Chapter 37: Jiangning Weaving and Manufacturing

  It was already late at night, and the usual streets were empty of people. Huai Jin drove very fast until she saw two figures in front of her - a man and a woman, slender and elegant, handsome and upright. She slowed down to avoid hitting pedestrians. As she got closer, the man seemed to be a foreigner with light brown hair that was slightly curly... wait, wasn't that Dong Zhiyu and Matthew?!

  Huaijin felt that she had somehow helped Yeming out, although she knew their relationship was fake, but did Dong Zhiyu really... with Matthew?

  Late at night, a lone man and woman, watching the two of them walking leisurely, still occasionally saying a few words to each other, what else could be possible? Hua Jin stepped on the accelerator lightly and drove away.

  Dong Zhiyu was listening to Matthew mention Huaijin, when a rickshaw suddenly sped past on the road, turning right at the intersection in front and disappearing. She blinked her eyes, could that be Huaijin?

  "What do you say?" Matthew asked.

  Dong Zhiyu gave him a glance, "From the black market?"

  "White or black, it's all fine, let's see what you're used for." He said with a heh heh smile.

  Dong Zhiyu felt that there was more to his words, and for the rest of the night, everything he said seemed to have a hidden meaning. She didn't know if he really knew something or was just talking nonsense, but she decided it was better not to let him get away with it. "What other use could it possibly have? It's all so mysterious."

  "Hmm, can't say for sure, but as for you, you're definitely not one of Wang's people. But whether you're on Chiang's side or Anping's side, I still haven't figured it out." After saying that, he chuckled to himself again.

  "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you." Dong Zhiyu threw out this sentence and strode towards home, her heart racing with excitement. Matthew's words had already been made so clear - what did he want to do? And then she thought of Huai Jin, what was she up to tonight?

  Fu Qiusheng was about to hand over the accounts and head home, but just then he saw Huai Jin walking in through the door. What's going on? He sat down at the counter.

  Huaijin walked over, greeted him, and sat down beside him, ordering a cup of wine.

  "In the Shanghai Green Gang, there is a person named He Shuqiang who colludes with Ying Zhaosheng. A few days ago, he gave him a list of names, I suspect that everyone on the list are our moles. This person, He Shuqiang, comes from the Anhui warlord clique and is now a disciple of Du Yuesheng."

  Fu Qiusheng's expression changed, and he fell silent for a moment, "Has anyone been arrested for this yet?"

  "As far as I know, Qing Tong's brother-in-law, An, was involved with a person named Lu Zhongning in the puppet government of Wang Jingwei. It is possible that he has been implicated and arrested."

  "I understand, the message will be sent overnight to Shanghai."

  "This person must be secretly arrested, don't alarm the snake by hitting the grass. After catching him, we need to investigate and see who is on the list," paused for a moment, "In addition, once this person is caught, please notify me."

  "Will you let me know if you catch it?"

  "Yes, this person has some connection with me, at that time I will go to Shanghai personally."

  Fu Qiusheng hesitated for a moment, "A Jin, you shouldn't be doing these things again, let Dong Zhiyu go and train."

  "Some things can be done by her, some cannot," Huai Jin lowered his eyes and then raised them again, "By the way, I'm asking you something."

  Fu Qiusheng sighed and said, "But ask."

  "What was the private club on the other side of Hui People Street where the Hui nationality military officers gathered originally whose house?"

  Fu Qiusheng hesitated for a moment, "Oh, that place, come to think of it, you might not know, that's the old residence of Dong Zhiyu's family."

  "What?" Huai Jin listened in surprise, although she had already learned from Zhen Ji's mouth earlier, but Fu Qiu Sheng also knew this layer, and she felt very unexpected.

  "Oh, I should have told you about her situation a long time ago, but why did you suddenly ask about that mansion?"

  Huaijin thought for a moment, it's better not to tell Fu Qiusheng about Zhenji's affairs. "Tonight, I was drinking again at that place and heard from the host that the mansion has some background."

  "There's indeed some background to it, I suppose you've also heard of 'Jiangning Brocade'?"

  Huai Jin looked at Fu Qiu Sheng with a layer of mist covering her eyes, "The Imperial Weaving Institution of the Qing Dynasty."

  "That's right, after the Taiping Rebellion, the Jiangning Weaving Bureau was abolished, but this industry did not stop. At that time, there were about 30,000 looms in Xuanwu City, which were scattered into large and small civilian workshops. Later, a workshop owner bought nearly one-third of the looms and formed the largest weaving bureau at that time, which is the Dong family."

  "What about the Dong family now?"

  "Unfortunately, the descendants did not prosper. Dong Zhiyu's father only had two siblings, a younger sister who married in Shanghai and had no children of her own. By the time it was Dong Zhiyu's generation, she was the only child. When she was nine years old, her father contracted a serious illness and passed away. Her mother was deeply grieved and soon followed him in death. The family was left with only one young girl, who was then taken in by her aunt in Shanghai to be raised, thus beginning our connection with her."

  Huai Jin thought that the person in the photo, Dong Ruo Zhao, was the aunt from Shanghai and now the only relative of Dong Zhi Yu.

  "Alright, thank you for telling me all this. Please pass on the intelligence to Shanghai as soon as possible." Huaijin stood up.

  "I'll report it right away."

  The author has something to say: To spoil it a bit, the last chapter was about Leng Touqing and Hua Xiaolong's conversation. This chapter should be called "Gossip", which tells the story of a vinegar-eating woman and a middle-aged uncle sitting on that high bar stool gossiping about other people's secrets.

  Insert Bookmark