The Turmoil of the Bund Chapter 4: Hiding Everywhere, Ultimately Seeking Refuge Abroad

Poor James had been wandering around Yangjing Town for quite some time. It was a hub for many local merchants—a good place to look for someone. But where could he find a local who spoke English?

Following closely behind him was Huang Runtang, a Cantonese interpreter, wearing a similarly baffled expression. Who would have thought the Wu dialect spoken here would be so obscure and difficult to understand?

Huang could learn it, but the difficulty was no less than learning English.

“Huang, hang this sign on your chest and follow me,” James instructed, fastening a wooden placard around Huang’s neck that read, “High-paying English Interpreter Wanted.”

Passing by Wu’s Pawnshop, James stepped inside to have a sip of tea. The shop owner, Wu Jianzhang, was a Cantonese fellow and an old acquaintance of their foreign trading company, owning numerous shops and worth millions.

James inquired discreetly with the shopkeeper if there were any locals nearby who knew English.

The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly. The area had just been newly developed, and locals rarely had contact with outsiders. It was nothing like Guangzhou, where the Thirteen Factories had long been established, accumulating many interpreters.

As James stepped out of the shop, he spotted a few of the pawnshop’s assistants pushing a child to the ground by the riverside.

James shook his head, well aware of the inner workings of these Chinese pawnshops—they were little more than robbers masquerading under a legal guise.

The older child slunk away holding a little girl, cursing loudly as he fled.

James only reacted after a moment.

“Huang, did that child just curse?” he asked.

Huang nodded. “Yes, he did.”

“‘Fuck you’?”

Huang nodded again. “Yeah, ‘Fuck you.’”

A spark lit up in their eyes.

“Fuck you. I’ve found him.”

“Where is he?” James looked again, but the older child had already vanished.

“Huang, go find him quickly! Don’t let him get away.”

And so the two of them ran through the streets of Yangjing Town. A tall foreigner sprinting down the street startled the pedestrians, who hurriedly avoided him.

No one would take responsibility if a foreigner got hurt, but if anyone harmed a foreigner, they would be in serious trouble.

Ever since the Renyin Treaty was signed, local officials had become utterly submissive before foreigners.

Chen Lin was hiding with his little sister in a narrow alley. He was now penniless, without a boat to cross the river, and even going home seemed impossible.

“Brother, I miss Mother and Father,” the little girl Miao Miao said, tears welling in her big eyes—after all, she was only six or seven years old.

Chen Lin ruffled her yellow hair and comforted her, “Miao Miao, be good. Brother will find Mother, and I’ll make money to buy you lots of delicious food.”

Suddenly, two burly men dashed past the alley entrance like a gust of wind. The one in front was the golden-haired foreign giant.

Chen Lin only glanced briefly but was deeply impressed by the foreigner’s stature. His golden hair fell over his shoulders, a short beard shadowed his face, and his shoulders were as broad as Chen’s thigh—uncannily like a tough guy actor from a future Western film.

Chen Lin now deeply understood the truth that money wasn’t everything, but having none was utterly disastrous.

The knowledge in his mind, if applied, was priceless in this era—but he couldn’t convert it into wealth.

A boy with nothing could not make smokeless gunpowder by hand, nor build an oil refinery, nor manufacture fertilizer.

The pawnshop assistants from Wu’s seemed not to have pursued him, and Chen Lin’s heart eased a little, though his back still throbbed faintly.

Huang Runtang was panting heavily as he followed James, unable to keep up.

“Mr. James, wait for me, I can’t run anymore…”

James finally stopped.

“Damn it, where did that kid go? How could he disappear in the blink of an eye?”

“Mr. James, two children couldn’t have run that far. We must be chasing the wrong direction,” Huang gasped.

“Huang, think of something.”

Huang shook his head; what could he do?

Seeing Huang’s lack of enthusiasm, James suddenly realized something and stared at him. “Huang, you’re worried the boss will find a new interpreter and kick you out, aren’t you?”

Huang seemed hit at a sore spot and shook his head repeatedly. “Impossible, Mr. James. I’ve worked with the boss for five years now. If it really comes to that, I can always go back to Panyu.”

“That’s good. Then help me think of a way. You know the boss’s temper—he absolutely won’t let others outdo him. The value of the Shanghai Concession needs no explanation; this will be our stronghold in the future.”

“Why don’t we check with Wu’s Pawnshop? I saw their assistants roughing up that boy earlier. Maybe they have some clues.”

“Ha! Huang, you’re so clever,” James slapped Huang’s shoulder with a hearty laugh.

The two hurried back and soon arrived at Wu’s Pawnshop.

The shopkeeper greeted the foreign gentleman of the trading company with a courteous face.

“Mr. James, why are you back so soon? Come in for some tea.”

James grabbed the shopkeeper’s wrist and had Huang translate, “Do you know the two children from earlier?”

The shopkeeper looked confused. “What children?”

At that moment, the burly man who had just beaten Chen Lin walked in.

“Right, that’s him. He was the one who hit that boy,” James pointed at the big assistant.

“Lin Aqi, you hit a child just now? Come here quickly, the foreign gentleman wants to ask you something.”

Lin Aqi was flustered. He had only disciplined a reckless brat; how did it draw the foreign gentleman’s attention?

“Boss, I recently pawned a fishing boat. Some brat tried to cause trouble, so I chased him off.”

The shopkeeper looked skeptical but realized there might be some truth to it.

Why would the foreign gentleman have anything to do with a brat?

“Yes, yes, tell me, who is that child? Where is he now?” James hurriedly asked.

“I don’t know,” Lin Aqi shook his head repeatedly. Why would he bother tracking a brat’s whereabouts?

“Fuck you, you don’t even know him and you hit him?” James scolded him fiercely.

Lin Aqi was stunned, not understanding how he offended this foreigner.

“Mr. James, please calm down. I will ask around.”

“Lin Aqi, whose pawned boat is that?”

The shopkeeper knew the habits of his men—this boat must be connected to that boy.

“Qian Lao San pawned it,” Lin Aqi confessed.

“Qian Lao San? He’s already pawned three boats this month, hasn’t he?”

Lin Aqi kept his head down, unwilling to explain the shady dealings.

“Go find Qian Lao San now. Find out where those two children came from. If you can’t find out, don’t come back.”

The shopkeeper turned to James and put on a smiling face again. “Mr. James, please be patient. We’ll get to the bottom of this soon.”

“Come in and sit,” the shopkeeper invited, having someone brew a fine pot of tea for James.

Chen Lin had originally planned to take his sister to the docks to see if he could hitch a ride home on a fishing boat.

Before leaving, he opened the bundle on his back and found a document for a fishing boat.

With this written proof, Wu’s Pawnshop shouldn’t be able to keep his fishing boat any longer. If necessary, he would report it to the authorities—after all, the housing issue had been settled, and officials had no grounds against him.

So Chen Lin carried his sister and headed toward Wu’s Pawnshop.

As he stepped onto the pawnshop’s steps, his heart faltered.

But thinking of his missing younger brother and his mother still imprisoned, he lifted his sister higher on his back and resolutely moved forward.

“Stop right there!”

Halfway up the steps, a man holding a wooden stick blocked his path.

“Kid, look carefully. This is a pawnshop. If you’re begging, go somewhere else,” the assistant said bluntly, brandishing the stick.

“Move aside. I want to see your boss,” Chen Lin said calmly but firmly.

“Oh? Someone like you wants to see our boss? Move it, don’t interfere with my business,” the assistant reached out his hand.

At that moment, a huge hand shoved the assistant to the ground.

“Ouch!” the assistant yelped.

Chen Lin’s eyes widened in surprise as a golden-haired Jason Momoa lookalike suddenly appeared before him.