The market outside Yingkou Base was bustling with activity. It was an open space by the roadside, surrounded by a simple fence and maintained by twenty or thirty soldiers with whips.
Sang Xiu 'er was standing behind a stall selling cloth. Due to the large relocation, there were many things to do and management was lacking. Students like her, who were already in the intermediate class, were all transferred to work. The Revolutionary Army wanted to get closer to the people, so they sold a large number of daily necessities at the market. She could write and calculate, so she was hired as a salesperson.
The people at the bottom really lacked the ability to obtain wealth, and the ragged people urgently needed all kinds of daily necessities. Sang Xiuer's cloth stall sold the cheapest coarse cloth, which felt thick and hard like emery cloth, but this kind of cloth was the most popular. The people nearby brought chickens, ducks, or seafood to sell, and immediately bought them as soon as they got the money.
Since Zhou Qingfeng would even buy the most common shellfish on the beach, the people near the base would seize this good opportunity to make money and sell their goods. They often went out with their whole families, working from dawn to dusk to dig a large number of cheap goods such as oysters, fish, and shrimp. Even if they could only get a penny, they could buy the goods they needed at the market.
There was a porridge stall next to the seafood stall, selling the cheapest mixed grain rice. Sometimes when there was too much seafood, the cook would throw some into the pot and fry it. After removing a large amount of water, he would add some wild onions and coarse salt to fry it, and it actually tasted good.
These simple dishes were often just fished up by the people, but they couldn't eat them because many people were so poor that they didn't even have a pot. But now, with some mixed grain, they were delicious.
Sang Xiuer stood behind the cloth stall, watching the people gobbling up the food, and felt quite emotional. Recently, Zhou Qingfeng had more time to attend public classes, and she always heard that the mission of the Revolutionary Army was to save the country, save the people, and save society.
In Xu Bing's opinion, Zhou Qingfeng was completely brainwashing his men. But now, when Sang Xiuer looked at those poor hungry people, she could only think of the word "save" — the young man on the wolf looked enthusiastic, but in fact, he was cold and ruthless. But he really saved a lot of people, including the Sang family.
"Miss Xiu, don't be in a daze. Get to work," a shout came from behind.
Sang Xiu 'er turned around and saw Chun Ni pulling a large trailer back. There were more than a hundred bolts of coarse cloth on the trailer. Because the coarse cloth was too popular, the two hundred bolts that were pulled out early in the morning had long since been sold out. They had no choice but to increase their sales at the last minute.
Sang Xiu 'er carried the coarse cloth into the stall. Soon, a large crowd gathered outside, shouting and scrambling to buy the cloth. She then asked Chun Ni, "Didn't we agree to sell at most two hundred a day?"
However, Chun Ni shook her head and said, "The higher-ups have changed their intentions again. They want to speed up the return of the currency, and at the same time, win over the hearts of the people. That's why we decided to sell some of the secondary materials we have. Moreover, I heard that our ship is sailing for Tientsin again. We sold the extra horses and bought other goods. In any case, we won't lose anything. "
Loss? That was not a loss.
Every commoner who scrambled to buy cloth was a cheap labor force. It was their appearance that allowed the 'Revolutionary Army' to quickly obtain a large amount of supplies when they set foot in an unfamiliar area. It was also because they had a good relationship with these local commoners that the 'Revolutionary Army' could maintain a high degree of vigilance around the camp. Otherwise, if they were caught off guard, they wouldn't even have someone to report to.
According to what Zhou Qingfeng said in class, the commoners were actually simple and blind, so it was easy to do mass work well. First, don't treat the commoners as fools. Second, immediately give the commoners visible benefits. Third, prepare a big stick and beat down a few troublemakers at any time.
Sang Xiu 'er now had a realistic understanding of these words, so she deeply agreed with it.
"Xiu 'er, Xiu' er." Another shout came from afar, quickly approaching Sang Xiu 'er. Qiao Xuenan's head jumped out of the crowd a few times, and he quickly came over. "I'm on vacation today. I heard that you are very busy, so I came to help. "
Qiao Xuenan's face was flushed, and he looked at Sang Xiu 'er with a silly smile. Sang Xiu 'er was busy measuring the size of the commoners who were buying cloth. She just rolled her eyes at him and pouted without saying a word. But Chun Ni came over and kicked Qiao Xuenan, saying, "Don't just stand there if you're here to help. Hurry up and get to work. Don't you see that there are so many people buying cloth? "
Qiao Xuenan stood there foolishly just to get such a word of permission, and he quickly began to work. He was skilled in measuring cloth, cutting, and paying the bill, and he was very happy doing these tasks. Sang Xiu 'er took advantage of the time when she turned back to move the goods and whispered, "Idiot." Chun Ni heard it and quickly said, "Please get a few more such capable idiots. I've been tired since morning, and I haven't even had lunch. "
Sang Xiu 'er suddenly stopped talking, and she didn't talk to Qiao Xuenan. Qiao Xuenan didn't care at all. As long as he was with Sang Xiu 'er, he was very energetic and energetic in everything. One hundred bolts of cloth were all sold out in less than an hour. The commoners who couldn't buy anything still refused to leave. They gathered in front of the cloth stall, waiting for the next batch to come.
Chun Ni took the opportunity to run to eat, leaving only Sang Xiu 'er and Qiao Xuenan in front of the stall. The young girl stood motionless with a cold face. Qiao Xuenan, who was originally full of energy, quickly became extremely shy. He made a "hey, hey" sound and took half a step towards Sang Xiu 'er. Sang Xiu' er immediately moved away, so he could only scratch his head and take half a step back.
During the awkward silence, another man strolled to the cloth stall and said to Sang Xiu 'er with a smile, "Xiu' er, you've been standing here for a day. I thought that you must have been working hard, so I came to see if there's anything I can help with. "
Qiao Xuenan was in a daze when he saw the man standing in front of Sang Xiu 'er with familiarity. He was even closer to her than he was. Sang Xiu 'er lowered her head, rolled up the corner of her clothes, and said, "Thank you for your concern, teacher. I used to do farm work, so I'm not tired."
Qiao Xuenan suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis, but he was clumsy and couldn't speak, so he could only stand aside and worry. The man who came later was the school's principal and teacher, Chen Tiankai. He looked at Sang Xiu 'er with a smile and asked, "Did you not understand the math class a few days ago? I'm going to gather some students for tutoring in the evening. Why don't you come? It's very important to study. "
As he spoke, Chen Tiankai reached out to pat Sang Xiu 'er on the shoulder. He was ten years older than Sang Xiu 'er, who was fourteen or fifteen years old. He was happy to see the girl who was as delicate as a flower.
When Sang Xiu 'er saw Chen Tiankai's hand coming towards her, she was so scared that she didn't dare to move. It wasn't until Qiao Xuenan, who was behind her, coughed heavily that Chen Tiankai had some scruples. He didn't dare to act recklessly in public. Women in the Revolutionary Army were protected, and the female soldiers' tigresses were really fierce. They might even hang people to death.
When Chen Tiankai saw Qiao Xuenan, he quickly smiled and said, "You're a colleague who sells cloth with Xiu 'er, right? You've been standing for a whole day. It's really hard. By the way, Xiu 'er, I'll tell the higher-ups to transfer you to the kindergarten class to take care of the children. Anyway, the kindergarten class is short of hands. It's better than you being exposed to the wind and the sun outside. "
Chen Tiankai circled the topic and turned to Sang Xiu 'er. Sang Xiu 'er lowered her head and wanted to agree, but she didn't dare to. She knew that her teacher was thinking about her, but being a salesgirl in the market was really a bit tiring.
While she was hesitating, Sang Xiu 'er heard a third man's voice. The voice was loud and clear. The loud voice came over and shouted, "Xiu 'er, I've been looking for you for a long time. Why are you here in the market?"
It was Sang Xiu 'er's big brother, Sang Wenlai, the company commander of the combat engineer company. He had just received a mission to carry out an armed investigation of a group of pirates' lair. As soon as he appeared, Sang Xiu 'er finally raised her head and happily called out, "Big Brother."
Sang Wenlai stepped forward and said hurriedly, "I have a mission to go on a long journey. Tell your sister-in-law that I won't be home for a few days."
Sang Xiu 'er said, "Oh." Chen Tiankai immediately turned around and said with a smile, "You're Xiu 'er's big brother. Nice to meet you. I'm Xiu 'er's teacher. My surname is Chen. Xiu 'er is doing well in my class, and I've been focusing on training her. I was just thinking about changing her job. It's a waste of talent to be a salesgirl. "
Sang Wenlai laughed and said heartily, "What's a waste of talent? It's all work. Our family is also poor. Xiu 'er is not so delicate. If she's too delicate, how will she get married in the future? "
Chen Tiankai immediately said, "Xiu 'er is doing so well in her studies, it's only right for her to be delicate. Your Sang family is also a respectable family, so naturally, you should find a good man to take care of her. Don't you think so? "
"Hahaha …" Sang Wenlai did not answer. He looked at Qiao Xuenan, who had been in a daze, and asked in surprise, "Aren't you that …"
"That fool," Sang Xiu 'er said with a pout.
Qiao Xuenan smiled embarrassedly. It took so long for someone to really notice him.
"You're from the Imperial Guard's communications team." Sang Wenlai came up and patted Qiao Xuenan on the shoulder. "There are a lot of people in the Imperial Guard who don't know me, but there's no one who doesn't know you."
Qiao Xuenan knew what Sang Wenlai meant. When the Imperial Guard was still in Fushun, he was the one who blew the wake-up call every morning. Because of the shrill sound of the suona, everyone in the guards hated him. Now that he was recognized by Sang Wenlai, he could only stand there in a daze.
"Are you looking for Xiu 'er?"
"I happen to have half a day off today."
"Did the people in your communications team learn how to read and draw pictures?"
"Yes, I've already gotten my diploma from the intermediate class."
"Wow, good boy, you're amazing. Even Xiu 'er hasn't gotten her diploma yet. You know how to do arithmetic and take notes, right? "
"Yes, the communications team must know these things. During the large-scale expansion of the Imperial Guard, only three of our original twenty trumpeters passed the assessment, and I'm one of them. "
"Oh, good, good. I just need someone like you. "
What …?
After talking for a long time, Qiao Xuenan finally could not understand.
"It's a military secret. Come with me." Sang Wenlai came up and hooked his arm around Qiao Xuenan's shoulder. "There's a mission that needs capable people. I'll go make a report right now, and you can join the team."
"I, I, I … I only have half a day off." Qiao Xuenan felt that he was being forced into a pirate ship.
However, Sang Wenlai dragged Qiao Xuenan's arm and walked out. He lowered his voice and said, "You want to pursue my sister, right? I'm your brother-in-law. Don't talk nonsense, I don't like that teacher. That kind of gentle person is full of evil tricks. I support you. "
Poor Qiao Xuenan, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, was motivated by these words. He didn't care what Sang Wenlai wanted to do. Since Xiu 'er's brother had spoken, he was willing to go even if it was a mountain of daggers or a sea of fire.
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