Chapter 1: Robbery on the overpass
In 1912, Sun Yat sen announced the establishment of the Republic of China. This is the first year of the Republic of China.
In this summer Guangzhou, a coastal city in the south China, was extremely humid and sultry.
After graduating from Peking University last autumn, Li Changsheng received an invitation from a senior to go south to Guangzhou to work at Nanyang Huaxia Dry Goods Firm at No. 6, Gangqian Road. This is a business run by a senior one of Peking University. This job is the kindness of the seniors to him.
The company will provide lunch for employees everyday.But at the end of the day, A fat balding middle-aged Indonesian customer came to the firm. He wanted to buy some Chinese yam tablets and Chinese wolfberries to send home. After work, Chen Guiyan, the boss and senior, asked Li Changsheng to accompany the guests across the overpass to the Chaoshan Rice Noodle Restaurant across the road for lunch. Two coppers can eat a bowl of beef rice noodle .It was luxuries for most Chinese in the early years of the Republic of China.
Li Changsheng accompanied the guests to the overpass with a modest smile. The scorching sun immediately threw down a large amount of ultraviolet rays, making him squint and block the dazzling sun with his hands. The humid and sultry sea breeze is blowing the bright green banyan leaves rustling on both sides of the road. Entrance at both ends of overpass was occupied by two unkempt beggars, who were prostrate on the ground.A beggar had no legs below his knees and was lying on a dirty mat. The other one has no left hand, and his left forearm is bald and bright, which is a sign to win sympathy.
Both beggars were lying on the ground with a broken bowl . Inside the bowl were several pieces of coins and coppers. Once someone passed by, they shook the porcelain bowl and clattered, begging for alms.
Li Changsheng could not show mercy and sympathy to such professional Beggars. Because you give them money, they will scold you in their hearts: "Another fool has been taken in." Li Changsheng also felt that to give them alms was to encourage them to carry on this great cause for a long time. In fact, they are cheats and bad persons who get nothing for nothing. It's very simple. They can't get on such a high overpass without the help of their partner. Li Changsheng's heart is full of contempt and disgust for these malignant tumors that worsen social sympathy every day.
There is no shelter in the middle of the overpass. It is exposed to the sun in sunny days and rain in cloudy days. This is obviously the worst placeon the overpass. A wrinkled and stooped 70 year old grandmother would set up a stall in the worst place as long as it didn't rain. She used a large oil paper umbrella with bamboo handle to block the sun. She sold some chemicals for killing ants, cockroaches and mice and very cheap leather band headwear. There are also some old thread bound books that are poorly made and printed, such as The God of Linen Clothes, The Duke of Zhou Interprets Dreams, The Book of Changes, The Tao Te Ching, etc. When there were no customers, The Grandma sat there sewing insoles.
Li Changsheng often buys insoles, key rings,, etc. from this Grandma. Although he buy little each time, he still want to help her.He couldn't bear to see the Grandma set up a stall on the overpass at her age braved the cold and hot weather.In addition Li Changsheng also respect her independence .He once asked her and knew that the old lady's hometown was in the south of Shaanxi. the Grandma said she was too old and came to Guangzhou to live with her son.
Li Changsheng did not know that the fate of his life would change at this moment. With a modest smile on his face, he and his plump and dark Indonesian customers covered the sun with their hands. When he had just passed the stall beside Grandma, suddenly, there was a sound of rapid footsteps behind him, and someone ran all the way. Then a woman screamed: "Robbery, robbery! Someone robbed my bag!"
As soon as Li Changsheng looked back, a man in a gray short coat ran from the overpass with a fierce face. Behind him was a young woman in a fashionable cheongsam with high heels, who was chasing and shouting. Another man in black under the overpass was holding an old bicycle, but he was waiting at the same place. He was obviously an accomplice of the gray coat robber.
The man in the gray short coat was holding an exquisite lady's handbag in his left hand, waving a short knife in his right hand, and shouted: "Get out of the way, get out of the way!" The passers-by coming and going on the overpass hid on both sides in a hurry. Li Changsheng quickly dodged to one side with fat Indonesian customers and spread his right hand to protect the Grandma. He was afraid that the robbers in black would crash into the elderly.
The man in the gray coat had just passed the granny's stall quickly. Li Changsheng happened to catch a glimpse from the corner of his eye of the granny's right hand putting down the needle and thread ,the forefinger did not show any trace in the air,just pointed to the robber. The robber in the gray coat could not prevent his left leg from weakening. He fell forward and fell to the ground, throwing out his knife and handbag.
The man in the gray short coat was shocked. Ignoring the handbag and knives on the ground, he limped off the overpass, jumped on one leg, and quickly fled on his partner's bike.
Pedestrians coming and going on the overpass resumed their hurried pace. This incident did not affect Li Changsheng's interest in going to lunch. Because all goods in Guangzhou are exported at Huangpu Port. Therefore, there are people of various professions in ports and docks. The streets and alleys are all people of different colors from all over the world. Robbery and theft happen every day, and the patrolmen in the port area can't handle them.
Li Changsheng did not know whether it was an illusion just now. When he left Grandma's stall, he glanced at her and saw that Grandma was still sewing a insole slowly. The red cotton cloth was the base color of the insole, and the words of green cotton thread were: "The movement of Dao follow certain rules ".
At seven o'clock in the evening, Li Changsheng wore a gray cloth gown and black square mouth cloth shoes. He was a little tired and went off work from Nanyang Huaxia Dry Goods Firm. He ate a bowl of rice noodles at the restaurant next to the firm, picked up his briefcase and prepared to return to the flatlet he rented in the village not far away.
The business is in the bustling port area. The Pearl River enters the Lion Ocean from here. On both sides of the Pearl River are a dazzling array of high-end shops, foreign businesses, singing bars and foreign villas. There are foreign men from all over the world walking in the street with civilized sticks, neat suits and shiny leather shoes, their arms holding beautiful women wearing jewelry. The streets were crowded with cars and people. This important city in South China was not forced to open by foreigners. In fact, Guangzhou was the only city that was opened to the outside world by the backward and foolish Manchu Dynasty.
As a result, Guangzhou became the richest city in China at that time. Every year, only tariffs were handed over to the government for more than five tons of gold. This city full of miracles was the most prosperous city in China and the world at that time, but the prosperity and liveliness did not belong to him, a migrant worker from other places.
The main road leading to the port is the busiest road here. The most people here are the porters who work manually at the port. There are also supervisors, shipping and foreign compradors who work day and night with the cargo ships arriving. At this time, although the rush hour of work is over, the streets are still full of sweatshirt laborers, uniformed shipping, sailors, various mobile vendors, and sometimes impatient foreigners honking their horns.
The noisy and chaotic street made Li Changsheng frown, and he sped up his pace to Xiangxue Park nearby.