Chapter 211 - Homecoming (Part 3)

Fu Fu got off the cart at East Gate Market, dazzled by its prosperity. He had been to East Gate Market several times during his service for guard duty and drills, and each time he came, there were new changes. In general, more and taller buildings were being constructed, each more beautiful than the last. Previously, a two-story building with an attic would draw a crowd of onlookers, but now, five-story buildings were not uncommon. Before, one could see the nearby fields and barren hills from East Gate Avenue. Now, there were buildings everywhere, construction plots fenced off with bamboo and marked with project signs, and houses under construction.

The market had fully recovered—it was even livelier than before the war. The merchants and shipowners who had been “persuaded” to come to Lin’gao from Huangpu Port found the market demand here astonishingly large, with opportunities to make money everywhere. What was most valuable was the excellent business environment: many goods were tax-free, many were bought in bulk by the administration, and there were none of the usual unofficial fees and extortion common on the mainland coast, whether for port entry or trade. As long as they paid their taxes according to the regulations, they could do business and make money in peace. This further stimulated the merchants’ enthusiasm for trading in Lin’gao. Once commercial activity resumed, land prices naturally rose. Li Mei had already begun to draw up the fourth phase of the East Gate Market expansion plan.

Fu Fu went to the recently opened Zizhenzhai. Shortly after Guo Yi and the others returned, Li Mei had utilized some of the workers and skilled craftsmen from the withdrawn Guangzhou Station to open branches of Zizhenzhai and Zichengji in East Gate Market. The Lin’gao branch of Ziminglou was also in full swing of preparation.

The Zizhenzhai in Lin’gao was not large, adhering to a marketing concept of targeting the mid-to-high-end market, and naturally sold so-called “fine goods.” Fu Fu looked at the lavishly decorated large glass display windows and the dazzling array of jewelry, ornaments, and cosmetics inside, and walked in with some trepidation.

A saleswoman greeted him warmly. A few days ago, their store manager had been summoned to a meeting of the Ministry of Commerce, personally chaired by Li Mei. At the meeting, an important directive was conveyed: the upcoming rotation leave for Army and Navy soldiers would surely bring a consumption boom. All retail and service enterprises under the Ministry of Commerce had to seize this opportunity to launch a major marketing campaign to reclaim a large amount of the circulation coupons paid out as military salaries and combat bonuses. The amount of these coupons was considerable. Although a portion was deposited in the bank through military savings, Cheng Dong still hoped to absorb them as quickly as possible to prevent them from becoming a potential inflationary tiger.

The saleswomen knew that each of these soldiers and officers was carrying a large sum of circulation coupons ready to be spent—and the Ministry of Commerce’s task was to get them to spend as much as possible on non-essential goods—such as mirrors, powder boxes, lipsticks, and other items with low consumption and high profits.

Zizhenzhai’s jewelry and accessories had a so-called “Australian style,” which was actually a “modern style.” The use of gold and silver was minimal, with glass—both colorless and colored—as the main material, supplemented by pearls and various gems. The main characteristics were exquisite beauty and a wide variety. After all, Yan Maoda had worked in a jewelry factory and was not only influenced by it but had also brought back a large amount of original design materials. The skilled craftsmen of Guangzhou quickly learned the technique of cutting glass and performed even better than their counterparts in the old world—of course, the specialized diamond-tipped cutters and grinding wheels for cutting glass still had to be provided by the Australians.

Jewelry made with a small amount of precious metal and a large amount of glass had very low costs, allowing for relatively low prices that catered to the trend-chasing mentality of the so-called “middle-class families.” And because of the many styles and light weight, they were convenient for daily rotation and were loved by women of all classes. Even the worldly-wise citizens of Guangzhou had fallen at the feet of Zizhenzhai, let alone a place like Lin’gao.

Zizhenzhai was already crowded with soldiers wearing various branch symbols and unit numbers. There were soldiers in gray Army uniforms, sailors in blue pullovers with white shawls, and marines in blue uniforms. They jostled and pushed, looking at the counters and display cases, comparing items, and asking the sales staff questions.

The staff was already a bit overwhelmed. The constant ringing of the cash register indicated that business was booming. Compacts with mirrors were the best-sellers, followed by various types of jewelry. Although most of the soldiers had been dirt-poor before enlisting, many had sweethearts back home. Now that they had some money in their hands, they couldn’t resist showing off to their loved ones when they returned.

Fu Fu bought a pair of silver earrings with teardrop-shaped glass diamonds for each of the two girls, Fu Xi and Fu Yue. For his own sweetheart, Fu Yijin, he bought a necklace with colorless glass diamonds. This necklace, made of the purest lead glass, cost Fu Fu a large sum of money, but he was generous in his spending to win Fu Yijin’s affection. The saleswoman who served him couldn’t stop smiling—the commission on this sale was not small! She meticulously packaged the goods, added a small bottle of jasmine perfume as a gift, and placed everything in a woven grass shopping bag with the three characters for “Zizhenzhai” woven into it with dyed grass.

After buying his things, Fu Fu quickly left the store. More and more drunk soldiers were pouring in, which gave him a bad feeling.

Due to the leave period, a large number of soldiers had flocked to East Gate Market and other areas. The soldiers came to East Gate Market mainly for shopping, gathering for meals, and visiting prostitutes. They were young and had a lot of money to squander, which could easily lead to trouble. To prevent the soldiers from disturbing the public and clashing with each other, the General Staff’s Political Department had issued a special order that was read out in all units. It included leave regulations, stipulating that any officer or soldier who caused a public order incident would, in addition to being punished according to the severity of the incident, have their leave revoked and be demoted one rank.

Li Yiyang’s Garrison Battalion had canceled all leave and was on full alert. Large numbers of soldiers wearing garrison insignia, armed with rattan shields and wooden batons, patrolled all the busy areas.

Sure enough, he hadn’t gone far when a commotion erupted on the street. A half-drunk navy sailor was beating a disheveled woman, cursing in a Fujianese dialect that Fu Fu couldn’t understand. Fu Fu craned his neck to look, curious. He had initially thought the woman was a prostitute, but then he saw she wasn’t wearing a “yellow ticket,” and her clothes seemed to be the uniform of a female shop assistant from one of the local stores—a kind of Australian-style cloth dress.

From the chatter of the crowd, he gathered that the sailor’s wife had been secretly seeing her lover for several months while the sailor was away on a voyage to the Pearl River Delta. She thought she had been discreet, but there are no secrets in this world. The sailor had just returned home, cheerfully bearing gifts, when he learned from a talkative neighbor that his blue cap had turned a bit green. After drinking a few glasses of liquor to drown his sorrows, he had immediately stormed to his wife’s workplace in East Gate Market to demand an explanation.

“According to the Great Ming law, an adulterer and adulteress can be killed on the spot without consequence,” a gentry-like old man said, shaking his head. “A pity he didn’t catch them in the act…” he added, as if it were a shame.

“Sir, you’re still talking about the Great Ming law? The times have changed. Even if he did kill someone, he’d be judged by the Australian law.”

“I wonder what the Australian law says? If someone gets killed, it’ll be a real show.” The idle onlookers stretched their necks, seemingly hoping for a murder case to spice up their once-again mundane lives.

A fat man, a rarity among the locals, fanned himself. “I hear there are few women and many men in the Australian’s domain. Women have a loud voice here. I think this officer’s green hat will be worn for nothing.”

“Not necessarily… If someone really dies, it will depend on how the court rules. It’s been a while since anyone was sentenced to death. The Australian’s hanging is a sight to see in its own way.”

As they were gossiping, a police whistle blew. A black-clad policeman with a wooden baton came running, shouting, “Stop hitting her! What are you all looking at? Move aside!”

Following the policeman were soldiers from the Garrison Battalion, wearing “Garrison” armbands. It took four or five burly men to pull the unfortunate sailor, who was burning with alcohol-fueled rage and jealousy, away from the woman. The woman was already left gasping on the ground. This was now a public order incident, and the garrison soldiers immediately tried to take the sailor away.

“Brothers! The Army is bullying the Navy!” a drunken voice roared. The street instantly descended into chaos. A dozen sailors and marines surged forward, rolling up their sleeves and opening their shirts, ready for a fight.

“We are the Garrison Battalion! Please follow our orders!” the leading garrison NCO shouted. “Brawling is a violation of discipline—”

Before he could finish, a fist landed on his face, and he fell to the ground. The scene immediately became chaotic. The garrison soldiers rushed forward to arrest the troublemakers, and the Navy immediately clashed with the Garrison Battalion. Although the Navy men outnumbered them two to one and had plenty of combat experience, they were no match for the Garrison Battalion soldiers, who were specially trained and equipped for riot control. They were quickly defeated by the Garrison’s pepper spray and then dispersed by batons. Several of the ringleaders were arrested. The Garrison Battalion feared a larger-scale riot—there were at least one or two hundred Army and Navy soldiers active in East Gate Market, and a mass brawl would be a disaster. A horse-drawn carriage arrived, and all the arrested individuals were shoved inside and taken away. Then, an emergency response team rushed into the street and immediately sealed off the scene.

Everyone in uniform was questioned and had their documents checked. Fu Fu was also ordered to show his leave pass. A garrison soldier then checked his belongings. Only after everything was found to be in order was he allowed to leave.

“If you have no business here, you should leave quickly,” said the NCO checking his documents. “It’s been chaotic here lately. If you get caught up in something and end up in the stockade for three days, your leave will be over.”

Having witnessed the earlier scene, Fu Fu didn’t dare to linger. He quickly bought a few more things and set off on the road back to Meiyang Village.