20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 815 Return Journey from Shanghai
On the banks of the Huangpu River, a bustling metropolis.

The sun slowly rose from the water, and a light mist hung over the Bund, making the air damp and cold.

The bustling scene of the concession is gradually becoming clearer through the fog.

Newsboys hawked their wares along the streets, shouting the latest news, but all you could hear were their voices; you couldn't see them, couldn't tell where they came from, and had no idea whose mouthpiece they were.

"News from the front! Guo Jun has achieved a major breakthrough, Zhang Yuting's death knell has sounded! The bandits' annihilation is just around the corner!"

"Extra! Extra! Reactionary warlord Zhang Yuting is a traitor to Japan and a sellout of the country! Secret agreement exposed, read it now!"

"Breaking news! The situation in Fengtian is tense. The local government is completely paralyzed, crime is surging, the people are in chaos, and merchants and citizens are flocking to the South Railway Concession!"

The news of Guo Jun's rebellion against Fengtian has become a major news story that has shocked the entire country. The Shanghai newspaper industry is booming and naturally follows up with reports.

However, the same event elicited two completely contradictory opinions in public discourse in Fengtian and Shanghai.

In Fengtian, Guo was disloyal, unfilial, inhumane, and unjust; he was a two-faced traitor and lackey. But in Shanghai, he became a progressive general who was dedicated to the country and the people and understood the greater good. Even the most conservative and neutral newspapers only called for an end to the civil war as soon as possible, without commenting on right or wrong.

The truth of this farce seems far from being determined, and no one seems to care much.

After all, things haven't been peaceful in Shanghai lately.

Last spring, this area was still under the control of Lu, the warlord of the Anhui clique. After the devastation of the Jiazi War, Jiangzuo was brought under the control of the Zhili warlords. Then, the Zhili and Fengtian war broke out, and the Fengtian army sent troops to Shanghai. Zhang Xiaokun was riding high, but unfortunately, less than half a year later, Sun, the commander of the five-province coalition, took Shanghai back into his hands.

In just two years, Shanghai changed hands three times, and the turbulent situation of warlord infighting had already caused the local gentry great suffering.

Moreover, in late spring this year, Japanese factories carried out bloody incidents, and conflicts between Chinese and foreigners were commonplace. The wave of strikes and strikes continued one after another, severely damaging the Shanghai business community, which has only now begun to recover.

Therefore, although the internal strife within the Fengtian Army had a huge impact, it was not a matter of personal suffering for the citizens of Shanghai; they simply treated it as a spectacle.

However, the densely populated area of ​​Shanghai meant that even amidst the chaos of war thousands of miles away, there were always people who were deeply concerned, unable to sleep at night...

…………

As morning approached, the thin mist along the river gradually dissipated.

In the old city of Shiliupu, the territory of the Anhui Northern Axe Gang, there was a very inconspicuous shop. There was no plaque above the door, only a sign outside the shop with two lines of regular script: "Zongheng Insurance Company Shanghai Branch, underwriting cargo insurance for Fengtian merchants."

Business has been exceptionally slow at the store these past few days.

With nothing to do, the shop assistant leaned over the counter and flipped through the newspaper. When he read about the war in Fengtian, he would sigh from time to time, his eyes full of worry. Suddenly, he looked up at the door and saw a middle-aged man wearing a blue cotton jacket pacing back and forth on the street.

This person has been loitering around the door for quite some time now, behaving rather suspiciously. He seems hesitant, always wavering between going in and leaving, and it's unclear what he's struggling with.

But the shopkeeper wasn't worried, because the shop was under the protection of the Axe Gang. Not to mention ordinary thugs, even members of the Green Gang wouldn't dare to cause trouble here. So he simply walked around the counter, took a few steps to the shop entrance, and shouted at the man on the street.

"Hey, I've seen you loitering around here for ages, what's up?"

The man stopped, scratched his head as if making a decision, nodded, and said, "Ah, you sell insurance here, right?"

"Yes, didn't you see it written here? We handle cargo insurance for Fengtian merchants!" The clerk pointed to the sign at the shop entrance. "What, you have some goods you want to insure?"

"No, I was just asking."

“I think so too. Fengtian is in chaos right now. The Beijing-Fengtian railway line has been suspended, and sea freight is not reliable either. Do you have anything else to say?”

The man thought for a moment and said, "Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you what the situation is like in Fengtian right now."

The man frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Are you also from Fengtian?"

The man shook his head and said, "No, my hometown is in Heilongjiang, but I have a few relatives in Fengtian. I haven't been in touch with them for a long time, and I don't know how they are doing now."

The waiter sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Alas, the world is in chaos. We'd better pray for ourselves! We're from the same hometown, and it's not easy to meet someone from the Northeast in Shanghai. Luckily, the shop isn't too busy. Why don't you come in and sit for a while?"

The man didn't refuse, but as he walked over, he hesitated for a moment. In the end, he just leaned against the doorpost, tilted his head to look into the shop, and said with a smile, "No need to trouble yourself, I'll just stand here for a bit and then leave."

Seeing that he was a little reserved, the waiter stopped trying to persuade him and instead looked at him with interest.

The man was quite tall and looked rather young, making it difficult to guess his actual age. His eyes drooped, as if he were sleepy and hadn't woken up properly. He was lethargic all over, preferring to lean against something rather than stand or lie down rather than sit. He had a thick stack of newspapers tucked under his arm, all of them the latest reports on the war in Fengtian, which suggested that he was also worried about the situation.

In turbulent times, fellow villagers meeting each other should have endless things to talk about.

But as if in a hurry, he didn't wait for pleasantries and went straight to asking, "You business people are well-informed. Have you heard anything about Fengtian lately?"

The waiter waved his hand and said, "Hey, don't mention it. I'm just like you, a headless fly. I just read what the newspaper says, and I don't know anything more than you."

The visitor was incredulous and hurriedly said, "Such a big thing happened in Fengtian, and your boss didn't even send a telegram or anything?"

"I don't know, I'm wondering about that too! When we sent a telegram here last time, they said there might be trouble in Fengtian recently, and told us to suspend our insurance business. Who would have thought that fighting would break out so suddenly! Our manager did send a telegram to Fengtian a couple of days ago, but we haven't received a reply yet!"

"I saw in the newspaper that the Fengtian Government Office is paralyzed. Could it be that there's a problem with the telegraph office and the message wasn't sent?"

The man nodded and said, "You know what, it's actually possible. These days, whenever there's a war, they immediately cut off the power lines, affecting civilian telephone and telegraph services. If the lines are interrupted a few times, the message might not get delivered."

The man looked slightly disappointed. He pulled a newspaper from under his arm and flipped through it, saying, "I saw on today's news that there was a lot of chaos in the border area recently. Several wealthy families in Fengtian were robbed. I don't know how serious the situation is."

"Hey, I just looked at it, but it's pointless. News in the newspapers is a mix of truth and falsehood. Who knows how much of it is exaggerated? I think you shouldn't worry. There's no use in being anxious. Just wait and see. Maybe we'll hear something in a couple of days!"

Out of consideration for their shared hometown, the man offered a few words of comfort.

Just then, a shout came from inside the store: "Where is everyone? Why did they run outside?"

Hearing the commotion, the waiter quickly turned around and replied, "Oh, Manager Wen, a fellow villager has come in and wants to ask us about the situation in Fengtian."

Before long, Wen Tingge, leaning on his cane, slowly walked out of the back hall. When he reached the door, he frowned and asked, "Where is he?"

The waiter didn't understand and was about to turn around to explain when he saw that the store was empty and the middle-aged man had left sometime earlier.

He hurriedly stepped down the stairs, looked around at the street, and saw that Shiliupu Street was bustling with activity, and masts stood tall on the river in the distance. He could no longer find that person's figure.

The waiter was bewildered. He stared blankly for a few moments, scratched his head, and muttered to himself, "That's strange, it was just here a moment ago..."

…………

At midday, in the International Settlement, at the Jiangshan Wharf passenger ticket office, a long queue of passengers waited to buy their tickets.

The man bent over slightly and asked the ticket seller at the window, "Hello, do you have any boat tickets to southern Liaoning? Lüda is fine too."

The ticket seller was a chubby guy with slicked-back hair parted in a 3/7 ratio. He pointed impatiently at today's ferry timetable on the glass window.

The man looked up for a long time but couldn't find the corresponding ferry, so he hurriedly asked, "Are there none left?"

The ticket seller couldn't help but roll her eyes and said in a strange tone, "If you don't know, why do you have to ask?"

"Are there any for tomorrow?"

"If you have any for tomorrow, you can just come and ask tomorrow!"

The man didn't get angry. He quickly took out a paper ticket from his pocket, held it in his palm, and handed it through the window, smiling as he said, "I remember there's a ferry to Liaonan at Jiangshan Wharf. Could you please check for me? I'm in a bit of a hurry, so just find me the nearest one."

The ticket seller immediately covered the paper ticket, shoved it into his pocket like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, and tried to be a little nicer, but was still very impatient as he said, "Oh dear, there's a war going on in Fengtian, didn't you know? That ship was originally a cargo ship, it only occasionally carried some passengers. Now there are no cargo ships that can go to Fengtian so easily. Come back and see for yourself in a while!"

Men never give up.

Although Fengtian was ravaged by war, the vast majority of the impact was on land transportation. Maritime transport could not be completely cut off, at least since Lushun and Dalian were concessions of the Japanese, there should still be ferry services.

However, there were very few direct ferries from Shanghai to Fengtian, and the war had further exacerbated the situation, so they have almost ceased operations recently.

The man thought for a moment and then asked, "Are there any boat tickets left to Jiaodong today?"

The ticket seller said impatiently, "Where are you going? Think it through before you speak, don't waste everyone's time, okay?"

"Let's go to Jiaodong!" the man thought, there should be many merchant ships and ferries going to Fengtian from there.

"Jiaodong... The nearest ship departs tonight, third class only, do you want it?"

"Yes, this one is the one!"

Having bought the ferry tickets, the man didn't hesitate for a moment and immediately took the tram to Edward Road—a secluded apartment building on a street corner.

In Shanghai, where land is extremely valuable, it's common to see a dozen or more families crammed into small apartments, sharing kitchens and bathrooms, which often leads to arguments.

As soon as I went up the stairs, I heard the sounds of things being smashed and broken coming from the corridor. Several women were making sarcastic remarks to each other, and along with that, I could smell the aroma of food.

The man sighed, ignored him, and walked straight to his room.

Just then, a female neighbor walked over with a smile and asked, "Oh, Mr. Guan, didn't you go to work today?"

The man shook his head and said, "No, I'm taking the next two days off and planning to go somewhere else."

The female neighbor crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame next door. She drew two circles in front of her with her toes, her eyes suddenly filled with affection, and said with a smile, "Hey, I made some soup today. Would you like to come to my place and have some?"

"No need, I'm a bit short on money lately."

"Tch, I've never seen you have any money to spare. How much more money do you need to save for your daughter? Enough already. We're neighbors, can't I give you a discount?"

Mr. Guan smiled without saying a word, then took out his key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it twice.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I heard a cat meowing from inside.

It was a stray cat, with a mix of white, orange, and black markings. Because the apartment building wasn't very tall, it could come and go as it pleased in Mr. Guan's room. Every winter, it would stay in the room to freeload, and then go out to attract attention in the spring.

The neighbors saw it and initially liked it too.

But this cat wouldn't let anyone touch or pet it, especially when a woman approached. It would immediately bristle and hiss, only pretending to be well-behaved in front of Mr. Guan. Everyone said that this cat was too cunning. Later, when they saw it sticking out its butt, it turned out to be a female cat!
As soon as Mr. Guan entered the house, the calico cat squatted at the doorway, tilting its head to look at him.

"Meow-"

Mr. Guan waved his hand and said, "There's no food today."

The calico cat took two steps forward and meowed again, "Meow?"

"Really, there isn't any!" Mr. Guan spread his hands, then turned his pockets inside out to prove his innocence. "See? There really isn't any. I have to go now!"

As he spoke, he immediately closed the door and went inside to pack his luggage.

The calico cat followed him, staring blankly for a moment. Finally convinced that he hadn't brought back any food, it couldn't help but worry about his hunting abilities. It reluctantly returned to its mat in the corner of the house, stretched, and began to snore.

Besides Mr. Guan, only this calico cat remained in the room.

Mr. Guan had very little luggage, so little that he looked more like a tourist than a resident. Before long, all his belongings were stuffed into his suitcase.

Only then did the calico cat notice something was wrong, and it quickly went over and meowed twice.

Mr. Guan ignored them, opened the second-floor window, stuffed another wad of banknotes into an envelope, put it in the cabinet by the window, and finally picked up a framed photo from the bedside table. The photo showed him and a beautiful young woman. His expression was stiff, but the young woman stood smiling beside him, gently holding his arm.

"Hey, I'm really leaving!"

Mr. Guan picked up his suitcase, turned to look at the calico cat, and said solemnly, "I've paid your rent for this winter, but I can't guarantee how long it will last. Take care of yourself from now on. After spring, you need to be chaste and not flirt with just any cat. Of course, I can't advise you. You'll have to figure it out yourself!"

"Meow?"

The calico cat didn't understand what he meant and just watched as Mr. Guan gently closed the door.

After leaving the apartment, Mr. Guan went to the Citibank in the International Settlement and asked a clerk to make an international remittance for tuition and living expenses.

This was no small sum of money; even the Citibank teller was taken aback.

Mr. Guan didn't care. He sent all his savings to New World across the ocean, along with a short message:
Study hard. I'm going back to my hometown on business. If you need anything, just let me know as we agreed before, and I'll send you the money again as soon as possible.

Recipient: Bai Xue.

Remitter: Gong Baonan.

(End of this chapter)