Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 7 The Four Managers
Half a morning had passed in this busy schedule, and Wu Chengjian didn't even have time to go back to his room. While Aunt Yang was taking people to cook medicine, Wu Chengjian sat alone in the ear room. At this moment, there was no one else around him.
He was precociously intelligent. It is said that when he was born, lightning struck the roof and the midwife was so frightened that she fell down. Because of this strange phenomenon, when he was one month old, Wu Guoying went to Guangxiao Temple and invited an eminent monk to chant sutras and pray for him. Unexpectedly, the baby rolled his eyes when he saw the old monk.
When the old monk saw this, he was not angry at all. Instead, he said that the child had some "wisdom" and wanted him to become a monk. Of course, Mr. Wu refused! However, because of this, Wu Guoying felt that his youngest son had an extraordinary origin and had high hopes for him. He named him Wu Chengjian and used the name of his own business, "Haoguan", as his nickname.
As he grew older, Wu Chengjun neither liked studying for the imperial examinations nor doing business. At the age of seven, he sang and said everywhere on the streets: "Anyway, the country is peaceful, my father can make money, and my brother can maintain the business, so I can just enjoy my life." This made Wu Guoying so angry that she was fuming!
Although the old man was angry, he couldn't bear to beat him, and he wouldn't listen to his mother and brothers. The eldest brother Wu Chengjun even said: "As long as my brother is happy, as long as he doesn't smoke opium or get addicted to gambling, I, Wu Chengjun, will support him for the rest of his life."
In this way, with his father and brother protecting him, he didn't have to worry about the major family affairs. He could be a playboy and enjoy himself, or help the family with strategizing. Because Wu Chengjun had always been the pillar of the family, he could treat everything in life with a playful attitude. He never felt any pressure in his heart and did whatever he wanted in his life and work.
But now, my brother seems to be dying. The more it happens, the clearer the past memories of my brother flash back. If the boss is really dead, where in the world can I find another brother who loves me so much?
Suddenly, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
He seemed to see the main beam of a house being suddenly pulled out, forcing him to quickly reach out to support the roof that was about to collapse at any time.
Chunrui, the head maid, happened to bring in some sweet soup. Seeing Wu Chengjian's face full of tears, she also started crying and called out in a low voice, "Third Young Master."
Wu Chengjian wiped away all his tears in a few seconds, and returned to his expressionless face. He cursed in a deep voice: "Why are you crying? Don't you think your home is messy enough?"
It was clearly the one who was crying, but he scolded others for crying. Chunrui understood his feelings, lowered her head and said nothing.
Wu Chengjian raised the bowl and drank the sweet soup in one gulp, then went out to check on the old man's condition.
At this time, one of the people sent to the South China Sea came back first, but he couldn't find Mr. Er He. He said that he had gone to Xiqiao Mountain to visit a friend. Another person had been sent to Xiqiao, and someone stayed in Xichi Hall, asking to invite Mr. Er He back immediately if he saw him.
Short-legged Charlie did come back, and brought back a foreign doctor.
Wu Chengjian saw that his father was temporarily settled, and then he rushed to his eldest brother's room. Seeing his nephew Guang'er still standing outside the white gauze tent with red eyes, Wu Chengjian said, "Let the nanny take Guang'er downstairs to sleep."
Guang Er shouted, "I won't go! I won't go! I want to stay here and guard the door. I won't let the ghost take my father's soul away."
No one dared to refute the old man's words, but Wu Chengjian was annoyed at the moment and blurted out, "Nonsense!"
Guang'er had never seen Third Uncle being so mean to him before, and he hid in his mother's arms out of fear. Wu Chengzhi calmed him down, pulled him over, and said in a friendly tone, "Okay, don't be afraid, Third Uncle didn't mean to be mean to you. But there are no ghosts or messengers in this world. Third Uncle is here to cure your father's illness, so the sky won't fall. Third Uncle has already sent someone to invite a miracle doctor, and you should go to sleep, and when you wake up, the miracle doctor invited by Third Uncle will cure your father."
"real?"
"Of course it's true."
Guang'er hooked his fingers with Wu Chengjian again, and finally he believed it, and went to bed with the nanny.
The British doctor brought back by Short-legged Charlie examined the case carefully, but his medical skills were only average and he couldn't come up with a better solution.
Cai Qiaozhu was very disappointed. She pulled Wu Chengjian's sleeve and wanted to say, "What should I do..." But the words were stuck in her throat and couldn't come out.
At this time, someone else came and said, "The master has woken up. Please ask the Third Young Master and the First Young Master's Mistress to come over."
The uncle and his sister-in-law rushed to Wu Guoying's room again. Cai Qiaozhu was already unable to stand steadily at this time, but she still followed the rules of a wife and did not dare to sit in front of her father-in-law. Wu Chengjian moved a cushion embroidered with foreign grass to the side of the bed and helped his sister-in-law sit down.
Wu Guoying asked with trembling lips, "Officer Hao, do you think your boss...your boss...can survive this time?"
At this time, the room was crowded, and Wu Chengjian said to Wu Qi, "Go out and guard the door."
After saying this, Wu Qi went out, and the other servants followed him out. Wu Chengjian looked at Wu Chenggou's biological mother Yang who was still staying by the bed, and his second sister-in-law Liu who was sticking to his second brother, and said, "Second mother, second sister-in-law, I heard that my father didn't eat a grain of rice all night, and my eldest sister-in-law hasn't eaten or slept until now. Can you ask Second mother and second sister-in-law to go to the kitchen and supervise the servants to prepare two soups to nourish the spirit and stomach?"
Yang and Liu both looked at Wu Chenggou, and Wu Guoying said angrily, "Hurry up!" Only then did Yang and Liu rush out of the house.
Wu Chenggou frowned and looked away, but did not dare to speak.
Only the Wu family father and son and Cai Qiaozhu were left in the hall. Wu Chengjian then said, "Brother has just taken Liu Liangke's medicine and is temporarily stable. We can talk about the rest after Mr. He Er comes. We are not medical students, so there is no point in saying more. But we are the backbone of this family. We have to stabilize this family. Otherwise, there will be unrest inside and outside. Even with a good doctor, it will be difficult for brother to recover. Sister-in-law, don't you agree?"
Cai Qiaozhu nodded with tears in her eyes: "Third uncle is right. Although the official has his eyes closed, I know he has been listening to what is happening outside. I know why he fell ill and what he is most worried about. I only regret that I am a woman who cannot calm down and become confused when faced with a big event. But please rest assured, Master, no matter how useless I am, I will calm down and take good care of the official and Guang'er in the future."
Wu Guoying was the founder of a business after all. He was so upset last night that he was confused. Now that he was sick, he calmed down. He said, "This time, the boss is both physically and mentally ill. His mental illness is also the biggest problem in our family right now. In Huizhou, I have sent Lao Gu to take over and continue to investigate the whereabouts of the tea. But in Guangzhou, it is already autumn, the export season, and the northeast wind is about to blow. The busiest time for Manshisanhang is coming. No matter what the whereabouts of the Huizhou batch of goods are, I have to stabilize the rest of the business of Yihehang!"
Wu Chenggou quickly said, "Yes, don't worry, Dad. I will work with the big managers to handle the business of the bank properly."
"Okay, you have this determination, very good!" Wu Guoying said: "Your boss is sick, I am sick too, and several big shopkeepers will come to visit me later. I am powerless now, so you and the third brother should handle it well when the time comes."
Wu Chenggou hesitated for a moment and said, "The third brother is going too? He doesn't know how to do business."
In the past few years, Wu Chengjian has been having fun all day and has not been involved in business matters. However, Wu Chenggou has been working in Yihe Bank for several years and has now become Wu Chengjun's right-hand man.
"Go, of course," Wu Guoying said, "Although he doesn't care about business matters, he is smarter than you. Now the eldest brother is ill, and my sister-in-law has to take care of him. You two have to work together as brothers."
Wu Chenggou said "oh" and lowered his head.
Wu Guoying added: "Officer Hao, you have a wide network of contacts among all kinds of people. Just use some money to have someone investigate the situation in Huizhou. Maybe you can find out secretly what you can't find out openly."
Wu Chengjian said, "I don't have any powerful contacts in Huizhou. If I ask someone to do it, the news will leak out immediately."
When Wu Guoying heard this, he frowned.
Wu Chengjian added: "Although this matter cannot be concealed for a few days, we should keep it secret for as long as possible. If people knew that something went wrong with our family, there would be many people in Xiguan, Shamian and Guangzhou City waiting to eat us."
Wu Guoying closed her eyes, looking painful, but it was obviously not because of illness.
"Master, the second young master, the third young master, and the four big shopkeepers are here." Wu Erliang walked in and said, "They all said they were here to see the eldest young master, but when we walked in, we found out that the master was also sick."
Wu Chengjian said: "This news spreads really fast."
Wu Guoying said: "Please come in."
Soon, the four managers of the Wu family came in. The one walking in front was an old man in his fifties, with half white hair and beard. He was the manager of Yihe Bank, surnamed Liu. He was in charge of all affairs and was only responsible to Wu Chengjun. He was in a high position and had great prestige in Yihe Bank. When Wu Guoying saw him, he had to be helped by his son to stand up halfway, calling Liu the manager brother. Liu quickly helped him lie down.
The next three shopkeepers were all middle-aged men in their forties: the second shopkeeper was named Dai, who was responsible for domestic purchasing; the third shopkeeper was named Hou, who could speak four foreign languages, including English, Dutch, Spanish and Arabic, and was responsible for shipping to foreign merchants; the fourth shopkeeper was named Wu, a member of the Wu family, and was responsible for managing the Wu family's other businesses besides Yihehang.
After the greetings, Manager Liu looked at Wu Guoying and knew he couldn't stay long, so he wanted to visit the eldest son. Wu Chengjian said, "Big brother is asleep, why don't I and the second brother accompany the four uncles to the accounting office to have a chat?"
The four shopkeepers looked at each other and guessed that Wu Chengjun might be too ill to see guests. This was more serious than they had expected.
Manager Liu waved his hand: "Let's go!"
The accounting office was a very private and narrow place, with a small-leaf red sandalwood , a table piled with files on the side of the bed, and a few chairs. Wu Chengjun asked the shopkeeper Liu to sit on the bed, and he sat on the armchair behind the table. Wu Chenggou glared at Wu Chengjian, lifted his clothes and sat on the other side of the bed. The other three shopkeepers looked at each other and sat on other chairs.
Wu Qi swiftly came in with a tray of tea and served it, then swiftly left.
Manager Liu said, "Since we have come to this place, we must discuss official business . I will get straight to the point. Second Young Master, Third Young Master, how is the eldest young master's condition?"
Wu Chenggou said: "Well, my elder brother..."
He just wanted to cover up a few words, but Wu Chengjian said, "I'm afraid we should prepare for the worst."
The four shopkeepers were all shocked. Wu Chengjian ignored his second brother's glare and said, "Mr. Er He hasn't come yet, but according to Liu Liangke's diagnosis, the situation is not good. Even if Mr. Er He can save the situation, my eldest brother won't be able to manage the business this autumn."
Manager Liu suddenly broke off several strands of his beard. "What should we do? What should we do? Now is the critical day for the delivery of goods for the Thirteen Hongs. If the young master cannot manage things, who will take charge of the overall situation?"
Wu Chengjian said: "We should do the same thing this year as we did in previous years. Everything should remain the same. Just follow the rules."
The chief shopkeeper Liu frowned and said to the two shopkeepers Hou San and Wu Si, "You go out first." His prestige was so extraordinary that the two shopkeepers did not even dare to ask a single question and just went out.
Then the shopkeeper Liu pointed at the shopkeeper Dai and said, "Is there something wrong with the tea produced by our tea mountain in Fujian?"
