kingnovel Chapter 1212 3 Religions and 9 Schools
Chapter 1212 3 Religions and 9 Schools
"You can get 10 silver dollars just by casually taking me to a place, you must be living a pretty good life, why are you still eating this?"
When they arrived at their destination, Li Shaoyi casually pulled out 20 yuan in legal tender, which was several yuan more than 10 silver dollars. However, he was a little puzzled when he saw the driver eating his meal so casually.
"Sir, do you think all 10 silver dollars are mine? I'm a member of the rickshaw pullers' guild. No matter how much I earn, one-third has to go to my superiors, another one-third to my master, and only the last one-third is mine. Besides, it's already good if this happens once or twice a month. After the Japanese occupied Huangpu, prices skyrocketed. It's hard to say whether this money will be enough to feed my family. How can we expect to feed ourselves while the rest of the family is not hungry?"
Seeing that Li Shaoyi had given him several extra dollars, the driver was willing to chat with him for a bit, pointing to a door inside and talking for a while before leaving. Basically, he was just showing you the way; the rest was up to you.
Li Shaoyi had some understanding of the various characters and social classes on the Huangpu River beach. In a place like this, even if you were just a rickshaw puller, you needed a powerful backer, otherwise people would bully you. In any case, making a name for yourself here wasn't easy, relying solely on your own efforts.
This small courtyard wasn't large, and it was inhabited by ordinary people. It seems that capable people prefer to stay in places like this. If it were on Foch Road, lined with villas and mansions, it probably would have been taken away long ago.
Li Shaoyi's arrival surprised everyone in the courtyard. After all, people dressed in suits rarely came here, and they didn't have any particularly powerful neighbors, so they didn't know why Li Shaoyi had come.
When they saw Li Shaoyi walk straight towards the innermost house, the people around him were even more puzzled. A father and daughter lived there; the father was seriously ill and probably didn't have much time left. The daughter was of good age and quite beautiful; it was said she had performed in operas before, and had only moved in a few months ago.
"Is Mr. Zeng at home...?"
Before Li Shaoyi could finish speaking, a woman came out from the inner room and shook her head vigorously. Li Shaoyi then stopped talking. Of course, they had spoken very softly; apart from the two of them, no one else could probably hear them.
Li Shaoyi himself hadn't expected that this "Master Zeng" was actually a woman. Of course, one had to make a name for oneself in this line of work to be called a "Master," otherwise it would be impossible.
"Sir, you've come to the wrong place. There is no great master here."
The woman's face was filled with anger. After all, she had been living in seclusion here, but some people in the martial arts world could still find out where she lived. It was possible that some people would leak her whereabouts in order to make money.
"I do have an urgent matter, otherwise I wouldn't have come here so rashly. I just hope that you can help me. As for the fee, it's negotiable. No matter how much you ask, I will agree to it."
Li Shaoyi didn't know who the other party was, so he could only try to get money from them, since people in the underworld are all about making money.
“Nobody comes to ask for favors unless it’s an emergency. You can see my situation; my father is bedridden and doesn’t have much time left. I don’t have time to worry about other people’s business. If you were me, would you leave your father here just to make money?”
The young lady's eyes were slightly red as she spoke. Li Shaoyi understood what was wrong; she was an extremely filial daughter. Li Shaoyi stood up and took a quick look. It was clear that the old man had lung disease, but he wasn't sure of the specifics.
“Lung disease nowadays requires Western medicine. If you only take Chinese medicine, you basically won’t survive it. I have some connections in Pujiang. If Miss agrees, why don’t we send the old man to St. John’s Hospital? We can talk about other things then. All expenses are on me.”
St. John's Hospital is the best hospital in the entire Huangpu area. If they can't treat the patient there, then there's basically no point in bringing the person back. Everyone who lives in the Huangpu Concession knows this, but not only is it expensive, but there aren't many beds available, and even if you have the money, it's very difficult to get a reservation.
"who are you?"
Hope flickered in the woman's eyes, but fear quickly returned. Although she was a figure of some standing in the underworld, St. John's Hospital was short of beds, and she had tried everything, but no one had spoken up. Of course, these people were considered the lowest rungs of the underworld; they were only needed when they were favored, and ignored when not.
"Someone who wants your help, and at the same time, can help you."
Li Shaoyi did not reveal his identity. The color of the other person's feet was acceptable and had no connection with the Japanese.
Seeing that the woman did not object, Li Shaoyi went out and found a public phone booth, called Miss Gu, and asked her to use all her connections in Pujiang to secure a place at St. John's Hospital.
Miss Gu didn't know what Li Shaoyi had gone out to do, but she had to carry out her superior's orders. St. John's Hospital only had 96 beds in the entire Pujiang area. If all the beds were full, they basically wouldn't admit any new patients. But there were always exceptions, depending on how capable you were.
Although Li Shaoyi's men have withdrawn from Pujiang, there are still 3,000 available men in the surrounding area. Some of these men are quite capable, and securing a hospital bed shouldn't be a problem.
Twenty minutes later, an ambulance drove into the alley.
The people in the courtyard looked at Li Shaoyi with some surprise. What was this man doing here? And the family living at the very back—they actually managed to get an ambulance to take them to the hospital. You know, in our area, if you get sick, at most you just get some medicine and that's it; the rest is just waiting to die in bed. Who has the money to go to the hospital?
St. John's Hospital is the best luxury hospital in this day and age. As long as you can afford it, you don't need to worry about anything here. When the old man arrived, several doctors immediately came for a consultation, and there were even various machines available. Li Shaoyi was somewhat incredulous at the sight.
I used to think that hospitals in this era were very backward, but now it seems that it is we who are backward, and the situation here is quite good.
Zeng Rui.
When the nurse brought the form over, Li Shaoyi also saw the name of this Mr. Zeng.