Although the road to Xiang Xiang Lane was still very different from 30 years later, the general direction was still the same. Liu Jun and Liu Xiangui walked for four hours before they arrived at Tsimshatsui.
When they arrived at the pier in Tsimshatsui, Liu Jun stood at the ferry terminal. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the Omega watch in his hand. It was already 5:30 in the morning.
"Hurry up, the earliest ship leaves for Hong Kong at 5:40. We'll take this ship to cross the sea.”
"Third Uncle, no…I can't take it anymore. Let's rest for a while. Let's take the next boat.”
Liu Xiangui was the young master of a local tyrant and evil gentry. He had always been pampered. He could not get into a small car, but he could still get into a bamboo cart. He did not have to walk by himself, let alone swim across a deep bay. He only had half a life left. After walking for another four hours, he had almost lost the remaining half.
"Alright, you rest here. I'll go buy you something to eat.”
Looking at Liu Xiangui's condition, although he was only less than a kilometer away from the ferry, it was impossible for him to walk another kilometer. If he walked a hundred miles, he would die at the 99th mark.
Liu Jun shook his head and walked in a direction. There were more pedestrians in this direction, and he saw a few pedestrians holding shredded newspapers with fried dough sticks wrapped in them.
The sharp-eyed Liu Jun saw a person changing hands with youtiao on the road. After changing hands, he stuffed his hand into his mouth and rubbed it on his hair.
Liu Jun could tell that the youtiao must still be hot. It must have been scalded by the hot oil seeping out of the youtiao. The reason why he rubbed his fingers with his mouth was to reduce the pain. As for why he rubbed it on his head, as long as he had tasted the feeling of being half-poor, he should generally understand.
Liu Jun had done such a stupid thing when he was young.
When Liu Jun was young, although his family was no longer hungry, he still lacked the strength to eat well often. He was a little malnourished, and it was normal for his hair to turn yellow and split.
With this little bit of oil residue smeared on her yellow hair, her hair would naturally become shiny.
After walking for about 300 meters in the opposite direction of the pedestrians, Liu Jun saw a breakfast stall. The business was very good. There were people queuing up to buy youtiao.
The stall owner's hands were very nimble. He picked up the fried dough stick from the boiling oil with his long bamboo chopsticks and placed it on the wire rack. When the oil was almost drained, he picked up the old newspaper that had been cut into small pieces and wrapped the fried dough stick up. He handed it to the customer and repeated the action.
Liu Jun glanced at the stall and found an empty seat. As soon as he sat down, he shouted,"Boss, two fried dough sticks, a bowl of soy milk, soy sauce…put less soy sauce.”
Liu Jun originally wanted to call it " soy sauce ". According to Guangdong and Guangxi, soy sauce was not soy sauce but " soy sauce ". However, he suddenly remembered that Xiang Xiang was not dominated by people from Guangdong and Guangxi at this time.
Since 1946, people had been moving from the inland to Fragrance Alley. This year was 1949. As the Liberation Army moved south, an even larger number of people moved here.
These people were from all over the world and spoke in all kinds of accents. Cantonese was not the most mainstream language here. The most commonly heard language in Xiangxiang was Huhai dialect. When one opened their mouth, they would say 'Alla',' Nong 'when they closed their mouth, and they would praise others and curse others.
It wasn't that the population from Huhai had a higher proportion, but that most of the people from Huhai were rich. The rich people's farts carried the fragrance of jasmine flowers, and the rich people could make the losers call him father one after another, calling him "father".
Other than English, if one could speak fluent Huhai dialect in Xiang Xiang, it would be easier to find a job. Huhai dialect would become noble and high-class.
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The stall owner responded. After about three minutes, he brought over the things that Liu Jun wanted.
Liu Jun took out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick container and wiped the tip of the chopsticks on his sleeve. Then, he picked up the youtiao. However, when he smelled the unpleasant smell, he put down the chopsticks again.
The oil for the deep-fried dough sticks had not been changed for a long time, and it was already mixed with a pungent smell.
He took a sip of the soybean milk. The taste of the soybean milk was not bad. At least, the proportion of water was not high. The fragrance of the soybean milk was still very strong.
It just so happened that Liu Jun was a little thirsty after a tiring night. He gulped down the bowl of soybean milk quickly. After drinking it, he asked the stall owner for a piece of newspaper, wrapped the youtiao, and paid 1.5 cents.
He took the fried dough sticks and looked around the street for a while before finding a warehouse. He knew where the owner came from just by looking at the name of the shop. This name was only popular in the northeast, or more accurately, in the Ice City.
He didn't know what the owner of this shop was thinking. He didn't call his business in Xiang Xiang Lane " Storehouse ", but " Warehouse " in his hometown.
"Boss, get me a bottle of lotus water. I want to take it with me.”
The shop owner glanced at Liu Jun and blurted out,""Two cents for the water, three cents for the bottle.”
F * ck! The betting fee was actually more expensive than water.
Liu Jun complained in his heart, but he still replied casually,"Okay, here's the money."
Liu Jun took the water from the boss and walked toward the dock without looking back.
Soda, now known as lotus water or soda water, was a drink made by dissolving carbon dioxide in water and adding syrup, fruit juice, or food coloring.
During the late Qing Dynasty, it was introduced into China from Europe, and Helan was the main trading country at that time, so it was called "Helan Water".
Actually, soda had appeared in Hong Kong more than a decade ago. However, at that time, soda was a very luxurious item for people. Moreover, it could only be sold in the pharmacy, so it was not common.
At that time, the more famous ones in Hong Kong were Watson's Pharmacy A.S.Watsons, Sincerely, and Watkins.
However, ever since Luo Guixiang established the Vitasoy brand, lotus water was not considered a luxury in Xiang Xiang. Instead, it was a drink that could be seen on the streets and alleys. It was not a drink that could be considered a civilian.
The current He Lan water was still sold for 20 cents, and it was not a drink that everyone could afford.
"Here you go. Eat as you go. You can catch the ferry at 6:20.”
Liu Jun urged as he returned to where Liu Xiangui was and handed him the fried dough sticks and water.
"He Lanshui, Third Uncle, you missed me and knew that I was thirsty.”
Liu Xiangui happily took the lotus water and bit open the bottle cap with his mouth. In less than five seconds, the bottle was empty.
"Don't throw it, give it to me.”
After Liu Xiangui finished drinking the lotus water, he was about to throw the bottle away. Liu Jun, who had sharp eyes and quick hands, snatched the bottle away.
"Third Uncle, isn't it just a broken bottle? We have a lot of money on hand.”
"Shut up. Don't reveal your wealth, understand?”Liu Jun glared at Liu Xiangui and shouted.
………………
PS: In 1949, the price level of Xiang was very low. Not converting the difference between Hong Kong dollars and RMB, the price level was equivalent to the mainland from 1965 to 1972 (there was almost no change in domestic prices in the 1960s and 1970s), but labor was a little more expensive.
A part-time worker could earn 2 to 3 yuan a day, while a white-collar worker could earn 4 yuan a day, which was about 120 Hong Kong dollars a month.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。