On the edge of the Japanese Concession, after waiting for nearly two hours, Tao Canhua also walked out of the small building next to the opium den with a piano bag on his back and an erhu in his arms.
After the young man got into the car, Wei Ran put out his cigarette, started the car and left.
"Then the Japs asked you something?" Wei Ran waited until the small building behind him was completely blocked by the buildings along the way, and then asked with a smile.
"asked"
Tao Canhua replied at a loss, "I answered a question and it gave me a piece of ocean. Counting the wages for playing the piano today, it gave me a total of 26 yuan."
"This salary is not low," Wei Ran joked with a smile.
"Just like Jasmine and you expected."
Tao Canhua wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "He asked everyone in the study apartment. He asked where the lady had been, and he also asked about your origins."
"How did you answer?" Wei Ran's casual tone made Tao Canhua relax a little.
"Same as you taught me at the dinner table yesterday."
Tao Canhua grinned, "I said you came back from studying in Germany. You show off your experience studying in Germany from time to time. You look down on us and think we are uneducated. You also say a few words from time to time for everyone to listen to.
I don’t understand German.”
"If it asks similar questions tomorrow, remember to tell me that I'm on my way back today."
As he spoke, Wei Ran slowed down the car slightly, pointed outside and said, "Look, there's an ice cream parlor over there, do you see it?"
"I saw it." Tao Canhua nodded.
"If it asks tomorrow, just tell me that when I was passing by here, I stopped the car and went through your bag, and took four yuan from your pocket to buy soda."
As he spoke, Wei Ran stepped on the brakes, opened the door and got into the back compartment and continued, "You also want to say that you only made seven yuan by lying to me, and the rest was secretly hidden in Guqin's Dragon's Room before going out.
It’s in the pool.”
As he said that, Wei Ran took out a pile of silver coins from Tao Canhua's pocket, and counted four coins from it. At the same time, he whispered, "I'll pay you back when I get back. Let's make a show."
Before he finished speaking, Wei Ran had already opened the car door and closed the rear compartment with some force. He then weighed the few silver coins in his hand with a proud look on his face, spat in disdain, and then walked in.
I went to that ice cream parlor.
This so-called ice-drinking room was just a cold drink popsicle stand in later generations, but in this era, the quality of these things was still somewhat higher.
He was extra generous and bold and used a silver dollar to buy a few popsicles and bottles of soda. Weiran also bought a pack of Camel cigarettes. Then he took the change and the purchased items and left the ice room and got into the car.
Walk away.
When he was far away, he took out another five silver dollars from his pocket and handed them to Tao Canhua in the back row together with a popsicle. At the same time, he said jokingly, "You can't talk to that Japanese guy about this."
Hearing this, Tao Canhua grinned after taking the things, and then asked in confusion, "But why did you do such a thing to destroy your reputation?"
"If I appear to be greedy for money, the devil will try to bribe me and seek information from me to verify the authenticity of the questions you answered. As long as our answers are consistent, he will trust you more and you will be safer.
"
Wei Ran took a bite of the popsicle and explained while chewing it, "Of course, by the way, I can also make some money from that devil."
Upon hearing this, Tao Canhua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He finally felt that he was "not fighting alone." But then, he asked again, "Why does that Japanese want to ask us about these things?"
"It must be bad intentions," Wei Ran replied perfunctorily. He didn't want to hide it from the other party, he just didn't want to put too much psychological pressure on him.
Seeing that Wei Ran didn't want to talk, Tao Canhua touched the heavy pile of silver coins in his pocket and asked rather uneasily, "Little...does aunt know about this?"
"Do you want her to know?" Wei Ran asked casually.
"I don't want to hide it from my... aunt," Tao Canhua replied, "You can't be ungrateful."
"Don't worry," Wei Ran comforted with a smile, "She must know, after all, we are protecting her."
"Yes!" Tao Canhua breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded vigorously, and he seemed a little more relaxed.
After some small talk, after asking the Japs questions about Tao Canhua and his answers, Wei Ran took the initiative to change the topic and helped the other party to transfer his nervousness, "Where are you and Jasmine from?"
"Lu'an Mansion"
When Tao Canhua said this, he took the initiative to add, "People from Jin Province can be regarded as fellow countrymen of Yan Laoxi."
Lu'an...
Wei Ran muttered secretly, but he remembered that the Guqin Youquan bed he got later had "Lu'an Qinhua Hua" written behind it. From this point of view, Tao Canhua, his late father, and the Qinhua Nong
The bad thing is that it is related to the township party.
"Where are you from?" Tao Canhua asked subconsciously.
"Outside the customs" Wei Ran Hu Zou said, using this topic to chat with Tao Can from all over the country.
When they returned to the love-letter apartment, Tao Canhua didn't even have time to take a breath before Jasmine pulled him up to the second floor and started interrogating him. As for Wei Ran, he gave everyone a piece of sweet bitter that would dye his tongue into various colors.
Popsicles in different colors and a bottle of still cold soda.
Miss Meixiang is still not here, and life in the small building seems a little more comfortable. However, the tense atmosphere of the impending war has diluted the comfort of "the boss is not here" a lot.
As the evening approached, just as Yang's mother was about to prepare dinner, Xiao Su's mother came over in a rickshaw, first going around the small building, and then going upstairs and downstairs.
Finally, he shouted angrily, "This money-losing guy is really heartless. He ran out to play at this time! Wei Ran! Wei Ran is here!"
"Here it is!" Wei Ran opened the door and responded.
"Get the car out and follow me out." Xiao Su's mother ordered angrily.
"Can't you just call a rickshaw wherever you want to go?" Jasmine whispered, "Don't you like taking cars?"
"You ugly girl, no one will think you are mute if you don't speak!"
Little Su's mother gave Jasmine a vicious look, twisted the waist of the bucket and walked out while saying, "Why are you still hanging around like a fool? Are you going to drive?"
"The car doesn't have much gas. I'm afraid I can't drive back if I drive past it."
Wei Ran said with an embarrassed look, "Miss is not here, and we don't have money to refuel the car. I haven't even been paid this month's wages. Today, it was only Jasmine, Uncle Mute, and Mother Yang who sent Canhua to play the piano for Mr. Ueda.
I scraped together 50 cents, plus a dollar from Canhua to buy a barrel of oil, so I didn't embarrass the lady."
"Hey--!"
Xiao Su's mother glared at Wei Ran, but there was a trace of satisfaction hidden on her ferocious fat face.
Before Wei Ran could continue to quibble, she waved her hand impatiently, "It sounds like I can't afford to refuel. Let's go! You'll give me a good show later!"
Hearing this, Wei Ran looked at each other, Jasmine and Cao Mute, who were suppressing laughter, and quickly stood up and said, "You can wait for a while while you have a pack of cigarettes, while Uncle Mute and I will clean the car."
"Hurry up!" Xiao Su's mother said, having already sat down on the sofa.
Without giving any hint, Cao Muba walked into the garage with Wei Ran. Jasmine and Yang Ma also quickly brought over a plate of fruit and a pot of herbal tea.
In the garage, Wei Ran and Cao Yuba cooperated with each other to pull out two tin barrels of fuel from the car's fuel tank. They waited until the fuel gauge almost reached zero, then grinned at each other.
After tightening the fuel tank cap, Wei Ran took the car key from Cao Duba's hand, started the car and drove out of the garage.
When Cao Mute helped open the iron gate of the courtyard, Little Su's mother walked out carrying a bag, twisting her fat body, opened the door of the rear compartment and sat in.
When the car started running, Xiao Su's mother said with a smile, "It's a good performance."
"Is there anyone watching us?" Wei Ran paused and added, "I mean in the small building?"
"No, that damn girl's book is completely intact."
Xiao Su's mother lit a cigarette and said in a puff of smoke, "You have to sing the part that needs to be sung. This way you have to explain, and I have to explain."
"What's the next scene?" Wei Ran also lit a cigarette and asked.
"Wait a while and listen to the opera at the Taihua House where I don't care. Today's song is Farewell My Concubine." Xiao Su's mother replied in a calm tone. There was no meanness or contempt in her words. Instead, there was a hint of harmony with her expression.
Somewhat contradictory and kind.
"I don't know the road," Wei Ran smiled and replied, "I don't even know where to go to refuel."
"Keep going straight, and when you are asked to turn right, turn right." Xiao Su's mother looked at Wei Ran suspiciously and asked, "Where did you come from, a handsome young man like you?"
"Auntie still doesn't know the origin of your nephew?" Wei Ran responded with a smile.
"You better think clearly"
Xiao Su's mother reminded her very bluntly, "I'll listen to a play at Taihua House later. Maybe someone will be curious about your origins and ask questions."
"This question can't be asked in vain, right?" Wei Ran responded equally straightforwardly, "Canhua can get an ocean for answering a question. How much do you think I can get for answering a question?"
"It's 20 oceans less?" Xiao Su's mother suggested with a smile.
"I am a cultural person who went to Germany to see the world."
Wei Ran stretched out his hand and waved it back and forth, "One question is worth a hundred dollars. As long as Dayang doesn't use paper towels, I won't even take a look at him if there's a missing seed."
"Your boy is better at making money than that white-eyed wolf who loses money!" Xiao Su's mother said with a smile, "My eldest nephew, how about I introduce you to a few rich, young and widowed ladies with good figures? Then you and I
It's just as beautiful and fragrant, just let me take two knives to pay for your hard work."
"forget it"
Wei Ran joked self-deprecatingly, "I'm just a silver-headed gun. I can't afford to serve those rich ladies, but in the future I can introduce more jobs like this, which cost a hundred dollars per problem."
Hearing this, Xiao Su's mother rolled her eyes, but the expression on her face became more and more satisfied.
Under the careful guidance of Xiao Su's mother, Wei Ran drove the car to the door of a foreign company, and she filled up the car with gas. At the same time, she allowed her to curse and scold Wei Ran for stealing the car.
He smoked the oil and sold it in exchange for cigarettes.
After finishing the play, Wei Ran, under the guidance of the other party, drove the car into San Guan'er, where he had been once before, and finally stopped at the entrance of a theater called Taihua House.
"Just wait for me at the door," Xiao Su's mother whispered before opening the door, "Don't run around, lest the enemy can't find you."
"That's not possible," Wei Ran said with a smile, "it's a hundred oceans!"
Hearing this, Xiao Su's mother smiled, took her small bag, pushed open the car door, twisted her plump body and walked into the gate of Taihua Building proudly.
On Wei Ran's side, as soon as he walked into Taihua Building, he immediately opened the door and locked the car, holding a cigarette with an antler holder in his mouth, and strolled around the lively street.
Stopping along the way, he bought some roasted goods such as peanuts and melon seeds, as well as half a pound of bacon and a sausage. Wei Ran went around to the snack stall he had been to with Jasmine and saw that it was still in business.
I politely bought five pancake skins and asked Uncle Meng to help cut all the bacon and sausages and put them in the pancakes.
Carrying the food and drink in a floral cloth bag he just bought, he slowly returned to the entrance of Taihua Building. Far away, he saw a man wearing a newsboy cap, suspenders, trousers and a white shirt near his car.
The man was looking around, feeling for something.
Ignoring the other party, Wei Ran found another ice cream parlor and bought a bottle of cold soda. Then he walked back to the car, opened the door and got in.
Before he could put the things in his hands on the passenger seat, the man wearing overalls and trousers came over and asked kindly, "Friend, can you borrow a fire? I don't have a fire with me when I smoke."
"
"there"
Wei Ran raised his finger and pointed in the direction, "Isn't there a cigarette seller there? They must have matches for sale. Even if you don't buy them, you won't refuse if you ask them to use them."
"I..." The man in overalls grinned, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Wei Ran didn't give the other party time to react, he closed the car door with a bang, and then slowly rolled up the window.
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute, brother, wait a minute." The man in overalls pressed his hand on the rising car window as he spoke.
Seeing this, Wei Ran immediately reached out to his lower back with vigilance, pulled out the small PPK pistol and pressed down the hammer to stop the opponent, "What's wrong? The robbery is on my head? I'm dead with one shot.
Do you believe it?!"
"No, no, brother, don't get me wrong!"
The man in overalls immediately let go of his hand and raised it, smiling and saying, "I'm not a bad person, I really am not, I..."
"What are you doing? Get away." As Wei Ran spoke, he had already used the car door to push the other person back a few steps. When he got out of the car, he also hid his hand holding the gun behind the half-rolled car window.
He confidently said loudly, "Where did your special code come from, Old Tan'er? Do you know whose territory this is? How dare you rob me at the entrance of Taihua Building!"
The voice didn't matter, not only did the people passing by notice the excitement, but even the two tall and thick doormen at the entrance of Taihua Building looked over, and then they rolled up their arms and sleeves and each carried one from who knows where.
The baton came over.
"Misunderstanding! What a huge misunderstanding!"
The overalls quickly explained, "Reporter! I am a reporter! A reporter from Fengyue Pictorial! My little body is not as strong as a wheel, so how can I dare to rob Daoer!"
He glanced nonchalantly at the two doormen who had already walked to the front of the car with sticks in their hands. After Wei Ran put away his gun, he picked up the Shaobing with meat on the dashboard and took a bite. He cursed and asked, "
Then why did you stick your hand into my car window? Are you trying to grab my sesame cakes or my bacon?"
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did the people around them laugh, but even the two doormen who were about to beat him up followed suit. On the second floor opposite the Taihua Building, Mr. Ueda, who had changed into a long gown, also
He secretly cursed an idiot.
"Sir, this master, you are really joking. I really don't mean any harm."
As the overalls were spoken, he carefully approached Wei Ran and said, "I am really a reporter, I just want to ask a few questions."
"What are you asking about the special code? Get out of here!" Wei Ran waved his hand angrily, "If the special code comes up again, I'll slap you!"
"Yes! I'm out, I'm out!"
The overalls saw that they could no longer continue the conversation, so they had no choice but to leave the circle of people that had started to get lively.
"I'm sorry to trouble you two brothers to keep things under control."
Wei Ran turned his head and greeted the two doormen politely, then bent down and took out a bag of fried peanuts from the car and handed it over, "Come on, come on, take it and eat it, you're welcome."
When the two doormen saw this, they quickly put their batons on their belts and each grabbed a handful of peanuts from the paper bag Wei Ran was holding.
After some small talk, the two doormen were dismissed and went back to stand guard. Wei Ran also got into the car again and ate the sesame pancakes that served as dinner with everything in between.
About half an hour passed, and when Wei Ran was filling his stomach and lighting up an after-dinner cigarette, the overalls came over again.
"What the hell..."
"This master, this master!"
The suspenders interrupted Wei Ran's scolding in an extraordinarily polite manner, stretched out his hand and handed over a silver dollar, and said with a smile, "I really didn't kidnap Daoer, I recognized this as Miss Meixiang's car, so I thought
Ask a few questions.”
As he spoke, the overalls handed over another ID, "Look, I am really a reporter, a reporter from Fengyue Pictorial. Our newspaper office is among these three people. If you don't believe it, can I take you to our newspaper office?"
"Okay," Wei Ran said unexpectedly, "Which street is your newspaper office on? I'll go there right away."
"Hi! Hi! Why should I go to a newspaper if I just want to ask a few questions?"
The overalls panicked, and he quickly put away his so-called press pass and said, "I won't let you answer in vain. Who can't get along with Yuan Datou?"
"What do you want to ask?" Wei Ran asked, weighing the envelope of silver coins in his hand.
"I want to know, where has Miss Meixiang been recently? I see that Love Letters Apartment has not been accepting visitors recently, is it..."
"stop stop stop"
Wei Ran shook the silver dollar in his hand, "You ask so many questions for such a small amount of money, why are you sending a beggar away?"
With that said, Wei Ran threw the silver dollar in his hand directly to the other party and said in a show off, "My cousin gives me three hundred yuan a month, your special code is nothing. Where can I go to play?"
go."
"Hey hey hey!"
The overalls hurriedly took the piece thrown by Wei Ran and said through gritted teeth, "How about you make a price, and it will be whatever you say."
"One question costs 150 oceans"
Wei Ran pretended to be greedy and said, "The two questions you asked just now are worth three hundred yuan, even if you miss a penny."
"Three, three hundred?" The overalls eyes widened.
"How can you be a reporter if you don't have money?" Wei Ran changed his face as fast as a dog and waved his hand with a look of disgust, "Don't mess with me, you poor guy, or I'll kill you with one shot."
This unexpectedly high price obviously made the overalls lose their mind for a while. He glanced behind him almost subconsciously, then nodded and bowed goodbye to Wei Ran and blended into the crowd again.
"Three hundred oceans..." Wei Ran muttered to himself, wondering if the other party was willing to take out the money.
After waiting for less than ten minutes, the overalls came over again, looked around like a thief, and then took out a wad of French coins from his pocket, "Three hundred, three hundred is three hundred!"
"take it away"
Wei Ran waved his hand in disgust, "This is fucking butt paper. I don't even think it's big enough to wipe your butt. If you really want to ask, just bring real money and silver. If you don't have a special code, you can use burning paper to fool people."
"Yes! You are the uncle, I will change it right away." Wei Ran completely lost his temper because of the overalls, and he decisively turned around and left again.
This time, after waiting for less than five minutes, he ran back with a leather bag. Perhaps Qian Zhuang was emboldened, not only did he come back this time, but he also reached out and opened the passenger door.
Got in.
"Three Hundred Oceans"
The overalls shook the leather bag in his hand, "How about you answer one more question for me?"
"Get out of the car and get out." Wei Ran's face changed again.
"You"
The overalls quickly said, "This is not a one-time deal. If we don't guarantee everything, when will I come back to you?"
"Have you ever thought that if you got the news about your special code from me and published it in the newspaper, I might lose my job?" Wei Ran said with a mocking look, "If I lose my job, I will eat at your house and sleep at your house?
"
"Then I'll definitely help you keep these two questions a secret!"
Overalls gritted his teeth and said, "It's still the same question, where did Miss Meixiang go? Did she run away secretly because she saw that there was going to be a war?"
"Give me money first"
Wei Ran stretched out his hand toward the other person, then greedily pulled the small bag in the other person's hand, and took out one letter after another of silver coins from it.
While the overalls were waiting helplessly, Wei Ran opened each letter, licked his lips greedily, took out a few pieces from inside and blew hard, then put it to his ear and listened.
After spending ten minutes to verify the authenticity of these silver coins, Wei Ran put them all into the leather bag and replied, "You have to think carefully. If I answer, you will have no chance to regret it."
The money is going back."
"Can't regret it!" As the overalls spoke, he even took out a palm-sized notebook and a pencil from his pocket.
"My cousin and her friend went to Peking to watch a theater. I think they will be back in four or five days."
Wei Ran put his hand into his bag and pulled the silver coins and replied, "You can't run away. My cousin can speak Japanese. Whose business is this? What will happen even if the Japanese occupy Tianjin? Not yet.
Still doing business?”
"Who did she go to Peking with?" Overalls asked subconsciously, and then he saw Wei Ran stretching his hand in front of him.
"What are you looking at? Give me money!" Wei Ran urged impatiently, "A question costs a hundred and fifty dollars. How dare you ask for nothing?"
"I..." the overalls grinned, "you didn't answer the whole question, it's not a new question."
"Stop doing that, I only care about money."
Wei Ran said, but once again he took out his pistol and pointed it at the other person, "Now that the questions have been answered, you can either give me the money and continue asking, or you can get out of the car and get out."
"Then I want to see you next time, how can I contact you?" The overalls asked for free.
"Do you know the opium den at the entrance to the Japanese Concession?" Wei Ran asked, holding his purse on his stomach.
"I know, I definitely know."
"I've been going there at two o'clock every afternoon lately. Just look for my car then."
Wei Ran patted the bag and said, "One question is one hundred and fifty oceans, silver dollars, and gold bars. I don't choose, but there are two things you should remember."
"W-what two?" the overalls asked immediately.
"First of all, when there are people in my car, don't come up to me without knowing what's going on."
Wei Ran raised his second finger and said, "If your tabloid reveals the information you got from me or ruins my job, I will definitely kill you with one shot as soon as I see you."
"Don't worry, don't worry a hundred times!"
The overalls made the promise unconfidently, and then saw that Wei Ran had no intention of returning the bag to him. In the end, he could only accept his fate and push the car door open, nodding and bowing, and ran away.
He lowered his head and looked at the heavy leather bag in his arms. Although there was a look of pride and greed on Wei Ran's face, he was secretly on guard. Three hundred oceans was definitely not a small amount. The other party was so willing to pay for it. It was obviously
I want to catch a big fish.
Suppressing the worries in his heart, Wei Ran pretended to be wary and looked around. Then he even raised all the windows despite the heat, and placed the small pistol on the dashboard.
“What a greedy guy”
On the second floor opposite the Taihua Building, Mr. Ueda, who was wearing a long gown, after listening to the report of the overalls, put down the telescope he had been holding to peek at the satellite, and said something in Japanese with great satisfaction.
