Starting from 40, holding the Star Mall to lead the motherland

Chapter 36 Asking for help
Han Hui rented a house in an alley on Nanjing West Road, which is more than ten minutes away from Zhangjia Garden.

The house has two floors, each floor is about 40 square meters. The first floor is the daily living area, with the main room in the front for entertaining guests, the kitchen in the back, and a small room in the middle; the second floor is the bedroom, which has three small rooms.

The house was small, but Shanghai's housing prices were ridiculously high. A 40-square-meter apartment cost 200 French francs a month, not counting utilities. An apartment would cost double that, and a villa wasn't something anyone could afford. Han Hui still had a fair amount of money, but she had to save it for Han Mengyang.

In the morning, Han Hui went out with Huang Shufen, but since it was inconvenient for her to walk, she asked her to wait in the teahouse. Now that the house was rented, she went to pick her up.

Huang Shufen had no problem walking around the house with her bound feet. After looking it over, she asked, "Xiaoman, how much does it cost to buy a house like this?"

Han Hui just asked the agent, "Houses here are around 800 French francs per square meter. This house, with two floors combined, is about 80 square meters. It would cost over 64000 French francs, and about 7 including taxes and fees."

Thinking that Huang Shufen had no idea about the French currency, she said, "One silver dollar can be exchanged for two French currency dollars. A house like this would cost 3.5 silver dollars."

Huang Shufen almost cried out: "How is that possible? Did that agent cheat you?"

Han Hui shook her head and said, "There's a war going on right now and prices are going up every day. You want to buy the house but the owner isn't willing to sell it to you."

Not only is it close to Zhangjia Garden, but it's also not far from Xiafei Road, where No. 76 is located. She originally wanted to rent for a month, but the landlord required a minimum of three months, so she ended up renting for three months. She'll need time to redecorate the place after buying it sometime, so last month's lease was just right.

Huang Shufen still wanted to buy a house: "When Han Yongjing returns the money to me, we will buy a house, even if it's a small one. Renting a house is not a long-term solution. If people stop renting, we will have to sleep on the street."

Han Hui knew that she was insecure: "Okay, once Han Yongjing's money is delivered, I'll go find an agent to look at houses."

The house was fully stocked with pots, pans, and furniture, but bedding, food, rice, and oil needed to be purchased from scratch. Han Hui still had to go find Han Mengxing, so she handed the shopping off to Xiaocao.

Huang Shufen saw her about to go out and asked, "Xiaoman, where are you going?"

Han Hui naturally wouldn't tell him the truth, so she made up an excuse: "I'm going to put a missing person notice in the newspaper. My eldest brother went to university here and knows a lot of people. Who knows where he's gone."

Huang Shufen asked her to go quickly.

Han Mengxing saw her and told her what he had found out: "Big brother is still alive, but his condition is very bad. Second sister, you have to be mentally prepared."

Han Hui digested this information and prepared to leave.

Han Mengxing quickly called out to him, "Second sister, where are you going?"

"Go find Big Brother's former boss and see if there's anything we can do?"

Han Mengxing thought she was too naive, but he didn't pour cold water on her. He just said he would go with her.

Seeing that Han Hui didn't say anything, he explained, "Shanghai is full of people from all walks of life. If you mess with someone you shouldn't, Big Brother is waiting for you to rescue him!"

Han Hui saw that he really wanted to save Han Mengxing, but she still refused. She didn't want to be too involved with Zhao Anna's child: "No, I will find a way to save my eldest brother."

Because she had just arrived at the Shanghai team and was not familiar with the road conditions, Han Hui directly called a rickshaw and went to Fengze Trading Company where Han Mengyang used to work.

To be able to open a trading company in Shanghai, one must have some background. She had no idea whether the boss Li Fengze would help her.

Li Fengze was in the trading company and knew Han Hui's identity, so he met her.

As soon as they met, Han Hui told them the purpose of her trip: "Boss Li, I want to save my eldest brother. Do you have any ideas?"

Li Fengze sighed and said, "Miss Han, it's not that I won't save you. I went looking for someone the day your brother was arrested. But your brother is suspected of being a prostitute, and there's nothing I can do." Han Hui's face darkened. "It's just a suspicion. Who knows, maybe this suspicion is a frame-up. Boss Li, I heard those people at No. 76 love money. Can you use that money to redeem my brother?"

Li Fengze looked at the thin Han Hui and shook his head, saying, "These people have big appetites."

This meant that Han Hui should give up because she couldn't afford the money.

Han Hui wasn't sure either: "How much would it cost? I can find a way."

Li Fengze said he didn't know how much it would cost to get the job done: "They only want US dollars or yellow croaker. They want a ransom of at least $10,000."

Han Hui said, "Boss Li, please ask me how much money you would have to release my brother."

She had $1500, two large yellow croakers, 46 small yellow croakers, and more than a thousand silver dollars. If all else fails, she'll go to Zhang's Garden and explore the area at night.

Seeing that she was unwilling to give up, Li Fengze made three phone calls in front of Han Hui, and then expressed regretfully that he was powerless.

Han Hui glanced at him, stood up and left without saying anything. It would have been fine if he had just said he couldn't save her, but he pretended to make three phone calls, really thinking she was so stupid that she couldn't see through it.

Li Fengze's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that this girl had figured it out? Impossible. He remembered that Han Mengyang's sister grew up in the countryside.

Han Mengxing was waiting outside, so he wasn't surprised to see her come out looking grim. In Shanghai, ordinary people didn't dare get involved with anti-Japanese forces, fearing they'd get into trouble.

Han Hui went to a public telephone booth and called Chen Wenpeng. She told Chen Wenpeng everything about Han Mengyang without hiding anything.

Chen Wenpeng had thought Han Mengyang was dead long ago, but he had never expected to fall into the hands of the devils in No. 76. To be honest, he was not happy to deal with this group of people: "Once you get in, it's basically impossible to get out."

Han Hui said, "Uncle Chen, I heard the people at No. 76 are very greedy, and I still have some money. If they're unwilling to release him, I hope to see him one last time. If that doesn't work, I hope to bring his body back and bury it in the ancestral tomb."

If Chen Wenpeng was asked to save someone, he would definitely not be happy about it, but he would have no problem asking for money to redeem the body.

Han Hui didn't know whether Chen Wenpeng would help, but she had to give it a try. If it didn't work, she would find another way. Fortunately, the result was good.

After thanking Chen Wenpeng, Han Hui said, "Uncle Chen, I made the call from a public phone booth. I was waiting nearby."

"It's so hot out here on the street you'll get heat stroke. Let's find a shop nearby with a telephone and wait."

"it is good."

Han Hui went to a cloth shop next door. There were ready-made clothes but no fabrics, so it was just right for her to buy a few pieces.

An hour later, Chen Wenpeng said to her, "Xiaoman, the other party wants ten large yellow croakers."

This was much less than expected. Han Hui said, "I'll go home and get it now."

Chen Wenpeng said it all: "Xiaoman, those guys at No. 76 are very ruthless. If they want to rescue someone, they will squeeze their blood out of him, even if he's innocent. They were so straightforward this time, your brother must be gone..."

Han Hui hummed and said, "Even if he's gone, I have to let my mother see him one last time."

After waiting for about ten minutes, Chen Wenpeng called and asked her to collect the money and go to No. 76 to pick up the person.

(End of this chapter)