A Beloved of Days Past Drifts Away, the Pledge Before Wood and Stone Broken
He stopped speaking after only saying half of his sentence.
Zhou Xiyu, sitting opposite him, laughed, "Yulin, I recently acquired a Pu'er tea cake from the Daoguang era. Chairman Chu is waiting for my tea in his study. Why don't you try it too, and ask Chairman Chu about this matter? The Foreign Devil want to make an example of someone, even if they put Chu Family's Ah Sin in charge, it won't be so easy to succeed. You did the right thing. As long as the newspapers don't speak up, everything can slowly turn around."
With Zhou Xiyu's words, Zhang Yulin felt relieved. Indeed, upon hearing the news, his first reaction was not what would happen if the Governor's wife or the Deputy Director of the Industrial and Commercial Administration Office were present, but rather the reporters from the major newspapers.
Foreign Devil are greedy, and the Zhang Family could offer them a mountain of gold to satisfy them. However, once the news is published, the Zhang Family's reputation built up over many years will vanish. This is why Zhang Yulin asked each newspaper to send HK$100,000 upfront. Hong Kong dollars 100,000 is enough to make even Britain- owned newspapers take a deep breath and think twice before accepting such a huge sum.
No matter how much money is spent, as long as the Zhang Family's brand remains, it can always be earned back. But once reputation is lost, no amount of money can buy it back.
The second step was to ask Zhou Xiyu, the Sze Yap Chamber of Commerce Chairman, to help him gather information. Today, All-Hong Kong Pharmaceutical Company had their goods seized by Customs, and now this news has broken. Was it Chu Xiaoxin taking advantage of the chaos to launch a move that looked intimidating but was ultimately untenable? Or had Chu Xiaoxin's connections reached the heavens, with even the Governor of Hong Kong standing up for him? Or was this a war waged by the Chiu Chow people against the Five Counties people?
"Then I'll go try Chairman Zhou's fine tea. Just a few days ago, a friend gave me a painting called 'Sailing Against the Painting of Sailing Against the Current' by Huang Bi and Huang Xiaochi. Unfortunately, I'm not good at appreciating art; it's like a cow chewing on a peony. Chairman Zhou, on the other hand, is quite accomplished in calligraphy and painting. Consider this painting my thank-you gift for the tea." Zhang Yulin said with a smile, and only after the other person hung up did he put down the receiver.
As soon as he hung up the phone, he stood up from his seat, picked up his suit jacket, and walked out of the office. He said to the driver waiting outside, "Drive. Take me to Chairman Zhou's house on Caughton Road. Chen Fu, call home now and ask my second sister-in-law to find the ' Against the Painting of Sailing Against the Current that my second brother collected a few days ago. You personally deliver it to Caughton Road; my car will be waiting there."
Seeing the driver and employee Chen Fu get up to start the car and head home, Zhang Yulin turned to look at the small company. His previously calm expression was now filled with determination.
Even if my eldest and second eldest brothers aren't here, the Zhang Family's sky will still be held up by me; it won't collapse!
As he stepped out the door, his usual carefree and leisurely demeanor—from laughing and joking to drinking tea and playing mahjong—vanished, replaced by an imposing presence, composure in the face of danger, and a dignified air. Although only twenty-eight years old, he already exuded the air of a family head.
The four sons of the Zhang Family, three tigers and one leopard, each possess the bearing of a family head and the aura of a tycoon.
Zhang Yulin remained calm in the face of danger.
Chapter 125 My beloved is gone, and our vows have been broken.
"Secretary Song, another person has left. It's another of Young Master Shun's friends. This is the fourth one."
As yet another wealthy young man left with his female companion, Scribe Hui had been instructed by Song Tianyao to keep an eye on the movements of these young men, relayed the news to Song Tianyao.
"I understand. When playing chess, after you place your piece, you have to wait for your opponent to respond." Song Tianyao lowered his head, lit a cigarette, and glanced at the chaotic scene outside the Squatter Area Jialin Road. The people were barely managing to form a line under the reprimands of Fuyixing members and the police, receiving free Flower Pagoda Candies from Mrs. Bess and the others.
Although Song Tianyao didn't even glance at the newly relocated Squatter Area, many people queuing for medicine in the Squatter Area noticed Song Tianyao's figure next to these Oxfam members.
People were whispering among themselves from time to time in the long queue.
"Is that A-Yao?"
"That's Yao-zai from Auntie Zhen's family. Yao-zai has made it big!"
"I heard that Auntie Zhen's family moved to Hong Kong Island and into a Western-style house with running water and electricity. Even A-Yao's cousin, A-Yip, was sent by Auntie Zhen to study at the police academy. Auntie Zhen is really capable."
"What's so great about Jianya Zhen? She just gave birth to a good son!"
"I wonder what Suzhen's family is feeling now. Back then, when A-Yao failed the police exam, his whole family came to break off the engagement. They had no foresight."
"Exactly! I knew from the start that A-Yao was destined for greatness and would succeed sooner or later. Suzhen's family is truly blind. If I had a daughter..."
"Uncle, you've been blind for over ten years, what kind of ghosts could you possibly see?"
Li Laoshi, his wife, and their daughter Li Suzhen were also deep in the crowd, slowly queuing to receive free Flower Pagoda Candies. The gloating or mocking glances from the neighbors around him made Li Laoshi feel his face burning. He and his wife had broken off their engagement for their daughter, which now seemed like a foolish thing to do. The poor in the Squatter Area couldn't even get enough to eat, and they couldn't afford to talk about conscience or morality. Foolishness and wisdom were the important criteria for judging the behavior of the poor people here. Wisdom could help them avoid bad luck, while foolishness was like trying to draw water with a bamboo basket, leaving them with endless regret.
After Song Tianyao failed to get into police academy and was banned from taking the exam for life, Li Laoshi and his wife broke off their engagement for their daughter and married her off to the fruit vendor A-Quan's family as a concubine, which was seen as a very clever move by the neighbors.
But then Song Tianyao suddenly became rich, transformed into the Chu Family's secretary, and moved his family out of the Squatter Area and into Western-style House on Hong Kong Island. Looking back at what Li Laoshi's family had done before, these neighbors now saw them as utter fools.
During this time, after the Song Family moved away, Li Laoshi felt that the neighbors were laughing at him from not far away when he sold braised food, making him afraid to even look up when he walked.
But when you go out to queue for free medicine, shouldn't everyone look at your family with expectant eyes, like they're watching a show? Even if you're incredibly smart, you still live in this Squatter Area, don't you?
But after turning the next bend and getting close to the medicine distribution point, Li Laoshi finally understood what those looks meant.
Song Tianyao, dressed in a sharp suit and holding a cigarette, stood next to the wealthy people distributing medicine and the Foreign Devil women, supervising the workers unloading the medicine to be careful. He was only a few dozen steps away from those of him who were still struggling to make a living in the Squatter Area, but it felt as if they were in two different worlds.