For several months, the United Merchant House was methodically stockpiling goods, and in order to prevent the price of grain from skyrocketing after the war, in addition to stockpiling cloth, they also hoarded some rice, flour, grain and oil. In the winter, the inventory was almost saturated, and there was only enough money to maintain the turnover. Lin Hongwen leaned on the door and lit a cigarette worriedly, and after striking several matches, he didn't light them, so he simply didn't light them and just took them in his mouth. Not far away in the snow there was a small flock of sparrows, one by one who didn't know where to eat, round and rumbling, bouncing on the ground. Lin Hongwen looked at them enviously, and said in his heart that if this continues, I will not be as good as you.

Xu Qingzhi opened the door, "Why didn't the cigarette light up?" ”

"The wind was so strong that several matches were extinguished," Mr. Lin said.

"Then come in", Xu Qingzhi stretched out his hand and dragged him in, "Let you smoke in the house, you have to go out." ”

"Aren't you coughing", Lin Hongwen entered the house and closed the door with his hand, "I'll just hold it for a while." ”

Since the beginning of winter, Xu Qingzhi has been very anxious every day, and when he went to the warehouse to order the goods a few days ago, he was a little frozen, coughed for several days, and took medicine every day.

Lin Hongwen leaned on the table with a cigarette in his mouth, and listened to Xu Qingzhi, "I heard Vincent say two days ago that the Railway Bureau has set up a management committee (1), which is said to be elected, and even the candidates with candidates are Russians, so what else do you choose?" ”

"That means that the committee will have the final say in the future", Lin Hongwen asked with his face on the table.

"That's what it means," Xu Qingzhi said, "to put on a legal cloak for illegal things." ”

"It's just about being a. Do you want to set up a chaste archway? ”

"You've read a book anyway, can you not talk like that...... cough, cough, cough", Xu Qingzhi said two words and coughed again.

"Okay, okay, put on a legal coat, put on a legal coat", Lin Hongwen walked over and patted him lightly on the back, "It's all up to you, don't worry." ”

Xu Qingzhi waved his hand, "I'm fine." ”

"You drink some hot water first, I'll go to the back to decoct the medicine", Lin Hongwen said and went to the small kitchen in the back, and stayed in the hospital for several years, although he didn't have the ability to treat diseases, but the ability to decoct the medicine was still not bad.

Lin Hongwen looked at the fire, thinking that there would be many years left in a month, and no matter how tight the money was, he would have to squeeze out some red envelopes to give everyone out, otherwise he would have no motivation next year. Lin Hongwen leaned against the corner of the wall, staring at the flames under the medicine jar.

The smell of Chinese medicine came out, Xu Qingzhi went to the back kitchen with an idle book, Lin Hongwen heard the movement and came back to his senses, "What are you doing here, I'll just watch it alone." ”

Xu Qingzhi held a cigarette in his hand, lit it with the fire of the decoction, and just took a puff and asked Lin Hongwen to snatch it over, "Still coughing, what kind of cigarette?" ”

Xu Qingzhi leaned against the wall next to him, watching him put the cigarette in his mouth and muttering, "Don't waste it." ”

"Hongwen", Xu Qingzhi almost sighed and called his name.

"Huh?"

"Don't bother", Xu Qingzhi said slowly, "The current situation is still maintained, if it can't be maintained, I can still write to Chen Yuexuan." ”

Lin Hongwen stretched out his arm and put it on Xu Qingzhi's right shoulder, and leaned his head over heavily, "Am I wrong?" ”

"Risk and benefit are tied together," Xu Qingzhi said in a hoarse voice.

Lin Hongwen listened a little heartwarmingly, "Shouldn't I take you to take this risk?" ”

"You mentioned yì, Zhou Shiying and I agreed, and He Mu didn't object", Xu Qingzhi smiled slightly, "How can you say that you dragged us on an adventure?" So, you don't have to be upset, you don't have to blame yourself, and we do. ”

Xu Qingzhi's hoarse voice reminded Lin Hongwen of Lin Hongming, every time Lin Hongming was beaten up by Lin Xingshen, seeing that he was crying pitifully, he comforted him in turn, hugged his shoulders and said in a hoarse voice, "Don't be afraid, I'm fine, it doesn't hurt." ”

Lin Hongwen looked at the constantly beating flames, and felt that they were a little too bright, stinging his eyes painfully, so he closed his eyes, and a tear silently dripped on the back of his hand, and finally evaporated.

70.

Xu Qingzhi's cough got better after more than ten days, and the four of them scraped together some money and prepared to give red envelopes to the guys. Just when they were worried about what to do after the New Year, Japan and Russia went to war.

On February 5, 1904, the Japanese government decided to sever diplomatic relations with Russia. On 6 February, Japanese Minister to Russia Kurino informed the Russian Government of the Japanese Government's ultimatum to sever diplomatic relations. He withdrew from St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, on February 8.

On February 8, the Japanese envoy to Russia withdrew from St. Petersburg (2), and on the same day, the Japanese consul in Lushun evacuated the overseas Chinese.

At midnight on 8 February, Japan attacked Port Arthur and launched 16 torpedoes at close range without declaring war, severely damaging the three main warships of the Russian Navy, the "Retvizan", the "Prince", and the "Parada", and the prelude to the Russo-Japanese War officially began.

On February 10, martial law was declared on the Eastern Railway, which was completely in the service of transporting Russian troops.

On 12 February, the Qing government shamelessly declared "external neutrality," designated the area east of the Liao River as a "war zone" between the Japanese and Russian armies, and strictly ordered the local military and political chiefs to "take strict precautions" against the masses of the people and "effectively suppress them."

After all, the Spring Festival of that year did not stop, and Lin Hongwen didn't know what expression he should make. On the one hand, the war between Japan and Russia broke out, the railways and waterways were impassable, and most of the merchants were like ants on a hot pot, but the warehouses of the United Trading House were full, and he should be happy if he hoarded the right goods. But on the other hand, watching two hooligans fighting in front of their own house, scorched all over the ground, and the lives of people were ruined, no one could be happy.

After the war between Japan and Russia, many anti-Russian organizations also appeared in various parts of Northeast China, some of which were around Harbin, and Lin Hongwen had also heard of them. Zhou Shiying said why don't we know some such people, so that we can pay them some money or something. Lin Hongwen said that you yourself have to be poor as pants and pay for others?

Every day, there were wounded who were retired from the front, and most of them were sent to the railway hospital in Qinjiagang. Lin Hongwen has seen some on the streets of China, they are all young, or wrapped in gauze, or on crutches, the expression on their faces is either dazed or painful, but Lin Hongwen's heart is not full of sympathy, he thinks of Hailan Pao, thinks of Hulan City, and then thinks of Liaodong at this time, I heard that the Russian army is like a locust plague everywhere it goes, not only is there no food in the field, but even the property of the people's families is not spared, and the slightest resistance is a dead end.

Several Japanese trading houses have not opened their doors since the war, but Lin Hongwen feels that those Japanese have not withdrawn. Because occasionally at night, some bright light would come out of the crack in the door, Lin Hongwen thought that the rice, flour, grain and oil they had hoarded before should be for now.

In the spring, the Russians executed several Japanese by the river, supposedly sent by the Japanese to blow up the bridge. Lin Hongwen stood in the crowd and looked at the Russians and the Japanese, listening to the gunshots and the sighs around him, he had a feeling that he didn't know where he was.

After the Russo-Japanese war, Harbin became the rear of the Russian army to supply and heal the wounded. All the factories are working overtime, the Russian flour mills along the river are already working around the clock, and all the food and clothing are supplied to the military and transported to the front line through the Guò Eastern Railway.

Before the summer, many shops in Fujiadian that did not stock up and had no other outlets had already closed down. After more than half a year of hoarding, the United Commercial Bank only showed its head at this time. They don't have to take the initiative to raise the price, because the market price is the same every day, and they don't need to push it at all. Xu Qingzhi said that the tree is a big move, don't be too hateful, otherwise it will be easy to not be able to do business after the battle. As a result, the price of the goods of the United Firm was 10% lower than the market price, but even so, the profit was already very considerable.

"After a year, I finally got out," Lin Hongwen said with a smile.

"Yes, I'm not used to having such a generous hand," Zhou Shiying echoed with a crackling calculation, "I didn't even want to buy new clothes during the Chinese New Year." ”

"You are not willing to buy it for yourself", He Mu quipped while picking peanuts, "Sister Hong, you are not left behind." ”

"It doesn't matter if I buy new clothes or not, a few people will pay attention to whether the one I wear now is worn last year or not", Zhou Shiying crossed Erlang's legs, "Women are different, women must be bought." I can wear the old one, she can't. ”

"Ming'er wrote your sentence in big characters and pasted it on the banner of the blind man who told fortunes at the corner of the street," Lin Hongwen said, "Guarantee that customers will come like clouds." ”

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(1) On December 6, 1903, the China Eastern Railway Administration issued Order No. 164, illegally elected in Kazakhstan, and established a disguised self-government organ, the "Urban Public Utilities Management Committee"

(2) In 1712, Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg, and in 1924 it was renamed Leningrad in honor of Lenin, and in 1991 it was restored to St. Petersburg.