The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

"parking!"

As the car drove out of the Sassoon Villa, Zhou Hexuan suddenly stopped and turned around to ask Zhou Xuan in the back seat: "Where do you live?"

"Zhabei," Zhou Xuan asked timidly, obviously having been frightened these days, "Mr. Zhou, you...are you really willing to take me home?"

"It's okay, don't be afraid," Zhou Hexuan comforted him and said to the driver, "Go to Zhabei."

The car passed through the public concession and then crossed the Suzhou River before arriving at the boundary of Zhabei.

Zhabei was originally a very desolate place, but as it bordered major concessions, it rapidly prospered in the late Qing Dynasty. The "prosperity" mentioned here does not mean feasting and high-rise buildings, but a large population and all kinds of religions and streams.

Ordinary people cannot live in the Shanghai Concession. Not only is the rent extremely expensive, but they also have to pay a patrol fee of nearly 20 yuan per month (equivalent to public security management fees).

According to the National Government's survey statistics in 1935, the average monthly salary of Shanghai cotton mill workers was 15 yuan, the average monthly salary of store clerks was 10 yuan, and the average monthly salary of white-collar workers was 19 yuan. In other words, even for a small white-collar worker working in a foreign company, the monthly salary is not enough to pay the police tax, let alone the rent which is several times higher than the police tax.

Therefore, anyone who lives in Shanghai's concessions is a high-income group - even if they only rent a house.

The Three People's Principles include "people's livelihood", so the Nanjing National Government had to show off and built many "civilian residences" starting in 1928. In fact, it should be called "poor residence", but the government thinks "poor" sounds ugly, so official documents always write "civilian".

"Civilian residences" are the Republic of China's version of "low-rent housing." There is one in Yangpu, Luwan, and Zhabei. There are about 600 low-rent houses in each place, and the monthly rent is generally between 2 yuan and 2.5 yuan.

It's just that it's very difficult to apply for a "low-rent house". Most of the people who can live in it are related households, or the companies and factories where they work are relatively impressive, or they bribed the staff when applying.

There are records from later generations that Zhou Xuan moved into Zhenliu Apartment in 1932, and these contents are still widely circulated in articles introducing Zhou Xuan. In fact, it's all nonsense. With Zhou Xuan's current situation, she simply can't afford the rent there.

After the car drove into Zhabei, there were still a few streetlights in the busier areas, but it was pitch black the further you went.

"My home is right in front!" Zhou Xuan suddenly shouted.

The driver stopped at the door of an old-fashioned apartment building. This type of house has a brick-and-wood structure, a bit like a later tube house. It was built by local gentry specifically to collect rent in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

Zhou Xuan's family lived on the second floor. After knocking on the door for a while, a woman finally came out and opened the door. It was Zhou Xuan's adoptive mother Ye Fengmei.

"Xuanzi!"

Ye Fengmei was surprised and happy. She hugged Zhou Xuan excitedly and asked, "Why are you back?"

Zhou Xuan seemed to have a deep relationship with her adoptive mother, and said with tears in her eyes: "Mom, it was Mr. Zhou who sent me back."

"Mr. Zhou?" Ye Fengmei looked at Zhou Hexuan and Ruan Lingyu curiously. It was dark in the corridor and they couldn't see clearly.

Zhou Hexuan explained: "Hello, I am Zhou Hexuan. Mr. Sassoon gave Xuanzi to me. This is her 20-year employment contract. Please keep it."

"You...you, you, are you the Mr. Zhou in the newspaper?" Ye Fengmei was so happy and excited that she suddenly pushed her daughter towards Zhou Hexuan, "Mr. Zhou, since the employment contract is in your hands, Xuanzi will follow you from now on, please Treat my daughter well!”

Zhou Hexuan sweated furiously and said: "Madam, I'm afraid you have misunderstood. I just treat Xuanzi as a sister, and I hope she can reunite with her parents. The matter has passed, and I will return this contract to you. No one will What more is there to pursue?”

"No, no, no," Ye Fengmei said firmly, "Mr. Zhou, I beg you to accept Xuanzi!"

"I really have no other meaning." Zhou Hexuan was speechless.

"Mr. Zhou, I kneel down for you!" Ye Fengmei suddenly knelt down and kowtowed, "Please accept Xuanzi!"

Zhou Hexuan looked confused and couldn't figure out what was going on. He had no choice but to ask: "Where is Xuanzi's father?"

Ye Fengmei's face suddenly changed: "Don't mention that damn ghost. He took Xuanzi's money from selling herself and hasn't gone home for three days. Now he is either fooling around in a prostitute or having fun in a cigarette shop. Sooner or later, he will lose all the money. Light!"

"Well, let's go into the room and talk." Zhou Hexuan felt that things were a bit complicated.

Ye Fengmei quickly stood up and said, "Oh, yes, yes, Mr. Zhou, please come in quickly!"

The light in the room was very dim. Ye Fengmei brought two glasses of boiled water and said sheepishly: "There is no tea in the house. Don't make me laugh." As she said that, her eyes suddenly widened, "You...are you Miss Ruan Lingyu?"

"Hello, I am Ruan Lingyu." Ruan Lingyu smiled.

Ye Fengmei said happily: "Today is really brilliant, we have two distinguished guests."

Zhou Hexuan asked with a cup of water: "You'd better tell me what's going on."

"Alas!" Ye Fengmei sighed.

It turned out that Ye Fengmei was an opera singer and was born in a famous actress. She was never popular when she was young and could only perform in some small theater troupes. As she got older, life became more difficult.

Ye Fengmei and her husband have never had children. When she saw Zhou Xuan was homeless, she immediately fell in love with her and treated Zhou Xuan as her own and loved her very much.

It's a pity that Zhou Xuan's adoptive father Zhou Liugen was an opium addict and spent more money than he earned.

When Zhou Xuan was less than 10 years old, she was sent to a song and dance troupe by her adoptive father to learn skills. She also worked as a maid in the song and dance troupe. The money she earned over the years was basically used to support Zhou Liugen to smoke opium.

Two years ago, when the Lianhua Song and Dance Troupe disbanded, Zhou Xuan didn't even dare to go home because her adoptive father Zhou Liugen wanted to sell her to a brothel. Zhou Xuan was only 13 years old at that time. Fortunately, a kind-hearted man named Yan Hua recommended Zhou Xuan to join the Xinhua Opera Society, thus avoiding her fate of becoming a prostitute.

Historically, until Zhou Liugen's death, he was still looking for money from his adopted daughter Zhou Xuan to buy opium.

Due to the butterfly effect brought about by Zhou Hexuan, Zhou Liugen now made a fortune and received 50,000 yuan from the Sassoon people for selling himself. He was completely crazy. He stayed away from home all day long, either sleeping in opium shops, or sleeping in prostitutes and restaurants, completely in a state of intoxication.

Ye Fengmei felt sorry for her daughter, and was originally worried that Zhou Xuan would be bullied by the big boss. Now that she knew that Zhou Xuan was given to Zhou Hexuan, and that Zhou Hexuan was a great scholar and a good man, she immediately had other ideas - let her daughter stay with Zhou Hexuan, and she must not return to this home again, otherwise she would be raped by opium ghosts sooner or later. My husband is a drag.

This is a respectable woman who silently endures her husband's nonsense, silently supports her broken family, and has a motherly love for her adopted daughter.

After hearing this story, Zhou Hexuan could only lament that opium harms people. He knows how many families have been destroyed by opium.

Ye Fengmei suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed, and begged with a tearful tone: "Mr. Zhou, please, please accept Xuanzi. She is very good, she can do everything in washing and cooking, and she can also sing and dance for you." Relieve your boredom. Don't let her come back again, she shouldn't come back..."

"Hey, hey, don't kowtow all the time," Zhou Hexuan said with support, "I see, you should divorce your current husband and live alone with your daughter."

Ye Fengmei said coquettishly and resolutely: "Mr. Zhou, although I am a dirty actor, I still understand the principle of sticking to the end. Since I am married, I should take care of the family well. Divorce is an immoral thing. , I absolutely cannot do it. If I die, I will be stabbed in the spine!"

Zhou Hexuan suddenly didn't know what to say, as if he had traveled through ancient feudal society.

Mr. Lu Xun’s work of healing people’s hearts and awakening their minds still has a long way to go!

Ruan Lingyu understood Ye Fengmei's thoughts very well. She secretly pulled Zhou Hexuan's sleeve and said, "Just keep Xuanzi, so that I can have a companion."

Zhou Hexuan's mood was extremely complicated now. The feeling of mourning his misfortune and being angry filled his chest, and his whole body was about to explode with anger. But he couldn't get angry at this woman. Their thoughts seemed to be separated by centuries, and there was no possibility of normal communication.

"Oh," Zhou Hexuan took out his checkbook depressedly, filled in the numbers, tore it off and said, "This is 1,000 yuan. Keep it for your own household use. Don't buy opium for your husband."

Ye Fengmei said happily: "Mr. Zhou, you are such a good person. My Xuanzi will enjoy happiness in the future." She hugged her daughter again and warned, "Xuanzi, remember to listen to Mr. Zhou in the future and serve Mr. Zhou well. Do you understand? ?”

"Mom, I don't want to leave." Zhou Xuan cried bitterly while hugging her adoptive mother.

Ye Fengmei patted her daughter on the head and said: "Don't be stupid, there is no good in staying at home. You are different from mom. Mom is a miserable person and is doomed to suffer all her life. You are a blessed person and you should enjoy it. Be good, Stop crying and follow Mr. Zhou quickly."

Zhou Hexuan was silent, feeling that this world was so absurd.