Chapter 35: Origins

Someone inside heard the movement at the door and spoke up.

"Xueru, what happened? Weren't you leaving? Why did you stop?"

Chen Xueru swayed her hips as she walked inside.

"Elder, are there guests?"

The person inside exclaimed in surprise.

"Guests? I should come out and see; I haven't seen a person in a month."

After lifting the cotton curtain, Xu Liangcai saw Yang Qing and his wife.

He first glared at the apprentice standing by the counter.

"Why aren't you greeting the customers yet?"

The middle-aged apprentice, now also serving as the public office manager, was very cold toward Yang Qing and his wife; he said nothing upon entering, but under Xu Shifu's intimidating presence, he obediently greeted.

"Two guests, what do you need done?"

"His tone was a bit cold; there's nothing to be done, that's just the current atmosphere."

Yang Qing stated his request, and the manager recorded the details.

"What's your surname and name, and your address?"

"Yang Qing, I live at No. 95 Nanluogu Lane, Houzhaofang."

Upon hearing that, Xu Shifu was slightly surprised and curiously looked at Yang Qing.

After looking for a while, he probed with a question.

"Is your father Yang Rong?"

Yang Qing looked at Xu Shifu in surprise.

"You know my father?"

Xu Shifu waved his hand.

"Come in and speak."

He then looked at his apprentice and said, "I'll make his clothes."

His voice allowed no refusal.

The apprentice became anxious.

"Master, this isn't according to the rules; they can't afford your price."

Xu Shifu snorted.

"What's yours and mine; just charge a fair price."

"What era is this now; why still distinguish ranks and classes?"

Having dealt with his apprentice, Xu Shifu picked up the cloth Yang Qing had set down and walked inside.

Yang Qing wanted to speak but held back, and Chen Hong also didn't know what to do.

Cheng Xueru, upon hearing the name Yang Rong, fell into thought and followed Elder Xu into the inner room.

Helpless, Yang Qing could only lift the door curtain and walk in.

Upon entering, a wave of heat came over.

The two of them only felt warm and cozy.

Following that, a smell was also stirred up.

Cheng Xueru, being close, was overwhelmed by the smell and covered her nose, coughing.

"Cough, cough, cough, how long have you gone without washing up?"

Xu Shifu stopped Cheng Xueru from saying more.

"You think everyone's like you, with clothes at home you can't finish wearing?"

"Many people only have one set of clothes; in more remote areas, even a whole family shares just one outfit, and whoever goes out wears it."

After lecturing Chen Xueru, Xu Shifu turned his gaze to Yang Qing.

Yang Qing also explained.

"There's nothing I can do; I don't have a steady job, just being alive is fine, I don't have so many particulars."

"This is my wife, who came here fleeing famine; she also only has one set of clothes left."

"This year we scraped together a few months' worth of money before daring to go out and buy cloth to make clothes."

Xu Shifu saw Yang Qing's cautiousness.

"Don't be nervous; every family has its own hardships, try to understand."

"I and your father are old acquaintances; on the surface he sold sundries, but secretly he dealt in smuggled goods."

"I and Xueru's father often asked your father to bring us good silk for us."

"It turns out there's also this connection; Yang Qing's old doubts vanished, but new doubts arose."

"Who did my father sell his supplies to back then?"

Xu Shifu smiled faintly and spoke softly.

"The Eighth Route Army, the work teams, the Nationalist Party, the Japanese."

"He sold to anyone."

Yang Qing widened his eyes.

"Ah..."

"No wonder his child, labeled as a bourgeois element, couldn't turn things over; it turns out his treacherous parents even served the little devils."

"This damn thing, harming the child."

"But given how much his parents could stir up trouble, they should be rich, yet his family isn't that wealthy either; Sun Hao initially also didn't seize much property, at most a few thousand silver dollars, and a bunch of worthless legal tender."

That other money?

Master Xu looked at Yang Qing, and Chen Xueru's eyes lit up.

Master Xu laughed.

You mean you've realized your family has no money left?

As far as I know, part of the money was taken away by the Nationalist Party along with the people, and another part's whereabouts are unknown.

Yang Qing panicked; such a huge benefit practically wanted him dead, his face was grim, he was almost swearing.

My family's house has been torn down, we really have no money.

Master Xu nodded.

I know.

What about you?

We are just ordinary friends; your father helped many people back then.

If we hadn't seen you, it would be fine, but now that we have, we can't pretend not to know.

You don't need to worry; even if you had money now, you'd have nowhere to spend it. We people with honest livelihoods won't waste ourselves on useless things.

Yang Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Chen Xueru interjected at this moment.

But those without a livelihood, without proper work, are different; you still need to be careful.

Damn, this isn't even a life-or-death matter.

Chen Hong also listened, dumbfounded; my grandfather was a big capitalist, the kind who bought and sold, serving the little Japanese and the Nationalist Party.

Really dangerous.

In an instant she felt the weight of that badge.

No wonder Yang Qing specifically wanted to marry a Martyr's Family woman; there was this deeper reason.

As he spoke, Master Xu took measurements for Yang Qing and Chen Hong.

I'm telling you this not to burden you psychologically, but to give you mental preparation.

Although your parents did things secretly, and the relevant personnel were all taken away by the Nationalist Party, there are still some like us.

Thank you, Master Xu, for telling us this; coincidentally my family needs to repair the house, so I'll have people dig everywhere—if we find something we'll hand it over to the government, and if we don't, it can dispel many people's suspicions.

It seems we need to get more people involved.

Only then can the people behind us feel at ease.

Moreover, the money really must not be exposed; once we act out of line, it could arouse others' suspicion.

It seems my previous impoverished life has shielded him from many people's gazes.

Living is truly hard; as a capitalist's son, it's even harder, and if I might inherit a huge fortune, it will be doubly difficult.

Regarding Yang Qing's expression, his surprise, and his candid handling of matters, it also dispelled Master Xu and Chen Xueru's doubts.

Saying one doesn't care about money on the lips, but who can truly treat wealth as wasteland?

After their observation, Yang Qing truly doesn't know where that money went.

They originally had no idea of using Yang Qing to look for treasure, and now they have even less.

Let's just consider this as care between old friends, hoping the old friend can understand their friendship.

After leaving the tailor shop, Yang Qing's head was still buzzing.

Chen Hong was also greatly shaken.

She looked at Yang Qing, her complexion complicated.

It seems I can't not take care of the old lady.

They need connections; only a dense relationship network can guarantee their safety.

Her Martyr's Family status also needs to be used well.

For now, this is a very good protective layer.

Who would have thought marrying someone could bring about so many things.

Chen Hong wanted to shout to the heavens, damn it, Heaven, do you have to toy with me like this?