Mr. Bao and his son: Only use Stankang for hair oil

Chapter 100 Be prepared to go to a foreign land

Throughout the morning, Bao Guowei took the two Wang brothers to stroll in the commercial street of Chengxi Street. During this period, he purchased many latest magazines and books to relieve fatigue on the road.

"Master, if you bring so many books, can you read them all on the way?"

Wang Dachui was holding a leather bag that was already stuffed with a bunch of books. He looked at Bao Guowei who was still wandering around the bookstore. He felt a little confused and asked in his own simmering voice.

Bao Guowei glanced at him, but before he could say anything, the clever Wang Xiaowu gave Wang Dacheng a hammer on the head with his hand, and angrily scolded his somewhat stupid brother:

"You just carry the book! Where's all the nonsense!"

The three of them shopped until noon, and picked out some things that could be given as gifts in major shops: Suzhou specialties: Dongting Lake Biluochun and other teas, and some gold jewelry.

When you go out and visit others, especially when you meet a distinguished person, the first thing that comes to mind is what gift to give.

After doing these favors, Bao Guowei took the two of them to the south of the city. To be honest, he didn't really want to come to this place - even though he had lived in the south of the city for more than ten years.

But before leaving, I naturally wanted to say hello to my most reliable "little brother" Zhang Siwu, and besides, I still had something to ask of him.

Zhang Siwu's duty in the Qinggang is to manage the area in the south of the city. In order to facilitate his work, he has not yet moved to the west of the city and still lives in the barber shop with Lao Zhang.

Probably because he had stayed in the west of the city for a long time, Bao Guowei could smell a ubiquitous musty smell as soon as he came to the south of the city.

The walls on the streets in the south of the city are still a little dirty. There is no change compared to the previous days, except that there is a lot less green moss on the walls.

After walking a few steps, Bao Guowei discovered that the actual situation in the south of the city indeed echoed what the newspaper said:
There were fewer beggars than before. "They were probably all frozen to death," and even their bones were removed and burned by the messengers, turning them into dust.

Most of the remaining beggars were leaning against the wall, wearing dirty and smelly coarse cloth and thin clothes. They huddled together to keep each other warm. They seemed not to care that this might cause the disease to spread to each other.

The clothes they wear are never washed, because the human body oil and metabolic waste stained on them can also play a role in keeping warm.

Although the beggars could not afford to wear thick clothes, they would cover themselves with thatched bedding and cover themselves with leaves under their bodies to keep warm. It seemed that they were very experienced in surviving the winter.

As long as you pass by these beggars, you can smell a fishy smell that makes you want to feel sick.

There are far fewer pedestrians on the road than in the past, and there are often a few people walking sparsely in the streets and alleys. During this time, there is an outbreak of influenza, so people try to avoid going out to avoid catching colds.

This is winter in the south of the city, which is quite different from the busy traffic in the west.

Before the three of them reached Lao Zhang's barber shop, they met Zhang Siwu on "Liu Ma Street".

Zhang Siwu and his men stood in front of a small vendor selling candied haws on a stick. It seemed that even in winter, in this cold weather, he was performing his "work" seriously.

This little vendor is undoubtedly an old man, his face is full of old wrinkles. At this moment, he has his hands together, shaking them back and forth, talking to Zhang Siwu as if praying to the Buddha:
"Two gentlemen! The weather has been really bad for business recently, and I can't afford cloth... The price of bran is still rising, and there are children at home... If I pay the protection fee... I'm in debt! I still have I owe taxes...I can't sell anything..."

The old man looked at the two "hooligans" in front of him, with a little pleading in his eyes. He lowered his head and looked at Zhang Siwu with pitiful eyes. His whole back was so stooped that it seemed to be broken. He seemed to think that this would arouse others' attention. pity.

He was chattering endlessly, somewhat incoherently, as if he wanted to express some of his difficulties - in order to win some sympathy.

"Zhang Siwu!"

Just when Zhang Siwu's face became more and more ugly, and the old man's heart and lungs became more and more depressed, Bao Guowei stood behind Zhang Siwu and called him.

When Zhang Siwu heard this somewhat familiar voice, a smile suddenly appeared on his already fierce face.

When the old man saw the man in front of him smiling, he thought he was amused by his ugliness, and a funny smile appeared on his face.

"I'll let you go today! Get it together for me next time!"

After Zhang Siwu said this, he stopped caring about the small vendor. He took the "little brother" next to him and walked straight to Bao Guowei, with the smile on his face getting stronger and stronger:
"Why did you come to the south of the city to look for me today? If you have anything to do, why don't you just ask Dachui and Xiaowu to inform me? I can just rush over. There is no need for you to come in person!"

Bao Guowei wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. After some pleasantries, he and Zhang Siwu went to Lao Zhang's barber shop.

When Lao Zhang saw Bao Guowei coming, he was naturally overjoyed and cooked some meals himself. They all had lunch together. Bao Guowei explained that he was about to go on a long trip recently and asked Zhang Siwu to take care of him. After doing some things by himself, he returned home with Sledgehammer and Xiaowu.

……

However, before he entered the house, Bao Guowei saw Lao Bao standing at the door from a distance:

He was looking around eagerly, his eyes full of anxiety, as if he was afraid that Bao Guowei would leave home early today and never come back.

As soon as he saw Bao Guowei's figure, Lao Bao hurriedly took big steps to greet him:
"Guowei, tell me, why can't you tell me this in a letter? Moreover, there is still a war in the north. I heard from the people next door that the fighting is really fierce! There are tens of thousands of people fighting together! Why don't you go? Got it!"

Bao Guowei seemed to be able to see some pleading in Lao Bao's eyes.

There is no doubt that for Lao Bao, the most important thing is that the family is safe. Bao Guowei is undoubtedly his last concern in this world. He really doesn't want his only son to have any mishaps.

When Bao Guowei heard what Lao Bao said, he wanted to say something, but shook his head slightly, but in the end there was no response. He had to go on this trip - it was best to go as early as possible.

"If that doesn't work, ask me to come with you!"

Lao Bao shouted again unwillingly.

Bao Guowei still didn't respond. After all, this matter had been discussed this morning. Lao Bao was definitely not suitable to go with him in winter at his age.

"Then let Zhang Ergou go with you! I think this young man is quite nice and can be trusted!"

Lao Bao said again. He talked a lot today, and his tone was like a child begging his father to buy him a candied haws.

This time Bao Guowei finally nodded.

"Ah! By the way, I brought you a candied haws on a stick today!"

Bao Guowei handed the candied haws in his hand to Lao Bao.

……

That afternoon, there was a faint yellow light shining through the cumulus clouds in the sky, indicating that it was already dusk.

At this time, Zhang Siwu rushed to Bao's house carrying a black leather suitcase and headed straight to Bao Guowei's bedroom on the second floor.

In the bedroom on the second floor of the Bao family, four people, Bao Guowei, Zhang Siwu, Wang Dachui, and Wang Xiaowu, gathered together.

Looking at this scene, Zhang Siwu felt a little familiar, as if he had gone back to the time when we moved things together at the dock - only Hu Xiaoshan from the Hu family was missing.

How long has it been?It's like a lifetime ago.

Zhang Siwu put the suitcase on the bedside cabinet and spoke first. There was a bit of joking in his words:
"This is what you asked for at noon. This thing is not easy to get. It took me a lot of effort to get it. I also arranged some people to protect Uncle Bao. There are people watching every day. You are away from home. Don’t worry about it.”

Zhang Siwu's efficiency in doing things is not bad. The things that Bao Guowei asked him to do at noon were not postponed until the next day. It can be seen that he put Bao Guowei's instructions first. "Okay, okay, I'll take credit from you."

Bao Guowei took the black leather box with a smile.

In fact, with Bao Guowei's current network of contacts, no one would take care of a whole platoon of guns, let alone a few guns.

But the only shortcoming of the Bao family now is the lack of foundation. There are too few people who can truly be trusted, which requires time to cultivate slowly.

As the black leather box was opened, what appeared in front of the four people was a box of yellow-orange bullets, neatly arranged in the box, glowing white under the illumination of the indoor palace lantern.

And next to a box of bullets is...

"Pistol! This is a pistol!"

Even though Wang Xiaowu had expected it, he couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw two brand-new pistols lying in the suitcase.

Placed next to the black leather box were two exquisite and compact pistols. The gun bodies made of fine steel exuded a cold light.

These two guns are no bigger than an adult's hand. This kind of gun is commonly known as a dog tag gun. Because it is small enough, it is also called a palm mine. It is a Spanish imitation of the M1906 and is relatively cheap.

In this era, especially in these troubled times, the thing a man wants most is often a gun. Only by holding the barrel of the gun in his hand can he have the courage to live - although in this poor country, the vast majority of people are It's not worth two pounds of iron to sell one's own life.

Looking at these two guns, Wang Xiaowu couldn't help but feel excited and excited. Even Wang Dachui, who had always been honest and honest, couldn't help but glance at the guns.

After getting along with each other these days, Bao Guowei didn't find any problems with the character of these two door gods. In addition, this time they happened to be traveling far away, so it was natural for them to be equipped with guns:

"Sledgehammer, Xiao Wu, you two can each take one. You can ask Uncle Zhang to teach you how to use it."

Hearing Bao Guowei's words, both of them felt a little excited. One of them took a gun, held it in his hand and looked at it carefully, rubbing his fingers on the stainless steel...

Bao Guowei had already hung a new gun on his waist, the German-made Shore 1913. As for the original old gun, it was left to Lao Bao for self-defense.

After some pleasantries, Zhang Siwu was about to leave when he was suddenly stopped by Bao Guowei.

Bao Guowei was thinking about what happened at noon and wanted to say something, but he finally smiled:

"Let's play cards together!"

……

Late at night, Bao Guowei was lying on the bed, unable to sleep. After all, he was going on a long trip tomorrow. He felt a little excited, so he simply got up and opened his diary, turned on the light, took out a pencil and wrote:

"In [-], on the night of January [-]st, I was about to leave Suzhou for the first time and go on a long journey. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. After I finish this job, I will open a restaurant for my father when I come back."

After Bao Guowei finished writing this sentence, he felt something was wrong. Why was it like he was making a will?
"For two lives, I have been a nobody. If it were the me in the past, I might have taken my father and fled the country after getting 3000 yuan, but now I still want to do more things... I really I’m under a lot of pressure, if I do a few more things, if I do a few more things, I can lie down with peace of mind.”

……

Morning, January [-], [-].

Xiaoxiu had already prepared large and small bags of luggage, and Bao Guowei was about to head to the train after breakfast.

"Dad, I have to leave!"

During the entire breakfast, Lao Bao kept his eyes on Bao Guowei, as if he wanted to carve this familiar face into his heart.

"it is good!"

Hearing Bao Guowei's words, Lao Bao's heart twitched fiercely, but he still responded in a deep voice, with a bit of worry in his expression.

……

Bao Guowei brought 200 yuan in expenses when he went there, which is a few years' salary for an ordinary person. It was more than enough to cover the expenses for a few weeks.

There was a lot of clothes in the suitcase, which was carried by Wang Dachui and Wang Xiaowu. As for the servant Zhang Ergou, he was already an old man and was not very strong, so he did not have his turn to do the menial work.

In fact, ordinary people often choose to take a boat from Suzhou to Tianjin. The fare of a boat is many times cheaper than that of a train.

But it was impossible for Bao Guowei to take a boat. Firstly, it would take too long and the nights would be long and he would have many dreams. Secondly, the world today is very dangerous. It didn’t matter whether he would encounter water bandits or not. As long as he got on his boat, he would be safe. I can't control my fate.

As long as you don't encounter "Zhang Mazi", traveling by train is undoubtedly the safest and most efficient mode of transportation today.

The railway station in Suzhou, named Suzhou Old Railway Station, was established as early as the Guangxu period.

The huge green leather train lay across the railway track. At this time, the station was already crowded. People from the entire city who wanted to take the train gathered in the station, and it was very lively.

After all, most train tickets in this era only go on sale an hour or two before driving, so people naturally want to find a good seat to buy tickets in advance.

Early in the morning, there are vendors selling food from steaming carts.

Bao Guowei was sitting in the stands, waiting for his family members to buy tickets.

"How's the ticket price?"

Wang Xiaowu squeezed past and asked the person at the ticket counter with his head tilted up.

"A third-class ticket costs one yuan, a second-class ticket costs two yuan, and a first-class ticket costs four yuan."

At this time, the price of train tickets is not cheap. The journey from Suzhou to Shanghai is only more than a hundred miles and starts at just one yuan.

Hearing this, Wang Xiaowu's heart twitched. Following Bao Guowei's instructions, he took out eight yuan and bought four second-class tickets.

This is a bit tricky: the third-class carriage is too chaotic and crowded, there are too many pickpockets, and things are easily lost. The first-class carriage is easily targeted by bandits disguised as passengers first, while the second-class carriage is sandwiched in between. If it doesn't go down, it will naturally be much safer.

After Wang Xiaowu purchased the train tickets, they waited until noon and finally it was time to get on the train.

The crowding in the third-class carriage was unimaginable. As soon as I opened the door, I saw only heads everywhere. The interior was packed with people and filled with noisy sounds.

The two Wang brothers were in front to clear the way for Bao Guowei, and finally squeezed into the second-class carriage.

As soon as we entered the second-class compartment, it was immediately much more spacious. After checking the tickets, the locomotive sprayed out hot steam and the whistle sounded.

The surrounding scenery began to recede, and Bao Guowei left his hometown where he had lived for more than ten years for the first time, traveling to a strange place accompanied by three servants.

(End of this chapter)