He Daqing, do you know how I've lived these past years?

He called over Chen Si, who was guarding the door, and brought over a set of Great Eagle Navy uniforms.

After washing up, the first mate of the warship came in and said:

"General Yue, I'm sorry, but our warship has received orders to return to China. Therefore, you and your men will be traveling with us to my homeland. The following itinerary will then be arranged."

Leyou hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement with a sigh of resignation.

After breakfast, I went to the deck to look at the sea and smoke.

"Hmm, why do I keep feeling like someone's watching me, but when I look back I don't see anyone?"

Natasha also hurriedly retreated into the shadows, tightly clamping her long legs together and murmuring:

"That damn man, but he's really strong."

……

Loufu Study in Sijiucheng

"Yali, what do you think about me marrying Xiao'e to Nianmin?"

Lou Zhenhua looked at the telegram on the table and asked Tan Yali, who was massaging him from behind, "..."

Tanya Li paused for a moment and said:

"But I don't think that child is very sharp-witted or bright, and he's not General Yue's biological son."

Lou Zhenhua snorted coldly and said:

"That's a woman's perspective. Even if Fu Nianmin is an idiot, he was raised by Le Weiguo since he was a child. Even a dog develops feelings over decades."

Tanya Li, looking displeased, slapped his shoulder and walked aside, saying:

"Master, Xiao'e is your daughter, you can't do this!"

Lou Zhenhua pointed to the telegram on the table and said:

"Look, although the Civic Party forces outside are suffering setbacks, Le Weiguo's forces are fighting on two fronts and are not at a disadvantage. They were able to forcefully defeat the Su Xiongguo forces, rescue the vanguard trapped in Hai Shenwei, and even arbitrarily allow the Great Eagle Kingdom's warships to cross the river."

"You may not know this, but in the eyes of those compradors in Beijing, I, Lou Zhenhua, am now labeled as part of the Le family; our fortunes are intertwined, and our losses are shared."

Upon hearing this, Tanya Li also burst into tears and said:

"Sir, Xiao'e is still young. If she agrees when she's older, I won't object."

Lou Zhenhua lit a cigar and said:

"It's settled then. You and the Taoist master can discuss it. If it's suitable, you can arrange a marriage between our children. I'll give half of my property as dowry."

Then, seeing Tanya Li crying with her head down, my heart softened, and I closed my eyes and sighed, saying:

"Yali, from now on, you will be in charge of the affairs of the Lou family. Let the eldest and second aunts manage the businesses in the United States, and let the eldest son and the others go to Hongxianglu Port as well."

Tan Yali was both happy and sad. She was happy that there would be no more two heavy burdens weighing on her family, but she was sad because her daughter, like her, had no say in her own marriage. Although Le Weiguo held a high position, he was now struggling and could run away at any moment.

When he arrived at the guest room with a heavy heart, he saw Xu Zhangshi wiping a huanghuali chair.

"Steward Xu, please give the order: Steward Lou is not here now, so come and tell me about all household matters. There's no need to report to the master."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xu also excitedly walked over and said:

"Miss, congratulations! You've finally made it through. We servants no longer have to live in fear."

Tanya smiled happily as she listened. Yes, we've finally made it through.

Xu Zhangshi also glanced sideways, and seeing Tan Yali's happiness, she nervously clutched the hem of her clothes and whispered:

"Miss, as far as I know, several of the servants are from the First Madam and the Second Madam's faction. What if they become unruly?"

A fierce glint flashed in Tanya Li's eyes as she said harshly:

"The indenture will be handed to me when Steward Lou returns. If you disobey, you'll suffer the consequences."

Madam Xu nodded quickly and said:

"Yes, that's good. But why didn't Miss arrange for her own people to come in and do the work?"

Tanya looked intently at Xu Zhangshi and said:

"Manager Xu, you've been with me for quite a few years now. Is there something you need?"

Madam Xu smiled awkwardly:

“Miss, my husband is currently unemployed. The housekeeper’s son isn’t here, and he happened to know how to drive, but a few days ago he accidentally broke his leg while saving someone. I was thinking about the movie project; I’m worried about those foreigners freely coming and going in the back room. Why don’t I let my husband learn? It’ll be more reassuring for him to learn.

Xu Zhangshi quickly recited everything Xu Wude had taught her these past few nights when she got home.

"Yes, if those foreigners get really aggressive and something happens to me and Xiao'e in the back room, the guards in the front yard won't be able to get over immediately."

Thinking of this, Tanya nodded in agreement. She would contact a foreigner to teach Xu Wude how to project movies once his leg injury healed.

Madam Xu also hurriedly knelt on the ground and kowtowed to express her gratitude.

Seeing the young lady wave goodbye, he quickly got up and ran towards the courtyard gate.

After an incense stick had burned, Xu Zhangshi rode her bicycle home and happily said to Xu Wude:

"Wood, Miss has agreed. You can go and learn how to make that movie once your leg is healed."

Xu Wude, who was lying in bed smoking, sat up happily upon hearing this and said:

"Haha, thank you, honey. I'll learn how and show it to you every day."

Madam Xu smiled, her eyes crinkling, and pulled a large piece of cooked meat from her clothes, placing it on the bed.

"You heat up the meat and have it with Da Mao and the others tonight. I need to hurry back. Even though I'm the young lady and the housekeeper, I have to stay with them every day now. Otherwise, someone else will take care of things, and I'll have nowhere to go."

Hüwood unwrapped the oil paper, took a big bite of the fatty meat, and waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

Without saying much, Xu Zhangshi hurriedly ran out of the house, got on her bicycle, and pedaled hard toward the Lou residence.

"It smells so good! That little slut must have stolen some meat from the master's house."

Jia Zhangshi took a deep breath and said angrily,

"And that damned Jia Gui, he never bothers to send any money. He's always patrolling the streets with his gang, arresting this person today and that person tomorrow. I need to think of a way, otherwise, with Dongxu's meager wages each month, when will we ever be able to save enough for gifts?"

While pacing back and forth in the open space of the Intermediate People's Court, Jia Zhangshi suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

“That bastard Jia Gui has no money, but his wife does. If I make a scene, how can she, as my sister-in-law, not help me out?”

Thinking this, she hurriedly ran out of the middle courtyard. Yan Yangshi, who had just finished washing clothes and was returning from the front courtyard, was almost knocked down as well.

"That damned widow, didn't she see how big my belly is? Doesn't she have any common sense?"

Half an hour later, Jia Zhangshi arrived breathlessly at the entrance to a courtyard.

"Bang bang bang"

"Sister-in-law, are you home?"

"I am Jia Zhangshi, Jia Gui's sister-in-law."

A moment later, a soft voice rang out:

"Oh, it's your sister-in-law. Wait a moment, I'll open the door right away."

After the door opened, Jia Zhangshi muttered to herself for a while:

"That Jia Gui certainly knows how to pick women. Looks like him, that ass, that figure—all the good cabbages have been eaten by pigs."

Upon seeing the person, Jia Zhangshi also sat down on the ground and cried out:

"Sister-in-law, my family is suffering terribly. We only eat one meal every two days, just cornbread. We can barely survive."

The loud cries immediately attracted the attention of the neighbors.

As more and more people gathered, Jia Gui's wife tried to close the gate, but Jia Zhangshi's large body blocked it, and the gate wouldn't budge.

"Sister-in-law, come in and tell me what's wrong. Master will help you find a solution when he returns."

Madam Jia acted as if she hadn't heard anything, and continued to weep.

The neighbors nearby also started pointing and gossiping.

The young woman, her face flushed with anger, pulled out a dozen or so silver dollars from her bosom, threw them on the ground, and shouted:

"Here's the money, now get out of here."

Jia Zhangshi opened her eyes, looked at the silver dollars on the ground, and continued to cry out loudly:

"Old Jia, why did you leave us so early? Look at your brother Jia Gui, he's rich now but he doesn't help his younger brother's family at all."

The younger sister-in-law, who was listening behind the door, was so angry that she cried. At that moment, three patrolmen squeezed in and, seeing the crying sister-in-law and the troublemaker Jia Zhangshi at the door, clenched their fists and punched Jia Zhangshi together.

"Have you all gone too far? I'm the sister-in-law of your superior, Jia Gui. If you dare hit me, I'll have him skin you alive!"

"Ouch, I'm sorry, please don't hit me,"

"help"

……

A moment later, Jia Gui returned on his motorcycle with a gloomy face.

The neighbors also made way for him.

Jia Gui got out of the carriage and ran straight over, grabbing Jia Zhangshi by the large nose and throwing her to the ground.

"Hmph, Madam Jia, I always let things slide because of Fugui and Dongxu, and you just keep pushing your luck."

As she spoke, she noticed the silver dollars beside her and instantly understood what was going on. General Yue was away, and there were many things to deal with. This Jia Zhangshi was causing trouble. Annoyed, she pulled out several silver dollars and a small yellow croaker from her bosom, threw them on the ground, and roared:

"Get out of here now, we have nothing to do with each other anymore."

Madam Jia hurriedly picked up the yellow croaker and silver dollars from the ground and said in a low voice,

"Uncle Dongxu, look what your men did to me! It hurts so much!"

Jia Gui pulled a few white, round objects from his pocket and threw them on the ground, saying:

"This is a foreign medicine, for pain relief. Take it and you'll be fine."

After saying this, he dispersed the neighbors who had gathered to watch, told the three patrolmen to continue their patrol, and then went into the yard to comfort his beautiful wife.

Despite the pain, Jia Zhangshi swallowed a painkiller pill.

A moment later, the pain in my body really subsided.

Startled, Jia Zhangshi quickly ate another pill, then carefully hid it in her pocket and ran home.

"This painkiller is a real treasure; one pill and the pain is almost gone,"

……