Chapter 37: Background Check

Qiu Han helped Wen Tong undress. The winters in Leizhou were not cold, and the bathroom was equipped with a copper-pipe water circulation air conditioner. In winter, it used hot water to heat the air. Qiu Han had already adjusted the room temperature. In this era, thermometers were still scarce and controlled items; even esteemed Senators did not have them for private use. Therefore, whether the temperature was pleasant or not depended entirely on the maid’s own body to feel.

The room was warm and cozy. With Qiu Han’s help, Wen Tong quickly stripped off his clothes and lay down in the bathtub. The warm water was soothing, and a faint fragrance wafted to his nose from time to time. Wen Tong let out a satisfied sigh.

“Master, is the water temperature suitable?” Qiu Han said as she undressed, revealing the ripe female body under the new Hanfu. Qiu Han was not tall, with a plump figure, a beauty by the aesthetic standards of this era. Her skin was fair, and she had full breasts by the standards of this time, bound in a strapless black silk bra. Black silk high-cut panties enveloped her full thighs. Unfortunately, her pair of unbound feet were somewhat deformed. She knew Wen Tong disliked these feet, so she wore a pair of white cotton socks even when sleeping. At this moment, she wore a pair of soft-soled, brocade-faced embroidered slippers, which were not easy to slip on the tiled floor.

This set of provocative underwear was specially made by the Special Needs Department of the Light Industry Ministry’s clothing factory. Currently, it was only available for purchase by Senators and for limited export. The lack of Lycra, a highly elastic synthetic fiber, greatly affected the plan to replicate 21st-century women’s underwear in the 17th century. And this was a matter concerning the well-being of the Senators. Mo Xiao’an had spent a lot of time organizing manpower and resources to solve this problem.

“…Under the direct care of the People’s Committee of Light Industry and the General Office of the Senate, and with the collective wisdom and suggestions of many Senators, the Special Needs Department proposed to ‘utilize existing conditions, overcome all difficulties, and fully implement the policy of serving the Senators.’ After many experiments and consulting a large amount of technical data, they successfully imitated various styles of silk and all-cotton underwear using materials from this era; successfully trial-produced silk stockings, fishnet stockings, and cotton half-stockings… and used the crochet method to manually produce the lace that the Special Needs Department urgently needed at that time…”

— History of Special Supplies from the Senate General Office, Clothing Volume (Internal material, for professional reference only)

Qiu Han carefully picked up a natural sponge, soaked it in a Xingzhou white porcelain jar filled with pure natural soapberry bath liquid, and knelt by the side, awaiting his instructions.

Wen Tong glanced at her fair and full body. “Give me a massage first!”

“Yes.”

After soaking for a while in the hot water, which was slightly warmer than his own body temperature, he got out of the bathtub and sat on a special cedar bath stool. Qiu Han picked up the sponge, lathered it up, and began to scrub his back.

The force of her scrubbing was as gentle as her person. The fatigue of the whole day seemed to slowly dissipate. But what pleased him more was the soft, plump, kneading sensation he could feel on his back from time to time, and the orchid-like, musky breath that was occasionally exhaled by his ear.

Wen Tong let out a comfortable sigh, and the unhappiness of Chang Shide’s transfer gradually faded away. Old Chang was certainly good, but he had a bad reputation in the Senate. His departure from Leizhou now could be seen as a way to cool things down for him, to prevent him from always being in the limelight. When the enterprise grew larger in the future, there would be plenty of opportunities to cooperate again.

Qiu Han rinsed off the soap foam with hot water. “Shall I give you a massage now?”

“Go ahead.”

The woman spread a snow-white bath towel on the wide cedar bath stool, had Wen Tong lie face down on it, and then spread a layer of massage soap liquid on his back. She flexed her fingers a few times and began to massage the firm muscles of his nape. Her hands kneaded and pushed with a strong and regular rhythm. Her hands moved from his neck to his shoulders and back, then stopped, moved to his legs, and massaged the muscles on the back of his thighs.

“Mmm, mmm,” Wen Tong groaned comfortably, shifting his body on the stool and mumbling, “Qiu Han, do you have any relatives left in your family?”

Qiu Han’s expression changed slightly, and her massaging fingers paused for a moment before continuing. “None left. If there were, I wouldn’t have asked Sister Ah Zhu to beg Master to take me in back then.”

“Oh, if you had any, Lingao is in need of people right now. They could go to Lingao to be recruited for work, join the army, or study. In a few years, they would definitely be able to live a good life. If they have some aptitude, they could have a great future…” Wen Tong said casually. “It just so happens that Old Chang is going back…”

“Master Chang is going back to Lingao?” Qiu Han asked cautiously.

“Yes, Old Chang is going back for another appointment. I’ve lost a good brother.” Wen Tong’s tone was filled with regret. He suddenly seemed to remember something and said, “Prepare a banquet for next Tuesday. The dog meat you made last time was good, prepare that as well.”

Qiu Han was a native of Leizhou and was an excellent cook of local dishes. In particular, her white-cut dog meat and sand ginger chicken, after being modified to suit the tastes of the Senators, had become essential dishes for the Leizhou Station to entertain visitors from the “central government.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Also, tomorrow, you and Ah Zhu should write down your family histories for the past three generations, where you’ve lived, what relatives you have, and so on. Write everything down clearly. If there are any characters you don’t know, come and ask me.”

Qiu Han froze again. She could no longer suppress her inner nervousness and couldn’t help but ask, “Master, Qiu Han has long had no relatives in this world. There are a few distant relatives, but we haven’t been in contact for many years…”

“Even those who are no longer alive must be written down clearly. This time, it’s for a political background check. Everyone’s background must be thoroughly investigated—we can’t be careless,” Wen Tong said casually, feeling dizzy and euphoric from the massage and the heat.

“Can’t I not write it? What’s the point of writing about people who are all gone?” Qiu Han lay on Wen Tong’s back, pressing her chest against his broad back in a fawning manner.

“This you don’t understand. This is called ‘everyone must pass the test, everyone’s background must be cleared.’ You are now a maid without official status. Only after passing the political review will you be officially registered, and the General Office will record your name…” Wen Tong moaned in pleasure from her massage. “Oh, oh… what are you afraid of? Ah Zhu’s family were pirates, just make it clear and it will be fine.”

Qiu Han massaged nervously, her expression becoming grave and tense.

When she had asked Ah Zhu for help to get into the South China Sugar Factory to serve the Australians, she had indeed harbored thoughts of avenging her brother and her master. At first, she didn’t dare to act rashly, dutifully and meticulously serving Manager Wen, preparing to make her move after gaining enough trust. However, as time went by, her thoughts of revenge slowly faded. After all, Wen Tong was a young man, naturally more vigorous and virile than an old man like Third Master Zhu. Men from the 21st century still retained some of the thinking and skills of pleasing women. Although he demanded all sorts of tricks in bed, in life he treated her and Ah Zhu with considerable respect—an experience she had never had before, neither in the home of her original master nor with Third Master Zhu later.

The contrast in interpersonal relationships made Qiu Han’s hatred for the “Australians” fade day by day. If her brother, Gu Dachun, hadn’t died at their hands, she would have long been happy and content, wholeheartedly serving as Wen Tong’s concubine-maid.

She felt that she had had many opportunities to kill Manager Wen. But when she thought about her own future after taking revenge, Qiu Han retreated. Regardless of whether her revenge succeeded or not, the result would be a near-certain death. The way the Australians had secretly delivered a human head into the inner residence, and the mysterious fire that burned Third Master Zhu to death in his country villa at night, had made her fully realize how formidable the Australians were. Taking a step back, even if she could escape to safety, what would she live on for the rest of her life? Where could she find such a good life of luxury again?

Although Gu Dachun was her biological brother, she had left home to be a maid since she was a child. In nearly 20 years, they had met for no more than thirty days. It was only a natural blood relationship that gave her the idea of avenging her brother. But to risk her life for this brother, or to live a life of poverty and displacement for the rest of her life, she found it really difficult to make this decision.

Now the Australians were actually going to “check her background.” Could it be that they already suspected her origins? Being by Wen Tong’s side, Qiu Han had learned through observation that the Australians were meticulous in their thinking and scrupulous in their work. If the people from Lingao really found out that she was Gu Dachun’s sister, they would probably immediately turn her into a “non-person”—meaning that this person had never existed in this world.

Qiu Han’s mind was in a turmoil, and her massage became chaotic. Wen Tong, immersed in his enjoyment, did not notice the change in the woman’s expression. He just felt that the massage was not quite right and let out a dissatisfied “humph.” Qiu Han quickly composed herself and served Wen Tong attentively, secretly making her own plans.

Zhang Da-bala, carrying a rattan box, walked down the gangplank. On the wharf, a group of laborers were driving wooden piles into the bay with derrick poles, iron chains, and pulleys. The seaside was piled with large stone blocks and rattan baskets filled with crushed stone, ready for the construction of the wharf and pier.

This was Haian Street, an important port for the export of Leizhou sugar and salt. By the standards of the Senators, the natural conditions here could only be considered a small wharf. Apart from its proximity to Lingao, it had no other advantages.

But this small wharf had been chosen as the current port for the Vietnam Trading Company. The Lingao Construction Company was currently undertaking the construction of a new wharf here, to be used by the regular liners on the soon-to-be-officially-opened route to Vietnam.

After the sugar war, the Leizhou Station not only annexed Zhu An’s shipping company but also successively integrated and annexed other small shipping companies that operated coastal transport of sugar and salt, officially possessing its own transport fleet. It became the second station-owned cargo fleet after the Gao-Guang Shipping Company of the Guangzhou Station. This fleet was managed by Zhang Da-bala, a former pirate familiar with the Vietnam route, and specialized in sailing the long-distance routes of Leizhou-Hai Duong, Leizhou-Guangzhou, and the short-distance cargo route of Xuwen-Lingao. The sailors and ships were all from Leizhou, the personnel were not official naturalized citizens, and the ships were not under the command of the navy.