E Nan was already pleasantly surprised by the amount of money he received from his wages. But when he received the food, he was really shocked.
The food provided here is actually rice.
A full ten kilograms of rice is very heavy in a cloth bag, but it also makes people feel very at ease.
Where is the food here?
This is clearly the hope of survival.
E'nan held the silver tightly in his hand, hugged the rice bag tightly to his chest, and ran homeward.
Along the way, whenever he met anyone, he would stay away for fear of collision.
Once someone looks at him twice, he will be very nervous, fearing that someone will steal his money and food.
After being frightened all the way, I finally ran home and felt a little more at ease.
"Quick! Hide this money and don't show it."
E'nan's wife looked at the shining silver, fearing that she would be rich soon, and her eyes almost went straight.
"Husband, have you done something bad? Return the money quickly. If the second class masters come to your door, they will beat you to death."
Er Nan has never been so proud as he is today.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I earned this all by working. You don't know, the new army is very good. Not only did they give them money, but they also gave them food. We don't have to go hungry anymore."
Feeling the temperature of the silver and looking at the heavy bag of grain in E-nan's hand, the woman's mood did not improve much.
"Could it be that the Japanese pirates are coming again?"
Being in Busan, what people here feel most strongly are the Japanese people across the sea.
In the war decades ago, the vicious Japanese army landed here and then swept across the Eight Routes of Korea.
After hearing what E-nan said that the new troops were not Koreans, the woman thought of the terrible legend.
Er Nan shook his head, also a little confused.
"Although they are not speaking Korean, they are not Japanese pirates either. I asked, and they all said they were from the country above. But they are a little different from the people in the country above. The clothes worn by those troops are shorter than ours, and
They all have short hair close to the scalp, more like a monk."
The woman is frightened.
"If they are not Koreans, then why are they here?"
Er Nan waved his hands irritably, not wanting to think too much about it.
"It doesn't matter what they are here for. Anyway, as long as we work hard, we will be given money and food. Isn't it much better than those two-shift masters?"
After all, they are all poor people, illiterate and without any noble sentiments. With money in their hands and food in hand, E'nan's family finally smiled.
That night, Er Nan's wife cooked a large pot of rice, and the three children all ate full belly.
They finally no longer feared the cold and slept soundly while lying on the wooden boards.
In the dim light of the fire, Er Nan was talking to his wife in a low voice.
"I have to go to the dock tomorrow. As long as we work hard, we can survive this winter."
It was rare for my wife to show a gentle smile.
"Don't be too tired. This family depends on you."
Er Nan nodded slightly and began to calculate silently in a comfortable mood. If he continued to work, how much money and food could he earn?
The next day, there were more and more North Koreans working at the dock.
It must be that the news has spread in the city, and everyone knows that this new strange army treats people well, not only gives them wages but also provides them with food, which can help them survive this difficult winter.
Ernan originally planned to work as he did yesterday, but on the way he heard an officer recruiting workers.
"Labourers who need to deliver things to the Nakdong River will be paid one penny and twenty kilograms of rice for each round trip."
As soon as this statement came out, there was an uproar around him.
Obviously this treatment is better than the exhausting work of moving on the dock.
Even if it takes three days to travel far away, what do the poor North Koreans have to fear?
E'nan was close and he immediately grabbed him.
"General, I'll do it."
The officer naturally didn't say anything.
"Wait in the back."
E Nan ran over happily, waiting to be arranged.
He happened to see his brother-in-law Li Zheng and shouted quickly: "Go back and tell you Nuna that I will help the army deliver goods to the Nakdong River and I will be back in three days."
Li Zheng didn't have any worries and said: "The roads are slippery in the snow. Be careful when working and don't get hurt."
The officer recruited more than 300 workers in total, and then assigned them one-wheeled wooden carts.
"Three people work in groups, one person pulls the cart in front, and two people push it behind. The cart must be full of things, and there must be no less."
The workers obeyed the order and loaded things into the cars one after another. After loading until they could no longer load, the convoy began to set off from the port.
It had been snowing non-stop for the past few days, and it was half a foot thick. The group set out on the road and trudged forward in the wind and snow, which was really hard.
There was also a group of soldiers escorting us nearby. When encountering difficulties, these soldiers did not just look at us, but even came to help.
This alone is completely different from North Korean soldiers.
When they saw those soldiers wearing thick cotton hats, tight hoods covering their faces, and even thick cotton gloves on their hands, these North Korean workers were all envious.
Their faces, necks, hands, and feet were all cut open by the biting cold wind because they were exposed to the air.
I walked for more than two hours, and as noon arrived, the whistle sounded.
All the workers hurriedly put down their cars, then slumped on the ground, trying to regain their strength.
A soldier came over and shouted: "Rest for half an hour and eat something."
The workers were very happy when they heard that they could eat.
They were all prepared before setting off. At this time, they opened the cloth bags on their bodies, took out the rice balls that were already as cold as stones, and gnawed them with grinning teeth.
But before they even took a few bites, the aroma wafting in the cold air made them salivate.
Looking along the scent, not far away, the soldiers escorting them had set up an iron pot at some point.
The rich aroma of the boiling hot soup boiling in the iron pot made these North Korean workers salivate.
They also saw the soldiers throwing a lot of things into the iron pot. Although they didn't know what they were, it still made them go crazy with greed.
The strangeness of the workers here was discovered by the soldiers.
A man who looked like an officer thought for a while and gave some instructions to the people next to him.
Immediately, several soldiers came over with iron pots and things, and said to them: "In such a cold weather, you only eat this, how can you stand it? Eat all of them."
The soldiers helped the workers line up the iron pots, obviously intending to feed them the same thing.
When had these Koreans, who had always been bullied and oppressed, ever been treated so considerately? All of them burst into tears for a while.
When I looked at these soldiers again, any fear I had had dissipated.