Song Yuzhang: Chapter 150 - Explosion
Chapter 150: Explosion
The arm factory became a joint venture. In fact, it had originally been a joint operation between the Nie and Song families. Now, the Meng family had squeezed in, making its structure similar to the railway. The difference was that times had changed—back then, it was Nie and Meng opposing each other while Song Yuzhang watched the drama unfold. Now, he himself had become a participant in the game.
The factory was still under construction, expected to be operational alongside the railway by the end of the year. Meng Tingjing, holding the written order, made no special moves. Seeing him inactive, Song Yuzhang asked him for personnel to help.
Meng Tingjing provided the manpower and even sent over a check.
Song Yuzhang kept the personnel but, unsure of Meng Tingjing’s intention with the money, returned the check the same way it came.
Meng Tingjing didn’t send anyone else after that.
Thus, everything remained peaceful.
Song Yuzhang realized that his interactions with Meng Tingjing were always polarized: either sweet and harmonious or stormy and tumultuous.
Whenever things between them were calm, Song Yuzhang felt uneasy, suspecting that Meng Tingjing was secretly preparing to stir up trouble.
Song Yuzhang made a set of jewelry each for Meng Sushan and Wan Lan—one set in agate, the other in jade. The agate was gentle and elegant; the jade, pure and refined. He felt satisfied. These sets were more suitable for them than simply using expensive diamonds.
Upon receiving the jewelry, Meng Sushan praised them endlessly. “Yuzhang really knows how to choose. Those two sets you made are good, but too extravagant. I have nowhere to wear them, and they don’t go with a cheongsam. And Wan Lan doesn’t have clothes to match either.”
“Then make a few Western-style outfits,” Meng Tingjing suggested.
Meng Sushan sighed, placing the agate earrings down. “Tingjing, I really don’t know what to say about you sometimes. You’re so much like Dad.”
Meng Tingjing’s expression stiffened. “How am I like him?”
“How like him?” Meng Sushan teased. “You’re being dismissive.”
Meng Tingjing straightened up, speaking solemnly. “How am I being dismissive? Diamonds are good diamonds, and the jeweler is highly skilled.”
“I know you tried your best, but they don’t suit me or Wan Lan. It’s like…” Meng Sushan lifted her foot, “These shoes. Even if the leather is good and the craftsman skilled, if the size is wrong, you still can’t wear them comfortably.”
Meng Tingjing pondered briefly. “You have a point.”
Seeing him deep in thought, Meng Sushan smiled faintly. “What have you figured out this time?”
Meng Tingjing turned and walked away without answering.
Meng Sushan held her handkerchief, stifling a laugh.
Her brother was smart, but sometimes stubborn and off-course. If he found the right direction, he would move quickly.
She shook her head. Some things couldn’t be forced. Picking up the agate earrings again, she compared them to her earlobes. Song Yuzhang was an excellent young man. Though Meng Tingjing was her beloved younger brother, she was impartial. If Song Yuzhang truly paired with Meng Tingjing, both would face hardships—Meng Tingjing by choice, Song Yuzhang more innocently.
She put the earrings down, sighing wryly. “Can’t even manage your own affairs, yet worry about others.”
Spring in Haizhou was very brief. By May, the weather had warmed up. With the surroundings calm, Song Yuzhang had some leisure. He went to the White Tower to watch a show, only to find that White Tower had a new lead performer.
“Where’s Xiao Fengxian?”
“He went back to his hometown to get married.”
“Getting married?”
Song Yuzhang was greatly surprised.
“Wasn’t he going back to pay respects to his master?”
“He did, but during the visit, fate intervened, and he married,” the troupe leader explained. “He had saved a fair amount of money, redeemed his indenture contract, and Haizhou has truly been his lucky place. He met a benefactor like you, Fifth Young Master. Otherwise, even working another five or ten years, he wouldn’t have such a good life.”
Song Yuzhang hadn’t expected that Xiao Fengxian’s trip home would end in marriage.
It felt sudden, yet also not entirely unexpected—so many people married without warning these days. Marriage wasn’t about love or drama; it was about living steadily. Like Xiao Yuxian.
It was a pity he would never see Xiao Fengxian, so delicate and graceful, again. Song Yuzhang thought of asking the troupe leader where Xiao Fengxian’s hometown was, but decided against it.
Seizing rare leisure, Song Yuzhang had no place to go. Bored, he went to Vienna, but Shen Chengduo was hosting out-of-town guests. He then tried the Liu residence, but both Liu Chuanzong and Liu Chu were out. Using his charm and imposing presence, Song Yuzhang asked neighbors and learned that the father and son had gone out to buy summer clothes.
Song Yuzhang hadn’t expected that in the large city of Haizhou, he couldn’t find a single person to talk to.
He wondered why he suddenly felt so unwelcome.
Indeed, one cannot have both fish and bear’s paw. When busy with important matters, one couldn’t attend to anything else.
Song Yuzhang thought of Yu Feiyu, wondering how the railway construction was going. During earlier inspections, Yu Feiyu wrote letters frequently. But now, with the railway under construction, no letters had arrived for a long time.
Even if letters had come, distant consolation couldn’t quench immediate need—words alone couldn’t comfort Song Yuzhang.
He didn’t understand why he suddenly seemed to have lost charm, unaware that it was because he had become too flawless.
Good looks alone made him stand out; young, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, involved in the railway and arm factory projects—he was Haizhou’s top bachelor. Too perfect, intimidating.
The mayor of Haizhou had a treasured daughter. She fell for Song Yuzhang’s newspaper image at first sight, nearly succumbing to lovesickness. Once she entered the girls’ school, almost every infatuated girl developed the same ailment. Unified treatment cured them. Such a person—unattainable—brought peace. Luckily, Haizhou’s newspapers were local, or the infatuation would have spread.
Besides infatuated girls, there were also many young men smitten with him.
Song Yuzhang’s image carried a balanced charm. Not androgynous, yet in black-and-white photos, his striking features made even men’s hearts tremble.
The young men, bolder than girls, often sneaked to the Chamber of Commerce to see him in person—some were especially photogenic, but a camera could never deceive the eyes.
Dressed in a smoky gray suit and surrounded by attendants, Song Yuzhang walked out of the Chamber of Commerce. The young men collectively gawked—admitting that cameras could deceive, but the man himself was even more striking in person.
As Song Yuzhang got into his car, he noticed a group of curious male college students. He ducked inside casually and said, “Students on strike again?”
“No idea. Anyway, they’re always skipping class and staging protests every few days. Who knows what they’re upset about?”
Song Yuzhang adjusted his sleeves in the car. “Worried about the country and the people, I suppose.”
He was unaware that he had quietly become a sensation in Haizhou. It wasn’t that he didn’t know he was handsome; it was that previously, due to his “profession,” he had always kept his beauty understated. He had never experienced such public admiration.
Fortunately, the Chamber of Commerce soon became busy, easing Song Yuzhang’s inexplicable springtime melancholy. With the quarterly meeting approaching, he had so much to do that he had no time to think of anything else. Even something as simple as coordinating the unified pricing for textiles required constant attention, consuming much of his energy. To his surprise, Meng Tingjing, as the head of Haizhou’s largest cotton textile factory, cooperated quite well.
Song Yuzhang didn’t want to overthink it, but ambiguous situations made him uneasy. He decided to clarify before the quarterly meeting.
Meng Tingjing said calmly, “Unified fabric pricing stabilizes the market and prevents cutthroat competition. What reason would I have to oppose it?”
Song Yuzhang, hands folded on his knees, regarded Meng Tingjing with surprise. He had long been used to Meng Tingjing behaving like an unreasoning mad dog. Now, seeing him reasoned for once, Song Yuzhang felt a sudden shock.
Meng Tingjing, under Song Yuzhang’s astonished gaze, was slightly annoyed. He had always been reasonable; apart from opposing positions, he rarely contradicted Song Yuzhang deliberately. What was that look supposed to mean?
“No other conditions?” Song Yuzhang probed.
Meng Tingjing snorted.
Song Yuzhang tilted his shoe toward Meng Tingjing’s long gown, teasing lightly. “You don’t have another trick up your sleeve, do you?”
Meng Tingjing tensed. “Do as you see fit!”
Meng Tingjing swept his sleeves and stood, determined not to become a completely submissive yes-man. His actions already signaled goodwill; in time, Song Yuzhang would understand his intentions. There was no point in arguing, lest tempers flare again.
Previously, he and Song Yuzhang hadn’t quarreled this frequently. Meng Tingjing realized the pattern and quickly understood it.
In the past, they argued less because Song Yuzhang made an effort to pacify him. Song Yuzhang’s temper meant that as long as he didn’t want to quarrel, no one could provoke him.
So now, Song Yuzhang simply didn’t want to placate him.
In that case, Song Yuzhang was confronting him with his true self.
Meng Tingjing thought: “Indeed. He probably never argued like this with the Nie brothers. Perhaps with no one.”
When Song Yuzhang came out, he saw Meng Tingjing still standing at the office door. “Changed your mind? State your conditions quickly. If I read them at the meeting later, it’ll be too late.”
Meng Tingjing turned, expression calm. “No change of mind. It’s decided.”
Song Yuzhang glanced at him, eyes showing no leniency, and passed silently. Meng Tingjing followed, walking beside him. “Elder sister misses you.”
“Meng Tingjing, can you stop using Sister Sushan as a prop?”
“I’m serious. Elder sister said it herself. How is that using her as a prop? If I miss you, can’t I say it?”
Song Yuzhang glanced down, warningly. “Don’t talk nonsense here.”
“What’s there to fear? Is there something shameful?”
“You’re shameless; I still have shame.”
Meng Tingjing no longer argued. “How shameless is this?”
Song Yuzhang was too lazy to pay attention to him.
He kept walking beside Song Yuzhang. “When it gets hotter, how about a sea fishing trip together?”
“No time.”
“No time? The bank isn’t busy now. After the quarterly meeting, nothing major. The arm factory is still under construction. If you don’t go now, you’ll be busy all year.”
“I like being busy.”
Meng Tingjing nodded slightly. “That’s just like me.”
Song Yuzhang stopped on the steps, smiling faintly at Meng Tingjing. “I’m complimenting you,” Meng Tingjing added.
Song Yuzhang didn’t know how to respond. He smiled. “It’s talking like you that gets you into trouble in college, making enemies all over campus, right?”
Meng Tingjing’s expression shifted slightly. “Yu Feiyu said that?”
Song Yuzhang continued down the steps.
“You’re wrong,” Meng Tingjing said proudly. “I didn’t offend them—they offended me.”
Song Yuzhang didn’t respond. The auditorium was just ahead.
Today, Nie Yinbing didn’t attend the quarterly meeting—busy with the arm factory. Song Yuzhang asked if he wanted to come. Nie Yinbing agreed without hesitation, understanding that Song Yuzhang wanted to maintain distance, so he minimized contact.
Almost everyone had arrived in the auditorium. Song Yuzhang sat on stage; Meng Tingjing on his left. Both appeared solemn, clearly uneasy with each other.
Song Yuzhang shifted slightly in his seat, feeling oddly uncomfortable.
Perhaps the chairs were damp.
Meng Tingjing’s eyes followed him. Before the microphone was on, he said, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Uncomfortable chair?”
Song Yuzhang shot him a sharp glance, warning in tone. “I said nothing.” He fiddled with the microphone, but Meng Tingjing stood, gesturing to an attendant. “Bring two new chairs.”
The attendant nodded and quickly left.
Song Yuzhang, helpless, lowered his hands and whispered from below, “You never listen to anything I say, do you?”
Meng Tingjing turned. “This meeting will last hours. You may not care about your backside, but I do.”
He meant nothing else—just a casual remark. Song Yuzhang’s eyes flickered with fire. His face darkened. “Meeting’s about to start. Don’t cause trouble.”
“Remember your own words,” Meng Tingjing replied.
The chairman and deputy-chairman whispered on stage. The audience was aware of their past quarrels. Someone signaled Song Yuzhang to step down, preventing any incident.
Song Yuzhang smiled faintly and left the stage. Meng Tingjing, hands behind his back, watched him blend into the crowd before following.
Outside, attendants moved chairs onto the stage, replacing the two removed earlier.
Meng Tingjing subtly leaned back, surrounded by his own people, away from Song Yuzhang.
A stage attendant noticed the microphone slightly askew and adjusted it. Normally, he would do this, but today he didn’t think much and instinctively toggled the switch.
Workers labored energetically. Nie Yinbing, bare-chested, worked alongside them, showing no airs. His scars left no trace of noble upbringing; sweat dripped from his brow into his eyes.
“Second Master—”
From afar, Nie Yinbing heard Nie Mao calling. Turning, he saw Nie Mao stumbling toward him, lifting his coat.
“Second Master!” Nie Mao knelt before him, panicked. “Ex-explosion—bl-blast—”
Nie Yinbing frowned. “Another mine explosion? Were there casualties?”
“No, not the mine. The Chamber of Commerce—it exploded! Fifth Young Master is inside!”
----------
If you like my translation, please support me by buying me a coffee:
0 comments: