Song Yuzhang: Chapter 175 - To Meet
After exchanging a few bland pleasantries with the two men at the entrance, Meng Tingjing turned and went back into the hotel. At a glance, he spotted a young man sitting on a sofa, his face hidden beneath the brim of a hat.
A strange feeling stirred in Meng Tingjing’s chest—he felt he must have seen this person before. He took a few steps forward and reached out to pat the man on the shoulder, calling out loudly, “Boss Qian?”
His voice was loud, and the slap carried some force. The man’s shoulder jolted; the hat slipped down, revealing a pair of clear, phoenix-shaped eyes. Fu Mian caught the hat in his hand and smiled. “I don’t have the surname Qian.”
Meng Tingjing studied the upper half of his face, finding it increasingly familiar. He frowned slightly, adopting a thoughtful look. “You—you’re that…”
Fu Mian rolled the brim of the hat lightly between his fingers, stood up, and bent politely at the waist. “Sir, we met once on the Luoye River.”
In truth, he didn’t need to say it. The moment Meng Tingjing saw his full face, he remembered.
Those days and nights on the river were etched into Meng Tingjing’s memory as sheer agony. Clinging to his last shred of tortured hope, he had searched day and night for any trace of Song Yuzhang, only to find nothing in the end. Even now, recalling it felt like a knife to the heart.
Instinctively, Meng Tingjing felt a surge of aversion toward this man. “So you’ve brought your grain business all the way to Haizhou?”
Fu Mian replied clearly, “No. This time it’s tobacco. I also brought my wife back to visit some old friends.”
Meng Tingjing had no interest in other people’s private affairs, but the coincidence of this man’s appearance—especially having just bumped into Zhang Changshan—made him want to probe further. “Your wife is from Haizhou?”
“He wasn’t born here, but he stayed here for a while. He really likes Haizhou and has many good friends here, so I brought him back to take a look.”
Meng Tingjing gave a soft “Oh.” “What’s your name?”
“Fu Mian,” Fu Mian said with a smile. “And your surname, sir?”
“I’m Meng Tingjing, from the Chamber of Commerce,” Meng Tingjing said. “If you plan to sell tobacco in Haizhou, you’ll need to register with the Chamber.”
“Of course, of course. Absolutely.”
Fu Mian put on an appropriately humble posture. Meng Tingjing turned to leave, then paused and looked back again. “Where are you staying? I’ll pay you a visit another day.”
Fu Mian smiled and gave the address precisely, not a word out of place.
Meng Tingjing felt the man was remarkably forthright, with nothing obviously suspicious about him—yet his feet refused to move. Searching for something to say, he asked, “Are you waiting for someone?”
“No. I’m waiting for the food.”
Fu Mian held the hat against his chest and smiled. “My wife hasn’t had much of an appetite lately. He likes the food here, so I came to pack some of his favorites and take them back.”
“Oh.” Meng Tingjing felt a bit sick of hearing this. “The food here is indeed good.”
Fu Mian smiled faintly. “I hope he enjoys it.”
There was truly nothing more to say. Meng Tingjing turned away, walked a few steps, then—uneasy—glanced back again. Fu Mian had already sat down once more, gently fanning his face with the hat, patient and unhurried, a faint, ambiguous smile on his lips.
Toward such a devoted husband, Meng Tingjing found himself feeling a trace of goodwill.
He had seen plenty of men who treated their wives poorly. Toward men who treated their wives well, he felt a certain quiet kinship.
Meng Tingjing withdrew his gaze and descended the hotel steps.
Fu Mian waited in the hotel for over half an hour before returning to East-West Alley with several boxes of carefully packed dishes.
Each box was sampled first to ensure nothing was wrong before the food was carried into the courtyard.
Song Yuzhang was resting with his eyes closed beneath a tree. Fu Mian set the food box gently on the stone table by his right hand, then suddenly cried out “Wah!”—like an adult scaring a child—pulling an exaggerated ghost face above Song Yuzhang’s head.
Song Yuzhang opened his eyes and smiled faintly. “Don’t mess around.”
Fu Mian laughed. “I bought you something good to eat. Get up—time to eat.”
The food from the International Hotel was indeed long missed. In truth, half of Song Yuzhang’s stomach troubles were self-inflicted—he deliberately feigned a lack of appetite, starving himself into that slight sickliness.
Fu Mian propped his cheek on his hand, watching him eat. “Is it good?”
“Not bad,” Song Yuzhang replied unhurriedly.
Fu Mian said, “Looks like a year of good living really spoiled your palate.”
Song Yuzhang took a sip of loofah soup. “Didn’t you just spoil it all over again?”
The faint smile on Fu Mian’s face slowly faded. Suddenly, he said, “I ran into Meng Tingjing at the hotel.”
Song Yuzhang calmly continued sipping the sweet, silky loofah soup. Fu Mian leaned in close, smiling at the corner of his mouth. “He recognized me.”
“Not surprising,” Song Yuzhang said while ladling soup. “He never forgets a face.”
“Oh? That impressive?”
Song Yuzhang neither confirmed nor denied it.
“He asked what I was doing in Haizhou.” Fu Mian’s hand slid over, his palm resting lightly on Song Yuzhang’s thigh. “I said I brought my wife back to visit family.”
Song Yuzhang’s hand paused. He lifted his eyes to look at him.
Fu Mian chuckled. “He said he’d come visit me another day. So tell me, good wife—how should I entertain him when the time comes?”
After a brief silence, Song Yuzhang smiled as well. “Be hospitable. Use your wife to entertain him.”
Fu Mian said nothing. Suddenly, he grabbed the bowl of loofah soup and smashed it onto the ground.
With a sharp clang, it shattered into pieces, soup splashing everywhere.
Song Yuzhang turned his head, pulled another plate toward himself, and continued eating. Watching him eat with such relish, Fu Mian said coldly, “I’ll kill him sooner or later.”
Without lifting his head, Song Yuzhang replied, “If you say the same thing too many times, it stops being interesting.”
Fu Mian pinched the back of his neck. “He looks pretty weak.”
Song Yuzhang nearly sprayed his food. After swallowing a mouthful of tofu, he hummed in agreement. “That’s true.”
The next day, Fu Mian really did go to the Chamber of Commerce. Like a greenhorn newly arrived in town, he seemed to be counting his steps as he walked—scrupulously polite, following people inside with great care. Head lowered, waist bent, he nearly collided with a tall man striding confidently out of the building. The moment they met face to face, Fu Mian smiled.
Shen Chengduo’s expression shifted slightly—he didn’t know whether to greet him.
Recently promoted, Shen Chengduo had become a minor core member of the Chamber.
Fu Mian said, “Hello. I’m new to Haizhou, here to sell tobacco.”
Shen Chengduo’s face flickered with emotion. After a dry laugh, he repeated meaninglessly, “Oh. Selling tobacco.”
“This is Boss Shen,” someone introduced.
“Boss Shen.”
Fu Mian bowed deeply. Shen Chengduo felt a chill. That bow didn’t feel right—more like someone paying respects at a grave.
Originally, the tobacco supplied to Shen Chengduo’s dance halls and casinos hadn’t come from Fu Mian. Then one night, the previous supplier vanished—rumor had it he was hacked to death in a brothel.
After that, Fu Mian took over.
Huge appetite. No bargaining allowed.
Shen Chengduo had once been a big-time thug himself. Facing Fu Mian, he knew immediately—this man wasn’t a thug. Thugs just want to survive. This man wanted others to starve.
“Too polite,” Shen Chengduo probed. “May I ask your full name?”
“Fu Mian.”
Shen Chengduo’s heart skipped again. No concealment at all—what was this man planning?
Fu Mian smiled faintly and brushed past him. Shen Chengduo couldn’t help turning to watch him go, thinking this hot-blooded young man was bound to stir up serious trouble.
He knew Zhang Changshan had arrived and had sent several handsome subordinates to make contact—but Zhang Changshan, like a paragon of chastity who’d never touched a man in his life, ignored them completely.
Shen Chengduo was frantic. What did that old bastard mean? Was he planning to abandon him?
Fu Mian followed the attendant inside and asked mildly, “Is Chairman Meng here?”
The man beside him countered, “You know Chairman Meng?”
“We’ve met a few times.”
“Don’t bother looking for him,” the man said. “He’s not handling affairs right now, and his temper’s terrible. A few meetings mean nothing—he can turn on you in an instant.”
Fu Mian smiled. “Really? Chairman Meng seems quite easygoing.”
“In the past… he was all right, I suppose. Ever since Chairman Song left, his temper’s just gotten worse and worse.”
Fu Mian’s smile deepened. “So it seems Chairman Meng and Chairman Song must have been very close.”
“Who knows.”
Selling tobacco required not only approval from the Chamber of Commerce but also further authorization from higher authorities. Fu Mian submitted his paperwork, left the Chamber, and ran into Shen Chengduo, who had clearly been waiting for him.
Shen Chengduo beckoned him over, asking though he already knew the answer, “You’re selling tobacco?”
“Yes,” Fu Mian replied.
“Did you bring the goods?” Shen Chengduo said. “I’ve got a real need for tobacco over on my end.”
“The higher-ups haven’t approved it yet,” Fu Mian said. “If Boss Shen needs some, we can talk after the approval comes through.”
Fu Mian handed him a polite but unyielding rebuff—not soft, not hard. Shen Chengduo couldn’t press the matter further. Suspecting that someone might be watching them, he couldn’t speak plainly either, and could only watch helplessly as Fu Mian climbed into his car and drove off with conspicuous ease.
When Fu Mian returned to the residence, news arrived immediately.
Zhang Changshan had sent word—hidden inside a newspaper—asking to meet that night.
Fu Mian burned the note. Going inside, he found Song Yuzhang asleep. In a very good mood, he leaned down and kissed Song Yuzhang on the face. “Whose wife is so greedy and lazy, sleeping in broad daylight?”
Song Yuzhang opened his eyes, neither warm nor cold. “Wife my ass.”
Fu Mian just laughed. “How about I get revenge for you tonight?”
“Get revenge for me?” Song Yuzhang said. “What, are you planning to mutilate yourself?”
Fu Mian reached out and grabbed him by the neck. “Watch your mouth. Don’t get cheeky.”
Song Yuzhang smiled. “Isn’t it because you like it when I’m cheeky?”
Fu Mian simply pressed his whole body down on top of him.
“Zhuqing.”
“Mm?”
“When all this is over, I’ll take you back to Qingxi. We’ll have a proper wedding—do it right.”
Song Yuzhang said nothing, only lifted a hand and lightly patted Fu Mian’s face.
Fu Mian left.
Song Yuzhang slowly sat up in bed.
There was no doubt that infighting had broken out among these people. How severe it was remained unclear, but since Fu Mian was willing to take such a great risk to bring him to Haizhou, he must be planning something big.
Fu Mian said he would get revenge for him—so who was he planning to eliminate?
Song Yuzhang got out of bed and went to find Xiao Fengxian. The courtyard was small; Xiao Fengxian lived together with the Fu family’s attendants. Song Yuzhang took Xiao Fengxian’s hand and led him into the yard, asking whether he’d been bullied and whether he was eating enough.
Xiao Fengxian answered with nods and shakes of his head. Song Yuzhang sighed softly. “That’s good, then.”
The walls were very high. If he could climb out and shout for help, perhaps he could regain his freedom—but unfortunately, he wasn’t a master thief, and didn’t have the ability.
As soon as Fu Mian stepped out, he sensed someone watching him from the shadows. He smiled faintly and unhurriedly told his men to drive to Vienna.
Vienna was in the height of its revelry. After entering, Fu Mian behaved like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world—shrinking timidly into a corner of a sofa. A dancer came over to link arms with him; he immediately jumped up in apparent fright and retreated deeper inside.
He looked utterly unfamiliar with the place. The people tailing him followed him around inside, only to see him get yanked into a room by an outstretched hand. Pressing an ear to the door, they heard shrill female laughter and a man’s panicked voice inside.
The man and woman performed their act flawlessly. Meanwhile, Fu Mian slipped upstairs through a hidden staircase concealed in a wall panel. The spiral stairs led all the way up. He pushed open the door—inside, Zhang Changshan was waiting.
“Director Zhang,” Fu Mian said politely, removing his hat first in greeting.
Zhang Changshan smiled. “It’s been a long time. You look well.”
Fu Mian walked over, hat in hand, and stopped opposite him. “Director Zhang, you look like you’ve aged.”
Zhang Changshan’s expression remained calm. “Do I?”
“Director Zhang, time is tight. Let’s speak plainly,” Fu Mian said with a smile.
Zhang Changshan said, “Good—straightforward enough. In that case, I’ll be direct. What will it take for you to hand the person over?”
Fu Mian’s gaze flickered slightly. “Director Zhang, back then, I agreed that I only wanted the person. But now I’m having second thoughts. An arms factory, a bank, the railway—so many good things, and I didn’t get a single share. Since Director Zhang wants me to hand him over, that’s fine—but it wouldn’t be unreasonable for me to ask for some benefits in return, would it?”
Zhang Changshan was instantly furious inside. He had long suspected Fu Mian was plotting exactly this!
He’d already had his fun with the person—played with him for months until he got bored—and now he wanted to trade the person for money.
What a perfectly calculated scheme!
Killing intent surged in Zhang Changshan’s heart, yet his face remained gentle and composed. “What benefits do you want?”
Fu Mian smiled. “May I ask what benefits Director Zhang promised Boss Shen?”
“What, you want to compete with him?”
Fu Mian nodded slightly. “Director Zhang, you want someone up front to handle things for you. Mediocre men are easy to control—but mediocre men can’t get things done…” Lowering his voice, he continued slowly: “Kill Shen Chengduo. I’ll take his place as the one who calls the shots in Haizhou.”
----------
If you like my translation, please support me by buying me a coffee:
0 comments: