Uncle Tan's birthday party
It was nearly dusk when the Fang family members arrived at the Tan residence. The Tan residence was located on a quiet corner of Anting Road in the French Concession, surrounded by a thick cement decorative wall and reinforced with a seamless black fence, providing excellent privacy.
Although everyone came for a birthday banquet, arriving right on time was rather impolite. Qingcheng and her little cousin stood behind their aunt and uncle, listening to their aunt explain to Mrs. Tan why they were late, looking like well-behaved children.
Mrs. Tan was wearing a dark green long-sleeved cheongsam and had her hair styled in a gentle low bun. She took her uncle's gift and held her aunt's hand to tell them not to be nervous. It was just a small birthday celebration for Old Tan, and everyone was already so familiar with each other that it was just like visiting each other at any other time.
Hearing this, Auntie's anxiety was slightly relieved. After Qingcheng and her little cousin paid their respects to Mrs. Tan, Mrs. Tan smiled and patted her little cousin's head, jokingly asking him if he wanted to be the Tan family's son-in-law.
The little cousin was startled by Mrs. Tan's joke and quickly hid behind Qingcheng, tugging at her sleeve for help. Qingcheng also wanted to tease him, so she deliberately patted her cousin's back: "Your godmother has taken a liking to you, it's your good fortune. Why are you hiding? Which sister in the Tan family isn't good enough for you?"
Looking at her little cousin's aggrieved expression, Mrs. Tan happily covered her mouth and said, "Haha, let's stop teasing him. Xiao Hua, study hard for your college entrance exam. If you get into Jiaotong University, Auntie will treat you to a big meal."
"Hmm." My cousin's eyes lit up when he heard about the big meal. Sure enough, the boy was easily satisfied.
As you walk further in, you can see a wide lawn at a glance. In suitable locations, there are winding stone paths and some low evergreen shrubs around, making the view open and comfortable. Even in winter, there is greenery that shines through the desolation of everything.
The courtyard of a family not only showcases the lady of the house's knowledge and taste, but also reflects her personality.
Once everyone had entered the inner room, Mrs. Tan had the servants serve tea to everyone. She also personally poured out five or six kinds of snacks from various colored glass candy jars and placed them on a reflective silver plate. These included pumpkin seeds, melon seeds, preserved plums, fruit candies, and evergreen biscuits, all of which were currently popular snacks.
My little cousin saw some delicious food and couldn't resist reaching out to grab it, but his aunt's "kind" gaze dissuaded him. A little while later, the Tan family's two younger daughters also came out to greet them. When the aunt saw the girls, her eyes lit up, and she hugged both of them, showering them with concern.
"Hey, where's Zhenbai?" Uncle picked up his teacup and asked about the whereabouts of Director Tan.
"Oh, he's in his study discussing work with his students. I'll call him when it's time for dinner." Mrs. Tan replied with a slight bow. Qingcheng thought to herself, "My godmother has been married to a Chinese man for so long, but she still hasn't changed some of her habits."
"That old Tan is really something, he finally gets a day off and then he still has to work."
"Director Fang, what right do you, someone who works three shifts, have to talk about others?" Auntie said sarcastically, glancing at him.
"Hehehe, Mrs. Fang, please calm down. My father sacrifices his own family for the greater good. If you're bored, you can have your older sister keep you company." The younger cousin seemed to want revenge for being bullied earlier, and directly turned his attention to Qingcheng.
This strategy of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" received strong support from her uncle: "Chengcheng, you can come and keep your aunt company when I'm on duty. She's been feeling a bit irritable lately."
Hmph! You two, father and son, are united against a common enemy; she won't give up her hard-won freedom. Qingcheng could only awkwardly smile and politely decline, "I've been working a lot of overtime lately, and coming home too late will disturb Auntie's rest."
"I'm in a bad mood because of you guys. If only you were all as easy to manage as my eldest son," the aunt said, pointing at them with a stern face. The uncle pretended to drink tea and didn't argue.
"Big brother isn't just worry-free, he's practically disappeared! He's always in the lab and never home. Of course I'm not annoyed if I don't see him!" The younger cousin started complaining about his older brother again, only to be warned by his parents and older sister with glares. Qingcheng then stuffed a candy into his mouth, trying to shut the boy up.
“The children are all grown up and have their own lives. We, as elders, should support them,” Mrs. Tan said, trying to smooth things over.
“I understand, I understand. We all struggled when we were young. Yuzhi, let’s go to the study to pay our respects to the master.” Uncle pulled Aunt up and, led by Mrs. Tan, headed to the study.
"I'm going to find Sister Zhenzhen." After Qingcheng finished speaking, she pinched her little cousin's cheek and warned him softly, "Xiaohua, we're all leaving now. You have to keep an eye on the sisters, or we'll pawn you here and make you our live-in son-in-law."
"What does this have to do with me? Don't we have a nanny?" The little cousin broke free from Qingcheng's clutches, frowned and asked back, "And what right do you have to pin me here? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
"Hehe, my memory's been a bit off lately. I've completely forgotten who broke the fountain in the garden. I just remember being called to the school and having to pay a lot of money in compensation." Qingcheng patted her little cousin beside her and warned him with narrowed eyes.
The saying goes, "Try and you'll die." My little cousin immediately curled up into a ball and said unwillingly, "You win, I'll take you."
"Good boy!" Kiyosumi patted her younger brother's cheek with satisfaction.
After Qingcheng went upstairs, the little cousin dared to complain loudly, "God, please send someone to take this shrew away!"
In the study, Gao Junxiao suddenly sneezed and apologized to the elders. Tan Dachuan kindly smoothed things over for his student, and Gao Junxiao chuckled along. He touched his itchy nose, wondering if he had caught a cold.
He felt that the Madam Fang who had just left looked somewhat familiar, especially her eyes, which unconsciously reminded him of Miss He. If twenty years passed, Miss He's eyes would surely be as clear and bright as that Madam Fang's.
Then his thoughts were pulled back by Chen Yao, who was giving a long and detailed introduction to the bandit suppression plan. According to the intelligence they had received, the bandit leader Liu Shengqi had first gone north and robbed several county towns in Shanxian and Dangshan, which are located at the junction of Shandong and Anhui provinces, and was now going south again.
Having received the news, they needed to continue tracking Liu Shengqi's movements. As Sun Tzu said, "An army marches on its stomach." Some of the weapons and ammunition could be transported by water, but Chen Yao believed that the rest, especially heavy weapons, would be transported by rail, which would be more efficient.
His idea was immediately supported by Mr. Tao. Whether by water or rail, they dared not come openly. They could investigate which smugglers had suddenly increased their goods, but the money in their slush fund had not increased.
Mr. Tao truly deserves his reputation as the most renowned war correspondent during the Beiyang period; his years of experience on the battlefield cultivated his unique insights. Gao Junxiao found this line of thinking very interesting. Smuggling is all about money; why would they work for nothing? But brokers have their own rules, and big brokers wouldn't break those rules for a small sum. This money most likely ended up in the pockets of some petty thug.
For smuggling cases, it's best to get help from the police station, specifically someone with connections to official channels, preferably a professional anti-smuggling team. Gao Junxiao remembered that Captain Pang's brother was an inspector in the Shanghai General Patrol Office. His gaze fell on Commander Xiong.
Commander Xiong must have thought of this as well, because his face turned extremely ugly. He sighed heavily and said, "We haven't told you two about the grudges between our headquarters and the Shanghai General Patrol Office yet."
Gao Junxiao and Chen Yao exchanged a glance and shook their heads, indicating that they knew nothing about it.
This all started with last year's opium smuggling case. President Chiang kept saying that opium was banned, but his brother-in-law went against the grain and committed the crime. What was Commander Xiong, a mere garrison commander, supposed to do? He dared not accept the money, but he would do it as a favor. However, the matter still had to be handled.
However, the captain of the Shanghai Anti-Opium Squad at the time was not one of his men, but rather one of the mayor's men. The mayor and his team swiftly prepared three full battalions of armed police officers at the docks. Commander Xiong had no choice but to turn his guns around and prematurely announce that the garrison had seized a batch of opium.
Commander Xiong had explicitly and implicitly reminded them that the backing for this batch of cigarettes was very powerful, and that it was not something a mere mayor of Shanghai could touch. Everyone just turned a blind eye and let it pass.
As a result, Mayor Zhang of the Guangxi clique was still relentless, and since he did have some intelligence, he directly seized the cargo ship. For a time, the military and police at the dock were in complete chaos, with both sides fighting each other and suffering casualties.
Seeing Tan Dachuan's increasingly pale face, Commander Xiong said aggrievedly, "Teacher, please don't scold me. Who wouldn't want to be Lin Zexu? But in reality, the opium problem is difficult for anyone to handle."
In fact, Commander Xiong just wanted to settle things quietly and wait for the storm to pass before destroying the opium. He would then explain to the people in Nanjing that the opium had been ruined by soaking in water. This way, he could save face for everyone and avoid harming his compatriots.
However, the matter reached Principal Jiang's hands that very evening. Both sides sent telegrams and pulled strings, engaging in a heated debate where neither side was willing to back down. Then, led by Mayor Zhang, people from all walks of life started to make a fuss, making everyone lose face.
And what was the result? The principal, swayed by his new wife's words, dismissed the director of the General Inspection Office. But the matter wasn't over yet; the Guangxi clique wasn't going to back down either, and they stirred things up for several more months.
In the end, President Chiang blamed Commander Xiong for his incompetence and reinstated the director of the General Patrol Office. The opium was destroyed in front of both factions, and a statement was issued: both the military and police were acting on orders, and any dispute arising from this was a misunderstanding.
Haha, Principal Chiang managed to balance several factions, but unfortunately, the General Inspection Office blamed everything on the Headquarters and planned to cut off all ties. Commander Xiong felt like Pigsy looking in the mirror, caught in the middle, disliked by everyone.
"Such a vast country will be squandered by the Chiang family sooner or later." Tan Dachuan slammed his fist on the table a few times, as if he were about to explode.
Hearing this farce, Gao Junxiao sneered inwardly. He had reservations about whether his senior brother had ever considered destroying the opium, but in front of their teacher, he still had to give Commander Xiong some face and refrain from expressing any opinion.
This is going to be tough. Gao Junxiao was worried that even if he used his connections to get to the anti-smuggling team, they might not listen to him because of their previous conflict. He could only make an excuse to go to the restroom and wash his face to calm down.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Gao Junxiao understood somewhat the parting words of his old leader: Shanghai was a deep abyss, and all those trapped in it could only watch helplessly as they fell in.
He didn't want to stay in Shanghai anymore, acting out a drama with the headquarters every day—it was exhausting. Unless he could find Liu Shengqi's stronghold and wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Just then, he heard the sound of a handle turning behind him. Gao Junxiao quickly wiped his face and pushed the door open, bumping into someone.
"I'm sorry... why is it you?" Before he could finish his apology, Gao Junxiao was pushed away by Miss He. Behind her was a boy with a "clown face." He vaguely remembered that, judging from his clothes and height, he thought it should be a boy.
Suddenly the door opened again, and without saying a word, Miss He dragged him to the backyard, not giving him any chance to speak, and berated him: "Gao Junxiao, stop following me, and stop coming to my house."
Gao Junxiao was already in a bad mood, and since the other party didn't give him a chance to explain, he said irritably, "Huh? Isn't this the Tan family? Are you the Tan family's second young lady who never shows her face?"
"If you think I'm Miss Tan the Second, then I am." Qingcheng propped her arm up, looking completely indifferent.
"As the host, shouldn't you be a little more friendly to the guests who come to visit your home, Miss Tan?" Gao Junxiao deliberately echoed Qingcheng's words.
Qingcheng tilted her head and suddenly realized, saying, "Oh, you graduated from Baoding Military Academy."
"What else did you think?" Gao Junxiao rolled his eyes speechlessly. "I'd like to ask, when did Miss Tan Er join the Tan family? Does your biological father know you changed your name?"
"Tch, what's it to you?" Kiyosumi glared at him arrogantly and said, "Let's go, let's go, go do what we're supposed to do."
Seeing that Qingcheng was about to slip away, Gao Junxiao became even more excited. He grabbed Qingcheng's shoulder and leaned closer, saying, "There's an old saying, 'A teacher is like a parent.' I never thought we'd have the same father. Isn't that fate?"
"Who...who has the same father as you?" Qingcheng blushed and stammered, but He Gu Niang's strength was still far inferior to his, and he could not break free.
"Not now, but later. How about we strike while the iron is hot and I go directly to the teacher to propose marriage?" Gao Junxiao looked at Qingcheng's flustered eyes and his mood gradually improved. He was now experiencing the joy of being a philanderer.
"Heh, go ahead and go. If you agree, I'll admit defeat." Qingcheng swept away her panic, raised an eyebrow, and looked directly at Gao Junxiao with a cold smile.
"Would it be more useful to find Mrs. Fang?" Gao Junxiao had long since realized that Mrs. Fang was Qingcheng's relative; their eyes were almost identical—firm and ardent.
Kiyosumi grabbed his collar and said angrily, "Nobody can make decisions for me, understand?"
The two were very close, and Gao Junxiao could smell the osmanthus fragrance in her hair. His fingers unconsciously touched her temple, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, and he said seriously, "I understand. Then you can make the decisions for me."
Miss He tightened her grip, still smiling, and said, "Okay, can you disappear from my sight first?"
"No!" Gao Junxiao replied decisively, deliberately tracing the back of Miss He's ear with his withdrawn finger, wanting to see how long she could endure it.
To everyone's surprise, Miss He suddenly let go of him and dismissively muttered, "Childish."
Hearing Qingcheng's evaluation, Gao Junxiao's heart skipped a beat. An unprecedented sense of frustration filled his heart. Sigh, this script isn't right. She would either slap herself or run crying to her teacher's wife to complain... How was he childish? What makes him childish?
"He looks like an adult but is at most three years old," Kiyosumi continued sarcastically. "Isn't it childish for a man to take out his frustrations on others instead of processing them himself?"
Being insulted was certainly upsetting, but another emotion gradually rose within Gao Junxiao's heart—a tingling, itchy feeling. He felt his limbs were becoming uncontrollable, and he thought…
No, Gao Junxiao quickly regained his composure and turned his face away, saying, "Maybe you're right. We caught the criminal, but he escaped, and now we can't even find where Chao Xue is."
"This is your job, don't complain," Kiyosumi said coldly.
"I'm so anxious! I know exactly where he's headed, but I just can't figure out where he is. Who goes north first and then south? Where is he?" Gao Junxiao scratched his head helplessly.
"If you can't find this, it means you're having bad luck. Here, I'll give you a lucky charm." Qingcheng said, tossing him a silver dollar.
"What does that mean? Money makes the world go round." Gao Junxiao looked at the silver dollar in his hand, but couldn't figure it out at all.
"Think for yourself," Kiyosumi said casually, then turned and went back into the house.
This silver coin is finely crafted, with the inscription "Republic of China Year 10" on it. It features a warlord with large ears and a back that is clearly visible, with individual strands of hair. There is a prominent large button on the chest. It is in very good condition, indicating that the original owner frequently polished it to maintain its shine.
Ten years, the cross.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. Mangshan, located at the junction of four provinces, was an excellent geographical location, whether heading south or fleeing to the Central Plains. More importantly, a new train station had just been built in nearby Dangshan County. He wanted to tell his teacher his conjecture immediately.
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