Chapter 45 Yang Hong Garden

Sanjiangshui was guarding the door, feeling very happy, thinking that the hero was right beside him. He was humming a little tune happily, then he heard a familiar voice coming from outside. He hurriedly opened the door, and hurriedly helped his brothers to support Lao Jiang into the yard.

Lao Jiang was sweating profusely, covering his arms, breathing rapidly, his lips trembling, and he tried hard to suppress his emotions.

Sanjiangshui hurriedly ran to the inner courtyard, shouting as he ran, and bumped into Zheng Wenjie and Gong Ruomei who came out after hearing the noise.

"Miss, Uncle Jiang was shot." Sanjiangshui said hurriedly.

Gong Ruomei was a little anxious, but she still asked as she walked: "Where did you get hit? Can you still breathe?"

"Arm, Uncle Jiang has been covering his arm."

Gong Ruomei relaxed a little, thinking that as long as the bullet didn't hit the vital parts and she received timely treatment, she could still be saved.

When the three disciples of the Gong family saw Gong Ruomei coming out, they hurriedly called her "Miss". Then they saw Zheng Wenjie following behind Gong Ruomei, and their nervousness turned into excitement: "Master Zheng, it's Master Zheng."

When Lao Jiang saw Zheng Wenjie, his tense expression relaxed. He was happy for the young lady. He was in a trance and his vision went dark before he passed out.

"Why not send him directly to the hospital?" Zheng Wenjie was somewhat dissatisfied with the actions of the disciples of the Gong family. The smell of blood allowed Zheng Wenjie to directly judge that Lao Jiang's blood had been flowing all the way.

One of the disciples said in a somewhat dry voice: "The young lady is the doctor. We always go to the young lady for help when we are injured." Just as he finished speaking, he saw Gong Ruomei staring at him with an inexplicably strange look in his eyes.

"What are you still standing there for? Carry Old Jiang into the pharmacy." Gong Ruomei shouted and went into the pharmacy first.

Sanjiangshui and his disciples hurriedly lifted Lao Jiang and followed Gong Ruomei, leaving Zheng Wenjie alone in the yard.

Zheng Wenjie had actually forgotten that Gong Ruomei was studying medicine, and he touched his chin awkwardly.

Sanjiangshui was driven out of the pharmacy. Seeing Zheng Wenjie in the yard, he ran over happily and said, "Master, Uncle Jiang will be fine. Miss has been learning medicine from Master A Linbao since she was a child. She has also studied Western medicine in the past two years."

Zheng Wenjie nodded: "What were they doing that they were shot?"

Sanjiangshui rubbed the two pimples on his face, feeling very depressed: "After Mr. Gong passed away, those profiteers gave all the tributes to Mr. Gong to Ma San, and took advantage of Ma San to occupy the Gong family's shop. Uncle Jiang said he would bring people to take it back, but he got shot. I don't know why."

"Ma San relies on the Japanese? These people rely on Ma San? Ma San is dead, but they still dare to fire guns recklessly. This is unacceptable. They must have a new backer. Now in this area, they can openly open fire, and only with the support of the Japanese pirates can they do so." Zheng Wenjie was a little annoyed. There were many people who were trying to lick the drain of the Japanese pirates these days, and he could not kill them all. He had to kill one when he saw one.

"These bunch of traitorous dogs are all spineless, tut." Sanjiangshui spat.

Zheng Wenjie simply sat on the snow-cleared steps and motioned Sanjiangshui to sit next to him: "Do you know who they are looking for today?"

Sanjiangshui's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed like a crazy fan: "Master, are you going to avenge Uncle Jiang? Can you take me with you? I heard something this morning, it was Yanghong Garden."

Zheng Wenjie was a little surprised. Why was the name so strange? It was the same as Yihongyuan. "What is this place used for?"

Sanjiangshui suddenly became a little vulgar, leaned closer, gave a thumbs up and said: "Master, this is the hall, the best in Fengtian."

Zheng Wenjie glanced at Sanjiangshui strangely. He was so young...oh, in this era, sixteen or seventeen years old was considered an adult man: "The Gong family also runs a brothel?"

Sanjiangshui shook his head: "Yanghong Garden was opened by the Changtu Chamber of Commerce..."

Zheng Wenjie: “…” Then why did Lao Jiang go to that brothel?

The door of the pharmacy opened, and the disciples carried Lao Jiang out first. They smiled at Zheng Wenjie like a flower, and carried Lao Jiang into the house to rest.

Gong Ruomei took off the gloves on her hands, washed her hands in the basin, and followed behind her out of the pharmacy. Zheng Wenjie looked at Gong Ruomei, turned around and handed Sanjiangshui a few dollars for changing clothes and said, "Let's find a better restaurant and buy some signature dishes. You can buy whatever else you want."

Sanjiangshui sighed, quickly took the ocean, and ran out of the Gong family happily.

Zheng Wenjie walked a few steps to Gong Ruomei's side: "Take a break first, I'll let..."

Seeing Zheng Wenjie holding her, Gong Ruomei suddenly fell silent again, smiled, and said, "His name is Sanjiangshui, and he is the orphan of my father's old brother."

"I asked Sanjiangshui to go to the restaurant. Come in and have a rest first." Zheng Wenjie nodded.

"It's okay, I'm just a little worried." Gong Ruomei leaned her head on Zheng Wenjie's shoulder: "I asked, it was Lao Jiang who brought people to get back the 20% stake in Yanghong Garden this month. They are directly shooting, which means they don't take our Gong family seriously anymore."

Zheng Wenjie leaned to the side and stroked Gong Ruomei's black hair: "After you have a good meal, we will fight back together."

Gong Ruomei nodded gently in Zheng Wenjie's arms and hugged Zheng Wenjie's waist with both hands: "I told everyone that you avenged me and killed Ma San. You are my man. Now that you are back, shall we go? Take the rest of the Gong family and leave this place. Let's go back to Qincheng."

"Don't be afraid, don't worry, go inside, we'll have dinner soon." Zheng Wenjie heard some signs of food coming from Gong Ruomei's stomach, and after saying this with a smile, he and Gong Ruomei entered the main hall.

Gong Ruomei wanted to take the rest of the Gong family and follow Zheng Wenjie back to Qincheng because she was afraid that the Japanese pirates would come to avenge Zheng Wenjie because of Ma San's death. After all, Ma San had done a lot of work for the Japanese pirates, and the Japanese pirates even gave Ma San a Japanese Pirate Medal. Ma San was beaten to death, and everyone in the city knew the murderer. It would be unjustifiable to ignore it.

I haven't looked for the Gong family in the past two days. First, the incident in the Japanese pirate camp has caused the entire Japanese pirate group to fall into a little panic. Second, the matter between the Gong family and Ma San has been widely spread in Fengtian. For the Japanese pirates who regard Fengtian as their base camp and use a piece of paper as a face, it is really difficult to take action against the Gong family.

The two sat opposite each other in the main hall. Zheng Wenjie thought Gong Ruomei was short of money and asked, "Why did you let Lao Jiang go to collect the debt?"

Gong Ruomei shook her head and said, "I don't know. Lao Jiang wanted to do something, so he took some people with him. I asked around and found out that the people from the Changtu Chamber of Commerce shot Lao Jiang and tried to drive him away. One of them was good at shooting and killed the little monkey with one shot, which made Lao Jiang anxious, so he shot him in the arm again."

Zheng Wenjie thought of the little monkey that kept squeaking at him and never left Lao Jiang's side when they met three days ago.

Gong Ruomei rubbed her temples, a little angrily: "Lao Jiang did a bad job. The book says that people have subconsciousness. Although Lao Jiang and the others respect me very much, because I am a woman, they still put me in a weak position subconsciously. If it were Ma San, would they dare to do it without saying a word?" Don't talk about now, I'm afraid that even in a hundred years, there will be no shortage of male chauvinists. Even Zheng Wenjie himself is a male chauvinist.

"Going to the Changtu Chamber of Commerce to collect debts is not a way to save face for the Gong family, but rather it is a way to throw away the remaining face of the Gong family." Gong Ruomei sighed.

Zheng Wenjie was a little confused, but he knew there might be some explanation behind this, so he asked, "Isn't it right to ask for the debt?"

Gong Ruomei nodded and shook her head: "It's right to ask for the debt, but it depends on what the debt is. My father had a good relationship with General Fengtian at the beginning. The 20% stake in Yanghong Garden was given to my father by the Changtu Chamber of Commerce to take care of them. It's more cost-effective to support my Gong family than to support a series of Fengtian factions."

"But what kind of world is this now? It's full of Japanese pirates. Before the old man passed away, he couldn't help. The Changtu Chamber of Commerce also suffered heavy losses because of the Japanese pirates' invasion, but they still sent dividends on time. This is a favor. Now that the old man has passed away, it's justifiable to stop paying dividends."

"Lao Jiang did a bad job. But Lao Jiang's monkey was shot to death by them, and he was also shot. So he's just going to let it go?" Zheng Wenjie also understood that Lao Jiang was wrong, but after all, Lao Jiang was also one of them. He had to do something after suffering a loss.

Gong Ruomei said helplessly: "I will prepare gifts and come to apologize."

When Zheng Wenjie heard this, he looked at Gong Ruomei like a fool: "Either we should just settle the matter and let the Gong family lose face, or we should retaliate. What's the point of you coming here to apologize?"

"My father has been building the reputation of the Gong family all his life. I cannot let it be ruined in my hands. If I do something wrong, I must admit it."

Zheng Wenjie said with some amusement: "Gong Er, what do you think? Mr. Gong has a good reputation, but he relies on his strong fists to reason with others."

Gong Ruomei shook her head and looked at Zheng Wenjie seriously: "The Japanese pirates entered the pass, and Changtu merchants still gave my father face because my father was particular and the Gong family was trustworthy. I can't let him be known as a man who climbed up the ladder after he died."

"I understand what you mean, but you have to understand one thing, businessmen are all profit-driven. If they want to show respect, they won't shoot you today and send Old Jiang back with just a few excuses. The old man sent dividends before he died. Do you really think it's because of courtesy? It's because of Ma San! Because Ma San became the president of the Fengtian Concordia Association!" Zheng Wenjie looked at Gong Ruomei seriously.

Gong Ruomei was a little confused for a moment. She wanted to retort that it was because of her father's reputation, but she couldn't say it.

Zheng Wenjie finally understood why Mr. Gong let Gong Ruomei go to school far away, and regarded Ma San, who had defected to the Japanese pirates, as the heir of the Gong family. To put it nicely, he didn't want Gong Ruomei to get involved in the affairs of the martial arts world and wanted her to live a stable life.

To put it bluntly, she had too little experience and was a little naive. Of course, it was also because Mr. Gong had a bit of a patriarchal mentality and did not bring Gong Ruomei with him to teach her since she was a child. Otherwise, Gong Ruomei's qualifications would be much stronger than Ma Sanqiang.

Zheng Wenjie added: "Also, why did the Changtu Chamber of Commerce dare to open fire right under the noses of the Japanese pirates? Aren't they afraid that the Japanese pirates will find an excuse to rob their house?"

After Gong Ruomei figured it out, she was speechless and a little discouraged, and her pretty face became paler.

"In my opinion, this matter should be retaliated. Each generation has its own way of doing things. Don't keep imitating the old man's style. To be honest, if the old man had really been so particular all his life, the Gong family would not have achieved such great success. Do you understand?"

Gong Ruomei nodded, said nothing more, and thought silently.

Zheng Wenjie stopped talking and looked outside the door.

After a while, Sanjiangshui came back with two lunch boxes, "Miss, it's time to eat. There are pork ribs in sauce and your favorite candied sweet potato!"

Zheng Wenjie silently memorized the candied sweet potato in his mind and helped Sanjiangshui put all the dishes on the table.

"Eat quickly, and after you finish eating, come with me to meet the Changtu Chamber of Commerce." Zheng Wenjie called to Gong Ruomei.

San Jiangshui's eyes lit up, and he looked at Zheng Wenjie expectantly: "Master, I want to go with you too?"

"What are you going to do?" Zheng Wenjie pulled Sanjiangshui to sit at the dining table and handed him a bowl of rice.

"I'll go and support the young lady and the master!" Sanjiangshui patted his waist with a proud look on his face.

Gong Ruomei looked at Sanjiangshui with a somewhat cold look in her eyes: "Where did you get it from?"

Sanjiangshui was startled and moved his chair closer to Zheng Wenjie and said, "Well, Miss, let's eat. I saw the chef making this candied sweet potato with my own eyes. It's said that the chef was an imperial chef. It's very, yeah, authentic!"

Looking at Sanjiangshui who was talking nonsense, Zheng Wenjie smiled and patted his forehead: "Your lady is asking where you got the thing on your waist, not the candied sweet potato."

Seeing that he couldn't get by, Sanjiangshui lowered his head and took out his gun and put it on the table: "This thing, my what..."

"Tell the truth!" Gong Ruomei snorted coldly.

Sanjiangshui pulled the corner of Zheng Wenjie's clothes under the table. Seeing that Zheng Wenjie was only busy putting food into Gong Ruomei's bowl, he reluctantly told the truth: "It was taken from Ma San's family."

Zheng Wenjie quickly picked up a piece of sweet potato and put it on Gong Ruomei's mouth when she was about to teach Sanjiangshui a lesson: "Eat the food, it will get cold if you don't eat it now. Sanjiangshui worked so hard to come back just because he was afraid that it would be too cold. Why don't you try it quickly?"

"Yes, Miss, it will solidify together in a moment." Sanjiangshui quickly agreed with Zheng Wenjie.

Gong Ruomei looked at Zheng Wenjie, opened her little mouth unhappily, and took a bite of the sweet potato in front of her. The sweet taste filled her mouth. She gave up what she wanted to say, took the chopsticks, and filled her stomach which had started to send out signals as soon as she saw Zheng Wenjie.

"Put this thing in place, and don't let it go off! This, oh, is a Browning."

Zheng Wenjie picked up the pistol, played with it for a while, and then gave it back to Sanjiangshui, asking him to keep it.

Seeing that Sanjiangshui had been sitting there without eating, Zheng Wenjie took out all the remaining dollars in his pocket and handed them to Sanjiangshui, saying, "Go, take your brothers to a restaurant and have them eat and drink their fill. Then bring back some chicken soup and heat it up for your uncle Jiang to drink when he wakes up."

Sanjiangshui nodded repeatedly, narrowed his eyes and smiled. He glanced at Gong Ruomei secretly, and asked Zheng Wenjie: "Master, when are we going to take revenge?"

"At night, places like Yanghongyuan are full of talented people. You have to fight to gain a reputation!"

(End of this chapter)