not remembered by others. If you do something out of line, you are afraid of dying too slowly.

Tong Xiangsong, however, was a bold man. Not only was he unwilling to give up, he was also very dissatisfied with his father's timidity and caution. He shouted that as a father, he had to save up a dowry for Nan Nan.

In the end, Tong Wang, relying on his remaining authority as a father, used his crutches to have a good conversation with his son, and only then did he dispel his irrational thoughts.

The son didn't know about his family's financial situation, but Tong Wang knew. Even if the family was spent at the current rate, it would be enough to support the family for two or three hundred years. Since the family was not short of money, why bother to earn money that would not accumulate good karma?

As for the money that has already been lent out, it would be good enough if the principal can be returned. If it cannot be returned, there is nothing that can be done. In any case, one cannot force others to lose their families.

After reading the inscription on the "Monument to Commemorate Famine and Warn the World", Tong Wang decided that his family would no longer buy red meat, even if it was a slightly larger piece.

Although he had not heard of cannibalism in the old city, Tong Wang was not sure what the situation was like in other places.

The situation now is different from before. In the past, transportation was not well developed. It would take several days to get from other places to Beijing, and even months for far places. But now the second-hand dealers take the train to resell the meat. It is possible that they may buy meat from other places today and have it delivered to their doorstep tomorrow.

It is hard to say what kind of meat it is. What you see is not what you get, unless the meat is covered with pig or sheep skin.

At this moment, Tong Wang hoped very much that Tang Zhitong could appear in front of him. Even if the price was a little higher, he could accept it.

One does not know how to cherish something until one loses it. Looking back now, Tong Wang feels that Tang Zhitong is a really honest young man. Not to mention the dry fish and shrimp, even the pig head and offal are a complete set. Whether from the appearance or the touch, one can be sure that they are not fake, so he feels especially relieved when eating them.

Tong Wang swallowed when he thought of this.

When he was a child, pig heads and pig offal were considered cheap meat. He had to go out to eat stewed pork in secret, and would be beaten if he brought back any fishy smell because that stuff was not in line with his family's status.

But right now, Tong Wang is really looking forward to eating some pig head meat, because that thing contains not only meat, but also fat!
The Tong family stockpiled some wine and bought some grain, so they could eat chicken almost every week, but after calculating the total amount for the whole family, they only had a ration of two and a half kilograms of cooking oil per month.

It was better when there was a black market, as one could get some oil coupons from it to supplement the family's income. But since the black market was cracked down, this channel has basically been cut off. When grocery stores sell cooking oil, they not only need coupons, but also have to verify and register them on the grocery certificate.

It is not realistic to pay a high price to find someone to buy it, because nowadays everyone is short of money and is counting on this little money to fill their stomachs.

Until the sun went down, Tong Wang still didn't wait for Tang Zhitong to visit. It was another frustrating day...

(End of this chapter)