HLnovel Chapter 241 Initial results
Chapter 241 Initial results
Seeing his wife walking into the house carrying two bags, William immediately suppressed the nameless anger in his heart.
He realized that he had wronged his wife Catherine, who had gone out at night to buy food.
Hearing the door open, Catherine's eldest son Robbie immediately rushed out of the room and hugged his mother's legs tightly.
"Mommy, where did you go last night?"
"Baby, Mommy went out to meet a friend, and this friend gave Mommy a bag of your favorite chocolates."
When seven-year-old Robbie heard the word "chocolate", he immediately let go of his mother's hand.
"Mom, Robbie hasn't had chocolate in a long time."
Young Robbie looked pitiful.
Looking at her son's expression, her heart ached. This was a mother's failure.
Now is not the hardest time yet. It won’t be long before we can’t even eat ordinary rice.
I hope Mr. Tony can persuade the Japanese to let their family leave the Shanghai International Settlement.
After putting the two children to bed, Catherine began to busy herself with her own affairs without saying a word to William.
William understood that his wife was very dissatisfied with his performance, as a man is the backbone of a family.
The food at home was about to run out, but as a grown man, he had no idea what to do.
For the first time in his life, William felt frustrated.
He never dreamed that the Japanese were so cruel. It seemed that the Japanese didn't care about their lives at all.
It is also true that many British soldiers died when the Japanese Imperial Army stationed in Shanghai attacked the International Settlement.
In the city of Hujiang, Japanese people can now do whatever they want and say whatever they want.
More arrogant and unreasonable than the people of the British Empire.
William, sitting on the sofa, was thinking. His grandfather was once an earl. Although his family is in decline now, he still has noble blood.
Unfortunately, these are not as useful as a few bags of food now.
Watching his wife Catherine walk into the bedroom, William followed her in. He couldn't have a conflict with his wife at this time.
They should work together as a couple and overcome the difficulties together with their two children.
"Honey, can we talk for a minute?"
"William, I want to ask you a question?"
"Okay, tell me your problem."
"What's more important, money or life?"
Catherine's tone was unfriendly, and William could naturally hear it. Was she blaming him for being obsessed with money?
"Life. Without life, everything is meaningless."
"Well said. If I could use our family's money to exchange for the opportunity to leave Hujiang and go to Wucheng, would you be willing?"
"Katherine, are you going to see that liar Tony at night?"
"Mr. Tony is a liar? What did he lie to you about?"
"That's right. The chocolate you brought back was given to you by him, right?"
"So what? Can't you see the current situation? The Japanese don't care about our lives at all."
"Catherine, no, the Japanese dare not violate the Geneva Convention.
I guess the Japanese must be actively allocating food to the International Settlement now."
Catherine glanced at her husband with contempt. She had never realized before that the man she loved was so ignorant.
There is an old Chinese saying: If you lean on the mountain, the mountain will fall.
He, a grown man, actually entrusted his family's life and property to others.
And this other person is the enemy of one's own country. How can people be so naive?
A feeling of sadness went straight into Catherine's heart.
But she still held back her temper. She was thinking about how to convince this naive man?
Five minutes passed in a flash, and the couple was still in a cold war.
After a while, Catherine raised her head and said calmly:
"Starting tomorrow, we will eat one meal a day, and the two children will continue to eat three meals a day.
With this arrangement, the food in the house can probably last for 4-5 days. You are the head of the family, so just do as you say."
William listened quietly. He didn't look up at his wife. He didn't expect that his wife was not angry at this moment.
Then, Catherine turned off the light in the bedroom.
Catherine was not asleep in the darkness. For the first time in her decades of life, she felt despair.
She really doesn't want to live without her two children.
She thought about what her father had told her before she got married.
"Catherine, William is definitely not a good match for you. Since you like him, we naturally cannot object.
I hope your life will be smooth in the future!"
At that time, after my father said these words, it seemed that he wanted to say something else, but he didn't say it.
But at that time, I only thought about not wanting William's father to be moved by their love and compromise.
It seems that the father is really compromising. He hopes that his daughter can really be happy.
Over the years, the couple has lived a smooth life and has never encountered any setbacks.
Now she finally understood that to see a person clearly, one needs to observe from multiple dimensions, and that the ups and downs of life are what life is all about.
At this moment, she suddenly felt as if something had clicked in her mind.
The reality is right in front of her. Since her husband insists on his own opinion, there is nothing she can do to change him.
For the sake of her children and herself, Catherine decided to take risks. She could not withdraw the money she had deposited in the HSBC Bank in the Concession.
My family has a deposit of about 30,000 pounds in HSBC Bank in London.
This money was her personal savings and the dowry her father gave her. Her husband William was unaware of it.
The British Empire was at war with the German Empire, but the German Empire was not occupying its own country.
She couldn't return to her home for the time being after leaving Hujiang, but after she took her child to Wucheng, she could find the embassy and contact her father.
They asked him to help withdraw the family savings and then pay for the three of them, mother and son, to leave.
After thinking about all this, Catherine fell asleep peacefully.
Around three o'clock in the afternoon of the next day, Catherine still came to Villa No. 69 alone.
Ye Xiaoyang didn't expect that Mrs. Catherine, who came to his house last night, would come to his house again.
"Ma'am, why are you here? I went to the Special High Section this morning."
"Mr. Tony, I went home and thought about it all night last night, and I want to ask you for help."
"Madam, as long as I can personally do it, I will definitely not refuse your request."
"I want to take my two children away from Hujiang and go to Wucheng. I'm afraid there's no hope left here in Hujiang."
"Ma'am, aren't we all leaving as a family of four?"
"My husband is still hoping that the Japanese will abide by the Geneva Convention and treat civilians like us well."
Ye Xiaoyang sneered in his heart. These high-ranking British aristocrats still said that they were commoners.
Do you really think that my visits during this period are just formalities?
Among the foreigners who come to Hujiang and stay in big villas, how many of them are ordinary people?
Her husband William was a director of the Municipal Council.
"Madam, ideals are full of hope, but reality is very skinny."
"Yes! I don't know whether the Japanese can abide by the Geneva Convention, and I don't expect it.
But I know deep down that I cannot leave my life and the lives of my two children to foreigners."
Ye Xiaoyang didn't respond, but just gave Catherine a thumbs up, indicating that he agreed with her words.
He didn't expect this woman to see things so clearly.
Catherine continued:
"Mr. Tony, I know the journey from Hujiang to Wucheng is long, and we have to cross the front line where Japan and China are fighting.
But I still hope that Mr. can help us mother and son."
"Madam, please don't worry. If you want to leave Hujiang and travel in the area occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army, you must have a special pass issued by the Military Police or the Special High Section.
I believe Madam should understand how difficult it is to obtain a special pass these days."
After Ye Xiaoyang finished speaking, he took out his special pass from his pocket and handed it to Catherine.
Catherine didn't know this. In the past, they could go anywhere in Hujiang with their national identification.
But she quickly realized that the situation had changed and they were now prisoners of the Japanese.
But her man hasn't realized all this yet.
"Now, if you ask the Military Police or the Special High Police for a special pass, you probably won't be able to get one without paying a huge price.
Mr. Tony, I will try my best to raise the amount you tell me. If it’s not enough, I will find a way.”
"Madam, are you sure that you and your two children are the ones who left Hujiang for Wucheng?"
"determine."
“I went out to inquire this morning, and I found out that the fees for you Westerners to apply for special passes are very high.
Regardless of gender, age or status, everyone received 20 large gold bars, which could be converted into US dollars.
Money is not the key. There is a limit on the number of people that the Special High Police and the Military Police can issue special passes to each team each week.
Now we can only process 20 people a day.”
"so little?"
"Ma'am, I also think it's too little, but this is the amount of information the Special High Police gave me.
Besides, this is for everyone in Hujiang, not just for you Westerners."
Catherine didn't expect the Japanese to be so cruel. Ten thousand US dollars per person, and the total for the three of them, mother and children, was thirty thousand US dollars.
She could afford the money, but the key was that there were quotas. If she hesitated now, she was afraid that by then...
She couldn't imagine what the future would hold...
It is not known how much it will cost to leave Hujiang and reach Wucheng safely.
However, she also understood that these Westerners in Hujiang were lambs to be slaughtered by the Japanese.
Leaving Hujiang and going to Wucheng will require a lot of hard work.