Qi Zhenheng asked in surprise: "You're going to Europe?"
Shen Qing smiled easily: "Yes, I'm going to Europe alone."
Qi Zhenheng's pupils contracted, and his expression changed: "How can a woman like you travel to Europe alone?"
These words made Shen Qing a little unhappy.
What she hated most were these feudal dregs of thought. Qi Zhenheng hadn't mentioned them for a while, but he brought them up again today, which she found unbearable.
She happily shared her anticipation of going to Europe with him, but he immediately poured cold water on her hopes.
"Why can't women go to Europe?" she retorted coldly to Qi Zhenheng. "We're all human beings, so why should women do certain things and not others?"
Qi Zhenheng choked and couldn't say a word.
“I lost my husband and need to support the family, so they treat me like a man! The family is supported, but when I want to fight for myself, they tell me—you're a woman, you can't do these things?”
She grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, and shouted at Qi Zhenheng, "Is this fair? Women are human beings, not tools!"
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
Qi Zhenheng only came to his senses and chased after her when Shen Qing had already jumped onto the carriage.
Watching the carriage disappear into the distance, he angrily slammed his fist in frustration.
Inside the carriage, Shen Qing calmed down, pulled back the curtain, and said to Old Xu, "I'd like to go to Europe in a few days, and I'll have to board the ship in Shanghai, right?"
Old Xu paused, his hand on the reins pausing in surprise. "You're going to Europe? Alone?" he asked.
Shen Qing smiled and said, "Yes, I'm all alone. How about this, take me back to the Gao family later, and I'll trouble you to make a trip to Shanghai to buy me a ticket for the nearest ship to England."
As Shen Qing spoke, he took a silver note from his purse and stuffed it into Old Xu's pocket.
Old Xu advised, "It's too dangerous for you to go to Europe alone. Think it over!"
Shen Qing didn't say anything.
She knew that Lao Xu, like Qi Zhenheng, thought she was just an ordinary widow from the Qing Dynasty, with little knowledge, unable to speak the language, and unlikely to survive a day in Europe.
It's estimated that only Cheng Zhiwen knew that even if she went to Europe alone, she could still live a good life.
Thinking of Cheng Zhiwen, Shen Qing felt as if a tear had been ripped out of her heart.
He had promised to take her shopping in Europe when she had an allergic reaction and couldn't stand the itching.
"Why……"
Shen Qing sighed, drew the curtain, and sat back in the carriage.
She went to the money exchange and exchanged some loose silver and gold coins, and bought a new chest.
Back at the Gao family home, he packed two sets of pajamas and two sets of outerwear into a box, and sewed loose silver and gold coins into the hidden parts of the clothes.
The ten samples had already been placed in another box.
After doing all this, Shen Qing calmly waited for Lao Xu's boat ticket.
She went to say goodbye to Gao Liushi, but did not mention that she was going to Europe. She only said that she had found new materials and was going to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and other places to find merchants. She would not be back for several months.
Lady Gao did not object. After finding out that it was Old Xu's carriage that was going together, she readily agreed.
Shen Qing then instructed Chunju to take good care of Sulan while he was away on business.
The monthly interest for the next few months, the allowances for the maids and servants in the mansion, and the food expenses were all prepared to be given to her.
Chunju cried and begged to go with her and serve her, but she was sternly refused.
Everything was arranged, except for the boat tickets.
Fortunately, the next day, Old Xu returned from Shanghai and handed Shen Qing the boat ticket and the change.
Shen Qing immediately checked the boarding time.
It will happen tomorrow at noon.
She immediately instructed Lao Xu to set off for Shanghai at 5 a.m. the next day.
Shen Qing returned to the room clutching the boat ticket, and only after looking at the two suitcases placed beside the bed did she belatedly realize how nervous she was.
The journey to England would take more than a month by sea. Given the distance and the length of the trip, Shen Qing wondered if anything bad might happen on the ship.
The typical route from Shanghai to the UK is from the East China Sea down to the South China Sea, into the Arabian Sea, through Somalia, and finally into the Mediterranean Sea.
Piracy is rampant in both Somalia and the Mediterranean. Shen Qing didn't know if he would encounter pirates.
In short, there were many uncertainties along the way.
Whether you survive to reach England or return alive depends on luck.
But what can we do?
Can't we just not go?
Shen Qing recalled that when she went to the shop yesterday, the shopkeeper told her that the merchants who made foreign cloth had obtained samples of rayon that were cheaper and of just as good quality. They were now just waiting for the bulk goods to arrive at the port so they could start selling the foreign rayon.
Shen Qing knew that the Gao family's rayon business was completely hopeless.
Even if her ten manual spinning machines spun day and night, their production capacity couldn't keep up with the large quantities of goods dumped from Europe.
Right now, she can only rely on down jackets.
If down jackets follow the same path as rayon and are sold locally now, their creativity will soon be stolen, and they will soon be just a flash in the pan, like rayon.
She had no choice but to go to Europe first to secure all the orders and deposits, and to stabilize the profits from the first batch of goods.
What happened next was beyond her control.
But the profit from the first batch of goods was enough for her to pay off the money she owed Master Zhao, and enough for her to have the capital to do some other small business.
If down jackets also face deadly competition, as long as she has money, she can still do some other business.
There's always a future, so we can still survive.
Therefore, Europe is a must-go destination, regardless of whether the trip leads to life or death.
If you're going to die anyway, why not take a gamble?
Shen Qing was overthinking things. She didn't sleep well all night and got up to wash before dawn.
When Chunju saw the light on in her room, she quickly knocked on the door and came in, her eyes as red as a rabbit's as she looked at her.
Shen Qingchao beckoned to her: "What are you still standing there for? Come and help me with my hair and makeup."
She walked over, sobbing, and stood behind Shen Qing, combing her hair as she cried.
Shen Qing looked at the ruby hairpin on the velvet tray, took it in her palm, stroked it gently for a moment, pressed it to her heart, closed her eyes, and prayed to it, "Please bless me with a safe journey! Please!"
...
Shanghai docks.
A three-story passenger ship is moored on the shore.
The dock was crowded with people seeing him off.
Shen Qing took the box from Lao Xu and said with a smile, "Go back now, and be careful on the road."
Old Xu smiled and waved to her, saying, "Have a safe journey."
Shen Qing smiled and turned around.
The moment he turned around, his smile vanished completely, replaced by a somber expression.
She squeezed onto the deck and handed her ticket stub to the staff.
The staff member was a blond, blue-eyed white man who frowned as he looked at the ticket in her hand, then eyed her suspiciously, hesitating to tear off the ticket stub.
Shen Qing was used to this kind of look; it simply meant they didn't believe that a woman from the Qing Dynasty could travel to England alone.
She gestured with her chin towards the ticket in the other person's hand, reminding them, "Excuse me, here is my ticket!"
It means—my vote is in your hands, what are you still doubting?
Perhaps disbelieving that a woman from a feudal society could speak such fluent English, the other person was taken aback.
Seeing him still holding his ticket in a daze, Shen Qing repeated, word by word, "Here is my ticket!"
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