Volume 1: Laying the Foundation Chapter 1: Uninvited Transmigration

  In the late summer of 1919, on the beach in Qingdao. Chen, the owner of the Dahua Dyeing Factory, was drunk and walking along the uneven beach, enjoying the sea breeze at dusk. He was in high spirits today, having had a few too many drinks, but he couldn't help it - business had finally taken off! Because students responded to the Beijing protest march, demanding that the Northern Warlords government punish national traitors, "Boycott Japanese goods and return Qingdao to me", the large-scale protests swept across the entire Qingdao area. He suddenly thought of donating fabric for the students to make into banners, and put an advertisement on the back, which was widely publicized by journalists. In a short period of time, he sold all the accumulated fabric since the establishment of the factory, earning not only money but also the reputation of "patriotic businessman". This move had greatly enhanced the reputation of Qingdao Dahua Dyeing Factory.

  He steadied himself, and the anxiety of the past few months was swept away. Today, he had invited all the masters and workers in the factory to a banquet to celebrate this hard-won good start. He couldn't help but lose control and drink a few more cups. As the sky hadn't darkened yet, he took advantage of the wine's effects and strolled along the seaside, letting the sea breeze dissipate the alcohol from his body.

  Although it was late summer and early autumn, the sky was dark very late. In the distance, on the surface of the sea, several huge black shadows were floating vaguely. Without guessing, Chen Zhanggui also knew that they were Japanese warships. Since May, when students in Beijing started making trouble, the slogans "Punish traitors at home, fight for national rights abroad, boycott Japanese goods, and return Qingdao to me" had been heard all over the country. The Japanese, who had occupied Shandong for several years, were not willing to withdraw so easily. They even sent a few large warships into Jiaozhou Bay, showing off their military power and supporting their own businessmen. In recent days, the Japanese living in Qingdao not only showed no restraint but also became more and more arrogant and domineering. If it weren't for those students demonstrating every day with a large crowd, they might still be swaggering down the streets.

  Thinking of these things, Chen's boss felt suffocated in his heart. Although he didn't recognize many characters, he had heard the teachings of his father-in-law and uncle about the great principles of the country for ten years. On his own territory, being bullied by a tiny country that was once a slave for thousands of years, anyone with a bit of blood would not tolerate this breath, let alone him, a straightforward and strong Han man who was as fierce as fire and didn't have any sand in his eyes.

  Looking at the shadows of those warships, thinking about the usual arrogance of Little Japan, he couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. The good mood that Mr. Chen had been in all day suddenly vanished, and to avoid getting himself into trouble, he simply stopped looking in that direction and turned his head to look forward instead, only to be startled by a sudden fright.

  It was at this moment of distraction that he unknowingly walked to a reef, where he had passed by hundreds of times before. He could have described the shape and size of every rock here with his eyes closed, but today, one of them unexpectedly protruded out of the water by a large margin, which even made him, who was known for his fearlessness, jump in surprise.

  Taking a closer look, it turned out that the protruding part was actually a person. However, this person was somewhat strange, with a sturdy and tall body sitting on the reef with his legs half bent, wearing a large and peculiar backpack, with black mud and yellow sand staining his already flashy clothes into a multicolored mess. Several strands of seaweed were wrapped around his body and backpack, a crab sat steadily on his head, and a small puddle had formed at the top of the backpack, where a three-inch-long shrimp was swimming inside. The person remained motionless, staring out to sea, without even reacting when Chen the shopkeeper approached him, looking like a human-shaped wooden carving stuck in this awkward position.

  Chen the shopkeeper was originally bold and didn't fear anything, let alone mountain spirits or water monsters. With his chivalrous and righteous temperament, he suddenly saw this person and wanted to ask him a question. Normally, due to the difficulties of life, many people had jumped into the sea to end their lives, so it wasn't unusual to see something strange. However, someone like this was a first in his life, so he stopped for a moment, thought about it, and then took another step forward, standing in front of the man and saying loudly: "Hey! I say, sir, what are you doing? You're young and strong, why do you want to jump into the sea?" In modern language, this is spoken in a Zibo accent.

  The man was startled by the loud voice and almost fell off the reef. He quickly looked up to see a young man with a sturdy build, short hair, and a bright gaze standing in front of him. The youth's face had a slight flush from drinking, but his mouth still held a hint of mockery, as if ridiculing the fact that this robust man was trying to end his life by jumping into the sea. His face immediately turned red with shame.

  But he immediately reacted and realized that he wasn't trying to commit suicide! He had just managed to crawl out of the sea, after all! He quickly opened his mouth to explain: "I'm not trying to kill myself......!"

  As soon as he spoke, his voice was hoarse and weak, with a burning sensation in his throat like swallowing charcoal. He suddenly remembered that he had been out of the sea for a whole day, and except for drinking a lot of seawater, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything else. His lips had long been cracked by the sea wind. He habitually touched behind him, but the mineral water bottle that was originally inserted in the outer bag was gone without a trace, lost at some unknown time.

  His sudden movement startled the old crab, which jumped down from his head with its eight legs and scurried into the water. The shrimp behind him rolled down to the ground along the slope of the puddle, struggling and jumping about.

  What he said was not very clear, but Chen the shopkeeper understood it perfectly. This was extremely authentic Mandarin - Putonghua. As a result, his impression of him changed somewhat. In this era, there were very few people who could speak Putonghua. Apart from some old Beijing residents and the children of high-ranking officials who had attended new-style schools, most people's pronunciation and intonation were not accurate. The man in front of him spoke with a dry, hoarse voice, which was evident from his chapped lips, probably due to dehydration and a sore throat, but he was definitely not one of those struggling commoners.

  But Chen couldn't just hastily conclude, he opened his mouth and laughed: "You say you didn't commit suicide, but then how did your body get covered in sand and mud? A real man doesn't make excuses, if you've done it, own up to it. Everyone has times when they want to end it all."

  That person was so frustrated, thinking to himself: "I've been sitting here all day and no one has come to bother me. I didn't expect that the first person I meet would be someone who wants to pin a hat on my head and make me out to be some kind of troublemaker! This is just too unfair!"

  He shook his head helplessly, a tired and helpless smile spreading across his face. The sand that had dried on his face fell off with the change in expression, revealing smooth and tender skin underneath. He said, "Brother, you've misunderstood me. I'm not trying to commit suicide by jumping into the sea, I just barely managed to crawl out of it!"

  Looking at his face, which had not been weathered by the wind and frost, Chen's conviction grew stronger that this young man was not from a poor family, and with his proper speech, he must have some background. His interest increased even more, and with a chuckle, he said: "Your words are quite novel, how did you, looking so refined, crawl out of the sea? Could it be that you're the prince of the Dragon Palace, fallen on hard times here?"

  That person shook his head helplessly and said, "Big brother is joking, I did indeed fall into the sea, but I'm not some Dragon Palace prince, I was knocked overboard by a Japanese warship!"

  Chen's face changed greatly, and he hastily composed himself, cupping his hands together in greeting: "Sorry about that, brother! I love to joke around and talk nonsense. Please don't take offense!"

  The person who was really in trouble, Chen the shopkeeper wouldn't dare to mock him, that would be like pouring salt on his wounds. So he quickly apologized. The man waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice: "No need, no need, you're also unintentional. After all, it's still because of those detestable little devils, I was unlucky enough to run into them, not dying is already a big deal."

  "Ah! What kind of world is this?! The great China, letting these little devils run amok on our own land! It's really infuriating! Brother, don't be too upset, I think you're not that narrow-minded. Whatever happens, it's no use getting angry. You just sit here thinking about this and that, hurry up and go home!"

  He slumped down, his head hung low, and said dejectedly: "I don't have a home anymore."

  Chen Zhanggui took a step forward, grabbed his shoulder and shook him, asking urgently: "What's going on? What happened to your family? What's wrong?"

  That man shook his head, and tears gushed out of his bloodshot eyes, washing two muddy streaks down his face. Chen the shopkeeper urged him, "Don't just cry! Say something if you have anything to say!"

  He suddenly slapped his own forehead and said, "Ah, I'm so stupid! You can't even speak properly, you must be starving. I hate seeing a grown man cry like this. Let's go eat something first, tidy up, and we'll talk later."

  As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Zhuang wanted to pull him up. Unexpectedly, when he pulled him, the man leaned down with his strength, and he hurriedly supported him with both hands, only to find that this person had no strength left in his body. The heavy load was a half-person-high large package. Judging from his many years of work experience, this package weighed at least 70 or 80 kilograms! How did this man manage to carry this package out of the sea?!

  He was determined to get the package off the man's body, but soon became dizzy with the numerous wide and narrow straps and buckles in front of him, what kind of mechanism is this! Don't know how to open it!

  If someone living in the present were to see this bag, they would naturally recognize it as a standard 80-liter mountaineering backpack with double shoulder straps and two buckles at the chest and abdomen that ensure comfortable weight distribution and prevent fatigue. But Chen Zhanggui was a man from the early 20th century who had just come out of the countryside - where would he have seen such a thing?! Fortunately, the other person hadn't lost his head and knew what Chen Zhanggui wanted to do, so he quickly used one hand to prop up the stone and with the other hand "slapped" open the buckle twice, letting the shoulder straps slide down and releasing himself from the backpack.

  Chen's curiosity was piqued, and with one hand holding the package to prevent it from falling off, he slowly got down from the reef with the other hand supporting himself. After standing up straight, he used both hands to lift the package down, saying: "Good grief, this package is really heavy! It's amazing you could sit so steadily with it on your back!"

  That person stood limply, weakly saying: "Inside is full of water! Turn it over and pour it out, it's much lighter! Thank you big brother! Now I can't move at all." This climbing bag actually has two openings up and down. The inner and outer bags on the top are not completely sealed. After being soaked in seawater for a long time, water naturally seeped in, but the bottom is tightly sealed, and the water cannot leak out.

  Mr. Chen shook his head, and with a forceful motion, turned the package upside down, revealing a stream of water flowing out from an unsealed seam, amounting to about 40 or 50 kilograms. Once the dripping had stopped, the package was left weighing only 30 kilograms. He then picked it up with one hand, supporting the man as they slowly made their way back onto the main road. As they walked, Mr. Chen said, "Brother, I'd say you're younger than me, so I'll call you little brother. Little brother, after all this talk, we still haven't exchanged names, which isn't right. Let's introduce ourselves. My name is Chen Shoutian, also known as Xiaoliuzi, and I'm the manager of Qingdao's newly opened Dahua Dyeing Factory. What's your name?"

  "That's okay, I'll just call you Sixth Brother then. My surname is Chen, and my name is Chen Xiaoqi. Most brothers usually call me Old Seventh."

  Boss Chen burst out laughing: "What a coincidence, we're actually from the same family, one Liu Six and one Qi Seven. Look at this mess, it's truly a fate that spans 500 years!"

  Chen Xiaoqi accompanied Chen Zhanggui, and the two of them chatted as they walked along the road. Chen Zhanggui hailed a rickshaw and ran alongside it to the Bohai Hotel. Along the way, Chen Xiaoqi asked Chen Zhanggui, "Why don't you ask about my background? If I didn't accompany you, would I be a swindler?"

  Boss Chen smiled and said, "Brother, my ability to judge people is not ordinary, I've never been wrong. One look at you and I knew you weren't that kind of person. Besides, even if you could deceive me, just look at your muddy clothes and your unlucky face, I'd be willing to take the risk. If you're really in trouble, maybe my helping hand can earn some good karma. Why not help? If I found out about this situation and didn't do anything, I wouldn't be able to sleep for several nights."

  Chen Xiaoqi sighed and said, "In this world, no matter when, there are still more good people!" Then he looked at Chen Zhanggui sincerely and said, "Sixth brother! Thank you, today's kindness, I will definitely repay it in the future!"

  Boss Chen just smiled and didn't take it to heart at all.