Chapter 2 Failure at the start

The distance between Qianmen Railway Station and the Ministry of Education is not very far. Start from Zhengyangmen and walk west, passing by Xijiaomin Lane, the electric lighting company, the French school, etc., until you stop at Xuanwumen. Ideally, you will walk about half a mile.

It can be there in an hour.

But at this time, Xuanwumen still retained the Wengcheng, and there was a moat next to it. It was not very convenient to get in and out. If there were a lot of people, even if there were not many cars in Beiping City, there would be a traffic jam.

Moreover, there is not much decent infrastructure in Beiping City. Real roads only started to be built in the early 20th century. The design on both sides of the pedestrian lanes was exactly the opposite of that in later generations. At that time, a stone and cement strip was laid in the middle of the road for pedestrians and light passengers.

For vehicles traveling, there are heavy lanes on both sides of the road.

At first glance, it seems very unscientific, but in fact, it makes sense based on the background of the times.

According to the definition of the Industrial Inspection Bureau of the Manchu Qing Government (referring to the Transportation Bureau of later generations), pedestrians refer to those on foot and in sedan chairs, and light vehicles refer to a small number of cars and foreign cars. These are high-ranking officials, and it is too disrespectful to walk on both sides.

identity.

The so-called heavy vehicles refer to heavy-loaded carriages, which generally move slowly, so they should walk on both sides.

It had just snowed, and the quality of the roads was beyond praise. The "sweepers" who specialized in cleaning the streets had just gone to work. The entire road had turned into a quagmire, making it difficult to walk on foot.

He kicked here and there, and soon Cheng Nuo's cotton shoes were almost wet, and he couldn't tell that they were the same shoes.

It's difficult to walk in the middle of the road, so just follow the base of the city wall.

Of course it didn't work. After walking a few steps, Cheng Nuo realized the enthusiasm Beiping City had for him, and stepped on something dirty in two steps.

He was so angry that he yelled at the National Essence on the spot: "$%##@#, are all the people at the foot of the imperial city so unhygienic? Where is the public morality?"

Look around, okay? He is the only one walking at the end of the wall. Everyone else is far away. He would rather have one foot deep and one foot shallow than imitate Cheng Nuo.

Yes, I learned another lesson.

At this time, Beiping City was similar to Asan Ge in the previous life. There were almost no sound underground sewage pipes, and there were very few public toilets on the streets, and even if there were, they were charged.

But what should people do if they suddenly have a emergency while walking on the street? They can only find a hidden place to deal with it.

At that time, there was a joke circulating in the society: There was a businessman who was suffering from people defecating on the wall of his shop, so he decided to write a slogan to warn passers-by, "Passengers are not allowed to defecate here."

But before the paint could dry, a passerby saw the slogan and immediately urinate on the spot.

The merchant was furious and asked him why he was doing this even though it clearly said "Passengers are not allowed to relieve themselves here."

However, passersby plausibly wrote, "Passengers, can't wait, relieve themselves here."

It turns out that the reason is that punctuation marks are not promoted, misunderstandings are caused when sentences are broken, and the difference in commas makes the meaning of the sentence completely different.

However, few ordinary people have latrines at home, so they use buckets to solve personal problems, and the dung man collects them regularly.

What should I do if it’s too late to recycle? The street is a good place to end up.

So when it rains and turns to snow, that road is not used by people at all.

"well."

Cheng Nuo sighed. He couldn't go further down this road. There might be some surprises ahead, so he might as well take a taxi.

The so-called foreign cart is a rickshaw. In the north, it is called a foreign cart or a rubber cart, while in the south, it is called a rickshaw or a Japanese cart.

Fortunately, it's not far from Qianmen Station, so it's not too difficult to hail the rickshaw driver.

When a strong man saw Cheng Nuo greeting him, he took the lead in pulling the cart and trotted over. Seeing that someone had taken the lead, other colleagues gave up.

The man bowed his hands and said enthusiastically: "Sir, do you want to take a car? Where are you going? Li Laosan's sports cars are famous for their stability and speed."

"Yes, how much does it cost to go to the Ministry of Education by car?"

"Hey, over there in Handkerchief Alley, according to business rules, I charge 15 cents. Do you think that's okay?"

"Can it be cheaper?" Cheng Nuo asked tentatively, not knowing whether the price was reasonable.

Li Laosan smiled bitterly, shook his head and said: "Sir, you look like a knowledgeable person at first glance. You are also at the Ministry of Education, and most likely teach children to read. If I dare to coax you, my family won't let me go if they find out."

After a pause, Li Laosan added: "The prices at the 'car entrance' at the front door are fixed on the wall. If you go to Xuanwu, Chongwen and Yongding are just around the corner, and if you turn to the Ministry of Education, you will almost reach West Chang'an Street, so

I’ll charge you five cents, find someone with this price.”

It was all hard-earned money, and besides, 1.5 cents was really not much. The bargaining was just to prevent being ripped off, so Cheng Nuo stopped arguing.

Ask Li Laosan to put down the car and prepare to ride.

But think about it, his feet are really unclean now, and he stepped on the surprise again, making the car dirty and affecting his next business.

He took out a few useless pieces of paper from the package and wrapped them around his feet before getting in the car.

Li Laosan also observed this, and his nose felt a little sore.

He said, "Sit down, we'll set off now."

Later, Li Laosan used all his strength to pull the cart.

It's exactly as he said, fast and stable.

Even without anti-shock springs, Cheng Nuo still didn't feel any bumps in the car.

The two of them chatted along the way.

"Today is not bad. When I meet a noble person like you, sir, it is enough to give me enough money, and the rest is earned..."

"Why, someone is riding in the Overlord Car?"

"Oh, the sea in Dongjiaomin Alley is gone. Sometimes, if you don't pay or tell me, you can kick me a few more times, but the officials can't control it, so I can only do it in vain."

Speaking of which, Li Laosan may have recalled something bad, and the car swayed obviously.

He quickly stabilized the car and said sheepishly: "I'm sorry, but I suddenly thought of my brother. Oh, poor man."

"What's wrong with your brother?" Cheng Nuo was full of doubts. He leaned forward and asked, "Is he injured?"

"Hey, I took a job from a drunk Japanese Japanese. I was doing fine at the time, but then I dragged him to their embassy and asked him to follow him to withdraw money. It turned out to be a good thing. I never saw my brother again."

With a bad suspicion in his mind, Cheng Nuo asked tentatively: "Have you reported it to the official?"

"Report to the official, hehe." Li Laosan laughed at himself: "As soon as the official heard this, he immediately kicked us out. Even if we report it to the Presidential Palace, we won't be able to control what he said."

"I think you are capable, sir. If you become a high official in the future, you will definitely speak out for us!"

The sky was so pitch black that not even a single star could be seen.

"It will definitely happen, it will definitely happen." Cheng Nuo said sadly, the country is poor and the people are weak, and there will be more of this kind of thing in the future.

Unknowingly, the burden on my body became heavier.

After a while, Li Laosan took Cheng Nuo to the door of the Ministry of Education.

After paying the money, Li Laosan refused to leave, stubbornly waiting for Cheng Nuo to come out and continue seeing him off.

Cheng Nuo had no choice but to give him more money and refused to let him go.

When I saw that the Ministry of Education had not yet opened its doors, I did not get off the car and asked the driver to find the nearest shoe store and prepare to change my shoes.

Otherwise, it would be a bit indecent to go directly to the Ministry of Education.

"Master, look where there is a shoe store nearby. I'm going to buy a new pair." Feeling the chill on his feet, Cheng Nuo asked, "It doesn't have to be so expensive. The more comfortable the better."

Li Laosan pulled the cart and did not leave in a hurry. He asked instead: "Sir, do you want cloth shoes or foreign shoes?"

Cheng Nuo thought for a moment and instinctively replied: "It's cloth, I'm used to it, but foreign shoes still don't fit my feet."

"Hey, what you are saying is that the shoes made by foreigners are not as comfortable as our own needlework." Li Laosan agreed: "Sir, sit back and we will find you a time-honored brand."

There are quite a lot of shops doing business in the surrounding area, especially the woolen alley opposite, which really lives up to its name. It has a large concentration of businesses such as cloth, spinning thread, clothing, and children's clothing.

Without much effort, Li Laosan took him directly to an old store, but a little accident happened when he was about to enter.

Because Cheng Nuo sat for a long time and his shoes were not warm, his feet were numb from dryness.

Before he could take two steps, he stumbled a few times and almost hit the middle-aged man who had just gone out.

Fortunately, the man's quick eyesight and quick hands helped him, so he didn't make a fool of himself.

"Sir, don't panic when you walk. It's better to be safe."

"Thank you, thank you." Cheng Nuo thanked him hurriedly.

However, because he was about to fall down, the waste paper wrapped around Cheng Nuo's shoes was squeezed away, revealing a dirty look, which made him very embarrassed.

The middle-aged man smiled slightly, patted Cheng Nuo on the shoulder to indicate that it was no big deal, and left.

The shopkeeper who came out to greet the customers said politely to the middle-aged man: "Mr. Cai, the customized shoes can be made on Sunday. Do you still need to send them to the Ministry of Education?"

The middle-aged man waved his hand: "I am no longer in the Ministry of Education. Send me to Peking University. Just write my name and give it to the guard."

"Okay, just take a look."

Peking University? Could this be some big shot? But if you look closely, it seems to be Cai Yuanpei.

However, following the greeting from the shopkeeper of the shoe store, Cheng Nuo didn't think too deeply about it.

If the matter is urgent, there is no need to specially measure your feet. Just ask the shopkeeper to bring out a pair of shoes that are similar in size and have already been made.

Li Laosan was also very interesting. He cut off the original price of the shoes for 50 cents to 20 cents. In the end, the shopkeeper was so angry that he had to close the shop and blast the shop owner.

I washed it with a basin of hot water and put it on directly after paying.

"Sir, please fit your feet. When I was spanking me and my crotchless pants were open, my mother took me to buy them in his store."

Li Laosan took out the dry pipe and turned it upside down, knocked out the ash, twisted some shredded tobacco into the pot, lit it and took a puff: "It's more comfortable than the shoes I made at home."

"It's indeed much warmer." Cheng Nuo put on new shoes, found a clear space and jumped around, showing off his skills.

"The new cotton that's being spun this season is still soft."

While the two were chatting, the Ministry of Education finally opened its doors.
Chapter completed!