In the early autumn of 1929, a mysterious young man walked into a small restaurant in Shanghai.
He had no money to eat, and he didn't live in the restaurant, so as soon as he came in, he asked the clerk about the lady owner of the restaurant, saying that there was something important to discuss.
When the landlady heard of this, she immediately instructed the clerk to arrange for the young man to live in a room.
It wasn't until late at night, when there were no guests in the restaurant, that the landlady went into the room to meet him.
This young man looked very depressed. When he saw the landlady come in, he mysteriously took out a letter from his arms.
After the landlady read the contents of the letter, she immediately went back to the office and took out a sum of money and gave it to the young man.
20 years later, after the liberation of Shanghai, the female boss met the deceased again at a banquet, and the young man who was down-and-out at that time had grown into a commander with a heavy army.
This female boss is the famous business tycoon Dong Zhujun.
Dong Zhujun
The Jin Jiang Hotel, which she later founded, became the first state guesthouse in New China, and has received more than 500 heads of state or government from more than 100 countries.
The fallen youth who accepted her sponsorship was song shilun, the founding general of new China, who led his troops to participate in the Shanghai Campaign in 1949 and took the lead in attacking the city.
After the liberation of Shanghai, Song Shilun was appointed commander of the Songhu Garrison District.
So, what was the reason why song shilun was so depressed? What was written in that mysterious letter? Why did Dong Zhujun give him a sum of money?
The story of all this, let's start with Dong Zhujun.
First, he was born in the late Qinglou
Dong Zhujun was born in Shanghai in 1900, a period when the Chinese nation was being bullied by the great powers. In the midst of internal and external troubles, the whole of Chinese society is in turmoil, and the people are not happy.
Dong Zhujun's father was a rickshaw driver, and he did not have a culture to give his daughter a decent name, but only called her Ah Yuan.
In the dark old society, the toiling masses at the bottom were nothing more than lambs to be slaughtered. The father, who had been pulling a car all his life, understood that if he wanted his daughter to get rid of poverty, he must learn culture. Therefore, his father, who had a small income, actually cut down on food and clothing and sent Ah Yuan to a private school.
However, the father's efforts could not fight against an unjust society. A chance infection with wind chill completely crushed him. The family borrowed money everywhere to save his father's life, but he also lost the ability to work.
Parents who had no choice but to tearfully sell their daughters into the Qinglou, when Ah Yuan was only 11 years old.
2. Escape from the Qinglou and marry the revolutionaries
Because Ah Yuan attended a private school for several years, her thinking was more progressive than that of ordinary women. Although she was exiled to the Qinglou, she insisted on selling her art and not selling herself.
One day in 1913, in order to cover the revolutionary activities, the revolutionaries came to the qinglou in the summer. He fell in love with Ah Yuan, who was both talented and talkative, at first sight, and Ah Yuan was also very fond of this revolutionary, so he made a private life.
In order to escape from the devil's cave and stay with Xia Shichang, Ah Yuan lied that she had gone out to be healed, and the revolutionaries were outside to meet her and finally rescue her.
Soon after, Ah Yuan married Xia Shi, and she finally had her official name, Dong Zhujun.
In the two years that Dong Zhujun was exiled to the Qinglou, the outside world underwent earth-shaking changes. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown, and Yuan Shikai stole the fruits of the revolution.
Her husband Xia Shi came to Shanghai to secretly engage in anti-Yuan activities, but due to the suppression of the "Second Revolution", Dong Zhujun had to flee to Japan with Xia Shi.
Summer time
In Japan, Dong Zhujun enrolled in Tokyo Women's Normal University, and his thinking became more and more progressive.
In 1915, Yuan Shikai announced the restoration of the imperial system and began to dream of becoming emperor in the Spring and Autumn Period. During the summer in Japan, he was ordered to return to China and raise troops to protect the Dharma. In 1917, Dong Zhujun also returned from Japan and came to Sichuan to accompany her husband.
Dong Zhujun originally thought that he could live a happy and happy life from now on, but he did not expect that the warlord division of the country began. Xia Shi was dismissed from his post for losing a factional struggle. Frustrated, Xia Shi had to use opium to numb himself, and his temper became more and more irritable, and he often scolded his wife.
3. Go to Shanghai to start a business and fund song shilun
The fall of Xia Shi caught Dong Zhujun off guard, but she still chose to be patient.
However, her concessions were only exchanged for a more cruel reality, and instead of restraining herself, Xia Shi intensified.
In 1929, Dong Zhujun, who could not bear it, separated from Xia Zhishi and went to Shanghai.
Dong Zhujun, who received higher education in Japan, knows the truth of economic independence and women's self-reliance, and after coming to Shanghai, she pawned all her jewelry and opened a small restaurant.
At the same time, she came into contact with communism and made contact with underground party organizations in Shanghai. Just when she was actively preparing to join the party, due to the betrayal of the traitors, the party organization was destroyed, and the comrades said to her, "There is something to find Comrade Li, the liaison officer," and they hurriedly withdrew.
Just when Dong Zhujun was distressed about who Comrade Li was, a downcast young man came to the restaurant, and when he entered the door, he said to the clerk: "I am Mr. Li's friend, and I am looking for Boss Dong to discuss important matters." ”
After the clerk reported the matter, Dong Zhujun was suddenly cheerful and immediately arranged for the youth to stay. That night, Dong Zhujun came to the youth room, and after talking, the youth handed her a secret letter.
The letter was written by Li Tangcai, a communist, who hoped she would provide funding for Song Shilun to help him leave Shanghai for Hunan.
It turned out that after the April 12 massacre in 1927, Song Shilun was arrested, and he had been held in a prison in Shanghai.
Not long ago, he was released from prison and wanted to go to Hunan to form a guerrilla group to support the revolution, but he was suffering from no entanglement, so he had to come to Dong Zhujun with Li Tangcai's letter of introduction.
After Dong Zhujun knew the original commission, he immediately took out all the money in his desk and gave it to Song Shilun.
Song Shilun was very moved, but unfortunately the time was tight, afraid of the long night and dreaming, and left overnight after getting the money.
Song Wheel of Time
Fourth, the entrepreneurship failed, and Taoguang made a comeback after raising obscurity
After bidding farewell to the Song Dynasty, Dong Zhujun continued to run the hotel and then opened a factory in 1930.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and in the turbulent times, the hotel soon closed down. In 1932, the Japanese attacked Zhabei in Shanghai, and her factory was forced to stop working.
The failure of entrepreneurship did not discourage Dong Zhujun, and she began to cultivate obscurity and study business knowledge assiduously. In the process of studying, she realized that if you want to start a business in Shanghai, you can't do it without a broad network.
So she began to make friends with various figures in the Shanghai business community to prepare for the future comeback.
Two years later, her marriage to Xia Shi also came to an end, and the two announced their divorce in 1934.
In 1935, after three years of precipitation, Dong Zhujun was already a social flower of the Shanghai business community, and the time had come to start a business again.
Dong Zhujun and his daughter
On March 15th, "Jin jiang snack" opened its doors, which is the predecessor of jin jiang hotel.
On the first day of the opening of the "Jinjiang Snack", the leading figures of the Shanghai Beach Green Gang and the Hong Gang, Jin Jinrong, Du Yuesheng and Zhang Xiaolin, sat down, thus becoming a hit in Shanghai, almost every day was overcrowded, and everyone appreciated the dishes.
With more and more customers, how can a small restaurant accommodate so many people?
At this time, Du Yuesheng decisively intervened and funded Dong Zhujun to expand, and the "Jinjiang Snack" became the "Jinjiang Sichuan Restaurant", and Dong Zhujun also became the famous female boss in Shanghai.
Du Yuesheng
V. After the liberation of Shanghai, Dong Zhujun and Song Shilun met again
He was liberated in Shanghai on May 27, 1949.
In order to unite people from all walks of life in Shanghai, the new mayor of Shanghai held a banquet, and Song Shilun and Dong Zhujun were invited.
Song Shilun met Dong Zhujun again at the banquet, and he was very excited, but Dong Zhujun had long forgotten the young man who had funded it.
Song Shilun came to Dong Zhujun with a wine glass and said, "Mr. Dong, do you remember me?" ”
"Are you?" Dong Zhujun wondered when he had befriended the commander of the People's Liberation Army.
"You helped me a lot 20 years ago!" Song Shilun said with a smile.
"20 years ago?" Dong Zhujun still did not remember.
Therefore, Song Shilun told Dong Zhujun about the night of receiving funding, and Dong Zhujun gradually recalled it.
"It's really a disgraceful three days of Shibetsu!" Dong Zhujun said excitedly, "I didn't expect that the little descendant of that year is now a commander!" ”
At this banquet, Dong Zhujun and Song Shilun had a very happy conversation. After the banquet, Song Shilun made a special visit to the Jinjiang Chuan Restaurant and also presented a captured Japanese officer's command knife as a thank you gift for the blessing of the year.
Japanese samurai sword
6. The first state guesthouse in New China, "Jin Jiang Hotel", was born
On October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao solemnly proclaimed the founding of New China from the tower of Tiananmen Square.
Soon after, the central leaders came to Shanghai for inspection and had foreign guests visit.
However, the situation in Shanghai was not very optimistic, at that time there were hidden agents inside the sabotage, there were enemy aircraft bombing outside, the social order was very unstable, and the establishment of a hotel-level security reception agency was imminent.
At this time, Jinjiang Chuan Restaurant has long been well-known at home and abroad, Dong Zhujun is also famous, and has also cultivated a group of employees with progressive thinking and skilled business, so this glorious task was entrusted to Dong Zhujun.
In the end, all the assets of Jin jiang chuan restaurant were put down by the government for 300 million yuan (old currency), and the new hotel followed the "Jin Jiang" brand, named "Jin Jiang Hotel", and Dong Zhujun served as the chairman of Jin Jiang Hotel.
On June 9, 1951, the Jin Jiang Hotel was officially established, and the first state guesthouse in New China was born.
Jin Jiang Hotel
7. After the death of song shilun, Dong Zhujun wrote a eulogy
Dong Zhujun and Song Shilun have always maintained a deep revolutionary friendship, and on September 17, 1991, Song Shilun died, and Dong Zhujun, who learned the news, was so sad that he wrote a eulogy to commemorate the friendship between the two:
Sixty years ago, Shanghai knew Jing, and gave a modest gift to ben for the future.
Rong Ma has made great achievements in his life and will be brave and exemplary.
On December 6, 1997, Dong Zhujun died peacefully at the age of 97.
She was born in the darkest moments of the old society, her childhood was full of hardships, and her marriage was bumpy. However, she never bowed to fate, but became self-reliant and self-reliant, and finally walked out of a path of her own, becoming a well-known female heroine at home and abroad.
Dong Zhujun's life has witnessed the transformation of China from the old society to the new society, witnessed China's journey from backwardness and beating to the prosperity and strength of the country, and is one of the best "strange women" in modern China.