1928: The rise of giant merchants

During the Republic of China, there were two ways to get from Shanghai to Suzhou.

One is to take a train, "Take the Shanghai-Nanjing Express from Shanghai to Suzhou in one hour and thirty-nine minutes"; the other is to take a steamer, "It takes about one night (12 o'clock) from the Shanghai Ferry to Suzhou."

In the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1908), the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway was completed and opened to traffic. However, before the completion of the flat-men "Meicun Bridge" donated by "Pigment King" Bei Runsheng on February 6, 1928, from the train station to Suzhou City, one had to detour along the main road from Changmen.

Because the area outside Changmen was the lively place closest to the train station at that time, and it was close to the Liuyuan Garden, Xiyuan, Tiger Hill, Hanshan Temple and other scenic spots, so it was convenient to get around. Therefore, many visitors to Suzhou from other places liked to visit Changmen. Stay outside the door.

This is also an important factor why many hotels are concentrated in the area outside Changmen.

At that time, the hotels in the area outside Changmen were all relatively high-end "new-style hotels". Most of the beds, tables and chairs in the guest rooms are Western-style, and some are equipped with mahogany furniture. Most guest rooms have telephones, fans, heaters, and some even have electric bells. Guests can directly press the bell to summon the waiter.

Therefore, before traveling, Hu Die fully believed that the second young master would either choose to drive directly to Suzhou or take the train with her.

Unexpectedly, after coming out of the filming set of "The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple", at 8 o'clock that night, she was asked to bring her suitcase and meet at Shiliupu Pier.

The ferry from Shanghai to Suzhou is owned by the Steamship Merchants Bureau. It is a small passenger ship with two floors. The upper floor has a lobby and single rooms. The ticket price is three yuan per person to live in the lobby, and fifteen yuan per person to live in a single room!

The so-called single room is not the kind of single room on a large ferry. It is a small compartment that is so narrow that it only accommodates a very small bathroom and a small wooden bed, similar to the tatami cabinet in a Japanese house.

The lower level is where luggage and accompanying items are placed, as well as where the crew rests.

At 7:30 p.m., Hu Die was waiting at Shiliupu Pier wearing a new cheongsam, a suitcase containing clothes and toiletries, and a small handbag.

At a quarter past seven, Ye Luoshan arrived late.

He was wearing a Chinese tunic suit, a big felt hat, and glasses, which vaguely covered his face. In addition to his suitcase, he was actually dragging a large locked wooden box.

Ye Luo greeted Hu Die and took her to the ticket office.

At this time, you don’t need to verify your identity when buying ferry tickets or train tickets, but when you take the train, you need to check your accompanying items to avoid problems——

This policy was also implemented recently, and the cause was naturally the assassination of Marshal Zhang.

Ye Luo neither brought an entourage nor showed his identity. He actually bought a ticket like an ordinary passenger, which surprised Hu Die.

"Where are we going?" The conductor didn't even look up.

"SZ City." In 1928, SZ City was specially approved to be established. Before the end of Manchu rule, Suzhou Prefecture was banned and renamed Wu County. This year it was renamed SZ City.

"Several people?"

"Two of us, my wife and I, have luggage. We want a single room."

Ye Luo answered fluently.

When he said he wanted to stay in a single room, the conductor looked up at him.

After all, a single room on the upper floor costs fifteen yuan for shipping, which is almost a month's salary of an ordinary worker, and most people can't afford it.

Seeing that they were a young couple, the husband looked like an intellectual, and the wife looked like a noble lady, the conductor suddenly realized that it was most likely the kind of drama where a rich daughter and a poor intellectual elope. She smiled, stamped the stamp, tore up the ticket and handed it over. To Ye Luo: "Put your things down on the lower floor."

"I got it, thank you." Ye Luo nodded, took the ticket with a smile, and picked up Hu Die again, "Let's go, Die'er, it's time for us to get on the boat."

"Okay, Brother Erluo." Hu Die's cheeks turned red and she bowed her head shyly. He took him onto the ship. She didn't know what Ye Luo was doing and why she pretended to be a young couple with her, but she was smart enough to know how to behave well. To cooperate, she showed off her professional skills and took his arm, acting like a rich girl.

During the Republic of China, the concept of love was open and free. Coupled with the influence of the literary movement, literary movement, vernacular movement, and women's liberation, Shanghai was the largest city in the Far East and had a high degree of westernization. Similar incidents of young couples eloping were repeatedly prohibited.

Xu Zhimo and Lu Xiaoman are in a similar situation.

The same is true for the male and female protagonists of "Blood and Tears of Yellow Flowers", Huang Huiru and Lu Genrong.

After getting on the ship, the two watched the workers move the cargo and luggage to the lower level, and then blew the wind on the deck.

As the ship was approaching, we saw a large number of gangsters from the Qing Gang coming to the pier with great momentum. They seemed to have conflicts with the people from the pier gang.

Ye Luo looked there with interest.

Hu Die looked at his profile and was curious about what was in the locked wooden box, but she asked without any low emotional intelligence. Seeing the gangsters searching around, she vaguely felt that this time the second young master asked her to go to Suzhou Prison, it was not just a matter of It’s so easy to look at Lu Genrong.

At the ticket office, the conductor's aunt lowered her head and was frightened by a loud bang. She looked up dissatisfied and saw a gangster from the Youth Gang, and quickly licked her smile: "Master, what's going on?"

"Have you seen any strange people on the boat?" the gangster asked sternly.

"strange?"

"For example, sneaky young people, or young couples who seem to have problems at first sight." The gangster received the order from the boss, who in turn received the order from the boss, Mr. Zhang Wanlin, asking them to come to various docks. Search people at train stations.

The person being searched was no one else, but Lu Xiaojia, who was suspected of fleeing Shanghai!

Since Lu Yongxiang fled to Tianjin, his women, property, and children are still in Shanghai. Being an apartment owner means that his military career and former factions are not counted. No one will continue to liquidate him for this kind of thing. .

But the fact that the Nationalist Government and Jinling Fang didn't bother him didn't mean that Yongxing Company didn't.

Huo Tianhong was ridiculed by Lu Xiaojia at the beginning, and he always held a grudge. When Lu's house was raided, the Qing Gang was among the first batch. Lu Yongxiang's favorite concubine is still being brutally raped under his crotch.

The culprit, Lu Xiaojia, had been huddled in various consulates in the concession since that day, and Huo Tianhong could not touch him.

Come August, the Second Realm Wuzhong Plenary Session to be held in Jinling on August 8 will officially announce the entry of a period of political tutelage. The National Government will send educated and qualified officials to various places to take over the handover of power and rule on their behalf.

A group of new political figures poured into Shanghai, and many of them had a sworn relationship with Huo Tianhong of Yongxing Company. With this help, he naturally wanted to move Lu Xiaojia.

Nai Ho went to the British Consulate General and asked, only to find out that this guy had just run away!

But as long as he didn't leave Shanghai Beach, Huo Tianhong would dig deep to find him!

This is what happened.

The ticket seller's face was full of confusion. She immediately thought that these vicious gangsters were looking for the young couple who were suspected of eloping!

Could it be that intellectuals abducted the concubine of a Green Gang boss?

"No, there are no strange guests today." She shook her head quickly.

The gangster just went to find someone as a matter of routine, said a few words and then left.

Seeing that the pier was getting farther and farther away and the river breeze was blowing, Hu Die arranged her hair with her hands and held Ye Luo's hand a little tighter.

"Cold?" Ye Luo looked down at her.

Hu Die shook his head and nodded slightly.

Then his shoulders were suddenly wrapped around her, and he pulled her into his arms.

Smelling Ye Luo's good smell and the man's unique breath, her body suddenly became numb.

"I met the Huang family masters a few days ago. They didn't regret Miss Huang's death at all. Instead, they were worried about offending the paint king Bei Runsheng. They asked me to intercede with them when I went to Suzhou. Guess how much they gave me. ?”

Ye Luo said nothing.

When he said this, Hu Die realized that he was talking about Huang Huiru's elopement case.

In October 1927, Huang Huiru was introduced to the son of Bei Lusheng, the cousin of Bei Runsheng, the Suzhou pigment king, and the two parties agreed to make an engagement on November 16.

Her father, Huang Jingzhi, was originally from Huzhou and worked as an official in Peiping. He worked as a well-paid telephone station director for several years and earned a considerable fortune. After resigning, Mr. Huang moved his family south to Shanghai.

In order to curry favor with Bei Runsheng, Huang Jingzhi had countless connections. Unexpectedly, Bei Runsheng's son was cuckolded by a servant before he even met his fiancée!

Huang Huiru and the two secretly tasted the forbidden fruit and did not use contraception!

How can a pregnant Miss Huang go on a blind date?

The marriage failed, and she eloped with Lu Genrong to Suzhou with some gold goods.

In fact, Lu Genrong is a scumbag. When he was fired by the Huang family because of this incident, he was about to return to his hometown in Suzhou. Then he had the following conversation with Ms. Huang.

Lu Genrong went to Huang's house to pick up his luggage. Huang Huiru asked Lu: "Why did you leave my house?"

Lu Genrong said helplessly: "The young master has stopped my business. What if I don't leave?"

Huang Huiru cried and grabbed Lu Genrong's sleeve: "If you leave, what will happen to the child in my belly? What will I do? If we leave, let's run away together and go to the countryside. I can't stay at home."

Lu Genrong was anxious: "I have a wife in the countryside, how do you go there? Besides, I don't have money to support a rich lady like you!"

Huang Huiru said: "I don't have much else to do. You can ask a car to wait for me at the intersection at 6 o'clock tomorrow morning. I will arrange other things."

The two hid in their hometown in Suzhou. Ms. Huang brought gold goods and 420 yuan, but she was not treated fairly and had to endure the glare of Lu Genrong's original wife Pan.

Later, the two people living together were reported to the police by their neighbor, a carpenter. The reason was that when the carpenter saw them, he felt that there was a huge gap in wealth between the two, as if someone had abducted the daughter of a rich family!

Subsequently, the Suzhou Court held a public hearing on this bizarre case. Ms. Huang was so pregnant that she admitted all the charges. She was a truly infatuated woman.

Ms. Huang also hired barrister Song Minxun to defend her, and after some planning, everything was settled.

However, during the trial, Ms. Huang was still acquitted. Lu Genrong was found guilty of "abduction with intent to commit adultery" and was sentenced to 4 years in prison and deprived of public rights for 3 years!

Behind this, the Bei family is causing trouble.

How could Bei Lusheng's son Bei Yilin be allowed to be hoodwinked by a servant, and then they would be harassed later? The Huang family had no choice but to intercede.

After Miss Huang's mother, Huang Zhu, rushed to Suzhou, she tried her best to persuade Huiru, but to no avail. Shortly after giving birth, Huang Huiru suddenly suffered from vomiting, diarrhea and high fever.

Huang Zhu took the opportunity to ask the hospital to take her daughter out of the hospital and return to Shanghai for treatment. Despite the doctor's dissuasion, Huang Zhu took Huiru out of the hospital at nightfall on March 19.

Accompanied by two female nurses, they carried lanterns and boarded the boat from the Daru Lane river port at the back door of the hospital. They swung it to the outside of Changmen, where they were towed by a small steamer and drove towards Shanghai via Yangcheng Lake.

It is said that the small steamer encountered strong winds and waves on the lake. The boat bumped violently and everyone on board vomited.

Huang Huiru's body was already weak, and due to such torture, she was vomiting yellow water and was dying. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Huang Huiru died of mental and physical exhaustion in the boat. The Huang Mansion transported Huang Huiru's body back to Shanghai for burial overnight.

Even if she died, the Huang family was still afraid of the Bei family.

Ye Luo came to ask for filming this story. The second young master was so well-known that the Huang family dared not to comply. After agreeing, they took out money and hoped that when he went to Suzhou Prison, he would go to the Bei family to intercede.

The whole story was sorted out. Thinking that he was going to play Huang Huiru, Hu Die became worried and uneasy: "Second Young Master, how much money did the Huang family give you?"

"Call me sir, or husband." Ye Luo stretched out his hand and pinched her soft face, "Ten thousand oceans, they probably squeezed them out like toothpaste. Since that time, the Huang family has been in decline, and everything has been hindered. The Bei family has not I came forward once, but there are many ways to make the Huang family sleepless and uneasy."

"Hey, Miss Huang trusted a bad person. This story is a tragedy, and love is not beautiful." Hu Die recalled the plot of "Blood and Tears of Yellow Flowers" and said lightly, "But Mr. Mr. Huang, under your writing, Miss Huang is like a tragedy." Heroes, with their risk-taking concept of love, must have been very popular and sought after by women in the Republic of China."

"And this love is also a rare love that breaks the shackles of the feudal class. It is not perfect, but it is of great significance." Ye Luo was very satisfied to see her understanding so deeply.

No wonder she has become the number one actress in the film industry. Her acting skills, appearance, and script understanding skills are all top-notch.

"Then how is the second young master planning to go to Bei's house to intercede?" Hu Die knew that he looked down on the ten thousand yuan, but if he accepted it, it meant that he would do it.

Ye Luo was stunned: "What love? Oh, you are talking about the Huang family."

"."

"At that time, you go to Bei's house first, and I'll go to the prison to meet Lu Genrong." Ye Luo had nothing to do with the Huang family in his mind. He had more important things to do.

"Yes, sir." Hu Die nodded slightly and suddenly realized that this trip to Suzhou was indeed a cover. She didn't even need to go to Suzhou Prison, which showed that Lu Genrong was just a shield.

But no matter what Ye Luo's purpose is, he just does it.

"The wind is getting strong." Ye Luo looked at the river, put his arms around her waist, and said with a faint smile, "Madam, how about we go back to the room to rest?"

"Yeah~" Hu Die responded in a low voice.

She was too beautiful, and she didn't have a felt hat to cover her appearance like Ye Luo. She had just stood on the deck for a while, and many people looked over. Ye Luo obviously didn't want to be recognized, so she huddled in Ye Luo's arms. , walking towards the upper single room.