Bible Saves Life

  The Suzhou River converges with the Huangpu River at Waibaidu Bridge, and Hongkou District to the north is the American Concession, while south of Huangpu Park is the British Concession. This area gathers foreigners from all over the world. During the day, it's bustling with cars and horses, and at night, it's a sea of neon lights and revelry.

  This is a deformed city. The local people live in slums, while foreigners live in prosperous areas.

  In a dilapidated house near Happy Valley, three small beggars surrounded a big beggar. They looked no more than ten years old, with tattered clothes and pale faces. Obviously the lowest level of the food chain in this society.

  "Wang Ge has been running a fever for two days, and we've thought of every possible solution. But there's still no improvement," said one of the three little beggars, who was slightly older than the others, with a sigh.

  "What can we do? But Wang Ge has always been with us. If something happens to him..."

  As they spoke, another little beggar began to cry. This time it was good, and the people around them were all brought to tears. The older one cried for a while, rubbed his eyes, stood up and said: "I heard that Western medicine is effective in treating this acute illness."

  "We can't even afford to eat our fill, where would we get the money to see a Western doctor?" If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't be able to tell that this little beggar was a girl at all. The little girl stared with her bright red eyes and asked in confusion.

  The older boy sat down listlessly, "Yes..."

  "The owner of that pharmacy at the entrance of Nongtang said he wouldn't sell us any medicine on credit no matter what."

  The man named Old Wang who was lying on the mat suddenly moved.

  Three little beggars came around again. Did they think Old Wang had woken up?

  And lo, old Wang suddenly began to shout: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day..."

  The little girl sat on the ground and said: "Trouble, old Wang has started talking nonsense. What to do?"

  Several children tried to feed Old Wang some water to calm him down.

  At this time, a man in black robe walked in from the outside of the door. The children were scared to death. Although sometimes when going to the concession area to beg for food, they had seen foreigners before. But generally, they didn't dare to get close. Afraid of being beaten. Fluffy curly hair, deep blue eyes, and a prominent nose bridge. Especially that black robe made the children feel inexplicably terrified.

  The foreign old man walked up to Old Wang and touched his forehead with his hand.

  "Look, our Lord is omnipresent, his blessings shine like sunlight all over the world. Even in a foreign land, far from home, this dying man invokes our Lord's will. This proves that our work is not useless as some people back home say. This man cannot die, he is a devout believer, one of our Lord's most intimate children. Take him back to the monastery and we'll see."

  Two young foreigners came up and lifted Old Wang onto the car, while three children beside him tried to stop them. However, in Shanghai, the notion that foreigners are superior and Chinese people inferior has taken deep root. The monk glared at them, and the children retreated a little. But due to years of sharing food together, the children were unwilling to give up and followed closely behind.

  The monk looked at them sternly but it was no use, so he turned around and said to the several children: "I am taking this person to be treated for his illness. Once he is cured, I will let him come back."

  The monk looked at them and saw that they were too stubborn, so he took out a few pieces of money from his pocket and stuffed them into the hands of the older children.

  "The Lord is merciful; He cannot bear to see this world exist with disease, suffering and hunger. Take it away, children. This is what God has given you."

  Several children obviously had no idea what he was talking about

  But the money in hand is real and can be eaten for a few days. Moreover, this foreigner is taking Lao Wang to see a doctor, so the children won't follow along anymore.

  All the way, Old Wang muttered the Bible from start to finish. The priest was very surprised. Unbeknownst to him, this old Wang was no longer a beggar. His soul had been replaced by a soul fifty years later.

  It's just crossed over.

  This soul fifty years later is a Chinese student studying in the US, going to America to study World War II history. Usually having to work hard and study diligently is very tiring. The hardships of life make him urgently need to find faith. Unintentionally one day he walked into a church, from then on believing in Christ. Later he also received a donation, making him even more devout. Over the years not only did he do a lot of volunteer work but also memorized the Bible like his own name.

  Old Wang looked around and felt a bit suspicious. He asked: "Where is this place? I've never been here before, who are you?"

  "I am Becket, this is Canterbury Cathedral."

  "St. John's Cathedral." Old Wang was familiar with the names of places in Shanghai when he was an undergraduate there. He thought to himself, "Could it be that I've been sent back home?" Looking down at his clothes, he cursed under his breath: "The Americans really are careless. They just sent me back home like this and even dressed me up as a beggar. It seems the Americans aren't very wealthy either."

  At this time, Old Wang observed that the tube giving him an infusion was made of rubber, and the needle looked like the kind we usually use to give pigs injections. Old Wang couldn't help but curse: "What kind of ghost thing is this."

  The priest thought Old Wang was being superstitious and explained: "This is Western medicine. You may be more familiar with traditional Chinese medicine, but don't worry, it's all for saving lives."

  Old Wang was furious when he heard this. You're really something else. Are we Chinese people so backward? Can't even recognize Western medicine.

  But in the end, the old man still managed to save his own life after all.

  "Father, your Chinese is quite good!" Old Wang thought it was a good opportunity to build a relationship with the priest. Thank you, thank you!

  The priest smiled and said: "It's been seven years since I came with the bishop in 2000. I'm also half a Chinese expert!"

  Old Wang was struck as if by lightning. He muttered to himself: "Three zeros year."

  "Excuse me, Father."

  "I'm having a bit of memory loss due to this illness, can you tell me what year it is now?"

  "The priest's eyes filled with concern replied: 'This year is the 26th year of the Republic. According to our European calendar, it is 1937.'"

  Old Wang has completely entered a petrified state. The kind of cliché plot twist that happens to oneself is really happening. Although I wasn't considered a successful person in my own 2009, and although I only see my parents once a year, but after all, that era had the things I miss the most. Suddenly running into an unfamiliar era, how heartbreaking it must be for my parents!

  Lao Wang wanted to struggle up and see if someone was playing a prank on him. Just like in the movie "The Truman Show" starring Jim Carrey, everyone around him was an actor trying to deceive him. Lao Wang wished that the story of the movie would replay itself on him instead of him crossing over.

  But the body of Old Wang, who had just recovered from a serious illness, was unable to move.

  Old Wang summoned all his courage and said to the priest, "Excuse me, could I have a mirror? A plain dressing mirror will do."

  Old Wang took one look in the mirror and suddenly understood everything. This person was not himself at all. Although he wasn't a lady's man, he had a fair and tender complexion, with a bookish air about him. After reading books for so many years, the most tiring job he had ever done was washing dishes. But the face in the mirror was weathered and worn, his hair was sticking together, his hands were cracked all over, and his body gave off a foul odor - clearly a lower-middle-class person from society.

  The priest thought Old Wang still had concerns about his illness, so he comforted him saying: "You just have the flu. It was also prevalent in the concession area a while ago. It's nothing serious. In two days you can go back and see your family."

  Old Wang thought: I still have family, thinking of this his head was already heavy. He fell into a daze and slept past it.

  Two days later, Old Wang was able to get out of bed and slowly move around in the church.

  Lao Wang's excellent English oral skills and understanding of Christian doctrine left a deep impression on the missionaries here. There were many Chinese officials and dignitaries attending worship services, but not every missionary was proficient in both languages. Lao Wang was able to help them out quite a bit.

  Old Wang has also opened up during this time, anyway he's already come and can't go back, so he might as well make the best of it. Crossing over isn't all bad either. This body is much stronger than his previous one. He's full of energy.

  Old Wang again cleverly extracted many things about his past from the mouths of the three monks.

  Old Wang realized he was originally a professional beggar.

  There are three younger brothers. The old nest is in a ruined building near Happy Valley. As for the others, nothing is known.

  Finally, Old Wang was able to move around again. In the end, Old Wang decided to go back to his old nest and take a look before deciding what he wanted to do next.

  When leaving, the priest saw Old Wang off at the gate of the church.

  "You can actually stay and help us out. We'll give you a pretty good job. No need to go back to that kind of place."

  Old Wang looked at the priest solemnly and said, "There are also many passages in the Bible about sacrificing oneself for others. I want to go back and take on my responsibility, and convey God's will to them."

  The priest locked eyes with Old Wang, his own eyes coldly smiling a few times as he listened.

  A few days of interaction made Old Wang realize that this pastor was a realist. Although he usually spoke with a mouthful of scripture and the Lord, in reality, he was the most pragmatic person in the entire church.

  The priest had a private conversation with Old Wang: "If anyone asks who led you to the road to heaven, just say it was me."

  Old Wang immediately understood what was going on. He had become a tool for the priest to gain prestige in the church, but he had also been sold out by others many times over the years. He was already used to it.

  What's more, there's money to be made this time. Yesterday I heard that Father Devas' superior has been transferred back to Europe. Thanks to his recent contributions to the development of followers, Father Devas has become the deputy head of this church. The most important thing is that Father Devas discovered Old Wang, an oriental genius who not only speaks English but also recites the Bible. It's said that even people in the Vatican have heard of Old Wang's name.

  Old Wang flipped over the dozens of silver dollars in his hand, thinking that he would have a gift for his younger brother when he returned home. He strolled along the Bund and found many warships anchored on the Huangpu River, with bandit flags still flying above them.

  "Japanese warship." Suddenly Old Wang remembered something. This year is 1937. Looking at the situation, the July 7th Incident has already occurred and North China has fallen.

  As a die-hard patriot, Old Wang harbors deep hatred towards the Japanese and often fantasizes about dropping an atomic bomb on Tokyo. However, having left that powerful nation behind, all such talk is empty. Matters of state and nationality are not what ordinary people think about; they think about where to get their next full meal today.

  Old Wang returned to his dilapidated house in Wan Chai according to the address.

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