Cicada Moving

Chapter 311 Yellow Rice Noodles

Jinling City has been very quiet recently. After Miyamoto's disappearance, everyone seemed to be enjoying the tranquility. Even the black men occasionally smiled and no longer looked so hateful.

 When you are in a good mood, your desire to consume is high. It is rare for people to support the old and the young, and open their wallets. Those selling snacks, handicrafts, foreign cloths, etc. on the street can't wait to do this every day.

Of course this is impossible. For example, the war in the southwest is still in turmoil, but the people don't care about the red skulls. What they need is to vent, to vent the anger of having the naval gun pressed against their foreheads.

 Hence, all kinds of news and anecdotes related to people's livelihood and news are the hot topics in the Jinling press recently. Discussion of the latest French fashions and the latest American cars are the most fashionable things.

But one morning, some readers who picked up the ink-dry newspaper found that the newspaper told stories about the origin and story of the Tiankuang Festival, and collected customs from various places on the sixth day of June.

 Many smart people immediately realized that this was a newspaper trying to flatter someone. After all, the rules of cleaning and drying during the Tiankuang Festival cannot be said to be exactly the same as those of the New Life Movement. They can only be said to be completely consistent.

To be honest, except for businessmen who have been defrauded of their money, most educated elites are in favor of a new life. At least they will not suddenly step on something while walking in an alley.

As the sixth day of June gets closer, various newspapers in Jinling begin to tell the news about the Tiankuang Festival in different ways. Some of them take a different approach and talk about the Insect King Festival of the banner people.

But unfortunately, even with the title of the Republic of the Five Nationalities, these news still did not attract too many people's attention. They were only circulated among the banner people of Jinling and set off a craze for the Insect King Festival.

Especially when an anonymous benefactor funded the renovation of the Insect King Temple outside the city, this craze reached its peak. The low-key banner people after the demise of the previous dynasty also began to vent their anguish.

 Spinach leaves, buy.

Tinden leaves, buy.

 Yellow rice noodles, buy them.

 The poor Shangshu was no exception. The common people used their accumulated savings to buy things.

  Among them, Defa Rice and Grain Store has the best business, and the yellow rice noodles from the north sell best.

The shopkeeper was thinking about it, his eyes turned into slits as he smiled. He knew that this kind of day only happened once in ten years, but he couldn't help but that the business was so good that this day could catch up with half a month's income.

As long as he sells for another ten days, no, five days, he will be able to take over the store next to him. Thinking of this, the shopkeeper perked up and raised his head and shouted to the young man who had just been recruited two days ago.

"Tongsuo, sift the rice noodles when you have time to make sure there are no gravel or bugs mixed in. Our Defa rice store has been open for more than ten years and we have never done shady business. We will go to the back later and bring you a bag of yellow rice noodles."

 “Okay, shopkeeper.”

As he spoke, Tongsuo filled a customer's cloth bag and said politely: "You can just go to the counter to pay. The store is very busy today and I have kept you waiting for a long time."

After saying that, he handed over the rice bag and glanced at the other party inadvertently. When he saw the other party's old cloth shoes and rough palms, he turned around and ran towards the warehouse behind the store.

The shopkeeper secretly observed all this and nodded with satisfaction after seeing Tongsuo's actions. He was a working man. He originally accepted this little beggar for the sake of the police station, but now it seems that he has made a profit.

This kind of non-lazy, smart guy is so hard to find. Today's young people can't afford hardships. What's wrong with having one day off a month? What's wrong with low wages? Only by enduring hardship can you become a great person.

But he didn't know that a smart and capable boy was leaning against the wall of the back room and yawning, his eyes constantly looking at the surroundings, and his ears listening carefully to the conversation between him and the customers.

“Shopkeeper, how much is it?”

"Let me figure it out. Is this enough? You have two boys at home."

“Enough is enough, if it’s not enough, I, the father, will go out and rob people.”

 “Haha, not really.”

After listening, Tongsuo left the wall. These were old guests from the neighborhood, and there were children. They couldn't be spies from the Puppet Manchuria. He didn't know how long he was going to pretend, so he sighed secretly.

Walking to a bag of yellow rice noodles, Tongsuo shouted and put the bag on his shoulders. He had been in the special training class for several months. He had learned the secret agent skills very well and developed a lot of strength.

But when he reached the door, he bent slightly, panted heavily, pretended to be struggling and walked into the store lobby, and threw the flour bag into the rice bucket with difficulty, raising a cloud of ashes.

 Prodigal son!

This shopkeeper felt extremely distressed. He lost at least one or two aspects due to this fall. He immediately decided to find an opportunity to deduct a few cents from this guy's salary. If he continued to waste like this, his Defa would be closed down sooner or later.

You can't open the bag of flour if you can't carry it, and move it there one by one. Isn't it just that your waist is tired? What's wrong with being tired? Don't you know that the hardships you suffered when you were young are the ones who paved the way to success.

The shopkeeper became more and more angry as he thought about it. He was ready to talk to Tongsuo, but before he could speak, a young customer walked in from the outside. He was wearing a suit and didn't look like the poor guys in the book of ministers.

The shopkeeper took back the curse words and put a smile on his face: "Sir, what do you need to buy? Our Defa is the best rice and grain store in the area, with the most complete varieties of rice and noodles." The young man ignored him. I walked around the store and finally stopped next to the yellow rice noodles I just opened. I opened the bag of noodles, lowered my head and smelled it, and then grabbed a handful and rubbed it with my hands.

This behavior is not like someone who is here to buy rice and noodles, but more like a colleague who is here to cause trouble. Coupled with the handful of noodles caught by the other party, the shopkeeper suddenly became angry and decided to talk to the other party.

“Very good, please help me pack fifty pounds.”

"okay."

But with the young man's words, the shopkeeper's enthusiasm disappeared. Not only did the enthusiasm disappear, he even packed the yellow rice noodles himself. In a place like Shangshuli, if you buy fifty pounds at a time, you are a big customer.

Tongsuo was very smart. He immediately bent down to help the shopkeeper hold his pocket, but his eyes were fixed on the visitor's leather shoes. The other person was wearing very ordinary shoes, but this pair of calfskin leather shoes was not something ordinary people could afford.

 When he was a thief, he selected his targets by distinguishing their clothes. After joining the secret service, he went through professional training. He noticed this detail as soon as the other person came in. There was something wrong with this person.

Not only the shoes, but also the inconspicuous suit on the young man's body. It looked ordinary, except for the gray buttons on the cuffs, which were made of silver cufflinks.

This kind of thing was rarely seen in the Republic of China, and was mostly used by the old European aristocrats. When clothing could not reflect their status, the aristocrats used these small details to show the difference between themselves and the poor.

This is an unusually low-key, wealthy man who deliberately conceals his identity. His tone of voice is well-educated. He may have studied abroad in Europe. Could he be a target?

 Tongsuo was a little excited, as if he had met a wealthy man while hanging out in the world. He slowly took a long breath and forced his heartbeat to slow down, so as not to expose himself with a red face and ears.

The shopkeeper pretended to be a noodle maker while chatting with the other party: "As soon as I saw your actions, I knew you were an expert. The noodles I have here are all new ones from the north. They are of the best quality."

But you are probably not from Jinling. Locals rarely eat yellow rice noodles. They are only eaten by northerners and banner people. There are not many rice and grain stores in Jinling City that sell this. You are in luck. "

He wanted to find out the details of the other party. It would be better if he could do long-term business. Such a generous guest would definitely have more daily expenses than ten bannermen in the Shangshu.

"Well, I'm a northerner. I've been craving for some local food recently, so I came here to buy some." The young man explained a few words casually, then turned around and wandered around the store again, obviously not wanting to talk to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was bored, but not angry. After doing business for so many years, he had never encountered any kind of customer. He just didn't want to talk. To use a trendy word, he was shy.

He quickly packed the fifty kilograms of noodles, **** the neat bags, clapped his hands and said: "Tongsuo, put the flour bags on the big scale, and then go outside to find a cleaner rickshaw for Mr."

 “I got it, shopkeeper.”

Tongsuo greeted the eighteenth generation of the shopkeeper's ancestors in his heart, and put his bag on the scale with all his strength. Before he could take a breath, he walked to the door of the shop and waved to a rickshaw driver who was taking work.

 “Come quickly, there is life.”

"I'm coming."

The young rickshaw puller, wearing short clothes and pulling an eighty-percent-new rickshaw, ran over. He walked steadily and kept his shoulders motionless. He looked like a veteran at first glance. Riding in a rickshaw like this was so comfortable.

 When the car arrived, Tongsuo walked around the car. The black iron body was wiped clean, the red velvet seats were very beautiful, and the driver himself tidied it up neatly, which was very pleasing.

“Hurry in and help the guests move their things, be careful not to leak the dough bag.” Tongsuo shouted loudly and winked at the coachman calmly.

“Thank you for taking care of me, little brother.” The driver nodded imperceptibly, lowered his head and put the rickshaw aside naturally, and walked into Defa.

After a while, the coachman carried the dough bag and walked out with the young man. The coachman put the bag on the footrest, picked up the white towel around his waist, patted the seat, and said: "Sir, please sit down."

The other party sat on it and did not leave immediately. Instead, he threw a dime to the copper lock and then said to the rickshaw driver: "Let's go, I will show you the way. Please hurry up, I have something to do."

"Please wait."

The rickshaw driver lifted up the cart, pulled the other man and disappeared into the streets in a flash. Tongsuo was very envious and said to himself that Wu Guchang was so powerful that he could even pull a rickshaw. In the lean years, craftsmen would never die of hunger.

It’s just that if the other party is an agent of the Puppet Manchukuo, they will definitely not go back to their residence directly. They will change cars halfway. I don’t know if Corey’s brother can handle it well, and what I should do now.

He stood and looked around, trying to find a signal to retreat, but except for a few naughty children whizzing by, a breeze blew gently, and Tongsuo was shocked. He must have forgotten the young master again.

The cold is really uncomfortable.

 (End of this chapter)