Refugee camp in the north of the city.
Refugees come and go, and come and go.
In the summer, the two armies agreed to a truce.
Upon hearing the truce, countless refugees began packing their bags and preparing to return home.
No matter how the staff explained that this was only a temporary truce and the war was not really over, there were still some refugees who refused to listen and insisted on going back.
If I can't stop it, I won't stop everyone.
I know that the refugees are concerned about their land, houses, and crops at home, and are hoping to have a good harvest this year.
The staff sent away batch after batch of refugees.
Throughout the summer, the huge refugee camp seemed somewhat empty.
Some refugees who initially listened to the advice and did not leave the refugee camp began to regret their decision as autumn approached.
They blamed the staff for delaying their return home.
Originally, there would be some harvest this year, but now that the autumn harvest has passed, there is no harvest at all this year.
The refugee camps are in a mess and people are restless.
Every day, people bring their families, large and small bags, and ride on donkey carts or mule carts, planning to return to their hometowns.
As a result, before he reached his hometown, he heard that the Northern Rong Army was heading south again and the war had started again.
So these people returned to the refugee camp again.
The group of people who left in the summer were even more miserable.
Many people lived in the vast countryside, which was too far for the border troops to defend and was naturally plundered by the Northern Rong army.
The Beirong army plundered along the way, one village after another.
The farmers who had just finished the autumn harvest were brutally looted and killed.
The lucky ones escaped.
The unfortunate ones died or were captured and became slaves of Beirong.
The refugee camp was once again filled with refugees from all over the north, all of whom looked gloomy and sad.
There was a sense of sadness in the air.
Many refugees who listened to the advice and did not leave were grateful.
The imperial court is unreliable, but what it says occasionally is still trustworthy.
…
Mr. Cao and his family have lived in the cement house for several months.
Mr. Cao would go to the shanty town across the official road every day, and every time he came back, he would look heavy-hearted.
"Old Zhang and his grandson are the only ones left. There were more than ten people in the family, and they're all dead. Sigh..."
"No one from the Li family in the east survived."
Mr. Cao's wife, Cao Xu, was worshiping the Buddha and muttering something.
Hearing Master Cao's nagging, Cao Xu murmured quietly, "Fortunately, I listened to Dalang and didn't go back with them. Otherwise, I don't know how many of our family members would be saved."
Master Cao frowned deeply, "I'm afraid this war won't be over for a year or two."
Cao Xu suggested quietly, "Listen more to Dalang in the future. He's out and about all day and has a lot of experience."
Mr. Cao stared at his wife. "What do you mean? Do you think I'm too old and only eats and doesn't work, and is a burden to everyone?"
As soon as Mr. Cao got angry, Mrs. Cao Xu dared not say a word.
Cao Dalang came back with a registration certificate in his arms, which he kept close to his body, treating it very preciously.
Master Cao yelled at him, "Where have you been running off to again? You've been missing all day, and you haven't brought your money back. Are you and your family going to starve?"
Cao Dalang panicked for a moment, but quickly calmed down. "My son went out to help someone with a few deliveries and bought two pounds of meat. I'll have a treat for you today."
"Can we go out? Isn't it said that refugees cannot enter and leave the refugee camp at will?" Cao Xu was very worried about her son.
Cao Dalang chuckled, unable to conceal his pride, "My son has long been familiar with the soldiers guarding the gate, and he has also obtained a waist badge. Now he can come and go as he pleases. He can even enter the city with the waist badge."
"You went to the capital?" Cao Dalang's wife looked envious. She dreamed of going to the capital to take a look.
Cao Dalang smiled and said, "I have the trust of my boss. I went to the city twice today and pulled a few carts of goods."
Cao Xu got off the bamboo chair, put on her shoes, and took out the meat bought by Cao Dalang from the basket on her back.
"This meat can't be eaten in one sitting."
As he said this, he was about to take the key to open the cupboard, intending to hide half of the meat.
Cao Dalang's wife was very dissatisfied and kept winking at Cao Dalang.
Cao Dalang quickly stopped Cao Xushi and said, "Mom, our family hasn't smelled meat for a long time. We'll get all these two pounds of meat tonight."
As he said this, he forcefully snatched the pork from Cao Xu's hand and handed it to his wife.
When Cao Dalang's wife got the meat, she was afraid that something might go wrong, so she ran away.
Cao Xu was so angry that she yelled at her daughter-in-law at the door, calling her a good-for-nothing.
Men don’t interfere in conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Mr. Cao spoke to Cao Dalang in a heavy tone about the fellow villagers who had suffered the disaster.
After hearing this, Cao Dalang also sighed.
He wiped his face and felt thankful, "It's a good thing that my son stopped his father from going back with them, otherwise I'm afraid several members of our family would have died."
"Stop talking nonsense. Don't mention the matter of life or death anymore."
Cao Dalang smiled and said, "Son, I will listen to you and never mention the word death again."
Mr. Cao's forehead was full of grooves.
He stared at Cao Dalang, and for the first time, he wondered: Is he old? Has his knowledge outdated? Can he still be the head of this family?
He carefully chose his words and asked, "Do you think this battle can be won?"
"With the Northwest Army here, we're sure to win. But my son heard from people in the capital that it's going to be a seesaw battle, and I don't think there's going to be a conclusion for two or three years."
When Mr. Cao heard this, he immediately became anxious. "Will our land be left uncultivated for several years? What should we do?"
It took a lot of effort to turn the land into fertile farmland, but now it has been left idle, and it will take many years for it to recover.
Cao Dalang was relieved. "We live in the capital. We have food, drink, and work to do. We get paid every day. Even if we don't go back for two or three years, our Cao family will not be in trouble. My son plans to save some money during his time in the capital. When the war is over, he will buy some land when he returns."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Cao felt relieved.
My son has no intention of settling down in Beijing, which is great.
He asked, "Can you save enough money to feed and feed a large family?"
"There's always a way. Don't worry, Dad."
"I'm not worried. If you have time, go visit the shantytown next door and see your fellow villagers. Give them some help if you can."
"Son knows. I will go visit them tomorrow."
When you are away from home, you need your fellow countrymen to help each other so that you won’t be bullied by people from other places.
That night, the Cao family, who had not tasted meat for a long time, finally had a feast.
Everyone's mouth was full of oil.
Mrs. Cao Xu wanted to save a bowl of meat and eat it another day.
Cao Dalang's wife was very disgusted.
What's with leaving a bowl for another day? If the old woman had hidden the meat, there would have been no share for them.
Under the table, Cao Dalang's wife kept kicking his feet.
Cao Dalang came to his senses after realizing it belatedly. "Dad, eat meat. Mom, you eat too. Wife, you should eat more too. You're busy with needlework every day, and all the money in this house is earned by you."
Cao Dalang's wife felt very comfortable and smiled.
Mr. Cao did not comment.
The mother-in-law, Cao Xu, was very dissatisfied.
I really want to throw my chopsticks away and refuse to eat. But I feel bad about the table full of meat dishes. If I don't eat them, won't it be a waste for my daughter-in-law?
snort!
She not only wants to eat, but also wants to eat more.
How can a son forget his mother after getting married?
What do you mean the household expenses are all earned by the daughter-in-law? Are you looking down on the two old people for being freeloaders?
The more Cao Xu thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became, the more she ate.
In the end, I ate too much, didn’t sleep well all night, and had diarrhea.
While Cao Dalang's wife was serving her mother-in-law, she was secretly gloating in her heart.
After being busy until midnight, I finally calmed down and could go back to my room to rest.
The couple lay in bed, physically exhausted but mentally excited.
"Have you bought it? Let me see it."
After lighting the candle, Cao Dalang took out the registration certificate and handed it to his wife.
Cao Dalang's wife grabbed it and said, "This is the registration certificate. What does it say?"
Cao Dalang looked very proud. He bit his wife's ear and whispered, "The top row of characters says the Universal Transport Company share registration certificate. The bottom row says the number of shares registered: three. At the bottom is the date, along with my name, place of origin, and other information. With this certificate, I can buy shares in Universal Transport."
Cao Dalang's wife was very excited, her face flushed. "This paper is really strange. It feels hard in my hand, but not rough at all."
"This is new paper made by Wenqing Bookstore specifically for Universal Transport. I heard that the banknotes issued by the Shaofu Bank are made with similar paper. This kind of paper is impossible to imitate, and it's also waterproof. Do you want to give it a try?"
Cao Dalang's wife pinched him and said, "How can you throw something this important into the water? Let me ask you, when are you going to buy shares in Universal Transport?"
"In two days, the official subscription period will begin."
"Three shares would cost ninety taels of silver, and there's still some money missing from the cabinet."
"Don't worry, I'll find a way."
Cao Dalang's wife suddenly became excited, "Are you planning to ask Dad for money?"
"It's not easy to get money from the old man. I plan to ask for money from my mother."
Cao Dalang's wife chuckled twice, "Only you can get money from mother."
"Okay, okay, stop talking."
Cao Dalang was very smart and knew that if he continued talking, it would lead to another quarrel between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, so he quickly stopped talking.
"You have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed. I'll take the registration certificate so that mother won't find out."
"You need to talk to Mom and stop running into our house and rummaging through our cabinets for no reason. It's like I've hidden a mountain of gold and silver."
"I know, I know. I will definitely tell her about it someday."
Like Cao Dalang, there are many refugees who recognize the opportunity and find ways to buy shares in Universal Transport.
When these people were in their hometown, they were a group of people with quick minds and lived a prosperous life.
Even though they became refugees, most of them were still the best among the refugees, and they could buy some meat to satisfy their hunger from time to time.
Others don’t read newspapers and are reluctant to spend money to buy them, but they are willing to do so.
Others are reluctant to spend money on building relationships, but they are.
When the common people in Beijing were celebrating the issuance of shares by Universal Transport, this group of people joined in the celebration.
Moreover, most of these people live in cement houses.
Only a very small number of people live in slum areas.
On the day of officially subscribing to the shares, early in the morning, they left the refugee camp with their badges and headed towards the capital.
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