When Boss Shen came back from dinner, he saw that Li Shanren was depressed, so he invited Li Shanren to go shopping in the old city. Li Shanren saw that it was difficult to resist the hospitality, and said that he had promised Boss Shen to watch the play together at night, so he patiently followed Boss Shen to the old city. Li Shanren has been in Shanghai for more than ten years, and it is the first time that he has come to the old city. At present, the lanterns are on at the beginning of the lanterns, the lanterns in the old city are hung high and people come and go, the narrow alleys under the quaint archway are like a maze, and there are so many shops that you can't see them, and Li Shanren is looking at the signboard in front of each shop and leaving.

The two came to the God of Wealth Hall of the City God Temple to worship the Buddha, and Li Shanren meditated on his mind and prayed for the blessing of the God of Wealth, and he could successfully retrieve the principal after three days. After burning high incense, I went around Yu Garden and went to the old restaurant for dinner. During the banquet, Li Shanren asked about the demolition of the city wall, and Boss Shen said: "The Ministry of Industry Bureau believes that the city wall hinders the development of economy and transportation, and foreigners also vigorously advocate the demolition of the city wall. The Ministry of Industry has set up a trench office to be responsible for the demolition of the city wall, so the demolition of the city wall is an ironclad matter. The city wall was originally repaired by my father at a cost of 400,000 silver taels, but now it is said that it will be demolished, and the waterway will be filled, and the cotton boats and sand boats on the Huangpu River will not be able to enter in the future, which will greatly affect the business of the Shen family, but there is no compensation at all. Of course, I was not convinced, and I filed a lawsuit with the Ministry of Industry. The lawsuit went to the city hall, the Ministry of Industry and the bureau had the support of foreigners, and the city hall completely listened to the Ministry of Industry and the bureau, so the lawsuit could not be won. Seeing that the city wall could not be saved, I suggested that the Dajing Pavilion should be left, which is a famous scenic spot known as 'Jianggao Jixue', and I wonder if the Ministry of Industry will adopt it. Li Shanren felt the same way, so he told Boss Shen that he went to the arsenal in the morning and met Xiucai and met the soldiers, and told him that the Li family's investment income in the arsenal for half a century had come to naught in his hands. The two sympathized with each other, and each spit out the grievances in their hearts.

While talking, the running hall brought five dishes and one soup, and the two chatted while eating. Li Shanren remembered the Wansan hooves made by Miss Shen, so he said: "The geographical location of Guangfu is similar to Zhouzhuang, and even more convenient than Zhouzhuang, why can't Shen Wansan come out?" Boss Shen said: "Brother, this is to the point. Although Shen Wansan is not very emotionally intelligent, he has a good IQ, is shrewd in business, and specializes in doing business with foreigners. Li Shanren said with a smile: "So Boss Shen also does business with foreigners, and foreigners have built a lot of shikumen in Shanghai, which is indispensable for sand and gravel." Boss Shen said: "Foreigners disdain this kind of hard work, but they are willing to pay, so I have to do it, so others call me a sand seller." ”

At this time, there was a sonorous sound of gongs and drums outside the window, and Li Shanren's mood suddenly eased a lot, and he moved to the stage with Boss Shen and found a place to sit down. What will be staged today is Xiao Liansheng's "Dingjun Mountain". After a while, with a burst of intense drums, Xiao Liansheng, who played Lao Huang Zhong, appeared. Xiao Liansheng has been learning drama since he was a child, and because of his hoarse voice, he only plays the old student, but his handsome appearance is highly sought after by fans. I saw that his smile was slightly revealed, the corners of his mouth were upturned, and he appeared vividly, which immediately attracted unanimous applause from the audience. After another burst of intense drumming, he began to sing:

This epistle came at a good time,

Help me Huang Zhong succeed.

Standing at the gate of the camp the three armies called,

Big and small Lang listen to the root seedlings:

The head is drummed, and the war rice is made;

Two drums, tight robes;

Three-way drum, knife out of sheath;

Four drums, the soldiers handed.

Advance and retreat must listen to the order,

Violating the order will inevitably take a knife.

The three armies and the grandfather return to the camp,

By three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, I will work successfully!

The gongs and drums on the stage were noisy, and the applause from the audience was thunderous. At this time, the stage changed the scenery between dark and bright, and Li Shanren applauded again and again. Boss Shen seemed a little worried, and whispered to Li Shanren that Yuan Jun had arrived in Shanghai, and there were rumors in the market that Shanghai was going to war.

Li Shanren was skeptical, saying that in this scene of singing and dancing and leveling, where is there any sign of war? Boss Shen said that his family's ship would not come back today, and there was news that it was requisitioned by Yuan Jun, isn't this clearly going to war? On the stage, the war drums were beating loudly, and Li Shanren said thoughtfully: "There is about to be a war, and there is still a lot of noise around the stage to watch the play, which is incredible." While speaking, a sergeant ran from behind the curtain to the front desk and whispered a few words to Xiao Liansheng, and the gongs and drums on the stage suddenly stopped, and the erhu "creaked" and played a long note. I saw Xiao Liansheng "brush" the ground and lifted his armor, took off his mustache and threw it in the air, took off his whole body costume, a harrier turned over, jumped up from the air, jumped under the stage, and shouted: "Compatriots, Yuan Jun is here!" They are attacking the arsenal, and Shanghai is about to be recovered! Compatriots come with me to support the Yuan army! It turned out that not long after Li Shanren left the arsenal, Chen Yingwen's army led by Yuan quietly drove to Gaochang Temple.

It is said that Chen Ingwen made the first contribution in the Ezhou Uprising, and then returned to Sun Wen's command, and a few days ago was ordered to infiltrate the Shanghai camp and organize the military and police to set up a death squad.