Floating Lives in Shanghai

In the 20th year of the Republic of China, the Huai River flooded catastrophically, turning the northern Jiangsu countryside into a vast expanse of water. The Shi brothers, their family torn apart, left their homeland and drifted to the dazzling, treacherous, and mixed Shanghai Bund. With nothing, the two took root in the slums of Zhabei, struggling to survive amid hunger, bullying, and regional discrimination. The elder brother, Shi Daqiang, resilient and righteous, worked his way up from a rickshaw puller; the younger brother, Shi Xiaoqiang, clever and meticulous, secured their livelihood with pen and abacus. The brothers relied on each other, seeking a way out in desperate straits. In the chaotic world of the streets, every step was thorny: extortion by local thugs, fierce competition from peers, and constant conflicts of the underworld. With his integrity and backbone, Shi Daqiang gathered the lower-class brothers to stand together. He received help from a kindred spirit, came to know and stand by Du Wanning, and was mentored by industrial magnates and seasoned elders of the underworld. Starting as a rickshaw puller, he founded a rickshaw company and carved out a foundation in Shanghai. The ten-mile foreign concession was full of undercurrents: Japanese spies infiltrated, and people's hearts grew corrupt. Former companions fell and collaborated with the enemy. As the nation teetered on the brink, Shi Daqiang saw through the false prosperity, gave up half a lifetime of assets, and, together with his brothers and his beloved, set out for the nation's future. A group of ordinary nobodies, drifting through the chaotic times, kept their true hearts and upheld great righteousness, bearing the burning responsibility of the nation with their mortal bodies. — Description from novelcodex.orgFull novel: Floating Lives in Shanghai — read the rest free on N​o⁠v​e⁠l​C⁠o​d⁠e​x⁠.​o⁠r​g⁠