Another heavy snow fell last night.
By morning, the snow had lightened, but snowflakes still drifted down like cotton across the streets. At first glance, the entire world appeared stark white. The shops lining the street only had their doors cracked open a sliver.
The signboard of this particular shop was quite small, bearing only a few faintly visible characters in black ink:
—Chen Laosan's Paper Effigy Shop.
It couldn't be helped. The goods sold here were considered bad luck, and for fear of offending the eyes of passersby, they had to keep a low profile.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
The door was kicked wide open, and a blast of freezing wind instantly poured into the room. Despite such rude behavior, the newcomer didn't offer a single word of apology. Before even stepping inside, he shouted:
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! I'll take every last piece of merchandise you have in here. How much is it? Don't dilly-dally!"
Hit by the cold wind, the few scattered customers were just about to curse him out, but in the next second, they caught sight of the newcomer's attire.
From a distance, he looked like a dusty, gray old squash. But upon closer inspection, he sported a Blue Sky and White Sun emblem on the brim of his hat, and an imposing leather belt was fastened around the waist of his freshly made padded cotton jacket.
Most importantly, in his hand was a baton, neither quite black nor quite white, resembling a mourning staff.
He was a policeman!
The curses that had reached their throats were instantly swallowed back down. They could only curse bitterly in their hearts: In such a rush to buy paper effigies, and buying so many at that, his whole family must have dropped dead all at once!
They then cast sympathetic glances at the shop owner, Chen Laosan. He was going to take a massive loss today:
—When did these godforsaken officers ever pay in silver dollars for anything they bought? Even if they were in a generous mood, they would just toss out a few measly coppers to brush people off.
Meanwhile, the pitied Chen Laosan was grinning from ear to ear. His winter-bloated body displayed an unbelievable agility as he darted out from behind the counter, bowing and scraping in response:
"I've been waiting for you! The goods are all ready. We know the rules, we know them well."
"You're certainly well-informed." Hearing this, the newcomer cast a surprised glance at Chen Laosan. Since it saved him the breath of explaining, his attitude softened considerably. He sized up the items in the shop and asked in a cool tone:
"How much in total?"
"I had Accountant Chen from Xiekouzi Street tally it up. All the funerary items, the paper carriages, horses, palanquins, and the paper boys and girls come to a total of one hundred and three silver dollars. I'll waive the fraction and make it an even one hundred silver dollars for you."
Although the eavesdropping customers were completely confused, they still gasped upon hearing this number. Over a hundred silver dollars' worth of paper effigies, piled up, it would be a literal mountain!
"Sounds like quite a lot of goods."
The newcomer finally revealed a smile. He pulled a piece of mulberry paper from his coat. As soon as he took it out, Chen Laosan's eyes were glued to the small slip of paper.
He watched as the man inspected it with extreme care, then took out a fountain pen and crookedly wrote down One Hundred and Three. After writing it, the man blew on the ink to dry it and made a show of handing it over. But just as Chen Laosan reached out to take it, the man dodged and dragged out his words:
"Don't you know the rules?"
"Oh my, the wind must have blown my wits away."
Chen Laosan inwardly spat at the extortionist, but outwardly he maintained a fawning smile and slapped his forehead. He reached into his padded jacket, digging around left and right until he finally wrestled out a small cloth bundle.
He carefully counted out three silver dollars, still warm from his body heat, and reluctantly handed them over with some polite pleasantries:
"Thanks for your trouble coming out on such a cold day. Please take this for some tea."
"Hmm."
With the heavy silver dollars in hand, the newcomer smoothly tucked them into his sleeve. Feeling the weight in his sleeve, he couldn't help but be overjoyed. He was striking it rich!
For a moment, he was grateful that he had pledged his loyalty so quickly, which was why Chief Jian had picked him for this plum assignment. Don't think he didn't know, many of his colleagues at the bureau who had been left out were so full of regret they were practically ready to slit their throats or hang themselves.
There was no other reason than the stark contrast right in front of them.
They were so busy their feet were hitting the backs of their heads, and it was exhausting work, but they were making money!
They were guaranteed a base errand fee of ten silver dollars a day.
And that was just the small change.
The real money came from collecting kickbacks from the shopkeepers. If they refused to pay, hmph, then they would be made to suffer for it. The officers wouldn't dare not buy the goods, for fear of failing their mission.
But who were they? The most cunning bunch of people around.
For the shops that paid the kickback, they would just glance over the goods and take everything. For those that didn't pay, well, just watch, rejecting three out of every ten items would be considered showing mercy.
And yet, no one could find fault with their actions.
What of it? Were they wrong for doing their duty and strictly inspecting the goods? Even if you argued to the high heavens, there was no logic in that.
As for those who weren't chosen for the job?
The bureau had delayed their salaries for months, and shaking people down on the streets hardly brought in any money. With the New Year approaching, money was needed everywhere, for winter coats, firewood, rice, grain, and New Year's goods.
Their families didn't understand either. How is it that you're all policemen, yet others are eating well and living large, while you don't even have rice gruel to drink? Regardless, it led to daily arguments at home.
The newcomer shook his head. Even he could sense the undercurrents surging within the bureau. Chief Jian's power was growing stronger by the day, and it looked like his position as the Chief of Police was actually going to be secured!
Who still remembered that just a few days ago, this man had been as down-and-out and pathetic as a dead dog?
So, as they say, one must have the help of a noble benefactor.
There is a good saying: A single step with the help of a benefactor is worth more than ten years of walking alone.
Miss Su was Chief Jian's benefactor, and she was their great benefactor, too!
......
Meanwhile, Chen Laosan also felt that Miss Su was his benefactor.
This business deal started quickly and ended just as fast.
What puzzled the onlookers was that the newcomer just dropped a piece of paper and left. He didn't even try to move the goods he said he wanted. It looked like child's play, but seeing Chen Laosan's face smiling like an old chrysanthemum, everyone knew there was more to the story.
Thinking this way, they went ahead and asked.
"This isn't just a piece of paper; this is money," Chen Laosan explained, showing off with spit flying from his mouth.
As it turned out, to save time.
The shopkeepers who sold their goods had to transport the merchandise to a designated location themselves. Once the goods were inspected and confirmed to be without error, they would be paid according to the number written on the paper.
"This couldn't be a scam, could it?"
Someone couldn't help but ask.
Don't assume that just because the police are involved, there won't be any deception. Heh, with them in the mix, you have to be even more vigilant!
"Having been in business for so many years, how could I be scammed so easily?" Chen Laosan was in a good mood and had the patience to explain. "Every funeral shop in the entire city of Peiping has been visited by a wave of these people. They actually came to my place rather late."
"The dozens of shops before me delivered their goods and received silver dollars in hand, all brand-new, full-weight silver dollars!"
Saying this, he felt a bit of regret.
If they had come a day or two later, he could have worked overtime to produce more goods to sell for extra money.
"Oh my, doesn't that mean all the funeral supplies in Peiping have been bought out? What is our family going to do!"
Someone exclaimed in alarm.
The other listeners also realized the problem. Anyone who came to Chen Laosan's shop had a funeral to arrange at home. Now they were in a real bind.
"Don't even think about it. There's nothing you can do. Right now, you probably won't find a single piece of merchandise in any funeral shop in all of Peiping."
Chen Laosan said sympathetically. After thinking for a moment, he offered a word of comfort:
"Fortunately, it's winter, so you can afford to wait. Keeping the body at home for a longer wake just shows that you are filial and sincere."
What else could they do, anyway.
The few customers nodded dejectedly. Suddenly, someone thought of something and asked curiously, "We haven't heard of any prominent family in the city having a death. Why such a massive spectacle?"
"Yeah, it's been years since I've heard of anything like this."
Someone lowered their voice. "When the old Empress Dowager passed away, the scene was pretty much just like this."
"No, no, no, keep your voice down." Chen Laosan waved his hands anxiously. This topic was touching on a taboo. However, everyone loves to gossip, and unable to hold back, he added:
"It's not that some powerful noble has passed away, but it's pretty close..."
He pulled out a crumpled newspaper and tapped the front page, pointing to the three prominent characters that read "Su Huaishan." Once he had drawn the attention of the group, he lowered his voice and began recounting the legendary tale that had been circulating.
Everyone listened, completely captivated. After a long pause, someone finally spoke:
"This Mr. Su truly lived a legendary life. Even though he didn't live long enough to return to his hometown in glory, at least he has a filial daughter who made sure his fallen leaves returned to their roots. Now that he is buried, his soul has finally found its foundation."
"Yes, indeed."
After a moment of collective lamenting, someone could no longer hold back:
"Legendary or not, I am just a vulgar man, and all I want to know is exactly how much money this Miss Su has?"
To spend so lavishly on a single funeral.
......
Just how wealthy was Su Ning?
Right now, countless people across the city of Beiping were dying to know the answer to this question.
Before this, they had vaguely heard the name Su Ning, but no one had paid much attention to it. Beiping was, after all, the nation's capital. It was a city of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, where countless powerful figures stirred up the winds of change.
Every single moment, someone was making headlines.
Su Ning was not even considered the most high-profile among them.
But things were different now. She had money. Too much money. An unfathomable amount of money. People are naturally drawn to wealth, and because of it, countless eyes were now fixed upon her.
Some wanted to profit off her.
Some wanted to befriend her.
Others hoped to pledge their loyalty to her, just as Director Jian had done, dreaming of rising to power and wealth overnight.
A thousand desires, ten thousand scheming hearts—the motives were endless.
