In the French Concession, on the road outside Chen's residence, the sycamore trees sprouted new buds.
The rickshaw driver also changed into light spring clothes.
The wretched Annan patrolman stood bored in the middle of the road with his baton.
The breath of spring drove away the severe cold of winter.
Shanghai has regained its vitality.
During the cold wave in early 1939, thousands of refugees sleeping on the streets of Shanghai froze to death.
Two hundred abandoned babies were taken in at the entrance of the orphanage in one day.
This number was quite astonishing, but considering that the concession accommodated refugees from Zhabei, Nan City, Of the more than one million refugees who fled Pudong, only 30% stayed temporarily in hotels and relatives' homes.
The rest had to live on the streets and lacked food and clothing.
These thousands of people seemed small.
Shanghai has become an isolated island, and the scope of foreigners' activities has been greatly reduced.
The traitor agents hired by the Japanese have committed crimes including killing people and stealing goods.
Everything they do is to disrupt the security of the concession and create an atmosphere of terror.
The authorities are overwhelmed, but they have to work hard to maintain it.
Lin Wenjing and her daughter Xiaobaicai have been living in the concession for more than half a year.
With Li Yaoting outside and Xia Xiaoqing inside, their life is quite stable.
Every week, Li Yaoting sends people to deliver milk, rice, fresh meat and vegetables.
These foods are not available in the past.
It's worth nothing, but in today's concession, it's worth a lot.
What's even more precious is Li Yaoting's heart.
Aunt Mi often visits her granddaughter.
Although Lin Wenjing is not her biological child, they have lived together for many years.
Besides, you don’t have to work here.
You only need to use your mouth to order the servants, and you can get a lot of food back.
Why not?
.
The Mi family originally lived in Nanshi, but during the Battle of Songhu, their house was razed to the ground.
They had to move the family to the concession and rented a room not much bigger than a snail shell from the second landlord to live in it.
My uncle went out to hang out all day long. , drinking to drown their sorrows, the family's life was extremely difficult.
If Lin Wenjing hadn't provided some food every week, they would have been unable to survive.
Originally, Lin Wenjing was so kind-hearted that she wanted to bring Aunt Mi's family to live in the mansion, but Xia Xiaoqing categorically rejected it.
She said that there is nothing wrong with repaying evil with kindness, but this is Chen Zikun's house.
It is not good to lend it to outsiders without saying hello.
She usually takes care of it.
Lin Wenjing gave up after eating some rice, noodles and vegetables.
When Chen Zikun came to the mansion, Aunt Mi had not left yet.
She was scolding the two servants with all her authority as an old lady.
There were too many refugees in the concession and the human resources were abundant.
It only took a small amount of money to hire wet nurses and servants.
Aunt Mi can easily find a sense of superiority among these poor people.
There was a knock on the door, and Aunt Mi sent a servant to open the door.
There were two strange men standing outside the door, wearing suitcases and hats and windbreakers with low brims, looking dusty.
"Sir, are you looking for trouble?"
the servant asked.
"This is my home."
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Chen Zikun walked straight in.
Shuangxi picked up his suitcase and followed behind, closing the door.
Xia Xiaoqing heard something moving outside and went downstairs in a hurry.
When she saw Chen Zikun, her eyes suddenly turned red and she said: " He who is heartless still knows how to come.”
"This is my uncle, he has changed and I don't dare to admit it anymore."
Aunt Mi said with a smile.
Although Chen Zikun married Lin Wenjing, the two families did not have much contact.
Aunt Mi had not seen Chen Zikun for many years.
Looking at the old and haggard old woman in front of him, it was really difficult to connect with the charming young woman on Shihuma Street in Beijing twenty years ago.
Chen Zikun couldn't help feeling that she was getting old.
"It's Aunt Mi.
Hello, how are you?
How are you doing at home?
How are you at home?"
Chen Zikun asked after greetings, which moved Aunt Mi very much.
Just as he was talking, Lin Wenjing came down from upstairs, holding the baby in her arms.
Baicai's nanny has been recuperating in Shanghai for half a year, and she finally looks better.
Her husband came from a long way away.
Lin Wenjing was extremely pleasantly surprised.
The family was reunited again.
Xia Xiaoqing ordered the cook to cook.
Chen Zikun said a few polite words and asked Aunt Mi to stay for dinner.
Aunt Mi insisted on going back: "Ala's house has prepared the food, so let's go back."
Don’t eat here.”
Lin Wenjing said: "During this period, I have relied on my aunt to take care of me.
It is very hard to be busy."
Hearing this, Chen Zikun took out his wallet and took out a few US dollar bills and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Mi.
I came in a hurry and didn't bring many bills with me.
I'll use the money to buy some things first.
The prices in the concession are high, and life at home must be very tight." " Aunt Mi refused.
Lin Wenjing persuaded her for a long time before she accepted.
She happily went to the kitchen to direct the cook to cook.
The family was having a good time.
Chen Zikun teased Xiao Baicai and shared the things happening behind the scenes with the two ladies.
Lin Wenlong had arrived in Kunming and was studying at Southwest Associated University.
Everything was fine.
Here in Chongqing, Yao Yilei, Jian Bing and Liu Ting were doing well too. .
"Where is your brother?
What has he been busy with recently?"
Chen Zikun asked Xia Xiaoqing.
"He, he's been fooling around all day, and there's no one around.
He seems to have gone to Peking to attend some premiere these days."
Xia Xiaoqing curled her lips and said.
"Beiping is the territory of the Japanese.
Did he fall into the water?"
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Chen Zikun frowned.
"Falling into the water" is a euphemism for defecting to the enemy.
Especially on the isolated island of Shanghai, from the political, military and business circles to the intellectual and literary circles, there are countless people who have defected to the Japanese and puppets.
"No, nothing will go wrong on the Qingyu Festival."
Xia Xiaoqing immediately denied this statement.
While they were talking, the food was prepared and served to the table.
During the dinner, Aunt Mi was even more attentive, picking up food for her son-in-law from time to time.
She was very polite.
After eating, she sat for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
After Aunt Mi left for a while, Lin Wenjing discovered the rice bag placed in the corner: "Oh, Aunt Mi forgot to bring the rice back."
Chen Zikun asked about the current situation of the Mi family, and Lin Wenjing took the opportunity to suggest that there were many empty houses in her house, so she might as well lend it to the Mi family.
"No matter what, Aunt Mi is my father's wife and Wenlong's biological mother."
Chen Zikun didn't like the Mi family, but he had to consider Wenlong's face, so he said: "You also need someone to take care of you, so just ask Aunt Mi to move here, but the rest of the Mi family, especially the old woman and Wenlong's uncle, will be exempted."
Well, everyone will be unhappy."
Lin Wenjing also thinks this arrangement is good.
Aunt Mi returned home happily, climbed up to the low pavilion, took out the dollar bills behind her back, counted them, and carefully hid them in her pocket.
Suddenly, there was a bang, and her brother came in drunkenly: "Bring the rice back?"
"Oops, I forgot."
Aunt Mi exclaimed.
"Without food today, everyone will be hungry."
The sister-in-law said with a sideways glance.
Aunt Mi had no choice but to take out a US dollar bill: "Brother, take it to the Bund Bank and exchange it.
Buy some rice first."
The appearance of US dollar bills made everyone's eyes widen, and the dark pavilion seemed to be shining brightly.
Even the old lady of the Mi family who was lying in bed stretched herself up.
"Do you have any more dollar bills your cheap daughter gave you?"
The younger brother's eyes flashed with a wolf-like green light.
"No more."
Aunt Mi knew that her younger brother was too lazy to do his job, and all the family's financial resources were taken from opium by him, so the money must not fall into his hands.
The sister-in-law said angrily: "I just counted the boss for a while, why is there only one?"
The younger brother threatened again, but Aunt Mi had no choice but to take out the rest.
Just as she was about to speak, her younger brother snatched it away and counted it with his saliva: "Fifty US dollars, now you are rich."
Aunt Mi hurriedly said: "You can't take it all.
This was given to me by my son-in-law.
I can't explain it to you next time when someone asks."
The younger brother stopped: "Chen Zikun has come to Shanghai."
Aunt Mi knew that she had let the slip, and it was too late to hide it, so she had to admit it.
"Could it be that the surname Chen has also fallen into the water?"
the younger brother said in surprise.
"I don't know about this."
Aunt Mi really didn't know.
So her brother and sister-in-law ridiculed her again, saying that she was raising her daughter for nothing.
Her son-in-law was so rich, so paying fifty dollars to her was no different from sending her to be a beggar.
"His family lives in a big house.
He doesn't know how to respect his mother.
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Does he still have a conscience?
He just gives away some rice and side dishes every week.
We, the Mi family, are also decent people.
He just humiliates us like this."
The sister-in-law beat the drum with bad intentions. .
The younger brother yawned and became addicted to smoking.
He took the US dollars to go out to enjoy the smoke.
When he came to the opium shop where he often went, the doorman saw him coming and stopped him and said, "Mi Jiafu, I'm here to smoke again."
Mi Jiafu had no money in his pocket and was often laughed at by people in the opium den.
At this moment, he proudly showed off the U.S. dollar bills and said: "Look clearly, it's a serious dollar bill.
I'll give Ala a tube of good Rehe cigarettes."
The rich man is the uncle.
The boys in the opium den immediately greeted him with smiles and served him attentively.
The Mi family was full of addiction to cigarettes and was in high spirits.
When he went home, several people suddenly rushed up and took him aside in the alley.
Three-seven-twenty-one, take off all the clothes on your body, and then leave in a hurry.
This is called "peeling pigs".
In the past, robberies were carried out in the middle of the night, and the crime rate was higher in winter because you could peel off fur robes.
Now the security in the concession is in chaos.
People of all four levels are doing this business, and robberies are also taking place in broad daylight.
Mi's family Fu grabbed the remaining dollar bills before they were warm, and his clothes and watch were gone too.
He was so angry that he flew into a rage, covered his lower body and ran into the opium shop, which immediately caused a burst of laughter.
After all, Mi Jiafu was out to hang out.
He asked a friend to send a message to Mr.
Bai.
Mr.
Bai was once Aunt Mi's concubine.
He was a famous white-faced man in Shanghai.
He was nosy and liked to help his friends.
He would rush to the house immediately after receiving the call.
He came and brought a set of clothes.
After listening to Mi Jiafu crying and telling the story, Mr.
Bai said lightly: "Just a gossip, the security guard caught those bad guys, by the way, where did you get the US dollars?"
Mi Jiafu spoke slowly, and finally asked: "Old Bai, did Chen Zikun fall into the water too?"
"I don't know."
Mr.
Bai's expression was a little strange.
He found an excuse and left in a hurry.
He got into the rickshaw and said to the driver: "No. 76, Jisi Feier Road."
It was getting late, and a truck and two cars were parked quietly in the warehouse of Shiliupu Wharf.
The man in a windbreaker looked around warily, with faint traces of a gun showing on his waist.
In the warehouse, Chen Zikun personally opened a wooden box with a crowbar, took out a Remington shotgun, fiddled with it, and then threw it to Li Yaoting.
"With this thing, you and those gangsters from No. 76 will suffer a lot if you fight with each other on the street."
Li Yaoting praised.
"And this."
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Chen Zikun threw another Thompson portable machine gun over.
Li Yaoting suddenly beamed: "This thing is great, I have a few of them, but it's a pity that the bullets are difficult to get, and they all become fire sticks."
Chen Zikun said: "I will introduce you to a friend.
If you need bullets in the future, you can contact him."
"who" "His name is Bill Chandes.
He is a captain in the U.S.
Army.
He is stationed in Shanghai and specializes in arms supplies and oil.
By the way, he is my classmate at West Point and we have a close relationship
.
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