Shen Qing knelt down and hugged Cheng Zhiwen's waist tightly.
The man glanced down at the small hand clasped around his waist, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he turned to look at her.
Just then, Shen Qing looked up and met Cheng Zhiwen's teasing eyes.
He chuckled and said, "There's no need to kneel. Just stand up straight."
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze, immediately let go of his hand, and plopped down on the ground.
"Get ready, I'll come pick you up at six o'clock." Cheng Zhiwen said with a smile and left the room.
Shen Qing quickly got up, ignoring her sore bottom from the fall, and hurried to the room to open her suitcase.
There were ten samples inside. She took them all out, hung them on the hanger, and patted them with her hand.
After being stored in the box for some time, they were all compressed and flattened.
I hung the down vest on the hanger and checked the details carefully one last time.
Outside the window, the setting sun gradually disappeared into the fiery red clouds, and the horizon seemed to be ablaze.
There was a knock on the door.
Shen Qing glanced at the wall clock; it was six o'clock.
Looking down, I realized I was so busy organizing samples that I hadn't changed my clothes yet.
She hurriedly went to open the door and said to Cheng Zhiwen, who was standing outside, "I'm going to change my clothes. Wait for me a moment."
Back in the bedroom, she opened the wardrobe and casually picked out a bright orange jacket with gold trim and green mandarin ducks embroidered on it.
She simply tied her long hair into a single bun, inserted a ruby hairpin, put the sample back into her suitcase, picked it up, and went out.
Seeing Cheng Zhiwen standing behind the window with her hands in her pockets, she was stunned for a moment.
The afterglow of the setting sun pierced through the old, thick glass, falling on him and bathing him in a soft light, making him feel incredibly warm.
This uncertain journey became warm and reassuring because of his presence.
"Can we go now?"
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and looked at Cheng Zhiwen.
He stood with his back to the light, so Shen Qing couldn't see his expression clearly; she could only see that he had reached out his hand to her.
She hesitated for a few seconds, then walked over and placed her hand in his palm.
He bent one arm, and her hand naturally fell into the crook of his arm.
He took her arm and led her out of the room toward the banquet hall.
On the way, I encountered many men and women who were also going to attend the banquet.
The men were all dressed in neat suits, while the women wore European-style long dresses and fur coats.
Shen Qing looked down at the loose-fitting Qing Dynasty-style dress she was wearing.
It seems a bit out of place.
As soon as they stepped into the banquet hall, someone came to greet them: "Oh, isn't this Mr. Cheng from Chenghe Trading Company? It's a pleasure to meet you!"
As he spoke, he reached out his hand to Cheng Zhiwen.
Cheng Zhiwen extended her hand and shook it briefly with the other party: "Mr. Xu, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Mr. Xu's gaze swept over Cheng Zhiwen's arm, then looked at Shen Qing and asked with a smile, "And who is this?"
Cheng Zhiwen replied casually, "Mr. Shen, who makes silk in Jiangzhou."
To his surprise, Mr. Xu looked Shen Qing up and down again.
It's hard to believe that a woman dressed in such a feudal style is in the same business as me.
This ship was almost entirely filled with merchants heading to Europe or foreigners returning to Europe. If she wasn't a merchant, she could only be Cheng Zhiwen's female companion.
But judging from her womanly hairstyle, even though she was arm in arm with Cheng Zhiwen, she could not possibly be Cheng Zhiwen's female companion.
Everyone in the circle knows that Cheng Zhiwen is known for his high standards; ordinary women don't catch his eye, let alone a feudal woman like him.
Mr. Xu thought to himself: He must still be a businessman.
Thinking of this, he extended his hand to Shen Qing: "Mr. Shen, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm in the tea business, and I hope we can cooperate in the future."
Shen Qing reached out and shook hands with him: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Xu."
After exchanging greetings, Mr. Xu followed them into the banquet hall.
Following beside Cheng Zhiwen, she quietly introduced him to the people attending tonight's banquet.
"That's Mr. Liang, he's mainly going to England to do soybean business... That's Mr. Zhang, he's going to France to sell pig bristles..."
Cheng Zhiwen nodded and asked politely, "How is your tea export business doing these days?"
Mr. Xu patted the back of his hand, sighed with a worried look, and said, "Don't even mention it. Now Japan, Ceylon, and India are all selling tea, and our tea export share has shrunk by a lot!"
Glancing around at the deserted surroundings, he whispered curses in Cheng Zhiwen's ear: "Those damn British imperialists used opium to open our country's doors and took away so many good things from us! Now if we want to sell them anything, we have to kneel down and call them grandpa!"
Cheng Zhiwen's expression changed slightly, and he sneered, "Can't the British have conditions when they buy things? Japanese and Ceylon tea is good, so the British will naturally choose better tea. Instead of reflecting on the poor quality and insufficient price of your own tea, you're here criticizing the British who feed you?"
Shen Qing was taken aback and looked up at him.
In that instant, she suddenly felt that he was a complete stranger.
Mr. Xu's expression also changed. He coughed lightly and said with a forced smile, "Yes, yes, Mr. Cheng's reprimand is reasonable. It is my goods that are not good, and the cause should not be attributed to the British."
After saying this, he flicked his sleeves and left.
Shen Qing stared at Cheng Zhiwen in astonishment and asked incredulously, "Don't you know how much disaster Britain brought to our country by importing opium?"
After the Opium War, China transformed from a sovereign and independent country into the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society it is today.
One unequal treaty after another forcibly carved out more than two million square kilometers of territory!
Recalling the blood and tears of the nation written in the modern history textbooks, Shen Qing said indignantly: "If we do not strive for self-improvement, one day we will be trampled to death by the iron heel of imperialism and militarism!"
Cheng Zhiwen's expression changed, and she immediately pulled her aside.
He glanced around and said in a low voice, "Watch your mouth!"
Shen Qing looked at him.
Suddenly I remembered that his true identity was that of a comprador.
Some compradors were later developed into traitors.
She didn't want Cheng Zhiwen to become that kind of person, so she gritted her teeth and advised, "Being a lackey of imperialism will not end well. You must remember this: only when your own country has complete sovereignty can you live with dignity!"
Cheng Zhiwen's face grew increasingly grim.
He stared at her for a while with a dark expression, but said nothing.
She felt that he was angry because she had hit the nail on the head.
Remembering Cheng Zhiwen's comprador background, her feelings for him suddenly cooled.
Although she had used his position as a comprador to import goods, her purpose was to sell the goods abroad and earn money to bring back to China.
Looking at the men and women clinking glasses in the banquet hall, she said coldly, "If you help Chinese merchants sell their goods and exchange them for supplies or silver, I will respect you as a hero. But if you help the British and Americans to mistreat Chinese merchants, or even smuggle opium in to poison the Chinese, then I will despise you forever!"
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