Chapter 2 Temporary Shelter

  It didn't take long for the two rickshaws to arrive at the Bohai Hotel, which had been built just a few years ago. The newly painted three-story stone building was brightly lit by electric lights in front of the door, and the doorman had already spotted the two rickshaws approaching. One of the passengers was none other than Chen, the boss of Dahua Dyeing Factory, who had recently been making a big splash. During this time, he had not stopped treating his guests to meals here! Many cloth merchants were arranged to stay here, knowing that they were important customers, and they hurried down the steps to greet them.

  Mr. Chen didn't bother to talk nonsense with him, and directly threw the heavy package at him, while personally supporting Chen Xiaoqi's slow entry into the hall. The cashier hurried out from behind the counter, clasping his hands together in a gesture of respect.

  Chen the shopkeeper didn't stand on ceremony, directly pushing the person forward and saying loudly: "Alright, whatever needs to be said can wait till later. Old Gao, hurry up and arrange a room for him to wash up properly, then go get two sets of decent clothes. Hmm, first go prepare some hot food, heat up some water with salt and send it over. This person is so hungry he's about to collapse, hurry up!"

  Gao Zhangfang hastily responded with a "yes" and shouted to the doorman and a young servant to carry Chen Xiaoqi upstairs together. After they turned a corner and were out of sight, Gao Zhangfang asked Chen Zhanggui: "Who is this person? He doesn't look like those business guests you usually have."

  "Ah, this matter can't be explained clearly for the time being, so don't bother with it for now. Just focus on settling him down first and we'll talk about it later. Oh no! I'm getting drunk, I need to hurry back home and rest. Old Gao, I'm leaving my little brother in your care, take good care of him and if he needs anything, just agree to it and handle it accordingly. We'll settle everything when I come back tomorrow."

  He didn't care about Lao Gao's dazed expression, and staggered out of the Bohai Hotel with an unsteady gait. Looking up at the sky, he realized it was quite late, and besides, the effects of the alcohol were making his walk unsteady. He gritted his teeth and hailed a rickshaw that had brought him earlier to take him home, while sending another one away after paying the fare.

  To say that Chen Xiaoqi, who was being supported by two young men as he entered the hotel room, didn't have to wait long before Gao Zifu himself came up with a thermos and hot food. Looking at Chen Xiaoqi's mud-stained clothes and his limp posture as he sat in the chair, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened.

  Chen the shopkeeper's orders were always to be followed, and he didn't have anything else to do, so he quickly filled a white porcelain cup with water and added a small pinch of salt. Then, he placed two steaming hot meat buns and a bowl of seafood wonton soup on a tray, along with the tea table. He stood aside with his hands clasped behind his back, watching quietly with an air of detachment.

  Chen Xiaoqi watched the two young men slowly back out, and then closed the door with a wave of his hand. He saw Gao Zhen standing there silently, his face showing only a hint of a humble smile, but nothing else could be discerned from it. Chen's mind was also unclear about what this meant, so he didn't dare to speak rashly. Instead, he propped himself up and took a shallow sip of salt water.

  On his cracked lips, the bloodstains were painfully throbbing due to the stimulation of saltwater. However, the dryness that felt like fire spewing from his throat was even more unbearable. He didn't care about any of this and endured the pain, ignoring the heat of the water as he quickly gulped down a cup in small mouthfuls. Gao Zhen's timely assistance allowed him to grab the thermos and refill the cup before retreating to the side, silently attending to him.

  Chen Xiaoqi didn't say a word, sitting there quietly calming down, feeling the moisture nourishing his heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, as if that fiery energy had dissipated. The intake of salt made the blood circulation smoother, the heartbeat stronger, and his legs seemed to gain strength quickly.

  He stood up, washed his hands in the copper basin on the wooden rack near the dresser in the corner of the wall, then wiped the mud and sand off his face with a snow-white towel soaked in water. As he turned around and walked back, he suddenly felt that something was wrong, but for a moment, he couldn't think of what it was; so he casually put down the towel that had lost its color and returned to his seat.

  The waiter's service was very thorough, and in this short period of time, he had already divided the large bowl of seafood soup into small ceramic bowls, placing the ladle on the right side so that Chen Xiaoqi could sit down and eat immediately. He observed very carefully, and from just these few minutes' worth of actions, he had already judged Chen Xiaoqi's handedness, after all, more than a decade of running errands hadn't been for nothing!

  Chen Xiaoqi didn't think much of it, and directly started to eat. He picked up the ceramic bowl and lightly slurped a few mouthfuls, making very little noise, with elegant posture, gently picking up and putting down the bowl, looking very well-mannered. After finishing a bowl of hot soup, he then grabbed a meat bun and slowly took a bite, but in his heart, various thoughts were swirling around like a windmill, and the experiences of the day rushed back to his mind again.

  Chen Xiaoqi is not a person of this era. In fact, he was an ordinary university student living in the 21st century, nearly a hundred years away from this era. At that time, he studied at the chemistry department of a certain university in Qingdao. When he entered university, the financial storm that broke out in the United States had already become a global economic crisis, and graduates had no job opportunities for several years. The number of unemployed people in society increased by tens of millions every year.

  Under the pressure of having no other choice, he chose to pursue a master's degree. To be honest, he wasn't exactly a good student, at least not in comparison to his peers majoring in chemistry. He actually had a liking for mechanical subjects, but due to some past mistakes, he was forced by his family to enroll in this undesired major without any conditions. He went through the motions of completing four years of college, spending most of his time not studying, but instead joining a Qingdao off-road club from sophomore year onwards and traveling around China's mountains and rivers with them. He even got to visit half of China ahead of schedule and had the opportunity to drive to Mongolia for a spin, taking in the sights at the Sino-Russian border.

  Of course, he himself has no car, although he can drive. His family's old father is not prepared to buy him one, fearing that he will get into some kind of trouble again. Judging from his academic performance, it's normal that he wouldn't be able to get into graduate school. But let's not forget the benefits of education industrialization - as long as you're willing to spend money, anything can be bought. The economic crisis is tough on schools too; an additional graduate student quota means tens of thousands of dollars in tuition fees!

  The days of Yan Yi passed quickly, and before the summer vacation of Yan Er, he left behind the beautiful junior sister who had just gotten used to him, and went alone with a big bag to play in Jiaonan "landmine war" old place. When he came back, he didn't take the bus directly through the tunnel to Qingdao, but took the ferry boat to relive his childhood memories. As a result, when the ship was halfway across the sea, someone jokingly pushed him from behind, and he fell headfirst without any defense, and then was swallowed by a whirlpool.

  After finally climbing up, he suddenly found that the situation in front of him was not good. Originally, the cement pier and iron chain-encircled Qingdao seaside had become a natural reef beach, and the warships with Japanese flags and "Manchukuo" markings were rampaging on the sea surface. Those huge gun muzzles and black smokestacks made this fake military enthusiast recognize at a glance that these were authentic World War II battleships!

  Except for the few years before and after the May Fourth Movement, that is, during the Anti-Japanese War period when the little devils' warships were so arrogant and rampaging everywhere? At least in Chen Xiaoqi's mind, it was this kind of concept. If this still can't prove the point of view, then on the big road not far from the beach, those male students wearing coarse cloth long shirts and Japanese-style student uniforms, as well as female students with hanging face hairstyles, blue tops, and black shoes and socks, were typically dressed in the early Republic of China style! Moreover, the slogans they held and the slogans they shouted were clearly "Abolish the Twenty-One Demands, Overthrow the Traitors" and so on. This classic was obtained from the May Fourth Movement? Of course, this is not a movie shoot, with thousands of parade teams filling the streets, onlookers from all walks of life, and the messy accents of the lower-class people's dirty and tattered clothing, which cannot be compared to those third-rate Republic of China TV dramas that are so clean and even transcend time and space (for example, some TV dramas directly transplanted the styles and colors of cheongsam that became popular in the 1960s, which is too much. It's worth noting that during the early Republic of China period, it was daring to wear a cheongsam with a slit up to the thigh root on the street, and even more exaggeratedly wearing silk stockings, and the cheongsam was so tight that it outlined all the lines, in modern terms, it was simply indecent! The dancers at Shanghai's Great World also didn't dare to dress like this! Nylon stockings wouldn't arrive in China until 20 years later!)

  Chen Xiaoqi only remembered being pushed down from the ferry, and while he was in mid-air, he just had time to say "He's pushing me" before he plunged into the water without even seeing who it was that had scared him. In a daze, he seemed to recall that on the murky surface of the water, a deep black whirlpool suddenly appeared and swallowed him up, but in the blink of an eye, he floated back up to the surface. If he hadn't spent so many years swimming in the sea at Qingdao and gained some experience, he might have died right there.

  It was like this, and he still didn't feel well. The 80-liter "Columbia" mountaineering backpack on his back had some buoyancy at first, but as the unsealed opening continued to let in water, the bag became heavier and heavier. In his panic, he couldn't open the buckle that normally opened with a simple squeeze, so he desperately ran and kicked until he was exhausted, and just when the bag was full of water, he felt the underwater reef beneath him. Then, using the force of the waves to push himself up, he climbed onto the reef and sat there for an entire day.

  At that time, he was really frightened. First, he fell into the water and was shocked, then he struggled to survive in the waves, and just when he had caught his breath, he suddenly found himself crossing over, and crossing over to such a chaotic era, with no mental preparation, he was immediately stunned.

  Then for the whole day, he was in a mess, thinking about the past and present, and didn't know how many things he had thought of. He just felt that in this short day, he had actually reviewed all the joys and sorrows he had experienced in his more than 20 years of life, and even miraculously rounded off the answers to the questions asked by strangers he would soon face and his own life story in the afternoon when it was about to get dark!

  When Chen Zhuang's greeted him, he was so absorbed in thought that he hadn't noticed the thousands of people coming and going on the road above all day, nor had anyone come to ask him a single question. The world is indeed cold! So Chen Zhuang's sudden concern scared him out of his wits, and only then did he realize that he had been sitting here for a whole day, numb from head to toe. Moreover, due to the strong sea breeze, he was exhausted from struggling out of the sea, lacking water, salt, and food, and was already thoroughly fatigued. To make matters worse, he hadn't eaten breakfast in over a decade, and it had been twenty-four hours since last night that he hadn't had a drop of water or a grain of rice. He wasn't some kind of specially trained ironman! How many people living in modern times can go without eating or drinking for an entire day?

  If it weren't for Chen's loud greeting, he would probably have fainted from hunger and who knows if a stranger passing out by the sea could still wake up the next day under these social conditions. So in this sense, did Chen also save his life?

  Anyway, there are still some kind-hearted people in this era who lend a helping hand, and it's fortunate no matter what. As long as one can quickly adapt to this era, with the education and experience they've had, living shouldn't be too difficult, right? Speaking of human relationships, the cruelty and ruthlessness of human nature, the danger of people's hearts, those from the 20s are much purer than those from the 21st century, like a virgin.

  As he ate and thought, Chen Xiaoqi unknowingly finished the food in front of him, including the soup, and his stomach was filled with food and water. His originally cold hands and feet quickly warmed up. At this time, the restaurant staff had already prepared hot water and also brought out a set of clean clothes that seemed to be tailored to his size. The service was exceptionally thoughtful.

  Gao Zai Fang was waiting on Chen Xiaoqi, refilling his tea and water with a strength that wasn't ordinary. From start to finish, he didn't make a sound but served him comfortably, without any flaws. After Chen Xiaoqi finished eating, Gao quickly cleared the dishes and took them outside, where a waiter was already waiting. He handed them over directly and at the same time passed in some clean clothes.

  As a person from the future, Chen Xiaoqi was accustomed to being served by others when staying in hotels. He didn't feel out of place with the considerate and comfortable service provided by the hotel staff from head to toe. He also vaguely sensed that the young manager, Chen, was somewhat intimidating to the hotel employees. The room arranged for him was equivalent to a presidential suite in a three-star hotel in the future - it had three rooms, was spacious and comfortable, with carpets on the floor that felt soft and plush underfoot. The furniture and decorations were also tasteful. Although he wasn't from a wealthy family background, Chen Xiaoqi could generally tell good from bad.

  He took a sip of water, rinsed his mouth and stood up to walk into the bathroom, starting to undress. Gao Fang shouted from outside in time: "Sir, do you want me to wash and iron your wet clothes?"

  Chen Xiaoqi was about to agree, but suddenly remembered that from head to toe, he didn't have a single thing that fit in with this era. Taking them out would be an eyesore, so he hastily replied: "No need, these clothes and bags were brought over from America, you guys don't know how to deal with them, never mind, let's go first."