1950, Yau Tsim District, Hong Kong, Cumberland, Tsim Sha Tsui.

Su Jingxian stopped in front of a tenement building, stepped on the old and narrow staircase to the second floor, pushed the door and entered an upstairs bookstore called Xuejin.

In post-war Hong Kong, where culture was weak, the upstairs bookstore was born, also known as the second-floor bookstore, which was usually located on the second, third, or even eleventh floors where the rent was lower than that of the floor.

The area of Xuejin Bookstore is not large, about ten square meters, and it seems a little cramped to put three or two bookshelves in the store, but fortunately, business here does not look sluggish, otherwise I am afraid that there is no place to step on.

Su Jingxian knocked on the counter and woke up a middle-aged man who was napping at the counter.

"Lao Shi (boss), a package of double happiness plus a copy of today's government gazette, don't deserve."

"Read the inside of the book, smoke outside." The middle-aged bookstore owner raised his eyelids and glanced at Su Jingxian, handing over a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes and a government gazette, "Promise five milli papers." ”

Su Jingxian took out a one-dollar Hong Kong dollar with a portrait of George VI from his pocket: "Don't look for it, sit here for a while." ”

The bookstore owner saw Su Jingxian's generous move, the sleepiness on his face suddenly disappeared, and he grinned: "Thank you, sir, there are seats inside, and there are other magazines and periodicals, just read and choose." ”

"Okay." Su Jingxian nodded, walked to the bookshelf, pulled a chair and sat down, and opened the newspaper in his hand to read it.

Unlike the Chinese newspapers founded by local Chinese businessmen in Hong Kong, the Government Gazette is a pure English newspaper officially issued by the British government in Hong Kong, and this threshold alone has prevented more than 90 percent of Hong Kong people from reading, and most Hong Kong people in this era do not speak English, and even Chinese may not be able to recognize it completely, and because of this, the sales of the Government Gazette have been very poor since its issuance, and it has been overwhelmed by the rest of the Chinese business newspapers.

In fact, however, the Hong Kong government was happy to see this kind of scene, because the government gazette was not intended to serve the Chinese in Hong Kong from the beginning of its inception, but was exclusively for the British to read, and there was no shortage of business opportunities in the newspapers for government bidding and procurement, reclamation and building of buildings.

Su Jingxian grew up in a squatter area and had no opportunity to study since he was a child, but now he is sitting precariously flipping through the English newspaper in his hand, which has to make people suspect him of pretentious gestures.

In fact, at this time, Su Jingxian could not only understand the English in the newspaper, but even let him write an English manuscript without difficulty, and even he was promoted not long ago because of his knowledge of English.

Rebirth, crossing, this kind of words that only appear in novels, films, and television coincidentally fell on Su Jingxian.

Frankly speaking, although he has been parasitic in this young body for several months, sometimes Su Jingxian still feels that everything is like a dream, and he can't understand how he, an entrepreneur who died unexpectedly in the 21st century, inexplicably traveled to Hong Kong in 1950 and parasitized on this young man with the same name as himself.

However, after a few months of adaptation, although Su Jingxian is still in a trance occasionally, he has at least accepted the fact that he has crossed over, otherwise he would not be sitting here calmly reading the newspaper now.

There is no practical content in the government gazette in the past few days, and the headlines on the first page are still the same as a few days ago, recording the illness of the current king of the United Kingdom in real time, blessings and prayers throughout, but Su Jingxian, who knows history, knows very well that it will not be long before the highly controversial king will pass away, and his eldest daughter ****** will take the throne, becoming the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

Su Jingxian pursed his lips, continued to read the newspaper, skipping a few Hong Kong government recruitment information published at the bottom of the newspaper, the second page of the reclamation project proposed by the British government in Hong Kong attracted his attention, in fact, as early as 1842, Hong Kong carried out the first informal reclamation project, and now with the economic reasons more and more Chinese entering Hong Kong, the lack of land area has become a top priority, so the reclamation project plan has appeared in the government gazette more than once.

Su Jingxian spread the newspaper on his lap, his eyes were still fixed on the page where the reclamation project was published, and he had already opened the Double Happiness cigarette he had just bought, gave one to his mouth and lit it, completely forgetting that the bookstore owner had just told him to smoke and go outside the store.

If you are familiar with Su Jingxian, you will know that his addiction to smoking is not big, and many times smoking is just a subconscious action when he is caught in thinking.

At the counter of Xuejin Bookstore, the middle-aged boss smelled a burst of tobacco burning at the end of his nose, frowned, and was about to burst a few foul words, suddenly remembering that Su Jingxian made a generous hand when he entered the door, and swallowed the dirty words back into his stomach, knocked on the counter to make a sound, and reminded him: "Sir, can you please smoke and go outside?" ”

Su Jingxian's attention relaxed, he looked back at the bookstore owner with a displeased face, and then looked at the half-burned cigarette in his hand, laughed, knowing that his old mistake had been made again, he walked quickly outside the bookstore and stepped on the cigarette butt, and apologized to the bookstore owner: "I was a little distracted just now, I'm really embarrassed." ”

"Forget it, forget it." The bookstore owner waved his hand, perhaps seeing that Su Jingxian had a good attitude, he explained again: "You know that I am a bookstore here, and the fire is so big (serious), there is no room for mistakes in a small business!" ”

Su Jingxian smiled, stood outside the bookstore, folded the newspaper and put it in his pocket, and said casually: "There are now a lot of rice shops, gold shops, and clock shops in Youjian District, and there is only one bookstore, how can it be a small business?" A newspaper issues three cents (cents), and the price is one millimeter, not to mention other magazines and books, and it is profitable! ”

"Is the gentleman from a newspaper or a magazine?" The bookstore owner obviously didn't expect Su Jingxian to know so much about the newspaper industry, and was slightly stunned, and saw that Su Jingxian was young and dressed in a suit and leather shoes, so he subconsciously regarded Su Jingxian as an editor in the newspaper industry.

Su Jingxian grinned: "What? I seem to be a cultural person, huh? ”

"Like!" Seeing that Su Jingxian was noncommittal, the bookstore owner was more determined in his thoughts, stood up and said, "Uncle was also the editor-in-chief of a newspaper before, a pair of fiery eyes have never made mistakes, and now the future students come here to read Lingxing tabloids, and the other is to read illustrated magazines, Chinese newspapers are rarely bought, and there will be people like you, who seriously read an English newspaper?" And you even know so well the issue price of newspapers, you must be a cultural person in the newspaper industry, you can't be wrong! ”

In the 50s, Hong Kong was still known as a cultural desert, and the bookstore owner's evaluation of Hong Kong young people at this time was quite pertinent, but to Su Jingxian's surprise, the bookstore owner in front of him, who looked in his thirties, was actually the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, which made him impressed.

"Hey, is that true? Have you ever been a newspaper editor-in-chief? Su Jingxian was interested, took out a cigarette case from his pocket and handed it to the bookstore owner.

When the bookstore owner saw Su Jingxian handing over the cigarette, he thought that the junior boy in the newspaper industry in front of him respected his predecessors, so he couldn't help but feel a little fluttering, walked out of the counter and stood outside the store with Su Jingxian, lit the cigarette with a match and took a deep breath, and said quite proudly: "Of course! Have you heard of the Earth Daily? When the RB soldiers came, the anti-Japanese newspaper was well-known, and I caught the knife editor-in-chief! ”

Su Jingxian was stunned for a moment, he had never heard of the so-called Dadi Bao, the post-war Hong Kong newspaper industry was just starting, and now the most famous newspapers are Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po. However, he did not doubt the authenticity of the bookstore owner's words, because during the Japanese occupation, many anti-Japanese newspapers did appear in Hong Kong, and these newspapers actively disseminated information about the anti-Japanese war favorable to China, so most of them were persecuted by the Japanese army and closed down, and it was normal for them to cease publication indefinitely after the war.

"It turns out that Uncle, you are still a patriot." Su Jingxian was in awe, and suddenly felt that the middle-aged man in a coarse cloth robe in front of him was tall.

Hearing Su Jingxian's praise, the bookstore owner's face became even more proud, he took a beautiful puff of cigarette, and continued: "Of course, don't look at Uncle Grandma's current lack of food in the newspaper industry, at least seven or eight of the ten newspapers in Hong Kong want to give me faces, which newspaper are you from?" Do you need me to tell your newspaper a big talk, and take care of you more in the future? ”

Su Jingxian raised the corners of his mouth, and was about to speak, when a burst of footsteps suddenly came from the staircase of the tenement building.

Two young police officers in military uniforms came up from downstairs and stood at the door of the Xuejin Bookstore on the second floor. ”

"Officer Zhou, Officer Huang." As soon as the bookstore owner saw the two uniformed policemen who came to the door of the bookstore, his eyebrows fluttered and his expression was immediately swept away, and he greeted him with a bitter face.

The uniformed policeman biting the straw ignored the bookstore owner, walked straight to the counter, and took two packs of American-made colorful cigarettes and put them in his pocket under the bookstore owner's painful gaze. Another uniformed policeman who followed him turned a blind eye to his companion's movements, and came to Su Jingxian with a smile: "Didn't you tell you that he has status and status in the newspaper industry?" Don't be deceived by him when you are young, this guy fights the streets all day long (bragging), and as soon as he has money, he goes to the gambling stall to enjoy it, and he is now like a rat crossing the street in the Hong Kong newspaper industry! ”

Su Jingxian turned his head and glanced at the bookstore owner, the middle-aged man in his thirties was flushed at this time, seeing Su Jingxian's gaze shifting, his lips twitched a few times, and finally he argued with his neck: "Officer Huang, I've quit gambling for a long time!" ”

The uniformed policeman who put the cigarette in his pocket heard the words of the bookstore owner and came to him with a smile: "It's good to quit gambling, even if you have money now?" Why don't you just hand us over next month's fees along with them? ”

When the bookstore owner heard this, he suddenly cried like a deflated ball: "Officer Zhou, don't play with me, the gang only collects the land fee once a month, and you police officers have to collect the fee twice a month, where do I have the money?" ”

Hearing this, Su Jingxian frowned slightly, glanced at the two uniformed policemen, but did not speak.

The uniformed policeman surnamed Zhou heard the bookstore owner crying poor, reached out and patted his face, and his voice was already a little impatient: "Too much?" We don't want to! Twice a month is an order from above, are you brave enough to give it a try? ”

The bookstore owner sighed helplessly, the police collect the same fee as the community collects protection money, which is a very common thing in this era, and a small businessman like him does not dare not give it at all, otherwise he may open the door the next day and the door will be full of wreaths and incense candles, and even if it is serious, he will have to go to the police station for a few days.

Taking out two ten-yuan bills from the cash cabinet at the counter, the bookstore owner came to the two uniformed policemen, gritted his teeth and squeezed out a smile: "The two police officers are laughing, how dare I not pay the number?" ”

"Don't talk about money again?" The uniformed policeman surnamed Zhou glared at the bookstore owner and reached out to pick up the two ten-dollar Hong Kong dollars.

However, just as his hand was about to touch the two Hong Kong dollars, Su Jingxian on the side suddenly stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

In the surprised eyes of the two uniformed policemen, Su Jingxian's previous lazy demeanor disappeared, staring at the two uniformed policemen in a sharp tone: "Charge fees twice a month? What rules do you have for you? ”

The policeman surnamed Zhou, who was held by Su Jingxian's wrist, was stunned for a moment, then anger flashed in his eyes, he shook off his wrist vigorously, and his other hand had already touched the other rubber stick on his waist: "Your mother, die!" ”

Seeing this, the policeman surnamed Huang also pulled out a rubber stick and glared at Su Jingxian viciously.

Facing the two police officers who were about to attack, Su Jingxian had no fear on his face, reached out and lifted the hem of his suit, and pinned a point 38 revolver to the belt around his waist.

Su Jingxian pulled out his gun and turned the head of the gun, and smashed the butt of the gun on the face of the uniformed policeman surnamed Zhou, who screamed in pain, fell to the ground with a thud, and spit out a bloody tooth.

Seeing that the other party fell, Su Jingxian stepped forward and stepped on his back, while the muzzle of the gun was facing outward, and it was against the head of another policeman surnamed Huang who had just pulled out a rubber stick, and his tone was calm: "Move!" You're bold enough to blow your head off! Say, a rule set for you to charge fees twice a month? ”

The uniformed policeman surnamed Huang was pressed against the head by the cold muzzle, only to feel that the blood on his body was cold, Su Jingxian was holding this point 38 standard revolver he was too familiar with, this is the Hong Kong Police Force plainclothes level and above police gun, there is also engraved with the police number, he never thought of going out to kick the iron plate, in front of him looked young The young boy in front of him was actually a plainclothes agent with a higher rank than himself, the rubber stick in his hand was immediately thrown on the ground, and his tone was full of fear: "Senior brother, I'm sorry, senior brother, I don't know you, It's really a misunderstanding, please let me go......"

Su Jingxian ignored the other party's plea for mercy, and pushed the muzzle of the gun forward: "I asked you if you set a rule for you, let you collect fees twice a month!" ”

The uniformed policeman surnamed Huang couldn't stop trembling his legs, gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, and said: "I'm sorry, senior brother, the two of us are from the Yau Ma Tei Mission, and it is not right for us to cross the line, please let us go!" ”

"I'll pounce on your grandmother!" Hearing that the other party was not a police officer at the head of the ring, Su Jingxian raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but scold. He tapped the head of the uniformed policeman surnamed Huang with the muzzle of his gun, and every time he clicked on the other party's body, he unconsciously trembled.

After pondering for a moment, Su Jingxian let out a sigh to calm down, turned his head to look at the bookstore owner who had already been scared, and then showed a smile: "Uncle, help helper, do you know the Lianfa gambling stall on the next street?" ”

Seeing that the bookstore owner, who had already been frightened by this sudden change, nodded hurriedly, Su Jingxian continued: "Go to the gambling table inside and find a few military uniforms, just say that the front of their car is here, let them come over." Your mother is a bunch of idiots, and she doesn't even know that Yau Ma Tei's black feet have crossed the line, and she is a fool! ”