Tank is an old man from the Intelligence Department.
At the beginning, Huai Haijun had not yet entered Shanghai. He had already been assigned to Shanghai, and he and Bai Meigui were the two arms of Shanghai Station at that time.
At that time, he was a gang boss and the owner of a rickshaw shop.
At that time, he mainly served as the action team of the Shanghai Station of the Intelligence Department.
Because he runs a car dealership, he can maintain a large number of people. The car driver usually travels through the streets and alleys, and comes into contact with many people, which makes it easier to take action and obtain information.
When the Renaissance Army spied on the information about Liu Lichuan's knife society's uprising, the dealer made great contributions.
Later, the Intelligence Department monitored foreigners in Shanghai and obtained intelligence, which all involved car dealers.
Now the number of people at the Shanghai Station of the Ministry of Intelligence is much smaller than before.
Now their main tasks are counter-infiltration and surveillance of foreigners in Shanghai, as well as collecting intelligence from foreigners.
After all, Shanghai is now China's territory, so so many people are no longer needed to protect the security of the intelligence station.
The car dealership managed by Tank is more often a serious car dealership, but it is still an industry of the Ministry of Intelligence.
On the surface, it is an industry owned by Tank, but Tank is just a manager. Tank can get a monthly salary of ten yuan every month.
After the Renaissance Army took back Shanghai, they carried out a severe crackdown in Shanghai and eliminated many local gangs and societies.
All the captured blind migrants were sent to labor camps in remote areas to be rehabilitated. After they were rehabilitated, they would only be resettled nearby.
Tank also had to cooperate with the government's actions, disbanded the gang in the car dealership, and then restrained his brothers to become law-abiding citizens of China.
China governs the country according to law, and organizations such as gangs are not allowed to exist.
After Shanghai was taken over by the Huaihai Navy, it was still a window for foreign exchanges. Businessmen from all over the country continued to flock here to buy properties in Shanghai.
The most profitable thing now is still foreign trade.
China has not taken back several concessions in Shanghai. It’s just that the current concessions are concessions.
The land was leased to foreigners, but the sovereignty was completely in the hands of China.
Through negotiations, Britain and France have withdrawn their armed forces from the concession.
Of course, this process is very complicated. The two sides went through many rounds of negotiations, but China refused to give in on its sovereignty. Liu Qingbei even spoke directly on the negotiating table.
"The concession will be taken back if the administrative rights are not handed over." According to the original agreement between the great powers and the Qing court, the concession was only land leased to them for commercial activities.
This was the agreement when the Manchus and the Qing Dynasty first drew up concessions.
But later, these powers took advantage of the Qing government's cowardice and inaction and gradually turned the concession into a colony.
What Dong Shuheng means is that in a concession, you rent a piece of land for your use. The owner has the final say on how to use it. When did the tenant become the owner?
Chinese police stations, courts and government administrative committees were stationed in the concession.
Dong Shuheng also had no intention of canceling the concession for the time being. On the one hand, he wanted to temporarily maintain the fragile relationship with Britain and France. On the other hand, he also wanted to maintain the openness of Shanghai.
But this did not prevent Dong Shuheng from reforming the concession.
Dong Shuheng took advantage of the situation and established a large-scale bonded area around the concession. It can also be said to be a large-scale public concession surrounding the British and French concessions.
All countries that have established diplomatic relations with China can enter here, but everyone must abide by China's laws and accept China's management. This is just a place that facilitates everyone's business activities.
As a side of China, we do not want foreign trade activities to be monopolized by Britain and France.
After the public bonded zone is established, all businessmen coming to China can establish factories and start companies in the bonded zone, as long as they abide by Chinese laws.
This is naturally welcomed by other countries. Faced with this situation, Britain and France have nothing to do. They cannot offend all European countries.
After all, China now does not restrict their trade activities, but instead expands China's foreign trade.
It’s just that the power to formulate trade rules has now been transferred to China.
In the bonded zone, factories run by foreigners do not require tariffs when importing raw materials from outside and exporting goods abroad.
Only their goods must be imported into China to pay customs duties.
For them, it actually reduces transportation costs. It’s just that foreign goods still have an extra layer of tariffs than Chinese goods.
In terms of cost, Huaxia's products still have an advantage, but this advantage has been shrinking.
By doing this, Dong Shuheng also introduced a big catfish into China's manufacturing industry.
Otherwise, China's industry and commerce would operate behind closed doors and there would be no standards for comparison.
With these foreign factories in the bonded zone, domestic companies will have a greater sense of crisis. At the same time, these companies can also create many job opportunities for China.
The first thing this policy brought was the prosperity of Shanghai. In addition to the villa areas along the Suzhou River, a large number of residential areas were built near the bonded zone.
The government built a large number of row houses and sold them to Shanghai workers at low prices.
The prices of these houses are very low. You can buy one for only fifty silver dollars on average, which is a few years' salary of a worker.
Moreover, it can be paid in installments, and generally workers in Shanghai can afford a suite in Shikumen.
This has greatly improved the living environment of workers in Shanghai and beautified the urban landscape of Shanghai.
The stilts that used to be everywhere have disappeared. The stilts built privately in civilian areas have no supporting facilities and the environment is dirty and messy, which can easily breed bacteria and spread diseases.
Now all these places have been demolished. As long as people are willing to work hard, even if they cannot afford an apartment worth tens of yuan, they can rent low-rent housing provided by the Shanghai government.
Nowadays, Shanghai has formed four major areas. The bonded area near the Bund is mostly occupied by foreign businesses and factories. Upstream, Shanghai County is the old city. The city walls have been demolished, leaving only a few city gates.
The people living here are all old residents of Shanghai. Most of the old residents are engaged in the service industry, and many of them were originally small traders.
There are many shops in the old city, including restaurants, hotels, snack shops, and grocery stores. The area around the Chenghuang Temple is the most developed.
Between the old city and the bonded area is the new living area.
South of the Suzhou River is the industrial zone for Chinese businessmen.
A large number of residences have been opened here to accommodate factory workers. Most of these workers are migrants.
Wages in factories here in Shanghai are generally higher than in other places. First of all, because there are so many rich people here, prices are driven up.
On the other hand, because the wages in the foreign free trade zone factories are higher than those in the mainland, this has driven the wages in Shanghai as a whole to be higher than in other places.
Surplus laborers from southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang flooded here in large numbers, looking for a new life. They were the first batch of large-scale migrant workers in China.
Unknowingly, China's urbanization process has quietly begun.
Zhang Xiao is one of these migrant workers. He was born in Changzhou Prefecture and followed a relative in the village to work in a factory in Shanghai last year.
At the beginning, he worked as an apprentice in a printing factory in Shanghai. He received no formal salary, but received a monthly subsidy of one silver dollar.
The factory provides food and accommodation, and being able to earn another silver dollar is already a good income for Zhang Xiao.
He saved all his monthly allowance and planned to go back and marry a wife after saving ten silver dollars.
But later he became uneasy when he saw that formal workers could earn three or four silver dollars a month.
He began to study and work hard, trying to get started as soon as possible, hoping to become a full-time employee.
Three months later, the manager of the printing factory informed him that he could become a formal worker. A formal worker in the factory could independently control a link of the production line.
Zhang Xiao is very happy. It originally took him ten months to save enough money for his wife. Now he has become a regular employee in advance, which means that he can save enough money to go back and marry a wife before the Chinese New Year.
This would be unimaginable if he were farming in the village. His family was originally a tenant farmer. Although the rent paid for farming is less now, it is just enough to provide food. If he wants to exchange food for money to marry a wife, he doesn't know what to do.
It’s the Year of the Monkey and the Horse Moon!
No, he is working now, he doesn’t have to spend money on food and accommodation, and he can save a lot of his monthly salary.
Before the end of last year, he sent money back from the post office and asked his parents to use the money to marry him.
Soon, a letter came back from his family, saying that he had found a match for him and a betrothal gift of nine silver dollars.
The girl's family was in pretty good condition, she was a rich farmer, and she was given a large dowry. It was because she heard that Zhang Xiao had a serious business in the city that she was willing to marry him.
Zhang Xiao was very happy when he found out. As soon as the factory had a holiday during the Chinese New Year, Zhang Xiao rushed home without stopping, not forgetting to buy some rare things for his family in Shanghai.
When he returned home, he used his year-end bonus to buy a wedding banquet for his parents.
As soon as the Chinese New Year was over, I brought my daughter-in-law in.
The other party's family members were even more satisfied when they heard that he was working in a printing factory. They felt that he could gain some literary flair and that he might be able to study when he had a baby in the future.
Zhang Xiao's daughter-in-law is called Nizi, and she is a diligent farmer's wife. The living conditions at her home are better, and Nier's body bones are well developed and fully opened.
The young couple spent a few days together, enjoying life together. Soon it was time for Zhang Xiao to go to the city to work.
In order not to be late, Zhang Xiao set off early.
The young daughter-in-law was a little reluctant, so Zhang Xiao comforted her and said that when she bought her own house in Shanghai, she would be taken to live in the city.
In later life, Nizi was often distracted. She kept fantasizing about what life in the city would be like.
When Zhang Xiao returned to the factory, he still worked so hard, and his salary increased from three yuan to four yuan. Sometimes he worked a lot of overtime, and the factory would pay him more.
Of course, in this era, there is no such thing as an eight-hour working day in factories. More than ten hours a day is commonplace, and everyone thinks this is normal.
Zhang Xiao's factory was run by the government, so he asked the manager about the house.
The steward told him that the printing factory is run by the government, and formal workers can get a house after they get married. There are two ways. One is that you pay ten copper dollars every month, which is equivalent to one-tenth of a silver dollar, to the government as rent for the house.
Still from the government.
Another way is to pay a down payment of ten silver dollars to the government, and then pay another silver dollar to the government every month until it is paid off. Because of his status, the government does not charge interest.
Zhang Xiao decisively chose the second option. In this case, if his wife asks about it, he can confidently say that this house is ours.
If we choose the first option, we can't say that this house belongs to the public and we just rent it.
Moreover, this house is very cheap!
Zhang did some calculations and found that he could pay it off in three or four years. If he saves some money then, he might be able to pay it off in advance.
There are ready-made houses, and construction has not stopped in Shanghai in the past two years. This kind of three- or four-story Shikumen townhouses are built very quickly.
As long as the lime bricks keep up, it's just like building blocks.
Each building can accommodate seven or eight families, and the standard configuration is two bedrooms, one living room, one kitchen and one bathroom. Although it is not large, it can accommodate a family.
A young couple like Zhang Xiao can live in a relatively well-off place.
The house was empty, and Zhang Xiao had little money in his hands, so he could only buy furniture while making money.
In June this year, Zhang Xiao finally bought his own house, and his wife took a long-distance public carriage to Shanghai.
In the old territory of the Renaissance Army, a kind of elongated public carriage now circulates between cities.
Most of the people who make this kind of car are individual travelers with average economic conditions. Usually a car can carry more than a dozen people at a time. This is an official car, it is cheap and very safe.
Nizi took this kind of car to go to Shanghai. In the car, she wrapped herself tightly with a scarf. Although the male and female passengers in the car were separated by curtains, she was still very careful. At this time, the rural people
My younger daughter-in-law is quite conservative.
Nizi has been living under the rule of Huai Haijun for more than two years, and she is still more open-minded. If she were in other places, women would generally not dare to go out.
After arriving in Shanghai, Nizi realized that this place is really big.
The new residential area connects the original concession area and the old county seat, forming an "S"-shaped urban area along the Huangpu River.
This urban area is most prosperous on both sides of the Suzhou River in the south. It extends to Yangshupu in the northeast.
Zhang Xiao took the time to pick up his wife at the station.
Today he took half a day off to spend time with his wife.
We returned to our new house first. My wife had never lived in a house of such a high height. Their house was on the third floor and we had to climb stairs to go up.
My wife is very curious about this place. She is also very satisfied with the new home. Although it is not a detached house, it at least has a place.
Because her husband told her that only wealthy members of the Communist Party of China could live in a garden here in Shanghai, Nizi no longer thought about a single-family house.
It's just that at night, both of them were cautious, fearing that the noise would be too loud and alert the neighbors.
When picking up his wife, they walked into the Chenghuang Temple and bought some daily necessities and food.
The next day, Zhang Xiao continued to go to work. His wife was alone at home.
She was really bored, so she wrapped herself in a scarf and went out for a walk.
After walking not far, she saw a group of women gathered together. Only when she saw that they were all women and not a single man did Nizi dare to approach.
It was hard to hear what they were saying from a distance. A group of women with different local accents were talking together, which could only be described as noisy.
When Nizi got closer, she saw some women in work clothes explaining something to the women in the crowd.
The reason why they are said to be wearing work clothes is because the clothes these women wear are somewhat similar to Fuxing clothes. However, the collars are not standing up, but have diagonal collars.
"Sisters, we women can't always stay at home, otherwise our men will look down on us and say that we are freeloaders. We have to go out to find things to do and support ourselves."
"Sisters, our Women's Federation is dedicated to helping women. You may have heard of it in your hometown. If you need help with anything, you can come to our office to find us, whether it is a family problem or your own personal matter.
, if there is something hard to talk about, we can also talk about it privately."
"Today we set up a stall here mainly to help you find things to do. You can rest assured that the places where you can work are factories that only recruit female workers. Our Women's Federation has investigated them and we will not cause any difficulties for you.
And we usually go to help supervise the factory."
After the middle-aged woman said this to everyone, she called on several other women to explain something to the women who gathered around her.
Nizi heard someone saying that they could earn two silver dollars a month. She was a little shy and did not go up for consultation.
However, Nizi felt a little moved in her heart. If she also worked in the factory, she would not have to cook at home, and there would be an increase in income, so the two of them could save a lot more money.
During dinner in the evening, Nizi told Zhang Xiaoting what happened during the day.
She was surprised that Zhang Xiao did not object.
Zhang Xiao has been in Shanghai for more than a year and has seen the world. He knows that many factories in Shanghai use female workers, such as silk reeling factories, spinning factories, embroidery factories, etc.
He supports his wife in going out to do things. On the one hand, this can increase the family's income.
On the other hand, when I am doing things outside, my wife will be bored at home alone during the day. Because now they work for more than ten hours a day, leaving early and returning late.
Therefore, it is better to let the wife go out and do some work.
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