Before going to the pear orchard that evening, Li Changzhou took a bath to remove the fragrance left by Li Biwei—she had applied powder, and Yang Qinglan's perception was heightened.
This was utterly unlucky. Li Changzhou didn't see it as a romantic encounter at all; to him, it was a disaster.
He didn't want to touch any woman other than Yang Qinglan.
Moreover, just before—on the train to get here—he had made an agreement with Yang Qinglan that they would even divide the tasks of talking to women: he would talk to men and she would talk to women. But not long after that, the woman sat on his lap.
While reflecting, the car soon arrived at the pear orchard.
The staff at the pear orchard had long since developed sharp eyes; they could tell who it was just by looking at the car's license plate. Even before Li Changzhou's car had stopped, they were already all smiles as they walked to the drop-off point to greet him.
As soon as the car stopped, the usher was about to go up and open the door when Liu De, who had gotten out of the car first, pushed him away.
Twelve bodyguards emerged from the three cars behind him and quickly surrounded Li Changzhou's car, their eyes like wolves, the safety on their Browning pistols off.
The grand scale of the event silenced the bustling entrance to the pear orchard for a moment.
"Second Master, we've arrived." Liu De respectfully opened the car door and then ducked to make way.
Li Changzhou got out of the car, still dressed as a dashing young man in a suit, but his walking stick had been replaced with a Spider-Bee Antennae Cane.
He didn't rush inside, but stood by the car and looked around.
In the darkness of night, the streets are filled with all kinds of cars illuminated by old-fashioned electric lights.
Women wore either cheongsams or Western-style skirts, in a dazzling array of colors—red, yellow, blue, and white—completely lacking the black-and-white feel of old movies.
There were also opportunistic vendors, carrying fruit baskets and sesame seed cake baskets, doing temporary business.
The rickshaws operated like an assembly line, bringing in one neatly dressed passenger after another.
These rickshaws don't leave after dropping off customers; they just wait at the entrance, either chatting with other drivers or wandering around the temporary stalls, hoping to get repeat business.
Li Changzhou withdrew his gaze and turned to walk into the pear orchard.
"Boss Feng! Boss Feng! I'm begging you!"
"Our children have been hungry for days, and we really have no money left!"
"Boss Feng, we don't want wages, just food! One meal of cornmeal or a flatbread a day will do! Boss Feng, please have some compassion, we'll kowtow to you!"
On a street corner, a group of ragged men knelt in front of a car.
After a while, an elderly man dressed in a long gown and black jacket, with a composed demeanor, got off the bus. The men's voices grew louder, and they knelt there in a dense mass.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" the old man said in a strong voice, "It's not that I, Feng, don't want to help you, but you have no money, and neither do I! Three million worth of seafood hasn't even entered port yet. I'm just robbing Peter to pay Paul, barely able to support myself, how can I help you?"
"Boss Feng, please! Please!" The group of men just kept kowtowing.
The old man said a few words and returned to his car. The bodyguards from the opera troupe stepped forward and chased the group of men away.
Li Changzhou turned to Liu De and asked, "What happened?"
“These people must be dockworkers,” Liu De said, having seen the whole thing. “Not long ago, it was said that the port experienced a once-in-decades sea freeze, and no ships came in for a month. No ships, no cargo, and no cargo, so of course these dockworkers didn’t get paid. But that’s all I’ve heard.”
Li Changzhou glanced at the men again.
They were all men, young or old, but all had strong, muscular bodies built from hard work. They looked incredibly strong, but at this moment, these grown men were all crying.
One of the men even collapsed to the ground crying, like a child who hadn't gotten candy.
The surrounding people turned a blind eye. For those rickshaw pullers and street vendors, if they didn't get any customers or sell anything for a few days, the fate of the dockworkers would be the same as theirs tomorrow.
The difference is this: these dockworkers at least have a place to cry, while these self-employed individuals don't even have a place to cry.
“This is fate, this is our fate!” an elderly worker sighed.
This is our fate.
It was indeed their fate; their fate has long been clearly written in history.
Li Changzhou withdrew his gaze, picked up his tentacle cane, and walked into the pear orchard, feeling melancholy.
He had learned about the hardships of the early 20th century from books and was mentally prepared, but seeing them with his own eyes still filled him with sorrow, as if his internal organs were being gripped by the cries and shouts.
But he also knew that there was nothing he could do for these people; their lives had already ended.
Upon entering the theater, one sees the stage, surrounded by a three-sided viewing platform.
Below the stands, there were rows and rows of chairs, even the aisles were packed.
"My first concert ever." Li Changzhou sighed, forgetting what had just happened, changing his mood, and being led into a private box.
The private room had soft couches, dried fruit, cakes, and some side dishes, both meat and vegetables, served on plates. There were also two bottles of wine, one of wine and one of brandy.
No matter how poor or unable to afford food is outside, this place is always bustling and luxurious, making one wonder if this is really a world?
Feeling down and prone to overthinking when idle, Li Changzhou asked Liu De to tell him some opera stories.
"Second Master, today it's Sun Xiaoyun's team."
"Who is Sun Xiaoyun?" Li Changzhou asked.
"Second Master, you've lived abroad for so long, you don't know much about the country anymore!" Liu De smiled.
"Compared to you, Second Master, Sun Xiaoyun is nothing, but in Peking Opera, she is a very famous figure! When she performs on stage, she is a well-known leading lady, and her fame is known throughout the country. Even most warlords and tycoons give her some face."
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