20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 852 Sandwiched Feelings

An oil lamp was placed on the guest table in the front hall. Three figures passed by, causing a turbulent flow that made the candle flame sway gently from side to side.

The store shelves are fully stocked with all kinds of hardware products.

Hammers, pliers, planes, nails, hinges, pins... all were imported goods, gleaming slightly in the candlelight.

Zhang Zhengdong took his seat as a guest without a word, while Chen Jin stood beside him with his hands behind his back.

The faint sound of a child crying could be heard coming from the back room.

Manager Shao, with his white hair and beard, naturally dared not be negligent upon hearing that the other party was from the Jiang family.

Perhaps afraid of disturbing his wife, daughter-in-law, and grandson in the back room, he first closed the middle door before bringing over tea and offering them cigarettes with a smile.

Chen Jin didn't think much of it and was about to reach out for the cigarette when Zhang Zhengdong sternly stopped him.

"When going out on business, do not accept cigarettes, alcohol, or food from strangers."

"Yes, Brother Dong, I'll be more careful next time."

Chen Jingang had just been promoted from the "Zaibang" brothers and was not yet familiar with the rules of the Jiang family. Dongfeng had been taking him around frequently lately to correct his behavior.

However, what was said without malice was taken seriously by the listener.

Shopkeeper Shao was immediately a little embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he could only pick up a cigarette, strike it, and take a couple of tasteless puffs before tentatively asking:
“The Second Master and Third Master spoke with me a few days ago, and I explained my situation clearly. I wonder what brings you two here today…”

"Last time you said you needed to think about it some more, what about now?" Zhang Zhengdong asked, "How's your thinking going? What are your plans?"

Shopkeeper Shao pondered for a moment, then said, "To be honest, I haven't slept much these past few days. After much thought, I've decided that I should give this shop to Master Qin."

"What?" Zhang Zhengdong asked again, "You're unwilling to do the Jiang family this favor?"

"No, no, no!" Shopkeeper Shao panicked and quickly explained, "Sir, please don't misunderstand. I have my own difficulties! As you probably know, my son was arrested by the local government. They said that if I want to ransom him, I have to give them this shop. I have no choice... I have to save my son, right?"

I thought this explanation might garner some sympathy.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Zhengdong's only response was a cold, curt "That's your problem."

Manager Shao was stunned.

He had six children, named Zhaodi, Laidi, Pandi, Wangdi, and Niandi, and one son named Yanzhe.

That's not his son, that's clearly the ancestor of the Shao family!

The old man was determined to save the family line, even if it meant offending Jiang Lianheng.

Zhang Zhengdong was not angry. Instead, he slowly reminded him, "Manager Shao, you'd better think this through. This is not a concession. If the authorities find out that you're transferring your shop to the Japanese, you'll be treated as a traitor. Is your family's lineage more important, or your reputation?"

"The incense offerings are important!" the old man replied decisively.

"Then your Shao family will become traitors in the future. Aren't you going to think about it carefully?"

"Am I a traitor?"

Manager Shao was agitated and slammed his teacup on the table, saying, "I'd like to ask, in broad daylight, my son was captured by the Japanese in the provincial capital, and the officials in the yamen didn't dare to utter a word. Now they want us ordinary people to play the hero. If they had been a little tougher back then, my son wouldn't have been captured by the Japanese!"

Zhang Zhengdong waved his hand and said, "Shopkeeper Shao, there's no point in you getting angry at me."

“I’m not doing this to you,” Manager Shao said. “I’m doing this to the state of the world. If I don’t transfer the shop to them, what will happen to my son?”

Zhang Zhengdong turned his head, leaned closer to the candlelight, stared at the old man's face, and then asked, "So, you've already made up your mind to go against the Jiang family, is that right?"

"I...I had no choice!" Manager Shao sighed. "How about this, could you please go back and tell Boss Jiang that if he can get my son out of jail and give me a promise, I definitely won't sign that transfer contract? What do you say?"

After saying that, he looked expectantly at the east wind, waiting for a reply.

Zhang Zhengdong never spoke without certainty, especially since he was now representing Jiang Lianheng, so he was naturally unwilling to make a promise lightly. After much deliberation, he finally shook his head.

“I can’t guarantee it, but I can assure you that the Jiang family will do everything in their power to get your son out of prison.”

"I can't wait!"

Manager Shao waved his hands repeatedly and said, "If you can't save my son, it's all for nothing! They said they'll come to sign the contract tomorrow, in black and white. As long as I sign the contract, my son will be out immediately, regardless of whether the government approves it or not. He's in poor health and can't withstand any more torture. We really can't delay any longer."

Zhang Zhengdong remained silent, simply staring at the old man's face.

Manager Shao gradually felt uneasy. In desperation, he suddenly started sobbing and wiping away tears, almost pleading, "Sir, please talk to Boss Jiang for me and ask him to have some understanding. I'm not having an easy time either. The maintenance committee is forcing me, you guys are forcing me, the government is pressuring me, and the Japanese are pushing me. I'm caught in the middle, so please give me a way out!"

Zhang Zhengdong replied, "Then you'd better think of a way for your son to survive as well."

"What do you mean?" The old man didn't understand for a moment.

"Your son was arrested by the puppet regime, right?" Zhang Zhengdong asked. "Do you know who the warden in the prison over there works for?"

Manager Shao's face froze.

It's easy to guess that most of the prison wardens in Fengtian City's major prisons are Jiang family brothers, or at least they maintain some kind of cooperative relationship with the Jiang family.

The Jiang family couldn't guarantee they would rescue Manager Shao's son, but if they wanted him to die a miserable death in prison, it would be incredibly easy.

After all, the Shao family's son was not a major criminal, so there were plenty of opportunities to target him. News such as "Prisoners hang themselves in prison because they can't bear the torture," "Prison riots break out and prisoners die in the fighting," and "Prison food rots and prisoners die of dysentery" were not uncommon in the newspapers.

Manager Shao gradually realized what was happening, his eyes widened, and he asked tremblingly, "What...what are you going to do?"

Zhang Zhengdong said calmly, "The incense in the prison is still incense, but if the incense goes out, it's probably no longer incense."

The crying from the back room grew louder and louder, as if the child sensed danger.

Zhang Zhengdong glanced at the middle gate and said coldly, "Moreover, I advise you not to always think about your son, but also think about your grandson when you have time."

"Snapped!"

The old man slammed his fist on the table, trembling with anger, and demanded in a trembling voice, "What...what are you doing, no different from the Japanese devils?!"

Seeing this, Chen Jin immediately reached into his robes, took a step forward to shield Dongfeng behind him, and shouted sternly at Manager Shao, "Old Deng, sit down right now!"

"What are you doing?" Manager Shao was panting heavily, his body slightly staggering. He quickly grabbed the corner of the table and shouted, "Are you going to kill me?"

"Hold!"

When Chen Jin saw the old man shouting, anger surged in his heart. Although he did not impulsively draw his gun, he was prepared to go forward and teach him a lesson.

Fortunately, Dongfeng intervened in time to prevent a conflict from breaking out.

However, the argument between the two eventually alerted the Shao family's wives and relatives in the back room. In an instant, there was a loud bang at the middle door, and the old lady, leading her daughter-in-law, rushed from the back room to the front hall. On one side, she was supporting the old man, and on the other side, she was apologizing to Dongfeng. The chatter was chaotic and noisy, and the scene was so chaotic that it was impossible to tell which way was up.

The rabbit is in a hurry and even bites!

Although Manager Shao was over sixty, he was still a man. Now, cornered and caught in the middle, he couldn't fight back, but he refused to back down verbally. He started rambling incoherently, "What sins did I commit in my past life to be born in this place, suffering from foreigners' rudeness, being bullied by the government, and even gangsters coming to cause me trouble? I can't live like this anymore! Damn it, whoever dares to touch my grandson, I'll fight them to the death!"

After saying that, he turned around and headed to the shelf to find a suitable weapon.

The old woman was terrified and quickly hugged him around the waist, pleading and sobbing, "Oh dear! Old man, please don't make things worse! We can't afford to offend anyone. Our son has already been arrested. If anything happens to you, how will this family survive?"

Then, he turned to his daughter-in-law and shouted, "Xiuqin, go and apologize to the Jiang family!"

Upon hearing this, the daughter-in-law, holding her incessantly crying child, swayed and quickly knelt before Dongfeng, saying urgently, "Sir, there have been many things going on at home lately. The neighborhood committee has come to urge us several times. The old man is very upset and frustrated. He misspoke just now, please don't take it to heart. Look at this child..."

"Whoa whoa-"

“The child is still young!” Xiuqin continued, “His father has already suffered a terrible fate, please ask the Jiang family to have some understanding!”

Unfortunately, Dongfeng did not understand.

Delaying the shop transactions led by Qin Huaimeng was a death order from Jiang Lianheng, concerning the Jiang family's counterattack, and there was no room for compromise.

Zhang Zhengdong didn't even glance at the child before slowly standing up. His tall frame blocked the oil lamp on the table, instantly darkening the room by a third.

"No contracts are allowed to be signed tomorrow!" He reiterated the Jiang family's stance. "This is the final warning. The maintenance committee will be here tomorrow, and the Jiang family will be here too. It's up to you which side you choose to stand on!"

After saying that, he strode towards the shop door.

Seeing this, the old lady quickly called her daughter-in-law over to hold the old man down, while she herself ran over and grabbed Dongfeng's arm, explaining repeatedly, "Sir... sigh, I don't know how to address you, but we really didn't mean any disrespect to Boss Jiang! The old man has been feeling really stifled these past few days, please bear with us, please bear with us!"

"Understood." Zhang Zhengdong replied without any expression.

The old lady was still not reassured and said again, "Really, really, our family admires Boss Jiang the most. My son even knows so-and-so, who works for the Jiang family, and Master Wang too. They're old acquaintances. We really didn't mean anything by it. Please don't overthink it, please don't overthink it..."

The sound gradually faded.

The old lady stood outside the shop, watching Dongfeng and Chen Jin's figures gradually disappear into the distance. Finally, they got into the car at the intersection, turned on the headlights, and sped off towards the north of the city...

…………

The moon was setting in the west; it was already late at night.

When Zhang Zhengdong returned to the Jiang family mansion, the living room was still brightly lit. Upon entering, he found Jiang Lianheng, Zhao Guoyan, and Li Zhengxi discussing their next plans.

To his surprise, in addition to these three people, there was also Master Jiang from the yamen gate, and Zeng Shouyi—the second clerk under that old devil Huo.

The news spread quickly. The order that Commander Zhang had just issued was passed down layer by layer. When it reached Second Master Jiang, he rushed over to report to Jiang Lianheng.

After negotiations between General Zhang and the Japanese, the Japanese police will withdraw from the Chinese-controlled area starting tomorrow and will no longer "assist" in managing the security work of the provincial capital.

With its master gone, the lapdog has lost its protector.

Although the maintenance committee has not been officially abolished, Lao Dou and others are still nominally considered to be the security assistants of the Japanese police. However, within the Chinese-controlled area, they have completely lost the right to act tyrannically and may even face the Jiang family's purge at any time.

Zhang Zhengdong did not participate in the discussion, but simply nodded to Jiang Lianheng before going upstairs to report the situation of the Shao family to his sister-in-law.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he looked up and saw Jiang Ya wearing a white nightgown, leaning against the corner wall with her arms crossed, looking down at him with a half-smile, and asking, "Uncle Dong, why are you so late?"

Zhang Zhengdong didn't think much of it and said as he walked, "Oh, I'm going out to take care of something."

"Went off to do something bad, huh?"

"What are you saying? I'm a good person."

Jiang Ya didn't believe it, so she quickly stepped in front of Dongfeng, first dusting off his clothes, then grabbing his hands and examining them carefully for a long time, before finally bringing her nose close and sniffing them for no apparent reason.

Zhang Zhengdong felt something was off, so he quickly pulled his hand away and asked, "What are you doing?"

"It's okay, just smell it."

"Smell what?"

"Smell your hands for gunpowder!" Jiang Ya took two steps back, raised her hand, and suddenly a pistol appeared. She looked at it with interest and prepared to eject the magazine.

Zhang Zhengdong frowned, about to ask who gave her the gun, when he suddenly realized something and quickly reached into his pocket, only to find it empty. He immediately turned pale with fright—it was indeed his own sidearm!
"Bring it!"

Zhang Zhengdong snatched the pistol away, his eyes widening in unusual anger, and he sternly rebuked, "Is this something you can just play with? If it goes off accidentally, someone could die. You learned a few tricks from your Sixth Master, but you're only using them on me."

Jiang Ya was taken aback. After a moment, her expression suddenly turned a little aggrieved, and she said with tears in her eyes, "You yell at me."

"I'm doing this for your own good. You can't just play around with guns like that; it's too dangerous."

"You yell at me."

"I do not have."

"It's noisy."

"No... I was just speaking a little louder." Zhang Zhengdong clicked his tongue and quickly changed the subject, "If there's nothing else, I'll go to the study to find your mother."

"I won't contact you even if I need something, and don't talk to me again!" Jiang Ya turned around angrily, went to the bedside in the corridor, leaned on the windowsill, looked at the night view outside the window, and muttered softly, "I waited for you here for half a day, and you come back and yell at me!"

Zhang Zhengdong was more wronged than Dou E, yet he was helpless against her. After all, she was his niece whom he had doted on since childhood. Although she wasn't his biological daughter, she was better than his own. He couldn't bear to see her suffer even the slightest grievance. After thinking it over, his heart softened, so he unloaded all the bullets from the gun, slowly walked over, placed the gun on the windowsill, and pushed it towards his niece.

“Here, you can have it and play with it!” he said.

Jiang Ya glanced at it and said coldly, "Tch! If I don't take it, who cares!"

Zhang Zhengdong pushed forward again and said, "We're all online, can't you give me some face?"

"You insisted on giving this to me."

"Okay, you have the final say."

Jiang Ya then "reluctantly" took the pistol. As soon as she picked it up, a smile immediately appeared on her face. Looking at her expression, her eyes were no longer red and her lips were no longer pouting. It turned out that she had just been pretending to be pitiful.

Zhang Zhengdong, realizing he had been tricked, shook his head and said, "My dear niece, your expression changed quite quickly!"

Jiang Ya was quite pleased with herself. She patted Dongfeng on the shoulder and said jokingly, "Uncle Dong, we're all online now. I'm worried about you because you're so easily swayed!"

(End of this chapter)