The Empty Spirit Chapter 17 The French Consulate

  There was a guest coming, the rickshaw puller was very happy. Seeing it was Wang Yaowu, he was even happier. Wang Yaowu found the rickshaw puller somewhat familiar, while the rickshaw puller remembered Wang Yaowu's appearance, because Wang Yaowu not only paid well but also gave a lot of tips. It was worth pulling such a guest no matter how tired he was.

  Wang Yaizu sat steadily in the car, before departure, the carman wiped the sweat from his face, took a sip of water from the gourd, and set off only after he was ready. Since Wang Yaizu was a wealthy customer, they naturally had to hurry on this journey.

  It's so hot, even Wang Ya-zu, who is sitting in the rickshaw, feels that the wind blowing towards him is hot. Let alone the person pulling the rickshaw. When they had gone halfway, the rickshaw puller was already drenched in sweat, and some of it even splashed onto Wang Ya-zu's body.

  "Stop for a moment, there's a well over there. You go drink some water and rest for a bit, wipe your body clean before continuing on the road. Don't worry, I won't shortchange you." At this time, only the well water was cool and refreshing to drink, making people feel a little more comfortable.

  As soon as the cart driver heard Wang Ya Zu tell him to take a break and that he wouldn't lose any money, he immediately turned around and said to Wang Ya Zu: "Thank you, sir. You're really a good person." Then he quickly pulled the cart to the well.

  The carter's speed was very fast, the well water outside was for everyone to use, and there were buckets for passersby to use. After carrying a bucket of water up, the carter picked up the bucket and directly put it to his mouth to drink in big gulps, after several mouthfuls the carter was full. Then the carter poured out the water from the gourd and refilled it with well water.

  "Sir, would you like to drink some well water? It's very cool." The carman asked Wang Yaowu after filling the gourd, but the water in the wooden bucket was what the carman had drunk before, and Wang Yaowu frowned at this.

  "No need, you first wipe your whole body clean and then help me carry a new bucket of water up. Later, help me wet the handkerchief, I want to wipe my face." Wang Ya Zu said, using his handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his face.

  The cart driver seemed to understand where he had displeased Wang Ya-zu, and quickly used the towel around his neck to wipe his upper body clean. Then he poured away the remaining water, refilled it with new well water, and only then did Wang Ya-zu hand over the handkerchief to him.

  Feeling refreshed, Chefu La Wang Yaozu continued on his way. After getting a little rest, the driver obviously regained his strength and arrived at the destination earlier than planned, which is the benefit of "wanting the horse to run while also letting it eat grass."

  Since it was like this, Wang Ya-zu paid two silver dollars more as a tip to the rickshaw boy in addition to the fare.

  The French Consulate in the French Concession is not a place where you can just walk in. Outside the main gate, there are ten armed soldiers standing guard. What they're afraid of is that someone will sneak into the embassy or launch an attack on it. Since the establishment of the French Concession, who knows how many people have wanted to rush in and skin, debone, and devour you foreigners!

  However, among these ten soldiers, only one was French and a regular soldier of France. Three others were Indian sepoys employed by the consulate, while six were Chinese guards employed by the French Consulate.

  When acting as a traitor, they are extremely cruel to ordinary people because they have a terrible sense of inferiority in their hearts. They can only feel superior by bullying their own compatriots, and then adjust their mood to continue acting as a dog in front of foreigners.

  At the entrance of the French Consulate in Shanghai's French Concession, six Chinese guards began to drive away compatriots who wanted to approach the consulate, and even shouted loudly at passersby, telling them to roll away quickly. Wang Ya-zu heard it clearly, it was "roll away", not "walk away".

  "What do you want? If you have nothing to do, get out of here quickly, this is the French Consulate." Seeing Wang Ya-zu approaching the French Embassy, a Chinese guard hired by the French immediately shouted loudly at Wang Ya-zu.

  On such a hot day, Wang Ya-zu was dressed quite casually, not at all like a Japanese devil or a comprador. Of course, he didn't look like someone who often came and went from the French embassy either. He just looked like a young master from an ordinary rich family. Someone like him would have to give the Chinese guard at the door some benefits if they wanted to get in.

  Wang Yaozu was too lazy to deal with these people, so he walked forward directly. In the past year or so, Wang Yaozu had only entered the French embassy three times. Usually, when looking for Antoine, they would make a phone call and agree to meet outside. However, this time Wang Yaozu didn't trust the phone much, so he came to the French embassy in person to find Antoine.

  As Wang Ya-zu walked in, the French soldiers who were resting also noticed and immediately had two Indian soldiers come over. The French soldiers didn't quite trust the Chinese guards and looked down on them from the bottom of their hearts.

  Seeing the Indian soldiers coming, the Chinese guards hurriedly dodged to one side. Originally, they were still very majestic towards Wang Yaowu, but now they nodded and bowed to the Indians. Wang Yaowu remained calm as usual.

  "Go inside and find someone, find my friend. Allez à l'intérieur et trouvez quelqu'un, trouvez mon ami." Wang Ya-zu's first sentence was in English, the second in French, India being a British colony, the official language is English.

  He spoke two national languages and was calm, so the Indian soldiers thought this Chinese man had some background and let him through. Unexpectedly, the newcomer could speak foreign language, even the Chinese security guards hired by the French embassy did not dare to make trouble, they all watched from the side first.

  "Who are you? Who are you looking for? Who is your friend in the consulate?" The French soldier on duty had already clearly heard what Wang Yaowu said, so he asked in French when Wang Yaowu walked up to him. The French looked down on English from the bottom of their hearts.

  "I'm looking for Consul General Antony, would you please inform him that his friend Wang Ya-zu is looking for him. Please ask him to come out for a moment." Wang Ya-zu said as he politely asked the French soldier to go find Antony with the most formal French noble etiquette.

  Anthony's identity as Consul Counsellor, in the entire embassy, except for the French consul, Anthony's power is the greatest, so after looking at Wang Ya-zu several times, the French soldier agreed to go in and find Anthony.

  Don't provoke those who can't be provoked. The Chinese security guards at the French embassy are very clear about this, and they all went to their respective posts, standing guard conscientiously, safeguarding the safety of the French embassy as well as their own rice bowls.

  Wang Yaowu despised these Chinese guards from the bottom of his heart, despising those who nodded and bowed in front of foreigners, but helped foreigners bully their own people. At the same time, Wang Yaowu also ridiculed himself in his heart, because in the eyes of his compatriots, he was a dog traitor, still a traitorous leader.

  "King, my friend, it's been a long time since I've seen you. Why didn't you call me before coming? I could have arranged for someone to meet you outside." Anthony took half an hour to come down, and Wang Ya-zu had been waiting outside for some time, growing increasingly impatient. The Chinese guards standing nearby were giving Wang Ya-zu more and more unfriendly looks, even whispering among themselves, seemingly discussing how to deal with him next.

  When Anthony came down, the people next to Wang Yaoyu immediately put on a very serious face and stood guard seriously. Their eyes were absolutely straight ahead, patrolling all suspicious people nearby.

  Anthony stood behind the gate line, without leaving the embassy, and opened his arms to Wang Yaowu, which was obvious enough. Although Wang Yaowu was somewhat annoyed in his heart, he smiled on the surface, walked into the embassy, hugged Anthony, and kissed each other's faces.

  "That's too much trouble. Besides, I just got out of the hospital and came to find you as soon as I got home. There are some things we need to discuss carefully, aren't there? My shoulder still hurts a bit."

  Wang Ya-zu walked into the French embassy, continuing to converse with Antoine in French, but after hugging Antoine, he also stopped in his tracks. He began to complain about his wound, refusing to take another step forward.

  "King, are you injured? Your job is indeed very dangerous. What exactly happened that even you, the deputy general manager, got hurt?"

  Regarding Wang Yaowu's injury and hospitalization, Anthony was very curious. Anthony was also quite familiar with Wang Yaowu. If someone could hurt Wang Yaowu, then something big must have happened.

  "Didn't you read the newspaper this morning, Anthony? It's all written clearly in there. Anyway, it's about guns, gunfire and some things that really give me a headache, so we need to discuss them carefully. By the way, Anthony, have you eaten yet? If not, I'll treat you."

  Wang Ya-zu had already given Antony a hint, looked at Wang Ya-zu again and then looked at the people inside the embassy. Antony quickly smiled and replied: "I've eaten, so I won't be able to let you treat me. However, now I can invite you to have tea with me, Chinese tea. There's a very famous Chinese Kung Fu teahouse in the French concession that I believe you'll like just as much as I do."

  "Alright, let Anthony treat you this time. Next time I'll definitely take you out for a meal. Shall we go now or should I wait outside for a bit longer?"

  "Please wait for a moment, Mr. Wang. I'll just give some instructions on the work at hand and then I can leave. The consul has returned to his country due to some matters, so many things need to be handled by me." Gunsmoke Without Sound Volume 1 Empty Spirit Chapter 17 French Consulate