The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

"Sell jujube rolls, sugar noodles, and white sugar cakes!"

"Almond tea is really delicious. There is a lot of white sugar in Qingsi Rose. Come and buy it. It's sweet-scented osmanthus!"

"..."

Zhou Hexuan was walking in the narrow alley in a daze, listening to the hawking that had penetrated through a century, he would rather that all the scenes in front of him were dreams.

However, it's all true.

At the last moment, he was still in the bustling and bustling modern city, and in the blink of an eye he was in a narrow and dark alley. In Tianjin in the 21st century, it is absolutely impossible to preserve such a complete complex of ancient residential buildings.

Zhou Hexuan bumped around like a headless chicken. He had walked through several alleys, but he still couldn't return to the modern society.

A shopkeeper carrying a load came to meet him. He was wearing a shabby and faded jacket, with big holes in his cloth shoes, and his wrinkled face was full of vicissitudes. He sized Zhou Hexuan's eyes and asked flatteringly, "Sir, do you want to buy twisted twisted twisted twisted twisted twisted twisted twisted twisted twisted twists, delicious and not sticky to the teeth."

"How do you sell your twist?" Zhou Hexuan tried to talk.

Seeing that there was business to do, the shopkeeper immediately put down his burden and said, "Six cents a catty."

"Can it be cheaper?" Zhou Hexuan cast his eyes on the other party's burden, on which there was a stack of old newspapers, with the words "15th Year of the Republic of China" printed on the newspaper head.

Fifteen years of the Republic of China, 1926 in terms of conversion, what a damn timetravel!

Zhou Hexuan was wearing a suit and leather shoes, and he looked like a rich man. The peddler smiled and said, "Sir, this is a small business. If you buy it sincerely, how about I give you five and a half cents a catty?"

Zhou Hexuan pretended to take out his wallet, and there were only bank cards and soft sister coins in it. Holding a green bill, he foolishly said, "Do you want dollars?"

The shopkeeper said: "Look at what you said, you still need foreign money to buy some fried dough twist. Even if you give it to me, I can't find it."

Zhou Hexuan was full of lies and made up nonsense: "I just came back from abroad, and I only have foreign money on me. How can there be a bank in this city? Or a pawn shop is also fine, please show me the way."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "It turns out that he is a gentleman who has returned from studying abroad. No wonder he can speak Mandarin so well. If you want to exchange foreign money, you'd better go to the concession in the southeast, where there are the most foreign firms. If you are looking for a pawn shop, go out of this alley and go east. There is a Lin’s Rice Shop, which is easy to find.”

"The rice shop is still in the pawn shop business?" Zhou Hexuan asked in surprise.

The salesman explained: "That rice shop also has a small bet business."

Zhou Hexuan asked a few more questions and finally figured it out. The so-called small pawn shop is a pawn shop that has no name, no signboard, and operates secretly. This kind of small pawn shop can pawn more money, but the interest is very high, which is suitable for dead pawning. If you want to redeem it in the future, it is best to go to a regular pawnshop.

After thanking the shopkeeper, Zhou Hexuan inquired all the way and finally walked out of the alley and came to the Lin's Rice Shop.

"Do you want to buy rice, sir?" the man asked enthusiastically.

Zhou Hexuan said, "Be a thing."

As soon as this remark came out, an old man in a long gown immediately came out and said in a low voice, "Please come inside."

Smartphones must not be taken out. The only valuable things on Zhou Hexuan's body are a watch and a necklace. He walked into the store with the old man, took off the watch and said, "Swiss pure handmade mechanical watch, the hands are all gold, and the scale is set with diamonds. You can estimate the price."

"Hey, such foreign watches are rare." The old man was uncertain.

He saw that the watch strap was white and shiny, reflecting the charming brilliance, and seemed to be made of fine steel. The dial is garish, far more exquisite than the pocket watches that are popular now. As for the gold hands and diamond scales, they have to be disassembled to verify.

Anyway, this kind of western goods should be very valuable. The old gentleman stretched out two fingers: "20 oceans."

Zhou Hexuan pretended to be angry, snatched back the watch and said, "I bought this in London, the original price was 100 pounds!"

hiss!

The old man gasped, 100 pounds was almost 900 silver dollars, and he could buy a small courtyard house in Tianjin. He was really not sure, and said, "Excuse me for my blindness, but for such valuables, sir, you should find those big shops."

"How much can you give at most?" Zhou Hexuan asked.

Seeing that Zhou Hexuan's suit and leather shoes did not look like a liar, the old gentleman thought for a while and said, "At most 30 oceans."

After all, the business failed to be negotiated, so Zhou Hexuan asked for directions and found two regular pawnshops, and the highest asking price was only 60 silver dollars.

It was already noon, and Zhou Hexuan, who hadn't had breakfast yet, was croaking with hunger. In the end, he chose live pawning, with 100 days as the deadline and 3 cents of interest. He only got 58 yuan and 2 cents for 60 yuan when he was pawned—one month’s interest was deducted.

If Zhou Hexuan does not come back to redeem the watch after 100 days, the watch will belong to the pawnshop.

The money was in a bag, 58 silver dollars, with Yuan Datou printed on the front and "One Yuan" on the back. There are also 60 copper coins, yellow and clear, with the words "Dang Shi Wen" printed on them, which are a bit like the fifty-cent coins of the Republic, but they are bigger.

It was a bit heavy to carry in the hand, and it rattled when shaken. This was all his net worth now. Zhou Hexuan walked out of the pawn shop with a sigh. He was extremely at a loss for the future, and such a thing as time travel was too unimaginable.

Zhou Hexuan was an orphan. His parents died in a car accident when he was in middle school, leaving him hundreds of thousands of compensation and a house. Later, he was admitted to the history department of Peking University with excellent grades. When he was about to graduate, his beloved girlfriend died suddenly and unexpectedly.

Zhou Hexuan, who suffered continuous blows, became bohemian and cynical about life. He directly gave up his studies and chose to sell his property to travel around the world, because his girlfriend's wish was to travel around the world, and he felt that he should fulfill this wish for his girlfriend.

The United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Australia, Japan, South Korea... Over the past five years, Zhou Hexuan has traveled to every corner of the world.

The inheritance left by his parents was quickly spent, and Zhou Hexuan had to work while traveling. Along the way, he enjoys enjoying the scenery of various places, learns the local language, understands their history and customs, writes travel notes and reads books when he has time, and lives a chic and fulfilling life.

But when he finished his journey and returned to China, he actually traveled across time and came to Tianjin in 1926!

Alas, let's take one step at a time, Zhou Hexuan has long learned to live with the situation.

After leaving the pawnshop, Zhou Hexuan found a restaurant to sit down.

Meals are very cheap, only 5 cents for a bowl of noodles, and the portion is very large, enough for an adult man to eat.

"Boss, I just arrived in Tianjin. I don't know where there is a house for rent?" Zhou Hexuan asked when paying the money.

This is a habit he has developed through years of traveling. Whenever he goes to a new place, the most important thing is to implement "eat" and "live".

"It's easy to rent a house," the boss suddenly yelled at a diner, "Mr. Hu, someone wants to rent a house."

"Here we come!" Hu Laosan didn't bother to eat noodles, and ran over to ask, "Sir, what kind of house do you want to rent, short-term or long-term?"

Is this the real estate agency of the Republic of China?

"An ordinary single room, as long as you can live in it," Zhou Hexuan inquired, "What is the general price?"

Hu Laosan said proficiently: "The cheapest old house rents one or two yuan a month, and the small western-style house is more expensive, and a single room starts at least 10 yuan. Seeing that you are a cultural person, sir, you must not be used to living in a poor house." , or live in a courtyard house, the monthly rent is about 3 to 10 yuan, the specific price depends on the house and the location."

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said, "Okay, take me to see the house first."