Songhu: Never Give Up

After buying the cloth, Zhao Xingping and his family went to the market. As the people in the surrounding villages had just sold their grain, they had some spare money. Merchants of all sizes also saw this business opportunity and filled the streets with foreign goods bought from other places.

Unfortunately, there are many people walking around but few actually buying. The old farmers are used to living a tight life and they don’t even dare to ask the price unless they need it urgently.

Some of the food and snacks sold well, as did small items and daily necessities for women.
Things that I couldn’t afford to buy before will now be bought a little bit, and the children’s hands or mouths are basically never empty.

Hu Niu was holding a string of candied haws in her hand, licking them until her saliva flowed all over the floor, but she was reluctant to eat them all. As long as she didn't eat them, she would have a snack in her hand and a sweet taste in her mouth.

Li Yanni cut a pound of meat and prepared to go home to make dumplings. Her family had not eaten meat-filled dumplings for a long time. They had just had a bowl of mutton soup at the market, so they had to let the elderly in the family have a meal of meat as well.

They also bought some salt and peanut oil, and weighed some tobacco for Zhao Xingping's father. They didn't dare spend the remaining few dollars, and the family went home happily.

Along the way, Huniu kept shouting excitedly that she had dumplings to eat. In the past, she could only eat dumplings during the Chinese New Year.

As expected, when she got home, Zhao Xingping's mother started to nag her:

"Why are we eating dumplings when it's not the New Year or any other festival? And they have meat fillings. Oh, this is really unpredictable."

"Xingping family, you are moving the cloth shop back to my house. Farmers only need one set of clothes to wear, and two sets for each person!

You won’t stop until you have completely defeated the Zhao family…”

Li Yanni pretended not to hear and just used straw rope to measure the size of each person. In Zhaojiabao, Li Yanni's needlework was counted.
The cloth was returned, and it was her job to make clothes out of it. Although Zhao Xingping's mother kept nagging, she didn't refuse when Li Yanni measured her size. She just told Li Yanni to use less cloth, and to keep the sleeves and trouser legs shorter, so that a lot of cloth could be saved.

Li Yanni just protested:
"Mom, I've told you so many times, don't keep calling me from Xingping, I'm famous!

The guerrillas all liked to call each other by name, and said that everyone should have their own name, and women were not appendages of men. "

Zhao Xingping's mother exclaimed:

"Hey, mother, listen to what nonsense Xingping is talking about. She's saying women are not men or something - she's going to heaven!"

Zhao Xingping's grandmother also didn't have her own name. She seemed to see things more clearly than Zhao Xingping's mother, and said directly to Li Yanni:

"Ni, didn't you go to the literacy class? Why don't you give grandma a name so that you will have a name when you meet grandpa later."

The guerrillas held a night school in Zhaojiabao to teach people how to read. As an activist, Li Yanni naturally went to attend the class and learned a few words.
Seeing that grandma was going to name the child, she asked her about her situation with great interest. Actually, she didn't know many words, but she had big ideas and dared to think and act. After thinking for a while, she said:
"Grandma, why don't you just call yourself Huaihua? Aren't you from Huaishu Village? Just call yourself Huaihua, Liu Huaihua!"

Grandma Zhao Xingping's mind suddenly came up with the crooked old locust tree at the entrance of the village. Every year when it bloomed, she could smell it from a long distance away.

She seemed to see a girl with long braids walking out from the locust flowers. She was so young, and her smile was prettier than the locust flowers...

As she thought about it, the old lady's eyes became blurred and she murmured:

"Okay, let's call it Sophora japonica. I have a name now."

Zhao Xingping's mother said to Liu Huaihua enviously:
"Mom, this is a happy day, let's eat a few more dumplings tonight."

Li Yanni said to Zhao Xingping's mother very perceptively:
"Mom, good things come in pairs. How about I give you a name too?"

Zhao Xingping's mother refused with a flickering look in her eyes:
"How can mother compare to your grandmother? Tiechui's family is pretty good."

Zhao Tiechui, who usually doesn't like to talk much, also interrupted and said:
"Yanni, you are an official. Your grandmother is the head of the family, so it is her due that she has a title. Your mother doesn't have to worry about that."

Li Yanni was unhappy after hearing this and said to Zhao Tiechui:
"Dad, this is what the guerrillas said. Everyone must have their own name, including mother."

When Zhao Tiechui heard that it was the guerrillas who said that, he immediately dared not speak. Ever since Li Yanni became the propaganda group leader in the Women's Rescue Association, her status in the Zhao family has skyrocketed. Such a high-ranking official has never appeared in the Zhao family for several generations!

It was Liu Huaihua who spoke:

"Yanni, since the guerrillas have said so, then we will listen. You should also give your mother a name. Her maiden name is Chen, and she was only 8 years old when she came to our house..."

It was the first time that Li Yanni heard about her mother-in-law's past. Zhao Xingping's mother was a child bride, and her family affairs were never mentioned. Everything she had belonged to the Zhao family. Allowing her to have her own name was definitely a great favor from Liu Huaihua.

Li Yanni thought about it carefully and said:
"Mom, we can live such a good life now, all thanks to the guerrillas' rent and interest reduction. I think it's called Chen Rent Reduction." The word Li Yanni learned most familiarly in the literacy class is rent and interest reduction. This is also the reason why they can live a good life.

Liu Huaihua immediately made the decision:

"When you drink the water, don't forget the well digger. Jianzu is a good name. From now on, the Tiechui family will be called Chen Jianzu."

Chen Jianzu first glanced at Zhao Tiechui, who nodded reluctantly before he said excitedly:
"Mom, I have a name too!"

For Chen Jianzu, this was definitely more important than eating dumplings, so the whole family had to eat dumplings to celebrate. She happily walked into the kitchen to make dumplings, and never complained about Li Yanni's squandering money again.

In the evening, the delicious smell of dumplings wafted from Zhao Xing's house. There was a whole bowl of dumplings filled with pork and cabbage filling, using most of the cabbage.

After the hot dumplings came out of the pot, the family gathered together to eat the delicious dumplings. The first bite was full of the meaty aroma.
The food tastes sweet in the mouth and in the heart, just like the days when Zhaojiabao is becoming more and more hopeful...

At the guerrilla detachment headquarters, the aroma of dumplings was also wafting in the air. After more than ten days of long journey, the main force of the guerrilla column and the guerrilla detachment finally met in southwest Shandong.
Wang Jianfei mobilized the soldiers and local villagers to prepare a meal of steaming hot dumplings for the brothers in the main force. The dumplings were also stuffed with pork and cabbage. Cabbage is the most abundant thing in southwestern Shandong.

Yue Qianli stared at the delicious dumplings, his appetite was aroused, and his throat couldn't help but gurgle. They hadn't eaten hot meals for more than ten days. They only had dry food and cold water, and their mouths were already dull.

Chen Zhongyuan, Zhu Chi, Duan Yulin and others were not much better, they had been eager to try, just waiting for Yue Qianli to give the order;
Yue Qianli waved his hand as if commanding thousands of troops to charge, and he himself took the lead, just like a general leading a charge in ancient times.

Duan Yulin and others followed closely behind, without any main or secondary attacks, they just picked up their chopsticks and started to attack, the full bowl of dumplings in the wooden basin disappeared visibly, just like they were fighting a war of annihilation, not letting a single "devil" escape...

Duan Yulin and Yue Qianli grabbed the last dumpling almost at the same time. Yue Qianli's soul was from the afterlife after all, so he was still a little thin-skinned.
After a slight hesitation of the chopsticks, the dumpling went into Duan Yulin's mouth. Old Yue could only sigh at the dumplings, swallowed his saliva unwillingly, and then looked at Wang Jianfei expectantly.

Wang Jianfei spread his hands and said:

"Don't look at me, there's nothing left. If you keep eating like this, the landlord won't be able to afford to serve you!"

Yue Qianli had no choice but to cough unwillingly. In fact, he was already full, but he just wanted to eat more because he was too greedy.

Wang Jianfei obviously did not indulge his bad habits. There was only so much dumplings left. If he ate any more, his stomach would get upset. If Lao Yue died from eating too many dumplings, the Japanese would be very happy.

After eating and drinking, they started to talk about business. First, Wang Jianfei reported on the construction of the base, covering all aspects in a clear and organized manner, like a housekeeper. Yue Qianli nodded repeatedly after listening to him, and was obviously very satisfied.

Wang Jianfei is a senior rabbit. He is good at mass work. He is a talent with both military and political talents. He studied abroad in the United States with Old Yue. He is also good at economics. He is the direct disciple of Yue Qianli.

We learned the base construction system thoroughly, which were all correct routes that have been proven correct by practice in later generations, and we avoided many detours.

After he finished his introduction, Yue Qianli said:
"The biggest problem facing the base area now is that the foundation is too weak. The people have too little money. If the money is not circulated, the business can only be at a low level.

As the saying goes, there is no stability without agriculture and no prosperity without commerce. Stability is no longer a problem. The next step is to formulate corresponding policies to encourage and guide commercial activities.

In terms of military, after the Battle of Wuhan, the main forces of the Japanese will gradually return to North China and East China. The activities of the Eighth Route Army in North China and Hedong will certainly attract the Japanese's great attention.
They are now taking bigger steps than us, and their total military strength is conservatively estimated to be over 100,000.

After the main force entered southwest Shandong, it seemed a bit crowded. According to the instructions from our hometown, we must quickly establish a large base in Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui;

Time is of the essence. I decided that after eating this meal of dumplings, Duan Yulin would lead the three detachments to advance into central and eastern Shandong and occupy the vast mountainous areas and rural areas.

Try to avoid cities and don't attract the attention of the devils too early. You can also learn from Lao Wang to suppress bandits and strengthen yourself. Make a fortune quietly, understand?"

Duan Yulin was also familiar with this and nodded to show that he understood.

Then he said to Zhu Chi:
"Your first team's mission is to advance to the mountainous areas of northern Jiangsu, eastern Henan, and northern Anhui. I will assign some officers from the training camp to you, and select capable troops from the second and third battalions to form a new first battalion as soon as possible.
I have marked the specific development direction for you on the map. First occupy a few counties near the southeast of Shandong. Don’t be greedy. First connect with the southwest of Shandong..."

As Yue Qianli talked, the framework of the Su-Lu-Yu-An base area was planned out by him. The rest was left to Duan Yulin and Zhu Chi to implement, while the column headquarters remained in Heze.

After making the arrangements, he became a hands-off boss and, accompanied by Wang Jianfei, began to inspect the Luxi base area on the spot. Without investigation, he had no right to speak, so his first stop was Changling Town, Cao County.

(End of this chapter)