The Art of Teasing - Chapter 137

Chapter 137

Wen Zhengyu ultimately still did not understand what Ma Lu actually did. She went outside Old Madam Zhang's bedroom and saw the door was slightly ajar. She gently pushed it open and found Old Madam Zhang lying on a recliner inside, flipping through a photo album.

Seeing her arrive, Old Madam Zhang closed the album, removed her reading glasses, and said, "You've finished meeting with Ma Lu already?"

Wen Zhengyu settled beside Old Madam Zhang, drawing her legs up as she sat on the plush carpet next to her. She rested her hand on the recliner and propped up her slightly dizzy head, saying, "Meeting or not, I don't even know what he does. He was so vague when he talked to me. I can't see him as a soldier, he said he's not a bodyguard or a mercenary, and the people under him have a scattered mix of all kinds of skills—I just… can't figure it out."

Seeing Wen Zhengyu's small gesture of holding her head, Old Madam Zhang guessed she was still a bit uncomfortable.

She paused briefly in thought, then said, "In business nowadays, within the country, the biggest risks on the road are traffic accidents or cargo spontaneously combusting."

Wen Zhengyu's thoughts stirred. She asked, "Are you talking about deliberate acts? Can I call Ye Ling to come listen?"

Old Madam Zhang looked at Wen Zhengyu with exasperation. The girl was truly biased toward her partner, her elbow bending all the way up to the sky. She then thought about how naive Wen Zhengyu was, and that some things probably wouldn't make sense even if explained to her. These past days, Ye Ling had been guarding Wen Zhengyu without leaving her side, and she had noticed it all. She said, "Go ahead. Call her in."

Wen Zhengyu swiftly sent Ye Ling a text message: "Come quickly to Grandma's room to hear a story."

When Ye Ling received the message and entered the room, she saw Wen Zhengyu and Old Madam Zhang truly looking as if they were about to hear Grandmother tell a story, and couldn't help but smile. She went over and even prepared water for Old Madam Zhang, ready for when her throat got dry from all the talking.

Old Madam Zhang found the two of them both endearing and exasperating, a little funny and a little annoying. Raising girls really was more thoughtful than raising boys, but the clinginess was real too. If this were Lian Xin and the others, and they didn't understand something, they would definitely start with Ma Lu and his men, finding a way to get clear answers. This little lazybones came straight to her. If it were a grandson, she'd have kicked him right out. But looking at Wen Zhengyu and Ye Ling now, if she kicked them out, it would definitely be Ye Ling who went to find Ma Lu.

Still, the problem wasn't a person having too many schemes—it was a person being clueless.

Old Madam Zhang said, "Before Liberation, the world was in chaos. Back then, doing business and transporting goods was nothing like now. Today, the roads are well built. One big truck, two drivers, and the goods are shipped out. You just receive and unload them at the destination. Even if accidents like crashes or spontaneous combustion happen, there's insurance to cover it. Back then, transporting goods relied on horse-drawn carts. Later, it got a little better with trains, but ordinary people's goods couldn't get onto the trains. It still depended on horse carts, all traveling by foot. The world was not peaceful. Mountain bandits and road bullies were everywhere. What those bandits loved most was raiding merchant caravans. The caravans had money. How many people's entire fortunes were staked on a single shipment? Those with deep pockets might survive, maybe have another chance. Those with thin pockets would go straight to hanging themselves with a rope. And this was just with bandits who had some scruples, who only took the goods but didn't touch the people. Some bandits robbed the goods and killed the people. One shipment, halfway through the journey, both people and goods would be completely gone."

Wen Zhengyu opened her mouth slightly, then continued listening quietly.

Old Madam Zhang said, "The government also suppressed bandits, but how could they suppress them all? For one thing, the world was chaotic and bandits were numerous. When the government came, the bandits scattered. When the government left, they came back. Furthermore, in some places, during the day, they were farmers in the fields. At night, they picked up their tools and became road bandits."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Did you encounter them?"

Old Madam Zhang said, "My mother died at the hands of bandits. I was only ten at the time. My mother was taking me to visit relatives. My two older brothers were at school then, so we didn't bring them. We were traveling with my father's merchant caravan. Over a hundred cargo wagons, plus the wagons carrying provisions for the road, more than one hundred and several dozen in total. The caravan had over thirty guards, and besides that, there were more than a dozen around my mother and me. Later, we ran into bandits. They didn't want road toll money. They wanted the goods. They had superior numbers, several dozen nearly a hundred men, all with guns. Normally, we would have just let them take the goods and leave. But that time, there was me and my mother. The two of us were worth far more than those goods."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "They discovered you? How did they discover you?"

Old Madam Zhang said to Wen Zhengyu, "You've watched too many TV dramas. Thought hiding under the wagon would work?"

Wen Zhengyu blinked.

Old Madam Zhang said, "When mountain bandits rob on the road, they don't just suddenly appear. They first have to scout out how many people we have, who is with us, roughly what kind of goods we have, before they find the place to strike. My mother and I were in the wagon. Unless they were blind, they could see us. And don't think that like in TV dramas, you can just swap clothes with a maid and smear some dirt on your face and not be recognized. Nonsense. Whether she's a young miss or a maid, you can tell just by looking at the hands and the skin on the face."

"So the fighting began. At that point, the goods couldn't be saved. My mother directly scattered silver. A whole large chest of silver ingots thrown out, but they didn't pick up the ingots. They were fixated on me and my mother. Old Uncle You escorted us in retreat. The hired porters also ran everywhere and many were killed by stray bullets."

"My mother was also hit by a bullet while fleeing. She died."

"I already knew how to shoot a gun by then, but I had never even killed a chicken."

"Old Uncle You carried me and ran desperately. Behind me, I heard nothing but gunfire. The guard team was covering our rear…Later, there were fewer and fewer people…Old Uncle You gave me a gun and said that if he was gone too, whether to stay or go, I would have to decide for myself."

"My mother had just died right before my eyes. I was still grieving. Then, in the blink of an eye, I was about to be shot dead myself. I was so furious, I took the gun to fight them to the death…"

Wen Zhengyu listened in stunned disbelief. Ten years old? Grabbing a gun to fight bandits to the death?

Ye Ling also rounded her eyes.

Old Madam Zhang said, "But I didn't run more than two steps before Old Uncle You hoisted me onto his shoulder. I didn't struggle either. From Old Uncle You's shoulder, I fired at the bandits behind us. At that time, I truly didn't know what fear was…You're like me in this way."

Wen Zhengyu: "…"

Ye Ling: "…" Was Grandma actually feeling proud about this?

Wen Zhengyu asked, "So how did you escape?"

Old Madam Zhang said, "Good luck. Ran into a military unit passing by."

"Old Uncle You is Little You's grandfather."

Wen Zhengyu was not surprised by this. It was like Aunt Sun—her aunt had previously managed her family's kitchen. She recommended Aunt Sun to work in their household to learn cooking skills. Later, when her aunt retired, Aunt Sun took over managing their kitchen.

Old Madam Zhang said, "In the country today, one vehicle with two drivers delivers the goods. But in unstable regions, merchants and transport teams are the most likely to be robbed. You need your own security team to escort the goods. This security team doesn't just follow the vehicles. They have to deal with all kinds of complex situations. Take the simplest example: when crossing a bridge, mines are buried on it. What then? Turn back? Detonate the mines and blow up the bridge? You can't. You have to go defuse them yourself."

"And if someone tries to rob the goods, waiting until they're right in front of you to fight, blowing up one vehicle is already a huge loss. The best way is to find them in advance. Before they even get close to the convoy, take them out…" As she spoke, Old Madam Zhang swept her hand through the air. The gesture was as carefree as brushing away dust.

"Finding these robbers is also a technical skill."

Old Madam Zhang asked Wen Zhengyu, "Now do you understand what Ma Lu and his men do?"

Ye Ling thought to herself: "This security setup is truly top-tier." She looked at Wen Zhengyu again and felt that Wen Zhengyu seemed gilded from head to toe, the kind that was gold inlaid with jade.

Wen Zhengyu thought of what Ma Lu had said before about cleanup work and finally understood what he meant.

She thought for a moment and said, "Having you send Ma Lu to follow me, isn't that using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

Old Madam Zhang let out a deep, long sigh, the kind filled with heavy melancholy. She leaned closer to Wen Zhengyu and said, "Ancestor, little ancestor, nothing is more precious than life. If your life is gone, everything is gone. If something happens to you, what use is building the biggest fortune or supporting the most people?"

"Ma Lu and his brothers are all in their early thirties now. They've gone through life and death for us. We must also plan for their future. When they come back, they can have a stable meal to eat and a peaceful life to live. He will protect your safety well. If there's anything you need him to handle, let him go do it. If you have no use for him, well, with the skills he and his brothers have, they can earn a living anywhere. That he can follow you is also due to years of connection with our family. Don't think you won't need him. Wen Shiyi could even stoop so low as to harm you for that bit of money, let alone others."

Hearing this, Wen Zhengyu nodded and did not speak.

Having said so much, Old Madam Zhang was tired. She waved her hand at Wen Zhengyu and said, "I need to rest now."

Propping up her dizzy head, Wen Zhengyu slowly stood up.

Ye Ling said, "Grandma, we'll go out now." She supported Wen Zhengyu as they left.

Back in her room, Wen Zhengyu collapsed onto the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Ye Ling lay down beside Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu naturally nestled into her embrace and closed her eyes, saying, "So I should just consider it as supporting a few more people?"

Ye Ling gently stroked Wen Zhengyu's back and said, "A thousand pieces of gold are easy to come by, but talent is hard to find. Having your own people at hand is always better than having to ask others for everything. They are willing to follow you now because of Grandma. Whether you can keep them depends on yourself. The boss chooses the employees, and the employees also choose the boss. They grew up in the Lian family, so there's a bond of affection between everyone. That's much stronger than people hired from outside."

Wen Zhengyu shifted her head to find a comfortable position and said, "I don't understand many things. You teach me."

Ye Ling softly agreed: "Alright." She drew closer to Wen Zhengyu, pressing her nose against Wen Zhengyu's nose, and teased, "You really are incredibly precious."

Wen Zhengyu said, "Not as precious as you. I'm just a magnet for trouble. You can lay golden eggs."

Ye Ling laughed outright and asked, "So do you want to invest in me?" Wen Zhengyu could never keep Ma Lu in check. Relying solely on sentimental ties, how long could that last? The kind of people who could go to the Middle East and do their line of work were not the type who could settle into idleness. As soon as she said this, she suddenly felt like she was trying to get at her wife's private savings—and these savings had just been given by an elder. It seemed pretty shameless.

Wen Zhengyu said, "You'll have to wait until I've thought it through before I reply." What she loved most was still painting. The more money, the more people to manage, the more matters to handle. But she had to grow up eventually. She couldn't live on an allowance like before. She was with Ye Ling, and Ye Ling was willing to help her, protect her, and spoil her. But she couldn't rely on Ye Ling for everything. There would come a day when Ye Ling would also need her to help and protect her. "I don't know what Ma Lu is going to teach me. You join me."

Ye Ling gently responded: "Okay."

---

Ma Lu waited until after he had seen Wen Zhengyu and Ye Ling come out, then went to see his younger brother, incidentally inquiring about Wen Zhengyu and Ye Ling.

Ma Jun said, "They're pretty good. Miss Zhengyu has a good temper, treats people well, and our benefits are good too. She likes peace and quiet, doesn't go to many places. Every day it's just her workplace, home, and occasionally attending banquets. She doesn't even make us follow her. Basically, once she arrives at a place, she lets us have free time and just come pick her up when it's time. Wen Jing follows her everywhere without leaving her side, but she doesn't let us go far, afraid that if something happens we won't be able to respond in time. But if Miss Ye is there, we have complete free time. We just need to be back on time. It's very relaxed."

Ma Lu said, "Miss Zhengyu listens to Miss Ye in everything?"

Ma Jun thought for a moment and said, "Miss Zhengyu got hit on the head not long ago, a concussion. She's been a bit fuzzy lately. Miss Ye has been handling everything around her. Before, she and Miss Ye each managed their own affairs. Only when there was trouble and someone was looking for problems did Miss Ye and Brother Xin go handle it together. But twice in a row, they didn't handle it well…Hey, brother, you're asking about this…how can you come asking me for information?"

Ma Lu said, "From now on, I'm following Miss Zhengyu."

Ma Jun immediately cried out in overjoyed surprise: "Really? You're not going back to the Middle East? Oh, this is great, this is great. Brother, just follow Miss Zhengyu and do well. Grand Madam and Grandpa Lian absolutely adore her. She's so nice, it's just…it's just that people are always targeting her, wanting to bully her. Just before, that Zhao Si harmed her. Our two carloads of bodyguards couldn't even protect her. The moment we got off the plane, special police had guns pressed to our heads. We could only watch helplessly as Miss Zhengyu was taken away and beaten into a concussion. You have to get revenge for her."

Ma Lu asked, "You don't talk this much when you're outside, do you?"

Ma Jun said, "When you're not here, I only talk this much around Grand Madam. When I'm outside, I try not to speak. Around Miss Zhengyu, I play dumb, afraid that if I talk, I'll slip up and she'll find out I'm reporting on her to Grand Madam."

Ma Lu immediately understood why Wen Zhengyu only kept Wen Jing close. He smacked his brother on the head and said, "So stupid. If you want to follow someone, follow them properly. You're following Miss Zhengyu, yet reporting to Grand Madam. Go back to Grand Madam's side."

Ma Jun felt deeply wronged: "Grand Madam said Miss Zhengyu is a worrisome soul, a little fool, and told me to help keep an eye on her, to report to her at the slightest sign of trouble. I thought that made sense."

Looking at his brother, Ma Lu realized this one was also a worrisome soul.

Ma Jun asked, "Brother, are you really coming back?"

Ma Lu said, "Yes." He pulled Ma Jun to sit down and said, "Tell me about Zhao Si."

Ma Jun immediately spilled everything he knew like beans pouring out of a sack.

Ma Lu listened, feeling only worry. So this was why his younger brother, who had grown up in the Lian family, couldn't even make it as a personal bodyguard. After he finished gathering information, he said, "Xiao Jun, even if I'm the one asking, you shouldn't have told me."

Ma Jun's mouth fell wide open. He was dumbfounded. He paused for a long moment, then said, "But you're my own brother."

Ma Lu said, "Your own brother could sell you out too." He stood up and said, "I'm leaving." He closed Ma Jun's gaping mouth for him, patted that dumbstruck face, and left.

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