When faced with life's difficulties, people always make some choices. Faced with the rationing principle of "people first", many "blue card holders" abandoned their so-called positions, changed their household registrations at the police station, and swore allegiance to the Ming Empire.
Can you bend over backwards for five pecks of rice?
It’s hard to say, but for most people, bread is indeed worth the price. After all, for most people, bread is the most practical need, in order to have a decent meal.
When the car drove out of the police station, Ma Rulong glanced at the long queue in front of the household registration hall on the roadside. Those were the "blue card holders" who came to change their surnames, the so-called "old and young people".
"Reality!"
Ma Rulong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, lowered the brim of his hat and said.
"Faced with the reality of the dilemma, many people will choose to compromise. It took us more than ten years to get young people to speak Mandarin and identify with the empire. Many older people still stubbornly insist on it, but now... just a few ration points can make them give up their past stubbornness."
This is the reality. When Brazil was first occupied, the government linked changing surnames, national language education and long-term employment opportunities together, forcing most Brazilians to choose naturalization.
It is through these semi-compulsory means that they identify with the empire. Of course, what makes them identify with the empire even more is that life in the empire is indeed very happy. A happy life is enough to make most people identify with the empire.
Of course, not everyone agrees with the empire, especially those whose interests were harmed after the empire's occupation, who have always resisted the empire's rule. Among these people, many still consider themselves loyal subjects of their homeland.
But what about now?
The rationing system under the "principle of national priority" became the final blow.
"Inspector, there is nothing we can do. The 60% off ration points is a direct blow to our lives. That little ration point is only enough to buy bread, milk and a few kilograms of meat. If we indulge ourselves, we will have nothing left after a few bottles of beer. Should we buy from the black market at a high price? Can we afford it once? Can we live on the black market?"
The answer is no. After all, the prices on the black market are definitely not something that ordinary people can afford in the long term. They may be able to buy something once or twice, but they certainly cannot do it for long.
"In the end, they all compromised. Their persistence was simply not worth mentioning in the face of beer, candy and cigarettes."
Why beer, cigarettes and sugar?
Because those people also need to drink and smoke, of course, they also cannot do without sugar, coffee, meat, oil, canned food, cheese and milk. These need to be rationed, but beer, cigarettes and sugar are things that can bring people "joy". Demand stimulates the market, and alcohol, cigarettes and sugar have become the most popular commodities on the black market.
"Yes, that's why we need to crack down on the black market. By cracking down on the black market and ensuring that the prices of goods in the black market are at a certain high level, reality will eventually force those people to give up their so-called "honor". Can the blue card... be used to make a living?"
With a sneer, Ma Rulong took out a stainless steel cigarette box from his pocket. The cigarettes in the box were the most common Peony cigarettes. In addition to costing 10 cents per box, each box of cigarettes also required 5 rationing points. This was the cigarette that required the least rationing points.
Even as a first-level detective of the Huizhou Police Department, Ma Rulong, who had access to a supplementary ration point, could only smoke this. There was nothing he could do as he had a strong addiction to smoking, and even if he had more ration points, it would not be enough.
In fact, nowadays, people don’t have the habit of sharing cigarettes with others. After all, there are limited rationing points, and you can’t buy cigarettes even if you have money, at least not at a reasonable price.
After taking out a cigarette and lighting it, Ma Rulong took a deep puff and then spoke.
"Today, the city raided three black markets and arrested more than a hundred people. The prices on the black market are expected to go up in the next few days. If your family needs anything, don't go to the black market for the time being..."
No one can do without the black market, even the police. While they are cracking down on the black market, they are also involved in the transactions. This is why more and more people are being arrested, and new laws are constantly being introduced in various places to severely punish black market traders, but the black market still cannot be stopped.
Xu Zili, who was driving the car, glanced at the captain and asked.
"Inspector, there are a lot of black market goods right now, all of which are sold by military dependents. Ration points are allocated according to household registration. Even if a soldier has already joined the army, he will still be given ration points. In addition, they also have extra ration points for military dependents, so many people will use their extra ration points to buy in-demand goods and then resell them on the black market, or even..."
Xu Zili thought for a moment and then spoke again.
"The soldiers even mail supplies back home from their bases. They don't need to use ration points to buy goods at the soldiers' welfare club. A considerable portion of these things appear on the black market. This is a benefit for the soldiers of the empire, but now some people are using it to make huge profits. We save money to supply the army, and the military spends so much effort to send supplies to the front line, and then they mail it back. This is simply a crime!"
The reason why imperial soldiers can mail supplies from the front line is that ordinary soldiers can mail 150 kilograms of supplies for free each year, and non-commissioned officers and officers can mail 200 kilograms for free. This is a benefit given to soldiers by the imperial postal department.
Because of this, the soldiers were able to mail a large amount of supplies back home, and many of them were transported to the front line with great effort. If it weren't for the limited quota of the military welfare club, Xu Zili doubted whether they would resell all the supplies.
"Indeed, not only that, they also send back cigars, alcohol and even sugar. 80% of Cuban cigars and Mexican tequila on the black market are sent back by military mail. This is an open secret."
The inspector's answer made Xu Zili speak.
"If that's the case, why don't the authorities stop it?"
"Stop it? Why should we stop it?"
The inspector's question made Xu Zili stunned, and then he said.
"Inspector, let's not talk about the fact that those things were saved by the people through thrift and frugality. Even sending them to the front line would cost money. And then they used the free postage to send them back. Isn't this a waste of national financial resources?"
"Do you think you're the only one who knows?"
Ma Rulong smiled as he looked at the young man who had followed him for two years, took a puff of his cigarette, and spoke slowly.
"How do you know that this is not a loophole left intentionally by the authorities? Perhaps... it is a loophole left intentionally."
"What? On purpose? How is this possible?!"
Looking at his partner's surprised expression, Ma Rulong said.
"How is that impossible? When the government distributed ration points based on the registered population, didn't they know that soldiers serving in the army didn't need ration points? Of course they knew, but why did they still give them ration points? In essence, it was to subsidize the military's dependents. You have to know that many military dependents live on their husbands' salaries. The profits from their purchases of in-demand goods can supplement their household expenses. The same is true for the things that soldiers send back for free by mail."
The inspector's words made Xu Zili dumbfounded. He looked at the inspector in surprise for a long time before he spoke.
"How can you do this?"
"Why can't we do this?"
Ma Rulong glanced out the window and said.
"To a certain extent, this is also a kind of welfare, just like the volunteers who distribute ration points tickets, their work itself is also a welfare..."
The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
