Throughout the morning, Bao Guowei took the two Wang brothers to wander around the commercial street on Chengxi Street, during which time he purchased a lot of newly issued magazines and books, ready to be used to relieve fatigue on the road.

"Young master, you brought so many books, can you finish them on the road?"

Wang Da Hammer was carrying a pile of books that had been stuffed heavily in his leather bag, he looked at Bao Guowei who was still strolling around the bookstore, and asked in his own simmering voice.

Bao Guowei glanced at him, and before he could speak, Wang Xiaowu, who had a clever head, called Wang Da Hammer on his head with his hand, and angrily scolded his somewhat silly brother:

"If you carry a book, you can carry a book! Where is so much nonsense! ”

The three of them strolled around until noon, and then picked out some things that could be given as gifts in major shops: Suzhou specialties: tea leaves such as Dongting Lake Biluochun, and some gold jewelry.

When you go out and visit others, especially when you meet noble people, the first thing that comes to mind must be what kind of gift to give.

After doing these things to do some favors, Bao Guowei took the two of them to the south of the city together, to be honest, he didn't really want to come to this place - even though he had lived in the south of the city for more than ten years.

But before leaving, he naturally wanted to say hello to his most reliable "little brother" Zhang Siwu, and he still had something to ask him.

Zhang Siwu's duty in the Youth Gang was to manage the area south of the city, and in order to facilitate his work, he still did not move to the west of the city, and still lived with Lao Zhang in that barber shop.

Probably because he had been in the west of the city for a long time, as soon as he came to the south of the city, Bao Guowei could smell a ubiquitous musty smell.

The walls on the streets of the south of the city are still a little dirty, and they have not changed much from the previous days, except that there is a lot of green moss on the walls.

After walking a few steps, Bao Guowei found that the actual situation in the south of the city did indeed echo what the newspaper said:

The beggars were a little less than before, "about all of them were frozen to death," and even their bones were taken away and burned and turned into dust.

Most of the remaining beggars leaned against the wall, dressed in filthy coarse cloth, curled up and gathered together to keep each other warm, seemingly unconcerned that this might lead to the spread of the disease.

The clothes on their bodies are never washed, because the body oil and metabolic waste contaminated on them can also play a role in keeping them warm.

Although the beggars could not afford to wear thick clothes, they would also make thatch and cover their bodies with some leaves to keep warm, and they seemed to be very experienced in surviving the winter.

As long as you pass by this group of beggars, you can smell some fishy smell, which makes people want to be disgusted.

There are many fewer pedestrians on the road than in the past, and there are often a few people walking in the streets and alleys, and there is an outbreak of epidemic and flu during this time, so people try to avoid going out to avoid contracting wind and cold diseases.

This is the winter in the south of the city, which is very different from the busy traffic in the west of the city.

Before the three of them walked to Lao Zhang's barbershop, they saw Zhang Siwu on the "Slippery Horse Street".

Zhang Siwu and his individual stood in front of a small vendor selling sugar gourds, and it seemed that even in winter, in this cold weather, he was seriously performing his "work".

This little vendor is undoubtedly an old man, his face is full of old wrinkles, he is now putting his hands together, constantly shaking back and forth, as if he is praying for Buddha to speak to Zhang Siwu:

"Two masters! Recently, the weather has been really bad for business, and I can't afford to buy cloth...... The price of chaff is still rising, and there are children in the family...... If you pay the protection fee, you will ...... I'm in debt! I still owe taxes...... I can't sell anything......"

The old man looked at the two "hooligans" in front of him, his eyes showed a little begging, he lowered his head, and looked at Zhang Siwu with pitiful eyes, and his whole back was so stiff as if it was about to be broken, as if he felt that this could arouse the sympathy of others.

He chattered and spoke incoherently, as if trying to tell him some of his grievances—in order to gain some sympathy.

"Zhang Siwu!"

Just when Zhang Siwu's face became more and more ugly, and the old man's heart and lungs became more and more depressed, Bao Guowei stood behind Zhang Siwu and called him.

When Zhang Siwu heard this somewhat familiar voice, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, which had already become a little fierce.

When the old man saw the man in front of him laughing, he thought that he was amused by his ugliness, and a somewhat funny smile appeared on his face.

"I'll let you go today! Get it for me next time! ”

After Zhang Siwu said this, he no longer cared about the small vendor, he took the "little brother" next to him and walked straight to Bao Guowei, and the smile on his face became more and more intense:

"Why did you come to Seongnam to find me today? Something to ask Sledgehammer and Xiao Wu to inform me no? I'll just rush over, and I'll need to come in person! ”

Bao Guowei wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say, so after some greetings, he went to Lao Zhang's barber shop with Zhang Siwu.

Lao Zhang was naturally overjoyed when he saw Bao Guowei coming, he personally cooked some meals, and several people had lunch together, Bao Guowei explained that he was going to go out recently, and asked Zhang Siwu to do something for himself, so he returned home with a sledgehammer and Xiao Wu.

……

However, before entering the house, Bao Guowei saw Lao Bao standing at the door from a distance:

was looking around, his eyes were full of anxiety, as if he was afraid that Bao Guowei would run away from home early today and never come back.

As soon as he saw Bao Guowei's figure, Lao Bao hurriedly took a big step and greeted him:

"Guowei, tell me, what can't you say with a letter, and there is still a war going on in the north, I heard the people next door say that the fight is fierce! So many people are fighting together! Or don't go! ”

Bao Guowei seemed to be able to see that Lao Bao's eyes were still a little begging.

There is no doubt that for Lao Bao, the most important thing is that the family is safe, Bao Guowei is undoubtedly his last concern in this world, and he really doesn't want this only son to have a little mistake.

When Bao Guowei heard Lao Bao's words, he wanted to say something, shook his head slightly, but there was still no response after all, he had to go this time - it was best to go as soon as possible.

"It's really not good, tell me to come along!"

Lao Bao shouted again a little unwillingly.

Bao Guowei still didn't respond, after all, this matter had been discussed this morning, and Lao Bao's age was definitely not suitable to go with him in winter.

"Then let Zhang Ergou go with you! I think this young man is quite good, he can be trusted! ”

Lao Bao said again, he talked a lot today, and the tone of his speech was like a child begging his father to buy him a sugar gourd.

This time, Bao Guowei finally nodded.

"Ahh By the way, I brought you a sugar gourd today! ”

Bao Guowei handed the sugar gourd in his hand to Lao Bao.

……

In the afternoon, a faint yellow light came through the cumulus clouds in the sky, indicating that it was dusk.

At this time, Zhang Siwu rushed to the Bao Mansion with a black leather suitcase, and went straight to Bao Guowei's bedroom on the second floor.

In the bedroom on the second floor of the Bao family, Bao Guowei, Zhang Siwu, Wang Dazhu, and Wang Xiaowu gathered together.

Zhang Siwu looked at this scene, and only felt a little familiar, as if he had returned to the time when he was moving things together at the dock - only Hu Xiaoshan of the Hu family was missing.

How long has it been? It's like a world away.

Zhang Siwu put the suitcase on the bedside cabinet and was the first to speak, and he spoke with a bit of a joke:

"This is what you want at noon, this thing is not easy to do, it took me a lot of effort to get it, and Uncle Bao also arranged some people to protect it, there are people to watch the shift every day, you don't have to worry when you go out."

Zhang Siwu's efficiency is not unpleasant, and what Bao Guowei asked him to do at noon did not drag it until the next day, which shows that Bao Guowei's instructions were put in the first place.

"Okay, good, credit to you."

Bao Guowei took the black leather box with a smile.

In fact, with Bao Guowei's current connections, let alone getting a few guns, no one will care about a whole platoon of guns.

But the only shortcoming of the Bao family now is that the foundation is insufficient, and there are too few people who can really be trusted, which takes time to cultivate slowly.

As the black leather box was opened, what appeared in front of the four people was a box of yellow-orange-orange bullets, neatly arranged in the box, and glowing white under the illumination of the indoor palace lamp.

Next to a box of bullets is ......

"Pistols! It's a pistol! ”

Even though Wang Xiaowu had expected it in his heart, he couldn't help but exclaim when he saw two brand-new pistols lying in the suitcase.

Next to the black leather box were two delicate and small pistols, the steel bodies of which emitted a cold light.

These two guns are less than the size of an adult's palm, this gun is commonly known as a dog tag picker, because it is small enough, also known as a palm mine, it is a Spanish imitation of M1906 production, the price is relatively low.

In this era, especially in this troubled era, what a man wants most is often a gun, and with a gun in his hand, he has the courage to live - although in this poor country, the vast majority of people are not worth these two catties of iron even if they sell their lives.

Looking at these two guns, Wang Xiaowu couldn't help but feel a burst of excitement and excitement in his heart, and even Wang Dazhuan, who has always been honest and honest, couldn't help but glance at the gun.

After these days of getting along, Bao Guowei, the character of these two gods, didn't find any problems, and this time they happened to go far away, so it was natural to equip the two with guns:

"Sledgehammer, Xiao Wu, each of you takes one hand, and you can ask Uncle Zhang to teach you how to use it."

Hearing Bao Guowei's words, both of them were a little excited in their hearts, one took a gun, held it in his hand and looked at it carefully, his fingers rubbing on the steel......

And Bao Guowei's waist has long been hung with a new gun, the German-made Shaoer 1913, as for the original old gun, it was left to the old Bao for self-defense.

After some greetings, Zhang Siwu was about to leave, when he was suddenly stopped by Bao Guowei.

Bao Guowei thought about the noon incident, and wanted to say something, but finally showed a smile:

"Let's play a game of cards!"

……

Late at night, Bao Guowei lay on the bed, a little unable to sleep, after all, he was going out tomorrow, and he was a little excited, so he simply got up and opened his diary, turned on the electric light, and took out a pencil to write:

"In 1927, on the night of January 1, I was going to leave Gusu for the first time and go far away, if it was false to say that I was not nervous, when I finished this ticket, I would open a restaurant for my father when I came back."

After Bao Guowei wrote this sentence, he felt that something was not quite right, how could it be like making a will?

"For two lifetimes, I was a small person, and if I were in the past, I might have fled the country with my father after getting three thousand dollars, but now I want to do more...... I'm really stressed, and if I do more, do more, and I can lie down in peace. ”

……

1927, January 2, morning.

Xiaoxiu has prepared the luggage of the large bag and the small bag, and Bao Guowei is about to set out on the way to the train after breakfast.

"Dad, I'm leaving!"

Throughout the breakfast, Lao Bao's eyes were staring at Bao Guowei, as if he wanted to engrave this familiar face in his heart.

"Good!"

Hearing Bao Guowei's words, Lao Bao Xin twitched violently, but still replied in a deep voice, his expression was still a little worried.

……

Bao Guowei went to carry 200 yuan of coiling, which is already a regular annual salary, and it should be more than enough to cope with the expenses of a few weeks.

There were a lot of clothes in the suitcase, which were carried by Wang Dazhui and Wang Xiaowu, and as for the subordinate Zhang Ergou, he was already an old man, and his physical strength was not very good, so it was not his turn to do rough work.

In fact, from Suzhou to Tianjin, ordinary people often choose to take a boat, and the ticket price of taking a boat is many times lower than that of a train.

But it is impossible for Bao Guowei to take a boat, firstly, it takes too long and there are many dreams at night, and secondly, it is very dangerous in today's world.

As long as you don't encounter "Zhang Mazi", taking the train is undoubtedly the safest and most efficient mode of transportation today.

The railway station in Suzhou, named Suzhou Old Railway Station, was established as early as the Guangxu period.

The huge green train is across the tracks, and at this time, the station is already crowded, and the whole city of people who want to take the train gather in this station, and it is very lively.

After all, most of the train tickets in this era are only sold one or two hours before the drive, so people naturally want to find a good spot to buy tickets in advance.

Early in the morning, small vendors push steaming carts to sell food.

Bao Guowei sat in the stands, waiting for his family to buy tickets.

"How much does it cost?"

Wang Xiaowu squeezed over and asked the person at the ticket counter.

"One dollar for a third-class ticket, two dollars for a second-class ticket, and four dollars for a first-class ticket."

At this time, the price of train tickets is not expensive, from Suzhou to Shanghai is only more than 100 miles, directly starting with a dollar.

Hearing this, Wang Xiaowu's heart twitched a little, and according to Bao Guowei's instructions, he took out eight yuan to buy four second-class tickets.

This is a bit exquisite: the third-class carriage is too chaotic and crowded, there are too many pickpockets, things are easy to lose, the first-class carriage is easy to be targeted by bandits disguised as passengers, and the second-class carriage is sandwiched in the middle, and it is naturally much safer.

After Wang Xiaowu purchased the train ticket, several people waited until noon, and finally it was time to get on the train.

The crowding in the third-class carriage is simply unimaginable, and as soon as you open the door, you can only see people everywhere, stuffed with people, and filled with noisy and noisy sounds.

The two brothers of the Wang family opened the way for Bao Guowei in front, and finally squeezed into the second-class carriage.

The first- to second-class carriages were immediately much more spacious, and after some ticket checking, the head of the train spewed hot steam and the whistle sounded.

The surrounding scenery began to recede, and Bao Guowei left his hometown where he had lived for more than ten years for the first time, and went to an unfamiliar place accompanied by three subordinates.

(End of chapter)