Chapter 37: The Racetrack Always
For several days in a row, Lin Xueyi spent his days in a state of constant anxiety.
The person they had offended was none other than Boss Zhang Xiaolin, a man notorious for his brutality, for whom killing and arson were everyday occurrences.
It was only this batch of weapons in the warehouse that gave him a shred of confidence.
Strangely, however, after they had seized Xinkaihe Wharf for several days, Boss Zhang, who dominated Shanghai, showed no reaction whatsoever.
He seemed to have completely forgotten that Xinkaihe was his wharf.
Could it be that the revenue from this wharf was too small for him to care about?
All sorts of speculations flashed through his mind, but no matter what, he refused to believe that Boss Zhang was leaving them alone because of Chen Yang.
Year 27 of the Republic, March 19, lunar calendar second month initial two, Dragon Head Raising.
This was an important festival in China after the start of the new year.
Shanghai Racecourse also welcomed its most important race, where three warhorses of first-class pedigree, purchased at great expense from the United Kingdom homeland by British businessman Wilson, would make their debut in Shanghai.
The finance section of the Declaration had long published this news, along with various commentaries from well-known critics.
All of them were hyping up these three prized horses.
The people of Shanghai, egged on by them, had bought many win tickets; today these three horses were sure to be the favorites to win the crown.
Of course, some still harbored hopes that besides these favorites, a dark horse might emerge to defeat the competition.
The horse race was undoubtedly important, but there was something even more important: the first banquet of the Nanjing Restoration Government lineup.
Horse Racing Chamber of Commerce second floor, VIP Hall.
This was a high-class banquet hall accessible only to members.
As for the price of membership, it was not expensive at all—just a mere 100,000 silver dollars a year.
Chen Yang handed the invitation letter to the female server at the VIP Hall entrance; after she checked the number and personnel list on the invitation, a fawning smile immediately appeared on her face.
As soon as he entered, Chen Yang was slightly amazed in his heart; for people of later generations, the Republic of China Era was a backward and closed time.
But upon entering this VIP Hall, Chen Yang was still shocked by the luxury inside.
The VIP Hall ceiling was about five meters high, with a crystal chandelier hanging in the center, its brilliant light cascading like a river of stars, weaving and flowing under the gilded dome.
The Italian marble floor reflected the intricate patterns of the Persian handmade carpet, every inch of gold thread glowing with a dark golden light like amber in the shadows.
The walls around the room were hung with many Baroque carvings—statues of little angels holding amber lamps, their warm light spilling like water onto the walls.
In front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, velvet curtains draped from the arched window, iris flowers embroidered by French court craftsmen blooming on the dark green background, swaying gently in the breeze as if one could smell the lingering perfume of the Louis XIV era.
Most eye-catching of all was the banquet table, where a pyramid of champagne glasses towered more than a meter high, filled with golden champagne liquid flowing like liquid gold.
Not only that, even the tableware on the table was artwork fired in official kilns from the Qing Dynasty era; in later times, any of these pieces could easily be exchanged for a car.
The female server led Chen Yang to a middle-aged man at the edge of the VIP Hall and introduced Chen Yang’s identity to him.
The man’s gaze immediately showed a trace of surprise, but soon this surprise was replaced by a sycophantic smile.
“Hello, Mr. Chen. I am a subordinate of Minister of Interior Chen Qun; I am Feng Keyong, Director of the Ministry of Interior Office. Your name, Mr. Chen, is known to me far and wide.”
“Just now Minister Chen was discussing with Mr. Liang who this Director of the Economic Department of the Ministry of Finance could be.”
“Little did we know you would arrive right after we spoke of you.”
“Mr. Chen, given your age, you probably aren’t very familiar with these predecessors of the New Government. Why don’t I introduce them to you?”
Chen Yang cupped his hands and said, “Thank you for the trouble, Director Feng.”
Feng Keyong repeatedly said it was no trouble, then led Chen Yang toward the center of the VIP Hall.
Several middle-aged men in suits stood in the center of the VIP Hall; Feng Keyong led Chen Yang forward and bowed to the man in the very middle, saying, “Mr. Liang, Director Chen of the Economic Department has arrived.”
The middle-aged man in the center of the group turned his gaze to Chen Yang in front of him; Chen Yang quickly stepped forward and extended his hand, saying, “Mr. Liang, I am Chen Yang.”
Mr. Liang was very pleased with Chen Yang’s action; as a leader of the New Government, he naturally could not bow first to a subordinate.
“Director Chen is someone specially appointed by Consul Iwai, so he must have some extraordinary qualities that are not widely known.”
“Otherwise, Consul Iwai would not have entrusted such an important position to you.”
In just these few short sentences, the information revealed was enough to make the surrounding middle-aged men look at Chen Yang in a new light.
Everyone in their hearts already understood that Chen Yang’s backing was the Japanese—and not just any, but the consul of the consulate.
Chen Yang repeatedly said he dared not, but revealed nothing about his relationship with Iwai Koichi.
And the more he acted this way, the more the people present felt that Chen Yang was profoundly unfathomable.
Feng Keyong quickly said to Chen Yang, “Director Chen, let me introduce you.”
“These gentlemen are all pillars of the New Government. This is Minister of Foreign Affairs Chen Zuan.”
Chen Yang looked in the direction Feng Keyong indicated; it was an elegant middle-aged man, but seeing him, Chen Yang felt a bit emotional.
From what he knew, next year this Minister of Foreign Affairs would be taken out by Assassination King of the Military Statistics Bureau Chen Gongshu at a banquet.
But right now, the man was standing there perfectly fine, so Chen Yang quickly stepped forward to shake his hand.
Then Feng Keyong introduced the others: Minister of Interior Chen Qun, Minister of Industry Wang Zihui, Minister of Education Chen Zemin, and Minister of Transportation Jiang Hanjie.
These men were clearly of the same faction as Mr. Liang; they each took drinks from the attendants and clinked glasses.
Mr. Liang suddenly said, “Director Feng, Director Chen is new here today and not familiar with everyone; take him to see Elder Wen.”
Feng Keyong nodded repeatedly in agreement and led Chen Yang to the other side of the VIP Hall.
The other side was more interesting; these men were all wearing traditional Tang-style robes made of very fine fabric, with gold-embroidered designs that were clearly extraordinary.
Feng Keyong stepped forward with a smile and said, “Elder Wen, sorry to disturb you. Mr. Liang asked me to bring Director Chen to pay his respects.”
With that, Feng Keyong gestured for Chen Yang to come forward and introduced him: “This is Dean Wen of the Executive Yuan.”
“Dean Zhang of the Judicial Yuan. By the way, Director Chen, there are others you might not know, but you must know this one.”
With that, Feng Keyong said to the middle-aged man standing next to Dean Wen, “This is your superior, Minister of Finance Chen Jintao of the New Government.”
Hearing this, Chen Yang quickly stepped forward and said, “Minister Chen, in the future, please take good care of this little brother.”
Chen Jintao waved his hand and had not yet spoken when a shout came from the entrance: “Arriving: Consul Iwai Koichi of the Shanghai Consulate.”
The large doors slowly opened to both sides, and Consul Iwai Koichi of the Shanghai Consulate entered slowly with a group of people.
