Cheng Zhiwen happens to be in Shanghai right now, staying in her old villa.
When Jiang Shen knocked on the door and went in, he found Jiang Shen alone in the study reading a book.
He was wearing a white shirt with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Warm yellow light shone on him, and his eyes were calm.
Jiang Shen bowed to him and reported, "Mr. Cheng, Mr. Shen is leaving for Japan tomorrow."
He closed the book, looked over, and asked in a flat voice, "What is she doing in Japan?"
"Mr. Shen has his eye on a villa near Nanjing Road. The villa's owner is currently in Japan."
Cheng Zhiwen reopened the book: "Let her go, and make sure she is safe."
"I understand."
Jiang Shen bowed to him and prepared to leave.
"Has she met with Lord Qi recently?"
Jiang Shen paused, then turned around again: "Lord Qi often visits Boss Shen at the factory, but Boss Shen has never taken the initiative to go to the prefectural government."
Cheng Zhiwen nodded: "I understand, go back now."
Jiang Shen left the villa and returned to the hotel.
Old Xu had just finished washing up and was about to rest when he saw him return and asked, "Were you going to see Mr. Cheng?"
Knowing that Shen Qing's trip to Japan was such a big deal, Jiang Shen was determined to report it to Cheng Zhiwen.
Jiang Shen hummed in agreement and bent down to change his shoes.
What did Mr. Cheng say?
"They didn't say anything, just told us to take precautions for safety."
"Is Mr. Cheng going along this time too? Last time Boss Shen went to England, he put aside all his official duties and went with him."
Jiang Shen recalled Cheng Zhiwen's attitude earlier and said, "We should not go."
Old Xu sighed, "Sigh, Mr. Cheng clearly liked Boss Shen, and Boss Shen liked him too, so he gritted his teeth and got together with Boss Shen! Now it's turned out like this, I feel sorry for them both!"
"Mr. Cheng cannot be with Boss Shen. On the ship to London, Li Chong used Boss Shen to test Mr. Cheng, which led to Mr. Cheng being shot by pirates and nearly dying on the ship."
Old Xu was shocked: "What did you say?"
He wasn't on the ship at the time and didn't know any of this, but Jiang Shen was right in the middle of it all.
"If Mr. Cheng and Boss Shen get together, it will not only harm Boss Shen, but Mr. Cheng himself will also be in trouble."
Old Xu sighed.
Having been by Cheng Zhiwen's side for many years, how could he not see the deep love he felt for Shen Qing, yet the bitterness of not being able to be with her?
...
The following day, Shen Qing led Jiang Shen and He Fei onto a passenger ship bound for Japan.
It takes about six or seven days to travel from Shanghai to Japan.
Shen Qing used this time to work on a plan.
She plans to use the first floor of the villa as a silk showroom, where any guest can come in to view, select, and experience the silks.
The second floor will serve as a customization area, catering to customers who purchased silk on the first floor. The second floor will have professional designers who can create various custom silk products tailored to individual customer needs.
The third floor will be used as a high-end VIP area. Shen Qing will decide how to utilize the third floor after entering the villa.
She was excited as the plan gradually took shape, and she told herself that she must secure the lease rights for the villa during this trip to Japan.
Six days later, Shen Qing arrived in Japan smoothly, and with Jiang Shen's help, she met the villa owner.
The villa owner was a Chinese man in his forties, not a foreigner as everyone had initially guessed.
He was dressed in a white suit and tie, looking refined and aristocratic.
Upon hearing Shen Qing's purpose, he laughed and said, "Every year, many people want to ask me to rent that villa, but I haven't agreed. Today, you've come for nothing."
Many people want to rent it, Shen Qing believes.
The villa's location is so good that anyone with a little business sense would want to rent it and take advantage of the traffic on Nanjing Road to do some business.
The fact that it has been vacant for many years suggests that the owner likely does not want to rent it out.
Shen Qing looked at the villa owner and asked politely, "The villa is just sitting empty anyway, why don't you rent it out and collect a considerable amount of rent every year?"
The other person smiled and said, "I don't need that little bit of money."
Shen Qing also believed this statement.
She suddenly had no choice.
When I arrived, I had imagined countless reasons why the villa owners were unwilling to rent out their properties, but I never expected that they were simply not short of money.
She could only offer money, while he was not short of money.
Things seemed to have reached a dead end.
The villa owner stood up, as if to see the guest out.
Shen Qing had finally managed to meet the person and didn't want to leave so easily. Observing the surroundings, she saw that the environment was small and ordinary, not at all comparable to the villa in Shanghai. She asked casually, "You have such a beautiful house in Shanghai, why did you settle in Japan?"
The villa owner didn't answer, but looked at Jiang Shen: "What is the relationship between this Mr. Shen and Mr. Cheng?"
Jiang Shen understood what he meant.
He would decide the depth of his conversation with Shen Qing based on the level of his relationship with Cheng Zhiwen.
Jiang Shen wanted to help Shen Qing rent a villa, so he said, "Mr. Shen is a close friend of Mr. Cheng."
The villa owner understood immediately.
Men and women of similar age are called close friends, that's roughly the meaning.
Since he was Cheng Zhiwen's close friend, there was no need for him to hide anything.
He looked at Shen Qing again: "To be honest, the reason I moved to Japan was to overthrow the Qing Dynasty."
Shen Qing was horrified.
The other person smiled easily: "People like us live day to day, what use is that villa to me for a little money?"
Shen Qing's emotions were complicated.
She was wondering whether this person was a traitor or a revolutionary.
If he were a traitor, she would give up renting his villa.
If he were a revolutionary, she would be willing to provide him with funds.
This person seemed to have a good relationship with Cheng Zhiwen, so as soon as he heard that she was Cheng Zhiwen's close friend, he told her his identity.
This kind of frankness is very dangerous.
If she were to return to China and expose him to the Qing government, the Qing government might send someone to Japan to kill him.
But he readily revealed his identity to her.
Therefore, this person must be from the same political party as Cheng Zhiwen to trust her so much.
This person... is probably a traitor just like Cheng Zhiwen!
Thinking of this, Shen Qing stood up angrily: "Excuse me!"
She turned to leave.
Just then, someone pushed open the door and came in, reporting to the villa owner: "Mr. Tang, this overseas fundraising is 30,000 taels of silver short of the target."
The villa owner sighed, "The Chinese in Southeast Asia are also having a hard time right now. Everyone is struggling. It's already quite an achievement that we can squeeze out as much money as possible to support the revolution! Never mind, I'll find another way to save the rest!"
Shen Qing heard this, but said nothing and left silently.
Jiang Shen followed.
On the way back to her lodgings, she said to Jiang Shen, "Although I don't like the Qing Dynasty either, I love this country and its people. I will not allow anyone to sell this country out, because I know the pain of being invaded."
Thinking of the destroyed Yuanmingyuan, the countless national treasures transported overseas, the inhumane massacres, and the countless people who died tragically, Shen Qing burst into tears.
She liked Cheng Zhiwen, but she loved this country and its people even more!
Jiang Shen listened silently without saying anything.
Shen Qing hastily wiped away her tears and said calmly, "We're going back to China tomorrow. We won't rent the villa anymore; I'll find another way. Also, I need to tell you something in advance..."
Jiang Shen turned his head to look at her: "Please speak."
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