Song Yuzhang: Chapter 46 - Liu Chuanzong
Chapter 46: Liu Chuanzong
Hosting a banquet was tiring, but it came with plenty of benefits. Besides getting acquainted with more people and building connections, they also received a lot of gifts. There were so many that Song Yuzhang couldn’t open them all by himself and called Song Mingzhao over to help.
Song Mingzhao loved doing this kind of thing. He neatly arranged each gift as it was unwrapped, all the while introducing to Song Yuzhang who the giver was and what fresh gossip there was about them in Haizhou.
As Song Yuzhang listened, he couldn’t help thinking that Song Mingzhao wasn’t a completely useless dandy after all. When it came to the social web in Haizhou, he really did have it all down pat. Thinking this, a look of gentle appreciation showed on Song Yuzhang’s face.
Song Mingzhao was in the middle of telling an exciting story when he noticed Song Yuzhang’s gaze and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Song Yuzhang smiled. “Fourth Brother, you’re amazing.”
Song Mingzhao grew even more embarrassed. “Amazing at what? Are you teasing me for only knowing how to deal with trivial things like this?”
“How could I?” Song Yuzhang said softly. “Not just anyone can easily find out these kinds of inside stories, right? I should be thanking you for giving me these lessons. Otherwise, someone like me, who knows nothing, would end up making mistakes when socializing with them—offending people without even knowing what I did wrong. Now that would really be a joke.”
Song Mingzhao, who was used to being scolded, felt more overwhelmed by this praise than he ever did when being told off. His face flushed with a mixture of shame and flustered pleasure.
He couldn’t take it anymore and pounced on Song Yuzhang, biting his fingers, wrists, and elbows. The weather still had lingering heat, and Song Yuzhang was wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt at home, which made him an easy target for this “man-eating” foodie.
At first, Song Yuzhang endured it, idly playing with a diamond tie clip. But when he saw Song Mingzhao trying to slip his hand into his sleeve, he reached out and gave Song Mingzhao a hard smack on the butt.
Smack! The sound rang out crisply. Song Mingzhao was stunned. He looked at Song Yuzhang in confusion. “Xiao Yu, you hit my butt.”
Song Yuzhang nodded with a smile. “So you can bite me, but I’m not allowed to hit you?”
Song Mingzhao didn’t object at all. In fact, he was delighted. “Then I’m going to hit you too!”
“If you hit me…” Song Yuzhang leaned in close, grinning. “…then I’ll bite you.”
Song Mingzhao laughed and offered his wrist. “Go on, bite me.”
Song Yuzhang shook his head. “I don’t bite hands.”
“Then what do you want to bite?” Song Mingzhao retracted his hand and asked seriously, as if ready to offer up whatever part Song Yuzhang named.
Song Yuzhang only smiled faintly without answering.
From that mysterious smile, Song Mingzhao felt a strange heat rising. He pounced on him again, shaking his shoulders as he demanded, “Tell me!”
Song Yuzhang, laughing low in his throat from being shaken back and forth, finally steadied Song Mingzhao’s waist just before they both collapsed onto the sofa. “Careful.”
After horsing around for a while, Song Mingzhao worked up a sweat and felt extremely content. He liked spending time with Song Yuzhang more and more. But every time they were together for a bit, he couldn’t help getting playful—otherwise, he always felt like something inside him was itching to act out.
The two continued unwrapping gifts. Suddenly, Song Mingzhao let out a surprised “Huh?” Song Yuzhang looked over and saw that he had opened a jet-black jewelry box. Song Mingzhao turned it so that the inside faced Song Yuzhang. Lined with deep blue velvet, the box held a single ruby the size of a thumbnail.
“How interesting,” Song Mingzhao said. “Someone else gave you a pigeon blood ruby. It’s huge—looks like it’s more than twice the size of the one I gave you, right?”
He muttered to himself while fiddling with the box, trying to find a name or any hint of the sender.
Song Yuzhang took out the ruby.
It truly was bigger and more dazzling than the one Song Mingzhao had given him. Inside were natural inclusions typical of gemstones, and it shimmered beautifully when rotated—mysterious and radiant.
“No name,” Song Mingzhao finally concluded after searching thoroughly.
Song Yuzhang smiled. “It’s fine. Let’s just keep it.”
Later, another anonymous gift appeared—this one in a yellow rosewood box. Inside was a milky white jade seal.
“Beautiful,” Song Mingzhao exclaimed.
“Such cleverness, gifting you a jade seal.”
He hurried to grab some paper and a red ink pad. After pressing the seal down, the characters “Song Yuzhang” appeared in elegant red script on the paper. Mingzhao clicked his tongue in admiration. “Which master carved this? The calligraphy is truly exceptional.”
Song Mingzhao was an expert when it came to playing with this kind of stuff. The more he examined it, the more he liked it. “This is expensive and thoughtful. I wonder who gave it.”
He examined the yellow rosewood box and said, “Looks like it’s pretty old too.” He sniffed it. “Smells good.”
“How strange,” he laughed, glancing at the piles of gifts on the table. “The two most expensive ones don’t have names. Want me to go through the guest list and find out who gave them?”
“No need,” Song Yuzhang replied. “Since they didn’t want to leave a name, they must have their reasons. Let’s just keep them.”
He carefully organized the gifts. The ruby and the jade seal were placed together, along with the checks he had collected.
They were all valuable things, and keeping them together made them easier to carry when needed.
After a couple days of rest, Song Yuzhang returned to the bank. His first order of business was to review Liu Chuanzong’s personnel file.
Liu Chuanzong was the senior secretary assigned to him by Song Jincheng. About forty years old, he was extremely quiet by nature. While Song Yuzhang worked in his office, Liu Chuanzong sat silently in the small room outside. If Song Yuzhang didn’t call for him, the man could sit there like a shadow all day—so quietly and discreetly that no one could tell when he had arrived or when he had left.
After going through Liu Chuanzong’s resume, Song Yuzhang couldn’t help but admire him—realizing this man was a completely different breed of genius.
The genius Liu Chuanzong came from true hardship—no family, no job, no assets. He squatted in school for three years, failed the entrance exams, squatted for another year, and finally passed. But he had no money for tuition, so he had no choice but to sell himself as a household servant to the Song family. Even after becoming a servant, he continued his studies, and once he completed his education, he joined the bank and worked there for over a decade. He was a chess piece that could bring any situation to life no matter where he was placed, and he'd never made a single mistake.
Song Yuzhang closed the file and let out a quiet sigh.
This wasn’t someone sent by Song Jincheng. This was Song Zhenqiao’s man.
Song Zhenqiao had silently sent him such a flawless talent—could it be that he really intended to hand over the bank to ‘Song Yuzhang’?
It was truly unbelievable.
It wasn’t like the Song family had no sons. Why would they give such a vast inheritance to an illegitimate son who hadn’t been seen in twenty years?
Granted, the Song family’s sons didn’t exactly seem like capable heirs, but Song Third Young Master was no fool. Song Yuzhang didn’t believe Song Zhenqiao would fail to see that this third son of his was a talent.
Could it be that Song Qiyuan had no desire to take over the family business?
There were people like that—plenty, in fact.
Song Yuzhang had met many sons from wealthy families. These young men, raised in luxury and completely detached from the real world, often had minds that operated differently from normal people. Especially those who had studied abroad—they either talked about dreams or about freedom, but scoffed at the very family fortune that enabled their lifestyle.
To this, Song Yuzhang didn’t find it strange. People always took for granted what they already had, while passionately chasing after what they lacked.
Fine, let’s say that Song Zhenqiao really couldn’t find anyone suitable to inherit the family business—but why would he think ‘Song Yuzhang’ was suitable?
Song Zhenqiao knew next to nothing about this illegitimate son who had been left out in the cold for years.
And Song Yuzhang certainly didn’t think his value came from his mother. The old madam of the Song family had been dead for many years—if Song Zhenqiao had truly loved her so deeply, he would’ve brought her back to the country and married her a long time ago. Taking a second wife wasn’t anything shameful.
Twenty years of silence and indifference—how could Song Zhenqiao possibly have any deep emotional attachment to this mother and son?
Song Yuzhang couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he thought. As usual, he shelved the question for now and picked up the phone to summon Liu Chuanzong into his office.
Liu Chuanzong arrived immediately after hanging up, “Fifth Young Master, you called for me?”
Song Yuzhang looked him over.
Liu Chuanzong was dressed like the most typical bank employee—shirt and trousers, a pen clipped to his chest pocket. He stood straight with his head slightly bowed, looking like an honest, upright middle-aged man.
“Were there many people applying for loans today?”
“Seventeen this morning, sir.”
“Mhm,” Song Yuzhang nodded. “Take a seat.”
Liu Chuanzong sat down—his posture was just as proper and rigid as his standing.
Song Yuzhang casually rested his arms on the table and looked at Liu Chuanzong with a sideways glance. In a soft voice, he said, “I heard you’re a servant of the Song family.”
“Yes.”
“How many years is your indenture?”
“A death contract.”
Song Yuzhang paused in silence.
Now that was the very definition of a trusted confidant. And Song Zhenqiao had actually been willing to place such a person by his side? Was it to help him—or to watch him?
Song Yuzhang said, “I heard you’ve worked in every position in the bank.”
“Yes.”
“It’s a pity you’ve never studied abroad,” Song Yuzhang said. “There are so many foreigners in Haizhou now. If we’re to do business with them, not knowing a foreign language will really hold you back.”
That wasn’t really a question, so Liu Chuanzong chose to stay silent.
“Well then, since Father has assigned you to me, teach me how to handle bank operations. In return, I’ll hire a foreign language tutor for you. How does that sound?”
Liu Chuanzong lifted his slightly bowed head and quietly looked at Song Yuzhang. After a moment, he lowered it again. “Fifth Young Master, I’m the household’s servant. You’re the young master. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do it. No need for any kind of exchange or return.”
This was the longest string of words Song Yuzhang had ever heard from him. After hearing them, he smiled. “That’s not how it works. Do you really want to be a servant your whole life?”
Liu Chuanzong fell silent again. Just as Song Yuzhang thought he wouldn’t reply, Liu Chuanzong said in a plain, matter-of-fact voice: “I don’t.”
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