A Wizard's Survival Guide to the 20th Century

The next day, Levi changed into the attire commonly worn by workers, messed up his hair, smeared some dust on his face, disguised himself as a Salisman who had just smuggled into Phoenix, and came to Chinatown in St. Francis.

The construction of the BA Bay Bridge has not yet been completed, it is just a few giant concrete pillars standing on the sea.

There is a bay between Oakland and St. Francis. If you want to get there, you can only take a boat or take a long way around.

And Chinatown is a force with territory on both sides of the bay. They must have a way to cross the bay. Levi's plan was to pretend to be a Serisian who wanted to work in Oakland, sneak in there with the help of Chinatown, and collect intelligence in a low-key manner.

After all, after taking this job, Levi still wanted to do it seriously.

Turning a corner, an unexpected large archway stands on the road. This is the territory of Chinatown.

This is a term that Levi has often heard in this life and the previous life, but it was not until today that he walked into this place for the first time.

This street is not significantly different from other places, and there is no such thing as red lanterns.

The only difference is that there are more Chinese restaurants and Chinese signs here, and they still have traditional Chinese characters on them, giving people the feeling of being in old Shanghai.

The road is bumpy and not smooth. There are many black iron rickshaws with awnings parked on both sides of the street. The drivers sit under the shade of the trees and smoke cigarettes.

Li Wei was a new face here, and he looked over with sideways glances.

Levi looked around, pretending that he had just arrived in the United States and was unfamiliar with the place.

Sure enough, after a while, a middle-aged man wearing a melon cap, round-rimmed glasses, and a long coat came over.

He reached out and patted Li Wei on the shoulder, leaned his head and said, "Little brother, have you just come to Jinshan City?"

Levi glanced at him and nodded.

The man with round glasses chuckled: "Don't be afraid, we are from the Chinese Mutual Aid Association. Little brother, where are you from?"

Li Wei looked shy: "I am from Zhili."

"A native of Zhili?" The man with round-framed glasses showed surprise, and his voice was immediately stained with a hint of authentic Zhili accent:

"Then we are fellow villagers! Come on, have you had lunch?"

Levi lowered his head:

"I don't have any money in my hand, not yet."

"What are you talking about? Come on, I'll treat you to the fire!" The man with round glasses enthusiastically pulled Levi's sleeve.

"Master, isn't this bad?" Li Wei looked flustered and quickly declined.

"Hey, we're all fellow villagers here, what's there to be embarrassed about?" The man with round-framed glasses remained enthusiastic and pulled Levi away.

"Let me tell you, that fire-roasted restaurant is delicious. It's rare for you to eat it in this foreign place!"

Half-pushing and half-moving, Levi was pulled into a small restaurant by him.

The shop was not big, and the walls were covered with newspapers. Everything in the shop was yellow, which made Li Wei inexplicably look forward to it.

The man with round-framed glasses was explaining on the side, saying that none of the foreigners in Phoenix ate donkey meat. The owner of this shop had given away the exhausted donkeys, which was an advantage for us.

Soon four long strips of donkey meat were brought up, along with two bowls of tomato and egg soup. Li Wei opened his mouth and took a bite of the fire-roasted pancake. The crust was crispy, the donkey meat was tender, and the stew was oily. He couldn't help but be immersed in it.

The man with round glasses was absent-minded and asked enthusiastically how old Levi was, how many people were in his family, and whether he had gone to school.

Levi had already planned for this, and after a few emotionally charged and well-acted answers, the image of a man whose parents died young and who only went to private school came to the United States of Phoenix alone emerged.

The man with round-frame glasses wiped his tears and said:

"Little brother, it's really hard for you. Have you found a reliable employer?"

"No, I'm still looking for work." Li Wei said.

"In that case, don't call me Master, call me Lao Cui. I think we are destined, how about I help you find a job?" Lao Cui said with a smile.

"Really?" Levi's face showed surprise, but soon turned into a look of embarrassment, with a very professional attitude.

"Here, I don't know how to thank you. I don't want anything decent, I just want to make more money. I want to go to Oakland. I heard that the wages there are good."

"It's easy. If you want to cross the river, no one in the city knows the way better than me." Lao Cui chuckled.

"It's just that, little brother, you have to be generous with this introduction fee."

Li Wei understood it, pretended to be embarrassed, and took out the two Philippine dollars he had prepared from his pocket.

"I only have this little money, I don't know if Brother Cui will have enough..."

"That's enough, that's enough." Lao Cui put it away with a smile and said, "By the way, little brother, what's your name?"

"Ji Bochang." Li Wei said.

"Oh, what a good name." Lao Cui said, "Xiao Ji, have you ever heard of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association?"

What is this new term?

Levi thought for a while, and it seemed that he had only mentioned it a few times in his previous life when he heard people brag about it, so he said, "Never heard of it."

After hearing this, Lao Cui's smile became even stronger and he continued: "Okay, it's not a big deal."

"I happened to have a friend who was working in a mine in Oakland. He was provided with food and accommodation that day, steamed buns and porridge, and occasionally meat. Every wage was paid in cash, what do you think?"

Li Wei nodded. He didn't intend to do it in the first place. It didn't matter what he was doing.

"I think it's pretty good."

"Okay, I'll take you to find that friend." Lao Cui smiled and put on his melon cap, leaving the meal money on the table.

……

The two men walked towards the pier.

Levi observed the road curiously, and at a glance he could see an old man enjoying the shade under a tree, a middle-aged man playing chess, a young man pulling a cart, and children running around.

This feeling of being completely different from this country made Levi feel as if he had returned to his hometown community. The sights he had not seen for several years felt familiar and strange.

There are also sellers of green betel nuts and dry tobacco leaves. This street seems to have its own newspapers and periodicals. A large gray newspaper has the words "Shanghai News" printed on it. Someone can be heard playing a radio, reporting on the Siris merchant government. latest news.

Lao Cui led Li Wei into a dock, where a rusty fishing boat was parked. Lao Cui asked Li Wei to stand where he was and walked forward.

"Hey, Lao Cui, is this new?" one of the two people said while leaning on the pile next to the fishing boat to smoke.

"My name is Ji Bochang. I have no one at home, so I came to work by myself."

The man glanced at Levi.

"Okay, let's make a price."

"Hey, just charge 400 Philippine dollars." Lao Cui stretched out four fingers.

"That's a nice idea, 200 Philippine dollars, no more." The man took a puff of smoke.

Lao Cui suddenly opened his eyes:

"No, 200 is too little. I just gave him a meal. Didn't you see that this guy is tall and strong, at least 300 Philippine dollars!"

The two argued for a while, and finally the man took out a few banknotes and slapped them on Lao Cui's hand.

Lao Cui kissed the green notes with satisfaction and stuffed them into his wallet.

At this time, he turned around and walked towards Levi with a smile.

"Xiao Ji, listen to these big brothers and don't be lazy when the time comes."

But Li Wei agreed on the surface at this time, but he felt something was wrong in his heart.

Isn't it possible that I was sold?

There are quite a lot of collections today.

It would be nice to have a recommendation...although I don't know where it was recommended to me.