Chapter 75

“To ensure law and order.” Su Chunjun swallowed the rice in his mouth before answering the question.

Regarding why there were gendarmes patrolling the streets everywhere, it was of course to protect the safety of the people and the security and order of the city.

Tonight, Mrs. Chang has made a very tasty dish of stuffed tofu. The tender pork and the soft tofu are like a nice couple, and there’s no better match for each other.

With rice, it’s even more delicious.

Yang Yuyan has eaten enough, just want to listen to the story time, quickly asked him: “is the foreigners want to make trouble? Or are they defending themselves against the students?”

The women at the table were all full, and even Zhang Ma stood at the entrance to the dining room pretending to be coming to ask if they would like some sweet soup.

Only Su Chunjun had not yet eaten his fill, and he looked like he wanted to drink all the vegetables and soup on the plate on the table. He put down the bowl with an unfulfilled appetite, and his eyes searched all over the place, finally pouring over to Zhang Ma.

Zhang Ma sighed, ”There’s still some in the pot, I’ll bring it over. I’ve steamed a whole pot of rice today! Alas, I still have to deliver it downstairs!”

She turned to go and serve the rice, so Su Chunjun thoughtfully waited for Zhang Ma to return before continuing.

When he poured the dish of vegetable soup over the rice, he said, “The reason is unknown. The gentlemen at the ministry all say they don’t know, our Finance Bureau is a small government office, the director and the two deputy directors are away, and we can’t hear a thing. But I guess ……” he took a mouthful of rice and swallowed it before whispering in the crowd’s anticipation, “it might be because of outside pressure ……” he vaguely for a moment, not saying what kind of pressure it was, and continued, “The gentlemen of the staff are of the opinion that the government should have a stronger and more powerful force.”

While Yang Yuyan was still in a daze, Zhu Yanshu had already understood, and her face suddenly changed. Her two hands on the table clenched together,louboutin pas cher, her voice also became smaller, “…… want to conscript?”

Su Chunjun didn’t shake his head, nor did he nod, he didn’t even lock eyes with the women on the table, instead, he took an interest in the remaining grains of scallions on the plate, vowing to pick them all up and eat them.

Yang Yu Cicada’s face went white, involuntarily stood up, her voice was just about to raise when Zhu Yan Shu pulled her down, her chair was knocked to the ground. But when she sat down she calmed down, and her voice was as thin as if she had been pinched in her throat: ”It can’t be! Would they arrest someone in the city?”

She looked to Zhu Yanshu for her mother’s comfort, then to Zhang Ma, Yang Yuyan, and finally turned to Su Chunjun.

Su Chunjun eats the rest of the rice in a few bites and puts down the bowl, which is a bit frighteningly loud in the silent restaurant.

“I don’t know.” Su Chunjun said. But his expression was not a look of not knowing, he was very serious, not like he was joking.

None of the women at the table took him for a joke either.

Su Chunjun paused for a moment, and instead of comforting them with false words, he honestly stated his speculation, “The Finance Bureau is now accumulating a lot of unpaid arrears, and the white slips are packed in three or four rooms. Both the director and the deputy director have gone into hiding in the hospital to avoid the bills. But not really no money. I guess …… the Finance Bureau has covered up a large sum of money, and I don’t know what it is going to do with it.”

That didn’t say much, but it said everything.

Even a street vendor knows that the biggest thing the government spends money on right now is arms.

Nothing costs more money than that.

And at this point in time, whichever side wants this, wants this the most.

Su Chunjun said that the Finance Bureau had covered a large sum of money that was not being used, and would rather have a mountain of arrears. Then what is this money going to be used for?

It doesn’t have to be to build a garden for the old Buddha’s birthday, does it?

However, bought for whom to use?

How many people are in the gendarmerie now? It can’t be for the gendarmerie.

Therefore, Su Chunjun knew it after such a string of back and forth. Before the New Year, the government pretended that it was going to straighten out the newspapers, books and magazines and the student marches, and hid the whole thing from the public until the end of March.

Now the gendarmes are out on the streets, which means that the moment of truth has arrived.

Perhaps the “goods” have arrived.

The gentlemen of the government are just trying to keep it under wraps for a few more days, so that the people on the street have nothing to worry about.

Su Chunjun sighed, “Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”

Zhu Yanshu had calmed down, she said seriously, “Mr. Su, what happened tonight, let’s pretend that you never said anything and we never heard anything.”

Su Chunjun gave a uh-oh and turned his head to Yang Yuyan and asked with a smile, “Don’t tell your classmates when you go to school, lest you scare them.”

Yang Yuyan nodded hesitantly.

Su Chunjun glanced at Yang Yucan as if to explain to Yang Yuyan, “It will be fine at school. I’ve already gone to see the principal and acting professor.”

Zhu Yanshu where unable to understand that what Su Chunjun was really worried about was Yang Yucan talking about it. She turned to Yang Yucan and said, “You’re not allowed to tell your classmates either! Don’t say a word! This kind of thing is going to cause a panic if it gets out!”

Yang Yucan was warned so harshly by Zhu Yanshu, she quickly promised, “I won’t say anything, mom, don’t worry.”

Zhu Yan Shu still couldn’t rest assured. She was very clear about the character of her two daughters, compared to Yang Yucan, Yang Yuyan obviously didn’t have so much “public spirit”, she valued her family and friends more, and she absolutely refused to allow her to sacrifice her family and friends for the sake of outsiders. On the other hand, Yang Yuchan is a bit more selfless, she probably read her head badly, and sometimes her mind gets hot.

Zhu Yanshu didn’t dare to take any chances, she glanced at Yang Yucan and decided to stall her in some other way later.

She said to Zhang Ma, “Zhang Ma, Zhang Ma!”

Zhang Ma had been pale with fear ever since she heard of “conscription”, and only now did she regain her senses, and busily said, “Mistress, you say!”

Zhu Yanshu glared at her, “I’m counting on you to help me at such an important time.”

Zhang Ma sighed: “Alas, I am weak in the knees when I hear it.”

Zhu Yanshu: “Our family is all women, we can’t be caught over our heads. You go outside tomorrow and buy a few more bags of grain and come back, rice, wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes, whatever is hardy. Right, buy some oil and salt as well, as well as coal.”

Zhang Ma hurriedly agreed, saying, “Right, right! Should buy more! The price will definitely go up in a few days!”

Zhu Yanshu then said to Yang Yucan, “Go find a piece of paper and write it down, and go with Zhang Ma tomorrow.”

Yang Yucan nodded and turned around to look for a notebook and pen.

After arranging these two, she then looked at Yang Yuyan and said in a bad mood, “You go and study and go to school obediently, no slacking off!”

Yang Yuyan was really surprised: “What? I still have to study?”

Zhu Yan Shu sneered, “You have to go to school even if the sky is falling! Go!”

Seeing this, Yang Yuyan knew that Zhu Yanshu only had something to discuss with Mr. Su, and not wanting to be idle, she took the initiative to help put away all the dishes on the table before returning to her room.

After Ms. Yang left, Zhu Yanshu said to Mr. Su Chunjun, “Mr. Su, I am grateful to you for taking care of our mother’s and daughter’s safety.”

Su Chunjun said sincerely, “Ms. Zhu, if I may be offended, I have long considered myself a member of the Zhu family in my heart.”

Zhu Yanshu laughed, and then sighed afterward, “These days are really getting harder and harder.”

Su Chunjun: “It’s still possible to get by.”

Zhu Yanshu lowered his voice and said, “Next, will we be assessed any expenses?”

This was inevitable.

Once conscription started, followed by amortization. Poor people will contribute, rich people will contribute, and we will be able to overcome the difficulties together.

Zhu Yanshu knew that her family had not donated much money since she could remember.

However, the Zhu family never “donated” money to the adults’ pockets, and when the adults were fed, they would raise their hands to the Zhu family during the handouts.

Otherwise, the Zhu family won’t last until she grows up and gets married, and the Zhu family building won’t be preserved.

Su Chunjun also intends to persuade Zhu Yanshu to find a doorway, to see her think of this, the heart of the admiration, and quickly said: “Now there is no wind.” Going to the temple to kowtow to the first pillar of incense is still competing to burn it, go to the late Buddha do not remember who you are, which will remember what you ask for it.

Zhu Yanshu knew that he could burn this incense to the front, she thought, asked Su Chunjun to sit down, got up and dialed a phone.

When the call came through, she said with a smile on her face, “Mrs. Liao, are you free tomorrow? Let’s play cards together!”

After the poker game, Zhu Yanshu turned back to Su Chunjun and said, “I haven’t been outside for a long time, I don’t know which one of the adults out there is better to talk to now.”

Su Chunjun said, “In this matter, the county officials are not as good as the current ones. I think it’s better not to look for the grown-ups. The captain of the gendarmerie in charge now is familiar with me, so I’ll talk to him first.”

Zhu Yanshu hurriedly asked, “Is this captain good to talk to?”

Su Chunjun compared a finger: “If there is this number, it is better to talk.”

Zhu Yanshu covered her chest, “Ten thousand dollars?” It’s not impossible, she was calculating in her mind to go to the bank to withdraw money or write a check?

Su Chunjun hurriedly shook his head, “Can’t use it, can’t use it! A thousand dollars will do.”

Zhu Yanshu felt that this amount is a little less, frowned: “Is it enough?”

Su Chunjun laughed: “It’s the first time I’ve kowtowed, so I can’t give too much, otherwise it’s not good for him to have a big appetite.”

Zhu Yanshu was relieved and smiled, “That makes sense. Let’s listen to you then.”

The next day, Zhu Yanshu arranged a lot of work for Yang Yucan early in the morning.

Zhu Yanshu: “You send Yan Yan to school first, then come back and help Zhang Ma to go shopping, you have to write down all the accounts and count the money, don’t let anyone coax you! I want to see it when I come back!”

Yang Yu Cicada promised one by one and asked her, “Mom, what are you doing to go?”

It’s only half past eight now, Zhu Yanshu is already fully dressed and made up.

Zhu Yanshu picked up her handbag and said, “I’ve got a poker date, so I might not be back at noon, so remember to keep an eye on Yan Yan in the afternoon and make her read and do her homework.”

Yang Yucan was so busy all day, she ran several grain and rice stores, and had to pick up and drop off Yang Yuyan, but also tutored her homework and kept an eye on her to review, and was so exasperated by Yang Yuyan that she nearly staged a sisterly drama in the living room.

“Isn’t this learned? How come you don’t remember it? How to pronounce this word!” The fierce face of Yang Yu Cicada’s cell head was very intimidating.

Yang Yuyan stared at the already unfamiliar Russian word, like a lover who has forgotten even his or her name, looking forward to having a heart-to-heart with it, that it would jump up and tell her the pronunciation and meaning on its own.

“Dumpling, the word means dumpling, do you remember yogurt dumpling?” Yang Yu Cicada endeavored to inspire Yang Yu Yan’s memories.

Yang Yuyan, under such heavy pressure, sincerely said, “I think this dumpling must not be delicious ……” This is the only memory she has of this word: “Professor Dai also said it is not delicious.”

As for how to read …… sorry, this is really not too remember.

Yang Yu Cicada was so angry that she exploded and had to raise her voice again.

Or Zhang Ma was unbearable, came out from the kitchen and said, “You don t scold her, the more you scold her, the less she can remember. Yan Yan, go and buy one or two slabs of oil from the butcher store outside for me, go quickly.”

Yang Yuyan was like a spoon-fed message and immediately took her purse and ran away.

She thumped downstairs just in time to see the two gendarmes boarding the door, and the tenants at the door instantly ran out of sight, slamming the door shut.

However, Yang Yuyan was not afraid, she was aware that her family had to send money to the gendarmerie every month, and thought that this was to collect the money, welcoming her over and saying, “Isn’t it the fifth? We’ll send the money over by then, and it won’t be a penny less.”

The two gendarmes also knew that Zhu Jialou had always been courteous to them, sending money over every month, so they were courteous as well. One of them, the one who looked a bit cleaner and tidier, deliberately stood a bit farther away from Yang Yuyan, not to scare her, and said with a smile, “It’s a new rule from above, I’m just here to notify today. The security fee of twelve dollars per month in the past will go up from this month onwards.”

Yang Yuyan then asked, “How much has it gone up to?”

The gendarme took out a notice from his pocket, and another gendarme carried the paste right in his hand. He first handed the notice to Yang Yuyan to see, the above statement and the gendarme said is the same, the security fee is indeed going up, from twelve yuan to twenty-six yuan.

Yang Yuyan returned to him, “up to twenty-six?”

The gendarme shook his head and said, “It was only notified this afternoon, it’s not going up to twenty-six, it’s going up to forty.”

Yang Yuyan stared wide-eyed and drew a breath of cold air.

The gendarme smiled bitterly, “This money can’t fall into our hands either, it really isn’t ours to collect.”

He signaled to Yang Yuyan to post this notice on the gate, and only after she nodded did he post it. After posting it, he said to Yang Yuyan, “Second Miss, in this way, this money will be collected at the end of the month, we will come back then.”

Yang Yuyan stood still and watched them go out.

What Mr. Su said last night was going to be slowly fulfilled.

After the gendarmes left, the tenants dared to open the door and poked their heads out, looking at Yang Yuyan standing there, a woman quickly stepped out and asked in a low voice: “Second Miss, what’s the matter with the gendarmes coming up?”

Yang Yuyan pointed to the notice on the door, and the woman went up to see it, and stomped her feet when she saw that the security fee had risen to twenty-six: “It’s more than doubled!”

Other tenants who had been watching also rushed out and saw the notice, their faces did not look good.

Yang Yuyan: “He just said to me, not up to twenty-six, but up to forty.”

Now the tenants aren’t looking bad, they’re all scared silly.

One man was so scared that his feet went limp, “Forty?!” He flung himself in front of the notice to read it, “It says twenty-six!”

Another tenant said, “What does what it says have to do with how much he charges? He’s just overcharging, so how can you reason with him?”

Everyone was used to this kind of thing, and no one thought Yang Yuyan was lying.

A woman in a white cotton mesh smock did some math, “Charge forty, a family has to pay two dollars!”

Another man said, “More than that, more than two dollars, there are only sixteen households living in this building.”

“That would be by room size!” A man immediately said, “My house is small!”

The rest of the men argued.

“Why don’t you say by population? If you have a large population, you pay more?”

“Aaah, don’t argue! No one’s house can escape anyway, they all have to pay!”

While they were arguing, Yang Yuyan went to the butcher’s store to buy oil, but when she arrived at the butcher’s store, she saw that a notice had been posted in front of the butcher’s store, and the owner of the butcher’s store was sitting on a stool as if he was out of his body.

Yang Yuyan called out to him several times before he was called up to cut the meat.

Yang Yuyan saw that the notice said he would be charged fifteen dollars.

She asked, “How much did they charge you?”

The butcher store owner smiled bitterly, “One hundred and fifty dollars.”

A tenfold increase?

On her way back with the meat, Yang Yuyan saw the butcher’s face and eyes in front of her.