Lin Yuchan hurriedly said: “No, no, no, I think you should reconsider and not make impulsive decisions…”

Rong Hong, who had already impulsively booked his passage, paid no attention and continued fantasizing excitedly: “I hear they’re much more open than the Qing court. Inviting me over to have a look probably also means they want to recruit talent. I’m also very curious about what these Christians can accomplish. Whether the new government they’ve created can successfully replace the Manchus…”

Lin Yuchan bit her lip and waited with utmost patience for him to finish his daydreaming before vigorously shaking her head.

“Please forgive me, sir, but I think… It’s not… not very reliable… I’ve heard rumors… they’re probably writing to you as part of casting a wide net…”

Since returning to China, Rong Hong had not been appreciated and had no way to serve his country. He had sent out countless calling cards and job application letters, most of which had sunk without a trace.

Now that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was extending an olive branch to him, how could he know it wasn’t that one true patron who recognized talent?

Lin Yuchan couldn’t help twisting her wrists. History had its trajectory, and everyone had character flaws. Even if she swore to Rong Hong that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom would ultimately fail, would he believe such fortune-telling nonsense?

Sure enough, Rong Hong smiled dismissively: “Good or bad, I have to go see for myself. Don’t worry, they’ve sworn in God’s name to provide me with guards and ensure my safety.”

Lin Yuchan thought for a moment – it seemed that historically, Rong Hong had lived quite long and hadn’t died young.

So let him do as he pleased. It wasn’t her business to manage.

She asked: “Will you come back?”

Rong Hong stretched and smiled: “What are you saying? I’ll be back in two months at most – even if I really take a position in Nanjing, I still have business here to handle – oh yes, Miss Lin, would you like me to bring back some local specialties? Jinling salted duck, rain flower stones, Suzhou embroidered fans, and Nanjing’s cloud brocade – that’s unparalleled in the world. The Taiping territory is under a trade embargo with the outside, so you can’t even buy these things in Shanghai!”

Lin Yuchan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was treating this like tourism.

Future hardcore streamers who bicycle solo through Iraq and venture alone into Aleppo inherited Scholar Rong’s adventurous spirit.

Of course, she was also curious about what life was like under Taiping rule and how it differed from historical descriptions. However, those were all war zones, and she didn’t have Rong Hong’s connections. She valued her little life more, so she respectfully declined.

“Mm, no need. When you return, I’ll treat you to tea and you can describe it all to me in detail…”

She was halfway through speaking when she suddenly stopped.

“Wait, you said the Taiping military zones are now under trade embargo?”

Rong Hong laughed in surprise.

“What, would the Qing court let them sail ships to Shanghai to sell goods and make money?”

Lin Yuchan: “You have a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom passport?”

Rong Hong was extremely proud and showed her the thick sheet of paper.

It bore Rong Hong’s name, age, and physical characteristics, with text on one side saying things like “Travel without obstruction, all city garrison troops shall provide convenience,” stamped with the hefty Heavenly King’s great seal.

Lin Yuchan felt her heartbeat quickening, her palms growing hot despite the cold weather.

She composed herself seriously, opened her bag, turned it upside down, and with a clatter, a pile of silver dollars appeared beside Rong Hong.

The seventy “sincerity payment” she had just recovered from Yixing Shipping, already cleaned of blood. She searched her pockets and sleeves, pulling out an additional thirty to make one hundred.

This was all the savings she had accumulated since arriving in the Qing Dynasty. A small portion was earned from fishing in troubled waters at Defeng Trading House, but most was bonus money from Hede.

She had to keep the remaining small change for meals.

Rong Hong was surprised: “Miss, what is this…”

Lin Yuchan smiled sweetly: “Since you’re so kind that it’s hard to refuse, I really would like to ask you to bring back some souvenirs – I won’t take them for free, I’ll pay for them myself. Consider purchasing on my behalf.”

Rong Hong was stunned: “But…”

He knew Miss Lin was merely a customs employee – knowledgeable but not highly paid. Today, she had acted on impulse, so why did it seem like she was throwing her entire fortune at him?

“Miss, what are you purchasing that’s so expensive? Aiya, let me offer some advice – young people without elder supervision should save more money. You’re a woman, and though you don’t need to establish a career, you should at least have some dowry capital, right? Rouge, powder, jewelry, and fine clothes may satisfy momentary desires for beauty, but they’re ultimately consumables and not lasting…”

This was indeed golden advice.

Of course, Lin Yuchan knew she was taking a risk. But you can’t catch a wolf without risking the child – this opportunity was too rare.

She wouldn’t trust one hundred silver dollars to just anyone else, but Rong Hong definitely wouldn’t embezzle from her.

She organized her thoughts and explained her plan to Rong Hong in detail.

“Tea leaves. When I was in Guangdong, I heard that most of the Taiping territory consists of tea-producing areas. Tea farmers in these places can’t sell their tea and are willing to sell at reduced prices – at the lowest, prices can drop to sixty percent of the normal purchasing price. It’s just that no one dares casually cross war zones to snatch chestnuts from the fire.

“If you can indeed travel freely throughout the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, you could inquire about who’s selling tea cheaply. Ordinary grade raw tea has a market price of seventeen taels per hundred catties, equivalent to twenty-four silver dollars. At sixty percent, that’s fourteen dollars and fifty cents. Round it to fifteen dollars. If you see raw tea below fifteen dollars, you can buy it with your eyes closed. Ninety silver dollars can buy six hundred catties, and the remainder can be your travel expenses.

“With this tea, I can open a shop in Shanghai with costs far lower than others. I don’t seek to get rich overnight, but at least I can accumulate my first pot of gold. I worked as a tea house apprentice in Guangzhou for several months, so I do have some confidence in this.”

…

Rong Hong no longer opposed but wasn’t led by the nose either, asking doubtfully: “Can this… work?”

Lin Yuchan: “I’ll write down the standards for evaluating raw tea for you – at worst, if all my expectations are wrong and you return empty-handed, just give me back the money.”

At most, she’d lose two months of interest. But there was no Yu’ebao nowadays anyway, so what loss was there to speak of?

Rong Hong thought about it – one hundred dollars was small money to him. Even if it went down the drain, he could just pay her back from his pocket.

He had also been in business for several years and had never seen such a bold plan. He was somewhat tempted.

Since he wasn’t the one taking the risk, he might as well watch the show.

Thinking this way, he nodded: “Then let’s sign a written agreement to guarantee the lady’s financial rights. Is that acceptable?”

Lin Yuchan said happily: “I was too embarrassed to suggest it myself.”

Both were straightforward people, so they made the “purchasing agreement” in duplicate. Lin Yuchan put hers away and cheerfully bid him farewell: “Happy New Year, congratulations and prosperity!”

Rong Hong cupped his hands toward her, blew on his fingers, and lay back on his lounge chair to read the newspaper.

Before he could close his eyes, he suddenly looked up again.

“Miss Lin, Kung-Hei-Fat-Choi!”

Lin Yuchan’s eyes widened with delight.

“You’re also from Guangdong?”

She usually couldn’t tell!

Rong Hong cleared his throat and said in stilted Cantonese: “It’s quite embarrassing to say. I left home young and returned old – I’d long forgotten my native dialect. It was only after returning to China that I had foreign missionaries teach me Cantonese again. Today, meeting a fellow Cantonese woman with such insight, I couldn’t help myself, haha…”

He suddenly remembered something. “Oh yes, originally today American friends invited me to celebrate Chinese New Year together, but looking like this, how could I go? Besides, I’m angry and have already declined. Tonight I’m destined to eat New Year’s dinner alone – Miss Lin, you should be gathering with family and friends today, right? Would it be convenient if I presumptuously invited myself?”

Lin Yuchan was startled: “This…”

Rong Hong quickly laughed it off: “I’m used to newfangled ways. If you find me abrupt and rude, just pretend you didn’t hear.”

Lin Yuchan couldn’t help smiling: “It’s convenient, convenient. Today I’m gathering with fellow townspeople…”

Wasn’t Minguan complaining about it being too quiet? He’d like more liveliness.

“Four-thirty this afternoon, I’ll come pick you up.”

The customs dormitory was already half empty. Some had gone home for New Year’s, others, like Lin Yuchan, were busy packing to move.

Though Hede, newly in charge of the Jianghai Customs, offered higher salaries for equivalent positions, Chinese people were attached to their homeland. Many old employees from the Yuehai Customs were unwilling to drift in Shanghai and planned to return home to find new work.

According to new regulations established by Hede, all employees whose contracts weren’t completed but who left due to unwillingness to relocate were considered unilaterally terminated by the customs and received severance pay proportional to their years of service. Those over fifty also received retirement pensions, very comprehensive.

Of course, some were also fired for their inability to handle new positions. They had all complained at first, but upon opening their envelopes and counting their “breakup fees,” they all turned anger to joy and began praising.

Mrs. Sun opened her large envelope, counting the gleaming silver dollars inside, and sighed: “Lord Hede truly is a caring parent official. When I worked for wealthy families before, they’d terminate contracts at will, and not deducting pay was already worth thanking heaven for. Where would such generous severance come from? Ai, it’s a pity I still have an old husband and daughter to care for, otherwise staying in Shanghai would be so good!”

Lin Yuchan looked through the window at the clock on the Jianghai Customs building, marveling at how quickly the God of Wealth Hede was progressing.

He had even learned to buy people’s hearts.

Now, everyone knew customs work paid well – the queue outside the recruitment office nearly stretched into the Huangpu River.

Besides, the severance pay for this whole room of people combined couldn’t match one foreign executive’s monthly salary.

After praising for a while, Mrs. Sun turned to feel injustice for Lin Yuchan: “You’re not going back home, and you work diligently – why didn’t Lord Hede keep you? And since your contract was complete, you don’t even get severance pay. Such a loss! Foreign masters shouldn’t bully widows.”

Lin Yuchan laughed it off: “Rules are rules.”

She pulled a thin sheet of paper from her envelope, read it several times, and hid it close to her body. For her, this paper was more important than any amount of money.

The customs-issued “certificate of employment termination”: Mrs. Su-Lin, widow, born 1846, from Nanhai, Guangdong, of clean background, during service at Yuehai Customs, diligent and responsible, cautious and law-abiding…

In both Chinese and English, stamped with the Director General’s official seal, very formal.

She had destroyed her indenture contract, making her equivalent to an undocumented person thereafter.

If she stayed in Guangzhou, not only was there the old enemy at Defeng Trading House, but any government investigation would leave her unable to prove her good citizenship, unable to escape feudal society’s iron fist.

But Shanghai had seen a surge of refugees in recent years – undocumented people were everywhere, and the government couldn’t manage them all.

As long as she waited until the next population census, using this termination letter as proof, she could have a clean, legal new identity.

Hede’s parting gift was too powerful – it was a priceless treasure.

Only the “Su” before her surname felt somewhat obtrusive. She couldn’t help looking for some white paste to see if she could cover it up.

Mrs. Sun, beside her, was startled: “Mrs. Su-Lin, what are you doing?”

Lin Yuchan laughed heartlessly: “From now on, I’m Mrs. Lin.”

Mrs. Sun gasped and said quietly: “You can’t mess around with this – if your in-laws catch you, you’ll suffer for it!”

Lin Yuchan explained in a fickle manner: “I need to remarry.”

Mrs. Sun stopped talking and watched her court death with interest.

However, Lin Yuchan just gestured for fun. She knew that any alteration to documents would render them invalid.

No rush – one step at a time.

Lin Yuchan lived simply and hadn’t accumulated much miscellaneous stuff, so she finished packing in a whirlwind.

She sat on the bed’s edge thinking – 1862, could she survive it…

Hede had said something very correct. In this society, women had no space outside the family. Unless she worked as a nanny or maid, other promising jobs wouldn’t hire a woman from a Chinese boss.

Getting an apprentice position at Defeng Trading House had required her to shamelessly use every underhanded method before barely succeeding.

Of course, nothing was absolute. Very few Chinese people, like Rong Hong, might give her opportunities. But this probability was too small, like fishing for a needle in the ocean.

So thinking it over, to establish herself, it seemed she could only go into business herself.

Just now asking Rong Hong to “purchase on her behalf” was a small test of the waters.

Since Shanghai opened as a treaty port, its customs had been the most open in the country. Many small vendors on the streets had proprietresses showing their faces working from dawn to dusk – this was social normalcy.

She had one hundred silver dollars as capital, not too low a starting point. Having been used in every way at Defeng Trading House for several months, she had also gained initial insight into “doing trade in the Qing Dynasty.”

Moreover, she had transmigration advantages – having seen all kinds of ingenious marketing methods, carefully selecting some to use, she didn’t seek overnight wealth, but shouldn’t be crushed overnight by native merchants either.

But few single women opened shops alone. Without a man, they were easily bullied.

Lin Yuchan suddenly thought of Aunt Hong. She and several self-combing sisterhood partners had pooled money to buy a courtyard, selling fish daily and also doing textile work to supplement their household income… It was hard work, but they were honestly working with their own hands and could see hope in their days.

However, self-combing sisterhood culture was only popular in Lingnan. Jiangnan people didn’t have this concept yet.

Mrs. Sun and other female workers nearby were busy as anything – they had purchased countless New Year goods in Shanghai to take back home.

Lin Yuchan listened to their enthusiastic anticipation of what they’d do after returning home and suddenly had an idea.

“Aunt Sun,” she picked up an empty envelope and found paper and pen to write quickly, “if you return to Guangzhou, could you trouble yourself to give regards to a friend of mine? She used to care for me often.”

This favor cost nothing, so Mrs. Sun readily agreed: “Of course, of course, where does she live?”

“Shangxiajiu fish market dock…”

Lin Yuchan wrote a brief letter to Aunt Hong, saying she planned to settle in Shanghai. Business was developed here and seemed to offer more opportunities than Guangzhou. If she had acquaintances among the self-combing sisterhood willing to go north to seek their fortune, they were welcome to come find her for partnership. She temporarily had no fixed residence, but they could inquire at the Jianghai Customs.

This was also thanks to Hede’s new regulations. Customs archives preserved the whereabouts of all former employees, forming a luxurious talent database.

(However, Lin Yuchan suspected with petty-minded speculation that if China and Britain became hostile again, this list would be ready-made collaborator candidates)

She also folded a pair of fashionable lace foreign cloth handkerchiefs, tied them with red string as a gift, stuffed them in the envelope, and sealed it.

Mrs. Sun took it and sighed with a bitter smile: “It’s just a pity that it’s hard to get passage during New Year’s – though we long to return home, we can only wait until after New Year to leave. This year we won’t eat New Year’s dinner at home.”

Lin Yuchan suddenly looked up, eyes bright and shining, smiling: “Why not together?”

The Renhe Hotel at the intersection of Guanyi Street in Shanghai’s old city had opened during the Jiaqing era – an old establishment. The hotel was arranged cleanly and affordably, with a female storyteller performing Suzhou ballad singing in the main hall and braziers burning in the private rooms, with some sweet and sour pickled appetizers on the tables.

Su Minguan paused at the private room doorway. He had changed into new clothes, groomed his face, and wore a cotton cloak obtained from who knows where through ill-gotten gains. With his coat tails flying, he had considerable potential for romantic elegance.

His eyes briefly swept inside and saw a room full of people. His face darkened, the corner of his mouth half-smiling, half-not.

“Didn’t you say it was a small gathering of fellow townspeople?”

Lin Yuchan replied righteously: “These are all fellow townspeople!”

Seeing his displeasure, she added: “I was afraid you’d find it lonely, so I went to great trouble to invite them!”

Su Minguan gave a cold laugh. Now she was being reasonable.

Lin Yuchan lowered her voice and said: “Didn’t I say that when I got rich I’d treat you to a feast – look at this menu, authentic Shanghai local cuisine, definitely not buns with no filling. Young Master, please.”

He hadn’t expected her to still remember this joke, and his expression finally softened somewhat.

“Miss Lin,” he sighed, “do you know this looks very much like a trap? If someone else had invited me here, I’d think it was Qing Gang enemies from the past coming for collective revenge.”

He patted the wrinkles on his long robe, straightened the black silk cap on his head, pressed his lips together, arranged his usual business smile, and pushed open the door.

“Excuse me.”

A “fellow townspeople’s New Year dinner” brought together over ten people, mostly Cantonese employees from the customs.

Both men and women were present, but not many, so everyone sat lively around one table. Anyway, those present were either fake foreign devils, dismissed compradors, or foreign enterprise (customs) employees who had seen plenty of scandalous scenes and naturally became corrupted by association. Everyone went through the motions of being polite for a while, then quickly collectively fell from grace and sat together, mixed.

In this era without so many developed transportation methods, being a hundred li from home counted as traveling far, let alone in provinces thousands of li away – occasionally encountering someone with a similar accent would bring tears to their eyes. Today with a whole table gathered at once, they immediately had the atmosphere of celebrating New Year at home.

This was Lin Yuchan’s first time dining at a restaurant in the Qing Dynasty. The restaurant was sufficiently modest, very much to her liking – if it had been rare delicacies like bird’s nest and shark fin, with the wealthy feasting while the poor starved, she really couldn’t have swallowed it.

So she happily ate freely. Red-braised pork, smoked fish, spare ribs with rice cakes, small steamed buns – she tasted several rounds of each dish.

Her cheeks were bulging when she suddenly heard applause around her and someone calling out: “…Exactly, Miss Lin should definitely drink this cup!”

Lin Yuchan hurriedly looked up to find a cup full of Shaoxing yellow wine thrust before her eyes.

She said blankly: “What did I do?”

Others said: “We’re all drunk – if Boss Su hadn’t mentioned it, we’d have almost forgotten. If not for Miss Lin’s thoughtful arrangements today, we wouldn’t have had this lively gathering. Miss Lin must drink a cup…”

Lin Yuchan quickly expressed thanks: “I just acted on impulse. As long as everyone enjoys themselves today, being alone away from home, it’s always good to make a few more friends…”

After a long string of polite words, she could only drain the wine in one gulp.

Fortunately, the yellow wine wasn’t strong, leaving her belly warm after drinking.

Only then did she realize: “…Boss Su?”

Su Minguan sat across from her, winked and smiled, raised his wine cup, his sleeve revealing embroidered characters reading “Yixing.”

She opened her mouth slightly and slowly nodded.

So… in the few hours from morning until now, he had already made an important life decision – it seemed he had also decided to face his bleak life directly, take over the rotten winter melon that was Yixing, and become a Shanghai drifter.

Right, when everyone had been chaotically introducing themselves earlier, he had chosen the identity of “businessman” for himself.

He indeed had great business self-cultivation. Having struggled in foreign firms, his mind was much more mature than his face suggested. At the wine table he was smooth in all directions, and before three rounds had passed, everyone was calling him “boss” warmly, treating him as the star of the table.

Actually, in terms of knowledge and culture, Rong Hong was certainly superior, but Rong Hong suffered from not being fluent in Cantonese, and most people at the table didn’t know what “Yale” cuisine was, treating him as a failed scholar who had abandoned literature for commerce, hardly very respectful. Therefore, Mr. Rong could only retreat to the second line, joining in the commotion when Su Minguan told jokes.

Like now, Rong Hong was smiling as he drank, patting Su Minguan’s shoulder affectionately, saying with a thick tongue: “What’s called young talent? This is called young talent – honestly speaking, I originally thought society was full of dead hearts and the younger generation had dim prospects…”

He was so drunk his hat was crooked, casually reaching up to straighten it, “…When I was in Guangzhou, I saw government troops massacring rebels, and the crowd of onlookers, old and young, were all laughing. In my heart, I was crying…”

Such treasonous words could only be spoken behind closed doors. Fortunately, everyone was drunk and felt that “failed scholars” being cynical was understandable, so they all awkwardly laughed along.

Su Minguan looked at Rong Hong, also awkwardly laughing once, his expression complex.

Not just because Rong Hong also sympathized with rebels – actually, quite a few people privately sympathized with rebels, they just didn’t dare bring it to the surface.

But because he had discovered that Rong Hong was the “Mr. Rong” Lin Yuchan had mentioned yesterday.

It was normal for her to make new friends when she was alone in Shanghai with no relatives, and he had no right to interfere. The key point was that this girl was simply gifted – everyone she befriended was some kind of freak!

He could see at a glance that Rong Hong’s queue was also fake-fake was fake, but it was sewn onto his hat!

Heaven have mercy, ever since he cut his hair the year before last, to make his disguise realistic, he couldn’t think of any other method and could only use glue…

There were very few men without queues in the Qing Dynasty, and usually no one shared experiences with him. Only today through mutual exchange did he discover he had suffered so much unnecessarily in the past!

On second thought, this method was good, but it fell off easily. If he had been “mistakenly arrested” by the authorities back then and they had lifted his hat, he wouldn’t have needed anyone to bail him out – he could have gone straight outside the city to join his predecessors.

Thinking this way, he felt slightly more balanced. But then, remembering being grabbed by Lin Yuchan in the piglet house warehouse, his head couldn’t help aching, and he glared at her resentfully.

Rong Hong didn’t notice he was already gritting his teeth and continued smiling as he philosophized: “…But there are still some people whose eyes have light in them, making you feel the future holds promise – Brother Minguan, I’m older and presumptuously advise you: making money through commerce is good, but it can’t save this country…”

He looked at Su Minguan appraisingly and suddenly noticed his hand gripping the wine cup, then saw the characters “Yixing” embroidered on his sleeve cuff—

Clang clang clang clang, Rong Hong’s face went deathly pale as he jumped three feet high, wine spilling all over the floor in front of him.

“Lin, Lin, Lin, Miss Lin,” Rong Hong carefully glanced toward the door, “I have no grievances with – you can’t set a trap to harm me today!”