Under One Person: One Person Goes

Chapter 416 Familiar Stranger
"Hey hey hey! Stop! Everyone stop! What are you doing!!"

"No one is allowed on board!"

"All the boats here have been requisitioned by our garrison. Get down here, and those that have rowed out, row them back, or I'll shoot you!"

"Also, these are military supplies, take them all away!"

An uninvited troop rushed to the dock. The Kuomintang officer got off the military vehicle leading the way first, shouting loudly with a loudspeaker in his hand.

Following his order, the National Army soldiers following behind him also rushed into the dock, holding loaded guns and violently disrupted the pace of the people boarding the ship and stopped them.

At the same time, some of them confronted the soldiers brought by Zhou Weiguo. Some of them were more violent and went straight to the box full of money and wanted to take it away.

The sudden change and the style of doing things without any prior notice and coming to make money immediately made the soldiers on Zhou Weiguo's side angry.

What kind of people can come and steal our food? Which garrison are you from? How dare you steal from us? We are the most loyal of the loyal!
For a time, the situation at the dock was tense and a fire accident might occur at the slightest disturbance.

However, compared with the aggressiveness of these uninvited guests, Zhou Weiguo's side was, after all, a direct descendant, with some of his own people mixed in, and they had just withdrawn from the battlefield. Even if they had been defeated, their blood and energy were not something that any troop could withstand. As the other side showed its power, the momentum of these uninvited guests immediately weakened.

At the dock, the boatmen who were in disguise and rowing the sampans were also watching the situation with their eyes and noses, as if it had nothing to do with them.

But anyone who is careful enough can see that something is wrong.

Nowadays, no one has a good impression of soldiers. No matter if they are foot patrolmen or privates, whoever sees them will first submit, calling them "Sir" or "Boss", and bowing to them, for fear of angering the other party.

However, these boatmen looked like bystanders, watching the fun. Some of them even put their hands in their pockets, as if they were about to take something out.

If the captain hadn't been so alert and yelled a few words, a third party who shouldn't be here would have appeared now.

Seeing someone coming to cause trouble, Wang Yi, who was chatting with Zhou Weiguo just now, frowned. He had already paid the money and greeted them, so where did the garrison troops come from at this time?

At this time, the Kuomintang officer who claimed to be from the garrison troops acted as if nothing had happened. He turned a blind eye to the tense atmosphere on the dock and walked straight towards Wang Yi and Zhou Weiguo.

Seeing this, Wang Yi could only suppress his doubts and walked up to him with a smile.

"Sir, I am..."

"Boss Wang Yi, I know you. You are a big shot, an American, the real boss of the Stone Company. You can even control foreigners. That's why I admire you. My last name is Cha, Cha Hongtu."

The other party introduced himself, gave Wang Yi a thumbs up, and flattered him, which made Wang Yi helpless and had to lower his posture.

"Commander Cha, what are you talking about? I'm a small business, not much profit, and I've already informed Commissioner Kong. Do you think this is right?"

"Boss Wang, I'm afraid you don't know? Commissioner Kong has already taken a flight to Hankou this morning. He can't control us now."

"Really? Then Commander Cha, if you want me to help you, please speak up. There's no need to resort to violence. Commander Cha, can you please ask your brothers to do you a favor and let the people get on board first?"

As he spoke, Wang Yi quietly took out a small yellow croaker from his arms and put it into the hands of Officer Cha.

Seeing that the first benefit was obtained, the other party just raised his hand and everything went back to normal.

But it was obvious that the other party had no intention of leaving just like that. Looking at the boxes full of money behind Wang Yi, he still smiled.

"Boss Wang, let's not beat around the bush. We all know that you are a good businessman. You once boasted that you can get the American business that Minister Kong couldn't get, and you can get the American business that Minister Kong can get, and it's cheaper. Now it seems that you were right. There are big businesses in small businesses. I am leading my troops to defend the city and resist the enemy. Boss Wang, you are Chinese, you have to help me, don't you think?"

"That's right, but you can see that this is a small business. I charge one yuan per person, and 70% of this money belongs to Commissioner Kong. Even if Commissioner Kong is in Hankou now, do you really want to take some money from him? And half of the remaining money belongs to these brothers, and the rest is mine. Do you want to take it from me?"

"Boss Wang, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't notice things. I won't do such a thing as snatching food from a tiger's mouth. But Boss Wang, your small business is too honest. One yuan per person. Now the boat ticket out of the city is 5 yuan at least. I know that Boss Wang has always been very fair in doing business. Brother, I have a suggestion for you. You can raise the price to yuan per person. In this way, you can give an explanation to Commissioner Kong, and my brothers and your friends here will also make money, right? We can all get rich together."

The other party had no intention of lowering their voices, which caused the people with their families on the dock to look over here with shock and fear on their faces.

A minority of these people were factory workers, but most were artisans, dock laborers or rickshaw pullers.

The income is only in the range of a few yuan to more than ten yuan a month. After deducting the expenses for three meals a day, a single man cannot save any money, and a family with children can only afford that little money.

If there was no other choice, who would leave home and family to seek another way to make a living at this time?

Although one yuan per person is more expensive than before, they can understand that. After all, your peers will not agree to a discount even if you want one at this time.

But if it becomes two yuan per person, it would be no different from losing everything for them.

So all their eyes were focused on Wang Yi, who was making the decision at this time, hoping that Boss Wang, who could talk to all these military officers and bosses, would reject the other party.

"Captain Cha, you can see that these guys are poor and their pockets are cleaner than their faces. There's no need to do that now."

"Boss Wang, please understand my difficulties. I can't come here without getting anything. I'm poor, so what? Even a dead person can be squeezed into two taels of oil. What's more, they are not dead yet. You can't ask me for money. I wouldn't dare to do it even if I had ten guts."

Wang Yi was very angry at the other party's fake smile, but he could do nothing about it.

"Then what if I refuse?"

"Boss Wang, if you refuse, I really don't dare to do anything to you, but I have to handle things impartially. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, these ships and garrisons must be requisitioned. Of course, we will not touch the money here. We must at least have a way out."

"You stay to defend the city, aren't we? Are you still a soldier?!"

Before Wang Yi made a decision or gave an answer, Zhou Weiguo, who was listening at the side, was already furious. He immediately pulled out a gun and pointed it at the other party's forehead with the safety on.

The sudden change made the atmosphere on the scene tense again, but Officer Cha was not afraid at all and asked his men to put down their guns.

"Captain Zhou, of course I am a soldier, but I can't compare with you. You are a disciple of the emperor, a direct descendant of an ace. You have strong soldiers and horses. If you really want to leave, the Japanese will not gnaw on you. We are not as lucky as you. We must have some protection. You have to be careful. Once the gun is fired, it will not only be us who will come to settle accounts with you, but also other brother troops who have stayed behind. Even if you file a lawsuit with your brigade commander Guo, your division commander Gui, or the chairman, we will still have a chance to fight this case."

"Captain Zhou, don't be so angry. Harmony brings wealth. Harmony brings wealth."

Wang Yi, who was standing by, took the gun that Zhou Weiguo was pointing at the other man's forehead and turned off the safety. At the same time, he looked at Chief Cha, who was another representative, with a smile.

"Captain Cha, two yuan per person is a good idea, but I just heard you say that you are not the only brothers who want to have a guarantee to defend the city. Other brothers also want it. How about this, we stop here today, you take your people back and discuss with the people behind you, and send a few representatives over tomorrow. I will host the Jianghu Inn at Zhonghua Gate, and we will negotiate a price together and strive to make everyone rich."

"Great! Boss Wang is a man of few words. He is worthy of being a man who can make a big career in the United States. This is indeed a good idea. It will make everyone happy and rich."

"But I'll be frank with you. When the people who are supposed to come tomorrow come and the price is set, they have to abide by the rules. If the day after tomorrow another officer or representative comes to take advantage of me, I'll have to do something that's not what a businessman should do. Officer Cha is well-spoken, so I guess he knows that besides my luck in business, I'm also quite capable of killing people and robbing. Don't make it difficult for me, and don't make it difficult for the people behind you, okay?"

Wang Yi was still as amiable as ever, but the pure murderous intent had already enveloped Chief Cha in front of him, causing him to lose all his complacency and break out in cold sweat, as if Wang Yi in front of him had become a giant monster that could trample him to death at any time.

"That's right, that's right, brother, we have no other choice..."

"No delivery."

Wang Yi was too lazy to talk nonsense with the other party and dismissed him with one sentence. The garrison troops also went back home, and he also indicated that everything would remain the same, one yuan per person, and paid to board the ship.

At this time, he couldn't say that it was free today, otherwise it would cause stampede and congestion, which would lead to unnecessary disasters.

However, Zhou Weiguo, who was beside Wang Yi, felt as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to the people who were boarding the ship, with tears but no tears.

Wang Yi watched from the side, but did not stop it. He just sighed silently.

He was familiar with Zhou Weiguo, a man of good family background from the six counties.

With prominent family background and good education, such a group can be said to be the most solid foundation of a great country or an empire.

He is not afraid of death on the battlefield and is upright in life, but the more so, the greater the blow will be when he is betrayed by the beliefs he firmly believes in.

Even after losing the Battle of Shanghai, he could still find excuses for himself, saying that there was a huge disparity in national strength between China and Japan and the uneven supply of troops.

How to explain it now? The capital of a country, the garrison troops guarding here can be regarded as the direct line, but even such direct line chose to plunder the people's fat and blood at this time, making money from these people who left their homes.

And they also said that this was tacitly approved by the superiors behind them. Nothing is more heartbreaking than this kind of betrayal.

In comparison, losing on the battlefield is nothing. You can regroup and fight back after losing, but if the root is rotten, everything is over.

"Let your leader stay alone for a while. I'll watch from above. If anyone makes trouble again, don't blame me for being rude. Old man, layman, how about you lend a hand and watch from here?"

"Humph, you are quite good at ordering people around."

Although the old patriarch of the Wang family complained, he still agreed. However, he and Mr. Mo Ming were separated by a stream and were too lazy to get together.

After explaining all this to Zhou Weiguo's adjutant, Wang Yi also found a high platform in the warehouse at the dock. Looking at the people who were still crying and noisy, paying money, carrying their luggage and families to board the ship to cross the river, Wang Yi's frown still did not relax.

He had planned everything, but he had never expected that the government's bottom line would continue to be broken.

"I'm so poor that I kneel down to beg for food and pay 70% interest, and you just sit on a plane to Hankou and ask me to pay you and clean up my mess myself. It's really..."

Wang Yi was naturally getting angrier and angrier after being tricked like this for no apparent reason. He still had to find a way to satisfy these guys who came here to make money at the banquet tomorrow, and he couldn't let the people who were evacuating here suffer any injustice. If no one else could be wronged, then he would have to suffer only himself.

But we can't kill anyone, otherwise people will put a accusation on us, frame us with crimes, block the dock, burn the boats, and the people will suffer.

"Is it really hopeless? Is this too much?"

Just when Wang Yi was thinking about how to curse to make himself feel better, a voice came from behind him. A captain who was about the same age as Wang Yi and still looked quite young even in disguise came over, took over Wang Yi's words, and sat down in front of Wang Yi.

"Captain, you shouldn't use such flowery idioms. This is not the place for you to be. Go back and do your work."

Wang Yi naturally knew that the identity of the captain in front of him was just a disguise, so he quickly asked him to leave.

It was already extremely risky to disguise himself as a boatman and go into the city to rescue people. There were so many people here, and if something went wrong, the humanoid creature in the rest house might not have left yet.

If people get wind of this, they really won't mind releasing this piece and then letting the Japanese destroy it. He has reasons both internally and externally, and he is really capable of doing such a heartless thing.

"What? Boss Wang, who was able to capture the Japanese naval commander alive, was made so miserable by these bastards that he couldn't even utter a curse word?"

"It's easier to deal with the King of Hell than with the little devils. These days, there are many living Kings of Hell trampling on the people's heads, and even more little devils working for the King of Hell. It's natural to be worried if we can't kill them all."

"If you are worried, don't think about solving it by yourself. You have family members to support you. If you have to deal with all the problems yourself, then your family members will just be eating for free, right?"

"My family has helped me a lot. Without them, I wouldn't be able to find help to handle all the work here. But my family is not rich. We only have these bottles and jars. The old and the young can just help row the boat to save people. It's not worth it to throw your life here. These people are the ones that our family should take care of."

Pointing to the people below who came to the dock with their families and luggage waiting for opportunities, Wang Yi also had something in mind.

"Then your family will ask you, have you come up with a solution?"

"What else can we do? At times like this, we can only pay out of our own pockets to get out of trouble."

"Are you not afraid of being ripped off by them?"

"They are asking for an exorbitant price, so I have to pay them back."

"Then you can't pay for this alone."

"So let them pay? Or let my family pay? Wouldn't that mean my family would suffer with me? I can't do that."

"Some grievances can be endured, while some cannot. I used to have a deputy named Zhang Yi. Now he is the boss like me, but I am now the boss of the ship in the south, and he is the boss of the horse team in the north. He said that he also worked like this under the dog warlord in the past. He was submissive and suffered all kinds of grievances. He could not be a good person, nor a bad person, and lived a life neither human nor ghost.

It was a young man named Wang who told him that since he couldn't be a bad guy and wanted to be a good guy, he should change his way of life. Now think about it, at that time and at that moment, it was just like this moment. You don't want the people to be wronged, you don't want your family to be wronged, and you don't want yourself to be wronged, so let those who make us wronged suffer the grievances. "

The captain's identity had been exposed to such an extent. Wang Yi looked at the captain in front of him with his pupils slightly dilated, because he already knew the identity of the captain.

"You...you are? No, it's too risky. If something goes wrong and someone gets caught, or you get recognized and caught, the outcome may not be as good as if the other person gets caught."

"I know my principal a little bit. If I were caught, I could still live, or at least live longer. After all, we were from the same family and surname five hundred years ago, and he has a lot of people under him who know me. If I want to avoid being caught, I'll have to rely on you, a great master, to help me."

"Have you thought about it?"

"We came to you after discussing it. If we don't take the initiative into our own hands, do you believe their lies?"

"Of course I don't believe it. This kind of thing will happen again if it happens once. As long as there are people boarding the ship from my place, there will definitely be people who will come to blackmail me."

"So we should try to blackmail them, but you are in charge here and we are here to serve you. You make your own decision and I will wait for your answer at the dock. Also, thank you very much for that. If you hadn't sent these two people to work here, I might have died by now, and my wife and I would have died together."

"You shouldn't have ended up like this. Is there a sequel?"

"Not yet. With the chaos of war and the long separation, I can't think about these things. Let's wait until this disaster is over before we talk about it."

"Then I have a suggestion."

"explain."

"This Zhou Weiguo below is someone worth fighting for. If you really want to make those guys suffer, you need someone to cover for them. He is very suitable, and he is just at the moment when they are frustrated."

"I told you, you make the decision. I'll wait for you on the boat."

Wang Yi watched the captain go downstairs. Looking at his back, the bad mood he had just felt, feeling disgusting and being ripped off, suddenly disappeared without a trace, and he couldn't help laughing out loud.

(End of this chapter)