chsdbacks Page 119
Page 119
Moreover, the most common dwellings for locals are dugouts, which are simply holes dug in sheltered places and covered with wood and bark. They leak wind in winter and rain in summer, with countless drawbacks, but at least they allow people to survive, and that's enough.
As for building a small cabin by logging like in wilderness survival? Sorry, even a carpenter couldn't do that, because there's no time for you to do your own work!
By the small stove, Kong Lingwan warmed herself while preparing breakfast. She took out a clay pot, ground some rye flour (including the husks), poured it in, added some water, chopped some dried wolf meat into small pieces, and finally added some honey she had found while cutting down trees in the forest.
A pot of mixed ingredients stewed together—that's breakfast. The most common staple foods in the area are cold-resistant rye and potatoes. Potatoes must be stored for the winter, while rye is eaten regularly.
Aside from staple foods, the rest depends on your own abilities. Everyone uses their own methods to find food from nature. Those who have survived to this day are basically those who have jobs; those who don't have jobs have long been eliminated.
We must be willing to eat breakfast, because there is no time to eat lunch. We must seize the time to work and finish as much as possible before the snow, so that we can do less when it snows.
If you can't meet the targets, even if it's minus fifty degrees Celsius, you have to work like crazy. If you don't meet this year's targets, they will be carried over to next year!
Before Kong Lingwan could even eat, shouts rang out at the entrance of her dugout.
"Kong Dawang, are you up yet?" It was the village chief's voice.
Kong Lingwan asked in confusion, "What's wrong? It's not time to start work yet!"
The village chief said, "If you have other business to discuss, I've brought my men in!"
The village chief led two women and two children into Kong Lingwan's house. One of the women was quite old, while the other was young. Both of them were disheveled and dressed in rags. The two children, a boy and a girl, were clearly toddlers under ten years old.
Kong Lingwan was shocked: "Village chief, I haven't offended you, have I? Why are you trying to mess with me?"
This is clearly a job search for a woman and child. They are most likely the family members of the unfortunate man who was killed by a falling tree yesterday. Without a man, they can't go on living, so they have no choice but to ask the village chief to find them a new home.
The reason why Kong Lingwan has been alive and well for so long is that he is a bachelor with no parents or children, and he works and eats by himself.
If there are four more mouths now, that would be a disaster.
Under the reform camp system, all supplies were distributed according to the number of people, which was the only humane aspect, giving the elderly, weak, women and children a tiny chance to survive.
That's how it's calculated, but the actual distribution of supplies wasn't so good. The per capita supply was far from enough to feed everyone, and each additional person had to work even harder to make ends meet.
Basic supplies are allocated to each person only 100 grams per day. To survive, everyone has to rely on supplies replenished after the quota plan is completed. How did Kong Lingwan manage to squeeze four mouths dry in one go?
The village chief scolded, "Kong Dawang, stop your nagging. Everyone here has a family to support. You're the only bachelor. Who's going to help you? Are you just going to watch those women and children freeze to death in the winter and then be cooked by someone else?"
“We’re all from the same village. Back in our hometown, I was your village chief, and I’m still your village chief here. Does that mean my word doesn’t count anymore?”
Kong Lingwan said with difficulty, "If you hand it over to me, I'll just starve and freeze to death, and I won't survive either. Why bother?"
The village chief said, "You, Kong Lingwan, took the imperial examination for ten years, but your family sold their land, your parents died, and you were twenty-five years old and had accomplished nothing. If it weren't for the villagers taking care of you, you would have starved to death long ago. Would you even have the chance to come here?"
"I only arranged a ready-made mother-in-law and wife for you because I felt sorry for you. Your son and daughter are already seven or eight years old. You've been raising that unlucky bastard Kong Daleng for nothing for so long. You're so lucky!"
"Stop making excuses for me. This is the rule in the village for hundreds of years. Everyone has survived this way. This is how we do things back in our hometown in Shandong, and we still have to do it here."
Otherwise, if the skin is gone, where will the hair attach? You are an educated and reasonable person. If all the Kong family members in the village only care about their own business, they will all be scattered and die sooner or later.
"What use will you be if you live alone then? You might be able to fight against the other villages, they all have the surname Kong, but they won't treat you as one of their own. Not to mention the Russians and Koreans, who can you possibly defeat by yourself?"
“There were over 700 people in Balizhuang, but now only 400 are left. Every one less is a loss. We are all fellow villagers, and no one can be blamed for our current predicament. We can only try to survive side by side, understand?”
Balizhuang suffered because of the Confucian family in Qufu. The former village chief worked as an accountant in the Confucian mansion. He would embezzle the wages and food of the tenants and workers, and also lend money at usurious rates, which drove many people to their deaths.
After he made money, he sent it back to Balizhuang, kept buying land, and even sponsored young people in the village to study and built bridges for the village.
Kong Lingwan received his early education with his sponsorship, which led her down the path of no return to take the imperial examinations.
After the scandal broke out at the Confucius Mansion, the accountant was beaten to death on the road before he even left Qufu. The relatives of those he had driven to their deaths were beaten into bursting beef balls with wooden sticks.
Balizhuang, as a major beneficiary, was also implicated. The entire village was sent to a reformatory on Sakhalin Island, and no one, young or old, was caught. Over the years, the village had received a total of more than 23,000 Han Yuan in silver, money and goods illegally obtained by that accountant.
After the incident, the people of Balizhuang were still not satisfied and wanted to gather a crowd to resist the law, but they were suppressed by the garrison. A squad of soldiers came and killed eight people, and the remaining seven hundred or so people of Balizhuang obediently surrendered to the law.
Now that they've arrived on Sakhalin Island, they're completely convinced and don't dare to show any temper. They work diligently, hoping for a chance to be pardoned and start over.
In this place, if you go it alone, you'll be devoured sooner or later, leaving not even bones behind. None of the people who come here are kind-hearted, and none of those who have survived to this day are innocent.
Last year, many villages still had some disunited labor teams, but those teams disappeared as a whole. The reasons behind this are chilling to think about.
To put it simply, when a region's resources are only enough to feed 80% of its population, the theoretical solution is for each person to reduce their resources. However, the practical solution is to reduce the population to 80%, or even lower!
When winter comes, the people on the island are said to turn into ghosts. The living are more terrifying than tigers and brown bears. The authorities don't care and let them do as they please. Only after winter ends will they clear out the survivors again. As for those who are eliminated, they become the "reasonable losses" of the reform camp.
Kong Lingwan had come to her senses and nodded helplessly, "Alright, I agree!"
Only after Kong Lingwan agreed did the village chief breathe a sigh of relief and bring out the prepared reward.
The village chief said, "Someone from above came down and informed us that the reformatory camps will also follow the national policy and provide compulsory education from now on."
"This year, preparations should be more thorough. The government has doubled the basic food rations for all children under the age of fifteen, and has also provided each minor with an extra ounce of soybeans per day!"
"We also want to set up a school in the village and hire a teacher. There's no funding, but we'll give the teacher 50 jin of potatoes every month, and he won't have to do any labor!"
“Since you’ve agreed, that proves you’re still a resident of Balizhuang. I’ll assign you to be the school teacher. You’ll take twenty jin of the fifty jin of potatoes, and the remaining thirty jin will go to the village.”
Kong Lingwan's mouth dropped open, stunned by the sudden surprise. Twenty catties of potatoes a month, and she didn't have to participate in the quota labor. What kind of treatment was this?
Seeing the village chief's meaningful smile, Kong Lingwan understood that if he didn't agree to take in the elderly and weak, this cushy job would definitely not be his. Even the village chief himself was tempted. If he weren't reluctant to give up his position as the labor team leader, he would have wanted to become the school teacher.
Such a desirable job would only be given to those who are loyal to the group.
But Kong Lingwan thought even more deeply. He exclaimed, "Are they starting to show us some compassion?"
"As expected of someone who's studied for over a decade, that's quite a sharp mind. The higher-ups have changed; they're starting to be lenient now. After all, if everyone dies, it won't do them any good, will it?"
The village chief continued, "It's been confirmed. This year, it seems that a minor exemption has been implemented locally. Children under the age of fifteen can be exempted from punishment as long as they did not commit the crime themselves. They will only be subject to disciplinary action based on their records. If a minor under the age of fifteen has already been punished, then they are considered to have completed their atonement, and their records can also be exempted."
"In other words, all the children in Balizhuang will have a clean record from now on. We can no longer take the imperial examinations, but they can. They have already atoneed for their sins."
"Protecting every child now means giving Balizhuang a greater chance of hope for the future!"
"We deserve the punishment for the sins of the Kong family. Our generation has borne all the blame. The next generation must live an honest and upright life and never follow the same path!"
Kong Lingwan's eyes lit up. She thought her life was ruined, but there was still hope for the next generation. If there were no hope, Kong Lingwan would never have seriously raised her child, since it would have been pointless anyway. But having hope made all the difference.
Immediately, Kong Lingwan looked at the two children brought over by the village chief, and her gaze softened. With a son and daughter readily available, raising them would be much easier.
The village chief nodded, satisfied, and left. Kong Lingwan didn't need to go into the mountains to cut down trees today; she could stay in the village and prepare for the school's establishment.
The change in wind direction brought a touch of warmth to Sakhalin Island in late autumn, calming the restless hearts of its hundreds of thousands of residents.
This year, minors under the age of fifteen were pardoned. So, will adults be able to receive a pardon earlier next year?
Even if it hadn't been announced in advance, everyone would have been happy, since no one knew whether the government was just trying to fool people, but now the government has taken concrete actions to prove it.
All children under the age of fifteen were granted a pardon. With winter approaching, there wasn't enough time to complete other procedures, so the city government simply doubled their winter supplies, set up schools, and provided each child with an ounce of soybeans per day. This completely reassured the rest of the adults.
Next year, the government will provide land to the pardoned people at a standard of ten acres per person, at which time the residents will have their own property on Sakhalin Island for the first time.
These measures are not only adjustments at the central level, but also changes in the provincial governments of North Korea. Du Qingwu has transformed his tough ruling style at the beginning of his term into a more conciliatory one this year.
Especially in overseas regions like Sakhalin Island, the old system of survival of the fittest is no longer suitable. These are overseas islands that urgently need population to consolidate the foundation of rule. Why bother with survival of the fittest? Not only are there no preferential policies, but they don't even have basic treatment. They are even forced to survive on isolated islands.
If this continues, Sakhalin Island will have infrastructure but no people, what good will that do?
Moreover, the bestial society formed by long-term oppressive rule is not in line with the human rights and freedom values of the Republic. It is truly shameful that the people who are bathed in the glory of the Republic have fled to Tsarist Russia to become serfs!
Du Qingwu felt that he had already used both kindness and severity, and that the severity he should have shown was sufficient. A 30-40% elimination rate was already quite alarming.
Next, we still need to show compassion and gradually transform the increasingly brutal social environment into a people-oriented one. Then, we need to normalize various measures, continue to introduce immigrants, and stabilize the rule of Sakhalin Island. That's the real priority!
Chapter 200 Reporting on Duties in the Capital
On January 1, 1910, heavy snow fell in Beijing.
Platform 4 of Qianmen Railway Station has been placed under martial law. A squad of SS soldiers, armed with submachine guns, wearing peaked caps, trench coats, and high boots, has placed Platform 4 under martial law. The other platforms are still operating normally for boarding and alighting.
Zhan Tianyou's special train came to a steady stop on the tracks next to Platform 4. The white steam emanating from the steam engine rose up from below the platform and filled the entire platform.
Although it was called a special train, Zhan Tianyou only occupied two carriages. The other carriages were used for normal freight and passenger transport, but it was a bit more troublesome. They had to wait for Zhan Tianyou to get on and off first before they could move freely.
The lockdown at the train station only affected one platform; the rest of the area continued to operate normally. After all, even though Zhan Tianyou had risen to the rank of cabinet member, he still didn't have the privilege of having an entire train dedicated to him, let alone a whole station serving him. That was a privilege only Zhao Yan received.
"Your Excellency, you've worked hard! Congratulations on your successful return!" The person who came to greet him was Brigadier General Zhao Hao, who was not qualified according to his rank.
Brigadier General is such a strange military rank, neither here nor there. There are only two people in the entire army who hold the rank of Brigadier General, Zhao Hao and Qiu Xingxun. According to the civil service level, this is not even as good as a junior officer.
But Zhao Hao was Zhao Yan's absolute confidant, known as the Grand Eunuch of the dynasty, and he was also a man!
Zhao Hao was in charge of the security inside and outside the Forbidden City. The First Division of the SS under his command was the Imperial Guard of the current dynasty, the only army stationed in the capital. If others said they were under the emperor's feet, then they were right at the emperor's side.
"Not at all, General Zhao, you've really worked hard. It's so cold, yet you've led your men to wait here all this time. I'm so sorry for you!" Zhan Tianyou addressed him as General Zhao, his smile warm and his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.
This made Zhao Hao feel comfortable. He didn't like people flattering him because he knew he wasn't worthy of their flattery. So those people's purpose was to curry favor with their master.
But Zhao Hao also doesn't like others putting on airs with him; no normal person likes someone who acts superior.
Therefore, being neither humble nor arrogant was the attitude Zhao Hao liked. His smile became more sincere: "Your Excellency is too modest. You have been in charge of strategic development work in the Northeast for two or three years. You have achieved great success."
Zhan Tianyou did not deny his contributions, as they were undeniable. To be modest would be hypocritical. However, he still restrained himself and said, "I am still the Minister of Transportation. It is not appropriate to call me Grand Secretary. Everything must follow the rules. I am only Grand Secretary after the head of state approves me. Before approval, I do not take any rumors seriously."
Zhao Hao laughed: "It was my fault for being rude. Old Zhan is right to reprimand me!"
Facing Zhao Hao, Zhan Tianyou dared not overstep his bounds in any way. After all, Zhao Hao was a close associate of Zhao Yan. If others called him "Grand Secretary" a couple of times, Zhan Tianyou might just go along with it. After all, everyone has vanity.
But when Zhao Hao called, he dared not answer. What if it got back to Zhao Yan and made Zhao Yan think he was getting arrogant?
Zhao Hao gestured and invited, "The carriage is ready, Elder Zhan, please get in."
"The head of state originally wanted to greet you personally, but he was too busy with work, so he asked me to pick you up. Please forgive him, Mr. Zhan."
Zhan Tianyou was deeply moved: "What merit do I have to deserve such a personal welcome from the head of state?"
If Zhan Tianyou wants Zhao Yan to personally pick him up, he would have to come back sideways and be covered with the national flag. Only then would Zhao Yan come to pick him up personally. But that wouldn't be called a triumphant return; it would be called a soul returning home!
The two boarded two carriages one after the other and headed straight for the Forbidden City. Zhao Yan had already instructed that he should see Zhan Tianyou as soon as he returned.
This was also a rule set by Zhao Yan: ministers or work groups sent out from the central government would report to him as soon as they returned to the capital.
Zhao Yan would personally ask about everything, and those who were asked had to tell the truth because Zhao Yan was a conman. If you lied to his face, the success rate was very low. Even if you succeeded in convincing him after the verbal questioning, Zhao Yan would still review the documents and materials.
Unless you are absolutely certain that you can deceive Zhao Yan both in writing and verbally, you can only tell the truth.
Many ministers and work groups sent to the capital for duty reports were terrified of such reports. In the provinces, they were imperial envoys or big shots who held the power of life and death, but in front of Zhao Yan, they were just primary school students waiting to pass their assignments.
Zhao Yan asked questions about everything, big and small, without any rhyme or reason, and he would ask whatever came to mind, whatever he didn't understand.
Zhao Yan would often leave officials sweating profusely with his questions. If they answered one or two questions incorrectly or couldn't answer them at all, he would start cursing them out, leaving them utterly dejected.
But if you try to be clever and fool people, pretending not to know what you know and pretending not to know what you don't know, Zhao Yan won't even bother to scold you. He'll just send you to the cultural department to revise the pseudo-Qing history.
Zhao Yan had no choice; these work reports and inquiries were among the few ways, aside from official documents and committee reports, to understand the true situation on the ground.
Zhao Yan couldn't see it with his own eyes, so he could only learn about it through those who had seen it firsthand. He believed that listening to both sides would lead to clarity, while listening to only one side would lead to obscurity.
Zhao Yan would not blindly believe the official documents sent by his subordinates, nor would he only believe the words of the central local committee members and the workers, peasants and businessmen. He had to obtain information through multiple channels, then synthesize it, find the differences, and analyze who was telling the truth and who was lying, who was right and who was wrong.
Zhan Tianyou entered the Forbidden City without any trouble. Accompanied by Zhao Hao, he went straight to the study without being searched or checked. After all, Zhao Hao had personally brought him here, and he was a prospective Grand Secretary.
Upon entering the Imperial Study, Zhan Tianyou found that nothing had changed; it remained the same as before, except that the kang (heated brick bed) was burning brightly, making the room very warm.
The desk was still piled high with official documents, and Zhao Yan was still diligently reviewing them as always.
Meanwhile, Empress Wu Xia, heavily pregnant, stood by with lunch in her hands, constantly urging Zhao Yan to eat.
"Hmm? Her belly is bigger again? It seems the leader still has some assets. At this age, he's still having one child after another. I admire him!" Zhan Tianyou thought to himself.
After taking two steps closer, Zhan Tianyou shouted, "Your Excellency, I'm back!"
Zhao Yan looked up, then took off his glasses and looked at Zhan Tianyou seriously: "Hey, Lao Zhan, you're finally back! It's been three years since we last met in the capital. You've gotten so much older!"
Zhan Tianyou's face was weathered, and he looked much thinner and darker than when he left Beijing at the end of 1906. Back then, Zhan Tianyou was a fair-skinned and plump middle-aged man, but now he looked like a dark and thin old man, with much deeper wrinkles on his face.
One sentence warmed Zhan Tianyou's heart, and his eyes began to well up with tears, because he also saw the change in the leader: "Your Excellency, you have changed too. Please take care of your health!"
When the core war preparedness meeting was held in Beijing, Zhao Yan invited only a few of his most trusted senior officials to the meeting, and Zhan Tianyou was one of them.
At that time, Zhao Yan was enthusiastic and confident, just like a young man in his early twenties—strong, young, and confident.
However, over the past three years, Zhao Yan has fought battles in the north and south, and has been working hard. His once jet-black hair has started to thin and become bald, and his temples have begun to show faint silver-white spots.
Zhao Yan had also lost a lot of weight, his face was no longer young, and he looked like a middle-aged man. He also had a scar on his right cheek, and the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were even deeper than those of Zhan Tianyou.
"Haha, the world is changing, China is changing, and we definitely have to change along with it."
"Come, come, Lao Zhan, sit down! Wife of the children, go and make some tea!"
"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Let's eat together and chat while we eat."
Zhao Yan warmly entertained Zhan Tianyou, and Wu Xia obediently went to make tea. However, Zhao Hao was quicker and rushed to make tea and serve the cups before she could, after all, his teacher's wife was heavily pregnant!
Seeing that Zhao Yan had finally served the bowls and chopsticks, Wu Xia felt relieved and quietly left without saying much.
After Wu Xia left, Zhan Tianyou spoke up: "Congratulations! The First Lady is pregnant again. I can't miss the First Lady's wedding banquet this time!"