Chapter 68

On Daxi Road, there was a small alleyway, almost hidden and hard to find. Cheng Biguang led Yang Yuanzhao for about ten minutes before they arrived in front of a typical Shanghai house. He knocked on the door, and a delicate, probably fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl opened it. Seeing Cheng Biguang, she first smiled, then her gaze fell on Yang Yuanzhao, and her face showed a hint of confusion.

"Chunfeng, he is my young brother. Go and get some tea, I heard that Erniu brought me some Wuyi Mountain tea!"

"Yes!" Chunfeng said softly, then turned and left.

Yang Yuanzhao didn't speak. In old China, many officers kept concubines, and he didn't dare to say much about whether this girl was a concubine or not.

Entering the room, it was a two-story house. The ground floor was the living room and kitchen, and the upper floor was the bedroom. Yang Yuanzhao was led into a guest room, a small room of about ten square meters, with a table that looked old but clean.

Seeing Yang Yuanzhao's gaze somewhat puzzled, Cheng Biguang glared and said, "This is my niece!"

Then, he introduced the place and the background of the girl. It turned out that she was the daughter of one of his former comrades. In the 1894 Battle of the Yalu River, the Beiyang Fleet suffered a heavy defeat, with thousands of lives lost. This girl, named Xing Chunfeng, her father was the chief engineer of the Guangbing, one of Cheng Biguang's comrades. During the Battle of the Yalu River, the military situation was dire, and the Beiyang Fleet was defeated. Cheng Biguang was wounded, and if not for Xing Chunfeng's father, Xing Daolun, saving him, he might have also perished in that sea.

Xing Daolun died when Xing Chunfeng was only two years old. For many years, her mother had raised her alone. Cheng Biguang met them by chance and brought them to this place to take care of them, which had been only six years.

Cheng Biguang narrated the painful history of over a decade ago. Yang Yuanzhao was well aware of the impact of that battle. The two powers in East Asia, one won and one lost. Japan, having won the war, embarked on a fast track, completed industrialization, and seized the opportunity to become one of the great powers. However, China, known as the central empire, missed the best development opportunity and ultimately fell into an abyss of no return.

Xing Chunfeng brought in a cup of tea and an old-fashioned kettle. Cheng Biguang waved his hand and said, "Chunfeng, go rest. We'll leave after we finish drinking. How is your mother?"

"She...!" Xing Chunfeng said, tears involuntarily falling.

As they went upstairs, Yang Yuanzhao saw that there were three rooms on the second floor. He also smelled a strong scent of traditional Chinese medicine, indicating that there was a sick person.

Cheng Biguang sighed, touched his pocket, and his face showed a hint of embarrassment. Yang Yuanzhao, reading the situation, quickly took out a checkbook, wrote 50 pounds, and handed it to Cheng Biguang. Cheng Biguang was slightly surprised but still passed it to Xing Chunfeng, saying, "Take this and buy medicine for your mother. Remember to go to the Citibank to exchange it!"

"This!" Xing Chunfeng, who had never seen a check, looked puzzled. She could recognize a few characters, but the Citibank checkbook was all in English, which she knew was a foreign language but didn't understand.

"This is a check, 50 pounds. Do you know, British currency, it's roughly equivalent to 500 yuan!"

500 yuan in silver dollars, Xing Chunfeng understood this. Her beautiful eyes widened. Such an amount in Shanghai could be considered a huge sum, enough for a family of four to live comfortably for several years. Her mother was always weak and sickly, and her annual expenses would not exceed 30 yuan. With this money, she could make her mother's life better.

Cheng Biguang continued, "Alright, I'll have Cheng Hu come to help you. It will be safer this way!"

Xing Chunfeng went downstairs, and Cheng Biguang looked at Yang Yuanzhao, sighing, "Thank you, Brother Yang!"

"Brother Cheng, what are you saying? Compared to you talented people, I only have money!"

"Talented!" Cheng Biguang laughed dryly, then looked at Yang Yuanzhao and suddenly asked, "What do you think of this world?"

Yang Yuanzhao was taken aback. He never expected Cheng Biguang to ask him this. According to what he knew about Cheng Biguang's background, Cheng Biguang was inclined towards the revolution. Otherwise, after attending the coronation of the British king, he wouldn't have directly changed his allegiance and joined the Republic of China. But now, he held an official position in the Qing Dynasty. What did this mean?

Seeing Yang Yuanzhao's hesitation, Cheng Biguang laughed, "I have no other intention. You probably don't know, but I also joined the revolutionaries!"

Yang Yuanzhao was stunned. He couldn't believe that Cheng Biguang, the director of the shipbuilding office and the commander of the cruiser fleet, had joined the revolutionaries.

Cheng Biguang said calmly, "Many people know this. After the Beiyang Fleet's defeat in 1894, I was idle at home. My brother was friends with Sun Yat-sen, so I joined the Revive China Society. The uprising in 1895 failed, and I fled to Southeast Asia. Later, I met Li Hongzhang and returned to China."

Yang Yuanzhao didn't know that Cheng Biguang had such a history. No wonder he asked this question.

"Director Cheng, I am not a revolutionary, nor have I ever thought of revolution!"

"Oh, are you a royalist then?"

"I am not a royalist either. I just want to do something practical. The Chinese people are living too hard, and China is too backward!"

"Who can deny that? Just take the fleet from a dozen years ago. China's fleet was larger than Japan's, but why did we lose? The reason is backwardness. When the fleet was damaged, we couldn't repair it. The performance of various shells was poor. Sigh..."

Cheng Biguang inevitably mentioned the events of a dozen years ago. Clearly, that battle left a deep impression on him. Yang Yuanzhao, not a participant, couldn't fully understand the naval spirit forged in the midst of gunfire and smoke.

"Director Cheng, my wish is to save the country through industry. Whether it's revolution or the Qing Dynasty, ultimately, the people need to live. They need tangible things. China now imports everything, and production is minimal. The people are suffering. I studied mechanics in Britain and have some knowledge of agriculture. I want to use my knowledge to improve the lives of the people."

"Good!" Before Yang Yuanzhao finished speaking, Cheng Biguang praised him. As a naval officer, Cheng Biguang was not ignorant of Western affairs and industrialization. After learning about Yang Yuanzhao's intentions, he asked about his development plans. When he learned that Yang Yuanzhao could start factories for matches, cloth, and flour, he became excited and praised him repeatedly.

Yang Yuanzhao, seeing Cheng Biguang's enthusiasm, had an idea and said, "Brother Cheng, how about I provide the money, and you provide the people to start some businesses in Shanghai? I will use the profits to support the navy!"

"What kind of businesses?"

"Matches, cement, or a textile mill!" Yang Yuanzhao said. In this era, China lacked almost everything, so these industries, once established and managed properly, could be profitable. Moreover, he had many ideas to improve the efficiency and stability of machines using his knowledge from the future, making profitability even more likely.

"Matches, cement, and textile mills are not possible!" Cheng Biguang shook his head. In the Beiyang region, there were already similar enterprises, not only in the base in Tianjin but also in Shanghai, forming established markets. Even as the director of the shipbuilding office, Cheng Biguang couldn't rashly enter those fields. The only thing he could do was some sales and distribution work.

They quickly reached a consensus. Yang Yuanzhao and the Yang family would be responsible for organizing the goods. Initially, the Yang family would organize items from Shanxi or Tianjin and Wuhan, which the navy would sell through its stores. The main focus would be on daily necessities and essential items. Additionally, through the connections of the foreign trading companies, they would obtain a batch of tight supplies. This would support the employment of about ten people and provide resources for the navy each month. As for personnel, it would be easy to find. The navy had thousands of people, with countless relatives and friends, and the children of fallen comrades, like Xing Chunfeng, would almost certainly get a spot.

They talked happily until late at night. Yang Yuanzhao and Cheng Biguang left, and the narrow alleyway was pitch black, with only the stars in the sky shining brightly.