One hundred and eighty yuan a month, the same as Sun Qingfa, the manager of the chemical factory, but less than Charlie Huang's two hundred and eighty yuan. The highest salary in the factory is that of Manager Wu of the chemical plant, who is rarely paid even a few times a month, at 380.
Compared with the waiters in restaurants, King Kong is a rich man. During the first year of apprenticeship, shop assistants are paid only two yuan a month for meals and accommodation, three to five yuan for good shops, and then gradually increase. The apprenticeship lasts for two to three years, and after graduation, it's only about twenty yuan a month.
The purchasing power of one dollar is about twenty yuan. One yuan can buy a dou (about fifteen jin) of rice, seven cents to one yuan per yard of foreign cloth, and fifty cents to eight cents per yard of domestic cloth. (A yard is three feet, or thirty-six inches, equivalent to ninety-one centimeters in the metric system. At this time, the Shanghai factory also mostly used the imperial system and less the metric system.)
Although 180 yuan was no more than three thousand yuan in terms of purchasing power, at that time people generally had low incomes, so many people saw it as a large sum of money.
King Kong, beware of theft.
King Kong had already bought a lockable wooden box and placed it in his inn room to keep all his possessions. But King Kong still intends to put the extra hundred or so dollars in the bank, as is the habit of people in the 21st century. Also, King Kong is going to have some fun in the city center. I had never been to the city center before because I didn't have much money and had to study and write to Zhang Xueliang.
Upon inquiry, Jin just learned that there are very few banks in Shanghai now. To be precise, there are quite a few banks but few business outlets. Not to mention that there were many foreign banks in Shanghai at that time, there were also many small domestic banks and money shops in addition to the four major banks: such as Zhejiang Bank (run by people from Huzhou), Siming Bank (run by people from Ningbo)... . But each bank often has only one business point, and most of them are located in the area of Jiangxi Road and Ningbo Road. So the total number of all bank outlets combined is less than a fraction of the number of outlets of a single bank in another time and space.
There is no factory break in the chemical plant, it operates all year round, workers have four days off a month, and so does King Kong. King Kong asked for leave from the chemical plant on May 16. Early in the morning, King Kong set off for the concession. I read in the newspapers about the Shanghai Green Gang, the Hong Gang, the underworld, and the frequent news of people being stolen or robbed. For the safety of more than a hundred dollars, King Kong brought his pistol along.
King Kong's first target was the Bund. King Kong originally didn't want to take the rickshaw, feeling embarrassed to sit in a rickshaw pulled by people. But the "old Shanghai" who had lived in another time and space for more than four years encountered a new problem: King Kong got lost. As he walked, when he reached a place probably called Zhangjiaqiao, he found himself walking on a narrow street where the scenery in the other time and space would charge an entrance fee: a bit like the village scenery of Wuzhen and Tongli, with small rivers and ponds along some of the streets! There are stone steps along the riverbank that lead down to the water, which the locals call "river wharf". At the river pier, there are people washing clothes in the water, not only rubbing them by hand but also pounding them with a wooden stick. And just two feet away, someone was washing rice with the river water!
Although the Meiya Chemical Factory was considered a relatively northwest suburb in Zhabei at that time, it would have been a downtown area in another time and space, and the housing prices here would have been worth considering for a million-dollar annual income like King Kong. I never thought there would be a village within the city here now! Soon King Kong learned that in this time and space, in Jiangnan, villages like Wuzhen and Tongli are everywhere in Zhejiang and Jiangsu, and many of them are more beautiful and distinctive than Wuzhen and Tongli. It is impossible for Wuzhen and Tongli to become tourist areas at this time, let alone sell such expensive tickets.
King Kong had no choice but to take a rickshaw and found that the rickshaw was really yellow, not as he had imagined from films and TV shows, all black. From the coachman, it turns out to be somewhat like a later taxi, Shanghai Municipal Council (municipal administration department?) All rickshaws operating rickshaws must be yellow and have license plates. There are two types of license plates. The "big plate" can be used everywhere, while the "small plate" can only be used in the Chinese territory and not in the concessions. Of course, the licence fee for the "small licence" is much cheaper. There is a foldable tarpaulin on the vehicle, and yellow tarpaulins are used on the rickshaw. When the canopy is set up, it's a bit curved, and the vehicle looks like half a yellow bread. That's probably where the name "rickshaw" comes from? Occasionally there are other colors of rickshaw on the street, mostly black, which are private cars for wealthy families or companies!
King Kong was in a small-plate rickshaw, so when he reached a bridge by the Suzhou River, he got off the vehicle. Crossing the bridge was the concession, and not far south was Jing 'an Temple Road, where I took the jingling tram to the Bund.
Just now, I learned from the rickshaw pullers that under pressure from the Chinese people, the "No Chinese or dogs" sign at the Huangpu Park on the Bund (then known as the Bund Park) had been removed a year earlier (July 1928), and Chinese people could enter if they bought tickets, but King Kong would not spend that money to see such a "dogs and foreigners allowed" park.
But at that time, apart from the park, the Bund was actually a pier, not a place for people to play. South of Huangpu Park is Taikoo Wharf (British), China Merchants Wharf... All the docks, big and small, are lined up all the way down to the sixteenth Port.
In the new Bund of Shanghai, another time and space in the direction of Hongkou, there is also a row of docks for Chinese and foreign enterprises, and most of the docks for the Japanese are there.
It can be seen that there are also some docks in Pudong across the way, but fewer than in Puxi. Most of the area is still farmland, with scattered villages and houses, all of which are small farmhouses. There are also small boats moored along the banks of the Pudong river. At Puxi, there are many boats on board, some of which are loading and unloading goods.
Just then, a shocking scene unfolds before King Kong's eyes: a big white sailor jumps off a rickshaw, and the rickshaw driver asks him for the fare. The foreign sailor not only refuses to pay but also throws the rickshaw driver to the ground with one punch.
As a man from another time and space, King Kong was already angry enough, and upon hearing his cursing, he pulled out his pistol, jumped in front of the sailor, put his gun against his stomach and said in English: "YOUMUSTPAYHIM!" . The sailor, seeing his pistol, hurriedly raised his hand and looked at King Kong in alarm. King said again in English, "You must pay him!" The voice wasn't loud, but this time the sailor understood and immediately took out his wallet, pulled out a dollar from it, a one-dollar dollar, and gave it to King Kong. King Kong didn't know the exchange rate of the dollar at that time. If it was just seven or eight yuan, wouldn't it be the triangle ocean? So King Kong said in English, "Not enough, you have to pay for his medical expenses!" . Seeing the portrait on the dollar, King Kong couldn't be sure if it was Lincoln's, but a Lincoln phrase he had learned in English popped up, "All men are created equal," King Kong said in English, adding: "Including the Great Chinese."
The sailor added another ten-dollar note. King Kong put the gun in his right hand and the eleven dollars in his left hand, then went to the coachman and gave him the money. As he was standing close to the sailor, no one, including the coachman, saw his gun.
The coachman took the money. King Kong asked if he was injured, and the coachman shook his head. King Kong told him to go quickly, and the coachman pulled the cart to Jiujiang Road.
At this moment, King saw that the sailor was already walking southward at a fast pace. In the distance to the south was an Indian man with a red bandage wrapped around his head. This was the police of the concession, the so-called "Red-headed Ah SAN". A red-headed man usually has only a baton and no gun. King Kong suddenly remembered that it seemed to be illegal for the Great Chinese to carry a gun in the concession at this time, so regardless of whether the sailor would look for "Red-headed A SAN" or not, he decided, "The best of the thirty-six stratagem is to leave." He also made a quick walk to the nearest Jiujiang Road.
In fact, the sailor was not looking for "Red-headed Ah SAN". Because Chinese people are not allowed to carry guns here, he thought King Kong must be a Chinese detective, that is to say, a Chinese police officer. From speaking English to dressing, he looks like a Chinese detective. Some of the Chinese detectives also have a sense of justice and help Chinese people; There are also those who step in to deal with such matters. The sailor himself was indeed at fault for not paying and hitting, so he didn't dare to make a fuss about it.
Jin had just turned into Jiujiang Road, and a man came up to him and said, "Sir, where are you going?" I'm here to pick you up!" . King Kong saw that it was the same coachman just now. The coachman had just remembered that he had forgotten to thank King Kong, so he turned back to look for him.
King Kong got into his carriage and said, "I'm going to Jiangxi Road."
The coachman pulled the cart and thanked him all the way. The coachman was from Anhui Province. His surname was Chen and his name was Amao. When he heard that King Kong lived in Zhabei, he said that he lived in Zhabei too, and it turned out that the place where Amao lived was not far from the inn where King Kong stayed. Although the rickshaw pullers had to do the work in the concession, because the rent in the suburbs of Zhabei was cheap, they were willing to travel a little more every day and live a little farther.
Amao took out eleven dollars and asked King Kong how much it was, but he didn't recognize the foreign banknotes. King Kong didn't know how many dollars eleven dollars was either. Fortunately, they were on Jiangxi Road, where there were many banks. King Kong asked him to stop at the entrance of a foreign bank. Amao dared not go in and begged King Kong to go in and help him exchange the money. King Kong exchanged eleven dollars for a little over thirty-three dollars, only to find out that the dollar was worth more at that time, while the dollar was actually worth more. One dollar was about three dollars!
When King Kong handed the money to Amour, Amour glared with joy and shouted, "How much!" The thirty-three yuan was the coachman's usual income for more than half a month or a month. Amao wanted to give half of the money to King Kong, but King Kong certainly didn't want it. Amao decided not to bring any other guests today, but to bring "Mr. Xu, the benefactor" home. When King Kong didn't get into the car, he followed along.
King Kong originally wanted to buy a second-hand bicycle, but now he has decided to go and buy one right away so that he can ride home. Ask Amao where there are more second-hand stores, and Amao says "over at the Eight Immortals Bridge." King Kong had no idea where the Eight Immortals Bridge was, so he got into Amao's car. Amao pulled him to a road, and indeed there were quite a few second-hand shops. This was probably the area around Jinling Road or Huaihai East Road.
At the entrance of a second-hand store, King saw a man who looked like a butler, holding a bicycle with a severely deformed front wheel, bargaining with the shop assistant. He asked for twenty dollars to sell the bike to the shop, but the shop would only pay ten dollars.
The owner said, "This bicycle was bought by Lord a month ago as a birthday present for Young Master A. Today Young Master is learning to ride in the garden, be careful not to bump into a tree. Oh dear! My head is bleeding, my hands are bleeding! ... My Lord told me to take the cart 掼脱, oh, sell it. Or it would be a new car, an English Lancer,... It's worth at least twenty yuan."
The clerk said, "Look at your car. It's already so good. Who else would want it? I'm afraid I'll lose money if I offer you ten dollars."
When King Kong saw that the logo of the Lanling bike was three crossed rifles, he knew that the three-gun brand bicycle was also called the Lanling bike (the company that produced it was called Lanling?) . At that time, all the bicycles in Shanghai were imported, including British beauty, Double gun, triple gun, cap; German horse and Wolf; French Wild goose cards, Double and Lion cards, and Japanese Miyata cards, Fuji cards, etc. The most expensive and the hardest brand is the British; The cheapest are from the East, and they are of the poorest quality.
The two sides won't give in. The owner said, "I won't sell it." Waving to Amao beside King Kong, "Rickshaw, come here." Then he pulled the bike to the side of the road. Then the shop assistant said, "At most twelve yuan!" The car owner said, "Eighteen yuan! Otherwise, pull it up."
Amao said to King Kong, "Mr. Xu, it's good to buy Nongnai. I have a brother who is good at repairing cars! I'll fix it!"
As a result, King Kong bought the bike for fifteen dollars. The bike couldn't be ridden without repair, and Amao pulled him and the bike to his own place, because the bike repairman and he lived in the same compound.