Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Making a Name for Oneself (V)

It was truly a case of meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign place, with the dust of travel on one’s clothes. Yu Manyi and Su Wen sat facing each other. They were once teacher and student, and after the separation, with so many ups and downs in their respective lives, neither knew where to begin.

Su Wen was her first teacher... Su Wen was, after all, her first teacher.

He had come in a professional capacity, and suddenly bringing up so many past events made it obvious that he was struggling to find the right words. Yu Manyi paused for a moment, shifting her gaze slightly and said:

“Song Qi, Shiweng Jie, could you please step aside for a moment? Teacher Su and I are old acquaintances, and there are some things I need to discuss with him.”

Song Qi had only met Su Wen once in Shaoxing, and it was only at this moment that he recognized his face. However, he was clear on the context of Su Wen's relationship with Miss You, and his colleagues quickly asked Huo Shiweng to leave as well:

“Alright, we’ll go out for some fresh air.”

The two figures disappeared at the door of the café. Yu Manyi turned her attention back and saw Su Wen’s eyes tremble as he carefully raised them and asked:

“Manyi, I haven’t been back home in years, and I wanted to ask…”

Yu Manyi glanced at him a few times, suddenly feeling anxious about his reaction when he learned about You Xiaoqing’s situation. This was something she couldn’t predict or control. She had once confused You Xiaoqing with You Hong, but that confusion had suddenly disappeared recently. Yu Manyi now understood very clearly that You Xiaoqing was gone, and the most important thing for her right now was to rescue You Hong. There could be no mistakes in this rescue.

“Teacher Su, how about you tell me about the factory situation first?” she changed the subject, wanting to secure what she needed no matter what.

“You Xiaoqing... she must have gotten married by now, so her family…”

“Teacher Su,” Yu Manyi interrupted gently, “Do you have detailed records of the Japanese textile factories? Do you have photos you can show me?”

“Manyi,” Teacher Su was finally brought back to the matter at hand by her, “What Reporter Huo said just now wasn’t precise. The workers' strike is a serious issue. I can indeed tell you some inside information, but there are regulations I need to follow. For example, photos…”After many years, not discussing the past, and going straight to the point, she was met with a soft rejection. Yu Manyi stared at Su Wen’s face for a moment in silence, suddenly realizing that he wasn’t as cooperative as she had imagined.

Having experienced things outside of their hometown, Su Wen had finally developed some opinions of his own. However, these opinions were not what Yu Manyi needed at this moment, and they only caused her unnecessary difficulty. She closed her eyes and sighed, and when she opened them again, her tone suddenly changed.

“Teacher Su,” she controlled her expression to look sorrowful, “Do you know? Sister You is dead.”

She had originally planned to bring it up subtly when asking about the factory, allowing Su Wen some time to mentally prepare. However, he and she were on different sides at this moment, and Yu Manyi could only break through his psychological defenses like this.

Sure enough, Su Wen, who she thought would only be disappointed if You Xiaoqing married someone else, suddenly looked up with a face full of shock.

“She hanged herself,” Yu Manyi said, her voice cold and horrific. “On the beam in her room. There was nothing in the room, not even a stove, just the painting you made on the wall.”

“W-why… why did she hang herself?” Su Wen asked, pained and frantic.

“Because of you,” Yu Manyi mixed truth with lies, making Su Wen regret his actions deeply. “Because you left her, you didn’t want her anymore. Her family pressured her to marry someone she didn’t like… they locked her in the attic for several days, starving her. When she came out, she hanged herself!”

“What… what time…?”

“It was the first winter after you left,” Yu Manyi was secretly surprised in her heart, astonished that she felt no sorrow while saying these words, her heart as cold as stone. “Did you never go back? I went to visit her grave, and it was overgrown. No one even burned paper for her… In the end, we burned the portrait you painted for her!”

“I didn’t know, I really didn’t know. I didn’t think…”

Language was truly a powerful tool, able to provoke such a strong reaction in just a few words. Yu Manyi had unknowingly mastered this art. But it also had to do with Su Wen himself—someone like Song Qi would never let his defenses collapse so easily. At this moment, Yu Manyi’s disdain for the weak reached its peak.

“Teacher Su, please accept my condolences. This news may have been too sudden for you.” She pushed a napkin from the table towards him.“I think if Sister You knew, she wouldn’t blame you, even though it was indeed you who left her first. If, at that time, you weren’t afraid of the influence the You family had locally and had made a small gesture, maybe the outcome would have been different...”

“I had nothing at that time. I was too weak. I thought...”

“I can empathize with you on this.” Yu Manyi’s tone was very understanding at this moment, but she herself didn’t know if she truly understood or if she was just pretending to understand.

“Teacher Su, the reason I’ve been asking people about the factory is because I have a new friend, and she’s encountered something similar to Sister You’s situation...”

Su Wen paused for a long time before finally looking up at Yu Manyi.

“She also has a lover but was forced by her family to marry someone else. She refused, so her family sold her to a Japanese textile factory,” Yu Manyi started mixing truth with lies again, “I want to rescue her, but I need a lot of help. Teacher Su, I never expected that heaven would send you here...”

“Teacher Su, can you now tell me everything in detail about the Japanese textile factory?”

Su Wen looked at Yu Manyi as if he had never known this student. He was stunned for a moment, his mind already back in Shaoxing, and blankly said: “You... what do you want to ask?”

“I want to ask everything, no matter how small or large, about the factory,” Yu Manyi said.

...

Outside the café, Song Qi and Huo Shiwen were chatting casually. The two had met because of the report about the third wife of the You family, and later, their connection with Yu Manyi grew, especially when she found him at the entrance of his apartment, thanks to Huo Shiwen’s reminder.

Recently, Song Qi had been thinking more maturely. He believed that Huo Shiwen was a truly important person who remained calm and composed. Every time they needed her, she would step in and make a turnabout action, and after the deed was done, she would quietly retreat. Because she was so subtle, he thought it necessary to specifically point out her importance, to prevent others from overlooking her significance.

Huo Shiwen stood under a sycamore tree, smoking a slender lady’s cigarette, and suddenly lifted her chin, reminding him: “She’s coming out.”

Song Qi turned around.Yu Manyi and Su Wen walked out of the café, one in front of the other. Su Wen looked dazed, haggard, and unsteady, while Yu Manyi walked behind him, appearing perfectly normal except for her slightly serious expression.

Su Wen hurriedly bid farewell to Huo Shiwen, and as he turned, he slightly raised his head. Song Qi once again clearly saw his face.

Yu Manyi also said her goodbyes quickly, just nodding before preparing to leave. Huo Shiwen smiled and said, "Alright, you go ahead. I’ll finish this cigarette."

The four of them suddenly split into three paths: two walking and one standing, with Song Qi feeling something was off. He ultimately chose to follow Yu Manyi, quickly catching up and grabbing her wrist, asking, "What’s going on?"

"What’s going on?"

This wasn’t obvious at all, was it?! Song Qi motioned in the direction Su Wen had left and pressed, "Why did you make him cry?"

"He wanted to cry himself," Yu Manyi said impatiently. "What do you expect me to do? Let go of me, I have something to do."

"What do you mean by that? Isn’t Su Wen your mentor...?"

"What mentor?" Yu Manyi suddenly flared up, "A useless man."

Song Qi: ...

"I wasn’t happy to see him today at all," Yu Manyi turned around, seemingly willing to explain herself to Song Qi, "He just left when he wanted to, never thinking about what would happen to Sister You after he left. I couldn’t get out of the Yu family courtyard, and he, as a man, why couldn’t he have a bit of courage? But he did nothing. What’s the use of crying now?"

Song Qi patiently explained, "He didn’t think about what would happen when he left."

"Why are you speaking for him? You men are all the same. In the end, everyone pushed Sister You to her death, and only he could save her, but he didn’t. You, an outsider, could do so much, and he’s far worse than you."

...Wait?? Was she praising him or scolding him?! Song Qi felt a mix of emotions!He paused for a moment, and Yu Manyi was about to turn around again.

“I’m not talking to you anymore. He told me about the factory situation, and I have an idea now. I’m going to see if it works.”

She was in such a hurry, as if she were in the same rush as Song Qi had been before he was imprisoned last year. Song Qi’s heart sank, and he quickly caught up to her, blocking her path, reminding her, “What idea? You should at least discuss it with us first.”

“What’s there to discuss? I’ll tell you after I’ve done it.”

“Why are you so independent now?”

“Wasn’t that how you were before? You did everything and then told me about it. I’m just learning from you.”

“But I changed later, didn’t I? I always consult you now. You... you...” Song Qi started to get frustrated with himself. Not only was he being long-winded, but there was also an irritating feeling, like a boomerang thrown by himself coming back to hurt him.

“You should learn from me the good parts, not the bad ones. This is my flaw, don’t learn everything from me!”

By the time she said that, Yu Manyi seemed to have finally listened. She stood still for a moment, calming down, and then, resigned, said, “I just want to rescue You Hong as soon as possible…”

“Of course, we need to rescue her, but don’t rush. Let’s take it one step at a time and proceed carefully.”

“You were never careful before.”

“That’s why I went to experience life in prison!” Song Qi said in despair. “Do you want to experience it too? I’ll teach you some tricks on dealing with the prison bullies. I’m not sure if it applies to both men and women though.”

Yu Manyi finally stopped talking. She calmed down, turned around, and looked at him defiantly.

The two of them stood under the withered phoenix tree, speaking a few more words, drawing closer to each other. The tree branches above them were twisted and thick, with one branch, which had struggled for a long time to grow upward, finally reaching the one above it, attempting to curve around to connect with it, only to have grown too far just as it was about to touch.It really was hard work, and so difficult.

The last dry leaf fell from the tree branch, and under the tree, Song Qi and Yu Manyi finally had a proper conversation, which was quite encouraging since they didn’t end up arguing. Song Qi sighed deeply, sent Yu Manyi off in a rickshaw, and then returned to stand beside Huo Shiwen.

“Give me a cigarette,” he said.

“I only have women’s cigarettes.”

“Any will do.”

He lit the cigarette under the tree, took two serious puffs, and detached from the situation. Huo Shiwen, who couldn’t help but care, asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Can’t explain,” Song Qi replied. “It really feels like everything is upside down.”

He tilted his head back and let out a long breath, then suddenly asked Huo Shiwen with some frustration, “Was I always so independent before, so unwilling to consult others? Was I really that annoying?”

Huo Shiwen laughed, choking on the smoke. “Oh my... You’ve finally realized?”

The birds above them picked at the cold branches, wandering back and forth in the winter. Eventually, one settled on the window ledge of the café, sheltered from the wind. Song Qi stared at the bird, feeling quite melancholic as he finished the women’s cigarette.

Song Qi was really grateful that he had stopped Yu Manyi that day. Otherwise, he would’ve had to deliver her clothes outside the prison gates.

That day, in addition to giving Yu Manyi a lot of written records and photos, Su Wen also explained why the workers at the Japanese-owned factories, who were mostly indentured laborers, did not participate in the strike.The workers’ strike had two layers of meaning: one was the transmission of the unified movement's information, and the other was the spread of ideological messages to the lower class. At first, Yu Manyi was surprised, but soon understood. This situation was almost identical to what Jiang Yu had mentioned earlier—the commercial issue of a famous rouge in Shanghai that couldn’t sell in the suburban towns.

In short: the indentured female workers couldn’t understand.

In fact, the methods used to convey the strike message in the recent few instances had already become very simple, very down-to-earth, and very easy to understand. This was why most male workers, as well as female workers in the Shanghai area, were able to join the strike—they understood what they were doing. They knew the strike was for their rights, and they knew they deserved a better life.

However, the indentured workers in these Japanese-owned factories mostly came from poor families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They lived and ate at the factories, had no access to the outside world, and rarely heard much about the strike. Su Wen had asked a few female workers from Shanghai, who weren’t indentured, to bring in strike flyers, but they completely couldn’t understand the words on the flyers.

How could people understand things beyond their comprehension? They were sold into the factories by their parents and felt that their fate was destined to be this tragic, with no possibility of another way of life, let alone uniting to fight against the capitalists.

"Why don’t you use a method they can understand?" Yu Manyi asked.

"How would I know what they can understand?" Su Wen also had difficulties pushing the work forward. "They’re illiterate, and some of them can’t even understand the dialects. Besides, people can’t even get into the factory. We can only rely on the flyers, but these flyers are all printed uniformly. Where would I go to make a new batch?"

Yu Manyi's first reaction was simple and blunt. That day, under the sycamore tree, she had said to Song Qi:

"Doesn’t that boss Liu, who asked me to paint the monthly calendars, have his own printing factory? He could print the flyers for the female workers!"

"Are you crazy?" Song Qi was helpless and frustrated. "They’re arresting people who are printing flyers everywhere. This strike is good for the workers, but what about the factory owners? If you can find a printing factory, does Su Wen not know how to? He must have already tried and failed to get new ones printed."

"But Liu’s factory really is a way," he said later. "Tell me more about this Liu, and let’s see if there’s another solution."

So, Yu Manyi explained everything that had happened in Song Huazhang’s room that day. After talking, she actually found a solution.

That day, Yu Manyi saw that Song Qi had really gotten used to treating her like a sister. He pretended several times, showing no signs of exhaustion. His tone and mannerisms had grown more familiar. In her hand, she was holding the last four monthly calendars to give to Boss Liu. She had spent the past few days working late, finally finishing these four paintings ahead of time.She wrapped the four paintings in kraft paper and, raising her head once again from the dining table, saw Song Qi—no, it was Yu Qi now—clinking glasses with Boss Liu.

"Mr. Yu seems a bit familiar," Boss Liu remarked after a few rounds of drinks, surveying Song Qi, who had subtly altered his appearance, "Have I really not seen you before?"

Perhaps he really had seen him before, as Boss Liu had been to Song Huazhang’s house three times, so it was possible they had crossed paths. Yu Manyi immediately sat down at the table and said:

"Boss Liu, my brother is just an average-looking guy. You’re not the first person to think he looks familiar. It’s great, though—you two really hit it off."

Song Qi glanced at Yu Manyi, seemingly a bit displeased by her words. However, he had indeed disguised himself that day, which had slightly altered his appearance… Before leaving the house, Yu Manyi had comforted him: “People only need to look beautiful when they’re useless. Today, you’re crucial, so looking a bit ugly is no problem.”

Song Qi responded, "Please shut up."

In any case,

"Boss Liu," Song Qi raised his glass again, "I’m new to Suzhou River and really don’t know where to start with the publishing business. Luckily, my sister has worked with an industry veteran like you."

"This comic book I want to invest in is adapted from a very famous foreign fairy tale. People are probably tired of all those myths and legends on the market, so we should try something foreign…"

"Ah, foreign stuff!" Boss Liu said, delighted.

Yu Manyi really couldn’t understand the Shanghai Bund’s obsession with foreign things, as if anything imported was automatically better.

"Although I’ve printed many comic books, this will be my first time publishing on my own," Boss Liu said. "I’d still like to see the sketch first, then…"

"Of course, there are sketches," Song Qi said. "Manyi, didn’t you do some drafts?"

Yu Manyi immediately pulled out the comic book sketches and the finished monthly calendars she had completed overnight, handing them over."Ah, my sister's monthly calendars," Song Qi took out the calendars first, "My sister’s painting skills are truly unquestionable. It looks like sending her to the Commercial Press was really a wise decision."

"Boss Liu, you keep these calendars for now, as they’re part of your previous business. Now, let’s talk about the next business, this collaboration is perfect—"

"I’ve brought in the story and the funds from outside, my sister can enter a new industry, and all you need to do is invest in some ink and start the machinery, and you’ll have a share. The profits will be divided, 20/80 between us..."

"Brother, you really have a black heart," Yu Manyi raised her voice, "Take that cleverness you learned from the Jews and put it away. Boss Liu is the one who introduced me to the industry, I think 60/40 is more reasonable."

"60/40, that’s too much for me. Why are you turning your elbow outward, girl?"

The two were about to argue when Boss Liu took the calendars and laughed:

"Oh my, siblings shouldn’t let money spoil their harmony. 20/80, I lose out; 60/40, Mr. Yu loses out. How about we do 30/70—after all, I’m just providing a printing press."

"Mr. Yu, I just..." Boss Liu suddenly looked at Song Qi, expressing the last bit of concern, "This story, will it really sell? I see there are many pages in this sketch with no dialogue."

Before Song Qi could respond, Yu Manyi suddenly stood up, leaned towards Boss Liu's ear, and said, "Boss Liu, it's a guaranteed sell! My brother’s famous overseas for being a cunning businessman!"

Song Qi: ...

Why does she always praise him in a way that makes him uncomfortable?

This is truly a win-win situation! Boss Liu had been in the business for many years, but he had never done such a perfect deal that was completely within his control! The artist was someone he had already worked with, and even the payment was not required! The cost risk was borne by others, and testing the waters with a comic book was something he had been considering lately!

Clever as Boss Liu was, he could calculate that from start to finish, he had only provided a few printing machines! He was basically sitting there, waiting to collect his 30/70 share of the comic book’s profits after it hit the market—

Friends, what’s the difference between this and money falling from the sky!Boss Liu left, filled with dreams and joy, leaving the Yu siblings sitting in the restaurant, staring at each other.

"Eat up," Song Qi said as he saw Liu's figure disappear, finally relaxing. "So much food, it cost me a lot of money."

"I really can't stand you," Yu Manyi picked up her chopsticks. "All you ever do is take me to eat yellow fish wontons. Now, we finally have a decent meal, and it’s just to set up someone else."

"...Why do you slander people so casually? As soon as you arrived in Shanghai, I took you to the school next door, and we had that famous Anhui cuisine with Fang Qian. Also, when you joined the Commercial Press, did I ever not treat you?"

Yu Manyi suddenly realized: "Ah, you're right, I should clarify your reputation to You Hong once she comes out."

"...What did you tell You Hong about me?"

"Nothing much, just said you're very generous, and she even praised you as a 'Rich Man.'"

"......"

Song Qi felt that familiar, uncomfortable feeling again.

He cautiously thought to himself, once You Hong is out, he must clear this up with her. He couldn't let Yu Manyi ruin his reputation.