According to Kang Shude's recollection, the time he went to Tianjin was in the winter of 1935.
He had just learned to run business in Mr. Song's shop for more than a year.
The reason was that in early December of that year, Mr. Song received a telegram from an official friend in Tianjin.
The official said in the letter that his boss suddenly wanted to marry his concubine, and the date was set for late that month.
Because time is tight, I would like to entrust Mr. Song to find some free items and send them to Tianjin at a price of 800 oceans.
Mr. Song quickly followed the other party's request and selected a pair of red coral and gemstone bonsais from the library.
However, due to the numerous affairs in the capital, he was unable to go there in person, so he appointed Kang Shude to deliver the goods on his behalf and collect the money.
Many years later, Kang Shude figured it out.
The foreign missionary assigned to him on that trip was actually not because Mr. Song did not have time, nor because there were no other more suitable candidates in the store.
It's because Mr. Song wanted to conduct a comprehensive test on his ability and character.
Probably because he wanted to see if he could handle this matter with his own abilities.
Can we face this amount of money, which is already a huge sum of money for ordinary people, and not be greedy?
It should be said that Kang Shude, who was only seventeen years old at the time, accepted this task simply by force.
Naturally, I was beating my heart.
He knew that Jinmen in those days was a place with many different directions and was very chaotic.
Because I didn’t want to make any mistakes, I failed to complete the task assigned by Mr. Song himself.
He turned to two friends, Li Li and Xiao Zhong, to accompany him.
These two sons of the foreman of the Majia Garden concierge were the people he trusted the most at that time and were the only people he could rely on for help.
Xiao Zhong is a big man and very loyal.
He was two years older than Kang Shude, and he seemed to be an older brother.
Even though he had already received a job as a patrol officer at that time, for the sake of Kang Shude, he even asked for leave from the police station and agreed without saying a word.
Li Li, who has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks and a pair of big fan-like ears, is a slippery man.
Although he has nothing serious to do, he has a lot of time, but he still wants to talk about conditions.
The boy said, "You can go. But you can't run errands for nothing and suffer the cold. You have to be a bodyguard to protect you. Brother, you have to treat, and it has to be expensive. Please invite me and Xiao Zhong to open a feast
.”
"I heard that in addition to Marijuana Flower and Goubuli, there is also a famous Western restaurant in Tianjin called Shilin. This restaurant is different. It is opened by Germans. The male and female waiters all speak foreign languages and the food is delicious.
It’s also foreign food.”
“When you arrive in Shilin, you also go to a foreign country, the United States, England, France, Germany, whichever country you want it to be.
It’s better than the Liuguo Hotel in Beijing. So my condition is that when we get to Tianjin, we have to go to Shilin to have a Western meal. How about it? Can you agree to it?"
However, Xiao Zhong was very dissatisfied after hearing this and stopped Kang Shude for him before he could speak.
"Hey, Li Li, what are you talking about? Are there conditions for helping friends? It costs a lot of money to eat Western food like this, which is far less affordable than rotten pork noodles. None of us are rich enough to eat haise.
.It’s enough for a well-off society to give you travel expenses and invite you to visit Tianjin. Don’t be dissatisfied. You are too pretentious..."
Li Li blushed, but argued with himself, "Hey, look at what you said. Why am I being hypocritical? There are bandits around the capital and Jinmen, 'flywheel eaters' (those who specialize in pickpocketing on trains)
There are so many thieves. Doing Xiaokang a favor is not just about running errands. You also have to follow him with fear and risk. Is it too much to open a carnivore?"
"Besides, if he doesn't have the money, I won't mention it. Doesn't this kid earn twenty yuan a month? That's nearly three times more than you earn eight yuan a month. I don't
For other requirements, I can get cheap food and accommodation when I go to Jinmen. Isn’t it okay if I just want to eat a foreign meal? At worst, when I make money later, I can treat him again and that’s it.”
"I'm also telling you, Xiao Zhong, don't be ungrateful. I'm doing this for your own good. This is a rare opportunity. Otherwise, just because of you being a 'stinky patrol', you will never have the chance to go to the United States in this life. If you go there,
Shilin can at least gain some experience, gain some bragging rights, and make people look at me differently."
Kang Shude was not a stingy person, and he felt that he should do this to be worthy of his two friends.
What's more, after listening to Li Li's introduction, he himself became a little interested in Shilin.
He boasted that he had saved fifty or sixty yuan, which was enough to cope with it, so he refused to let Xiao Zhong dissuade him and agreed.
Just like that, the matter was settled and it was ready to go.
The next day before dawn, the three brothers got up and went to Qianmen Railway Station to buy tickets for the first train.
In three hours, we arrived at Jinmen early in the morning.
Jinmen is a big wind outlet, and in winter, the cold is in the wind.
As soon as the three brothers got out of the car, they felt the northwest wind blowing loudly. The electric wires on the street were swaying in the wind, and the wind made people unable to stand.
Just because they were unfamiliar with the place, they lined up behind the crowd and walked slowly outside.
Almost all the foreign cars waiting at the train station were carrying passengers. It was difficult to find an empty car, not to mention that the three of them had to take at least two cars.
So there was nothing they could do. The three of them were all wearing fur hats, so they could only hold things in their arms, put their hands in the sleeves of their cotton robes, and walk on two legs.
However, the concession in Jinmen is much larger than that of Dongjiaomin Lane in Beijing.
There are many foreign-style buildings everywhere, and there are also foreign patrols, which makes the three of them stare at each other, and everything is new.
Li Li was very knowledgeable and knew that he had to finish his errands before going to eat.
So I didn’t rush him, I just followed him and helped him find the way.
But they didn't expect that when they finally found the place, they learned that the official had gone to the Yamen to handle official business early in the morning.
The concierge asked them to come back at noon to deliver the things, saying that the official would go home for dinner at noon.
This time, the three of them stopped scratching.
This is not unfair, it is still quite a long time before noon.
It's such a cold day, where are they waiting?
Li Li then had an idea and wanted to find Qi Shilin quickly and go to a foreign restaurant to enjoy it.
He asked the concierge and heard that it was not far away. He could walk less than a mile and turn a corner at the end of the street to see it.
Kang Shude thought that it was okay to do this, but he was worried that others would not take the initiative, and he would not do business at this point.
At this time, Xiao Zhong saw a stall selling breakfast on the side of the road and immediately couldn't walk.
He's a big guy, and he hasn't eaten anything all morning, so his stomach is already protesting.
So I went straight over, took out the copper coins, and said that I must first buy a set of sesame cakes and fried dough sticks, and then a bowl of soy milk to top it off.
Kang Shude couldn't get Xiao Zhong to pay for it, so he went over and pressed his hand, and bought three sets at the same time with his own money.
Unexpectedly, Li Lifei didn't want to eat. This guy wanted to keep his belly for foreign food.
Instead, he made fun of Xiao Zhong for being so stupid that his stomach was occupied by sesame cakes and fried dough sticks. This was equivalent to saving money for Kang Shude.
Xiao Zhong and Kang Shude were too lazy to argue with Li Li, a chicken thief.
As a result, Xiao Zhong had two tricks and Kang Shude had one, and they soon got into the trap.
After eating something, you will look different in the cold weather.
Xiao Zhong and Kang Shude's bodies are much warmer and they feel more energetic when walking.
Li Li, on the other hand, was still as cold as chaff. When he reached the end of the street and turned the corner, he no longer had much interest in admiring the Western view of the concession, so he just wanted to go into a restaurant to warm up.
However, I never expected that this would happen.
Supposedly, they had indeed arrived at the place pointed out by the concierge, but they couldn't find Qi Shilin.
They walked back and forth on this street several times, but they didn't find anything like a restaurant on this street.
There isn’t even a plaque in front of it!
I want to ask for directions. People wearing coats here look like they are eating Western food, but I don’t want to talk to them.
I reluctantly stopped one of them, but before they could express their intention, this person said "Ba Ge Ya Lu" and turned out to be an Oriental.
Li Li was so angry that he kept cursing the concierge for having a bad conscience and fooling them.
Later, they had no choice but to run to a leeward place to figure out what to do next.
But before the three of them could stand still, another foreign patrolman appeared.
The owner had a fierce look in his eyes and used his baton to knock on the wall to drive them away.
Let’s just say how embarrassing it is.
Kang Shude and Li Li were both shocked at the time.
Fortunately, Xiao Zhong is also a patrol officer, so he is not afraid of this.
He took a step forward and said, "Brother, stop knocking. We are looking for Shilin."
I don’t know if it was his calmness that played a role, or the words Shilin, which even foreign police officers who didn’t speak Chinese could understand.
Anyway, this guy calmed down his fierce look and stopped wielding his baton.
He looked them up and down for a while, then pointed to the other side of the road.
The three people's eyes moved along, and they discovered that across the road was a very western-style white building with large glass doors and large glass windows.
There were also two men in uniform standing guard at the door, standing upright in the strong wind, specifically responsible for opening the door for people coming in and out.
It was unbelievable that such a magnificent building was actually a restaurant. They had always thought that such a place was either a foreign mansion or a foreign bank.
Xiao Zhong was afraid that he might have made a mistake, so he pointed at the house to confirm with the foreign patrol officer.
"Keshilin?"
When they got the nod from the foreign patrol officer again, they boldly walked over.
But after passing by, they still didn't dare to get too close to the gate. In unison, the three of them looked up and looked for Shilin's signature cover.
I looked around, but still couldn't find the plaque.
Finally, Kang Shude discovered several foreign letters "KIESSLING & BADER" on the circular lintel of the white building.
But how many of them know foreign characters?
At this time, even Kang Shude only took tutoring in Chinese and mathematics.
The three of them stared up at each other for a long time with their heads together, just like dogs, they saw that the stars were all bright.
If they were really sure that they were not in the wrong place, it was because they came closer and discovered that there were indeed foreigners eating Western food in the glass windows of Qishin.
There were many people standing outside, watching as if watching a foreign movie.
But at this time, Xiao Zhong backed down again. He was a little frightened by the magnificence in the restaurant.
"Can we enter this place? Otherwise, don't go there. I've never eaten pork. Let's just watch the pigs run outside..."
Of course Li Li won't do it.
"How can that be done? Watching and eating are two different things. Is it the same as watching a patrolman on the street or putting on the clothes yourself? It's a completely different state of mind. What's more, if you two eat, I
Are you still hungry? I said, I didn’t even call for a foreign car today, and the fare was all saved for Xiaokang. It was hard to find the place, but you didn’t let me in when you got to the door! Are you really worthy of me? "
Kang Shude firmly supported Li Li this time.
In addition to not wanting to disappoint his friends, he also had another reason, which was that the foreign policeman across the road was still staring at them.
If he didn't go in, he was afraid that the foreign police would become suspicious again, and that if they came after him, they would cause unwarranted trouble.
Therefore, Xiao Zhong had no choice but to muster up the courage to follow Li Li and Kang Shude to the gate.
When they entered, they looked back again.
Sure enough, the foreign patrolman turned around and walked away, playing with his baton.
And the people watching in front of the window all looked at them with envy.
Before they actually entered, they discovered that Shilin was indeed a magical place.
This gate here seems to be the dividing line between good people and bad people, mediocrity and nobility.