Mrs. Tao helped Mrs. Dong Jiang into the house and asked the servants to serve breakfast. Mrs. Dong Jiang shook her head and said she couldn't eat.
Mrs. Tao frowned and said coldly, "Didn't you look in the mirror? You're almost as thin as a stick. If you don't eat, leave. Don't expect me to save your husband and son."
Dong Jiang reluctantly picked up her chopsticks. After finishing her meal, she remembered her son-in-law and asked, "Where's A Luan?"
"Unfortunately, a ship arrived at Tianjin Port a few days ago, and he went there to tally the cargo. Have you found out what happened to my father and brother?"
Dong Jiang was about to cry when she thought of this. "They said they were secretly reselling arms. I think someone is behind this. There are bandits everywhere now. How could they not have guns? And that foreign company was selling guns openly, and I didn't see anyone being arrested."
"You don't know, because of your fifth aunt, your father and your brother, they have offended the Huang family members badly, especially Huang Zhengxiang and Huang Zhengzhi. I guess they are taking revenge on your father and your brother."
"Here we go again, here we go again, blaming everything on your non-blood relatives. Where's the evidence?" Dong Jiang looked at her mother with a headache. "Can we not say such nonsense? What's the point other than offending people? Didn't you just say that my cousin helped? What exactly happened?"
Dong Jiang's face was tense. After thinking for a long time, she said vaguely, "Your cousin is studying at Beiman Girls' School. There are only daughters from wealthy families there. I heard from your fifth aunt that the shop they work in is owned by a Miss Song. Your cousin asked Miss Song's brother to find out about it."
"Your father and brother committed serious crimes, and even if you pay them, they won't be released. The most they can get is a shorter sentence."
"I thought, 'No, that's not right. Your brother hasn't even married yet. If he goes to jail, who would be willing to marry him?' I'll be so angry I'll go back to my parents' home."
Mrs. Tao took a deep breath. "There are wars everywhere right now, and munitions are the most important military supplies. If my father and my brother were to get into trouble, it would be extremely difficult for us to escape given our lack of wealth and influence. If someone used us as a scapegoat, we might not even survive."
"Ah? What should I do! Oh my God, your cousin didn't say that. I'm going to find her. She can't lie to me." Dong Jiangshi, whose mind had been tense for days, couldn't bear it anymore when she heard her daughter say that her husband and son would not survive. She lay on the table and cried.
Mrs. Tao quickly comforted him, "Don't worry. As long as they haven't been convicted, there's hope of rescue. What's the rank of the person my cousin is asking for help?"
This question stumped Dong Jiangshi, "I don't know, she didn't say."
Mrs. Tao rubbed her aching temples and said, "Is this your business or hers? She didn't tell me, so you won't ask, right?"
"And you're asking people to do things for you and still asking for money. You're so dishonest! How will people view you? Who would want to associate with you?!"
Mrs. Tao scolded Mrs. Dong Jiang and asked her in detail about her uncle's family. At three or four o'clock in the afternoon, she ordered her servants to prepare the carriage and head to Dengshikou Street.
After Huang Wanzhen finished tutoring and returned to Jixiangtang, she hadn't even had a sip of water when Xiuzhu called her to the backyard of Pigeon Hutong.
"Cousin, what do you eat every day? Why are you getting more and more beautiful?" When Mrs. Tao saw Huang Wanzhen coming in, she hurriedly went to greet her, took Huang Wanzhen's hand, and looked her up and down exaggeratedly.
As a mother, Mrs. Huang Dong was not so polite. "Why are you back so late? Your aunt and cousin have been waiting for you for a long time."
Huang Wanzhen explained with a smile, "I don't have clairvoyance or super hearing, so how could I have known that my aunt and cousin were coming? Come and sit down. I'll ask Xiuzhu to go out and buy some fresh fruit."
Before the two of them sat down, Dong Jiang hurriedly said, "Wanzhen, I'm old and didn't understand the matter between your second uncle and cousin. Your cousin wants to ask you about the situation."
Huang Wanzhen had long guessed her intentions. When she mentioned this, her expression immediately darkened and her tone was very serious. "Cousin, I've been helping to investigate this matter for half a month. At that time, Officer Song said that the principal offender had escaped. Although my uncle was an accomplice, the higher-ups took this matter very seriously. Matters like this require early planning. The sooner we act, the lighter the sentence will be."
Huang Wanzhen sighed, "Alas! Think about it, if the main culprit escapes and the higher-ups want to blame the blame, the people below will inevitably have to choose a scapegoat and report it. Those with connections and backgrounds have already made arrangements in advance, so the scapegoat can only be chosen from the remaining people."
The more Huang Wanzhen spoke, the more serious her expression became, until her entire face flushed red. "I was very anxious at the time. My aunt said she would ask someone else for help, and my mother even gave her over three hundred dollars. I guessed my aunt must know someone important. We couldn't do much, but at least we could give a little money to rescue my second uncle and cousin."
"What? My second uncle and cousin haven't been rescued yet? What should I do? If they are labeled as the main culprit, then my second uncle and cousin will..."
The unfinished words made Dong Jiangshi anxious and whirling around, "What should I do? What should I do? Fifth sister, you have to save my master and Ruixin."
Mrs. Huang quickly grasped her hand and said, "Let Wanzhen go find her classmates. We'll spend the money, no matter how much it costs."
Huang Wanzhen couldn't help but twitch her lips after hearing what her mother said. When Mrs. Tao saw this, she quickly took out a large goldfish from her arms and said, "Cousin, I'm really sorry to trouble you. Your brother-in-law is not at home. The wives of merchants are the ones I usually make friends with, so they're not very helpful. Take this gold bar first. I'll treat you to dinner."
"Later, when you ask how much it will cost to save my father and brother, just tell me."
Huang Wanzhen felt relieved after hearing this. The Tao family dealt in foreign goods and owned two ships. Their wealth was not comparable to that of ordinary merchants.
Before the old man of the Dong family died, the Dong family was considered a family of officials. Mrs. Tao married into the Tao family, which was considered a low-class marriage. However, things changed. After the old man Dong died, the family wealth was taken over by the eldest son, and the house where Dong Yuzhuo lived was changed by Dong Yuge to the name of his wife Li Ronghua.
Dong Yuge used to be a clerk in the government office. He took advantage of his position to register Li Ronghua as a female household and changed the name on the house deed. This really proves the saying "It's not gangsters that are scary, what's scary is gangsters with culture."
The two families fought a lawsuit for nearly two years. Although the title deed was not changed, Boss Dong's reputation in the area was ruined. Not to mention renting out the house, no one dared to buy it even if he wanted to sell it, so the matter was shelved.
With the help of his in-laws, the Tao family, Dong Laoer bought another house in Sanlihe. But since then, Dong Laoer joined the Xinxing Society and followed the people in the society to fight and be violent all day long. Later, he also got his son Dong Ruixin in. The two men in the family did not make a living. Occasionally they had some extra money, but it was not enough to support the family. It was Mrs. Tao Dong who secretly gave money to her mother's family.
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