Chapter 13: Encountering Jealousy and Hatred

  January 20, 1925, twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Da Han

  Before eight o'clock in the morning, An Yi arrived at the store and found that all employees were gathered in the store with tense expressions. Even Ou Zongguan, who was on sick leave, sat on a high-backed chair by the back door, smoking silently. Jiushu, sitting next to him, slightly gestured for An Yi to sit beside him, then just drank tea and said nothing.

  An Wei felt a bit puzzled, but suddenly heard the colleagues standing at the door shouting and bustling about, soon they stood respectfully on both sides of the gate. Manager Chen left the cash register, walked out of the door with big strides, bent down to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Ou Ya Ting and Miss Ou into the store.

  Miss Ou's small face was frozen red, like a lovely apple. Her big eyes were so gentle, bright and pure. Her small nose, her smooth skin, and her cute lips made people adore her. As soon as she entered the door, she looked around and saw An Yi with two old men, immediately giving him a glare. Her slightly raised lip showed her spoiled and playful nature.

  Mr. Chen coughed, and everyone stood up straight. An Yi supported the ailing General Ou, who did not join the ranks of employees on both sides but stopped halfway and stood still.

  Ou Youting expressed his gratitude to all the employees, and then he and his wife gave each employee a year-end red envelope. The 26 employees received the red envelopes one by one, bowed their heads in thanks, and then bid farewell to Chen Zhuanggui and left for their New Year's holiday. More than ten minutes later, only five or six people were left in the store, including An Yi who was supporting Ou Zongguan.

  Mrs. Ou came to An Yi's side, and kindly examined him carefully: "Indeed a handsome boy, more elegant than what Sheng Shui said, like a scholar from a prestigious family, not bad, not bad!"

  Ou Yating saw An Yi looking embarrassed and lowered his head, and laughed: "Xiao Yi, take this, it's your share. Your performance has been great over the past three months, diligent and honest, leading two first-class apprentices who can now work independently. You're amazing! At such a young age, you have this kind of vision, your future prospects are boundless!"

  An Yi took over the red envelope handed by Mrs. Ou with both hands and bowed deeply: "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Sir!"

  "You're welcome, this is what you deserve. Alright, after working so hard for so long, it's time to go home and rest. We don't start work until the eighth day of the new year, don't rush. I've heard that you never know how to rest when you're working." Mrs. Ou reminded kindly.

  "Thank you, madam!" An Yi bowed again and turned to leave.

  "Wait, Xiao Yi!"

  "Yueting took a step forward, walking into the store hall a bit, obviously not wanting others to hear his words: "Xiao Yi, today I will leave Guangzhou for Hong Kong, planning to set up the company's headquarters there. The several business halls in Guangzhou will be managed by Chen Zhuanggui from now on. If you have the opportunity, please help him more to solve problems and difficulties. I know you have this ability. Although others think you are young, I can see that your potential is great, with a unique perspective on management, doing things meticulously and striving for perfection, which is extremely rare. Therefore, I want you to train well for a few years first, and eventually many important tasks will fall on your shoulders."

  "No, no! You're overpraising me, sir. I'm not as good as you say. I just did my duty."

  "Alright, I won't bother you with more. But there's one more thing, the Shui family will also be going to Hong Kong with me to settle down. Originally, I wanted Ninth Uncle to move with us too, but he couldn't bear to leave Guangzhou. From now on, please take care of him for me. After Shui leaves, the store won't have a driver anymore. For this period of time, you'll need to help out more with driving and delivering goods. In the future, you'll be in charge of these matters. When you're free, guide your two apprentices - although they've become skilled now, they still can't compare to your unique insight and rich experience. Please take care of these things for me."

  "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely try my best." An Yi solemnly promised.

  "Good! However, you should also pay attention to the situation yourself. Chen Jiongming is about to attack, so be careful with your safety. You might have heard from Ninth Uncle that I was once the deputy head of the Merchant Corps. Chen Jiongming hates me for supporting the National Government, so I had no choice but to leave Guangzhou for a while. Now, I'm entrusting my family to you and the workers."

  "I understand!"

  An Yi bowed to Ninth Uncle and Ou General Manager to bid farewell, without noticing the jealous gaze of Chen Zhanggui on the other side.

  An Yi walked to the door and was about to step down when a clear voice suddenly rang out: "Halt! How can you be so rude?"

  An Yi turned around helplessly and smiled at Miss Ou who walked in front of him: "Forgot to say goodbye to you, sorry! Wish you a happy new year!"

  "Hmm! Tell me, how did you get to know my Shifu Hui?" Miss Ou glared at him resentfully.

  A faint scent of perfume wafted into An Yi's heart, causing his pulse to quicken and making it hard for him to control himself. He stuttered out a reply: "It was last time... the day you guys were on holiday in the afternoon, Miss Jin Huishu came with my Huangpu brothers, we only got familiar during lunch."

  "You're still honest and didn't lie."

  Miss Ou nodded and then pulled a long face again: "And why didn't you invite me to go together that day? Don't you know I want to meet those excellent students in Huangpu?"

  "Hey, sister-in-law! When did you tell me to do this? I wouldn't dare bother you if you didn't say so. If others misunderstood that I had a crush on you, it would be strange if your dad didn't throw me into the Pearl River!"

  "Hmmph!"

  Miss Ou couldn't help but laugh: "You smooth-talking scoundrel, with eyes that are just as sly! Hmph! You know how much my dad values you, yet you still dare to spout nonsense. Alright, I'll let it slide this time, but if I'm in a good mood, I might write to you from Hong Kong, and you'd better respond! Otherwise, I'll get my dad to fire you and have you wandering the streets!"

  "Alright! As soon as I receive your letter, I'll reply immediately. Alright, miss? It's cold outside and you've taken off your coat again, don't catch a cold when you get to Hong Kong." An Yi joked seriously.

  Miss Ou was furious and punched An Yi, but unexpectedly An Yi didn't dodge at all and took the punch.

  This punch landed right on An Yi's shoulder blade, hurting Miss Ou so much that she covered her hand and cursed: "You dead thing, how dare you wear so little, it hurts me to death..."

  Yi didn't even turn his head and walked down the stairs, turning left onto the pedestrian path. After a few steps, he was stopped by Shui Sheng who had been waiting for a long time: "Little Yi, wait, I have something to tell you."

  "What's up, Aquarius?" An Yi never addressed people he didn't acknowledge in his heart as brothers.

  Shui had gotten used to it and didn't mind: "Let me tell you, from now on you have to be more careful around Chen Zhanggui. He's the younger brother of the mistress and is currently in a position of power, overseeing the eight major businesses of the Ou family in Guangzhou. He's rising fast! It was him who suggested to Master that you should drive the cargo truck last night, very sneaky!"

  "Shuǐshēng, what's the point of telling me all this?" ān Yì looked at Shuǐshēng in confusion: "What's wrong with driving? Having time to do more things is a good thing, isn't it?"

  "Ah, I knew you were a straightforward person! Actually, I'm very grateful to you, do you know that? You're a man of integrity and justice! You've helped me, He Shui Sheng, a lot, don't you remember? That's why I consider you my own brother! Ah, you're still young and don't understand the cunning ways of the business world. Chen Si has been following Master for nearly ten years and has never received as much praise as you have, so he's jealous, get it? And another thing, Chen Jue Ming's army is about to launch a counterattack, and these days, which county or town near Guangzhou doesn't hear gunfire? Bullets don't discriminate, what if one day he arranges for you to go on a suicidal mission with malice in his heart? Brother, you're a good person, but you can't not be careful... Don't say anymore, Master is coming out. Remember my words, Xiao Yi, remember! Did you hear?"

  Seeing Shui Sheng hastily running to the door and standing by the second car, An Yi let out a sigh, lowered his head and left. Suddenly, he realized that there was still a thin red envelope in his hand, so he folded it up without thinking and put it into his inner pocket. With a heavy heart, he strolled alone along the pedestrian path by the riverbank.

  Not far from the police booth, a sharp-eyed little policeman Lu Kun saw An Yi walking alone slowly, and immediately ran into the police booth to ring the phone. After a report, he rushed out and called another partner to whisper a few words in his ear.

  An Yi walked to the police booth without noticing, just keeping his head down and moving forward. Lu Kun stepped forward two steps to block An Yi's path, smiling and greeting him. An Yi responded politely, asking about Li Tiegui's recent situation and whether he had gone back home for Chinese New Year. After chatting for nearly ten minutes, An Yi wanted to bid farewell and leave, but Lu Kun was very enthusiastic and kept asking questions nonstop. Another young policeman was also standing by the side, smiling and watching. An Yi could only patiently answer one by one about his recent life situation.

  A black American Dodge sedan slowly stopped on the pedestrian path in front of the police booth, An Yi was surprised to see Lu Kun standing at attention and saluting, then turned his body around, and saw that Deputy Director Gong, wearing a dignified and beautiful long black coat, had already gotten out of the car and was walking towards him with a smile.

  "I've finally found you, I'll call you Xiao Yi too, okay?"

  "Of course it's all right, you're older than me after all."

  Vice Director Gong burst out laughing, his laughter extremely pleasant and bright: "You're really interesting... I was too busy when I came back, couldn't find you twice, later found out you were at 'Tai Chang' so I felt relieved. Now that I have time today, I made a special trip here."

  An Yi immediately understood why Lu Kun and the other little policeman had left him alone for so long, still chatting nonsense. Lu Kun saw An Yi's reproachful eyes and smiled awkwardly, An Yi couldn't help but be amused by him.

  "Xiao Yi, come to my office and take a look around. I haven't properly thanked you yet." Deputy Director Gong asked kindly.

  An Yi shook his head: "What help did I provide? Not helping would be better, the more I helped, the busier it got, and you almost missed it."

  Director Gong was taken aback, and took a great interest in An Yi: "Alright, no matter what, you've helped me out, so I'll help you out too. You live in the Qian family's large compound on Chaoxing Street, right? And up till now, you still don't have any ID, do you? Plus, you get along pretty well with those arrogant kids from Huangpu, so I'll take it upon myself to help you register your household in Guangzhou. How about that?"

  "Y-you...you know everything?"

  "I not only know your life, but also your work. You have a unique skill in repairing machinery. Your boss, Mr. Ou Yaoting, always praises you whenever he mentions you, saying that you are the genius he has ever seen. This is how we understand another side of you." Deputy Director Gong smiled meaningfully: "How about it? If you're willing to let your sister help you with this favor, get on the car, it won't delay you for long."

  An Yi thought for a moment and nodded, following Vice Director Gong towards the sedan, thinking to himself "Damn it, I've really encountered a special agent..."