20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 464 Suspicion is not a disease

Hotel Madiel, in the guest room.

A dim lamp was on the table. Jiang Lianheng lit a cigarette and waved his hand casually, "Sit down."

After a moment of silence, the sound of footsteps in high boots gradually began to sound.

Dong Niya walked up to Jiang Lianheng and sat down gently at the foot of the bed. She didn't take off her hat and her hands remained in her coat pockets.

She was a little reserved and always subconsciously took a defensive stance.

Afterwards, Chuanghu closed the door, quickly approached the two of them, and asked, "Boss, shall we start now?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded.

As Chuanghu's Russian was limited, he tried to keep his words as simple as possible, and would have to leave the remaining details to someone else to discuss after they arrived in Fengtian.

Fortunately, Chuanghu's body language is quite rich. He uses both speech and gestures, and his form and spirit are combined, so he can barely convey his ideas.

When the cigarette was burnt out, Jiang Lianheng finally spoke: "I have a few questions to ask you. I will only ask you once. Think about it before answering."

Tonya responded, frowning slightly, with a hint of confusion in her expression.

"Were you really sold to the Far East?"

This was Jiang Lianheng's first question. His tone was very calm, yet somewhat confusing. After Chuanghu's retelling, Dongnia became more and more confused. Finally, she nodded and gave an affirmative answer.

"Then were the others also sold here like you?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

Dongnia replied briefly, saying that she had just arrived in Harbin not long ago and didn't know much about the other people's situation, but she guessed that the other girls were no different from herself.

"Is this kind of thing very common recently?" Jiang Lianheng asked again.

This time, Dong Niya seemed to have touched a nerve and spoke a lot of words in a row. Although Chuang Hu was unable to translate all of them, he was able to summarize many key points such as famine, war, and prices. In short, it was about survival in troubled times.

Jiang Lianheng continued to ask: "What do you girls usually do in the 'Old Gun Club'? Do you need to accompany the guests?"

"It depends on each person's situation." Dongnia explained softly, "Sometimes, there are too few guests in the club, so we will be called down to liven up the atmosphere. Some will sing, some will dance, and some will serve drinks. If there are a lot of guests, we don't have to go down."

"Then... did that old man Chikhlov deliberately arrange for you to get close to anyone?"

"Of course, if an important person comes, he will pick a few pretty girls to go downstairs to entertain them."

"Have you ever been chosen?" Jiang Lianheng raised his eyelids and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

Dong Niya blushed instantly and shook her head quickly: "No, I'm not pretty, and I've only been here for a short time. I only went downstairs to play the piano a few times."

When talking about the piano, she finally took her hand out of her coat pocket, hovered it in the air, played a few notes, and then quickly put it back.

Jiang Lianheng saw this and pondered silently for a moment.

At this point, Chuanghu also came to his senses and asked hurriedly, "Boss, aren't we here for romance and love? Are you asking these questions because you think there's something wrong with this group of 'foreign Guanyins'?"

Jiang Lianheng did not hide the truth, but asked in return: "A club opened by a retired military officer, the boss is the 'Big Beard Gang', the customers are all officials of all ranks in the Far East, and there are so many 'foreign Guanyin' of unknown origin in the store, shouldn't I ask?"

"Of course, of course." Chuang Hu laughed, "But... Boss, if you doubt them, why do you have to buy them?"

"You can be suspicious, but you can't just dismiss them all with one blow." Jiang Lianheng glanced at Dong Niya and continued, "They may not be doing this voluntarily. They may just be tools for Chekhlov to get information. Buying them is actually the same as buying information."

Chuanghu nodded thoughtfully, then became a little confused.

"Boss, the Russians are all busy fighting a civil war right now. Does their news have anything to do with us?"

"Yes, I want to know why they are fighting a civil war. If Lao Zhang asks me one day, I will have something to say. We can't just say what the newspaper says, right? What's the point of me being a spy then?"

Upon hearing this, Chuang Hu couldn't help but sigh inwardly: It's not easy for Lao Zhang to give the Jiang family this job. After a long time, people will inevitably become suspicious.

As an eagle, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

Jiang Lianheng had long been accustomed to this, and immediately looked at Dong Niya and asked, "What's going on over there? I heard that the 'rebels' seem to be robbing rich people's things everywhere?"

Tonya nodded, and the expression in her eyes suddenly became a little complicated.

That night, the two of them talked a lot, but there was not a single word of love. Instead, it was more like a reporter interviewing refugees in a foreign country.

From the first half of the night to the second half, as the communication became more frequent, Tonya's vigilance became lessened.

She took off her bell hat, and no longer stubbornly hid her hands in her coat pockets. Her body movements gradually became richer and more frequent, and she even occasionally asked Jiang Lianheng some questions, such as occupation, age, etc.

Chuanghu was in a miserable situation.

Because his Russian level was not very good, a few words from the two of them were often enough to make this boy dance around and work himself up for a long time.

What else can I do? I can only go through the tiger's way again.

By nearly two o'clock in the morning, the three of them felt a little tired. They yawned repeatedly and tears welled up in the corners of their eyes.

Tonya gradually fell silent, not only because she was sleepy, but also because she knew very well what to do next.

Jiang Lianheng put out his third cigarette, suddenly stood up from his chair and said, "Okay, you sleep here tonight, I'm leaving."

Hearing this, Dong Niya was surprised, and Chuang Hu was even more surprised.

Then, Jiang Lianheng told Chuanghu, "Translate for her. I will give her a piano when we return to Fengtian."

After hearing this, Dong Niya's eyes suddenly lit up and she leaned forward slightly. While she was surprised, she also had some good feelings for him.

Jiang Lianheng ignored him and instead hugged Chuanghu, saying with a smile: "Hu, I'll go to your room. It's the last night anyway, so don't bother, let's just squeeze in together."

Chuanghu turned around on the spot and immediately crawled out from under Jiang Lianheng's armpit, his eyes full of fear and shock.

"You... Boss, you can't do this!"

"Don't talk nonsense. Didn't you sleep on a big kang when you were a child?"

As Jiang Lianheng spoke, he dragged Chuanghu out of the guest room. When they reached the corridor, he whispered, "Hu, how was my performance just now?"

"What's going on?" Chuanghu asked in confusion.

"It's about romance!" Jiang Lianheng frowned, "It's about love and romance!"

"Hiss—No, Boss, did you talk about it just now?"

"We haven't discussed this yet?" Jiang Lianheng asked, "Did I not sleep with her tonight?"

Chuanghu nodded: "You'd better not sleep with me." "Asshole!" Jiang Lianheng cursed, and then said, "I didn't sleep with her right away, and I said I would give her a piano. Isn't this romantic and love?"

Chuang Hu blinked his eyes, his face showing an expression of disbelief. He was stunned for a long time, and suddenly asked:
"Boss, I have a question for you. How did you and our eldest sister-in-law get together? Was it arranged by your parents or the matchmaker?"

"Why are you asking this?" Jiang Lianheng asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing. I've been reading in the newspapers lately that young people should be free to fall in love, but now I suddenly feel that arranged marriages do make sense..."

…………

The next morning, it was another day with howling north winds.

Jiang Lianheng and others got up early, washed up, and hurriedly ate breakfast before starting to get busy with their own work.

Chuang Hu was the first one to go out. Not only did he have to meet Lin Qi at the "Songjiang Movie Tea House", but he also had to go to the "Old Gun Club" to settle the balance and bring back all the White Russian girls.

Li Zhengxi, Tou Daozi and Kang Zheng were going to Shuangcheng to meet up with the Huazituan and the bandit gang, pick up "Yang Guanyin" and head south along a wild road, returning to Fengtian via Kuanchengzi.

As soon as the three of them walked out of the Madiel Hotel, they saw Yu Dehai already standing at the gate, ready to go, having been waiting for a long time.

"Brother, why did you come out just now? I've been waiting at the door for a long time." Seeing Xifeng, he immediately came over with a smile on his face.

Li Zhengxi and the others looked Yu Dehai up and down, and saw that he had a greasy face and powdered hair, and was wearing a well-worn and shiny suit, as if he was wearing the most valuable clothes in the family. They couldn't help but laugh and said, "Brother, you are dressed up and standing at attention today!"

Yu Dehai scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed, and said, "Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. I will be Mr. Jiang's man in the future, so I can't bring shame to the Jiang family, right?"

"Is the house tidy?"

"I packed it up last night."

"You also quit your job at the loan company?"

"I quit, I quit. It was quite nice of you to pay me half a month's salary, which wasn't much, and buy me two packs of cigarettes."

As Yu Dehai spoke, he took out several boxes of "Laobado" from his arms and gave them to Li Zhengxi and the other two one by one, speaking only polite words.

Li Zhengxi took the cigarette, turned it over twice in his palm, and the playful sneer on the corner of his mouth gradually disappeared, replaced by another complicated expression.

Yu Dehai thought he had given too little, so he quickly took out another box of Lao Baduo from his trouser pocket and handed it over, saying with an apologetic smile: "Come on, brother, take it. Don't think it's too little. It's just a token of my appreciation. I'll have to trouble everyone to take care of me in the future. We have a long way to go!"

Li Zhengxi nodded absentmindedly without saying anything.

Seeing this, Tou Daozi patted Yu Dehai on the shoulder and said in a deep voice: "The clothes are nice, and the cigarettes, we'll take them, let's go!"

"Okay!" Yu Dehai excitedly led the three people down the stairs, "Wait here for a while, I'll call a carriage for you!"

Li Zhengxi and others didn't say anything else. They just watched him busying around, his face filled with unspeakable joy and longing.

Soon, the four people got into a Russian carriage one after another and headed southwest, trembling and moving away.

After Li Zhengxi, Chuang Hu and others left, only Jiang Lianheng, Xue Yingqing and Dong Niya remained in the hotel.

Jiang Lianheng needed no explanation. He was very excited about Dongnia and the novelty of the relationship had not yet worn off. As soon as he finished breakfast, he took the girl back to the guest room. Even though they couldn't communicate in the same language, he still wanted to "talk about romance and love".

Xue Yingqing had nothing to do, so he stayed alone in the hotel cafe, looking out the window at the winter street scene.

Time passes quietly.

Xue Yingqing was born with a delicate and beautiful appearance. She was born into a "Yan family" and was best at playing with men's minds.

In front of outsiders, she can always take advantage of the situation and bring out her charm to the fullest.

Sometimes she is petite and delicate, sometimes she is cool and noble, sometimes she is gentle and intellectual, or she is bold and forthright - no matter which style, she is very familiar with it, as if it is natural for her.

After all, these are just means of making money, just business.

However, when there was no one around, Xue Yingqing looked a little dull and confused, like a child lost on the street.

Whenever this happens, she would use her own words to say that she is "tired" and needs to "take a break."

But at this moment, a figure suddenly walked into the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Shopkeeper Xue, why are you sitting here alone?"

There was a sticky, greasy sound in my ears, and before I could come to my senses, the man had already sat down opposite me.

Xue Yingqing was suddenly stunned. Seeing the man with small eyes and freckles on his face, he remembered that he was Guan Fu, the adopted son of Zhan Ye.

She was stunned for only half a second before she immediately regained her usual spirit.

No panic, no fear.

The "Yanzi Sect" has always emphasized "entering the game with one's body". She was already used to this kind of situation, so there was no reason for her to be afraid. So she immediately put on a smile and greeted softly:
"Hey, isn't this Master Guan from Shuangcheng? What a coincidence! How come I ran into you here?"

"Manager Xue, do you still remember me?" Guan Fu said with a smile, and he didn't seem to have any bad intentions.

"That's right. We just met yesterday, how could I forget it?" Xue Yingqing picked up the coffee, took a sip and asked, "Are you in Harbin for business?"

Guan Fu couldn't help but look at the lip marks on the rim of the cup and said, "Well, what can I do? I just came to see Shopkeeper Xue. Uh... I don't have any other intentions. I just want to make friends with you."

Xue Yingqing raised her eyebrows, and seeing his character, she knew clearly in her heart that this was another rubbish and useless idea.

According to the rules of the underworld, this act is disrespectful.

Xue Yingqing was furious, but his face showed no change. Not only was he not afraid, he even felt playful.

"Master Guan, what do you mean by this?" She said half complaining, half disappointed, "So even though we met yesterday, we are still not friends?"

"Oh, no, no, no, Shopkeeper Xue, I don't mean that!"

Guan Fu hurriedly explained a few words, and then said shyly: "Of course we are friends, but... this 'friend' is not that 'friend'... To be honest, I mainly want to have a heart-to-heart with Miss Xue."

"I know what you mean, but..."

As she was speaking, Xue Yingqing suddenly lowered her head, her face flushed red, as if she was shy in the bridal chamber, or after making love in Wushan. She asked in a very soft voice, "Then... do you know what I mean?"

This is really provocative!
After hearing this, Guan Fu was so anxious that his whole body felt itchy and as if on fire. He wished he could just dive into the Songhua River with his bare chest to cool down. He almost burned himself to death.

"I said, I said that when you looked at me yesterday, the look in your eyes clearly had something else in mind!"

Upon hearing this, Xuelihong immediately turned her face away, half resentful and half angry, saying: "You can see it, so just say it. Why do you have to say it out loud? You're making me look unreserved!"

(End of this chapter)