Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 63 Exquisite Attire: The Struggle of the Republic of China, the Truth Behind Poisoning, the

Splendid Attire: Lin Fangfei's Journey of Struggle in the Republican Era

The legendary business and love journey of a poor but academically gifted girl in Republican-era Shanghai.

The news of the workers' suspected poisoning pierced my heart like a cold sword. I stood at the door of the infirmary, my eyes fixed on the workers lying on the beds. Their pained expressions were like sharp needles, stabbing at my conscience. My body trembled slightly, as if enveloped by a cold current. Despite wearing a thick, dark blue cheongsam, I felt no warmth.

Gu Zixuan rushed over, his steps hurried and flustered, his usually neat hair slightly disheveled. He came to my side, his eyes filled with worry and anger. "Fangfei, what exactly happened? How could a perfectly healthy worker be poisoned?" His voice was slightly hoarse, a sign of suppressed rage.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "I don't know either, Zixuan. This must be someone's doing on purpose, trying to completely ruin our textile factory." My voice was full of pain and helplessness, tears welling up in my eyes, but I stubbornly refused to let them fall.

Su Yao came running up, panting. She was wearing a beige dress, and her cheeks were slightly flushed from running. "I just asked the chefs in the kitchen, and they said that today's meals were prepared according to the usual procedures, and there were no unusual ingredients," she said, frowning.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms. "Someone must have poisoned it somewhere else. We have to find out," I said through gritted teeth, my eyes filled with determination.

We began a thorough search of the textile factory, from the workshops to the warehouses, from the water sources to the ventilation vents, leaving no stone unturned in checking any potential sources of poisoning. I bent over, meticulously examining every corner, my eyes bloodshot from focus. Gu Zixuan, on the other hand, directed some workers to conduct focused inspections of certain suspicious areas.

While inspecting the warehouse, I discovered some strange footprints. The footprints looked very new, and their size and shape didn't seem to belong to textile factory workers. I crouched down and examined the footprints closely, a sense of foreboding creeping into my heart.

"Zixuan, come quick!" I called out.

Gu Zixuan hurried over, and his brows furrowed even more when he saw the footprints. "These footprints are suspicious. It seems someone has sneaked into the textile factory."

Just as we were about to follow the footprints, a worker came running over in a panic. "Miss Lin, Mr. Gu, something bad has happened! A group of people have come outside and say they want to settle accounts with you."

Gu Zixuan and I exchanged a glance, our hearts filled with doubt. We walked out of the textile factory and saw a group of people in tattered clothes standing at the entrance, their eyes filled with anger and resentment.

"Who are you? Why are you looking to settle scores with us?" I asked as I stepped forward.

A man who looked like the leader stepped forward and said menacingly, "Your textile factory poisoned our families, and we're here today to demand an explanation."

I was shocked. "What did you say? How could our textile factory poison your family members?"

The leader sneered, "Our family members all work in your textile factory, and now they've all been poisoned. If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"

I quickly explained, "We are also investigating this matter. Our workers have also been poisoned. This must be a setup."

Those people looked doubtful after hearing what I said. "Are you telling the truth?"

Gu Zixuan stepped forward and said sincerely, "We have no reason to lie to you. We are working hard to find out the truth and will definitely give everyone an explanation."

Just then, a man in a black suit walked over. He was wearing sunglasses and looked very mysterious. "You don't need to make excuses anymore. I've already investigated. It was your textile factory that used toxic raw materials to save costs, which caused the workers to be poisoned."

I glared at him angrily. "Who are you? What gives you the right to say that? We have never used any toxic raw materials."

The man took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of cunning eyes. "Who I am is not important, what's important is that I have evidence." He pulled out a document and waved it in front of us.

I tried to take the documents to see what was going on, but the man took them back. "If you don't want to make a big fuss, you'd better hand over the textile factory and compensate the families of these workers."

Gu Zixuan stood in front of me and said coldly, "This is blackmail. We won't fall for it. We will find out the truth and prove our innocence."

The man snorted, "Then you can wait to be shut down." With that, he led his men away.

I watched them walk away, my heart filled with anger and resentment. "Zixuan, what should we do? They're clearly framing us."

Gu Zixuan held my hand tightly. "Fangfei, don't be afraid. We'll continue our investigation. As long as we find the real poisoner, we can prove our innocence."

We returned to the textile factory and worked even harder to find clues. During our investigation, we discovered a small bottle hidden in a corner of the factory, containing some residual liquid. I took the bottle to the doctor and asked him to analyze it.

After examining her, the doctor's expression turned grim. "Ms. Lin, the liquid in this bottle is a highly toxic substance, and it's rarely found on the market."

I frowned. "Do you know where this substance usually appears?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I can ask some of my colleagues; maybe they'll know."

Just as the doctor went to inquire about the situation, I received an anonymous letter. It read: "If you want to know the truth, come to the abandoned factory tonight."

I showed the letter to Gu Zixuan, whose eyes were filled with wariness. "This might be a trap, but we have no other choice. We have to go and see."

That night, Gu Zixuan and I cautiously arrived at the abandoned factory. A pungent odor permeated the air, and the darkness seemed to conceal countless dangers. We walked slowly, hand in hand, our eyes warily scanning our surroundings.

Suddenly, some lights came on around us, and we saw a person standing in front of us. The person was wearing a long black robe, and their face was covered by a hat, so we couldn't see their features.

"You've finally arrived." The man's voice was deep and hoarse.

"Who are you? Do you know the truth about the poisoning?" I asked.

The man smiled. "Of course I know. But you'll have to pay a price to find out the truth."

Gu Zixuan stepped forward. "What do you want?"

The man looked at Gu Zixuan, then at me, and said, "I want half of your textile factory's shares, as well as all your fashion design drawings."

I said angrily, "You're taking advantage of our misfortune, we won't allow it."

The man sneered, "Then you'll never know the truth."

Just as we were at an impasse, we suddenly heard a police siren outside. The man's expression changed, and he turned to run away.

Gu Zixuan reacted quickly, rushing forward to grab the person. After a chase, Gu Zixuan finally caught the person.

The police arrived at the abandoned factory and took the man away. Under police interrogation, he finally confessed the truth. It turned out he had been hired by one of our competitors, who wanted to frame us and seize our textile factory.

We thought the matter was finally over, but when we returned to the textile factory, we found it had been sealed off. There was a seal on the door that read, "Suspected of using toxic raw materials, sealed off for rectification."

Splendid Attire: Lin Fangfei's Journey of Struggle in the Republican Era

The legendary business and love journey of a poor but academically gifted girl in Republican-era Shanghai.

Staring at the cold seal on the textile factory gate, my heart felt as if it had sunk into an endless abyss of darkness. That seal was like a gaping maw, mercilessly devouring all our hopes. I stood there, stunned, my eyes fixed on the words on the seal, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from my body; my legs were weak, and I could barely stand. The once-appropriate cheongsam I wore now felt like a heavy shackle, binding me and rendering me immobile.

Gu Zixuan's face was also extremely pale; his lips trembled slightly, and his eyes burned with fury. He reached out, wanting to tear off the seal, but I stopped him. "Zixuan, don't be impulsive; it will only make things worse." My voice was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, filled with endless weariness and helplessness.

Su Yao rushed over, her eyes filled with shock and anxiety. She was wearing a light blue dress, which was slightly disheveled from running. "What happened? Didn't we already prove our innocence?" Her voice was trembling with tears, and she helplessly twisted the hem of her dress with her hands.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "There must be someone else behind this. We need to find out." A determined glint flashed in my eyes. Although my heart was filled with despair, I knew I couldn't give up like this.

We decided to go to the police station to get to the bottom of things. At the police station, we met the officer in charge of shutting down the textile factory. He sat behind his desk, looking serious.

"Officer, we have already proven that our textile factory did not use toxic raw materials, so why are you still shutting down our factory?" I stepped forward and asked, barely suppressing my anger.

The officer glanced at me, then took out a document. "Ms. Lin, this is an order from above. We are just following regulations."

Gu Zixuan frowned. "Higher up? Who's higher up? What's the basis for this document?"

The officer shook his head. "I don't know the specifics either. I only know that it's an order from above, and we have to carry it out."

We felt incredibly frustrated after leaving the police station. But we didn't give up; we started asking around, trying to find out who was behind it all.

One day, I overheard a conversation between two merchants in a teahouse. One of them was wearing a dark long gown, while the other was wearing a somewhat worn-out suit.

"Have you heard? Lin Fangfei's textile factory has been shut down," said the businessman in the long gown.

"Of course I've heard about it. There's a lot going on behind this. I heard a very powerful family wants that land, so they used this as an excuse to shut down the textile factory," the businessman in the suit said in a low voice.

My heart skipped a beat. So that's how it is. I quietly walked to their table and asked, "Gentlemen, is what you just said true?"

The two merchants were startled when they saw me. The merchant in the long robe asked warily, "Who are you?"

I looked at them and said sincerely, "I am Lin Fangfei. I hope you can tell me more about my situation."

The businessman in the suit hesitated for a moment, then said, "Miss Lin, we heard it from others. That family is very powerful in Shanghai. You'd better not provoke them."

I bit my lip. "Thank you for reminding me, but I can't just stand by and watch my textile factory be taken away."

I told Gu Zixuan and Su Yao the news. Gu Zixuan's eyes were filled with determination, "No matter how powerful this family is, we will fight them to the end."

We began investigating this family. After some effort, we learned that the family's surname was Zhao, and they were a prominent family in Shanghai with deep connections in both political and business circles.

In order to find a breakthrough, I decided to attend a ball hosted by the Zhao family. I wore an exquisitely designed red cheongsam, embroidered with beautiful phoenix patterns in gold thread, its skirt swaying gracefully. I dressed myself up carefully, hoping to find some clues or opportunities at the ball.