Twenty-five: The Earl's Mansion
The car swayed into the British Concession, where there were high noses and deep eyes everywhere. He said something Cheng Geng couldn't understand at all, and the buildings everywhere were different from the situation outside the Concession.
You can see white-skinned patrolmen with horse whips and hats everywhere in the concession. They rode tall horses with big heads, proud, as if they were the owners here, and they did not think that this was in Anxi at all.
Luo Xiaohu held a pass in his hand. This is a proof of British identity. Only this proof can he enter the concession, otherwise he would be expelled. The British people did not trust the Anxi people and issued few passes, so there were almost few Chinese people who could appear here, but the identities of those who could appear here were extraordinary.
Cheng Geng looked at everything outside and found it very novel. When the men and women met, they hugged each other and even kissed each other.
These are things Cheng Geng never dared to think about, his heartbeats faster and his face turned red.
Luo Xiaohu was thinking. When he came out of Qin Tianzhen, he discovered Cheng Geng's method of setting up a mechanical cursor, as if he had seen his father again.
He couldn't tell whether he was hating or not, but he never forgot that majestic figure in his heart. When he knew that his father was dead, he did not feel sad about it.
With a chatter in his heart, he opened the car window and looked at the pedestrians outside. A woman leaning against the street light shook at him. He turned his head in annoyance and happened to meet Cheng Geng's eager gaze.
"Who knows you? Why don't you ignore her when you say hello?"
Luo Xiaohu didn't know how to explain, and he smiled and said, "If you want to meet, I'll introduce it to you?"
Cheng Gengcha's expression was obvious, and he understood from his expression, and said with a smile, "It turns out that there are such people in the concession. I think the English people are different from us. I ask me to say that everyone lives in Anxi together, why not tear down these doors and walls, and everyone is friendly to each other, and there is nothing wrong with it."
Luo Xiaohu laughed, "Do you know how much price England have paid for this concession? The annual rent exceeds your imagination. I am not afraid to tell you that the Zhang family has today's prosperity was entirely built on the interests of the concession."
"This is the place for us Chinese. Being able to agree to their temporary residence here is already giving them the greatest face." Cheng Geng squinted everything outside.
Luo Xiaohu put away his smile, "But the English people don't think so. They think this is the same as a business. If they pay for the money, they must receive corresponding respect and treatment, so they built a door wall and even brought about the English order."
"If you ask me, it's okay if they are polite. If we annoy us, we can let them leave at any time." Cheng Geng looked at the young man holding a rickshaw outside with a rickshaw sitting in the car, and there was a foreigner in it, not knowing what he was saying.
"Okay, let's not talk about these unpleasant things. Now that the major warlords are separating, if no one can gather these forces together, it will be difficult to do what you said." Luo Xiaohu sorted out his collar and asked thoughtfully, "What is your relationship with him?"
Cheng Geng said strangely, "Who are you with?" He looked at Luo Xiaohu and suddenly understood, "It's a friend, after all, I've experienced life and death together."
"It seems that he trusts you very much." Luo Xiaohu whined, "He didn't pass on his own strengths to you?"
"Actually you care about him very much, right?" Cheng Geng noticed Luo Xiaohu's intention, remembered Luo Han's appearance and comforted him, "He is more honest and open to his brothers, but I can see that he cares about you very much."
"When my mother left him, she wanted him to keep him, but he never spoke up." Luo Xiaohu was sad.
"That's because you don't understand him. Maybe he wants you to leave and don't want you to suffer with him."
Luo Xiaohu didn't speak, staring at Cheng Geng, with an indescribable complex expression in his eyes.
The car stopped and the door was opened. Luo Xiaohu came to his senses and smiled faintly, and walked out of the car. Cheng Geng followed him out.
This is a small Western-style building. Several lazy cap soldiers stood at the door, staring at the women on the road unscrupulously. They occasionally threw their eyes and took out a cigarette and handed it to the people beside them. After lit each other, they looked at the figure of the passing woman with playful eyes, and exclaimed in their mouths, and sometimes they whispered one or two words to each other, and then laughed.
Luo Xiaohu walked up, and the cap-caps stood at attention and said to Luo Xiaohu in a stiff Chinese, "Dear Hu, you are back. Your great Earl father has been looking for you several times. You should go and see it quickly. He must be worried about it."
Luo Xiaohu nodded, waved to Cheng Geng, and entered the yard with a swagger.
Cheng Geng looked at everything in the yard and found several servants busy watering the rose garden in the yard. When he saw Cheng Geng, he stopped his work and was curious why another yellow-skinned man came.
The old servant smiled and threw a kiss at Luo Xiaohu.
Luo Xiaohu nodded with a smile, pointed to the room, the servant made an invitation and continued to get busy.
The fragrance of flowers in the yard was intoxicating. The white stone steps were spotless. Following Luo Xiaohu to the brown hall door. Luo Xiaohu rang the doorbell, and then a sound of footsteps came. With a creaking sound, the door was opened.
"Oh, my god, you're back." A young maid hugged Luo Xiaohu, "The Count has been looking for you for a long time."
Luo Xiaohu smiled and pushed the maid away, and said with a smile, "Lisa, you should work well."
Lisa's face changed and she said angrily, "You probably don't know. The Count thinks I am the most loyal servant, so why would you let me take care of you?" She saw Cheng Geng, looked up and down, and said curiously, "Who is this person with the same skin as you?"
"He is my friend, by the way, you go and prepare some food." Luo Xiaohu greeted Cheng Geng and walked upstairs.
This is a wooden staircase, and it makes a creaking sound when stepped on it. The second floor is not as spacious as the first floor. The empty door can be seen with figures inside and the smoke floating up.
"Friend, this matter has stumped me. Even if I want to, the whole English will not agree." The musical voice came, like a wonderful opera.
"I have bought this for you. I can even show you the "Cao Gang Minutes", but I must make promises that the leader Anxi will survive these crises."
"It's not that I don't want to be the leader of you. We are just guests here. As for who is in charge, it has nothing to do with us." The voice paused and then said, "I'm very curious, what benefits do you give to other consuls? I believe you also know that if something really happened, it would be difficult for you to stop it without the help of the rest of the house. I'm very surprised that at this point, your Governor Zhang is still talking about face. If it were me, I would come to see you in person, and perhaps it would be sincere."
Cheng Geng heard that it was the Great Elder and was secretly surprised. Could it be that the situation in Anxi really reached this point? His suspicion towards the Great Elder slowly disappeared at this moment.
"The Earl may as well say your own conditions. If possible, we will not disappoint the Earl. In fact, you also know that we only hope that before this conflict, we hope that you can remain neutral, at least not agree to their request. How about it?"
"I am a loyal businessman, but you have shown your sincerity. What I can guarantee is that I am here and England will not turn against each other."
"That's good, the Count is indeed a man of integrity."
"There is an old saying in China: Use people's money to eliminate disasters for others. I think it's very pertinent."
"It is said that the Count is a Chinese master, but I didn't expect that the Count is also very knowledgeable about the antiquities in China. Now it is
When the situation in Anxi is tense, I have no time to be distracted. After passing this pass, I have to shamelessly ask the Count for advice."
"In that case, we are not only like-minded, but also have the same hobbies. In our English, if men and women have the same hobbies, they will become couples. If men have the same hobbies, they will become good friends."
Luo Xiaohu knocked on the door, pushed the door and walked in. The elder saw Cheng Geng and looked at Cheng Geng in surprise, "Why are you here?" The elder's face turned ugly.
"He is my friend." Luo Xiaohu explained, then looked at the white-skinned man with white hair but energetic spirits, "I found another white jade bone."
The count's face changed, he twitched, looked at the elder and smiled, "Friend, sorry, I have something important to do."
The elder stood up with a smile, "Then I won't bother the count, but I'll ask the count to keep his promise if I promised me."
"I am a person with the Knight's Order and uphold the belief of a knight. Don't you believe me?" The Earl's face looked ugly.
The Great Elder hurriedly said, "I have lost my words, I have lost my words." The Great Elder bowed and walked outside. The servant followed behind him and took the Great Elder away.
The elder glanced at Cheng Geng, and a solemn feeling appeared in his turbid eyes.
The Count looked at Cheng Geng, "Who is this?"
"He is my biological father's friend." Luo Xiaohu did not shy away.
The count was stunned. The expression on his cheek had not changed, but it felt strange when Cheng Geng saw that the white cheek had a slight difference from the skin color on his arms.
"You mean, your father also has a white jade bone?" The count's voice suddenly changed. He asked in confusion, "Impossible, this is unreasonable." He looked at Cheng Geng and said excitedly, "Where is your white jade bone? What do you need?"
Cheng Geng vaguely felt that the person in front of him was the key to untie the strange white jade bones. What made him even more strange was that the count in front of him had not changed from beginning to end. Cheng Geng suddenly remembered something, but he didn't say it.
"Sir Earl, I want to know what the secret of this white jade bone is that it can make the Earl so flock to it?"
The count's eyes flashed and he sat down on the sofa, "I can promise you how much you want. As long as you promise to give me the white jade bones in your hand, I promise to meet all your requirements." He began to tempt.
"I want to know what the use of the Count's white jade bones?"
"I can't tell you about this." The Count became wary.
"Yes, secrets are generally called secrets because only a few people know them." Cheng Geng looked around and found that there were yellow deserts everywhere in the oil paintings on the wall.
Cheng Geng glanced at Luo Xiaohu, gestured, sat on the sofa, and smiled, "In the past, there was someone who didn't want people to know the past. He thought of a way. He killed his enemy and peeled off his enemy's face. Then he made the ancient method to prevent the face from rotting, and then put it on his cheek. From then on, he transformed himself into another person." Cheng Geng looked at the count, and the count's face looked ugly.
Luo Xiaohu looked at Cheng Geng vigilantly, "How do you know?"
Cheng Geng's eyes flashed with a cunning look and said with a smile, "I was not sure at first, but your question made me confirm my guess." Cheng Geng looked at the earl in front of him, "My Count, it should be very uncomfortable to carry a human skin like this. I am not afraid to tell you that I once touched a human skin with a history of thousands of years. It feels smooth and delicate, and it feels very comfortable, just like a living person, but that taste makes me unbearable. Since everyone understands people, why not be honest? I have no interest in the matter of the earl. It was entirely because of Mr. Luo's request that I came to visit. As for the white jade strange bones, I was just very curious."
Chapter completed!