"I... I'm just a rice shop owner. This matter has nothing to do with me, right, Mr. Mu?"
When Yu Shutong exerted force on his right hand, Chen Baoxiang suffered severe pain in his lower abdomen and was speechless.
"Mr. Yu, what do you mean? I'll take you to Boss Chen's place to drink tea and talk about dramas. What do you want to do?"
Mr. Mu was also a little panicked, but Xianqian Street was in the center of the city. If Yu Shutong shot and killed someone, he would definitely not be able to escape.
"I was the one who killed the people last night. My target was the gold transport team from the east. Do you know the anti-Japanese murder team? I am one of them. Don't worry, I will stay here for a few days and wait until I get the gold.
Just leave, I won’t cause you any trouble.”
Chen Baoxiang felt that his head was big and the rice shop was small. Although there was a backyard, he placed Yu Shutong directly there. If the Japanese overturned it, everyone would be ruined.
"Mr. Mu, let your friend stay in a hotel. I'll pay for it. If something happens here, it will affect the whole family... Have mercy on my whole family. It's not easy for five people to survive in troubled times...
…”
Chen Baoxiang begged for mercy, but a sneer appeared on Yu Shutong's lips: "Stop talking nonsense, if you don't want your family to be wiped out, just listen to my arrangements honestly."
Liu Yue'e came out of the backyard and changed a pot of tea for the three of them.
Yu Shutong nodded his thanks and put his right hand under the table. The gun never left Chen Baoxiang's vitals.
"Sister-in-law, when will the three children come back?"
Liu Yue'e didn't know Yu Shutong's origins, so she thought it was just a polite inquiry between friends, just like in the past.
"The eldest and second child are at the goods counter. The third child has gone to school and will be back as soon as it gets dark."
Yu Shutong laughed: "Okay, okay, your family of five is living a good life, harmonious, peaceful, and happy. Okay, okay..."
A layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on Chen Baoxiang's back. From the laughter of the book boy, he could hear the smell of a life-stimulating charm.
After Liu Yue'e left, Chen Baoxiang nodded: "Mr. Yu, you are a big shot from Peiping, and you must keep your word. You stay here first, and then leave after finishing your work. Don't drag us down."
"That's natural."
When Yu Shutong put away his gun, Chen Baoxiang breathed a sigh of relief, his legs became weak and he kept trembling.
"It's still early, I'll go out for a walk, and you two can chat slowly."
Yu Shutong opened the door curtain, exposed his head, and looked around.
He looked like an alert mountain leopard.
Once you discover the enemy's situation, you must attack sharply.
After confirming that everything was normal outside, Yu Shutong slowly went out.
"Mr. Mu, are you harming me?"
Unable to suppress his inner anger, Chen Baoxiang grabbed Mr. Mu's collar.
He didn't care what Yu Shutong's background was. The other party suddenly came to the door and threatened with a gun. In an instant, the five members of the Chen family fell into dire straits.
All of this was brought about by Mr. Mu.
"Boss Chen, I am wronged! This is recommended by my fan friend in Peiping. He said that he is a kindred spirit. If it is convenient for me to receive him and find him a place to stay, I will thank you very much."
Chen Baoxiang couldn't tell whether Mr. Mu's words were true or false, so he could only let Mr. Mu go temporarily.
"Boss Chen, we are in troubled times anyway, so we can turn a blind eye and let Mr. Yu stay here for a few days. We can't care about the rest, right?"
At this point, we can only take it one step at a time, as Mr. Mu said.
The two of them sat in the rice shop until evening. Mr. Mu got tired and lay down on the table to rest.
Chen Baoxiang lowered his head and saw Mr. Mu's cotton shoes. There was no blood on the areas where he had wiped them.
The two sons passed the news and Chuanwu came back from the goods counter and went to the backyard to wash their faces and hands and wait for dinner.
Chen Baoxiang walked into the north room and Chuanwen, an honest and loyal person, quickly stood up.
Chuanwu, who had a vigorous face and nimble hands and feet, was talking to Liu Yue'e: "The three people were wiped on the neck and killed with one knife without using a second knife. The Japanese were so angry that they sealed off three streets, from the Grand View Garden to the train station.
, as long as there is blood on the body, all will be arrested. Several butchers selling meat have been arrested, and several restaurants have no meat for cooking today..."
The two brothers worked on the cargo platform of Jinan Railway Station to earn hard money.
Chen Baoxiang is worried about the boss, but not the second child.
"Okay Chuanwu, stop talking."
Chuan Wen was sensible. Seeing that Chen Baoxiang was unhappy, he stopped his brother.
"Dad, I have learned a set of home guns from Sha Lao Fist these past few days. I will practice with you after dinner!"
I always have excess energy when it comes to Chuan Wu, and I have loved practicing martial arts since I was a child.
Chen Baoxiang was afraid that his child would cause trouble, so he sent him to Sha Lao Fist's martial arts gym and asked the old boxer to keep him under control to prevent him from learning bad things.
"When you go out from now on, let alone Sha Lao Fist's disciple. Your kung fu was taught by his disciple. If you say something wrong, you will mess up your seniority and make people laugh."
"I understand, Dad, the homecoming gun is as famous as the Yue family's gun. They are both good skills for killing enemies in battle. It's a pity, it's a pity. Now, when we go into battle, we all use pistols and rifles. I can't use any of my skills. Dad, I
Want to join the army and fight——"
Chen Baoxiang waved his hand and Chuanwu shut up obediently.
After a while, my daughter Chen Xiuer came back and the family was preparing to eat.
Chen Xiuer went to a private school, and her husband's home was at the north end of Furong Street, next to the Confucian Temple.
Now, Chen Xiuer has finished studying the enlightenment chapter of "Three, Hundred, Thousand" and has just started studying "Zengguang Xianwen" and "Zhu Xi's Family Instructions".
When Chen Baoxiang went outside, Mr. Mu woke up and was ready to say goodbye.
"Baoxiang, don't worry about Mr. Yu, whether he wants to come or not. Alas, this man talks in a vague way, and he moves here and there. Just prepare a bunk in the woodshed, and he can sleep here if he wants.
, I fell down if I didn’t sleep... Burning incense attracted ghosts, it was really unlucky..."
Mr. Mu muttered and went out, and Chen Baoxiang saw him out.
The terrain of Jinan City is a basin, and the cold winds from the south to the north are blocked.
In winter, there is never a drop of water that turns into ice. As usual, there is a desolation, but there is a hint of warmth.
At the end of 1937, Chief Han abandoned the city and left, and the Japanese occupied Jinan City without any bloodshed.
Over the past few years, the people of Jinan have gradually become accustomed to the plaster flags at the city gate, and to the increasing number of Japanese businessmen wearing baggy kimonos and wearing wooden clogs on the streets.
No matter where you go, you can hear Japanese men's whining howls and Japanese women's thrush-like laughter.
Last time, Chen Baoxiang went to Mingxin Pool to take a bath. He saw that a row of pools on the right side of the door had been separated out. The room numbers had been changed to Japanese. All the Japanese who came in and out were fat-headed and big-eared Japanese.
Thinking of these, he felt like a lump in his throat.
"Is this still Jinan? Is this still Jinan where firecrackers are set off during the Spring Festival, dragon lanterns are made during the Lantern Festival, rice dumplings are eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, and moon cakes are eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
He stood at the door, looking at Mr. Mu with his hands folded and his neck hunched as he walked away, feeling in a trance.
Back to the north room, the family had dinner.
"Dad, sir, I am in a good mood today. He told us a story about Yue Wumu, who had tattoos on his back and served his country with loyalty. It was so good that I almost cried."
Chen Xiuer is the eyeball of Chen Baoxiang and his wife. She has held it in her hands since she was a child for fear of falling off, and held it in her mouth for fear of melting. If she sheds a tear, the couple's hearts are like needles and knives pricking their hearts.
"Why are you still crying?"
Liu Yue'e quickly grabbed Chen Xiuer's hand and gently stroked her back.
"Yue Wumu is an indomitable hero. With a Yue family gun and a Yue family army, he defeated Jin Wushu and restored the Song Dynasty. One day, I, Chen Chuanwu, will go into battle to kill the enemy like Yue Wumu.
, drive the Japanese out of Jinan City and let these little Japanese go back to the East!"
Chuanwu threw the half-eaten corn pancake on the table, holding a pair of chopsticks and waving them in the air.
"Get out!"
Chen Baoxiang was so angry that Jinan was now dominated by the Japanese.
Chuanwu is used to talking nonsense. Once the news leaks out and someone reports him, the whole family will be doomed.
"Dad, my mother-in-law tattooed me and encouraged Yue Wumu to be determined since he was a child, to serve the country with loyalty and to kill enemies for the country. I agree with my second brother that we Jinan people cannot be bullied by others. My husband said that more than ten years ago, the Japanese killed
Mr. Cai Gongshi caused the May 3rd tragedy, but the government at the time was incompetent and so many people died, all in vain!"
Chen Baoxiang lowered his face and drank his porridge.
Liu Yue'e quickly smoothed things over: "Good girl, fighting and killing enemies is the business of high officials and has nothing to do with us ordinary people. Eat, eat, eat quickly. When passing on martial arts, don't talk, eat, eat..."
After dinner, Chen Baoxiang was thinking about the incident with Shutong and felt uncomfortable, so he went to the shop in front again.
He opened the drawer and took out three carving knives.
I spread a towel on the table and lined up three knives.
The knife has just been sharpened, and the blade is light green, enough to blow and break hair.
The first knife is used for chopping bones. The back of the knife is thick and can chop and shoot. No matter how hard the pig's hoof is, it will be separated from left to right with one stroke without any connection.
This bone-cutting knife cannot be used without the skills of a chef for more than three years.
The two knives are used for cutting meat. They are of moderate weight and are most commonly used.
The three knives are small knives, used for cutting meat and deboning. They are three inches long, light and thin, and the blades are specially sharpened. Each cut makes a hole in the half-inch thick pig skin.
"Tuk tuk tuk, tuk tuk tuk, tuk tuk, tuk tuk..."
Someone knocked on the side window, three long and two short, three short and two long.
Chen Baoxiang walked over and asked in a low voice: "Who?"
No one answered, but three light cat calls came: "Meow, meow, meow -"
Chen Baoxiang pulled out the latch, slowly opened the window, and then stepped aside.
A gray shadow leaped in silently, put one hand on the ground, made a tiger leap, turned over and landed on the ground.
Chen Baoxiang closed the window, and the thin, dark-faced man who jumped in smiled and held his fists in his hands: "Hello, Third Brother."
Chen Baoxiang adjusted the wick of the kerosene lamp and the light dimmed.
The two of them sat at the table and talked in low voices.
"Third brother, I came from Zhaoyuan in the east. I spent all day and night all the way. I was exhausted and exhausted. However, there is a huge fortune at the moment. I want to risk my life to give it to third brother. I wonder if third brother has the courage to come.
catch?"
Chen Baoxiang smiled and slowly wiped the knife.
This thin man's surname is Wu and his given name is Yixiao. He once served under Chief Han, and he was the commander of the Pistol Battalion.
Wu Yixiao was originally from the green forest and one of the top ten snitches in the northern sect. He accepted Commander Han's recruitment and joined the team just for money and women.
Before the Japanese entered Shanhaiguan, Wu Yixiao went east. It is said that he opened a gold mine in partnership with friends in Zhaoyuan County, and became a rich man making money every day.
The relationship between Chen Baoxiang and Wu Yixiao is very secretive. On the surface, one is a market cook and the other is a warlord guard. They are of different levels and cannot be compared with each other.
But, privately, they were close friends.
The window-knocking signal just now was a promise made in the past.
"Third brother, don't just laugh. Tell me, are you willing to do it?"
Wu Yixiao held Chen Baoxiang's hand and stared at him.
"Fourth brother, what kind of wealth is it? Which family does it belong to?"
Wu Yixiao laughed: "Third brother, you are the only one with a lot of problems. Big brother, second sister heard my summons and immediately agreed without even frowning. We have been brothers of life and death for many years, can I harm you?"
Chen Baoxiang ignored the teasing in the other party's words. In the past, Chief Zhang and Chief Han were in charge of the Jinan Mansion, and they would give them some face when meeting Green Forest people like them.
Now that the Japanese are in charge, there is no longer any dignity left.
No matter who it is, anyone who breaks Japanese rules will be doomed.