Siheyuan: Pushing Huairu, the Prime Minister admits defeat

After hearing this, the boatman sighed and said, "Young man, the current is too fast, the river is covered with dark clouds, and the thunder and lightning are unpredictable. It is probably very difficult for my small boat to cross the river. It is better to give up and go back to the cabin to warm up some wine, then go back to the hotel to take a shower and go to bed."

Li Weijun smiled awkwardly, and regardless of the obstruction, he waved the oars vigorously and rowed with all his strength. In the flickering light of lightning, the barren yet vibrant land of Puxi seemed to be right in front of him.

Seeing this, the boatman frowned helplessly, threw down the oars, and went back to his cabin to hoist the sail onto the mast.

The wind was growing stronger, the water was turbulent, and in this world of wind and rain, the small triangular boat sail looked a little ridiculous.

The old boatman sang the scene where Gao Chong lifted the pulley in a humming voice, and his strong arms like iron seemed to be welded firmly to the oars.

He just waved it mechanically and formally, letting the wind and rain hit his hair, making his clothes and neck wet, but his eyes flashed with coldness and even more power.

Fighting against the sky, the joy is endless...

In the interval between dawn and dusk, Li Weijun suddenly felt the boat stabilize.

Looking up, the rain had stopped and the wind had died down, and the docks and messy buildings along the Pudong coast were faintly visible.

The summer rain came quickly, and during this time, not long after, a bright sun rose again.

"Hey! I thought it was just a big thunderstorm, but it turned out to be like a cat peeing. I gritted my teeth and it cleared up again."

While wrung out his clothes that had long been wet by the rain, the old boatman looked at the passers-by walking back and forth along the pier, paddled the boat with his feet, and slowly stopped in the shallow water.

Li Weijun, however, was calm and composed. He wiped the water marks on his face and looked at the hidden old boatman with interest.

"Old man, I didn't realize that Gao Chong could sing the part about the pulley word for word. It's really not easy."

"Practice makes perfect. Now my mind is clear, but it's hard to say what will happen in a few years. When I was young, I passed the imperial examination, but later the imperial examination was no longer popular. They started to do the Western school stuff. I couldn't understand vernacular Chinese, so I just studied eight-part essays all day. Later, I realized that being a bookworm was useless, so I just made a living by ferrying people."

The old boatman was very excited and put the sail into the hold. He washed his feet in the river water and asked in confusion: "Young man, what are you doing in Puxi today? There is nothing worth visiting. It is not like the Eight Great Hutongs in your capital. I heard there are many beauties and rouge. If you can't afford it, go to Pudong. There is a famous ten-mile ocean beach, dancing girls and opera houses, and there are many things to do."

Li Weijun shook his head and said, "Dancing girls and operas are so boring. It's better to take the old man's boat, warm up a cup or two of rice wine, and take a look at the customs and people of Shanghai."

Hearing this, the old boatman pursed his lips and looked at Li Weijun doubtfully: "Young man, my eyes are sharp. Twenty-something years old, young and strong, with vigorous skills, who wouldn't be interested in dancers, unless they are eunuchs in the palace. People should cherish the present, because when they are old and weak, they will not have the energy to be interested."

Li Weijun was not angry when his thoughts were exposed by the boatman. He smiled and said, "We just finished the work and are resting our troops. I am not idle, so I came to stroll around Puxi. There are indeed few people here. There is a lot of wasteland with too many weeds."

The old boatman rolled his eyes at this and said, "Of course not. The people of Shiliyangtan are in Pudong. The mansions where the masters and foreigners live are full of lights and wine. The Green Gang leader Huang Jinrong was very prosperous ten years ago and was known as the underground emperor of Shanghai. The land of Puxi is not flat and there is no money to be made. Only poor people live here. No one who is a high-ranking official would live in Pudong."

This statement is quite in line with the times. Pudong and Puxi in this era can be said to be worlds apart. One is full of high-rise buildings, and the mansions and concessions are lined with restaurants and shops.

The other group is poor families who barely make a living by catching fish in the river or rowing small boats to operate ferries.

Against this backdrop, who could have expected that just over a decade later, the impoverished and deserted Puxi would develop into the Pearl of the Orient, while Pudong, once bustling with tourists and bustling with lights and wine, would gradually decline and fall into decay.

"Old sir, I have a piece of good advice for you. While you have some spare money, find a way to buy a few plots of land in Puxi. Keep the deeds safe, and then you can just sit back and wait for the rest to enjoy the good life."

Li Weijun felt that he had a connection with the boatman, so he kindly hinted at him.

Although houses are not allowed to be bought and sold freely these days and the procedures are extremely strict, the management in Shanghai is much more relaxed.

While Puxi is now deserted, we should seize the time to enclose a piece of wasteland. It won't be long before Shanghai starts to build and develop infrastructure, and the huge rents brought by these lands will be overwhelming.

"Okay, I trust you on this matter. I'll go back tonight and discuss with my wife about buying a few plots of land in Puxi. It won't cost much anyway. Let's just be an old naughty boy."

To Li Weijun's surprise, the old boatman agreed readily and promptly.

It is said that he was able to be a scholar before. He was able to accept advice and was not stubborn. This is also a kind of ability.

After chatting with the old boatman for a while, Li Weijun took a small boat and went along the Huangpu River to investigate the general outline of the Pudong beach.

I found that there was indeed no prosperous atmosphere at all. The only place with the most people was the pier, and the rest were mostly some shabby wooden houses with people coming and going. I could see many people drying their fishing nets in front of the wooden houses.

There are no tall and eye-catching buildings. You have to know that there are so many churches, small Western-style buildings, and concessions in Pudong, just across the river.

No wonder most people at that time had to go to Pudong to make a living. It's a pity. Who could have expected that Pudong, which is now in its heyday, would completely become a place of old and dilapidated buildings in twenty or thirty years.

Therefore, Li Weijun firmly believes that a speck of dust in the era may be insignificant on the carriage of history, but in front of ordinary people, it is an insurmountable mountain.

Either you stand on the wind's vent, soar into the wind and enjoy the dividends, or you are blown away by the wind, fall to the ground and be smashed to pieces, covered with bruises.

Haven’t you seen that Huang Jinrong, the majestic underground emperor of Shanghai, who could call the wind and rain and cover the sky with one hand, eventually became a pitiful sanitation worker with a miserable old age?

Things like fate are really hard to predict.