I've Transmigrated Into This Movie Before

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Republic Beauty

1915, daytime.

In the red-light district, Willow Lane was quiet at the moment, and not much was going on. The main door of Slumbering Flower Hall was opened, but it wasn’t for attracting customers. A pimp* yawned as he strolled out from within. He bought two servings of soy milk and youtiao* at a breakfast stall, and then had them sent to Maiden Li’s room along with a wash basin filled up with water.

The copper basin filled with steaming water was placed on a small table. A small comb, typically used by a woman, was dipped into the water before moving back to its spot before the mirror.

Two faces were reflected in the mirror. The person sitting in the chair was Boss Qu, while the one standing next to him and serving him was Maiden Li.

The two parts of the mustache were finally tamed, as they stuck tidily above Boss Qu’s lips after Maiden Li combed them. Satisfied, he touched his mustache and said, “This is good, now Ning’er will be able to recognise me.”

Maiden Li laughed, “My, you’re talking as if Ning’er only recognises your mustache.”

“If she could recognize my mustache, since I’ve been gone for two years, that would already be pretty good. ” When he thought of his daughter who looked at him like he was a stranger, Boss Qu could not help but sigh. He turned to her and asked, “Where are the things I told you to buy? Did you get them?

“I have them here.” Maiden Li pulled open the drawer, displaying item after item: a silver pearl hairpin, Peony Pavilion’s make-up rouge box, one bottle of the Two Sisters brand perfume…And then finally, she retrieved a pair of silver bracelets and shook her head at him. “The others aren’t worth much.On the other hand, these bracelets took me a great deal of effort before I could get it for you. Master Zhang of Qingyun doesn’t normally make accessories for others. You’ve no idea how much pillow talk I had to give him before he would accept. Look at this, the fine workmanship makes it good enough to be the most valuable item in a wealthy young woman’s dowry.”

“You women know what’s best to buy.” Boss Qu took the bracelets contentedly and glanced over it again, before bending down to pull a briefcase out from under the table. As he opened it, he nudged his chin at her, signaling that she could take some of its contents.

Maiden Li swallowed her saliva, slowly reaching in and greedily grabbing a handful. Her palm was filled with lustrous silver when she pulled her hand back out.

“Just how much money is stored in that briefcase?”

When Maiden Li told her mahjong playing buddies the next day about what had happened, they could not help but ask.

“How would I know?” Maiden Li pinched a mahjong tile in her fingers, and replied absent-mindedly, “But I reckon it would be enough to reserve our entire Slumbering Flower Hall for a whole month.”

They let out gasps of astonishment. One said enviously, “With such a rich customer, you won’t have any worries for the rest of your life.”

“What rich customer? He’s nothing but a daughter obsessed maniac.” Maiden Li sneered, “When you speak to him, at least 80% of the time he’s talking about his daughter. He says his daughter is some fairy from heaven, a rich and grandiose flower in the mortal realm. I can’t even compare to her finger.”