1928: The rise of giant merchants

As soon as Xu Zhimo sat down, he drank three large gulps of herbal tea, as if this could calm down the anger in his heart.

"A Luo, I'm not saying that the new cheongsam you sell is not good. Many female students in my class like to wear that green cloth cheongsam. It is indeed very good, but the one she wore! That is what serious women would wear. Cheongsam?"

As Xu Zhimo spoke, he waved his hands excitedly, as if he was gesticulating something. This was a habit he had left over from attending classes for a long time.

"It's slit to the waist, and it's so tight. In order to perfectly highlight your body curves, you have to wear those C-line pants! That's something even a prostitute wouldn't wear. It's hard to be elegant!"

Ye Luo knew that the cheongsam he was talking about was actually a sexy cheongsam specially designed for women in Fengyuechang to show that Ye's clothing treats all women equally, and ordinary women would not buy that style to wear out.

Indeed, if you want to have a perfect body shape without revealing any embarrassing inner traces, you can only wear bold underwear such as C-string pants and T-string pants.

Listening to Xu Zhimo’s detailed description, it seems that Lu Xiaoman wore it at home, and maybe even wore it out!

"Xiaoman went out?" Ye Luo still asked.

Xu Zhimo nodded with a dark face: "I went to sing an opera with that Weng Ruiwu, and I wore it when dancing in the ballroom!"

In this life, in order to prevent his friend from getting acquainted with Weng Ruiwu due to illness and eventually becoming addicted to smoking, Ye Luo also specially used the Thai massage he learned on Lu Xiaoman, and her condition was relieved a lot.

Logically speaking, the two of them should never know each other again.

Or is Lu Xiaoman really a wanton woman? Even if he didn't have that problem, he would end up catching up with Weng Ruiwu.

"Who is Weng Ruiwu?" Ye Luo asked.

Only then did Xu Zhimo remember that he didn't know the guy, and quickly explained: "He is the son of Weng Shouqi, and graduated from the Royal College of Hong Kong. I heard that he started practicing medicine in Shanghai in his 20s, and he commutes by car. He is very famous for his massage skills. This year He also served as the director of the accounting department at Jiangnan Shipyard, and served as the comprador of the Huaguo Business Company under Li Zuhan."

"Oh, you are a gentleman with some education." Ye Luo pretended to suddenly realize, and then asked him in a low voice, "Xiao Man will not have a relationship with this person."

"That's not the case. They met at Mr. Zhang Daqian's painting exhibition, because Xiaoman has been in poor health, coughs and stomach problems always recur, and you are very busy. She doesn't want to bother you all the time. I heard that guy's massage techniques Yes, just tell me, I also think it would be better to hire a doctor who can treat her disease for a long time, so I agreed to have him come to her house for massage."

Speaking of this, Xu Zhimo was obviously very regretful.

In the previous life, Ye Luo had read a lot of gossip, saying that even though Luo Ruiwu often gave Lu Xiaoman massages with half-understanding and skillful caressing, Xu Zhimo still regarded Weng Ruiwu as a friend and personally clarified the scandal between the two in newspapers.

At that time, Ye Luo felt that this was too "green-haired turtle", and Xu Zhimo didn't look like someone with a "sexual wife addiction".

Looking at it now, it is clear that Xu Zhimo wants to save face and does not want outsiders to judge his family affairs. The two of them have misbehaved, so he can only wipe his own behind.

"What's the effect?" Ye Luo asked again.

Xu Zhimo shook his head: "Xiao Man said it was okay. It's not as good as your Thai massage, but it's better than most massage masters in Shanghai. The key is that the guy's preferences overlap with Xiao Man's. The two often go to art exhibitions together. Singing, dancing and playing cards, it was a good time.”

"It's all my fault." Ye Luo was dumbfounded. During his recent trip to the United States, he had not been in Shanghai for more than half a year. After coming back, he had been busy with new business. He indeed forgot to treat Lu Xiaoman. Unexpectedly, something unexpected happened. , she still hooked up with Weng Ruiwu.

But judging from Xu Zhimo's state, the two of them probably haven't reached the point of sharing a bed and smoking in front of him.

In order to support his family in recent years, Xu Zhimo has held various professorships at Guanghua University, Daxia University and Central University, frequently traveling between Jinling and Shanghai.

This time, in order for Lu Xiaoman to completely cut off contact with Weng Ruiwu, he planned to quit all his jobs in the south and resolutely go north to teach at Peking University and Beijing Women's University.

"She didn't want to go to Peiping with me. She said she had business to do in Shanghai." Xu Zhimo hesitated. When it came to this, he was a little embarrassed to speak.

Ye Luo suddenly understood.

Lu Xiaoman is now one of the partners of Yunshang Clothing Company. Although he does not hold a large share, he will definitely make much more money than he, a university professor, from the sale of the new cheongsam.

It's normal that she doesn't want to give up this good job.

There is another reason.

The general manager of Yunshang Clothing is Zhang Youyi, Xu Zhimo’s ex-wife.

Now when they meet Xiaowang in Yunshang's clothes, the most embarrassing person must be Xu Zhimo, a heartless man.

Zhang Youyi is a typical old-era woman. Although she has a good family background (her second brother Zhang Junmai is a well-known scholar, and her fourth brother Zhang Jiayao was once the secretary of Zhu Rui, the governor of Zhejiang, and has huge political resources) and is highly educated, she has no regard for her parents' orders. , Brother's words are to be obeyed.

She dropped out of school at the age of fifteen to marry Xu Zhimo and became a young mistress. After that, she continued to fulfill her duties as a wife, but Xu Zhimo dismissed her as too boring and without a "soul".

In 1921, Xu Zhimo asked for a divorce from her. In 1922, Zhang Youyi gave birth to her son in Berlin and officially divorced Xu Zhimo.

All said and done, Xu Zhimo just felt that Zhang Youyi was ordinary-looking and not as interesting and good-looking as Lu Xiaoman.

In order to win back the heartless man, Zhang Youyi made a lot of efforts, but Xu Zhimo was determined to abandon his wife and children, and would rather break up with his family than leave with Lu Xiaoman.

The Xu family also recognized Zhang Youyi, the young lady, but Xu Zhimo did not.

In the summer of 1926, Zhang Youyi was taken back to Shanghai by her eighth brother Zhang Yujiu. Soon she took her eldest son A Huan to Peking to study. It was not until Zhang's mother passed away last year that she returned to Shanghai with her son.

At this time, Zhang Jiayao was already the vice president of Huaguo Bank and was in charge of the affairs of various banks in Shanghai. He gave No. 125 Haige Road (Huashan Road Fanyuan) to his sister Zhang Youyi so that she could live in the concession without worries.

After Zhang Youyi settled down, she quickly contacted Tang Ying and soon joined Yunshang Clothing as the general manager.

Needless to say, Xu Zhimo said that Ye Luo could feel the embarrassment when Zhang Youyi and Lu Xiaoman met each other when commuting to get off work every day.

However, given Lu Xiaoman's temperament, she probably doesn't care about this matter at all, and she doesn't like to stay in the company to work.

"You don't want me to persuade her, do you?" Ye Luo smiled bitterly.

He knew that it wouldn't take long for Xu Zhimo to change his mind and choose to forgive Lu Xiaoman. In less than three months, he would start traveling back and forth between Peking and Shanghai.

I live in Shanghai and work in Peiping. I have to fly and ship to go to work. My life is quite fashionable and modern, but the hardship is not easy to endure.

"Only A Luo, she is willing to listen to your words." Xu Zhimo grabbed Ye Luo's hand as if grasping a life-saving straw.

Ye Luo sighed and had no choice but to agree. (End of chapter)