He Lanshan let out a sarcastic smile. "In order to live a peaceful and stable life, I was protected by my parents and family for the first half of my life, and by my husband's family for the second half. Hasn't it been like this since ancient times? Look at those young ladies who advocated free love, which one had a good ending? When I was a girl at home, I made a lot of trouble and was expelled from my clan, so I could only go to the lowest class."
Huang Wanzhen suddenly thought of Shen Junru and turned to look for her, but couldn't find her. She hurriedly said to the two of them, "I invited Teacher Shen today. I have to go and entertain her. You two can chat."
After searching for a long time, Huang Wanzhen finally found Shen Junru under the old locust tree in the yard. "Teacher Shen, why are you here? Are you too bored? Let me talk to you."
Shen Junru turned around and saw that it was Huang Wanzhen. She smiled hoarsely and said, "I know you are busy. Go and entertain the guests. I'm fine. I'll stay here for a while and then go back."
Huang Wanzhen carefully examined her face, stepped forward and took her hand. "Why do you look thinner? Is your university workload too heavy?"
Shen Junru shook her head. "I took the entrance exam to study abroad this year. It's really hard to get in as a government-funded student. There are only eight spots in the whole of Beijing. I failed. I wanted my family to pay for me to study in the United States, but they all disagreed."
Huang Wanzhen comforted her, "Aren't you doing well in Beijing? If you want to study abroad at your own expense, you can start saving money now."
Shen Junru shook her head in disappointment. "There's no chance. I'm old, and my family has been urging me to get married. If I hadn't stubbornly refused, I would have gotten married long ago. Oh! I really don't want to stay in Beijing. Jiangsu Province is better."
Huang Wanzhen advised her, "Let go of your unhappiness for now. Maybe if you do, the problem will be solved. Focus on your studies first. I heard that universities use a credit system. If you have enough credits, you can apply for early graduation. If you can get your diploma, it will give you more confidence, whether you are working independently or negotiating with your family."
Although Shen Junru didn't say anything on the surface, she had already made a decision in her heart. Before the end of the year, news of her engagement came in. Of course, this is a later story and can be left aside for now.
Huang Wanzhen was busier than before when she came back this time. She was often not seen. She kept some of the money in her bank account for circulation and exchanged it into US dollars. She exchanged the rest into gold bars.
He took half of the gold and went to look for Tao Dongshi who lived in Nanchizi, East City.
"Why did you buy so much cloth?"
Huang Wanzhen whispered in her ear, "I heard from Shanghai that if there's a war, there won't be peace. The first things that will increase in price are food and cloth. I'll have some in stock, so at least there won't be famine in the future."
Born in a war-torn era, Tao Dongshi was not too afraid of war. The emperor abdicated when she was young. Although there was no bloody battle in Beijing, there was no peace either. A group of people came from the east and were driven out by people from the west before they could even sit down. In any case, there were constant fighting over the years.
These ordinary people who weren't serving in the government were only concerned about one thing: the chaos in the world. Every time there was a war, prices would go up. They could make do with other things, but not with food. Many people would starve to death every time. "Then I'll ask your brother-in-law to prepare some."
"That's fine, I won't bother you anymore. I'll trouble you to buy the food for me, cousin. I'll send you the money later."
Mrs. Tao took Huang Wanzhen's hand affectionately and said, "Why are you being so polite to me? We're family, so we don't have to talk about different things. How is my fifth aunt doing in Shanghai? Is she adjusting well?"
Huang Wanzhen knew she wanted to ask about the Dong family, so she summarized the Huang-Dong family's affairs in two sentences, and then turned the topic to the Dong family, "My cousin's wife is a very smart person, and she is also beautiful. I didn't expect that my cousin's marriage was in Shanghai."
Mrs. Tao covered her mouth and laughed, "Hehe." "He sent me a telegram. It's so far away, I can't go, so I sent a generous gift. It was an expedited delivery, and it cost me two dollars."
"By the way, how's business at their grocery store? A few days ago, a ship from Tianjin sailed south, and I asked your brother-in-law to send them a batch of dates, dried apricots, and dried persimmons."
"It's okay. Shanghai has a lot of people and shops, so the competition is quite fierce. But our goods from the north are still quite popular."
"Alas! For those who have left their hometown, it's good enough to be able to support their family. I'm just worried that if a war breaks out, Shanghai County will be unsafe." Mrs. Tao expressed her worries to Huang Wanzhen with a worried look on her face. Huang Wanzhen understood her worries immediately. "My mother is in the concession. How could I let my second uncle's family suffer? Don't worry, cousin."
Mrs. Tao laughed again, "Fifth Aunt loves my father the most. I can rest assured about that."
After chatting with Mrs. Tao for a while, Huang Wanzhen took a rickshaw back to Jixiang Hall.
Huang Wanzhen called Xiulan and Xiuqing to the office and asked about Gao Zhixiang's work. Unexpectedly, when she mentioned him, Xiulan and Xiuqing both laughed. Huang Wanzhen asked in confusion, "What's going on?"
Xiulan opened her mouth, walked up to Huang Wanzhen, and talked to her in detail, saying that Gao Zhixiang had a scholarly air and a handsome appearance like a Jiangnan man. After coming to Jixiangtang, he was especially liked by some elderly ladies. Although Gao Zhixiang was a little reserved, he was serious and responsible in his work, and he understood the products in the shop in just a few days.
Huang Wanzhen nodded in satisfaction, "Okay, got it."
Since he was a capable person, Huang Wanzhen gradually handed over a lot of the work in her hands to Gao Zhixiang, freeing up her hands to go to the market to stock up on a lot of necessary materials and finished products.
Not long after she made her arrangements, the newspapers published the news that the Democratic Party government issued the "Northern Expedition Declaration" in Guangdong and vowed to march north to quickly occupy several areas.
The Northern Expedition Army became famous overnight and shocked the whole country. Although it was still far away from Beijing, many people began to stockpile supplies, and prices in the market soared. The shops on Dengshikou Street also raised their prices a lot due to the increase in cost price, except for Jixiangtang.
But now the hot-selling product in the market is food. The price of grain in the market has skyrocketed, almost doubled compared to before. Even if Jixiangtang did not raise prices, its business was also affected.
Huang Wanzhen threw the account book aside after reading it. There was nothing she could do. War was an objective event and she could not stop it, so she continued to go to school, practice martial arts and manage the shop as usual.
When people on Dengshikou Street started eating steamed buns made of two-grain flour mixed with coarse grains, Huang Wanzhen also asked Zhao Dahua to change the food in the shop to steamed buns made of two-grain flour.
"Mr. Huang, your call!" Xiao Shitou's voice drifted across half the shop and half the backyard, reaching Huang Wanzhen's ears. Huang Wanzhen quickly ran into the shop and answered the phone. "Hello? This is Huang Wanzhen."
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