The arrogance started from Chinatown

Chapter 3 People rely on clothes
"Boss Yu, come to me in four days to get the money!"

After Chen Zhengwei went out, he saw Yu Chong not far away and spoke directly.

Yu Chong's smile became much more sincere, and he immediately said:
"I'll send someone back in four days! I wish you great success here!"

"At home, rely on your parents; outside, rely on your friends. We Chinese wandering overseas can only stand on our own feet by supporting each other. Boss Yu, if you need help in the future, you can come to me!" Chen Zhengwei walked over, put his arm around Yu Chong's shoulders and said with a smile.

Afterwards, Chen Zhenghu took Chen Zhengwei to settle down, along with Chen Qiaoniang and Chen Zhengwu.

"Stay here for the next two days, and then find another place."

After walking a short distance, they came to an alley where sewage was flowing all over the ground and there was a foul smell.

There were dilapidated wooden houses on both sides, and some women were making fires and cooking at the doorsteps.

"No need to go in. Is there any hotel nearby? I need one where I can take a shower!" Chen Zhengwei said directly as he stood at the entrance of the alley. He had no intention of going in at all.

He just took 200 yuan from Mr. Huang, and the rest of the money will be delivered before the action.

"Why spend that money? I still have space there..." Chen Zhenghu said subconsciously.

He lived in an attic in the alley, which was about 10 square meters. Besides him, there was another person living there named Liu Alin.

The man works in a handmade cigarette factory and doesn't come back until night.

"Do as I say! We need the best hotel around here!" Chen Zhengwei was a little unhappy. He was not interested in living in a pigsty.

Chen Zhenghu then led the three people to walk two more streets, while introducing: "This is the territory of Ansongtang. The casinos and brothels here are all under their control..."

There are three types of organizations in Chinatown. The first type is the brotherhood association, also known as the Tong Kou or the Triad.

There are more than a dozen streets in Chinatown, and there are many halls of different sizes, and Ansong Hall is one of them.

After walking past a street corner, Chen Zhenghu looked into the distance and saw a group of people wearing black jackets and braids on their heads sitting at the entrance of the alley playing cards. Some of them even had axes gleaming on their waists.

"Those people are the Axemen of Ansongtang. Don't provoke them." Chen Zhenghu reminded.

Axe boy, also known as a beater.

Chen Zhengwei looked at it with interest.

The group then came to a three-story hotel. Sitting at the front desk was the proprietress, who was about 30 years old and had an average appearance.

After asking for the room, several people were taken to the third floor.

When I pushed open the door of the room, I saw that the space inside was not big, about ten square meters, with two hard beds, a small table and a cabinet.

This room is 35 minutes a day, and there is a public washroom in the corridor.

"Is this the best room?" Chen Zhengwei curled his lips. It's not as good as Home Inn.

"If you want to get better, you have to go outside Chinatown. Everyone who comes here is here to make money. Who among the rich people would come here?" Chen Zhenghu felt that Chen Zhengwei wanted too much.

It seems that this blood relative of mine originally came from a well-off family.

There is no private bathroom in the room, but there is a public washroom in the corridor.

Chen Zhengwei went to the public washroom to take a shower first. The only good thing about it was that there was a shower, although it was just a warm water pipe pouring down from the top of his head.

He also helped Chen Zhengwu wash his clothes, and then changed him into his best jacket.

This looks much neater, except that the braid at the back of the head is a bit inconvenient.

Chen Zhengwei didn’t know how to tie it, and it would look even uglier if it was hanging loose behind his head, so he just tied it casually behind his head.

When Chen Qiaoniang went to take a shower, Chen Zhengwei and Chen Zhenghu were chatting in the room. It was from Chen Zhenghu that she learned the whole story.

Just like what he had seen at the dock before, the Chinese had taken away a lot of people's jobs here, and therefore were often attacked outside Chinatown.

Of the 300 laundries in Jinshan City, % are run by Chinese.

The people who were beaten to death this time were the owners of two laundry shops.

The older generation in the Ningyang Guild Hall is used to keeping things quiet, but the young and middle-aged people have a different idea.

And that Mr. Huang, whose name is Huang Baoru, is the leader of the young and middle-aged group.

However, the Ningyang Guild Hall was just a village party, not a gang. Huang Baoru was just an ordinary businessman, so this matter fell on him.

As for Chen Zhenghu, he used to work in a garment factory, but recently lost his job and was waiting at the club to find a job.

Huang Baoru gave him three dollars and asked him to help him lead the way for the next few days.

"There are a lot of them, Zhengwei, are you sure?" Chen Zhenghu asked, somewhat worried.

"Just lead the way!" Chen Zhengwei grinned, full of murderous intent.

Wait until Chen Qiaoniang finishes washing.

The three of them were finally clean, and everyone went downstairs to find a place to eat.

Several people were eating voraciously, even Chen Zhenghu.

One stew, one stir-fried meat, two side dishes, and a pot of wine, the total cost was 41 cents.

According to Chen Zhenghu, this money can buy three pounds of meat.

The steak here is 13 cents a pound.

The meal was finished only after Qiao Niang and Zheng Wu licked their plates clean.

The first thing Chen Zhengwei did was to get his hair cut, which frightened Chen Qiaoniang so much that she quickly pulled him aside and said, "Brother, you can't cut it, or you'll be beheaded!"

"Haven't you seen so many people cut their hair? This is called adapting to local customs!" Chen Zhengwei said unhappily.

Chen Qiaoniang couldn't persuade him and was almost in tears.

Chen Zhengwei touched the bald spot on his head. After a month on the boat, his hair had grown a little bit. He simply asked to have the hair on both sides shaved off and left a buzz cut on top. He also saw hair oil at the barber shop. If his hair wasn't too short, he would have wanted to have a shaved head with the sides shaved off.

Looking at the energetic short-haired young man in the mirror, Chen Zhengwei felt much more pleasing to the eye.

After getting up and going out, I found a men's clothing store, which sold ready-made clothes, custom-made clothes, and even second-hand clothes.

There is an old craftsman wearing glasses in the store.

"Formal or casual?"

Gentlemen's clothing at this time was divided into two categories. Formal wear was usually a swallowtail, consisting of three pieces: trousers, a vest and a jacket.

He wore a light-colored stand-up collar shirt with a silk scarf or something called an Alphonse scarf tied around his collar. It was somewhat similar to a tie, but it had a lot of wrinkles and looked a bit bulging when tied.

Non-formal wear has a short tail, which is called a bag-type dress. Because the formal dress has padded shoulders and a waist tie, this kind of clothes is put directly on the body like a pocket, which is more casual and has only become popular in recent years.

In fact, this is very close to the suits that Chen Zhengwei is familiar with.

After learning more about it, Chen Zhengwei chose two short black suits, one set of linen pants and vest, and one set of white pants and vest.

Four white shirts and a silk top hat.

During this period, hats were a symbol of status and a must-wear accessory.

Laborers would wear peaked caps, while roadmen, newspaper vendors, and milkmen would wear soft felt hats, and silk top hats were the favorite choice of the rich.

Chen Zhengwei knows very well that when going out to do things, one must dress appropriately.

Clothes make the man!
Besides, the money here has strong purchasing power, and all these things together only cost 17 yuan.

A suit costs 6 yuan, which is made of relatively fine silk fabric, and a shirt costs 75 yuan to 80 yuan.

In the leather shoe store next door, a pair of high-end leather shoes only costs 1 to 2 yuan.

After a while, Chen Zhengwei came out with a changed set of clothes, and Chen Zhenghu was secretly shocked.

In just a short period of time, Chen Zhengwei spent 19 yuan, which he could not even earn in a month.

Looking at Chen Zhengwei, who was wearing linen pants and vest, white shirt, black suit jacket, and top hat, even he had to admit that the other party was more like a person who had taken root here than himself.

And he is a rich man.

However, Chen Zhenghu always felt as if something was missing, and after a moment he suddenly realized it.

"You're still missing a civilization stick!"

"Stick of Civilization..." Chen Zhengwei sneered when he heard the name, thinking that the Indians would definitely have something to say.

But you still have to buy a walking stick.

After walking around for a while, he finally found a shop that sold walking sticks. Chen Zhengwei looked around with interest and asked, "Do you have the kind with a sword in the middle?"

"Few people use it. If you want to put a sword inside, it can only be the foreigner's rapier, which is mainly used for stabbing. Although it is fast, it cannot be used in head-on collisions. It is easy to break. We Tang people are not used to using it. If you want it, you need to make it custom-made. It can be made in seven days." said the owner of the cane shop.

"Huh?" Chen Zhengwei laughed immediately. This boss is an expert.

"And the dagger?"

"Make the staff thicker. You can think of a way to make a dagger. But it will also be thinner than a normal dagger!" The boss thought for a moment and said seriously.

"Then use the dagger!" Chen Zhengwei said immediately.

Then I bought a cane with a gold and silver top decoration. It was as thick as my thumb and was quite easy to use after waving it a few times. The price was 2 dollars. I gave the boss another two dollars as a deposit and ordered a cane with a dagger in the middle.

After finishing all these tasks, it was already evening. They found a place to have dinner and then went back to rest.

Chen Zhenghu originally wanted to leave, but was kept by Chen Zhengwei to inquire about the situation here.

When Chen Zhenghu left late at night, Chen Zhengwei thought about it and realized that the situation here was more complicated than he thought, especially the situation of the Chinese was very bad.

I still have to gain a foothold in Ningyang Guild Hall here.

After all, these people are all from the same hometown, and when making a living overseas, fellow villagers and relatives are relatively reliable.

However, those old guys in the guild who were used to swallowing their anger have fallen behind the times.

Young and vigorous people like Huang Baoru only have the intention but don't even have anyone they can use. They simply don't have the courage and skills.

If he could gather a group of young and strong men together, he could turn the tables and take over the Ningyang Guild Hall.

Ningyang Guild Hall is one of the largest guild halls, with at least five to six thousand members.

Although these people are of little use, each of them pays a membership fee of five dollars per year, which amounts to twenty or thirty thousand dollars a year.

What’s the point of handing this money over to those old guys?

Only if you hand it over to me, I can protect their safety and help them solve their problems!
……

Chen Qiaoniang and Chen Zhengwu were on the same bed. Chen Qiaoniang looked sideways at Chen Zhengwei in the dark. After a while, she suddenly asked in a low voice, "Brother, is it really you?"

"What?" Chen Zhengwei raised his eyebrows. Is it so obvious?
"I just feel that you are different from before..." Chen Qiaoniang's voice was a little nervous.

Chen Zhengwei searched his memory and snorted, "I still remember you wet your pants when you were eight years old, and your father spanked you."

"I have lost my home and can no longer live the same way as before. I have to change, and you have to change too, in order to survive here. Not only do you have to survive, you have to live better than others!"

Hearing Chen Zhengwei's decisive tone, Chen Qiaoniang felt more relieved.

"elder brother!"

"I see."

(End of this chapter)