Chapter Twenty-Five: The Fifth Master

  In the scorching sun of August, people walking on the street were rushing to get home. On such a hot summer day, wealthy families in Beijing would sit under trees and enjoy a refreshing slice of watermelon that had been soaked in well water for half an hour. The sweetness and coolness of the watermelon was unbeatable. Poorer families, on the other hand, would gather together with men sitting around a large ceramic bowl, drinking several bowls of iced tea to beat the heat. Women would sit inside the house, quietly discussing their embroidery patterns while occasionally taking small sips of iced tea, feeling comfortable and relaxed.

  Xiao Zilong apparently didn't have such good luck. Just as he was about to take a bath in the backyard, his partner who was taking care of business in the front yard came to report that an important customer had arrived and needed to be received by the boss himself. Xiao Zilong glanced at the wind chimes already arranged in the small hall, and followed his partner to the front yard with a sullen expression. Xiao Zilong ran the only antique shop in Beijing's city center owned by a Japanese person, although he often suffered from the squeeze of his peers, he could still make a living. Usually, Xiao Zilong was very kind to people and got along well with others.

  Since the Japanese army entered Beiping, Xiao Jirou was like a different person. He had to intervene in all antique transactions, and anyone who dared to say no would be immediately arrested by the Japanese military police. As a result, everyone called him "Little Turtle Egg". The antique business also shifted to private transactions, and the appraisal meetings that used to take place were gradually cancelled. No one was willing to sell their valuable items cheaply to Little Turtle Egg.

  It's extremely rare for customers to come to the store in person, which is why Jiro gave up his bath and rushed to the front yard to meet them. Jiro's antique shop was a taken-over storefront, a house with a front room and a backyard, where he had lived for 6 years already, and the pagoda trees planted when he moved in had grown very thick.

  "What's your honorable surname?" Xiao Jirou's Chinese was very good, having mixed with the Chinese for many years, his ability to read people had also improved a lot. There were two people standing in the store, and at a glance, Xiao Jirou could tell that the short guy wearing a horse jacket was the master, while the tall and large man next to him was a follower.

  The young man wearing a horse jacket smiled slightly, cupped his hands in response, "My surname is Na, friends call me Na Wu." Xiao Cilang's heart skipped a beat, people with the surname Na should be from the Manchu Eight Banners. Looking at this Na Wu again, he was wearing a hat with a piece of jade embedded in it, dressed in a snow-white horse jacket, and on his feet were open-toed cloth shoes made by Ruiheng Xiang, a store that used to make official boots for the palace, ordinary people wouldn't even be able to do business with them.

  Xiao Cilang was secretly sizing himself up, and Wu Yi stretched out his hand. The tall and sturdy attendant standing beside him casually took out an object from his bosom with both hands and handed it over. Xiao Cilang's eyes were almost glued to the object in Wu Yi's hand, which was a agate snuff bottle. Just by looking at its style and shape, it was obvious that it was a fine object from the palace. Wu Yi only took two puffs of snuff before casually tossing this priceless snuff bottle to his attendant, leaving Xiao Cilang worried that if this treasure were to be broken, what would happen?

  "Old Wu, you've come to my humble shop today, are you looking to sell something?" Seeing Old Wu's hesitation, Xiao Erlang grew impatient and asked hastily. Judging from Old Wu's demeanor, his family must have many valuable items; if this deal goes through, he'll make a pretty penny.

  "Mr. Kojirō, I'm in a bit of trouble at home and need to raise some funds, so I was thinking of pawning this bronze tripod with you." As soon as he heard "bronze", Mr. Kojirō was about to ask where the item was, but the man waved his hand to stop him from asking questions. "This is a family heirloom, let's agree on one thing first - three months. If I can get back on my feet within three months, I'll redeem this item and pay you an additional 10% interest. What do you say?"

  Xiao Zilang blinked his small eyes, calculating the profit in his heart. If he sold it directly to himself, the cheaper the better. But what that five meant was that he still had to redeem it back. Since he had to add a 1% interest, he could raise the price high, so his own 1% interest would increase, wouldn't it?

  After the calculation, Xiao Zilang agreed to the request of the five who wanted to redeem something, and even discussed with the five the day to see the goods and the payment method. Only then did he send away the two masters and servants. "Close the door and rest, no business today" Xiao Zilang was overjoyed in his heart, and ordered Yamada, a small account from Japan, to close the door and take a break.

  "Mr. Yamamoto, did you see the noble guest in the front hall just now?" The black-shirted man was called over by Kojirō as he returned to the back room. "Go and follow them right away, find out where they're staying, make sure to get a clear idea, hurry up and come back!" Kojirō waved his hand, indicating for the black-shirted man to leave on his own. Yamamoto simply nodded casually, bowed, and left Kojirō's store, following in the direction indicated by the young shop assistant.

  Kojirō appears to be a Japanese merchant dealing in antiques, but he is actually an intelligence officer of the Imperial Japanese Army who has entered China ahead of time to investigate the terrain and economic culture, preparing for the full occupation of China by the Japanese army. This Yamamoto is a member of the Black Dragon Society of Japan and was sent by the Japanese Ministry of War to protect Kojirō, but as a result, he became a long-term errand boy developed by Kojirō who loves money like his life.

  "Don't look back" The tall follower behind Wu Ye grabbed Wu Ye who was about to turn his head, and Yamamoto followed them. As soon as the follower discovered this, he appeared among the crowd of people wearing coarse cloth on the street, suddenly a guy in a black shirt came out, even a fool could see that this guy was not good. Wu Ye also felt something unusual behind him before thinking about turning his head to look, and didn't expect his followers to discover it too.

  The tall foreigner beckoned a rickshaw with his long arm, carefully helping the Fifth Master onto it. After giving some instructions to the driver, he took off in a sprint, following closely behind the rickshaw. Yamamoto, who was trailing behind them, also hailed a rickshaw and followed closely, as per Shojiro's orders, determined to find out where they lived.

  That Fifth Master's rickshaw sped along, turning into an alleyway. Yamamoto watched as Fifth Master got out and entered a mansion before heading back to the small shop of Xiao Erlang. He had already asked an old man in the alley about the mansion that Fifth Master had entered, which seemed to be the outer residence of some Manchu noble's son. Now it was inhabited by a courtesan from Suzhou who had been redeemed and freed from her contract. It was said that when she moved in, the horse-drawn carriage carrying her belongings stretched out for several streets, displaying an impressive and majestic presence. Judging from this, she should have been ransomed and freed from her contract by a noble person.