Chapter 14: Panic Spreads Throughout Guangzhou City

  February 1, 1925, Republic of China 14th year, lunar calendar yi chou year first month ninth day

  In the west wing of the Qi family's large courtyard on Chaoxing Street, An Yi added a few pieces of charcoal to the brazier and put down the fire tongs to pick up the new camel-colored wool blanket to cover Lao Dao's abdomen and knees: "Don't worry about your small stall anymore. All the rich people in Guangzhou have escaped, how much money can you make by telling fortunes for a few poor citizens who are as poor as a church mouse? Rest assured, I'll bring some chicken soup back for you after work."

  Dong Zi put on the dark grey down jacket sent by An Yi, with half a pastry in his mouth: "Uncle, listen to my brother's words, nowadays the streets are filled with troops, mostly Yang Xi Min's defeated soldiers who are preparing for battle, they don't even follow military discipline and only know how to collect taxes, these people can't even be controlled by our government. If there's a misunderstanding, those unreasonable rough men will overturn your stall. Don't go out, don't make me and my brother worry, I'll come back to decoct medicine for you after work in the evening."

  "Alas... I knew it all along! But I still can't feel at ease. Never mind, let's take a break for a few days."

  Lao Dao wiped his eyes with a dry towel and called out to An Yi in a low voice, "Xiao Yi, Dong Zi works for the government and has guards carrying guns, so I'm at ease. But you have to be careful, don't drive out of town to deliver goods these two days. Just thinking about it makes me angry. Why can't you just sit back and relax as a master craftsman in your shop? Why do you have to show off by driving that broken car? I've told you before, that Chen surname boss with the flattering face and double-dealing heart is not a good person. You're just a hard worker who gets praised by your boss, but you might have offended him, and now it's too late to be on guard. Why did you agree to be his driver? Don't think that driving around in that American car makes you impressive, or you'll end up losing your life."

  An Yi waved his hand to let Dongzi go first, and then sat on the edge of the bed with a smile, saying: "Old Dao, I'm a bit vain, especially when that big-breasted girl in the store likes to sit in my car. Several times she squeezed my arm with her breasts, making me feel itchy inside! What do you think? Haha... Don't be angry, okay? Alright, alright, I won't drive out for these few days, don't worry! The thermos is filled with water, and the meat porridge is on the table covered. If you can't move, just call Aunt Er from across the street who does laundry to help you, I'll be back after work, bye!"

  "Halt!"

  "Listen, young one. Don't be fooled by the revolutionary army's grand show of force in the Eastern Expedition. In reality, they're all bark and no bite, with no follow-through. The outcome is far from certain. Take Yang Ximin's Yunnan Army and Liu Zhenhuan's Guangxi Army, for example - they're completely unreliable. These two armies have been occupying Guangzhou and controlling the rich trade routes, extorting money left and right, and haven't given a second thought to Sun Yat-sen's struggling Nationalist government. The Huangpu Army is on its last legs, begging for scraps from those two warlords everywhere they go. And with their large numbers and ample ammunition, not to mention their secret dealings with unscrupulous foreign merchants, selling them arms and opium... it's clear that the revolutionary army and these troops are just pretending to be allies. I've seen all this with my own eyes, and you know it too, even if you don't say anything. You may think you're being clever, but your nighttime antics haven't escaped my notice. That's why I'm worried - what if you get yourself into trouble with your reckless behavior? Who will I cry to then?"

  An Yi was moved in his heart: "Old Dao, rest assured, I'm not that stupid. I don't get involved in political matters at all. I only know how to make money with my head down. At this time, everyone is anxious and wants to escape, and the property has fallen to the price of cabbage. If we don't take action now, when will we? The three of us should have moved into a more spacious house long ago. After all, I'm also a Guangzhou person now, and without a place to settle down, how can I marry a wife? And my brother Dongzi, the only son of the Luo family, shouldn't he get married and have children as soon as possible? You just rest assured and lie down, if everything goes smoothly, we'll be able to move into our own home within three days. I've also taken care of you, knowing that you're not comfortable staying at home without going out to cheat people, so I'll try to buy a house nearby. Just wait for your good fortune!"

  Lao Dao was shocked: "Where did you little brat get so much money?"

  "It's embarrassing to say, but before Mr. Ou left for Hong Kong, he gave me a year-end red envelope. At the time, I didn't think much of it and just accepted it. Who knew that when I opened it later, it was a $200 cash check from HSBC? Now, it's enough to buy a two-story house with a corridor and a small garden. So, shouldn't I work hard to repay Mr. Ou's kindness? Even if Manager Chen gives me a hard time, I'll let him be, because the Ou family's eight major businesses aren't his, but rather belong to the kind-hearted Mr. Ou who cares about me deeply. Alright, I'm off, waiting for my good news." An Yi said with a smile, whistling as he walked away lightly.

  The old man lay on his bed, sighing from time to time, closing his eyes and calculating with a pained expression.

  An Yi had just walked out of the street when he saw Ah Biao rushing towards him: "Ah Biao, why aren't you leading the guards to escort the warehouse here?"

  "Come on, hurry up! Mr. Chen is getting impatient, there's a shipment that needs to be delivered to Dongjiao Fish Pearl Wharf immediately, I heard it's an urgent telegram from Mr. Ou in Hong Kong, a death order! Come with me quickly."

  Abiao pulled An Yi's hand and ran quickly for a while, entering the store in less than ten minutes. Chen Zhuanggui and Ou Zongguan were already waiting at the door.

  Mr. Chen seemed extremely anxious, and upon seeing An Yi, he pulled him close to the store: "Listen, you need to drive the car to the entrance of our 'Tai Chang' at Thirteen Rows right away. The goods are already prepared, load them up and don't stop, hurry to Fish Pearl Wharf immediately. There's someone there to receive the goods, when you arrive, look for a place with a blue sky white sun flag and stop."

  "Got it, I'll go now." An Yi nodded and turned around to leave.

  Ou Zongguan stopped An Yi: "Wait, Xiao Yi... Boss, the road is very dangerous now. Can you send a few more people with Xiao Yi?"

  "Who is this idle person? Don't the warehouses of the eight major business houses need to be guarded? Even I am personally standing guard, let alone him being such a big man! What's there to fear? The whole way is revolutionary army, what danger is there? Don't mention it! An Yi, aren't you leaving yet? Do you want me to bow and send you off?"

  An Yi smiled gratefully at the European manager, turned around and left, entered the yard to open the car door and start the truck. He lightly stepped on the accelerator a few times to warm up the engine. Abiao suddenly jumped onto the right side step and handed An Yi a one-foot-long British scraper sold in the store: "Take it for self-defense, if I had a gun, I would definitely lend it to you."

  An Yi looked at the butter on the knife and smiled: "No need, take it back. If Chen Zhuang knows about this, he won't scold you to death, I appreciate your kindness. After I leave, this place will still rely on you. If those scattered soldiers come again, you must tell them well, don't provoke them."

  "Alright, so you be careful, I'll wait for your return. Later, I'll go buy two catties of dog meat and stew it, we brothers will have a good drink together. I've never had a drink with you before." In times of crisis, Ah Biao showed his loyalty.

  "Alright! Wait for me to come back."

  The truck drove smoothly out of the yard, slowly entering the narrow alley and onto the main road. An Yi saw that there were patrolling soldiers and police on the street, so he kept a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, steadily driving to the entrance of "Taichang" Commercial Building. He skillfully reversed the truck to align the carriage with the gate, and seven or eight shop assistants, under the guard of over a dozen soldiers and police, nervously loaded box after box of unmarked goods onto the truck, filling up half of it in no time.

  An Yi stood on the step and took a look, suddenly finding that the team's guard was actually Li Tiegui. He quickly jumped off the car and walked over quickly: "Brother Li, you got promoted and didn't even let your brother know, are you afraid your brother will ask you to treat him to a drink?"

  Li Tiekuai turned his head and looked, excitedly putting his arm around An Yi's shoulder: "Brother, I've missed you to death, haha! Brother has had a streak of good fortune recently, being an instructor at the training camp for over a month, and as soon as he came out, he was promoted to be the leader of the Special Task Force, with more than 100 brothers under him, in charge of the entire city of Guangzhou!"

  Li Tiekuo glanced down and leaned in close to An Yi's ear, whispering: "Speaking of which, big brother still has to thank you. If it weren't for Vice Director Gong's help, big brother would still be training those idiots at the camp. So, this drink is on me, I'll treat you to it. When things settle down, come visit my home and let my wife cook some authentic hometown dishes for you."

  "Really! I've been dreaming of Sichuan cuisine from my hometown... By the way, Brother Li, you said thank me? What's going on?" An Yi asked in confusion.

  Li Tiegui lowered his voice: "Deputy Director Gong came to our department twice, but Director Wu didn't agree. Before leaving, Deputy Director Gong said that if he didn't promote me this time, he would make sure to get it done through the party committee even if it meant offending him. As a result, Director Wu had no choice but to promote me. Haha! Big brother, who else should I thank? I know Deputy Director Gong has looked for you many times, and your household registration was personally handled by our department head. With just one phone call from Deputy Director Gong, our department head rushed over immediately, haha!"

  An Yi was stunned, just as the goods were loaded, he found an excuse to climb up to the canvas top of the car, and after securing it, he wanted to bid farewell to Li Tiegui but didn't see his shadow. He had no choice but to climb down and turn to the driver's room, open the door and get in, only to see Li Tiegui sitting safely in the co-pilot seat.

  Li Tiekuai ordered a dozen armed men to climb onto the carriage and escort it, explaining to the curious An Yi: "Brother, I have been ordered to escort this batch of supplies. Do you need to see my special mission order?"

  "It doesn't matter."

  An Yi hastily started the car and slowly set off, only asking when they reached the main road: "What's so important in the car?"

  Li Tiegui sighed: "All are imported Western medicines, and there's hemostatic powder, hemostatic belt and whatnot. It's all thanks to Mr. Ou's great help that we were able to get so much. Although it's only half a carload of medicine, its value is over 20,000 yuan! I heard that Mr. Liao received a secret telegram from Mr. Ou last night and was so grateful he cried. Which family in Guangzhou would be willing to donate even half a point of medicine? The Chinese people are fed up with the foreign-controlled firms and the stubborn National Government... Ah? This box is really beautiful, what's inside?"

  An Yi glanced at it and continued to focus on driving: "Zeiss binoculars, Hans, the German boss of 'Lu Lin' business, gave me. I was too busy to put them in the car. Hans said this is the latest cutting-edge product, with a mechanical zoom lens, simple adjustment method, and multi-functional benchmark scale lines. Even the current German army only has a small number equipped, and only officers can get it. The shell of this binoculars is made of alloy, very delicate and solid, 7×50 specifications, volume and weight are reduced by about one-third compared to the previous generation products, very convenient to carry. I tried it on the way to deliver goods in the countryside a few days ago, and the effect was very good. These Germans, they're just damn smart."

  Li Tieguai carefully pulled it out, tried it for a while, and exclaimed in admiration: "Damn, it's really beautiful! Several miles away can distinguish the male and female water buffalo, the Germans are really awesome, this thing is worth at least several hundred dollars!"

  "Actually, I didn't ask, but last year I helped Hans with a small favor. Before the holiday, he found me and said that since there aren't many gifts to give during Chinese New Year, he gave me this pair of binoculars he brought from his hometown in Germany. I took one look at the leather case, it was thick and beautiful, very compact, and I liked it so I accepted it. Later on, when I ran into him, I asked him how much something like this would sell for." An Yi replied casually.

  Through a small forest, the Fish Pearl Wharf came into view. Li Tiegui put away his binoculars and returned them to the four-square storage box under the driver's seat. He pointed to the two-story brick house with a large blue sky white day flag inserted at the entrance of the wharf and ordered An Yi to drive the car to the door.

  An Yi followed the instructions, stopped at the entrance of the road to accept the inspection by the sentry, and then was inspected again before entering the dock entrance. An Yi smiled calmly throughout the process, parking, starting, reversing, and stopping with precision, his skilled technique earning loud praise from Li Tiekuai.

  Under the car, the soldiers and police formed two rows under Li Tiekuai's command, listened to some "light handling" precautions from Li Tiekuai, and began to unload. A team of over 30 Huangpu school soldiers ran in neatly under the leadership of a military officer and quickly set up a cordon around the car. An Yi felt slightly surprised, as it seemed that the upper levels of the Huangpu army had regarded this batch of precious medicine as more valuable than their own lives from such strict protection measures.

  "Xiao Yi? Is that you? Good kid!"

  Commander Hu Zongnan strode up, slapping An Yi's shoulder heavily as soon as he opened the car door: "I really didn't expect it was you who transported this batch of medicine, great! The principal and Director Zhou just sent someone to ask if the goods had arrived, they were anxiously waiting!"

  An Yi happily looked Hu Zongnan up and down: "You're quite the model, Commander Hu!"

  "Haha! Commander Hu? You dare to laugh at me? Just wait, I'll be a commander one day!" Hu Zongnan said with a heroic and carefree smile.

  "Indeed, it's the big boss! Haha... Ah, where are Old Du and the others? And what about Second Battalion's Special Operations Company Commander Chen?"

  "We're having the oath-taking ceremony for the Eastern Expedition on the other side of the river, I have to sound the advance signal. Deputy Platoon Leader Huang Jie is leading two squads of brothers to stand guard at the dock by the river, and when the main force starts crossing the river, I'll have to set off ahead of time. Otherwise, I'll call all the brothers over to bid you farewell."

  Hu Zongnan gazed regretfully at the military academy dock on the other side of the river, where flags were fluttering and a gray crowd was gathered, apparently an expedition ceremony was underway.

  An Yi thought for a moment and pulled him: "Is your special agent regiment responsible for front-line reconnaissance, doing some in-depth enemy rear or capturing prisoners to extract intelligence?"

  "Huh? You understand this too? Not bad, you have some military quality, why don't you come to our Huangpu, at worst, you can join the school army for a while, and wait for the next recruitment period to sign up. My brothers will help you figure it out, it's settled!" Hu Zongnan mobilized again.

  "Never mind all that, you haven't answered me yet." An Yi asked again.

  Hu Zongnan nodded: "That's right, but it's quite exciting. Others want to go but can't."

  An Yi stepped onto the car's running board without saying a word, took out that precious Zeiss binoculars and handed it to Hu Zongnan: "Old Hu, I don't have anything else to give you, this you can use, take it."

  "What the... my god..." Hu Zongnan opened the precise leather cover and took out the binoculars, his hands trembling with excitement: "Too beautiful! More advanced than our principal's, even our deputy regimental commander doesn't have the luck to be issued binoculars... where did this come from?"

  An Yi smiled and said, "A friend from a German trading company gave it to me, saying it's the latest product. I kept it unused, but you're the one who needs it most for scouting ahead. Alas... if I had known earlier, I would have ordered a set of good leather armor for you and your brothers at the leather goods store. Look at how inconvenient those five-flower wraps are on your bodies... Ah, the unloading is done, I have to go! Old Hu, please pass on my greetings to the brothers, and when you all return triumphantly, I'll treat everyone to a delicious meal of dumplings and pancakes at Yue Xiang Lou..."

  "Xiao Yi..."

  Hu Zongnan was taken aback, watching An Yi jump onto the car and start it up. He hastily chased after him for a few steps, his heart full of gratitude, and loudly shouted: "You little brat, listen up! When I and my brothers return triumphantly, we'll definitely make you pay dearly!"