There are many mountainous areas and many rivers in Hunan. The mountains and rivers are beautiful, and the scenery is naturally very good in the eyes of the literati. The name of Xiangyindu Town comes from the fact that there is a government-run ferry here, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the scenery is even better. Zhou Jincai has no feeling for the scenery, the mountainous areas are inaccessible, and if those beautiful peaks can be turned into flat land, Zhou Jin will feel better.

After a long journey to Xiangyin Town, the troops naturally did not look at the scenery. This is a government-run ferry port, and the trade is naturally quite active, and the population is relatively large. It's also easy to start buying and selling.

From a distance, I saw the camp in front of the town, the wood was quite new, and it seemed that it had only been completed recently. After seven or eight years of war, more and more military installations were set up for the purpose of war in various places. Zhou Jincai also heard that the last time Governor Wei Zedu passed through Chenzhou to Yongxing, there were no checkpoints and camps on the road, and there was not even a Qing army. The Qing army of five or six thousand was a very large force. Now it is common for a force of five or six thousand men to appear in various places, and the Guangfu Army, the Taiping Army, the Hunan Army, and the Qing Army, all of which are expanding their troops, and even such a ferry has its own defense system.

The battalion had four guns in it, and this wooden defense system did not do much at all, and a few guns were blown away. Zhou Jinguo ordered a soldier from Chenzhou to negotiate with the town. The two men went to shout without weapons, and exchanged words in the local dialect for a while. Two people came out on the other side, and it seemed that they were also messengers.

After being brought to Zhou Jincai, the envoy said with a smiling face: "These masters, we haven't offended you before, and we don't want to offend you now, the town will send some money and food, and ask the old men to return to the army." ”

Zhou Jincai said with a smile: "This is definitely not good, our task this time is not to come to the town to collect any money and food." It's about doing some business in the town, and if you don't agree, then needless to say, we'll have to do it. ”

The two people who came out looked at each other, and they were going to be scared to death when they heard this. As the saying goes, if a family of soldiers and bandits enters the town to do business with this group of troops in strange clothes, the town will be doomed.

"Master, do you think we give us less money?" The voices of those who spoke were trembling.

"Bring the stuff." Zhou Jincai ordered. Soon, two rack carts full of goods were pulled to the front. The rope on the upper pocket was opened, and there was a paper bag of salt, a sickle of white iron, an iron plow, and a needle and thread.

Zhou Jincai took out a paper bag, tore it open, and then pulled it out from the middle and held it with a small paper stick in his mouth. He took out another small box, took out a small wooden stick from it, and rubbed it vigorously on the edge of the box. With a snort, a puff of smoke rose from the head of the small wooden stick, and then it actually burned. put the lit wooden stick to the front of the small paper stick in his mouth, Zhou Jin only took two bites, and the head of the small paper stick burned. Soon, the two men who came out of the town smelled the aroma of burning tobacco.

After taking a puff of cigarette, Zhou Jincai gave each of them a cigarette and helped them light it. The two people in the town had been frightened by the goods on the cart, and after seeing Zhou Jincai's behavior, their eyes, which were originally full of consternation, had some envy for such a style at this time.

Paper cigarettes are completely different from dry tobacco, and after a few puffs, both of them feel that the taste is lighter than dry tobacco, but it is much more mellow. And when smoking, it doesn't have to be as laborious as dry tobacco, and it feels very enjoyable to smoke.

Zhou Jincai said with a smile: "Two, we are here to do business, not to rob, you don't have to be afraid." It's just that we have an order from above, and this business must be done. If you don't let us do business, then needless to say, we can only bully the store and force ourselves to do these businesses. ”

The two of them originally smoked, and they were feeling fluttering, and they were happy to enjoy it, but after hearing this, their hands shook, and the cigarette almost fell off. One of them said, "This lord, I'll wait ......."

The other looked much more clever, and he asked, "Master, I don't know how much you ask for these things." ”

After spitting out a cigarette first, Zhou Jincai frowned slightly and said, "We are not forced to buy and sell, that is a bandit!" We're just going to send people to deal with you. I'll tell you the price, fifteen pounds of salt and one sickle......"

Just hearing a pound of salt and fifteen wen, the faces of the two people on the opposite side changed instantly, before the war, a catty of salt here was in fifteen to twenty wen, and now it is sixty-five wen. Unlike what they thought the Liberation Army would ask for, the price of salt was too cheap. It's hard to believe it's cheap. Other goods are similarly cheap, one could even say ridiculously cheap. The two of them were even more frightened in their hearts, and if they sent benefits to the door, their eyes would definitely be even more sinister.

Finally, the two of them trembled and said that they would go back and tell the people in the town. Zhou Jincai said: "Before you go back, bring a word, the watchtower in front of the town, you let the people above come down, and don't let people go next to you." Because you will not dare to come out again after you go back, we will only wait for two hours. At that time, you still refused to make a deal with us, so we blew up the watchtower with cannons. Let the people in the town know if we can get in by force. Don't toast, don't eat, eat and drink. I'll lend you my pocket watch, and let you know how long I'm talking about two hours. ”

He gave the pocket watch to the two men, and drew on paper what time it was and where the watch hand was. Where will the hand go in two hours? Zhou Jincai asked the political commissar to take out another pocket watch and let the two of them look at the same time. Then he said, "Don't think that if you turn the hand, we will be coaxed by you." Go ahead. ”

The final development of the matter was similar to what Zhou Jincai thought, and two hours later, the Guangfu Army dragged the cannon up, and the two guns blew up the empty watchtower. The people of the town came out again to negotiate. In the end, everyone reached a deal, and it must be at the entrance of the town, and the Liberation Army is not allowed to enter. And in order to appease their hearts, Zhou Jincai even sent female soldiers to sell goods.

Eight female soldiers pulled two rack cars to the town, and Zhou Jincai couldn't help but praise: "This new wheel is really good, I never imagined that the car is loaded with hundreds of pounds of things, and two female comrades can pull it." ”

The political commissar also laughed, "The governor said that productivity promotes social progress, which is really not a joke." In the past, I wouldn't have believed that after costing these good things, these good things can be so cheap. Even if our things are sold so cheaply, they can still make money. ”

Zhou Jincai also praised: "Political commissar, that's called 'economic warfare', right? That is to say, the people of Hunan buy our things, and if the Hunan army wants to make money like before, it can only rob the people directly. ”

Since the establishment of the party committee system, many things have become extremely simple as soon as the party committee meeting is held. The common people benefited from the trade with the Liberation Army, and the Liberation Army did not lose money when they sold their things. Not only is everyone not condemned in conscience, but they also feel that they are on the side of justice. As for the Hunan army, it's better for them to die. The Liberation Army can not sympathize with the Hunan Army.

This is not only thought by comrades like Zhou Jincai who can directly participate in the party committee, but also by comrades who actually carry out the work after the political commissar has explained the political significance of the work. Second Lieutenant Zheng Yufeng of the Logistics Department brought seven other female soldiers to transport the goods together, and she and the soldiers also thought so.

Seeing that it was really a few women who came with the goods, the people in the town were much bolder. After a middleman in a long shirt came over, he carefully looked at the salt, and determined the price, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he asked for two hundred catties.

"Yo! Is your family a salt shop? Zheng Yufeng said with a smile.

"It's not." The man in the robe replied.

Zheng Yufeng's voice was crisp, and she said in a somewhat teasing tone: "We came to sell things, naturally we want everyone in the town to know that our Guangfu Army is not a bandit, let alone a bandit." This salt is cheap, of course we know it. Buy a few hundred catties here, take it out and sell it, and you can double the money. Do you really not know that the salt here now sells for 60 wen a pound? So I'll make it clear first, a family can buy a maximum of ten catties. We don't sell more. ”

At this time, some other people also gathered around to see the excitement, and when they heard Zheng Yufeng say this, the people became interested. The coarse salt produced by the Guangfu Army Salt Works was transported to Foshan, where the waste heat from the steel plant was used to filter the refined salt produced by secondary crystallization. The white flower salt grains do not have any debris in them, and they are gratifying to look at.

The people of Xiangyindu have never seen such good salt, and some people do not believe it and ask to "taste it". After Zheng Yufeng's consent, according to the peasant's personality, he threw a handful of salt into his mouth. After a few moments, his whole face wrinkled. He couldn't speak, so he went directly to the water tank of the person next to him, and buried his head in it to pour it violently. Seeing that it was a woman who came to sell the goods, the people's sense of fear naturally dropped a lot. Seeing this scene again, the people burst into laughter.

Zheng Yufeng also laughed, and the female warriors couldn't help laughing. In the blink of an eye, the tense situation a few hours ago was greatly eased.

These daily necessities are selling well, and the people not only buy good salt that they have never seen before. I also bought steel needles that I had never seen before. In these years, the needles are basically iron needles, and the awl needles used to make the soles of shoes are very thick, and if they are not thick enough, they have to be bent as soon as they are forced. Not to mention the common people, even the Liberation Army's own garment factories were once plagued by this problem. After the steel was produced, the issue of mass production of steel needles was taken out. Now most of Guangdong has eliminated iron needles. Now the quality of the steel needles sold is more than before, the size of the needles is different, they are inserted separately on the cardboard, and the tail is worn with beautiful and strong silk cotton thread, which is gratifying at a glance.

Once the deal is opened, things sell quickly. Some of the people did not leave immediately after buying something, and some women couldn't help but pluck up the courage to stay and chat with these female soldiers in strange uniforms. The most common question they ask is, "Why are your things selling so cheap?" ”

"Why is the price of things so high in Hunan in recent years, because the Hunan army collects taxes in various places, and those who do business are first taxed by the Hunan army. When they sell things to you, of course they have to add the money to them. Otherwise, they will lose money. But the Hunan army never dared to collect taxes on our Guangfu army. If they dare to collect taxes from us, they will be beaten to death by us. So our stuff is naturally cheaper. Zheng Yufeng's voice was crisp, and he was full of pride when he said this, and his voice sounded even better. R1058