In the following few days, Luo Jun followed his usual routine of going out to read the newspaper during the day and returning home to read novels at night. Life was very regular.
It was also very dangerous.
Qin Huai clearly felt that the frequency of enemy bombings was increasing. When he first entered this memory, the bombing had just ended.
The second bombing came three days later.
The third bombing was on the fifth day.
The fourth occurred on the sixth day.
Both the third and fourth bombings occurred during the day. Two consecutive days of bombings left the public mentally strained. While Luo Jun navigated the alleys to find a place to read novels, Qin Huai could clearly sense the anxiety and uneasiness among the poor, with even vegetable and fuel sellers considerably fewer.
The doors of every household were neither shut tightly nor left open, valuables were packed, ready to grab at a moment’s notice. As soon as the air raid siren sounded, they would grab their children and possessions and rush frantically to public shelters.
The high frequency of bombings completely disrupted the lives of the common people, yet did not affect the wealthy in their western-style houses at all.
A man named Mr. Ge even had the leisure to hold a small birthday party for his newly-wedded third concubine the day after the fourth bombing ended.
It was purely Western-style, with all guests dressed in suits and long gowns, perfectly accessorized with dazzling jewelry. The party featured champagne, red wine, and a full array of desserts and snacks, with a specially ordered 16-inch cake that was only cut once before being taken away, as the highlight of the party was Mr. Ge’s birthday gift to the third concubine—
A custom-made necklace inlaid with rubies, emeralds, jade, and diamonds.
This necklace had been stained with blood.
As for how Qin Huai knew, it was because he had seen with his own eyes Luo Jun resolving a minor issue that would affect his daily life during the interval between the third and fourth bombings. To thoroughly solve the problem, he went directly to the root and took a ’hardship fee’ from their safe in the process.
There were quite a few items in the safe, and when packing it up, this necklace fell out, the blood-stained necklace was disdained by Luo Jun and given to Mr. Ge as an acting fee.
Yes, Mr. Ge was Luo Jun’s newly chosen ’business partner.’
Although Minister Cao used frequent overtime as an excuse to keep two mistresses outside the home whom he couldn’t officially marry, giving him ample time is a good cooperation actor.
But Mrs. Cao had a fiery temper and couldn’t control her mouth, often projecting her dissatisfaction onto others and had great disdain for Luo Jun. Luo Jun felt that Minister Cao was not a capable co-actor.
Of course, Minister Cao had not completely exited the scene and occasionally made friendly cameo appearances. For instance, discussing business with Mr. Ge during the day and with Minister Cao at night, and casually strolling back slowly after nightfall so as not to arouse Liu Tao’s suspicion.
Also, after the fourth bombing, the enemy didn’t conduct bombings for a whole week, so Liu Tao was not as tense as before.
Life went on normally , so mundane that Qin Huai had trouble keeping track of time, feeling as though every day was spent reading novels, reading novels, and reading more novels.
Perhaps it was due to the lack of wartime serialized newspapers, because Luo Jun had been reading old newspapers during this period. He organized them by date and read from the start, finishing serialized novels in one go without the frustration of cliffhangers.
It was another great day for reading novels.
The sun was bright and the temperature was pleasant. Luo Jun, using the excuse of needing to discuss business with Mr. Ge, left after drinking his Dried Tangerine Peel Tea, habitually pocketing a bunch of newspapers, and wandered to a wide-viewed, open area in a civilian neighborhood.
Luo Jun had been reading newspapers in this area recently. It was a newly discovered good spot. A woman in a family there planted some wildflowers in the yard that she occasionally sold to the wealthy areas, and during this period, when the flowers were in bloom, the subtle floral fragrance in the air was very nice.
Luo Jun negotiated a price with this household, paying a silver coin to rent the open space at the door and a chair, where he would come every day to sit and read newspapers.
Faced with such a good deal, the woman naturally wouldn’t refuse. Her husband was a carpenter and stayed up late to make a dedicated bamboo chair for Luo Jun and ensured the entrance was kept clean in anticipation of Luo Jun’s visits.
Luo Jun was very satisfied with this new spot, arriving early every day and sitting in the spot with the best light to read newspapers.
Qin Huai was also looking forward to it, as yesterday’s novel had just reached an exciting plot where the hero ventured out and made a name for himself by punishing villains and helping the good. Luo Jun could bear to read it again; it was Qin Huai’s first time—he couldn’t endure the agony of waiting for the next installment.
If it weren’t in memory where Qin Huai couldn’t flip through the newspaper, he would have sneaked it out at night to read by moonlight.
Finally able to see what happened next, Qin Huai stood beside Luo Jun, reading intently.
Suddenly, the air raid siren sounded.
It had been a long time since he’d heard the air raid siren, and Qin Huai was startled. When he looked up, he saw the surrounding people indeed panicking.
Some were packing possessions, wishing they could stuff even bowls and chopsticks into their bags and run with them. Some held a child in one arm and an old hen in the other, gripping the chicken tighter than the child.
The woman and her family were the same; she held her child’s hand while her husband grabbed their belongings. As they ran out of the yard, noticing Luo Jun still leisurely holding the newspaper at the entrance, the woman kindly reminded him.
"Mr. Luo, the air raid siren is going off. The nearest shelter is over the hill, far away. Hurry, or it’ll be too crowded to get in."
After that, the woman had no spare mind to care about where Luo Jun headed and ran away with her child.
Luo Jun did not leave; he took his chair into the yard, sat down, and continued to read the newspaper.