I wrote novels in the Republic of China

Sang Jingyun had the original owner's memories and went to the county town again, so he had a better understanding of this era.

She was very tired that day and went to bed early, but her sleep was very restless and she dreamed the whole night.

Sometimes she dreamed that Sang Xuewen owed a large sum of money and Boss Li wanted to ask her to pay off the debt. Sometimes she dreamed that Shanghai had fallen and there were starving people everywhere, and she couldn't even have food to eat.

She seemed to be neither asleep nor awake, and even got up three times at night.

By the second half of the night, she couldn't sleep anymore.

Shanghai was relatively stable at this time, but later on, it would experience war and Shanghai would fall.

Even if she didn't think about things that far ahead, she was still not safe living in the suburbs next to a slum.

She had to go to the county town again.

Sang Jingyun wanted to go to the county town, but she soon found that she couldn't even crawl.

It wasn't that I was sick, but I walked too much the day before and strained all my muscles.

The original owner of this body had never walked so much at once before and could not bear it.

Sang Jingyun couldn't sleep, so he got up early with Sang Qianshi and sat on a bamboo chair without moving.

Sang Qian touched her forehead with her hand and confirmed that she did not have a fever. Then she unlocked the room where Sang Xuewen lived and asked Sang Xuewen to come out to cook.

Sang Xuewen was awake when he woke up early in the morning. He did not refuse and started to make porridge clumsily.

Seeing this, Sang Jingyun whispered to Sang Xuewen: "Dad, I went to the county town yesterday and walked for a whole day. Today I feel pain all over my body and my feet are covered with blisters. It's a pity that I haven't found a job yet..."

Sang Jingyun exaggerated the severity of his own discomfort, which made Sang Xuewen feel distressed and he secretly blamed himself for being useless.

Sang Jingyun talked about Sang Jingying again: "Dad, Jingying wants to take the part-time enamel class exam and become an enamel worker in the future. Nowadays, the machines in those factories are running day and night. Maybe Jingying will have to work the night shift in the future..."

Sang Jingyun also told the original owner about the messy phenomena in those factories that he had heard, and finally mentioned the contract laborers.

During the Republic of China period, some contractors would trick underage children, especially girls in their early teens, into working in factories for very little money.

All the wages of these people belonged to the contractor. They had very poor food and accommodation and could only eat bean dregs, moldy brown rice and the like. They were often beaten, and could not get medical treatment when they were sick. When they died, they were thrown out directly. Sometimes they were thrown into a mass grave before they were even dead.

Sang Jingyun had read the relevant information. She was also a novelist, so she described the miserable conditions of the contract workers vividly, which made Sang Xuewen's face turn pale.

Sang Xuewen had never cooked before, but his family now eats porridge for every meal, and the food is rationed, so making porridge is not difficult, so he can do it.

But he was very slow and it took him half a day to peel the pumpkin.

But although he was slow, he did his work very carefully, and each piece of the pumpkin was cut to almost the same size.

If Sang Qian were cooking, she wouldn't do this. She was in a hurry and would just cut it a few times and throw it into the pot. After all, no matter how it was cut, it would taste the same.

Sang Qian felt that Sang Xuewen was too slow and kept muttering to him.

Sang Jingyun was afraid that his grandmother would discourage his father's enthusiasm for work, so he asked Sang Qianshi to go out to farm while he talked to Sang Xuewen.

While she was talking about the miserable situation that their family would face if they ran out of money, she praised Sang Xuewen for his meticulous work and said, "Dad, right now we can only make money by sewing. Grandma is not good at sewing, my sister is still young, and I am so weak that I can't even lift my arms after walking a little. Can you help mom do some work?"

Although Sang Xuewen is lazy, he is smart and it is not difficult for him to learn common needlework.

He had never done heavy work before, and his hands were very delicate, so holding a needle and thread was no problem for him.

The laundry and cooking work at home was not much, so Sang Jingyun wanted him to do needlework with Lu Ying.

Sang Xuewen agreed, yawned, tears welled up in his eyes, and his expression was a little impatient.

Sang Jingyun's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, Sang Xuewen threw down the stove and started making a fuss again, and was then skillfully caught by Sang Qianshi and locked up in the house.

Sang Jingyun rested at home for two days. During these two days, Lu Ying and Sang Jingli hid in the attic and finished making ten melon-shaped hats.

Sang Jingyun wanted Sang Xuewen to help, but it didn't work out in the end. Sang Xuewen would make a fuss twice a day, and the remaining time was only enough for him to finish the housework.

Day by day, he would sometimes feel extremely regretful and say that he had let his family down, and sometimes he would curse Sang Qian and say that she wanted to kill him. It was as if he were two completely different people in the same body.

Sang Jingyun lay in bed for two days, and his body was still in great pain, but he felt much better, so he went to the county town again with Sang Jingying.

The two men first went to Lanxin Hat Shop and handed in the ten melon-shaped hats.

Many women go to Lanxin Hat Shop to take work, and the shop pays them the labor fee on a monthly basis.

Sang Jingyun understood the situation clearly, took on some more work, and continued to look for a job.

"Sister, it's very difficult for women to find jobs..." Sang Jingying wanted to persuade Sang Jingyun to give up.

Although many people have been talking about women's liberation in recent years, there are still very few women working. The situation did not improve until after 1920.

Of course, this job refers to a more respectable job. If you work as a maid or as a factory worker, it would be extremely simple.

But in this era, female workers and child laborers were severely exploited, and their life safety was not guaranteed. Sang Jingyun was unwilling to go unless he was in desperate situation.

In her current physical condition, she can't do physical work.

Sang Jingyun said: "Jingying, nothing is difficult in the world as long as one is determined. If we ask more, we may find a job." What Sang Jingyun wanted to do most was to write a novel and submit it for submission, but she needed money to buy paper, pens and newspapers, and she also needed to settle her family first.

If she really can't find a job, she can do needlework with Lu Ying.

She didn't like doing boring work like needlework, but she could do it if she pushed herself.

"Sister, you are right." Sang Jingying listened to Sang Jingyun's words and nodded seriously.

As he was talking, Sang Jingyun saw a Hongxing paper shop in front of him.

Hongxing Paper Shop is a paper shop that has been open in Shanghai County for more than a hundred years. Over the years, many new things have been introduced from outside. Hongxing Paper Shop keeps pace with the times and has also started selling stationery such as pens.

At that time, the business was passed down from generation to generation, and they were very honest, and the quality of the products was generally very good. Hongxing Paper Shop not only sold paper, but also printed its own account books, book folders, scriptures, and enlightenment reading materials such as "Three Character Classic" and "Hundred Family Names" for sale.

These products not only indicate the paper quality, but also have the eight words "Hongxing Paper Selection and Refined" stamped on them. If you find defects after buying them, you can go to the store to exchange them.

Many older people in Shanghai county town prefer Hongxing Paper when it comes to paper and notebooks.

However, in recent years, with the advent of machine printing, the business of Hongxing Paper Company has declined significantly and is now deserted.

Sang Jingyun stared at the Hongxing Paper Shop for a while and walked in.

A shopkeeper in his 50s or 60s behind the counter saw Sang Jingyun and Sang Jingying and asked with a smile, "What do you want to buy?"

The Sang family had no business dealings with the Hongxing Paper Company. Manager Hong might know Sang Yuanshan, but he had no idea about Sang Jingyun and Sang Jingying.

"Boss, can you write letters for me?" Sang Jingyun asked.

Shopkeeper Hong said, "We sell paper and cannot write letters for you, but if you need it, I can help write it for you."

Hearing this, Sang Jingyun said, "Manager Hong, my last name is Sang, and Sang Yuanshan is my grandfather. Nowadays, there are more and more immigrants in Shanghai, and there should be many people who need letters written for them. If Hongxing Paper can provide letter writing services, it should be able to make more profit."

Sang Jingyun also knew that it would be difficult for her to find a job in the short term.

Since there is no suitable job for her, she might as well create one.

Thinking of this, Sang Jingyun asked again: "Manager Hong, can you let me stay in your shop and help write letters for others?"

Sang Jingyun explained his thoughts in detail.

She wrote letters for others and charged two copper coins for each letter, which she would split in half with Manager Hong. Apart from that, Manager Hong didn't have to pay her any wages.

At this time, there were a large number of workers coming from other places to work in Shanghai, and the number was increasing.

By 1937, there were to contract workers in Shanghai alone.

It was the early years of the Republic of China. There were not so many factories and workers in Shanghai, but there were still quite a few. Among these people, many wanted to write letters to their families during the holidays.

In the original owner's memory, every time there was a temple fair, there would be scholars setting up stalls to write letters for people, and there were always many people around them.

This job doesn't require much capital and is completely doable. She helps people write letters in the paper shop. When she has free time, she can use paper and pen to write other things, or read Boss Hong's newspapers.

She had already noticed that there were several newspapers on Manager Hong's desk.

Sang Jingyun looked directly at Shopkeeper Hong and spoke freely.

Shopkeeper Hong looked at Sang Jingyun in surprise.

He had also heard about the Sang family's bankruptcy. He only knew that Sang Yuanshan's son was a good-for-nothing, but he didn't know that Sang Yuanshan had such a promising granddaughter.

Shopkeeper Hong asked: "How come you, a little girl, want to earn money?"

Sang Jingyun said, "To be honest with Shopkeeper Hong, my family is in a bad situation right now and we can't even pay the rent."

Shopkeeper Hong thought for a moment and said, "Then come over tomorrow."

Writing letters for others was feasible, but since he had literate younger generations in his family, Sang Jingyun was not needed.

However, the Sang family was now in a situation where they couldn't even afford the rent, so Manager Hong felt compassion and was willing to let Sang Jingyun come to work in the store.

The revenue of their Hongxing Paper Shop is becoming increasingly scarce, and it might have to close down one day. Fortunately, their descendants are still very capable, so even if the family business has problems, it will not end up like the Sang family.

"Thank you, Manager Hong." Sang Jingyun thanked him.

She didn't leave either. Instead, she discussed with Manager Hong about setting up a "letter writing service" sign. She also said that she could go to the dock and shipyard with Sang Jingying to promote the service.

The docks on the Shanghai side are very busy, filled with large wooden sailing ships that are more than ten meters long.

The laborers carrying goods at the docks, the sailors working on the ships, the workers responsible for maintaining and repairing sailboats... there are tens of thousands of them in total.

Among these people, the sailors and ship repairmen had a good income.

Most of them are from other places, and now that the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, some of them must want to write letters home.

Shopkeeper Hong was amazed and regretful: "Miss Sang, if you were a man and a few years older, the Sang family might not have fallen into decline."

The Sang family ended up like that because someone saw that Sang Yuanshan was old and had no successor, and tried to seize the Sang family's property.

(End of this chapter)