Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 5: Shocking Change
After Tan Sanniang finished her worship, she stood up, holding Shen Xiaoying's left hand and Ginkgo's right hand, and said, "My sisters, after I close the curtain, you will be the leaders of the flower world in Baietan, the Fairyland. If you see any sisters in trouble or pitiful things, you sisters should take care of them if you can. This is to accumulate virtue and blessings."
Shen Xiaoying swept her eyes across the faces of everyone in the cabin, her eyes seemed to carry a knife, and she said, "Don't worry, sister, this is what a younger sister should do. In the past, you were the one who protected the Immortal Continent. Now that you have closed the curtain, it will be natural for me, Shen Xiaoying, to take care of them for you in the future."
Among the dozen people in the cabin, some lowered their heads, some turned their heads away, and Ginkgo tilted her mouth, wanting to sneer or not, but because Tan Sanniang had said so before, she dared not act rashly, so she held back and did not speak. No one had a word to say about Tan Sanniang, but some people were dissatisfied with Shen Xiaoying.
Tan Sanniang raised her hand again, and her personal maid Bihe came in with servants and brought in eight boxes. Tan Sanniang opened the boxes inside were either gold and silver ingots or pearl jewelry. The candlelight was so dazzling that it hurt people's eyes. Fortunately, everyone was either the most popular courtesan in Guangdong or the mothers who were holding the cash cow of the brothel. They had broad vision and no one was jealous.
Shen Xiaoying asked: "Sister, what are you doing?"
Tan Sanniang said, "In the flower business, we are not afraid of we are afraid of old and ugly people. Young people with low life can change their fate and enjoy a happy life one day if they are on the list of famous people. Old and ugly people will have no patrons and no savings, so their later years will be miserable. It's a pity that many sisters always spend money today and don't know how to be frugal. Even if they have a few years of glory when they are young, they can't live in the old age because they don't know how to save. I have seen some people freeze to death or starve to death."
The eight popular beauties in the cabin were all relatively young, and had only heard about Madam Hua Xing having no means of livelihood and even starving to death, but several of their mothers had seen it with their own eyes, and immediately had tragic looks on their faces - it was because they had seen those tragic things that they became more greedy for money and cherished their lives even more.
"I heard from the Third Young Master that there are some manors built by eunuchs on the outskirts of Beijing, which are specially used to house old eunuchs who have left the palace and have no one to rely on. When the middle-aged eunuchs are in power, they will also take good care of these manors, because no one knows what will happen to them tomorrow. Perhaps a little kindness today will leave a way out for themselves tomorrow. We are just like those eunuchs, pitiful people in this world. When I first became the most beautiful woman in Shenxianzhou two years ago, I made a vow in front of Mazu that I would do my best to find a way out for the sisters in and outside Guangzhou."
Tan Sanniang patted the boxes and said, "These are what I have accumulated over the years. I want to use this money to buy a house in Henan.Build a farm so that the sisters who are homeless in the future will have a place to eat, live, and bury their dead. "
When everyone heard this, they were either surprised, grateful, or admired. While others were busy making money, Tan Sanniang wanted to give it away!
A mother said, "Sister, how can you do this? Since you have sealed the curtain, this is your retirement money. If you take it out, what will you do in the future?"
"This is not all, I still have some secrets.Besides, I have the Third Young Master. As long as the Third Young Master is here, I, Tan Sanniang, will not starve to death. If he is gone or doesn't want me anymore... then why am I still alive?" Tan Sanniang lowered her voice when she said this, with a hint of something unclear in her eyes, but she didn't let the emotion ferment and continued to speak.
"But the preparation and construction of this manor needs the help of the sisters. First, help find some reliable people to build this manor; second, spread the news and bring those old and helpless Hua Niang to the manor; third, if there is anything in the future, everyone can take care of this manor. I hope that the sisters will have a good place to go in the future, and they don’t have to rely on this manor, but with this manor, we can be prepared for any eventuality. As the saying goes, when a rabbit dies, the fox mourns, and all things feel sad for their own kind. We should do our best in public and accumulate some good deeds in secret. Sisters, please do your best in this matter."
Everyone nodded, and Ginkgo said, "Sister, you are right. This is a very good deed. I am not short of money, so I will give you 1,000 taels of silver today. I will have someone send it to the ship later."
Shen Xiaoying glanced at her and said, "I'll give you three thousand taels!"
Some people pledged several hundred taels, and some took off several pieces of expensive jewelry on the spot. Tan Sanniang did not refuse and took out the account book to write down everything.
Before I knew it, it was already the fourth watch, and the east was about to turn white. A golden hairpin said, "Sister, you came here while your benefactor was asleep. I'd better go back to serve you when it's daybreak, so as to avoid being noisy when no one is around."
So everyone took the opportunity to say goodbye, and Tan Sanniang personally led them on the boat before returning.
The beaded curtain had been rolled up again. Wu Chengjian came closer and whispered in her ear: "What nonsense are you talking about! You won't live if I don't want you. Just say the word and I'll marry you tomorrow."
Tanka Sanniang shuddered, but still pushed him away: "Don't talk nonsense! Who am I, and who are you? No matter how much your father and the eldest master love you, there is no reason for them to bring a beautiful lady into the family, not to mention that I am from the Tanka family... I have never had such delusion."
"The Wu family is just doing business, what kind of status is it?" Wu Chengjian sighed, "Besides, you are cleaner than anyone else. Others may not know it, but I know it, right?"
Tan Sanniang didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, so she said to Zhou Yijin, "Yijin, I made you laugh just now."
Zhou Yijin seemed to have not heard what they had just talked about, and said calmly: "Sanniang really has a kind heart. With such a kind deed and such a broad mind, even if there are a hundred more courtesans in the Immortal Continent in the future, no one can compare with you."
Tan Sanniang said, "Yijin, why do you have to laugh at me? For people like us, any fame we have won is just like a passing cloud. I did this because the Third Young Master suggested it, and I also did it out of my own conscience."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "In fact, she just took my money to earn some good karma. When you go to Mazu to fulfill your vow, remember to say a few good words for me. Without mentioning the distant future, I would like to ask Mazu to send a dream to my sister-in-law, asking her to quickly reduce my monthly allowance."
Tan Sanniang quickly patted him twice and said, "How dare you make fun of Mazu?"
The three of them were talking when the doorbell rang out. A middle-aged servant came running in. Wu Qi, who was standing at the door, called out, "Dad, why are you here?"
Wu Qi's father, Wu Erliang, rushed into the room, his face covered in sweat, and shouted as soon as he saw them: "Third Young Master, go...go home quickly! The eldest young master...he..."
Wu Chengjian was surprised to see his appearance: "What happened to my brother?"
"Young Master is dying!"
Wu Chengjian stood up suddenly: "Let's make it short and clear!"
Wu Erliang panted, "The eldest young master...he has an emergency. The doctor said...it's very critical. Master, Master wants you to go back quickly!"
Yihehang was founded by Wu Guoying, the father of Wu Chengjian. Wu Guoying was not very old, but he had ruined his health when he was young, causing him to age prematurely. He retired from the front line a few years ago and officially handed over the family business to his eldest son, Wu Chengjun.
Wu Chengjian and his elder brother Wu Chengjun had a deep relationship. Wu Chengjian loved his elder brother as much as Wu Chengjun doted on him. When he heard that his elder brother had an emergency, he was so confused that he could not care about anything else. He tied up his clothes and was about to rush out, but Zhou Yijin held him back and shouted, "Don't worry! The more urgent the situation, the more calm you need to be!"
Tan Sanniang also said, "Move the boat slowly. There is no need to rush. Be careful of the strong wind outside."
Wu Cheng calmed down and then walked out of the cabin, where a speedboat was already prepared.
Zhou Yijin stayed in Huachahao, while the other three gang members jumped on board, with Tietou Junba taking the helm himself.
After getting on the speedboat, Wu Chengjian finally had time to ask Wu Erliang: "Didn't you go to Dongguan? You were fine before leaving, why did you get an emergency? Did you have heatstroke?"
Although it is autumn now, the weather in Guangdong cannot be said to be cool before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the heat may return. The recent few days have been hot, which is commonly known as the "autumn tiger" among the people.
Wu Erliang looked around and Wu Chengjian said, "We are all family members on this boat. Just say whatever you want to say!"
Wu Erliang said, "Third Master, the tea we brought from Fujian was lost in Huizhou."
Wu Chengjian asked in surprise: "Which batch of tea?"
Wu Erliang said: "Tea from my family's tea mountain in Fujian."
Wu Chengjian asked again: "How much was lost?"
"How much was lost..." Wu Erliang cried, "All lost!"
Wu Chengjian felt a buzzing in his head, thinking, "This is bad! Very bad!"
Since the opening of the Maritime Silk Road, Guangzhou has become increasingly prosperous, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when it became extremely wealthy. In the early Qing Dynasty, Qu Dajun wrote a poem: "Foreign ships are rushing out, and the Cross Gate opens to the two oceans. Five-thread and eight-thread Guangdong satin is good, and silver and money fill the Thirteen Lines."
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, he ordered the closure of the three customs offices in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Guangzhou was the only port left in the vast land of China that could retain foreign trade. All goods from all over the world that wanted to enter China and Chinese silk and tea that wanted to be exported overseas had to pass through Guangzhou. This was the famous "one-port trade" era in history. Guangzhou replaced Yangzhou and Suzhou and reached the top of the wealth of this era.
All of Guangzhou's foreign trade was contracted to a dozen or so trading companies - commonly known as the "Thirteen Factories" - with a dozen or so trading companies undertaking the import and export of all of China, naturally every one of them made a fortune.
The Thirteen Hongs undertook all of China's maritime import and export trade. The goods of each company were all-encompassing, but the goods with the largest sales volume and the highest profits were silk, tea and porcelain.
All the major merchants would try their best to meet the demands of foreign merchants as long as they did not violate any laws, so the goods of each merchant company were extremely large and diverse, but some far-sighted families concentrated their efforts on a certain bulk commodity.
For example, the Pan family’s best product is silk, while the Wu family specializes in tea.
Yihehang is not ranked high among the Thirteen Hongs, and even its tea export volume is not the largest, but the quality of Wu's tea is recognized as the best in Guangdong and Haikou.
Unlike some merchants who adulterated tea and sold inferior products as good ones for short-term profits, the Wu family has had very strict requirements on the quality of tea since the first generation. Wu Guoying would personally check every bag of tea sold by tea farmers and tea shops. He would not accept any rotten, dead, broken or moldy tea, no matter how low the price was. By focusing on quality over the years, he established a good reputation for Yihe's tea.
After Wu Chengjun inherited the family business, in order to ensure the quality and stability of the supply, he controlled the supply from the source. Wu Chengjun not only signed long-term agreements with many tea mountain owners in Fujian, but also went to Fujian to conduct on-site inspections and sent special personnel to the tea mountain tea factories to monitor all processes from picking and screening to cutting, selecting, picking and frying.
After this process, a batch of the famous Wu's exclusive tea is finally produced, which is what Wu Erliang calls "tea from the family's tea mountain."
