Chapter 16: Auntie and the Tailor Part 2

After returning to his room, breathless, Chu Wang couldn't help but think of the men and women sitting on the sofa. They all had ulcers on their lips and barbs under their nails, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy for them. Especially the delicate skin of the children. If they were like this on the outside, how much more would their mouths be ulcerated?

She called Dier and whispered, "Go to the kitchen and get an effervescent vitamin tablet. Mix it with three cups of cold boiled water and bring it to Madam."

Dier responded.

Chu Wang thought about it and said, "Put a plate of fresh fruit on the tray, cut into pieces, and make sure it's very fresh. Also, find a pair of nail clippers and ask the lady to give them to Mr. Qiao."

Dier looked confused, but still agreed to go and get it.

Chu Wang knew only too well the feeling of discomfort all over the body during such a long journey.

Most people develop thorns under their nails after even a short trip. These thorns, caused by dryness, aren't painful or itchy, but they scratch wherever your finger touches them, leaving you with goose bumps. And nail clippers are hard to find on the road. This excruciating feeling is like someone scratching a blackboard against your ear with their nails, scratching non-stop.

Once, Chu Wang was on a train returning to Munich from Neuschwanstein Castle when he met four Chinese tourists. After a brief conversation, one of the girls asked shyly, "Do you have any nail clippers?"

If it were someone else, they might not carry such a thing with them, but Lin Chuwang suffered greatly from it.

After handing the nail clippers to the girl, Chu Wang watched her cut off five or six hangnails on her finger before passing them to the next person... After all four of them had their nails cut, it was as if the constipation that had plagued them for years had finally been relieved. Chu Wang sighed with relief, "It's the sixth day of my trip, and my biggest wish every day is to find a pair of nail clippers."

They jokingly called Chu Wang their savior.

From then on, Chu Wang always carried a pair of nail clippers in his bag in case he needed to save someone.

After Dier came back with the effervescent tablets, fruits and nail clippers, she stood beside Lin Chuwang with a look of surprise on her face and refused to leave.

Chu Wang smiled and said, "Just ask whatever you want to ask."

Die'er still seemed unable to recover from her shock, "Girl, how did you expect that?"

Chu Wang: "What did you expect?"

Die'er thought for a moment and said, "Just now, when I went to deliver the things you asked me to, Madam scolded me. She said I was 'unmannered' and 'unbeknownst to the rules' and told me, 'Don't you know what the situation is today? Go do what you need to do and don't get in the way here.'"

Chu Wang was also a little curious, "And then?"

Dier said, "I was just about to take the things away when the Frenchman's eyes lit up and he hurriedly told me to wait. The mistress saw something was wrong and told me to stop. Then the master said, 'They've been looking for nail clippers on the ship for days, and finally got home today, but they can't find the right time to ask the mistress for them. After all, it's quite strange that they ask for nail clippers as soon as they come home.'"

Chu Wang chuckled and asked about the follow-up.

Dier continued, "After the master finished speaking, the mistress's face changed. She smiled brightly and handed the tray from me. Strangely enough, the three of them took turns cutting her nails right in front of the mistress—where did they get so many nails? After cutting them, they cut the children's nails, and then happily drank effervescent tablets and ate fruit. Master Qiao also seemed very happy and asked me who ordered all these things."

Chu Wang hurriedly asked, "What did you say?"

Die'er said, "I told the master, 'It was the mistress who told the young lady this this morning. Seeing that the mistress hadn't seen the master for a long time, the young lady was so happy that she forgot about it. So she reminded me to deliver it here as the mistress had told me.' After I finished speaking, the master and the mistress were both very happy and are now chatting happily downstairs."

Chu Wang looked at Die'er and felt that she had found a treasure in having such a maid. It was a pity that she herself was also living under someone else's roof and had no spare money, otherwise she would definitely give Die'er some silver coins.

——

Not long after Die'er left, Xue Zhenzhen quietly slipped into Lin Chuwang's room and sat down at the end of her bed without any hesitation.

Xue Zhenzhen, who didn't realize she was an uninvited guest, asked directly, "Is that white woman the concubine that my uncle has taken from outside?"

"..." Chu Wang raised his head and controlled his emotions. "Yes, he is a Portuguese. The child is their son born outside."

"Oh..." Xue Zhenzhen nodded as if she understood something. "Then he's a bastard. This is the first time I've seen a bastard with a tall nose and big eyes like that."

Chu Wang: "Uh... We've only been in Hong Kong for a short time, so we haven't been out much. Wait a few months until you go to middle school, and you'll see more."

Xue Zhenzhen tilted her head and thought for a while, then she mysteriously brought a footstool and approached Lin Chuwang, saying, "I think my aunt is a little nervous today."

Chu Wang also became interested, "How did you figure it out?"

Xue Zhenzhen lowered her voice and said, "There were only three sets of that Ding kiln white tea set back then. The family of a Grand Secretary of the Plain Yellow Banner in Manchuria had one set, and the other set was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion. Of the remaining two sets, I've seen one at the National Museum, and the other is at my aunt's house? This tea set could buy several buildings in the International Settlement. If it were in someone else's home, it would be a family heirloom that would be locked away and preserved. Why are you taking it out to entertain guests today?"

Chu Wang thought about it carefully and vaguely remembered her junior high school history teacher saying that a set was looted during the Eight-Nation Alliance and later displayed in the British Museum. Of course, it was unlikely to be in her uncle's house. She smiled and said, "It's a replica."

Xue Zhenzhen believed everything others said, not delving into it. She said "Oh" as if she had suddenly realized something, and her thoughts drifted away for a long time before she came back to her senses and asked, "But if it's a replica to this extent, it must be worth a lot of money."

Chu Wang nodded, "It's no problem to exchange it for a few gold bars."

"So, my uncle's new concubine is making my aunt nervous," Xue Zhenzhen circled back to the question. "That's why she's serving Biluochun tea and white tea sets today, and asking us to dance. Is it because this is the first time the concubine has come to visit, and she wants to give her mother and her daughter a little warning?"

"Yes." Chu Wang chuckled. But then she thought about it and felt strange. "Isn't it normal for old men to have three or five concubines nowadays? Especially in a place like Hong Kong, it's not uncommon to marry a concubine and have a few mixed-race children. Why has my uncle only had my aunt as his wife for all these years? Sister Ma Ling only had a concubine when her daughter was sixteen or seventeen, and she's still afraid to see my aunt's face when she comes home?"

This time it was Xue Zhenzhen who looked at her in shock: "Don't you know?!"

Chu Wang shook his head, "Know what?"

Xue Zhenzhen pondered for a moment, then leaned over to her ear and said, "It was a huge commotion a while ago! I was still young then, and I only heard about it later. Don't tell anyone else!"

Chu Wang nodded to show that he was all ears.

Xue Zhenzhen lowered her voice even more. "When my mother was our age, our family had little money and power. We were just an average, petty-bourgeois family. My mother married my father first, which was considered a high-class marriage. She came to Shanghai from Shaoxing. Later, I heard that my grandfather helped my uncle, Mr. Qiao, find a marriage. The girl was the youngest daughter of the Lin family in Shaoxing. Although she was a concubine, her mother died young, so she was raised by my second brother Lin Yu's wife... Oh, your own mother."

Lin Chuwang nodded. It turned out that his aunt was taught by Lin Chuwang's mother.

Xue Zhenzhen continued, "That Madam Su, your mother, was the legitimate daughter of the Su family, a wealthy tea merchant family in Jiangnan. She was richer than the Lin family, and somehow she ended up marrying into the Lin family. At that time, the second young master of the Lin family already had a concubine, who gave birth to a son and a daughter... your brother and sister."

Lin Chuwang nodded with a complicated expression and said, "I know that they are my brother and sister. There is no need to emphasize it in the future."

Xue Zhenzhen went on to say with envy, "That Madam Su was already famous throughout Jiangnan before she even got married. Not only was she beautiful and generous, but she was also a very famous lady. When she married into the Lin family, many young masters from Shanghai cried for several nights... I think my father was one of them. Later, when I heard that the Lin family's youngest daughter was raised by her, my grandmother agreed to the marriage without a second thought. There seemed to be a twist in the story. Madam Su would not allow the Lin family's youngest daughter's future husband to take a concubine. My grandfather was reluctant to hear this, but my grandmother scolded him. He then took my uncle, Mr. Qiao, to the Lin family and swore to the heavens in front of many female members of the Lin family: 'He will only marry one wife in this life and will never take a concubine.' Only then was the marriage settled."

Xue Zhenzhen leaned in closer. "After the engagement, my uncle went to the Imperial University of Peking, now Peking University. He happened to be part of the new movement and was one of the first to go study in Europe. Four years later, after completing his studies, he returned. Grandpa had founded a school in Shanghai, and our family became much more affluent. Plus, my uncle was very hardworking... In short, our situation at that time was no longer comparable to that of your Lin family."

Hearing her casually showing off her wealth again, Lin Chuwang smiled and nodded, "Indeed, but what happened next?"

Xue Zhenzhen said, "I heard that Master Lin paid for your aunt and your father to study in Japan, so your aunt's marriage was delayed. When my uncle returned from his studies and was ready to marry your aunt, Master Lin said, 'No, it's not the right time yet. My eldest daughter isn't married yet, so how can the youngest marry first?' But when your aunt returned from studying abroad, she was already 26 years old and proud, and she couldn't stand the sight of ordinary people. But if she delayed any longer, she would become an old maid and wouldn't be able to get married."

Xue Zhenzhen recalled for a moment and suddenly sighed, "What our family and yours did in this matter was really unkind."

Lin Chuwang couldn't help but ask, "Why is it not authentic?"

Xue Zhenzhen sighed, "For some reason, my aunt didn't like anyone else at the time, but she chose my uncle. She went back and cried to Old Lady Lin. Old Lady Lin went back and told your aunt, 'Your sister is already so old, why don't you two get married together? She will be the eldest and you the youngest. After all, you two sisters grew up together, sharing the good and the bad. Then your sister won't treat you unfairly.'"

"This...is this possible?" Lin Chuwang was shocked.

Do you think your illegitimate daughter was given away for free just because you topped up your phone bill? Is this a buy-one-get-one-free deal for a marriage? Jiangnan Leather Factory closed down, Huang He ran off with the boss, and even the boss's wife selling off her property at a fire sale couldn't be this good!

The author has something to say: I feel like fewer and fewer people are reading this...

A little discouraged