The rain in the south of the Yangtze River was dense and lingering, but it carried an irresistible dampness and weighed heavily on the dock in the early autumn of 1934. The lead-gray sky drooped, blurring the outline of the river ship in the distance. Water vapor filled the narrow bluestone alleys, soaking every brick and stone, and soaking into the air with the complex smell of rust, river water and old wood.
