Chun Bao is a big guy in the shop, can not accompany the autumn for a long time to play, after this day, he has to go back to work, fortunately the autumn is not unable to take care of his children, he came to Shanghai for three purposes, one is to see Chun Bao, the second is to deposit the family's money in the bank in Shanghai, and the third is to buy their own wedding objects.

Zhiqiu's fiancée is called Tian Jiahui, he has only seen photos, looks dignified and virtuous, it is said that he has studied in a private school, the Tian family is a solid family in Jinan, a scholarly family, almost everything satisfies Zhiqiu, the only dissatisfied Jiahui is a woman with small feet bound feet. Liu Shao said that people marry far away to Xuzhou, we have to do everything thoroughly, not to mention the dowry, ordinary satin cloth and pewter are indispensable, the autumn of the line must also be brighter, the four seasons of the pants and robes can be made at home, the dress and uniform have to go to the big city to buy, the tailor in Xuzhou Mansion can not do that, in addition, the autumn also wants to buy some rare foreign gadgets, razors and fountain pens and the like, all of which he has longed for.

Zhiqiu inherited the family business, with 5,000 oceans in his hands, these money is the accumulation of the Liu family for more than ten years, according to the old-fashioned practice, is to dig a cellar in his own house, put the silver into a large vat and bury it deeply, so that even if it encounters a fire bandit, it can ensure safety, but the loss of interest can be a lot.

Xuzhou has money and also has a bank, Nanmen Street, Chayuan Road gathered Putongqing, Jinfengqing and other money village ticket numbers, they issue their own copper dollar bills, or in Shanghai with offset color printing, circulation is very wide, exchange is convenient, but after ten years of the Republic of China, the political situation is unstable, the economy is declining, many money banks have a run, since then the general slump, replaced by more abundant capital banks, Bank of Communications, Zhongfu Bank, Xinheng Bank, Pingshi official money bureau also issued their own banknotes. Zhiqiu is a newcomer, naturally will not cellar silver, he feels that the money house is not insured, the banks opened by the Chinese are not insured, and they will run on and go bankrupt, or the foreigners' banks are the safest, and the war will never be able to fight in the concession, originally wanted to deposit the money in Citibank in the American Concession in Tianjin, since he wanted to come to Shanghai to look for spring treasures, simply deposit it in the HSBC Bank in the British Concession in Shanghai.

It was impossible to bring all 5,000 yuan to Shanghai, so he brought 3,500 yuan, divided into cashier's notes, banknotes and cash from the Bank of Communications, and deposited the bulk of it in the HSBC Bank on the first day of his arrival, in exchange for a light and fluttering deposit receipt, he only brought a few hundred yuan, and bought a German-made fountain pen, a razor, a Japanese-made chimney and a lighter, as well as an American-made Hamilton silver-shelled pocket watch, but to find a tailor to make clothes, you have to ask Chunbao to accompany you. The clerks in these large department stores can speak Beijing Mandarin, the local tailors in Shanghai only speak the local dialect, and Chun Bao is fluent in Shanghainese, and he can communicate smoothly with him.

Whenever he sees a ticking abacus in the store, Zhiqiu will think of a sentence said during the night talk of Chunbao: "As long as someone does business, the abacus factory will not be out of business." ”

This sentence is actually taught by Boss Lin Chunbao, Lin Ji Abacus Factory is a well-known abacus workshop in Shanghai, the products are exported to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, wholesale and retail customized variants. At the end of the three-year apprenticeship, Chun Bao has become a big guy in the store, he works from production to sales, and shares a lot of complicated chores for Boss Lin, he said goodbye to the autumn, took a box of specialties brought by his mother back to the store, and ate dinner with the guys, don't look at the autumn of Chun Bao's hospitality and is willing to spend money, in fact, he is very thrifty, on weekdays is green vegetable tofu, occasionally eat some samon fish, this is a cheap dried salted fish from Japan, a meal is only seven or eight copper dollars, Chun Bao is not particular about eating, only miss the salt beans of his hometown, The dark red salt beans are full and fragrant, with small sesame oil and green garlic sprouts, served in a large bowl of blue flowers, mixed with chopsticks, thinking of the taste, the appetite is opened, and Chunbao, who is looking forward to the next meal, hides this jar of salt beans in the kitchen like a holy relic.

The next day, Chun Bao ran early in the morning to find Zhiqiu, to take him to the riverside to play, the two first went to eat fried steamed buns and small wontons, walked to the Sixteen Pu Wharf, halfway through the four roads, saw the prostitute sitting on the man's shoulder like the wind shuttling through the crowd, Zhiqiu jokingly said: "Shanghai people are elegant, bookstore and book apartment together, Chunbao, do you often come to this street?" "On the four roads, half of them are newspaper bookstores and shops that operate gold and stone seals where literati gather, and the other half is a book and a long three halls, the literati are so romantic, presumably it is not a coincidence that the two get together, Chun Bao smiled and shook his head, he did often pass by the four roads, but he did not come to look for flowers and ask willows, but looked forward to meeting Aunt Tao.

When the two arrived at the Sixteen Pu Wharf, they called a sampan to row to the opposite bank, and Chun Bao pointed to a piece of waste on the other side of the river and said: "It's called Lujiazui, and the wood used in the factory is stored over there." After careful calculation, Boss Lin believes that it is more cost-effective to put the warehouse in Pudong, and the cost of transportation across the river can be offset by the cost of saving the rent of the site.

The ship to Pudong ferry, Chun Bao took the autumn to the freight yard to pick up the goods, the Lujiazui area is basically a warehouse freight yard, far away to the sky high and wide, the farmland is green, compared to the prosperity of Puxi is simply the abyss, the freight yard is on the riverside, is an open-air field, surrounded by a fence, stored are crude benzene goods, Lin Ji ordered this batch of wood are ebony, rosewood, rosewood, iron quinoa, good wood made of the abacus is immortal, solid and heavy, the sound is crisp and pleasant, the abacus does not rebound, Boss Lin took precautions and calculated that the price of timber would increase again in two years, so this batch of materials was purchased a lot, which was enough for the factory to use for several years.

The timber merchant's surname is Huang, a native of Fuzhou, born black and thin and short, he can't speak the official dialect of the north, and the Hokkien language is difficult to understand, so the communication with Chunbao depends on an old guy he brought to translate, originally the inspection and delivery of the goods Boss Lin came in person or the shopkeeper came forward, but unfortunately these days Boss Lin is sick, the shopkeeper's family has something, so it is the turn of Chunbao, he came with the autumn, did not have the mind to show off in front of his brothers, after all, this is a big deal of four thousand oceans.

Although Chunbao has only been an apprentice for three years, but has been out of the teacher, the ability to identify wood is no less than the shopkeeper, he carefully inspected the wood, measured the size, the right variety, determined that it is correct, and the merchant surnamed Huang orally received the goods, agreed to pay the next day, the two sides returned to Puxi by boat together, invited Fuzhou people to eat in Taihe Garden on Erma Road, drank French brandy, smoked canned British Solanic cigarettes, this is the hospitality of Boss Lin, as long as the business partner comes to Shanghai, always have to be hospitable, and the autumn accompanies the banquet, Listening to Chunbao talking and laughing, I couldn't help but secretly admire.

The merchant surnamed Huang is called Huang Lingjiu, and they are about the same age, after getting acquainted, they talk more, it turns out that he is also a big guy under the timber merchant, and Chunbao is of the same status, the two hit it off at first sight, talked very happily, and went to the big world playground to watch the circus and diorama after eating.

After the separation, Zhiqiu sighed with emotion: "Chunbao, you are different from before, and your gestures are all big business popularity. Chunbao said humbly: "I just learned a little bit from Boss Lin." ”

In the evening, Chun Bao didn't eat with Zhiqiu, and rushed back to the Nanshi store to report to the boss, Boss Lin listened to what he did today, bowed his head slightly to express his approval, and asked him to go down to eat. Chun Bao went to the kitchen to get salt beans with great interest, and on the way back he bought a handful of garlic sprouts, although he was older, it was suitable for mixing salt beans. But the jar of salt beans couldn't be found, and I asked the cook, who said that she was thrown away by the young lady.

It turned out that the cat at home accidentally knocked over the jar, and Miss Lin smelled the smell of salt beans, saying that this thing was too smelly, and she was afraid of contaminating other food, so she asked the cook to throw it away quickly, and the cook really threw it out.

Chun Bao went out to look for it, where else can he find it, his anxious face was red, a jar of salt beans, for him is not only the food brought by his brothers, but also the taste of home, his mother's concern, Chun Bao, who has always been kind-tempered, lost his temper, and the cook's voice was louder than him, saying that Allah asked a circle and no one claimed it, so he threw it away.

At this time, Lin Baozhu appeared from behind the railing on the second floor, she was tall, wearing a jade-white gown and Yin Dan Shilin's skirt, under the skirt were round and jade calves, and the piece of fabric and Chunbao's caftan were taken from the same blue cloth.

The jewel said, "I let it be thrown away, and whoever is not happy will come to me." ”

Chun Bao suddenly died down, Baozhu is the pearl of Boss Lin's palm, and he is also the person he secretly likes, but Baozhu has never looked at him with his eyes, the sad Chun Bao looked up at Miss, his throat moved, and finally he didn't say anything, and went back to his room, he was a big guy, but he still slept with the apprentices in the Chase bunk, there was no separate cabinet of his own, and the replacement clothes were pressed under the pillow.

Boss Lin scolded his daughter outside, he said that stinky winter melon and stinky mandarin fish are stinky, why do you eat Baozhu well, how can other people's things be thrown casually. Baozhu angrily pleaded, her voice high and sharp, and then she burst into tears, slamming the door and entering the house.

Chun Bao didn't know when he offended Miss, he didn't eat dinner, fell asleep, was awakened by a nightmare at midnight, sweating profusely, faintly feeling extremely uneasy, got up and went out of the courtyard through the back door, standing in the street, the air wafting inexplicably the smell of fireworks.

The next day, the bad news came, Lujiazui's freight yard went flooded, and the losses were heavy, including the Fuzhou businessman who delivered the batch of wood to Lin Ji, Chunbao was shocked, he accepted the goods, according to the rules, this batch of goods has changed hands, and the loss should be counted in Lin Jitou. Four thousand oceans of the bank, the account room has been prepared to wait for today's payment, I heard that the wood is all burned, the shopkeeper even said fortunately, Boss Lin remained silent, only let Chun Bao hurry to the yard to see the situation.

When Chunbao rushed to Pudong, Huang Lingjiu had already arrived, and last night the fire took advantage of the wind to burn the goods stacked in the freight yard clean, not only Lin Ji's wood, but also the things stored by other businesses were also burned, and the people who watched the freight yard also burned one, and the owner of the freight yard was just a local farmer in Pudong, and he couldn't afford to lose so much money by smashing the pot and selling iron.

Huang Lingjiu waited for Chun Bao to speak, but at this time Chun Bao's throat and eyes were dry, and he couldn't say anything, he wanted to pat his chest and say that the loss was Lin Ji's, and the four thousand oceans were paid, but he couldn't say it, the attitude of Boss Lin and the shopkeeper had already indicated that they didn't want to pay the money, because the freight yard was a third party, and Chunbao's oral receipt was not as irrefutable as black and white, and the wood of the four thousand oceans seemed to deserve the loss of Fuzhou people. Four thousand oceans, his monthly salary is only thirty yuan, and it takes eleven years without eating or drinking to save such a huge amount of money, Huang Lingjiu is just a big guy, Fuzhou is not more prosperous than Shanghai, his salary may not be as high as his own, obviously he has received the goods, this loss should be paid by Lin Ji, this is fair.

"Brother Huang, don't worry, I have received the goods yesterday, so the money will be paid." Huang Lingjiu and the old guy who could speak Shanghainese whispered a few words in Hokkien, and solemnly thanked Chunbao, saying that they came to buy goods back to Fujian this time, and they were waiting for this money, if it weren't for Brother Chen's righteousness, I really don't know how to do it.

Chun Bao returned to Lin Ji and plucked up the courage to tell Boss Lin and the shopkeeper his promise, and the shopkeeper jumped up and scolded: "Little Red Guy, Nong is a good guy!" 4,000 yuan for the surnamed Huang to go to the freight yard to compensate, and Allah will not come out of a single corner. Chun Bao said that the owner of the freight yard has been ruined, not to mention the goods that burned more than one family, and it is not the fate of the wood to claim from him, besides, this batch of goods has been accepted on behalf of Lin Ji, and Lin Ji should be responsible, business integrity first, morality first, this is not what Boss Lin often educates everyone.

The shopkeeper said: "If you want to pay compensation out of your own pocket, it is still the same sentence, there will not be a corner in the account." ”

Boss Lin is noncommittal, he is the boss, and the business aspect is given to the shopkeeper with full authority, and it is not appropriate to reach out and interfere, besides, four thousand yuan is not a small amount, admitting this loss, Lin Ji has earned a good reputation, but in the next few years, there will be no rice in the pot, and the family will drink the northwest wind with more than 20 apprentices.

Chun Bao lost his soul, he didn't do any work, he couldn't eat, the cook cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks and glanced at him fiercely, and he muttered that the toad still wanted to eat swan meat, Chun Bao's heart was tight, it was that his liking for Baozhu had been seen by everyone, which made him even more embarrassed, and hurriedly left the shop and went to the hotel to find Zhiqiu to talk to.

The brothers sat in the tavern and drank each other, and Chun Bao said I will quit tomorrow and go back to my hometown with you.

Zhiqiu persuaded him: "Didn't you say the day before yesterday that you would take Aunt Feng to Shanghai to enjoy the blessings, why did you retreat." ”

Chun Bao just shook his head, saying that Lin Ji couldn't do it anymore, and when he said this, the figure of Baozhu flashed in his mind, but it was only for a moment, and I am afraid it will be difficult to see it in the future.

Zhiqiu was silent for a long time, and suddenly slapped the table, and the dishes jumped up, "Isn't it just four thousand yuan, I'll help you out!" ”

Chun Bao was startled, came to his senses and quickly waved his hand to refuse, this is the loss that Lin Ji should bear, and it can't be passed on to Zhiqiu no matter what.

Zhiqiu said: "I didn't help Lin write out this money, I helped you out, for business, they are right, but for life, you are right." ”

Chun Bao insisted on not accepting it, Zhiqiu insisted on giving, he said Brother Chun Bao, the relationship between our brothers is not even worth four thousand oceans, I will lend it to you, if you have the ability, leave Lin Ji and show them a personal appearance!

In the end, Chun Bao still accepted Zhiqiu's help, but Zhiqiu brought a total of 3,500 yuan, and spent some of it, only 3,002 yuan on hand, plus Chun Bao's savings were still 700 yuan, so he went to Yongan Company to return all those imported things, so it was almost the same.

Fuzhou businessmen do not accept banknotes in cash, only collect bank bills, the money bank issued by the bill can be exchanged nationwide, more convenient than the foreigner bank's promissory note, the brothers first go to the HSBC bank to take out the money, to the money village into a bank, the bank bill is in silver two units, and the exchange of silver dollars and the "premium" and "precipitation" floating, calculated only for two thousand six hundred taels of silver bill, Chun Bao took it to Huang Lingjiu, said that it really can't make up so much, the difference of four hundred yuan to repay next time, Huang Lingjiu saw that the drawer was not Lin Ji, a little puzzled, But he didn't ask anything, he collected the banker's ticket and issued a note of receipt of the payment, and the matter was over.

The brothers were almost penniless, leaving only the money for the return trip of the autumn season, and it was only enough to buy a third-class ticket.

Sending Zhiqiu to the train, Chun Bao returned to Lin Ji and presented Huang Lingjiu's note to Boss Lin, saying that I should leave thanks to the boss for three years.