The snow in the cold winter makes the roads muddy. Pedestrians walk slowly, and some people always fall to the ground accidentally. Children take out their skis and wear fur hats to play skiing on the snow-covered river. The sky is gray, look.
Now that the next snowstorm is coming.
Li Guolou was wearing a black trench coat and a top hat standing outside the yamen. He was an outlier in the yamen of the Ministry of Justice, and everyone knew him. The cold wind was blowing, and Li Guolou turned up his collar in a cool manner.
The coat was also unbuttoned, and the open skirt looked like a tall and handsome boy.
There is an undercurrent surging in the Ministry of Justice. This is the dress of fake foreign devils, which is praised by more and more people. As long as there is some money, the yamen and officials are slowly starting to imitate Li Guolou's dress. More and more people are wearing black coats.
Li Guolou looked at a colleague who entered the yamen.
He said angrily: "Ai Baldy, why are you wearing my clothes?"
Ai Hai fled through the door and said casually: "It's only natural for me to sleep on my bed and wear your clothes." As he spoke, he disappeared at the door.
Li Guolou swore at Beijing, saying that he was an unfamiliar white-eyed wolf. He lived a good life with him, but pushed him to a point of no return. Now he dare not return to Hongchang Hutong, and Wang Kuaizui begged him
He promised Wang Kuaizu to help him find his missing wife Hong Gu, but he felt so uncomfortable in his heart. Wang Zaizi's crying face made him feel even more inhuman.
Li Guolou is also reflecting on himself. How many people has his appearance changed, and has he changed the world? Not so great. But everything around him changes at his pace. Can he control the future? Li Guolou is a little lost.
, he was afraid to see the ending.
The wind blew up the snow on the ground, and people on the street walked with their heads lowered. Li Guolou lowered his hat and looked down at the road towards Dongjiangjiang Alley. Thinking of Chen Xiangfang, Li Guolou felt warm in his heart.
The sweetness of love put a smile on his face. Li Guolou quickened his pace, and a child bumped into him.
"I'm sorry!" the child said anxiously.
Li Guolou didn't let the child escape. He grabbed the child by the collar, lifted the child into the air, and said angrily: "If you don't learn well at such a young age, who is your big brother?" As he spoke, Li Guolou took it back and was stolen by the child.
Go for the fanny pack.
The child with a sly eyebrow cried and begged for mercy: "Master, please spare me, I haven't eaten all day."
Some people on the road stopped and looked at the scene happening in front of them, some were scolding the child, and some asked Li Guolou to spare the thief.
Although Li Guolou knew that the children were lying, such children were all members of the theft gang. They were petty thieves when they were young, and as long as they were not beaten or crippled, they would one day become big thieves. But today, the children did not succeed in stealing money.
Bags were caught, and he would be beaten up by his elder brother when he went back. These adults who control children's lives and hide behind them are the worst villains. Li Guolou has made up his mind and will not give face to the Beggar Clan. He must
Put this bad guy in a dirty prison.
Li Guolou put down the child, took out ten copper coins from his pocket and handed it to the child, and said: "Go ahead and leave it to your boss. If you want to learn well, don't hang out in the den of thieves. I have seen those on the street
Crawling beggars? Why can they only crawl? It’s because they were imprisoned and wore wooden dogs, and their legs were useless. If you don’t want to live like this for the rest of your life, don’t be a thief.”
(Mugouzi was a torture instrument in the Manchu Dynasty. It was specially used to deal with thieves. As long as a person wore it for two years, he would no longer be able to walk normally. This torture instrument was still in use in the early years of the Republic of China.)
After Li Guolou finished speaking, he left. Did the child understand it or not? There must be members of the thieves nearby. Li Guolou glanced at the people around him, as if to warn those who were not peaceful, he was not
Will let them go.
Someone on the side said: "I know him. The fake foreign devil is from the yamen. If you meet him, little boy, you will be lucky. If you were another yamen servant, you would be beaten to death."
The child lowered his head and ran, disappearing quickly on the street. His fate would also change when he met Li Guolou.
"Little building!" came a familiar voice, and Li Jinglue ran over to the door of the Anhui Association Hall with a smile.
"Uncle Li, what a coincidence!" Li Guolou hurried up to greet him, not expecting to meet Li Jinglue here.
"What a coincidence, Xiaolou. I was just about to go find you, and your brother sent me a telegram."
Li Guolou looked at Li Jinglue in confusion. He must be hiding something ulterior motives from him. He smiled and said, "Uncle Li, did you tell my brother about me?"
Li Jinglue said with a straight face: "How could you not say it? The store is about to open. Can I still pretend to be deaf and dumb?"
Li Guolou lowered his head in shame and giggled. There was no time for him to be so high-profile in front of his elders.
Li Jinglue took out the telegraph newspaper from his pocket, handed it to Li Guolou, and said, "Your brother, your sister, and your brother-in-law are coming to the capital to celebrate the New Year. I have important news to tell you."
Li Guolou shivered, dropped the telegram on the snow, and said anxiously: "Ah! Why didn't they send me a telegram?"
Li Jinglue looked at Li Guolou's fuss with dissatisfaction and said, "I told you that it's not the same thing."
His flustered movements showed how afraid Li Guolou was of his brothers and sisters coming to the capital. He felt like carrying fifteen buckets in a well to fetch water. He was restless, frightened, flustered, but also looking forward to the warmth of family.
My mind can't help but be tied down by my relatives. I miss my brothers and sisters so much. I was supposed to go back to my hometown to celebrate the New Year, but I didn't go back to Hefei, Anhui because I had a woman I was passionately in love with in the capital. Now it's better, the whole family will be reunited in the capital.
Li Guolou followed Li Jinglue into the Anhui Folks Guild Hall. In the morning, there were already people playing and singing in the teahouse. A group of old and young people were enjoying themselves, singing Peking Opera and performing their special skills.
Li Jinglue did not take Li Guolou to the backyard, but took a seat in a corner and said, "I'll just say a few words to you here. I have something to go out to later."
The waiter poured tea and handed water to him. Li Guolou drank tea for the first time when he went out in the morning. He had already adapted to the comfortable life of the Qing Empire. He slowly boasted about the green leaves floating on the tea cup, and a warm feeling warmed his heart. "What a good tea!"
This water is quite particular, it is boiled with ice water." Li Guolou was like an old tea drinker, savoring the Mao Feng of Huangshan Mountain.
Li Jinglue chuckled and said, "You know what I'm selling, I'll give you a pound of tea later, as a tribute from the palace."
Li Guolou shook his head and said, "Uncle Li, aren't you? We can't eat those tea trees as tributes. There are still grades in Huangshan Maofeng."
Li Jinglue angrily scolded: "Xiaolou, you are a policeman and your brain is broken. You have to dig to the root of everything? No wonder it is difficult to return home. Who have you offended?"
Li Guolou smiled awkwardly and said: "Uncle Li's ears are really good. I can't hide anything from you. It's not a big deal if I catch bad guys and offend gangs. I'm just staying at my colleague's house now. I'll just wait and see what my family does to me."
How much money do you have to buy a house? If you don’t give it, you will just wander around.”
Li Jing sighed slightly: "Hey, how much money has your family spent on you? It's tens of thousands of taels, probably. They only earn a few hundred taels in a lifetime. What do you think you learned from spending so much money at such a young age?"
Li Guolou quickly sat upright and said: "Uncle Li, I am doing big things now, and I will spend money on it, which will be doubled in the future. From next year, I will donate a thousand taels of silver to your guild hall. Are you satisfied now?"
Li Jinglue was unmoved and said, "Xiaolou, your brother's piece doesn't count."
Li Guolou retorted: "Uncle Li, you are wrong. Our Li family is not divided, so how can two people donate? One thousand taels has already doubled. Do you think I used the banknote as tissue paper?"
Li Jinglue couldn't hold it in anymore, his beard trembled with laughter, and he stretched his eyebrows and said: "Okay! I believe it. Don't worry, I didn't say anything bad about you. I also hope you stay in the capital. How can I say that you and Xiaofang are not the same?"
I’ll give you all the good words I can say.”
"Really!" Li Guolou showed an expression of joy. He was better off as his uncle. He turned his elbows inward because of the close relationship.
Li Jinglue glanced at him and said: "Well, I think you have a conscience and haven't forgotten my uncle. He's not as friendly as some people. If you really ask him to pay for it, just cry for poverty. You don't want to help the people in the village."
You’ll never be able to get promoted or make a fortune, don’t you think?”
Li Guolou hurriedly nodded in agreement. People must be far-sighted. The power of the hometown associations extends all over the country. In this era, people are hired by regions. Without any ties of kinship, who dares to hire you? There are also people from different regions in each industry.
Control, want to step into their
Not to mention how difficult it is to meet the threshold. Just like Li Guolou wants to do the ticket business, you can't succeed without the help of Shanxi Bank. If there is a run, you will die in one go. Opportunities rely on daily routines.
Gradually accumulating, Li Guolou is also accumulating personal connections.
Li Jinglue smiled and said: "Your brother has sent the money to the Shanghai Association and asked you to buy a house. They are coming to live in a new home this time. Now is a good time to buy a house. The creditors are all relying on the landlord's house. The small building
You can't bargain. Wait until I visit a good customer and I'll find you at Baozhi Room at noon."
Li Guolou was both excited and nervous. He scratched his head and said, "Is it too late for Uncle Li to buy a house now? I can't find anyone to decorate it."
Li Jingluo thought about it and said: "It's a small building here. If you buy it, you won't be able to live in it. Let Xiaofang be happy. It's better to let your brother and sister live here. I'll take care of things."
"Then I'll bother Uncle Li. I'm going to Baozhi's room." Li Guolou stood up excitedly and wanted to leave.
"Hey, I see you don't want to take the tea anymore." Li Jinglue scolded him in a reproachful tone, but the look on his face showed an expression of approval.
Li Guolou took the telegram and asked doubtfully: "Uncle Li, who is my old friend who the telegram said is here?"
Li Jinglue replied: "How do I know who your old friend is? You made a mistake in asking."
Li Guolou was excited and a little suspicious, holding a bag of tea in his hand, and left the Anhui Association. Behind him, Li Jinglue covered his mouth, looked at Li Guolou's back and snickered.