Her Imperfection for Wifehood - Chapter 36.2

Chapter 36.2

The letter did not mention Wei Zhengqing’s name, but it described: The person wears glasses with black lenses, has a prominent brow bone, a black mole on the right brow ridge, a broad and flat nose, and a mustache around the lips.

Who else could it be but Wei Zhengqing?!

There were only An Xi and Bo Yang in the secret room. Bo Yang got up, poured a glass of water, and placed it on the table: “I apologize, Young Master Xi. This letter came into my hands six months ago. The person who wrote it is an old friend from my youth. Please forgive me for not disclosing his current identity information to you.”

“After he was sent away from Shanghai, he was robbed by bandits on the train. Penniless, he was unexpectedly adopted by a silk merchant couple. Last year, he came to Shanghai with his adoptive parents to discuss business, revisited the old place, and learned about the destruction of the Fuhe Hotel.”

“It was a chance encounter. He recognized me first.”

“Actually, when he was a small urchin back then, I also saw the person looking for him not far away. But I didn’t know what that person wanted with him. I thought that person, like me, was just giving some food to the children wandering the streets out of kindness.”

“The person wore a hat, and I didn’t see his face. The little urchin had already run off before I walked over. I shared the steamed buns I brought with the other children and warned them not to steal or rob, no matter how hungry they were, until I heard the explosion… That loud boom destroyed many families, including yours, and including mine. We all lost our closest kin.”

“That’s right, the head chef of the Fuhe Hotel back then was my father. If he hadn’t sent me to give the children food, I would have also perished in the rubble that day. Two years after my father died, my mother passed away from illness. After that, I followed Strong Lord.”

“The little urchin I hadn’t seen for years was now almost an adult. The day we reunited, we ate and drank together, and both told each other about our situations over the years.”

“Perhaps tormented by his conscience, he couldn’t sleep soundly. Six months after we parted, he returned to Shanghai and gave me this letter, asking me to decide whether to give it to you after reading it.”

“The words on the note are not that person’s handwriting, but the exact message that person asked him to relay to your parents. I have investigated over the past six months, and the Mr. Cai mentioned in the message is the Taiwanese businessman who invested in Zhengqing Department Store five years ago.”

The narrative was now clear.

An Xi digested the facts, suppressing the rising hatred: “Why tell me, and not my sister?”

“Boss Jing… your sister is a good person and a strong woman with courage and vision. I deeply respect her. But some things, I believe, should be done by men.”

Kahn had already attacked the An Corporation. Conflict between the two sides was inevitable, and An Jing and An Xi could no longer remain detached.

Although he didn’t know An Xi well and wasn’t entirely optimistic about him, An Xi’s ability to negotiate with the cunning individuals at the Board of Works suggested he had exceptional abilities.

Furthermore, An Xi not only didn’t stop his sister from ‘spending money’ during the An Corporation’s difficult time but also added money to the Qiaobang’s relief fund for the families. This showed that beneath his cynical exterior was a man of good conscience.

He had the right to know the truth about his parents’ unjust deaths, and the responsibility to avenge them.

“Indeed, some things should be done by men.” An Xi took a sip of water, planning how to deal with his enemy. “Did Strong Lord send you to find me?”

“Strong Lord only knows the former, not the latter. Strong Lord also doesn’t want Boss Jing to be involved. But in a few days, we will send a grand gift to Boss Jing.”

An Xi was startled: “You mean to shoot him?”

The “him” referred to Kahn.

“Hmph, a single shot is too easy for him.” Bo Yang had no intention of revealing the plan. He put on his hat. “Young Master Xi must have made acquaintance with many wealthy young men. Why not take them to play at the underground gambling houses run by the Haibang in the old district? Those are all Kahn’s work, used to suck up a lot of real money for him. Well, this is not a good place to linger. Take care, Young Master Xi, I’ll be going.”

An Xi didn’t know what grand gift Bo Yang was talking about. He was thinking about how to use those underground gambling houses, and how to make Wei Zhengqing pay the price.

According to military intelligence, the domestic and international situation was changing rapidly. He didn’t have much time left for his family.

“Why aren’t you going inside?” An Jing came and sat beside him. “What’s the situation with Third Uncle’s family?”

Right, his reason for going out today was to visit Third Uncle’s family: “My cousin and her fiancé have both been released, but multiple schools are on strike, and the backlash is widespread. To avoid implication, Third Uncle and Third Aunt have decided to take the whole family south with my cousin.”

“Is your cousin’s fiancé going with them?”

An Xi shook his head: “The man isn’t going. After failing to persuade him, my cousin chose to fulfill her filial duty. They were destined to part ways, and they went their separate ways.”

“Cruel fate.”

“Third Uncle asked me to convey a message to you: he’s sorry.”

“Saving them was the priority.”

The autumn evening breeze gently blew, and the leaves rustled overhead, sounding as if it was about to rain.

An Jing looked up at the sky. Tang Yunqing had only left twenty minutes ago, and the sky had visibly darkened. She wondered if Tang Yunqing had arrived home yet?

And Yinyin, had she been wronged at home again? When would Kahn’s hundred thousand betrothal gift be sent to the Wei family?

An Xi turned to look at An Jing. In just a week, her face had noticeably thinned. Her features were sharply defined, and even her cheekbones were more prominent.

He was also surprised to find that his sister’s hair now reached her shoulders.

—Sister, Sister, why is your hair as short as mine? You’re a girl, why don’t you grow your hair long?

—Sister, Sister, are you afraid of getting lice, that’s why you don’t dare to grow it long?

—Sister, you look so cool with short hair! You’re the most special and most unique girl of all.

—Sister, see, no one comes to our house to propose marriage. Is it because your hair is too short and you don’t look feminine enough, so men don’t like you?

“Sister.”

“Hmm?”

“You are so cool! I love you, love Daddy and Mom so much! I’m proud of you!”

An Jing didn’t understand the English An Xi spoke, but she knew he was saying something nice.

She smiled and reached out to rub An Xi’s head: “No matter how dark the sky is right now, the dawn will eventually come. Your future, the An Corporation’s future, and my future will all get better and better.”

“The country’s future, and our future, will definitely get better and better.” An Xi, full of aspirations for the future, had already made a decision. “Sister, it’s time to hand over the burden of the An family to me. Give me all your shares.”

It wasn’t that he lacked ambition. It was that his career was not business. He had walked cautiously on the path of his ideals but had never lost his direction.

Although he knew An Jing had taken on too much for the An family and for him, he still held firm to his belief that one must have a country before one could have a home. He had already let down the An family and An Jing, and he could not let down the country he loved and defended anymore.

His brother’s solemnity surprised An Jing.

Large raindrops fell rapidly. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and a peal of thunder descended, as if exploding right next to their ears.

An Xi held her hand, giving her infinite strength and courage to fight fear.

She replied, “Good.”

Because of the Haibang’s meddling, most of the An Corporation’s lost business was snatched up by Yinghua, as they had enough manufacturing machines to produce the goods.

Yinghua’s factories plastered recruitment advertisements everywhere and ran newspaper ads.

After several days of suspended operations, the An Corporation cotton mill was restless. Enticed by higher wages, some workers couldn’t hold back and jointly demanded their wages to jump ship.

With only two days left until the scheduled retrieval of the new machinery, a new crisis erupted: a riot broke out within Factory Two, which had lost its leader.

“Yinghua pays higher wages than the An Corporation.”

“They have many new machines, and they’ve even stolen many of our old clients.”

“We’ve been stopped for so many days. Will the machinery actually be delivered? Can the An Corporation factory even stay open?”

“The manager ran away. What are we still doing here?”

“Pay us our wages!”

“Yes, we want our wages.”

Factory One was the closest to Factory Two. After receiving a call from the female manager, An Jing temporarily hired ten bodyguards and rushed over. In the chaos, however, she was hit on the head by a stone thrown by an unknown person.

Blood flowed from her temple onto her clothes, but she ignored it, firing a single shot into the air.

Silence immediately fell after the gunshot.

Lu Cheng was vigilant. He quickly grabbed a frantic-looking woman from the crowd: “Tell me, who put you up to stirring up trouble?”

The woman immediately burst into tears and sat on the ground, wailing and making a scene: “It’s a miscarriage of justice! Help! They’re hitting people! Look, everyone, look! With a heartless and tyrannical boss like her, she definitely doesn’t want to pay us this month’s wages…”

The female factory manager quickly pulled out a handkerchief to staunch the bleeding on An Jing’s head: “Boss Jing, quickly, press down.”

An Jing pressed the handkerchief: “Look closely, all of you. Is this woman one of our factory workers?”

The female manager stared at the woman’s face. She looked unfamiliar. The three factory managers regularly inspected the other two factories, mainly for technological synchronization.

A few people nearby nodded and replied, “She’s a worker at the factory. She hasn’t been here long, only about a month.”

Hearing this, An Jing whispered a few words to the female manager. Then, ignoring the woman on the ground, she turned and walked towards a raised platform, raising her voice:

“Everyone working in the An Corporation factories is Chinese. We are promoting traditional cotton textile skills and boosting China’s economy. You need to support your families. If you want to go to Yinghua, I won’t stop you, and I can’t stop you, because that’s your human right. As long as you are at the An Corporation, I, An Jing, can guarantee your human rights. But at Yinghua, you will only have one identity: low-level workers under the survival of the fittest. Working for foreigners, you will not have the power of choice or autonomy. Everyone here, listen up! Employees willing to stay and overcome this difficulty with the An Corporation, as long as the factory exists, your monthly wages will increase by ten percent starting from January next year. I, An Jing, always keep my promises! If you insist on leaving, fine. Go to the finance department tomorrow to settle this month’s wages.”

With the boss’s guarantee, most people dispelled their concerns and decided to wait and see for a few more days.

The woman tried to flee but was again restrained by Lu Cheng.

Two police officers followed the female manager through the crowd. They were on patrol nearby and rushed over after hearing the gunshot.

“Officers, it was her! She not only incited others to riot but also injured Boss Jing!” The female manager angrily pointed at the woman, then pointed at An Jing, her eyes welling up with tears. “See for yourselves, how badly Boss Jing has been hurt.”

After questioning, the case was ruled as intentional assault. The woman immediately knelt and begged for forgiveness. An Jing refused to forgive and would not accept a settlement. The woman was taken away by the police, suffering the consequences and facing imprisonment.

As for the gunshot, An Jing also provided an explanation and gave the officers some money for their trouble.

After suppressing the riot, An Jing dismissed the bodyguards.

Lu Cheng saw that she was badly injured and asked, “Miss, should I take you to the hospital to get your head wound bandaged?” A head injury couldn’t be treated as casually as a hand injury.

The bleeding had stopped. She ignored Lu Cheng’s advice and walked towards the factory manager’s office.

“Miss…”

An Jing suddenly stopped: “Lu Cheng, I still don’t believe that Manager He willingly betrayed the An Corporation for money. Let’s go to his house.”

“Let’s go to the hospital first,” Lu Cheng refused to follow An Jing’s command unconditionally this time. “After the police were called, the factory manager’s office and his house were both searched by them. Any easily found clues would have been found already. The hard-to-find ones won’t be revealed in this short time.”

His duty was to protect the Miss’s personal safety, yet how many times had the Miss been injured in the past few months?

Although no one blamed him for negligence, negligence was negligence. He had failed to fulfill his duty. He only wished that all the injuries the Miss suffered would be inflicted on him instead, so he could share some of her physical pain.