“Miss, bread?”

The rough-featured foreign merchant Mr. Smith smiled at her, inviting her in broken Chinese, offering her a chocolate croissant just baked this morning.

The ship cabin was stuffy after all, so he came out for some air.

The Chinese girl wore a Chinese man’s shirt, didn’t bind her feet, and traveled alone – she didn’t look like a shy little wife. Mr. Smith was bored on his journey and came to strike up a conversation.

His black female slave waited in the distance. Nearby passengers didn’t dare approach her, watching and pointing from afar.

Lin Yuchan glanced sideways at the bread in Smith’s hand, didn’t take it, and politely said in English: “Not hungry.”

Smith was delighted and immediately switched to English, saying in a string: “Where is Miss going? Living in first class? Which room? If you don’t mind, I can escort you all the way. Chinese waterways are dangerous, it’s not safe for a single woman to travel…”

Lin Yuchan heard his accent and understood, standing up.

A Southern American. Still with a black slave. Most likely a plantation slave owner.

Though Mr. Smith was polite, she didn’t want to chat with him.

Smith was startled, then annoyed.

Just an English-speaking Chinese woman, and she learned that Western lady routine, acting all affected!

But on the surface, he still maintained his smile, flipping through his wallet and pulling out a shiny little silver necklace.

Miss’s beauty breaks my heart. This is a meeting gift, please come to cabin number two for a chat. I brought smoked meat and cheese, and quality tea…”

Smith had been in China for several months and had some understanding of the Qing Dynasty’s basic conditions. This kind of pretty girl who spoke English was either a missionary, or comprador’s family member, or a high-class prostitute.

She had no man accompanying her, so it couldn’t be the former, right?

So he was quite confident. Based on experience, showing a little wealth, he figured this girl pretending to be reserved would immediately surrender.

It would also help relieve his loneliness during the long journey.

Lin Yuchan smiled coldly.

A little broken necklace, worth a few dozen yuan, might be a poor person’s food money for a month in the Qing Dynasty.

How could foreigners not walk sideways in the Qing Dynasty?

Finally some nearby ship workers noticed the commotion here. Su Minguan had specifically instructed them to take good care of Miss Lin. Though he didn’t say specifically how to “take care” of her, a good Chinese girl, regardless of her personality, definitely wouldn’t like being pestered by strange men.

“Sir,” the ship worker hurried over, struggling to produce English words, “Please you, no…”

“Get lost!” Smith waved his walking stick in fury, “I’m talking to the lovely miss, what business is it of yours? Who taught you to randomly interrupt foreigners’ conversations? Rude country bumpkin, careful I complain to your supervisor and smash your rice bowl!”

He probably felt that showing foreign authority in front of Chinese girls and exercising foreigner privileges was very classy. He’d used this trick many times before with great success. When Chinese people saw him bullying other Chinese, their first reaction usually wasn’t anger, but recognizing his power and showing him more respect.

Lin Yuchan watched Smith’s bluffing appearance and sneered inwardly.

Used to being superior for so long, he’d forgotten how to speak properly!

That ship worker was inexplicably scolded by the foreigner, his face red with anger, not daring to curse back.

Lin Yuchan didn’t want to cause trouble for Yixing Shipping, so she suppressed her emotions and softly comforted the ship worker: “Big brother, go about your business. Don’t argue with him. I’ll say a few words and leave. This is on the ship – he doesn’t dare do anything to me.”

But as she turned, she suddenly caught a flash and saw several business cards folded in Smith’s wallet.

Lin Yuchan was startled and asked: “Are you… a cotton merchant?”

She changed her mind, smiling without warmth, crossed her arms, and stood back by the long bench.

“Going to Zhenjiang for business?”

Smith smiled with delight. Look, the pretty girl seemed cold and unyielding, but actually liked successful people!

He quickly took out his business card and presented it with both hands.

“Special agent of Mingji Trading House, doing big business in China. Travel frequently for work, haha, been everywhere…”

Lin Yuchan quickly pondered. Foreign merchants in China moved rapidly, and trading houses would temporarily hire professionals as special agents. This Mr. Smith was probably an American cotton plantation owner. Recently suffering from civil war and unable to continue his own business, he came to the Far East to use his professional knowledge to secure a position and continue making big money.

This type of person didn’t reside permanently in China, so didn’t bother acquiring Chinese servants, but directly brought over his familiar black slaves.

Lin Yuchan remained calm, dodging an overly enthusiastic hand, and asked: “Is there much cotton to collect around Zhenjiang?”

Smith laughed: “You bet! You haven’t seen the ridiculous sight of those eager farmers begging us to buy their goods… But Zhenjiang’s concession isn’t completely built yet, the commercial dock is quite crowded, though there are several nice English bars. Tomorrow I can take you for a drink… You know, without a foreigner leading, even a beautiful miss like you won’t be allowed into that concession…”

Lin Yuchan listened respectfully, distinguishing bragging from truth in that endless chatter.

As she expected, Jardine Matheson, Qichang, Baoshun… several trading houses all had branches in Zhenjiang.

Mr. Smith ran his mouth, boasting, claiming he knew all the branch managers of these trading houses and would drink with them tomorrow.

She responded halfheartedly until Smith’s bragging became repetitive and she’d heard enough, then she raised her eyelids and glanced into the distance.

A handsome young Chinese man walked over slowly, completely ignoring Smith and bowing directly to Lin Yuchan.

Then he smiled slightly: “This miss has the bearing of a heavenly being, this humble student greatly admires you. I wonder if I might invite Miss into the cabin for a chat and to make friends?”

He spoke in northern Mandarin, very slowly, with clear pronunciation, very considerate of the foreigner’s hearing.

Smith was surprised to see this mysterious Chinese girl, who had been reserved and aloof the previous second, suddenly smile like a blooming flower, drop a “good,” and walk away with that “humble student”…

Walking shoulder to shoulder through the cabin door, she even turned back to bid Smith farewell: “Enlightening. Goodbye.”

Smith: “Hey…”

He felt his sincere feelings were wasted. Same first meeting – he had sweet words, showed wealth, demonstrated career success, and racial advantage… why could someone else lead her away with one sentence?

This world couldn’t be that face-focused!

Besides, his appearance wasn’t bad either!

He cursed angrily and left in a huff.

The black female slave followed and was struck by Smith’s walking stick as he vented his anger.

Su Minguan had been watching from a distance for a while. Seeing that Lin Yuchan didn’t let anyone take advantage, he hadn’t approached.

Finally unable to resist the urge to tease, he went up to lure her back.

After leading her into the inner cabin, he deliberately said with disappointment: “That person was unreasonable – why didn’t you slap him? You even chatted pleasantly for so long.”

Lin Yuchan secretly smiled inwardly.

The young master just liked to be randomly jealous. His heart wasn’t narrow, and he didn’t forbid her from chatting with other men. He just liked to put on an act, constantly asserting his presence.

Lin Yuchan pulled out a paper from her pocket and read with a smile: “Conflicts and fighting between passengers prohibited, if injured, this company bears no responsibility – I’m not that stupid.”

When Yixing Shipping sold tickets, they attached a long string of liability waivers basically covering all accidents during the journey – seasickness, falling overboard, freezing, starvation, fighting, theft, illness, delays from wind and waves, not returning to ship on time after disembarking… all consequences self-borne, the shipping company bore no responsibility.

Only when a clear ship worker error caused major losses would compensation be given according to the rules.

When passengers bought tickets, someone would read the agreement aloud, then they’d press their fingerprints.

It seemed domineering, but in ancient society where the strong preyed on the weak and no safety or freedom was guaranteed, this was normal agreement, even progressive.

You couldn’t survive in business purely on “being reasonable.” Foreign steamship companies bound Chinese passengers with even more restrictions, and sometimes, ship security even beat passengers.

Su Minguan saw her waving that liability waiver and couldn’t help laughing.

Third-class little sister, what was there to be proud of?

He pushed open his private small cabin door and pointed inside: “Shareholder benefit. Rest here.”

Lin Yuchan wasn’t polite. After Su Minguan left, she sat on his stool and took out her notebook to briefly record the intelligence she’d extracted from Smith.

She seemed to still hear Smith talking loudly to ship workers in the first-class corridor, asking about where “a Chinese girl in men’s clothes” had gone, saying he couldn’t find her anywhere.

She hummed a little tune and looked for books on the small bookshelf.

She was pleasantly surprised to find that the “Wealth of Nations” she’d found in a pile of old books had already been read through several opening chapters by Su Minguan, with some unfamiliar words marked.

She’d also brought her own books. Two English-French parallel versions of “The Count of Monte Cristo” – she’d already read to the plot where the male protagonist escaped prison. She’d also summarized some French grammar patterns and a small amount of common greetings.

However, though the plot was exciting and engaging, looking at Latin letters for too long still made her eyes tired. Reading and reading, she unconsciously became sleepy, locked the door, took off her outer clothes, and had a beautiful nap on the narrow bed.

When she woke, the ship cabin still had the same rhythm of water sounds, the same rhythm of engine operation, the same rhythm of swaying creaks, monotonous yet powerful.

The noisy human voices outside gradually faded. Other passengers were also gradually losing the novelty of riding a steamship, entering a state of travel boredom.

Lin Yuchan put on her clothes, unlatched and opened the door, startled.

“Oh.”

Su Minguan stood by the door, idly snapping his fingers.

She quickly blushed and asked quietly: “How long have you been waiting?”

He feigned anger, giving her a look, entered the cabin, and closed the door.

“Lazy cat. Sleeping endlessly.”

She lay flat accepting the mockery, quickly pulling the sheets flat on the narrow bed and arranging the quilt and pillow neatly.

Then she acted attentively: “Please.”

Su Minguan had inspected work around the ship, filled out a stack of customs declaration forms about to be used, chatted with several acquaintance friendly merchant passengers, and even negotiated next year’s tax exemption tickets with Tang Tingshu – and this girl was still sleeping!

She came to take a vacation on borrowed time!

He put on a wronged expression, took off his outer coat, and lay down on the bed.

“I’ll rest a while. You go play outside.”

With dozens of his subordinates on the ship, he wasn’t worried about her safety, only afraid she’d get seasick.

After saying this, he turned over and suddenly realized something, his eyes darkening.

The bed and bedding were still warm, the pillow retaining a faint soap fragrance.

Just one minute ago, a young girl had been lying here beautifully, peaceful eyelashes covering her eyes, quilt pulled to her chin.

She’d even washed her hair this morning.

This image flashed, and his whole body heated slightly.

What was this, keeping a mistress in a golden house?

“Close the door for me,” he said sullenly.

Lin Yuchan said “Mm,” was about to leave, then suddenly felt mischievous, quietly walked to the bedside, bent down, and gently nuzzled his cheek with her nose tip.

Su Minguan’s breathing accelerated, his eyebrows slightly raised, his earlobes heating up, but he held still.

“By the way,” she said softly, “can third-class little sister request special treatment and borrow your washroom today?”

Third-class conditions were worse than she’d imagined. All simple big men, the lower hold washroom always had long queues, and though someone cleaned regularly, it still inevitably had odors, plus the door didn’t close properly. How could a girl like her dare squeeze in?

If Lin Yuchan had gone through proper channels to buy tickets, Yixing people absolutely wouldn’t have sold her third-class ticket.

But scalpers only cared about profit and definitely wouldn’t warn her beforehand, even encouraging her, saying Yixing’s third class was more comfortable than other companies’, spacious!

Lin Yuchan was on the pirate ship and couldn’t get off. No matter how strong and proud she was, she couldn’t be difficult now and could only shamelessly ask for help.

Su Minguan closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly turning up, drawing out his voice:

“First-class cabin three is a wealthy merchant’s wife, five and six are a candidate county magistrate’s family. Go knock on their doors and borrow.”

“Oh.”

Lin Yuchan answered dejectedly and got up to leave.

Suddenly, her wrist tightened as he pulled hard.

She cried “Ah!” and fell directly into his arms, frantically trying to crawl out.

Su Minguan tightened his arm muscles, lightly embracing her, still closing his eyes, feeling his way to pull that little head close to him, crossing his legs with the full bearing of a spoiled young master.

Teasing her once, and she took it seriously.

The bed was narrow and small, half her body hanging outside. She didn’t dare struggle more, her soft voice pleading: “Let go. I’m going to slide down…”

He wouldn’t let go. He chuckled lowly for a while, his chest making her face shake.

“You can use mine if you want,” he said softly against her cheek, “but there’s a fee.”

His hand loosened, and the person in his arms rolled and crawled to the floor, still pouting as she asked: “How much?”

Su Minguan: “You can’t afford it. You’d have to work for me to pay the debt.”

Lin Yuchan glared at him ten thousand times mentally and said calmly, “Tell me.”

“The steam engine operation manual – I still don’t understand many parts. I hired a Western engineer to translate it, but the grammar doesn’t work, and I wasted money.” He said, “A’Mei, help me look at it when you have time.”

Lin Yuchan was pleased. She was tired of reading “The Count of Monte Cristo,” and this would be perfect for a change of pace to pass the boring journey.

She nodded in agreement.

Su Minguan immediately said, “The key is in the first drawer on the left. Thank you.”

He closed his eyes.

But he didn’t hear the door closing. Opening his eyes, Lin Yuchan was still sitting beside him with a smile.

Su Minguan felt restless and asked: “Anything else?”

Lin Yuchan smiled: “So eager to chase me away?”

Recently, she’d been frazzled by cotton, and now thinking back, she’d indeed neglected him somewhat, feeling bad about it.

Yesterday, she’d teased him, deliberately acting cold. He’d responded lightly. But Lin Yuchan noticed that even someone so good at disguising couldn’t hide the vague dejection in his eyes and tone.

This Young Master Su had a heart like a one-way transparent window. He could guess others’ thoughts with certainty, but he, no matter how dissatisfied or disappointed, would never complain to others.

So she had to be a bit more proactive. Finally, stealing a few days of leisure, there was plenty of time to be affectionate.

Who knew this person wouldn’t buy it, looking at her gently with a smile, very moved as he refused: “With you here, I can’t sleep.”

Lin Yuchan was so angry.

This person held grudges. He was retaliating for her attitude yesterday.

Comparing indirect tactics with him, she’d definitely tie herself in knots in the end. So she softened her voice and said very directly: “You didn’t see me often these past days, don’t you want me to spend more time with you now?”

Su Minguan stared at her for a long while, then suddenly smiled, his eyes bright and gentle.

“No need.” He lowered his voice, still insisting, “A’Mei, you’re successful and I’m just as happy. You don’t need to always accompany me.”

She was slightly stunned, looking down at her hands for a long time before asking: “Really?”

Su Minguan nodded.

What he didn’t tell her was that only this way could he barely maintain self-control, not letting himself be devoured by those greedy thoughts.

His fate with her would only last until next year. He secretly hoped that when she looked back on this sweet yet tense period, she’d remember making money, laughter, vindication, the light salty wind in front of the dock…

If this memory could include a little bit of his role, if she could remember that someone had once quietly admired her success and shared her tears from not far away, he would be very satisfied.

He didn’t want her to recall this brief romance with her mind filled with inappropriate intimacy and fruitless madness.

Holding this strange thought, he sighed inwardly and took the girl’s small hand, gently stroking the texture of her palm.

“A’Mei,” he smiled and complained, “why did you have to take my ship? Other steamship companies had plenty of tickets.”

Lin Yuchan: “…”

Bringing it up again. Mentioning the very thing that shouldn’t be mentioned. She wouldn’t make the same mistake twice!

She refused to accept it and argued, “I wanted to take your ship. Whether you’re happy or not, the customer is…”

“Happy.” Su Minguan gently kissed the back of her hand. “I’m afraid I’m too happy.”

Boss Su was busy with many affairs and indeed needed an afternoon rest. So all afternoon, Lin Yuchan sat in the engine room, biting her pen tip, studying physics and chemistry.

Indeed born to toil, no fortune to enjoy a pure vacation.

That operation manual was a thick stack, but most content was already translated adequately. Captain An that Su Minguan hired was experienced, having worked for foreign steamship companies for years, with a well-trained crew and sailors who could pilot the ship with their eyes closed.

Only a very small amount of specialized content, like how to eliminate certain faults that might not occur once in eight hundred years, was translated in fragments due to being too technical, not perfect enough.

But Su Minguan demanded strict standards and disliked loopholes, so he was still trying to fill the gaps.

Lin Yuchan felt this was at least university-level physics content, beyond her capabilities. After struggling for several hours with slow progress, she had to go outside for air.

The deck was crowded. She made small use of her privileges, ducking under a rope marked “Passengers Keep Out” to find an unpopulated spot to watch scenery and enjoy the breeze.

The steamship traveled through the broad Yangtze River. Sunlight moved west, facing the bow, illuminating a metallic sheen.

Rich soil stretched along both banks, originally the land of fish and rice. But due to years of war, there were few signs of human habitation. Only recently had people returned to their homeland, slowly building new rural dwellings.

Misty willows and reed geese, paths and irrigation ditches, a pastoral scene slowly unfolded like a scroll of “Along the River During the Qingming Festival,” as if time had reversed several hundred years.

A village appeared on the shore. The steamship rumbled past. Suddenly, dozens of men, women, and old and young ran out from thatched huts, crowding the shore to watch. Someone even carried a gong, desperately beating it, leading everyone in unified shouting.

On deck, fashionable passengers from Shanghai laughed mockingly: “Haha, they’ve never seen a steamship! They think it’s a monster!”

The waterway narrowed. The shore villagers saw clearly there were people on the steamship and only then realized this black-smoke-spewing giant thing was actually a… ship, same function as the village ferry.

The villagers exclaimed and pointed, then dispersed with a roar.

Suddenly, someone saw a girl in men’s clothes standing behind the ship’s railing. This was serious – the villagers swarmed back, looking at Lin Yuchan like monkeys, pointing and showing very contemptuous expressions. Someone indignantly pointed to a big rock on the shore, then forcefully pushed the rock into the water. Splash – a big water flower.

Lin Yuchan couldn’t help frowning. What did this mean?

“In their countryside, if a girl shows her face traveling far from home, mixing with men, she’d be tied up and drowned.”

A casual voice suddenly sounded behind her. Su Minguan came behind her, explaining the intention of that gesture.

Lin Yuchan looked again at the villagers’ hostile gazes on shore and shivered.

Su Minguan chuckled softly. Seeing no one around, he extended his arm and openly embraced the young girl’s shoulders, pulling her toward his chest, his chin resting on her forehead.

Lin Yuchan panicked for a moment, then immediately saw the shore villagers’ expressions as if they’d seen ghosts – some covered their eyes, some screamed, some opened their mouths and jumped, pointing across half the Yangtze River, cursing angrily at the two of them.

She suddenly burst out laughing. Then couldn’t help laughing loudly with Su Minguan, looking up at him and voluntarily offering half her cheek.

…

The shore villagers’ worldviews were destroyed, probably traumatized for life.

Vicissitudes could represent not only the passage of time. In the same space and country, there were also differences between the sea and the mulberry fields.

That Shanghai with concessions, shipyards, banks, kerosene lamps, and foreign gun squads was just a small tumor on the aging giant’s body. The appearance of most of this country’s land was still frozen in the “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” of hundreds of years ago.

The secret intimacy didn’t last long. Someone hurried over calling: “Boss! Time for dinner!”

Lin Yuchan quickly slipped out of Boss Su’s arms, pretending she’d just taken a wrong turn.

Ship Officer Jiang Gaosheng lived up to his name – he was excellent at managing ships, doing things methodically, but unfortunately, had poor emotional intelligence. Suddenly seeing the two people before him, he said dumbly, “Hey, Miss Lin, how are you here? This area is off-limits to passengers. If you need something, find me – don’t keep bothering our boss.”

After speaking, he felt he’d greatly relieved his boss’s burden and stood to the side with chest out and head high.