Stage [Republic of China]

This errand of sending letters and copying accounts is better than our coolies. "The man looked at Shui Jiu with envy." I only regret that my parents didn't teach me how to read! "

"Hey, I don't know many words." Shui Jiu smiled.

When Shui Jiu went back that day, he didn't see Staff Officer Dong, and the hundreds of soldiers who had come off the same boat with him were gone.Shui Jiu felt surprised, confused, and turned around again, trying to find the group of people who came on the second ferry.As a result, as soon as they walked halfway, they bumped into the honest man who had struck up a conversation. The man also followed in the crowd, with a stern face, carrying a gun, and walked towards the hillside.

Shui Jiu didn't call out to that guy, but silently followed behind.No one found him even tens of meters away.After passing the hillside, the man went down with the others, and Shui Jiu lay motionless on the hillside. It was always clear from a high place to a low place. Soon, he found that the people of Staff Officer Dong and Staff Officer Yin were both on the hillside. down.The two staff officers murmured about something, and then Staff Officer Yin stood up.

Staff Officer Yin was short in stature, with two small black beards, and announced in a loud voice: "There is an order from above, we will camp here tonight."

Everyone responded with a bang.

Shui Jiu became more and more puzzled, thinking whether he should follow up and continue to mix in the team, when a thought suddenly occurred to him.The soldiers who had just crossed the river were called back to go to the south of the Yangtze River again to quell the chaos, while the young Staff Officer Dong was so exhausted that he seemed to have completely forgotten about him.The people brought by Staff Officer Yin didn't remember him... well, it was an excellent opportunity to escape.

Shui Jiu took a deep breath, closed her eyes forcefully, and quietly slid down the hillside.It wasn't until it was confirmed that everyone could no longer see him that he suddenly quickened his pace.

That night, the moonlight was extraordinarily bright.Shui Jiu hurried forward under the moonlight, he always thought in his heart that he still had to go to Jingxi Mansion to join the gang of Jiangnan Rebels, it would be best if he could find Uncle Wang or Shuan Zi.Thinking like this, he walked faster and faster, and walked most of the night without knowing it.By the time it was daylight, he had already walked out of the ferry and out of the col, and there was a flat official road in front of him.

Shui Jiu was so tired that he was standing on the side of the official road and was panting when suddenly a team of horses spread their hoofs and passed in front of him.He coughed repeatedly, and the people on the horse team never looked back. There were heavy cloth bags hanging on both sides of the horses, which looked like a team of merchants.

Shui Jiu wiped her face, wiped away the yellow sand particles splashed on her eyebrows, eyes, mouth and nose, her cheeks bulged slightly, and she spat forcefully on the ground.It's not that he harbors resentment, but that even his mouth is full of sand right now.This heavy spitting down probably alarmed the cavalry.The last man in the cavalry suddenly turned his head while riding on horseback, just in time Shui Jiu raised his face, and the two met face to face.Their eyes met, and the man on the horse covered his face with a sweat towel, only his eyes were exposed.

But it was a pair of extremely fierce eagle eyes.

Shui Jiu was taken aback for a moment, always feeling that these eyes seemed familiar.As soon as he opened his mouth, that person turned his head back and hurriedly caught up with the person in front.

Shui Jiu shook his head with a smile.Forget it, it's probably because of being obsessed with ghosts. At that moment just now, he actually felt that the person on the horse looked a bit like Xu Jishan.

31, 31

◎"How does that person live?"◎

Things got easier after that.Shui Jiu left the official road and walked all the way forward. After a while, he met a mule cart. He waved his hand, rushed to the handlebar of the mule cart, said a few good words, and then walked into the city.

When they arrived at the gate of Jingxi City, the guards were heavily guarded. Soldiers armed with guns checked the road and asked the guides for their names, places of birth and ages.

Because Shui Jiu was a deserter, he didn't dare to say that he was here to thresh wheat, so he said with a Jibei accent, "Jibei is here to visit relatives."

"Which relative to visit? Why is there no introduction?" The soldier's tone was very fierce.

"Officer, Jibei City was in such a mess at the time, there was really no way to open the way."

"I don't care about that!" The soldier glanced at Shui Jiu up and down, seeing that his face was dark and his appearance was not surprising, and the clothes he was wearing were also very shabby, which made him even more bored. "Go, go, go, step aside if you don't have one, don't enter!"

"Hey, sir, you are accommodating."

The soldier became even more impatient and stared strangely. "If you continue to entangle, I will arrest you and eat in prison."

Shui Jiu backed away in a hurry, her footsteps were hasty, and she almost fell.The soldier just turned his eyes away and didn't bother to pay attention to him.The crowd at the back quickly filled the vacant seat he had just exited.

Shui Jiu looked at the long queue, guessing that he would not be able to enter the city today, so he walked slowly outside the city gate.Thinking as he walked, he became a deserter, and when he came out, he was afraid that the clothes would cause trouble, so when he was riding a mule cart on the official road, he discussed with the handlebars and exchanged his military uniform with the handlebars.He begged a set of tattered clothes from the handlebars, his face and arms still covered with pot ashes.

In this way, no one would be able to track down his desertion, but they couldn't get the lead.What should I do?if……

The horse team seen on the official road earlier flashed through Shui Jiu's mind.If this can be mixed into the caravan, it will be easy to enter the city, but it's a pity!

When it was getting late, Shui Jiu spent the night at a farmhouse outside the city gate.Before leaving the next day, he left ten big coins. The owner of the household was kind-hearted, and pointed him out, saying, "These days, there is a shortage of rice in the city. to the city."

"Is this a good idea?" Shui Jiu pondered for a while, hesitatingly said, "It's just that I have no connections here, and I'm afraid people won't take me in as a buddy."

"Hey, which rice store around here doesn't have a buddy? Every day when a store opens, people queuing up to buy rice can't wait to fight. As long as you are willing to work hard and be smart, they will definitely do it."

"Then... trouble master, which is the largest rice shop in the vicinity, and how can I find it?"

"Here," the host stood on the threshold, waving to Shui Jiu in a hurry. "Quick! Come and see, this is his family's buddy, A Niu, who looks like he is about to enter the city."

"Brother A Niu!" The host hurriedly shouted with both hands on the horn.

Shui Jiu took advantage of the situation to probe, and looked outside, there was a man sitting on a mule cart coming, holding a cart full of goods.The carriage was tightly sealed on all sides, and there were two strong men beside the mule carriage, who looked like bodyguards and thugs.

The host greeted A Niu, the man in charge sitting on the handlebar of the car.Ah Niu glanced up and down when he saw an unfamiliar face from his host. "What's the matter?"

The host hurriedly pushed Shui Jiu forward, smiling slightly. "Didn't your rice shop still recruit people a while ago? Now, here is a man from a foreign country who can't find a job and wants to go to the city to make a living."

"From a foreign country?" A Niu raised his eyebrows and looked at Shui Jiu suspiciously. "Is this person clean? Don't hurt me!"

"Cough, cough," Shui Jiu coughed twice, looking weak, and took the initiative to say: "Hungry used to keep accounts in the pawn shop, and something happened in the north of Hebei, and I had nowhere to go. I wanted to go to the city to join my relatives." But firstly, this relative has not been contacted for more than ten years, so I don’t know if he is still in the city; secondly, there is no way to enter the gate of Jingxi City, and even if you are hungry, you can’t get in.”

What Shui Jiu said was seven points sincere, and three points pitiful.

"But it was a bit late," A Newton said after a pause, "Our boss is here. Originally, it was enough to just talk to shopkeeper Lu, but now we have to listen to the boss. It depends on whether the boss is important or not?"

As he spoke, he added another sentence as if he was afraid that the master would be entangled with Shui Jiu. "I'll ask you back."

The master had no choice but to spread his hands and sigh.

Shui Jiu's heart skipped a beat, and the horse team he had seen on the official road before flashed before his eyes again.I'm afraid it can't be such a coincidence that he happened to meet the owner of this rice shop on the official road?

"drive--"

Ah Niu drove the car away yelling, and hurried into the city.

Shui Jiu pushed down the brim of the broken hat, and suddenly asked: "Master, what is the name of this rice shop?"

"Ah, this is the largest rice store in Jingxi Prefecture, and its name is Longyu."

"The boss is from Nanyang?"

The host is happy. "I don't know. Shopkeeper Lu has always had the final say in our area. Uh, this boss can't come twice a year, and I haven't seen him."

Shui Jiu couldn't help laughing.How could he really think of Xu Jishan going up there?

After thanking the master's family again, Shui Jiu walked towards another small shop that sold water that the master's family pointed out.This shop was originally opened in the city, but now every inch of land in the city is expensive, and a large number of private houses have been embezzled for soldiers to live in.Now, in Jingxi City, there are a wave of Oriental military police, one side is the soldiers of the Yamen, and there are also people from the Qing Gang and the Hong Gang.Some ordinary people are afraid of trouble, so they rent houses in the suburbs of the city.

The owner of this water seller was on the one hand fearful and timid, on the other hand, because his wife was about to give birth and had to raise a baby, he rented a small house on the outskirts of the city, not far from the master's house.Shui Jiu walked over and briefly explained the purpose of his visit, but this time he was lucky, the boss couldn't wait for it, and was overjoyed to hear that he offered to be a clerk in the shop.

"Okay, very good! It just so happens that my wife is about to give birth, and there are not enough people these two days. Do you want to beg for food, or do you want to earn wages?"

Shui Jiu lowered her eyes, with an honest look on her face. "Just to beg for food."

"Then let's talk about it first, the salary is not much, 30 cash a month."

"Is it in charge of the food?" Shui Jiu asked.

"It's fine if you want to live, but you can only live in the store."

That is living in the city, just in line with Shui Jiu's wishes.So the two hit it off, and that day Shui Jiu followed the boss to bet