20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 505 Spring Breeze Building

Chunfengdeyilou is the oldest and most famous teahouse in Shanghai.

It is located near the City God Temple in the old city, not far from Yu Garden, and across from the Huxinting Teahouse.

Surrounded by pavilions, towers, green trees, and flowing water, the scenery is full of oriental aesthetics and fresh and elegant.

Near noon, Jiang Lianheng and others changed into long gowns and strolled here to keep the appointment.

It was dinner time, and although it was not the time to relax and drink tea, the teahouse was still packed with guests and very lively.

Seeing the guests coming in, the waiter immediately smiled and walked up to them quickly, first in Wu dialect and then in Mandarin, asking, "Sirs, are you three?"

Jiang Lianheng still came with Liu Yansheng and Wen Tingge. He shook his head and said loudly, "We are here to look for someone. Is Wang Laojiu here?"

Hearing the name "Wang Laojiu", the waiter was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help but look at Jiang Lianheng twice more, and his words and actions became more polite.

"Oh, you are the guests of Master Jiu. You are a little early. Master Jiu hasn't arrived yet, but he has reserved a private room on the second floor. Please follow me upstairs."

Jiang Lianheng nodded without any dissatisfaction.

The three of them indeed arrived much earlier than the agreed time.

After they stepped onto the second floor, the waiter led the three of them to a tea table by the window and asked with a smile, "Sir, would you like to order now, or wait until Master Jiu comes to order together?"

Jiang Lianheng looked at the time and found it was too early, so he ordered a pot of good tea and some snacks to satisfy his hunger.

There are not many Tuan Chai storytellers in Shanghai's teahouses, but there are many artists who sing Suzhou Pingtan.

There were street performers singing in the lobby, and there were also performances on the stage on the second floor.

At both ends of the table, there was a couple wearing long gowns and cheongsams. The man was playing a sanxian and the woman was holding a pipa. The accompaniment music was elegant and gentle, as if she was singing but not really telling the story.

"The sky is clear and the moon is round. Pretty matchmaker invites the goddess of the east. She moves lightly with lotus steps down the high building. She sees the light of flowers and the moonlight are equally divided. The flowers have a delicate fragrance and the moon is gloomy..."

The song played and sung was "Yingying Worshiping the Moon".

Needless to say, the lyrics are still romantic tunes like "A young girl is in love in her boudoir, and she expresses her love for her lover under the moonlight."

Jiang Lianheng and the other two listened with great interest for a while.

I don’t know how long it took, but after hearing the charming call of the red-faced skeleton, a thin middle-aged man slowly walked up the stairs.

Jiang Lianheng looked up and saw that the other person was wearing a pair of round glasses, so he knew that the person must be Wang Laojiu.

Wang Laojiu did not go to the meeting alone, he just entered the teahouse alone.

Looking out of the window, he saw several young men in shorts standing downstairs. He thought they were probably his fellow villagers who came with him.

The waiter led the way past the tea tables, and Wang Laojiu followed behind, but from time to time he glanced sideways, longingly gazing at the female artist who was singing on the stage.

It was not until he walked to the table that he stood up straight, with a stern face and a rather aloof expression. He cupped his hands towards Jiang Lianheng and others and clasped his fists twice.

"Excuse me, which one of you is Mr. Jiang?"

Jiang Lianheng led Liu Yansheng and Wen Tingge to stand up and return the greeting, saying with a smile: "Master Jiu, I am Jiang Lianheng, nice to meet you."

Wang Laojiu looked the three of them up and down, nodded slightly, and said a little stiffly: "Sorry, I kept you waiting."

"No way, it's obvious that we are anxious to visit Master Jiu. We came too early and embarrassed Master Jiu." Jiang Lianheng said as he invited Wang Laojiu to sit with him.

The waiter came over timidly and asked, "Master Jiu, would you like anything else?"

"No need, we have everything here." Wang Laojiu glanced at the table and waved his hand, "I'm going to talk to Mr. Jiang, you should go and do your thing."

The waiter immediately apologized and said goodbye: "Okay, Master Jiu, you guys can continue chatting first, and call me if you need anything."

After that, a burst of hurried footsteps hurried away.

Jiang Lianheng looked at Wang Laojiu curiously, and saw that this man was skinny, with sunken eye sockets and slightly pale lips. It was hard to imagine that this was the man who fought and killed at the dock and valued money more than his life. Only his straight eyes revealed a creepy ruthlessness.

Wang Laojiu was also looking at Jiang Lianheng. He saw that he had sparse eyebrows, thin lips, and a sturdy body. Although he had a smiling face, there was a bit of cruelty and ferocity in his expression that was difficult to conceal.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly laughed in unison.

Seeing this, Liu Yansheng and Wen Tingge were inevitably a little puzzled.

While everyone was surprised, the leaders of both sides had already started talks.

"I heard that Mr. Jiang wants to donate money to support our Anhui Province Association?" Wang Laojiu said straight to the point, "But you don't seem to be from Anhui Province, right?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded: "Yes, I am not from Anhui Province, but I will not only support your hometown association, but also support the school founded by your friend." "No merit, no reward. Mr. Jiang, who do you dislike in this foreign land?"

"Well, I want to establish a relationship with Master Jiu, and now that you said this, it has become a business deal."

"Well, friendship is about give and take, and business is about input and output, they are essentially the same thing. If you only take advantage but don't do the work, the friendship won't last long."

"Master Jiu is indeed a man of few words. So, do you really want to help your brother heal his wound?"

"Just tell me your name, and I will help you out when the time comes. Whether it's friendship or business, I, Wang Laojiu, will never be the kind of person who will break up with you."

"Did I really say that?"

"Tell me, in this entire foreign land, I'm not afraid of anyone, brother." Wang Laojiu waved his hand, looking around with a proud and heroic expression.

However, Jiang Lianheng pointed at him and said shockingly: "You."

"Me?" Wang Laojiu was very surprised. He thought about it and still couldn't understand, "Does Mr. Jiang dislike me or our hometown association?"

Since they are a thorn in our side, why should we ask someone to convey the message that we will sponsor their Anhui Hometown Association?
Is this a trap?

Wang Laojiu immediately became alert, pushed his chair away from the table, put his right hand behind his back, and looked at the three people in front of him with sharp eyes.

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and smiled, "Master Jiu has misunderstood. We have just arrived in Shanghai. How could we have any opinions about you? It's just that a few days ago, Master Jiu led people to the dock to fight and destroyed several boxes of medicinal materials of my friend, causing considerable losses. How do you think this matter should be settled?"

Money is a man's courage!
When Wang Laojiu heard this, he knew he was in the wrong and felt embarrassed. He asked in a cold voice, "Are you here to settle accounts with me?"

"Settling accounts?" Jiang Lianheng explained with a smile, "No, no, no, it's just a few boxes of medicinal herbs. Just consider it as protection money paid to Master Jiu. As for funding the school and the hometown association, I will do the same."

Wang Laojiu was confused after hearing this and became even more puzzled.

"Hiss - Mr. Jiang, I don't quite understand. You just said you don't like me, and now you want to support me. What do you mean?"

Jiang Lianheng said nothing. He first picked up the teapot, poured two bowls of tea for Wang Laojiu and himself, moistened his throat, and then continued the previous topic.

"To be honest, I am a little dissatisfied with Master Jiu. I am dissatisfied because you only care about the beginning and not the end."

"Mr. Jiang, do you mean that we, the hometown association, should make up for the losses of the merchants?" Wang Laojiu flatly refused, "We can't be blamed for this. If you want to blame someone, blame those Green Gang thugs at the dock."

"Alas!" Jiang Lianheng suddenly sighed, "The Qing Gang in Shanghai are not easy to mess with!"

"That's what other people think. In my eyes, they are no different from land thugs. Our Anhui Hometown Association is not to be trifled with." Wang Laojiu said angrily.

Jiang Lianheng quickly flattered, "That's right, we have all witnessed the skills of the Jiuye brothers, but I don't understand one thing, since you won the fight, why didn't you occupy the pier? I just went to the riverside yesterday, and the same group of people were still on the pier!"

"Humph, Mr. Jiang, I am not bringing people to destroy the place to steal the dock from them." Wang Laojiu explained in a cold voice, "It was because those foremen bullied our fellow villagers from Anhui Province and refused to hire our people. I will not agree to this. I must go and teach them a lesson."

Hearing this, Jiang Lianheng and the other two looked at each other and thought to themselves: He is indeed a man who likes to stand up for the weak.

But problems also arise - forced buying and selling cannot last long.

The dock workers stick together for warmth, whether they are from the same hometown or in a gang, and they all have serious xenophobic sentiments.

Many times, dock workers would rather quit their jobs and lose their own jobs than allow outsiders to come and take a share of the pie.

Although this sounds incredible, it is actually a disguised form of "monopoly" and the inevitable result of the competition for food among the lower-class laborers who do hard labor.

Wang Laojiu's hometown association wants to gain a foothold in the foreign concessions. Apart from fighting and killing, it ultimately has to rely on power and wealth to open up its own business.

It is easy to take down a dock, but obtaining the operating rights of the dock, steamship and warehouse is a completely different matter.

"If you want to get the operating rights of the wharf, you must first get a contract from the Ship Merchants Office. Otherwise, even if you occupy the wharf, you won't make any money at all." Wang Laojiu suddenly said angrily, "The key is that those dog officials only care about money. They will give the contract to whoever pays more."

"That has a limit. It's impossible that the money earned through connections is more than the profit from the dock, right?" Jiang Lianheng said calmly, "If that were the case, who would be willing to take this business? Besides, the government is not stupid. Those who can take over the dock business must not just have money."

"That's true." Wang Laojiu said in a muffled voice.

"Master Jiu, how about this?" Jiang Lianheng suggested, "Since you have people who can fight, I will help you pay and settle the contract issues. In return, after you take over the dock, you must ensure that our Fengtian's goods are safe in Shanghai. What do you think?"

Wang Laojiu's eyes brightened a little, then quickly dimmed again, and he shook his head listlessly.

"Those corrupt officials are so evil that you can't get rid of them without 18,000 yuan."

Wang Laojiu was already very grateful that Jiang Lianheng was willing to sponsor the school and the hometown association, but tens of thousands of dollars was not a small amount, so he did not hold out much hope.

My original intention for this meeting was to raise three to five thousand yuan in funding, and I would be satisfied.

However, when he raised his eyes again, Jiang Lianheng and the other two smiled faintly at him.

(End of this chapter)