Chapter 653 The Magical Place
According to Kang Shude’s recollection, the time he went to Tianjin was in the winter of 1935.
He just learned to run business in Mr. Song's shop for more than a year.
The reason was that in early December of that year, Mr. Song received a telegram from an official friend in Tianjin.
The official said in the letter that his boss suddenly wanted to marry his concubine, and the date was set for late that month.
Because time is tight, I want to entrust Mr. Song to find some free stuff and send it to Tianjin for a price of eight hundred oceans.
Mr. Song quickly followed the other party's request and selected a pair of red coral and gemstone bonsais from the library.
However, due to the numerous affairs in the capital, he could not go there in person, so he appointed Kang Shude to deliver the goods on his behalf and get the money back.
Many years later, Kang Shude figured it out.
The foreigner assigned to him on that trip was actually not because Mr. Song did not have time, nor because there were no other more suitable candidates in the store.
It was because Mr. Song wanted to conduct a comprehensive test on his ability and character.
Probably because he wanted to see if he could handle this matter with his own ability.
Can we not be greedy in the face of this huge amount of money for ordinary people?
It should be said that Kang Shude, who was only seventeen years old at the time, accepted this task simply by biting the bullet.
Of course I was beating my heart.
He knew that Jinmen in those days was a chaotic place with many different directions.
Because I didn’t want to make any mistakes, I failed to complete the task assigned by Mr. Song personally.
He turned to two friends, Li Li and Xiao Zhong, to accompany him.
The two sons of the foreman of the Majia Garden concierge were the people he trusted most at the time, and he could only rely on them for help.
Xiao Zhong is a big man and very loyal.
He was two years older than Kang Shude, and he seemed to be an older brother.
Although he had already received a job as a patrol officer at that time, for the sake of Kang Shude, he did not hesitate to ask for leave from the police station and agreed without saying a word.
Li Li, who has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks and a pair of big fan-like ears, is a slippery man.
Although he has nothing serious to do, he has a lot of time, but he still wants to talk about conditions.
The boy said, "You can go. But you can't run errands for nothing and suffer the cold. You have to be a bodyguard to protect you. Brother, you have to treat, and it has to be expensive. Treat me. Open meat with Xiao Zhong ”
"I heard that in addition to Marijuana Flower and Goubuli, there is also a famous Western restaurant in Tianjin called Shilin. This restaurant is unique. It is opened by Germans. The male and female waiters all speak foreign languages, and the food is delicious. It’s also a foreign country.”
“When you arrive in Shilin, you’ll be in a foreign country, America, England, France, Germany, whichever country you want to be in.
It’s the same country as Beijing. The National Hotel is located in Liuguo. So my condition is that when we get to Jinmen, we have to go to Shilin to have a Western meal. Can you agree?"
However, Xiao Zhong was very happy after hearing this. Dissatisfied, Kang Shude stopped him before he could speak.
"Hey, Li Li, what are you talking about? Are there conditions for helping friends? It costs a lot of money to eat such Western food, which is far less affordable than rotten pork noodles. None of us are rich enough to eat recklessly. For Heise's sake, it's enough for Xiaokang to give you travel expenses and ask you to visit Tianjin. Don't be dissatisfied..."
Li Li blushed, but argued to himself, "Hey, look at what you said. Why am I being hypocritical? There are bandits around the capital and Jinmen, 'flywheel eaters' (those who specialize in pickpocketing on trains) Thieves) are more like nothing. Helping Xiaokang is not just about running errands, but also taking risks with him. Is it too much to open a carnivore?"
"Besides, he wants to do it. If I don’t have this money, I won’t mention it. Doesn’t this guy earn 20 yuan a month? That’s nearly three times more than you earn 8 yuan a month. I don’t have any other requirements. I can get cheap food and accommodation, so why don’t I just want to eat a foreign meal? The worst thing I can do is wait for me to make money, and then I’ll be done with it.”
“I’m telling you, Xiao. Zhong, don’t be ungrateful. I’m doing this for your own good. Otherwise, you’ll never get the chance to go to the United States just because you’re a “stinky-footed patrol”. The last time I went to Shilin, I could at least gain some perspective. , to increase bragging rights and make people look at me differently.”
Kang Shude is not a stingy person, and he feels that he should do this to be worthy of his two friends.
What's more, after listening to Li Li's introduction, he himself was a little interested in Qi Shilin.
He boasted that he had saved fifty or sixty yuan, which was enough to cope with it, so he refused to let Xiao Zhong dissuade him and agreed.
That's it, the matter is settled, and it's easy to leave.
The next day before dawn, the three young brothers got up and went to Qianmen Railway Station to buy tickets for the first train.
In three hours, we arrived at Jinmen early in the morning.
Jinmen is a big wind outlet. In winter, the cold is in the wind.
As soon as the three brothers got out of the car, they felt the northwest wind whining, the power lines on the street swaying in the wind, and the wind made people unable to stand.
Because they were unfamiliar with the place, they lined up behind the crowd and walked slowly outside.
Almost all the foreign cars waiting at the train station were pulling away guests. It was difficult to find an empty car, not to mention that the three of them had to take at least two cars.
So there was nothing to do. The three of them all wore fur hats and could only hold their things, put their hands in the sleeves of their cotton robes, and walk on two legs.
However, the concession in Jinmen is much larger than the one in Dongjiaomin Lane in the capital.
There are many foreign-style buildings everywhere, and there are also foreign patrols, which makes the three of them stare at each other, and everything is new.
Li Li is very knowledgeable and knows that he must finish his errands before going to eat.
So I didn’t rush him and just followed him honestly, even helping to find out the way.
Unexpectedly, when they finally found the place, they learned that the official had gone to the Yamen to handle official business early in the morning.
The concierge asked them to come back at noon to deliver the things, saying that the official would go home for dinner at noon.
This time, the three of them stopped scratching.
This is not unfair, it is still quite a long time before noon.
It’s such a cold day, where are they waiting?
Li Li then became interested and wanted to quickly find Qi Shilin and go to a foreign restaurant to enjoy it.
He asked the concierge and heard that it was not far away. He could walk less than a mile and turn a corner at the end of the street to see it.
Kang Shude thought that it was okay to do this, but he was worried that others would not take the initiative, and there was no business at this point.
At this time, Xiao Zhong saw a stall selling breakfast on the side of the road and immediately couldn't walk.
He is quite big. He hasn’t eaten anything all morning and his stomach has already protested. So I went straight over, took out the copper coin, and said that I must first buy a set of sesame cakes and fried dough sticks, and then a bowl of soy milk to top it off.
Kang Shude couldn't get Xiao Zhong to pay, so he went over and pressed his hand, and bought three sets at once with his own money.
Unexpectedly, Li Lifei refused to eat. This boy wanted to keep his belly for foreign food.
On the contrary, he made fun of Xiao Zhong for being stupid and letting sesame cakes and fried dough sticks take over his stomach. This was equivalent to saving money for Kang Shude.
Xiao Zhong and Kang Shude are too lazy to argue with the chicken thief Li Li. They will be defeated if they like to eat or not.
As a result, Xiao Zhong had two sets and Kang Shude had one set, and they soon got into his stomach.
After eating something, you will look different in the cold weather.
Xiao Zhong and Kang Shude's bodies are much warmer and they feel more energetic when walking.
On the other hand, Li Li was still as cold as chaff. When he reached the end of the street and turned the corner, he no longer had much interest in admiring the Western view of the concession, so he just wanted to go into a restaurant to warm up.
However, I didn’t expect this to happen.
Ordinarily, they had indeed arrived at the place pointed out by the concierge, but they couldn't find Qi Shilin.
They walked back and forth on this street several times, but they didn't find anything like a restaurant on this street.
There isn’t even a plaque in front of it!
I want to ask for directions. People wearing coats here look like they are eating Western food, but I don’t want to talk to them.
I reluctantly stopped one of them, but before they could express their intention, this person said "Ba Ge Ya Lu" and turned out to be an Oriental.
Li Li was so angry that he kept cursing the concierge for having a bad conscience and fooling them.
Later, they could only run to a leeward place to figure out what to do next.
But before the three of them could stand still, another foreign patrolman appeared.
The owner looked fierce and hit the wall with his baton to drive them away.
Let’s just say how embarrassing it is.
Kang Shude and Li Li were both shocked at the time.
Fortunately, Xiao Zhong is also a patrol officer, so he is not afraid of this.
He took a step forward and said, "Brother, stop knocking. We are looking for Shilin."
I don't know if it was his calmness that played a role, or he just didn't understand Chinese when using the three characters for Shilin. Even foreign patrol officers can understand it.
Anyway, this guy calmed down his fierce look and stopped swinging his baton.
Looked at them up and down for a while, and then pointed to the other side of the road with his hand.
The three people's eyes moved along, and they discovered that across the road was a very western-style white building with large glass doors and large glass windows.
There were also two men in uniform standing guard at the door, standing upright in the strong wind, specifically responsible for opening the door for people entering and leaving.
It is unbelievable that such a magnificent building is actually a restaurant. They have always thought that this kind of place is either a foreign mansion or a foreign bank.
Afraid that he might have made a mistake, Xiao Zhong also pointed at the house to confirm with the foreign patrol officer.
"Qi Shilin?"
When they got the nod from the foreign patrol officer again, they boldly walked over.
But after passing by, they still didn't dare to get too close to the gate. In unison, the three of them looked up and looked for Shilin's signature cover.
Looking around, I still can’t find the plaque.
Finally, Kang Shude discovered several foreign letters "KIESSLING & BADER" on the circular lintel of the white building.
But how do they know foreign characters?
At this time, even Kang Shude only took tutoring in Chinese and mathematics.
The three of them stared up at each other for a long time, just like dogs, looking at the stars.
If they were really sure that they were in the right place, it was because they came closer and found that there were indeed foreigners eating Western food in the glass window of Qishin.
There were many people standing outside, watching as if watching a foreign movie.
But at this time Xiao Zhong backed down again. He was a little frightened by the magnificence in the restaurant.
"Can we enter this place? Otherwise, don't go there. I have never eaten pork. Let's just watch the pigs run outside..."
Of course Li Li won't do it.
"How can that be done? Watching and eating are two different things. Just like when you watch a patrolman on the street, is it the same as when you put on those clothes? They are completely two different states of mind. What's more, You two ate, but I'm still hungry? I said, I didn't even call for a foreign car today, so I saved all the fare for Xiaokang, and you really deserved it when I got to the door and refused to let you in! Me? "
Kang Shude firmly supported Li Li this time.
Besides not wanting to disappoint his friends, he also had another reason, which was that the foreign policeman across the road was still staring at them.
If he didn't go in, he was afraid that the foreign patrol would become suspicious again, and he was afraid that if he came after him, he would cause unwarranted trouble.
Therefore, Xiao Zhong could no longer object and had to muster up the courage to follow Li Li and Kang Shude to the gate.
When they entered, they looked back again.
As expected, the foreign patrolman turned around and walked away, playing with his baton.
And those onlookers in front of the window all looked at them with envy.
Before they actually entered, they discovered that Shilin was indeed a magical place.
This gate here seems to be the dividing line between good people and bad people, mediocrity and nobility.
(End of this chapter)