1932: Playing with the Japanese Communist Party with a doll

"...I'm from Hubei, so what?"

"I'm from Hubei too, sir."

"Oh? Then we are still from the same hometown!"

"Yes, sir, I am thinking of taking the courage to make a claim to your affections, and I will say a few words which you may not like to hear, and I beg you not to be offended."

"Oh? You said."

"Shanghai doesn't have much else, but it does have a lot of beautiful women. My husband is young and promising, and he's also a nobleman. Playing with a few women is nothing. Just be careful to keep them clean. But, you really can't touch anything else."

"...You mean...gambling and drugs?"

poison?

What are drugs?

what...

Although he didn't understand, the driver quickly understood what the other party meant based on the word "gambling" and said sadly:

"Yes, sir. The worst that can happen from playing with women is venereal disease, which can be cured with a little extra money... As for gambling and smoking opium, you should absolutely avoid them. They harm both you and others!"

"Lao Zhang! How can you say something like that?!"

The other driver, who was out of breath, tried to stop his companion, but Mark didn't care and said:

"It's okay, I know you mean well, just keep talking."

"Hey! Sir, don't blame me for being nosy. A few years ago, there was a man about your age living near our house. He was truly a god from heaven..."

"As a result, the gentleman was young and out of control. He first fell in love with playing with women, then was taken to the Great World by a bitch to gamble, and then he started smoking opium... Alas..."

The driver didn't finish his words, but everyone present knew the outcome.

He has everything from pornography, gambling, and drugs. What good can there be from such a person?

Being able to die early is the happiest outcome.

"...Sir, my wife is a Buddhist and has always told us that if we had persuaded him more back then, that gentleman might not have..."

"It's not your fault. He just asked for it."

"Don't say that. You can't blame that gentleman entirely. Shanghai is a place where people are easily corrupted. No one can stop them. Just like us rickshaw pullers, aren't we tied up tightly?"

"Tied up tightly? Who tied you up?"

"Ah... this... that... sir, please don't ask."

The driver realized that he had said something he shouldn't have said. He looked around for a moment and whispered:

"Anyway, you don't look like a frivolous person, so just don't go to those places. And don't listen to people who say how fun it is. They're all trying to steal your money."

"..."

The driver's face was full of sincerity, and Mark remained silent.

It is obvious that telling me these things will do him no good at all;

Obviously, he could cooperate with brothels/prostitutes/casinos/tobacco factories and help solicit customers;

But he didn't, and risked angering others by giving them advice.

It is always easy to see the shining points of human nature among the people at the bottom of society...

Even in this era where pornography, gambling, drugs and crime are all present.

034 Standing at the Crossroads of History 1

2784 words

There was a lot of information about Shanghai in the agent's database, but Mark didn't go out of his way to learn more about it before leaving Tokyo.

Sometimes, knowing the future too clearly can be boring.

Life always has to be full of surprises.

So, he decided to give this kind and bold driver a surprise.

"Hahahahaha...Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore. I won't go to those places either. Thank you for the reminder, Master..."

As he said this, he took out his wallet from his inner pocket, took out a 10 yen note and handed it to "Lao Zhang";

The other party took it in confusion. After looking at the coin carefully, he paused for a moment and then looked embarrassed again:

"Sir, this money..."

"what..."

Mark slapped his head.

Fuck, it’s become a habit in Japan, and this is China.

But since he had already given the money, he had no intention of taking it back, so he shouted again:

"Dongmei!"

"..."

The agent was stunned for half a second before realizing that he was being called.

What's Ma's name?

"...Yes, Master, what do you want?"

"..."

Owner?

It turns out she's not his wife...

The voice is really nice.

It's just too cold.

I really don’t know whether she looks good or not.

Hey, I'm so stupid. The master is so handsome, how bad can the people around him be?

"You just exchanged silver dollars at the hotel front desk, right? Two per person... Oh no, three for your car."

"Yes."

The agent pulled out a few small round objects from his bag and threw them one by one into the pockets of the two drivers with incredible precision.

The two men only felt their purses getting heavier and heavier. They subconsciously took them out to take a look, then quickly put them back in, not daring to show them. Their hearts were pounding!

They are all Yuan Datou!

This gentleman is very generous!

Or does he not know the market price at all?

The two drivers guessed correctly.

Mark really didn't know the going price.

Although he would not do such a stupid thing again as the last time when the 200 yen almost brought someone a fatal disaster, Mark, who came from the future and was born into an aristocratic family in this life, still thought that this amount of money was not much.

How could he know that one Yuan Datou is the net income of a rickshaw puller for 2-4 days or the daily rental of a rickshaw!

In Shanghai in those days, apart from the starving people and beggars on the streets, rickshaw pullers were one of the lowest and poorest groups in Shanghai society.

According to the "Rickshaw Fare Standards" stipulated by the Shanghai Municipal Council, there are two ways to bill rickshaws:

1. Calculated by distance, starting at eight points, and increasing by eight points for every half mile;

2. Calculated by time, starting from one hour, 5 cents, and increasing by 25 cents every half hour.

Mostly the former.

In other words, even if a rickshaw driver ran continuously for 10 miles (about 16 kilometers), he would not earn more than 3 dollars.

Unless he is lucky enough to meet a big client who is willing to contract by the time (such as a big name in the Peking Opera), he can get about five dollars for a ten-hour contract.

It may look good, but don't forget, just like what is written in "Camel Xiangzi", the rickshaw driver usually rents the rickshaw from the rickshaw dealer or the owner, and the daily rental fee is about 1 yuan;

Deduct the gang dues paid to avoid being harassed, robbed, or even killed at will by gangs like the Green Gang;

After deducting the "regular taxes" and "XX additional taxes" and "XX donations" and other miscellaneous taxes levied by the government and foreigners;

Deduct the occasional "filial piety" and "accidental losses"...

Not counting labor costs and food and drink, a driver can only make a net profit of 3-6 cents a day.

In other words, if the situation is good, you can only earn 18 yuan a month at most.

This is assuming a full 30 days of attendance, no illness, and no accidents.

What Mark considered “not much money” was still a huge sum of money even for Lao Zhang and the other two rickshaw drivers who were able to pick up customers near the Chinachem Hotel and were actually considered “upper-middle class” among rickshaw drivers.

Such a huge sum of money naturally cannot be seen by outsiders, so Lao Zhang and the other man simultaneously put the money back into their pockets quickly.

These few dollars are enough to cover the rest of their time today.

Therefore, they expressed their gratitude:

"Thank you for the reward, sir!"

"You're welcome. Just consider it as your payment for chatting with me. The car fare will be charged separately."

"..."

The gentleman is a really nice person, but he speaks in a really strange way.

Stimulated by the money, the sadness on the two drivers' faces disappeared a lot. Lao Zhang chatted and laughed with Mark, and the other driver pulled the agent with more strength.

The rickshaw continued to move forward aimlessly.

Since Mark said he would not get involved in prostitution, gambling or drugs, and seemed to be very interested in various commodities, the driver took them north, where it was said that there were a large number of factories.

"...These are basically all our own Chinese factories, and they can make a lot of good things!"

Old Zhang walked slowly, waving the black sweat towel in his hand and said with a smile:

"Take this Triangle brand towel in my hand, for example. It's made here in China. It's better than those made in Japan, Britain, France, or the United States, and it's even cheaper!"

"Oriental people? The United States? You mean Japan and the United States, right?"

"Yes, yes, Japan and the United States! Hey, look at my memory, I got used to it in the past few years."

"You've gotten used to it! I still call him Fengtian!"

The driver with a northeastern accent seemed to remember something and his expression darkened.

Mark noticed this and asked:

"What do you think of them?"

"Sir, what...how do you see it?"

"It's the Americans and the Japanese... Who do you think is worse?"

"...well...if you ask me...these Japanese are even worse than those big-nosed people."

"why?"

"They look so much like us, it's easy for them to pretend to be us and do bad things. It's just that they're short, so they're easier to recognize. Otherwise, it would be even more troublesome!"

Not knowing what he remembered, Lao Zhang said angrily:

"Especially those Japanese... Hey? Lao He, what are those guys in loose clothes and carrying knives called?"

"I think his name is... Ronin!"

"Yes! Ronin! Japanese Ronin! They often beat our people, and they have become more rampant recently."

"recent?"

"Well, I heard from a gentleman at a newspaper that a few days ago, the emperor of Japan seemed to have been murdered by someone, but he didn't kill him.

"Then, we made a few comments here, and for some reason, we angered those Japanese. They smashed many newspaper offices, injured many gentlemen, and forced the higher-ups to apologize. Sigh..."

(Qingdao Kuomintang Party Publication Incident)