Chapter 48: The International Settlement Part 3
In fact, Chu Wang did not get many opportunities to go out with Zhenzhen.
In the next two days, all the relatives of the Lin family came to Shanghai.
Although the rules were different in Shanghai, most of the Lin family's relatives were conservative. After visiting the Lin Mansion, they were taken to a hotel near Ermalu by Lin Yu and Mrs. Qiao and had some complaints about Lin Yu's new-style family banquet.
"It's not a good idea for all the men and women in the family to eat and talk in the same room, right?" said a lady from the Lin family's eldest house.
"Without a mother to educate us, the family will always lack some etiquette and rules. Look at the two girls in the family, they are still waiting to be married, but they are dragged out by their father to entertain guests. They are so pitiful." A concubine in the third room said.
"Don't be so picky. It's just due to limited conditions. The Lin Mansion is naturally much smaller than the former Lin Garden in Shaoxing, but it follows the rules of Shanghai. Shanghai is more Westernized now, and there are no pedantic customs of the old big families. These two girls were sent to Hong Kong a few years ago and raised by the eldest son of the second wife. Of course, the rules are not too bad." The wife of the third wife complained.
"The eldest girl is very talented and has been famous since she was young. I haven't seen her for a few years. Now she has grown up and her character and appearance are also first-class. I have seen how she treats guests these days. She is very graceful and neither humble nor arrogant. If she goes to Europe with her father to gain experience for two more years and comes back, it is no exaggeration to say that she will be on par with the girls of all the wealthy families in Shanghai..." The fifth wife of the third room praised.
"You all think the second young lady is great, but why haven't you seen the third young lady? I heard that she went to university in Hong Kong two years earlier than her elder sister, which shows that she is even smarter and more talented than her elder sister... She has been lying in bed on the pretext of being sick these past two days and refused to see anyone. I happened to meet her when she came out to drink water..." The sixth concubine of the third room whispered.
Several ladies had heard of the legendary third daughter of the second wife's eldest son, but had never seen her. They all leaned over and asked:
"How is it? Is it beautiful?"
"Are you behaving appropriately?"
"Does she look more like her mother or her father?"
The sixth concubine of the third room recalled the scene when she met Chu Wang. She had used the excuse of changing clothes to see the third young lady's appearance and character, so that she could have something to talk about in front of the other ladies of the third room in the future. But she had never expected to run into her. The young lady wore a lotus-colored silk jacket embroidered with lotus flowers. Her face was plain, and her features had not yet fully developed. Her expression was apathetic and a bit plain. Compared to her dignified and elegant sister, she was more lively and playful. In the past, the maids and young ladies of wealthy families all wore similar and luxurious clothes. Therefore, the difference between the young ladies and maids was not their clothes, but their temperament. Nowadays, the rules of the family have changed. The third young lady can be identified at a glance by her temperament.
She had never seen this third girl before. This third girl, who was rumored to be rarely seen, was caught in a lie by a stranger but did not show any fear. She just stood still, made a "hush" sound, and said with a smile, "Madam, the maids have been too busy these days. If you need to find a toilet, I can take you there."
The Sixth Concubine, accustomed to being humble and submissive, felt her heart melt at being addressed as "Madam." Recalling this scene, she beamed and solemnly announced to the other ladies, "In terms of appearance, she looks more like her mother. So, I can imagine she'll be a truly magnificent beauty in the future. Although she's mischievous, her sister seems much more petty than her."
Huang Mark had a small apartment in a building with an elevator in the concession, so he and Qiao Maling moved in. However, they would occasionally visit the Lin Residence to play mahjong with Mrs. Qiao and the other ladies. Ever since the sixth concubine from the third room had heard about this third daughter, who "looked more like the former Miss Su" and was "more impressive than her second sister," more and more ladies had been flocking to the Lin Residence to join in the fun, often trying to find out stories about the third daughter from Mrs. Qiao over the mahjong table.
Mrs. Qiao had never truly found Chu Wang cute. After being grilled by the other wives, she racked her brains and could only come up with, "She's very cute, so cute that even the wives of professors at the university would take her with them on their trips." Qiao Maling smoothed things over.
"She is a very thoughtful and pleasing little girl. In order to help me with my wedding dress, she asked my father and mother to allow her to go out to work. She also learned French and now I heard that she speaks it quite fluently. Later I heard that she was appreciated by the top physics professor hired by Oxford University. I was not surprised. After all, if she can speak French fluently in more than a year, nothing big can be difficult for her... Ertong. Sorry, I'm talking nonsense." Qiao Maling said with a smile.
The wives weren't really interested in mahjong, so that was fine. Mrs. Qiao could hear them secretly comparing the two girls, and she couldn't stand the veiled praise and disparagement, which made her lose even more bitter these past few days. Playing cards with the elders was meant to entertain them, not to win money. Qiao Maling, who had become the biggest winner of the last few days, returned home trembling with fear, and Huang Mark had no choice but to console her, saying, "Tomorrow we'll go to the mall and buy some gifts for the wives and Mom."
——
Chu Wangyuan sneezed on Second Road.
There had been quite a few relatives visiting over the past two days, and at first Chu Wang had reluctantly shared Lin Yu's concerns. With so many people, it was inevitable that some would come to see the two girls for their "talents," hoping to test their abilities. One day, one of Lin Yu's students came to visit and mentioned, "I've heard that all your children are incredibly talented. Brother Zitong, who still has a year to graduate, has already been promoted to the rank of second lieutenant; and sister Yunyan, in her prime, has already had several of her poems published in New Youth..."
Chu Wang, fearful of poetry, didn't wait for his father to sit down and be praised by his favorite student. He disappeared into the crowd of tenants, fearing another live performance of the "Poetry Competition" in the Lin family mansion. He disappeared without a trace. For the next few days, he prudently feigned illness and simply lay down on the second floor without seeing guests. He left all the household chores to Lin Yu and Yun Yan, even though they might earn him a reputation as lazy people in the Lin family.
As long as she wasn't allowed to write poetry, she wouldn't bother with so much...
But since he was bedridden, he naturally couldn't go out and play. He spent days lying at home, studying the newly installed hot water pipe. Chu Wang was initially shocked by the existence of such a user-friendly "hot water system" before coal prices soared. After turning it on, he was again shocked when, as the hot water was released, a roar like hell erupted from the water pipe marked with the letter "h." It was thunderous, but little rain fell; at first, only two drops of bloody, rusty water dripped out.
This is the downside of the tree branch water supply network. The water pressure is already bad enough on the second floor, so how can it be bad on the third and fourth floors? Chu Wang concluded.
For the next two days, she spent her time reading the translation textbook for this semester. Perhaps written for convenience, the content was impressive: Lesson 1: Translating the "Petition to the Emperor"; Lesson 2: Translating the "Departure from the Capital." Assignment: Students were to translate a passage. Chu Wang attempted the first line, "your servant mistate..." and collapsed on the table, weeping with joy. It was a poetry competition you could avoid, but the demand for a diploma was inevitable.
Looking out her window, she could see a masterful figure just across the garden, capable of such a significant task. However, while the ladies downstairs were playing mahjong recently, she had heard from upstairs that the second wife, Tanaka Sachiko, had given birth to a younger brother for Yan Sang, named Yan Bo. This had happened a while ago. So the neighboring mansion must have been quite busy, too.
Chu Wang had only caught a glimpse of him twice. The first time, he was seen carrying the big bear to the car and heading out, and the second time, he was seeing off a guest. The third time, he seemed to know which room Chu Wang's boudoir belonged to, and he simply wrote three German words in large letters and blatantly hung them outside her window. The first piece of paper said "krank" (sick), the second said "furdiegste" (for guests), and the third just a question mark (?). Seeing that Chu Wang had noticed, he strolled around with a smile and disappeared again. Although they hadn't seen each other for a few days, to avoid suspicion, he still enjoyed playing this kind of game.
I have Lin Zitong to thank for this. The day he returned, Chu Wang attracted the attention of all the ladies. Although I had heard Xie Miya's sister's description of Lin Zitong as "stunningly beautiful" a few years ago, now two years later, the eldest brother of the Lin family has become more imposing and calm. He has a handsome face, a resolute gaze, and a well-dressed figure. In his dark brown youth suit, he stands tall and proud like a spear.
Having heard that the eldest son of the Lin family was a handsome man, the aunts and sisters-in-law had been trying to match him up with him for a few years. Later, when they heard that the fourth daughter of the Xu family was promised to him, the aunts and uncles talked about this marriage with great relish. When they saw Lin Zitong coming back, they all joked with him:
"You've been in Shanghai for so long, but you didn't go home first. Did you go visit the Xu family first?"
"Have you seen that Fourth Miss Xu?"
"I heard that the Xu family hired Mr. Wu Mei to teach this fourth daughter opera since she was young. Besides opera, is there anything else she can do?"
Amidst the laughter of the ladies, Lin Zitong remained silent. She simply exchanged a quick greeting, a simple acquaintance. She went straight upstairs, not to Yunyan's room at the back, but instead knocked on Chu Wang's door and asked, "Third sister, can you come in?"
Chu Wang packed up the pile of translation textbooks and invited him in to sit at the table.
Lin Zitong walked into the room in two or three steps and sat down on the chair in front of her desk. "You still don't like crowds like before."
Chu Wang stared at him, feeling that the situation was rather strange and strange. He could only kindly point out, "...Brother, I am the third sister."
"Yeah, I know," Lin Zitong nodded: "Can't I come and see you?"
Chu Wang laughed awkwardly, "Of course, of course, sure."
"Yan Sang heard you were sick, but there are so many people talking lately and I'm afraid of gossip. It's not convenient for me to come to see you, so I asked you to come and see. Do you have a cold?"
Chu Wang smiled and said, "A little bit."
"Or do you just not want to see visitors?"
Chu Wang chuckled and played dumb, "Both."
"There are so many relatives at home lately, so Yan Sang made a bet with me, wondering if you were really sick or just pretending to be sick and refusing to see anyone. Turns out you were just pretending."
Chu Wang forced a smile: "Thank you for your concern, big brother."
"Hmm." Lin Zitong lowered his head and thought.
Silence, silence again.
"I heard from my father that you're not planning to go to Europe anymore. Are you worried about affecting your studies?"
"Um."
"It's a good thing to have your own ideas," Lin Zitong praised. After a while, he asked, "Will you still live with your aunt?"
"I don't know." Chu Wang said.
"If I can live with my aunt, it will be better than living in the school building." Lin Zitong said.
Chu Wang nodded dully.
"Let me know if you need any help?"
"Thank you, brother."
After watching Lin Zitong get up and leave, the ladies downstairs teased him again. A few minutes later, he returned and asked, "You're not going to Europe. Yan Sang doesn't know yet, right? He always thought you were going with him."
Chu Wang sighed, "Yeah. I'll tell him as soon as possible."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com