parentshiftbook Chapter 29 An Old Friend Visits, Tea Cools but Words Are Profound
Chapter 29 An Old Friend Visits, Tea Cools but Words Are Profound
This new house on Qianmen Street is truly magnificent.
The courtyard has three sections, with a screen wall made of finely milled bricks, and painted beams and carved pillars in the covered corridor.
This was originally the residence of a brigade commander under the Fengtian warlord Zhang Zongchang. After the brigade commander fell from power, the house was taken over and is now being given to Lu Cheng.
Inside the main hall, the floor was burning hot, and several famille rose vases of dubious authenticity were displayed on the antique shelf.
Lu Cheng sat in the main chair, holding a covered bowl in his hand, gently skimming off the foam.
He was wearing a moon-white silk robe with the cuffs rolled up, revealing half of his muscular forearm.
Although the bruises on his arm hadn't completely faded, the way he sat there showed no trace of the humility he once had as an "actor."
In the guest seat sat a man in his fifties.
He was dressed in a dark brown satin mandarin jacket, wearing a melon-shaped hat, twirling two agate balls in his hands, and his eyes revealed an air of arrogance.
This is Sun Decai, the steward of the Lin family in Tianjin.
Manager Sun looked around at the furnishings in the room, his eyelids twitching slightly.
He never expected that his poor relative from back then would now actually live in such a luxurious mansion.
When he entered, he saw the brand-new "Speedy" rickshaw at the door. It was a German product and would sell for more than a hundred silver dollars in the Tianjin concession.
"Boss Lu, you're really impressive."
Manager Sun spoke with a forced smile, emphasizing the word "board" heavily.
In the eyes of these old-fashioned people, no matter how popular an opera singer is, he is still a "boss," someone who serves others. There is an insurmountable barrier between him and proper businessmen or scholars.
"You flatter me, Steward Sun."
Lu Cheng remained calm, not even lifting his buttocks.
"I wonder if Steward Sun has come all the way from Tianjin to see a play, or... to catch up with old friends?"
Lu Laogen was huddled in the chair next to him, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.
Upon hearing this, he quickly took out the warm "Double Fish Jade Pendant" from his pocket.
"Um, Steward Sun, this is the token from back then; we've redeemed it..."
Manager Sun glanced at the old jade of mediocre quality, a hint of contempt flashing in his eyes, but did not reach out to take it.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"This tea is good. Is it Zhang Yiyuan's high-quality broken tea? It has a strong flavor."
This statement was intended to intimidate the Lu family with its imposing manner.
High-quality tea leaves are the leftover fragments from sifting good tea leaves. Although they are fragrant, they are ultimately a "poor man's delight" that only ordinary people can afford.
"Brother Lu, Boss Lu."
Manager Sun put down his teacup, took out a bright red gift list from his pocket, and a silver note with two thousand silver dollars written on it, and gently pushed it onto the table.
"Since we've come this far, I'll get straight to the point."
"Back then, the old man got drunk and arranged that marriage between children. That was a bad custom of the old society."
"What kind of world is this? This is the Republic of China era, where people valued free love and marriage between equals."
Lu Cheng listened and gave a cold laugh.
coming.
This show, though late, has finally arrived.
"Does Steward Sun mean that the Lin family wants to annul the engagement?" Lu Cheng asked.
"Oh, Mr. Lu, that's a harsh thing to say."
Manager Sun waved his hand, leaned back, and adopted a serious and earnest posture.
"Our Miss Yudie has really made something of herself these days."
"She studied at Nankai University in Tianjin, which was a Western-style school. She wore Western clothes and spoke Western languages."
"Moreover, as you know, our Lin family is in the medicinal herb business."
At this point, Manager Sun revealed an air of arrogance.
"In recent years, martial arts have become very popular in Tianjin. All the liniments for sprains and bruises used by martial arts schools and security escort agencies are supplied by our Lin family."
"Miss Yu Die is exceptionally intelligent and has caught the eye of a true disciple of the Xingyi School in Tianjin. He said that she has extraordinary talent and wants to take her as his junior sister."
Manager Sun emphasized the words "true disciple".
In this era, martial arts masters held an extremely high status.
Especially for a major sect like Xingyi School, the true disciples are the future leaders, the kind of people who can sit at the same table with warlords and military governors.
Compared to a performer, even a leading actor, it's like comparing heaven and earth.
"Boss Lu, although you're famous now, your skills on stage are just for show, just for the common people to have some fun."
"But the martial arts in this profession are killing techniques, they're for protecting your home and life."
"The two companies are now on different paths."
Manager Sun looked at Lu Cheng as if he were a nouveau riche.
"Forcing this marriage together will only harm both of them."
"These two thousand silver dollars are a small token of our old man's appreciation, a form of compensation."
"in addition……"
Manager Sun paused for a moment, then threw out what he thought was the biggest bait.
"I heard that Boss Lu has been showing off on stage lately? And gotten himself into some trouble in the underworld?"
"Our Lin family still has some influence in the martial arts world."
"If Boss Lu is willing, I can write a letter to introduce you to a reputable martial arts school in Tianjin, so that you can become a disciple."
"Even if I don't learn the true skills, I can learn a couple of real self-defense techniques. If I encounter thugs or hooligans in the future, I won't have to rely on someone like Master Jin to protect me. Don't you think so?"
These words were spoken.
The air in the room froze instantly.
Lu Laogen was so angry that his hands were trembling. Two thousand silver dollars? That was a huge sum of money, but the implication was that his son's dignity was being trampled on!
What is a fancy facade?
What does it mean to be protected by a powerful figure?
His son just picked out twelve iron sleds!
But Lu Laogen dared not speak. He had been terrified of poverty for decades, and he was instinctively afraid of the Lin family, such a behemoth.
Lu Cheng smiled.
Laugh out loud.
He picked up the two-thousand-dollar note on the table, held it between two fingers, and gave it a gentle shake.
"A true disciple of the Xingyi School?"
"Learn a couple of self-defense skills?"
Lu Cheng shook his head and looked at Steward Sun.
That look in his eyes was no longer the indifferent one from before.
Rather, it is a condescending pity.
It was like a fierce tiger looking at a stray dog that was swaggering in front of it.
"Manager Sun, this tea is indeed high-quality broken tea."
Lu Cheng put down the silver note and picked up the teacup.
"Because my dad is used to this taste."
"But it seems your Lin family hasn't learned the proper way to treat guests."
Manager Sun's face darkened.
"Boss Lu, I'm only pointing you in the right direction out of our old friendship. Don't be ungrateful. Do you think that just because you're famous in Beiping, you can..."
"suck--"
Manager Sun hadn't finished speaking.
Lu Cheng suddenly opened his mouth and made a sucking motion towards the teacup in his hand.
This inhale.
It wasn't intense.
But the air in the entire main hall seemed to have been sucked out instantly.
The air pressure dropped sharply!
Manager Sun felt a tightness in his chest and his eardrums bulged. The suffocating feeling made him open his mouth wide, like a fish out of water.
Followed by.
"Coo-quack-!!"
A deep, yet incredibly penetrating croaking sound exploded from Lu Cheng's abdomen.
This sound wasn't shouted out.
That's the vibration of the internal organs, the roar of qi and blood!
The lids of the teacups on the table vibrated and bounced wildly from the sound waves.
Even the mahogany chair that Manager Sun was sitting on began to tremble slightly.
"This, this is..."
Manager Sun was so frightened that his face turned pale, and the agate ball in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered into pieces.
He was in the medicinal herb business and dealt with martial arts schools year-round, so he naturally had some knowledge of the subject.
This method of making one's stomach rumble like thunder and hitting one's clothes with anger...
This is clearly a sign that internal martial arts have reached the internal organs and developed "real skill"!
Moreover, this commotion was even more frightening than the formal disciples of the martial arts schools he had seen in Tianjin!