Chapter Thirty-Three: Hand Holding Fragrant Biscuit Searching for Golden Scales

  "Third brother, An Weihong has arranged to meet someone for lunch at Lao Mo today."

  "Is the information accurate?"

  "Third Brother, I got this news from Hu Baoguo. He's very close to An Weihong, and the person An invited is actually his sister, Hu Hongzhuang. It can't be wrong."

  "What is he asking Hong Zhuang for? Could it be that he wants to pursue her?"

  "What's going on? It's just that An Weihong, with his small build, can't help but be overwhelmed by Hong Zhuang Jie. I heard from Bao Guo that An Weihong's grandfather is approaching his 70th birthday."

  "Alright, the old man had no other hobbies except for calligraphy. An Weihong wanted to get a good piece of work from a famous artist to give to his grandfather, so he set his sights on a piece left behind by Hu Baoguo's grandfather, a certain Song dynasty something... I don't remember the name. An Weihong first went to discuss it with Hu Baoguo, who didn't want to refuse him, and told An Weihong that the piece had been given to his sister by their father before he died, as part of her dowry. He said if you want it, you can be my brother-in-law. I almost laughed myself to death when I heard this."

  "It turns out that's the case. The truth is, it's easy to find something when you're not looking for it. Later on, just the three of us, you, me and Kangtong will be gone, and then I won't be called an old pig anymore."

  "Third brother, what are you looking for An Weihong for? He's not someone to be trifled with. He always has two armed guards by his side. If we cross him, I'm afraid it won't end well. And who is An Weihong anyway? I've never heard of him before. I asked Bao Guo, but he was vague about it. Could he be the son of some big shot in the imperial court?"

  "What? Even Ma Lei Zi gets scared sometimes?"

  "Scared? I'm not scared of him at all! We brothers have been through thick and thin in this city, who are we afraid of? Third brother, don't provoke me, you call the shots, I won't say another word."

  "Ma Lei Zi, teasing you, I'm drunk but my intention is not in the wine. Finding Hua Wei Hong is just an excuse, what's important is that I need a chance to see his grandfather."

  "His grandfather? Who is his grandfather?"

  "Old General"

  "Wow, wow, Third Brother, this time it's big!"

  Lei Xiaotian took a deep breath, thoroughly stunned. Although this group of rascals were usually disobedient and unyielding, they still had great respect for those national heroes who emerged from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, not to mention the founders of the Liberation Army. These old men were no different from gods in Lei Xiaotian's mind. After recovering from his shock, Lei Xiaotian grabbed Xue Xiang's arm and said: "Third brother, we're probably a hundred thousand miles apart from him, even if An Weihong is willing to introduce us, I'm afraid General An won't see us. Third brother, shouldn't we reconsider this? I don't know what you want to see General An for, but it's definitely not a simple matter. Although we have some face in the 49th city, when facing General An, that's just not enough."

  A silver lighter rolled between Xue Xiang's index and middle fingers, the lighter dancing nimbly on his fingertips like a jumping elf. The dappled sunlight filtering through the tall paulownia tree and layered grape leaves was reflected onto Xue Xiang's extended feet as he lay on the recliner, and he shifted his feet to avoid the sun. Lei Xiaotian sat in the small bamboo chair beside him, smoking a cigarette, his dense eyebrows furrowed as if thinking about how to comfort Xue Xiang. Kang Tong lay with his eyes closed on Xue Xiang's wicker chair, feigning sleep, not inserting himself into their conversation because with Xue Xiang present, he was too lazy to think much, just waiting for Xue Xiang's orders.

  Xue Xiang didn't make a sound, because he also had no confidence in his heart, but he couldn't delay any longer, he had no time. In more than ten days, the devastating earthquake would erupt, and after that, all the work of the Central Committee would be transferred to anti-seismic disaster relief for several months. Xue An would not have the opportunity to make a comeback in these few months. If Xue An couldn't make a comeback, then Xue Xiang would thoroughly become an onlooker in that big game, and the thick ZZ reward would be out of his reach. This was something that Xue Xiang absolutely could not allow to happen. So after visiting his uncle, Xue Xiang had Lei Xiaotian closely monitor An Weihong's movements. He needed someone to introduce him, and this person was best to be a close relative of General An, otherwise it would be difficult for him to gain General An's trust. General An was almost in the same situation as Chen Kaide, at this time only accompanied by An Weihong, the eldest grandson of the second branch. Xue Xiang could only set his sights on An Weihong, although he had heard that this person was extremely arrogant and difficult to get along with.

  ………..

  Lao Mosi Restaurant, also known as Moscow Restaurant, was later nicknamed Lao Mo by the old Beijingers. It sounds more intimate. Lao Mo was built in 1954 with the aid of a northern neighboring country and initially employed master chefs from that country. In 1971, when relations between the two countries deteriorated, all foreign chefs withdrew, and meals were no longer ticketed because there were very few customers at the time, only around a hundred people per day. The average cost per person at Lao Mo was four to five yuan at the time, while the monthly salary of technical workers with slightly better treatment was only thirty or forty yuan. Those who came to eat here were all upper-class figures with backgrounds, returned overseas Chinese, and children of high-ranking officials.

  It was already past 10 o'clock when Xue Xiang and the others arrived at Lao Mo. At this time, several people were sitting not far from the revolving door, drinking Soviet vodka Kaqiu Sha. On the red and white flower-patterned tablecloth were placed jars of braised beef, butter-roasted fish, butter-mushroom soup, butter-roasted mixed vegetables, and honey-glazed foie gras, a total of five or six dishes of Lao Mo's specialty foods. Kang Tong and Lei Xiao Tian were using their knives and forks to battle the delicious food in front of them. Xue Xiang held a high-footed glass, took a sip of wine, and showed no interest in the Slavic delicacies that were both colorful and fragrant before his eyes. His gaze occasionally swept over the tall glass revolving door, occasionally sizing up the luxurious hall. The seven-meter-high ceiling, the magnificent gilded chandelier, four bronze pillars stood like the main framework in the center, waiters dressed in black "Bulaji" long dresses with white aprons standing by the table, on which were placed high-footed glass cups and dark red square napkins on a light yellow tablecloth. The entire restaurant was both luxurious and elegant, yet simple and solemn.

  "Ma Lei, stop eating. Look over there by the revolving door, isn't that man next to Hong Zhuo's sister An Wei Hong?" Xue Xiang hastily put down the highball glass in his hand and pulled over Lei Xiao Tian, who was buried in his food, to ask. Although he knew there was a person named An Wei Hong, he had never seen him before. The three of them had only sent out Lei Xiao Tian to gather information. Lei Xiao Tian's mouth was full of food, so he couldn't speak and could only nod repeatedly.

  ………….

  "Wei Hong, you didn't invite me just to eat, did you? I heard Baoguo say that your plan to win him over didn't work out, so now you're coming after my sister Hongyu's dowry? Didn't we already discuss this before? This is the dowry left by my grandfather for me to give to my future husband. Could it be that Wei Hong has taken a liking to my sister Hongyu and wants to become the son-in-law of our Hu family? Haha..." The speaker was a young woman wearing a black cheongsam, who ended her sentence with a teasing tone and burst out laughing. The woman was around 24 or 25 years old, of medium height, plump build, round face, and loud voice.

  "Red Sister, stop teasing me. With my small build, I'm not worthy of you. Tell me, what do you want in exchange for Song Huizong's 'Liu Xiang Tie'? Diamonds or pearls? Any gold, silver, jewels, or rare accessories, as long as you speak, I'll get them for you. What do you say? Let's not talk about it first, try this bottle of Port wine from the Fetzer vineyard that I brought."

  An Weihong had a youthful appearance, around twenty years old, with an average height and wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, looking neat and tidy. If not for his narrow and long eyes, he would have given off a warm and elegant impression.

  An Weihong arranged two guards outside the door. Now that he was negotiating with a girl, having two guards standing behind him would give people a sense of coercion.

  An Weihong had thought about going to Hu Qiming, Hu Baoguo's father, to ask for it, believing he would be happy to hand it over. Many people wanted to curry favor with his grandfather but couldn't find an opportunity. However, once he opened his mouth to Hu Qiming, it would spread and become a big or small ZZ incident.

  The leader had said that party members were not allowed to celebrate birthdays, except for special occasions when the General Commander celebrated a birthday, and no other leaders had done so since then. If he took the opportunity to ask Hu Qiming for something, it might become a pretext for others to attack his grandfather.

  Therefore, this matter could only be handled by finding someone of his own generation, such as Hu Baoguo or Hu Honglian, to exchange things with. It would be considered an exchange between children, and no one could find fault with that.

  "Wei Hong, you know I don't like those fancy clothes and precious jewelry. Even if I liked them, I couldn't trade Grandfather's heirlooms for them, could I? It's not that Red Chou is unreasonable, it's just not right. Why don't you think of another way? I remember during the Great Movement, many famous books and paintings were confiscated, weren't they?" Hu Hongchou said with a sip of red wine.

  An Weihong was at his wit's end, a silver fork in his hand turning over and over again. The small steak in front of him had been stabbed to pieces, he didn't know if it was out of frustration or because he liked eating shredded meat. An Weihong suppressed the anger in his heart, downing half a cup of Port wine in one gulp, using a white napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth: "Hong Zhuang sister, those paintings and calligraphy were all burned or torn up long ago, there's nothing good left. I went to the homes of several famous Red Guards leaders from back then and asked them, they all said that those things were among the first to be confirmed for destruction, where would anything still remain? If I wasn't really at my wit's end, why would I come up with the idea of taking your dowry? This is something An Weihong can't do, isn't it being forced to have no other choice? How about this: 10,000 yuan, and I'll buy it. At this price, not to mention Zhao Jie's 'Willow Catkin Sticker', even Wang Xizhi's 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion' would be enough. Hong Zhuang sister, you won't really not give me face, will you?" An Weihong's voice became increasingly stern towards the end, and he switched from using polite language to informal "you".

  When An Weihong said this, Hu Hongzhuo was momentarily unable to refuse. She knew that the power of An Weihong's family in the capital was terrifying, and if they wanted to destroy her own family, they wouldn't even need to lift a finger - just spreading some rumors would be enough to have sycophants rushing to do their bidding. An Weihong was being stubbornly unreasonable, and if Hu Hongzhuo didn't agree, she might not even be called "Sister Red Dress" anymore. Although Hu Hongzhuo looked fierce, her thoughts were actually very clear - she really didn't want to hand over the family heirloom left by her grandfather like this, but if she didn't comply, her family would likely collapse in an instant. Hu Hongzhuo was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at the wine cup in her hand as if searching for answers from the bright red wine inside.

  An Weihong didn't urge him on either, he believed that Hu Hongzhuo would make a wise choice. Just then, a voice sounded in the ears of the two people.

  "Red Dress Sister, you're here! Long time no see, you're getting prettier and prettier. I heard from Baoguo that you're going to change jobs soon, where are you being assigned to?"