"oh!!"

Song Xiaoniu now understood. It turns out that the passenger terminals are also very particular. The Yangtze River Estuary belongs to the Waijiang Terminal. People who take large passenger ships from all over the country come here to do big business.

The Huaihe River and others are inland river terminals. They take small steamers or tow barges that are used for both passenger and cargo. The boat speed is slower, and most of them are ordinary people going to Huaibei.

No wonder the prices at the inns at the Yangtze River Passenger Terminal are generally high, but here they are much cheaper. This clearly distinguishes one's status.

Song Xiaoniu just took a shower and realized the rules of dividing rich and poor people in Wuhu.

He was not interested in this kind of thing, so he ignored him and washed himself. The two lanky men felt bored while talking, so they glanced at Song Xiaoniu with disdain and snorted, "It's done."

Then he got up and left.

Song Xiaoniu was clean. He wiped his body with a bath towel and washed away the sweat stains.

In Meishan Town, there are water boilers in the headquarters and military barracks, which provide hot water and heat around the clock. It is very convenient to keep warm and take a bath. The officers also have large wooden basins to take a bath. The conditions are many times better than here.

He dried his body, put on clean clothes, and all the fatigue from his body seemed to be gone. He opened the big quilt and felt a slight chill coming to his face. He shook his hair and walked towards the room on the second floor.

Gu Zhunian didn't know when breakfast was served again in the canteen below.

The two bowls of wontons I just had were only half full. I need to eat more in the morning. If I get on the ship later, I won’t have anything to eat.

He thought carefully, and when he heard the knock on the door, he hurriedly opened the door, took the dirty clothes from Song Xiaoniu's hand, and stuffed them into the bag.

Two cages of ten steamed buns were served, two bowls of rice porridge, and a plate of side dishes.

Just after taking a bath, a sip of the warm porridge soup greatly increased Song Xiaoniu's appetite. The two brothers each drank the porridge soup and ate the delicious Xiao Long Bao. When they took a bite, the soup overflowed.

The two of them quickly finished the xiaolongbao and soup and porridge with great satisfaction.

Gu Zhunian packed up the bowls, chopsticks, steamer and other tableware and sent them downstairs voluntarily, while Song Xiaoniu wiped his mouth, stood by the window, opened the curtains, and wanted to take a breath of the morning air.

The sky was already bright now, and at a glance, in front of you, you could see low green brick and tile houses with a greenish-gray quaint atmosphere. Together with the ancient white and yellow walls, and the slight morning mist hanging in the sky, it was inexplicable.

It feels like a picture scroll.

The noise on the street suddenly added a hint of fireworks to the picture, with shouts, cries and other sounds lingering in the street.

There are already many people on the street:

There are obviously many businessmen in a hurry wearing cotton robes and braids on the back of their heads.

Women carrying baskets and leading children, and old men with canes are also wearing them.

Under the window lattice, this is a not-so-wide street, so it seems a little crowded, and the shops on both sides of the street are open.

Some are using bamboo poles to hold up a rain shelter, and some are placing goods, occupying part of the street.

Therefore, only a not-so-wide road is left in the middle.

Whenever a beggar wearing rags passes in front of a shop, he will be chased away by the shop as soon as he approaches.

It seems to have become the norm here, and no enthusiastic citizens have come to criticize it.

After not going home for four years, it was the first time to cross Wuhu from Hangzhou. Song Xiaoniu found it very strange.

His eyes moved forward along with the beggars driving away, and stopped on a piece of straw spread on the ground, which happened to be at a street intersection and the exit of another alley.

Here, the beggar gang began to gather here.

I saw these beggars sitting down on the ground skillfully, curling up their legs, covering their faces with their dirty and long hair, and wearing black and tattered cotton-padded jackets.

On the road in front of them, each had a chipped bowl placed. If they could shout a few more times, they would be able to fill their stomachs with one day's income.

Song Xiaoniu felt that if he met the first beggar in his hometown of Wuhu for the first time, he would take out a few coins from his pocket.

But when he moves his eyes from one end of the street to the other, he will find that there are so many beggars at every alley intersection, and he will probably feel sorry for a few copper coins.

These so-called beggars have sound limbs, but they are lazy and accustomed to getting something for nothing.

After looking at the street for a while, he closed the curtain again and said to Gu Zhunian who returned:

"On New Year's Day, let's go to the pier first to see what time the passenger ship to Bengbu is, buy a ticket, and take a look around Wuhu City!"

"Yes, brother." Gu Zhunian carried the small package containing silver on his back, closed the door and followed Song Xiaoniu out.

The inn was not far from the inland pier, only about 200 steps away. Song Xiaoniu and the others went to the pier ticket office to inquire, and were told that the tickets for the small freighter to Bengbu had been sold out, and only the night tickets were available.

Ma's unlucky, but think about it, it's the New Year's Eve in a few days, and all the wanderers outside have to go home to celebrate the New Year.

A golden nest and a silver nest are not as good as your own straw nest.

Let's just go at night, there is nothing unsafe. The two grown men have martial arts skills, so no one dares to rob.

After buying two evening boat tickets, the two decided to go shopping in the streets of Wuhu.

Wuhu was also established as a trading port by foreigners. The British established a consulate in Fanluoshan, Wuhu, and a public concession in the center of the city.

The two of them planned to go shopping in the concession, which was the most prosperous place.

Song Xiaoniu followed the eldest young master to the Shanghai Concession, and it was just a quick tour, but Gu Linian did not, he also wanted to broaden his horizons.

Although he worked as a coolie in the Japanese Concession of Gongchenqiao, in the late Qing Dynasty, the form of the British and American public concessions and the French Concession was very different from that of the Japanese Concession.

In the concession, a country within a country, Britain, the United States and France carried out large-scale construction projects there, building real estate, shops, etc., attracting high-end Chinese and foreign people, wealthy families and nobles to settle in, invigorating the market economy, and making profits from it.

Most of the people living in the Japanese Concession were Orientals, most of whom were rogues. They believed that this was their land.

Except for a small number of Chinese servants and slaves in the Japanese Concession, the rest were gangsters serving the Japanese people.

Most of the concessions' services to the outside world include various brothels, opium houses, teahouses and Japanese restaurants.

The stone streets in the early morning were wet with dew. There were too many people passing by and it was already a bit muddy. Brothers Song Xiaoniu and Gu Zhunian had no such scruples and walked straight ahead.

As soon as they walked onto the street and were among the people passing by, they deliberately slowed down their pace and looked at both sides of the street as they walked.

The sounds of discussions among the diners in the small noodle shop, the banging of iron in the blacksmith shop, the noise of bargaining at the stalls, and the dedicated calls of the beggars on the street corner.
Chapter completed!