As the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly, but blessings never come in pairs. With their source of income gone, the couple's precious son fell ill. In order to cure his son's illness, Li Bin took his son to see doctors everywhere for a month, spending all his family's little savings.
It was over, but the son's illness showed no improvement. Seeing that his son was getting weaker day by day, but there was no money to see a doctor anymore. And even if he went to see a doctor again, there was not much hope of a cure. So, Li Bin and his wife fell into an instant.
In the biggest dilemma of this life.
Li Bin took a few puffs of cigarette, as if he had made up his mind, put out the cigarette holder, stood up and walked out. His wife asked in a sob, "Dad, where are you going?"
"I'm going to ask Guan Wang for help. He has many connections and may know some foreign doctors. Anyway, we have no choice but to try our luck." After Li Bin finished speaking, he strode towards the city.
The Small North Gate of the ancient city of Taiyuan, also known as the Gongji Gate, has a history of more than 600 years. It was trampled by the iron hoofs of the Tatar cavalry, occupied by Li Zicheng's peasant army, bombed by the Western artillery of the Eight Banners Army, and once rang out the Revolution of 1911.
The gunshots of the Taiyuan Uprising, and during the Anti-Japanese War, it became the last line of defense for the Shanxi-Sui Army to defend Taiyuan. It has gone through many vicissitudes but still stands proudly, silently guarding the historical city of Taiyuan.
A straight road leading from the city gate to the city is called Xiaobeimen Street. Li Bin turned along Xiaobeimen Street and turned into an alley, and came to the entrance of a medium-sized house...
At this time, there was a middle-aged man standing in the yard of the house, in his forties, tall and thin. His name was Wang Wenzhao, and he was the steward of the gun and ammunition branch of Taiyuan Arsenal. The so-called steward actually means the person responsible for managing production.
Deputy director.
At this time, Wang Wenzhao also had a gloomy look on his face. He was not worried because of his difficult life. He had worked as a manager in an arsenal for many years and had quite a lot of savings. A few months without income would not immediately affect his life. What's more, he still had a lot of money.
There is a rich relative who is the owner of Fuyuan Trading Company in Lishi County, Shanxi Province. He is his brother-in-law.
Although his sister had passed away many years ago, his brother-in-law was very affectionate and did not renew their relationship. The two families usually kept close contact, and he often went to the branch of Fuyuan Company in Taiyuan to help take care of him. He had already thought about it. If the arsenal collapsed like this,
Then go and do it at your brother-in-law's place. My brother-in-law is a dream come true. I've invited him so many times before.
The thing that Wang Wenzhao is worried about now is related to his brother-in-law. News came from Fuyuan Store in Taiyuan half a month ago that his brother-in-law fell ill. Wang Wenzhao knew that since his sister's only son, his nephew Zhou Wen, disappeared a year and a half ago,
My brother-in-law's health is getting worse day by day. But when he falls ill, the problem becomes bigger. The Fuyuan Company has such a huge fortune, and without his brother-in-law as the anchor to control the sea, and the young master's family is missing again, what kind of chaos will it be like?
At that time, Wang Wenzhao was busy with the aftermath of the shutdown of the factory and could not get away. In desperation, he sent his eldest son Wang Chenghao, who was studying at Shanxi National Normal School, to take leave to visit Lishi County. As a result, this man disappeared as soon as he left.
, no more news came. Even the shops here in Taiyuan didn't get any news. Wang Wenzhao is planning to set off to visit Lishi in person in the next few days.
When Wang Wenzhao thought of his brother-in-law, he naturally thought of his nephew Zhou Wen. Zhou Wen had been close to him since he was a child, and he doted on his nephew. If there were delicious food and fun things, he would be given priority to him, even his two sons.
They all tasted it.
Just a year and a half ago, the nephew who had promised to stay at home for a few days disappeared. His wife cooked a table of meals that Zhou Wen usually liked, and the family waited until dark without seeing anyone. Wang Wenzhao ran away
As soon as I went to the junior high school and asked about it, I knew something was wrong.
I know very well what kind of temperament my nephew has. He has been well-behaved and sensible since he was a child. It is impossible for him to have a day off in the morning and not go home until dark. He immediately launched various investigations to find out. Finally, he found out that he was with one of his friends named Xu Dacheng.
My friend, I left the New South Gate early in the morning, saying I was going to watch the military drill.
In the following days, after hearing the news, my brother-in-law Zhou Jinghai and the Xu family jointly mobilized countless human and financial resources to search, and even paid for the help of local gangs. Finally, it was determined that Ding had been kidnapped and taken away. The specific location where he was caught was determined.
It is difficult to be sure. It is possible in Anhui and Henan provinces. Looking for two people in the vast land of the Central Plains is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. This matter can only be discussed in the long term.
Hey! My poor nephew, my sister left such a son. I can only pray to God to bless him and turn his misfortune into good fortune.
Just when Wang Wenzhao sighed, there was a knock on the door outside the hospital. Wang Wenzhao opened the door and saw that it was a technical backbone under his previous supervision. The social hierarchy at that time was strict, and the factory managers would not interact with these low-level workers.
Is there any private communication? He looked at the worker named Li Bin in surprise. Before he asked, Li Bin knelt down with a thud and said with a choked voice: "Please show mercy to the king and save my poor child.
"
Wang Wenzhao was a peaceful person. Although he was usually stern towards these workers, he did not feel any discrimination in his heart. Upon seeing this, he quickly pulled Li Bin up and said, "Li Bin, we are old acquaintances. Don't kneel down at all times. Your child
What's wrong? Don't worry, come on, sit down and talk slowly."
After Li Bin got up, he didn't dare to sit down, so he stood up and told Wang Wenzhao the situation. After speaking, he looked at Wang Wenzhao expectantly.
Wang Wenzhao frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "I don't know many foreigners. The one I know best is Hobert, the German consultant of the arsenal. But now that the arsenal is closed, I still need to find out where they are."
He thought for a while and then said: "Well, I'll go to the foreign area in the afternoon to ask around. The Hobert people are quite good. If I find him, he will help as long as it's not too difficult. You go back first and come back tomorrow to hear the news.
At this point, there is no need to rush. Don’t worry, it’s about the child’s life, and I will do my best.”
Seeing Li Bin walk out with a lot of gratitude, Wang Wenbin's wife Zhang came out and complained: "Look at you, your own affairs are still in a mess, and you promised to help others."
Wang Wenzhao sighed softly and said: "Human life is at stake, so we must help. It is not easy for everyone."
…
In the afternoon, Wang Wenzhao went out wearing a thick gown, holding an umbrella and a top hat, and walked towards Donghua Gate.
During this period, there were still relatively many foreigners in Taiyuan. Several foreign banks had branches in Taiyuan, as well as some foreign trading companies and missionary schools. They were basically concentrated in the area from Donghuamen to Gulou Street, so this area
Also known as the foreigner area.
Wang Wenzhao had been here several times before, so he asked acquaintances nearby and finally found the residence of the German consultant Hobert, but he was not there. According to his landlord, he went to Dabeimen to pick up his friend.
.
Wang Wenzhao felt a little anxious. This child's illness would not wait for anyone, so he called a rickshaw and rushed to the Dabei Gate to see if he could find anyone somewhere.