20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 702 Sita Goryeo
The night was as cool as water, but by the time of Xu, the area around Xita had become quiet.

Goryeo Street is close to the tram line and not far from the South Railway Station. It should have great commercial potential, but the reality is that the Goryeo residential area does not appear prosperous.

The foundation here is too poor.

The West Pagoda was originally a Buddhist pagoda of the Huguo Yanshou Temple, located on the outskirts of the city. Twenty years ago, there was almost no one living here. Only around the founding of the Republic of China did it gradually begin to have some liveliness.

If not for this, it would not be the turn of these foreigners to occupy the area around Xita.

Moreover, Xita was originally located on the edge of the Nantie Concession, a disputed area. It was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Fengtian authorities, but the little Japanese used the excuse of "Japan-Korea merger" to claim that the Koreans were their "second-class citizens". Therefore, they often intervened in local security, eroded the local security step by step, and gradually became the actual manager.

Because of the dispute between the two sides, the development of the Xita area was delayed.

The urban construction in the Goryeo settlement area is quite backward. There is no sewer in the entire street, and there are even many places without electricity. At nightfall, it is pitch dark.

There are low earthen houses on both sides of the street, with occasional makeshift sheds.

When you are in there, you can always smell a faint aroma of pickled vegetables.

The road surface is also paved with gravel, full of potholes and has not been repaired. It can be described as: three feet of dirt when there is no wind, and a street of mud when it rains.

But even so, there are still a few businesses and shops that have taken root here, of course, they are all Korean businesses.

Walking along the street into the alley, halfway through, you will find a large old-style building. It looks like a teahouse from the outside, but it only has one floor.

When I got closer and looked up at the door lintel, I saw three huge Chinese characters written in green on a black background - Qingqiu Society.

There is also a couplet in front of the door:
Things in the world are like smoke and dreams, it’s okay to be free from worldly desires.

Although the parallelism is not very neat, it is in line with the tone of the opium den.

The shop had not yet been closed, and dim light seeped through the doors and windows, making the place seem particularly peaceful.

The clerk at the counter had just finished his light meal and was picking his teeth while publishing a serialized novel in the newspaper supplement.

The room was filled with smoke and the distinctive stench of opium.

There was the rustling of flipping newspapers, the clinking of tea bowls, as well as the sounds of coughing, blowing noses, and whispered conversations; all the sounds were so soft that they made one drowsy.

A lamp with smoke and haze is just for a good dream, who can bear to disturb it loudly?

However, the door opened, accompanied by a gust of cold wind.

The clerk at the counter looked up in response. Although he looked confused, he still greeted them with a smile: "Dear guests, would you like to smoke or get an injection?"

His Chinese is fluent, but his accent is definitely not Chinese.

Wang Zhengnan walked to the counter with a smile, clasped his hands and said, "Brother, is Mr. Song here?"

The waiter frowned, looked Nan Feng up and down, and asked suspiciously, "What's the matter with you?"

"Oh, that's right. Did your boss Song receive a jade carving this morning?"

As Wang Zhengnan spoke, he turned sideways and waved to the young apprentice at the big flagpole, calling him over. He smiled at the guy and said, "Look, this is the product from this guy. Do you still remember it?"

The guy didn't say anything, but saw that the young apprentice had wrapped his right hand with a piece of white cloth, with blood obviously seeping from the severed fingers. He immediately guessed what had happened.

“No impression!”

He sat down again, put on an indifferent look, and said, "You got the wrong person, didn't you?"

"Hey, how can you say you have no impression?" the young apprentice asked anxiously, "When I came here this morning, you were here, and it was you who took me to see Boss Song!"

The guy didn't say anything, just picked up the newspaper and started reading a novel.

Seeing this, Wang Zhengnan quickly smiled and explained, "Brother, I think you misunderstood. We are not plainclothes patrolmen. We just want to redeem our things. Please be flexible and let us meet Boss Song first."

As he said this, he took out a dollar from his pocket, gently placed it on the counter, and asked the man to accept it.

Unexpectedly, the guy kept staring at the newspaper, and suddenly sneered, and it was unclear whether he was laughing at the novel in the newspaper or at Nanfeng's request.

All in all, there was no response from this Korean guy.

Seeing his arrogant attitude, everyone couldn't help but look at each other, and even the face of the big flagpole showed a hint of dissatisfaction.

Wang Zhengnan was still trying his best to fight for it, forcing himself to smile and asked, "Brother, we just want to see Boss Song. If he's here, we'll be there. If he's not here, we won't be there. What's the meaning of your silence?"

The clerk flipped through the newspaper, pointed to the door and said, "Either go inside to smoke, or leave immediately. Don't delay our business here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zhengxi rushed forward, slammed the counter, and asked sternly: "What are you pretending to be? We want to talk to your boss, do you have the right to block our way here?"

Hearing the quarrel, the smokers on the low beds sat up one after another and looked over here blankly.

Seeing this, Wang Zhengnan hurriedly stopped Xifeng and said frankly: "Brother, we are from the Jiang family in the city. Please help introduce Boss Song to us. Let's just treat it as making friends. I will definitely not let you down in the future. Isn't that okay?"

Unexpectedly, the guy was not only indifferent, but also sneered and muttered: "Shit!"

This time, even Nanfeng couldn't help but lose face.

Although everyone did not know foreign languages, they were living in Fengtian after all, so they would understand the meaning of national curses such as "Baga" and "Xiba".

Li Zhengxi snatched the newspaper and tore it up in front of him, angrily asking: "Fuck you, who are you scolding?"

The guy immediately stood up and asked, not wanting to be outdone, "Are you here to cause trouble?"

"Who's causing trouble for whom?" Li Zhengxi threw the shredded paper in the guy's face. "We're talking to you nicely, don't you understand?"

The clerk looked at the furious Xifeng, suddenly sneered, pointed at the phone on the counter, and asked, "Do you need me to call the police at the Dongyang Police Department?"

"Hold!"

What kind of temper does Li Zhengxi have—hot-tempered as fire!

Upon hearing this, he immediately swung his arm and slapped the Korean bastard hard on the face, "Revenge! You bully, I'm going to fucking beat you today!"

It was the first time for that guy to meet a tough guy. He had never suffered any loss in the past, but now he was slapped in the face. He covered half of his face with his hand and was unable to react for a while.

In the past, whenever he moved out of the "Oriental Police Station", no matter who came, they would immediately fall silent.

Unexpectedly, it didn’t work today.

At the same time, although Li Zhengxi let out his anger, he was hurriedly stopped by everyone.

"Xifeng, don't be impulsive!" Wang Zhengnan whispered to comfort him, "Don't forget, my elder brother specifically told us to do as Mr. Jiang said: make a big deal small, and a small deal nothing!"

"Brother, I didn't mean to be impulsive, but look at his character. If we don't use force against him, will he take us to see Boss Song?"

"I know, I know. If a dog wants to bite a person, can you still bite the dog?"

In fact, Nanfeng had already been dissatisfied, so he did not blame Xifeng, but simply comforted him with a few words.

As they were talking, several waiters from Qingqiu Society came rushing over following the sound.

They didn't speak Chinese and were extremely arrogant. They rushed over, carrying kettles and sticks, chattering. In the blink of an eye, there were seven or eight of them.

This was not the end yet, as another scolding voice came from the back hall and approached quickly.

Accompanied by a series of thumping footsteps, three strong and muscular men came running towards them.

It can be seen that they are the thugs who are truly responsible for watching over the place.

The big flagpole and the young apprentice immediately became a little scared. Although they did not dare to turn around and run, they retreated far away to a corner, next to the gate, and watched what would happen.

Fortunately, Yang Lazi and Lao Jie had seen storms before, so they showed no fear and immediately stood behind Xifeng, looking around with an alert look.

The two sides did not speak the same language, so in order to make the other party understand what they meant, they started cursing at each other, but they did not take any action.

Li Zhengxi certainly didn't want to escalate the situation.

The Koreans were also confused, so they called the clerk at the counter over to ask about the whole story. At first, the Koreans were quite angry, but after listening for a while, they gradually calmed down.

The two sides negotiated for a while, and the leader of Qingqiu Society came over and asked in a stiff tone: "Jiang family?"

"That's right!" Li Zhengxi nodded in response.

Gaoli Bangzi glanced at Xifeng, then said a few words to the clerk at the counter.

Although the guy was unwilling, he still translated truthfully: "You wait here, they want to go in and ask questions."

"Wouldn't it be better if you did this earlier?" Li Zhengxi snorted coldly.

The guy was "wronged" and naturally felt a little resentful, but he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

However, when the thugs from Qingqiu Society passed by him, they suddenly patted him on the shoulder, pointed their fingers at Xifeng, and asked a few questions in Goryeo.

Li Zhengxi and others didn't understand. They just saw the guy nodded, and the thugs from Qingqiu Society turned around and walked slowly towards the back hall.

Seeing this, Yang Lazi came over and whispered in Xifeng's ear, "Third Master, be careful, there's a scam!"

Li Zhengxi remained calm and simply said, "Don't worry!"

Although Xifeng was fearless, the big flagpole standing by the door had already been frightened out of his wits and could not help but mutter in a trembling voice:

"It's over, it's all over this time! This matter is getting bigger and bigger. If the Third Master makes a mistake again, I won't be able to pay for it even if I have eight heads!"

The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. He immediately grabbed his apprentice's ear, lowered his voice, and cursed, "You little bastard, it's all your fault!"

The young disciple was also dumbfounded and did not dare to argue anymore, but he did not know:
If a child is raised but not taught, it is the father's fault; if a child is not taught strictly, it is the teacher's laziness - the title of teacher is not given in vain.

Now that a big disaster has happened, although the little apprentice is stubborn and ignorant, the big flagpole is also equally to blame.

Not long after, the thug who was watching the scene came out from the back hall and waved to Xifeng and the others. His tone was so cold and hard that it was almost like an order: "You, come in!"

Li Zhengxi responded and took a step forward, but was overtaken by Wang Zhengnan.

"Xifeng, let me go ahead!"

Li Zhengxi wanted to argue a little, but Wang Zhengnan said, "I'll go ahead. It will be safer for both of us."

After saying that, he followed the footsteps of the Korean stick and walked towards the back hall of Qingqiu Society.

Everyone followed without hesitation.

The clerk at the counter was responsible for translation, so he hurried over.

I walked through the dark corridor to the end and entered the courtyard through the back door. I saw a rather spacious house on the east side of the courtyard. It was a Goryeo-style building with a similar shape to that of the Japanese. The bottom was suspended in the air, and there were three or five wooden steps and a sliding door outside.

The thug from Qingqiu Society opened the door, tilted his head towards the inside, and said, "Come in!"

Wang Zhengnan remained polite, nodded and smiled, "Thank you very much, thank you very much!"

When I walked into the house, I saw a very spacious living room with tatami on the floor. There were more than twenty people sitting cross-legged inside, in groups of three or five, around a low table. Some were playing dice, and some were playing Korean chess.

As soon as the door opened, everyone immediately squinted their eyes and lined up in a formation, which seemed to be a show of force.

Nanfeng looked across the room and saw a Korean man in his thirties or forties sitting in the main seat.

Song Lucheng has a dark complexion, high brow bones, deep eyes, a jujube-shaped face, single eyelids, thick limbs, and a very short neck. He is wearing a snow-white chiguli and holding a long and thin pipe in his hand. The shelf behind him is filled with various cultural relics and antiques, which probably look like collateral used by others for loans.

There is a telephone on the small table by the window.

As expected of a member of the Rong family, Daqiganzi had sharp eyes. As soon as he entered the house, he immediately fell in love with a white jade carving, which was the "Old Monkey Offering Peaches". He then asked his apprentice, "Is it that jade carving?"

The young apprentice nodded.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief - after all, at least the jade carving was still there.

Wang Zhengnan immediately bowed and said with a smile: "Boss Song, nice to meet you!"

Song Lvcheng remained calm until the clerk at the counter ran over to translate. Then he hummed and asked, "Jiang family?"

"Yes, yes, it's the Jiang family. Now that you've heard of us, it'll be easier for us!"

Wang Zhengnan walked over with a smile, intending to get closer to them, but after taking just two steps, he was harshly stopped by the crowd.

"Ayisi, wali wali wali bayo!"

When Koreans speak, they always sound a bit gibberish and impatient.

Wang Zhengnan was stunned. Although he didn't understand what the other party meant, he could feel that the other party was speaking rudely.

Sure enough, the guy immediately became arrogant when he saw that someone was backing him up, and snorted coldly, "Boss Song said that you guys just need to sit at the door!"

Nanfeng and the others felt their necks thicken, and when they thought of Jiang Lianheng's order, they clenched their teeth and endured it.

Major issues to minor ones out!
If a fight breaks out here, it will definitely be reported in the newspapers tomorrow morning, which will only make Marshal Zhang upset, and the Jiang family cannot afford it.

The most important thing right now is to redeem the jade carving as soon as possible. If there is any dissatisfaction, it will not be too late to settle the score in the future.

"Boss Song wants to ask you, why are you running to the West Tower instead of staying in the old city?" the Qingqiu Society's guy asked again.

Wang Zhengnan was already known for his good temper, but now he put away his smile and stated his purpose directly: "I don't plan to do anything, I just want to discuss with Boss Song to see if we can redeem the jade carving."

The guys from Qingqiu Society translated it truthfully.

Unexpectedly, Song Lvcheng flew into a rage after hearing this, and cursed numerous times in one breath. Finally, his clerk relayed the words, "Assholes! You just sold me that jade carving this morning, and now you want to go back on your word. Are you deliberately teasing us Koreans?"

"No."

Wang Zhengnan said in a deep voice: "The problem today is indeed on our side, so I came to discuss it with Boss Song. If I have offended you, I will apologize first."

Everyone started to shout and chatter, asking, "Why didn't Jiang Lianheng come here in person?"

Li Zhengxi couldn't stand it anymore and immediately responded, "Boss Song, please forgive me when you can. It's just a small matter, and you still want our boss to make a personal trip?"

"No, no, no, brothers, listen to me!" Big Flagpole knew it was time for him to speak. "Boss Song, this matter is all my fault for not disciplining you properly. Boss Jiang cannot be blamed at all. If you are unhappy, blame me!"

Song Lucheng said nothing.

The big flagpole said again: "Boss Song, I apologize to you and ask you to be flexible and show some mercy. Of course, I can't let you be happy for nothing, how about this, I will give you another... another 500 yuan! What do you think?"

Unexpectedly, Song Lvcheng sneered, and the other Koreans also laughed.

"What? It's short?" Big Flagpole gritted his teeth and said, "Then I'll give you an extra thousand yuan. You bought the jade carving for two thousand yuan, and I'll redeem it for three thousand yuan. Isn't that okay?"

Song Lvcheng shook his head, slowly stretched out four fingers, and said stiffly: "Four thousand yuan!"

Wow, the lion is opening its mouth wide!
The big flagpole's heart trembled, and he was hesitating whether to agree or not, but Nanfeng and Xifeng gave him a look, signaling him not to say anything more.

Yang Lazi then whispered behind him, "Old Qi, this is not just your business anymore, don't say anything!"

The big flagpole reacted and quickly stopped talking, looking at Nanfeng and Xifeng, wondering how the two would respond.

Wang Zhengnan sighed and said kindly, "Boss Song, since you have heard of the Jiang family and there is no feud between us, why do you have to do this?"

The Qingqiu Society's staff said arrogantly, "Didn't we already say it? Four thousand dollars. If you have the money, redeem it. If you don't have the money, just leave!"

Wang Zhengnan advised again: "Boss Song, I suggest you go to Fengtian City to find out what kind of person my boss is. You are doing the Jiang family a favor today, and the Jiang family will remember you. Let's be friends, and if you have any trouble in the future, you can just ask for it."

After the Qingqiu Society's servant translated it, the Koreans began to talk about it.

After listening to this, Song Lvcheng pondered for a moment and no longer asked the waiter to help him repeat it. Instead, he spoke in a very stiff accent:
"Okay, I can give Mr. Jiang a favor - five thousand yuan!"

(End of this chapter)