Uncle Fang did not directly answer the question about the jade chili pepper.
His gaunt face showed a speechless expression: "What are you joking about, little girl? Although the Ning family is far inferior to the Sheng family, which can buy half of the Central Plains, it is still a powerful family in Lingnan. They made their fortune by doing business in Southeast Asia during the reign of Emperor Daoguang. Otherwise, how could they marry a girl from the Sheng family?"
Ning Yuan muttered to herself, "Isn't it because the Sheng family suddenly disappeared, while the Ning family became the number one wealthy family in Hong Kong? They're among the top three richest families in Asia. With one rising and the other falling, who knows what good deeds the Ning family has done?"
Rong Zhaonan glanced at Ning Yuan and realized that ever since she discovered that the Ning family's pursuit of her was not entirely genuine, this girl had changed her attitude.
She's probably rebelled; she really hates the Ning family.
They take money from the Ning family but do nothing, and then they gossip and badmouth them behind their backs.
Uncle Fang could tell right away and couldn't help but chuckle: "What, were your elders mistreated when they were servants in the Ning family?"
He remembered that this little girl was the child of a servant in the Ning family, right?
Ning Yuan gave a slight twitch of her lips and dodged the question: "Anyway, not many of these rich people are good."
Perhaps because he had dealt with her more often, Uncle Fang spoke more casually, but with a stern face, he said, "My ancestors were once wealthy, and I wasn't a good person either."
Ning Yuan said in a serious tone: "We are different. We have all undergone ideological reform, and our hearts are turned towards the sun. We have long since become pioneers in building the Four Modernizations and reform and opening up!"
Uncle Fang, seeing her like that, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Alright, you're quite the talker. Let's get back to the Sheng family. When the old lady of the Ning family, who was an illegitimate daughter of the Sheng family, married into the Ning family, she did indeed have a large dowry. The Ning family did take advantage of this to rise to a higher level, and their business was very successful both domestically and internationally."
Ning Yuan immediately glanced sideways, as if to say, "See, see, I told you so!"
Uncle Fang resisted the urge to tap her on the head, but continued speaking—
"It is said that the old master of the Ning family was devoted to his wife. After marrying the daughter of the Sheng family, he had no concubines or mistresses. In the end, he only had two children, Ning Zhengkun and Ning Zhengting, who are now the two branches of the Ning family."
Ning Yuan frowned as she listened, feeling there was something else—but.
As expected, Uncle Fang said, "However, the old lady of the Ning family passed away in her thirties, not even forty. At that time, her second son, Ning Zhengting, had just come of age and was still studying."
Uncle Fang sighed, "At the funeral, the second son, Ning Zhengting, had a scene with Old Master Ning, cursing businessmen as cold-hearted and vowing to abandon business and become a teacher!"
Upon hearing this, Ning Yuan exclaimed, "Oh, right, I'm from the second branch of the Ning family, and Ning Zhengting is my adoptive father. Did he have this kind of spirit when he was young?"
That's right. I heard that after her adoptive father went to the Hong Kong government, he went on to earn several doctorates and became the president of a Hong Kong university.
She rested her chin on her hand with a gossipy air, her eyes sparkling: "Why are you making a fuss? Why are you making a fuss?"
Uncle Fang also smiled knowingly and gossiped: "It is said that Old Master Ning's confidante appeared at Old Madam Ning's funeral. Ning's second son was still young at the time and made a scene out of youthful impetuosity."
Ning Yuan curled her lips in a mocking smile: "I told you, how many men are truly devoted to love? Stop pretending to be a dog!"
She offended both men in front of her with just one sentence.
Uncle Fang glared at her.
Rong Zhaonan spoke directly without any expression: "Boss Ning, you must speak based on facts. The style of condemning everything with one blow is unacceptable."
Ning Yuan chuckled dryly, "Oh dear, I was just saying it offhand. You two are both such devoted lovers, picking the shortest among the short!"
Getting two eye rolls—is that a compliment?
Ning Yuan quickly changed the subject: "And then? And then what? What does this have to do with the jade chili peppers?"
Uncle Fang realized he was rambling on about juicy gossip, so he coughed lightly and said, "Young man, don't be impatient. It was the death of Old Madam Ning that brought up the matter of the Jade Chili Pepper."
Ning Yuan immediately perked up and imitated the straight man in Tianjin-style crosstalk: "How so?"
Uncle Fang slowly took out an old copy of the pre-Liberation edition of the Nanhua Daily and tapped on the Chinese characters.
Headline: "Master Zhong Ling Sheds Tears at Funeral of Close Friend's Passing"
Subheading – “Master Sculptor Leaves for Switzerland, Clock-Style Sculpture Falls into Silent Retention”
A thought flashed through Ning Yuan's mind: "Is Master Zhong Ling a close friend of the Ning family's matriarch?"
Uncle Fang nodded: "That's right. The jade chili carving in your hand was originally a priceless bracelet. It is said that the bracelet was a token of love between the old master of the Ning family and the old lady of the Ning family. The old lady of the Ning family valued it very much. Later, it was broken into three pieces."
Rong Zhaonan unusually chimed in, "Then, Master Zhong Ling helped carve the bracelet into three jade chili peppers."
Uncle Fang then took two more copies of the pre-Liberation edition of the *Shenbao* newspaper and placed them on the table—
"Before and after Madam Ning got married, there were many rumors that the Sheng family's largest fortune was overseas, and that Master Zhong Ling went to Switzerland alone to safeguard this wealth for his close friend, where he died."
The two Shenbao newspapers are separated by twenty or thirty years. One is the year Sheng Xuan died, and the other is the year that the old lady of the Ning family, who is also the young lady of the Sheng family, died.
The article was full of gossip about the Sheng family, making a huge fuss with sensational headlines, rivaling the celebrity gossip in later Hong Kong government publications like Next Magazine.
Ning Yuan frowned: "Isn't this a bit of an exaggeration? I remember that each of the young masters and ladies of the Sheng family received several million silver dollars in inheritance back then, and they have some other incredible wealth stored in Swiss banks?"
Uncle Fang pushed up his glasses and smiled: "The tabloid news back then must have exaggerated, but it's not an exaggeration to say that the Sheng family's wealth was comparable to that of a country. All the money in the Qing Dynasty was in Sheng Xuan's hands."
With the Qing Dynasty ceding territory and paying indemnities, it was on the verge of collapse. Li Hongzhang, the Qing Dynasty's "paperhanger," then launched the Self-Strengthening Movement to make money and strengthen the country in an attempt to save the Qing Dynasty.
Sheng Xuan was a big shot who specialized in making money for him or the Qing Dynasty.
Uncle Fang sighed, "As the saying goes, even a broken ship has three thousand nails. The speed at which the Sheng family has fallen in ten years is too outrageous. I'm afraid many people have secretly set traps for the Sheng family's children."
He paused for a moment: "So, rumors spread that before Sheng Xuan died, he guessed that his children were all useless and would not be able to protect the family, so he hid the Sheng family's greatest assets in a foreign bank."
Ning Yuan sighed: "It's like a bunch of fat and stupid piglets in the forest, surrounded by wolves and tigers. Once Sheng Xuan, the pig farmer with the whip, dies, what good will happen to his piglets?"
It's possible that the Ning family also got a share of the spoils in this "pig-slaughtering" feast.
Rong Zhaonan said calmly, "Sheng Xuan and Li Hongzhang tried to save the Qing Dynasty but failed. I never expected that his own family would repeat the tragedy of the Qing Dynasty. I don't know how he became the head of the family."
The once prosperous and wealthy China has fallen to the point where it is being torn apart and devoured by foreign wolves and tigers.
Uncle Fang clicked his tongue twice: "Yes, that's why poor upbringing can ruin a family. The Ning family is different; they have outstanding descendants in every generation, which shows how good their family education is."
Ning Yuan muttered, "That's right, they're so powerful that they've even managed to eat up the Sheng family's daughter's childless lineage."
Her grandfather was no pushover either; he acted all lovey-dovey and arrogant, and even brought his mistress to his first wife's funeral.
Every man in the Ning family is a scheming bitch!
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