20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 472 Sixth Master (to be reissued later)
In the east of Fengtian City, where the Sixth Master lives.

This was originally the secret residence of the "Sea Owl". After being renovated in recent years, it has now become a very exquisite courtyard.

Guan Wei was placed under house arrest here for a full six years.

It’s just the end of the first month of the year and the weather is still a bit cold.

The dog is yawning, the chickens are strolling around, and the yard is filled with a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.

Suddenly, the sound of a record player "hissing" slowly floated out along the window lattice.

Listening to the tune, it seemed to be a review of an opera, and the content was naturally all about eroticism and sexual matters:

"Don't be so talkative when I call you husband!"

"If I talk nonsense, I'm a fool!"

"I'm tired!"

"Hit the shoulders first, then the legs."

"It hurts!"

"I puff, I puff, I can't stop panting, I just keep blowing."

"I am better than Yang Guifei, who are you better than..."

Inside the house, Guan Wei leaned against the cabinet at the head of the kang, tapping his knees with his fingers while humming: "I am better than that Emperor Tang Minghuang - the pee water!"

After singing, he just chuckled to himself, feeling carefree and without any worries.

Guan Wei is now in his early forties and has gained some weight, but he is still full of energy and spirit.

Although he no longer had the opportunity to show up in public, he would still wash himself carefully every morning, making himself clean and presentable.

"Since you are not dead, you must live well."

This is a phrase that Sixth Master often says.

He did so and threw himself into the repetitive life of house arrest that seemed to have an end.

The needle of the phonograph suddenly jumped up, and the tune of "Bad Bones" came to an abrupt end.

Guan Wei sat up straight, looked at the yard outside the window, and on a whim, he shouted twice towards the outer room.

"Tui'er, Tui'er!"

"What are you doing?"

A clear voice came from outside the door, the tone was very impatient, and seemed to be mixed with a hint of blame.

Guan Wei didn't mind. He turned around and put on a cotton-padded jacket, and continued to shout at the top of his voice: "The weather outside is nice today. Help Master Liu to take a walk in the yard. People can't be idle. They have to move around every now and then."

"It's so cold, why are you strolling around? You're just looking for trouble all day long!"

When the voice came, a girl in her twenties came in from the doorway, walked to the kang with complaints, squatted down, put shoes on Guan Wei, and then handed him a pair of crutches that were standing by the kang.

"You do whatever you want and never stop." The girl scolded unhappily.

Guan Wei took the crutches with a smile, held them under his armpits, and then stood up tremblingly. Just as he was about to take a step forward, he suddenly stumbled and rushed towards the girl, put his hands around her waist, and pinched her butt hard.

"Oh, look, my legs and feet are still not working well!" Guan Wei sighed, but couldn't hide his smug look.

Xiao Cui was not in a hurry, as if she had already gotten used to it. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and muttered softly, "You old pervert, get out of here!"

Although she said this, the girl actually did not resist.

From the moment the Jiang family bought her and sent her here to serve the Sixth Master, she already knew that she had to take care of this "job" as well.

After all, the fifteen dollars a month salary was not earned in vain, and she had to take care of every aspect of Sixth Master's life; and the reason why she dared to speak rudely to Sixth Master was precisely because of this relationship.

After Master Liu had had his fill, the two of them went for a walk in the yard.

Although Guan Wei has been half-disabled for a long time, after careful treatment, he can still move a few steps with the help of others and the help of crutches.

When the weather was warm, Xiao Cui would occasionally open the courtyard, put up a stool at the door, and let Liu Ye sit on it, looking out into the empty alley.

Today the weather is clear and the air is refreshing, and my mood is also cheerful.

Unexpectedly, after the two of them walked around in the yard, they suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

Hearing the sound, both of them were stunned.

After looking at each other, Guan Wei suddenly asked Xiao Cui: "Is today your salary payment day?"

Xiao Cui shook her head blankly: "No, it's still early."

"Boom boom boom!"

The knock on the door sounded again.

Xiao Cui then helped Guan Wei to lean against the wall, and then hurried over to answer the door.

I gently pulled open the two doors and saw a tall young man with dark skin standing outside.

"You are……"

Xiao Cui frowned, as if she had some impression of the visitor, but she seemed a little hesitant because she hadn't seen him for a long time.

"East wind." said the visitor.

"Oh, yes, yes, I remember now." Xiao Cui finally breathed a sigh of relief, "You and Brother Zhao haven't been here for two or three years. I didn't recognize you at first."

Zhang Zhengdong explained, "My family is busy, so there's nothing going on here. If you need help, go knock on the door across the street. That's the 'Xiangzi' in the family."

"Well, I know that."

Xiao Cui nodded. She knew who to look for when she encountered any problem.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual around him, Zhang Zhengdong explained his purpose: "My eldest sister-in-law sent me here to deliver something to Master Liu."

Xiao Cui then opened the courtyard door completely, stepped aside and greeted respectfully, "Okay, then...then please come in."

"Tsui Er, who's here?"

When Guan Wei heard the noise, he became anxious, and immediately stood on tiptoe and stretched his neck to look towards the entrance of the courtyard.

When he saw Dongfeng coming in, his eyes lit up instantly.

"Eh? This brother, you are not... Are you the eldest one? Xiao Dongfeng?"

Zhang Zhengdong came forward and nodded slightly, saying, "Sixth Master."

Hearing this, Guan Wei was immediately delighted and even trembling with excitement. He hurriedly dragged his feet and came forward. He almost fell down halfway, and Xiao Cui was so scared that she hurried over to support him.

"Oh, it's really you!" Guan Wei looked Dongfeng up and down and couldn't help but sighed: "My goodness, time really spares no one! You look much stronger now than before. How old are you this year?"

Zhang Zhengdong replied with a serious face, "Twenty-five."

"That's scary. Do you have a wife?"

"No, I don't plan to marry."

Guan Wei nodded with a smile, and did not ask any further questions. Instead, he leaned sideways and couldn't help but glance behind Dongfeng a few times.

Although he didn't say anything, there was a hint of hope in his eyes, and this hope was unsurprisingly dashed.

The alley outside the courtyard gate was empty. Except Dongfeng, no one came with him.

However, Guan Wei couldn't help but ask, "Dongfeng, you came here alone? Why did you suddenly come to see me? Did something happen to your brother?"

Zhang Zhengdong shook his head and said coldly, "Sixth Master, whether the boss has any problems or not, you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Guan Wei was stunned for a moment, then he quickly laughed dryly twice, and said with some self-mockery: "That's right, I can't help you much. So what are you doing..."

"Sister-in-law sent me here to give you something."

"Well, I don't need anything, so Xiaoyan shouldn't worry about it."

Guan Wei touched his collar at a loss, then turned sideways and said, "Well... Dongfeng, come in and sit for a while, have a drink of water, and chat."

This time, Zhang Zhengdong didn't say anything more. He just lowered his head and followed Guan Wei and Xiao Cui slowly into the house.

After entering the house, they both sat down.

Xiao Cui helped to serve tea and water, and put out some nuts and snacks; with Dongfeng here, she didn't dare to act disrespectful with Sixth Master anymore.

Guan Wei leaned on the edge of the kang, and as soon as he sat down, he immediately asked, "Is everything okay at home?"

"Okay." Zhang Zhengdong answered concisely.

"Sister Hong is also doing well?"

"Alright."

"You four brothers, are you all doing well now?"

"all good."

"That's fine, that's fine." Guan Wei muttered to himself for a moment, and suddenly asked, "What kind of business is your family doing now?"

After hearing this, Zhang Zhengdong immediately cleared his throat, as if he had already prepared his homework in advance. In a few words, he gave an overview of the Jiang family's business, but he only mentioned each business in passing and stopped talking about the details.

In short, I have nothing to tell you about how the Jiang family operates internally, the business operations of various locations, what jobs the brothers do...all of these things.

This is the common attitude of Jiang and Hu.

Jiang Lianheng has made up his mind. Sixth Master will never have anything to do with the Jiang family again. Jiang Ya and Jiang Chengye are not allowed to recognize Sixth Master. It is just regarded as if there is no such person. This door cannot be opened no matter what.

Although Hu Xiaoyan remembered the kindness of Sixth Master, she also knew that rules were rules. Feelings could be discussed, but house arrest was still necessary. There was no place for Sixth Master in the Jiang family, not now and never in the future.

The general introduction of the Jiang family is completed.

Zhang Zhengdong reached into his bosom and took out a palm-sized, colored photo. He placed it on the edge of the kang and pushed it towards Guan Wei's hand.

"Sixth Master, my sister-in-law asked me to bring this to you as a keepsake for you."

Guan Wei picked up the photo in a daze, and when he looked down, it was a group photo of five people - Jiang Lianheng and Hu Xiaoyan were sitting in the middle, with Xiaohua standing behind them, and Jiang Ya and Jiang Chengye standing in front of them.

"Wow! These two kids are... your brother's children?"

Zhang Zhengdong nodded and introduced: "The girl is Jiang Ya, she is the daughter of my eldest sister-in-law; the boy is Cheng Ye, he is the daughter of Sister Hua."

Guan Wei held up the photo, sometimes looking closer, sometimes looking further away and leaning back to look at it, seeming to be unable to let it go, with a look of joy on his face, and sighed: "This girl doesn't look like your brother at all, she looks like your sister-in-law."

"Yeah, that's what they say."

"Luckily I'm not like your brother!"

Guan Wei laughed, and then suddenly remembered something. He lay sideways on the kang, crawled to the cabinet on the head of the kang, opened the cabinet, and panted heavily while muttering to himself with a smile:
"I have to prepare some New Year's money for the two children. It's a little late now since the first month of the lunar year has passed." He turned around and asked, "How old are these two children? I should make up for the money from the first few years."

Zhang Zhengdong waved his hand quickly: "Sixth Master, forget it. I just came to give you a photo. If there is nothing else, I will leave first."

"No!" Guan Wei rummaged through the cabinets. "It's Chinese New Year, let the younger generation have some fun. The two kids have grown up, but I haven't bought anything for them yet. This is a little token of my appreciation."

However, Zhang Zhengdong had already stood up and walked out the door without looking back.

Seeing Dongfeng about to leave, Guan Wei hurriedly called out to him, "Dongfeng, sit for a while. It's almost time for dinner. Eat a bite here before you leave, and chat for a while!"

Zhang Zhengdong shook his head and said firmly: "I have said everything I can say."

"Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute, I have something else to do!"

Zhang Zhengdong stopped, turned around and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Um..." Guan Wei thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Is there any news about Lao Qi? He hasn't come back yet?"

Zhang Zhengdong was stunned for a moment. He seemed a little curious, but he could only say helplessly, "No, before the Seventh Master left, he said that he would send a telegram to his family after he settled down, but I haven't heard from him in all these years. The boss wants to send him money but doesn't know how to do it."

"Alas, my son is so unfilial!" Guan Wei sighed and then asked, "Did he tell me where he was going?"

"It seems that he is going to the capital. My family is thinking of sending someone to inquire there if there is a chance."

Before leaving, Gong Baonan said he was going to the capital. Everyone in his family knew about this, but the capital is so big that finding someone is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Guan Wei immediately waved his hand.

"Beng asked around, that bastard is definitely not in the capital!"

"Hmm?" Zhang Zhengdong frowned and walked over to ask, "Sixth Master, what do you mean by this?"

Guan Wei was somewhat pleased with himself, and shook his head and said with a smile: "You still don't know Old Seven well enough. If he said he was going to the capital, then he definitely wouldn't go to the capital! I said this on purpose for you to hear. That kid has a lot of tricks up his sleeve."

"Then where will he go?"

"I don't know about that. Anyway, he is definitely not in the capital. If he went to the capital, he would not be Gong Baonan."

Zhang Zhengdong thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll go back and tell my boss about this. If you have any ideas, tell Xiao Cui and ask her to find someone to notify the family."

"That's fine, but you have to give the money back to the child. This has nothing to do with what happened before. I have already retired. From now on, I will spend the rest of my life in this small courtyard."

Zhang Zhengdong hesitated for a moment and still did not take the money. He just told Sixth Master that he would tell his sister-in-law about this.

Guan Wei had no choice but to put the lucky money back with some disappointment, and reminded again: "Dongfeng, I guess my words won't reach your brother's ears. Tell this to your sister-in-law. No matter how strong your backers are, you must always prepare a way out for yourself."

Having said this, he suddenly paused.

"Tell your sister-in-law that if you really run into a dead end, just leave your Sixth Uncle alone!"

(End of this chapter)