Chapter 40

40

Where could he find a telephone?

In this era, a telephone was a luxury. The installation fee alone equaled a university professor’s monthly salary, and on top of that, there was a monthly rental fee of six Yuan.

Six Yuan was already a third of a rickshaw puller’s monthly income.

Even with Zhang Yuanji’s family wealth, the Commercial Press had only installed a single telephone, which had now burned to ashes as well.

Telephones were more common in the concessions, but Zhabei was not a concession; it was the Chinese sector. The very first challenge facing Shen Po was finding a working phone so he could call Old Du.

Looking around, he saw only bombed-out ruins and crowds fleeing in panic.

Shen Po remembered the Western restaurant where he had previously invited Zhang Yuanji and Asai for dinner, and quickly turned to run in that direction.

The restaurant owner was a foreigner whom Shen Po had met before. Even the French consul had treated him with great courtesy, suggesting he had considerable backing. Shen Po had no idea why the man had chosen to open a restaurant in the Chinese sector rather than stay in the concessions, but someone of his standing surely had a telephone installed.

The restaurant was not far away. Just a short walk, across the street and around a corner. Being even closer to the Commercial Press, it had naturally been caught in the blast, but the fire was small. Several restaurant staff were fighting the flames, and the foreign owner had indeed pulled enough strings to bring over two concession firefighters.

Shen Po took a look and realized their fire engine had only enough capacity to put out fires at the restaurant and two neighboring buildings. Beyond that, they were powerless, to say nothing of dispatching them to stand by at the library.

He ran over to the foreign owner. In a crisis like this, neither had any time for pleasantries, so Shen Po got straight to the point and laid out his background.

He claimed to be Mayor Wu’s nephew, with an aunt studying in France who was personally acquainted with the French mayor, and that he was a maternal grandson and junior to the city’s famed collector, Zhang Yuanji. All he needed was to borrow the restaurant’s telephone.

In truth, the aunt studying abroad was only a distant cousin-aunt, but at a moment like this, he threw out whichever relative sounded most impressive. Like rattling off items from a menu, Shen Po reeled off every prominent immediate and distant relative he could think of, successfully stunning the foreign owner.

There was indeed a telephone inside, located in the foreign owner’s second-floor office.

“The line seems to have been hit in the bombing earlier. It won’t go through. I tried calling the police station, but all I got was a busy tone.” The foreign owner waved a hand, not minding if he tried. “Go ahead and give it a shot!”

Shen Po skipped any further courtesy. Scrambling up the stairs to the second floor, he grabbed the telephone receiver and began spinning the rotary dial.

Old Du had given him a private number earlier, and Shen Po dialed it with a glimmer of hope.

As time ticked away, the spark of hope slowly died.

Just as expected, it would not connect.

Shen Po wiped his face. Despite the dead of winter, he was drenched in sweat, his hair plastered to his forehead.

Racking his brain, he recalled Lin Guisheng’s number and dialed again.

This time, after a long series of broken rings, the line finally connected.

The maid on the other end handed the receiver to Lin Guisheng. When she heard it was him, she was surprised at first, but upon hearing that he had braved the bombed zone solely to rescue the library, her tone instantly grew solemn.

“I’ll contact Old Du right away, but that will take some time. I’ll send my driver over to find you now. If you want to get out, or if there are any books you need him to carry, just give him the order.”

A single car could not carry much, but it was better than nothing, so Shen Po naturally did not refuse.

“Thank you, Sister Lin. Please reach Old Du as fast as possible. Quickly, please; I’m afraid we won’t last much longer here!”

“I know.”

Neither wasted a single word, ending the call immediately.

Shen Po let out a long breath. A hollow feeling settled in his chest, leaving him dejected over his inability to do anything right away, and anxious about the even worse catastrophes that might follow.

He glanced at his wristwatch: two o’clock in the afternoon sharp.

Faint shouts drifted in from outside. Like a startled bird, Shen Po sprang up and rushed to the window to look down. Downstairs, the foreign owner and the restaurant staff were gathered around someone who had just sprinted over from nearby, talking hurriedly.

Their voices were loud enough that he could hear them clearly from the second floor.

“The Japanese have pushed all the way to North Station! I don’t think the defenders will hold out much longer!”

“North Station?! That’s practically right next to us!”

“Boss, maybe we should evacuate now!”

“Yeah, Boss, we can’t save the restaurant!”

If the restaurant could not be saved, what about the library?

Even if Lin Guisheng managed to reach Old Du and have him send vehicles, how many obstacles and perils would they face along the way?

Even if the vehicles arrived safely and loaded up some books before leaving, getting out safely was far from guaranteed. Such a large, moving target could easily be mistaken for military supplies and targeted by aerial bombing.

What else could he possibly do?

Shen Po clutched his head and tugged at his hair. Never before had he felt so insignificant, so powerless and helpless.

People often said human determination could conquer nature, but forget conquering nature; when facing a massive man-made disaster, any individual was utterly powerless.

But was there really no other way at all?

Shen Po had a stubborn streak in his bones. The more circumstances pressured him to give up, the less willing he was to surrender.

【We might not be able to take the books, but I have an idea.】

In his mind, Wen Yan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

Shen Po felt listless and did not take it seriously.

【What idea?】

Aside from fleeing or staying put, what other choice was there?

…

Ten minutes later, the foreign owner watched as Shen Po suddenly rushed down from the second floor and ran up to him.

“Mr. Ross, do you have a camera? A portable one you can carry around. I need one urgently, and I can buy it from you!”

The foreign owner was taken aback, then shook his head.

A camera was a luxury item. Ordinary people wouldn’t have something like that, even foreigners.

Shen Po pressed urgently, “Then do you know where I can find one? Somewhere nearby! It’s an emergency, please tell me!”

The foreign owner thought for a moment. “There’s a Catholic church nearby. Father John seems to have a camera. You can go ask him.”

Shen Po knew the church he mentioned; he had passed right by it on his way over.

The words had barely left the man’s mouth when Shen Po thanked him and sprinted off like a gust of wind, clearly in a desperate hurry.

The foreign owner was stunned for a moment. Even now, he could not understand why this young man, who clearly came from a well-to-do family, was still lingering in such a dangerous place, and why instead of hurrying to flee, he was running toward a church even closer to the front line just to borrow a camera.

Watching the swift figure disappear into the distance, the foreign owner shook his head and turned around. He still had his restaurant to protect; until the very last moment, he refused to leave.

Father John was not a foreigner.

He was, in fact, born and raised locally, having merely converted to the faith and given himself a Western name.

When Shen Po found John, the man was praying in the church, naturally praying that the Japanese wouldn’t attack. The moment he heard that Shen Po wanted to buy his camera, he shook his head in refusal.

“I’m not selling.”

Shen Po grew frantic. “Name your price, I’ll pay whatever you want! Or just lend it to me, and I’ll write you an IOU!”

John looked him up and down.

Shen Po was a disheveled mess at the moment. His suit jacket was nowhere to be seen, both sleeves were rolled up, and his hair was in complete disarray. He looked nothing like someone who would return a camera.

“My name is Shen Po! The city’s vice mayor is my uncle!”

As Shen Po spoke, he took off the gold watch from his wrist and shoved it into John’s hands without taking no for an answer.

“This watch is collateral! Lend me the camera, and later I’ll have someone bring you money or buy you a new one to replace it! Quickly!”

As he spoke, Shen Po’s expression turned fierce. He gripped John’s arm tightly, looking very much ready to take it by force if the man refused.

John examined the gold watch, which did not look fake, and grew even more bewildered.

“With the situation outside as it is, what on earth do you need a camera for? Your watch is hard currency; it’s worth far more than a camera.”

“Japanese planes are coming to bomb us! The library might not survive, and we can’t carry away that many books! I want to take a camera and photograph them all!”

Shen Po stared at John, enunciating every word.

“Ross said you have a folding camera that takes twelve photos at a time, along with rolls of film. Give them all to me, and I’ll pay you back!”

Photograph books?

John thought the man was out of his mind. He stammered, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

“E-Even with a few more rolls of film, you can’t possibly photograph that many books!”

“As many as I can! Even if I can only photograph their titles, when they’re burned to ashes in the future, people will still know that we once had so many precious books, and that their destruction was all thanks to this war!”

Shen Po gritted his teeth. Amidst the sweat dripping down his disheveled face, his eyes shone with fierce determination.

“If we can’t save them, I will make these photographs the proof of their crimes!”

John was struck speechless, completely stunned.