Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 934: Chapter 178: Breakfast

That morning, Song Ying returned to work at the Song Dynasty as usual. On one hand, Old Master Song had already issued an order for her to come back home, and she needed to quickly arrange the company’s internal affairs, which was a substantial workload.

On the other hand, rumors about Song Ying’s attack had somewhat spread. Adding to that, she had been held up in the hospital for a while, so she hadn’t appeared in front of the employees of the Song Dynasty Group for quite some time, giving her a reason she couldn’t avoid coming back.

Of course, after experiencing those events, Song Ying’s travel was now much more regulated than before, and Old Master Song had assigned Song Da for her close protection. Additionally, a team selected from the village was hidden in the shadows.

The best way to dispel rumors is the rumors themselves. When Song Ying appeared spiritedly at the group, the claims about Miss Song Ying being seriously injured and critically threatened collapsed instantly.

…

“Couldn’t find the person?”

In the office, Song Ying frowned at her secretary, Su Mei. She was reporting to Song Ying about the disappearance of an employee from the finance department.

“There was a leave note on the desk. But I asked the department supervisor, and the supervisor said no signature was taken.” Su Mei quickly said, “Also, we checked some of this accountant’s computer files and found all of them were formatted.”

“What did the Internal Affairs Department say?” Song Ying’s fingers repeatedly tapped on the table.

“I’m afraid it’s embezzlement and escape.” Su Mei said seriously, “Because the batch of money prepared to be banked that day is all gone.”

Song Ying snorted coldly, frightening Su Mei into immediate silence.

This accountant suddenly disappeared, and there was the theft of the hotel’s daily revenue… All these things happened after Su Mei asked the accountant to provide the expenditure books for Zhonghua Street in recent years.

“Looks like we can only ask President Bai at the chamber of commerce; they should have backups.” Song Ying shook her head.

Su Mei quickly said, “Then I’ll immediately notify President Bai from the chamber and have him prepare.”

Song Ying bit her lip lightly and suddenly said, “No need, wait until after the impromptu meeting, prepare a car, and I’ll go directly. You’d better not tell anyone.”

Su Mei nodded… it seems Miss Song Ying intends on a sudden visit… indeed, if there’s really a problem, only such a sudden visit can find some clues.

“Miss, you haven’t had breakfast yet, right? I’ll have someone prepare it for you.” Su Mei continued, “There’s still some time before the meeting starts, and with a full day of work ahead, you might not make it without eating.”

Song Ying indeed left early today, just at dawn… she is almost always the earliest one awake in the Song Family.

“Hmm… alright, prepare something to eat.” Song Ying nodded.

Su Mei said, “How about Eggs Benedict with black coffee?”

This is the breakfast Song Ying often has—as a secretary, Su Mei had long remembered.

Unexpectedly, Song Ying suddenly said, “I don’t feel like eating that today… porridge then, I want something light today, plain porridge is fine. Su Mei, the porridge you made last time was quite good, so make it like that. Is there a problem?”

Su Mei was momentarily stunned and then quickly said under Song Ying’s puzzled gaze, “Alright, I’ll prepare it right away.”

Su Mei quickly left the office, and when closing the door, she saw that Song Ying had already lowered her head to look at the pile of documents on the desk.

“Oh no, I was too sleepy then, some steps are a bit fuzzy… but it’s just plain porridge, the method should be similar… it should be fine.” Su Mei absentmindedly walked towards the kitchen.

…

Soon after Su Mei left, a senior manager from within the Song Dynasty Hotel knocked and came in.

It wasn’t anything important, just a request from an environmentalist, along with an attached proposal.

“Miss Ying, the initiator of this plan is Mr. Kwadick. You know, Mr. Kwadick’s ancestors were great aristocrats, and he knows many influential people. He’s an environmentalist, so we should give him some face.”

“A joint letter demanding the restructuring of all seriously polluting non-compliant factories?” Song Ying casually flipped a few pages and then tossed it aside without interest, “You handle it, anyway we don’t have much in heavy industry. But these environmentalists are indeed troublesome, so give them something accordingly if they need anything, as a way to deal… maybe it’ll be useful in the future. Hmm… ‘Green Guardians’, the banner has even been raised? Truly free of things to do…”

Song Ying shook her head, not paying much attention. The senior manager, having received the authority to handle it, left the office directly.

At this moment, only Song Da and Song Ying were left in the office—Song Da was sitting on the sofa, sitting straight with eyes closed, seemingly practicing some breathing exercises or the like.

Song Ying wasn’t really used to having someone who couldn’t help with work beside her. However, her grandfather Song Tianyou had commanded that even if she went to the bathroom, Song Da would have to wait outside.

Just then, Song Ying received an international long-distance call.

A woman’s voice.

Song Ying remembered that she had previously arranged for an assistant to head to Hua Country ahead of time… but with so much happening in the past half month, she had almost forgotten about it.

“Oh… how did it go?” Song Ying asked casually.

“Miss Ying, I have successfully infiltrated the editorial agency. Using the identity of a foreign graduate, I have completed the entry procedures and can start officially working tomorrow.”

“Good.” Song Ying nodded.

“I will try to approach the target tomorrow, Miss Ying, rest assured, I will definitely expose this trickster’s true face.”

“Actually…”

Song Ying opened her mouth—she had earlier sent someone quietly to Hua Country intending to start from where Luo Qiu lived, thoroughly investigating this guy inside and out, as well as evaluating his character.

But now whether Luo Qiu was really a Song family member was no longer in doubt… Song Ying found herself suddenly unsure of how to cancel this order.

“What is it, Miss Ying?”

Song Ying sneakily glanced at Song Da, then cleared her throat, “Nothing, you are doing great, just continue following the original plan. Contact me if you need anything or have any news!”

“Understood.”

Only then did Song Ying let out a breath… after all, that guy had saved both her and Gan Hong, and it seemed he really intended to get nothing in return…

“That jerk, always babbling strange and baffling things all day long…”

At that moment, the office door was knocked again, and Secretary Su Mei came in carrying a bowl of plain porridge, with some freshly made Chinese fritters from the kitchen as well.

Having been busy since early morning, Song Ying’s stomach was growling with hunger, and she began eating immediately—only to suddenly stop after two sips of porridge, looking up at Su Mei in confusion, “This tastes a bit different, doesn’t it?”

“Huh? Impossible, I followed the…” Su Mei was startled, instinctively covering her lips.

“Followed what?”

“No… nothing, I mean I followed the steps.” Su Mei hastily explained.

“Su Mei, are you hiding something from me?” Song Ying’s expression suddenly turned cold.

Su Mei was taken aback and could only confess truthfully, “I’m sorry, Miss Ying. That morning’s porridge wasn’t made by me; it was actually made by Young Master Luo Qiu himself. He was afraid you wouldn’t eat, and worried that your stomach would be upset after staying up all night, so he asked me to bring it to you… I didn’t mean to deceive you, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

“That damned fellow…”

…

…

This was Luo Qiu’s third visit to Zhonghua Street. As he passed the fruit shop where he had asked for things the first time, the clerk playing on a phone actually recognized him—most importantly, recognized Song Haoran.

“Persimmons! We received a batch of persimmons, do you want to buy some this time?”

The clerk even remembered what Song Haoran and Luo Qiu intended to buy last time. Song Haoran seemed to be in a good mood and went into the shop. When he came out, he was carrying a paper bag full of persimmons.

When it was time to pay, the clerk realized that standing beside him was President Bai Shuitang from the Chamber of Commerce. Hastily, he said that the bag of persimmons would be free.

Song Haoran really didn’t pay, casually taking advantage of this small perk. He didn’t seem to notice the fear in the clerk’s eyes when looking at Bai Shuitang and instead laughed, “President Bai, it looks like I’m benefiting from your influence. Your reputation is really strong on Zhonghua Street.”

This remark had a deeper meaning that Bai Shuitang fully understood—he had originally thought Song Haoran would directly head to the destination, yet unexpectedly after arriving at Zhonghua Street, Song Haoran leisurely strolled around instead.

Song Haoran took a persimmon from the bag, casually peeled it, and started munching on it, and handed one to Luo Qiu, “It’s quite sweet, try it.”

“It really is,” Luo Qiu accepted it without any hesitation.

At this moment, Bai Shuitang walked over to Song Haoran and whispered, “Young Master, I think it’s about time. If we linger too long, I’m afraid they’ll notice you, and if they escape, it’ll be hard to find them next time.”

Song Haoran nodded, “That’s true… Where was the place you mentioned again?”

Bai Shuitang replied, “In a restaurant not far down the street. They’ve been monitoring a room for a long time… The name of the restaurant is Tianxiang Building.”

Song Haoran nodded, then turned around and said, “Did you hear that? Tianxiang Building, take care of them then.”

From behind, Oni chuckled viciously and said directly, “Alright, I’m on it!”

With that, Oni headed into the crowd, pulling out a phone and chatting about something… Bai Shuitang wanted to listen but the person had already walked far away.

Song Haoran meanwhile put an arm around Luo Qiu’s shoulder and said playfully, “Just some small fry, we’ll wait here for the good news… President Bai, isn’t that right?”

“Of course!” Bai Shuitang chuckled, “I was too anxious, thinking you’d personally step in… Haha. This way is fine too, we’ll just sit back and await the good news… How about we go to the tea house up ahead for some tea? Around this time, we can still listen to a tune—won’t that be nice?”

Song Haoran replied, “I’m not fond of opera… President Bai, is that place still open?”

“What place?” Bai Shuitang was momentarily caught off guard.

Song Haoran, squinting with a smile, said, “Hong Lou… I brought Luo Qiu out today specifically for some fun at Hong Lou. Dealing with those people is just incidental.”

Before Bai Shuitang could respond, Luo Qiu curiously asked, “What kind of place is Hong Lou?”

Song Haoran replied with a mischievous expression, “If we speak in ancient terms, it’s a brothel~ isn’t that exciting?”

Luo Qiu was startled; he certainly understood the meaning of brothel… though he had never visited such a place before.

“What’s wrong, not interested?”

“Not really, let’s go,” Luo Qiu thought for a moment and agreed.

It was now Song Haoran’s turn to be greatly surprised, saying incredulously, “Strange, I thought you’d change the subject and pretend not to hear. I didn’t expect you’d agree—this exceeded my expectations… You’re not following the usual pattern, are you?”

Luo Qiu casually replied, “I thought perhaps one might find a lotus among the mud… thinking this way, there’s no reason to refuse.”

“Is that so…” Song Haoran pondered for a moment, nodding, “Unstained by mud, I see you like that sort of type? Although pure appearances are easy to find, a truly pure heart is difficult… We do our best and leave the rest to fate. President Bai, aren’t you going to lead the way? My nephew here, his father treats him like a treasure, don’t disappoint him. Otherwise, you’re in trouble!”

“Yes, sir, Young Master Qiu, please follow me, I’ll have someone prepare it immediately!” Bai Shuitang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses in a flattering manner.

Then, he made a phone call, speaking seriously, “Hello, it’s me. Prepare for Hong Lou right away—say I have distinguished guests who want to play inside. Make sure to bring out the best! Remember, they’re very important guests, don’t neglect them!”

The phone instructions didn’t take long, and Bai Shuitang smiled, “Young Master, I’ve had it prepared… How about we go over now?”

“No rush,” Song Haoran suddenly shook his head, “Since we’re here, let me offer a few incense sticks at the Chamber of Commerce building, praying for divine protection!”

“Makes sense,” Bai Shuitang concurred.

…

What surprised Song Haoran was that as they arrived at the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce, they encountered Song Ying—she arrived in the company car, accompanied by Song Da and Su Mei, along with a team assigned to protect her.

“Uncle, and…” Song Ying pursed her lips, deliberately skipping the words after ‘and,’ “What are you doing here?”

Song Haoran quickly said, “Luo Qiu said he has a little stomach discomfort and wants to get some herbal medicine. So I accompanied him here… What about you? Do you need to meet with President Bai for something?”

Song Ying secretly glanced at Luo Qiu trailing behind, but when their eyes met, she quickly looked away to Bai Shuitang, saying, “Second Uncle, I have a few things to discuss with you, are you available?”

“This…” Bai Shuitang hesitated and looked at Song Haoran.

Song Haoran shrugged, “President Bai, business is important. Little Ying is here for work, you should help her first.”

“Alright then,” Bai Shuitang nodded decisively, “Little Ying, come with me to my office.”

Song Ying nodded as Luo Qiu arrived, greeting her directly, “Song Ying, you’re here too.”

Song Ying gave Luo Qiu an annoyed glare, noticing he still held a persimmon, “Your stomach hurts yet you’re eating persimmons? You deserve the pain!”

Luo Qiu: “??”

Song Ying snorted lightly, then followed Bai Shuitang inside.

Luo Qiu turned to Song Haoran, “Stomach discomfort?”

“She’s feeling unwell today,” Song Haoran replied with a serious face, “a bit moody.”

But I’m the one eating persimmons… and what has this got to do with the monthlies? ??