"Of course, with Brother Fan here, you will live a long and safe life." Cheng Qianfan laughed and said.
After rubbing the 'little junior brother's' hair vigorously, Cheng Qianfan put it down, said hello to the master and his wife, and left.
I got into my car, started it, and drove away in no hurry.
Cheng Qianfan lit a cigarette, thought for a moment, smiled and shook his head.
Ma Yishou is the kind of person who is shrewd in small things and will not make big mistakes in big things, but he will inevitably make mistakes sometimes. These words today are not something that Master Ma can say.
"The master's ability to marry his master's wife is a blessing earned by the Ma family in his previous life." Cheng Qianfan said with admiration in his heart.
…
"It's been a lifetime since your old Ma family had a daughter-in-law like me." Ma Shiniang pointed at Old Ma in the yard.
Lao Ma pursed his lips, took a sip of wine, and said nothing.
"But according to what I said to Qianfan?" asked the master's wife.
Lao Ma was silent and nodded slightly.
Before Cheng Qianfan came, the woman told him that Cheng Qianfan would come to visit sooner or later, and would most likely bring Qin Detai's greetings from the smiling tiger.
The woman told him how to speak.
She even asked him questions, forcing him to practice in advance.
"I always feel..." Lao Ma finally said.
"What do you think?" Ma's wife scolded, "You don't have that ability yourself... Of course, we don't care about the ability to work hard. I just hope that in this troubled world, I can live peacefully and my family will be safe from illness and disaster."
"Lao Ma, don't be stupid."
"You have no power. In this world, we do not bully others, nor can we be bullied by others. So we have to find a reliable backer. Although Qianfan is your apprentice, you also know..."
"I understand, I understand." Lao Ma shook his head irritably and said. He pointed at his son again, "Did you ask Jun Tian to say those words?"
"It's me, what's wrong?" Ma's wife asked, "I'm working for others, not just to keep the family young."
Lao Ma looked at his wife and then at his son. Surprisingly, he didn't refute. He poured himself a cup of wine and drank it down in one gulp.
He knew that there was something his wife had not said, and those words could also be understood as a statement of allegiance in a sense.
…
Henry Road, Fifty-eight Lane.
"Everyone is here?"
Qiao Chuntao glanced at Bai Er, who was standing in a row near the corner, and asked indifferently.
The person he was questioning was an old Belarusian man wearing a top hat.
The old man had a pipe in his mouth, took a puff, found that the pipe was out, knocked the pipe against the wall angrily, and answered in half-baked Shanghainese.
Qiao Chuntao understood. What the other party meant was that time was short and these were the only people.
Qiao Chuntao nodded towards Jiang Laosan.
"Sixty French coins per person, hired for one night." Jiang Laosan held a thick stack of French coins in his hand, "As I said before, there may be no danger and you can go home tomorrow, or you may be unlucky and die."
When the White Russians heard this, their expressions were strange, some were thinking silently, and some were communicating in low voices with their companions beside them.
Some people clamored that the price was too low and asked for an increase.
However, no one left.
These are white Russians who are suffering from hunger and cold.
Earning sixty French coins a night is something they can't even dream of. (PS1)
Although the old man Sumanrokov had to take away twenty-four French coins, if they lived frugally, thirty-six French coins would be enough for them to live without hunger for half a month.
Qiao Chuntao looked at everyone coldly, observing the reactions of these White Russians.
He won't use those Belarusians clamoring for more money.
Most of these people are strong men with good physical fitness, but they are also greedy and will be a safety hazard.
There are many White Russians on the beach in Shanghai.
More than ten years ago, with the failure of the Belarusian provisional government loyal to the Tsar, tens of thousands of Belarusians began to flee Vladivostok and enter China.
Among them, a considerable number of Belarusians came to Shanghai, a metropolis in the Far East.
Most of the Belarusians who had just arrived in Shanghai were impoverished and could neither speak English nor Shanghainese.
In order to survive, the nobles and high-level intellectuals among these people will teach ballet, open cafes, restaurants, etc. as their main means of livelihood.
These down-and-out White Russians are in sharp contrast to other wealthy foreigners in the concession.
At the beginning, because of the Chinese people’s natural fear of foreigners, some people were deceived by Belarus.
Later, everyone in Shanghai knew that these White Russians were different from the British, Americans, and French. The reason was very straightforward:
In the nightclub, many Belarusian dancers came almost overnight.
Even with the door ajar there was a Belarusian woman.
For a time, some Chinese men chanted the slogan "win glory for the country" and generously donated their money, and even formed vicious bidding and disrupted the market.
…
Qiao Chuntao finally selected nine Belarusians.
There are three people in a family of three.
The four of them are two pairs of brothers and sisters.
The other two are a mother and son.
Sumanrokov glanced at the buyer who was wearing sunglasses, a sun hat, and a windbreaker with the collar turned up.
Then he shouted to the other compatriots who were not selected that everyone should forget about today's incident and not be allowed to mention it to anyone.
If someone has a big mouth, Uncle Sumanrokov will not hesitate to throw the person into the Huangpu River to feed the fish.
Qiao Chuntao brought a truck over and directly pulled the nine Belarusians into the truck and left.
Jiang Laosan took four people with him and escorted them in the rear car.
"Sumanrokov seems to have noticed something." Yang Changnian, who had been observing in the dark and had not shown up, said with a frown.
"Very few people are willing to hire a family," Qiao Chuntao said.
Yang Changnian nodded, understanding where the problem was.
Generally, Jianghu gangs and businessmen would hire White Russians, mostly strong and physically strong people to serve as thugs or bodyguards.
There are also those who hire women or boys and girls, which naturally has other purposes.
Previously, there were cases where someone hired a family, held the women and children captive, and threatened young men to do risky jobs.
However, this situation was later resisted by black market ‘human traffickers’ such as Sumanrokov and the ‘Shanghai Russian Overseas Autonomous Association’, a similar Belarusian gang.
Because this kind of behavior will make people panic, many Belarusian families are afraid to come out to find work, which affects the profits of Belarusian gangs and human traffickers.
Therefore, generally speaking, hiring a family is now very rare in the 'black market'.
"Do you want to kill Sumanrokov?" Liu Yuchu, who was driving, asked.
"No need." Qiao Chuntao shook his head. Sumanrokov was a smart man. He noticed the abnormality and then told other Belarusians to keep their mouths shut. This was not only a goodwill gesture, but also a warning:
I haven't seen anything, so don't take my chances.
"We must take a warning from what happened to White Russia." Yang Changnian said, "This is the fate of slaves who have subjugated their country."
"They did not subjugate the country, they were just driven out." Liu Yuchu said.
Qiao Chuntao was silent for a long time and said:
Many of our compatriots live worse lives than them.
…
Jilaihuoxing East Street.
Sanbonjiro personally welcomed guests from afar.
"Okada-kun, you're fine."
"Sanbon-kun, after we parted ways before, you and I agreed to get together in Shanghai, the Empire of Japan. I didn't expect it to come true so soon." Okada Toshihiko said with a smile.
The two shook hands and entered the study.
The outer courtyard was immediately on high alert.
"Okada-kun, why do I need to trouble you to come to Shanghai from Hangzhou in person?" Sanbonjiro asked.
"There is a top-secret information from the 'Zhichi', I believe Sanbon-kun will be very interested in it." Okada Toshihiko smiled and said slowly.