Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 917: Chapter 161: Decisions and the Diary

Luo Qiu and Song Haoran appeared at the dining room door, chatting and laughing, and coincidentally met Song Ying there.

Song Ying politely called Song Haoran “Uncle,” then snorted lightly at Luo Qiu, turned her head, and ran into the dining room.

Old Master Song had not arrived yet. There were many rules in this old family, such as the juniors must not eat before the head of the family arrives.

It seemed that to leave Luo Qiu aside, after Song Haoran and Luo Qiu sat down, Song Ying immediately moved her chair next to Song Haoran and started to talk about things.

“Stock limit up? Oil? Gold mining?” Song Haoran found Song Ying’s incredible story astonishing as well!

“Yes! Let’s not mention these things, there are many other little things.”

Song Ying seemed to be in a really good mood, “You have no idea, until I came to the dining room, I had already received more than a dozen calls, all of which were to congratulate me. Today is simply my lucky day!”

“Speaking of which, I was in a pretty good mood just now too.” Song Haoran smiled, “You two being discharged today, it’s really true that when good things happen, people feel refreshed, as the saying goes.”

Although they were discussing, what Luo Qiu thought of was a conversation with Mr. Blind in the mourning hall.

The power of adding a few more incense sticks seemed a bit intense…

“Oh, everyone is here.”

At this moment, Old Master Song, accompanied by Uncle Wu, slowly came out, but Mr. Blind was not seen. Song Tianyou sat down, glanced at the grandchildren, and showed a kind smile, “Before we eat, let me say something, listen.”

Only then did Song Ying move her chair back to her original position… Song Tianyou was a very rule-abiding person and naturally hoped others would also follow the rules.

“Dad, what’s the matter?” Song Haoran asked curiously.

Song Tianyou said at this time: “I have set the date to go back to Hua Country, a week later. This time we go mainly to worship our ancestors. It’s been many years since we went back, and we don’t even know how our family cemetery looks now.”

“Worship ancestors? So suddenly?” Song Ying was taken aback—she had only been to the Song Family’s ancestral cemetery once, and it was when she was a child.

“It’s not a snap decision,” Song Tianyou said at this moment. “Actually, after Haoran found Luo Qiu, I had this idea. Just right, things here are almost dealt with, and our traditional New Year is coming, so I plan for us to celebrate the Lunar New Year when we go back to Hua Country this time.”

Song Ying frowned, “But, Grandpa, it still feels too sudden. You know if you go back there, many people will be watching. Besides, what about the Group’s affairs? They can’t be handled so quickly. Also, the hospital incident…”

Song Tianyou smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I will arrange someone to handle it. As for the Group’s affairs, just give a rough arrangement, going out for a while won’t cause chaos in the entire Group.”

Song Ying had to nod, “Okay, I will start arranging later.”

She knew that once Song Tianyou made a decision, it couldn’t be changed, which was the supreme authority of the entire Song Family household.

Saying this, Song Ying glanced unhappily at the innocent-looking Luo Qiu opposite her.

Luo Qiu was startled for a moment, then replied with a smile, making Song Ying grit her teeth in anger.

“Luo Qiu, do you have any questions?” Song Tianyou suddenly asked.

Worshiping the ancestral cemetery is as natural as it gets, and Luo Qiu had no reason to refuse, so he simply nodded in agreement… In that case, the club might have to be relocated once again.

However, the club itself is a place that can move around freely, as You Ye said before, the previous master had a period of time traveling all over the world.

“Where is the Song Family’s ancestral cemetery located?” Luo Qiu thus asked the question.

“Tai’an in Shandong province.” Song Tianyou smiled at this moment, “Our grandfather was actually near Mount Tai, but very few people know this point. Since my father’s generation, we have been mainly active in southern areas, where we rose again.”

Luo Qiu nodded, indicating he understood. It’s just… Mount Tai seemed a bit coincidental. The current time isn’t far from February 2nd either.

“Luo Qiu? Luo Qiu?” Song Tianyou suddenly called out a few times, “Is there still a problem?”

What Mr. Blind said in the mourning hall kept this in Song Tianyou’s mind. Although outwardly he appeared quite calm, inwardly, he couldn’t avoid focusing on Luo Qiu.

No doubt, Old Master Song didn’t want the Song Family’s bloodline split, even if Luo Qiu wasn’t some supreme noble, he would protect this child throughout his life without rest, and if the child had some ambition, he would also try to realize this ambition.

But now, knowing that Luo Qiu could bring great fortune to the Song Family, Old Master Song’s intention to keep people naturally grew more intense, and he cared more about Luo Qiu’s own thoughts—he never considered that Luo Qiu would leave the Song Family.

“Nothing, just suddenly remembered that I’ve never been to Mount Tai.” Luo Qiu casually smiled.

“Hmm, precisely take this opportunity for a good tour.” Song Tianyou chuckled, “If possible, you can also call your father’s stepmother, since marrying into our Song Family, she should be part of the ancestral worship.”

“I’ll think about it.” Luo Qiu didn’t directly refuse, but amusingly thought, wondering how Ren Ziling would react when she found he ended up linking with such ancestors of the Song Family after being out briefly?

Probably, she’d be dumbfounded.

“Alright, you have your considerations, I won’t force you.” Song Tianyou nodded, then decided, “Then this matter is settled, let’s eat, the kitchen made a lot of good food today, everyone eat more.”

Song Ying didn’t raise her hand to say finally it’s time to eat or anything like that, she just felt like her grandpa’s attitude towards Luo Qiu seemingly got even better.

It was already quite lenient, now it’s almost spoiling… what a nuisance!

…

…

“Fruits, fresh fruits! Bananas, small cucumbers, carrots!”

“Twists, twists, authentic Chinese specialty snacks, twists! Authentic twists!”

Everyone was shouting—along this street called Zhonghua Street. This was the only place where Song Da felt that a foreign land had a little taste of home.

Of course, it wasn’t too strong.

Just being able to see quite a few Chinese people here, there was enough reason to wander around—of course, Song Da didn’t come here to shop.

Taking Natasha’s ID out of his clothes, Song Da was looking at the house number in front of the building.

The rent for houses here was low, and quite a few locals or foreigners working here rented them to live. Song Da did not expect that people who would attend a Vineyard banquet would live in such a relatively commoner’s place.

“…Number 121, is it here.” Song Da raised his head; before him was a five-story concrete building.

Most of the buildings inside Zhonghua Street are only a few stories high, so the cement house in front of him wasn’t particularly striking—along with the specific room number, Song Da thought for a moment and finally decided to go in.

But just at that moment, a woman turned out from the staircase, looking about twenty-four or twenty-five. This woman’s eyebrows bore some resemblance to Natasha’s.

The woman’s movements were unchanged, holding onto crutches, carefully and arduously making her way down the stairs. Song Da frowned, but at this moment, the woman’s crutch suddenly slipped, and in an instant, she lost her balance, her whole body about to tumble down the staircase.

“Careful!” Song Da hurriedly took two steps forward and securely caught the woman.

A pair of crutches slipped down the stairs at this moment, landing on the street outside. Song Da glanced at this woman, noticing her haggard face, as if she hadn’t rested well for several days, and even wore a worried expression.

Song Da helped the woman down and leaned her against the bottom of the stairs, also retrieving and handing her the crutches again.

“Thank you,” the woman said softly, lowering her head, and walked away from Song Da.

“Where do you want to go?” Song Da asked instinctively.

“To find someone.” The woman turned back quickly and said, “My sister has been missing for several days; I need to find her.”

Song Da chased after her, a guess forming in his mind, wanting to confirm something, “Is your sister’s name Natasha?”

“You’ve seen her!” The woman, suddenly excited, gripped Song Da’s arm tightly, “Have you seen her, is that so?”

Song Da glanced around, nodding his head, “I do have some news about Natasha, but can we find another place to talk? This isn’t the right place to speak about it.”

Having been here for several years, Song Da was still not quite fluent in the language here—although he had no problem listening, speaking was still slightly off and slow.

The woman hesitated for a moment.

Song Da had no choice but to pull out Natasha’s ID. The woman’s hand trembled slightly when she saw it and accepted it from Song Da’s hand, then suddenly fainted.

Startled, Song Da quickly reached out to catch her. He glanced at the woman’s closed eyes, pinched her wrist, and touched her forehead… Her body was very hot, seeming to have a high fever.

…

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but she slowly opened her eyes and looked around—this was her room, but why had she suddenly appeared back in her room?

Feeling a bit confused, she used her hand to prop herself up and sat up… Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly reached for the crutch by the bed, but in her haste, she didn’t hold it steadily, and it fell to the floor with a clatter.

“What’s the matter?”

As the voice sounded, the room door suddenly opened, revealing a robust man entirely unfamiliar to her, causing her to scream in horror, grabbing an alarm clock off the bedside table and throwing it, “Who are you! Why are you in my home!”

“Miss, it’s me!” Song Da quickly caught the alarm clock, “It’s me! We met downstairs… Do you remember?”

The woman relaxed slightly this time, quickly clutching the blanket again.

Song Da said softly, “You suddenly fainted and had a high fever, so I brought you back home. Oh… The key was found in your wallet, with the room number on it.”

“But you…” The woman looked at Song Da in astonishment… or rather, at his current attire.

A woman’s apron hung on the sturdy man—because his body was so strong, the apron seemed quite small on him, and his head was also wrapped in a white cloth. Furthermore, he was holding a broom.

“This?” Song Da glanced at the broom in his hand, “It’s been a while, and I got a bit bored, plus your home seemed unkempt for a long time, so I couldn’t help but tidy up a bit… Rest assured, I haven’t touched your clothes or personal items!”

“Natasha…” The woman suddenly murmured softly.

“What?” Song Da was startled, then fell silent.

The woman’s voice trembled, “Natasha… tell me, her… her news. I’m… I’m mentally prepared… I’ve seen the news, the incident at Vineyard Castle… I know about it too.”

Calm down?

No, Song Da saw this woman gripping the blanket with trembling force and knew that she could not possibly be calm at this moment.

Song Da took a deep breath, took off the apron and headscarf, then removed his shoes at the door before walking into the room.

“Your sister, she unfortunately perished in the collapse at the castle.” Song Da looked at the woman, who lowered her head, her shoulders shaking suddenly.

Fortunately, this woman didn’t look into his eyes—Song Da was not accustomed to lying.

He continued, “I’m very sorry; when we found her, your sister’s body had been crushed beyond recognition by the fallen stones, and we could only find her ID, which was her only keepsake.”

The woman didn’t speak or cry out loud, just sat there with her head lowered, as if she were an empty shell. Song Da shook his head, gently placing the alarm clock back on the bedside table and setting Natasha’s ID down as well.

Song Da quietly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

The moment he closed the door, he heard a scream followed by heart-wrenching sobs, a sound of shattered grief. Song Da frowned, then headed to the kitchen.

After crying for a long while, the room finally fell silent.

After a while, Song Da emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of something—made from some traditional Chinese medicinal herbs he had later bought at a herbal store on Zhonghua Street, to treat colds and fevers.

Song Da quietly opened the room door, finding Natasha’s older sister collapsed by the bed, having fainted again.

Song Da had to lift her back onto the bed, cover her with a cup, then feed her the medicine.

The illness should improve by tomorrow, but the emotional pain isn’t something medicine can heal… Song Da sighed and began examining the items in the room.

By the bed were several photos of the woman and Natasha, from childhood to youth, and a recent one.

Later, Song Da found a diary on the table… He hesitated for a moment, then opened it to read… but he could only listen and speak, with difficulty in reading and writing.

Reluctantly, Song Da had to use his phone with translation software to read the diary little by little.

“…If possible, I really wish to step onto the stage once again.”

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PS: There will be a second update later… No need to wait, you can check tomorrow.