Chapter Forty-Four Aftermath

  In the courtyard, a small lantern was hung. Haigouz and Zhang Er held five-foot-five-inch hardwood sticks and stood guard in the courtyard. Wang Dai Xi was burning fire by the stove, yawning repeatedly.

  Liu Minyou carefully examined the six silver bags, confirming that he was not dreaming, and immediately arranged for the night watch. Hai Gouzi, Dai Zhenggang, and Zhang Erhui did not participate in the night shift, going to bed early instead. When the night shift ended, they would come out to stand guard in the courtyard. Even Liu Minyou himself rarely didn't work overtime, but he was worried that Chen Xin might fall asleep, so he personally kept watch inside the house, pacing back and forth restlessly.

  Wang Dai Xi is the most pitiful, she has to work night shifts and now Liu Min You is asking her to cook for the people on duty. She's been running around non-stop every day recently and looks like she's lost a lot of weight. Although Liu Min You made a big fuss, Chen Xin and Lu Lüzi were not affected at all and soon fell fast asleep.

  This time, Chen Xin didn't hide it from Dai Zhenggang. Dai Zhenggang first saw the over 1,000 taels of silver in his own room, and then went to Chen Xin's room to see that the copper ingots had turned into silver ingots, completely stunned, still a bit dull until now. Later, Lu Zizi told them that Chen Xin was about to become an official, Dai Zhenggang slowly recovered, asked clearly it was a military household, although a bit resistant, but after all, Chen Xin is a hundred households, heard that the thousand households are not far away, Dai Zhenggang felt that following Chen Xin's prospects will be better and better. Under the excitement, he was like Liu Min, sitting restlessly in the courtyard, thinking back and forth, occasionally picking up and putting down his iron rod.

  "Brother Liu, how much silver is in there?" Haigouzzi poked his head in from the doorway.

  "Go, stand up for yourself, anyway it's not a small amount, you're not allowed to take it out and tell everyone, and there will be a second time too."

  Zhang Erhui also poked out his head to respond, and looked inside the house to see how much silver there was. Liu Minyou drove the two of them back to the courtyard to stand guard, and several people mixed together like this. Liu Minyou thought about it for a night, but couldn't figure out how Chen Xin could have so much silver, until the fourth watch struck, and he couldn't hold it in anymore, shaking Chen Xin awake.

  Chen Xin rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked around. The window was still dark. He said discontentedly, "It's not even dawn yet, what are you making a fuss about?"

  "Hurry up and tell me, how did you guys make so much money?"

  Chen Xin rubbed his eyes and roughly recounted what had happened with Song Wenxian, but omitted the incident at the dock.

  Liu Min was amazed at what he heard, "Then how did you become an official again? I heard it's even Weihaiwei."

  "Hmm, in Dengzhou, luck is on our side, and with the new governor, this matter will be settled. The hundred households are not worth much, but Weihaiwei's location is good. We can set up a private port there, and usually use other inconspicuous ships to secretly transport goods to the private port. Once the goods are ready, we'll make a trip for maritime trade ourselves. And Weihai is east of Dengzhou, let's see how the Dengzhou naval forces investigate, I don't want to give up that many shares to these big shots again."

  Liu Min said: "Then you want to go to Weihai, will this shop still be open? Business is so good now, it would be a pity to lose it."

  Chen Xind nodded and said, "Now that there are more people, relying solely on cheongsam won't make much money for long. This style will soon spread throughout the country via the Grand Canal, and Tianjin's local imitations will also be numerous. It'll quickly turn into a price war."

  Liu Minyou was reluctant: "But our Orchid Clothing Store's brand has already made a name for itself."

  "Of course, this clothing store is going to stay. Tianjin needs a base, and it's also convenient for purchasing goods. I couldn't still rely on that pawnshop. Moreover, normally I estimate I'll often come to Tianjin, as long as the Fujian and Haifeng roads are covered, Commander Wei won't dare say anything, and I don't need him to pay me a salary."

  Liu Min felt relieved, he had invested a lot of heart and soul into the clothing store and couldn't bear to part with it. He then discussed the recent events at the store with Chen Xin, who listened attentively about Deng Ke Shan being in charge of sales. Chen Xin said to Liu Min: "If Deng Ke Shan is solely in charge of finances, there might be some problems. If things go on like this for a long time, it's better to make some changes."

  "I also knew, but no one was there. Deng Keshan is a clever person and can learn things quickly. Now he can even fill in two-dimensional tables by himself, and he works very hard every day, going to the dock to sell clothes."

  Chen Xin smiled and said: "He's making money, of course he's diligent. Never mind the rolling knife meat, let's talk about Pan Jinlian in his courtyard."

  "He said Shen Lou's wife was beaten again by Deng Keshan during the night shift, and I don't know if I should let her come to work or not."

  "How is she doing things in the store?"

  "Not bad, it's rare for her to write words, simple arithmetic can also be done, now those sorting and writing card things are all handed over to her to do, it's just Shen Lou who is troublesome."

  Chen Xindao said, "That's it, you're just a clothing store owner, only responsible for seeing if this person can meet the job requirements. Other things are her business. So with this woman, let her do what she can, and if she wants to leave, it's not up to you to make her leave. Don't have any misgivings about Shen Lou."

  Liu Min thought about it and indeed made sense. If he was too cautious, it would only raise suspicions. Recently, Shen Lou had been noisy, and although most of the neighbors on Er Dao Street didn't pay attention to it, there were still some rumors circulating. If Liu Min hadn't seen how pitiful Shen Li Shi was, he would have really considered finding someone else.

  "Alright, I'll listen to you. What about these silver coins? We can't just leave them at home."

  "When the sky brightens, I will go to the pawnshop. You should deposit the silver into a bank and divide it among three different stores, with 6,000 taels in each store. There is also a draft for a meeting ticket that can be cashed in Beijing."

  Are you going to Beijing?

  "Maybe I'll go after some time has passed, but I will definitely go."

  "Why go to the capital?"

  "Because I still have to pay taxes and buy millet for thousands of households, and Tianqi is about to die."

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  Chen Xin got up early, and when he went out, Wang Daili had already gotten up to cook rice. Zhang Erhui was also dismantling the door panels of the shop, preparing to open for business. Zhou Laifu's wife and Shen Lishi were also waiting outside the shop. Chen Xin greeted them and left directly.

  Chen Xin called Lao Lu to hurry to the pawnshop, but the shop was already closed for the day. Old Cai was hanging a "sold out" sign on the door, looking very dejected. When he saw Chen Xin arrive, Cai Shenju came over and asked in a low voice about what had happened. After listening to their explanation, both of them sighed repeatedly. Cai Shenju looked at Chen Xin with gratitude, saying that it was fortunate that Brother Chen had helped him, otherwise he would not have survived the danger at sea.

  When Chen Xin arrived at the second watch, the mourning hall had already been set up in the main hall. Only Old Wang was there. After asking, he found out that Hei Pao and Ba Zi had gone to Dian Yong's home, whose family also lived in Tianjin.

  "Mr. Chen has arrived." Ms. Zhao, dressed in mourning attire, came before Chen Xin.

  "Yes, I couldn't sleep in the lower berth, so I came up early."

  "It's said that Mr. Chen avenged his enemy with his own hands, Xiang'er thanks you first, sir." Miss Zhao said, making a bow.

  Chen Xindun hesitated for a moment and didn't continue with this topic: "That's what I should be doing, how are you, madam?"

  Zhaoyang's eyes turned red again, and she choked back tears: "Until now, I haven't shed a single tear, just talking to myself. Only yesterday did I find out that my brother had passed away many years ago. Poor Mother..."

  Chen Xin let out a long sigh, his usual eloquence nowhere to be found. He then entered the mourning hall to pay his respects, and after Zhao Miss came out from behind the curtain and returned the courtesy after he bowed four times, Chen Xin looked at Zhao Xiang's pale face and said: "Miss Zhao, please take care of yourself and don't grieve too much, Madam is counting on you now."

  Miss Zhao looked at him twice, nodded and said: "Originally thought that brother was here, always not listening to mother's words, now only know how bitter she is in her heart. Now that father is no longer here, I am her reliance, Xiang Er has grown up."

  Chen Xin carefully sized her up, and in fact, she was about the size of a high school student in later generations. In this era, early maturity was prevalent, and Miss Zhao seemed to have really stabilized a lot after yesterday, no longer being the smiling young girl in the temple.

  Chen Xinheng helped sort out the prepared fabrics for the return gift, stacking them neatly into a pile. Then he said in a low voice: "If there's anything I can do, please arrange it, miss."

  "The mourning hall has been set up, we don't have any relatives or friends in Tianjin, just want him to rest in peace as soon as possible. So please ask Mr. Chen to help find a burial site and buy a coffin."

  "Yes, I'll go and take care of it at the next meeting." Chen Xin took a glance at the mourning hall, feeling somewhat uneasy staying there.

  Song Wenxian arrived at this time. He first paid his respects to Miss Zhao and went to the hall to pay his respects, came out and listened to Miss Zhao's arrangements, shook his head and said: "The Buddhist affairs still need to be done, although the 49 days have passed, what needs to be done should be done, and some people should be found to mourn on behalf of others, otherwise it would be too cold."

  Miss Zhao thought for a moment: "Then trouble the two of you to find some monks and Taoist priests to perform the rituals, there's no need to hire mourners. Without that kind of filial piety, fake crying would only add to the troubles. I think Father wouldn't like it either. As a young woman, I don't understand too much, so please ask Mr. Chen to help with the arrangements."

  The two of them looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and Chen Xin, not wanting to linger any longer, hastily bid farewell with Song Wenxian and walked out onto the main street. Chen Xin's mood was low, and he walked with his head down.

  Song Wenxian measured him with a glance and said, "This Miss Zhao seems to have a good impression of Brother Chen. Is the marriage you mentioned referring to this young lady?"

  Chen Xin raised his head, took a deep breath, and didn't respond. Song Wenxian looked at him and knew that this might be the case. He smiled and said: "Zhao Haiming has been sailing for many years, if Brother Chen can marry the young lady of the East House, he will have even more financial resources, and also be able to win over the hearts of people like Hei Pao, Brother Chen is really clever."

  Chen Xinbai shot him a glance and said with a smile, "I'm not Zheng Yiguan, how can Mr. Song have the leisure to tease me here? Is your silver well-stored?"

  Song Wenxian said: "It's not that I didn't keep it well, I'll go and deal with this matter now. As for the funeral and burial matters, Miss Zhao has clearly stated that Brother Chen is in charge, so I won't interfere."

  "This man's face is really thick, coming here to take a turn, getting the favor but not doing anything. Chen Xin looked at him with a smile and said: 'Brother Song please do as you wish, these trivial matters will be handled by me.'"

  Song Wenxian smiled and turned to leave, but after a few steps, he came back and said: "You see, I was going to tell you something just now, but you interrupted me. Zhao Haiming has just passed away, and the young lady of the house is in mourning. This marriage of yours may not be possible for some time."

  "House arrest? For several months?"

  "Three years! Well, actually it's twenty-seven months."

  Chen Xin's expression didn't change as he said indifferently: "So that's how it is."

  Song Wenxian saw that he didn't want to say much, so he could only say: "For the next two days, you'll be busy with Zhao Haoming's aftermath, so I won't come to disturb you. The day after tomorrow, I'm planning to host a banquet for Vice General Qian at the Group Fragrance Building, and you're also invited."

  Chen Xin calculated the time, generally speaking, the burial would be in two or three days, and he agreed.

  As soon as Song Wenxian left, Chen Xin saw Deng Keshan's thin figure walking from afar.