Chapter 115

Zhang Ma sat on the balcony choosing vegetables, the setting sun’s rays poured down, a warm golden color.

Yang Yuyan took a book and pretended to read it, lying on the balcony railing and looking down, the street was still full of traffic, pedestrians were in a hurry, bicycles and yellow buses were crossing and shuttling, if not for the four or five gendarmes standing on the street corner, this street would look no different from before.

Yang Yuyan couldn’t help but grab the cross on her chest and play with it, remembering that the university had planted cherry blossoms, and the president was inviting Japanese to teach classes, while their family was already planning to move to the concession, and they were also going to believe in God.

Is this a Republican mess?

When the gods of one’s own family don’t work, one has to turn to pagan gods.

Discernment about the new society was sprouting in her mind, and before it could grow into a big tree, there was a knock on the door.

Zhang Ma called out to her, “Yan Yan, go open the door and see who it is.”

Yang Yuyan agreed and walked into the house, putting her books on the table to open the door. Yang Yuchan said in the dining room, “It might be Wu Xiaoping.”

Yang Yuyan opened the door, and sure enough, it was Wu Xiaoping outside the door. She was as thin as a girl of her age, and was a bit scary.

Wu Xiaoping had a square face, and her hair was somewhat small, yellow, and tied into two thin braids. She had grown quite a bit taller than when she first came here last year, almost as tall as her mother, but was still as timid and less talkative than before.

Her skin was white, but not healthy, like she was malnourished, and reminded people of starving people when they saw her.

She wore an old dress, probably made from her mother’s old clothes, and the shoes under her feet were made by her own family, black cloth shoes.

The best thing on her was the school bag Yang Yuyan gave her, which she held in her arms.

As soon as she came in, she bowed deeply to Yang Yuyan, her voice small enough to be inaudible, “Good day, second miss.”

Yang Yuyan moved out of the way and said, “Come on in, sit down and eat something before class.”

She led Wu Xiaoping to the cafeteria, Yang Yucan was counting the accounts inside, Wu Xiaoping also bowed deeply ninety degrees to greet her when she saw her.

Yang Yucan put on her teacher’s stance and said majestically, “Here you are, sit down, did you go back and memorize the homework you assigned yesterday?”

Wu Xiaoping put her book bag down, nodded and said, “Memorized it.”

Yang Yuyan went to open a bottle of orange soda, then brought the box of cookies and set them all in front of Wu Xiaoping, “Eat.”

Yang Yuchan also said, “Eat something to pad your stomach first, we’ll write practice problems later.”

Considering that Wu Xiaoping’s house might not have electric lights, and there wasn’t much money to prepare paper and pens for her to write her homework, so Yang Yuchan just memorized the homework she assigned every time, and left the writing homework to be completed in class.

Wu Xiaoping gulped at the smell of the cookies and ate them silently.

Yang Yuyan didn’t bother them, she turned to the living room to read.

Zhang Ma started cooking at five and was ready at six, the sky was still light.

She first put out a bowl of soup, took two buns and sent them over to Wu Xiaoping, “After studying for so long, eat something.”

Wu Xiaoping had been concentrating on writing the questions without raising her head, only then did she look up and see the time, startled, she hurriedly packed up her things and said to Zhang Ma, “No, no, I have to hurry home.”

Seeing that she was flustered, Yang Yuchan also helped her pack up, looked at the sky outside and said, “The sky is still bright, it’s fine. How about I send you back?”

Wu Xiaoping hurriedly said, “No, no, I’ll just run faster.”

Yang Yuyan also came over when she heard the commotion in the restaurant and asked worriedly, “Are you afraid that the gendarmes will question you? Then why don’t we call a car to send you back, safety is important.”

Wu Xiaoping put all her stuff messily into her school bag and shook her head vigorously, “No, no, I’m fine, it’s not the gendarmerie, I’m just afraid that my dad will get angry, I’ll be going then, bye bye teacher, bye bye bye second young lady and mom Zhang.”

Wu Xiaoping ran off like she was catching a train, Zhang Ma complained after she left, “I’ve served her all this, this is a waste.” She sighed heavily and carried both the soup and the buns back to the kitchen.

It was quickly getting dark, and the pedestrians on the streets were quickly disappearing. By eight o’clock, the streets were empty, not a single car left.

Zhu Yanshu and Su Chunjun didn’t come back.

Zhang Ma called out to Yang Yucan and Yang Yuyan to eat first, complaining that she couldn’t clean up the kitchen if they didn’t come back.

The table for three people was still a bit cold. Yang Yuyan turned on the radio and tuned it to a commentary, and the three of them ate their dinner with Wu Sung Fighting Tiger.

Just put down the bowl, outside the street came the sound of the bell of the yellow bus. Yang Yuyan immediately ran to the balcony to look, and sure enough, she saw that Su Chunjun had arrived downstairs in a yellow bus, and got out of the bus and was heading for the front door.

“Mr. Su is back!” She happily shouted and went to open the door, and just stood at the door waiting, craning her neck to watch Su Chunjun’s figure slowly appear on the stairs.

“You’re back.” She said with a smile.

As soon as Su Chunjun looked up, he saw Yang Yuyan’s smiling face, and the lights in the house behind her, and there seemed to be the scent of rice and Zhang Ma’s voice.

His footsteps all became lighter.

He quickened his pace and walked up, “I’m back.” He smiled, “What did Zhang Ma cook?”

Closing the door, Zhang Ma came out of the kitchen and said, “Just buns and soup, sit down and eat.”

Zhang Ma brought his bowl up, and there was also fried wild rice and green vegetables on the table.

Su Chunjun took off his jacket and went to wash his face before coming over to eat.

All three people at a table finished eating, Zhang Ma pretended to clean up the table to stay even if she didn’t go, Yang Yucan looked at him twice and held back from asking more questions because she knew that Yang Yuyan definitely couldn’t help but ask. They didn’t know anything at home, they all depended on Su Chunjun to bring news from the outside world every day.

And now the news from the outside world has become crucial to them.

Yang Yuyan really didn’t hold back for long, she waited for Su Chunjun to finish two buns before she opened her mouth and asked, “How was your day?”

Su Chunjun put down his chopsticks and took a sip of soup, and said with a smile, “Pretty good.”

He saw that the three people in front of him were all waiting for him to speak, as if they were expecting him to say something good that they could be happy about.

But he didn’t have much good news.

He picked up a few things in his mind and said, “I took the time this afternoon to go to the tenement and look at the houses. I think that the Japanese Concession is a bit more suitable than the French and British Concessions.”

Yang Yuyan frowned, she disliked the Japanese the most.

Yang Yucan knew a little more than her and asked, “Is it true that the French and British Concessions don’t allow Chinese people to enter?”

Su Chunjun nodded and sighed. He could speak English and French and had a background of studying abroad, and he couldn’t even get in wearing his school badge from that time. The guards at the concession were local British and French soldiers, who were willing to take his cigarettes, talk to him about school, and were polite enough to learn that he worked at the Finance Bureau, but they still wouldn’t let him in.

A month ago he had no problem getting into the tenement, today it’s a completely different story.

Many of the hawkers who used to go into the concession to sell their wares can’t go in now either, as if their king has given them new orders.

Yang Yuyan asked, “Is there still a king in France?”

Su Chunjun: “There is no more king in France, but there is still a king in England. The king of England gave the order, and France is just following England’s example.”

Yang Yuyan asked, “What order?”

Su Chunjun said, “Evacuate the foreigners.”

Yang Yuchan was shocked, “The newspaper didn’t say that!”

Su Chunjun laughed, “The newspapers don’t dare to say anything now.” So many newspapers have been shut down, their doors sealed, and their chief editors and writers have all been arrested and put in jail, and they have not been released yet. What do the newspapers dare to say now? It’s all about peace in the world.

Yang Yucan grabbed the radio and tried to turn on the news station, but all that was broadcast on the news station was the news that “the National Government held a ball, the Premier’s wife danced with the French Ambassador ……”, as if everything was fine now.

Yang Yuchan asked Su Chunjun, “Did you know about this in the Finance Bureau?” He shook his head.

Su Chunjun shook his head, “I guessed it.”

Guessed from where the mayor’s smashed nose.

The mayor was now being roasted on a fire. He was like a skunk that smelled danger, sticking his nose out of a tree hole and sniffing around the forest. He felt uneasy and wanted to run away, but the tigers and foxes wouldn’t let him go, forcing him to stay here to pacify the people and, above all, the foreigners.

But where did the mayor get that much power? After the French and British ambassadors had been unable to see anyone of importance, they naturally guessed that something was wrong. When he, the mayor, came to his door, the French and British ambassadors gave him several shutters.

It didn’t matter if the mayor spat on his own face, but he couldn’t stop the British ambassador from evacuating with his troops – he didn’t even know that the British ambassador had fucking run away!

Yang Yuyan immediately remembered Miss Jin’s escape.

“Wasn’t that the time Miss Kim escaped? And the British soldiers withdrew?” She asked in a hurry.

Su Chunjun nodded and sighed, “Now it looks like that should be when the British ambassador ran back home.”

As soon as the British ambassador slipped away, the French ambassador took a look and slipped away as well. The two embassies were empty for a few months, and the rest of the staff ran back home, leaving only the Indians at the door to watch the gates.

Then, by now, the British and French in the Concession had also finally gotten word from home and had decided to return.

The mayor only got the news yesterday, and the yellow flowers are cold. Of course he got scared. Even the foreigners have run away, who else can protect him?

Just as the Emperor believed in God and begged the Japanese for protection, and Su Chunjun wanted to send the Zhu family’s mother and daughter to the Concession, the Mayor was ready to flee to a foreign country, and he even thought about how he would persuade the British or French ambassadors.

Gold.

The Treasury’s small treasury was the Mayor’s buying money for his own family.

Paying a few thousand taels of gold was totally worth it, as long as he could get on an English ship!

But alas, before he could run to the doors of the British and French ambassadors to plead for mercy, the two ambassadors had already returned home.

In addition to these two ambassadors, the rest of the foreign expatriates just might not be able to buy a ticket back to their home countries themselves, how could they shelter the mayor’s family?

Fear turned into anger and finally broke the bridge of the mayor’s nose.

Now the mayor is like a headless fly, but not all of his subordinates are like the mayor to realize the danger, where the long only want to get out of the Finance Bureau of this quagmire, because it is he who helped the mayor to the Finance Bureau of the treasury for the possession of the small treasury, he knows very well that once the incident, the mayor is sure not to give the gold back, he may have to use his life to keep the secret.

Su Chunjun was promoted too easily, and was still a little puzzled, but today after having been to the Concession, it became clear. The British and French in the Concession have started to move, so the people up there must have run away a long time ago.

This could only mean that things were worse than he had expected.

The Japanese Concession, on the other hand, was the same as ever, nothing had changed. The ronin strutted down the street with their swords as usual, and vendors were still able to go in and out of the Japanese Concession to do business.

The Japanese power is expanding while the rest of the country is shrinking.

This is not a good sign ……

Su Chunjun sighed in his heart, but on his face he still smiled and said, “It’s okay, I’ve arranged everything.”