novelden Chapter 1047 This isn't a scam, it's outright robbery!
Chapter 1047 This isn't a scam, it's outright robbery!
Today's lunch suited Yang Congxuan's taste perfectly. He ate three steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, a whole pot of cabbage and vermicelli with some minced meat, which counted as a meat dish.
Yang Congxuan was a staff member of the "government office," and on the construction site, the food rations for those who sat in the office and those who were laborers were different.
Generally speaking, the quota for non-physical labor is less than that for physical labor.
However, some argue that mental work is not easy either. Moreover, no one truly sits motionless in an office; most people also have to do some work.
Therefore, Zhou Xuejin adjusted the plan: manual laborers would receive 1.5 jin of grain and two free dishes, while non-manual laborers would receive 1 jin of grain and one additional dish with meat on top of the two free dishes. If 1 jin of grain was not enough, they could choose not to have the dish with meat, and they would receive an extra half jin of grain every day.
Practice has shown that almost no one chooses the latter. Perhaps everyone feels that the nutrition and energy from that little bit of meat far exceeds that of half a pound of grain.
After finishing his meal, Yang Congxuan washed the rice bowl, carefully wrapped it in a cloth, tucked it under his elbow, and went to his "office."
When I arrived at the office, Captain Yan had already finished eating and was drinking tea from a glass jar.
Upon seeing Yang Congxuan return, he quickly said, "Congxuan, you're back. The higher-ups are looking for you. They said they have something to discuss. I see that your auxiliary management bureau's people have all gone there. You should go to the sixth floor quickly."
The "six-story building" refers to the construction site command building. A six-story building would be insignificant in later generations, but at that time, it was a truly impressive building.
Upon hearing Lao Yan mention "your auxiliary management bureau," Yang Congxuan immediately straightened his back, feeling quite pleased. "Oh, thank you, Captain Yan, I'll be right there."
He put down his rice bowl, took a sip of water, and hurriedly went out. He passed through a makeshift shack and several construction sites where materials were being piled up. It was winter, and the weather was freezing cold, so many projects couldn't be done. He could only prepare the construction materials first and then slowly start over in the spring.
Yang Congxuan felt that some projects were not entirely impossible to carry out. If they could find a way, they could be carried out. He didn't know why, but the higher-ups stopped most of the port projects and instead asked everyone to build land-based infrastructure, roads, factories, and residential areas.
He shook his head, banishing those thoughts from his mind.
The higher-ups must have considered this, so you shouldn't worry about it unnecessarily.
The port construction site is now quite large. It took Yang Congxuan almost half an hour to reach the "sixth floor".
After informing the gatekeeper and being searched, Yang Congxuan entered the conference room.
In the conference room, there were many people wearing the same uniform as him from the auxiliary management bureau.
After a while, a group of people walked in, and the one in the lead was none other than Zhou Xuejin, the chief construction commander of the site.
After these years of experience, Zhou Xuejin has completely shed his naivety, his expression is calm, his eyes are firm, and every move he makes exudes an aura.
"Fellow workers, let's have a short meeting. Today, staff from the Management Bureau, several leaders of the Workers' Joint Defense Team, and representatives of some worker activists are all here. We've gathered you all here because we have a very important task for you. Tomorrow morning, a batch of supplies will be transported from the Zizhulin warehouse in Tianjin to the newly built dockside transshipment warehouse. You will be working with the Tianjin Management Bureau and the Police Department to ensure the security of this transshipment, especially within our construction site area. Now, I'll make the arrangements..."
.....................
Zizhulin Wharf.
The area has been placed under martial law, and the workers left behind for porterage have all been carefully selected.
Lin Ze, Wang Mengqun, Gu Baoheng, and others stood with their hands behind their backs in the distance, watching as bag after bag of grain was unloaded.
Wang Mengqun exclaimed, "Mr. Miyamoto really knows his stuff. I just checked, and the quality is quite good. They were all shipped from Japan, so they must be grain from Southeast Asia."
Lin Ze nodded and said, "Most of it is rice, there isn't much flour. I don't know if everyone will be able to get used to it."
Wang Mengqun chuckled and said, "Master Lin, even Guanyin clay is something to be fought over!"
Only Gu Baoheng was left bewildered in the wind.
"This... Commander Lin, Chairman Wang, 60,000 shi of grain, already transported here? I haven't reported to Nanjing yet. Even if they send someone to hand over the goods now, what about the wagons and such..."
Lin Ze turned to look at Gu Baoheng.
"Director Gu, isn't the transaction taking place right now?"
"what!?"
Wang Mengqun chuckled, "Director Gu, this grain is for disaster relief. There's a disaster relief committee under the governing committee, and Commander Lin and I are both members. It's the perfect solution to hand over the disaster relief grain to the disaster relief committee and then use it for disaster relief!"
Gu Baoheng trembled!
bandit!
robber!
Shameless!
You've come to deceive us, to launch a sneak attack!
No, this isn't a scam, this is outright robbery!
Gu Baoheng's voice trembled, "Commander Lin! Chairman Wang!!! Sixty thousand shi of grain, several million yen! If anything goes wrong with this batch of grain, when I return to Nanjing, ten heads wouldn't be enough to compensate! And what about His Excellency Aoki Kazuo, the Minister of East Asia...?"
Lin Ze said coldly, "Then you might as well not go back to Jinling. As for Aoki Kazuo... Director Gu, have you forgotten that Okamura Tadamasa is behind this grain transaction? Okamura Tadamasa's father is General Okamura. General Okamura even dared to challenge Prime Minister Tojo. What weight does Aoki Kazuo carry?"
This is a matter of strategic considerations in Nanjing.
They were confident that they had Aoki Kazuo's support and thought they had the situation under control. Little did they know that Aoki Kazuo was just a big name, but as a civil official, he was only fawned over by people in Nanjing. He was no match for the military.
Wanting to impress Lin Ze, Wang Mengqun added, "Speaking of which, Director Gu, you signed this deal. The contract clearly states that the grain is for disaster relief. Why are you unwilling to actually use it for disaster relief now? Our disaster relief efforts were approved by General Okamura for the sake of maintaining order throughout North China. Without this grain, how many disaster victims would riot? How many troops would the headquarters have to send to suppress them? What, are you going to renege on your promise and sabotage the great cause of maintaining order throughout North China? Even if this lawsuit goes all the way to Tokyo, we're not afraid!"
Gu Baoheng plopped down on the ground.
The wind on the dock was a bit chilly.
"Do not!!!"
Lin Ze smiled, picked him up like a chick, and gently brushed the dirt off him. "Director Gu, don't be in such a hurry! I remember you have another task, right? Hmm, to establish the North China Materials Control Committee. On this point, we absolutely support it. Let Chairman Wang organize a meeting another day, and we'll set up this Materials Control Committee. We'll make you the director of this committee, how about that?"
The attendant's words echoed in Gu Baoheng's mind.
"Director, I think Beiping is quite good too..."