Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 32: A Family Crying
Seeing how kind Cai Shiwen was to Wu Chengjian, many people thought, "Oh, I almost forgot that the two families are related. It seems that the Wu family still has someone to rely on."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Uncle Cai, I was thinking, today we spent so much effort to select two companies to undertake this donation. The two companies that were selected are unlucky. Just like Uncle Cai said, life and death, disaster and happiness are all determined by public opinion, and no one is to blame. But this time, two companies were selected to undertake the Yongding River project. Next time, if something beneficial to the country and the people comes up, will we have to select two more companies? In this way, two companies a month, four companies in two months, six companies in three months, and in just half a year, won't our Thirteen Banks be empty?"
Hearing his foolish words, everyone secretly sighed for Wu Guoying's stupid son. Cai Shiwen also shook his head and said patiently: "Don't worry, nephew. Such a great thing that benefits the country and the people doesn't happen every year. Not to mention one or two months, even if it happens in three or five years, it won't happen again."
Wu Chengjian said, "No, that won't work. It's not certain what you said. Anyway, our Yihe Bank will not be chosen in this public discussion, so I'm not nervous. But if it happens again next month, I won't be able to bear it."
When the insurance companies heard this, they were all shocked: "How did he know that he would not be chosen? Did they have some secret deal? This stupid boy let it slip!"
Xie Yuanli was also a little surprised when he heard this: "Nephew, from what you said, it sounds like you know the outcome."
"Of course." Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I just worshipped Mazu last month and drew a fortune stick. The meaning of the fortune stick is very clear. It says that I will turn misfortune into good fortune this autumn. Mazu's words must be right. So our Wu family will definitely not be selected this time. What should I worry about?"
Everyone laughed when they heard this, and even the merchant Yang, who was sitting on the ground, couldn't help but snort twice, thinking that the Wu family had such a fool as the head of the family, and the fate of Yihe Bank would probably be no better than his own. Everyone in Fujian knew that they believed in Mazu, but this was the first time they saw someone who believed in it like a fool.
"What are you laughing at!" Wu Chengjian said seriously, "Mazu is the Queen of Heaven, extremely efficacious! But Mazu only promised to protect me this autumn, but didn't say she would protect me in winter, so I have to ask about this clearly."
Cai Shiwen said, "Since my nephew wants to ask for clarification, I will give you a clear answer. Don't worry, after passing this test, there will be no more problems in the next three to five years."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Uncle Cai, you don't have the final say."
Xie Yuanli shouted, "How rude! If Mr. Cai's words don't count, then who has the final say?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Although Uncle Cai is the head merchant of the Thirteen Hongs, can he make the decision for Master Jishan? If he can make the decision for Master Jishan, then I will believe what he said."
I heard a man behind the wall say, "Then I'll make the decision, that's all right."
When Galiu heard the voice, he rolled over in panic and shouted, "Master, why did you come out?"
All the guarantors in the hall, including the shopkeeper Liu, prostrated themselves on their knees.
The supervisor of the Guangdong Customs, Master Jishan, was extremely majestic in front of the group of guarantors. Didn't he see that even one of his servants dared to beat the guarantors to death at any time?
Although he was the supervisor of Guangdong Customs, almost no one on the scene recognized his appearance and had only heard his voice. Why? Because once they were in front of him, no merchant could look directly at him. When they looked up to answer him, they could only see the ninth button at most. If they dared to raise their heads a little higher and dared see the eighth button, they would be dragged out and beaten to death immediately.
Although the merchants were as wealthy as a country, in front of the Manchu nobles, they were no better than dogs, let alone slaves - at least dogs still dared to look up at people.
Jishan walked to the center of the hall and looked down at the merchants kneeling on the ground. In this hot autumn, his words were as cold as ice in December: "I heard Cai Shiwen's conclusion just now. We chose two companies through public discussion to do things that benefit the country and the people. This is good, very good. Let's do it. As for the fact that some people are afraid that such a thing will happen again in the future, I, Jishan, am here to give you a reassurance: Don't worry, don't worry! After these two companies are selected, I promise that no third company will be involved. Not only that, but I will make another promise to you: as long as I, Jishan, am still in this position, there will be no more levies from the Thirteen Hongs except for the annual fixed tax."
Lu Guanhuan knew that it was meaningless to resist. If he could get the support of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he would not be the one to be chosen as the "second family". As the saying goes, when you are rich, you should help others; when you are poor, you should help yourself. Now that you are in a desperate situation, you can only retreat temporarily. Even if you are a "chivalrous businessman", you can't drag yourself down to help others.
He was speechless, and no one present dared to speak out.
Jishan's words were both a final decision and a consolation: the consolation was naturally for the nine families outside the "two families". After this conclusion, no one in the room thought about how to resist this decision, but instead thought about how to avoid becoming one of the "two families".
When Pan Yiliang heard this, he knew that he could escape the disaster, and they all shouted in unison: "Master Supervisor is wise!"
However, Merchant Yang couldn't control himself and sobbed.
The Pearl River has three major tributaries: the West River, the North River, and the East River. The North River runs east-west in the southern part of Guangzhou. The southern bank of the river was called Henan by the old Guangzhou people, which is now the Haizhu District. In the Qing Dynasty, this area was considered suburban, but it was already densely populated during the Qianlong period.
Not far from the river, there is a Haizhuang Temple, one of the four major monasteries in Guangzhou. The Pan family of Tonghehang, the leader of the four major families of the Thirteen Hongs, left Xiguan in the third year after Pan Zhenchen became the head merchant, and built a large manor near the Haizhuang Temple. From then on, the Pan family settled here.
According to Chinese Feng Shui, one should not live near a temple. However, Pan Zhenchen built his home close to Haizhuang Temple. Many people said that Yuehai Jinao had miscalculated. Unexpectedly, after so many years, the Pan family not only did not decline, but became more and more prosperous.
At this time, in the meditation room of Haizhuang Temple, a man was sitting quietly facing a Buddha statue. A scripture was placed in front of him, but no one knew whether he was worshiping the Buddha or reciting the scripture.
The door of the room opened with a creak, and a servant bowed to the monk who was standing quietly beside him, then knelt beside the man and spoke softly for a long time. The man raised his hand, and the servant left. From beginning to end, the man never looked back, and the door of the Zen room had been closed again.
Xiguan was a place where many wealthy people gathered, and news about the Thirteen Hongs spread faster than flying.
The decision made by the Commercial Security Council spread throughout Xiguan in no time.
Cai Qiaozhu had just returned from praying at Liurong Temple. As she was walking down the street, she heard crying on the side of the road. She opened a corner of the sedan window and asked, "What happened? Whose family is having a funeral?"
Wu Liu answered from outside: "It's the Yang family of Maoshengxing. But it's not dead yet, maybe someone just died."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Go and find out which elder of the Yang family has passed away. We are both related as merchants, so we can send them gifts according to etiquette."
Wu Liu left, and Cai Qiaozhu took the sedan chair back to the mansion. When she entered the house, she found that Wu Dacheng looked strange. Cai Qiaozhu asked, "What's wrong?"
Wu Dacheng said, "There are some rumors out there. I heard a few of them, but I don't know if they are true or not. The eldest young lady can ask the third young master later."
Cai Qiaozhu was able to keep her composure, so she did not ask any more questions at the gatehouse. She returned to the right courtyard and sent someone to invite the Third Young Master to come over for a chat. The maid Bi Tao, who had stayed in the room and did not go to Liurong Temple that morning, said, "How could the eldest young lady forget that the Third Young Master was invited to attend a meeting at the Bao Shang Council this morning."
Cai Qiaozhu asked, "Hasn't come back yet?"
Bi Tao said: "I haven't heard that he's back, but I did hear that the meeting over there has been disbanded."
Cai Qiaozhu was surprised again: "The Third Young Master hasn't come back yet, how do you know whether the business insurance meeting has ended?"
Bi Tao said, "Haven't you heard about it yet, Madam? It seems that something big is going to happen in the Thirteenth Lines. Some people said that they just received an imperial decree that the Yang family will be confiscated and executed, so someone from the Yang family just now cried all the way past the door."
Cai Qiaozhu was shocked: "Search the property and execute the person? What crime did the Yang family commit?"
Bi Tao said hurriedly, "I don't know about this, it's just rumors that have been passed around. How about I call Wu Dacheng over so that the eldest young lady can ask him about it?"
Cai Qiaozhu paused for a moment and said, "Since it's just rumors, stop spreading them and asking questions. Let's wait until Wu Liu comes back."
She sat in the house and asked Lian Qiao to go to each room and warn them not to spread rumors. She was alone and thought to herself, "Even if the Yang family was not executed by imperial decree, something must have happened, otherwise they wouldn't cry like that. This autumn... is truly a 'troublesome autumn'!"
She warned herself to stay calm and not lose her composure no matter what happened.
After sitting quietly under the pear tree for a cup of tea, Lian Qiao came back and said, "Every room has been informed." He added, "The Third Young Master has indeed not returned. Wu Qi, who went to the meeting with the Third Young Master, did go to the Master's place, but he left again."
Cai Qiaozhu thought to herself, "Wu Qi should have come back to report as ordered. The master should have heard the rumors about the Yang family. But why hasn't Third Uncle come back yet?" She wanted to send someone out to inquire, but Wu Liu was not around. She was also worried about sending someone else at this moment, for fear of causing more rumors.
Fortunately, Wu Liu came back soon. He was sweating profusely. Cai Qiaozhu said, "The Yang family is not far from home. You have been gone for so long. You should have come back early if you walked slowly. Why are you so tired?"
Wu Liu said, "Madam, I came back after asking around for a long time. I was so anxious that I ran back. It's not that someone in the Yang family has lost someone, but it's worse than losing someone. A large sum of money was reserved by the higher-ups, saying that it would be used to relieve some disaster. The Thirteen Hongs agreed to hand over the large sum of money to two families. It seems that the Yang family has been tacitly chosen to be one of the families."
Cai Qiaozhu thought to herself, "No wonder." She then asked, "How much is the amount?"
Wu Liu said: "Some say it is 10 million taels, some say it is 8 million taels."
