Chapter 390: Republic of China: Starting from the First Class of Whampoa Chapter 400 Search and Seizure

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Wang Baiwan had barely stepped out of the bank's main gate when he got into his own automobile and drove home; all the way he cursed that his mouth hadn't been quick enough, having subscribed to only twenty thousand yuan of public bonds.

The shops along Xixi Street were all his own; forcing the tenant merchants to take up these public bonds would mean a sure profit without any loss!

Just as he was secretly regretting it, upon arriving before his own mansion, his automobile was stopped by a mysterious person claiming to want to do business with him.

After the guards stepped forward to search him, they found on his person a fifty-yuan National Salvation Bond, printed with a simple sketch of the Youth Army.

Seeing that the mysterious person held bonds comparable to gold, Wang Baiwan came before him.

According to Kong Lingda's meaning, anyone who could hold such special bonds was no ordinary person.

The mysterious person said to Wang Baiwan: "Boss Wang, I have quite a few National Salvation Bonds here that need to be sold; I wonder if you are interested?"

"How many?"

"A lot."

Wang Baiwan grinned: "How about discussing the details at my mansion?"

Two days later, Xixi Street.

Chen Minren sat in a jeep, with two large trucks fully loaded with gendarmes behind him.

"Commander, right ahead is Wang Baiwan's largest grain shop, called De Run Feng."

The accompanying gendarmerie adjutant pointed to a tall gate facade in front.

Already gathered at the entrance were many common folk carrying cloth bags, all waiting to buy grain.

Chen Minren waved his hand, signaling the troops to stop at the corner.

At that moment, a brand-new notice was posted at the entrance of De Run Feng Grain Shop, and the prices on it made many people quail.

"It went up again? How can the price change every day?"

A man wrapped in a tattered jacket looked extremely embarrassed.

"Are we even allowed to live like this? My man is still sick at home..."

Among the crowd, a woman carrying an empty sack also wiped away tears.

The grain shop's assistant leaned against the counter, looking thoroughly impatient.

"What are you making a fuss about? If you think it's too expensive, don't buy it! Go eat Guanyin soil and tree bark—that stuff costs nothing."

"You still think this is expensive? Believe it or not, it'll be sold out in a moment?"

"Commander Lu's Youth Army of three hundred thousand is garrisoned in Henan South; men and horses need feeding, how much grain do they consume every day?"

"All the good grain has been snatched away by the soldiers; this bit of old grain left is what our boss saved from between his teeth."

"Even this, in a couple of days there won't even be old grain left; if you want to blame someone, blame those soldiers for having such big appetites!"

Once these words were spoken, the common folk who had originally been complaining about the high prices began to discuss heatedly.

"So it was the Youth Army that took the grain away? I knew it; our Xinyang is a grain-producing place."

"After driving away the Japanese, now Commander Lu has come; how are we supposed to live?!"

Several hooligans arranged by Wang Baiwan in the crowd immediately joined in the clamor.

"That's not right; Boss Wang's house has too much grain, the granaries can't even hold it all; wasn't another three large carts brought in last night and put into De Run Feng's warehouse?"

Voices of doubt arose from the crowd, and several hooligans immediately turned to search for the source of the sound, preparing to make him shut up.

But upon closer inspection, it was actually Chen Minren standing on the jeep shouting.

"Arrest people, seal the shop."

The gendarmerie captain waved his hand, and dozens of gendarmes carrying submachine guns and rifles charged straight out.

"Disperse! The gendarmerie is handling a case; those who obstruct will be punished for sabotaging the War of Resistance!"

The crowd erupted; the common folk looked in terror at this group of soldiers bristling with killing intent, watching helplessly as those hooligans who spread rumors were apprehended.

Chen Minren walked unhurriedly into De Run Feng Liang Pu, looking at the shop assistant who had just been so imposing.

"Just now you said the grain was all snatched away by the Youth Army?"

The assistant looked into Chen Minren's eyes, so frightened his legs trembled and he could not speak coherently.

"I... I only heard it said, heard it said; it wasn't snatching, it was transport..."

Chen Minren ignored him, walked straight into the store, and pointed toward the rear hall.

"Go, open the warehouse at the back for me, and let the elders and fellow villagers see where the grain has gone."

With several dull crashing sounds, the tightly locked rear gate of the grain shop's courtyard was smashed open by the gendarmes with rifle butts.

Inside the warehouse, stacks of hemp sacks were neatly piled, nearly reaching the roof beams, so many that there was not even room to walk.

"This is what you call no grain left?"

The gendarmes pried open a sack with bayonets, and snow-white japonica rice poured out.

Chen Minren caught a handful of rice and threw it directly onto that assistant's face.

"This is what you call being hauled away by soldiers?"

The gendarmes continued their inspection; not only japonica rice and white flour, but many miscellaneous grains were in the warehouse—completely not the state of having no grain to sell as the assistant claimed.

He turned around, facing the common folk outside, and announced loudly.

"Elders and fellow villagers, Commander Lu has said that the Youth Army's rations currently have their own supply channels and do not come solely from Henan South."

"We are garrisoned here to fight the little devils; the great Huangchuan battle a few months ago was not far from here; what the Youth Army has done, the fellow villagers have all seen with their own eyes; they are absolutely not competing with the common folk for grain!"

"The so-called grain shortage is nothing but these unscrupulous merchants colluding with stubborn forces, deliberately hoarding goods to drive up prices, and even trying to frame the officers and soldiers shedding blood on the frontline!"

"From now on, this grain store is taken over by the Xinyang Commissioner's Office!"

After saying this, Chen Minren glanced at the sweating shop assistant:

"You, sell it now! At last year's fair price, sell as much as the common people want, until all the grain in your shop is sold out!"

The shop assistant dared not say no, scrambling back behind the counter to weigh frantically.

The common people were stunned for a few seconds, then erupted into earth-shaking cheers.

"Fair-price grain! It's really fair-price grain!"

"These black-hearted bastards should have been dealt with long ago!"

"Give me twenty jin!"

Chen Minren stood at the door, watching the lively grain-selling scene, and ordered his subordinates.

"All proceeds from the grain sold shall be counted and sealed on the spot, confiscated as military funds, not a single coin left for the Wang family."

When the news reached the Wang family mansion, Wang Baiwan was drinking tea in the courtyard.

"What? De Run Feng was raided?"

The blue-and-white porcelain cup in Wang Baiwan's hand crashed to the floor with a clang.

"That madman Chen Minren, he actually dares to open the granary and sell grain directly? This is outright robbery!"

The butler reporting the news had a face like he was at a funeral: "Master, not only was the grain sold, Chen Minren also took all the grain money."

"He says it's a wartime special fine, and we won't get a single cent."

Wang Baiwan trembled with rage: "There are fifty thousand jin of japonica rice! And there's wheat..."

Other miscellaneous grains also amount to tens of thousands of jin, all my treasures kept at the bottom of the box, and my money too..."

He paced anxiously back and forth in the courtyard, pointing at the butler: "Go notify Maode Hall, have him lead the mud legs to directly incite peasants to revolt and surround the provincial government office!"

But as soon as the butler opened the gate, he was blocked by the Youth Army's military police.

"Received a report, Wang Baiwan is suspected of destroying wartime financial order, please cooperate with our search and arrest, the Wang Fu upper and lower, only entry allowed, no exit!"

By the time Wang Baiwan rushed over following the sound, he saw hundreds of military police filling his Wang family courtyard.

Under the guidance of several German Shepherd dogs, the military police searched everywhere.

One German Shepherd sniffed around, then headed straight for his study.

Not good! The government bonds he received from the mysterious person were in that study!