In the 1980s, the open-air wet market on Wuyuan Road in Shanghai was buzzing with people, and as a "manure truck" drove to the mouth of a nearby septic tank, the roar of the machine and the steaming stench were intertwined here, and pedestrians could not avoid it.
It is astonishing that it is in such a harsh environment that an old lady can sit leisurely on the side of the toilet, squinting her eyes and smoking a cigar, as if everything around her has nothing to do with her.
From her dignified sitting posture and good demeanor, passers-by speculated that this must be a lady from a large family in the past.
Indeed, this old man has a long history, she is the seventh daughter of Sheng Aiyi, the richest man in the late Qing Dynasty, who once won the first feminist lawsuit in the Republic of China, and is also the founder of the well-known "Paramount Ballroom". What makes her even more famous is her love-hate infatuation with Song Ziwen.
Sheng Aiyi was born in 1900, her father Sheng Xuanhuai is the largest capitalist in Shanghai Beach, known as the "father of Chinese industry", and her mother Zhuang is also from a famous family, a strong woman who can read and do business.
Growing up in this family atmosphere, Sheng Aiyi is well-informed, intelligent and clever, and has a kind of "big woman model" who is at ease in his dealings with the world.
In particular, after Sheng Xuanhuai passed away and Lady Zhuang took charge, because her brothers were unreliable in their work, the clever and clever Sheng Aiyi became her mother's intimate little assistant.
At that time, Sheng Aiyi was only 16 years old, and she was able to adapt to many things and independently socialize her mother. Soon, she became famous for her social skills on the beach, known as "Miss Sheng Qi".
Miss Sheng Qi's ability is excellent and capable, and her heart is also high, but only one young man has entered her eyes, and this young man is song Ziwen, the later minister of finance of the Republic of China.
At the beginning of knowing Miss Seven, Song Ziwen was still a nameless person, and he had just returned from staying in the United States at that time to serve as an English secretary for Sheng Aiyi's fourth brother Sheng Enyi.
The first time the two met, Song Ziwen was deeply attracted by the gentle and beautiful temperament of Sheng Aiyi. Sheng Aiyi also has a good feeling for the elegant and elegant Song Ziwen.
Later, Song Ziwen became the English teacher of this seventh lady. During that time, he often told her about his overseas customs and news, and encouraged her to study abroad in the future.
The eye-opening Sheng Aiyi admired Song Ziwen's talent and insight more and more. So, the two young hearts, closer and closer, they became each other's first love. However, this love affair was opposed by Mrs. Zhuang.
Mrs. Zhuang had previously thought that this young man was good-looking, and he had returned from staying in the ocean, and he was quite close to his daughter, and he was a little moved. However, when the messenger inquired, he found that the Song family was actually a Cantonese, and Song Ziwen's father, Song Jiashu, was also a church player who played the foreign harp. How could the daughter of the Tangtang Shenggong Bao family marry into such a family?
Mrs. Zhuang did not agree with this family affair with an iron heart, but she did not say it in the open, but only let her son Sheng Laosi find an excuse to transfer Song Ziwen to Wuhan to work.
Song Zi civilization knew that this was "turning the tiger away from the mountain" and was very unconvinced. After a few days of working in Wuhan, he ran back to Shanghai.
Song Ziwen loves Miss Seven, and loves it feverishly. During that time, he drove his car like crazy all day long to "idle", as long as he saw where Miss Seven's car was parked, he chased it with one foot on the accelerator, crossed the front, and insisted on talking to her. In contrast, Sheng Aiyi also loved Song Ziwen, but he loved it very restrained, so restrained that it seemed as if Song Ziwen would be wrong.
At the beginning of 1923, Sun Yat-sen re-established the revolutionary regime in Guangzhou, in urgent need of talents, and his wife Song Qingling immediately introduced his younger brother Song Ziwen to him, which was a godsend for the unambitious Song Ziwen. Then Sun Yat-sen sent several telegrams in a row, urging Song Ziwen to go south to conspire for a great cause. However, Song Ziwen did not leave because he was still waiting for a reply.
Impatient, he chased Sheng Aiyi, who had avoided him all the way, to the Qiantang River, which was rising and falling. Song Ziwen bought three ferry tickets and invited Miss Seven and her eighth sister to go to Guangzhou to explore the world. Miss Seven squeezed the ticket handed over by Song Ziwen, and her undulating heart was like the water of the magnificent Qianjiang River.
She wanted to take the ticket and tell him I would like to, but the traditional education she received from childhood made it difficult for her to betray her mother. So Miss Seven used her reason to endure and not let the desire in her heart break the embankment. Pretending to be calm, she returned the ticket, took out a handful of leaves made of gold leaf, and said, "Or you go by yourself, this gold leaf will make you a way fee, and I will wait for you to come back." ”
"I'll wait for you to come back", this is probably the most touching love story that Miss Seven has ever said in her life. Because of the shackles of the family, she can't elope with men without hesitation, but she is willing to wait for love.
This year, Sheng Aiyi was 23 years old, and she thought she could afford to wait, and she had to wait until the day when this excellent man really made a contribution, in order to convince her mother. The golden leaf is her love letter to Song Ziwen, and it is also her most important promise.
What was wrong was that Song Ziwen could not read her affection, but only felt a kind of humiliation related to the gap between the doors. He said with great disappointment: "Well, I really thank you, even if these are lent to me, I will definitely return them to you later." ”
Sheng Aiyi did not expect that this trip would be seven years after seeing Song Ziwen again. In the past seven years, in addition to the long and endless wait, she has also fought a lawsuit and torn her face with her family.
Since the death of Mrs. Zhuang in 1927, the Sheng family has been caught up in a property war. Sheng Aiyi did not want to get involved, and only wanted to study abroad and enrich herself as Song Ziwen said. But when she asked her brothers for 100,000 silver yuan as the cost of studying abroad, she was ruthlessly refused.
At that time, Sheng Aiyi was still waiting to be married, and according to the law, she also had the right to inherit, but the insatiable brothers did not intend to give her the property.
This incident made her see the background of this feudal family completely. And Song Ziwen's departure also made her realize hindsight that born in such an era, women must know how to fight for their rights, whether it is love or rights. So she took the three brothers and two nephews involved in the division of the family property to court.
However, the brothers and sisters were court-to-court for family property, which seemed to her to be very undignified. In dealing with this matter, Sheng Aiyi once again showed her high wrist and high emotional intelligence.
She first elevated her family lineage to a state affair. Originally a family property dispute, she rose to the level of equal rights and interests for men and women, and secondly, she gave the matter to a lawyer, and she herself did not attend the lawsuit, avoiding a direct conflict.
In the end, Sheng Aiyi won China's first feminist lawsuit and got her own 600,000 taels of silver, which gave her the economic foundation for a decent life.
But this one won the lawsuit, and the other end lost love.
For the words "I am waiting for you" that year, she guarded herself like a jade and lost the most precious seven years of youth of a woman. And Song Ziwen, who is wandering outside, has already sunk and fell several times in love. From Zhang Yunying to Tang Ying, when he returned to Shanghai, he already had his wife Zhang Leyi by his side.
Sheng Aiyi understood that the long wait of seven years was just a one-man show. Heartbroken, she was sullen all day, and finally fell seriously ill. It was also a rare gaffe in her pampered life.
In 1932, the year after Song Ziwen returned to Shanghai with Zhang Leyi, the 32-year-old Sheng Aiyi finally compromised with reality and married her cousin Zhuang Zhujiu.
This marriage has no wind and snow about love, only like-minded people who land on the ground. She and Zhuang Zhujiu are partners in life and partners in their careers.
In the year of their new marriage, she took out the 600,000 taels of silver in her inheritance and founded the "Paramount Ballroom" entertainment company with her husband. Sheng Aiyi thus became the first female entrepreneur in China to set foot in the entertainment industry.
The Paramount Ballroom became a new habitat for her to realize herself. Perhaps it is the woman who is busy with her career that has a brilliant charm of her own, so that her light shines on Song Ziwen, or perhaps Song Ziwen has never forgotten her at all. Later, in a bureau that someone else helped to help, the two met.
On that day, Song Ziwen came forward to talk to her nervously, but Sheng Aiyi had a frosty face and even a little anger. For her, a relationship broken is broken, and she doesn't need any explanation. Everyone advised her to stay and have dinner, but she stood up and coldly said, "My husband is still waiting for me," and then brushed her sleeves away.
Afterwards, when someone asked about it, Miss Seven said disapprovingly, "I don't talk to him!" Everyone has their own life, so why bother again. He is a high-ranking official, a generous official, and the spring breeze is proud, so why should I bother him? Then again, his golden leaf hasn't been returned to me yet! ”
Later, her descendants grew up and also knew the "allusion" of the golden leaf, and often teased her about it. For example, if someone wants to go to the past, before leaving, he will say: "If I come to the United States to see Song Ziwen, I will definitely help you get back the gold leaves!" "I've gone to the United States to help you get gold leaves, do you want to go with you?"
Miss Seven's arrogance is obvious to all, but "thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi", with the change of the times, the Sheng family is declining day by day, and even at important points in history, it has been troubled repeatedly.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang comprehensively purged the traitors, and Sheng Yudu, the son of Sheng Laosi, was thrown into prison for doing things in the Wang puppet government and the Japanese consulate, and the Sheng brothers and sisters who were "no one in the DPRK and China" could not save him after several twists and turns.
In the end, everyone had to tell Miss Seven to call Song Ziwen. At that time, Song Ziwen was holding an important position as the president of the Executive Yuan of the National Government, and it was said that he would not let go of all his words.
Sheng Yudu's wife, Ye Yuanchan, was worried that Miss Seven would not agree, so she ran to her parents and could not get up, almost forcing her to call. Sheng Aiyi felt that it was a good nest, and at first he ignored Song Ziwen, but now he really asked for him! But Sheng Yudu was her own nephew after all, and she could not see death and not save her.
So she promised Ye Yuanchan that the phone would only be called once, and it would be successful, and if it didn't work, it would be done. Unexpectedly, Song Ziwen at that end was very happy, and he agreed to it in one bite. However, Miss Seven thought that there was no ambiguity in this matter, so she proposed again: "I want to eat with my nephew tomorrow at noon." There was a "OK!" from the other end of the phone. "I'll make sure you'll have dinner with Yudu tomorrow at noon."
Putting down the phone, the room full of people was ecstatic, thinking that there was still a way for the big man, and a phone problem was solved. At noon the next day, Sheng Yudu was really released. Thinking of this, Miss Seven only felt a pang of sadness.
Song Ziwen still has affection for her, he has three daughters, the names are all taken by him, the eldest daughter Song Qiongyi, the second daughter Song Manyi, the younger daughter Song Ruiyi, each daughter has a "Yi" in her name. It's just that these feelings can't comfort her barren heart.
After this, Sheng Aiyi encountered two major choices in life. Once is a career, and once is a big plan for the settlement of life. Because of poor management, Paramount lost money one after another, and in order to stop the loss, she had to sell it.
Man is not as good as heaven. Soon after paramount changed owners, it was just in time for the prosperity of the shanghai dance industry, and the business burst for a while, becoming the representative of "Night Shanghai".
Sheng Aiyi, who missed the opportunity, was not upset. Since he has let go, no matter how good the profit is, it is the fruit of others after all, just like the potential stock lover who has not seized it, he is no longer a soaring yellow Tengda, and he is finally someone else's husband.
If the sanity of the past was her weakness, then the indifference of the present is her armor. Sheng Aiyi, who crossed the commercial sea, did not have much nostalgia, and instead focused on the development of education and charity.
She served as the trustee of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, donating more than 100,000 volumes of books carefully collected by the Sheng family to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and St. John's University in Shanghai, contributing to the education cause of New China.
On the eve of the founding of New China, many famous and prestigious families quietly went to Taiwan or went overseas, and Song Ziwen's family went to the United States. However, because of some kind of affection, Sheng Aiyi still chose to stay in her hometown of Shanghai.
Here, she had a quiet time. She and her family live in a villa in the city center, husband and wife love, children and children, leisure time, she smokes cigars, reads books and practices, and lives a graceful life.
It wasn't until the '60s that a muffled thunder of the times swept her into a storm. Her husband and son were successively sent to the countryside, and her daughter was assigned to teach far away.
In the days when her family was separated, Miss Seven, who was in her 70s, had become destitute. After the villa and property were confiscated, she moved into a car room with a septic tank on Wuyuan Road.
When relatives saw her living in this stuffy and hot room, they couldn't help but cry, but she smiled and comforted: "Don't worry, although it is hot in the summer, it is quite warm in the winter." ”
Although the car room replaced the villa and the coarse cloth changed into a cheongsam, she did not let herself slide down the bottom floor after a lifetime of elegance and pride. She still cleans herself up every day. Although her husband left her before her, she kept her life in order.
Wildflowers and green plants outside the car room were also transplanted into the pots by her, and in the burrow, she still read, learned, and painted as always... Survived the hardest of times.
It is said that whenever a cigar is sent by an overseas relative, she will pull a small chair and sit in the doorway very gracefully, spitting out the aroma and looking at the bustling crowd of the opposite market.
Living in a solid life of fireworks and sincerely accepting his life of high and low walking is a way for Sheng Aiyi to maintain decency.
In 1983, Accompanied by her children, Sheng Aiyi also walked through 83 years of life with dignity. Years have traces, life has hate, but the elegance and calmness of this legendary beauty will never end.
END.
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