Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

Gu Cheng smiled and patted Jiang Dengxuan on the shoulder: "Alright, let's not talk about it. For now, you can work at the brigade headquarters with me."

As he spoke, he turned to look at the door and raised his voice, "Old Zhou, where are you—"

Butler Zhou Ran strode in from the corridor and stood bowing by the door: "Master Gu, what are your orders?"

"Clean up that open room on the west side, equip it with bedding, tables, chairs, and writing implements, and boil some hot water," Gu Cheng said. "Brother Chao Liu has just arrived and must be tired from his journey. Let's settle him down first."

Zhou Ran responded, glanced at Jiang Dengxuan, and bowed slightly: "Mr. Jiang, I'll make the arrangements right away."

After saying that, he turned and left, his steps light and brisk.

Gu Cheng withdrew his gaze and looked at Jiang Dengxuan: "Brother Chao Liu, you can rest for now, no need to rush to your post. I'll prepare a few dishes tonight to welcome you back."

As if suddenly remembering something, he added, "Jiang Yingrong is also in Jinzhou, you two can meet up. By the way, tomorrow Duke Min is hosting a banquet for the heads of Jinzhou, you should come with me!"

Upon hearing him mention Wang Yongjiang's banquet, Jiang Dengxuan nodded thoughtfully at first, then asked, "Yingrong, is she still in Jinzhou? She told me she was going back to the capital, what happened...?"

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, but the mischievous glint in his eyes was unmistakable.

Gu Cheng didn't understand the half-finished sentence he was talking about, but he didn't press the matter: "Sister Rong did say she was going back to the capital, but she didn't leave. Sigh, I haven't seen her these past few days. You siblings have helped me so much, I should thank you properly the next day."

Jiang Dengxuan waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "Don't worry about it, it's just a small matter," and didn't continue the conversation. It was as if the half-sentence had been accidentally let slip, and since he had already stopped, he wouldn't bring it up again.

He paused for a moment, then steered the conversation back on track: "Min Gong is hosting a banquet for the leaders of Jinzhou. Would it be appropriate for me to go along? I just arrived and haven't even had a sip of water in Jinzhou yet. Wouldn't people think I'm just some idle person?"

Gu Cheng waved his hand: "Hey, there's nothing inappropriate about it. Lord Min invited the bigwigs of Jinzhou, not just the locals. Besides, the people of Jinzhou will find out about your arrival sooner or later. Rather than letting them hear about it from elsewhere, it's better for you to sit at the table yourself, and they'll see it naturally."

After he finished speaking, he withdrew his hand, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette and handed it to Jiang Dengxuan. The other man glanced at it, took it, but only twirled it around in his hand once.

"Okay, if you say you'll go, then I'll go." After he finished speaking, he tucked the cigarette behind his ear, as if he didn't want to smoke it for the time being, or as if he was saving it for later. "I'll go check out my place first. I should thank Old Zhou for his help."

Gu Cheng didn't stop him, watching him turn around and follow Zhou Ran to the west courtyard.

The sunlight under the eaves stretched his shadow, which was long and thin, onto the blue brick floor, making him look somewhat lonely.

"Actually, it's a bit unfair for Brother Chao to come to our brigade."

Zhang Tingshu's words interrupted Gu Cheng's thoughts. He turned around and looked over. The latter finished speaking softly, "He, like you, studied in Japan; in addition, Brother Chao Liu made contributions in this campaign to enter the pass, and he is quite respected in front of the Marshal."

Gu Cheng's gaze was still fixed on the direction where Jiang Dengxuan had disappeared. That figure had followed Zhou Ran and disappeared around the corner of the covered walkway.

He withdrew his gaze, smiled at Zhang Tingshu, and gestured for him to go out together: "Then let's treat him well... let him make up for the humiliation he suffered in Fengtian in Jinzhou."

"Let's go, the sun's already so high. Let's go shopping and buy a few things. We can't go to Min Gong's place empty-handed tomorrow... Oh, by the way, I heard from the maids in the manor that a new restaurant opened on the old road. Let's go try it after we buy our things."

Upon hearing that they could try it out, Zhang Tingshu laughed: "That's great! Hey, should we invite Tianqi along? It's not good for us to eat alone—"

After saying this, the two got into the car and went to the old road: this is the largest commercial street in Jinzhou. Because the city connects the inside and outside of the pass, it has also formed a spectacular exchange of goods.

The streets not only sold fashionable silk fabrics, writing brushes, ink, and paper, but also various other goods... It was also a distribution center for furs, medicinal herbs, and grains, and a hub where "foreign goods" from within the Great Wall and local mountain products converged.

I remember that Gu Cheng came to inspect the area once when he first took office in Jinzhou. At that time, the war had just ended, and the gravel roads were rugged and the place was in chaos.

The streets were deserted, most of the doors were still open, and the shops were half-open with no one coming or going. Broken tiles and bullet casings were scattered on the ground, and dust was stirred up by the wind.

But after two months of renovation, the whole street was completely different. All the shops were open, and the entrance to the grain store was piled with newly arrived grains and rice. The cloth shop assistants were hanging the newly arrived fabrics on the shelves, shaking them out one by one, and a thin layer of dust fell in the afternoon sun.

A few people were queuing in front of a tea and snack shop diagonally across the street. The old signboard with the words "Renhe Mei" (meaning "Harmony and Beauty") hung above the door. The aroma of the snacks wafted out from the cracks in the door, mingling with the rising heat from the street.

Further ahead, a newly made window display for a photo studio was pasted with several portrait photos. Next to it was a small barbershop with two or three customers waiting to get their hair cut.

There were more people on the street than before. Women carrying baskets were picking through vegetables at the stalls, and shopkeepers in long gowns were talking to acquaintances at the entrance of their shops. Several teenagers were chasing a ball across the street, startling a yellow dog on the roadside, which took two steps to the side before squatting down to continue sunbathing.

"I really didn't expect him to recover so quickly. It seems Li Mao isn't a complete good-for-nothing after all!"

Zhang Tingshu slowed his pace, glanced around the street, and nodded with a smile.

"Of course! How could our carefully selected people be wrong?"

Gu Cheng stopped with a grin, looking at the old signboard of "Yufengzhai" hanging above the door of a shop;

Inside, on the counter, were several pieces of silk and odds and ends, along with a few exquisite ornaments, all covered with plain white cotton cloth, which looked exceptionally clean in the sunlight.

The shopkeeper looked up and recognized Gu Cheng. He quickly came out from behind the counter, his face beaming, and habitually wiped his hands on his apron: "Commander Gu! Why did you come in person? What do you need? Just send someone from your household... I'll bring it to you!"

Gu Cheng raised his hand and placed it on his shoulder: "Hehe, you flatter me, shopkeeper. Business is so busy, how could I trouble you?"

The shopkeeper looked flustered: "No trouble at all! Commander Gu, you flatter me... Your visit is truly an honor!"

Gu Cheng and Zhang Tingshu entered side by side, exchanged a few casual pleasantries, and then their eyes fell on the counter.

The first thing I noticed was an ink stick wrapped in oiled paper, revealing a corner of dark gold patterns, but its full and thick texture clearly indicated it was a good item.

He reached out and picked it up, examined it briefly, and asked the shopkeeper, "Whose ink is this?"