The banging on the door interrupted Su Wen's contemplation.
Su Wen raised his head and looked at the door with some confusion. Why would someone come to the door during dinner? Who could it be? He got up and walked over to open the door, only to find Mrs. Jia Zhang standing outside.
"Su Wen, can you lend me some food?" Jia Zhang asked Su Wen to borrow food as soon as she opened her mouth.
"No, I don't have enough food either." After Su Wen said this, he closed the door.
Mrs. Jia Zhang looked at the closed door with an ugly expression on her face. She thought that Su Wen, a young man from the countryside, would be easy to talk to, but unexpectedly she was rejected. She stood at the door unwillingly for a while, and finally left reluctantly. Now Jia Dongxu is still alive, and Jia Zhang has not yet turned black.
"Mom, what were you doing in the backyard?"
"I heard from Third Aunt that Su Wen came back with a bag of cornmeal, weighing at least 50 kilograms. I wanted to borrow some from him, but this brat didn't lend it to me."
After listening to his mother's words, Jia Dongxu frowned and said, "Mom, I have a job now. I can make money to buy food by myself. I also have a master to help me. Let's try not to trouble others."
Jia Zhang sighed and said helplessly: "I also know this truth, but now there is a shortage of food, and all we can buy is high-priced food. The money we have on hand is simply not enough. I just want to borrow some food first It’s an emergency, and I’ll return it to him when I have it later.”
Jia Dongxu frowned, was silent for a while, and said: "Mom, let me handle this kind of thing in the future. I will find a way to make more money and buy enough food. You don't need to borrow it from others anymore. , so as not to cause unnecessary trouble."
"Okay Dongxu, Mom listens to you." Jia Zhang sighed and said helplessly: "I also know this truth, but now there is a shortage of food, and all we can buy is high-priced food. The money we have on hand is basically It’s not enough. I just want to borrow some food for emergency first, and then return it to him when I have it later.”
After Jia Zhang left, two more people came to ask Su Wen to borrow food, but Su Wen refused. Suddenly three families came to him to borrow food. Su Wen guessed that someone was causing trouble. He didn't have much contact with these families, and he didn't know them well enough to come to borrow food.
Su Wen realized that someone might be spreading the news behind the scenes, causing these unfamiliar people to come to him to borrow food. He felt a little angry and helpless. He had no intention of being taken advantage of. After thinking about it, there was no good way to deal with this problem, so he stopped thinking about it.
After dinner, while Su Wen was soaking his feet, there was another knock on the door.
"come in."
The door was pushed open and Yi Zhonghai walked in. He looked around and saw that Su Wen was soaking his feet. He smiled and said, "Su Wen, I heard someone said that you came back carrying a bag of cornmeal. This Isn’t it your ration?”
"No. My ration is not that much." Su Wen shook his head and replied.
Yi Zhonghai nodded and said: "Then where did you get this food? There is a shortage of food in the market now. You have to be careful not to be reported. Take some and give it to the needy households in the yard. I will Go talk to them and make sure no one reports you.”
"Master, are you threatening me? Don't forget that the person who buys the most expensive grains in our compound is your apprentice Jia Dongxu." Su Wen was very dissatisfied when he heard Yi Zhonghai's words. Yi Zhonghai is the old man in the compound and an eighth-level fitter in the steel rolling mill. He has a certain prestige and influence, but this is not the reason for him to threaten him.
Yi Zhonghai's expression changed slightly when he heard Su Wen's words. He knew that everyone in the compound knew about his apprentice Jia Dongxu's purchase of high-priced grains, but Su Wen's direct exposure of his shortcomings still made him a little embarrassed.
"Su Wen, you misunderstood. I didn't mean to threaten you." Yi Zhonghai said in a deep voice, "Now is a difficult time. If you give some food to help needy households, everyone will be grateful to you."
"Master, I spent a lot of effort to get this food. If I give it to others easily, what will I do?" Su Wen said in a deep voice, expressing his attitude.
Yi Zhonghai took a deep look at Su Wen, nodded and said: "I understand your thoughts, but you should also understand that at this time, only unity and mutual help can get through the difficulties, and you can't be too selfish. If you only consider In the end, it will only make everyone's life more difficult."
Su Wen heard Yi Zhonghai's words and said with some dissatisfaction: "Master, I don't think I am selfish. I have worked hard to get these grains. I want to send them to my parents in my hometown in the countryside. You and I are not the same." Same, there are only two people in the family, and there are nine people in my family, big and small. I don’t have enough to eat, so how can I help others.”
Yi Zhonghai couldn't keep the smile on his face when his pain point was mentioned, "Su Wen, what are you talking about? Speculation is still so rampant. When you are caught, I will see if you will still be so rampant."
When Su Wen heard what Yi Zhonghai said, he smiled and said, "You can report it as you please." He bought these grains through formal channels and was not afraid of reporting them.
Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a moment when he heard Su Wen's answer. Apparently he didn't expect Su Wen to be so tough. He took a deep look at Su Wen, turned around and left. He was thinking about whether to report Su Wen. Finally, he decided to find another poor household in the Intermediate Court who was refused by Su Wen to borrow food. Old man Zheng went to report Su Wen. Su Wen's statement that there were only two people in the family completely irritated Yi Zhonghai.
Yi Zhonghai found Old Man Zheng and hinted that he could get some benefits by reporting to Su Wen. When Old Man Zheng heard this, he was immediately moved. He was originally dissatisfied with Su Wen. He asked Su Wen to borrow food, but Su Wen refused. Now that he had the opportunity to retaliate against Su Wen, he did not hesitate to ask Ying to go to the subdistrict office to report Su Wen's speculation.
Su Wen didn't know that he had been reported yet. He continued to soak his feet in the room and added some hot water. Little did he know that a storm was coming against him.
The door was violently pushed open, and Old Man Zheng led three people into his room. Two of them were policemen in uniform.
Su Wen looked at them and was shocked, wondering what happened. He looked at them, tried to stay calm, and asked, "What can I do for you?"
One of the police officers said seriously: "Someone reported you for speculation, and we are going to investigate you now. Please cooperate with our work."
Su Wen was stunned for a moment and then understood. He knew that this was the work of Yi Zhonghai and Old Man Zheng, and he felt angry and helpless in his heart.
Su Wen took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I bought my grain from regular channels. They are making false accusations." Su Wen took out the receipt for purchasing grain and handed it to the police for inspection. "Comrade policeman, I borrowed the food stamps from Lu Wenxiu, the head of the third purchasing section of the steel rolling mill. I bought the food stamps to provide relief to my family members in the countryside who had no food to eat. I did not speculate but made a false accusation against them."
The police listened carefully to Su Wen's explanation and carefully examined the evidence he provided. It was finally determined that what Su Wen said was true. His grain was purchased through formal channels and there was no illegal behavior. Old Man Zheng was supposed to be detained for seven days, but there were no cells for Old Man Zheng to live in. Instead, he was detained for three months cleaning the entire hospital.
