"Great material! Was it a gift from the selection committee?"
She recognized Dandan. Hopefully, she wasn't coming for her. She was already famous and successful, while Dandan had just taken her first steps, like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger. Her appearance was like a star's entrance; what kind of drama was unfolding? Was there any threat?
She pinched and pinched her cheongsam again and again:
"Huh? It's a bit wrinkled. Is it not homespun cloth?"
Seeing this situation, Shi Zhongming chimed in:
"Isn't this design novel? It was specially designed by Mr. Jin."
Before Duan Pingting could even react to "Mr. Jin specially...", Shi Zhongming wouldn't let her catch her breath:
"It's because there are too many generic images on the market, so we intentionally created someone more upright and progressive. Miss Song debuted like this, and there's no one else like her. It's all about having a unique temperament."
Dandan gave Shi Zhongming a grateful look.
That's the advantage of having a powerful backer. Even if that expert says another word, a trusted confidant will immediately step forward to resolve the situation, retaliate, and deal with the situation.
Mr. Shi understood his own position, and I think he also understood Miss Duan's position. He was quite adept at navigating life.
Dandan sneered, facing off against the two men. She felt a chill run down her spine, sensing everyone's support on her side. She felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, like she could crush the adulterous couple into a pulp. She even wiped the pulp off the threshold. Yet, she couldn't help feeling a pang of indescribable bitterness and sorrow.
Before they knew it, it was time to enter the theater. The crowd suddenly separated them, and they finally sat down together. Dandan threw a tantrum at Jin Xiaofeng and said fiercely, "Hmph, I ran away halfway through! I did it on purpose! Were you going to come with me?"
Even Jin Xiaofeng himself hadn't expected that his gaze towards Dandan could soften. Like the autumn sun, the days were getting shorter, the fiery red colors were fading, and the first leaf fell from the plane trees lining the road.
Dandan hadn't "truly" become his mistress, which puzzled her somewhat. He only wanted her by his side, to look at her, his mind drifting to a spot a little distance behind her. Then he was quite surprised by her increasingly refined and mature demeanor. If he had said before:
"Luckily, I lent you a hand. Look, the newspapers are all criticizing the song and dance troupe. Even Lu Xun wrote about it; saying that selling one's legs is immoral. With the nation in crisis—"
She would stare wide-eyed and ask, "Who is Lu Xun?"
Now that she's spent some time in Shanghai, she's become quite shrewd. If he neglects her, she'll neglect him too.
It's like seeing who will back down first.
He had important business to attend to. Recently, he used most of the large amount of funds absorbed by the bank day and night to buy a plot of land on Zhejiang Road and build a batch of alleyway houses.
She stayed at her residence on Avenue Joffre for a week, and her secretary reported to her:
"Miss Song spends money like water to vent her frustrations. She goes out every day wearing different sunglasses to attract attention."
He'd give her the cold shoulder for a while, then make a phone call, and she'd get so angry she'd smash it.
Tigers and cats are so similar, the only difference being whether they are provoked. There must be some mysterious and endearing element to this. —She felt that since he had tamed her, he should take responsibility; he hadn't taken responsibility or fulfilled his obligations, leaving her feeling like her youth was slipping away, with nothing to rely on.
Jin Xiaofeng finally persuaded Shi Zhongming to bring her to the mansion. That day, they also invited Mr. Huang from the film company and two friends from various circles to play cards and eat crabs. One of them, Mr. Fan, was from the military government, and the other, Mr. Yang, was a comprador who usually dealt with foreign cigarette merchants.
When Dandan arrived, the game was nearing its end. She didn't know the exact numbers, but she heard Mr. Jin laugh:
"We'll calculate it later when we have time. Let's have a drink first. Come on, that's eight tables."
They were eating Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs from Chongming Island. The top-grade ones should weigh ten taels, but the crab season hadn't officially started yet, and this was the first time this year. Even if they were served right away, they would only weigh seven or eight taels. Apart from a group of men, Dandan was the only female guest at the table. He set up the feast for her.
“Xiao Dan,” Jin Xiaofeng peeled a large hairy crab for her: “This one has a green back and white belly, yellow hair and golden hooks. Look, it’s also called ‘Golden Claw Crab’.”
A servant came to attend to him, and the table was laden with exquisite and intricate little tools. He ignored them, focusing only on removing the rotten perilla leaves from her mouth, simply because she was a naive girl who had never eaten crab before, and instructed her:
"In the center of the crab shell, on top of the crab roe, there is a star anise, which is extremely cold in nature, so don't eat it."
He assumed she had never eaten it before. She was a little annoyed and retorted, "I know! My family makes it ourselves."
How do you steam it?
"They were all thrown into a pot of boiling water and steamed."
"Hahaha!" Mr. Jin teased playfully.
"No perilla leaves? Not steamed in a water bath? The crab wasn't turned over? — And, were the crabs untied?"
No, no, no. Memories of the past flood my mind.
Why? Why are the crabs in Beiping (Beijing) all clawed and menacing, while the crabs in Shanghai are bound tightly? There are also complicated procedures and slow waiting; even before they die, they are already dead.
Although the crabs from Yangcheng Lake are the best in the country, with their rich roe and succulent meat... she, after all, had eaten crabs before, and suddenly felt a pang of loneliness at leaving her hometown. Who had shared her joy back then?
"Great, crab season is here, and I'm craving it like crazy," Mr. Fan said.
"One kilogram of crab larvae can yield fifty to sixty thousand yuan," Shi Zhongming agreed. "That'll make your mouth water."
"It's a pity the crab season is short. Even if you try your best, it'll only last two or three months. Good times don't last long," Mr. Yang sighed.
Mr. Jin suddenly noticed: "Hey, these crabs taste even better than last year's?"
Mr. Fan lowered his voice:
"Yes, there's a hidden meaning in this."
Mr. Huang, who had been mostly silent, asked:
Tell me about it.
"--It's hard to say."
No, no, Mr. Fan, the person involved, has also spoken:
"Did you know? There's war, and the crabs are especially plump. — A carcass sank to the bottom of the lake, rotting, and immediately became their food..."