Chapter 645 An unexpected encounter
Taking a car was inevitable. There was still a long way from the Ministry of the Army to Yongdingmen. It was not an easy task in such a hot day. Duan Qirui and the groom behind him didn't say much. They got on two rickshaws and ran along the street, weaving in and out of the flow of people and vehicles towards Yongdingmen.
Although it was noon and the sun was shining brightly, there were almost no patrolmen on the street, but there were still many pedestrians. The young men and women from wealthy families had servants holding parasols made in Tianjin, and waving folding fans and scented fans in their hands.
Even those young masters had to wear a pair of strange-looking big sunglasses on their faces to block the glaring sunlight.
Moreover, when viewed from the side, the lenses of the sunglasses emitted a faint blue light.
This pair of strange-looking sunglasses is also produced in Tianjin. It is said that they are now very popular among wealthy children and wealthy businessmen in China. There are even rumors that almost all foreigners in the embassies of the powerful countries have a pair of such sunglasses. It is also said that this pair of sunglasses that emit a faint blue light can protect the eyes from sun damage.
The poor people who make a living, including some vendors, have to wipe the sweat from their heads while running around or busying themselves with their business, even in such hot weather.
Although in such weather, rich young men riding the gleaming and exquisite bicycles produced by Aurora companies will no longer be seen on the streets, postmen riding bicycles painted with dark green patent leather can still be seen.
However, the postmen’s bicycles are the simplest and cheapest ones.
But all this could not arouse the interest of the depressed Duan Qirui.
Duan Qirui didn't care much about being removed from the post of director general of the Military Academy, but being dismissed from the military and even never to be employed again made Duan Qirui very depressed and angry. Was he going to be wasted in the world at his age?
Although Duan Qirui appeared calm in front of the two groomsmen, he still had mixed feelings in his heart, and even looked a little bored.
The driver who was pulling Duan Qirui was very talkative. Although he was sweating profusely after running for a while, he still spoke tentatively while running.
"Sir, you are going to travel far away by train, right?"
Although Duan Qirui no longer had a military rank, his military uniform and his age and temperament showed that he was not an ordinary person. The coachmen would deal with all kinds of people and had good eyes for judging people.
After listening to the driver's words and hearing his accent, he should be from Tianjin, so he said it casually.
"How do you know I'm going on a long journey by train?"
The driver, who was trotting along, answered with a smile, without even turning his head.
"Your Excellency's attendants are carrying suitcases. Your Excellency is going to the Shunde Inn inside Yongding Gate. It is the nearest inn to the train station. What else would your Excellency be doing if he is not going on a long journey?"
The driver continued, "My home is just outside Yongdingmen, and I often take passengers to the station. I am very familiar with the trains to Tianjin, Hankou, and even Zhangjiakou. If you want to take the train, I can tell you the departure times of trains to various places at Majiabao Station."
"Oh!"
Duan Qirui couldn't help but ask, "Then tell me, what time are the trains to Tianjin and Baoding tomorrow morning?"
The driver answered without thinking, "There are two trips in each direction, morning and afternoon. The one to Tianjin is at the end of the morning, and the one to Baoding will take another hour."
The driver then said, "Sir, there are many passengers traveling to and from Tianjin, and train tickets are hard to buy, especially first-class tickets. You have to book them several days in advance, otherwise you won't be able to buy them at all."
Under the leadership of Teng Yuzao, new-style factories sprang up like mushrooms after a rain in Tianjin. Not only could they produce almost everything that only foreigners had in the past, it was even said that they produced many goods that foreigners could not match. As a result, Tianjin became increasingly prosperous in recent years.
Therefore, many merchants went to Tianjin from all over the country, and the Lu-Han Railway became an indispensable means of transportation for people from Central and South China, Northwest China and Central Plains to travel to Tianjin.
The same is true for merchants in the capital. Almost all shops here sell goods produced in Tianjin. Those goods cover almost everything from food to clothing, housing and transportation. There are also many merchants traveling between the two places.
The enthusiastic driver then said, "If you want to buy a ticket for tomorrow morning, I can buy it for you."
"I have a relative who is the captain of the station patrol at Majiabao Railway Station. I can take you to buy tickets and make sure they sell you a first-class ticket."
At that time, trains were divided into three classes, and the first-class carriage was the most comfortable. Not only was the floor covered with carpets, but there were also soft seats covered with velvet. The seats were also very spacious. There were also toilets and dressing rooms in the carriage. Of course, the tickets were also much more expensive.
Duan Qirui felt even more uncomfortable when he thought of the cramped third-class carriage where he couldn't even stretch his legs. He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Thank you very much. We will take you to the inn later and you can take my followers to buy tickets. After we buy the tickets, you will definitely get some benefits."
As if he heard something good was going to happen, the driver's voice suddenly became excited.
"Okay! Don't worry, sir!"
Duan Qirui's room was on the second floor of Shunde Inn. The room was very nice. Not only was it very clean, but it was also open from north to south. Although it was still scorching hot outside, the breeze from the window could make people feel cool.
After I put my luggage in the inn, the innkeeper brought me some water for washing my face, which made me feel cooler after washing.
However, the cool water could wash away the heat and sweat on Duan Qirui's face, but it could not wash away the irritability in his heart. Duan Qirui took out a cheap folding fan bought for two cents, fanned it a few times, and then threw it on the table in annoyance.
Then, he sighed and sat alone in the room, drinking the cheap herbal tea brought by the innkeeper and thinking silently about what happened today.
Duan Qirui did not feel any regret, only unwillingness!
His melancholy was interrupted only when his stomach started to growl.
Estimating the time, it should have been past noon. Duan Qirui then sighed again and prepared to go out for dinner. He even inexplicably felt like drinking a glass of wine.
This made Duan Qirui very strange. Not only did he never smoke or drink, he also never had any bad habits such as prostitution, gambling, and corruption. He even never took advantage of others. He didn't know why he thought of drinking today!
However, the urge to drink was very strong at this time. Duan Qirui couldn't help but laugh at himself. He thought that getting drunk could relieve all his worries, so he decided to make an exception today.
Duan Qirui stood up and stretched out his hand to take the military uniform hanging on the hanger in the corner of the room, but when he saw the gray uniform without the golden epaulettes and collar badges, he sighed again, retracted his hand, opened his suitcase, and prepared to change into his own clothes.
But when he saw a set of beige poplin clothes and a beige linen hat in the suitcase, he was slightly stunned. This set of clothes, even the exaggerated new gold-rimmed sunglasses that were extremely popular nowadays placed in the corner of the suitcase, were all gifts that Teng Yuzao asked someone to give him on his birthday last year.
Since he arrived at the Military Academy, Teng Yuzao would give him gifts on his birthday every year. Since they were not expensive and were all produced by the factories of the Aurora Group under Teng Yuzao's name, and the two were classmates, Duan Qirui never refused.
However, Duan Qirui was a rather old-fashioned person, and didn't care much about food and clothing, so he had never worn this outfit before. After thinking about it, he simply took off his military uniform and put on this outfit.
He changed into this loose and cool beige poplin suit and pants, and put on the top hat of the same color, and even after hesitating for a while, he put on this new type of sunglasses that was said to be patented by Teng Yuzao. When he looked in the mirror, Duan Qirui felt like a different person, and the irritability in his heart seemed to have dissipated a lot.
After a moment of hesitation, Duan Qirui picked up the folding fan that he had thrown on the table, locked the door, and walked out of the inn alone.
This inn is located at one end of Yongdingmen Inner Street. Somehow, the war in the Gengzi Year did not damage it, and it is one of the few surviving houses in the outer city.
Duan Qirui knew that the eastern side of this wide street leading directly to the inner city was built with funds raised by Yikuang and a group of princes and ministers, while the western side was built by Tianjin Construction Company.
Construction on both sides started almost at the same time and has basically been completed. However, most of the newly built houses on the east side are vacant, while the west side has been full of people for a long time and its prosperity has returned to normal.
This is because Teng Yuzao offered extremely favorable conditions to Tianjin Construction Company for the western part of the city it was building.
As long as merchants and citizens can produce the land deeds, the final house built will only cost half of the cost price as profit.
Since the imperial court required that newly built houses must reflect the dignity of the capital, all houses had to be built neatly and beautifully, whether they were ordinary courtyard houses or shops along the street, so the construction cost was much higher than that of old houses.
In order to allow the people to move in as quickly as possible, Huang Chujiu's Tianjin Construction Company could even provide low-interest loans, and poor people could apply for interest-free loans for a period of ten years. As a result, the people were quickly resettled and the extra houses were quickly sold out.
Although the construction of Dongcheng presided over by Yikuang and others has been completed, the housing prices in Dongcheng remain high. It is possible to get a loan, but the interest rate is very high. Except for the merchants in the street shops who gritted their teeth and moved back, most of the poor people in Dongcheng cannot live in the newly built houses on the expensive old houses.
However, due to government suppression, these people had no choice but to sell their old house deeds to brokers controlled by Yikuang and others and find another place to live.
Looking at the beautiful shops and buildings lined up on both sides of the street, as well as the constant flow of people and vehicles, Duan Qirui shook his head and walked straight into the two-story restaurant of the civil engineering building across the street.
Duan Qirui would stay at an inn near Yongdingmen every year when he came to the capital in recent years, so he was very familiar with this place.
As it was past mealtime, the restaurant did not have any special dishes and did not have any private rooms, so usually there were few people of status coming to dine here. Most of the people who ate here were guests from nearby inns.
When I entered the store, it was indeed a bit deserted. There were only about ten people on the first floor eating hurriedly. Judging from their attire, most of them were ordinary vendors and peddlers.
It was a bit stuffy downstairs, so Duan Qirui went straight up to the second floor.
Since the second floor is not only quiet and cool but also has spacious seats, there is a consumption requirement for the second floor of the restaurant. There was only one table by the window on the second floor where guests were drinking and reading a newspaper.
This is a man in his twenties or thirties, and judging by his attire, he seems to be a student or teacher at the Imperial University of Peking.
Duan Qirui also sat down in front of the window facing the street, from where he could see the Shunde Inn opposite. After a little thought, Duan Qirui said to the waiter who followed him.
"A plate of Kung Pao chicken, a plate of shredded tripe, and a pot of rice wine."
As there were not many guests, the two dishes that Duan Qirui ordered and a pot of warm rice wine were soon placed on Duan Qirui's table.
Duan Qirui took off his sunglasses, put his hat on the table, poured a glass of rice wine, and started drinking by himself while sipping it and eating the dishes.
It might be because he never drank alcohol, but before he knew it, even though he had only drunk half a pot of rice wine, he actually felt a little tipsy. Duan Qirui put down his glass, sighed lightly, and shouted downstairs again.
"Hey, give me a bowl of rice and a portion of Liubiju's pickles."
After hearing the waiter's response from downstairs, Duan Qirui heard the noise on the stairs, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He thought that since there were fewer customers, the dishes and meals would be served faster, so he still looked at the crowded street with boredom.
Even when the footsteps came close to him, he did not take his eyes away from the window, but just said.
“Just put it on the table.”
However, not only did Duan Qirui not hear the waiter's response, on the contrary, Duan Qirui felt that the waiter seemed to be sitting opposite him. He turned his head with some anger and looked at the person sitting opposite him.
Just one look made Duan Qirui startled and his right hand reached to his waist.
Duan Qirui also had a pistol on his waist, which was also given to him by Teng Yuzhao. According to Teng Yuzhao, this was the first batch of pistols designed and manufactured by the Zhili Army Military Industry Bureau last year, but for some reason it was named Type 54.
This was also given to him by Teng Yuzhao as a birthday gift. It is said that officers of the Zhi Army have been gradually replacing themselves with this type of pistol.
The pistol given to him was specially inlaid with the words "Happy Birthday!" in gold threads, which Duan Qirui found very novel.
This was his personal pistol, so Duan Qirui would naturally not hand it over. He just brought it with him when he went out today. He was very worried that Tie Liang would not let him go easily.
Although there were only eight bullets in his pistol, he was still confident that he could protect himself when facing three or two people.
The person who had just sat down opposite was wearing a top hat and was lowering his head to adjust his chair so that he could sit more comfortably.
Therefore, Duan Qirui could not see the man's face for a while, but he felt that he should be a middle-aged man.
(End of this chapter)
Taking a car was inevitable. There was still a long way from the Ministry of the Army to Yongdingmen. It was not an easy task in such a hot day. Duan Qirui and the groom behind him didn't say much. They got on two rickshaws and ran along the street, weaving in and out of the flow of people and vehicles towards Yongdingmen.
Although it was noon and the sun was shining brightly, there were almost no patrolmen on the street, but there were still many pedestrians. The young men and women from wealthy families had servants holding parasols made in Tianjin, and waving folding fans and scented fans in their hands.
Even those young masters had to wear a pair of strange-looking big sunglasses on their faces to block the glaring sunlight.
Moreover, when viewed from the side, the lenses of the sunglasses emitted a faint blue light.
This pair of strange-looking sunglasses is also produced in Tianjin. It is said that they are now very popular among wealthy children and wealthy businessmen in China. There are even rumors that almost all foreigners in the embassies of the powerful countries have a pair of such sunglasses. It is also said that this pair of sunglasses that emit a faint blue light can protect the eyes from sun damage.
The poor people who make a living, including some vendors, have to wipe the sweat from their heads while running around or busying themselves with their business, even in such hot weather.
Although in such weather, rich young men riding the gleaming and exquisite bicycles produced by Aurora companies will no longer be seen on the streets, postmen riding bicycles painted with dark green patent leather can still be seen.
However, the postmen’s bicycles are the simplest and cheapest ones.
But all this could not arouse the interest of the depressed Duan Qirui.
Duan Qirui didn't care much about being removed from the post of director general of the Military Academy, but being dismissed from the military and even never to be employed again made Duan Qirui very depressed and angry. Was he going to be wasted in the world at his age?
Although Duan Qirui appeared calm in front of the two groomsmen, he still had mixed feelings in his heart, and even looked a little bored.
The driver who was pulling Duan Qirui was very talkative. Although he was sweating profusely after running for a while, he still spoke tentatively while running.
"Sir, you are going to travel far away by train, right?"
Although Duan Qirui no longer had a military rank, his military uniform and his age and temperament showed that he was not an ordinary person. The coachmen would deal with all kinds of people and had good eyes for judging people.
After listening to the driver's words and hearing his accent, he should be from Tianjin, so he said it casually.
"How do you know I'm going on a long journey by train?"
The driver, who was trotting along, answered with a smile, without even turning his head.
"Your Excellency's attendants are carrying suitcases. Your Excellency is going to the Shunde Inn inside Yongding Gate. It is the nearest inn to the train station. What else would your Excellency be doing if he is not going on a long journey?"
The driver continued, "My home is just outside Yongdingmen, and I often take passengers to the station. I am very familiar with the trains to Tianjin, Hankou, and even Zhangjiakou. If you want to take the train, I can tell you the departure times of trains to various places at Majiabao Station."
"Oh!"
Duan Qirui couldn't help but ask, "Then tell me, what time are the trains to Tianjin and Baoding tomorrow morning?"
The driver answered without thinking, "There are two trips in each direction, morning and afternoon. The one to Tianjin is at the end of the morning, and the one to Baoding will take another hour."
The driver then said, "Sir, there are many passengers traveling to and from Tianjin, and train tickets are hard to buy, especially first-class tickets. You have to book them several days in advance, otherwise you won't be able to buy them at all."
Under the leadership of Teng Yuzao, new-style factories sprang up like mushrooms after a rain in Tianjin. Not only could they produce almost everything that only foreigners had in the past, it was even said that they produced many goods that foreigners could not match. As a result, Tianjin became increasingly prosperous in recent years.
Therefore, many merchants went to Tianjin from all over the country, and the Lu-Han Railway became an indispensable means of transportation for people from Central and South China, Northwest China and Central Plains to travel to Tianjin.
The same is true for merchants in the capital. Almost all shops here sell goods produced in Tianjin. Those goods cover almost everything from food to clothing, housing and transportation. There are also many merchants traveling between the two places.
The enthusiastic driver then said, "If you want to buy a ticket for tomorrow morning, I can buy it for you."
"I have a relative who is the captain of the station patrol at Majiabao Railway Station. I can take you to buy tickets and make sure they sell you a first-class ticket."
At that time, trains were divided into three classes, and the first-class carriage was the most comfortable. Not only was the floor covered with carpets, but there were also soft seats covered with velvet. The seats were also very spacious. There were also toilets and dressing rooms in the carriage. Of course, the tickets were also much more expensive.
Duan Qirui felt even more uncomfortable when he thought of the cramped third-class carriage where he couldn't even stretch his legs. He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Thank you very much. We will take you to the inn later and you can take my followers to buy tickets. After we buy the tickets, you will definitely get some benefits."
As if he heard something good was going to happen, the driver's voice suddenly became excited.
"Okay! Don't worry, sir!"
Duan Qirui's room was on the second floor of Shunde Inn. The room was very nice. Not only was it very clean, but it was also open from north to south. Although it was still scorching hot outside, the breeze from the window could make people feel cool.
After I put my luggage in the inn, the innkeeper brought me some water for washing my face, which made me feel cooler after washing.
However, the cool water could wash away the heat and sweat on Duan Qirui's face, but it could not wash away the irritability in his heart. Duan Qirui took out a cheap folding fan bought for two cents, fanned it a few times, and then threw it on the table in annoyance.
Then, he sighed and sat alone in the room, drinking the cheap herbal tea brought by the innkeeper and thinking silently about what happened today.
Duan Qirui did not feel any regret, only unwillingness!
His melancholy was interrupted only when his stomach started to growl.
Estimating the time, it should have been past noon. Duan Qirui then sighed again and prepared to go out for dinner. He even inexplicably felt like drinking a glass of wine.
This made Duan Qirui very strange. Not only did he never smoke or drink, he also never had any bad habits such as prostitution, gambling, and corruption. He even never took advantage of others. He didn't know why he thought of drinking today!
However, the urge to drink was very strong at this time. Duan Qirui couldn't help but laugh at himself. He thought that getting drunk could relieve all his worries, so he decided to make an exception today.
Duan Qirui stood up and stretched out his hand to take the military uniform hanging on the hanger in the corner of the room, but when he saw the gray uniform without the golden epaulettes and collar badges, he sighed again, retracted his hand, opened his suitcase, and prepared to change into his own clothes.
But when he saw a set of beige poplin clothes and a beige linen hat in the suitcase, he was slightly stunned. This set of clothes, even the exaggerated new gold-rimmed sunglasses that were extremely popular nowadays placed in the corner of the suitcase, were all gifts that Teng Yuzao asked someone to give him on his birthday last year.
Since he arrived at the Military Academy, Teng Yuzao would give him gifts on his birthday every year. Since they were not expensive and were all produced by the factories of the Aurora Group under Teng Yuzao's name, and the two were classmates, Duan Qirui never refused.
However, Duan Qirui was a rather old-fashioned person, and didn't care much about food and clothing, so he had never worn this outfit before. After thinking about it, he simply took off his military uniform and put on this outfit.
He changed into this loose and cool beige poplin suit and pants, and put on the top hat of the same color, and even after hesitating for a while, he put on this new type of sunglasses that was said to be patented by Teng Yuzao. When he looked in the mirror, Duan Qirui felt like a different person, and the irritability in his heart seemed to have dissipated a lot.
After a moment of hesitation, Duan Qirui picked up the folding fan that he had thrown on the table, locked the door, and walked out of the inn alone.
This inn is located at one end of Yongdingmen Inner Street. Somehow, the war in the Gengzi Year did not damage it, and it is one of the few surviving houses in the outer city.
Duan Qirui knew that the eastern side of this wide street leading directly to the inner city was built with funds raised by Yikuang and a group of princes and ministers, while the western side was built by Tianjin Construction Company.
Construction on both sides started almost at the same time and has basically been completed. However, most of the newly built houses on the east side are vacant, while the west side has been full of people for a long time and its prosperity has returned to normal.
This is because Teng Yuzao offered extremely favorable conditions to Tianjin Construction Company for the western part of the city it was building.
As long as merchants and citizens can produce the land deeds, the final house built will only cost half of the cost price as profit.
Since the imperial court required that newly built houses must reflect the dignity of the capital, all houses had to be built neatly and beautifully, whether they were ordinary courtyard houses or shops along the street, so the construction cost was much higher than that of old houses.
In order to allow the people to move in as quickly as possible, Huang Chujiu's Tianjin Construction Company could even provide low-interest loans, and poor people could apply for interest-free loans for a period of ten years. As a result, the people were quickly resettled and the extra houses were quickly sold out.
Although the construction of Dongcheng presided over by Yikuang and others has been completed, the housing prices in Dongcheng remain high. It is possible to get a loan, but the interest rate is very high. Except for the merchants in the street shops who gritted their teeth and moved back, most of the poor people in Dongcheng cannot live in the newly built houses on the expensive old houses.
However, due to government suppression, these people had no choice but to sell their old house deeds to brokers controlled by Yikuang and others and find another place to live.
Looking at the beautiful shops and buildings lined up on both sides of the street, as well as the constant flow of people and vehicles, Duan Qirui shook his head and walked straight into the two-story restaurant of the civil engineering building across the street.
Duan Qirui would stay at an inn near Yongdingmen every year when he came to the capital in recent years, so he was very familiar with this place.
As it was past mealtime, the restaurant did not have any special dishes and did not have any private rooms, so usually there were few people of status coming to dine here. Most of the people who ate here were guests from nearby inns.
When I entered the store, it was indeed a bit deserted. There were only about ten people on the first floor eating hurriedly. Judging from their attire, most of them were ordinary vendors and peddlers.
It was a bit stuffy downstairs, so Duan Qirui went straight up to the second floor.
Since the second floor is not only quiet and cool but also has spacious seats, there is a consumption requirement for the second floor of the restaurant. There was only one table by the window on the second floor where guests were drinking and reading a newspaper.
This is a man in his twenties or thirties, and judging by his attire, he seems to be a student or teacher at the Imperial University of Peking.
Duan Qirui also sat down in front of the window facing the street, from where he could see the Shunde Inn opposite. After a little thought, Duan Qirui said to the waiter who followed him.
"A plate of Kung Pao chicken, a plate of shredded tripe, and a pot of rice wine."
As there were not many guests, the two dishes that Duan Qirui ordered and a pot of warm rice wine were soon placed on Duan Qirui's table.
Duan Qirui took off his sunglasses, put his hat on the table, poured a glass of rice wine, and started drinking by himself while sipping it and eating the dishes.
It might be because he never drank alcohol, but before he knew it, even though he had only drunk half a pot of rice wine, he actually felt a little tipsy. Duan Qirui put down his glass, sighed lightly, and shouted downstairs again.
"Hey, give me a bowl of rice and a portion of Liubiju's pickles."
After hearing the waiter's response from downstairs, Duan Qirui heard the noise on the stairs, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He thought that since there were fewer customers, the dishes and meals would be served faster, so he still looked at the crowded street with boredom.
Even when the footsteps came close to him, he did not take his eyes away from the window, but just said.
“Just put it on the table.”
However, not only did Duan Qirui not hear the waiter's response, on the contrary, Duan Qirui felt that the waiter seemed to be sitting opposite him. He turned his head with some anger and looked at the person sitting opposite him.
Just one look made Duan Qirui startled and his right hand reached to his waist.
Duan Qirui also had a pistol on his waist, which was also given to him by Teng Yuzhao. According to Teng Yuzhao, this was the first batch of pistols designed and manufactured by the Zhili Army Military Industry Bureau last year, but for some reason it was named Type 54.
This was also given to him by Teng Yuzhao as a birthday gift. It is said that officers of the Zhi Army have been gradually replacing themselves with this type of pistol.
The pistol given to him was specially inlaid with the words "Happy Birthday!" in gold threads, which Duan Qirui found very novel.
This was his personal pistol, so Duan Qirui would naturally not hand it over. He just brought it with him when he went out today. He was very worried that Tie Liang would not let him go easily.
Although there were only eight bullets in his pistol, he was still confident that he could protect himself when facing three or two people.
The person who had just sat down opposite was wearing a top hat and was lowering his head to adjust his chair so that he could sit more comfortably.
Therefore, Duan Qirui could not see the man's face for a while, but he felt that he should be a middle-aged man.
(End of this chapter)
