mountain chase

Winter 1919.

On Tianxiu Street in Beiping, the two military police teams along the street completely surrounded the place.The people on the street and the small stalls selling things were all squeezed into the alley next to it.

"Oh, do you know what's going on?"

"I don't know... Is there some important person who wants to pass here?"

"Hey! You guys! Keep your mouths shut, and when I hear the sound, carefully sew your mouths shut! Do you hear me! You bastards!" The gendarme next to him stared fiercely. The people behind shouted curses.

Dog fighting people's potential things!

People huddled together in the alley looked at each other, but no one spoke out.

It was gradually snowing in the sky. Although it was cold, the gendarmes on both sides of the street stood up straight, and the people squeezed into the alleys on both sides only made eye contact with each other, wrapping themselves tightly in cotton coats , the entire Tianxiu Street suddenly looked like an empty street - only the sound of everyone's breathing could be heard in the silence.

At this time, Wang Goudan was lying under a table by the side of the road - above it was steamed big white steamed buns.Originally, he wanted to sneak away while there were too many people, but the gendarmerie suddenly appeared and trapped him and his little follower, Huzi, under this small table.

Grinning.Wang Goudan suddenly found out that the man who sold steamed buns was pushed to stand at the entrance of the alley across the street.Anyway, everyone is looking ahead now, anyway, there is a gendarmerie blocking the big guy from getting through - secretly stretched out a hand, the king dog under the big guy's cannibalistic eyes, stretched out his hand All the steamed buns were smeared one by one by hand, and then two came back along the way.

Just as he was covering the steamed buns in his arms, Wang Goudan suddenly heard the sound of someone running. The sound was getting closer and closer, and he looked up——and saw another group of gendarmerie trot over, standing in a row in front of the original gendarmerie.Wang Goudan tilted his head, and from the gap between the legs of those people, he could vaguely see a black carpi iron box slowly driving over.

Although Wang Goudan is a beggar, he is still a beggar in a big place like Beiping, and he can be said to have seen the market.This black khaki iron box—should it be the car or car that people have heard of before?

Blinking and blinking, Wang Goudan simply put his face on the ground, squinted his eyes and looked ahead.

What made him notice again was not the airy iron box, but the person sitting in the iron box—that person should be a teenager.

Fair skin, although the facial features can't be seen clearly, but there is a pointed and slightly raised chin.He was wearing the kind of white shirt and blue plaid suit that only appeared in shop pictorials, and a silver fox fur coat. The long soft fox fur was docile and humble around his body.He was holding a delicate small heater in his hand, and Wang Goudan noticed with sharp eyes that the heater was definitely made of gold - there were several shiny red gemstones on it!

The iron box slowly opened, and even though he was sitting in such a soft chair, the young man's back was still straight. This was not for others to see, but for himself—it was such a state.Those black eyes did not lift up to look at anyone around them.It seems that everything here has nothing to do with him.

——He is like an arrogant monarch, ignoring and scorning all living beings under his feet.

The iron box drove away, and the members of the gendarmerie standing on both sides also automatically and spontaneously changed into two teams of trotters following behind, a long and mighty pair.

Wang Goudan was stunned under the table, and the steamed bun in his hand fell to the ground.

"Brother Goudan..." Huzi next to him stared at the steamed buns on the ground, swallowing, "You, what are you looking at?"

"Look at your sister-in-law..."

Here, Wang Goudan was deeply stimulated by his half-pointed and upturned chins.

On the other side, Fourth Master Qiao didn't respond at all.He couldn't even remember which street he passed and which alley he took.But naturally—this kind of thing is completely unnecessary to remember.

Who is Fourth Master Qiao?

The only male in this generation of the Qiao family in Peking was the son of Mr. Qiao's first wife.This status is not comparable to that of ordinary people.

To talk about Fourth Master Qiao, we have to mention the Qiao family.

This family, even in a place like Beiping where there are many big officials and rich families, can be regarded as a facade.

In the last second generation of the Qing Dynasty, the grandfather of the Qiao family was still a second-rank university scholar in the court, and married Aixinjueluo, the concubine's daughter of the Ninth Prince of the dynasty. Although he was a concubine, he was honored by the royal family after all.

When it came to his father, Qiao Hengzhou, he was also a fourth-rank official in the Qing Dynasty. Although his official position was small, he followed a good master Li Hongzhang and started to sell military supplies.

The Qiao family was also in business. Although scholars, farmers, businessmen, and merchants were the last, but in the late Qing Dynasty, they didn't care too much about this aspect.As a result, it has been nearly half a hundred years since it was passed down to Qiao Hengzhou's generation.

Qiao Hengzhou married five wives in his life, adding up the total, and three or four concubines later, but he only gave birth to three daughters, named respectively——Qiao Pandi, Qiao Zhaodi, and Qiao Laidi.

This shows Qiao Hengzhou's eagerness to seek a son.

It's just that his life is really thin, and he has been married for more than ten years, but he has not given birth to a boy.

1903 years.

That day, it was a snowy day in the twelfth lunar month. The wife of the Qiao family, Mrs. Chen, had nothing to do, so she took a sedan chair to a Guanyin Temple in the city to worship. When she came back, because the snowy road was slippery, one of the bearers He didn't pay attention, and suddenly dropped Chen Shi on his shoulder to the ground.

Everyone rushed to send Mrs. Chen back to the mansion, but the doctor they invited announced the good news to Mrs. Chen, saying that she was two months pregnant and she should take care of it.

At this moment, Mrs. Chen was very happy - since she married into Qiao's house, she hadn't had a single movement in her stomach for more than ten years.

It's just that Qiao Hengzhou was not so happy, after hearing from the doctor that Mrs. Chen is happy, what should be given should be rewarded, and everything that was left behind was prepared and sent to the wife's room.He locked himself in the house and was bored all night.

On the second day, the maid in the study sent Mrs. Chen a note, saying that it was the master's name for the new baby.Chen took it happily, looked up and down, but cried "Wow".

What should you do?Master Qiao wrote three large characters squarely on the note - Qiao Xuemei.

The girl's name.

——He already decided that the Chen family would not be able to have a son.Simply appoint and give this child a better name.

eight months later.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the Chen family gave birth to a serious boy.

Master Qiao also didn't expect that he had passed his thirties for a long time, and unexpectedly, he would have a son when he was old - he was still an authentic son.

And just such a son!

On that day, Shi Ende, the head of the Qiao family, set up a floating mat on the street for ten days!

This established that Qiao Xuemei was born with a golden spoon in her mouth.

Although he was called by such a feminine name as 'Qiao Xuemei', when he was born, no one in the Qiao family or even Beiping dared to look at him sideways.

Who is Qiao Xuemei?

That is the orthodox successor of the Qiao family. His mother, the Chen family, is also a well-known son of the royal family in Beiping.Wealthy and well-off, with strong family wealth.

1912. In January, Mr. Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office in Nanjing, declaring the formal establishment of the Republic of China.

In February, Emperor Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty issued an edict to abdicate.

In March, Yuan Shikai succeeded Sun Yat-sen as the interim president of the Republic of China.

Although the occurrence of this series of major events had a huge impact on China at that time, it did not cause much change to the Qiao family in Peiping.

Qiao Hengzhou Mr. Qiao has been in the military supply business with his master Li Hongzhang since he was young. At this year, he has a history of more than ten years, and he has a unique vision. In his early years, he made friends with a group of people and sent people to Japan Join the League together.He also secretly transported and supplied weapons to Sun, and kept in good touch with a group of aggressive patriots.

In 1919, under the guidance of Marxist ideology, the "May [-]th Patriotic Youth Movement" broke out in major universities across the country.

This year, Qiao Xuemei was 15 years old.

It's just that the Qiao family didn't call this son-in-law 'Qiao Xuemei' - Mr. Qiao was afraid of calling his own child feminine, so he uniformly called him 'Qiao Siye'.

He himself jokingly called him "Little Four".

Even so, no one in the house dared to regard him as the "fourth master"—even though Qiao's fourth son was only a teenager at that time.

It was also the same year that Fourth Master Qiao took the initiative to tell Mr. Qiao that because of the continuous development of the current situation and political ideas, he was determined to go to the American Empire to learn knowledge.Although Qiao's family was extremely reluctant, Mr. Qiao reluctantly agreed with Mr. Qiao's idea in the long run.

This time, it will be ten years.

The car drove slowly towards Beiping Ferry House.

From a distance, I saw the old man of the Qiao family wearing a black satin cheongsam, leading a group of wives and aunts, Qiao Pandi, Qiao Zhaodi, Qiao Laidi, and many seven aunts and eight aunts, brothers and brothers of distant cousins. Ladies and gentlemen, a large group of people stood at the gate of Beiping Ferry House.

The car came to a solid stop.Before anyone came down, Mr. Qiao rushed up, hotter than seeing his superior father.

"Little Sier..." Shouted tremblingly.Grandpa Qiao looked at the pink and jade-carved baby in front of him, and he was extremely reluctant in his heart. He really wished he could go home immediately with his arms around his sweetheart.

It's just a matter of Xiao Si'er's decision. If you look at the old man with those cold black and white eyes, Master Qiao's heart is not his own, and his head is not his own--what does Xiao Si'er say? that's what!If Xiao Sier wants to do something, he must complete the task!Even if Xiao Sier wanted the stars and the moon, he, Mr. Qiao, had to find someone to rush to work overnight to make a [-]-meter ladder and climb up it himself!

So, is it just a study abroad?

Master Qiao burst into tears, sobbing, "Little Si, you have to remember to miss Dad, do you hear me?"

Frowning, the last thing Fourth Master Qiao couldn't see was that his father didn't dare to hold him and cry whenever and under any circumstances. Naturally, he agreed repeatedly, and pushed people away hurriedly.

Mr. Qiao, who was pushed away, was extremely aggrieved, but he didn't dare to say anything.The time has come, no matter how reluctant you are, you have to be willing.So——sent off by a group of people with tears in their eyes, Fourth Master Qiao set foot on the ship to the American Empire.