As summer deepens and the weather gets hotter, under the bright and dazzling sunshine, a group of workers line up in front of the store, preparing to buy necessary supplies for daily life.
Everyone received the 5 ruble coupons funded by the government and distributed by the Wisdom Cult. People who received the subsidies took to the streets one after another and started shopping. But what no one expected was...
"1 ruble? You want 1 ruble for 1 pound of black bread?!"
People inside the bakery exclaimed: "Why don't you go and grab it?!"
"The price of wheat flour has gone up, and there's nothing I can do about it." The boss was also a little annoyed: "Do you want to buy it or not? This is the price now!"
“Only a fool would buy bread worth 1 ruble!”
The man spat and walked out of the bakery angrily. He thought carefully under the scorching sun and decided not to buy bread but to buy some potatoes.
1 pound of small potatoes only costs 10 kopecks, and 5 rubles can buy 50 pounds of potatoes, enough to feed their family for many days...
Although my son's desire to eat buttered bread was not satisfied, it would be nice to have potatoes to eat. Nowadays, jobs are hard to find and wages are low. Not going hungry is already the biggest luxury. How can I dare to ask for too much?
The man came to the potato stall, picked out a few relatively fresh potatoes, and handed them to the boss: "How much do they cost?"
"Exactly one pound, thirty kopecks."
"....How much?" The man felt that he had heard wrongly.
"30 kopecks," the stall owner repeated.
The man looked at the low-quality potatoes about the size of his thumb on the stall and felt his breath was stuck in his throat. He couldn't get up or get down: "The price of potatoes has also increased?!"
"I also want to eat, not do charity." The stall owner said angrily: "Now the price of everything is increasing, one price a day. Tomorrow the price of potatoes will rise to 40 kopecks. If you want to buy it, do it now."
The man clutched the 5 ruble coupon tightly, his hands and feet were cold even though he was under the scorching sun.
He didn't know the consequences of the government's subsidies. He only knew that prices had increased. In just two days, prices tripled...
This means that with his daily salary of 6 kopecks, he cannot even afford potatoes.
The 5 rubles in my hand were not as valuable as I imagined.
And the consequences of soaring prices...
The man thought for a while, shuddered, and his face became much pale.
He finally bought potatoes, which were already the cheapest and filling food in Saratov. He spent 5 rubles and only bought less than 17 pounds of potatoes.
The man left with the sack. Panic spread in the city. People were afraid that the price would be higher tomorrow, so they began to rush to buy. In the blink of an eye, all the potatoes brought by the stall owner were wiped out.
"Sold out! Sold out! Sold out today!"
The stall owner pushed the empty cart and walked slowly out of the city, leaving a long line of people staring.
"Go to the store quickly!"
I don't know who shouted, and the crowd started to get confused, like a collapsed snow mountain, rushing towards the store not far away, where there were also potatoes and corn... Although the price was more expensive, it was undoubtedly the best at the moment. chosen.
Fighting, swearing, pushing...
Everyone's face was full of fear and worry, and the 5 ruble coupons in their hands felt so hot. Some "smart" shop owners, seeing everyone so crazy, immediately raised their prices and kept refreshing the prices of their products.
When the store was cleared out, the crowd rushed to the next store, leaving only a seven or eight-year-old girl sitting on the ground and crying. Her money was stolen and her feet were stepped on. , mud mixed with tears flowed down, but no one paid attention to it.
Goncharov, who was watching not far away, saw this scene, stepped forward to help the little girl, took out a handkerchief to wipe the dust from her face, and asked: "How much money was stolen from you?"
"3...3 rubles..." The little girl kept crying.
"I just picked up 3 rubles on the ground. You should have dropped it accidentally." Goncharov took out three 1-ruble coupons and stuffed them into the little girl's hands, and said softly: "Go home quickly and put the money." For the adults in the family.”
"Thank you...thank you uncle!"
The little girl stopped sobbing, sniffed, turned and ran towards the end of the street.
After watching her back disappear, Goncharov withdrew his gaze, his chest heaving and his mood extremely uneasy.
Chaos has occurred.
Saratov is just one of many cities in chaos....
As the priest in charge of the Saratov region, he is extremely pessimistic about the current situation and at the same time extremely angry.
Before joining the Church of Truth, Goncharov was also a child from a poor family. He knew what it was like to be hungry, and he knew what kind of evil thoughts would come from smelling the aroma wafting from the bakery when you are hungry...
He is not hungry now and can observe this society and this country calmly, but no matter how he looks at it, he cannot give a high score.
This country is sick, very sick.
In the afternoon, the workers stopped working. They put down their tools one after another, walked out of the factory, and returned home.
The salary paid by the factory is no longer able to maintain their minimum quality of life. A hard day's work consumes more energy than the reward. Who will continue to work?
Goods are piled on the docks and are no longer functioning. Factories are closed and no longer produce any products. Even schools are on holiday because there are no students and parents are no longer willing to pay tuition fees.
People began to march in protest on the streets, and people continued to join the ranks. The busiest ones were probably the police, who rushed onto the streets with batons in hand and began to 'maintain' law and order.
Veronica hid at home and saw the demonstrators on the street through the gap in the curtains. She held her husband's arm tightly and said with a trembling voice: "Don't go out...Wison, don't do it again." Go out to work, the potatoes you bought a few days ago will last for a long time..."
"Father Marvey is right." Wyson murmured after seeing the chaos on the street.
"What? Father Mavey? Father Mavey of the Church of Truth?" Veronica turned her head and angrily hit her husband on the shoulder: "Have you joined the Church of Truth?!"
"Yes."
"Wyson!
! Veronica yelled: "The secret police have been arresting believers of the Church of Truth. You know this and you dare to join them?" ! "
"Because Father Goncharov is right." Wyson looked into his wife's eyes and said calmly: "Someone must stand up for some things."
"But why does that person have to be you?! I don't want you to be captured by the secret police! Let's just live our lives!"
"Look, open your eyes and take a look, Veronica... Where is there life now?" Wyson sighed melancholy: "If Father Mavey hadn't asked us to stock up on food in advance, we wouldn't have much at this moment. Food, he was right.”
"so what?!"
"If he is right, we should support him." Wyson spoke seriously and rebutted his wife: "If we don't even dare to support the right things, how can we ensure our own safety? Today I joined them, and they With more power, we have a better chance of winning. If I choose to sit on the sidelines today, who will be willing to help us in the future?"
"Knowing that something is right, but being timid and afraid to express your inner thoughts is cowardice, not wisdom."
"Even if you can survive doing this, living like that...what's the difference between living like a walking dead?"
Wyson hugged his wife and patted her back gently: "Veronica...Veronica...I don't want our children to endure the oppression of these exploiters like me."
"Huaison..." Veronica raised her head and showed a very forced smile: "Although I don't want you to join them, you... really impressed me today."
"You agreed?"
"If I don't agree, won't you go?"
"No, I must go."
"Aren't you afraid of failure?"
"Afraid, but we will succeed."
"Why?" Veronica didn't understand where her husband's confidence came from.
"because...."
Wyson put on his gray nylon soft hat, held the door handle, and said in a deep voice:
"There are many people like me."
