50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 2: Pawnshop Gun Sales
Meals were easier to arrange, as there was plenty of food at home. He could bring some cooked food to last through the first few meals. He would naturally have a way to get money, not to mention that he now had a storage ring.

He piled his and his sister's clothes on the bed, then pulled out the wicker box from under the bed, which was often used by the children's father.

He opened the suitcase and stuffed the clothes into it, then went to the kitchen to find some bacon, sausages and preserved eggs. He also wrapped the half bowl of braised beef on the table in oil paper and stuffed it into the suitcase.

Looking at the already full wicker box, he found a small mirror, a sandalwood comb and a bunch of rubber hairpins on his mother's dressing table and stuffed them all into his clothes.

Just when he was working hard, the sister in his arms opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the corpse and blood on the ground, and she immediately turned pale with fright.

Feeling the little body in his arms tremble again, he hurried to check the situation. Seeing his sister's pale face and frightened eyes, he quickly hugged her tightly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here."

There's no point saying anything now. The first thing to do is to escape.

Don’t be fooled by the neighbors who look honest and speak in a friendly manner. That’s just their normal routine because there are two adults in the house.

Now that all the adults in their family have died and there are only two children left, people will soon come to eat up the whole family, and the first wave will probably be the patrolmen.

They were a bunch of ruthless people. If Sun Zhiwei dared to take his sister with them, he would be reported to have died of excessive grief on the same day, and the next day, distant relatives would come to inherit the property.

It's not just the patrolmen. As long as the news gets out today, countless people will definitely come to this house at night.

If the brother and sister dare to live there, they can send someone to collect their bodies tomorrow.

He held his sister in his arms, closed the box tightly, picked it up with one hand and walked to the bedroom door. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered that there was a medicine box at home, which contained a lot of medicines that his mother had saved while working in the hospital.

This should be useful. He quickly opened the wardrobe, took out the large medicine box inside, and put it into the space.

Looking back at the two empty pistols beside his parents' bodies, he thought for a moment and decided to store them in his memory. Even if they were empty, they could still be used to scare people. Having a gun and not using it is different from not having a gun at all.

He took a last look at his parents lying on the ground, memorizing their appearances deeply in his mind. He then carried his sister and dragged the wicker box out the door.

This is a small courtyard with a private entrance. It is not very big and Qianer Hutong is outside.

After the burst of gunfire just now, someone must have called the patrol police. Although people outside may not know which house the gunshots came from, the patrol police will definitely find this place as long as they check.

After exiting the half-open gate, he found that no one was outside. Now was the time for them to leave while the neighbors were too frightened to go out.

He turned around and gently closed the gate, went out, turned right, and went directly to Zhushikou West Street, which was a main road and much safer than the alley.

After getting on the main road, Sun Zhiwei's nervous expression finally relaxed.

The next step was to get the start-up capital. Originally, he was going to borrow a dollar from his colleagues at his mother's hospital, but now he had two pistols he had just picked up from the ground, so there was no need to bother.

After walking a few hundred meters with his sister, he saw a pawn shop on the side of the street. A large "pawn" character occupied the entire wall, and a sign with the word "pawn" swayed in the wind.

Sun Zhiwei walked to the door of the pawnshop and saw that it was deserted, so he walked straight in.

The shopkeeper inside saw that it was two children coming in, but he didn't pay much attention and asked habitually: "Do you need emergency help?"

"That's right, what are the rules?" Sun Zhiwei didn't waste any words and asked with a natural expression.

The pawnshop's high counter stood four and a half to five feet tall. Pawners could only look up at the pawner inside, and they had to raise their hands before placing their items on the counter. This was the same across the country, unchanged from ancient times to the present. Why? Because they feared being beaten.

Anyone who pawns something is someone who is short of money and is generally unhappy. Moreover, the pawnshop "master" deliberately devalues ​​the quality of the goods and estimates the value very low, so naturally they are angry.

Once there is a disagreement, the poor man will get angry and either beat the pawnshop owner or grab the pawnshop owner's clothes. This is not uncommon.

Therefore, pawnshop owners have become shrewd. They build their counters high, so that if someone wants to hit or grab someone, they can't reach them. Even if you are angry, it's useless.

The pawnbroker inside saw that the child was neatly dressed, spoke naturally, and was not at all timid. The tall door lintel and counter did not make him nervous.

Today's shopkeepers are accustomed to observing people's words and expressions. Although they feel strange about this, they still follow the rules and explain the conditions.

"'Live pawning' has a monthly interest rate of 8% and a pawn term of 18 months. Upon expiration of the term, the pawn is redeemed with full payment of principal and interest, leaving no debt. If the pawn is not redeemed by the expiration of the term, the pawn becomes the property of the pawnshop."

"'Dead pawning' means the price is paid in person, and once the payment is made, the item becomes the property of the pawnshop. The pawner cannot redeem it at the original price with interest."

"What does the young master want to be?"

Sun Zhiwei didn't say anything else, but put down the rattan box in his right hand, took out a flower-mouthed pistol from behind, and threw the gun onto the counter in the shopkeeper's horrified eyes.

Then he said in a cold tone, "This is a replica of a flower-mouthed pistol made by the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. Please give me an estimate."

When the shopkeeper saw that he didn't shoot, he quickly wiped the cold sweat from his sweat and then began to check the guns on the counter.

This was a pistol that was about 80% new. There was no bullet in it, but the barrel felt a little warm to the touch. He was sure that the gun had just fired a bullet.

"Young Master, is this a pawn for life or death?"

"How much is the death penalty?"

"A half-worn, rusty, domestically made, flower-mouthed pistol. The muzzle is crooked and the rifling is worn. Estimated value: one silver dollar."

"Don't pawn it anymore. Give it to me." Sun Zhiwei knew that these pawnshop owners were used to telling lies with their eyes open, so he treated the previous comments as nonsense, but one dollar was definitely not enough.

At this time, the shopkeeper inside took control.

"Young Master, this gun of yours must have come from a dubious source. The patrol brigade is not far ahead, and their captain, Zhang, is very familiar with our chief shopkeeper."

"How about you reconsider it?" The shopkeeper looked at the two children with a smile, feeling that he had already caught them, and smiled with some satisfaction.

Sun Zhiwei did not panic, but reached behind his back and took out the second flower-mouthed rhino.

This time, he loaded the gun slowly, then looked up at the shopkeeper and said, "How about you reconsider this?"

He didn't even raise the muzzle of his gun to point at the counter, but the shopkeeper was already scared and broke out in a cold sweat.

"How much do you want to be, young master?" the shopkeeper asked after swallowing.

(End of this chapter)