Chapter 2, I will support you

Wu Chaoyue smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze towards the angry fishermen. However, upon taking a closer look, his shifty eyes unexpectedly fixed on a girl dressed as a fisherman. The reason? Although the fisherman's daughter was simply dressed and wore no makeup, she was remarkably beautiful. With large eyes, a small mouth, and delicate features, her smooth, tender, wheat-colored skin and slender figure were striking. Her long, straight legs were particularly alluring, and even in the twenty-first century, Wu Chaoyue had rarely seen a woman whose appearance and figure could surpass that of this girl.

Wu Dasa was taken aback and fell silent. At that moment, a commotion arose from the direction of the dock, where someone could be faintly heard shouting about a fight. Only then did Wu Chaoyue release the subordinates he had not yet trained well and turned to look in the direction of the sound. He saw that indeed, a crowd of common people had gathered at one corner of the dock. Feeling bored, Wu Chaoyue did not hesitate and immediately ran over to join the excitement. Wu Dasa quickly led a few subordinates to follow, being very careful to protect Wu Chaoyue on both sides.

"How did he insult you?" Wu Chaoyue retorted, and without waiting for Hou Er to respond, she immediately added, "Did he say that you are guilty and that your family is also guilty?"

"Little brat, watch your mouth!" Wu Dasaij jumped out to protect his master, pointing at Wu Chaoyue and saying: "Do you know who this Young Master Wu is? His grandfather is a fourth-rank Daotai. Offending him, be careful that you may reach Wusong River Wharf but not return home"

"Foreign devil, stop babbling and speak plainly!" a young fisherman shouted angrily, "You are the one who is guilty, your parents are guilty, and your ancestors for eighteen generations are guilty!"

The girl was infuriated by Wu Chaoyue's frivolous and dismissive attitude, her face turning pale with anger as she instinctively raised the boat pole in her hand

Hou Er, strike! another fisherman urged, "After we finish, just run. Let's see what these foreign devils can do to us"

"I am certainly guilty," said Wu Chaoyue, who often teased his female classmates and colleagues, with a playful smile. "Because I am about to point out to a beautiful girl that she is also guilty, exposing her wrongdoing, so I am guilty as well"

To Wu Chaoyue's great surprise, when he ran to the outskirts of the crowd, he actually heard voices speaking in English from within the crowd, "No no you misunderstand I do not curse you I am to you to preach the gospel of the Lord to say to you"

Everyone has a desire for beauty. In this regard, Wu Chaoyue, who is not particularly admirable, unexpectedly encounters such a beautiful girl. His lustful gaze inevitably lingers on her face for a moment. The girl, noticing Wu Chaoyue's lewd stare, cannot help but show a hint of embarrassment and anger on her delicate face, and she scolds him, "Hey, kid, what are you looking at?"

After wandering for half a day without finding any amusement, Wu Chaoyue inevitably felt a bit bored. Beside him, Wu Dasa and his companions continuously urged Wu Chaoyue to visit a brothel for some fun. However, in this era, preventive health products had not yet been invented. Although Wu Chaoyue enjoyed engaging in health exercises, he truly did not dare to risk his precious body on such a gamble. Thus, he persistently shook his head in refusal. Wu Dasa and the others were all quite astonished, each secretly wondering: "Could it be that Young Master Sun fell into the water and injured his head, causing a change in character?"

Bored and aimlessly wandering, Wu Chaoyue and his companions unknowingly arrived near the north gate of the county town. From a distance, they saw the Wusong River dock outside the city filled with boats, bustling with more people than in the city. Wu Chaoyue finally became a bit interested and casually walked out of the city gate. Beside him, Wu Dasai quickly reminded him: "Young Master Sun, the flower boats are mainly docked at the Lujia Bang area; there are hardly any flower boats here, just a few for selling fish and transporting goods."

After being innocently placed under house arrest for several days, under the guidance of Wu Dasa, a trusted aide of Wu Chaoyue, Wu Chaoyue finally stepped out of his home and arrived at the streets of Shanghai County in 1852. However, Wu Chaoyue soon found himself greatly disappointed.

"What do you think you are? How dare you ask us that?" The young fisherman, known as Hou Er, retorted angrily.

It is unclear where that priest found the confidence to preach; a simple phrase in Chinese was spoken with both awkwardness and difficulty. Many of the words were only articulated with the help of Wu Chaoyue's translation, learned and immediately used. As a result, the young girl became even more displeased upon hearing this, accusing him: "That doesn't count; the words he spoke were taught by you. Who knows if that is the correct meaning? I will ask you just one question: Do you have any sins?"

After listening to Wu Chaoyue's superficial explanation, Hou Er and the young girl, along with others, were somewhat taken aback, momentarily at a loss for words. However, upon seeing the smug expression on Wu Chaoyue's face, the young girl, who had a very poor impression of him, couldn't help but feel a bit displeased and said: "Then why doesn't he say he is guilty? Why doesn't he say his parents are also guilty? If one does not forgive sins, must they enter the underworld?"

Having said that, Wu Chaoyue quickly added, saying: "The paradise that those foreigners speak of is the same as the Pure Land that the monks talk about. Once you arrive there, you will have food to eat and clothes to wear; you will not suffer from poverty or hardship, but will only live a good life. You may choose not to believe what he says, but you should know that he means well and is not insulting you."

"Nonsense, this is the habit of foreign missionaries, how could I not know?" Wu Chaoyue reprimanded, and then said: "You really misunderstand this priest. The faith they follow believes that every person in the world is sinful, and only by believing in their Jesus, praying to the Lord, and seeking the Lord's forgiveness can one ascend to heaven"

"I will support you!" Without a second thought, Wu Chaoyue blurted out a teasing remark to his female classmate and colleague, "Come with me! I will take care of you for a lifetime! I will even take you as my concubine!"

With a thunderous shout, all eyes naturally turned to Wu Chaoyue. Ignoring Wu Dasai's advice, Wu Chaoyue stepped into the crowd and said to the priest in English: "Father, you don't need to worry, I can speak English. I will translate for you and explain the misunderstanding to them."

It was precisely because he understood English that Wu Chaoyue, out of curiosity, inevitably developed the desire to intervene. With the help of others at the Wu competition, he forcibly squeezed into the crowd and immediately spotted a middle-aged Caucasian man dressed as a priest surrounded by several male and female fishermen. The fishermen were brandishing their oars, shouting angrily, while the priest kept waving his hands and repeatedly said in English: "Dear Chinese friends, please do not misunderstand, I am not cursing you, I just want to preach to you, to preach to you."

The girl was completely at a loss for words, and after a long pause, she retorted defiantly: "But if I don't fish, what will I eat? Who will support me?"

How do you know?" Hou Er was somewhat surprised, and the young girl also had a look of astonishment on her face, thinking to herself, was this scoundrel just beside me a moment ago? I didn't see him.

It must be said that Wu Dasa's pretense of power still holds some weight; upon hearing that Wu Chaoyue is the son of an official, Hou Er's arrogance somewhat diminished. However, he still spoke very defiantly, saying: "Is being the child of an official really that impressive? This foreign devil insulted me for no reason; shouldn't I retaliate against him?"

After carefully searching through the memories left by his predecessor, Wu Chaoyue, he recalled that the concessions of this era were located outside the city of Shanghai. However, just as he was about to leave the city to explore the concessions, he discovered that the memories of his predecessor clearly indicated that the current Shanghai concessions were actually more desolate than the city itself. Aside from a few foreign consulates and some trading houses that specialized in selling imported goods, there were hardly any foreign residents. Wu Chaoyue could not help but feel greatly disappointed, realizing that he had traversed time too early and would likely find it difficult to witness the morbidly prosperous scene of the Bund in person.

Shut up! Wu Chaoyue, unable to endure any longer, scolded: "What else can you have in your head besides the courtyard flower boat? If you say one more word, just roll back!"

Despite the fact that Wu Chaoyue fails an average of more than 3.5 courses each year in university, due to work requirements and the expectation from his parents for him to study abroad, he manages to cope reasonably well with English. He quickly translated these words into Chinese: "No, no, you misunderstand, I am not cursing you; I am proclaiming the gospel of the Lord to you, to redeem you"

Almighty God! Thank you for your mercy!" The priest was immediately overjoyed, making the sign of the cross on his chest, and said: "At last, someone can speak English. Dear Chinese friend, please help me translate, they have misunderstood me.

Wu Chaoyue laughed upon hearing this, and immediately turned to the priest. She first introduced her identity in English, then briefly explained the situation, asking the priest to admit his own guilt. The priest also laughed upon hearing this, and with Wu Chaoyue's assistance, he awkwardly said in Chinese: "Madam, you are right, I am also guilty. My father and mother are also guilty; if they had not believed in the Lord, they would not be able to enter heaven. If I abandon my faith, I too will go to hell"

"Do not be angry, you are indeed guilty as well." Wu Chaoyue laughed more lewdly and said, "For example, when you go fishing, the fish also have lives. They help us eliminate pests in the water and purify the water quality; they are lively and lovely. However, in order to eat and dress, you catch these adorable fish, sell them to others to be made into dishes, causing them to lose their lives and separating them from their parents, spouses, children, brothers, and sisters. How much sin have you committed? From the perspective of the fish, are you not also guilty?"

Compared to other counties in this era, Shanghai, as one of the only five cities open to foreign trade during the Qing Dynasty, can certainly be considered bustling and lively. However, for Wu Chaoyue, who had previously visited Shanghai before his time travel, this current Shanghai county is hardly different from a slum. The streets are narrow and filthy, the houses are low and dilapidated, and the few decent residences are all government offices. The common people walking on the streets mostly wear tattered clothes. No matter how wide Wu Chaoyue opens his eyes in search, he cannot find even a trace of the legendary Oriental Magic City or the Ten-Mile Foreign Concession.

The young fisherman was clearly a hot-tempered and impulsive individual. After being incited by his companions, he did not hesitate and raised the oar to strike the priest. Wu Chaoyue, who had already vaguely guessed the reason, hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Do not hit!"

The voice is quite pleasant to hear. After silently praising it in his heart, Wu Chaoyue finally withdrew his greedy gaze, coughed lightly to feign authority, and questioned the fishermen, saying: "What are you doing? Why are you attacking this priest?"