Chapter 7: An Unexpected Encounter at Night, Plotting Retribution

"Oh, why is it you?"
"It's you?!"
The two spoke almost in unison.
The person who opened the door was a young girl with a charming face—the very same refined young woman Chen Lin had encountered at the garment shop earlier that day.

"Miao Miao, hello there!" The girl lowered her head to greet Miao Miao, her voice soft yet remarkably clear.
She then explained to Chen Lin, "It’s just my brother and me living here. We had a few spare rooms, and since the number of merchants visiting Yangjing Town has grown over the past few years, we decided to open a small inn."
The girl was quite the shrewd business owner, working at the garment shop by day and running an inn by night.
She smiled and looked at Chen Lin, asking, "Sir, are you looking for a long-term rental or a short stay? Our facilities are modest, but the rooms are very clean."
With that, she warmly ushered the siblings into the small courtyard.

It was a single-entry courtyard with three main rooms and three wing rooms on either side. The yard was kept tidy, featuring only a small white magnolia tree, standing elegant, pure, and pristine.
Chen Lin scanned the yard and said, "My sister and I still have some business in town, so we’ll just stay for the night."
"If it’s just for one night, you can take this room. I aired out the bedding earlier today." The girl pushed open a wing room adjacent to the main house.
Chen Lin peeked inside; the furnishings were simple but remarkably neat. He then asked, seemingly casually, "Oh, where is your brother?"
With a man in the household, he naturally had to remain vigilant.
"My brother goes out to do manual labor at night and stays home during the day. However, our neighbors are all my brother's friends. Is there something you need, sir?"
The girl was very clever; by intentionally revealing that the surrounding neighbors were acquaintances, she was also subtly warning Chen Lin.
"I need to procure some items urgently, so I was hoping to find someone to help me."
"Oh, in that case, please settle into your room and wait a moment. I’ll have someone go call my brother. He should be able to help you."
The girl certainly believed in keeping things within the family, managing every detail.
"Hmm, you are not from Shanghai, are you? Judging by your accent, you seem to be Hakka," Chen Lin noted with a nod.
"You have a keen ear, sir. But my brother and I have long since settled here. My brother’s name is Liu Lichuan, and I am Liu Lihua. You need not worry."
The girl seemed to sense Chen Lin's guard and offered her name to put him at ease.
"Lihua? 'One should marry a wife like Yin Lihua'—is it that Lihua?" Chen Lin asked softly, though he felt it might have been an inappropriate question, his voice trailing off at the end.
The girl heard him clearly. Her ears turned slightly red, and she said with a touch of shyness, "I never would have guessed that you were a man of letters, sir."

For a Hakka man doing manual labor to possess such a refined courtyard in the bustling Yangjing Town with his teenage sister was, in itself, a bit strange. However, Chen Lin did not dwell on it. At the very least, he could be certain this wasn't a "black shop" (a dangerous inn). A female proprietor of a criminal establishment would not be working a side job at a garment shop during the day.
"Brother, that big sister is so beautiful," Miao Miao chirped, her eyes wide as Liu Lihua walked away.

"Haha, Miao Miao, I need to go out for a bit. Will you stay here and be a good girl? Don't wander off. I'm just going out to buy a few things and will be back soon."
"Okay," Miao Miao nodded. "With the big sister here, I’m not scared. You must come back, Brother."
Having interacted with Liu Lihua during the day, Miao Miao had already grown to trust her, so she felt no hesitation.

Not long after, a man in his early twenties, of medium build, with a square face and tanned skin, was brought to the room's entrance by Liu Lihua. They didn't step inside but called out to Chen Lin from the doorway.
"Greetings, brother," Chen Lin said, bowing in respect.
"You need to procure goods? Is it a lot? Do you need a pushcart?" the man asked.
"That would be even better if you have one." Chen Lin touched the thirty-three silver dollars left in his pocket, calculating how to spend them. He had already spent one silver dollar each at the bun shop and the garment store.
In his previous life, he had managed laboratory operations and was quite adept at procurement. But here, he was completely in the dark, with no idea where to start. However, Chen Lin knew that whatever he couldn't handle, money could certainly solve.
The items he needed today were numerous and varied because the things he intended to create were uncommon in this era.

In the concession area, workers were still working through the night to repair the roads along the river, crushing powdered limestone brought from afar and flattening it with stone rollers.
Inside the temporary consulate residence by the river, Balfour and Hobson sat on the terrace enjoying the river breeze after dinner. It was a bit cold, but the foreigners were fond of this sort of atmosphere.
"If I had a canvas right now, I could paint a wide road along the river, lined with bright kerosene streetlamps. The floating docks along the river would form a chain, and the lanterns on the anchored ships would sway, illuminating the entire river surface," Balfour said, swirling the wine in his glass.
Hobson, whose attitude toward him had improved since the day's events, agreed, "Then you must be an idealist painter."
"No, I follow the path of realism," Balfour shook his head. "Although I am not particularly fond of these people of the Qing Empire, their ability to create wealth is worthy of admiration."
"Marco Polo's travels claimed the East was paved with gold; he wasn't wrong. There is a group of people here who know how to create gold."
"Oh, really? That is high praise."
"It is not high at all. If we conquer the Qing Empire, we will gain ten Indias."
Hobson did not take up the topic. As a missionary spreading the gospel of God, talking about conquest was far too blunt. He changed the subject, asking about a doubt that had surfaced earlier that day: "Mr. Balfour, why did you agree to let that child stay? Are you not worried that the child was lying?"
He knew that a politician like Balfour could not be as impulsive as he was.
"The Qing people have a saying: 'Spend a thousand gold pieces to buy the bones of a fine horse.' You should study it when you have time. As I just said, the people here know how to create gold. We came here to find wealth for the British Empire, so naturally, we must cooperate with the people here."
"It is cooperation, not enmity."
Hobson looked at Balfour and clinked his glass against the other man's.
"I hope they are willing to serve as our subordinates!"

The two smiled at each other.
Not far away at the Dent & Co. office, James had also returned. However, he was immediately met with a harsh scolding upon arrival.
"What? You didn't bring him back? You idiot! By tomorrow, he might be snatched up by Renji or Jardine!" Mr. Dent always spoke to his subordinates in the tone of a military officer, perhaps a remnant of his past life.
James was already used to it, though he would have been happier with a gentler boss.
"Boss, rest assured, I found the child's home in the south. He shouldn't be lying; we must give them some time to pack up."
Jenny, standing nearby, also persuaded him, "Yes, Father, you are being too impatient. A ten-year-old boy, how would he dare to deceive Uncle James?" She looked at James's tower-like frame and laughed.
"Hmph, James, if that brat dares not show up for work, go tear down his house."
"Hehe..." Jenny couldn't help but giggle.
Most people would have reported for work the moment they heard what Dent & Co. was offering, yet this boy had held back—and he had no parents. It was truly strange. Such anomaly piqued Jenny’s curiosity about this young interpreter.
"Jenny, wear a beautiful dress tomorrow and accompany me to meet the Consul. We at Dent & Co. must secure that largest plot of land in the south."
With the boundaries of the concession just established, the major foreign firms had already begun a war to seize land.

Back in Yangjing Town, Chen Lin had already purchased quite a few items.
Liu Lichuan was highly capable, and he seemed to have friends everywhere. Every time Chen Lin asked where he could buy something, Lichuan always knew someone who worked at that specific shop. Truly, the wisdom of survival among the lower classes is profound and mysterious.
Lichuan, however, was curious in his heart: why did this young boy want so many strange things?
Clay pots, porcelain jars, copper pipes, bamboo tubes, coal, distilled liquor, white vinegar, chili peppers, green vitriol, sulfur, lime—he even bought a crucible used in jewelry shops for melting gold.
None of these items were strange on their own, but the fact that the boy needed to collect them all together was quite peculiar.
Still, the boy had paid in full with silver dollars and even given him a whole silver dollar as a tip for his trouble. If it weren't for the fact that the boy was so young, he might have suspected the lad was just using this as an excuse to get close to his sister.