Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 823: Chapter 67: Sheng Men (Part 1)

Han Residence.

It’s truly named Han Residence, a traditional Chinese courtyard architecture. However, the outer part of this courtyard has high walls built around it, enclosing it within.

Otherwise, if this Han Residence were completely exposed, it would seem incompatible with the architectural style of this ancient city—a beautiful port ancient city, Cartagena.

Within Han Residence, not only is the exterior completely fashioned after the courtyard in the Old Capital City, but even the interior decorations are full of ancient charm.

At this moment, a red sports car stopped before the tall gated walls of Han Residence. After the gates were opened, it slowly drove into the Han Residence.

A girl of about twenty-two or twenty-three, with a slim figure, dressed in a black short shirt, and her hair dyed a pink-purple color, stepped out of the car.

The name of Han Residence’s entrance is ‘Long Tang.’ At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties slowly walked out from Long Tang. He was followed by two women in servant uniforms, around thirty years old.

“Miss Ying, welcome back.”

“Uncle Wu, where’s Grandfather?” The girl called Miss Ying handed the car keys to one of the maids behind Uncle Wu and walked directly into Long Tang.

“Old Zhong is now in the kitchen,” Uncle Wu replied.

Miss Ying suddenly stopped, astonished. “He just came out of the village, why doesn’t he rest for a bit and goes straight into the kitchen at Han Residence?”

Uncle Wu smiled and said, “It’s like this, Old Zhong made exceptional dry abalone in the village that he brought out all the way, and now he’s preparing to stew other ingredients. He wants to make a pot of ‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ for a guest.”

“A guest?” Miss Ying was stunned, “Who is of such importance? Grandfather hasn’t cooked personally for a long time, and now he’s even making Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which is super complicated? Is it the ‘Fire King’ or the President?”

“I heard it’s a young man,” Uncle Wu also looked puzzled. “It seems the eldest son brought him back personally. He just got off the plane, and it should take about an hour to get to Han Residence.”

“Uncle is back?” Miss Ying blinked, “Wasn’t he in Brazil? Is his work finished?”

“It should be fine,” Uncle Wu smiled, “With the eldest son personally handling it, what could go wrong? Miss Ying, should I have someone prepare hot water for you?”

Miss Ying shook her head and then placed her hand behind her back, drawing out a small palm-sized pistol and handing it to Uncle Wu, “No need for now, I’ll go see Grandfather in the kitchen. It’s been months since I last saw him.”

When Miss Ying arrived at the kitchen, she found several maids standing outside. She went to the door curiously and asked, “What are you all doing standing here?”

A maid promptly said, “Miss Ying, Old Zhong instructed us not to enter. He kept Uncle Si inside, saying he wants to personally handle everything.”

Uncle Si is the head chef at Han Residence and is Uncle Wu’s brother, having served the Song Family for several decades. At this moment, Miss Ying felt even more surprised.

She had never seen her grandfather place such importance on a guest, not only preparing the most complicated dish but also just leaving one person, Uncle Si, to assist him.

Miss Ying frowned and stepped into the kitchen.

“Ah Si, is the sea cucumber cooked yet?”

“It’s prepared, Old Zhong.”

“Alright, bring it here, I will slice it later.”

In front of the counter, Song Tianyou, with graying temples and an apron tied around him, was focused and attentive as he sliced dry bamboo shoots. He seemed unaware that someone had quietly walked in.

Miss Ying gestured silently to Uncle Si, taking the prepared sea cucumber from his hands and approached Song Tianyou from behind.

Song Tianyou caught a glimpse of a pair of white hands quietly placing a vessel down and then retreating before continuing to slice the dry bamboo shoots on the cutting board.

Miss Ying blinked her eyes… Was Grandfather completely ignoring her presence… Clearly, he had already noticed, right?

She quietly reached out her hand to grasp the quail eggs placed beside Song Tianyou. But before she could touch them, Song Tianyou quickly flicked his hand, using the back of the knife to tap Miss Ying’s hand.

“Grandfather! Are you trying to chop me up?” Miss Ying said in pain.

“Who told you to steal a taste?” Song Tianyou turned around and lightly knocked on Miss Ying’s forehead, “Little mischief, when did you come back?”

“Just now.” Miss Ying quickly put a quail egg into her mouth, “It’s almost the new year, so I’m busy settling accounts and collecting some debts. I heard you came, so I rushed back.”

“Did everything go smoothly?” Song Tianyou put down the knife and started wiping his hands while walking over to a nearby stove.

It was a stove commonly seen in the old rural days, burning twigs and wood with powerful fire. A steaming basket was placed on a big pot with steam spurting out, and a fragrant aroma permeated the air.

“Rest assured, Grandfather. This year everyone’s business has been good, no outstanding debts,” Miss Ying laughed, “Several bosses even cleared last year’s debts. They said they are grateful to you and wonder when they can meet you.”

“No need for a meeting. Ask them not to send anything,” Song Tianyou said as he tended to the fire, “We are all descendants of Huang, living in a foreign land, which isn’t easy. If I can help, I will, to forge some good karma.”

“Hmm… but if everyone does that, won’t it become dependency?” Miss Ying shook her head.

“Our ancestors said, ‘Do good without expecting returns,ʼ” Song Tianyou stood up, “Besides, if we don’t help each other in a foreign place, who will help us?”

“Hmm… I understand, but it’s hard to do it for now.” Miss Ying shrugged.

Song Tianyou laughed, “Then what can you do?”

Miss Ying’s eyes twinkled and she suddenly hugged Song Tianyou’s arm, coquettishly saying, “I can certainly eat the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall that you make, Grandfather!”

Song Tianyou tapped Miss Ying’s forehead, laughing, “This pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall isn’t for you to eat. You’ve already had it once.”

Miss Ying pouted, “The one when I was ten? That was so long ago… Grandfather!”

“The senior’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, a Song Family member only needs to taste it once in a lifetime,” Song Tianyou suddenly said calmly, “Your uncle had it when he was ten, I made that for him personally. You had it when you turned ten, and I made it for you too. Now… it should be his turn.”

“Him?”

“You’ll see when you meet him later,” Song Tianyou smiled, “Enough standing, since you’re here, lend me a hand, go pick those vegetables.”

“Huh? No way… I’m going to take a bath~”

…

…

“Niece?”

The car slowly drove past streets with a large number of ancient buildings preserved. Luo Qiu looked on with interest, while Song Haoran explained a few things.

The car seemed to have undergone special bulletproof treatment, and there was a partition between the front and rear seats, ensuring that the conversation in the rear couldn’t be heard from the front seats, offering decent privacy.

“She’s my sister’s surviving child,” Song Haoran sighed and said, “My dad married my mom when he was middle-aged, and I was born. Before that, there was another wife. But my sister and brother-in-law died in an accident fifteen years ago, leaving Song Ying, who was only eight at the time. Oh… by the way, my brother-in-law married into the family, so Song Ying followed our surname.”

“Do you want to meet?” Luo Qiu nodded.

“Definitely,” Song Haoran said matter-of-factly. “Our family’s younger generation, counting you, is just three. You’ll get to know each other sooner or later. Besides, after Song Ying graduated, she started managing our business in Cartagena and did quite well, though she can be somewhat unstable at times. You’re almost the same age and social rank; you should get close.”

Boss Luo remained noncommittal.

“Is there a Chinatown here?”

As the car drove past a street, Luo Qiu suddenly asked.

“Yes, my dad helped build it,” Song Haoran chuckled, “My dad is also the honorary president of the Chinese business association here. He said he couldn’t stand seeing our people being bullied by foreigners while doing business, so he helped build this street. It’s not called Chinatown; it’s named ‘Zhonghua Street.’

“Can I get off the car?” Luo Qiu suddenly asked.

“That’s no problem,” Song Haoran shrugged, not asking why, and directly instructed Oni to stop the car at the entrance of Zhonghua Street, “You guys wait here; I’ll go in with Luo Qiu.”

“OK!” Oni nodded, then watched the two walk into Zhonghua Street.

At this moment, Lluvia was frowning deeply, which made Oni curious and ask, “What’s the matter?”

Lluvia said, “Do you feel this street… seems a bit deserted?”

Oni paused and looked up, “Come to think of it, I remember there was a shop here selling Chinese pastries, and they tasted pretty good… It seems they’re not open today?”

Lluvia looked over, and the shop Oni mentioned had its door tightly closed, with some trash accumulated in front… It seemed it hadn’t been opened for business for a while.

…

“There are still quite a lot of people here.”

It’s a relatively populated area with more Chinese faces; of course, there might be some Eastern faces too, but they hail from other Asian countries.

But for Luo Qiu, it felt somewhat like being back home—at least many signs he saw were written in Chinese characters.

“It’s Saturday, so there are relatively more people,” Song Haoran observed his surroundings, “I haven’t visited this street for a long time. It feels less crowded than before.”

“It’s probably because physical businesses are generally hard to run nowadays,” Luo Qiu casually replied.

“What, do you want to buy something or just take a casual stroll to look around?” Song Haoran suddenly asked.

Luo Qiu looked at Song Haoran, “I plan to buy some fruit.”

“Buy… fruit?”

Luo Qiu nodded, “Is that strange? If visiting elders, shouldn’t you buy something? Doesn’t Old Master Song like fruit?”

“Hahaha!” Song Haoran suddenly burst into laughter, “Buying fruit… buying fruit. Not strange at all! Fruit is great, my dad loves eating it, especially persimmons! Come, I recall there’s a fruit shop ahead that sells the best in the street! I’ll take you there!”

Under Song Haoran’s guidance, the two quickly arrived at a fruit stall halfway down the street. A young man in his twenties was playing on his phone in front of the stall.

“Is the boss here?” Song Haoran greeted at the stall, but the young man seemed indifferent. Song Haoran didn’t mind, and called again, “Is Boss You here?”

“Who are you?” The young man finally reacted, looking up, “Our boss isn’t here. What do you want from him?”

“Nothing much, just an old friend looking to chat,” Song Haoran shrugged, “If he’s not here, we’ll just buy something… Do you sell persimmons here?”

“No, everything we have is inside, take a look yourself.” The young man bowed his head, seeming distracted.

Song Haoran glanced inside the shop, then looked at Luo Qiu and picked up an apple, “But I want to buy persimmons.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do. Persimmons don’t keep well, fewer people buy them, we haven’t stocked them for a long time.” The young man pointed forward, “A large supermarket opened recently, it has everything, cheaper than us. If you want to buy, go there. Otherwise, you can check here, pick what you like, everything’s half price.”

“Everything’s half price? That’s great?” Song Haoran paused.

“Selling at a loss, we’re closing down, so we need to clear stock.” The young man said, looking helpless.

Song Haoran nodded, “Closing down? Why, I remember Boss You’s fruit stall has been open for over a decade, business was always good… Did he make enough to enjoy retirement?”

“Retirement? In the next life maybe?” the young man shook his head, “He couldn’t even pay me this month’s wages. He’s currently helping wash dishes at a restaurant nearby!”

“That’s not right, what happened?” Song Haoran wondered, “Is Boss You’s business really that bad? Also, I remember last year the shop next door was Boss You’s too, right? Why is it now a clothing store?”

The young man sighed, “Last year, you wouldn’t know. Since the beginning of this year, the rents on this street have skyrocketed several times! A new large supermarket opened too, has everything, cheaper than us, stole all our customers. Boss couldn’t afford the rent, so he had to downsize, but business kept declining, he’s losing money now.”

“That’s impossible,” Song Haoran frowned, “I remember the Zhonghua Street association had rules about rent, it only increases every five years, and only at the minimum rate, each increase not exceeding five percent.”

“That’s long changed!” The young man said, looking around carefully, then lowered his voice, “The association got a new leader, everything changed. Let me tell you, the boss behind the new supermarket is supported by this leader from behind, aiming to drive us away!”

“Drive you away? What’s the point?”

“You just don’t get it,” the young man shrugged, “rumor is, there’s a plan to collaborate with the government on a new project here. So they want to chase us away. If we don’t leave, they raise rents, open a supermarket to steal our business. Those who can’t hold on have no choice but to fatefully yield. In the past few months, many shops have closed down. Soon, ours will too.”

Song Haoran nodded, “Hmm… the stuff here is nice, I’ll come back later.”

With that, Song Haoran patted Luo Qiu’s shoulder and walked away from the fruit stall.

Luo Qiu didn’t see any displeasure or similar expression on Song Haoran’s face, but his cheerful demeanor gave a dangerous vibe. He suddenly looked at Luo Qiu and said, “Can you guess where I want to go now?”

“The association, probably,” Luo Qiu thought for a moment.

Song Haoran chuckled, “Why not visit that supermarket instead?”

“Isn’t the association closer to the answer?” Luo Qiu retorted.

Song Haoran checked the time and nodded, “We have some time, let’s go.”