Espionage: I became sworn brothers with Zheng Yaoxian at the beginning, and became the Seventh Broth

Chapter 356 The People Driven to Desperation

After meeting with Xiao Zhengguo and Chi Tiecheng and giving them a brief explanation, Ye Shaohong left.

He walked through the dark warehouse district and soon arrived at the main gate.

Riverbank edge.

Several workers on night watch were still chatting idly.

They seemed completely unconcerned about the absence of one person; they continued smoking and boasting as usual.

A look of good times.

As he approached, Ye Shaohong deliberately slowed his pace and listened intently to their conversation. It wasn't what he had imagined.

These people did not discuss matters of national importance, nor did they comment on the war in the north.

They're talking about a wife, kids, and a warm bed.

And then there are the ever-rising prices.

Hearing them cursing the factory owner and the dock manager, Ye Shaohong was slightly taken aback.

He then laughed.

Yes.

Is this what life is like? Is this the real world?

Being passionately patriotic is a matter of course.

But most ordinary people, busy all their lives, spend most of their time thinking about basic necessities like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea.

He considered his wife, children, and warm home, and he also considered his aging parents.

But can you say they are not patriotic? No.

They have their own difficulties too.

They were indeed willing to abandon their families and homes to fight and resist the invaders for the sake of the nation and its people. But they were the only able-bodied men in their families, the source of their livelihood.

They left, they went to the front lines. What will happen to their wives, children, and elderly parents back home?

To take care of their families, they could only keep these feelings deep in their hearts.

Fortunately.

Fortunately, in this country, besides ordinary people struggling with life, there is also a group of fearless people who carry firewood and ignite flames for everyone.

They went to the front lines without hesitation.

We will risk our lives to protect every inch of our land.

Ye Shaohong was one of them.

What he is protecting now, besides the beautiful landscape of this motherland, also includes these few ordinary people in front of him, who are arguing and gossiping.

Listen to them talk about everyday matters, about mischievous children, and about wives returning home from guarding the gate.

For some reason, Ye Shaohong felt unusually calm.

Without realizing it, the corners of his mouth curled up.

He revealed a bright smile.

immediately.

Ye Shaohong then stepped forward and walked past these people.

They stepped back into darkness.

A few minutes later, Ye Shaohong saw the rickshaw driver waiting outside. Seeing the anxious and worried look on his face, Ye Shaohong smiled.

"Let's go."

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting and to have delayed your business. Don't worry, I will pay you double the fare." Upon hearing Ye Shaohong's words, the rickshaw driver, who had been waiting impatiently and was angry but unable to vent his anger, immediately smiled.

"Young master, you are very generous. I thank you for your reward."

"Sit down."

"Let's go now, and I promise to get you home comfortably in the shortest possible time."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the rickshaw driver grabbed the handlebars, took long strides, and started running quickly.

Ye Shaohong sat in the car, chatting idly with the rickshaw driver.

That's when I realized that the rickshaw driver wasn't a local.

Instead, it comes from Bingcheng, Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China.

My hometown is near the bungalow area.

He was forced to travel thousands of miles from Northeast China to Shanghai. He had no other choice but to leave his hometown and come to this unfamiliar city.

The rickshaw driver didn't say who forced him to do it.

Ye Shaohong didn't ask.

However, one can roughly guess by thinking about it.

Aside from those Japanese devils who deserve to be torn to pieces, they were either traitors who defected to the enemy or local bullies.

In this era, it's incredibly difficult for ordinary people to live a decent life.

Then Ye Shaohong remembered something.

This is a piece of information that was later regarded as a rumor circulating online.

He asked the rickshaw driver, "In Northeast China, in the Japanese-occupied areas, do ordinary people really not have access to rice?"

Even rice grown by oneself cannot be eaten?

Upon hearing Ye Shaohong's question, the rickshaw driver paused slightly, then couldn't help but burst into a tirade of curses. "Of course not."

"The Japanese... oh, no... I mean the Japanese, they said rice is military-controlled material."

"We can only sell to them at a low price."

"Ordinary people, even if they grow their own rice, cannot eat it."

“I once saw a pregnant woman who was suffering from severe nausea during her pregnancy. Her husband felt sorry for her, so he secretly went to the black market and bought some rice.”

"I want to cook some rice porridge for his wife."

"It's just a little rice porridge."

"In the end, they were reported by that damned traitor, and the Japanese immediately sent troops to the young couple's house."

“Those Japanese devils… ptooey, they were Japanese. They stabbed the man to death with their bayonets and then ripped open the woman’s belly with their bayonets.” “After killing them, those Japanese were still laughing triumphantly on the side.”

"They're not human."

"We ordinary people work hard in the sweltering summer to grow rice, sweating profusely every time we grow rice."

"But they want us to sell all of our food to them at a low price as military rations, while we can't eat any ourselves."

"The man in that family was just feeling sorry for his wife and wanted to cook her some porridge. It was just a little porridge, but the Japanese killed him and even ripped the woman's belly off."

"They are all beasts, beasts!"

When these things were brought up, the rickshaw driver finally couldn't hold back and started cursing.

After cursing a couple of times, he realized what was happening.

This isn't Northeast China.

This isn't his hometown. This is Shanghai.

It was a Shanghai with Japanese concessions and Japanese people.

If Ye Shaohong were to relay what he just said to the Japanese, his good days would be over.

He traveled thousands of miles to this unfamiliar city, hoping to find a way to survive, but his family members, who were struggling to make ends meet, were also doomed.

So he was afraid.

His running pace began to slow.

After a brief silence, the rickshaw driver suddenly stopped, turned around, and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Grandpa, grandpa, I was wrong."

"I was wrong."

"I shouldn't have said those things. Please, please, please don't tell anyone." "Please, I'm begging you."

"woo woo woo woo……."

As he spoke, this burly man in his thirties, a grown man, started crying while kowtowing to Ye Shaohong.

He cried very sadly.

That bewildered and helpless look caught Ye Shaohong's eye, causing him to be deeply shaken.

"Big brother, big brother."

"What are you doing? Get up quickly, I can't stand you like this."

"Don't be afraid, I won't tell anyone."

"I am also Chinese."

"I have a very low opinion of Japanese people."

"I promise you, I won't tell anyone."

"Hey, why are you still crying?" "A grown man, a tall and strong man, how can he cry?"

"Believe me, Chinese people don't lie to other Chinese people. You can't force me to swear an oath!"