In this era, although newspapers were already available, except in a few large cities, the popularity of newspapers was not high. Most people did not read newspapers. Therefore, the government's announcements were mainly published in the most original way. There were government bulletin boards on major roads, markets and other areas in the city, and there were also special people to explain and recite. Moreover, most of the government affairs of the East China government were open and transparent, so the frequency of announcements was much higher than that of the Qing court. The people were also accustomed to looking at the government bulletin board every day to have any new information.

After dawn, some people saw the city lockdown announcement issued by the Harbin Municipal Government. Some people with agility immediately realized what was going to happen, so they immediately went to buy supplies. Fortunately, the government was prepared for this. More than 20 temporary sales points were open and sufficient supplies were provided. As a result, by around 10 a.m., there were long queues at each temporary sales point, and shops did not dare to raise prices at will. However, a large number of police officers took to the streets to maintain order, so the overall order was still good.

At this time, Zhou Weiying went to the epidemic prevention camp to check the effect of two batches of antibiotic injected with serum patients, and arranged the work of medical staff. Therefore, at the municipal government, only Zhong Xiaohui was in charge of the overall situation. In fact, Zhong Xiaohui did not sleep all night. He commanded the arrangements at night, and had to keep an eye on the order of various places during the day, and arranged work for closed blocks until this time. At this moment, a staff member came in to report that the representative of Harbin's industry and commerce hoped to see Zhong Xiaohui.

After hearing this, Zhong Xiaohui understood that this was for the lockdown, because the lockdown caused the greatest losses to these people. Although the epidemic in Harbin is now serious, it has had a significant impact on the social economy and has been banned in many areas, most factories and shops can still operate as usual. Although the turnover has dropped significantly, there is still some income. Since Harbin is the capital city and economic center of Heilongjiang Province, some factories and shops have a large part of the output of the shops to the outside world, and this part is not greatly affected by the epidemic. Once the city is closed and shut down, it means that there is no income at all.

The merchants had the most sensitive sense of smell and were also the most responsive to the government's announcement. Therefore, after seeing the content of the government's announcement in the early morning, they suddenly became nervous. The lockdown hit the merchants the most, so they hurried to contact others. Moreover, the merchants' work efficiency was quite high. At 9 a.m., more than 60 major businessmen from Harbin gathered at the Laodingfeng Hotel to discuss countermeasures. Finally, they decided to select 6 business representatives to meet Zhong Xiaohui, hoping to persuade the municipal government to take back his life.

Although he knew the purpose of these businessmen, Zhong Xiaohui still received them. After all, communicating and talking with the people is also something that the government agencies must do. Moreover, the lockdown has a great relationship, so we cannot just suppress it. We should still guide and persuade them more.

It was not long, and the staff had led six industrial and commercial representatives to the reception room. Zhong Xiaohui was still very polite and asked them to sit down and said, "You guys come to see me at this time, probably for the Harbin lockdown."

Six industrial and commercial representatives looked at each other, and more than 50 old men said, "Mayor Zhong said very well. We asked to see the mayor this time, because it was indeed for the purpose of lockdown."

The old man's surname is Wu and his name is Jizu. He is a fur business. He is one of the best people in the industry and business circles in Harbin. He has assets of more than 600,000 silver dollars. He has two stores in Harbin and more than 70 people. He also has branches in Manzhouli, Qiqihar, Changchun, Jilin, Aihui and other cities. In addition, merchants have purchased goods from him in Chenyang, Tieling, Dalian and other places. Therefore, once the city is closed, his losses will be huge.

Zhong Xiaohui smiled and said, "Boss Wu, what do you think about the lockdown!"

Wu Jizu said: "Mayor Zhong, the act of locking down the city must not be done."

Zhong Xiaohui said: "Oh! Why!"

Wu Jizu said: "As soon as the city is closed, all the factories and shops will be closed. We who do business still have some surplus, and we can still be free of strong support, but there is no work to do, so naturally there is no wage. The workers have families in their families to support them, so what if they survive!"

Zhong Xiaohui laughed and said, "Boss Wu, haven't you read our announcement carefully! During the ban period, the government will provide free food and daily necessities to all residents, so you don't have to worry."

At this time, another fat man in his thirties couldn't help but say, "Mayor Zhong, the city is closed, the workers, the government provides free food and daily necessities, so don't worry, but what should we do if we business people? All factories and shops are closed, so how can we do business? Even if the workers, the men don't have to pay wages, the house rent cannot be reduced, and there are some unsubsidized inventory. I am a restaurant business. After the suspension of work, all the vegetables and fish prepared in the restaurant will be scrapped. What should we do if we lose this loss!"

This fat man is the young owner of the old Dingfeng Hotel. His surname is Sun and his name is Zhongchang. He is also a top figure in the business world in Harbin. He is young and energetic, so he couldn't hold back at this time and was too lazy to talk about the workers, so he directly expressed the concerns of the merchants.

However, although his attitude was a little reckless, he expressed the thoughts of others, so he also said that once the city was closed, everyone would not be able to continue their business.

After everyone finished speaking, Zhong Xiaohui said: "I can understand your feelings. It has been about half a month since the outbreak of the epidemic, and it will have a significant impact on your business."

After hearing this, everyone nodded and suffered a lot. Sun Zhongchang said, "Yes, our business has plummeted in the past half month! We have already lost a lot. If the city is locked down and all the business is stopped, it will be a loss. So whether the city is locked down, we must ask the government to think twice about it!"

The others hurriedly echoed: "Yes! Yes! You also need to ask the government to think twice!"

Zhong Xiaohui said: "But have you ever thought about it. If the epidemic lasts for half a year, what should I do if it lasts for more than a year!"

When everyone heard this, they immediately remained silent. If the epidemic really lasted for half a year, then it would definitely be a serious injury to the businessman. If it lasted for more than a year, it would be a devastating blow.

Zhong Xiaohui continued: "We locked down Harbin in order to eliminate the epidemic in Harbin in the shortest time. As the saying goes, long pain is worse than short pain. Although the lockdown will cause losses to your business in a short time, only by completely destroying the epidemic will your business be truly restored. Isn't that the case! Therefore, you should fully support the government's lockdown! The most important thing to avoid in business is to be short-sighted and only care about immediate interests, not long-term interests!"

Everyone was speechless after hearing this. Sun Zhongchang said, "The government has closed the roads to Harbin, which is also a lockdown. I don't think there is any need to lock up the inside."

After he said that, Wu Jizu couldn't help frowning, feeling quite dissatisfied, because Sun Zhongchang was in the catering business. As long as Harbin did not ban it, the roads entering and leaving Harbin were closed, which would not have much impact on their business. Most of Wu Jizu's business was outside Harbin. Therefore, once the city was closed, it would have a significant impact on his business, whether it was inside or outside the city. Sun Zhongchang's suggestion was obviously just for himself and ignored others.

Zhong Xiaohui smiled and said, "Boss Sun, our purpose of locking down the city is to fight the epidemic, not to lock down the city, and to close the roads entering and leaving Harbin, which is to prevent the external epidemic from entering Harbin, and to prevent the epidemic in Harbin from leaking out and endangering other places. However, only the entry and exit are blocked, and the epidemic will continue to spread within the city. If we want to completely wipe out the epidemic, it will be far away. Therefore, only the inside and outside are blocked, and people are not allowed to circulate inside and outside the city, which completely blocks the spread of the epidemic. Only in this way can the epidemic be completely wiped out in the shortest time."

When Sun Zhongchang heard this, he felt like a ball that had leaked the gas and had nothing to say. At this time, Wu Jizu said: "I dare to ask the mayor, I don't know how long the city will be closed."

Zhong Xiaohui singed for a while before saying: "According to our estimates, it can be as little as 2 months or as much as 3 months. However, the time of the whole body depends on the control of the epidemic. As long as the epidemic is controlled, the lockdown will be lifted immediately."

Sun Zhongchang's eyes lit up first. If the epidemic can be extinguished within 2 or 3 months, then the lockdown is not unacceptable. However, Wu Jizu's face showed a look of confusion, because China is a country with frequent epidemics. With Sun Zhongchang's experience, once an epidemic occurs, the duration will be calculated in years. It would be a miracle to be extinguished within half a year. And judging from the current epidemic situation, this is obviously a large-scale epidemic. According to previous experience, it is not impossible to last for 3 or 5 years. Therefore, Zhong Xiaohui claimed that the epidemic can be extinguished within 2 or 3 months. Sun Zhongchang is still young and doesn't understand, but Wu Jizu is very suspicious.

Zhong Xiaohui continued: "The city lockdown is imperative. This is for the overall situation of fighting the epidemic. This is not only the resolution of the Harbin Municipal Government, but also has been recognized by the Qingdao Executive Yuan. Other cities must also lock down if necessary. Therefore, I hope you can understand and support the government's resolution. You are all people with status in Harbin. I hope you can actively cooperate with the government's resolution of the city lockdown and extinguish the epidemic as soon as possible, so that you can restore your business."
Chapter completed!