20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 594: Jiang Family Vision
There was laughter and joy during dinner.

Everyone was in sync and only talked about happy things.

When talking about the foreign land, they talked about the city's style, the southern food and the foreign dialect. After listening to them, my family members were inspired and it was also a great help in broadening their horizons.

But as they were talking, they would occasionally stop talking, take a sip of wine, and then continue the conversation.

The topic finally turned to Xu Ruqing.

When they heard that she took her two children out at noon, everyone looked happy and asked her how she felt.
Xu Ruqing was a little embarrassed, and shook his head with a wry smile, and said self-deprecatingly: "I'm old and useless. Fortunately, Dongfeng followed me, otherwise I would have been lost."

Everyone quickly comforted him, saying that this was normal and that he should just go out more often in the future.

After all, it has been ten years. Fengtian today is changing with each passing day. Even the urban area has been expanding year by year, which inevitably makes people feel unfamiliar.

Although the main roads in the old city have not changed and many old shops are still there, most of the shops along both sides of the street have long been redecorated and renovated. The familiar old shopkeepers in the past have either passed away or handed over the business to their children and grandchildren, and have now lived a leisurely life.

A new generation replaces the old.

Xu Ruqing gradually felt alienated.

Even when she passed by Xiaoxiguan and passed by Huifangli, she didn't realize that it used to be her place.

Zhang Zhengdong didn't dare to say anything more and just followed in silence.

Occasionally, Xu Ruqing would suddenly stop, stare at the building in front of him, and murmur to himself, "This store is so beautifully decorated."

When Zhang Zhengdong saw this, he whispered to her and told her that it was actually the Jiang family's business, and if she wanted to, she could just go in and sit down.

Xu Ruqing was a little surprised, but after thinking about it, he decided not to go in and disturb them.

After leaving Xiaoxiguan, she went to the South Market. It was not until she passed Xue Street and Bagua Street that she realized clearly how successful her nephew's business had been.

Reminiscing for a moment during the meal, Xu Ruqing was still amazed, and nodded with satisfaction, saying: "Xiao Dao, now you are the big boss."

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand nonchalantly and said with a laugh: "It's OK, we can just hold on!"

Xu Ruqing praised Hu Xiaoyan for her ability to manage the household, and the atmosphere became relaxed and pleasant.

After the laughter, Jiang Lianheng's expression suddenly became serious again. He looked up at his eldest son who was sitting at the end of the seat, seemed worried, and could not help but sighing softly.

"No matter how big the family business is, you have to be able to protect it. Otherwise, the little fortune I have saved may become a disaster in the future."

Everyone was speechless and looked at each other, not knowing how to respond and it was not their turn to speak.

Jiang Chengye was too young to understand the meaning of this sentence, but it was by no means an exaggeration.

Seeing this, Xu Ruqing smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiaodao, I will be successful in my business."

"Him?" Jiang Lianheng curled his lips and shook his head. "What a fool! I didn't see it."

"Really!" Xu Ruqing argued for the child, "You asked his sister and brother to learn Maozi from the fourth room. Chengye said it very well. He even sang for me in the room the other day!"

Xue Yingqing heard this and immediately followed suit, saying, "There's more to this? A foreign song? Come on, Chengye, sing it for me!"

When everyone heard this, they all laughed and shouted, wanting to hear Jiang Chengye sing a few lines.

For a moment, all eyes were focused on the eldest son of the Jiang family.

Jiang Chengye was a little shy, his face was red, and he looked like he was suffering.

Seeing his reaction, Jiang Lianheng immediately frowned.

Just as he was about to explode, Xu Ruqing said, "Don't keep glaring at him. Chengye is a little afraid of you. You should encourage him more."

Jiang Lianheng didn't have the patience. He raised his head, took a sip of wine, turned away, and stopped talking. He thought to himself: How can I achieve anything great if I'm scared by just a look?

But the crowd didn't mind and still coaxed Chengye to sing a few lines, just a few lines, to open everyone's eyes.

Xue Yingqing even joked, "Chengye, ignore your dad. We want to listen, just sing for us."

Jiang Chengye was timid and didn't dare to speak until Sister Hua secretly pushed him and whispered to him, "Don't make your dad angry." Then he finally got up and left the table. He stood near the door, facing his father who was sitting in the main seat, pinching his trouser legs and feeling nervous.

Everyone smiled and encouraged him.

Jiang Chengye stood there, took a deep breath, and thought for a while. His voice was a little trembling, but he finally started singing.

Unexpectedly, after just singing two lines, the entire Jiang family mansion suddenly became quiet.

The expressions on everyone's faces gradually changed from joking to admiration.

Since we don’t understand Russian, we naturally can’t understand what the song is about, but the melody can transcend language and reach the heart.

It was probably an old nursery rhyme, passed down from my grandmother's grandmother to this day. The lyrics were repeated over and over again, always the same few words, and did not seem complicated.

But even so, everyone was still surprised by Jiang Chengye's performance.

He spoke Maozi very fluently. Although the words were extremely simple, they were mixed with many difficult tongue-twisting sounds, but he was still able to sing them smoothly and freely.

Considering his young age, his performance is impressive enough.

Gradually, the singing spread throughout the mansion.

The tune was melodious and the children's voices were clear and pleasant. Even the servants who were busy in the kitchen followed the singing and quietly came to the corridor to whisper.

"Hey, why are you playing foreign songs? Who's singing, Miss?"

"What ears? I can tell from the sound of it that I'm the young master!"

Inside the restaurant, everyone was listening to the nursery rhymes and felt fascinated.

Soon, the song was over.

Jiang Chengye stood there, looking at his father, silently, like a soldier waiting for inspection.

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Xue Yingqing was the first to come to his senses. He immediately led the applause and waved to Jiang Chengye, saying happily, "Oh, I never realized that Chengye is such a talented kid!"

Everyone seemed to have just woken up from a dream, and began to applaud.

Jiang Chengye was somewhat uncomfortable with the attention and praise from his elders.

As soon as the applause rang out, he immediately ran towards his mother as if escaping from his fate, his face flushed. He did not seem to feel happy, but rather a little uneasy.

Sister Hua hugged Jiang Chengye, patted her son's head gently, and said softly, "Okay, sit down quickly."

Wang Zhengnan and Li Zhengxi were still savoring the memory and couldn't help but say with a smile: "Brother, look at this kid Chengye, isn't he quite talented?"

Jiang Lianheng was a little dazed, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock. After a moment of silence, he finally expressed his opinion.

This was the first time he noticed the bright spots in his eldest son. Although he was extremely happy, he didn't know why he still had a stern face and snorted coldly twice.

"Young man, why are you singing such a song? You just spend the whole day doing these useless things!"

Xu Ruqing couldn't help but scold him after hearing this: "Look at you, you can't even sing well?"

"You should focus on the right things!" Jiang Lianheng raised his hand and called out, "Song Ma, have someone get that jar of good wine from the cellar!"

Wang Zhengnan was stunned and asked hurriedly: "Brother, are you still drinking? It's not a small amount. Don't you have to go to the Marshal's Mansion tomorrow?"

Everyone also advised him not to drink too much and delay tomorrow's work. Jiang Lianheng didn't care at all and said, "What's the big deal? It's still early. A couple more sips won't hurt anything!"

As he spoke, Jiang Ya looked around and saw that everyone's eyes were on his brother. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He stood up, patted his chest, and said, "No problem, I can do it too!"

Then, she walked to the door, waved to the elders at a table, and shouted, "Stop making noise, stop making noise, I want to sing!"

Fearing that the child would be left out, everyone coaxed him, saying, "Sing, sing!"

Jiang Ya was very happy and immediately started singing happily.

The girl sang well, or rather very well, but it was a pity that the order was wrong.

If she had sung first, everyone would have praised her highly; but she happened to sing after her brother, and in comparison, she seemed inferior.

After the song, everyone clapped their hands and said with a smile: "Not bad, very good, my niece is also good, she has some skills!"

Facing the compliment, Jiang Ya was very happy. She raised her head, swaying her pigtails, and said proudly, "That's it!"

Only Xue Yingqing told the truth. He winked at the little girl and teased her on purpose, saying, "It's over, Xiaoya. Your brother has beaten you!"

Jiang Ya was stunned for a moment, and seemed very unconvinced, but she was not discouraged. After thinking for a while, she waved her hand and said, "I didn't perform well just now. I will sing it again for you."

"Okay, stop showing off!" Hu Xiaoyan waved at her.

Jiang Lianheng also said: "Can you please be quiet? My head is buzzing when I see you now. Stop singing. It's useless to learn these useless things. Just sit there!"

“I haven’t finished singing yet!”

"What are you singing about? You are the daughter of our Jiang family, not the singing girl in the teahouse. Sit down!"

"I'll sing!" Jiang Ya stepped forward, unwilling to be outdone.

Jiang Lianheng slapped the table and shouted, "You little girl, you dare to take the blame for your father? Do you believe I will beat you to death?"

"What's wrong with me singing?"

"If you say that again, I'll beat you right now!"

"What's wrong with me singing?"

"Can you say that again!"

"What's wrong with me singing?" Jiang Ya puffed out her chest, "I've said it three times!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lianheng immediately pulled out his belt and ordered his daughter to come over.

Seeing this, Jiang Ya finally took two steps back, looked around, and suddenly walked quickly to Zhang Zhengdong, tugged at Dongfeng's clothes, and asked, "Uncle Dong, my dad wants to beat me, can you help me?"

"Uh...this..." Zhang Zhengdong scratched his head after hearing this.

"I'll help you!" Xue Yingqing suddenly said with a smile.

Jiang Ya nodded and asked, "Uncle Zhao, can you help me?"

Zhao Guoyan smiled and said, "I'll help you!"

"What about the second uncle and third uncle?"

"Let us help you stop it!"

Jiang Ya silently checked the number of people, and immediately felt confident. She immediately went to the table and loudly asked her father: "What's wrong with me singing?"

Jiang Lianheng stared at his daughter coldly with a stern face. After staring for a long time, he finally couldn't hold it anymore and laughed out loud. He shook his head and looked around and said, "Look at this little girl. Who can do anything to her?"

Everyone started laughing, and the atmosphere gradually became cheerful again.

Jiang Chengye looked at his sister, then at his father, staring at the bowl in front of him, and muttered inexplicably: "My sister sings better than me..."

His voice was so soft and almost inaudible that no one seemed to notice it except his biological mother beside him.

But Hu Xiaoyan heard it. She looked towards Jiang Chengye, pondering what the child had just said, and then looked at Xiaohua. She gradually felt something was wrong...

…………

The long night will eventually end, and dawn will come again in the blink of an eye.

The next morning, it was cloudy and about to snow, so Jiang Lianheng got up early, washed and packed, then asked Dongfeng to arrange for the driver to prepare the car, and they arrived at Zhang's mansion around eight or nine o'clock.

Logically speaking, the Zhang family mansion should be considered a private residence, but since the construction of the Big Blue Building, it has become half a government residence, and many military and political meetings have been held here.

The three provinces outside the Great Wall are, after all, the Zhang family’s territory.

When they arrived at the gate, Jiang Lianheng explained his purpose. The guard recognized him, so he hurried back to the gatehouse to ask for his phone number. When he came out, he said, "Boss Jiang, the Marshal has a meeting in the morning. Please come back in the afternoon!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lianheng found a teahouse nearby and hung out there for half a day.

When we went there again in the afternoon, the guard said apologetically, "Boss Jiang, the Marshal has been too busy lately. I made an appointment for you. Why don't you try again tomorrow?"

Marshal Zhang is no longer the same person he used to be. He is busy with government affairs and has countless people reporting to him every day. It is inevitable that he cannot be thorough at the moment.

Jiang Lianheng had nothing to say, and dared not complain at all. After thinking about it, he simply asked the driver to take him to his house in the south of the city.

As soon as I arrived at the gate, I heard faint piano music coming from the courtyard.

Nowadays, the house south of the city is no longer so deserted. There are many servants and attendants busying around, and the house is gradually becoming popular.

Zhuang Shuning has long since adapted to life in Fengtian and no longer worries about Hu Xiaoyan's approval.

A mother's status is determined by her son. Now in this house, she has the final say on everything. After much thought, why should she go back to the big house in the north of the city and suffer the humiliation?
Dong Niya gradually became proficient in Chinese. Although she spoke it haltingly, she was able to express herself. Although there were still many things in her life that she was not used to, she had accepted her identity.

In the Northern Civil War, the Red Hairs won a great victory. The exiled White Hairs were labeled traitors, lost their nationality, and no longer had any support to rely on.

If you don't want to be a mistress of the Jiang family, then go to a brothel and be a prostitute. Anyone would choose the former.

But when Jiang Lianheng came this time, the two women were secondary. The person he was thinking about the most was his second son Jiang Chengzhi who had just turned one year old.

The child is too young, so naturally there is nothing to say.

Jiang Lianheng brought two small toys from Shanghai for his second son: one was a palm-sized wooden sailboat; the other was a monkey-shaped ceramic whistle.

As soon as he entered the inner room and saw his son, he sat on the edge of the kang and started teasing him.

Jiang Chengzhi babbled and spoke only at first, and he didn't know how to play with these toys.

Jiang Lianheng picked up a monkey-shaped ceramic whistle, pursed his lips and blew it at the monkey's butt. The whistling sound kept coming and his son was so amused that he laughed so hard.

From the subtle details, we can see that there is a difference in the care Chengzhi and Chengye receive.

Firstly, he was the second son and too young, so Jiang Lianheng did not have high expectations for him. With low expectations, he was naturally not so strict with him.

Secondly, when he was born, Jiang Lianheng was already in his early thirties, and his temperament was different from when he was in his twenties. The greater the age gap between father and son, the more love they seemed to have for each other.

Now that the youngest son is favored, his mother Zhuang Shuning's status has naturally risen as well...

(End of this chapter)