Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 16 The Jade Lock and the Black Card

Boss Zhong was born in a mysterious family. He was a capable man with a mild temper, quite different from those useless affluent second generations.

Every week Boss Zhong came here to chat with the eccentric old woman.

Each time when Boss Zhong came here, the eccentric woman did not treat him or his employee well, but Boss Zhong still remained placid and calm.

Every time before they left, the boss would attempt to have a conversation with Zhang Qingrui revealing his intentions to woo her, but she did not seem to reciprocate his feelings. Due to these factors, the employee realized that his boss had major crush on Zhang Qingrui.

So, the employee did a background check on Zhang Qingrui privately by pulling some strings. Only then did he knew that she was a university student and single, but managed the business of Gu Yue Zhai most of the time.

Then he told everything he knew to Boss Zhong, which put Boss Zhong in a good temper. The next morning, the employee received a piece of jade for his help.

After receiving the present, the employee starting paying attention to news about Zhang Qingrui.

“I don’t like your follower. He doesn’t look like a talented person.”

Just as the employee was thinking of having a talk about the background of the man chatting with Mrs. Zhang, he suddenly heard words that made him break out into a cold sweat.

This damn old woman!

But he dared not refute her, so he just gazed at the floor with an innocent look.

“If you don’t like him, then just let him wait outside.” Boss Zhong smiled and turned to say, “Cheng Yun, leave us alone please.”

Cheng Yun nodded. He dared not show any dissatisfaction, and walked out of the room quietly.

This room was the office of the real boss. Unlike the modern-style door plate hanging outside the door, the decoration inside the room gave a sense of antique beauty.

There was a traditional Manchu screen and cyan wooden board at the hallway. An imperial chair designed using the mortise and tenon structure was placed by the window.

Bead curtains swung about at the entrance of the drawing room. A padauk secretaire could be seen in the drawing room, with writing brush holder, inkstone and paper on the left, while there was a stack of ancient books at the opposite side.

At a corner, there was a Fu Xi-style zither.

As Cheng Yun left, Mrs. Zhang fanned herself gently and said, “You’re very patient, much better than your irritable grandfather.”

“Mrs. Zhang, my grandfather has been focusing on painting and calligraphy these few years, so he is much more even-tempered now,” Boss Zhong said.

She answered, “I left the capital a long time, just to tell them, that I Zhang Li Fanglan have no desire to meddle in their business. Your grandfather must have recalled something to send his grandson to seek me out now.”

Mrs. Zhang gazed at Boss Zhong. Even though she was an aged lady, the look still gave him pressure. “Your calm and good manners impressed me, so I will give you a chance to tell your story.”

Boss Zhong took a deep breath with a slight hint of joy. He thought for a while, then said lightly, “Luo Chen has heard some secrets from an elder, that there’s a place, which can satisfy any desire...and the elder in my family said that you are the most knowledgeable about it.”

Mrs. Zhang sneered suddenly, “You’re so naïve. Do you know the place you mention is not some special mountain or holy place, but a place that makes deals with demons?”

Boss Zhong then broke into a radiant smile, “Seems the legend is true. So Mrs. Zhang, you’ve been there before, right?”

Mrs. Zhang waved her fan, her tone changed, “I’m under the weather today, so please leave, and never come back!”

When seeing this, Zhong Luochen fished out a small pouch, he opened it and poured out the object inside. “Mrs. Zhang, sorry to trouble you.”

What fell out was a jade lock.

Mrs. Zhang’s temper mellowed a bit. She took the jade lock into her palm, stroking it gently, then sighing and saying, “This is what I gave my sister before I left the capital...Do you really want to use it for the exchange of the information?”

“My grandmother gave it to me before she left.” Zhong Luochen whispered, “she said if the Zhong family is in trouble, only this can save the family.”

Mrs. Zhang clasped her hands together and held the lock, then sighed. “Just go back for now. I have to consider this issue carefully.”

Zhong Luochen nodded. “I hope you can give me an answer soon.”

“But what will you use it for? “Mrs. Zhang asked.

He said, “It’s about my grandfather. The doctor said, the irritable old man will be dead soon.”

......

......

On the other side, what Luo Qiu had seen were all invaluable items. Though he was not familiar with antiques, he could still feel the quaint aura from those treasures.

However, he didn’t seen the so-called jade token.

So Ren Ziling looked at Zhang Qingrui and asked, “Ms. Zhang, seems like some things are missing. There were several small pieces when I came to do the interview last time.”

Zhang Qingrui smiled. “Good memory. Right, some of collections have been sent away already.”

After that, she picked and opened a picture album from the shelf. “Should be these. They were sent to the auction company.”

In one glance, Luo Qiu impressively captured the picture of the jade token printed in the album.

So he grabbed the picture album directly from Zhang Qingrui.

It was very rude, but Luo Qiu didn’t think so much. He just looked at the pictures carefully.

However, Ren Ziling felt embarrassed.

Thus she had to apologize to Zhang Qianrui, “He always does like that when he see things he likes...”

Zhang Qingrui shook her head. “No worries. We still have a lot. You can take it back home.”

Luo Qiu nodded and merely said, “Thanks.”

Once he realized the jade token was not here, he just walked towards the door and went out. This made Ren Ziling feel helpless.

And Zhang Qingrui had the same feeling, but she didn’t say anything due to her good manners.

Ren Ziling couldn’t help prompting him. She pulled Luo Qiu back and put on a false smile. “Don’t lose the opportunity to have a good look.”

Luo Qiu had no choice but to glance at them for a second. But all at once, he frowned and went to a corner.

“What’s this?”

Luo Qiu pointed to an object covered by a glass lid in a corner...It was a very familiar black card.

And there were two golden stamps on the card. This confirmed it was the card of the club...and could be used twice.