The Republic of China. A Dream of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies

In the winter of 1921, Beiping was surprisingly cold. Under the night, two rickshaws hurried forward in the dark. In the front of the car sat a handsome man with a temperament, about 40 or [-] years old. He was a handsome young man of eighteen or nineteen years old, his face was that of a foreigner, and his hair was as black as in China.

"Your brother is too self-willed. He won't come back with us anyway. He insists on smoking soot in London." The man who spoke sighed faintly. He was wearing a blue-black cashmere coat, a gray suit underneath, and brown shoes on his feet. Suede boots are very Western.He can't control his second elder brother anymore. The second brother, Pu Xie, is only 16 years old this year, and he has a big idea. He doesn't want to go back to Beijing, so he likes to stay with his uncle's family. In fact, he also understands the reason , mainly because I still remember my mother's resentment for leaving them to be with young men.He is the once flirtatious Dorobel Zaikun. Nine years ago, he brought his two sons to London to serve as the ambassador. He has just left his post and returned to his hometown of Beijing. ), now an editor for a certain newspaper, good at Beijing opera, writing.

"He's still a child, he doesn't understand the truth, so don't get angry with him. How are Uncle Zaiyu and Auntie getting along?" Pu Ying, the elder brother, also wears a neat suit and a gray cashmere coat. He was born with a pair of gold His eye pupils, his forehead and chin are like his father Zai Kun, especially tough and masculine, while other parts are more like his mother Kelso, especially those eyes with multiple souls, which are unforgettable.When it was still in the Qing Dynasty, he was named Gushan Beizi when he was just over one year old, but his behavior is not like that of a Manchurian, because since he was 12 years old, he and his younger brother went to live in England with his father. This year, his father resigned and returned home. He came back together just after finishing his studies. Compared with the "pretentious" British, he prefers the simple Chinese. is one's own root.

"Uncle Zaiyu lives in dire straits every day. That woman named Ulan is really unlikable. Occasionally they will quarrel, but they still make do. Don't mention that woman when you meet him later, otherwise he will I'm going to sigh again." Zai Kun said that in the seven years since they left, some things have changed, but more things have remained the same, for example, Zai Yu still has no children, and his relationship with his wife is extremely bad.

The three of them made an appointment to meet in the private room of Nanwei Building, and Zai Yu greeted them as soon as they went upstairs.

"Oh, my brother, I haven't seen you for several years... Pu Ying has grown up so much, we are really old." Zai Yu is not as beautiful as his cousin, but he is more elegant in temperament. Especially decadent, always forgetting to shave off his beard, looks a few years older than his actual age, but in fact he is only 37, this age should be in the prime of life for a man, but he has lost his extravagant hopes.

"Why don't you shave your beard? You look older than me!" Zai Kun frowned and complained. He didn't want his cousin to continue to be decadent. If he really couldn't make it, he could simply get a divorce. What else would happen in the next few decades? Boil it?

"I'm not in the mood to pack myself up. Sit down. I ordered your favorite dishes. Nephew, you have ordered everything you like. Today's uncle's treat." Zai Yu pulled the father and son to sit down, but his thoughts were written all over his face. Today, I quarreled with my wife again before going out today.

"Are you fighting again?" Kun asked his cousin.

Zai Yu poured wine for them, and then replied, "Well, because my elder brother... stole some antiques from home a few days ago."

"He sold your things?" Zai Kun could only sigh and shake his head, it was really fatal to catch up with such a big brother.

"In the past few years, I have borrowed and borrowed, and I can get it. There are no valuable things in my place. There are only a few shops, and the deeds are all in Ulan's hands. Alas, it is not possible to live like this now. Blame Ulan, my eldest brother is really not a joke, his wife and children have run away, he is the only one who is so pitiful, so I took him home to live, who knows he just can't quit opium, I will soon be killed He's exhausted." Zai Yu said bitterly, but he couldn't bear to let his eldest brother Zai Yan live on the street.

When Pu Ying heard her uncle complaining, she said sternly: "Uncle, you can't be too soft-hearted, poor people must have something to hate, if this continues, all your pension money will be lost?"

"Isn't that right, but after all, we are all compatriots. If there is a mistake between your younger brothers, you, the eldest brother, will not stand by and watch?" He and Zai Kun clinked glasses to each other and drank up the wine.

Hearing this, the young man stopped talking. He has two younger brothers. Although Pu Xi is a half-brother, his relationship with him is already very close.

Zai Kun saw a newspaper on the table, so he picked it up and read it. It was published by the newspaper office where Zai Yu worked. .

When he saw a piece of news, he suddenly froze. The man pulling the cart in the photo was Wang Yanlin, the hereditary iron hat. According to his seniority, he was his cousin. Zongzheng Songjie once asked him to take care of his young son Yanlin. Unexpectedly, in just nine years, the 26-year-old Yanlin has fallen into such a state.

"Ama, what's the matter with you?" Pu Ying saw that his father looked wrong, so he took the newspaper in his hand to check, and also read the news.

"Did you see the news about Yanlin pulling a rickshaw?" Zai Yu asked helplessly. The boss forced him to write this report and even asked him to take a photo. Seeing his relatives in the same clan fall into such a situation, he felt in his heart No wonder it's not tasteful.

"Have you seen him? How is his family and where does he live?" Zai Kun asked anxiously. It was written in the report that Yanlin's family lived in a dilapidated house and relied on this man to pull a foreign car for a living.

"Outside Yongding Gate, the whole family lives in a rented broken-roofed house. His mother-in-law is not in good health and has to take medicine every day. His wife is also sick. There are two children in the family. The burden is very heavy. Before our Long Live God I even rewarded him once, but let him and those cronies squander it all. Yanlin is as powerful as a cow, and it is quite suitable for him to pull a cart, but I always feel that he lacks a root in his brain. You say he is stupid Ah, it’s not stupid, it’s just that it’s just that you don’t have a good heart. You think everyone is a good person, and his family’s property is cheated by the servants and a bunch of shit friends. Plus he used to be good at gambling, you can say it’s still good What?" Zai Yu really hated Yan Lin, now that he is down and out, he has learned to cherish it, but it's too late.

Zai Kun crossed his arms and pondered for a long time, then said, "Tell me where he lives, and I'll go and have a look later."

"Okay, don't give him too much money, I'm afraid he'll use it for gambling again." Zai Yu took out a pen and paper, wrote down Yanlin's address, and handed it to Kun Belle.

"I have my own sense of propriety. Come and have a few drinks." He had a preliminary plan in his mind. Anyway, his own yard is very large, with more than thirty rooms, more than half of which are empty. Can Yanlin's family live there? For any problem, he only cares about food and lodging, but he won't give Yanlin a penny, even if he borrows it.

After three tours of wine and five flavors of food, the father and son bid farewell to Zaiyu temporarily, and then took a rickshaw to Liulijing outside Yongding Gate to visit the cousin's family whom they had not seen for many years.

Walking into the gate of a courtyard that had been in disrepair for a long time, Zai Kun and his son entered a large courtyard. Because it was already night, half of the houses turned off the lights. When they saw an old woman pouring dirty water, Zai Kun asked politely: " Auntie, may I ask where Yanlin and his family live?"

Pu Ying smelled a pungent stench, and hurriedly covered his nose and mouth with a scarf. Although the yard was pitch-black, he could still see a foreign car parked in the corner, and there were piles of piles at the door of each house. Sundries, rotten wood, broken pots, and broken pots are really worthless to him.

The old woman didn't say anything, she pointed to the innermost room, took the slop bucket and went back to the room resentfully.

Zai Kun brought his son to the door of the house and saw that the kerosene lamp was still on, so he knocked on the door and asked, "Yanlin, are you home? I'm Zai Kun."

The people in the house heard the voice of the visitor, and immediately went to the door and opened it.

The person who opened the door was Yanlin. In the past, he was a fair and rich young prince with a pleasant smile, but now he has become a dark-skinned, thick-handed and thick-footed cart driver. Yanlin has a cropped head, regular features, and a round face. He has double eyelids, big eyes, and a solid body. Because he pulls a cart all year round, he doesn't have a trace of fat. He also wears the most dirt-resistant black padded jacket with clean white short hexagrams inside.

Pu Ying casually glanced into the room, there were two big kangs in the [-]-square-meter house, the old lady and her two grandchildren slept together, and the couple slept on the small kang outside, the room was fairly clean , but few pieces of furniture, broken wooden cabinets, a square dining table, and four benches.

"Brother Kun, why are you here!" Yan Lin was very happy when he saw his cousin. He had learned how to use a foreign gun from this man in the past.

"I just came back to Beijing, so I came to you. Why don't we find a place to talk, the old lady and younger siblings should go to bed." He looked at the old Fujin lying on the kang, feeling very uncomfortable. The tormented old woman, living in such a bad environment for the past few years, is probably getting worse.

"They just fell asleep, let's go outside and talk." Yanlin put on a cotton hat, followed Zai Kun and Pu Ying out of the courtyard, and came outside. The three of them arrived at a teahouse at the front door in a foreign car.

After Xiaoer served hot tea and snacks, Lord Baylor asked sincerely, "Why don't you have a fire in your house?" He carefully observed that there were no coal balls in the stove, and adults and children only used quilts to keep warm.

Yanlin smiled foolishly and scratched his head: "The money I earned is basically used up. My mother needs to take medicine, the whole family has to eat and pay the rent, so there is no money to buy coal balls." He looked up and saw the opposite side Sitting nephew Puying, in fact, the two are only six years apart, the other party is very handsome because of an English mother, especially those golden eyes, like magic, immediately made him unable to look away .

Zai Kun asked him to drink hot tea quickly, and said earnestly: "I heard about you from Zai Yu, I can't support you financially, but I hope you can move in and live with us, eat and live with us in the future Don't worry, after all, we are all descendants of Nurhachi, relatives passed down in the same line, we are a family. In my place, you don't have to suffer from the cold in winter, and your mother can also have a separate room to live in. Her old man can recuperate well, and the children We can also go to school, whether you continue to pull the rickshaw or find another job is up to you, but I will not lend you money."