Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 35: Shanxi Merchants Extend Their Hands
Wu Chengjian could no longer stay in Shenxianzhou. Besides, his old man and sister-in-law were probably waiting for him, so he wanted to go back. Unexpectedly, Ginkgo next door sent someone to invite him.
Wu Chengjian laughed and said, "Some people should have started to avoid me by now, but Gingko actually dared to come up to me. What's his plan?"
Zhou Yijin said: "Behind the ginkgo tree, there seem to be the shadows of several Shanxi people."
Wu Chengjian said "oh" and understood instantly.
Wu Qi still didn't understand: "People from Shanxi? What do people from Shanxi have to do with us?"
Zhou Yijin looked at Wu Chengjian, and Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "If Yijin doesn't mind, why not give him some pointers?"
Zhou Yijin then said, "Although the Thirteen Hongs may not be thirteen, if two more are destroyed and only nine are left, I'm afraid that will be a little too few. New licenses may be issued at that time. The root cause of this disaster is in Beijing. Shanxi is close to the capital. Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, Shanxi merchants have had a close relationship with the Manchus. Most of these Shanxi people have smelled the fishy smell and came here to get a share of the overseas trade."
"So that's how it is." Wu Qi said, "But even if a license is available , it is the Guangdong Customs Supervisor who approves the license. They should go to Jishan, why are they looking for us? What's more, our Wu family is in a bad situation right now, and there is no way we can help."
"It's not that Jishan is willing to approve it. If that's the case, wouldn't it be better for Jishan to directly approve the license to his servants?" Zhou Yijin said, "It takes a lot of hard work to forge iron! Whether you can become a protected merchant, although you also need official support, it still depends on your strength - first, whether you can solve the domestic supply and freight, second, whether you can deal with foreign merchants, and third, the Shanxi merchants have traveled thousands of miles south and have no foundation in Guangzhou..."
"I understand!" Wu Qi said, "They are interested in our Wu family's assets!"
"That's right." Zhou Yijin sneered, "Even if the Wu family is ruined, the warehouses and shops cannot be moved, and the domestic and foreign goods in the warehouses cannot be moved. These are all real assets. Even the Wu family's supply system, freight system, and even the old relationship with foreign merchants, these things may be worthless to others, but for big merchants with enough strength to take over, these are priceless."
"Oh..." Wu Qi said, "So those Shanxi people saw that the Wu family was going to fall, so they wanted to eat our flesh and gnaw our bones?"
Zhou Yijin: "They may not know which family it is from the beginning, but no matter which family goes down, they are willing to take a bite. Now they are ready to take a bite because they see that the Wu family is going to go down."
"Let's go, Xiaoqi," Wu Chengjian said, "Let's go to the Ginkgo Room and have a drink. You won't be able to experience this kind of cold wind and cold arrows again when our Yihexing gets back on its feet."
Inside Qiubinju Cottage, the lights flickered. There was no ambiguity, but it felt dark.
Ginkgo is petite and has very fair skin, but her face is like a silver plate. Although it is not as "round face" as Shen Xiaoying cursed, it is not proportional to her petite figure. When she dresses up, she tries to make her hairstyle make her face look smaller.
The person is a Mizhi beauty, and the wine is Shanxi Fenjiu.
Wu Chengjian raised his glass and said with a smile, "I haven't had such authentic Xinghuacun wine since I came back from Beijing."
Ginkgo smiled and said, "Third Young Master's tongue is priceless. Just a little bit of it and you won't be able to hide anything from him."
"It's not easy for Yihe and Asan to win the praise of the most beautiful woman in Shenxianzhou..." Wu Chengjian drank a full cup and said, "Okay, it's so late at night. I have to go back to Xiguan tonight. Let's go."
Gingko quickly stopped him: "Why are you in such a hurry, Third Master? I just had a drink."
Wu Chengjian said, "My father and sister-in-law are probably still awake. If they are drunk, they will be scolded when they go back."
Gingko laughed and said, "Isn't the Third Young Master in charge of Yihe Bank now? Are you still being scolded?"
Wu Chengjian also laughed: "Even if I am the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, she is still my father and my sister-in-law. How can you not scold me?"
"The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi has nothing to do with us anymore..." Yin Xing leaned forward, forcing Wu Chengjian to sit down again: "Why don't we talk about the current situation?"
Wu Chengjian chuckled and said, "You're trying to seduce me like this, aren't you afraid that Sanniang will get jealous if she finds out?"
Ginkgo said, "Isn't it all up to Third Young Master that Third Mother relies on? Now Third Young Master, you are almost unable to protect yourself, so why should I be afraid of her?"
Wu Chengjian said, "You're talking to me like this, aren't you afraid that I'll get angry?" In the past, even the four most beautiful courtesans would have done their best to please Wu Chengjian, and even in their words, how could they dare to be rude? They would be careful with every word. Unexpectedly, the situation changed overnight.
Ginkgo chuckled and said, "Let's not beat around the bush. Today, the news about the protection of the negotiation office has spread all over Baietan. Everyone was waiting to see who the 'second family' would be in trouble besides the Yang family, but the catamite of Mr. Cai showed the skylight to the people of Shenxianzhou tonight. The Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi? Now they are protecting the Lu family!"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "What about the Ye family?"
“Haha——” Ginkgo said, “It would be better if you didn’t ask this question, Third Young Master. If you ask this question, it will let me know that your Wu family has indeed lost power.”
"Um?"
"Ye Dalin went to Cai's house before sunset today..." Yinxing leaned close to Wu Chengjian's ear and whispered, "He went to Cai's house first, and then Cai, Xie, and Ye's sedan chairs came out together and went to the residence of the Guangdong Customs Supervisor. They stayed in there for a full half an hour before coming out."
Wu Chengjian's body stiffened unconsciously.
Ginkgo laughed again: "When a person loses power, his eyes and ears will be blocked. If it were yesterday, how could I know these things first? But now, half of the people in the Immortal Continent know about it, but you, the Third Young Master, don't know it!"
Wu Chengjian was a man who had been around many women, and although he knew that Ginkgo was just playing around, when Ginkgo threw herself into his arms just now, his hands went along to touch her softness and fragrance. However, he seemed to have lost the mood at this time, so he let go of Ginkgo and poured himself a glass wine.
Ginkgo said, "The Third Young Master knows the current situation of Yihe Bank better than I do. The women of the Yang family have even prepared ropes for hanging. Some people even saw that Merchant Yang always had a glass of wine by his side. Whenever he touched the glass of wine, his hands would tremble. He probably wanted to use it to commit suicide, but he couldn't make up his mind until the last moment."
Wu Chengjian asked, "Why are you telling me this?"
Ginkgo said: "Isn't today's Yang family's tomorrow's Wu family?"
Wu Chengjian looked into Ginkgo's eyes. Their eyes were very close to each other, but at this moment there was no ambiguity or romance at all.
After a while, Wu Chengjian said, "Are you telling me this to ridicule me, or do you have any way to help me?"
Ginkgo smiled and said, "The Third Young Master is indeed a straightforward person! He is worthy of being the most benefactor of the Immortal Continent. Ginkgo, I am where I am today, thanks to the care of the Third Sister. Isn't the care of the Third Sister the care of the Third Young Master? Now, of course, I have to think of a way to help the Third Young Master."
Her words were sweet and greasy, like syrup, sweet and thick.
Wu Chengjian said: "The current situation is already determined: we have the pressure from the Governor of Guangdong Customs, and the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi has abandoned our Yihe Bank; and the other guarantors of the Thirteen Hongs are ready to drink the blood and eat the flesh of our Wu family. Even the East India Company, which has been doing business for many years, is only thinking about forcing us to pay compensation. This hole is too big. Unless another guarantor sells his family property to help us, no one can save us. But in this world, there is no one willing to sacrifice oneself to save others!"
Gingko smiled and said, "Even if another guarantor sacrifices his life to help, can he save the Wu family?"
Wu Chengjian remained silent.
Ginkgo added: "No one can fill the hole in the Wu family. But saving people without saving the situation is still possible."
"Hmm?" Wu Chengjian seemed to have heard something: "What do you mean?"
Ginkgo said, "There are a few powerful people who asked me to tell the Third Young Master that they can keep the Wu family safe and sound."
Wu Chengjian pondered and said, "Just safe and sound?"
Ginkgo sneered: "Third Young Master, you don't still want to get away with the entire Yihe Bank?"
Wu Chengjian said: "What if I want to?"
Ginkgo chuckled: "If you are really like that, then you are really a useless playboy and a prodigal second-generation rich man in the eyes of outsiders. What kind of situation is this now? If the Wu family can survive, they can go and burn incense and worship Buddha."
Wu Chengjian pondered for a moment and said, "What does the other party want?"
Ginkgo held up three fingers: "The source of Fujian tea, the relationship with the East India Company, and the guys at Yihe Bank."
Wu Chengjian suddenly laughed: "What a good plan, what a good plan, it really is a good plan."
Ginkgo said: "If everything goes well, those big shots may be able to find a tea plantation for the Wu family . Then you can go back to Fujian. A family can take care of a tea plantation and live a worry-free life."
Wu Chengjian said: "That makes sense, that makes sense."
Ginkgo's smile widened when he heard him say that. She stood up, picked up the pot and filled two glasses with wine. She handed one of the glasses to Wu Chengjian and said, "Then Third Young Master, shall we drink this glass?"
Wu Chengjian took the wine glass with a smile, and Yinxing was about to raise his glass to clink it with his own: "So, is this deal done?"
Suddenly, Wu Chengjian poured the wine glass, a full glass of Xinghuacun, all over Ginkgo's face, and Ginkgo was stunned.
Wu Chengjian sneered, "Who are you to do business with me? Are you worthy?"
He slammed his glass on the table and said, "Ginkgo , listen to me. Shenxian Island belongs to the Cantonese. If demons and monsters from other places want to come in, you can pass the word, but if you sit on the wrong side of the fence and really get involved with the demons and monsters, be careful or you will end up in a miserable situation."
After saying that, he waved his fan and walked out the door, nodding to Wu Qi who was standing outside the door: "Let's go."
Ginkgo stood there in a daze until Wu Chengjian left. Then she reacted and lost control of her emotions. She ran to the door and started cursing loudly, but Wu Chengjian had already gone far away.
