20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 753: Su Family Changes
It’s still light in the old house of the Su family.

The carriage slowly stopped not far from the mansion. Qian Boshun got out of the carriage, straightened his long gown, and walked towards the gate.

Seeing this, the Su family's bodyguard quickly opened the door and responded, "Mr. Qian."

Qian Boshun nodded, raised his hand and pointed to the courtyard, and asked, "Is the master home?"

"Well, we were just talking about this. I don't know what happened to the master today. He stayed at home all day and didn't go out for a walk."

"Really? You're not sick, are you?"

"No, no, I was fine this afternoon, just busy in the study."

"That's good. I'll talk to the master about something."

Qian Boshun calmed down and walked up the stairs with his gown in hand.

Just as he was about to cross the threshold, he heard a slightly hoarse voice behind him: "Uncle Qian!"

Turning around, I saw a young man of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a stand-up collar student uniform, carrying a cross-body bag, well-mannered, with a handsome face, exactly like Su Wenqi when he was young, walking quickly towards this side.

Qian Boshun's face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly greeted him, "Hey, Master, is school over?"

The person who came was Su Wenqi's eldest son Su Run, who was also a middle school student.

The young man was going through voice change, so his voice was a little hoarse. He just smiled and nodded.

Qian Boshun said in surprise, "Master, I have told you many times that you are the master and I am the servant. Just call me Old Qian."

"Let's say goodbye. If my dad finds out, he'll blame me. I don't like him nagging me." Su Run strode over the threshold, turned around and asked, "What do you want to see my dad for?"

"Nothing, just came over to chat. Aren't you doing well in school?"

"Good! It's even better if you come. You can go talk to my dad and he won't bother me anymore."

Upon hearing this, Qian Boshun couldn't help but smile and shook his head - this scene seemed to have happened again yesterday.

No matter how open-minded the parents are, in the eyes of their children of this age, they are just stubborn old-fashioned people.

As they talked, they walked through the door one after another.

The old house of the Su family is still magnificent, with five courtyards, and it ranks among the best in the provincial capital. However, the style is too old-fashioned, and the beams are old. When it is cloudy and rainy, it is inevitable that it will be a little damp. After all, it is not as easy to maintain as a Western-style house.

Ever since Su Yuansheng passed away, the Su family has been declining and the old house seems deserted.

The year before last, the old man left behind several concubines, and two of them passed away one after another. For the sake of convenience, the family simply sealed off the last two courtyards.

Su Wenqi insists on monogamy and has only a pair of children so far.

As soon as I entered the hanging flower gate, I saw a woman in the courtyard playing with a little girl.

The little girl was only five or six years old. She looked outside the door, her eyes lit up, and she immediately ran over, cheering and shouting: "Brother——"

"Don't bother me!" Su Run walked straight towards the wing room.

"Play with me for a while!"

"I'm busy. I have something to do later!"

"Then take me with you!"

The little girl followed her brother and rushed into the house.

Su Run picked up his sister, walked to the corner of the yard and put her down, then turned around and ran. As soon as he entered the house, he immediately closed the door and locked his sister outside with a "click".

The little girl couldn't outrun him, so she ran to the side room and banged on the door a few times. When there was no response, she felt wronged, turned around with tears in her eyes, and complained to the woman: "Mom, look at him--"

The woman smiled helplessly, raised her hand and called the girl to her side, patted her head, whispered a few words of comfort, then stood up and looked at Qian Boshun, shook her head and said, "This child is always pestering her brother. She misses him when she can't see him, and quarrels with him when she sees him. She never stops."

"All children are like this. The old man always loved to pester his brother..."

At this point, Qian Boshun suddenly stopped talking and couldn't bear to say any more.

Yes, Su Yuansheng did not have only one son at first. Su Wenqi had two older brothers. They were very young at the time, but they all died in the disputes in the martial arts world and at the hands of Chen Wantang. Apart from his wife, he didn't even have time to leave behind any children.

Although the woman had never personally experienced the chaos of the past, she had heard a little about it after marrying into the Su family. She knew that it was a sad thing for the Su family, so she quickly changed the subject and asked, "Old Qian, Wenqi is in the study, go find him!"

"Okay, okay, Madam, you go ahead and do your work."

Qian Boshun bowed and took his leave, then quickly walked towards the backyard.

……

The study was exceptionally quiet, just like the Su family, filled with potted green plants everywhere, Clivia, ivy, small hibiscus...

There was a censer of incense burning on the table, and the smoke was like a thread, rising straight up, until it finally shook and gradually got out of control.

There were a stack of newspapers and several account books at hand, and a pen was placed diagonally on the draft, as if he had just settled an account.

Su Wenqi is no longer young. He is in his early forties and still wears gold-rimmed glasses. Although there are some fine lines on his face, he does not look old. The scholarly spirit he once had is gone, replaced by calmness and competence.

In the year of Xinhai, the Su family was almost destroyed in his hands.

Since then, he has learned to keep a low profile.

Su Wenqi no longer frequently participated in Chamber of Commerce activities, no longer showed up in public, and no longer expressed his opinions easily, and finally got the Su family's business back on track.

Now sitting in the seat where his father used to sit when he was alive, his mentality has become much calmer.

He hadn't spoken of those "saving the nation from extinction" ideas and slogans for a long time. He kept them all in his heart and would not tell anyone about them.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Enter!"

Hearing the noise, Qian Boshun pushed the door open, bowed, and said, "Master."

"Hey, Old Qian?" Su Wenqi put down the newspaper, looking a little surprised. "I was just about to send someone to look for you!"

Qian Boshun was even more surprised. He came to the table with a frown and asked, "Master, what do you want me to do?"

Su Wenqi was about to speak, but changed his mind and asked Lao Qian to sit down. He said, "Forget it, let's talk about your business first. I will need you to help me run errands when the time comes."

"If the master has any instructions, just tell me directly. These are just trivial matters for me."

Qian Boshun did not dare to be negligent. In a few words, he explained the situation in which Lai Zi and others had gone to the semicolon to extort money.

After hearing this, Su Wenqi's face did not show any anger, nor was he surprised. He just asked calmly, "There was no conflict, right?"

Qian Boshun shook his head and said, "They were just a few little hooligans who had never seen the world. They were subdued on the spot. There was no loss to the counter. I guess they acted on their own initiative. Xiao Xifeng was probably kept in the dark."

"Didn't you say that the bodyguards at home beat them up?" "Well, they just kicked them, it's nothing serious, everyone was quite restrained, don't worry!"

Su Wenqi didn't say anything. He had put in a lot of effort and relied on the right time, place and people to pull the Su family out of the quagmire of the world. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake because of such a small matter.

Qian Boshun continued, "I just want to ask you, what do you think about this matter... Should we talk to Boss Jiang, or Xiao Xifeng, and resolve the misunderstanding as soon as possible, so as to avoid the misunderstanding getting deeper and deeper, which will be even more difficult to deal with later."

Su Wenqi pondered for a while, then shook his head and said, "Forget it!"

"never mind?"

"It's better to offend a gentleman than a villain." Su Wenqi said, "Even if you go to Mr. Li San to complain, what will happen? This is a small matter, it's not a capital crime. Mr. Li San can punish them or remove them from the Jiang family, they will still hate the Su family in the end."

"But……"

"No need to say buts. Since they can come to the Su family to extort money, they will definitely go to other places to extort money. The truth will come to light sooner or later. Mr. Li will know about it sooner or later. Don't try to stir up trouble."

"I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but... Master, the Su family has never been treated like this before. We can't always think about keeping things quiet, right?"

“Is this considered being bullied?”

Su Wenqi shook his head nonchalantly and said, "Old Qian, I don't like fighting, so let it go. If they come to rob money, you can go and talk to the Third Master. I'm not afraid of reckless people, but I'd rather stay away from those who are looking for trouble and extorting money."

Qian Boshun thought it made sense, so he stopped trying to persuade him and asked, "Master, you just said you wanted me to run some errands for you?"

"Well, I've been sorting out my family's investments today—"

Su Wenqi picked up a few sheets of paper on the table, leaned forward and handed them to Qian Boshun, and whispered, "Help me check them carefully tonight, find out the missing pieces, and count all the investment shares of foreign merchants on the counter."

Qian Boshun took it with both hands, glanced at it briefly, and seemed a little puzzled: "Master, what are you doing..."

"I plan to sell all the shares of my family related to foreign merchants."

"Sold them all?"

"Yes, and we must act as soon as possible. The sooner the better."

"But, there are quite a few shares in total, and it may not be possible to find so many buyers at once!"

Strictly speaking, what the Su family holds are not real shares.

Fengtian is not Shanghai, and it is not easy for Chinese to invest in foreign merchants. They often need to go through compradors and participate in Sino-foreign joint ventures in the form of "attached shares". In other words, if they don't have connections, ordinary people cannot directly invest in foreign merchants.

However, the market for foreign goods was good and most businesses were profitable, so everyone wanted to get a piece of the pie. As a result, there were private fund-raising activities such as "Silver Making Posts" and "One Capital Profit Posts", where the money was given to well-connected bank owners, who would then invest in the business through compradors.

There is no trading platform for this type of shares. If you want to sell them, there must be a buyer to take over.

Of course, if the foreign businessmen change their minds and want to take back the Chinese shares, they can also subscribe directly.

Su Wenqi had already made up his mind, and immediately ordered: "If you can't find a buyer, lower the price. I would rather suffer a loss than sell all these shares. Let's start now."

Qian Boshun had to remind him again: "Master, Fengpiao is not worth much these days!"

"The Fengbi has depreciated, so it is easier to sell."

"Then aren't we at a loss?"

"I've calculated that I will definitely lose some money, but if I don't make a move, I'm afraid I'll only lose more. I'll see what the exchange rate is when the time comes!"

Su Wenqi's expression was quite determined. This was the result of his estimation throughout the day - immediately cutting off all foreign investment was the best solution for the Su family.

Qian Boshun did not doubt Su Wenqi's judgment, he was just a little curious.

"Master, there has been such a sudden change. Is there any news from the official bank?"

"No, this matter has nothing to do with Fengtian."

As Su Wenqi spoke, he handed the "Three Eastern Provinces Gazette" on the table to Qian Boshun, "Look, it's on the second page."

The text on the newspaper was densely packed, dark and a little dirty, but there were still a few headlines that stood out.

The shooting of a worker in Shanghai continues to ferment, negotiations between labor and management break down, and conflicts between Chinese and foreigners continue to escalate...

The Japanese consulate took a tough stance, refusing to pay compensation and demanding that the Chinese community severely punish the "thugs" involved...

England doubted the public security in Shanghai and demanded that the business environment be restored immediately. The "red-headed Ah San" of the police station stepped up patrols...

Workers in various factories were in a state of intense emotion, and students from various schools rushed to show their support...

There is no need for photographic evidence; just from these few words in the newspaper, one can vaguely sense the urgency of the impending storm.

However, this news came from Shanghai, thousands of miles away, and was very far away from Fengtian, so it seemed to have no connection.

"Master, are you overreacting a bit?" Qian Boshun suggested in a low voice, "In my opinion, we can sell a part of it first, and then wait and see what happens. After all, we spent a lot of time and energy to get the shares of these foreign merchants..."

Su Wenqi refused flatly, but said: "You want to wait and see what happens. If something really happens in Fengtian, then you won't be able to sell it. Just follow my instructions. Besides, I have been paying attention to this shooting case for several days, and I always feel that it is different from the previous ones."

"Okay, then I'll go to the main office to check first."

Qian Boshun didn't dare to say anything else. He took the list given by Su Wenqi and stood up to leave.

Just as I turned around, I saw Su Run standing at the door of the study and shouted into the room: "Dad, I'm going out for a while. I won't be home for dinner tonight."

Su Wenqi frowned and asked quickly, "Where are you going?"

"The Youth Association is organizing an event tonight. We're going to watch a movie, and then there's a discussion session. I've already talked to my classmates about it, so I'm leaving now!"

"I'll ask the driver to take you there."

"No need, we've all agreed, just stroll over there."

"Then when will you go home?" Su Wenqi asked.

Su Run looked very impatient, and waved his hands, saying, "Alas, how would I know? I'll be back when it's over!"

Having said that, he disappeared in a flash.

Su Wenqi wanted to call him again, but he couldn't stop him. He had to sit down and shook his head at Qian Boshun, saying helplessly: "I just asked one more question, one more sentence, and he got annoyed. If I treated him like the old man treated me, wouldn't he go crazy?"

Qian Boshun smiled and said, "Master, when the old master was sitting here, he also said so."

"How is that possible? I was more obedient than him when I was a kid." Su Wenqi didn't believe it. "I agreed to everything my father said... At least, I agreed to everything verbally, except for that one time in 1911."

"That one time alone made the old man very angry!"

Su Wenqi was stunned for a moment, pondered carefully for a moment, and couldn't help shaking his head and smiling bitterly:
"Yes, I thought the old man was too conservative at first, but what happened? I was a radical who supported the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, but now I have become a conservative in the eyes of my son..."

(End of this chapter)