There are more than 600 people in Majia Village. They have made a living by farming for generations and depend on the weather for their food. They are all honest farmers.
Most people have the surname Ma, and every family has some relatives.
Ma Sihai, the patriarch of Majia Village, is in his 40s. He attended a new-style school in the provincial capital in his early years and is one of the few people in the village who has seen some of the world.
He is a squire in Majia Village, and his family owns more than half of the land in Majia Village.
Most of the villagers in Majia Village make a living by renting their own land. Ma Sihai is quite open-minded and sets the rent at 60%, which is almost the lowest standard in this era.
The common rule is to charge 80%, and 60% is considered as a way for the tenants to survive.
As long as there is no famine, the tenants in Majia Village can barely survive after paying their rent.
The prerequisite for survival is not to encounter a military disaster like this!
5,000 kilograms of grain and 1,000 yuan in the ocean are no longer what these Kuhaha people can afford.
Village Chief Ma could only bite the bullet and go to Ma Sihai to discuss it.
He is the leader of the clan, and he always has to come up with some regulations. These ruffians can do what they say.
When Ma Sihai received the list handed over by Village Chief Ma, he also frowned...
In these years, there were constant wars, exorbitant levies and miscellaneous taxes, and various apportionments. Landlords like him did not have much surplus money.
"Village Chief Ma, doesn't this need to be discussed?"
Ma Sihai asked with his last hope.
Village Chief Ma opened his mouth and pointed to his teeth that had just been knocked out:
The gums were still covered with bloodshot eyes, that slap was so hard!
"Fourth brother, these damn people have said that if they come here at noon tomorrow, if there is a grain of food missing, they will search from house to house!"
Ma Sihai fell silent upon hearing this. He knew these ruffians too well.
"Village Chief Ma, you don't dare to let them into the house. Who doesn't have a daughter-in-law? Those soldiers and gangsters...
Do you think this is feasible?
I'll pay for the bulk, 800 for 1,000 yuan, and 3,000 kilograms of grain. For the rest, you can ask the folks to help. I don't have any extra. "
After Ma Sihai finished speaking, he sighed deeply. The landlord's family had no food left.
"Fourth brother, I also know your difficulties. Every time we are assigned, you take the lead.
There is only so much potential in the land, and no matter how thick the family fortune is, it will be wiped out!
I spent the rest of the night looking for a solution with the folks, and I had to get it together for these damned people! "
Village Chief Ma naturally knew that Ma Sihai had tried his best, so he should deal with it first.
After leaving Ma Sihai's house, Village Chief Ma went to the houses of two other small landowners and collected more than 100 cash and a small amount of grain. Each family had to squeeze the rest through their teeth.
"Damn these guys, I can't see how effective they are in fighting the Japanese. They are causing harm to the common people, but each one is more ruthless than the last!"
"That's right, these ruffians are more ruthless than the bandit Hu Shuangqiang. Hu Shuangqiang at least gives us poor people some way to survive every year."
"We have given them food, how will they survive this winter, for God's sake! Just open your eyes."
"well……"
"I heard that a group of Eighth Route Army troops came to Xiaowangzhuang recently, and they are specifically trying to deal with these scoundrels!
How about we go find the Eighth Route Army and come over and make the decision for us? "
"What good thing are you thinking about, Ergouzi? Now this army and every army are the same, they all want to eat our people!
Don't let a bad wolf go out the front door, and then a tiger comes in behind. That would be a real no-brainer! "
…
The people in Majia Village are all honest farmers. They say and criticize, but they still have to provide the food that should be provided.
This family's three buckets and that's five liters of Minato were all dug out from between the teeth.
In these days, a liter of grain is a life!
At noon the next day, the defeated captain brought his dozens of stragglers and came as scheduled to transport away the grain and silver coins collected by Majia Village, using a full 6 carts.
With this batch of grain and silver coins, they can feel at ease this winter and not worry about eating and drinking!
The people in Majia Village have to go through this long winter hungry, and many people may not even be able to survive it.
Riding on a tall horse, Yang Wenhao, the former captain of the Shanxi-Sui Army, was in a very good mood:
Majiacun still collected the food and wages he needed. It seemed that these people still had to be ruthless to force them out.
He doesn't want to kill the people, and he also wants to fight against Japan, but he has to get through this winter first.
If you don’t rob the common people, who will you rob?
The troops had all been dispersed by the Japanese, but his company was pretty good, at least it had gathered dozens of people;
After gathering some broken troops piecemeal, his company now numbered seventy to eighty people.
He has people with guns, and now he has money and food, so he doesn't have to worry about being able to raise a team.
If the Japanese can fight, they will fight. If they cannot fight, they will go up the mountain. At worst, they will occupy the mountain and become the king!
In this place in southeastern Shanxi, anyone with a gun can live a comfortable life.
"Brothers, let's go back to the camp tonight and have a lot of fun. I'll treat you to a drink!"
Yang Wenhao's words instantly excited these stragglers. The days of wine and meat were much more comfortable than those in the regular army.
"Company Commander, my brothers are living like gods after following you! If only I could find a girl!"
A flatterer flattered him just right, which made Yang Wenhao very proud.
"What are you thinking about, you little bastard?
I want to sleep with my mother-in-law before my hair even grows. Do you want me to teach you? "
"Ha ha ha ha……"
With money and food in hand, the defeated troops became more energetic and vile, and all kinds of nasty words spewed out like shit.
"Life and death are one thing, and troubled times are like weeds!"
When Yang Wenhao was in a good mood, he started humming the Peking Opera "Dingjun Mountain"
It can be seen that he was also a fan before.
"Okay, one more!"
Everyone booed one after another. When Yang Wenhao heard that his brothers were cheering for him, he felt even more proud and continued to sing:
"The head is full of drums, and the war rice is made
Two drums, tight shirt
Three-way drum, knife out of its sheath
Four drums, hand over the troops..."
"Thousands of miles of majestic pass, peaks filled with fire and smoke"
…
"Snapped!"
a gunshot
Yang Wenhao's life stopped at Qudingjun Mountain!
He was hit directly by a bullet in the face and was damaged beyond recognition.
The 7.92mm pointed bullet is still brutal!
Chu Xiong rarely kills his fellow countrymen, but these soldiers are incapable of fighting the Japanese and are causing harm to the common people, each one more powerful than the other.
This is already the third group of stragglers that the Seventh Company has ambushed during this period. They usually kill the officers and leave behind broken troops.
As long as these defeated soldiers are not too bad, he will keep them and give them a chance to atone for their sins!
When the stragglers saw that their company commander's head had been shot, they were so frightened that they ran away with their heads in their hands.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Chu Xiong took out his cannon and fired three shots into the sky. He first shocked the Japanese in the chaos, and then shouted loudly:
"Don't fucking mess around, we are the Eighth Route Army, we will not kill you if we turn our guns over!"
As soon as the stragglers heard the command "Hand down their guns and don't kill", they immediately raised their hands and surrendered as if they were hearing the sound of nature.
The soldiers of the Seventh Company captured dozens of defeated soldiers without any bloodshed.
These defeated soldiers had almost zero fighting will. When they heard the gunshot, they either greased their feet or raised their hands to surrender.
They are all a bunch of veterans!
But these veterans, if transformed, would be very useful. At least they had fought against the Japanese.
Two hours later, Majia Village
When he heard Ma Dahu, who was in charge of the lookout at the entrance of the village, shouting that he was crossing the troops again, Village Chief Ma almost fainted on the spot.
"We just sent off a group of troops, and another army came!
Are you going to let the people live? "
Village Chief Ma complained in his heart. As the village chief, he still wanted to take a look.
Don't hit the smiling person with your hand!
Now that these soldiers are here, even if they have no money or food, they will always have a smile on their face.
Village Chief Ma showed off his two missing front teeth when he smiled:
"Welcome to our village, bosses. I am the village chief, Ma Qijin. What is this?"
Village Chief Ma is a little confused——
This group of soldiers actually came with the food they had taken from the village at noon!
He knew the carts carrying grain, and one of them belonged to his family.
"Hello, Village Chief Ma, we are the Eighth Route Army!
You don’t have to be afraid, we are a team of ordinary people, dedicated to fighting the Japanese! "
Village Chief Ma didn't know how to answer Yang Wei's words.
Today's soldiers are said to be fighting the devils, but they are no better than the devils when they rob the common people!
Chu Xiong next to him understood it at a glance...
Many people today have never seen the Eighth Route Army, or even heard of it.
"Who knows what kind of gods you are!"
Trust takes not only time, but also seeing something real!
You have red lips and white teeth, why should the people believe you?
Yang Weiwei also wanted to introduce what the Eighth Route Army did, but Chu Xiong stopped him.
"Old Yang, I'll do it!"
After Chu Xiong finished speaking, he turned to Village Chief Ma and said straight to the point:
“Fellow fellow, we are here to return your grain and silver coins!
The group of soldiers who robbed your food have been taken care of by our Eighth Route Army. Come over and count the food and silver coins! "
Ma Qijin couldn't believe his ears and looked at Chu Xiong in confusion.
"In this day and age, there are still soldiers who don't grab food, but instead give food to the people?"
