Touch of Riches Chapter 6

When Nathan Xiao was having lunch, another young master came to visit him in the yard.

Compared to the aggressive Third Young Master, the Seventh Young Master was obviously much easier to talk to. He sat down and greeted Nathan Xiao as soon as he entered the room. The Seventh Young Master looked approachable and spoke with discretion, but from his slightly haggard look, he seemed to be a young master who was not very favored.

"Thirteenth brother, I just came back from collecting rent from other places, and I want to discuss something with you." The Seventh Young Master said, "My mother died early, and Thirteenth Aunt treated me like her own child. I have never forgotten this kindness. Without Thirteenth Aunt, I might have died long ago.

Thirteenth Aunt has been gone for so many years. Before she left, she entrusted you to me. I thought it was not a good idea for you to stay at home all day. You see, I invested in a textile factory in the countryside. Other brothers were not optimistic about it, so they did not intervene. But I went to investigate and felt that this business was profitable.

So I want to give you a stake. I've advanced the money for you, and you don't have to pay it back. I just hope you don't stay at home all the time, and go out and work on your career when you have time. "

Then he took out another envelope and said, "This is the profit I made from collecting rent. Take it for now and use it as your living expenses for this month."

It turns out that the reason why the prodigal Thirteenth Young Master could still live a life of debauchery was mainly because his Seventh Brother was loyal and supported him out of the kindness of the Thirteenth Concub!ne.

Nathan Xiao felt quite touched, so he said, "Seventh Brother, I've thought about it, it's not good to be so decadent every day, I won't go to restaurants and other places anymore."

"That's great!" The Seventh Young Master said happily, "It's rare that you finally figured it out. I'm going to the surrounding countryside to see the factory the day after tomorrow. Why don't you come with me? I'll have to negotiate with the local weavers and recruit them as workers in the factory. You can learn from them, and you can stand on your own in the future. Then I, the Seventh Young Master, will be relieved. If we build up our business, we will have face in front of the master, and we won't have to be so ashamed among those brothers."

In the Republic of China era, the fastest growing industries were light industries. But it seemed that it was not the right time yet. Most of the young masters of the Xiao family controlled some traditional industries, or wanted to cooperate with foreigners to engage in foreign trade and heavy industries. On the contrary, the seventh young master, who had no power, thought of opening a light industry. Nathan Xiao thought that this young master had a good vision.

In the next two days, he tried every possible way to understand the information in this mansion, and more or less understood how dark and hierarchical this feudal family was.

In this house, countless lives have been lost in the struggle for power and personal gain. Even reasoning is impossible, because here, the master is the law and reason. This is an iron rule that everyone in this family, and even in this city, believes in.

This Thirteenth Young Master, due to his physical disability and being unwelcome, is not even qualified to enter or exit through the main gate and can only go through the side door and the back door. He himself has no concept of class and thinks that this does not matter. However, the Thirteenth Young Master must be so angry that he must be dying. No wonder he is so decadent and self-degrading.

But he had a question, since he was here, where did the real Thirteenth Young Master go?

He was sure that this body was his own because there were scars on it from his naughty childhood.

Why did he look so much like Thirteenth Young Master? Was he related to him by blood?

Nathan Xiao racked his brains to figure out this problem, but he couldn't figure it out, so he just gave up thinking about it.

Finally, the day came when he and the Seventh Young Master were going to the countryside. The Seventh Young Master found a horse-drawn carriage, a Western-style one, and brought two servants and a wheelchair. The trip seemed grand, but it was said that other well-known young masters all had their own private cars.

It’s amazing to think about the concept of private cars more than a hundred years ago.

The road to the countryside is not that long. At least for modern people whose concept of space has been greatly expanded, this so-called countryside is equivalent to the urban-rural junction of the suburbs. It looks quite prosperous. The whole town is full of authentic ancient buildings and bluestone paving, which is completely different from the so-called holiday streets rebuilt by later generations.

This place is obviously not as developed as the city. Horse-drawn carriages are a very powerful means of transportation on the streets, and they are Western style, which makes them even more eye-catching.

The carriage stopped at the door of a restaurant. Some gentry had been waiting for a long time and were standing outside the door to greet them. There were also many common people who came over just to watch the fun. As expected, the Xiao family's influence was too great. As long as the locals heard that the young master of the Xiao family was coming, they would come out in such a large number to watch.

Nathan Xiao was carried into the restaurant in a wheelchair. There was a blanket covering his legs and he was wearing a long gown, so outsiders could not tell how he became disabled.

Everything in the Xiao family mansion is kept secret from the outside world, because the Xiao family severely punishes servants who gossip outside. Therefore, these outsiders do not know Nathan Xiao's background and are extremely respectful to him.

He was carried to the elegant seats on the second floor, where a group of gentry were eating, drinking and discussing business. The Seventh Young Master was quite eloquent, but Nathan Xiao had no idea about the business world and just sat aside drinking silently.

Seeing that the discussion with the squire about the factory was almost over, the Seventh Young Master suddenly said, "Thirteenth Brother, I asked you to come here today not only to let you meet the various staff members, but also to let you meet someone."

A country gentleman immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "I'll ask someone to call her over right away."

After a while, the servant brought a girl upstairs and stood beside the wine table. She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, beautiful and pretty, dressed simply, with her eyes downcast and her lips slightly bitten.
 
She had a white silk flower pinned to her braid, as if in mourning.

"This is Miss Xia Wanyue from the former Xia Ji Cloth Shop. Miss Xia's father has just passed away. She is the only daughter in the family without any brothers or sisters. It is difficult for Xia Ji Cloth Shop to continue running. Fortunately, the young master of the Xiao family said that he would buy the cloth shop and take the workers with him." The official introduced, "The seventh young master wants to be a matchmaker for you, the thirteenth young master, and introduce Miss Xia to you."

Nathan Xiao was surprised. He didn't expect this to be a blind date!

Xia Wanyue had a bitter expression and was obviously unwilling. Perhaps she had to stand here for the sake of her family.

Nathan Xiao didn’t know how to deal with this, he still hasn’t had a girlfriend!

He had never even thought about such a thing!

"Wanyue, why are you looking so sad? You said that the young master of the Xiao family came to see you in person!" An old man nearby started to complain about the girl. They just treated Xia Wanyue as an item that could be given away at will, but they didn't think that she was still in grief because her father had just passed away.

How can women be considered human beings in this era?

Nathan Xiao said, "Don't worry about this. Isn't Miss Xia still in mourning? I'll go to Miss Xia's house later to visit her and offer my condolences."

The Seventh Young Master said, "Thirteenth Brother, you are much more flexible. Okay, you two can get to know each other first. There is no need to rush into the wedding. Anyway, Master Xia just passed away not long ago, so let Miss Xia mourn for him."

Xia Wanyue looked up at Nathan Xiao with a little surprise, then quickly lowered her head.

After she left, the Seventh Young Master said, "Miss Xia was carefully selected for you. She is beautiful, gentle and virtuous. Now that you have a family, I can put my worries to rest."

"Sorry to trouble you, Seventh Brother." Nathan Xiao knew that arranged marriages were the norm in this kind of family, and it was not something he could resist. He could only take things one step at a time. Besides, he knew that the terrible tragedy would happen in two years, and he didn't know where the Xiao family would go, so he had to prepare as soon as possible.

After dinner, the Seventh Young Master took a group of gentry to see the factory, while Nathan Xiao asked for a carriage to take Miss Xia home.

Xia Wanyue seemed a little scared, but still got on the carriage.

She had never been in such a Western carriage before. Sitting in the carriage, she felt so novel and restrained that she didn't know what to do and didn't dare to look Nathan Xiao in the eye.

Nathan Xiao had no choice but to say, "I heard that Xia Ji Cloth Shop is now almost managed by your uncle."

Xia Wanyue said, "My father founded the cloth shop, but he became seriously ill five years ago and has been bedridden ever since, so my uncle took over the management. Now my uncle is also in charge of the family affairs."

Her words made Nathan Xiao realize that his family property might have been stolen by his uncle. Thinking that his life experience was similar to hers, Nathan Xiao felt more sympathy.

After that, Xia Wanyue didn't say another word.

When they arrived at Xia Wanyue's home, they saw that her house was quite spacious and could be considered a middle-class family. Her uncle and aunt all came out to greet Nathan Xiao. Although their brother had just passed away, her uncle and aunt looked very happy, showing that they were not sad at all.

The servant carried Nathan Xiao's wheelchair into the house. Nathan Xiao deliberately asked about Xia Wanyue's situation, but found that Xia Wanyue actually lived in the most remote and smallest room, and her hands looked very rough, obviously she was treated as a maid on weekdays. Judging from her aunt's face and the tone of scolding the servants, she must be a harsh shrew.

I'm afraid Xia Wanyue will be abused in this family.

So Nathan Xiao deliberately said: "Although Wanyue is in mourning, our two families are not far away. Why don't you stay at my place for a few days to get to know each other? After all, we will be husband and wife after the New Year."

My aunt and uncle were overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, saying, "That's good, that's good. It's a great blessing for Wanyue that the young master married her! Wanyue, thank the young master!"

In fact, Nathan Xiao knew that his behavior was quite obscene, just like someone who fell in love with a girl and wanted to take her home immediately. But this couple was still grateful to him, which was really ironic.

Nathan Xiao saw Xia Wanyue biting her lips to prevent tears from falling. However, the couple told the servants to prepare firecrackers as if they were having a wedding.

At this time, Xia Wanyue suddenly knelt down and begged, "Master Thirteen, Wanyue has nothing else to ask for, but to take away the tablets of my father and mother so that I can worship them often!"

"How can you be so ungrateful, little girl!" Auntie poked her head fiercely, "I asked you to go to a noble family, but you are so filthy. Why do you bring a tablet? Aren't your parents' tablets placed in the ancestral temple just fine?"

"It's okay. This is Miss Xia's filial piety." Nathan Xiao said.

"Thank you, Master Thirteen!" Xia Wanyue finally couldn't hold back her tears, "From now on, Wanyue is a member of the Xiao family in life and a ghost of the Xiao family in death..."

This sentence was said with great reluctance, but in such an era, this was the life of a girl. She didn't even get married in a formal way, but just became a slave in someone else's family.

Nathan Xiao asked the servants to give the couple red envelopes, which were also prepared in advance by the Seventh Young Master. He said it was for matchmaking, but in fact it was to buy him a wife.

After bringing Wanyue back to the inn where they were staying temporarily, Nathan Xiao asked Sophie, who came with him, to arrange for Wanyue to stay in the guest room next to his. Sophie looked unhappy and treated Wanyue badly. On the contrary, Wanyue was very kind and was not angry at Sophie's rudeness. She even called her sister Sophie everywhere.

The Seventh Young Master seemed to have some business to deal with, so he would stay in this small town for two more days. Wanyue's uncle and aunt wanted Wanyue to leave the house as soon as possible, and actually asked her to follow Nathan Xiao.

Nathan Xiao asked Sophie to tell Wanyue the family rules. In fact, he didn't know what the family rules were, but he knew it was best not to wander around the Xiao family mansion for the time being.

After dinner, Wanyue changed into plain clothes like a maid and stood by his desk waiting.

Nathan Xiao put on the airs of a young master and deliberately asked, "Do you already know the rules of the Xiao Mansion?"
 
"Sister Sophie has already told me." Wanyue bowed deeply. After all, she was from a scholarly family - it was said that Mr. Xia used to be a scholar. She was much more knowledgeable and well-mannered than Sophie, that noisy and rude girl.

"Wanyue, I know you are a filial daughter, so I will not touch you during the two-year mourning period. We in the Xiao family also have to be polite. You are my legal wife, so I must be polite. Let's get to know each other during these days."

"Thank you, young master!" Wanyue was a little surprised and felt that this young master was a little different from what she had heard. She knew that the young masters of the Xiao family were all famous playboys, but this Thirteenth Young Master looked very decent, which was different from the rumors.

"Then tell me about your life and your family." Nathan Xiao gestured for her to sit down first, as if she were his own student.

He certainly didn't want such a beautiful and kind girl to become a victim of the times. In fact, in this era, there are still many ways for women to be independent.