"Listen to the radio!"

"Listen to the radio!"

During the Republic of China, the common people ate dinner very early, and they finished it before it got dark. The reason is simple, you need to light the lamp when it's dark, which either costs electricity or oil, and eating early can save a considerable amount of money.

Whenever it gets dark, the low-level people in Tianjin go out with small benches and listen to the radio in nearby shops. This is their rare leisure and entertainment time, with the fatigue of a tiring day, listening to a few cross talks, listening to a few Peking Opera, listening to a few pop songs, as if enjoying the fairy days.

Yuan San'er took her little daughter-in-law, who had just married last year, to the grocery store at the entrance of the alley, where the door was full of people, extending from the steps to the side of the street. On both sides are stalls selling twist flowers, sugar piles, melon seeds, and sugar water, and people often buy some food, and the stall business is not bad.

Since the Japanese instigated riots in Tianjin, Tianjin's economy has been greatly hit, and the lives of the people at the bottom have become even more difficult. Although Yuan San'er was reluctant to spend money, he still said to his wife: "Xian'er, do you want to eat melon seeds or twist flowers?" ”

Xian'er swallowed her saliva at the snack stall and said with a smile: "What are you doing with that money, just listen to the radio." I'm pregnant now, and I keep the money for our child, wouldn't it be better for him to go to school in the future? ”

"Even if you are pregnant, you have to make up more," Yuan San'er didn't wait for his wife to object, so he walked to the melon seed stall, took out two copper plates and said, "Weigh some melon seeds." ”

"Okay!"

The stall owner didn't think that the money was too small, so he grabbed a small handful of melon seeds and put them in the weighing pan, picked and picked, and said with the weighing rod: "The scale is prosperous!" ”

Yuan San'er hurriedly took the melon seeds with the hem of his clothes, and took them back to his daughter-in-law like a treasure: "Xian'er, taste it, these melon seeds are delicious." ”

"Hmm. Third brother, you eat too. Xian'er's pretty face smiled.

Small citizens have the life of small citizens, and a radio broadcast and a handful of melon seeds are enough to make them feel satisfied with life.

"Jiuda refined salt, a well-known brand in China, the pride of domestic products exported to Nanyang!"

"One bowl of throat is warm, two bowls are boring, three bowls are dry intestines, four bowls are light sweating, and all the injustices in life are scattered to the pores...... Cheng Yuxin Tea No. Tianjin Store was grandly opened, authentic Hui tea time-honored brand, Mr. Hu Shi drank it and said it was good. ”

“……”

The commercial ran for three minutes, and someone complained, "Now this broadcast, there are more and more commercials!" ”

Someone next to him immediately retorted: "Mr. Zhou opened a broadcasting company, and he listened to music and cross talk for you for free, and he didn't allow others to advertise?" ”

"That's it, it's better to have more ads. If you don't get an advertisement, the broadcaster closes its doors, and the big guys are going to listen to the show! The crowd agreed.

Now there are two main broadcasting companies in Tianjin, in addition to Zhou Hexuan's Zhonghua Broadcasting, Shanghai has also opened a branch in Tianjin. But the common people still prefer to listen to China Radio, firstly, everyone misses the old, and secondly, the programs of Chunghwa Broadcasting are more interesting.

After the advertisement ended, there was an excerpt from Peking Opera, Yuan San'er listened to it happily, looked at the daughter-in-law around him from time to time, and felt that life was full of flavor.

Suddenly, a strange and familiar voice came from the radio: "Listeners and friends, hello everyone, it's the time of "Gossip at 7 O'clock in the Night", I am the host Zhou Hexuan......"

"Wow!"

The people in front of the store became a sensation, although they were just ordinary people, they also admired Zhou Hexuan's name for a long time. Not to mention the radio, last year Zhou Hexuan transported several boatloads of grain to Tianjin and sent them to the major disaster areas in the north, which caused a big sensation, and everyone said that Mr. Zhou was a living Bodhisattva.

"It's worth it this time, Mr. Zhou will do the broadcast himself!"

"People are university scholars and big shots, and they actually come to make fun of us."

"Mr. Zhou, a great benevolent person, I heard from my relatives in Shandong that someone over there has already set up an immortal tablet for Mr. Zhou."

"The blind man Liu at the mouth of the alley said that Mr. Zhou is the reincarnation of Wenquxing, which is amazing!"

"My nephew is still studying at Mr. Zhou's Hope Primary School, and he eats rough noodles and steamed buns at noon every day. The boy was not only strong, but also learned, and knew everything in the newspaper. ”

“……”

I only heard Zhou Hexuan's voice continue to come out of the radio: "Since January, the topic that the people of Tianjin are most concerned about is undoubtedly the price increase of trams. Today, we have invited a few guests, Mr. Chen Daisun, Ph.D. from Harvard University and Dean of Tsinghua Law School, to welcome Dr. Chen to China Radio! ”

Chen Daisun said: "Hello everyone, I am Chen Daisun. ”

Zhou Hexuan also said: "There is also Mr. Tao Menghe, a doctor from the University of London in the United Kingdom and an internationally renowned sociologist, welcome Mr. Tao. ”

Tao Menghe smiled: "Hello listeners, I am Tao Menghe. ”

Zhou Hexuan continued: "The last one is Mr. Zhang Xiruo, a professor of the Department of Political Science at Tsinghua University, who has a master's degree from Columbia University in the United States. Hello Mr. Zhang! ”

Zhang Xiruo said: "Hello Mr. Zhou, hello everyone, I am Zhang Xiruo. ”

After the introduction of the three guests, whether it is ordinary people or white-collar middle-class, they are all in awe of this show. All of them are PhDs and masters from well-known Western universities, and it's rare to see them in normal times, but it's a blessing to be able to listen to them chat.

Zhou Hexuan began to get to the point: "Professor Zhang, what do you think of the turmoil over the price increase of trams in Tianjin? ”

Zhang Xiruo said: "This price increase is unreasonable, I have been studying Chinese social issues for a long time. With the economic income of ordinary people in Tianjin, it is completely inconsistent with the fare after the price increase of the tram company. In fact, the tram fare in Tianjin has risen several times in the past ten years, and it has been 12% higher than the fare in Beiping. ”

Zhou Hexuan asked Chen Daisun again: "The reason for the price increase of Tianjin Tram Company this time is that it has suffered serious losses, and only by raising prices can it maintain its operation." Dr. Chen, you are an expert in economics, finance and finance, tell me more about it. ”

Chen Daisun said: "Tianjin Tramway Company was founded in 1904, that is, 28 years ago, and the tram was officially put into operation in 1906. The tram company had a steady annual income, recovering all its investment as early as 1912, and the remaining 30 years of revenue were pure profits. As of last year, the gross profit of Tianjin Tramway and Electric Light Company was close to 4 million yuan, and it is unlikely that they will lose money. ”

Zhou Hexuan asked: "4 million yuan of gross profit, that's a lot!" Did all this money go into the pockets of the tram companies? Is there any tax on the Tianjin government? ”

Chen Daisun explained: "The money paid by the tram and electric light company to the Tianjin municipal government is not called tax, but called the service fee, and the actual effect last year was about 120,000 yuan. However, in sharp contrast, when a tram passes through a concession, it is required to pay a 'passing fee' to each concession. The 'passage fee' paid to the French Concession last year alone was as high as 740,000 yuan! ”

Zhou Hexuan concluded: "That is to say, the Belgian drove a tram company in Tianjin, and only paid 120,000 yuan in taxes to the Tianjin Municipal Government, but paid 740,000 yuan in tolls to the French Concession? ”

"Yes, that's it," Chen Daisun said, "and the toll fees paid by the tram company to the concessions add up to about 1.6 million yuan a year, but the cost to the Tianjin municipal government is only 120,000 yuan." ”

Zhou Hexuan asked Zhang Xiruo: "Mr. Zhang, is this in line with common sense?" ”

Zhang Xiruo was not afraid of offending people, and said angrily: "This is completely unreasonable!" Trams are public utilities, and trams occupy a lot of street space, which belongs to all Tianjin citizens. Not only that, but the tram often injures and kills people, bringing personal danger to the people's travel. Therefore, as compensation, the tram company should not charge exorbitant fares, and at the same time pay taxes to the government to improve the municipal environment and the lives of citizens. This is called taking from the people and using it for the people. Why is it that when you open a company on Chinese land, you can only pay 120,000 yuan in taxes normally, but pay 1.6 million yuan in tolls to the concessions of various countries? Pure bullying! ”

In the past, ordinary people only thought that the price increase of trams was unreasonable, but they couldn't say why it was unreasonable. Now listening to the reasoning of several scholars and professors, I instantly understood the inside story, and they were so angry that they scolded.

"It's too buried, how can there be such a thing?"

"Foreign devils are not people!"

"I will never take the train in the future."

"Whoever says not to sit, Lao Tzu will sit, and if he sits, he won't give them money!"

"Price increases, price increases, price increases every day. As far as I can remember, the tram company has raised fares five times. ”

“……”

I only heard Zhou Hexuan continue: "No wonder the consuls of various countries in Tianjin support the tram company to raise prices, it turns out that they are in a group. The more fierce the price increase of the tram company, the more income the concessions of various countries will have, which is a joint effort to bully the people of Tianjin. ”

"Isn't it?" Zhang Xiruo said, "Otherwise, how could the consuls of Japan, France and Italy send diplomatic notes to the government in a hurry, it is all due to interests." ”

Chen Daisun also said: "I must first make one thing clear. The contract signed between the Qing government and the tram company established the business scope of the tram company, and the tram company could only operate within 6 miles of the center of the drum tower, and the rest of the tram sections were illegal operations. As far as I know, the later expansion of the tram section did not receive approval from the Chinese government. It is precisely because of this that the tram company pays so little to the Tianjin municipal government. ”

"Hehe, it turned out to be an illegal operation," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "I heard that the tram company did this kind of illegal thing, and this is not the only one." ”

Zhang Xiruo said: "Yes, since you have to buy a ticket with copper dollars to take the tram, this is why the tram company has become the largest copper dollar exchanger and turnover merchant in Tianjin." Due to the hoarding of a large number of copper dollars, they began to sell these copper dollars at high prices to Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi & Co. of Japan, and smuggled them to Japan to manufacture arms and weapons. ”

Zhou Hexuan said angrily: "In other words, the guns used by the Japanese Kwantung Army to invade the Northeast are likely to be made of copper dollars used by the Tianjin people?" ”

Chen Daisun said: "That's true. This practice of the tram company not only substantially supported Japan's invasion of China, but also caused a large amount of copper yuan to flow out, disrupting China's financial market. Although the Tianjin municipal government has repeatedly banned the export of copper dollars, the trade between the tram company and the Japanese foreign company has not stopped, and the smuggling of copper dollars has been quietly carried out. ”

Speaking of this, the people of Tianjin who were listening to the radio were angry.

"It turns out that the tram company is so bad that it is colluding with the Japanese."

"Don't take the tram in the future, every copper dollar we invest is making guns for Japan."

"If you take the tram again, you're a traitor!"

"Let's go and rip off the tram tracks six miles away from the drum tower, which were built illegally and didn't pay taxes to the government!"

"Yes, the road belongs to everyone, why should you not pay taxes for the tram company?"

"Down with the tram company, down with the traitors!"

“……”

Tianjin's tram price increase turmoil was instantly raised to the height of saving the country.

When the commissioner sent by the Nanjing government arrived in Tianjin, he was faced with an industry-wide strike in Tianjin, citizens and students took to the streets one after another, the major newspapers shook off the black bottom of the tram company, and all the tram tracks in the old city centered on the drum tower were completely removed.

This incident is known in history as the "Anti-Tram National Salvation Movement", or the "April Fourth Patriotic Wave" and "April Fourth Tianjin Strike".

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