One day in the 1970s and 1980s, an old man in rags came to the door of the government of a certain place in Shanxi. He held a piece of paper tightly in his hand, and looked very troubled in front of the government. Turning around, the government officials quickly noticed the old man and asked the old man if he needed help or if there was any difficulty. The old man hesitated when asked, and then he wrinkled a piece of paper. The crumpled torn paper was handed to the staff, and the staff unfolded it in a puzzled manner. The above content gradually emerged. The staff was shocked after reading it. This was actually an IOU once laid down by the Eighth Route Army...
staff The matter was immediately reported to the leader. After the expert appraisal, the stamp on it was indeed the seal of the government at the time. The expert was also very excited when he saw this, and asked: "Who is Guo Yangming?" Guo Yangming is also the same. The gentleman who lent 11 million French currency to the Eighth Route Army on this IOU was the old man's grandfather, and this matter has to be talked about from his grandfather's time.
Guo Jianying’s ancestors have been in business for generations. His grandfather Guo Yangming was a well-known local businessman in those days. He was not only honest and friendly, but also very kind and generous. Guo Yangming made money out of harmony. After the Japanese army invaded China, the people had no livelihood, and the government at that time was also incompetent. Guo Yangming personally served porridge for the impoverished people nearby. In that era, food was very important to the people and the soldiers. The soldiers can only win the war if they have enough food. The Kuomintang has also given a deadly order to the people. The people are not allowed to give food to the Eighth Route Army in private. If they are found, they will be killed.
But the people all know who is really good for them. Even though the Kuomintang orders, there are still many people who risk their lives to deliver food to the Eighth Route Army soldiers. If the people secretly send food to the Eighth Route Army, they will be seen and reported. , Then this family can hardly escape the clutches of the Kuomintang.
In 1940, following the defeat of the Japanese army in the Pacific War , the Japanese army began to turn its spearhead to the anti-Japanese troops in Shanxi.To this end, 10,000 troops were directly dispatched, and the troops were divided into several routes to encircle and suppress the various anti-Japanese base areas in Shanxi. The local Eighth Route Army fought intermittently with the Japanese army for more than 30 times, killing more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers, lasting 38 days, and the Japanese army saw this. , We can only give up the offensive, and our army won the final victory in this battle.
Although the final result is good, the hardships in the middle can be imagined. The Japanese army has surrounded them in order to clear and suppress the Eighth Route. The Eighth Route Army has run out of food because of this. They can only deal with the Japanese guerrillas hungry. To this end, they also thought of many ways, such as buying grain from the local villagers, but in this war-torn era, who can have surplus grain, and if so, how many people would dare to lend them.
The Eighth Route Army is empty-handed. It is definitely not possible to buy it. The team has strict discipline. The people cannot be used for nothing. The war is getting more and more tense. The Eighth Route Army has nothing to do with it. The people have to In order to protect them, the Eighth Route Army was still fighting the Japanese guerrillas on an empty stomach. They ignored the Kuomintang’s warning. The slightly wealthier people began to prepare food for the Eight Routes and sent them to the Eight Routes soldiers. The soldiers were very moved when they saw the people rushing to give them food. Although there was no money to buy them, but the war was tense, they drew an IOU. Therefore, many villagers who have given food to the soldiers will have an IOU laid down at that time in their hands.
At that time, Guo Yangming was a coal mine owner, and his family was very rich, even richer than many local landlords. He not only sent a lot of food to the Eighth Route Army, but also directly donated 11 million French currency. The Eighth Route Army We certainly won’t accept this free donation. For this, we have also laid an IOU. Guo Yangming understands that this is the discipline of the team, and he accepted the IOU without shirk. He treasured this IOU, but He didn't want time to go to the government to honor it, he just took it as a souvenir to commemorate that he also contributed a small force to the anti-Japanese war.
Guo Mingyang later relied on his own reputation and his business became more and more prosperous, but this made his competitors particularly jealous.After they discussed, they began to jointly suppress Guo Mingyang’s shops and lower the quality of the products. They lowered the price just to get rid of their thorny eyes. In that era, everyone was not rich, and coal mine sales were for large quantities and would not be retail. , The difference in the price of a catty is a large sum after the final total price is calculated.
The guy in Guo Mingyang's hands also persuaded him to lower the quality, wouldn't it make money, but Guo Mingyang refused. Among the businessmen of their ancestors, the most important thing is reputation. Guo Mingyang did not want to be shoddy, but before his goods were at the lowest prices. He has always been small profits but quicker sales. Under the pressure of competitors, his shops have become smaller and smaller, and the backlog of goods is also serious.
But his competitors are still not satisfied with this, and even moved their hands and feet in his goods. Guo Mingyang’s shop had an accident after one of the goods transactions, and all the people who used his coal mine were suffering. He got sick and coughed more than ever, and all of this was caused by his competitors. They impersonated coal miners and acted on Guo Mingyang’s coal mines. After this batch of coal mines were sold, not only his reputation was destroyed, but also a large number of them. Compensation and various treatment costs let Guo Mingyang dig out his family.
After that, the customers in his shop became even rarer. Only a few people he had helped believe in him. The workers in his family were scattered, and only his own was left. Wife and children. After several years of decline, the former wealthy businessmen became ordinary farmers. Not only is his family's economy worsening day by day, his body is also worsening day by day after experiencing great ups and downs. His ancestral family business is gradually withering in his hands. Will he regret his dedication to this credibility in his heart? ?
He passed away a few years later. Before he died, he personally handed this IOU to his son and asked him: "This IOU is not for you to ask the government for money, this IOU It is the honor of our family. We have helped the Eighth Route comrades.”
In this way, Guo Mingyang ended his life. Although he had a very unsatisfactory life in the second half of his life, he never went to the government to pay back the money. The son has always remembered his words, sunrise and sunset and rest,Live a down-to-earth life, although poor, but fortunately, after the land reform before, their family has also been allocated their own land, at least there is no need to worry about various taxes and land rents. Guo Mingyang's son also spent his whole life indifferently. After he got old, he passed the IOU to his son Guo Jianying.
The young Guo Jianying did not intend to ask the government for money. In his eyes, this IOU is like a family heirloom, passed on from generation to generation. There is the story of his grandfather, but as Guo Jianying gets older Go, his income was pitiful, and his wife’s health was getting worse and worse. At this time, he learned that his wife was seriously ill. He was forced to a desperate situation. He wanted to save his wife, but the family simply Without this financial condition, he remembered the IOU his father had left him. He looked at the IOU for a long time and fell into deep thought. He was wondering whether to seek help from the government. At this time, the wife in the next room started a series of coughing again. He can't take care of that much anymore. In his eyes, it is more important for his wife who hasn't been with him for so many years.
He told his wife to go and return, and then he found the local government, but he still couldn't tell about it. He took the IOU 40 years ago and asked the current government to pay for it. It doesn’t make sense. He stood by the government. He couldn't move his legs in front of the door, until the staff saw him and asked them forward before he revealed his intentions.
This IOU was indeed an Eighth Route Army soldier, but the war was ruthless. This Eighth Route Army soldier died heroically on the battlefield of the Anti-Japanese War. The seal on the IOU was also stamped by the previous government. After another professional investigation and evidence collection, the government finally confirmed the authenticity of this IOU. Guo Jianying’s hanging heart was then let go. Although it was indeed passed down by his grandfather, if something went wrong in the middle, wouldn’t he be arrested as a liar, or if the government doesn’t recognize it, then he too There is no way.
After verifying the authenticity of the IOU, the following questions left the leaders wondering what to do. The currency that was popular in the past was still legal tender, but now it is RMB. If it is converted, how much should be given to the old man? ? The legal currency was issued in 1935 and ended in just 13 years.Because of the severe inflation at that time, prices have risen thousands of times without exaggeration.
There is no way to calculate the exchange ratio between French currency and RMB. After repeated consideration by the government, Guo Jianying was finally discounted to RMB 80,000. It was in 1981, and everyone’s daily consumption was divided by points. It is very rare for a 10,000 yuan household to spend money, and this is a full 80,000 yuan!
Guo Jianying wanted to raise enough money for his wife’s medical treatment. This time, he was also very bottomless. He thought to himself that if the government didn’t exchange it, it would be a big deal to go home with the IOU. The result was unexpected. However, the government not only did not shirk at all, but also gave him a huge amount of RMB. Guo Jianying quickly thanked the government leaders, but the leaders said that he deserved it, and thanked his grandfather, Comrade Guo Mingyang, for it. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was a part of the effort.
A chopstick is fragile. If the Eighth Route Army was isolated and helpless without the help of the people, it would be difficult to fight off the Japanese invaders. It was the unity of the Chinese people and the soldiers' blood With our present China. We are proud of our motherland, proud of being a Chinese!
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