I want to be a good person

"boss."

The long-awaited backbone has arrived.

The four of us stayed in the room every day, feeling very uncomfortable living under someone else's roof.

"Thank you for your hard work. We finally got here."

"From now on, call me Manager Lu, Lu Shaotai."

The economy in the French Concession remained the same as before, and was even more prosperous than before the war. Rich people poured in, bringing with them countless capital.

"Look at those traitors on the other side of the strait. Their middle-parted hair is so fucking disgusting."

Gao Deli swallowed a mouthful of wine, hissed, and said hatefully.

"Traitor?"

"Why do you think they are willing to be traitors?"

"who knows?"

Wearing white armbands, the members of the maintenance association were arrogant and bullied their compatriots at will.

Why did he betray and become a traitor?

It's not because they see no hope of victory, but because they are full of laziness. They are willing to beg for the bones thrown by the Japanese, fighting until they are bloodied and bullying in front of their compatriots.

There is no need to analyze the psychological process of traitors; their death is enough.

Zhang Aiguo knows the future outcome. If he lives in this world ignorantly, can he persist in his beliefs?

No one dared to guarantee success. The anti-Japanese war was too hard. We were short of food and clothing, and ammunition. We not only had to guard against the enemy, but also had to guard against trouble-making by people within the party.

What kind of spirit enables one to persevere?

One generation fought the battles of several generations and reshaped the national soul with their blood and lives.

It is difficult to resist the Japanese aggression, but the difficulty lies in persistence. It is easy to be a good person, but the difficulty lies in persistence. As for serving the people, it is even more difficult to persist.

Several Japanese soldiers held the "Type 38" rifles in their hands, put on an arrogant attitude, looked hideous, and posed for photos every day for everyone to see.

"Boss, what do we do next?"

"We still need to get to know the situation in the concessions. Today is different from the past. We need to be familiar with the International Settlement and the French Concession."

"I heard that as long as you have money, no one will cause trouble in the concession. Renting a house only depends on the money, and there are not many people who care."

"Let's all go shopping and move out of here first."

What he was going to do next was a bit dangerous, so Zhang Aiguo decided to make a cut to avoid bringing disaster to Simei.

Running around, you will find many foreign banks in Shanghai, including Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, JP Morgan, Citibank, Mercantile Exchange, Chase, AIA, American Express, HSBC, ABN AMRO, etc.

It seems that the money of the government's dignitaries is all deposited in these places. For an organization that enriches itself, its demise is only a matter of time!

Outside the concessions and in the Japanese-occupied areas, the Japanese forced the use of various counterfeit currencies. The people were frightened by their power and dared not refuse to use them. They also used French francs and gold bars in private.

After seven or eight days, the concession was still using legal tender and dollars. The Japanese currency was not popular and there was some resistance.

When talking about banks, we cannot fail to mention the Xi family, a family of bank compradors who have been active in foreign banks and have complex relationships.

Only the son of a banker can inherit his father's position, a simple and unpretentious life goal.

“This is where we live.”

The Shikumen houses in the French Concession are narrow and bustling.

Since the rise of new-style lilongs and garden lilongs, the old-style Shikumen houses have gradually become a residence for people from the lower classes of society, where good and bad people mix together and black and gray culture prevails.

The only advantage is that you can hide. The landlord only considers Mr. Kong Fang's face, and the rest is not useful.

Pass through the traditional archway at the entrance of the lane, walk through the narrow alley, push open the black-painted solid thick wooden double doors, and the copper rings will make a dull sound that echoes in the lane.

The building's facade is made of blue bricks inlaid with red bricks, with decorative moldings between layers and a gabled roof frame.

The high walls on both sides are connected to the gables of the left and right wing rooms. There is a semicircular lintel above the stone door frame and relief floral decorations inside the pediment.

"Add some oil to the wooden hinge of the gate. It's a little distorted.

"Yes."

Seeing the house in front of them, the Chinese people's deep desire for land came to the fore and they couldn't suppress it.

The present is different from the period before the Anti-Japanese War. People have integrated into the city life and lived in seclusion in the city, making it convenient to hide, with entrances and exits in the front and back.

As soon as you enter the door, you will see a long horizontal patio, with left and right wing rooms on both sides, and directly opposite is the living room with a long window reaching the floor, a three-story brick and wood structure.

On the shelf in the side aisle, a pair of shorts sits firmly on it, overlooking the world, a unique style.

“How much is the rent here?”

"It's 100 yuan a month, and I pay 100 yuan as a rent to the landlord."

"The French currency has depreciated beyond recognition, so no one will accept it."

Jia Bisheng added on the side.

"The Japanese military notes are just waste paper. I hate them even if I hold them."

“Oh, so expensive?”

When Wang Jinxiu heard this, she had expected it, but she was still surprised.

Is it expensive?

It is not expensive. Nowadays, even if you move to Shanghai from all over the country, you still have to pay more than ten yuan for a room. The concession has become a symbol of safety.

There are still seven years until the end of the Anti-Japanese War, so I might as well buy it.

After careful consideration, Zhang Aiguo made up his mind: as for work-life balance, as for the remaining four people, should they start a family? The answer was of course yes.

All followers, without a backup plan in their hands, always feel uneasy. It is not because of lack of confidence, but because the cost of betrayal must be raised. We cannot assume that everyone can withstand the targeted attack of sugar-coated bullets, whether it is money, beauty, or power.

As human beings, we have weaknesses and no one is perfect.

Zhang Aiguo thought that from the time he arrived till now, he really was not a person who could stand the test, and he judged others by himself...

"Deli, Bisheng, you have to start a family in the future. You can't always be single. I decided to buy it."

"Boss, we live with you and your wife?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"I'm a little worried about the impact on my boss."

Chang Youcai said weakly from the side.

"Small?"

"Oh? Any ideas? I'm not afraid, so why are you afraid? Haha."

"We visited a lot of places. There were five families living in one building, seven families, and even nine families. It was very crowded."

"Doesn't this make us seem like we fit right in with the mainstream?"

Zhang Aiguo has read survey statistics and found that the proportion of five or more households, including nine or more households, living in the same house in the concession is 39.2%, and the proportion of one to three households living alone or together is 40.6%.

"Hurry up and do this. The Concession police and military police prefer to check Chinese people, but they dare not check foreigners."

"Boss, under what name?"

"Lu Shaotai, let's open a foreign goods store right here in Shikumen. The name is Heyisheng. We'll run around in the next few days and get the business done. We won't be afraid of paying the top dollar."

With so many foreign banks, they may still be short of money, but precious metals are scarce and the Japanese are on guard against each other.

The property rights of real estate were traded in the name of "top gold" because the concession authorities did not have "land rights" in the true sense. Real estate development was mostly carried out through the "renting land and building houses" method, and the land belonged to the national government.

"I know. I can run well these days."

Later development and reconstruction meant simply and roughly demolishing things, losing the traditional culture inside, and squeezing out the original things. What a wonderful new world!

Cultural identity is lost!

What else can you do besides demolish it?

It seems like nothing can be done.