Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 936: Chapter 180: Fortune and Misfortune (2)

Aside from the dishes in the large basin, there were also quite a number of dishes, cups, and chopsticks waiting to be cleaned on the table beside it… Judging from the amount of these utensils, it was evident that the business here was indeed good, though there was quite a bit of waste.

Beside them were several fresh-keeping bags, which seemed to contain some meat, seemingly picked out by Yuna from the untouched dishes, perhaps ready to be taken away later.

Yuna was not quick at washing dishes and chopsticks, one might even say she was a bit clumsy. Wearing red rubber gloves, she sometimes couldn’t even grip a plate properly.

She couldn’t even wipe her sweat properly and had to use her arm to haphazardly wipe it off.

“You won’t get them clean like that.”

Just as she again failed to grip a plate, letting it slip into the water basin, she heard a voice from behind, a voice that seemed familiar.

She instinctively turned around and saw a young man standing behind her — she recognized him almost immediately.

It was the talkative waiter who had pushed a dim sum cart in front of her at the teahouse.

“It’s you…” Yuna said with some surprise — surprised because Hong Lou was essentially a money pit, and with the salary of a teahouse waiter, affording even the minimum cost of Hong Lou would be quite taxing.

Luo Qiu merely smiled casually and walked in front of Yuna, squatted down, rolled up his sleeves, and picked up a cloth and a plate, “Watch carefully.”

Yuna noticed that this young man wasn’t just randomly wiping the plates but was methodically cleaning in a large area without repetition.

“This dishwashing detergent is actually quite effective; it doesn’t need rinsing, just a few wipes with a cloth and it’s done… Also, you might want to wash the larger plates first and stack them. First the plates, then the bowls, don’t pick them one by one; you’ll save a lot of space this way. After all, this place isn’t big, and stacking poorly might lead to breaking something… oh, and leave the chopsticks for last.”

“You… are you also a dishwasher?” Yuna looked at him, this young man who just started washing. Then she noticed that his clothes were not exactly cheap-looking — the embroidered brand logo on his clothes, she couldn’t tell if it was a fake or genuine.

“I often do it at home, so it’s just some small tricks.”

Luo Qiu said as he placed the only cleaned plate back in place, shaking off the water from his hand. He didn’t plan to help Yuna clean everything, just intending to give some tips… perhaps that was a form of respect for Yuna.

When Luo Qiu stood up, Yuna also intended to stand up, but found it difficult, so she just said thank you while looking up and gave a wry smile, “I used to have my sister do all the dishwashing back home… You see, I’m often not very capable of doing it, and she never let me into the kitchen.”

“Have you been working here long?” Luo Qiu continued to observe the surroundings.

Yuna shook her head, picked up a plate, and began to wipe it in the same way Luo Qiu had, “No, I just started today. I can’t really… Well, people have to make a living.”

She suddenly looked up, her face showing a clean smile, “This place, though a bit dirty, has decent hourly pay, and most importantly, they’re willing to hire me here.”

“That’s great.” Luo Qiu nodded, “I won’t disturb you any longer then.”

“It’s fine.” Yuna smiled.

He seemed to bring a sense of peace — a mundane and laborious task began to seem lighter because of his presence.

“By the way, I don’t know your name?” Yuna asked politely.

Luo Qiu had already reached the doorway by this time, but he bent down, picked up a cane from the ground, and placed it back against the wall. It must have fallen at some point earlier.

“It’s not too late to tell you next time we meet.”

Then he left, without any forced excuse to stay or intention to extend the conversation… like a traveller in a fleeting glimpse, then gone.

Yuna exhaled softly and glanced at the time — it was actually already lunchtime.

She leaned against the wall to pick up her cane, grabbed some bags with food, and pushed open the door to leave the cleaning room at the back of the kitchen.

There was an alley outside the door. Yuna had been here once before when she arrived at work today. Now, she seemed to be looking for something, glancing around.

Soon, Yuna heard a sound.

A trace of a smile appeared on her slightly haggard face, and she moved quickly, supported by her cane, toward the scattered baskets.

Yuna carefully pulled out one of the baskets, leaning over to look inside, seeing several pairs of small eyes looking back at her.

The sounds of mewing were soft and young.

Beside a mother cat, three kittens were huddled. They were stray animals living here — Yuna had discovered them earlier that morning when she arrived at work.

Yuna’s eyes brightened instantly, and her smile seemed even more radiant.

Next, she opened the food bags and poured out some of the contents. Clearly, she intended to feed the little ones and the mother cat.

Unable to resist the temptation, the mother cat cautiously stretched out her head, sniffed the piece of fish on the ground a few times, then took a bite.

But it didn’t swallow; instead, it took the fish back to the basket, where the three kittens immediately surrounded it, forming a fluffy bundle like dandelions clustered together.

Yuna sat down by the wall, resting her hand on the basket, quietly watching them. The surroundings became suddenly peaceful and serene.

Click.

A crisp shutter sound echoed from afar — it didn’t disturb Yuna — she was unaware that at this moment, her image had been captured by a golden Hasselblad camera.

From afar, Luo Qiu withdrew his gaze from the lens with a satisfied look, his hand holding the Hasselblad camera — without the usual developing process, a black-and-white photograph appeared with just a gentle flick of his hand.

The black-and-white background of the photo erased the pallor from Yuna’s face, leaving only her pure and sweet smile.

“Truly an unexpected find.”

…

…

The girls brought by the madam were indeed of high quality.

Song Haoran, a man well-versed with women, found a couple among this selection to be quite eye-catching — of course, only the exterior shell named ‘woman’ was evident, but what lay within was unpredictable.

“President Bai, the best girls from Hong Lou are all here.” The madam seemed proud, as these girls had undergone extensive training.

From the beginning, they were required to showcase the aura of women from that era.

“Young Master, is this batch satisfactory?” Bai Shuitang noticed Song Haoran’s apparent interest and approached to inquire.

Song Haoran casually selected two and said blandly, “Let’s leave these two.”

The chosen girls, at the madam’s direction, gracefully moved to Song Haoran’s sides, though Song Haoran suddenly remarked, “The person you’re really expecting isn’t me, but someone else. When he comes back, you should…”

Song Haoran whispered into the ear of one girl, who couldn’t hold back her giggles, evidently amused by one of Song Haoran’s mischievous suggestions.

“My friend here is incredibly calm; I’ve never seen him flustered.” Young Master Song was up to no good. “If the two of you manage to make him embarrassed today, how about five million for each of you?”

A fortune for a smile… Unfortunately, what Young Master Song was buying was the awkward smile of a man.

Song Haoran’s generosity made the two girls’ eyes sparkle with greed, but Bai Shuitang frowned, thinking to himself that Young Master Song was truly a spendthrift, without a care for the Song family’s wealth.

“President Bai, your friend has returned!” The hostess was always watching the door, and when she saw Luo Qiu strolling down the corridor, she immediately reminded them.

Song Haoran gestured with his hand, and the two girls hid on either side of the door, simultaneously loosening the collars of their qipao, exposing their alluring cleavage.

One, two, three… Smooch!

“Ah…” But Song Haoran’s playful smile suddenly froze!

He was shocked; the person who came through the door wasn’t Luo Qiu, but Song Ying!

Song Ying’s eyes widened as she got kissed on both cheeks by the two girls who enthusiastically hugged her arms, pressing their bodies against hers.

With their elegant legs peeking out from the slits of their qipao and sticking to Song Ying’s legs, they clung to her like a fragrant and enticing scene.

“Ah…”

Song Ying didn’t quite recover from the unexpected contact before hearing a calm voice behind her. Her neck stiffly turned… Luo Qiu.

“Oh…” Luo Qiu glanced over and then uttered a simple interjection, his face showing sudden realization.

“Oh… your sis!!”

Song Ying suddenly jolted and screamed, shaking off the two girls clinging to her, then charged in front of Luo Qiu, grabbing his collar swiftly and shouted, “Oh, what oh! What’s with that expression of discovering a new continent! Are you thinking of something filthy! Is it girls’ love! Or lace! Rubbing, rubbing, huh!!”

“…Do you need to wipe it off?” Luo Qiu blinked and took out a pack of tissues.

Song Ying was taken aback, instinctively looking at the glass window in the hallway to see her reflection, and there on her cheeks were two bright red lipstick marks.

“Ah——!”

Song Ying screamed and instantly raised her hand—smack!

…

Bai Shuitang sat awkwardly in the furthest spot, while Song Haoran lounged on the couch with a mischievous grin, seemingly lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Luo Qiu sat inconspicuously—Song Ying was using a tissue dampened with water to vigorously wipe her cheeks.

Song Da stood expressionless to the side, with a faint five-fingered handprint on his cheek—he appeared somewhat resigned because he couldn’t understand why Miss Song Ying’s slap ultimately landed on him…

In that situation, obviously Young Master Luo Qiu should have been the target…

As for the hostess and a slew of cosmetics, Song Ying had already chased them away.

“What are you staring at!”

Seeing Song Da’s aggrieved gaze, Song Ying glared back, “I thought you practiced that Vajra Cultivation Technique! A slap wouldn’t hurt or itch you!”

“I… didn’t practice on my face, alright, Miss Sun.” Song Da smiled wryly.

“Who told you not to practice on your face!”

“Practicing on the face would make it stiff, leaving no expression… Fine, I’ll go practice a bit on my face.” Song Da admitted defeat; he simply didn’t know how to deal with women.

“Enough now, girl, what are you up to?” Song Haoran chuckled as he looked at Song Ying, “You do know what kind of place this is, right?”

“As your niece, I have the right to supervise your unseemly personal life!” Song Ying sniffed coldly, grabbing Song Haoran’s ear, “You dared to go out gallivanting while I’m working my butt off!”

“Ahem… I’m heading to the restroom.”

Seeing this, Bai Shuitang sensibly stood up and hurriedly exited through the door… Only then did Song Ying stand up abruptly, one hand on her hip and the other poking Song Haoran’s forehead, angrily said, “You’re the executive director of the Song Dynasty Group, and you don’t go to work! And you dare play around when I’m at work! Song Haoran! Have you no morality or shame!”

So… why mention ‘when I’m at work’ twice?

Luo Qiu blinked and handed a towel from the ice bucket to Song Da for him to use.

Perhaps Young Master Luo Qiu and Miss Song Ying should switch genders and it would make more sense?

Song Da suddenly imagined as he glanced at Luo Qiu.

“Need anything else, Mister Song Da?”

“No, nothing at all.” Song Da shook his head, then sighed, thinking: A stranger as beautiful as jade…

Then he cast another glance at Song Ying still tugging on Song Haoran’s ear and sighed again: Fierce and ruthless.

At this moment, knocking sounds came from the door, and a young man dressed as a waiter entered carrying a fruit platter and some drinks.

This time Song Ying considered giving Song Haoran a break and reluctantly let go of his ear, then commented, “Do we have any refreshments?”

The waiter smiled, “It’s complimentary with the private room.”

“Oh, just put it here.” Song Ying casually pointed at the table in front.

The waiter nodded, leaned over, and as he bent down to place the platter—suddenly, he raised his head, eyes flashing with malice!

A glint of cold steel sprang from beneath the fruit platter—he had hidden a knife under the tray!

The knife was aimed directly at Song Haoran!

But Song Haoran was quick to react, clapping his hands together to catch the knife in time, “Hey, been waiting for you, hoped you’d hold back a bit longer.”

The waiter was startled, quickly releasing the knife and retreating, drawing a handgun from behind his waist and pulled the trigger without a word.

Inside the private room, gunshots echoed loudly!

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PS: (1/22)