Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 50 A Splendid Journey: A Business and Love Ambition in the Republican Era, Beset by Crisis

Splendid Attire: Lin Fangfei's Journey of Struggle in the Republican Era

The legendary business and love journey of a poor but academically gifted girl in Republican-era Shanghai.

That letter was like an invisible hand, gripping my heart tightly. The news of my mother's illness filled me with anxiety, but the situation at the textile factory and with Gu Zixuan left me no room for complacency. Holding the letter, my fingers trembled slightly, my eyes filled with anxiety and inner turmoil.

Seeing my distraught state, Gu Zixuan asked with concern, "Fangfei, what's wrong? What happened?" I handed him the letter and said with a choked voice, "Zixuan, my mother is sick, very sick, and she wants me to go back as soon as possible."

After reading the letter, Gu Zixuan frowned. He gently took my hand and said, "Fangfei, you must be very worried about your mother. Why don't you go back and see her first? I'll handle things here."

I looked at him, my heart filled with emotion and reluctance. "Zixuan, but the textile factory is facing so many difficulties right now, how can I leave at this time?"

Gu Zixuan pulled me into his arms and said gently, "Fangfei, your mother needs you now. The textile factory is important, but family is more important. And I believe we can get through this."

I leaned against him, my tears soaking his clothes. I knew he was right; my mother needed me most right now. "Zixuan, I'll go back and see my mother first. I'll be back as soon as possible."

I quickly packed my bags and put on a plain cotton dress, my favorite outfit to wear when I go back to my hometown; it makes me feel closer to the spirit of my homeland. Gu Zixuan personally saw me off to the station, his eyes filled with worry and reluctance.

"Fangfei, be careful on the road. Send me a telegram when you get back to your hometown," Gu Zixuan said, holding my hand tightly.

I nodded. "Zixuan, you need to take good care of yourself too."

As the train slowly started moving, I watched Gu Zixuan's figure on the platform grow smaller and smaller, and my heart was filled with mixed feelings.

Returning to my hometown in Jiangnan, familiar scenes greeted me, but I had no heart to feel that warmth. I rushed home and saw my mother lying in bed, her face haggard. My heart ached as if it were being cut by a knife.

"Mom, I'm back." I rushed to my mother's bedside and took her hand.

My mother slightly opened her eyes, saw me, and gave a weak smile. "Fangfei, you're back."

I looked at my mother, tears streaming down my face. "Mom, how did you get so sick?"

The mother gently shook her head. "Fangfei, I'm fine. It's just that my old ailment has flared up again. You're so busy in Shanghai, why did you come back?"

I said with heartache, "Mom, you're so sick, how could I not come back?"

During the days I cared for my mother, I prepared medicine and cooked for her every day. I made her favorite shepherd's purse wontons, and their delicious taste seemed to help her recover. I brought the wontons to my mother's bedside and said softly, "Mom, have some wontons. I made them myself."

The mother sat up, ate a few wontons, and said with a smile, "Fangfei, your cooking is still so good."

However, my mother's condition did not improve despite my care. I was extremely anxious and searched everywhere for a doctor to treat her.

One day, I met an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor in town. He seemed very experienced, so I hurriedly asked him to examine my mother. After taking my mother's pulse, the old doctor frowned and said, "Your mother's illness is quite serious; it requires a precious medicinal herb to cure her."

I hurriedly asked, "What kind of medicinal herb? I'll definitely find a way to get it."

The old Chinese medicine doctor said, "This medicinal herb is called Blood Lingzhi, which is very hard to find and expensive."

My heart sank. Blood Ganoderma? Where could I find such a precious medicinal herb? But for my mother's sake, I had to try.

I started asking around for news about the Blood Ganoderma. During this process, I met a childhood friend, A-Qiang. A-Qiang now runs a small business in town. When he heard that I was looking for the Blood Ganoderma, he said, "Fangfei, I heard that there is a Blood Ganoderma in the deep mountains, but those mountains are very dangerous and there are many wild animals."

I said firmly, "Qiang, no matter how dangerous it is, I'm going to try."

A-Qiang looked at me and said, "Fangfei, I'll go with you. We used to play in the mountains a lot when we were little, so I'm still somewhat familiar with the area."

I looked at A-Qiang gratefully, "A-Qiang, thank you."

Ah-Qiang and I prepared our tools and set off into the mountains. I wore a simple, coarse cloth outfit and had my hair tied in a ponytail. Ah-Qiang led the way, and we walked carefully through the mountains.

The paths in the deep mountains were difficult to traverse, filled with thorns and vines. I accidentally scratched my hand on a thorn, but I ignored the pain, my only thought being to find the Blood Spirit Mushroom.

Suddenly, A-Qiang stopped and pointed to a spot ahead, saying, "Fangfei, look, isn't that a Blood Spirit Mushroom?"

I looked in the direction he pointed and saw a blood-red Ganoderma lucidum growing on a cliff, which looked very much like the old Chinese medicine doctor had described.

A surge of joy filled me. "Qiang, this must be it."

We cautiously approached the cliff. Just as we were about to reach the Blood Spirit Mushroom, we suddenly heard a deep roar. Startled, I turned around and saw a large black bear behind us.

My face turned deathly pale, and A-Qiang tensed up as well. "Fangfei, don't be afraid, let's slowly back away," A-Qiang whispered.

But the black bear pounced on us. A-Qiang picked up a stick and waved it at the bear, trying to scare it away. I also picked up a stone and threw it at the bear.

The black bear was enraged and attacked us even more frantically. A-Qiang was scratched on the arm by the bear while protecting me. I was frantic, frantically searching for anything I could use to fight the bear.

Just then, I saw a cave nearby. I said to A-Qiang, "A-Qiang, let's hide in the cave."

We hurriedly ran towards the cave, with the black bear in hot pursuit. After we hid inside, we blocked the entrance with stones. The black bear lingered at the entrance for a while, but seeing that it couldn't get in, it left.

I breathed a sigh of relief, looked at A-Qiang's injured arm, and said with heartache, "A-Qiang, you got hurt, it's all my fault."

A-Qiang smiled and said, "Fangfei, this isn't your fault. Let's think about how to get the Blood Spirit Mushroom now."

We rested in the cave for a while, and after confirming that the black bear had gone far away, we came out of the cave. We climbed back up the cliff where the Blood Spirit Mushroom was located.

After some effort, we finally harvested the blood Ganoderma. I carefully put the blood Ganoderma into my bag, my heart filled with joy.

After returning home, I gave the blood-ganoderma lucidum to the old Chinese medicine doctor. The doctor used it to brew medicine for my mother, and after drinking the medicine, my mother's condition gradually improved.

The weight on my heart finally lifted. But just then, I received a telegram from Gu Zixuan. The telegram said that the textile factory had encountered another major problem and that I should return to Shanghai as soon as possible.

As I looked at the telegram, my heart was filled with conflicting emotions. My mother's illness had just improved, and I couldn't bear to leave her. But the situation at the textile factory was urgent. What should I do? Should I stay in our hometown to take care of my mother, or rush back to Shanghai immediately to resolve the crisis at the textile factory?

Splendid Attire: Lin Fangfei's Journey of Struggle in the Republican Era

The legendary business and love journey of a poor but academically gifted girl in Republican-era Shanghai.

Clutching Gu Zixuan's telegram, I paced back and forth in the small courtyard of my old home. My mother's illness had just begun to improve, and I was truly worried about her, but the crisis at the textile factory was like a flame about to engulf everything, which I couldn't ignore either.

My mother seemed to sense my hesitation. She slowly came out of the house, wearing an old cotton coat. Although her face was still a little pale, her eyes were firm. "Fangfei, go back to Shanghai. My illness has improved a lot. Don't let my illness delay your important matters," my mother said, holding my hand.

I looked at my mother, my eyes filled with hesitation. "Mom, but if I leave, who will take care of you?"

The mother smiled and said, "Silly child, I can take care of myself. It hasn't been easy for you to work hard in Shanghai. That textile factory is like your child. Now that it's in trouble, you have to go back."

I bit my lip, but finally nodded. I knew my mother was right. The textile factory was the culmination of my years of hard work, and Gu Zixuan was there too, waiting for me to come back so we could face the difficulties together.

I changed back into the plain cotton dress I wore to Shanghai and quickly packed my luggage. Before leaving, I went to town and bought some of my mother's favorite pastries, placing them by her bedside. "Mom, keep these pastries for yourself. I'll be back as soon as possible," I said, hugging my mother tightly, tears welling in my eyes.

My mother gently patted my back. "Go on, child, be careful on the way."

I boarded the train back to Shanghai, and my heart was heavy the whole way. The rumble of the train seemed to be pounding on my heart. I was worried about my mother's health and also concerned about the situation at the textile factory.

Back in Shanghai, I went straight to the textile factory. As soon as I arrived at the factory gate, I saw Gu Zixuan waiting anxiously. He was wearing a dark gray suit today, his hair was a little messy, and his eyes showed fatigue. Seeing me return, his eyes lit up immediately, and he walked quickly towards me.

"Fangfei, you're finally back." Gu Zixuan hugged me tightly, and I could feel the tension in his body.

I lifted my head from his embrace, looked into his eyes, and asked, "Zixuan, what exactly happened at the textile factory?"

Gu Zixuan frowned and said, "Our orders have been canceled in large numbers, and many of our workers have been poached by other textile factories. The textile factory is now almost paralyzed."

My eyes widened. "How could this be? Is someone pulling this trick behind the scenes?"

Gu Zixuan nodded. "I've investigated. It's a newly emerging textile group with the support of warlord forces. They're using any means necessary to suppress us in order to monopolize the market."

I was filled with anger. "How could they do this? This is unfair competition."

Gu Zixuan clenched his fist. "In this turbulent era, with warlords backing them up, they don't care about what's right or wrong."

We entered the textile factory, and it was deserted. The machines had stopped running, and only a few elderly workers remained at their posts. Looking at all this, my heart ached.

"Miss Lin, you're finally back. Now everyone is at a loss," an old worker said helplessly when he saw me.

I fought back my tears and comforted everyone, "Don't worry, we'll definitely find a way to solve this."

Gu Zixuan and I started discussing countermeasures. We decided to start by stabilizing the workforce, since workers are the foundation of the textile factory.

We gathered the remaining workers together, and I stood in front of them, took a deep breath, and said, "Fellow workers, I know that the textile factory is facing great difficulties right now, but I, Lin Fangfei, will not give up. I believe that as long as we work together, we will definitely be able to overcome this challenge. I promise you all that if you stay, I will raise your wages and improve your benefits."

After hearing what I said, the workers began to murmur amongst themselves. A young worker stood up and said, "Ms. Lin, we believe you, but we are also worried that the textile group will retaliate against us."

I looked at him and said firmly, "Don't worry, everyone, I will protect every one of my fellow workers. If they dare to retaliate, we will fight them to the end."

After my persuasion, most of the workers decided to stay. Next, we need to figure out how to salvage the order.

Gu Zixuan and I visited clients everywhere, trying to explain our situation to them. We dressed in appropriate business attire and communicated with clients politely and sincerely wherever we went.