Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 31 Allocation
Each time a donation was allocated to the Thirteen Hongs, it would generally be divided into three forms.
The first is to share the cost equally among all parties. This is good for big insurance companies but bad for small ones. Mr. Cai has often done this in recent years.
The second is to bear according to the amount of financial resources, such as the four major families bear the largest share, followed by Wu and Ye, and then Pan, Yi, Liang, Yang and Ma. In this way, it is beneficial to small merchants, and Pan Zhenchen used to do this - this is one of the reasons why many people in the Thirteen Hongs still miss Pan Zhenchen today.
The third type is contracting, where one or several companies take on all the responsibilities. For example, the previous general merchant Pan Zhenchen had taken on many levies, and thus established great prestige within the Thirteen Hongs. Another example is when the Guangdong Customs Supervisor celebrated his birthday and held a wedding, some insurance merchants would rush to take on the contract in order to curry favor with him.
However, the amount of money involved in this matter was too huge, and I was afraid that no one could take care of it. In addition to the unfathomable Tonghehang, any of the other ten insurance merchants present would be bankrupt if they took care of it - even Cai, Xie, and Lu were no exception.
Lu Guanhuan had already calculated in his mind that even if the money was shared equally, the four major families would still have to bear a large chunk of the losses. If it fell on Pan Yiliang, Yang Ma, it would be a huge loss, and it might even affect next year's reinvestment. If the family ran out of funds, they might even face bankruptcy. This was why Pan Yiliang, Yang Ma were so worried.
Yi and Yang, whose goods have already been shipped, are fine, but Pan, Liang and Ma are still at a critical juncture in negotiations with foreigners. At this juncture, I am afraid that none of these three companies can come up with the money. If they force themselves to come up with it, their capital chain will be broken on the spot.
Mr. Cai seemed to see what everyone was thinking and said, "The noble man above and Mr. Jishan understand everyone's difficulties, so although the donation will be finalized in the near future, the money can be delivered in half a month."
After hearing this, most people breathed a sigh of relief. The autumn harvest would basically be over in half a month, and if they didn't force donations before then, it wouldn't be killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. However, when they thought about the number, they still had a bitter face. If the burden was shared equally among all the families, they might not go bankrupt, but the next few years would be difficult.
The Pan and Yi families were eagerly looking to Xie Yuanli, while the Liang and Ma families were looking to Lu Guanhuan. They all hoped that these four families could take on more projects so that they could have a break.
Lu Guanhuan was soft-hearted and sighed, and was about to suggest dividing the debt according to the amount of assets.
Suddenly Ye Dalin said, "Brother Yuan Li just said that this is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. General Manager Cai also said that doing this is to accumulate good karma. Since it is a good thing, then naturally everyone should share the benefits equally, so let's share it equally."
When Pan, Yi, Liang, Yang and Ma heard this, they cursed in their hearts and wanted to oppose but did not want to be the first to speak out. Liang and Ma looked at Lu Guanhuan, while Pan and Yi looked at Cai Shiwen and Xie Yuanli, to see what their "horse heads" meant.
The small families will bear the losses equally, while the big families will bear the losses in stages. Although the small families must fight for their own interests, if they resist too fiercely and offend the big families, they will suffer the consequences in the end.
Lu Guanhuan said: "Brother Ye, please give them a chance to live. They are all trying to make a living in Xiguan, and it's not easy for everyone."
Merchant Liang and Merchant Ma immediately chimed in: "That's right, that's right!"
Ye Dalin sneered, "Since everyone is having a hard time, we should share the burden equally. Their money is money, but isn't our money money? We are all insurance merchants, and we have the same licenses. The court doesn't pay our Ye family any salary. Now that we are doing good deeds, why shouldn't we share the burden equally? Chengjian, don't you think I am right?"
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "Yes, yes, that's right, that's right."
The two sides held their own opinions and the dispute was unresolved. Finally, they looked to Cai Shiwen, hoping that he would support them and make a decision.
Cai Shiwen said: "If no one is satisfied with these two methods, then we can only take over the whole thing. Why don't we publicly select a business to undertake this donation? What do you think?"
When the Pan and Yi families heard this, their eyes suddenly lit up.
Yes, take care of everything!
If someone else takes care of this matter, then he doesn't have to pay a penny. This is actually the least harmful thing to him than splitting the bill evenly or tieredly - of course, the premise is that the person who takes care of this matter is not him. They are Cai Shiwen's people, and they don't think that General Merchant Cai will sell them out.
Pan and Yi's eyes lit up, but Liang and Ma were shocked at the same time. They always followed Lu Guanhuan's lead and were naturally worried that the final contract would fall on them. However, they soon remembered that there was another person who was more dangerous than themselves - Pan Yi, Liang and Ma. The four people with eight eyes looked at Yang Shangzhu of Maoshengxing at the same time.
I saw cold sweat streaming down Merchant Yang's forehead.
Back garden.
This time, the servant of Jinqian Shuwei had a happy look on his face. He hurried to the outside of the pavilion, bowed and greeted, and then told the previous things. Jishan teased the bird and said with a smile: "Cai Shiwen is still okay. He did a good job."
Everyone in the Thirteen Lines knew that there was a conflict between Yang Shangzhu and Cai Xie. Although the Maosheng Line ranked relatively low in the Thirteen Lines, Yang Shangzhu was also ambitious. He had been working hard on Hutabu two years ago. Hutabu also felt that Cai and Xie were not as obedient as Yang Shangzhu, so the two got together. Yang Shangzhu squeezed out Cai and Xie and became the most popular person in front of Hutabu. Maosheng Line also had a good year because of this.
Who knew that a house turmoil in the supervisor's house would not only bring him back to his original form, but also make the situation ten times more critical than before.
Merchant Yang knew that the life and death of Mao Shengxing and his entire family depended on this battle, so he had no choice but to withstand the pressure and struggled, saying, "This... this is unfair! Didn't Merchant Yang just say that this is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, and the benefits must be shared equally. How can it all be placed on one person's head?"
Cai Shiwen said calmly: "If everyone shares the burden of the donation once, the benefits will be shared equally. If everyone takes turns to undertake the contract for multiple donations, the benefits will also be shared equally. In other words, after this contract, he will not have to take the turn the next time. What do you think?"
Several business owners said in unison: "Okay, okay, that's right, this is fair."
Merchant Yang jumped and yelled, "What fairness? What fairness? You all know that whoever undertakes this donation will be ruined this year! There will be no next time! This is not fair at all, this is annihilation!"
He looked around. After he climbed to the top of Hutabu last year, the three families of Pan Yi Ma had also shown goodwill to him. However, when he looked at them this time, the look of help was clearly revealed in his eyes, but the three merchants avoided him as much as possible.
Merchant Yang was almost in despair. He threw himself at Lu Guanhuan's feet and shouted, "Mr. Lu, Brother Lu, please save me, please save our whole family!"
Lu Guanhuan knew the temperament and deeds of General Merchant Yang and knew that he was not a good person. Although his mean face when he was in power was hateful, his current situation was pitiful. He said, "General Merchant Cai, even if you confiscate the entire Maosheng Bank, I'm afraid it won't be enough to make up the required amount this time, right?"
Mr. Cai nodded and said, "The donation amount is huge, and one family cannot take it all."
Lu Guanhuan said: "Since one family cannot take over everything, this method is meaningless. Let's find another way."
Merchant Yang showed a little hope of escaping death, but then Merchant General Cai said something that sent him back to hell: "Since one merchant company cannot take over everything, then let's select two merchants to take over."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the major merchants looked at Merchant Yang as if he were a maggot. Everyone despised and hated him, fearing that they would be tainted by him.
Lu Guanhuan's face also changed slightly, and he said, "Choose another one? Who to choose? I'm afraid that even if the four Pan, Yi, Liang, and Ma families choose one more, plus Merchant Yang, they still can't afford the amount set by the nobleman in Beijing."
Mr. Cai said, "That's even simpler. Since the lower five are not qualified, we can just choose a new one from the upper six. That will probably be enough."
As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Guanhuan and Ye Dalin's faces changed drastically at the same time.
Cai Shiwen asked Pan Yiliangma: "Four of you, what do you think of this proposal?"
Pan Yiliang Ma immediately said: "General Cai's discussion of this matter is the most fair!"
The Yang family has already been "predetermined" among the lower five families, and if they choose one from the upper six families, they will be completely safe, so of course they will agree immediately.
Cai Shiwen rarely smiled twice in one day, and asked Xie Yuanli, "What do you think, brother Xie?"
Xie Yuanli smiled and said, "Fair, fair. This is what it means to take both the big and small into account."
Cai Shiwen asked the shopkeeper Liu again, and Liu said, "Six of them have already agreed with this proposal. Since more than half of them have agreed, it is the public opinion. We are willing to follow suit."
Seven of the eleven merchants, including the proposer Cai Zongshang, agreed. Lu, Wu, Ye, and Yang immediately became a minority. Cai Shiwen did not ask them for their opinions. Anyway, he had already obtained the "public opinion" of the merchants, which gave him a legitimate reason. If the other merchants dared to resist, they would have a legitimate reason to use force. Whoever dared to resist this "public opinion" would be destroyed by Cai Zongshang by using Jishan's power. It was expected that no matter which of the three families, Lu, Wu, and Ye, stood up first, the other two would be optimistic that they would jump into the fire pit. But if the three families could not unite, they would be at the mercy of Cai Shiwen.
At this time, Merchant Yang no longer clung to Lu Guanhuan, knowing that the other party was in danger as well.
Lu Guanhuan was calculating the situation in his mind, his eyes flickering; Ye Dalin had a gloomy face, and he didn't look like a living person at all. Only Wu Chengjian was waving a folding fan, and he was very uncomfortable with the heat in the hall.
"That's it," said General Manager Cai. "Five days later, we will gather again to select two guarantors to undertake this matter. No matter who is selected, life and death, disaster and happiness will all be decided by public opinion, and no one else will be to blame!"
The purpose of setting aside these few days is to give a buffer to the guarantors. As long as some people start to move, Supervisor Jishan and General Merchant Cai will both benefit. This also leaves a little hope for those who are at a disadvantage.
However, there was one person who already knew that he had no hope.
Merchant Yang collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud.
Suddenly someone said, "Wait!"
Merchant Yang was like a drowning man who had grabbed a straw. He looked over and saw that the person who was speaking was Wu Chengjian. The glimmer of hope that he had just ignited was shattered again.
The four business owners Pan Yi, Liang Ma, and others were gloating in their hearts at the same time: "This son born to Wu Guoying is really a top-notch person. He came forward at this moment. Don't you think his death is not fast enough?"
Cai Shiwen was in a rare good mood and asked softly, "Nephew Wu, is there anything else?" He no longer called him Agent Wu. He looked like a kind elder of a relative.
