Chapter 53: Mr. Xie and Mr. Huang Part 2
Arriving at the Jardine Matheson Pier, Chu Wang slowly disembarked, holding Big Bear. He looked over at the pier—a large, red-and-white iron ship, its hull painted "KPM" to indicate its route. As usual, it had departed from Yokohama and would stop at the Shanghai pier for a few hours. Some who didn't want to disembark were bargaining with orange vendors on the second deck. Those who did disembark were eager to ride Shanghai's signature rickshaws around the Bund.
A magazine was doing an interview at the dock and took pictures of three Japanese girls who were wearing heavy foundation, kimonos and wooden clogs. Because the guy at the newspaper didn't speak the language, he could only keep saying "kawaii" and "sumi masaai" over and over again, which made the Japanese girls giggle.
After parking the car and returning, Xie Zeyi stood beside her and read the magazine's interviews with Japanese girls for a while, until two of them blushed under his gaze. Xie Zeyi didn't notice at all, and turned around and asked, "Should we go aboard first, or wait for Mrs. Ge to come along?"
As they spoke, four or five Dodges rolled into the dock with great fanfare and stopped in unison. Two or three gentlemen in suits and ties got out and hurried over to open the door of the second car. Then, a pair of feet in black high heels stepped out. Then everyone realized that the owner of those beautiful feet was a true beauty—dressed in black, her complexion pale and sallow. Though a little old, she was old in a good way, perhaps even more sophisticated and charming than a younger woman. It was none other than Mrs. Ge.
Mrs. Ge got out of the car and waved her hand with a forced smile, as if to dismiss the gentlemen who were trying to show their hospitality. But no one was willing to leave. Three or five well-dressed men followed behind, carrying their various suitcases. Her brow furrowed, as if annoyed, and she casually took her small wicker suitcase from a chubby man, then dashed towards the dock in a few aggressive steps. After a few steps, she glanced at the tall Xie Zeyi, paused, and smiled. Xie Zeyi then led Chu Wang to Mrs. Ge's side. The other gentlemen looked at her with great interest, and in the process, they also took Chu Wang's large bear.
Chu Wang looked at his bear: "..."
Xie Zeyi also looked at the teddy bear that had refused to let him touch it all morning, smiled happily, and turned to Mrs. Ge and said, "Did you sleep well, Mrs. Ge?"
Mrs. Ge glanced at him and said, "You're so clever! Who knows what you're planning to do at the Lin Mansion?"
"Last night, the hotel was packed with some of Shanghai's most influential people. Mrs. Ge was busy welcoming and seeing them off the entire time. I'm afraid you'll be tired, so I'll just do some of the chores for you."
"You kid," Mrs. Ge snorted and snorted, barely forgiving his self-willed behavior: "This is the only thing you can't handle." Then she waved to Chu Wang and asked her to follow her.
Xie Zeyi smiled and nodded repeatedly, and the group boarded the first-class cabin through a special passage. The maids and servants that Mrs. Ge had brought with her to help with the luggage followed behind the group, empty-handed and with nothing to do. They were not surprised by this scene at all, and chatted as usual as they boarded the ship.
Chu Wang shared a room with Madam Ge, her two maids, Miqiu and Li Qi, and two housemaids. Xie Zeyi occupied a single room next door. After the luggage was packed, Madam Ge spoke with the Shanghai tobacco merchants outside for a while before sending them all away. Back in the cabin, she took off her high heels and slumped on the sofa. Miqiu and Li Qi asked, "Madam, are you going to the banquet on the ship tonight?"
Mrs. Ge was exhausted and could not bear to lift her eyelids. "I won't go anymore. It's too much trouble for me."
Mi Qiu winked at Li Qi and said, "Then I'll bring your dinner clothes up for you."
"What are you going to do with that? Just put my robe on me and sleep all the way to Hong Kong."
Although she said this, she raised her eyes to look for Chu Wang. Seeing Mrs. Ge looking at him, Chu Wang hurriedly sat down next to her and said, "Aunt, don't worry about me. Just go to sleep. I won't get lost."
Mrs. Ge smiled, "Why not take care of you?" She raised her cheek towards Mi Qiu, "What do you want to eat and do later? Just let Mi Qiu take you there."
Tilting her head slightly, her gaze passed over Mi Qiu, and Mrs. Ge frowned, "Li Qi, what are you peeking at?"
Mi Qiu looked unhappy and pushed Li Qi back. Li Qi became even more unhappy and pouted. Finally, he spoke out: "Just after we got on board, a Mr. Sun, a painter from Shanghai, handed me his business card. He said he wanted to invite my wife to see his paintings."
"Is Sun a relative of yours, or even a royal family member? Why would you rush to act as a matchmaker for him? Seeing that your wife hasn't slept for several days, you don't even bother to calm down for her." Mi Qiu sneered, scolding Li Qi so much that his eyes turned red and he couldn't raise his head.
"It's you two who should keep quiet," Mrs. Ge rubbed her head, not having the energy to lecture the servants. "Go next door and ask Mr. Xie to come in for me. If he's free, have him go in my place."
They both bowed their heads and answered yes in unison.
Li Qi opened the door and went to the next room to ask for Xie Zeyi's help. The door of the cabin across the way was also open, and the sound of bells and bamboo shoots was so loud that it gave Mrs. Ge a headache. Just as she was about to close the door, Mrs. Ge stopped her and asked, "Who are these people?"
Mi Qiu looked over and said with a smile, "Old neighbor on Earl Road."
Mrs. Ge sneered as usual, closed her eyes for a few minutes, then opened them again to look at Chu Wang and said, "Xie Zeyi will go to look at paintings later. If you want to go, go with him. It would be good to broaden your horizons."
Chu Wang uttered a sigh, and Mrs. Ge finally sank into the sofa, and her usual fierce demeanor finally subsided.
Li Qi returned and closed the hatch, and moments later, the boat lurched away. Chu Wang sat on the sofa next to Mrs. Ge, flipping through her translation textbook. Mi Qiu turned on the desk lamp for her and brought her a warm drink. But because Mrs. Ge was sound asleep in the room, everyone moved very quietly, afraid to disturb her, so the noises outside the cabin were amplified.
The calm bass voice came from my brother-in-law, Mr. Huang: "I've prepared some seasickness pills for Mom. Asked Zhao Ma to take them with her."
Mrs. Qiao's deep mezzo-soprano voice asked, "Where are you going to play later?"
A young woman's gentle and pleasant voice said, "After dinner, we're going to go dance. We don't have anything else to do."
Mrs. Qiao said, "Don't play too wild."
"No, Mom. Do you want to bring Zhenzhen with you? It won't be fun for her to have it alone."
"What's the point of bringing her along? You'll be corrupting the little girl for nothing."
Qiao Maling wanted to say something more, but she knew she couldn't persuade Mrs. Qiao, and she didn't bother to bother trying to get Zhenzhen some leisure activities. There was a moment of silence next door, and then the sound of Qiao Maling and Mr. Huang chatting and laughing could be heard again. Even Xue Zhenzhen, who was usually lively, was surprisingly quiet. Chu Wang reluctantly translated half of the petition into vernacular Chinese, closed his textbook, and knocked on the door across the street. When Aunt Zhao opened the door, she smiled and said, "I'll invite Zhenzhen to dinner with me."
When Mrs. Qiao saw this, she said, "It's a good opportunity for you to come and play with her." Xue Zhenzhen was lying listlessly on the sofa. When she heard Chu Wang's voice, she immediately regained some energy and got up to go out.
As soon as the hatch to her aunt's house closed, Xue Zhenzhen immediately grabbed Chu Wang's hand and muttered, "I really don't want to sleep in the same room with my aunt." Her head drooped again, "What am I doing standing around her all day? Am I just asking for trouble?"
Chu Wangxiao listened, then, holding her arm, turned around and rang the doorbell to the room next door to Mrs. Ge's. Xie Zeyi, wearing a suit jacket over his shirt, opened the door, raised his drooping eyelids, said "Oh," and stepped aside politely, "Ladies, please come in."
"What are we doing here..." Xue Zhenzhen tugged at her sleeve, glanced at Xie Zeyi, and said in a low voice.
"Mrs. Ge is sleeping. Let's borrow Mr. Xie's place to talk for a while so as not to disturb her." Chu Wang pulled Zhenzhen to sit on the two rattan chairs in the corner by the window. "Anyway, we're going to have dinner with Mr. Xie soon. I hope Mr. Xie doesn't mind if I come a little early."
Xie Zeyi smiled and said, "My pleasure, my pleasure. Please chat freely, just as if I'm not here."
Xie Zeyi's private room had a small tea room attached. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately slipped into the tea room, considerately closing the door behind him.
"Wow..." Xue Zhenzhen exclaimed, "What is the relationship between this young master and your aunt?"
"I'm not sure right now." Chu Wang reported truthfully.
The two sighed for a while, and Xue Zhenzhen suddenly whispered in Chu Wang's ear: "From what I've observed, Sister Ma Ling's married life isn't very happy. The affection they show in front of their aunt is just a pretense, just to save face for everyone else."
Chu Wang recalled how Huang Mark had been in Shanghai these days, working tirelessly for the Qiao family. He kept silent when everyone was talking, acting like an honest man. Chu Wang was puzzled, "Why do you say that?"
"When we first boarded the ship, I was walking at the back, keeping quiet. Then I heard Sister Ma Ling pulling Mr. Huang to the back, pleading softly, 'Before you leave Hong Kong, at least act respectable in front of my mother. If my mother knew what you were doing out there...'"
"Then what?"
"Then it got quieter and quieter until I couldn't hear it anymore," Xue Zhenzhen added, noticing Chu Wang's expression. "I couldn't just stand there and listen, so I had to stay and not leave."
“…”
As he was speaking, the doorbell rang. Xie Zeyi came out of the tea room, holding a teacup, and opened the door. Standing outside was a kind-looking old lady. Xie Zeyi smiled, "Mrs. Sun, please wait a moment. I'll go to the restaurant right away."
He closed the door, fastened his tie, and pulled his trousers into his boots—the most fashionable way for Western-style gentlemen to dress nowadays.
Zhenzhen, a girl in a floral lace dress with lotus leaf sleeves, and Chu Wang, a girl in a slate-gray tweed dress with a cinch waist, followed Xie Zeyi, who was dressed in a formal suit, out the door together. When they arrived at the restaurant, this combination was still a bit strange, attracting the attention of a group of wealthy men and women.
So, in the bamboo curtained compartment that Mr. Sun had prepared in advance, Xie Zeyi was the first to explain with a smile, "These two are my sisters."
Mrs. Sun laughed and said, "I heard that in Hong Kong, Sir Xie has a high seniority, and Young Master Xie also takes advantage of many uncles and aunts who are over fifty years old. Why are these two girls calling each other sisters again?"
Xie Zeyi said, "Mrs. Ge married into a higher generation, so her niece's generation is naturally higher as well."
Mrs. Sun now paid special attention to Chu Wang and Zhenzhen, and invited them to sit on the sofa inside.
From Xie Zeyi's words, the two girls realized that he was a lower generation than Mrs. Ge. Therefore, Sir Xie, who was of the same generation as Mrs. Ge, was her confidant.
Xie Zeyi asked, "Why don't you see Mr. Sun?"
Mrs. Sun apologized profusely. "We went to invite Mrs. Ge before, but her servant said she couldn't come due to illness. My husband was too anxious, and then he heard that Mrs. Qiao and her daughter were also on this ship. So he went to invite Mrs. Qiao again before Young Master Xie arrived. Mrs. Qiao's daughter and son-in-law will also come soon. I wonder if I offended Young Master Xie?"
Xie Zeyi listened thoughtfully. After a moment, a meaningful smile appeared on his face. "How could it be? It just so happens that Mrs. Qiao's daughter and I have the same painting appreciation skills."
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