Shoutout to Alinaza for the commission!
None of those options were chosen by Jiang Se.
She was hugging a pillow, knees bent, chin resting on top of it, and repeated again: “Lu Huaiyan, are you bored?”
Lu Huaiyan gave a soft laugh, his voice low and hoarse from alcohol, carrying a hint of gentleness as it entered the ear: “Not choosing? If you don’t choose, I’ll pick one for you. You can hear it yourself when you come next time.”
Jiang Se couldn’t be bothered with him: “I’m going to sleep.”
She said it, and she actually hung up.
Lu Huaiyan clicked his tongue while holding the phone: “Such a bad temper.”
He had originally wanted to video call her to take a look at her, but this girl hung up the moment she said she would. If he called again now, he didn’t even need to think to know she wouldn’t pick up.
The purple-blue macaw next to him heard his remark and echoed ingratiatingly: “Bad temper!”
Lu Huaiyan raised his eyes and gave the parrot a faint look, then stood up and flicked the latch of the cage, saying: “Only I get to say she has a bad temper, not you.”
“……”
After hanging up, Jiang Se tossed her phone aside, turned off the bedside lamp, and went to sleep.
Earlier she had thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but after the call with Lu Huaiyan, sleepiness finally came.
Only this sleep wasn’t very restful, and when she woke, it was still before dawn.
She got up, showered in the bathroom, and when she came out, she immediately turned on the computer, sorting through the information she had gotten from Zheng Huan last night.
As long as someone lived, they would leave traces.
Whether Fu Yun’s biological mother had originally been, as Old Master Fu claimed, a university student from a scholarly family, she later became the lover of a small brewery owner.
According to the neighbors, Shen Su lived a life dependent on others while raising her younger brother and her son.
Old Master Fu was indeed, as Grandpa Lu’s parrot said, very skilled at maintaining appearances.
To Old Master Fu, the period before Fu Yun turned sixteen was a stain.
It wasn’t strange to Jiang Se that he would arrange a genteel scholarly family background for Fu Yun. When he sent people to Bo County to fetch Fu Yun back then, he had probably already erased the name Shen Tuo completely from Fu Yun’s life.
After Shen Su died, her lover, the former owner of the brewery, died a year later as well.
If Lian Shen’s death wasn’t an accident, then Zhao Zhicheng and Fu Yun worked together to kill him and disguised it as an accident.
The murder case in Rongcheng ten years ago, if Shen Qiang really was the mysterious client, then the foreign trade company boss was the second murder committed jointly by Fu Yun and Zhao Zhicheng using Shen Qiang’s hand.
The kidnapping seven years ago was their third job together, except Zhao Zhicheng died that time.
Three years ago, shortly after Fu Jun died in a car crash, Shen Qiang also accidentally died.
Fu Jun’s car crash happened on a rainy day, colliding head-on with a skidding dump truck.
Both Fu Jun and the dump truck driver died on the spot.
Old Master Fu had people investigate Fu Jun’s death repeatedly afterward, but in the end, he still accepted the conclusion of an accident.
Given his later attitude toward Fu Yun, it seemed he never suspected Fu Yun.
Jiang Se slowly sorted through the timeline of these events.
In every event, there was the shadow of Fu Yun, but every person who could prove his involvement was dead.
Zhao Zhicheng and Shen Qiang, whether suicide or accident, these people who had once been Fu Yun’s helpers all conveniently died.
Jiang Se pulled up the photo of Zhao Zhicheng from her phone gallery. The man in the photo looked calm, his eyes steady.
It was taken after he’d been arrested by Uncle Mo. By then he had already swallowed a piece of a razor blade.
Jiang Se stared at the phone screen and said quietly: “Have you ever considered that the prey in that kidnapping case wasn’t just me, that it could also have been you? You thought you were the gun in the hunter’s hand, but actually, you were a prey too.”
In the past, the moment she saw Zhao Zhicheng’s photo, that fire burning in her bones would hurt her heart.
But now, it felt like that fire could no longer burn her.
She put down her phone and activated the recording device in her computer.
After a brief silence, Jiang Se lightly tapped her fingertips, looked at the camera at the top of the screen, and slowly said, “Cen Se, I think I’ve found him, the real mastermind behind your kidnapping back then.”
As she spoke, a faint smile appeared on her face. She said, “Wait a little longer, I will bring you back soon.”
By the time she closed the computer, the sky was already brightening.
The dawn light was brilliant, the morning glow magnificent.
A street sign with the three characters “Liyuan Street” quietly stood in the early spring morning. Early risers doing their morning exercises squeezed along the narrow street, passing back and forth, their voices and laughter gradually kindling a lively, bustling atmosphere.
Jiang Se held a cup of black tea and quietly watched this old neighborhood where she had lived for nearly half a year.
The day she arrived at Liyuan Street, it was raining in Tongcheng, and she always disliked rainy days.
Back then, Jiang Se had never thought she would slowly come to like this old yet lively place.
She had come to Tongcheng to find out about Zhao Zhicheng’s past.
Now that she had found Zhao Zhicheng’s past, it was almost time to leave.
—
No. 48 courtyard, Liyuan Street.
Yu Shiying had gotten up early to make breakfast.
The bar had been closed for a day yesterday, so she and Jiang Chuan went to bed earlier than usual and naturally woke up early.
Jiang Se loved seafood congee made with well water. As Yu Shiying was about to go to the courtyard to draw water from the well, the door was pushed open from outside.
The visitor was dressed in sky-blue spring clothes, with snow-white skin and jet-black hair, graceful and elegant.
Entering the courtyard, she warmly and politely called, “Mom.”
Yu Shiying said “Eh,” smiling, “Why did you come so early today? Didn’t sleep well? Your dad went to Uncle Ah Jian’s place to get crabs and shrimp. When he comes back, Mom will cook you some shrimp and crab congee.”
Jiang Se went over to turn the well winch and said gently, “I slept quite well. Why are you and Dad up so early?”
“The bar didn’t operate last night. We went to bed early, so naturally woke early.” Yu Shiying lifted the wooden bucket on the winch and smiled: “Are you hungry? Want Dad to bring back two sesame seed cakes to fill your stomach?”
Jiang Se said no, then followed Yu Shiying into the house to help rinse the rice.
She had never washed rice or cooked congee before, being someone who never touched water with her fingers. Fortunately, she had observed Jiang Chuan cooking, so she managed to do it reasonably well.
Yu Shiying leaned against the stove and watched her rinse rice, softly asking, “Why the sudden desire to learn to cook congee?”
Jiang Se looked down as she poured water and smiled: “I can barely learn congee, but not much else.”
“‘Learn’ is just an excuse.”
In the days Jiang Se had been in Tongcheng, no matter how late Yu Shiying and Jiang Chuan stayed up, they always got up to make breakfast for her.
She wanted to cook a meal for them.
Upon hearing this, Yu Shiying looked toward the door and laughed: “I used to think cooking congee was the easiest and was teased by your dad for a long time. Luckily, he’s not here now.”
The sun gradually moved up to the treetops. After mother and daughter chatted for about ten minutes, Jiang Chuan returned carrying a bamboo basket full of crabs and shrimp.
He immediately sent them out of the kitchen and took over cooking the congee himself.
Congee made from two crabs and one jin of live river shrimp was naturally exceptionally fresh and delicious.
Jiang Chuan scraped the little crab roe from the crab shells and divided it between Yu Shiying and Jiang Se, also pulling meat off four crab legs for them.
Half the congee in Jiang Se’s bowl was filled with ingredients. With one silver spoonful, the white crab meat and golden crab roe piled high. The taste was the fresh flavor unique to early spring.
“The crabs aren’t fat this season yet. Uncle Ah Jian said he’ll send two fat and tender crabs in autumn,” Jiang Chuan said. “Then Dad will cook you ginger scallion crab.”
Jiang Se slowly swallowed the congee and softly responded, “Mm.”
After breakfast, Jiang Se sipped plum tea made by Yu Shiying and said to them, “I’m planning to return to Beicheng in a few days.”
Yu Shiying thought Jiang Se would only return for a few days as she had around New Year’s, so she asked, “When will you come back?”
Jiang Se said, “Not sure yet. I have some things to handle. Didn’t I tell you last time I want to do some investment? This time I’m going to make that happen.”
Previously, Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying had set aside money to buy Jiang Se a good car, but Jiang Se only picked a small electric car worth a few ten thousand yuan, saying she wanted to use the rest for investment.
They cared about the children’s futures but never interfered.
Jiang Ye wanted to play esports, Jiang Tang wanted to be a dancer, and they never stopped them. Now hearing Jiang Se was going back to Beicheng to build her career, they supported her despite reluctance.
Jiang Chuan said, “Is the money enough? If not, Dad can mortgage this courtyard. Anyway, this house will be yours in the future.”
Jiang Se said, “I have some savings; it’s enough.”
She paused, sipped her tea, and smiled: “I want to launch our ‘Wangchuan’ liquor. But this needs your agreement.”
Both Jiang Chuan and Yu Shiying were stunned: “You want to invest in ‘Wangchuan’ liquor?”
Jiang Se nodded: “After all, it’s the liquor recipe left by our ancestors. ‘Wangchuan’ liquor is very distinctive, tastes good, and has a unique style. I’m confident I can build a brand unique to our family.”
Yu Shiying said, “Why not? Your dad and I only know how to mix drinks and run a bar. If someday our ‘Wangchuan’ liquor becomes famous, I’ll have truly honored our Yu family ancestors.”
Jiang Se smiled: “It just needs a new name. It can’t be called ‘Wangchuan’ liquor. What do you think of ‘Fuchun Riverside’?”
“Fuchun Riverside…” Yu Shiying murmured the name a few times, her eyes lighting up, and she smiled: “The first jar of Yu family liquor was brewed with water from the Fuchun River. That name fits. Our Yu family alcohol workshop used to be called Old Yu Family. When your dad and I split up, and I came back to inherit the alcohol workshop your grandma left, I changed the name to ‘Wangchuan.’ But your dad came chasing after me and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get rid of him.”
The day Jiang Se left Beicheng, Cen Yu had told her to be sure to ask her parents about the origin of the name “Wangchuan,” saying it was an interesting story.
So this was the story.
Jiang Se lowered her head and pressed her lips in a smile, giving Jiang Chuan a bit of face.
In the days that followed, Jiang Se was basically handling all sorts of documents. The demolition agreement for No. 39 Jinxiu Alley, thanks to Li Rui giving green lights all the way, had its one-month process forcibly shortened to less than a week.
On the day the demolition compensation was transferred to Jiang Se’s account, she went to find Zhang Yue.
These past two days, Zhang Yue had taken a few orders from old customers. The sofa was piled with fabrics, colored threads, and all sorts of scraps. When Jiang Se came over, she was busy and flustered, clearing out a spot for her to sit.
Jiang Se looked at the half-cut fabrics and said, “No need to tidy, I’ll leave after talking.” Saying that, she sat on the sofa next to a pile of scraps.
Zhang Yue poured her a cup of warm water and said, “Is it about No. 39 Jinxiu Alley?”
Jiang Se took the cup. “No, I already handled No. 39 Jinxiu Alley. That store won’t exist anymore. I came today to discuss the new qipao shop with you.”
Zhang Yue froze: “A new qipao shop?”
“Boss Zhang forgot?” Jiang Se raised her eyebrows with a smile. “I want to invest in ‘Zhang Xiu’. I’m talking about your Zhang family’s embroidery. I’ve read the redevelopment planning documents for the old district. Although Lian’an Old District won’t have Jinxiu Alley in the future, there will be new commercial streets and business circles. Boss Zhang, do you plan to open ‘Zhang Xiu’ here, or find another place?”
Zhang Yue looked at the half-cut cloth pieces, then looked at Jiang Se, and said, “Miss Jiang really decided to invest in ‘Zhang Xiu’?”
Jiang Se nodded: “Boss Zhang, I never do losing business. What I value is your craft. From now on, not only will you be the boss of Zhang Xiu, I will be too. You’ll take charge of the technical side, but you must listen to me for the business side.”
She paused here and continued seriously: “Since I’m investing, I must have returns. I hope that one day, when people mention qipao, the first thing they think of is our Zhang Xiu. Boss Zhang, can you do it?”
Zhang Yue’s ears buzzed.
Just now, what Jiang Se said, her mother had said it when she was young—
“Whoever wears our Zhang Xiu’s qipao knows. People from ten li and eight villages say that if you want to buy a qipao, you still have to come to Zhang Xiu.”
Her chest felt like something had burned it. She stammered, “I don’t know if I can do it, but I will do my best.”
Jiang Se took out a document from her bag and smiled: “This is the contract. I provide the capital, you provide the craft. I handle operations, you handle design. Don’t rush to sign yet, find a lawyer to look through it carefully, and sign it once you confirm there’s no issue. Once you’ve decided where to open the new shop, tell me. I’ll try to finalize it before I leave Tongcheng.”
Zhang Yue lifted her eyes from the contract, surprised: “You’re… leaving Tongcheng?”
“Mm.”
“Will you come back?” Zhang Yue hesitated, then smiled. “My whole life seems to be like this. Once someone says goodbye to me, I never meet them again. My father, mother, and… Ah Cheng too.”
“Of course I’ll come back.” Jiang Se slowly took a sip of warm water and smiled lightly. “If I don’t come back, how would we open a qipao shop together? Don’t worry. During the days I’m not in Tongcheng, someone will follow up on all cooperation matters for me. When I come back, the qipao shop will definitely have opened. By then, you’ll have to call me Boss Jiang.”
—
When Jiang Se came to Tongcheng, she came with just a suitcase.
She never considered this place her destination, and she knew she would leave sooner or later. It was just that when she came, she never imagined that when leaving, there would be so many loose ends to handle.
Jinxiu Alley, Fuchun Street, Liyuan Street.
Eleventh Aunt on Liyuan Street, who once gave her watermelon and kumquats, had told her: In this old area of Tongcheng, every old street has its story.
Jiang Se couldn’t help but think, does she now count as one of these stories too?
The first week of March, Jiang Se seemed to have returned to the days when she first took over Hongsheng, busy every day with no time to touch the ground.
On the night of the seventh.
Jiang Se had just agreed with Han Yin to go to Hanshan Temple the next day to accompany her for vegetarian food when Zheng Huan’s call came.
“Ten years ago, Shen Qiang indeed left Bo County for nearly half a month. Ever since he took over the brewery, he practically went to the factory every day. For him to leave for half a month was extremely rare, and the foreign trade company boss’s murder case just happened to occur during that time. But Uncle Yu didn’t find any trace of him appearing in Rongcheng,” Zheng Huan said, then lightly sighed, “I have to say, whether it’s Zhao Zhicheng or Shen Qiang, both are very good at hiding their tracks.”
For the murder case at the foreign trade company, Zheng Huan had personally gone to Rongcheng with Uncle Yu’s team to investigate, and had read the files from back then.
The entire crime scene was handled extremely cleanly. Forget fingerprints, there weren’t even footprints.
Judging from the wounds of the two deceased, the one who acted was the same person. The wounds on the victims were almost identical: two stabs, killing them instantly, each stab a fatal wound.
Ten years ago, Rongcheng had many factories and a large influx of migrant workers. Public security was not good. Cases of roaming criminals were common, and break-ins, robberies, and murders were not rare.
At the time, the police grouped this case together with other break-in robbery-murder cases to investigate.
“Even if that qipao shop owner can testify that Zhao Zhicheng killed them, it only leads to Zhao Zhicheng. The clues behind him are cut too clean. With both Zhao Zhicheng and Shen Qiang dead, this case can’t be traced to him.”
Jiang Se already knew all the details of the Rongcheng case by heart. She had expected everything Zheng Huan said. From the moment she learned that Shen Qiang was dead, she had already guessed the case wouldn’t lead to Fu Yun.
Not only this Rongcheng case, even the “accident” involving Fu Jun, and the kidnapping case that happened to her seven years ago, any clues pointing to Fu Yun were all cut off cleanly the moment Zhao Zhicheng and Shen Qiang died.
She slowly poured the boiled water into the teacup, opened the sugar jar as she calmly said: “Put the Rongcheng case aside for now, let Uncle Yu stay in Bai County, keep an eye on the beer factory and Tian Xiangyi.”
Zheng Huan made a “mm” sound: “If all these cases and accidents were done by Fu Yun, Tian Xiangyi is probably the only one who might still be alive as a witness. It’s just that with that person’s methods, all who could prove he committed crimes are dead, Tian Xiangyi probably doesn’t know what happened back then.”
All who could prove he committed crimes are dead?
Jiang Se idly stirred the rock sugar sinking in the teacup, after a moment, she slowly lifted her eyes, staring at the reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window.
No, there’s still someone not dead.
There’s still one prey who escaped that kidnapping case not dead.
—
After ending the call with Zheng Huan, Jiang Se glanced at the wall clock, calculated the time, and dialed Cen Mingshu in the US.
Eleven at night in Tongcheng was roughly ten in the morning in New York.
On normal days, Cen Mingshu would definitely still be sleeping at this hour, whether she picked up depended entirely on her mood. But Jiang Se was lucky, the phone rang twice and was picked up.
“Don’t tell me you’re calling to wish me a Happy Women’s Day? Your aunt has stopped celebrating this holiday a long time ago.” Cen Mingshu’s voice was full of sleepiness. “Say it quick, I haven’t slept enough.”
Jiang Se pressed her lips in a smile: “You don’t celebrate but I do, I want to ask you for a gift.”
Cen Mingshu yawned, “What gift? Say it.”
Jiang Se: “I’m preparing to return to Beicheng in a couple days, give me a room and a car.”
Cen Mingshu snorted: “Earlier when I told you to return to Beicheng you refused no matter what, now suddenly what are you going back to Beicheng for?”
“To treat an illness.” Jiang Se lifted the teacup and slowly had a sip. “I haven’t gone to Dr. Gina for quite a while, I’m going back to see her for treatment.”
