Chapter 1512 - Evening Entertainment
The "moonlight clan" was rare in Lingao. Whether naturalized citizens or locals, the vast majority came from poor backgrounds. Those with families to support were one thing; even those on their own tended to scrimp and save, hoarding every fen of their circulation vouchers. Truthfully, life in Lingao was not easy—the Yuan Elder Court's wage levels, by old-timeline standards, were quite "stingy." Only because most people in this timeline barely scraped by did Lingao seem so superior by comparison, almost like paradise.
Li Yongxun's life followed a pattern: glamorous in the first half of the month, frugal in the second. Ke Yun always appeared near month's end, just when pay was about to arrive but funds were running low. She would treat Li Yongxun to a good meal and take her out for a stroll.
During these meetings, Ke Yun always inquired in detail about her work, the division's operations, and her colleagues' situations. Li Yongxun reported everything truthfully—and afterward, Ke Yun would give her a small "gift" as encouragement.
Li Yongxun had now been working in the Household Registration Division for over two years. As Lingao's reach expanded, her workload grew ever busier, and "temporary loans" to other departments for special tasks became increasingly frequent—no longer limited to the Interrogation Division.
On the whole, Li Yongxun had performed outstandingly in the National Police, fully demonstrating the value of "reformed former public servants." Though she remained "controlled use" and was still an ordinary household registration officer without an official title, her rank had risen to probationary commander—equivalent to "warrant officer" in the military. In administrative grade alone, she was nearly on par with Ke Yun.
Li Yongxun was reasonably satisfied with her current life: freedom, no nagging from family, and certainly no one pressuring her to marry. Yet she still missed home, missed her parents, and sometimes fantasized about bringing her family to Lingao so they could all live happily together. But going home was out of the question—even writing a letter was impossible.
Besides, what would she even say in a letter? Whenever she thought about her life in Lingao, a guilty unease crept in. Her father would surely fly into a thunderous rage; a sound beating with the family rod was certain—just for this skirt, this hairstyle, these clothes. But that was not the worst of it. The crux was that she now served the Australians: tantamount to "betraying the court." Though the Australians had not yet openly clashed with the throne, the current situation was no different from a regional separatist regime—war with the court was inevitable. Li Yongxun was no ignorant peasant; she understood basic politics. Her conduct was of the same nature as Ming soldiers defecting to the Manchus in Liaodong. Her father, though holding a minor hereditary post barely worth mentioning, had always made "loyalty" his watchword. If he learned she had "submitted to the Cropped-Hairs," who knew how furious he would be...
I can only take it one step at a time, Li Yongxun sighed. She opened her file, about to begin work, when footsteps sounded and a crisp voice called softly:
"Team Leader Li, I don't quite understand this item..."
The speaker was a lovely young woman with refined bearing—every word and gesture betraying a good education. She was a graduate of the former Maidservant School, now the Women's College of Arts and Sciences.
The Household Registration Division's work consisted largely of routine operations requiring little more than literacy and meticulousness. Thus, after the Maidservant School was reorganized into the Women's College, the large backlog of "awaiting assignment" maidservant trainees had been distributed—the National Police received a substantial share, most assigned to staff the division.
Li Yongxun's seniority was sufficient that, though she held no official title, she had been appointed team leader, supervising a small group. Guiding and overseeing these newcomers was her primary duty.
"Let me see." Li Yongxun took the document and began explaining the meaning of the item and how to fill it in. As she spoke, she suddenly noticed the girl's skin—so delicate and smooth, with a rosy undertone, so endearing even when focused.
Something struck Li Yongxun's heart; for a moment she felt at a loss. This unsettled feeling lingered until nearly quitting time—today, as usual, there would be no temporary overtime slip.
But just when the pendulum clock showed ten minutes before the end of the shift, a messenger delivered an overtime notice.
Li Yongxun froze, then took it and saw it was a requisition from the Public Order Division—notifying her to participate in this evening's county-wide security sweep.
"Come on, let's go out tonight and find some fun."
At Haixing Store, Wang Xinglong had just received his pay. He stuffed the envelope of circulation vouchers into his pocket and winked at Lin Ming.
Lin Ming, of course, knew what he meant. In their idle moments, the two often chatted, and among the topics were Lingao's various novelties. Wang Xinglong had said he wanted to take him to "see the sights" and "broaden his horizons." Lin Ming had no objection—familiarizing himself with Lingao's conditions was quite important.
That said, his purse was hardly fat. He had only been at Haixing Store for a few days; this month's wages were not due yet—and besides, he had already taken an advance that would have to be repaid first next month. He had exchanged some circulation vouchers when he came ashore, but the amount was small, and he had to keep reserves for emergencies.
Still, he could not decline a colleague's invitation. After all, Wang Xinglong was his living map of Lingao. Many things he did not understand required the young man's help.
"Won't your cousin mind?"
"Ha! The place we're going is off-limits to women. But aside from that, there are many other pleasures to be had." Wang Xinglong laughed. "Besides, Brother Lin, having crossed the sea alone, you probably need to relax a bit."
Lin Ming gave a dry chuckle. That was true enough. Since leaving Foshan, nearly half a year had passed. Before, it had been nightly revelry—one wife and four concubines taking turns attending him. These past months had been extraordinarily hard: heavy labor, poor food, broken sleep aboard ship. He had not even had a moment alone with "Lady Five-Fingers," let alone a real woman.
Now that he had settled down, pent-up desires surged forth. He did indeed want it.
"Even so, I have no wages this month..."
"No matter. My treat—next month you can treat me, and we'll be even." Wang Xinglong was unconcerned. "Don't worry, it won't cost much."
Seeing Wang Xinglong so insistent, Lin Ming stopped demurring.
After work, the two returned to their respective quarters to freshen up, then set out together. As Lin Ming stepped out of his room, he saw Wang Jinchun in the courtyard hanging laundry to dry. Feeling slightly awkward, he offered a hasty greeting—just as Wang Xinglong emerged as well.
"Brother Lin, why haven't you dressed more smartly? Going like this, the girls will laugh at you."
"What, off to 'eat fishy' again?" Wang Jinchun flung a wet garment over the bamboo pole.
"Nonsense. I'm taking Brother Lin to see the world." Wang Xinglong showed none of Lin Ming's embarrassment. "Brother Lin has been drifting at sea for over half a year; he deserves a bit of relaxation and rejuvenation..."
"Hmph. I'm talking about you," Wang Jinchun snorted. "Brother Lin is all alone here; he can do as he pleases. But you? Are you planning to just keep mooching in the shop forever?"
Wang Xinglong hastened to say, "Rest assured, I have a plan."
"Plan, my foot." Wang Jinchun spat. "Have you looked at how much houses cost per square here in East Gate Market? Any land or house near the City Rail goes up in price every day! Even buying an apartment means twenty years of debt. How many twenty-year stretches do you have in a lifetime?"
"That's why I need to plan for the long term..."
"Long-term planning and still no real answer! Do you still think you're the young master of a Laizhou merchant family? With money and grain to spare at home? The two of us are here with not a tile over our heads, not an inch of land beneath our feet, living an utterly rootless existence—doesn't that make you uneasy?" Wang Jinchun grew heated.
"We'll discuss it when we get back, discuss it when we get back..." Wang Xinglong could not out-argue his cousin. He quickly grabbed Lin Ming and fled. Lin Ming, equally embarrassed, followed. The two practically ran out the door.
On the street, Lin Ming said uneasily, "Perhaps we should not go tonight after all..."
"No matter, no matter." Wang Xinglong wiped sweat from his brow. "She was just venting. By the time we get back, she'll have calmed down."
Lin Ming thought, When we get back, she'll probably be even angrier. But since Wang Xinglong was so eager, he did not want to spoil his fun. He said, "Your cousin has quite the temper."
"She's grown wild." Wang Xinglong said. "She's my third uncle's daughter, born of a concubine at that. The family didn't raise her like a young lady. Third Uncle had a manor in the countryside, and from childhood she ran about with the village boys and servant girls—spirited as they come. Otherwise, how could she have escaped from Laizhou with me? The ground was covered with rioters and corpses; there wasn't even clean water to drink! Of my entire family of sixty-odd, by the time we reached Jinan only the two of us were left." He sighed, then smiled again. "But let's not speak of such dreary things. At least we survived and came to this earthly paradise of Lingao. Life is short—like morning dew, the days gone are many. We ought to enjoy it while we can..."
"Brother Wang, those words are a bit too melancholy..." Lin Ming had originally known nothing of the Dengzhou-Laizhou mutiny beyond the fact that rebel generals had revolted and countless lives were lost. What "countless lives lost" actually meant, in prosperous and peaceful Foshan, he could not truly grasp. The most wretched thing he had ever witnessed was a roadside corpse and some gaunt, starving refugees. Imagining how the Wang siblings had fled that icy, war-ravaged wasteland stirred a pang of compassion.
"Yes, yes, Brother Lin is right." Wang Xinglong nodded repeatedly. "So the house can wait, but the fun cannot."