Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 48 Debt Collection and Debt Repayment
After Wu Chengjian and Cai Qiaozhu discussed the details of how to send Guang'er away, they left the right yard. Seeing that there seemed to be lights in the backyard, he guessed: "Is Dad not asleep yet?" He crossed the yard to see, and sure enough, Wu Guoying was still awake.
Wu Chengjian walked in and said, "Father, it's not good for your health if you don't go to bed at this time. At your age, you have already injured your vitality. You should take care of yourself." He did not blame Aunt Yang, because he knew that Aunt Yang would not be able to persuade the old man at this time.
Wu Guoying waved her hand: "When you get old, it doesn't matter if you sleep more or less. Is my sister-in-law back?"
Wu Chengjian said: "I'm back."
Wu Guoying asked, "Have you been wronged?"
Wu Chengjian kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything. Some things can only be said out loud to make one feel better, but Wu Chengjian decided to suppress what he learned tonight deep in his heart.
Wu Guoying guessed about 70% of the situation from her youngest son's reaction. She sighed deeply and said, "That's fine, that's fine. It's fine if you just give up!"
Wu Chengjian said, "Sister-in-law is back, there's nothing else to do, Dad, go to bed early. I'll come and pay my respects tomorrow."
Wu Guoying said, "Do you have something to tell me? Don't hide it. If you don't tell me, I won't be able to sleep well tonight."
Wu Chengjian thought for a moment and said, "Okay, there is something I really need to discuss with my father." He then told him that he was planning to send Guang'er to Luzon for refuge.
Wu Guoying nodded: "Okay, this is a solution. In Luzon, we have two relatives from our hometown in Fujian. Among them, Wu Ba Ke is a kind-hearted man who can be trusted with things. I will write a letter to him right away."
"Let's write the letter tomorrow." Wu Chengjian said, "But we need to discuss how to send Guang'er away."
Wu Guoying said, "If the Duanlongjiang route is fine, we can send the people directly to Huizhou, and then go to Nan'ao from Huizhou. We can look at the wind direction and ocean currents, and use red-headed ships to send them to Manila. But now that the Duanlongjiang route is useless, we have to find another way. Hao Guan, what do you think?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Buy a cabin, depart from Shamian, take a foreign ship to Macau, and then go to Manila from Macau."
Wu Guoying said: "That's also a solution."
Wu Chengjian said, "Let Shopkeeper Hou San handle this matter."
Wu Guoying hesitated and asked, "Is he...reliable?"
"We didn't tell him who he was sending them to," Wu Chengjian said, "We just said that our hometown in Fujian asked us to send Uncle Ba Ke's relatives to Manila."
Wu Guoying nodded: "Okay."
"Besides..." Wu Chengjian said, "Sister-in-law went to Heitoucai's place tonight and suffered humiliation, but it was not completely useless. At least we are more certain that the other party is really going to mess with us, and they will not stop until we die! So for some things, we have to prepare for the worst."
Wu Guoying said: "Guang'er has been sent away...Hao Guan, you should also think of a way out for yourself."
Wu Chengjian said: "I am the head of the family now, why should I think about a way out?"
Wu Guoying shook her head: "Your eldest brother's health... Alas, he is not doing well. He is just trying to get by. He can't walk. If he moves, he might die immediately. Don't worry about him. I, an old man, will steer this family and Yihe Bank for the last time. You don't have to care about me. If you need me, use me to block the knife. Your eldest sister-in-law is a chaste person. Although she has long been determined to live and die with our family, if there is a way, send her out of the fire pit. And you..."
"Alright, alright!" Wu Chengjian said, "Father, I won't leave. I'm sending Guang'er away just in case. I have other plans, and that's not what I want to discuss with you. I want to discuss the affairs of our old friends and business partners."
"Them?" Wu Guoying said, "I have already thought about where the old partners will go. If our Yihe Bank goes bankrupt, let them all go to the Pan family and the Lu family. I have written several letters in the past two days, and I will give them to the shopkeepers when they are needed. As for the old business partners... we can't wait until the next meeting to protect the merchants. There will be a meeting at that time, and Jishan will have an excuse to block our silver flow. We have received the money for the groceries, and we will start to settle their accounts tomorrow if we can."
"It can't be done! It can't be done." Wu Chengjian said, "There are so many eyes outside the mansion right now. As long as there is a sign of a large amount of money flowing out, believe it or not, Dad, the soldiers from the Guangdong Customs will come to the door immediately."
Wu Guoying was silent.
Wu Chengjian added: "Besides, it's not just the owners of the groceries, there are also the owners of the tea from other families, and the people who paid us. If we want to settle all the payments, the money from the groceries is far from enough. It would be possible only if we take out half of the money in the Pan family's warehouse. But that money cannot be touched now."
Wu Guoying asked: "So what do you mean?"
Wu Chengjian said, "Father, since the news of our family's bad situation spread, many people have come to collect debts in the past two days, right?"
Wu Guoying nodded sadly: "Yes. Because you are often not at home, so they all come to me. They are creditors, and your aunt and others can't stop them too much."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I knew it. That's why I don't like living at home." He took out a few pieces of paper, which were filled with lists of names.
"Father, please sort out the debt collectors in order."
The lights were dim, and Wu Guoying had a hard time watching. Wu Chengjian took out a quill pen and said, "Let me do it. Dad, you tell me who is the most ruthless debt collector first."
Wu Guoying named seven or eight households.
Wu Chengjian added: "Then there will be debt collectors coming."
Wu Guoying ordered more than a dozen restaurants.
Wu Chengjian asked, "Why are there so many? Are there any more?"
Wu Guoying said: "There are four or five more families. These four or five families are quite conscientious. After they came, they asked about the situation and knew that our family was in difficulty, so they stopped forcing us. Alas, the more they acted like this, the more I thought that I might not be able to pay them back, and the more upset I felt. Everyone's money is hard-earned money."
Wu Chengjian said, "Let's pay back these four or five families first. Hmm..." He pointed out the names, "There are still twelve families left, except for the nine families that are not in Guangzhou and cannot be reached, there are still three families."
When Wu Guoying found out which three families they were, he couldn't help but sigh, "Good friends, good brothers! These three families would rather give up the money than embarrass us by visiting us at this time."
Wu Chengjian said, "Then it's these eight families. We'll specify the numbers later and quietly pay them back first."
Wu Guoying asked, "Didn't you say that the money was being held? How can you pay it back?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "In fact, I have already made preparations for this. When the money for the groceries was settled and was about to be transported to the family warehouse, I was cautious and asked Manager Liu to only transport half back, and the other half was exchanged for stones. Now half of the family warehouse is filled with boxes of stones. The other half of the money for the groceries is sealed in Yihe Bank."
Wu Guoying was overjoyed: "Officer Hao, I knew you were very thoughtful! You did a great job!"
Wu Chengjian said, "I will ask Manager Liu to count the accounts of these eight families, and then break them down into smaller amounts. I will ask Manager Dai to quietly return the money to the five families, and Manager Liu will personally handle the debt collection for the three families who did not come to collect the debt."
Suddenly, a light flashed through Wu Guoying's mind, and he looked at Wu Chengjian intently.
Wu Chengjian asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"
"Well..." Wu Guoying said, "Nothing."
Wu Guoying pondered for a moment and then said, "In fact, those debt collectors... they are anxious, but it is understandable. We cannot use the righteousness of a saint to demand all our partners."
"Of course, I don't blame them." Wu Chengjian said, "But we don't have enough money, and we have to keep some for emergencies. And it's not that I don't want to pay you back. The autumn delivery hasn't ended yet. In previous years, we had to wait until the autumn delivery ended and pay off the money within one to three months. There's no rush."
Wu Guoying smiled bitterly and said, "I'm just afraid that our Yihe Bank won't be able to survive until then."
"When doing business," Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "we have to share some risks, right?"
Seeing that his youngest son could still laugh at this time, Wu Guoying felt relieved: "San'er, San'er, you are calm in the face of unexpected events and treat all emergencies as nothing. You are better than your eldest brother. If your eldest brother had your good points, he would not have been so sick this time."
"I'm heartless." Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "In the past few years, our family has been borrowing money every year to expand. Every year, we have borrowed money from a mountain of gold and a sea of silver. Only people dare to lend money to a sincere person like my eldest brother. If I were the head of the family, who would dare to lend me money? People who do business with me have to be on high alert because of my temper of not taking things seriously and not taking money seriously."
Wu Guoying laughed and said, "That's right, that's right. When I saw you two brothers decide to borrow such a large amount of money, I was also worried."
Wu Chengjian said: "This is how the world is. The brave ones will die of overeating, while the timid ones will die of starvation."
Cai Qiaozhu went to see her son again at night. She felt worried and reluctant to send her son out to sea. However, she knew that she must not be merciful, otherwise it would only harm the child.
Watching the soundly sleeping Guang'er, she watched her son sleeping for about half an hour before returning to the room, inviting Wu Liu over, sending everyone else away, and leading Wu Liu to the bedside. Suddenly, she bowed deeply in front of Wu Chengjun, which frightened Wu Liu. He didn't dare to help him or touch him, but just knelt on the ground and kowtowed to him: "Madam, what are you doing? You are trying to kill me!"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Today I have a very difficult matter and need your help, Ah Liu."
Wu Liu said, "Madam, if you have anything to do, just tell me. I don't dare to do anything, but for other things, I will definitely do it if I can."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "You know the current situation of the Wu family without me telling you. If this fails, we adults will not be able to escape. We are fine, but what about Guang'er? I have discussed with my uncle that no matter what happens here, we must protect Guang'er first."
"Sure, sure!" Although Wu Liu's brain was not as sharp as his brother Wu Qi's, he was not stupid either: "Madam, are you planning to send Young Master Guang away?"
Cai Qiaozhu said: "Yes."
Wu Liu said: "But do you want Wu Liu to escort you all the way there?"
Cai Qiaozhu said: "If our Wu family can survive this disaster, then you, Ah Liu, will just have to escort them there and back. But if the Wu family cannot survive this disaster, the burden on your shoulders will be heavy."
Wu Liu understood: "I understand. If...if there really comes a day like that, I will be the Cheng Ying on the stage! I will protect Guang Shao, the orphan of the Zhao family. Oh, no, it's the orphan of the Wu family."
