Years: Salted fish life since going to the countryside.

Chapter 840 Hao Hongmin's Father
A few days ago, when Hao Hongmin's mother was returning home after work at the street office, she, as usual, looked for a less crowded path and walked back with her head down. But today, halfway on the way, she was stopped by a backpacker from Hong Kong holding a photo and asked.

"Hello, are you Hao Hongmin's mother, Hao Jing?"

Hao Hongmin's mother had been in a state of tension these years. She only relaxed a little recently when her daughter was admitted to Shanghai Commercial Technical School. However, facing this foreigner with a difficult accent, the habits she had developed over the years still made her ask with caution.

"who are you?"

"Are you Hao Hongmin's mother, Hao Jing? Tell me quickly if you are or not. I don't have time to waste here with you."

Hao Hongmin's mother looked at the stranger in front of her, then looked around and saw no one, so she spoke in a low voice.

"I am Hao Jingshi, who are you?"

This person was obviously relieved after receiving the reply, thinking that if the price offered by the other party was not very tempting this time, he would never do such an act as he would probably end up with nothing if caught.

Now that he had obtained accurate information, the man hurriedly took out a letter from his bag, threw it to Hao Jingshi along with the photo in his hand, left only one sentence, and walked away without looking back.

"I'm from Hong Kong, and I'm here to bring you a letter."

Hao Hongmin's mother looked at the photos of herself when she was young and the familiar yet unfamiliar handwriting on the envelope. Shock, fear, anger, sadness and worry surged into her heart one after another, and for a moment she stood there in a daze.

However, Hao Hongmin's mother soon came to her senses. After checking that there was still no one around, she wiped away the tears that had just flowed unconsciously with her sleeve, put the letter and photo close to her body, and then walked home carefully along the roadside with her head down as usual.

Hao Hongmin's mother returned home with a more cautious attitude than usual, and immediately locked the door. She took out the photo and the letter from her arms, looked at her younger self in the photo, squatted down, covered her mouth and cried for a long time, and then opened the letter with very familiar handwriting with trembling hands.

"My wife is as happy as seeing you in person."

The letter begins with a description of the circumstances when Hao Jiangdong left. He describes how reluctant he was to leave without the mother and daughter, but only after he arrived in Hong Kong did he feel fortunate that he did not bring them with him.

Although this place is much better than the original Shanghai Stock Exchange, it still faces threats and requests for benefits from officials and gang members every day.

Hao Jiangdong and his group of five people from Shanghai smuggled into Hong Kong. The smuggler told them to go to Kowloon City after getting off the boat, where there were all kinds of people and they would not be checked by the police.
However, when Hao Jiangdong and his companions set foot on this land in the early morning, they were stopped by the "policemen" from the police station in the morning and asked for their ID cards.

They had just arrived there and did not have any ID cards. At this time, they remembered the situation in Shanghai and the fact that they had come here illegally. They were worried about what would happen to them if they were caught and sent back.

Under these circumstances, one of them subconsciously started running, and everyone followed him.

Although Hao Jiangdong and his men eventually escaped the official pursuit, one of them was unfortunately hit by a bullet and died that night.

In the following week, Hao Jiangdong and the other three hid from place to place while trying to find out about the friend who had come to Hong Kong more than ten years ago and with whom they had a good relationship.

Hao Jiangdong and his colleagues' efficiency was pitiful. After a week, they still hadn't found out anything about that friend.

However, Hao Jiangdong and his colleagues have gained a basic understanding of the situation in Hong Kong during this period, which is that it is similar to the situation in Shanghai before its liberation. As long as one has money, most small matters can be accomplished, including the identity issues of several of them.

Hao Jiangdong and his friends were all from wealthy families. When they came to Hong Kong, they had a lot of small yellow croakers, which were valuable currency, wrapped around their waists and thighs. Moreover, the small yellow croakers from the body of their dead companion have now become theirs.

Therefore, Hao Jiangdong and his friends planned to buy a legal identity first, so that they would not have to hide from place to place, and they could also find their friends through official channels.

Unfortunately, when Hao Jiangdong and his friends were looking for someone to buy legal identities, they were not only cheated, but also targeted by people in the gang behind them.

While being chased by these gangs, Hao Jiangdong and his three companions lost two more members. Hao Jiangdong and the remaining companion were also stabbed several times. Fortunately, only one companion's body fell into the hands of the gang.

This left Hao Jiangdong and his companions with a small yellow croaker for four people. During the time they were hiding from place to place to recuperate, they heard or saw someone die on the spot every day.

This situation made Hao Jiangdong and his only remaining partner feel like they were back to the eve of the liberation of Shanghai. This chaotic environment with almost no order made them even more afraid to act rashly. At the same time, they wondered if the friend they were looking for had been hacked to death.

During the period of recuperation, they found out that the most powerful of the four inspectors was Inspector Lei Luo, and they also learned which car Lei Luo liked to ride and which villa he lived in. After some discussion, the two of them took out two men's worth of small yellow croakers to keep an eye on him near Lei Luo's villa.

But Hao Jiangdong and the others didn't know that the person living here was Lei Luo's lover, whom he was not convenient to bring home to meet his wife, concubine or mistress. Fortunately, because of this situation, the two of them were able to keep watch here for more than a week without being beaten to death.

After Hao Jiangdong and his friends had been bitten by mosquitoes for a week, they finally saw Lei Luo's car drive into the villa.

So Hao Jiangdong and his friends hurried over with the little yellow croakers to ask for a meeting. Maybe they brought a lot of little yellow croakers, maybe Lei Luo didn't want to break the rule of taking money to do things, maybe Lei Luo's lover wanted these little goldfish, or maybe he had other ideas.

In short, no matter what the reason, Hao Jiangdong and others were summoned by Lei Luo. The two have been in the business world for many years and know what to say and what not to say.

In the end, Lei Luo not only helped them get their ID cards, but also allowed Hao Jiangdong and the others to ask him for help when they had problems.

Next, Hao Jiangdong and his companions officially settled in Hong Kong. At this time, they could openly start to inquire about their friends' situation and the situation of various business sectors in Hong Kong.

Finally, Hao Jiangdong and his friends found out that their friend had lost all his property two years ago and jumped off a building when he was being chased for debt.

As for business, many industries are almost monopolized, and no matter what industry you are in, the tribute from the police and gangs is absolutely necessary, otherwise... If the small yellow croakers carried by Hao Jiangdong and the others were converted into money, it would not be enough to support them in doing those popular businesses.

However, after years of business experience, they are more far-sighted than the average person and know better whose money is easiest to earn and which money is most stable.

So Hao Jiangdong and his companions visited almost all the places in Hong Kong. As there were rumors about building an undersea tunnel nearby, they finally decided that Causeway Bay would have a bright future.

(In the 50s, a large-scale reclamation project was carried out near Causeway Bay. In the 60s, some small red dot businesses bought land and built houses in Causeway Bay. In 69, the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel was started. After it opened to traffic in 72, many department stores opened here, making it a major shopping center in Hong Kong. It was not until the mid-80s that Causeway Bay entered its heyday and became the Causeway Bay that everyone talks about.)
After being introduced by several real estate agents, Hao Jiangdong and his companions finally bought a five-story storefront in Causeway Bay.

At this time, they had very little money left, so they found a bank loan to renovate the place, and finally built a British-style, petty-bourgeois boutique cafe and hotel.

The first floor only sells boutique coffee, tea, and some exquisite snacks and pastries.

The second to fourth floors are accommodation hotels, which are decorated as exquisitely as the first floor, and are used to make money from the petty bourgeoisie and white-collar workers.

But they don't sell any alcoholic drinks on any floor.

This is because Hao Jiangdong and his companions had too profound an experience after coming to Hong Kong, and they were not young anymore and just wanted to do some stable business. They made this decision in order to reduce contact with those people in the gang.

The fifth floor is a dormitory and canteen, where Hao Jiangdong and his companions live, as well as employees who need to work in shifts and cannot go home.

Soon after the store opened, it attracted many elites, allowing them to quickly repay their bank loan.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Hao Jiangdong said that his companion had an accident when he went out to drink.

From then on, Hao Jiangdong ran the hotel alone and opened two branches.

Recently, he felt that he had accumulated some wealth in Hong Kong and could provide his wife and daughter with a better life. He wanted to bring them to Hong Kong, but he was not sure about the current situation in Shanghai, so he asked the backpacker to deliver this letter.

After reading the letter, Hao Hongmin's mother didn't know what to do. When her daughter came home on Sunday, she found an opportunity to hand her the letter to her.

Hao Hongmin took the letter and took a look at it with a puzzled look on his face, and suddenly a nameless anger rose in his heart.

She couldn't help but think of the past few years. It was in 67 when Hao Jiangdong ran away. She was only eleven years old at that time.

He patted his butt and left without saying a word, leaving everything that should have been done at home to the mother and daughter.

At first, they lived in a shed when it was raining heavily outside and moderately inside, crying and eating sour and smelly food.

My mother was beaten in the leg at that time, which left her with sequelae. She felt extremely uncomfortable every time it was rainy or cold. If it weren't for Han Li's "Stretching Pain Relief Ointment", she would probably have become addicted to painkillers now.

The situation got a little better afterwards, but they were often pulled out as typical examples, and were met with verbal abuse, contempt, and humiliation wherever they went.

This was even more true in their daily lives. Even if their mother took the risk of secretly buying food on the black market, their family did not dare to cook too much. Even when cooking some rice porridge, they had to prevent the aroma of the food from wafting away and being smelled by others. As a result, the mother and daughter ate half-cooked food for a long time.

Later, those people's malicious eyes made them afraid to wash their faces or change clothes, and they tried every means to make themselves dirty and cowardly. Muma, the former rich girl, even took the initiative to take on the task of collecting toilets from door to door, just to make herself full of unapproachable stench.

When my mother saw that something was not right, she dragged her injured leg and kowtowed to people everywhere. She also took out many precious jewelry passed down to her by her grandmother, and only then was she able to safely go to Shanghe Village to join the production team.

Later, with Han Li's "Stretching Pain Relief Ointment", not only did my mother's leg injury no longer hurt, but she also gained the protection of others and was able to switch from collecting toilet bowls to sweeping the streets, a slightly cleaner job.

With the help of Han Li, he not only became a tractor driver in Shanghe Village, but also won the title of advanced educated youth.

Therefore, she was able to catch up with the college entrance examination. Although she could only go to a technical secondary school due to her identity issues, all these were good changes.

Why did Hao Jiangdong suddenly appear when his life and his mother's was getting better and better?

When Hao Hongmin thought of this, her eyes became redder and redder. When she reached out to tear up the letter, Hao Jingshi, who had been watching her, quickly spoke up to stop her.

"Nannan, don't do that."

Hao Hongmin didn't know how she got through this Sunday or how she got back to school. She returned to the dormitory and lay on the bed in a daze. Her mind was filled with the sound and image of her mother crying, as well as the various things she had experienced as a child.

When Hao Hongmin was almost unable to breathe due to all this pressure, the first person she thought of was Han Li.

At this time, Jiang Wen, who was described as a big monkey by Han Erjie, was immediately questioned by Xiao Yingzi after returning to the yard.

"How about it, little mosquito, I have been waiting for your call today."

(End of this chapter)