Film and Television: Starting from the Journey to Guandong

Chapter 16 Shopkeeper Xia

"Mom, the ship is coming, the ship is really coming, we have a way to survive!"

Chuanwen took his mother's arm and stood up, pointing excitedly into the distance and shouting.

"Is it really here? Let's take a look!" Wei Chunfang also worked hard, stretching her neck to look into the distance.

Chuanwu turned over and stood on the big rock, waving and shouting at the sailboat in the distance.

Xian'er covered her face in happiness and excitement, but Chuanjie was still very calm. He just grabbed Chuanren's arm, and his slightly trembling little hand gave him away.

At this time, a group of officers and soldiers came from a distance surrounded by an official wearing a flower feather. The officers and soldiers used long spears to separate the crowd and yelled and cursed unceremoniously.

Soon, the official stood on the trestle, where a small open space was surrounded by officers and soldiers.

He put his hands behind his hands and looked into the distance, looking at the direction of the ship. No one knew what he was thinking.

...

Longkou Port is located on the bank of Laizhou Bay in the north of Shandong Peninsula, connecting Liaoning and Tianjin, and straddling Zhilu.

The harbor is blocked by Qimu Island and a land-based sand bar in the north, and is surrounded by golden beaches in the south. The water is deep and wide, neither silted nor frozen, making it a good natural harbor.

It was early winter weather, and about thirty fishing boats of various sizes were docked at the pier in the port.

On the shore, the crowd of people entering Guandong dragged their children with them, and it was crowded.

A group of beggars knocked on cow leg bones and begged people. Dozens of Qing soldiers guarded the area near the pier in a tight formation.

Long Fuxiang's shopkeeper, Zhou Dashanren, Zhou Fengnian, led his followers and walked slowly through the crowd with their hands behind their backs, a look of worry on their faces.

Not far away, there is a row of porridge shacks about a mile long that were set up on the street to serve porridge to the folks who came to Guandong. The refugees lined up in front of the porridge shacks, and the porridge in the big pot looked like it was about to bottom out.

Zhou Fengnian ordered his followers:

"Xiao Shanzi, I don't think there is enough porridge. You tell the second shopkeeper to go to Yihe Grain Store to pick up a few bags and make a few pots of porridge."

The follower, Xiao Shanzi, said with a depressed face: "Shopkeeper, Yi Hesheng has said that we will not give credit to Dayang people if we don't pay cash. Besides, you have been giving porridge for more than a month, and our family's funds are already empty. Grandma's dowry All my jewelry has been sold, so just keep it when you’re ready.”

Zhou Fengnian shouted angrily:

"You bastard! What do you mean by just accepting a favor? Am I giving porridge to gain fame? These are the people of the Qing Dynasty, our fellow countrymen from Qilu. They are in trouble and have to leave their hometowns to make a living. It's not easy. I, Zhou Fengnian, can't save the people in this country. Water and fire, shouldn’t we be giving porridge to the villagers? Even if we go bankrupt, we won’t even think about it.”

Xiao Shanzi was a follower after all. He had broken the rules by expressing his dissatisfaction just now. He quickly lowered his head and agreed: "Yes, from the shopkeeper."

Seeing Xiao Shanzi running away, Zhou Fengnian also took two steps, climbed to a high platform, and shouted to the refugees huddled together:

"Folks, don't be crowded. There is still porridge. I, Zhou, can still afford it."

...

The four sons of the Zhu family held hands tightly to protect their mother and Xian'er from being scattered by the crowd.

After traveling all the way eastward and spending a week on the shore in the wind and rain, the family of six was exhausted.

At any rate, we arrived at Longkou Port, and the ship was also waiting for it. We thought we could get on the ship immediately and head north, but the weather was bad, there was no wind or waves, and we couldn't lift the anchor.

Chuanwen squatted on the ground and looked at the crowds surging in front of the porridge shed in the distance. He kept swallowing his saliva. He had been eating pancakes for almost a month and his appetite was hardened.

Chuanwu was also a little greedy and couldn't help but said: "Brother, the porridge shed is open over there, I'm going to beg for porridge."

Chuanwen shook his head: "No, it's so chaotic and crowded, what should I do if I get separated?" Chuanwu now obeys the third child, and no one else, especially the boss, so he said angrily:

"You are a person who is afraid of hitting your head when a leaf falls. How could you lose a living person like me? Just wait here and I will come as soon as I can."

After saying that, he ran all the way with a small iron bucket and squeezed into the crowd begging for porridge. I saw him dodging left and right, crawling under the crotch of the porridge beggars, and after a while he ran back with a bucket of porridge.

For the sake of the stutterer, he would not hesitate to bear the humiliation on his crotch. If this were to be replaced by a message, beating him to death, no, beating him to death would definitely be possible, cough cough
In a small teahouse at the port pier, Xia Yuanzhang, wearing a long gown, and another businessman looked at the sea and talked.

Xia Yuanzhang is from Guandong. His family is in Lushun, and he travels to Guanzhong all year round.

He was planning to go home as planned, but because there was no wind and no boat, he had to wait on the shore.

The businessman asked him: "Shopkeeper Xia, how was your business this time? Did you gain anything?"

Xia Yuanzhang sighed and said:

"Oh, forget it. After running for half a year, no business was done. What business is there in Qilu these days? After years of famine, soldiers and bandits are rampant, and everyone is busy running for their lives."

The businessman was chewing his toothbrush, with a look of pain on his face:

"Well, there is a famine on this side of the Bohai Sea, and there is a war in the north. This is called war and chaos, and the people are in dire straits. Why do you think you are a fool and a book, so why are you going to fight in the Qing Dynasty?"

Xia Yuanzhang also felt full of powerlessness:
"Well, since the Eight-Nation Allied Forces captured Beijing, the Queen Mother and Lafayette scared the foreigners out of their wits. They signed a treaty today and ceded land to pay compensation tomorrow. This attracted batches of mad dogs, and they started fighting if the spoils were unevenly divided.

Let’s just talk about Palmshun. After the Sino-Japanese War of [-], Lao Maozi took over our port and squeezed out Xiaobenzi on the pretext of protecting the Qing Dynasty from foreign invasion.

How can you be content with a small book?No, it's back again.

It was a pair of mad dogs that started biting each other on our territory, and their eyes turned red from the bites! "

The businessman sighed helplessly and shook his head: "Hey, I don't know what's going on over there?"

Xia Yuanzhang pointed to the sea and said:

"Look, these dozens of sailboats are waiting for the wind to sail, but there has been no wind for three days. How can they cross the sea? Look at how many refugees are pressed on this shore now? If it hadn't been for the opening of Long Fuxiang's Zhou Dashan Porridge shed, I don’t know how many people will starve to death!”

At this time, people listening to their chat couldn’t help but ask:
"What is the origin of this Zhou Dashan? How can he be so powerful?"

Xia Yuanzhang said: "I often travel to Longkou, and I know a little about him. This man's name is Zhou Fengnian, also named Huipu. He won the imperial examination when he was young, and then he started doing business. He also managed it well, and his business grew bigger and bigger. Now he is a wealthy businessman in Jiaodong."

The man exclaimed:

"Oh? He passed the imperial examination and is engaged in business. So he is a Confucian businessman?"

Xia Yuanzhang laughed and said: "Confucian businessmen are not even mentioned. It would be a long story to talk about this Zhou Dashan. This person has three major hobbies in his life, good clothes, good food, good singing..."

As Xia Yuanzhang narrated, everyone in the tea shed listened with interest.

Suddenly, a young man who looked young and had no hair, but had an unusually calm demeanor spoke:

"Mr. Xia has amazing experience and profound knowledge. I admire him."

Xia Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, turned to look at the young man, took a puff of his cigarette, and couldn't help but find it interesting:

"It seems that you have been studying for two years. Do you know that it is impolite to eavesdrop on someone's speech?"

Who else could that young man be besides Zhu Chuanren?

He had just come out to fetch water when he heard someone talking loudly. He took a quick look and saw that this was not Shopkeeper Xia.
Thinking of the fate between his family and him, and that after arriving in Yuanbao Town, he would inevitably have to be taken care of by him, he began to want to make friends, and then he found an opportunity to speak!
(End of this chapter)