Chapter 29: A Sudden Encounter at the Dock

  In the late afternoon, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu arrived in Chongqing.

  He gave two dollars to the rickshaw driver and sent him away, Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu felt at ease strolling along the streets of Chongqing in the evening.

  This southwestern metropolis, although appearing somewhat dilapidated and disheveled, still boasts a vibrant scene on its streets. People flow to and fro, walking barefoot, wearing tattered hats, carrying long poles resembling yokes on their shoulders, as they make their way through the crowds, shouting and searching for employers. Vendors selling snacks carry baskets on their backs, setting up shop by the roadside. Some ride in sedan chairs or on horseback. Meanwhile, groups of two or three women, arm-in-arm with each other, stroll through the night market, carrying foreign-style handbags, window-shopping from one store to another.

  Along the street, shops lined up one after another. There were silk and satin stores, pharmacies, grocery stores, and a larger department store. Women wore all sorts of fashionable clothes, going in and out of roadside shops and department stores. The places men went to most often were roadside taverns, tea houses, and smoking dens.

  Across the street, turning into an alley, there were many brothels that opened at night. The prostitutes were dressed up in a flashy manner, heavily made-up. Wearing cheongsam dresses that exposed their white thighs, they stood at the door to solicit customers.

  Next to these brothels, there are also some casinos that open at night. The flow of people in and out here is even more than those going to the brothels.

  Zhao Erhu walked on this street and saw those brothel doors with bright lights, he couldn't help but let his eyes wander over those prostitutes.

  Ma Fei saw Zhao Erhu's concerns and said: "Third brother, are you thinking of going out to have some fun?"

  Zhao Erhu hastily nodded: "Yeah, Second Brother, why don't we go in and have some fun? After all, we've got money on us now."

  "It's no good tonight, if you want to have fun, go to Hankou, it's definitely more lively there," Ma Fei said.

  Zhao Erhu listened to Ma Fei's words and didn't make another sound.

  "Where are we going now, Second Brother?" Zhao Erhu asked.

  "Let's find an inn to stay in for the night. We still have to go to the dock and meet up with Big Brother tomorrow morning," said Ma Fei.

  "I'll listen to Second Brother," Zhao Erhu said.

  The two people walked forward along this street for a while and saw a two-story hotel by the road, so they checked in.

  After settling in, Ma Fei said to Zhao Erhu: "Brother, you stay in the room first, I have something to do, I'll go out for a bit."

  "Where is Second Brother going?" Zhao Erhu asked.

  "I'll go find the local gang, I heard my father say that in Chongqing city there's a gang leader named Wu Shangjin. He and my father are sworn brothers. Father said that if I ever have the chance to come to Chongqing, I must definitely go find him. Now that we're here, I remembered my father's words, and since we don't have anything else to do right now, I'll go find him, maybe he can help us with something." Ma Fei said.

  "Alright, Second Brother, you go then. Be careful. I'll be waiting for you." Zhao Erhu said.

  He walked to the door. Ma Fei turned his head and reminded him: "Third brother, there are gangsters behind the brothels and casinos here, don't run around randomly, once you go in, be careful not to come out."

  "Don't worry, Second Brother. I won't go anywhere. You can leave." Zhao Erhu said.

  After Ma Fei left, Zhao Erhuo indeed stayed in the room for a while. But he was a night owl and couldn't stay idle, liking to join in the excitement. Before long, he couldn't bear the loneliness, got up, closed the hotel door, and came out onto the main street.

  Next to the hotel was a casino. Zhao Erhu had just walked to the entrance when he was pulled in by the greeter at the casino door.

  After being treated to hospitality and persuasion, plus the silver dollars divided by Feng's family son, Zhao Erhu felt that his waist was thicker than anyone else at this moment. With a full breath, he didn't care about anything and went straight to the roulette table in the casino, placing bets. The first few rounds were indeed smooth, investing ten or twenty silver dollars and winning back more than forty silver dollars. Zhao Erhu became excited, thinking that this was faster than making money from kidnapping, if he won hundreds of silver dollars tonight and took it back, his second brother would be envious.

  Thinking of this, Zhao Erhu became excited, originally betting one or two blocks, he also started to double his bets. But as a result, his luck turned bad, losing once, losing again, and in just a few rounds, the tens of silver dollars he had won earlier were all lost. His eyes red with anger, he steeled himself and bet all the silver dollars he could find on himself, but after one round, he lost everything. Still wanting to gamble, he felt his pockets, but couldn't find a single coin. So Zhao Erhu thought of borrowing money from the gambling den, but when they asked him if he had anything valuable to pawn, Zhao Erhu shook his head. Before he could ask again, he was beaten out by the strong and sturdy guards at the gambling den with a flurry of punches and kicks.

  Zhao Erhu's nose was blue and his face was swollen. He hung his head in despair and returned to the hotel.

  It wasn't until midnight that Ma Fei returned from outside. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Zhao Erhu already fast asleep and didn't disturb him, so he undressed and went to bed, sleeping by himself.

  When the east broke dawn and the rooster crowed, Zhao Erhu and Ma Fei both got out of bed. While washing their faces, Ma Fei saw that Zhao Erhu's face was bruised with purple and blue marks, and thought it strange. He asked Zhao Erhu: "Third Brother, what happened to your face? Why is it all bruised? Could you have encountered a ghost last night and been beaten by it?"

  "Get out, you've been beaten by a ghost!" Zhao Erhu said.

  "Still don't admit it, how did you get that look on your face?" Ma Fei asked again.

  "It's none of my business." Zhao Erhu said hastily.

  Ma Fei didn't ask again, washed his face and went to pack up his things.

  Zhao Erhu didn't dare to tell Ma Fei about what happened last night, he was afraid that Ma Fei would scold him. Seeing Ma Fei leave, he also hastily washed his face and went out to tidy up his own east district.

  In the early morning, Chaotianmen Dock was shrouded in mist. The fog rising from the river surface quickly enveloped the entire dock in a hazy embrace. Standing on the high steps, looking far into the distance along the riverbank, rows of smoke were emitting from many large and small ships, among which a large passenger liner was moored at the dock.

  On both sides of the stone steps, there are rows of old houses built against the steep riverbank. On the roofs of these houses, in the gaps between the green tiles, tufts of moss and lichen have grown out, showing that these riverside houses have been standing for many years.

  A long stone staircase connects the city gate with the dock by the river. It seems like it just rained, and the bluestone steps are very slippery.

  Early risers who were going to take the Hankou-bound steamer, came out of the city gate one after another and walked towards the dock along this long, slippery bluestone staircase.

  Ma Fei and Zhao Erhu did not follow the crowd to go downstairs, they stood on the top step, waiting for Li Guoting's arrival.

  At this moment, a girl with a white hat and a long braid walked out of the crowd at the city gate. She was wearing a red-bottomed black-grid satin jacket over a plain-colored satin robe, and had a pink Western-style bag slung over her left arm and a book in her right hand. A man in his fifties, dressed in a long gown and a horse-hair cloak, followed closely behind her, carrying a large leather suitcase.

  Zhao Erhu turned his head and saw the girl walking towards them. His eyes lit up with a plan. Judging from the girl's attire, he was certain she was a young lady from a wealthy family. The person following her must be some kind of steward or servant from her household.

  Just thinking about losing all his silver coins at the casino last night and getting beaten up, he still had a bellyful of anger. He was also thinking that if Li Guoting and Ma Fei asked him about those silver coins in the future, how could he deceive them? Just then, it would be perfect to meet another rich person today, and he couldn't let her off either.

  Zhao Erhu thought of this and stirred up his evil intentions. Who am I, Zhao Erhu? I was a disciple of the notorious "One Gust of Wind" bandit king in Guangyuan City back then. That's also quite famous. Look down on me? Just wait, watch me show you my skills.

  Thinking of this, Zhao Erhu deliberately shifted to the side stone step, waiting for the girl to pass by his side.

  Just as the girl walked up to them, her high-heeled shoes slipped and she lost her balance. Her body tilted to one side, and she cried out: "Ah!" As she fell towards Ma Fei standing beside her, the bag slung over her arm also dropped to his feet.

  Ma Fei only looked up at the misty river surface, not noticing what was happening beside him. The girl fell towards him and leaned against his body. Ma Fei didn't notice and almost fell down with her. Fortunately, he stood firmly, but his body swayed slightly without falling. He turned around to see a fashionable girl leaning against his body, so he quickly stretched out his hand to help the girl up.

  The girl's face turned red as she steadied herself, looked up at Ma Fei who was supporting her and said shyly "thank you!"

  "No need to be polite, it's what I should do, what I should do."

  As they spoke, Ma Fei couldn't help but steal a glance and discovered that the girl was very beautiful, his heart skipped a beat. He hastily stepped forward, picked up the pink backpack that the girl had dropped on the ground earlier, and respectfully handed it back to her with both hands.

  The girl smiled again and said, "Thank you." She took the package from Ma Fei's hand and put it back on her arm. Ma Fei wanted to say something else, but at this time, the man who was following behind him hurried up and asked with concern while holding onto the girl's arm, "Miss, are you okay?"

  The girl said it was nothing and was about to leave. Just as she left Ma Fei's side, the girl turned her head again to glance at Ma Fei, smiled slightly, and then walked towards the dock below the stairs.

  The man with the leather suitcase also followed down the stairs.

  Ma Fei gazed at the girl walking down the stairs, and the hidden passion in his heart was suddenly ignited. His mind kept flashing back to the beautiful girl's faint smile at him just now. This smile made Ma Fei a little dizzy, and he couldn't help but applaud: "Wonderful! Wonderful! It's really wonderful. My good fortune has arrived."

  "Second Brother, what are you talking about? What's this 'good fortune' that's arrived?" Zhao Erhu asked, seeing Ma Fei's self-satisfied expression and not understanding what was going on.

  Ma Fei finally came back to his senses, raised his hand and pointed at the beautiful girl who had already walked far away, saying: "She's mine. Haha---."

  Zhao Erhu raised his head and took a glance at the back of the girl who was walking away, saying: "Is she... Second Brother... yours?"

  Seeing Zhao Erhu's bewildered face, Ma Fei laughed again: "What, Third Brother doesn't believe that girl is mine? I say she's mine, and she must be mine. Don't believe me, just wait."

  Zhao Erhu looked at Ma Fei again, then pulled out a leather bag from his sleeve and handed it to Ma Fei: "Second Brother, whether that girl is yours or not, I don't know. But the wallet she was carrying on her body has already become mine."

  "When did you little thief steal someone's wallet?" Ma Fei asked in surprise as he saw Zhao Erhu hand over the wallet.

  "This second brother doesn't know, third brother I also have a nickname called 'Little Slippery Wind'. As long as I want to steal, I must be able to steal. Not inferior to the skills of the second brother." Zhao Erhu said with pride.

  "Go on, you little brat. Hand over your wallet." Ma Fei said, raising his head and staring at the girl walking away in the distance.

  "Second brother, what do you want a purse for? You're not trying to win over that girl, are you?" Zhao Erhu asked in confusion.

  "You're right, it's about pleasing that girl. No nonsense, hurry up and give it to me." Ma Fei almost commanded.

  "Fine, you go win over the girl, I'll be left penniless." Zhao Erhu grumbled reluctantly and handed the wallet in his hand to Ma Fei.

  Ma Fei grabbed his wallet and turned to chase after the girl in front of him. As he ran, he looked back at Zhao Erhu and said: "Erhu, just stand there, don't move, wait for me." With that, he ran down the stairs.