15

Yang Chen asked:

"Zaihua, I want to take a trip to the north as a merchant. Do you think which business is better for us to do?"

"Fur clothes?"

"Fur clothes? Do you think there are many people here who want to buy fur clothes?"

"But your wife and Miss Sanhua bought them."

"How often did they have worn them? My wife's fur clothes are already tucked away in her closet and I don't think Sanhua knows where her fur clothes are now."

"Where are you planning to go?"

"Shengjing, Tongliao, Chen Yufeng's headquarters and the border with Wasoku in the northeast because I want to know more about what is going on with Wasoku."

"It will take at least a month."

"Yes, I will come back before Mid-Autumn Festival."

Adjutant Yang said firmly:

"I will go with you."

Yang Chen smiled and gave him a look of agreement. Adjutant Yang became happy and continued:

"Shengjing, despite being a metropolis, doesn't offer much more business. Tongliao is the distribution centre of Chinese Herbal medicine as well as the jade trading. As for the border with Wasoku, I think we can go to Songdan Town where a significant amount of Wasoku goods can be found. If lucky, we might be able to cross the border into Wasoku."

"Okay, we have to find a person who knows Chinese herbal medicine or the jade. If it's just you and me going there, we'll be like two ignorant individuals. However, if we pretend, we have to at least act somewhat like businessmen."

"That's simple, your friend, Mr. Zhou, must know more about jade."

Yang Chen couldn't help but feel happy upon hearing this and exclaimed:

"Hahaha, How could I forget about him! I'll give him a call. No, I'll call Chief Zheng and tell him I am going to participate in a few auctions and let Zhou Di help me in appraising the items."

Upon hearing this task assigned by Chief Zheng, Zhou Di knew that Yang Chen had made an excuse for them to spend time together. He was so excited to the sky at this but at the same time he also worried that their relationship might have a negative influence on Yang Chen if it was often for them to be together.

However, upon seeing the appearances of Yang Chen and Yang Zaihua, he suddenly changed his perception of them. Yang Chen, wearing a hat and a simple robe, seemed acceptable at first glance. However, what caught Zhou Di's attention was the eyepatch covering one of Yang Chen's eyes. Zhou Di remembered Yang Chen's previously fair and smooth skin but now it had taken on a weathered brown hue, indicative of life's hardships. Yang Chen's once tall and straight figure appeared loose and flabby. Carrying a shabby small suitcase in his hand, Yang Chen, who was once a dignified Young Marshal, now seemed like an ordinary, unambitious individual with disabilities. Yang Zaihua, on the other hand, was dressed as a servant, in rough homespun clothes, with crew-cut hair and rough skin. A cloth bag was carried on his shoulder. He looked exhausted and sleep-deprived. There was another person whom Zhou Di had never seen before, dressed similarly to Yang Zaihua. Looking at their appearance, Zhou Di couldn't help but laugh. Yang Chen glared at him and said:

"Am I Beautiful?"

Zhou Di said mischievously:

"Yes, so beautiful."

Yang Chen chuckled, pointing at Zhou Di:

"Wang Min, beat him!"

Zhou Di looked at the unfamiliar person, wondering if he should really hit him but instead saw Yang Zaihua approaching him and lightly punching him. Zhou Di asked Yang Chen in surprised:

"His name is Wang Min and what is yours?"

Yang Chen replied:

"Wang Daqing and his name is Zhao Hai."

"Oh, so what is my name?"

Yang Chen said incredulously:

"Zhou Di. Are you stupid? You don't even know what your own name is."

"I'm not stupid but all of you changed your names so I wonder whether I also have to change mine."

"Zhao Hai is also his real name."

After saying this, Yang Chen pulled Zhou Di aside and said seriously, " Dizi, in fact I've been hesitated whether to let you follow us or not. To tell you the truth this trip is somewhat dangerous. We are all used to dangerous situations, having seen too much bloodshed. But you're different, just an ordinary person. So I..."

Zhou Di interrupted before Yang Chen could finish his words:

"I want to go with you. Chen Ge, I don't know why you are going to the north but there must be a reason. No, I don't ask you and you don't need to explain to me. But I think I am a useful person to you when you decide to let me follow you. If you think I can help you to resolve some problems, I will do my best. As for the danger, just tell me what I need to do to minimize it."

Yang Chen took out a pistol and gave it to Zhou Di, asking:

"Do you know how to use it?"

Zhou Di shook his head and Yang Chen began to explain how to use it, how to release the safety, how to load it and so on. Finally he whispered:

"Don't worry. I will protect you. I make sure you don't get hurt. Trust me!"

"I trust you! Always!"

The four of them boarded the train. Naturally Yang Chen took Zhou Di into one carriage while Yang Zaihua and Zhao Hai entered the adjacent one. Zhao Hai asked curiously:

"I thought the Young Marshal and you should share a carriage. Who is that guy? It seems that he is an important person to the Young Marshal."

"He is our master. Don't ask about anything that you shouldn't know. Your problem is that you are always curious about everything. Curiosity killed the cat!"

In another carriage, as soon as they entered, Yang Chen locked the door, pushed Zhou Di onto the bed. The two passionately kissed roughly and urgently. Zhou Di whispered:

"Miss me?"

"What do you think? Don't you miss me? We didn't have met each other for a long time. "

Zhou Di kissed Yang Chen again and said:

"We don't have met each other at least ten days. I miss you a lot."

Yang Chen explained:

"I'm sorry for making you go through all of this. As you know, my parents live in Xishan so I have to spend more time with them. Actually I would have rushed down the mountain to find you several times. I also miss you a lot. "

"Don't say sorry. I see! I don't complain about this. So is it true that we are really going to some auctions this time? Or you just find an excuse for us ..."

Yang Chen explained:

"Both but it isn't exactly auction. Actually I want to go north to gather information about Wasoku. As you know it is very often for me to appear in public so I have to disguise myself a bit. Zaihua suggested that it would be appropriate for me to pretend as a businessman. After checking, I found that there are some markets for jade, which led me to think of you, as you must be more knowledgeable about jade. Of course another reason I want you to accompany me is that I want to spend more time with you."

"Well, the best jade there is pagodite and bloodstone. The better jade is white marble and pyrophyllite. I know some jade distribution centres there."

"You really want to buy jade there so now you want to make a speech about the jade. Please tell me whether there is the jade market in Shengjing."

"In Shengjing there is a large distribution centre where you can find the different goods, including jade, Chinese herbs, spices, cosmetics, clothes and so on. The precious jades from the different places in the north are usually concentrated there for sale. Although they're not abundant in quantity, they are so expensive. In general we go to Tongliao and Salqi, where there are many jade markets."

"Did you have been those places?"

"Yes, the last time I had been there was seven years ago when my master received some orders from an antique shop. We had to purchase some valuable stones so we followed the boss of the shop to the north."

"Did you have been Songdan Town?"

"Where is it?"

"It's at the border with Wasoku. I heard that there is a market to sell the goods from Wasoku."

"If there are goods from Wasoku, I'm aware of a special stone from Wasoku, called Green-spot. Essentially this stone is made of white marble, but what distinguishes it is the presence of green spots of various sizes on its surface. Such stone is not found in our country, making it highly valuable. Carving this stone is challenging due to its appearance, resulting in a relatively limited variety of carved designs. Most Green-stop stones are carved into peonies, with the carver needing to master the jade's luminosity and achieve a fine polish. Nevertheless, the resulting pieces are exceptionally beautiful. To my knowledge, there are only two such pieces in our country, but I don't know who their owners are."

Yang Chen smiled and said:

"I have one at my house in Qudu. If there is a chance, l will show you all of my collection so you can check whether they are fake or not."

"Can the person like you collect the fakes? But I do want to see your collections if I have a chance."

"Besides carving the ball sculpture, how is your carving skill?"

Zhou Di said:

"I began learning carving and restoration from my master when I was 7 years old. By the time I turned 10, I could carve my first item independently, mostly small items like jewelry, figurines and pendants. At fifteen, it was the first time for me to carve a large item with my master. I told you my master used to receive orders from the collectors or shops so sometimes I would carve some pieces for these orders. But after my master passed away, I rarely carved large items. Nowadays, I focused more on restoration work."

"Have you auctioned your items?"

"I'm not sure. I was too young so I didn't have more chance to receive a lot of orders. Previously due to my master's reputation, I occasionally had the chance to carve the pieces from materials provided by the client. My master and I didn't pay much attention to whether my pieces were sold at auction or collected by people. Maybe my master could gather some information about where his items ended up."

"So did your master and you make a lot of money?"

"It was mostly just service fees. And if the material we carved was damaged or the client wasn't satisfied with our item, we had to compensate for the material. As you know some jade stones are very expensive. "

"Did this situation happen frequently?"

"Once or twice. If you're constantly compensating, there is no people who offers you the order."

"What did you major in at university?"

"Archaeology."

Suddenly Zhou Di felt Yang Chen's hand on his belly under the clothes. He grabbed his hand and said:

"What are you doing? We're on the train."

Yang Chen whispered:

"Yes, my baby, don't make any noise and just enjoy our time because the soundproofing isn't very good."

"Yang Chen, you are really a rascal."

When Yang Zaihua knocked on the door of Yang Chen and Zhou Di's carriage, Yang Chen, dressed only in a bathrobe, answered the door. Peering inside through the crack Yang Zaihua saw Zhou Di lying on the bed, covered with a quilt but his bare shoulder was exposed, revealing bruises and bite marks.

 Yang Zaihua looked at Yang Chen, speechless. Yang Chen asked in a cheerful tone,

He lay still and Yang Zaihua didn't know whether he was asleep or unconscious. Yang Zaihua looked at Yang Chen, speechless. Yang Chen asked in cheerful tone:

"What's up?"

"Do you have a dinner?"

Yang Chen looked back at motionless Zhou Di and said:

"You two go ahead. Just order some dishes for us, especially the meat dish and bring them to us. He likes to eat meat."

Yang Zaihua remarked:

"You really surprise me, my Young Marshal. Looks like I'll have two bosses from now on."

"No, you only have me as your boss. He is my responsibility and you just need to treat him well and respect him."

"Yes, sir."