Newbie Quests

Ring ring—

As the wind chimes on the door swayed, a pair of red high heels stepped into the café. Soothing, low music played from a gramophone. Without pausing, the woman swayed her hips and headed straight for the private room on the second floor. The red high heels made a "clack, clack" sound on the wooden floor of the corridor.

Hearing the noise, the people in the private room quickly rang the bell to call a waiter and ordered a Blue Mountain coffee. The woman entered the room just as she brushed past the waiter. As soon as she saw the bearded man in the room, she couldn't wait to pounce on him and kiss him, calling him "Brother Tiger" in a sweet voice. The man took the opportunity to put his arm around the woman and flirted with her expressionlessly.

Just then, a waiter pushed open the door and brought in coffee, interrupting their flirting. The two tacitly chose to separate. Tiger casually placed a 10 yuan tip on the plate and told the waiter not to come in unless specifically instructed otherwise.

"So generous," the woman said sourly, glancing at the money.

"I'm very generous to you too." Tiger said, stuffing a few bills into the woman's cheongsam opening, which made the woman giggle.

The waiter bowed, happily accepted the tip, and left the private room. After the waiter left, the woman patted Tiger's chest and asked suspiciously, "Tiger, meeting me alone in broad daylight, aren't you afraid your people will gossip?"

"Hmph, who would dare? They probably just want to be eaten alive." Tiger snorted and made an "eight" gesture with his hands.

"Ugh, I love men as fierce as you," the woman said coquettishly, moving to face Tiger. "Where's what I wanted?"

"Here, your brother's release papers." Tiger said, taking a file folder from his briefcase and pushing it in front of the woman.

The woman chuckled as she opened the file folder and saw that it was indeed a release document from the police station. The black release stamp on it indicated its legal effect. Confirming that it was what she needed, she put the document back into the file folder with satisfaction, yawning as she asked, "How do you want me to help you?"

Such a generous gift wasn't given away for nothing. Tiger coldly stated his request: as Xu Xi's recent female companion, he had to find out the combination to his safes; he needed the combination to have as many safes as he had.

"Oh dear, this is difficult. I don't even know which way his safe faces." The woman pursed her lips helplessly, but her eyes unconsciously drifted to the left.

"Not enough price? Name your price." Tiger keenly sensed the woman's thoughts and pulled out a check from his pocket, slamming it on the table. Upon seeing the check, the woman swallowed hard, a greedy look appearing on her face. She initially wanted to hold up a "1," but then tremblingly changed it to a "3."

Tiger, with his legs crossed, coldly reminded him, "This money isn't free."

"Don't worry, Tiger, I already knew the password. Xu Xi is so carefree, he didn't even try to hide it from me when he opened the safe. But there wasn't anything valuable inside, just some film investment documents and contracts," the woman said proudly, gently stroking her cheek.

"You know our methods, otherwise even if your brother is released," Tiger said, quickly signing the check, tearing it off, then pressing it down sharply. He paused deliberately before continuing, "he might just be walking down the street one day...and die a violent death. Understand?"

"Understood—" The woman unceremoniously snatched the check from the man's hand, quickly wrote down a string of directions and numbers in the checkbook, and said in a coquettish voice, "Alright, the money and goods are settled."

“This is just one of them. I need to verify it. He must have another safe for jewelry and gold.” Tiger silently put away his checkbook.

"Brother Tiger, go ahead and check it. This is our job, we won't break any rules. But Xu Xi's valuables are mostly managed by his fund managers, and his wife is such a nuisance. She's always urging me to leave before I've even had breakfast." The woman squinted and yawned again.

"Being a dancer is so tiring, what do you want to do if you don't become a dancer?" Tiger asked hesitantly, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes, but it disappeared in an instant.

"Haha, it's nothing. Once I've made enough money, I'll go back to my hometown, buy some fertile land, and settle down as a landlady collecting rent." The woman said casually. "Oh, by the way, that old woman won't let me wander around the living room on the second floor. I think there might be something in there."

Tiger just gave a curt "hmm," and the woman tactfully said, "Since everything's alright, I'll be going now. I need to go back and get some sleep; I have to go to work tonight."

"Go ahead." Tiger watched the woman sway her hips as she left the private room and went downstairs. Only when he heard the wind chimes at the door did he slump down on the sofa like a deflated balloon.

Before he could ring the bell, a coffee shop employee rushed in to tidy up and closed the private room door behind him. As soon as the door closed, the employee immediately changed his ingratiating expression and lectured Tiger: "You don't need to threaten her so many times. It just makes you look guilty. You need to practice more."

"Sister Yan Yan, I feel like I'm committing a crime." Tiger weakly ripped off his beard, revealing a handsome face—it was He Qingcheng. "Didn't they feel any guilt when they were working?"

"Do you feel guilty about wearing perfume you bought yourself?" the saleswoman, Yan Yan, asked rhetorically, giving an example.

Indeed, for Kiyosumi, the dancers were like sisters, but for the dancers' patrons, they were merely consuming a commodity.

"Practice makes perfect, you'll get better next time," Yan Yan comforted her. "And don't be like those hypocritical men, it's not your job to persuade a prostitute to reform."

"They didn't do it willingly." Upon hearing this, the man immediately jumped up. "The saying 'a courtesan doesn't know the sorrow of a fallen nation' is utter nonsense. We'll cut off your feet and then mock your inability to run. We'll blindfold you and then ridicule your shortsightedness. Such arrogance is truly infuriating."

“Yes, it wasn’t voluntary at first, but later they found that making money while lying down was much easier than making money while standing up, so they just lay there and didn’t want to stand up anymore.” Yan Yan said sarcastically. “They are used to spending money lavishly, and even if they reform after making enough money, it is difficult for them to maintain their previous luxurious lifestyle. Not a few of them go back to their old ways.”

“That’s because they lack knowledge. If they were educated, it would be different,” Kiyosumi retorted.

"Naive. Go to any banquet and see which socialite isn't educated, some even highly educated, yet they still choose the easiest path." Yan Yan curled her lip in disdain. "They look down not only on themselves, but also on women like us who work hard and refuse to take shortcuts."

"It's still because we can't be economically independent, there are too few jobs available for women, and the opportunities for promotion are limited..." Kiyosumi listed the problems one by one.

Yan Yan interrupted Qing Cheng's speech and scolded loudly, "Enough! What's the point of arguing about things that can't be changed? Just be yourself."

The loud cursing made Qingcheng's heart skip a beat. She had inadvertently revealed her true thoughts, so she might as well go with the flow. With a determined heart, she impatiently threw the checkbook onto the tray: "Take your things away. Don't ask me for help with this kind of thing again."

Yan Yan gently picked up the checkbook, flicked it, and stuffed it back into her pants pocket. Then, in a lecturing tone, she said, "You don't need to get angry with me. No matter how dynasties change, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling are banned, but I've never heard of banning prostitution. I don't like it either, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Given the current environment, Qingcheng doesn't believe that existence equates to justification, because no one has had the courage to stand up and publicly state that this existence is wrong and an insult to women. Perhaps some have already raised this issue, but their voices are too weak…

Qingcheng awkwardly refused to respond, but Yan Yan wasn't angry. She continued talking about their target: "Xu Qiao doesn't seem to have a good relationship with his brother, but actually, he trusts his blood brother more than his mistresses. He puts important things in his brother's hands. I've found out that Xu Qiao always has his mistress Zhang Lulu send things to his brother, but I don't know if they're what we want."

Qingcheng scoffed at these words: "Doesn't he know what kind of person Xu Xi is? He could easily get the code from any dancer, yet he still dared to leave it there."

“He can’t put that kind of thing in Xu Xi’s safe.” Yan Yan frowned and looked into the distance. “Do you really think anyone can just walk into Xu Xi’s house? For example, that dancer was vetted by Xu Qiao before being allowed in. Of course, Xu Xi’s brother knows what kind of person he is. The housekeeper I just mentioned was introduced by Xu Qiao. She’s ostensibly a housekeeper, but she’s actually a watchdog.”

Looking at the confident Yan Yan, Qing Cheng suddenly shrank into a corner and whispered fearfully, "Eh~ then isn't it very dangerous for me to meet that dancer in broad daylight?"

“The dancer has been there so many times that his bunch of good-for-nothings have long since given up on following her. And even if they wanted to, I have ways to make them go easy on me.” Yan Yan looked at Qing Cheng with complicated eyes, wanting to reach out and comfort her, but in the end, her hand fell limply to her sides.

"Okay, I believe you. What about Xu Xi? Last time, CC had too many henchmen at the tennis court, and I only managed to get Zhang Lulu involved. I didn't even get a chance to touch Xu Xi's clothes." Qingcheng knew her cousin was being soft-hearted, so she counted on her fingers, looking completely carefree.

Yan Yan across from him thought for a moment and said, "Didn't you receive an invitation to Mr. Tang's year-end ball? Xu Qiao will be going with his younger brother and mistress, and I, as a member of CC, will also be there. I'll help you make the arrangements then."

"I'm leaving now." Kiyosumi waved and left the private room.

Yan Yan pushed open the door to the private room and called out loudly, "Please take care, guest."

Stepping out of the café and donning her hat, Kiyosumi looked up at the sky. The winter sun shone brightly, yet a chill hung in the air. Heavy clouds shifted with the wind, their shapes and forms ever-changing. After standing there lost in thought for a while, Kiyosumi suddenly dropped her smile, quickened her pace, and disappeared into the alley around the corner with the flow of people.

A moment later, a stylish, tall young lady walked into Wu's car dealership. She was greeted by a middle-aged man in a navy blue long gown with rolled-up sleeves. Before the middle-aged man could speak, the young lady hurriedly said, "Manager, you're offering an 88% discount!" As she spoke, she placed the newspaper with the advertisement on the counter.

The middle-aged shopkeeper glanced at the newspaper and immediately put on a smile, saying, "Yes, we're having a promotion recently. What kind of vehicle would you like to rent, Miss? We have rickshaws and cars."

"Oh, I'm here to discuss a yearly contract. Could you please find Mr. Qin, the rickshaw puller? I'd like to sign a commission agreement with him," Qingcheng said.

"Yes, yes, please come in, Miss." The innkeeper gestured respectfully to clear the way for the young lady.

Once inside, when no one was around, Qingcheng quickly took out her pen and the bottle of baking soda water from her bag. After dipping the pen in the water, she wrote a string of numbers on her notebook. Once the water had dried, the paper turned into a clean sheet of white paper. She immediately tore the paper off the notebook and carefully folded it.

A moment later, Lao Qin came running out of the room with a smile and shook hands with her. Qingcheng got straight to the point: "This is the combination to a safe in Xu Qiao's younger brother Xu Xi's house. It contains documents and contracts. The things we need might be mixed in there. I heard that his family has other safes. I plan to contact Xu Xi at Tangbang's year-end banquet at the end of the year."

"Okay, I'll pass on the jade for you. Do you need anything for the banquet?" Old Qin asked, putting away the note.

"I don't know. Mr. Tang hasn't finalized the venue for the annual meeting yet. We'll see once it's decided," Qingcheng said, shaking her head. "But I made a mistake today. I wonder if my cousin will suspect me."

After Qingcheng explained her slip of the tongue to Lao Qin, Lao Qin suppressed his smile and reminded her, "She's a cadre of the CC. You need to be more careful with your words in the future. Don't let her find out that you have any left-leaning thoughts or opinions. Otherwise, she will never go easy on you just because you're a relative."

"Mm," Kiyosumi nodded in response.

"The free school has opened a new class with a total of thirty-two students. These children are generally quite young and were all rescued from various factories as indentured laborers. I hope Miss He will be patient and be a good 'mother'," Old Qin said jokingly.

My God, the message we gave last time got a response so quickly! The organization really sent people to rescue the child. He Qingcheng was so surprised that she was speechless: "I'm afraid I can't afford to raise so many children's mothers."

"Hey, just kidding, you don't need to support them. From now on, you'll be their homeroom teacher. The burden is getting heavier and heavier, Mr. He." Old Qin chuckled and patted Qingcheng on the shoulder.

"What will happen to my original students?" Kiyosumi was not only reluctant to part with them but also worried. The free school already had a shortage of teachers, and the teachers would be even busier with the new classes.

"Principal Wu is temporarily serving as the homeroom teacher, and our staff will take turns teaching. In addition, the principal has found a new part-time teacher who will come to teach whenever he has time. I think he was originally an art teacher," Old Qin said somewhat uncertainly.

"Then I'm relieved." Kiyosumi showed her first genuine smile of the day.

No sooner had Qingcheng left than a young man walked in through the back door of Wu's car dealership. He was wearing a plaid suit and a blue scarf, exuding an artistic air, but his smile immediately revealed his true colors, exposing eight front teeth that instantly turned him into a comedian.

"Little Wang is here. I was just looking for you." Old Qin grabbed the young man surnamed Wang and stuffed the note in his hand into his hand.

In the courtyard, the young man surnamed Wang deftly tore open the note, took out a lighter and burned it, revealing clear handwriting. He stared blankly at the string of numbers. Old Qin slapped him on the back in exasperation and scolded, "In such a hurry to be reborn? Let him finish speaking. This is intelligence for Jade. Why did you read it first?"

“It’s alright, anyway, all the final intelligence will be compiled here, I’ll hand it over to her later.” The young man surnamed Wang straightened his clothes and said, “I also have important business to attend to, could you go to the Nanjing headquarters and copy a file for me?”

“Okay—I’ll help you with that. Fill in your name, position, and rank.” Old Qin said, taking the notebook and brush from the counter for him to fill in.

"Oh dear, my handwriting is terrible. Uncle, could you please write this down for me?" The young man surnamed Wang chuckled and pushed the notebook back to Old Qin. "That man's name is Gao Junxiao, Jun as in 'mountain' and Xiao as in 'nine heavens.' He's a colonel, and his position seems to be the supervisor of some bandit suppression office. He's currently on temporary assignment in Shanghai."

Old Qin jotted down the information with a disgruntled expression. Hmm, this name seems familiar.