Back to the Republic of China to open a department store

At the end of the year, Luo Xiazhi received a thick document from Fan Dongli.

In addition to reporting the progress of the factory construction this year, the most important thing is that the person he sent to Japan to inquire about Luo Muze's news has returned.

Looking at the past events written in the materials, Luo Xiazhi realized that there were so many secrets he didn't know.

When the original version of "Ror Xiazhi" was still a middle school student, Luo Muze went to Japan to study after graduating from Tongji University.

In the first few years of studying in Japan, this second brother behaved fairly normally, and even joined several "Zhenhua Promotion Association" and Jiangsu and Zhejiang Associations, and actively participated in the cause of rejuvenating the motherland.

But everything changed completely in his junior year - he fell in love with a Japanese girl.

In the days of wandering in a foreign country, the second son, who knew he was not favored by his family, was comforted by the love from Yamato's woman, and even enthusiastically proposed to the girl, and the girl's family also agreed to her marrying in China.

But Luo Zhenhua would not agree.

Knowing that his son actually wanted to marry a foreign woman, and she was a Japanese woman, Luo Zhenhua immediately cut off Luo Muze's living expenses, and told him to return to China within a month, otherwise he would never come back again.

Then, it was not until five years after Luo Zhenhua passed away that Luo Muze set foot on his homeland.

After being cut off his living expenses, Luo Muze, who was always used to being extravagant, also lived a very difficult life.

During his spare time in college, he went to work as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Chinatown, and after being introduced by a classmate, he began to do some translation work for Japanese people.Because I am proficient in Chinese, Japanese, English and German, after the initial difficulties, life has gradually improved.

But misfortune always followed. The girl passed away because of illness, leaving only the resentful second brother alone in the world.

Then he changed, completely changed.

He stayed away from his Chinese classmates, mixed with the Japanese, and lived a life of debauchery.

"For so many years, He Lan has been funding your second brother?"

Looking at these shocking materials, Gu Hanlin frowned and asked.

"She has so much money? Looking at the expenses, it costs hundreds of dollars a month, and sometimes thousands of dollars. She has been secretly sending money to Japan?"

That's right, to their surprise, at Luo Muze's most difficult time, it was the Seventh Aunt who extended a helping hand to him in China.

"In the first year, it was He Lan who secretly sent money to my second brother. My elder brother felt sorry for my younger brother, and would send money to him in private. Later, when my father found out that the Japanese woman had died, he turned a blind eye to my brother's behavior. Close one eye. He can't just watch his son starve to death in Japan, can he?"

Rorschach sighed.

"After a few years of playing boy life, he met his current wife, the only daughter of the Dachun Trading Company. It took three or four years, and finally caught her last year. And my second brother himself got mixed up with her." In the 'Japanese upper-class circle', he has completely regarded himself as the son-in-law of the Japanese."

Putting down the information, Luo Xiazhi recalled, "No wonder in the past few years I asked my family for money every now and then. That is to say, my eldest brother will give so much when my father is gone. I didn't expect that he took so much money to chase after the only daughter of Dachun Trading Company. .”

"Has your second brother become a Japanese citizen?"

If you are really naturalized, you are Japanese.

"It's not mentioned above. But is there any difference between naturalization and non-naturalization? My second brother is now a 'Jing Ri'."

"what?"

Gu Hanlin was puzzled.

"Spiritually Japanese."

Rorschach explained angrily.

"Xia Zhi's words are always so interesting."

Gu Hanlin began to brag about his lover's rainbow fart, "Perhaps Xia Zhi should also adopt a pseudonym and write two articles, maybe it can also shock the literary world."

"Please forgive me...reading traditional Chinese characters has already killed me, and let me write articles..."

When Luo Xiazhi heard the words, he turned his head and muttered in a low voice.

----------------

It was too cold in the north in winter, and the construction of the soda plant had to be suspended again.However, according to Fan Dongli, the first phase of the factory will be completed in the summer of next year.

And the machines at Roche Trading Company have also been prepared, and after dismantling, they will be transported to the north by water and land.Optimistically, it can be put into production in the fall of next year.

During the whole year, Shimai Department Store has been carrying out a vigorous "domestic product campaign", and at the end of the year, it even launched a "Chinese New Year National Fashion Show".Because Chinese people have the habit of buying new clothes for their families at the end of the year, it has greatly boosted sales.

Today's Shimai and Moden no longer have the tense atmosphere of the past. Although they still fight in the arena from time to time, they are not so much competing with each other as they are doing some "gimmicks" together to promote the promotion on the road. tourist flow.

Both families know that the strongest enemy they are about to face is not each other, but the "Kamemaru Department Store" that has already seen a tall building.

Speaking of "Kamemaru Department Store", the Japanese may have heard their nickname "Bastard Department Store" in Shanghai.After learning the meaning of "bastard" in Chinese, the senior management of this department store made the decision to change the name of the department store - which further confirmed Lee Shau Kee's conjecture that this department store does not only do business with Japanese people , but decided to target ordinary guests from all over Shanghai, and even all of China!

The department store under construction now has a nice name - Sakura Department Store.

However, it may be because the citizens of Shanghai are not as obsessed with cherry blossoms as they are a hundred years later, and there is no place in Shanghai where they can appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms.Although the Japanese and official newspapers and periodicals called this department store with nine floors in the future "Sakura Department Store", persistent Shanghai citizens still stubbornly call it by its flower name.

"Tomorrow, let's go to the 'Bastard' to do a good job."

"Go to 'Turtle Bitch' to see what's new."

In the following ten years, foreigners who have just arrived in Shanghai, when they heard the local residents say this, they would always be at a loss, and then they would suddenly realize it through other people's explanations - and then narrate to the hometown people by phone or letter When I heard about it in Shanghai, I spread the reputation of this "bastard" to all parts of the country.

In the winter of the following year, one month before the opening of the "Bastard"...Sakura Department Store, a major event happened in Shimai Department Store, a major event that caused a sensation in Shanghai——Shimai Department Store caught fire!

The fire first started from the back kitchen of the Cantonese restaurant on the fifth floor. Afterwards, the fire brigade inspected it from time to time. They said that the kitchen staff had not completely extinguished the fire after get off work. There was a fire.

Fortunately, the entire department store was closed when the fire broke out, and no customers or employees were injured or injured.

The security guard in charge of the night shift found the restaurant on fire when he patrolled to the fifth floor that night.By then the flames had spread to the hall of the restaurant.When he turned back downstairs to call the concession fire brigade, there was an explosion coming from upstairs.

Although there was no gas pipeline at this time, and the entire staircase was not damaged, the fast-spreading flames quickly engulfed the buildings above the fifth floor, including the recently renovated roof garden and playground.

That day, Gu Hanlin was staying in Luo Xiazhi's "Summer Palace". The two of them received a call from their secretary, Yin Wen, and drove to Shimai Department Store. Across three or five roads, they could see the flames soaring into the sky. .

In this bleak winter night, Luo Xiazhi listened to the piercing roar of the fire engine, and looked at the skyrocketing flames of the Shimai department store not far away, as if he saw a hot torch, burning himself, shining Light up a cloudy sky.

The fire was burning so badly that nearby residents all came here to watch, and the road that had been blocked by fire trucks became almost impossible to move.

After getting out of the car on a street, Luo Xiazhi stumbled to the edge of the fire, looking up at the red sky.

"Don't lean forward! Don't lean forward any more!"

"The fire is dangerous, don't squeeze!"

Not only the fire brigade was dispatched, but the fire also alarmed the patrol room in the public concession. A large number of patrolmen and police came to the scene to maintain order, and dispersed the onlookers who were eager to watch the excitement and the reporters who seemed to smell the smell of rotten meat.

"When did the fire start? Where's the security guard? Where was the first security guard who discovered the fire?"

"Can I know now whether it was an accident or arson? Is it true that no one was injured?"

The reporters surrounded the fire brigade and kept asking questions, the captain pushed them away in anger, turned around and ran into the fire and continued to spray water.

"Xiao Xia, Lennon is here!"

Luo Yunze, who arrived one step earlier, saw Luo Xiazhi and Gu Hanlin, and walked over with big strides.

Luo Xiazhi's leather shoes stepped into the wet puddle sprayed by the water gun without realizing it, and he didn't even feel Luo Yunze holding his hand tightly.

"Xiao Xia, what's wrong with you? Look at big brother."

Seeing Luo Xiazhi's completely dull expression, Luo Yunze gently patted his cold cheek with the palm of his hand.

The strong pungent smell in the air entered Luo Xiazhi's nostrils. No matter how Luo Yunze patted him, he just kept his head up and didn't move, not even blinking his eyelids.

"Brother, get in the car and talk, it's not good to be seen by reporters."

Gu Hanlin saw from a distance that a reporter seemed to have recognized the two brothers of the Luo family, and whispered beside Luo Yunze.

Pulling Luo Xiazhi, the three of them got back into the car, and then ordered A Le to drive the car a little farther away.

The reporters who came in a hurry were in vain, and a few quick-witted ones simply hailed a car and were going to block people at the entrance of Luo Mansion.

"Summer solstice, summer solstice, can you hear me?"

"Xiao Xia, you can't be like this? Brother, I'm going to love you to death, talk to me!"

The two of them sandwiched Rorschach from left to right, constantly shaking his arms and patting his cheeks.

It's just that Luo Xiazhi has always maintained a dull expression, his big pupils have lost their former expression, and the orange flame seems to be branded in his mind.Now he can't see anything, can't hear anything.

It's been seven years, it's been seven years since he came to this world.

This seven-story department store is all his painstaking effort, just like his child.

He watched it grow from a foundation to what was once one of the trendiest buildings in all of Shanghai.

The day of the opening, the day of grabbing the lucky bag, the day of the fashion show... those laughters, those bustling crowds, seemed to be just yesterday.

What about now?

A gray snowflake slowly fell from the black sky, was blown into the carriage by the wind, and happened to land in Luo Xiazhi's hands.

He lowered his head, and by the light of the fire, he looked carefully and carefully.

This is not snowflakes, it should be the ashes of burnt paper documents, or the ashes of the packaging paper of the goods... At this moment, it is paralyzed in his palm, like the corpse of a dying white butterfly.

Holding the "snowflake" tightly, Luo Xiazhi turned his head and stared at the orange night sky bewilderedly.

"He can't do this, I want to give him an injection. Ale, do you know where the small building I bought is?"

Gu Hanlin put his arm around Luo Xiazhi, let his head rest on his shoulder, and told Ale to drive the car to the small villa he bought.

"It is estimated that there are reporters at the gates of Luo Mansion and Xiaoxia's villa at this time. Go to my place first, I will do acupuncture, and I will prick him in a while. Anyway, let him wake up first."

Gu Hanlin judged calmly.

"Okay, everything is up to you."

Luo Yunze knew about their relationship, so he was not surprised that they both appeared on the fire scene at the same time.Now he doesn't expect anything extravagantly, he only hopes that Xiao Xia can return to normal.

It's better to just say a word or cry, it's better than being completely lost like this now.

The car drove to the group of small bungalows on Fukaisen Road not far from the "Summer Palace".The people who can live here are either rich or noble. In the middle of the night, you can only see behind the sycamore branches, the small door lights on the porch of every house, and you can't hear the slightest noise.

The four got out of the car, and Gu Hanlin helped Luo Xiazhi quickly walk into the room.

Because Gu Hanlin doesn't like to use servants, and because he spends so little time living here, there isn't even a mouthful of hot water in this house, and Ale needs to cook it fresh.

Fortunately, my aunt came to clean it twice a week, so the house was still tidy, and the winter bedding was changed. Gu Hanlin and Luo Yunze carried him to the bedroom on the second floor.

Luo Yunze fumbled to study the heating system of this house, while Gu Hanlin opened his dusty medicine box, and took out a cloth bag from it, which contained a whole set of golden needles.

"let's start……"

A Le fetched hot water, wiped Luo Xiazhi's cold face and hands, and Gu Hanlin walked to the bed holding the needle.

Holding the thin needle, Gu Hanlin inserted the needle into Luo Xiazhi's head and behind the ears, watching his reaction while piercing.

Finally, after a few injections, the dull eyeballs rolled around, and a stream of tears welled up in their sockets.It's just that he still didn't speak, and clenched his hands into fists, tightly gripping the piece of ashes tightly.

"There is a response, great!"

Sitting on the other side of the bed, looking at the tears in Luo Xiazhi's eyes, Luo Yunze looked at Gu Hanlin excitedly.

Although the heating has just started working, Gu Hanlin is already sweating profusely.

How long has it been since he held this short golden needle, and he probably doesn't even remember it.When I was young, I was like my elder brother, reciting soup songs with my father every day, reading acupuncture point maps, and even going up to help when the medical clinic was busy.

Later, I went to medical school to study western medicine, and began to use a scalpel.

Before graduation, when he was an intern in the hospital, he saw an ignorant husband who would rather leave his pregnant wife in the hospital than sign a Caesarean section agreement.Later, one dead body and two lives, mother and child both died, the husband kept saying that the foreigner's hospital had harmed them, and asked the doctor to pay for his wife's life.

After being greatly impacted, Gu Hanlin suddenly felt that studying medicine could not save the Chinese people, and that the national spirit needs to be saved more than a healthy body.So he gave up his family education and devoted himself to education instead. Because of this, he had a big quarrel with his family, so he ran away from home and went to school in Peking.

In the past so many years, he never regretted his decision, and felt that the path he chose was correct.But since he came to Luo Xiazhi's side, this was the second time he doubted whether it was right for him to abandon medicine and pursue literature.

After a while, Gu Hanlin pulled out the golden needles one by one, and the two surrounded Luo Xiazhi, watching his reaction.

Suddenly, Luo Xiazhi jumped up from the bed, covered his mouth with a painful expression on his face.

"The restroom is here!"

Seeing this, Gu Hanlin hurriedly dragged him to the bathroom outside the room.After a while, I heard the sound of vomiting and flushing from inside.

After a few minutes, Gu Hanlin helped Luo Xiazhi back to the bedroom with his footsteps swaying. Luo Xiazhi finally stopped being as stiff as before, and asked Luo Yunze for hot water.

"What happened to him? Why did he vomit?"

Luo Yunze handed over the teacup, patted him on the back lightly, and asked distressedly.

"Excessive panic caused stomach cramps, and it's fine to spit it out."

Gu Hanlin supported Luo Xiazhi and lay back on the bed again. The latter's complexion was like gold paper, and he closed his eyes and did not speak for a long time.Seeing this, the two could only sit anxiously.

"The butterfly... flew away."

After about half an hour, Luo Xiazhi finally opened his eyes and whispered to himself.

"Xia Zhi, what did you say?"

Gu Hanlin hurriedly lowered his head and put his ear to his lips.

"I said... want to go home."

"Okay, go home."

Luo Yunze immediately took his hat and stood up, ready to go downstairs and tell Ale to use the car.

"Hanlin will go back with me."

Luo Xiazhi held Gu Hanlin's hand tightly, and looked at Luo Yunze with an unexpected expression.

"You are..."

"He has to come with me. I'm going to take him back to Mamma."

Gu Hanlin was also horrified in his heart. He never imagined that Luo Xiazhi would choose to show his relationship with Bai Fenghuang today after such a major incident.

"Brother, in my future life, I will encounter many, many things like today."

Luo Xiazhi lifted his and Gu Hanlin's clasped right hands, and said in a firm and sincere tone, "I hope that every time, this person is standing by my side!"

"Summer Solstice..."

Gu Hanlin looked down at him.

In the dark night, Luo Xiazhi's eyes seemed to have a layer of silver light.

"I can't let him stand in the crowd with me, at least, I want him to stand upright in my home!"

The author has something to say: Xiao Xia: I have it!I'm taking him back to my mom!

小可爱们，猜猜谁放的火？感谢在2020-10-2217:25:51~2020-10-2317:45:19期间为我投出霸王票或灌溉营养液的小天使哦~

Thanks to the little angel of irrigation nutrient solution: 2 bottles of Han Wenqing;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!