Hello everyone,

This is @tigrasev for the new chapter of Winter Begonia

Disclaimer/Warning : I didn’t see the drama yet I will watch it soon so if there some mistake please tell me. 

Because I started to translate it at the moment where the drama was supposed airing. 

“The Second Grandmother will be renamed as Fan Xiang Er

Then also I don’t know yet all the terms of everything so if you see some errors please tell me and I will change it for the other chapters. 

Most of the infos related to the novel are on Novel updates where you can follow everything here https://www.novelupdates.com/series/winter-begonia/ 

Other Disclaimer/Warning : The project is one big one and it’s possible that the Chapter are slow to arrive or not very good translated due to anxiety and stress about what people can think about it. 

Chapter 4

In addition to the rumours in the Jiuqu Corridor, Cheng Fengtai had actually indirectly contacted a merchant Shang Rui. Once he brought a business for others, it was a batch of fine silk from Jiangnan to Manchuria*. Silk was slightly transferred in Peiping. On the day of delivery, Rui Fuxiang’s and shopkeeper Li went to Chengfu to pick up the goods himself under the scorching heat. Cheng Fengtai asked the workers to prepare a ladder for him to unpack and inspect the goods. The shopkeeper Li repeatedly waved his hands and said that he would not take anything else, only two clothes.

*TN : Manchuria is one state of China is where it’s Harbin, dying the 30″s years it’s was under Japanese control. 

Cheng Fengtai said with a smile: “You can’t get it if you send your buddies? The two clothes are also worth running back against the sun. Could it be the empress of the empress queen?”

The shopkeeper Li wiped the sweat from his head, and the big fan slammed: “Almost. That’s what it meant to serve Queen Wanrong.”

Cheng Fengtai was curious and wanted to open his eyes. The shopkeeper Li asked people to remove a camphor box with red seals, so a big camphor box contained only twelve sets of Hanfu women’s clothes and two towels and two handkerchiefs. The shopkeeper Li put on his glasses and laid them flat on the table one by one, carefully examining the stitches, and said to the freight worker from Hangzhou: “Be sure to check it out, the old rules, I ’m sorry to bother you to return the original box . “

The freight worker smiled and said, “I know, I know! The old rules! The girls in our embroidery workshop have embroidered these clothes for nine months. Look at the shopkeeper. The gold threads are all real gold twists. No fake at all. Peacock feather……”

Cheng Fengtai became more and more curious and drew his clothes corner closer. The clothes were really gorgeous and luxurious. The golden phoenix was embroidered on the red satin, and the feathers of the phoenix were vivid. The beads decorated with tassels seemed to be genuine. The Fan family can be regarded as the richest man outside the customs. When Fan Xiang Er married him, she had never worn such a Chinese costume. In the other sets, there are hundreds of butterflies fluttering and auspicious clouds. The wings of the butterfly reflect the soft light of the satin and come to life like a living creature. Xiu Niang must have used all her life skills in it. She just cut a piece of material and framed it, which is a delicate and beautiful painting.

Cheng Fengtai embarrassedly said: “It’s amazing! The emperor is going to return with his mother?”

The shopkeeper Li laughed: “Where can I! The second lord can’t see it? This is the costume for singing.”

Cheng Fengtai said no wonder that the colors are so bright, so I do n’t know which famous actress Qi You was wearing such exquisite clothes: “I heard that Peking has a famous character. It was originally from the Nanfu troupe, but now he is away from the palace. Lord Baqi, is it his? Isn’t he closing the mountain and not singing? “

The shopkeeper Li said: “No. You said it was Liyuan Shangshu Ning Jiulang! Boss Ning was a celebrity in front of Galeries Lafayette*. He came out of the palace, but he is not as big as his face. How much are these costumes worth? “

*TN : Galeries Lafayette is one big shop created by French there are two in China one at Beijing and one at Shanghai it’s exist since 1905

Cheng Fengtai shook his head and said, “I think, how could it be a thousand things …”

“Thousands of children, just enough money for these beads and gold thread!” Li treasurer stretched out four fingers in pain, and poked in front of Cheng Fengtai. Cheng Fengtai spread his clothes corner and smiled in surprise: “Which mallet is this? It costs more than me.”

“It’s a new famous horn. Shang Xirui. The second lord must know him.” Li dispensers didn’t find any stubble and folded the clothes into the box as they were.

“Pingyang’s Shang Xirui? Hey, I know too!” Cheng Fengtai sighed: “In this world, diligent work can’t eat a bite, but it is so rich in singing and selling!”

The shopkeeper Li glanced at him, thinking that it would be almost the same with poor labor. How can you say that Feng Chengtai sighs? If it were n’t for this world ’s warriors, there ’s no king, you can’t take advantage of it, and laughed: “Shang Xirui doesn’t sway in other places, but is willing to spend money on costumes. As long as the clothes look good, how many oceans Makes! “

Cheng Fengtai forgot that he had seen Shang Xirui himself, and at several gatherings, at the poker game. However, everyone knew that Cheng Meixin and Shang Xirui’s hatred for seizing the husband, as well as Cheng Fengtai’s banditry and Shang Xirui’s madness, lest one should be careless, and the two wouldn’t end well. So no one dared to let them meet, even if they were in the same place, they were intentionally separated.

Shang Xirui withdrew his makeup and was just a quiet and delicate young man. Because he was young, he still had a slightly rounded and immature female face. The clothes he wore were plain old gowns that were used and unremarkable. Cheng Fengtai did not notice him several times. Shang Xirui knew Cheng Meixin’s younger brother Cheng Fengtai, listened to him joking with others, and joked loudly. Wherever he went, he became lively. A man, who also has a three-point smile when he is okay, the gleaming gleam in his two eyes is more than a drama, like a person who eats by the face.

The two of them met each other for the first time in Huibin Building.

That night, Milestone Fengtai took Chachaer to connect with two old men in the business. It is nothing more than to gather together to eat, drink and talk gossip. The old men couldn’t eat as much as they could drink, so they scattered their meals early and offered to go to the theater. Cheng Fengtai didn’t have any interest in listening to dramas or the like. It wasn’t his tune. He wanted to find a game to rub mahjong twice, or to find a beautiful girl for a drink. But it’s rare to touch one’s head, and it’s not good to distract the elderly. Asked where to listen, the old men seemed to have been prepared, and named Huibin Building in unison: “Tonight is the finale of the Shang boss” Drunken Concubine “, which must not be missed.”

Another said: “It’s not me, I can’t hear Shang Xirui’s voice for three days, and the food is not sweet.”

Cheng Fengtai took the old man’s crutches and smiled: “It’s okay. Let’s listen to the show.”

Chachaer looked at his brother with big eyes, as if asking where he was going, but he still didn’t want to speak. In fact, after he came to Beiping *, he went to the village to follow the custom, and the Cheng family had held many meetings. The real theater, but Cha Chaer had never seen it. Cheng Fengtai touched the back of her sister’s head: “Take you to a lively place.”

*TN : Beiping was the name of Beijing in the 30’s years 

At the beginning of the Chinese lantern in the Huibin Building, the word “Shang Xirui” stood on the water sign at the door. Just like the people in the rumor, the claws spread their teeth and domineering. Poor. The misty, smoky gas inside the theater, the applause, the waves, the waves, the waves, the people’s nerves, the excitement seemed to explode at any time. The driver Lao Ge got off the bus and saw the “sold out” notice on the ticket counter, and whispered with Cheng Fengtai: “Er, you don’t know if you don’t listen to the show. There are extra tickets for Shang Xirui’s place. The station tickets were sold to 28 yuan and sold one piece. “

Cheng Fengtai said: “Can’t you buy it?”

Lao Ge said: “Naturally you can’t buy it.”

Cheng Fengtai looked at the two old men in the car and said, “Go to the box and ask one by one, as long as you are willing to give your seat, money is not a problem.”

Lao Ge negotiated with the ticket collector at the door for a while, and Cha Xiaoer for a while. After a while, he reluctantly replied: “I asked several people, and everyone said that they wouldn’t let them pay the money.”

Cheng Fengtai frowned: “No. Isn’t the price negotiating.”

“Money doesn’t work, second lord! He Zichang and Director Li are both there to listen to the drama, where can they let it go!”

Originally, the characters who can afford a box in Shang Xirui’s place have considerable financial potential, and there is no reason to sell their seats halfway for the sake of the ocean. Cheng Fengtai ’s caravan went south and north, and there was no place in China where his hand could not be reached. Even under the Japanese ’s eyes, he had the ability to go back and forth. Lost face.

An old man behind him took Cheng Fengtai’s shoulder and smiled with him: “Why does the boss’s ticket say you can buy it? Cheng Erye might as well borrow Cao Commander’s light.”

Cheng Fengtai understood that the two old men could not book a box, and he was deliberately invited out today, wanting to listen to Cao Commander’s little uncle. Shang Xirui really did not become popular in a leisurely manner. He could not make up a place with money alone.

Cheng Fengtai, as Commander Cao’s younger brother-in-law, borrowed the name of his brother-in-law and had nothing to say. After showing his identity with the theater manager, he immediately got a box specially reserved for the warlord commanders to take orders. Several people sat in the private room on the second floor, and a table of tea and fruit snacks was set. Cheng Fengtai opened his eyes and saw the next big family sitting in the box diagonally opposite, there was actually a Sheng Ziyun in the last seat. Sheng Ziyun and He Sigong are college classmates, and they certainly won’t get the ticket. He was urged to take him with him. He also wore a black stand-collar student uniform and sat upright, just like attending a class. It was just that the expression was so fascinating that he couldn’t extricate himself, and he was very ill.

Fan Lian said that Sheng Ziyun took the show, which really caught the current. Cheng Fengtai gave him a hard look.

The few actors at the beginning of the show did not come out, and the stage was a cultural drama. Cheng Fengtai crackled and snapped melon seeds. After he finished the sweet melon seeds, he sang the watermelon seeds. He sang a sentence in the play that he did not understand and was not interested in understanding. When his father was alive, on Sunday, the family dressed up and went to a concert. When the lights dimmed in the hall, he fell asleep. His mother’s musical talent was not inherited to him at all. But sometimes Cheng Fengtai also likes to listen to Chopin and Beethoven, and also invited piano teachers to his sisters, not to cultivate sentiment, just to imitate the scene of the former Shanghai home. He knocked a lot of seeds for a while and realized the benefits of Chinese drama. He performed on stage and ate off the stage. He was free. Unlike Western operas, there are so few rules of sitting in front of him, which suit his temperament.

The two old men were already drunk, shook their heads with their eyes closed, and hummed, like a duet on and off stage. Cheng Fengtai knocked out the seeds and started chewing plums. After the plums were chewed, he was hungry. He just talked with the old man after drinking and talking, and the food was not eaten decently. He snapped his fingers and wanted to call for a bowl of fried noodles. Xiao Er leaned his head down and heard badly. After all, Cheng Fengtai didn’t feel good about opening this mouth.

An old man saw Cheng Fengtai’s boredom and said with a smile: “Er Cheng Cheng, accompany us to listen to the drama, are you bored?”

Cheng Fengtai laughed: “To be honest, I didn’t understand much.”

Another old man said, “Yes. Cheng Erye is from Shanghai, and he loves Shanghai Beach and Shaoxing drama, right?”

Cheng Fengtai said, “I don’t listen to that either. My father was the one who came back from studying abroad. Our sisters and sisters have listened to Western music since they were young. These scenes-I don’t understand it. They are dressed up and harmonious. They look very lively. ,interesting.”

The old man touched his beard and smiled: “The second man has already understood half of it.” He sighed again: “The world has changed. The young people of your generation don’t like to listen to dramas. There is not one young lady in my house. To listen to the drama, instead to like the unsung, what is it called? “

Another interface: “Drama. Is it drama?”

“Yes, drama, drama! You talk about it, they don’t love anything left by this ancestor. They went to learn that Westerner, aren’t they going to die?”

The two old men sighed for a while when they were sad. After a while, the show was over, Shang Xirui came out, dressed in a rich chaise, and the jewelry on his head flashed. Cheng Fengtai looked at him and said that this is Shang Xirui, how colorful, and looks very thin. However, Cha Chaer was more excited, holding a cup of tea, looking at Shang Xirui intently, and felt that his pearly and magnificent eyes were very beautiful.

As soon as Shang Xirui came out, someone threw up the ocean and jewels, applauding one after another, he hadn’t sang yet, and now he saw that it was better, and that Shang Xirui had this treatment.

When Chachaer first saw this gameplay, his eyes seemed to be very interesting. Cheng Fengtai smiled and touched his body without bringing money, and it was meaningless to throw money. Watches, they break when you throw them. Put off the middle finger, a jade-clad gold ring, and put it into Chachaer’s hand: “Come, Chachaer will also come with one.”

Chachaer walked over to the railing and leaned out, took the ring and pointed it at Shang Xirui. She only looked at Shang Xirui in her eyes and threw it too accurately as soon as she threw it at him. The ring hit Shang Xirui’s brow bone, knocking him slightly off the head, and his eyes quickly slipped into Fengtai’s box.

Cheng Fengtai said badly, the gold ring sank very badly. I was afraid that it would be bruised. Chachaer also panicked, trotting back and grabbing his brother’s sleeve, a little panicked. Instead, the two old men laughed and said: “Miss Three is so lucky! This hand is not small, and the quasi-head is not small!”

Cheng Fengtai felt very strange, thought they were not fans of Shang Xirui? How did you see that Shang Xirui was smashed all at once? Think again, hi! Think of it as the Shanghai Opera House again. Here, the actors and prostitutes are people of the first floor-not humans, but gadgets, which can be easily rubbed with money.

Cheng Fengtai thought of this, but he was not very comfortable. At home in Shanghai, in his father’s education, the servant gave him a cup of tea to give him a thank you. Patting Chachaer’s back made her sit down and said, “It doesn’t matter, we Chachaer didn’t do it on purpose. Later, my brother will take you to apologize to him.”

The two old men had a better understanding of Cheng Fengtai’s style. They smiled secretly and said that apology is false. Isn’t Cheng Er looking at the same thing?

Shang Xirui’s face seemed to hit Sheng Ziyun’s apex, and he stood up and looked toward the culprit. Cheng Fengtai is talking with his head tilted, his face is not very clear. He researched speciously endlessly. After Cheng Fengtai suddenly turned his face after he finished speaking, he caught his gaze, and Sheng Ziyun had to come over to say hello.

“Brother Cheng.”

The old men shoved their glasses and said, “This is this?”

Cheng Fengtai said: “My old classmate’s younger brother, the six sons of Shanghai’s Sheng family, Sheng Ziyun, is now in Beiping University.”

In the name of the Sheng family, the old men put up Sheng Ziyun and praised the young handsome Yan Yan. Sheng Ziyun gave a shameful greeting.

Cheng Fengtai said: “Okay, it’s time for the show, Master Yun goes back and sits.”

Sheng Ziyun agreed, and as soon as he turned around, Cheng Fengtai grabbed his clothes and dragged him down. He clenched his teeth in his ear and said, “Wait for me to ask you!”

Sheng Ziyun panicked for a while.

On the stage, Shang Xirui opened his throat and sang, the voice was bright and smooth, and it was like a warrior. The drama Drunken Princess Cheng Fengtai has seen it several times with others, but only understands the two sentences inside-“The island ice wheel is turning early, seeing the jade rabbit, and the jade rabbit ascends early. The ice wheel is away from the island, and Qiankun is very distinct.”

Further down, Cheng Fengtai couldn’t remember much. Although Cheng Fengtai didn’t understand words, he listened to this voice quietly, gradually realizing a dichotomy, and hummed gently. Then I realized that the Chinese drama has an advantage over the Western drama-Hu Qin has a sharp voice and hangs his spirit, and people who don’t understand can’t doze off.

A tune sang, and the audience suddenly rioted. Many people left the seat angrily and retired, while others drank it.

Cheng Fengtai did not know exactly, and the old man next to him sighed, “Hey! Where is this going! A good drunken concubine!”

The other said, “Don’t watch it, don’t watch it. Let’s go!” He said goodbye to Cheng Fengtai and agreed to the time of the next meeting, the expression on his face was very upset.

Cheng Fengtai followed them all the way to send them down, laughing: “What’s wrong with this drama? Recruiting two old men so atmospheric?”

The old man said: “This merchant, Xi Rui, relies on a horn. He changed the playbook from one to the other, and he has changed so many peers and ticket friends are not waiting to see him.

“In his early years, he was walking in Shanghai. When the Shanghainese saw him, he called him” Demon “, and he was proud of it! A good drunken lady! This dare to change! It is about to die!”

The spectators who went out together agreed to this in unison, and issued many complaints and opinions. Cheng Fengtai didn’t understand their comments and sent the old men politely to the car and returned to the box to find his sister.