Chapter 22 Let's talk about Hong Kong

September 28th is the third time I have passed through Hong Kong, which I regard as a "dreadful way". The first time I brought a little luggage, but nothing happened.The second time is a single relationship, the situation has already been written a little bit.This time, he seemed to feel uneasy earlier than the previous two times, because in the correspondence (2) of Mr. Wang Duqing in the "Creation Monthly", he saw the mighty Chinese compatriots hired by the United Kingdom boarding the ship to "check customs": If you scold, beat , or a few bucks.And I have ten bookcases in the steerage, and six bookcases and trunks in the cabin.

Looking at the wrists of the compatriots flying the British flag is naturally a kind of experience, but I also think that the price is too high. After the luggage has been flipped, it will take a long time to re-sort and bundle it; Preferably only one or two.But that's already the case, so let him be.Just give money, or let him check each item?If it is checked, how can I clean it up by myself? The ship arrived in Hong Kong on the 28th, and nothing happened that day.In the afternoon of the next day, the waiter hurried over and beckoned to me outside the room: "Check! Open the box!"

I took the key and walked into the steerage, and sure enough, I saw two British compatriots in dark green uniforms, holding iron picks, standing by the pile of boxes.I told him it was an old book, but he didn't seem to understand, only three words came out of his mouth: "Open it!" "That's right," I thought, "how can he believe me who knows nothing." It opened naturally, so with the help of two waiters, it opened. As soon as he started, I immediately felt that the customs inspections in Hong Kong and Guangzhou were different.When I left Guangzhou, I was also inspected.But the inspector over there has blood on his face and understands what I say.Every package of paper or a book is put in the same place after being pulled out to read, so there is no mess.Indeed check.But in this "British Paradise" Hong Kong is quite different.The inspector's face was blue, and he didn't seem to understand my words.

He just poured out the contents of the box and rummaged through it. If it was a paper bag, he tore the wrapping paper, so a box of books, after being loosened by him, was six or seven inches higher than the box surface. "Open it!" Followed by the second box.I thought, give it a try. two pieces. "I was willing to give a few more yuan, because the inspection method is really terrible. It will take at least five o'clock to pack ten boxes of books. Unfortunately, I only have two one-yuan bills, and the other ones are ten-yuan bills. Still refused to give it away. "Open it!"

Two waiters carried the second box to the deck, and he brewed it in the same way. One box of books was changed into another box and a half, and several thick paper bags were torn.While "checking customs" and negotiating, I added five yuan, but he reduced it to seven yuan, and refused to reduce it any more.At that time, the fifth box had been opened, surrounded by a group of onlookers watching the excitement. The box was already half opened, so I might as well let him see it, I thought, so I stopped discussing and just "opened it".But my two compatriots also seemed to be a little bored, and they gradually stopped rummaging through the boxes as before. They only took out twenty or thirty books from each box, and threw them on the surface of the box, and then marked them as checked.Among them was a bundle of old letters, which seemed to arouse their interest and lifted their spirits, but after reading four or five of them, they put them down.After that, probably another box was opened, and they left the pile of books: this was the end.

I took a closer look and found that eight boxes had been opened, and two boxes had not been moved at all.But these two fruits are all the bookcases of Fu Yuan (3), which I brought back to Shanghai for him.As for my own stuff, it's all a mess. "Auspicious people have their own celestial features, and the blessed generals in Fuyuan! But my canopy luck has not yet been completed, hey..." I thought, squatting down to pick up the messy books.After picking up a few books, the waiter called me loudly from the hatch again: "Check in your room, open the box!" I entrusted the packing of the books to the waiter in the steerage, and ran back to the cabin.Sure enough, the two British compatriots were already there waiting for me.The bedding on the bed has been torn apart, and a stool is lying on the bedding.As soon as I walked in, they searched my wallet.I thought I wanted to see famous assassins so that I could know their names.However, he didn't look at the famous thorns. He only looked at the two ten-yuan bills inside and handed them back to me.He also told me to hold it carefully, as if he was afraid that I would lose it.

The second was to open the bag, which was full of clothes, only a dozen or so pieces were shaken open, and piled up on the bed.The second thing is to look at the basket, there is a paper bag wrapped in seven yuan ocean, I opened it and counted it, but I was silent.There was also a pack of ten yuan in the bottom, but it was not found and slipped through the net.The second is to look at the towel bag on the long chair. There are pockets of ten yuan a bag, four or five yuan in loose ones, and dozens of copper coins. After reading it, I am also silent.Next is to open the suitcase.This time it was a little scary.I was a little late in getting the key, and my compatriots were already holding iron picks as if they were about to destroy the hinge. Fortunately, the key has arrived, and Shiqing is safe.There are also clothes inside, so naturally they are still shaking as usual, no problem.

"If you give us ten yuan, we won't search you anymore." A compatriot said while searching the suitcase. I grabbed the loose dice in the hand towel bag and handed it to him.But he didn't accept it, and went back to "check the customs" again. The words are divided into two ends.While this compatriot is checking bags and suitcases, that compatriot is checking baskets.But the checking method is different from checking the bookcase in the steerage.At that time it was just making trouble, but this time it turned into destruction.He tore up the paper box of cod-liver oil and threw it on the floor. He also used an iron pick to drill a hole in the bottle of tea with lychee flavor that Mr. Jiang Jingsan (4) gave me.While digging, he looked around, and saw a small knife on the table.This was bought from Baita Temple with a dozen coppers when I was in Beijing, and brought to Guangzhou. This time I have peeled the carambola.Afterwards, it was measured, and the handle was five inches and three cents long.Yet it was said that a crime had been committed.

"This is the murder weapon. You committed the crime." He picked up the knife and pointed at me. When I didn't answer, he put down his knife and dug a hole with his finger in the paper package of boiled salted peanuts.Then he picked up a box of mosquito coils. "what is this?" "Mosquito incense. Isn't it written on the box?" I said. "No. It's a little odd." So he took out a branch and sniffed it.I didn't know what to do later, because this compatriot had already searched the suitcase, and I had to open the second one.At this time, it made me very embarrassed. The second bag was not clothes or books, but extremely fragmentary things: photos, banknotes, my own translations, other people's manuscripts, clipped newspapers, research materials... .I think that if it is damaged or disturbed, the loss will be too great.At this time, the compatriots suddenly went to look at the hand towel bag again.I was enlightened and decided to pick up the ten-yuan package in the towel bag and show him a look.He turned his head and looked outside the door, then reached out to take it, drew a check mark on the second box, and walked towards the compatriot.Maybe I gave a signal, but strangely, he didn't take the money away, but stuffed it under my pillow and went out by himself.

At this time, the fellow was using his iron pick to stab viciously into the seal of a jar containing cakes.I thought he was going to call it quits as soon as he heard the signal. But who knows otherwise.He still continued to work, dug open the seal, threw a piece of wooden covering on the floor, broke into two pieces, then took out a cake, pinched it, threw it into the altar, and then walked away. The world is at peace.Sitting in the smoky and messy little room, I realized that the troubles started by my two compatriots were not malicious.Even if the price is negotiated, it must be done after a little mess. This is why it is "deceived". It is still said that it is so messy, so it can be seen that it has been checked.Mr. Wang Duqing don't care?In addition to the compatriots, there is also a high-nosed, white-skinned protagonist.When collecting money, the person who looks outside the door first is probably for this reason.But I have never seen this protagonist.

The subsequent destruction was a bit malicious.But maybe it's my own fault for refusing to hand out the bills, only dimes.The silver coin was placed in the pocket of the uniform, and it was padded on the floor. It was indeed easy for the protagonist to find out, so he had to put it under the pillow for the time being.I think he probably has to wait until the business is done before he comes to collect the bill. The leather shoes creaked from far to near, and they stopped outside my room. When I saw it, it was a white man, quite fat, probably the protagonist of the two compatriots. "Checked?" He asked me with a smile. Indeed, the tone of the protagonist.But, at a glance, why ask? Maybe they are comforting me or mocking me because they see my luggage is in such a mess. He picked up a picture attached to the "Mainland Daily" (5) from outside the room. It was originally wrapped in something and was torn off by his compatriots and thrown out. He leaned against the wall and looked at it for a while, then walked slowly. . I thought that the protagonist had already passed by, and the "customs inspection" should be over, so I sorted and tied up the first suitcase first. Unexpectedly, it still didn't work.A compatriot came again and told me to "open it", he wanted to investigate.Then came the question-and-answer- "He's already seen it," I said. "I haven't seen it. I haven't opened it. Open it!" "I just tied it up." "I don't believe it. Open it!" "Isn't there a checked symbol drawn here?" "So, did you give the money? You bribed..." "..." "How much did you pay?" "Go and ask your gang." he went.After a while, that one came again in a hurry, took the money from under the pillow, and was never seen again after that—the world was really peaceful. I slowly packed the luggage again.I saw a few things gathered on the table, my pair of scissors, a can opener, and a small knife with a wooden handle. Probably if it wasn't for the ten yuan small ocean, they would still refer to it as a "murder weapon" and add a "weird" incense to intimidate me.But that stick of incense was not on the table. As soon as the ship moved, the whole ship seemed more quiet. The waiter and I chatted, but blamed myself for the rummaging. "You're so skinny, he suspects you're an opium dealer," he said. I am really a little stunned.It's true that life is limited, but "sophistication" is infinite.I always thought that fighting people for their jobs would be a snag, and it would be okay not to have a job.When I was in Xiamen last year, I realized that eating is difficult, but not eating is also displeased by "scholars" (6), and I was criticized for not keeping my duty.The shape of the beard is different from the Chinese style and the European style, and it is not easy to deal with. I have already understood it.This year when I went to Guangzhou, I realized that it is difficult to be free even though I have a color. Someone warned me in the daily newspaper that my beard should not turn gray or red. (7) As for not being too thin, I didn't realize it until I went to Hong Kong, and I never thought of it in my dreams before. Indeed, a Westerner who supervised the "customs inspection" of his compatriots was really fat. Although Hong Kong is only an island, it is a vivid picture of the present and future of many parts of China: a few foreign masters in the central government, a number of "high-level Chinese" who praise virtue and a group of slavish compatriots who work as slaves.In addition, they are all "natives" who endure hardships silently, dying in the foreign market if they can, and fleeing into the mountains if they can't bear it. Miao Yao (8) is our predecessor. The night of the twenty-ninth of September.maritime. ---------------------------------- (1) This article was originally published in the No. 155 issue of the "Yusi" weekly magazine on November 19, 1927. (2) Wang Duqing (1898-1940) was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi, a member of the Creation Society, and later became a Trotskyist.His correspondence was published in the seventh issue of the first volume of "Creation Monthly" (July 15, 1927), entitled "Going Goose", which he wrote to Cheng Fangwu and He He in May of this year. Afraid of two people.At the end of the letter, he said that he was going to Shanghai from Guangzhou. When passing through Hong Kong, an Englishman took two Chinese people on board to "check the customs", rummaged through the suitcases, beat and scolded the passengers at will, and one of them asked him for five yuan in bribes, etc. . "Creation Monthly", a literary and artistic publication sponsored by Creation Society, edited by Yu Dafu and Cheng Fangwu, was founded in Shanghai in March 1926 and ceased publication in January 1929, with a total of 18 issues. (3) Fuyuan and Sun Fuyuan, see note (5) on page 383 of this volume. (4) Jiang Jingsan (1899-1936) was born in Linhai, Zhejiang. He was a librarian at Sun Yat-sen University and a teaching assistant at the Institute of History and Language at that time. (5) "Continent News", an English-language daily newspaper founded by American F. Millard on August 23, 1911 in Shanghai.It was taken over by the British around 1926, and then by the Chinese in the early 1930s.It ceased publication in May 1948. (6) "Scholar" refers to Gu Jiegang and others.See "Canopy Collection Sequel · Maritime Communications". (7) For the shape of the beard, see "Grave · Talking about the Beard".The warning about beard color mentioned below refers to the article "Mr. Lu Xun in the Teahouse" published by the supplement "New Era" of Guangzhou "National News" at that time, which said: "After studying his beard, my conclusion is that, He will turn from black to gray, from gray to white. As for some people hoping or fearing that it will become a 'red beard', that is beyond my knowledge." According to the corpse, that is Liang Shi, a native of Taishan, Guangdong.At that time, he was the editor of the supplement "New Era" of "National News" in Guangzhou, and later degenerated into a traitor literati. (8) Miao and Yao are two ethnic minorities in my country.They developed from the Yangtze River Basin to the Yellow River Basin in ancient times, and lived in central China. Later, after a long period of ethnic struggle, they were gradually forced to move to the southwest and south-central mountainous areas.