20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 618 Night Tour
The car window was half rolled down, the evening breeze blew on my face, and the neon lights changed unpredictably.

Jiang Lianheng and Hu Xiaoyan sat side by side, wandering silently in Fengtian City under the night sky, inspecting everything they owned.

Nineteen years ago, when they first arrived in Fengtian, they also toured the night view of the provincial capital in this way.

It’s just that the horse-drawn carriages of those days have become cars of today.

At that time, Fengtian City was still very small and far less prosperous than it is today. There were Russian soldiers stationed in the palace, and the outer city was full of broken walls and ruins.

They had nothing but each other and their uncles.

Time flies, and it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. The two of them have become the leaders of a wealthy family.

It's a matter of time and fate. If it weren't for the earth-shaking changes that happened back then, which gave so many people the opportunity to seize the opportunity, I'm afraid everything we see now would be hard to predict.

However, the most gratifying thing in this world is to be successful and have the people around you as old as you were.

A promise is worth a thousand gold and never repented.

But the uncles had passed away after all, and Jiang Lianheng and Hu Xiaoyan had a lovely and smart daughter in addition to each other.

Jiang Ya was a child after all. She had just been clamoring to go with her parents, but once she got in the car and drove for a while, she fell asleep in Hu Xiaoyan's arms.

Zhang Zhengdong stretched his hand out of the window and gestured to turn, and the car slowly drove towards Xiaoxiguan.

Hu Xiaoyan looked out the car window at the vicissitudes of Fengtian. The light and shadows flowed, the evening breeze caressed her, and a few strands of hair accidentally blew into the corners of her eyes, and tears flashed in her eyes.

The night was chaotic, and the neon lights seemed like blurred watercolors, alternating on her face, bringing out a hint of tiredness and adding a touch of tenderness.

Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but glance sideways frequently, occasionally raising his hand and pointing to a shop on the street, talking about the past and expressing his feelings about the present.

As they talked, the couple would occasionally smile, which was a kind of happiness.

Zhang Zhengdong tactfully slowed down the car, moving it slowly like an old ox plowing the field.

The most prosperous businesses on the entire busy street were all owned by the Jiang family. Although the other businesses were not Jiang Lianheng's private property, most of them also had shares in him.

The government office is permanent, but the officials come and go.

This is Hu Xiaoyan's vision and also the direction Jiang Lianheng is working towards.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the current strength of the Jiang family, even if Lao Zhang steps down, they have enough connections and strength as a buffer, so that the empire will not collapse overnight and they will be left with nothing. Even if they cannot maintain their status quo, they still have many ways to retreat safely - unless the world turns upside down and Guandong encounters another military disaster.

It is difficult to conquer the world, but even harder to defend it.

Those who plan ahead are destined to work hard.

The more prosperous the Jiang family's business became, the more Hu Xiaoyan's body could not bear the burden.

She had no intention of paying attention to the night view along the way. She was thinking about something and always looked worried.

"What happened to the batch of goods that the company lost in Jilin Province?" Hu Xiaoyan suddenly asked.

Jiang Lianheng was a little impatient and said, "It's not clear yet. I asked Guo Yan to investigate. I think there will be news in a while."

"Why don't you go there in person?" Hu Xiaoyan suggested. "Lost goods is a small matter, but as the head of the family, you should at least make a statement."

"How can I have the time?" Jiang Lianheng complained. "Mr. Zhang will be back in Fengtian tomorrow. I have to report the martial law situation to him. The Chamber of Commerce and Xijia Bank have to hold meetings to elect members and prepare for the federal autonomy. I also have to write a joint letter to protest the appointment of the capital. There are so many things to do. I can't spare any time."

"Then why are you still wandering around here? Go home!"

"Tsk, it doesn't matter if you take a moment to walk around. I'll show you our property."

"I'm afraid that if this matter is not resolved one day, there will be trouble with the goods going to Jilin Province in the future. Those who dare to rebel must be dealt with severely, otherwise no one will be afraid of you in the future."

"Well, they are rebelling, mainly against Lao Zhang. As long as Lao Zhang sends troops, I will show up."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded, was silent for a moment, and reiterated: "Remember, you must use heavy hands."

"I know, I know."

"You said before that Zhang Xiaokun wanted to go and suppress bandits and make meritorious service?" Hu Xiaoyan asked again.

Jiang Lianheng curled his lips and said, "That's what he thought. He plans to move around. Otherwise, he will probably have to be the battalion commander of the front barracks forever."

"So you plan to help him?"

"Well, we'll see." Jiang Lianheng became more and more impatient. "My dear wife, you've been nagging about this every day, whether it's eating or sleeping. We finally got out here, why don't you just be quiet for a while, okay?"

Hu Xiaoyan said nothing more.

After all, the ways of getting along between wives and concubines are completely different.

Lovers can enjoy the romance and talk about love; but old couples are always dealing with the daily necessities and trivialities.

When the car passed Heshengfang, Jiang Lianheng hurriedly said, "Dongfeng, stop for a moment."

Zhang Zhengdong parked the car across the street.

Jiang Lianheng stretched out his hand, put his arm across Hu Xiaoyan, pointed out the window, and said with a smile: "Wife, look where this is, do you recognize it?"

"I haven't forgotten where 'Heshengfang' is." Hu Xiaoyan rolled her eyes but still looked out the window.

"It's been renovated, so I'll let you take a good look. How about it? Do you want to bring some?"

"Yeah, not bad."

"Heshengfang" has undergone a makeover, which is more of a complete reconstruction than a renovation.

The original wooden building has long been transformed into a cement and stone brick building, and is now the most upscale casino in Xiaoxiguan, adding many new features such as lottery and roulette.

Hu Xiaoyan knew this very well.

She could even accurately tell the names of the manager, dealer and fireman in the gambling den, as well as the revenue situation of the venue.

But after all, those were just cold words in account books and rosters, far less shocking than seeing it with your own eyes.

Over the years, Hu Xiaoyan did not completely stay at home, but she went out very rarely, very rarely, and always for short distances.

In the two years since the opening of the South Market, the Jiang family expanded a lot of business.

Whenever a new venue opened, Hu Xiaoyan would ask Dongfeng to drive her over to have a look.

Usually, she would just stop far away at the opposite corner of the street, take a quick glance through the gap in the car window, and then immediately tell Dongfeng to drive away.

The "Jiang Family's Sister-in-law" that those online fans are familiar with is naturally Sister Hua, who impersonated her.

The car stopped on the side of the road. Less than two minutes later, a middle-aged man in his forties, holding his gown in both hands, walked out of "Heshengfang", trotted across the street, came to the side of the car and bowed.

"Hey, Boss, the guy outside the door just now told me that he saw your car coming. I came over to take a look. Do you have any instructions?"

"Nothing, just stopped by to take a look." Jiang Lianheng asked through Hu Xiaoyan, "Old Lu, how's your business lately?"

"Very good, very good!" Manager Lu said with a smile, "It happened that the city just opened up yesterday, and business is booming right now. Boss, how about you go in and take a look?"

"No need, just go and do your thing!"

"Okay, okay, I won't bother you any more."

Manager Lu hurriedly bowed and was about to stand up when he suddenly caught sight of Hu Xiaoyan and was stunned for a moment.

Of course, he had already seen a woman sitting next to Jiang Lianheng. It was just that because of the dim light, he couldn't see clearly at first, so he didn't pay much attention.

After all, this is nothing new.

Jiang Lianheng was a wealthy man, and there was never a shortage of young girls throwing themselves at him. He changed girls every now and then, and everyone had long been accustomed to it.

Moreover, most of them are "open-minded" new-age female students.

But the woman in front of him was very different from the previous ones.

She was not young, and looked to be about thirty-five.

Although she had a dignified and elegant appearance, a wifely face, and attractive features, she was far from being pretty, let alone the kind of charming face that could easily arouse other people's improper thoughts.

Most importantly, she was holding a little girl in her arms.

what happened?

The boss suddenly developed a habit of Meng De and changed to a good family taste?

Manager Lu was confused.

He had seen "Jiang's eldest sister-in-law" before, who was much younger than the one in front of him. After thinking about it, he thought she was just his boss' mistress, so he nodded as a greeting.

Hu Xiaoyan noticed his gaze. Even though she knew that he couldn't see clearly what was going on inside the car, she still straightened her empty skirt as if feeling guilty.

"What are you looking at?"

Hu Xiaoyan turned around and questioned in a cold tone.

"Ah?" Manager Lu was at a loss, and was suddenly shocked by the momentum of the real sister-in-law. He could only stammer and defend himself, "No, I——"

"I asked you what you were looking at?" Hu Xiaoyan pressed again.

"No, no, I..." Manager Lu looked at Jiang Lianheng helplessly, "Um... Boss, nothing else, I'll go back to work."

After saying that, he wiped his body and fled the scene.

Jiang Lianheng waved at him and did not stop him.

Zhang Zhengdong raised his eyelids slightly and silently observed the changes in his sister-in-law's expression through the rearview mirror in the car, as if she was waiting for some kind of order.

Hu Xiaoyan stared at Manager Lu's back for a moment, then turned around and suddenly tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't hold back any longer and finally they fell.

"Tsk, look at you, why are you crying?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

Hu Xiaoyan lowered her head and said coldly: "He looks down on me."

"Nonsense, Lao Lu is a kind man who has never done anything wrong in these years. It was you who chose him to be the manager. How could he look down on you?"

"He just looks down on me. I can feel it."

"You are such a crooked person, why didn't I sense it?"

"you do not believe me?"

"Believe it, believe it!" Jiang Lianheng sighed, "Then what do you want to do? You can't let Dongfeng go down and stab him, right?"

Hu Xiaoyan stopped talking.

Reason told her that she was thinking too much, but she just couldn't overcome this excessive sensitivity, just like a hard of hearing person who always felt that others were whispering about him.

After thinking for a long time, my mood finally calmed down.

Hu Xiaoyan shook her head and murmured to herself: "Forget it, I won't leave. I want to go home."

"Don't!" Jiang Lianheng tried to persuade him. "We finally came out. We just arrived at Heshengfang and haven't reached the South Market yet. Why don't we just go shopping and not stop the car?"

Hu Xiaoyan was depressed and did not comment.

Jiang Lianheng hurriedly said, "Dongfeng, drive quickly and go for a drive before going back."

Zhang Zhengdong nodded and restarted the engine.

The roar of the car body woke up Jiang Ya who was sleeping soundly.

The little girl immediately curled up, frowned, and mumbled: "Wuwuwu, I, my stomach hurts, please ask the teacher for leave for me, I won't go to school today..."

Hu Xiaoyan laughed, patted her daughter's forehead and said, "You naughty girl, you only think about this kind of thing all day long!"

Jiang Ya woke up slowly and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she was still in the car.

Immediately, she sat up, rubbed her eyes, looked at her mother, then at her father, and suddenly kicked Jiang Lianheng.

"Why are you bullying my mother again?" Jiang Ya asked harshly.

Jiang Lianheng was kicked for no apparent reason. He lowered his head to brush off the shoe prints on his pants and cursed, "You little bastard, are you going to rebel? Who bullied your mother?"

Jiang Ya turned her head, blinked her eyes, and asked, "Mom, did my dad bully you?"

Hu Xiaoyan nodded and said, "Yes, it's him. He wanted to hit me just now!"

Jiang Ya was extremely surprised. Her eyes suddenly widened. She turned to look at Jiang Lianheng, her neck stiffened, and she pinched her waist and said, "You, you dare to hit someone?"

"You little bastard, I advise you to calm down." Jiang Lianheng pointed at his daughter and emphasized again and again, "I am your father, don't be disrespectful, or I will beat you up!"

Jiang Ya didn't care about all this. She immediately pounced on her father and bit his hand, wanting to "avenge" her mother.

"Hey, you little bastard, you really dared to bite your dad!" Jiang Lianheng immediately flicked his daughter's head, "Let go, I'm really trying hard, let go quickly!"

Jiang Ya felt pain on her forehead, but she did not flinch. Instead, her two rows of baby teeth, which had not yet been completely replaced, clenched her teeth even tighter.

It was not until Hu Xiaoyan patted her on the back and whispered, "Xiaoya, forget it, give your dad a chance" that she opened her mouth and stared at her father angrily.

Jiang Lianheng grimaced in pain and shook his hands, only to see two rows of pink teeth marks on the back of his hands. He couldn't help but sigh, "This girl, what a stubborn temper, I don't know who learned this from. Whoever wants to marry you will probably be in trouble for the rest of his life!"

Hu Xiaoyan said, "Why should I learn this? It's in my bones."

"Mom, what does 'follow the roots' mean?" Jiang Ya didn't understand.

Hu Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Your father was like you when he was a child."

Jiang Ya was horrified and asked hurriedly: "Mom, did my dad bite you?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaoyan couldn't help but burst out laughing, and even Zhang Zhengdong, who was in the driving seat, joined in the laughter.

"Girl, can't you think positively about your father?" Jiang Lianheng said depressedly, "I'm going to bite you first today!"

After saying that, he took advantage of the situation to pick up his daughter by the waist, opened his bloody mouth wide, tickled Jiang Ya and pretended to bite her arm.

Jiang Ya was so itchy that she giggled. She tried her best but still couldn't break free. She immediately shouted to the driver's seat: "Uncle Dong, help me——"

Zhang Zhengdong shook his head helplessly, indicating that he could do nothing to help.

It was dark at night and the car drove around Fengtian City for a long time.

The car was driving very fast, and the air was filled with the laughter of the family of three wherever it passed...

(End of this chapter)