Chapter 104 The Republican-Era Young Lady Stops Making a Fuss 15 – I Won’t Let You Worry Again

From what Lu Changgeng had said about the foremen at Dexing Cotton Mill and the workers’ living conditions, if it was really true, then it was clear the mill’s internal management was in chaos.

If even Dexing, one of the three major cotton mills, had problems like this, then the smaller mills were likely in even worse shape.

He Dusheng was not buying up cotton mills out of charity. He had far greater ambitions.

Song Xuange thought to herself that she had to do something. While He Dusheng charged ahead on the front lines, she would secure the rear for him and keep things stable.

These days, worker strikes were becoming more and more common. For one thing, wages were indeed far too low compared to the labor demanded. They worked more than ten hours a day, with no rest days all month, and earned only three to five silver dollars, less than even the little maids at Song Mansion. For another, even with wages already this low, many factories still laid off large numbers of workers after purchasing improved foreign machinery. Even jobs like these offered no security.

The Song Family’s factories, however, did not have such problems. He Dusheng came from the bottom of society and understood better than most how hard life was for ordinary people. After taking over the Song Family, he carried out many reforms, and the treatment of workers in various positions was considered relatively good.

That might be the case now, but if the factories they acquired were not properly managed, then not only would they fail to achieve the effects He Dusheng wanted, they would drag him down instead.

Lu Changgeng’s experience would not be an isolated case.

Song Xuange called for A-Xiang and told him to arrange for reliable people to investigate the current living conditions of Shanghai’s workers.

A-Xiang was surprised. “Madam, this is…?”

Song Xuange said, “I have my reasons. Get the information organized and bring it to me as soon as possible.”

She emphasized, “Send two groups. Have people who understand management investigate management loopholes. Have those from humble backgrounds, the kind who can better empathize with the workers, look into what workers have suffered and what they are demanding. Don’t just investigate other people’s factories. Investigate our own as well.”

“Yes.”

A-Xiang was able to become He Dusheng’s confidant because he was dependable when it came to getting things done.

What surprised Song Xuange, however, was that in less than three days, he delivered a thick stack of investigation results.

Among that stack of papers were both freshly written reports and all kinds of newspaper clippings about workers’ conditions and concerns over the future of domestic industry.

The more Song Xuange read, the deeper her frown became.

The first issue was the problem she already knew about, the Foreman System¹.

In most factories, the managers and supervisors at the top did not handle actual affairs at all and were completely out of touch with the workers below. How the workers were treated depended entirely on the conscience of the foremen. Some foremen were obsessed with power and acted like tyrants. They inflated worker numbers when reporting upward in order to embezzle wages, and downward they manipulated the workers in every possible way, enjoying bribes and tribute from them.

To the workers, the foreman was practically their heaven.

There were no shortage of people like Lu Changgeng and his sister, exploited so badly they had to pay money just to go to work. Somehow they ended up in debt, and the debt only grew larger and larger. If they could not repay it, they had to secretly work for the foreman on the side, like slaves he kept. Worse still, when it came to female workers, some were humiliated by the foremen and even sold into brothels.

Exploited by the foremen and left with no money in hand, most workers lived in shacks that were hardly fit for human habitation.

There were photos in the reports. One journalist wrote of them, “They eat like pigs at the trough, live like cattle in pens, filthy beyond description, with no doctor to turn to when sick, and countless young children die young.”

Worse yet, if workers were injured or fell ill because of factory machinery accidents, the factories would not take responsibility. Even if someone showed up missing a hand or a leg and begged for help, the factory might turn around and accuse the worker of improper operation and damaging the machine, then demand compensation instead.

If she had not personally ordered these investigations, she might have thought, had she seen these materials elsewhere, that they were just stories cooked up by teahouse storytellers.

Ruixin came to report, “Miss, someone calling himself Lu Changgeng says he’s here to repay the money.”

Song Xuange had him brought in.

The moment Lu Changgeng saw her, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed, saying again and again that Song Xuange had saved his sister’s life.

Song Xuange had someone help him up and told him to sit, but he refused.

Lu Changgeng explained why he had come. His sister’s illness had already begun to improve. Aside from keeping a few dollars for medicine, he had brought the rest back. There were still more than sixty dollars left.

He said, “Even if you added together all the wages owed to my sister and me, it still wouldn’t come to this much. I truly don’t dare take so much. Last time, I was just in a panic because I had no idea whether my sister would recover, so I took all of it.”

“Keep it. Consider it an advance on your wages.”

“W… wages?”

“I think you’ve got some courage and drive. From now on, come work at the mansion. Are you willing?”

Lu Changgeng had never expected such a stroke of luck. How could he possibly refuse? He immediately tried to kneel again, and only barely was stopped by A-Xiang.

Song Xuange said, “Have the steward explain things to you. Start work tomorrow.”

That evening, the steward came to ask Song Xuange what work should be arranged for Lu Changgeng.

“For now, have him serve as an attendant. Find time to have someone teach him how to drive.”

The next day, Song Xuange saw Lu Changgeng after he had cleaned himself up from head to toe. He was waiting for work in the servants’ room.

Song Xuange called to him, “Come on, you’re going out with me.”

The excitement in Lu Changgeng’s eyes was impossible to hide, but he still carried himself with reasonable composure.

He went over to Song Xuange, greeted her first, then greeted A-Xiang. “Brother Xiang, I’ll be counting on your guidance from now on.”

A-Xiang shot him a sidelong glance and stepped slightly aside.

He did not say anything.

Lu Changgeng’s smile did not change. He knowingly retreated half a step and followed behind A-Xiang.

A-Xiang opened the car door for Song Xuange, and Lu Changgeng stood nearby watching closely, looking as if he wanted to memorize and perfectly copy even the exact distance the car door was pulled open.

Having the willingness to work was a good thing. Even though A-Xiang found it rather absurd, he did not show it.

Song Xuange did not say much either.

A-Xiang asked, “Madam, where are we going today?”

Song Xuange said, “Have Lu Changgeng lead the way. I want to see for myself how those workers are living.”

A-Xiang had been helping her with this matter recently, so he naturally understood what she meant.

Lu Changgeng had never imagined it would be something like this. He wanted to ask, but then remembered the steward’s earlier warning that when serving his masters, he only needed to follow orders and not talk too much.

So he swallowed all his confusion and obediently led the way.

What Song Xuange saw that day was far more shocking to her than anything in those written reports, so much so that she did not even want to replay it in her mind, much less put it into words.

It was too miserable.

Those people, those scenes, tore open a hidden corner beneath the glittering surface of Great Shanghai.

It took her quite some time to process it.

But there was one thing she was absolutely certain of: this was wrong, inhumane.

History had proven to the world time and again that extreme exploitation could only produce short-term gains, never sustainable benefits.

People who could no longer survive would strike back in desperation and overthrow the authority that oppressed them.

Even if all of Shanghai treated workers this way, even if the whole country treated workers this way.

Would that make it right?

Song Xuange’s answer was: no.

Perhaps it was because she had never managed the family’s affairs and did not understand the exchange of profit and interest in business.

She had no way of using the wealth produced by her own workers to indulge in luxury and privilege while they labored all day and still could not fill their stomachs.

She only kept these thoughts to herself and did not say them to anyone else.

A-Xiang and the others did not speak of them either.

Because she knew no one would agree with her. Those people would only laugh at her for being naive.

But she herself was clearer-headed than ever.

She had to do something.

So that when she enjoyed wealth and luxury in the future, her conscience could bear it.

So that He Dusheng’s great commercial ambitions could have a better foundation.

So that when the war and foreign threats she knew were coming finally arrived, there would not also be trouble from within.

After that, Song Xuange did not have a moment of idleness.

She went to bookstores and read a great many books.

She had people make introductions so she could meet foreigners from industrially advanced countries and learn from their experience.

She disguised herself as a reporter and went to speak with actual workers.

She arranged to meet the journalist who had consistently reported on workers’ conditions and followed the workers’ movement, and asked for his views.

Little by little, a vague plan gradually began to take shape in Song Xuange’s mind.

When one was busy, time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had gone by.

Song Xuange was already showing, and even in her usual clothes, her pregnancy was obvious.

He Dusheng still had not returned.

He was more than ten days later than planned.

During this time, Song Pingzhang had already started school and only followed Song Xuange around on weekends.

Even so, this young master, born into privilege, had come to see that there were many hardships in ordinary people’s lives besides foot-binding.

He had even lost his appetite.

As He Dusheng remained away for so long, Song Xuange sent people to the dock every day to wait for him.

That day, before noon had even arrived, the man sent to the dock came hurrying back. “Something’s wrong, Miss. Sir has been taken to the hospital.”

She had never expected this to be the result she was waiting for.

Panic rose in Song Xuange’s heart, though she kept a steady face. “Tell me quickly. What happened?”

The male servant caught his breath and said, “When Sir got off the ship, he was carried down in a chair. He looked extremely weak. Once ashore, I heard him tell his men not to go home, because he was afraid you’d worry. They went straight to the hospital, and I slipped away in the confusion to come back and report to you.”

“Which hospital?”

“I came back first. Another person followed them there.”

As he was speaking, the telephone rang. Ruixin answered it, then told Song Xuange the name of the hospital. The call was from the other male servant who had followed them there.

Song Xuange had no mind for anything else. She told A-Xiang to ready the car and went straight to the hospital.

Ruixin chased after her from behind. “Miss, your shoes, change your shoes.”

She changed them in the car.

A-Xiang was anxious too, and drove at great speed.

When they reached the hospital, it was easy to find where He Dusheng was. The several men he had taken with him were standing guard outside the ward, and they all looked startled when they saw Song Xuange.

Lu Zhu was there as well.

“What exactly happened?”

The servants looked at one another. They hesitated and stammered for a long while without managing to say a complete sentence.

Looking exhausted, Lu Zhu said, “This time, our talks with the Chief Manager did not go very smoothly. But in the end, things were settled. Mr. He and the Chief Manager’s people were discussing the handover arrangements and the plans that would follow. Mr. He stayed up through several nights with them. Once everything was more or less in order, he was about to go to sleep at daybreak when he fainted.”

Seeing that Lu Zhu had already spoken, the servants finally joined in. “This servant immediately went to call a doctor. After taking his pulse, the doctor said it was a wind-heat illness. Sir is in the prime of life, so this kind of sickness should not have found him in the first place. Even if he did catch it, he should have recovered in a few days, only…”

“Only what? Stop hemming and hawing.” Song Xuange urged anxiously.

“The doctor said Sir should not have fallen ill to begin with, but his pulse was unsteady, rising and sinking. Recently, he has gone through great sorrow and great joy, and his emotions were already strained. As long as there was something to hold himself up with, he could still endure it. Then with days of overwork, and perhaps some difficulty adjusting to the local conditions as well, he finally collapsed.” He secretly glanced at Song Xuange’s expression before adding in a low voice, “Sir was afraid Madam would worry, so he instructed us not to tell you.”

Lu Zhu said, “At first, it really wasn’t anything serious. After a few bowls of medicine, he was already improving. That was when we prepared to start back. Who would have thought that on the ship, he developed a high fever and started vomiting and having diarrhea. Fortunately, there was a doctor on board, and he had medicine with him, so the illness was temporarily stabilized. He held on until we disembarked, then we hurried with that doctor to the hospital where he works.”

After asking for the doctor’s name, Song Xuange told A-Xiang to prepare a gift and go offer thanks. Then she pushed open the door and entered the ward herself.

He Dusheng lay on the hospital bed, his face waxy yellow, his lips dry and cracked, his sleep restless.

She had never seen He Dusheng like this.

At once, tears fell down her face like beads slipping from a string.

She stepped closer to the bed, wanting to call to him, wanting to touch him.

But then she thought of how miserable he must feel. If he was asleep, that was at least a little better.

Afraid of waking him, she could only keep watch at his bedside.

And so she watched over him, looked at him.

Doing nothing at all did not make her bored. It only filled her heart with quiet contentment and silent joy.

The ward window faced west, and as the sun turned, warm golden twilight spilled across the hospital bed.

In that shaft of light, He Dusheng’s long eyelashes trembled lightly.

He opened his eyes and stared blankly for a moment, as though he had forgotten where and when he was.

Only after a long while did he finally see Song Xuange by the bedside.

He Dusheng’s brows knit faintly, his gaze resting on her face as though he needed to confirm that she was really there. His breathing was still a little rapid, his chest rising and falling softly with each breath. The collar of his hospital gown hung open, exposing a stretch of pale collarbone still damp with sweat that had not been fully wiped away.

“Dusheng…”

Song Xuange spoke.

It was as if he had finally confirmed that it was really her.

Then, in those eyes that usually held neither sorrow nor joy, the light within instantly softened. His fingertips moved against the bedsheet, as if he wanted to raise a hand and touch her, only to let it fall weakly again. His dry lips parted slightly, then pressed together. His throat bobbed once before he called her name in a hoarse voice, “Xuange.”

Song Xuange’s tears were instantly stirred up again, and they fell even harder.

She wanted to hit him, yet couldn’t bear to, so all she could do was accuse him. “You…” Her voice caught, and after raising it for half a sentence, she suddenly remembered his frail condition and lowered it to the softest whisper. “How could you scare me like this?”

“I’m sorry…” he said in a low voice, his throat so hoarse it barely sounded human. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

Hearing that only made Song Xuange even angrier.

“And you have the nerve to say that? Something this serious, and you actually wanted people to keep it from me! Do you even still think of me as your wife?”

He Dusheng looked at her weakly. “I was wrong…”

“So now you know how to admit you’re wrong? What were you thinking before?”

At last, Song Xuange couldn’t hold back anymore and punched him once.

He Dusheng let out a pained sound.

She regretted it immediately.

She reached out and took his hand. At first she grasped his wrist. His skin was burning hot, and his pulse beat beneath her fingertips, faint but stubborn.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

He Dusheng’s fingers curled slightly, as if he wanted to hold her hand but didn’t have the strength. Seeing that, Song Xuange took the initiative and slipped her hand into his palm.

His hand was hotter than usual, his palm damp, yet she could still feel those familiar lines.

“Don’t cry,” he said softly, his thumb awkwardly brushing the back of her hand. “I’m fine.”

Song Xuange shook her head, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She bent down and gently rested her forehead against the back of his hand, her shoulders trembling faintly.

In fact, the doctor had already come earlier and said that after the medicine, he was no longer in any real danger.

But she just couldn’t stop being afraid.

Afraid of seeing him unconscious and unresponsive.

“Don’t cry,” He Dusheng said again.

His fingertips moved, lightly stroking her hair again and again, like he was soothing a frightened cat.

It was only after crying for quite a while that Song Xuange wiped away her tears and got up. “I’ll go get the doctor.”

He Dusheng smiled at her. “All right. Take it slow, no need to rush.”

The doctor came, and it was still the same thing, a few days in the hospital and he would recover completely.

Song Xuange followed the doctor around, nervously asking one question after another.

He Dusheng was helpless. “Xuange, I’m fine. I slept a while, and I already feel much better.”

“Mmm…” She answered vaguely, but still bombarded the doctor with a long list of precautions.

Instead, the doctor comforted her. “Compared to the patient, Madam is heavily pregnant. You should be even more careful not to overexert yourself or become too fatigued.”

Only then did Song Xuange finally stop.

After the doctor left, He Dusheng reached out and, with quiet satisfaction, gently stroked her already noticeably swollen belly.

“It’s grown so fast.”

Cradling her stomach, Song Xuange leaned a little closer and said, “Nanny Wen said my belly still isn’t that big. Doctor Wu came to check on me too, and he said the baby is very healthy.”

After stroking it for a while, He Dusheng reluctantly withdrew his hand and said to her, “You heard what the doctor said too. I’m fine. You should go back and get some proper rest. Just leave two servants here.”

Song Xuange couldn’t bear to leave him.

“I’ll go after I stay with you through dinner.”

After dinner, He Dusheng urged her again.

She still dragged her feet, refusing to leave the stool beside his hospital bed.

He Dusheng said gently, “Xuange, be good. Don’t make me worry, all right?”

Song Xuange said, “I… I’ll leave after you fall asleep.”

The two looked at each other. Song Xuange was stubborn. In the end, He Dusheng gave in helplessly and closed his eyes.

Before long, his breathing seemed to grow longer and softer. Song Xuange rose and leaned in closer to look at him.

After watching for a while, she suddenly noticed that his eyes moved.

Song Xuange was displeased. “You’re pretending to sleep!”

He Dusheng admitted it. “That’s right, I was pretending. But I don’t know which little cat it was, breathing right onto my face and making it tickle. How was I supposed to fall asleep?”

Song Xuange huffed. “So you’re saying I was keeping you from sleeping?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. How could I possibly think such a thing?” he teased. “Madam, don’t be angry. Head back early.”

Song Xuange plopped right back down on the stool. “I’m not leaving. I said I’d go after you fell asleep.”

He Dusheng’s gaze was so tender it could have melted water. He held the hand Song Xuange had resting by the edge of the bed. “All right, I’ll listen to Madam in everything. I’ll sleep. I’ll go to sleep right now.”

Without realizing it, the already exhausted He Dusheng actually fell asleep for real.

Song Xuange held his hand, and she didn’t know if it was just her imagination, but it felt as though a low fever had begun to rise in his palm.

She let go of him, intending to go find the doctor.

But he grabbed her hand tightly in return.

Song Xuange thought he was pretending to sleep again just to tease her, but when she looked up, she saw his brows tightly furrowed and heard him muttering something indistinctly.

Song Xuange leaned closer, and only then did she hear him clearly: “Xuange… don’t go… don’t leave me…”

It felt as though her heart had been fiercely wrung, and her eyes grew hot again.

When he was awake, he kept urging her to leave.

Yet after falling asleep, he became like this.

How could she possibly bring herself to leave him now?

She clasped his hand back and pressed it to her cheek, whispering, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. I’ll stay with you the whole time.”

His grip on her hand tightened a little more.

Slowly, He Dusheng’s breathing steadied, but his fingers remained tightly locked around hers.

As the night deepened, Song Xuange lay slumped by the hospital bed. Unable to fight off her drowsiness, her consciousness gradually blurred.

Half dreaming and half awake, she felt as though someone was holding her. She cracked her eyes open a little and saw He Dusheng’s profile. Sleepy and drowsy, she rubbed against his chest. The scent that belonged only to this man made her feel incomparably at ease, and after closing her eyes, she quickly sank back into deep sleep.

The hospital at night was not quiet.

Outside the ward, footsteps came and went. Doctors and nurses spoke in low voices, and medicine bottles clinked together with crisp little sounds.

The noise made Song Xuange frown, and even in her sleep she wanted to lose her temper.

A warm, large hand covered her ears, shutting out the clamor from outside.

In her haze, she seemed to hear a hoarse, unpleasant voice making her a promise in a tone so low it was almost inaudible by her ear. “I won’t make you worry again. I promise.”

Translator’s Notes