Chapter 98: The Republican-Era Young Lady Stops Making a Fuss 9 – Where Do the Strings Carry the Song

Song Xuange immediately recited a few of the words she had just copied down, all random entries.

Lu Zhu easily gave their Chinese explanations and even clarified their specific meanings in usage.

Just as she had said, she not only knew languages, she seemed to genuinely understand this field very well.

Since that was the case, having Lu Zhu do the translation was far more efficient than Song Xuange translating it herself. So she promptly said she wanted to hire Lu Zhu as a translator.

The bookshop manager said ruefully, “When you came to apply, you never mentioned you knew any of this.”

Lu Zhu grinned. “I wouldn’t need those skills just to work here copying books.”

With both her former and current employers present, they discussed it for a while.

Lu Zhu would not be quitting her work at the bookshop either. She would work there during the day and do translation at night.

The work at the bookshop was not busy every day like it had been that morning. When things were slow, she could also do some translation there on the side.

The manager did not object.

Even though she had found a translator, just in case something unexpected happened, Song Xuange still finished copying the rest of the dictionary entries. That very day, she brought Lu Zhu home with her.

She found He Dusheng’s book and showed it to Lu Zhu.

Lu Zhu only flipped through it briefly before declaring that she could definitely finish it within a month.

Song Xuange was extremely satisfied and even kept Lu Zhu for dinner.

Lu Zhu was also very satisfied, and not the least bit polite about it.

While they were talking, He Dusheng came back.

He entered with a book tucked under his arm. Seeing that there was a guest in the house, he nodded in greeting, set the book on the cabinet, rolled up his sleeves, and headed for the kitchen.

Lu Zhu greeted him, “Mr. Song.”

He Dusheng did not answer. He merely looked at Song Xuange, amusement flickering in his eyes.

Song Xuange had no idea what he meant by that look.

She explained to Lu Zhu, “I’m the one with the surname Song. My husband is surnamed He, He Dusheng.”

“He Dusheng?!”

Lu Zhu’s voice shot up instantly, startling Song Xuange beside her.

Lu Zhu did not notice. Her excitement was obvious to the naked eye.

“Your name really is He Dusheng?”

“That is indeed me. Miss, have you heard of me?” He Dusheng replied gently as he stepped forward and quietly guided Song Xuange away from her.

Lu Zhu muttered, “Where do the strings carry Song Xuange… He’s He Dusheng, then…” She turned to Song Xuange. “Madam, your surname is Song. Are you Song Xuange?”

Song Xuange nodded, but He Dusheng moved her a little farther behind him.

“Hahahahaha… I can’t believe I actually ran into you.” Lu Zhu grabbed He Dusheng’s hands with both of hers and shook them up and down. “Mr. He, Ms. Song, I’ve long admired your names. I may have only just come from the countryside, but I’ve still heard of the two of you.”

“Oh? Our names?” He Dusheng raised a brow.

Lu Zhu said as if it were only natural, “The labor reforms. Right now there are wage cuts everywhere, and workers are striking because of them. But I’ve heard that your family’s factories carried out reforms, and not only did you not lay off workers, you even improved their benefits and treatment.”

He Dusheng said, “It’s nothing much. It was also done to increase output.”

But Lu Zhu said, “To go against the current like that, entrepreneurs like you are still rare.”

“Look at me. I got so happy seeing you that I lost my composure.”

He Dusheng smiled. “It’s no matter.”

At the dinner table, He Dusheng kept chatting with Lu Zhu, asking about life in the countryside and saying that he and his wife had not gone back in a long time, so they had no idea what things were like there now.

Lu Zhu answered vaguely, only saying that she had rarely gone out while in the countryside. But when the subject turned to machinery, she spoke with great fluency and confidence.

At the right moment, Song Xuange brought up what had happened at the bookshop that morning and said that she wanted to hire Lu Zhu as a translator.

Unexpectedly, He Dusheng got up and fetched the book he had brought home.

It was the very same one Song Xuange had copied out by hand that day.

“So the gentleman who placed the book order was you?”

He Dusheng sighed. “From the looks of it now, probably yes.”

It had all been a misunderstanding.

Song Xuange immediately felt that all her efforts that day had gone to waste.

He Dusheng smiled and said, “How could it be a waste? Xuange, didn’t you bring me back an even more efficient ‘translator’?”

Lu Zhu nodded furiously like a pecking chicken. “Right, right, right. Believe me, I’m really very capable.”

After dinner, Lu Zhu took her leave, and He Dusheng arranged for the family driver to take her back.

He called A-Xiang over and explained the situation. “Arrange for someone to look into that Lu Zhu. How could a sheltered young lady who never steps outside know so much?”

A-Xiang said, “There’s something wrong with her? Better safe than sorry. I’ll pass the order down. The next time she comes…”

He Dusheng raised a hand. “That’s not necessary for now. At present, she still seems useful. Keep her where we can watch her. I want to see what exactly she’s trying to do. Post more people around Madam. Don’t let Lu Zhu be alone with her.”

A-Xiang accepted the order and withdrew.

Song Xuange was eating fruit nearby, and only then did she say, “She does have some unusual qualities, but to me she doesn’t seem like a bad person. Her temperament is also a bit too reckless. Looking at her, she’s full of openings and flaws. She really does seem like someone who’s never gone out before. Last time she even had to ask a patrol officer for directions. Who would send someone like that to be a spy?”

He Dusheng switched out the fruit platter and fed her one piece of fruit after another with a fork. “It’s still better to be careful.”

Ten days later, Lu Zhu turned in the first part of the translation draft, and it was a delightful surprise. Judging by the content, she had already completed the translation of nearly half the manuscript.

He Dusheng spent two hours reading through that portion of the manuscript.

Afterward, he said to Song Xuange, “This Lu Zhu is no simple person.”

Not only did the manuscript contain a translation of the book’s text, it also included notes in different colored inks marking some of her own interpretations, annotations, and even suggestions for improvement.

If everything she had marked was true…

That same day, A-Xiang also brought back the information his men had uncovered.

Lu Zhu was the youngest daughter of the main branch of the prominent Lu family in Suzhou. In her generation, she had four older brothers above her.

Three years ago, her family had arranged for her to marry Fang Huaiyuan, the eldest son of the well-matched Fang family.

Fang Huaiyuan had been a classmate of Lu Zhu’s brother. The two had been engaged since childhood, and compared with a blind arranged marriage, they had at least had the chance to spend time together and get to know each other.

However, in the three years since their marriage, the number of times Fang Huaiyuan had returned home could be counted on one hand. He had never cared much for Lu Zhu as his wife.

This spring, Fang Huaiyuan sent a letter home informing his parents that he had only ever thought of Lu Zhu as a younger sister. While studying in Shanghai, he had already met an outstanding young woman who was also a progressive youth. The two had fallen in love, and he intended to divorce Lu Zhu and marry that young woman.

Naturally, the family refused to allow it, and Fang Huaiyuan’s father even came to Shanghai in person to berate his son.

Unable to defy his father, Fang Huaiyuan stopped bringing up the matter of divorcing his wife, but the incident deeply shook Lu Zhu, who had always been gentle and submissive. In the spring, she fell gravely ill and was at death’s door for a time.

Somehow, she managed to pull through, and after recovering, Lu Zhu’s temperament changed drastically.

No one knew what method she used to persuade Fang Huaiyuan’s parents, but they actually allowed her to come to Shanghai alone.

According to the Fang family’s servants, the eldest young madam had gone to Great Shanghai to join the eldest young master, since it would be best for the two of them to live together.

But Lu Zhu had only used that excuse to fool her family. After finding Fang Huaimin, she did not cling to him at all. Instead, she voluntarily asked to step aside and make room for that young woman.

Hearing this, Song Xuange could not help cutting in. “Voluntarily step aside? She doesn’t look like the sort of person who’d say something like that.”

A-Xiang gave a slight bow in her direction. “Madam guessed right. In truth, on the very first day Miss Lu came to Shanghai, she went with Fang Huaimin to process their divorce. Not only that, she said it was to deal with the elders in the family, and had Fang Huaimin write out a Divorce Agreement¹ as well. There was even a little twist in the middle of it.”

Song Xuange had never realized that A-Xiang, who was usually so stern and taciturn, actually had a storyteller’s gift.

He Dusheng patted her hand, signaling for her not to rush.

He shot A-Xiang a glance. “Why are you keeping Madam in suspense?”

A-Xiang immediately spilled the rest like beans.

“When Fang Huaimin saw that she was willing to divorce him of her own accord, he was naturally delighted, and the process went fairly smoothly. It was only when she asked him to write the Divorce Agreement that something happened. When he put brush to paper, the words he wrote were ‘letter of repudiation².’ Lu Zhu refused to accept it and forced him on the spot to change it to ‘Divorce Agreement’ before it would count. And that wasn’t all. Not only did she take Fang Huaimin’s Divorce Agreement, she also wrote one herself and gave it to the man surnamed Fang, leaving him so shocked he didn’t know what to say.”

Song Xuange found this downright baffling. “A-Xiang, don’t tell me you were hiding under their table while they were negotiating. How else would you know even this kind of detail?”

Only then did A-Xiang explain, “Madam doesn’t know this, but on the day Lu Zhu made a scene at his door, Fang Huaimin and that young woman were holding a salon with their friends. There were quite a few people present that day. What happened was genuinely interesting, and lots of people have been talking about it. On top of that, Lu Zhu deliberately bought space in several newspapers and had both Divorce Agreements published, declaring that from then on, each was free to marry as they pleased and neither would interfere with the other.”

“There were even newspapers involved!”

At just the right moment, A-Xiang took out several newspapers for the couple to read.

He Dusheng said, “This woman may seem rash, but she has some schemes in her as well. She registered the divorce, had the Divorce Agreement written, and then published it in the papers. Once all three were done, whether for Fang Huaimin, both families, or their respective social circles, there was no room left to turn things around.”

Song Xuange said, “That just goes to show how thoroughly she hated that ex-husband of hers.” She could not help but admire her. “This was such a huge matter. Any other young girl would have been completely flustered, but Lu Zhu handled it with real efficiency.”

At that, He Dusheng pulled the newspaper from her hands and told her, “You’re not allowed to learn from her.”

A-Xiang had not finished speaking yet and could hardly leave, but at this point he had nearly lowered his head into his chest.

Song Xuange shot He Dusheng a reproachful look.

He Dusheng accepted it with a smile.

A moment later, he asked A-Xiang, “What happened after that?”

A-Xiang said, “Afterward, Lu Zhu left with the Divorce Agreement. She didn’t go to rely on her brothers in Shanghai either. Instead, she looked for work all over the city by herself, and after running into walls for several days, she finally found a job at Chung Hwa Book³ Co. as a clerk doing stock handling and registration. As for Fang Huaimin, he became a laughingstock in young intellectual circles and hasn’t shown his face for quite some time. On the other hand, some older conservative scholars have published articles in the newspapers attacking Lu Zhu for failing to uphold wifely virtue.”

In recent days, Song Xuange had begun experiencing pregnancy reactions, and she had not been feeling especially well, so she had not been reading the papers.

Now she felt somewhat worried about the public discussion surrounding Lu Zhu.

A-Xiang said, “Madam needn’t worry. There are already quite a few people in the newspapers speaking up in support of Lu Zhu, praising her as a pioneer of women’s liberation in the modern age. The two sides have been arguing fiercely in print, and for now they seem evenly matched. But as more and more writers join the fray, the conservative camp has shown signs of weakening over the past couple of days.”

He Dusheng was not especially interested in such gossip and scandals, so he pressed on. “Where did her mechanical knowledge come from?”

“Sorry, sir, I couldn’t find out. In fact, Lu Zhu only studied for a few years before the age of ten, attending lessons with the girls of her clan under a female teacher in the clan school. By all rights, she shouldn’t understand these things. And I was unable to verify the teacher she mentioned, the one who supposedly studied mechanical engineering abroad.”

A-Xiang said, “In fact, among all her connections, there isn’t a single person who knows anything about machinery.”

He Dusheng’s long fingers tapped rhythmically against the wooden armrest of the sofa.

A-Xiang said, “Sir, I have already arranged for people to keep watch on Lu Zhu. If she makes any unusual move, it will definitely come to light.”

He Dusheng nodded and instructed, “Go in person and invite her to come over tomorrow.”

Song Xuange and A-Xiang both looked at him.

He Dusheng said slowly, “I’ll take her to the factory and see exactly how much real skill she has.”

Song Xuange’s delicate brows drew together slightly.

He Dusheng clasped her hand. “I know you like her, but times are unstable, and there are still unclear parts to her background. If she means no harm, I won’t do anything to her.”

The next day, Lu Zhu visited a factory under Fenglong as arranged. By the time she returned that evening, He Dusheng introduced her as no longer a part-time translator, but Fenglong’s Technical Consultant.

That night, the couple chatted in bed. “Is her technical skill really that good?”

He Dusheng pondered for a moment. “Yes. Today in the workshop, she casually solved the problem and repaired a machine. That machine had already been out of service for two weeks. I had even hosted a banquet and invited a British technician. He ate the meal and accepted the gifts, but kept dragging things out and refusing to come. We urged him several times, and every time he said he was busy.”

He rubbed at his brow. “I never expected Lu Zhu to be the one to fix it. Judging by her manner, she didn’t even consider it a major problem.”

“But didn’t you say there were still parts of her background you hadn’t looked into clearly? And you’re already comfortable letting her work with machinery?”

He Dusheng’s gaze turned sharp and cold. “Whatever her background may be, at least for now her skill is better than the British man’s, and that’s enough. People act in pursuit of profit, no more than that. I don’t believe I can’t offer terms attractive enough to win her over.”

He already had his own calculations in mind, and that reassured Song Xuange somewhat.

Translator’s Notes