Divination: wrote their contradictory psychology of hope and worry. (analysis and forecast)
A few old felt hats: metonymy was used. (Grain farmers and traders)
Changes in farmers' feelings: hope-anger-pleading-disappointment. (Farmers, traders)
Mr. Mihang's tone changes: sneer-boredom-disdain-intimidation. (end user)
A large amount of dumping of foreign rice and ocean surface. (import substitution)
"Peer-to-peer consultation", collusion with each other, meaning to suppress prices, (trade associations)
"bureaus" all over the place. (taxes, routines)
Land rent from the landlord's house. (Financing, storage costs)
[Original] [Appreciation]
The river pier of Wansheng Mihang is littered with open boats coming out of the country. The ship was loaded with new rice, which made the hull very low. The vegetable leaves and garbage on the ship's side are surrounded by white greasy foam, which fills the gap between this ship and that ship. Taste: vividly describe the situation of many ships moored at the dock. The word "low" makes people seem to see a heavy ship full of new rice. There are many boats that account for the rice, suggesting that farmers have a bumper harvest.
The river port is a street where only two or three people can walk side by side. Wansheng Mihang is just across the street. The morning sun shone obliquely from the broken tile ceiling, and the light pillars fell on some old felt hats shaking outside the counter. Taste: A few old felt hats: solid is the appearance of farmers in southern Jiangsu, using the method of metonymy.
Those who wore old felt hats rocked out early in the morning, arrived at the dock, breathless, and came to the counter to predict their fate. "Five pieces of brown rice and three pieces of grain," replied the gentleman in Mihang weakly.
"what!" The old felt hat friend could hardly believe his ears. The hope of happiness suddenly sank, and everyone froze for a while.
"Didn't you sell for thirteen dollars in June?"
"Fifteen dollars have also been sold, not to mention thirteen dollars."
"Where has it fallen so badly!"
"What time is it, don't you know? Rice is flooding in everywhere, and it will fall in a few days! " Taste: "The tide is coming in" to describe the rice, and the dark topic is "overcharged by three or five buckets"
Just now, the effort to rock the boat was like a dragon boat, and it relaxed in everyone's body. Heaven takes care of it, the rain is well mixed, and bugs don't get in the way. Everyone thinks it's time to get some air.
I didn't know that it came to the last divination, but I got a worse lesson than in previous years!
"It's better not to [[Tiao] sell food], let's shake it back and put it at home!" Such angry words gushed from a simple heart. Taste: The situation that farmers come to husked rice with the joy of a bumper harvest is in sharp contrast to hearing that rice prices are low and hopes are dashed, and angry words can only be said.
"before," Mr. sneer, "if you don't, people will starve to death? There are plenty of foreign rice and foreign noodles everywhere. The first batch has not been eaten yet, and several more batches have arrived from foreign ships. " Taste: Language description vividly depicts the face of the rice shop owner who despises and despises farmers.
Ocean rice, ocean surface and ocean ship are distant things, as if they can be ignored. Instead of the rice that has been sent to the river pier, it can only be said as an angry word. How can it not be ruined? The landlord has to pay the rent. In order to hire helpers, buy fertilizers and feed his stomach, he has to pay off the debts he borrowed. Taste: All this forces farmers to mow rice.
"Let's shake it to Fan's tomb." In Fan's tomb, there may be a better fate waiting for them. Some people think so. Taste: Disappointed people still have a little luck, hoping to have a better fate.
However, Mr. Wang came again with a "scoff", twisting his thin stubble and saying, "Don't talk about Fan's tomb, even if you shake it into the city. Our peers discussed that the price of these two days is five pieces of brown rice and three pieces of grain. " Taste: peer discussion "shows that Mihang has been United, and it is really" the world is as black as a crow. "
"It's no good going to Fan's tomb," the companions also put forward a rebuttal. "Here to the van tomb to two dui, know how much they donate us! Just say that according to their donation, where did you get the cash? " Taste: it's really a layer of exploitation to donate money after a game.
"Sir, can you raise it a little?" It's almost a cry.
"Raise a little, it is easy to say a word. Our rice business is based on capital. You know, raise it a little, that is to say, work for you for nothing. Who will do such a stupid thing? " Taste: "Who is willing to do it with capital?", the image of the rice shop owner who is mercenary is vividly on the paper.
"This price is so low that we never dreamed of it. The price is seven and a half dollars, and the price of rice is thirteen dollars. No, as your husband said, fifteen dollars has also been sold. We think it should be a little more than seven and a half dollars.
"I don't know that there are only five pieces!"
"Sir, it's the old price last year, seven and a half dollars."
"Sir, the farmers are poor. Please be kind and earn less."
Tired of listening, another gentleman threw his cigarette butt into the street, opened his eyes wide and said, "You think the price is low, so don't burn it." You came by yourselves, and you were not invited. Just do what you have to say! We have plenty of foreign money. We don't buy your, but we have others to buy. Look, there are two more boats parked at the dock. " Taste: from "hope" to "anger", and then to "pleading", begging Mr. Mi Hang for a higher price of rice.
Three or four old felt hats rose from under the stone steps, and below them were red faces showing hope. They immediately joined the first group. The oblique pillars of light fell on the shoulders of their rags.
"Listen, what's the price this year?"
"Not as good as last year, only five dollars!" With a look of frustration and helplessness.
"what!" Hope is like a soap bubble, and then three or four bubbles burst.
Although the soap bubbles of hope burst, the rice carried in the open boat will eventually be harvested; Moreover, it is destined to be sold to this Wansheng Mihang. There are plenty of foreign money in the rice shop, and foreign money is needed in the empty pocket of the rag coat. Taste: "I am so depressed that I can't help it", which expresses the disappointment of my old felt hat friends.
In the debate about the quality of rice, under the contention of shallow and full, the open boat at the dock of the ship was really open to the sky; The hull floats a lot, and the leaves and garbage that fill the gap between this ship and that ship are out of sight. The old felt hat friend sent the rice he planted to the stall of Wansheng Rice Company, and got more or less a pile of banknotes. "Taste: The rice has been harvested, and the boat is exposed to the sky. "More or less" means that the income is far from the value of rice, and the degree of exploitation can be seen.
"Sir, can't I give you some foreign money, Yuan Shikai?" White rice can't be exchanged for white cash, and it seems that they have given a discount again, which is strange and uncomfortable.
"Braids in the countryside!" With a pen hand on the abacus beads, disdain disdain eyes shot out from above the glasses, "a dollar bill for a dollar, who is good for you less a copper coin. We don't have foreign money here, only banknotes. " Taste depicts the face of Mr. Accountant of Mihang who despises farmers.
"Then, change it to the Bank of China." Judging from the pattern, I know that the money in my hand is not from the Bank of China.
"Scare!" The voice was harsh, and the index finger of his left hand pointed strongly, "This belongs to the central bank. You don't want it, but do you want to take a lawsuit?" Taste intimidation and coercion.
If you don't want this bill, you have to take a lawsuit. This truth is incomprehensible. But no one wanted to understand. Everyone looked at the portraits on the banknotes, exchanged skeptical glances with each other, and stuffed the banknotes into the empty pockets of rags or the empty pockets wrapped around the waistband. Taste "empty pockets" and "empty wallets" to write about the poverty of old felt hats. They needed money, so they had to mow rice.
A group of people grunted and left Wansheng Mihang, and another group of people stepped up from the dock. Similarly, the soap bubbles of hope burst in front of the counter, driving away the joy of looking at the heavy ears of rice since autumn. Similarly, white rice, which is extremely reluctant to part with, was sent to Wansheng's room and exchanged for banknotes that are not white and now foreign money. The taste of "one group of people ... another group of people ..." implies that there are many working people who are exploited layer by layer. ?
The streets are getting lively.
My old felt hat friend came to town today, so there were many plans. When the foreign soap is used up, you have to buy ten dollars and eight dollars back. You should also bring a few boxes of matches. Foreign oil is bought from vendors who carry the burden to the village. Ten coppers are only so small, which is too bad. It will be much cheaper if several families buy a tin and use it together. The colorful foreign cloth displayed in the window is said that as long as it is eight and a half feet, women have been jealous for a long time. Today, the rice is clamouring to come out together, and they have a budget for a few feet, a few feet and a few feet. Some women also have an egg-shaped foreign mirror, a snow-white towel or a small hat with beautifully knotted wool in their budgets. It's rare for heaven to take care of it. An acre of land is overcharged by three or five buckets, so that the hand that has always been tightly squeezed can be relaxed a little. Who says it shouldn't be? Paying rent, paying debts, and paying off money will probably be able to cope with the past; There is probably more to deal with than the past. In such a state of mind, some people even want to buy a thermos. This thing is really strange. You don't have to make a fire or wash it down with hot water. It will still be hot when you pour it out later. Compared with the teapot made of rice and firewood, it is really one in the sky and one in the ground. Taste and write some wonderful plans of friends with old felt hats after harvest. Everything they buy is a necessity in life. "As long as" shows that the price of foreign cloth is low, which contrasts with the fact that farmers are still poor and can't afford it.
When they left Wansheng Mihang, they muttered as if they had walked out of a casino that had always been bad for themselves-they lost again this time! How much do you lose? They don't know. In a word, there is not half or a dime in the stack of banknotes in the bag. I have to make up how many bills I don't know where they are, and people will be satisfied. This will not be known until people say it. The metaphor of taste is very accurate. Your own destiny is in the hands of others, just like a gambler. Words such as "always" and "lost again" indicate that fate is like this year after year. It's a living beyond our means.
If you lose, you will lose. It may not be much better to sail back immediately. Walking around the town and buying some things back will only add a sum to the loss account, and some things are really waiting to be used. So the streets became lively. Taste the psychology of a friend who wrote this sentence after the hope of an old felt hat was shattered. After the harvest, hope is shattered, and life will still make ends meet.
They walked in a narrow street in groups of three and five, dragging short figures. Still muttering in his mouth, he recalculated the price he just got and cursed the rice line with black conscience. A woman with a basket in her arms, or holding a child with one hand, just looks straight at the shops on both sides. The child was seduced by celluloid foreign animals, tigers, dogs, red and green tin bronze drums and tin horns, and refused to go away. Taste "dragging a short figure" implies that it is noon.
"Little brother, it's fun, a bronze drum and a horn. Buy one," he deliberately made a seductive tone. Then-winter, winter, winter,-beep, beep, beep.
Dang, Dang, Dang-"The foreign porcelain basin is scraping and screaming. It's fair to have one in four corners. Folks, take one."
"Hey, folks, here are all kinds of flowered foreign fabrics, which are on special sale. It's eight points and 51 feet, and the full size plus three. Do you want to cut some back?"
The shopkeepers in Wanyuan Xiang, Italy and Lao Fuxing worked very hard, calling "villagers" at the expense of work, and at the same time holding the cloth coat of "villagers" in a pandering way. They knew that only today, the pockets of "villagers" were full, which was a good opportunity that could not be missed. The seductive peddling sound of taste set off the cash-strapped old felt hat after a bumper harvest. "I don't hesitate to work hard" wrote the hypocrisy of these people.
After hesitating to save the budget, the "folks" handed the newly-acquired banknotes to the shop partners one by one. Matches and soaps are necessary, so we have to buy less. The foreign oil price is too "biting" to listen to, so don't buy it, or sell it to the hawker for ten coppers and a small ladle. As for the material, if you are going to cut two pieces, you will cut one piece, and if you are going to cut the mother and son together, you will cut the son's. The egg-shaped goggles were in my hand and put in the window. The wool hat was put on the child's head and tried on. Just after it was fitted, I gave my grandfather a "don't buy it" and took it off again. The taste of writing "folks" reduces the planned shopping and only picks the ones that are extremely needed to buy. "One piece and two pieces" reveals the helplessness of the villagers.
Anyone who wants to buy a thermos can hardly ask the price. Maybe a piece and a half. If you buy it back regardless of the willy-nilly, if nothing else, a few white-haired old ladies and grandmothers will scold you in waves: "In these years, you were greedy for ease and spent pieces and a half to buy these things for use, and you should never turn over!" You see, at our age, who has used these things! " This verbosity is enough. A few women couldn't resist their children's desire, so they bought them the cheapest little ocean. Xiaoyang's legs and arms can be rotated. If you want him to sit down, if you want him to stand, you can raise your hand. This not only makes the eyes of other children who can't get it almost angry, but also makes adults feel strange and interested. Taste "I can't even ask the price". For them, hot water bottles are a luxury because of the low income of husked rice.
"Folks" also sold some wine, bought some meat from the cooked meat shop, returned to their own boat moored at the pier of Wansheng Rice Boat, took out dishes containing pickles and tofu soup from the top of the boat, and sat at the bow and began to drink. The woman is cooking at the top of the boat. After a while, this ship also smoked, and that ship also smoked, and everyone was crying. Children tumble and roll in the open empty cabin, and pick up the dirty things floating on the river to play, but they have unspeakable happiness. Taste the two "points", saying that there is less wine and less meat, indicating the disaster brought by the bumper harvest to farmers, revealing the theme of the article from the side, and setting off the sadness of adults with the joy of children.
When the wine is in your stomach, you will talk more. Acquaintances, strangers, fall into the same fate and drink on the same river. You pick up the wine bowl and say a few words. I put down my chopsticks to pick them up, and when I hear them, I shout "Yes", but when I don't hear them, I scold them: everyone thinks that this is exactly what we need to vent. Only by appreciating that the poor people in the world are in the same boat and have the same sufferings can we have the same language.
"Five dollars a load, what a ghost!"
"Last year was a flood, the harvest was not good, and it was a loss. This year is a good year, good harvest, or a loss! "
"This year's loss is worse than last year; Last year it was only seven and a half dollars. "
"I have to eat my own rice again. Alas, farmers can't eat the rice they grow! " Taste this is the sorrow of the working people in that society.
"Why do you want to go out, you damn fool! I must stay at home and feed my wife and my son. I don't pay the rent, I'd rather go to court and lock them up! "
"Also had to not pay the rent. Pay the rent and borrow new debts immediately. Borrowed a debt of four cents and five cents to pay the rent. What are you greedy for? Are you greedy for carrying heavy debts next year! " Taste shows that life is like this every year.
"Tian Zhen is a great species!"
"Go back to rent escape. I think it's full of freehand brushwork. "
"If you flee to the desert, you will be in debt, and you won't have to solve the money. Good plan, let's go together!"
"Who comes out as a brain? There are several minds who have fled the country. Men and women, old and young, listen to their minds. "
"I see, it's not bad to go to Shanghai to work. Xiao Wang in our village, isn't he? Working in a factory in Shanghai, I heard that there are fifteen yuan a month. Fifteen dollars, according to today's price, is three tons of rice! "
"What do you turn over the calendar every other year! Don't you know that many factories were closed when the Toyo people fought in Shanghai, and Xiao Wang was a beggar there? "
The road is cut off. There was silence for a moment. The sauce-red face is ugly because of the sunlight and alcohol, as if deep red blood would burst out of the skin. Taste "the road is cut off", and the working people have no way out at all.
"We farm every year, for whom?" A man sipped his wine and asked a faint question. The phrase "taste" expresses the perplexity in people's hearts, and also shows people's awakening.
Another person pointed to Wansheng's half-new and not-old gold-lettered signboard and said, "It's just around the corner, it's planted for them.
We suffered hardships, paid heavy interest and borrowed money, and planted them. Their lips moved and they said,' Five dollars a load!' Just swallowed our oil and water! It is Mihang who tastes "just around the corner", which is actually planted for that social system and for officials, bandits and gentry.
"If only we could set our own prices. To be honest, I don't want more for eight dollars a load. " Taste is the lowest and most important requirement of farmers.
"You prisoner, what are you dreaming about there! Don't you hear? They started the rice shop with capital and refused to work for us for nothing. "
"So, our field is also planted with capital, why do you want to work for them in vain! Why do you want to work for the owner of the field! " Taste this sentence shows the awakening of the working people's resistance consciousness, and they have understood that their labor has been exploited.
"I just thought so in the room: now let you get cheap, and put the rice here; If you have nothing to eat in the future, come and eat your! " Deliberately kept his voice low, and he slipped to the shore with red eyes. The sense of taste resistance finally germinated.
"When there is nothing to eat, where there is rice, it is not illegal to take some to eat!" A confident voice.
"This spring, didn't Fengqiao have a rice grab?"
"The guards fired and killed two people."
"Those who are here today may also eat guns, who knows!" Taste the word "righteously" to write the psychology and performance of the newly awakened working people.
Of course, there is no resolution in the scattered conversation. The wine is dry, the meal is eaten, and everyone sails back to their villages. Taste shows that all the working people in the world are being exploited and oppressed, not just in this town.
The dark green dirty water rippled on the dock of the ship.
The next day, another batch of open boats came here to anchor. The town is performing the same story. This kind of story is also being performed in towns and cities everywhere. It is really ordinary and ordinary. Taste the phrase "it's cold at the dock ... dirty water" belongs to environmental description. "Cold and clear" implies depression; "Dirty water" implies that society is dirty. Indicate the ending of the story.
The old saying that "cheap grain hurts farmers" has become the headline of the inter-city newspaper.
The landlord felt that it was difficult to collect rent, so he held a meeting and sent electricity. He said to the effect that the harvest was particularly abundant, the food was surplus, the food price was low, and the farmers were suffering, so they should ask * * * to raise a relief plan.
The financial sector had to do business there, so it put forward a relief plan:
(1) The major banks and banks raise capital, buy grain and rice from all over the country, designate appropriate places to store them, and sell them one after another in the coming year, so as to keep the rice price in balance;
(two) to promote the mortgage of grain and rice, so that rice merchants will not purchase in groups, resulting in indefinite accumulation; (three) the financial sector is responsible for raising funds, purchasing grain and rice, and settling accounts after the sale, and returning them separately according to the proportion of profits and losses.
Industry is quiet. When the price of rice is low, workers can be exempted from "rice stickers", which is beneficial to them.
Social scientists have published papers in various magazines, and it is a joke to put forward the theory of food surplus from statistics and theory. It is not inevitable that "the grain is cheap and hurts the peasants". Even if the grain is not cheap, the peasants will be hurt under the double oppression of imperialism and feudal forces.
These are all things in the city, and I don't know anything about them in the "folks". Some of them burned their own rice, sold poor cattle, or borrowed four cents and five cents to pay the rent; Some stepped forward and were locked up in a detention center, paying their own meals with pain, and some indulged in gambling, hoping that the domino dice would be clever and win it ten pieces and eight pieces at a time; Some people come to put in a good word and withdraw their rent from the landowner, ready to be a clean poor man; Some slipped away and climbed up the fourth bus bound for Shanghai.
(Published on 1 July 19331day)
(Originally published Ye Shengtao Collection, Jiangsu Education Press, 1987)
In fact, for the description of the story in the novel, from the point of view of western economics, grain is an inelastic commodity. That is to say, if your price is high, we eat so much every day, and if your price is low, we still eat so much every day. When the harvest is good, the supply of grain is much higher than the demand, and the natural price will fall. This theory is "cheap grain hurts farmers", which is inevitable everywhere. So now the state will have a "support price" for agricultural products (. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the grain policy and grain market have also changed constantly. From the period of the Republic of China to the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China (liberated areas) until now, the domestic grain market has undergone earth-shaking changes.
The grain market in China has experienced 70 years of ups and downs, such as market price, list price, land reform, unified purchase, unified purchase and marketing, contract ordering (dual-track system), protective price+marketization, temporary reserve and marketization+minimum purchase price. From the grain management office and the grain depot. Then to the development of trading models such as trading centers and futures spot trading platforms. All the changes are related to national policies. (Corn Jianghu Hu Xiaodong)