money player

After changing modes of transportation and taking a long detour, at 2:30 pm, Xian Yaowen brought Jiang Yiying to a luxurious Japanese-style detached house on Qingtian Street.

The high red brick wall has broken glass on top to prevent climbing, and the huge black lacquered wooden door is tightly closed. There is no sign at the entrance, only the house number 6, Lane 7.

Xian Yaowen knocked gently on the door. After a short while, the door opened a crack, and a pair of men's eyes looked him up and down, followed by Jiang Yiying. The men's eyes moved from head to toe in a rhythmic fashion.

The door immediately opened wide. "Mr. Xian, please come in. Your superior has been waiting for you for a long time."

"Thank you."

Xian Yaowen led Jiang Yiying into the courtyard, waiting for the man to close the door and lead them through two old banyan trees to a corner of the courtyard.

Chen Xianzhou, dressed in a police uniform, sat with his back to a stone table.

"Sir, Mr. Xian has arrived."

"You may leave." Chen Xianzhou said without turning around, his back to her, "Mr. Xian, Ms. Jiang, please come and sit down."

Xian Yaowen led Jiang Yiying to the other side of the stone table and sat on the stone bench furthest away, leaving the closer one for Jiang Yiying.

As soon as he sat down, he stared intently at Chen Xianzhou.

Ignoring Chen Xianzhou's official robes, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, with a slightly plump face, neither fierce nor sharp eyes, and vertical smile lines on his cheeks, suggesting he was usually always smiling.

Chen Xianzhou lifted the lids of the two teacups on the stone table and placed them upside down on the table. He opened the tea canister, grabbed a pinch of tea leaves and put them into the two teacups, then picked up the kettle next to his feet and poured boiling water into the teacups.

Chen Xianzhou placed the kettle back at his feet, put the lid back on the cup, and said as if casually, "Mr. Xian, we were once colleagues."

Sin Yiu-man said calmly, "There are people watching my door and sentries at both ends of the alley. I took a detour and no one followed me."

Chen Xianzhou chuckled and said, "No wonder Mr. Xian was trapped in Cao Cao's camp for several years without making a mistake."

“Director Chen, I’m a complete stranger in Taipei and would like to make some friends, really good friends.” Xian Yaowen took out a HSBC deposit slip from his suit pocket, placed it on the table, pressed it lightly, and moved it toward Chen Xianzhou. “My business is lacking a powerful shareholder, and I would like to ask Director Chen to help me find one.”

Chen Xianzhou glanced at the deposit slip. "What does this mean?"

"This is my way of showing sincerity to the shareholders. In our partnership, the monthly dividends will not be less than this amount. The more we earn, the more we share; the less we earn, the less we share."

Chen Xianzhou picked up his teacup, covering half his face, and said, "Mr. Xian, the principal has always been strict about enforcing Party discipline and national laws."

"Director Chen, I am a legitimate businessman and only do legitimate business."

Chen Xianzhou's gaze locked onto Xian Yaowen's eyes from behind the teacup. One second, two seconds, several seconds later, his gaze shifted to the teacup on the table, and he said warmly, "Have some tea, have some tea."

Upon hearing this, Xian Yaowen picked up a teacup and handed it to Jiang Yiying. Then, he took another teacup in his hand, lifted the lid, blew lightly on the surface of the tea to disperse the tea leaves and tea foam, and then took a sip from the rim of the cup.

I put the lid on and placed the teacup on the table. "Director Chen, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for family reunion. I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave now."

"Mr. Xian, please take care. I won't see you off."

Sin Yiu-man waved his hand gently, got up and left.

Three minutes later, he and Jiang Yiying strolled quietly along Qingtian Street. Jiang Yiying held his arm, and he wrapped his arms around Jiang Yiying's slender waist, like a perfect couple.

"Sir, we haven't discussed the details yet."

"Do you remember the face of that receptionist from earlier?"

Jiang Yiying recalled for a moment, "I've remembered."

"He had a Hebei accent, I'm not sure if it was Baoding, but it was most likely. His complexion was dark and his eyes were cloudy, probably because he had been under a lot of stress and anxiety for a long time."

When he was observing you, he first looked at your face, but his gaze didn't linger for long. He had your information and photos in his hand, and he was very familiar with your face.

He then looked at her chest and there, his gaze lingering on the latter for a longer time than the former, suggesting that he hadn't had a proper sexual encounter with a woman in a while.

If I'm not mistaken, he'll contact you in the next couple of days. Do you know what to do?

"Bring him a woman, and some gifts as well."

Xian Yaowen patted Jiang Yiying's hand, "You don't need to explain anything to that woman."

"What if things go wrong if we don't explain things clearly?"

Xian Yaowen patted Jiang Yiying's hand again. "Shrewdness is a quality you need to have, but women don't. The best women are shy and naive, not experienced in anything, like a piece of Xuan paper on a desk. Whatever color a man wants to paint, it will show that color."

Jiang Yiying said thoughtfully, "Props?"

“Yes.” Sin Yiu-man nodded. “You should understand one thing: the people we should befriend must be in high positions, and they are all cunning and shrewd. How much would it cost to cultivate a woman who can go toe-to-toe with them? And how can we guarantee her loyalty?”

Sin Yiu-man shook his head. "It's not worth it, it's too difficult. So, keep it simple, no need for training, just let them be themselves."

Jiang Yiying nodded gently, "I understand."

"There's one thing you need to remember: we're all just trying to make a living, so treat others as human beings and put yourself in their shoes."

"Ah."

Four o'clock in the afternoon, Lafayette.

In the partitioned Japanese-style tea room, Wang Chaoyun, dressed in a French butler's uniform, was sitting and pouring tea for Xian Yaowen.

After pouring the tea, she opened two bento boxes. "Takano-kun, today is the fifteenth night of the lunar month. I made moon-viewing dumplings and grilled Satsuma sweet potatoes."

Xian Yaowen glanced at the lunchbox, took out a letter from his pocket, and handed it to Wang Chaoyun with both hands, saying, "Qianhui-chan, this is a love letter I wrote to you."

Wang Chaoyun smiled and took the letter. "May I open it now?"

"of course."

Wang Chaoyun opened the envelope, took out the letter, unfolded it, and a red maple leaf fell. She picked it up, smelled it, then put it aside and began to read the love letter.

After reading a section, she laughed happily and said, "Takano-kun, this beginning is very familiar to me. It seems to be a passage from 'Izumi Shikibu's Diary'."

“It’s not that it looks like it, it’s just an excerpt from Izumi Shikibu’s Diary.” Xian Yaowen picked up a moon-viewing dumpling from the food box, put it to his mouth and took a bite. “Sorry, I only remembered your Japanese custom of the fifteenth night last night, so I prepared it in a hurry.”

Wang Chaoyun bowed slowly, "Takano-kun, thank you so much for thinking of me."

Xian Yaowen nodded slightly in return, "It's what I should do. Come back with me for a family reunion dinner tonight."

"Hay."

After the two lingered for a while, Lucas and Wang Zheng, the Chief of Staff of the Joint Logistics Command, arrived as arranged.

Wang Chaoyun poured a cup of tea for everyone and immediately left the tea room.

“Adam, I have already told the King about your proposal last time, and after discussion, we have unanimously agreed to your proposal.”

"Lucas, do you want dollars?"

Lucas nodded. "Send it to New York; someone will receive it there."

Xian Yaowen looked at Wang Zhengyi, "General Wang, what about you?"

"30% in Taiwan dollars and 70% in foreign exchange were sent to Hong Kong."

“No problem.” Sin Yiu-man nodded. “I’ll have someone go to the warehouse to check the goods the day after tomorrow.”

In just a few words, a big deal was settled. After the meeting, Xian Yaowen rushed to Yang Lihua and her daughter's residence and happened to see Yang Lihua carrying the Yue Niang table into the yard.

Xian Yaowen stepped forward and snatched the table from Yue Niang, saying, "I'll do it."

Yang Lihua let go of his hand and followed Xian Yaowen into the courtyard. "Why are you here?"

"We've come to take you home for a family reunion dinner."

Yang Lihua was momentarily dazed. "Shall Jingyi and I go over there?"

Xian Yaowen placed the Moon Goddess Table facing south, clapped his hands, looked at Yang Lihua and said, "I'm not Sun Wukong, I don't know how to create clones, so I'm sorry to trouble you to make this trip."

As he spoke, he took out two red envelopes, "These are lucky money for Jingyi, one for you and one for me."

Yang Lihua took one and pushed the other back, saying, "I'll give yours to Jingyi, and I'll wrap mine later."

Xian Yaowen reached into his pocket, pulled out an oil paper package, opened it to reveal a mooncake cut into small pieces, picked up a piece and stuffed it into Yang Lihua's mouth, then slipped the red envelope into her hand, saying, "May you grow up safely with the blessing of the Moon Goddess."

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is customary for elders to give money to younger generations. Yang Lihua was well aware of this custom. Her face flushed red, and she said shyly, "Why is my lord doing this?"

Sin Yiu-man chuckled and said, "You deserve it."

Yang Lihua glanced at Xian Yaowen, then looked towards the courtyard gate before throwing herself into his arms and burying her head in his chest. "Master, you are so good to me."

Xian Yaowen stroked Yang Lihua's hair and said, "Silly sister, now that you're with me, it's my responsibility to make you happy. Go and prepare the offerings for the moon worship. Jingyi should be back soon."

"Ah."

Because she was in a hurry, Yang Lihua simplified the moon-worshiping ceremony. Before the moon even rose, the ceremony ended, and she took Yang Jingyi, who had just returned from school, to the Xian residence.

When they arrived at the Xian residence, the Xian family's moon-worship ceremony had just begun, with Wang Youjia presiding over it, while the rest of the family stood by and watched.

Xian Yaowen approached Chen Hua, who whispered sarcastically, "Sir, you don't need to give any instructions. The mistress has already arranged everything."

"The moon worship ceremony is something that the lady of the house should do."

"Sir, are you planning to let her take charge of the household?"

"If you disagree, you can argue with her."

"There's nothing easy about managing this household."

"Exactly, let her take it if she wants to."

After speaking, Sin Yiu-man quietly left the crowd and went into the living room.

Chen Azhu sat on the sofa, a cigarette between her fingers.

Sin Yiu-man sat down next to her and put his arm around her waist. "Have you found a place yet?"

"I'm not picky. I looked at two places and settled on one. It's not far from here." Chen Azhu rested her head on Xian Yaowen's chest. "Where am I staying tonight?"

"I'll make do here for the night."

Chen Azhu looked up at Xian Yaowen's face and said, "As long as someone is with me, I can make do."

"Not today. Since everyone's here, I plan to meditate in my study."

Chen Azhu smiled and said, "Serves you right. Who told you to provoke so many women? Hey, are all those women in the yard yours?"

"Some are not, I'll explain to you later."

“Wang Youjia just spoke to me, and she sounded like the first wife.”

"Did I set rules for you?"

"No, but it was a bit of a show of force."

"Oh, I'll talk to her about it later." (End of Chapter)