Rose Lock - Chapter 8.1

That night, the entire Fenghai Cabaret was enveloped in an unprecedented tranquility and peace.

She sang one song after another, until, weary from singing, the figure on the stage slowly stopped and walked down, holding the golden microphone, swaying gracefully. Wherever she went, fragrance wafted, and her confident, charming face was so enchanting.

“So beautiful, like a fairy…” someone sighed.

“Indeed,” someone agreed.

“What’s her name?”

“Hua Manyi…”

“So it’s Miss Manyi…”

That night, under the heavy goose down snow, the flower stalls near Fenghai sold out for the first time. Even the basket of the flower seller, who hadn’t sold a single rose for days, was empty, and she went home satisfied.

It was also that night that the Fenghai Cabaret gained a dancer like a fairy, captivating everyone.

Close to midnight, as the cabaret prepared to close, the patrons reluctantly emerged.

“Manyi, all these flowers, these, and those others, what are you going to do with them?” Xiaoxiao was shocked by the sheer number of bouquets in the room. Even when Sister Fang first debuted, it wasn’t this exaggerated.

Hua Manyi turned around, her figure outlined perfectly by the fitted qipao. She frowned at the roses. “Move them all to the downstairs storage room. There are too many, they’re overwhelming.”

Xiaoxiao went to move the flowers.

She rushed back upstairs after one trip. “Manyi, Mother Gong is back!”

Hua Manyi didn’t even realize the sparkle in her eyes when she heard the news.

Xiaoxiao picked up a beautiful bouquet of roses and then remembered, “Oh, right, Manyi, Mother Gong asked you to go to her room.”

“Okay, I’ll go right now.” Hua Manyi bent down to check her reflection in the mirror. Her lipstick hadn’t smudged. She went over gracefully.

“Mother Gong, did you look for me?”

Hua Manyi pushed the door open and indeed saw the woman standing in front of the office desk, her back to her. On the desk was an expensive mahogany hand-cranked telephone, a glazed table lamp, and several documents.

The woman was smoking again. Even with just her back visible, that posture, that familiar gesture. Hua Manyi’s gaze passed over her shoulder, landing on the raised cigarette, the tip of which was emitting a faint spark.

“You performed on stage?” Gong Yan turned around, coldly scanning Hua Manyi’s dancer attire: a dark qipao, delicate makeup, a graceful figure, and a small face radiating confidence.

Hua Manyi nodded, awaiting praise. Perhaps she might even receive some money tonight.

She had already inquired. Performing on stage started at 3 silver dollars, and the more drinks sold, the higher the commission she would receive.

Tonight, many customers had bought drinks and specifically requested the sales be credited to her, meaning they ordered for her.

“Mother Gong… do I get any money tonight?” she stammered, not wanting to seem too obvious.

However, she waited for a moment and received no response. She couldn’t help but look up.

An unexpected slap loudly echoed in the room. Hua Manyi covered her face, looking bewilderedly at the woman in front of her.

“Who told you to take matters into your own hands?”

Her tone was utterly cold. Her usually languid eyes were now full of reproach and anger. “Are you mad for money?”

“How can you think of me like that?!” Something in the statement provoked Hua Manyi. She questioned in a wronged voice. Before her voice trailed off, her eyes instantly turned red, and tears welled up, but she held them back, glaring at her with resentment.

She had clearly helped her greatly. It was about to turn into a fight then, and if no one had gone out to take charge—

The howling cold wind scratched against the window, making a whooshing sound. The electric light above illuminated her graceful figure. Although the room had floor heating, she felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet.

“Who do you think you are?” Gong Yan looked at her tear-stained, aggrieved face, her brows tightly furrowed, and then sneered, “Hua Manyi, remember your place. You signed a servitude contract with me. If I tell you to go east, you cannot go west! Disobedient thing, get out!”

Disobedient thing…

If I tell you to go east, you cannot go west…

Hua Manyi widened her eyes, and tears, against her will, began to fall, blurring her vision. These few sentences filled her mind. Trembling, she walked toward the door.

Gong Yan turned her back, out of sight, out of mind, and was about to light a cigarette to calm down, when suddenly a loud thud of a heavy object hitting the floor reached her ears. She frowned and turned around, only to see the pampered girl, whom she had just scolded, sprawled on the new rug she had recently bought.

“…”

…

Soothing incense drifted in the room. The foreign doctor had just left, reminding them that the patient must not catch a cold or be stimulated. He left a few packets of Western medicine tablets and departed from the Fenghai Cabaret.

“Uncle Fu, Chen Jinyi?”

“Help me book a private room at a restaurant.”

Hua Manyi woke up and stared at the ceiling for a while. The two sentences uncontrollably repeated in her mind: she was a disobedient thing…

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She was just a ‘thing.’ It turned out that in others’ eyes, she was just an item that could be bought and sold…

“Wuwuwu—”

Hua Manyi pulled the quilt closer, wiped her tears, and sobbed softly, “I clearly helped her a lot, but she only scolded and hit me, and said such awful things… didn’t even give me the wages, it’s too much, wuwuwu…”

Her face was wet, and hot tears streamed down her temples onto the pillow. She wiped them with the corner of the quilt. Just as she finished wiping, her vision cleared, and a shadow fell from above, covering her head.

Hua Manyi was startled, forgot to cry, and stared blankly at the woman above her, who was frowning and looking down at her.

Gong Yan mocked, “Why don’t you continue talking?”

Hua Manyi’s eyes passed over her tall legs, landing on the unfamiliar furniture and decorations not far away. After a few seconds, she realized this wasn’t her room.

This bed wasn’t hers either, and she had been caught talking badly about the person right in front of her.

But seeing the woman’s face, Hua Manyi involuntarily recalled the scene of the other party mercilessly scolding her. Her heart grew colder and colder. She felt so miserable she wanted to cry. Her gaze instantly faded. She looked away, ignoring her words.

The phone rang. Gong Yan glanced at the sulking woman and turned to answer the phone. “…I know, I’m heading over now.”

Gong Yan picked up the handbag from the chair. Just as she reached the door, she suddenly remembered the pampered girl in the room. “Since you’re awake, take your things with you before you leave, and those tablets by the bedside. I’ll have Xiaoxiao come up later to change the bedding.”

Hua Manyi: “…”

…

In the restaurant’s private room, as Gong Yan and Uncle Fu entered, people were already seated at the table. Clearly, the other party was prepared.

“Boss Chen, what business do you have with me?” Gong Yan took a seat, and someone immediately poured her tea.

Chen Jinyi, the owner of Yuelai Hotel, was over fifty, leaning on a black wooden cane. Although his temples were slightly gray, he was still energetic.

Chen Jinyi planted his cane in front of him, constantly rubbing his palm. The tea in front of him was cold and hardly touched. It looked less like he was there to discuss business and more like he was there to sever ties…

“Gong Yan!” Chen Jinyi went straight to the point, not even bothering with the usual respectful title “Madam Gong.” “I’ll just ask you one thing, what’s the meaning of selling the new wine to that Lu Ren? We had an agreement that whenever your Luhe Winery released a new wine, my Yuelai Hotel would definitely be among the first to stock it.”

The tobacco and alcohol industry in Haicheng was booming, with avid followers. Like gold and jewelry, there was always a demand for collecting and tasting. While old fine wines were good, when new wines came out, everyone wanted to be the first to taste them.

A hotel with only the same few foreign wines and no new inventory wouldn’t attract many customers.

This Gong Yan hadn’t even consulted him and had privately sold the new wine to that newcomer Lu what’s-his-name. Other competitors were laughing at him behind his back. Where was Chen Jinyi supposed to put his face?

“Boss Chen, why so angry?” Gong Yan lit a cigarette and said lightly, “Actually, Boss Chen should be thanking me, Gong Yan.”

Chen Jinyi was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Previously, you said my wine had problems and drove away many of your customers, which was my fault. After the new wine came out, I thought about it. Instead of letting Boss Chen take such a big risk, I might as well let someone else try it first, to see if Lu Ren’s customers would experience issues like diarrhea or sickness… After a month or so, once it’s confirmed there are no problems, I’ll discuss the new wine with Boss Chen. I just didn’t expect Boss Chen wouldn’t appreciate my kind intentions.”

The speech was delivered flawlessly. Every sentence was seemingly for the benefit of Yuelai Hotel. In contrast, it made Chen Jinyi, who had come aggressively seeking an explanation, seem ungracious and self-serving, without considering their relationship.

But in reality, smart people knew that Gong Yan was just expressing her dissatisfaction with Chen Jinyi for his previous smear campaign, falsely accusing her wine of having problems. Waiting a month or so to stock new wine? By then, his damn daylilies would have withered!

Chen Jinyi was so angry he puffed out his cheeks. “Gong Yan, you’ve said all the nice words. There are no outsiders here. Let’s be frank. Are you planning to sever ties with this old man?”

Gong Yan looked up, her red lips slightly parted. “Boss Chen, if you insist on thinking that way, I can’t stop you.”

“Good! Good!” Chen Jinyi took a deep breath, repeating “good” several times. He stood up and looked down at the woman sitting there leisurely. “Gong Yan, I hope you don’t regret this.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the door, leaning on his cane. But just as he opened the door, a sentence, neither loud nor soft, came from behind.

“Boss Chen, I also hope you remember the principle that while food can be eaten carelessly, words cannot be spoken carelessly.”

Chen Jinyi’s expression subtly changed.

…

On Zhengyuan Street, Hua Manyi followed Zhou Fuling out shopping. Zhou Fuling was Fenghai’s procurement agent. In the middle of every month, she would regularly come out to purchase supplies like spices, scented creams, and aromatherapy.

Hua Manyi’s face was still a bit sore. Zhou Fuling had her come out to get some ointment to reduce the swelling, as Mother Gong had hit such a beautiful face too hard.

No one expected Hua Manyi to go on stage last night. Backstage, everyone was concerned about Sister Fang. Sister Guan Ling had just retreated, crying, and no one dared to go out, unsure what those big shot men might do. After all, they were just weak women.

But in such an emergency, Hua Manyi actually went on stage and managed to defuse the situation, calming those irritable customers.

It must be said that when that little girl sang “Night Fragrance,” it had a special charm. Even the women among them felt it was a heavenly sound.

“Sister Fuling, what do you think this scented cream is made of?” Hua Manyi followed Zhou Fuling to a rouge shop. Spices were usually kept in sachets, hung on the bedpost in the room. Scented cream was used by women to apply to their bodies for a long-lasting fragrance.

Support Rose Lock