Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 17 Returning Home
Xiguan is a famous place in Guangzhou. Since the opening of Thirteen Hongs, many wealthy people have gathered here. Some people from other provinces who don’t know this think that Xiguan is located in Guangzhou city. In fact, in the Qing Dynasty, Xiguan was located outside the west gate of Guangzhou, so it was called "Xiguan" - this place belongs to Nanhai County, but Daxing Street is located in Guangzhou city, so Cai Qiaozhuo has to go into the city to return to her parents' home.
Cai Qiaozhu's father was Cai Shiqun, who could afford a three-story house on Daxing Street, so his family was obviously wealthy, but it was not comparable to the Wu family. However, Cai Shiqun's cousin Cai Shiwen was the second-generation merchant owner of Wanbaohang, one of the Thirteen Hongs, and the Cai family merchant owner of the three "Cai, Xie and Lu" families mentioned by Wu Chengjian.
Six years ago, after the death of Pan Zhenchen, the first general merchant of the Thirteen Hongs after the opening of the first port to trade, known as the Golden Turtle of Yuehai, Pan Zhenchen's son Pan Youjie took over Tonghehang. Although the scale of Tonghehang was much larger than that of the other companies at that time, Pan Youjie was too young and all parties were worried that he would not be able to control the situation. Cai Shiwen took the opportunity to unite with the Xie family, overwhelmed the other businesses in one fell swoop, and ascended the throne of the general merchant of the Thirteen Hongs.
After Cai Shiwen became the head merchant, not only did the scale of Wanbaohang expand, but his power in Xiguan also grew. Although he was still inferior to Pan Zhenchen back then, the momentum after the combination of Cai and Xie families was able to dominate the Thirteen Hongs, which was very different from the situation six years ago when they could only seize the throne of head merchant with a slight advantage.
Cai Shiqun himself also ran a fairly large business, mainly supplying goods to Wanbaohang, and reselling some Western goods from Wanbaohang to the mainland. He was considered a vassal of Wanbaohang. Even so, the profits were very high. In addition, with the favor of his son-in-law in the past two years, he naturally made a fortune.
Cai Qiaozhu is the eldest wife of the Wu family of Yihehang, and the cousin of Mr. Cai, the general merchant of Wanbaohang. The Wu and Cai families were married, and Wu Guoying and Cai Shiwen had a tacit understanding. After Cai Qiaozhu married into the Wu family, Cai Shiwen treated Cai Shiqun differently from other cousins, and treated Cai Qiaozhu even more like his own niece. Wu Chengjun also asked his wife to interact more with Cai Shiwen and treat him as his own uncle, and sending gifts and greetings were indispensable during the holidays.
Although the two sides are not marrying each other's biological children, they are considered relatives. When Cai Shiwen was competing for the position of chief merchant six years ago, the Wu family made a lot of efforts, both openly and secretly. The Wu family has been able to develop so smoothly in recent years, which is also related to the Cai family's position as chief merchant.
Cai Qiaozhu married into a good family and her husband treated her well, so every time she returned home, she felt like she was returning home in glory and was treated with great respect by her family. But this time when she came back, she felt that the atmosphere was a little wrong as soon as she entered the house. Cai Qiaozhu couldn't tell what was wrong, but she always felt that the atmosphere was very depressing.
After entering the house, she apologized for not having been back to her parents' home for so long, and asked about her parents' health. She felt relieved to see that they were both well.
Cai's mother pulled Cai Qiaozhu into the inner room and sent Lian Qiao out, then asked, "Dear girl, tell me the truth, how is your son-in-law's health?"
Cai Qiaozhu had maintained the demeanor of the eldest lady of the Wu family just now outside, but now there were only her and her mother in the room, biological mother and daughter, with no barriers between them. She could no longer hold back her tears, and told her mother about her husband's illness, Mr. He's diagnosis, and the symptoms she had experienced in the past few days.
After listening to this, Mother Cai was silent for a long time, and then said, "So, it's only a matter of time before my son-in-law dies...Daughter, you have to think about how to arrange his funeral."
When Cai's mother said the last sentence, she seemed to be very embarrassed, but she still forced herself to say it.
Cai Qiaozhu was stunned and said, "Mother, what are you talking about! If anything happens to Chengjun, I don't want to live anymore, why would I care about the past and the future!"
Cai's mother said, "What are you talking about! Our family is not the poor country folk who only study hard. We don't need a chastity arch to reduce the land tax and capitation tax. You are so young, can you stay a widow for the rest of your life?"
Cai Qiaozhu was just slightly stunned just now, but this time she was completely stunned. Cai's mother's words were too blunt, as if she was treating Wu Chengjun as if he were dead. She was in a daze. Her mother had always loved her husband very much, but why did she not look sad or anxious when she heard about his illness today? She didn't care about her son-in-law's life or death at all, but was wholeheartedly planning her daughter's "afterlife"?
Mother Cai held her daughter's hand and said, "My dear daughter, it's not that I'm heartless, but life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by God! I know that you and Chengjun have a deep relationship, but people have to live to talk about friendship. Once you die, it's like a light goes out. Even if he loved you in his life, when he enters the earth, can you still spend the remaining decades with a tablet?"
The more Cai Qiaozhu listened, the more upset she felt. Finally, she couldn't help but pull her hand away and said, "Mom! Chengjun isn't dead yet, and you're cursing him like this! What yellow earth, what spirit tablet, is this what a mother-in-law should say when her son-in-law is seriously ill?"
Cai's mother said, "Why am I cursing him? When has Mr. Er He's diagnosis ever been wrong? Remember three years ago, Wang Yuanwai from Xiajiu Road met him in Nanhai, and Mr. Er He told him to prepare for his funeral within three days. At that time, Wang Yuanwai thought he could eat and sleep well, so he didn't take it seriously. What happened? He died on the third night. Besides, you are the one who took care of Chengjun's illness. You know better than anyone whether he can survive or not."
Cai Qiaozhu stood up suddenly and said, "I don't want to listen to these crazy words. Mother, your daughter wants to go back."
"Come back here!" Cai's mother grabbed Cai Qiaozhu and said, "You haven't even sat down yet, why are you leaving?"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "If you want your daughter to stay a little longer, please don't say these hurtful words. What about the ancestral tablets and funeral affairs? Mother, don't forget that your daughter has Guang'er. He is the eldest grandson of the Wu family! He is the future third-generation master of Yihe Bank. Even if Chengjun really has an accident, 'obey your father at home, obey your husband after marriage, and obey your son after your husband's death' - your daughter's 'future affairs' will only fall on the Wu family, not the Cai family."
"If Yihehang is still there, everything will be fine. We must help Guang'er to win back the business." Cai's mother said, "But what if Yihehang is gone? What's the point of you staying in the Wu family?"
Cai Qiaozhu was completely stunned. This time when she returned home, every two or three sentences she spoke were unexpected.
"Mother, what did you say? What happened to Yi Hexing? What do you mean he's gone?"
Cai's mother said, "The tea from Yihehang was lost in Huizhou, right? You can hide this from others, but how can you hide it from your uncle? We all knew about it a long time ago."
Cai Qiaozhu secretly cried out in dismay, thinking that the family had kept the secret secret for so many days, and finally they could no longer conceal it. However, she still said, "Don't worry, mother. My master has already sent capable people to look for it. Even if they can't find it, our Yihe Bank will at most suffer some injuries this time, and it won't be completely ruined."
Cai's mother sneered, "If this was just the Huizhou incident, it would only be a major setback for the Wu family. Unfortunately, it's not just that. There are even bigger disasters waiting for the Wu family. My dear daughter, listen to your mother. Your uncle has already told us clearly that the Wu family will fall in a few months."
Cai Qiaozhu was shocked . If she was seven parts annoyed and three parts shocked just now, the shock was just because she didn't understand why her mother's attitude towards her husband had become so bad. But now she was completely shocked, and she was shocked by the "disaster" that her mother mentioned.
"Mom, if there is anything else about the Wu family, tell me quickly."
Cai's mother ignored her daughter's question and just said, "My dear daughter, my dear daughter, the Wu family is a guarantor of the Thirteen Hongs, not an ordinary merchant. If the Wu family goes bankrupt, the men will be exiled to the frontier and the women will be sent as slaves. I am not after anything else, I just want to save your life. It's not that I don't love my son-in-law, but no matter how dear he is, how can he compare to my daughter's life? You are a piece of flesh and blood that fell from my body! Your uncle is willing to remind us in advance, which is already considering the relationship between the family. You must not jump into the fire pit for the sake of momentary feelings."
As Cai's mother spoke, she was so moved that she started to cry.
The more Cai Qiaozhu listened, the more frightened she became. She was not a woman who had never seen the world, but the eldest daughter-in-law of Yihehang who had been in charge of the family for many years. She could tell the difference better than ordinary people what was true and what was false, how much truth was in the truth and how much truth was in the lies. She guessed that it must be her uncle Cai Shiwen, the general merchant, who had revealed some great news to her parents, and this news was very likely to lead to the destruction of the Wu family.
"Mother!" Cai Qiaozhu held her mother's hand and said earnestly, "Let's not talk about Chengjun. If you still love your daughter and Guang'er, then tell me what happened."
Cai's mother hesitated after hearing this. Cai Shiqun had warned her not to reveal the secret. Cai Qiaozhu wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and began to cry, "Even if your son-in-law is an outsider, your daughter is still your flesh and blood. Half of Guang'er's body is your blood. If the Wu family encounters a disaster, even if your daughter can escape, can Guang'er escape? Can you bear to watch your own grandson being taken away to be a slave to the armored men at such a young age?"
Under the persuasion of her husband and Cai Shiwen, Cai's mother had originally decided to save only her daughter. But at this time, Cai Qiaozhu's words touched her heart. She thought of how cute and clever her grandson was. If he was really taken to the frontier to suffer the wind, frost, snow and rain, it would be like cutting off a piece of her own flesh. She cried too. This time she was really sad and almost said it out loud.
Suddenly Cai Shiqun rushed in and shouted, "It's not that we are heartless! We are simply powerless. Now the situation is set, the Wu family is doomed. If we don't make a heroic move, not only will you be trapped, but our Cai family will also be implicated."
Cai Qiaozhu stepped forward and grabbed Cai Shiqun's arm, crying, "Dad, Dad, you know something, right? Just tell your daughter ."
Cai Shiqun said, "If it was possible to save you, your uncle would have done it long ago. Your mother and I said everything we could say and asked for in front of your uncle, but it was useless! Your uncle can't handle this disaster. Even he can't do anything, so what else can others do? My dear girl, just listen to your mother and deal with it as soon as possible. Try to sever your ties with the Wu family in the next few days, so that your uncle can save you."
"No!" Cai Qiaozhu took a few steps back and said, "My daughter has been married to the Wu family for twelve years. We are already connected by blood. How can we separate? If only Chengjun is in trouble this time, I will grit my teeth and live for Guang'er. But if Guang'er is also in trouble, Dad, Mom, do you think your daughter can still live?"
She knew that Cai's mother was kind-hearted and that she was not as hard-hearted as Cai's father. She threw herself into Cai's mother's arms and cried, "Mother, if you still pity your poor daughter, please tell me what happened."
