“I recognize that woman, isn’t she the daughter of the Chang family? She’s the famous beauty of Taigu County. What, is she Fourth Master’s lover?” Jin Hu held back for a long time before finally blurting out the question.

Gu Pingyuan was walking quickly ahead. He turned back and glared at him: “What lover? How crudely you speak! When we reach the Buddhist temple later, you mustn’t speak such foul words, or else when Buddha grows angry, be careful your mouth and tongue don’t rot.” He knew how to deal with Jin Hu – it was easy as pie. With just one sentence, he diverted the topic.

Sure enough, Jin Hu’s eyes widened: “Why are we going to a Buddhist temple? Don’t tell me the good method you mentioned, Fourth Master, is to pray to gods and worship Buddha?”

Instead of answering, Gu Pingyuan asked back: “Tell me, if a person is forced into a desperate situation with no options left, what should they do?”

“Well…” Jin Hu frowned and thought for a while. “Either fight desperately, or wait to die.”

Gu Pingyuan smiled slightly: “Right, that’s what ordinary people would think. But actually there’s a third path to take.”

“What’s that?”

“Find someone who can help you, force them into the same desperate situation too – share prosperity and adversity together, burn your boats together and find a solution!”

Gu Pingyuan made his way to Wubian Temple, where grand Buddhist ceremonies were being held. It was both Manjusri Bodhisattva’s birthday and this bodhisattva’s sacred ground was located within Shanxi Province, so this was the peak time for temple incense and worship. The great hall was filled with curling blue smoke rising straight to the heavens, with the sounds of sutra chanting and Buddhist prayers, the tones of bells, drums, and wooden fish, along with the murmured prayers of devotees creating an endless symphony.

“Fourth Master, who is this person who can help you?” Jin Hu craned his neck looking around. The courtyard was full of believers and devotees, but he couldn’t tell which one was the noble person Gu Pingyuan spoke of.

Gu Pingyuan stopped a young novice monk and asked: “Where is the temple’s Grand Abbot, Master Hongjing, conducting Buddhist services?”

The young novice shook his head: “The abbot doesn’t conduct Buddhist services. He only meditates in the zen chamber in the back courtyard.”

“Indeed, an old monk who doesn’t concern himself with worldly affairs.” Gu Pingyuan smiled.

“You don’t need to follow me. Just wait for me in the front hall!” After instructing Jin Hu, Gu Pingyuan walked toward the back courtyard by himself.

With nothing else to do, Jin Hu followed the crowd and lit a stick of incense. His parents lived in the neighboring county and had never been in good health. He silently prayed, begging Buddha’s protection, vowing that once he completed his apprenticeship and became a proper shop assistant, he would donate his entire first month’s wages to the temple, only hoping his parents could remain healthy and safe.

After he had circled the great hall three times, Gu Pingyuan still hadn’t emerged. Being young and impatient by nature, he couldn’t help feeling anxious. Just as he was thinking of going to the back courtyard too, he looked up and saw Gu Pingyuan walking toward the front hall.

“Fourth Master, you…” Jin Hu called out half a sentence, then suddenly felt something was wrong. Why did Gu Pingyuan look like a fierce demon-god? His eyebrows were raised high, eyes wide open, teeth clenched, completely ignoring Jin Hu as he pushed through the dense crowd and entered the great hall.

Jin Hu was completely baffled, standing in the middle feeling dazed for a moment, when suddenly he heard terrified screaming from inside the hall. The crowd shouted as they surged outward. Just moments ago they had been eager to squeeze into the great hall to offer incense, but now they acted as if there were man-eating beasts or manifested demons inside, avoiding it at all costs. Though people pushed and shoved against each other, fortunately the hall’s doors were wide, so no one was injured. In the blink of an eye, everyone in the hall had evacuated and stood in the outer plaza, staring inside like wooden chickens.

Jin Hu jumped in alarm. He moved closer to look and saw that the troublemaker was indeed Gu Pingyuan, who had just gone inside. He had stormed into the great hall with fierce momentum, surveyed the hall’s furnishings, walked in a few steps to the side of the offering table, and without a word pushed over a large lotus jar used for offerings before Buddha. It was filled with lamp oil, and when the large jar shattered, oil immediately spilled everywhere. Several guest monks saw the situation turning bad and hurried over to stop him, but before they could get close, Gu Pingyuan kicked over another large jar. Instantly oil covered the floor and tables throughout the hall. Taking advantage of the chaos, Gu Pingyuan grabbed a thick incense stick from the offering table and made as if to light it, which finally scared all the monks out.

“Fourth Master, what, what are you trying to do? Even if things aren’t going well, there’s no need for this! We can talk things through, talk things through!” Jin Hu was so frightened his voice cracked with tears, thinking to himself: you wouldn’t let me speak nonsense in the temple all along the way, so how can you be setting fires yourself now?

“This has nothing to do with you or anyone else. Tell old monk Hongjing to come out and see me!” Gu Pingyuan had completely changed from his usual manner. Not a trace of scholarly gentleness could be found on his face – instead he looked like a bandit robbing homes, roaring angrily.

Abbot Hongjing had already received word. Though old, he still moved with swift steps, bringing two young novices to the outside of the great hall. Seeing this situation, he too was startled.

“Benefactor Gu, why do you torment yourself so?” He pressed his palms together: “This old monk spoke clearly just now – human life is like morning dew, like dreams and lightning. Why must you cling so stubbornly?”

“Yes, you great monk have emptied yourself of all four attachments, so when I begged you for help, you refused every single request. Though it would clearly benefit both of us, you absolutely refused to agree! Fine then, since you say monks have emptied themselves of all four attachments and cultivation lies in the heart, what use are these great halls and Buddha statues? I might as well burn them all down for you – wouldn’t that be clean!”

“This…” Hongjing drew in a sharp breath. As the saying goes, “When matters don’t concern the heart, the heart remains calm; when they concern the heart, chaos follows.” Though he was highly virtuous and deeply understood Buddhist principles, watching Gu Pingyuan’s incense stick dropping ash with each movement, if even a single spark fell, this thousand-year-old temple that had survived since the Tang Dynasty, along with this wooden Buddha statue that was the most ancient in the entire province save for the Yungang Grottoes, would be consumed by flames! Wubian Temple had survived through dynastic changes and frequent wars completely intact – was it to be destroyed in his own hands?

At this thought, even this enlightened monk couldn’t help feeling his heart shake with terror. He shuddered: “Benefactor Gu, Wubian Temple has no grudge against you – you cannot create such evil karma!”

“I don’t care about that!” Gu Pingyuan laughed coldly: “Great monk! You were the one who originally told me to follow my heart’s desires, and now when I want to do this, you repeatedly obstruct me. This is called inconsistency between words and heart – according to karmic retribution, shouldn’t you enter the tongue-pulling hell! Since we’ve met before, I, Gu, cannot bear to see you unable to enter reincarnation, so I’ll simply commit this heinous crime and accompany you on a journey to the Ten Kings of Hell!”

Gu Pingyuan’s eloquence had always been good, and now that he had thrown caution about life and death to the wind, his verbal attacks were sharp as sword blades. Hongjing had no mind to debate Buddhist principles with him at this moment, and seeing him raise and lower the burning incense stick with each word, he feared this reckless fool might let go and, while he himself went off to hell or reincarnation, Wubian Temple would instantly be engulfed in a sea of flames. Though Wubian Temple took its name from “boundless Buddhist teachings,” the temple lived up to its name – the flying eaves and angled corners connected to each other in a “intricate and competitive” style that from a distance formed one vast expanse, truly worthy of the name “boundless.” If oil were really spilled and fire started, flames would instantly leap skyward and be impossible to rescue.

“Wait, wait!” Hongjing didn’t dare delay further. Looking at the panicked believers and monks around him, he immediately raised his hand in signal: “Very well, Benefactor Gu, please put down the incense in your hand. Everything can be discussed.”

“Really everything can be discussed?” Gu Pingyuan blinked and followed up.

“Monks do not speak falsely!”

“Good, I trust the old monk. Anyway, this great hall is here and won’t run away. If you don’t keep your word, I’ll come back to burn it!” The current situation was different from that time on the banks of the Onan River in Mongolia, when he had faced bloodthirsty commanders and wolf-hearted Batu. This old monk, however, was trustworthy and wouldn’t lie. Gu Pingyuan threw the burning incense stick outside the hall, causing everyone to dodge in alarm.

Gu Pingyuan calmly walked out of the great hall and came before everyone, bowing deeply to Hongjing: “I, Gu, was forced to resort to this desperate measure. I hope the old abbot will forgive me.”

Hongjing thought to himself that not forgiving would accomplish nothing anyway, since he had already agreed. Better to be magnanimous about it: “The benefactor shows great wisdom and courage, and what you’re doing will glorify Buddhism. This old monk admires you greatly.”

These few exchanges left everyone around them stunned. Gu Pingyuan had clearly intended to burn the temple and destroy Buddha, so how had it become glorifying Buddhism in Hongjing’s mouth?

Hearing this, Gu Pingyuan only smiled and walked to Hongjing’s side, lowering his voice: “Old abbot, I know that in your heart you’re completely willing – you’re only concerned about the temple monks being stubbornly ignorant. Didn’t my little performance just now suit your intentions? Otherwise, you’d probably have to waste a lot of words arguing with those dull-witted fools.”

Hongjing glanced at Gu Pingyuan and finally couldn’t help showing a childlike smile, gesturing toward the back courtyard: “Benefactor Gu understands human nature and worldly principles thoroughly. This old monk need say no more. That cup of olive tea from earlier – please come back and taste it again, to see if the bitter olives have a sweet aftertaste?”

Gu Pingyuan laughed heartily and also gestured: “Please!”

“Fourth Master, you really scared me to death just now. How did you, how did you really become like…” Jin Hu didn’t dare speak all the way back, and only after returning to the city did he swallow his saliva and steal a glance at Gu Pingyuan’s expression.

“Like a madman?” Gu Pingyuan wasn’t angry, but instead let out a long breath, his lips forming a smile. “Let me ask you – they say ghosts and spirits fear evil people, but what do evil people fear?”

“I don’t know.” After the earlier fright, Jin Hu was still shaken and dizzy, not daring to show off anymore, answering honestly.

“Evil people fear madmen! I’m not saying that old abbot is an evil person – he’s a reasonable and understanding master. But now that I’ve been forced into a desperate situation by evil people, if I continue to be well-behaved and restrained, won’t I be bullied to death? Only by turning myself into a madman can I think up and use methods that those evil people can’t handle or bear!”

At this point, he seemed to no longer be talking to Jin Hu, but rather speaking to himself: “Since I first bound my hair and began studying, I learned the classics of sages and walked the Confucian path. But after leaving my hometown, I’ve encountered nothing but demons and ghosts, tigers and wolves. Only then did I realize that though the ancient teachings of sages are good, in today’s world they have no place to be used. Silent humility may be a virtue, but when trapped among beasts, scholars must also bare their teeth to save their lives. Otherwise, they’ll only become a pile of white bones, and then who could tell that the owner of those bones once had a belly full of poetry and great ambitions…” As Gu Pingyuan spoke, a surge of bitterness welled up in his heart. He shook his head forcefully, warning himself to stay strong – now was not the time to wait for success, there were still many things to do.

“Enough of this talk.” Seeing Jin Hu listening in a daze, Gu Pingyuan patted his shoulder: “Hungry, aren’t you? That restaurant ahead looks decent. Let’s eat something before going back.”

“Eating or not eating is fine. We could just make do back at the shop,” Jin Hu replied.

Gu Pingyuan smiled: “Food and drink can’t be taken lightly. Only with a full stomach do you have the energy to think and work. Since you came out with me, though we can’t have delicacies from land and sea, we should at least eat some decent food.”

Having successfully completed this matter, he felt somewhat happier. Sitting in the restaurant, he ordered three signature dishes: sweet and sour fish slices, deep-fried meatballs, and braised triple delicacies, plus had the waiter carefully slice a plate of cooked beef and brought two liang of liquor. Jin Hu ate with great relish, wolfed down a bowl of premium rice, burped twice with satisfaction, and licked his lips, feeling that going out with this Fourth Master to handle business was both entertaining and rewarding – very satisfying indeed. But now that he was full and content, there was one question he had to ask, or it would fester in his heart and make him sick.

“Fourth Master, I really can’t figure it out. You went to Wubian Temple for a stroll, set a fire that didn’t actually burn anything, and that can solve the problem with the city gate pawn? I feel like this whole thing is mysterious.”

Gu Pingyuan, who practiced moderation in eating for health, had finished long ago and had been lost in thought. At Jin Hu’s question, he suddenly snapped back: “I can’t tell you that right now. Fortunately, in a few days you’ll understand without me explaining.”

“Ah! Still several days?” Jin Hu was impatient by nature and scratched his head and ears anxiously, but he also knew that if Gu Pingyuan wouldn’t even tell the head manager, what merit or ability did he, a small shop assistant, have to participate in confidential matters? He suddenly had an inspiration, rose from his seat, and made as if to kneel: “Fourth Master, let me acknowledge you as my master! You may not tell others, but surely you should tell a disciple.” He felt that working with Gu Pingyuan was exhilarating, and since Gu Pingyuan had saved him, this gesture of apprenticeship was sincere and genuine.

In this public setting, how could Gu Pingyuan let him actually kneel? He grabbed him and pretended to scold: “Don’t fool around. I don’t take disciples.”

“Then how about a nominal disciple? You can record my name first, and when you want to take disciples later, I’ll be your first disciple.” Jin Hu was really good at pushing his luck, leaving Gu Pingyuan at a loss.

“Fine, since the matter is settled anyway, I’ll tell you. But walls have ears – be careful not to talk carelessly and end up harming yourself and others.” Unable to resist Jin Hu’s pestering, Gu Pingyuan took out a book from his robes and placed it on the table.

This was the “Records of the Southern Dynasties” he had been searching for in the pawn shop earlier. Gu Pingyuan flipped to a section called “Biography of Zhen Fachong” and pointed to the text: “Look at this.”

Jin Hu read for a long time, then scratched his head: “What is this ‘Changsheng Ku’?”

“That was the earliest pawnshop, established in Buddhist temples during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, also called Buddhist temple pledge shops.” Gu Pingyuan explained slowly. “Back then, Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasty was obsessed with Buddhism and three times pawned himself to Tongtai Temple as collateral, forcing his court officials to spend hundreds of millions in cash to redeem him. This incident was recorded in contemporary accounts. This morning when Miss Chang mentioned monks and lay believers pawning things to make offerings to Buddha, I felt it seemed familiar. Indeed, it was something I had read about in books when I was locked in the warehouse.”

Jin Hu stuck out his tongue: “The emperor pawned himself? My goodness, such a foolish ruler is truly unheard of.”

“Actually, Emperor Wu of Liang was a good emperor in his early years, but later became obsessed with worshipping Buddha and neglected state affairs, eventually being starved to death by Hou Jing in the palace. He supported countless monks throughout his life but ended up dying of hunger – quite a joke from heaven.” Gu Pingyuan said with feeling. “But from this you can also see how prevalent Buddhist temple pawn services were at that time. It gradually evolved over time until today it became the pawnshops run by merchants, while Buddhist temples, the ancestors of pawnshops, have no more connection to pawning.”

“So you mean, Fourth Master…”

“Exactly, I want to reopen the ‘Taiping Ku’ at Wubian Temple!” Gu Pingyuan declared resolutely.

Jin Hu was shocked: “This, this seems like wishful thinking! Besides, if we reopen the Taiping Ku, what benefit would we get?”

“You say it’s wishful thinking, but I’ve already negotiated this matter with that old abbot. As for benefits, there are truly too many – the Buddhist temple benefits, the believers benefit, and of course the greatest beneficiary would be our Wanyuan Pawn Shop. You’ll understand this when the time comes.” Gu Pingyuan then frowned again. “What I’m most worried about now is not being able to create enough of a scene. If we can’t break through at the beginning, it will be very difficult to continue. Though the old abbot supports this now, if the temple monks oppose it, he’ll have to worry about public opinion. So we must strike first and make a strong impression – from the start we need common people flocking to the temple to pawn things, immediately opening up the scene. This is like fighting a battle – once you charge through and break open the situation, the rest becomes easy.”

“Fourth Master, I have an idea.” Jin Hu blurted out, and seeing Gu Pingyuan’s attention on him, he scratched his head embarrassedly. “It’s just something I thought of randomly, probably useless.”

“No, ‘When three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher.’ Tell me, what’s your idea?”

“Do you know about ‘peer support flower displays’ when banks open?”

Gu Pingyuan shook his head: “What’s a ‘peer support flower display’?”

“It’s a rule of the bank guild. Fellow banks support newly opened banks by sending bright silver as temporary deposits, stacking it on the new bank’s counter. When people see so many coming to deposit money at this bank, they assume it has strength and good credit, so business immediately picks up. I was thinking, couldn’t we do something similar and invite a few pawnshop managers to come pawn things…”

“Wait.” As Jin Hu spoke, Gu Pingyuan thought, his eyes constantly moving, already forming a plan.

“Jin Hu, that’s a good idea, but it needs slight modification. We can’t find pawnshop managers. First, they now see me as a thorn in their side, and second, competitors are natural enemies – we can’t let them know about this in advance.”

“Then who should we find?”

Gu Pingyuan lightly tapped the table with his finger. After a long while, he slapped the table: “Find officials! Common people still listen most to high officials. If we have an official leading the way with drums and gongs to show support, the scene will immediately be different.”

“Officials… but we don’t know any officials. To get them to come pawn things, what kind of relationship would that require?”

Jin Hu looked at Gu Pingyuan puzzledly, but noticed Gu Pingyuan’s smile had become somewhat mysterious. He called out: “Check please!” Then stood up and said to Jin Hu, who was still staring at him dumbly: “This matter – it’s settled!”

Buddha’s Birthday falls on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. Legend has it that when Buddha Shakyamuni was born from his mother’s ribs, he immediately walked upon landing, creating lotus flowers with each step, then pointed one hand to heaven and one to earth, saying: “Above heaven and below heaven, I alone am supreme.” The earth shook for this, and nine dragons spat water to bathe him. Thus this day is also called the Buddha Bathing Festival.

Within Shanxi Province, Mount Wutai’s Guang’an Temple, which enshrines Manjusri Bodhisattva, has the most prosperous incense offerings. But on Buddha’s Birthday, believers from all over the province come from all directions to Taigu’s Wubian Temple, because it’s said that Buddha Shakyamuni’s manifestation is most efficacious through the thousand-year-old Tathagata statue in the temple.

On this day, the people of Taigu County came out in full force. Though Wubian Temple was spacious, it could hardly accommodate so many pilgrims. Fortunately, just outside the temple lay Buddha fields suitable for setting up tents for vegetarian gatherings, where guest monks moved back and forth, inviting good men and women to chant sutras and eat vegetarian meals. The temple itself held various Buddhist ceremonies and services, with dharma conches and temple bells playing together, while the great bell in the southwest corner tower rang periodically. When pilgrims heard the bell, they knew another great benefactor had come to perform meritorious deeds, so they would all pause their activities and bow their heads, silently reciting “Amitabha Buddha.”

For such grand Buddhist ceremonies, Taigu County’s merchants naturally had the advantage of proximity. Wealthy owners and managers would come to offer incense, then write down a sum of silver in the merit register. Those with big businesses wrote more, those with small businesses wrote less, but in Buddha’s eyes all beings were equal, all seeking good karma.

Wang Tiangui naturally was the center of attention as he offered the first incense. He was a famous merit benefactor and charitable layman – the temple had even erected a special merit stele for him. Today when he wrote down his contribution, it was one thousand taels of silver plus one hundred mu of Buddha fields. The monks pressed their palms together in praise, and pilgrims also praised him repeatedly. Wang Tiangui smiled on the surface and humbly expressed thanks, but his underlying attitude of taking this as his due was clear to all.

Then the other major merchants came forward to offer incense and make donations. Li Qin also came to Wubian Temple. Seeing everyone fawning over Wang Tiangui made him resentful, and he was about to take the merit register and also write one thousand taels when Manager Hu saw his intention and quickly advised: “Master, don’t compete with Manager Wang – we can’t afford to offend him.”

Li Qin didn’t take Manager Hu’s words to heart, but this reminder made him remember Zhang Guangfa’s strict orders not to create any disturbance. He had to swallow his anger, casually wrote down one hundred taels of silver, then walked to the nearby vegetarian gathering area to watch various martial arts and street performances.

Zhu Sheng also came. Feeling his luck had been bad this year, he came earlier than anyone else and had no interest in socializing with others. After offering three tall incense sticks, he turned to leave, but saw the major pawnshop managers from Taigu County also arriving together. Not wanting to see these people, he quietly hid under the corridor.

These managers, who were usually arrogant and domineering, looked quite dejected this year. Taking advantage of today’s Buddha Bathing Festival visit, they hoped to bathe in Buddha’s light and dispel their bad luck. Gathering together to talk, one manager said: “They say the deadline is five days – tomorrow is the last day. Wanyuan Pawn and that crazy manager still haven’t made a move. Are we really going to take such harsh action?”

Manager Du asked directly: “Are you getting cold feet? I have no personal grudge with Zhu Sheng either – not accepting his pawn tickets is fine by me. But tell me, this city gate pawn has been operating for half a month, and our business has plummeted! If this loss continues to year’s end, which of our pawnshops will still be able to stay open?”

At this question, everyone fell silent. Manager Xu was a good-natured man who had always been on good terms with Zhu Sheng. After thinking, he said: “How about we give them more time…”

“Give what!” Manager Du cut him off immediately: “It’s just a matter of bowing your head, apologizing, and begging for forgiveness. If they’ve made up their minds, they could do it right now. If they’re unwilling, waiting another year or two won’t help!”

The manager who first spoke hesitated: “I heard that a few days ago, that Gu Pingyuan went to Wubian Temple and threatened to burn down the great hall, then had a long private talk with old monk Hongjing. Could he have some way to deal with the city gate pawn?”

“What are you thinking? He’s a madman who could pawn a waist knife for five hundred taels – what good ideas could he have! He clearly went crazy when pushed to the limit and went to the temple to cause trouble. If not for the old monk’s boundless Buddhist compassion, he’d be in Avici Hell by now.” Manager Du sighed heavily: “Sigh, speaking inappropriately before Buddha, it would have been simpler if he’d really burned himself to death!”

Everyone looked at each other, and though they deeply agreed in their hearts, hearing the Buddha’s name hanging high and seeing the solemn statue before them, no one felt comfortable speaking up. The atmosphere grew cold for a moment.

“The Buddha bathing water is ready!” Suddenly someone shouted, and the crowd immediately stirred, surging toward the temple gate. Many people had traveled hundreds of li to get here just for this bowl of water that had bathed the golden body of the Buddha statue. They would take it back to either enshrine or share with family and friends, as it was said to ward off disasters, cure illnesses, and increase merit.

Abbot Hongjing directed over ten young novices carrying wooden buckets, arranging them in a line before the temple gate. The water in the buckets had a medicinal fragrance, waiting only for the abbot to complete his annual sermon before being distributed to everyone. Hongjing was kind-faced and well-versed in Buddhist principles, with the bearing of an elder – he was a great monk famous far and wide. Standing on the nine-step staircase before the temple gate with his five-ringed staff, before he even spoke he merely glanced at the crowd, and the originally noisy throng immediately fell silent as everyone focused their attention on this old dharma master.

Hongjing struck his staff once on the ground and slowly began: “A clear mind illuminates the path to heaven, the staff breaks open the gates of hell.” His voice wasn’t loud, but could be clearly heard in all directions, and everyone felt their spirits lift.

Hongjing expounded on a section of Buddhist teachings from the “Infinite Life Sutra,” with profound essential points that left the crowd listening in rapt fascination. He continued: “The ‘Infinite Life Sutra’ says: In the Western Pure Land, lotus flowers are fragrant and pure, birds sing elegant sounds, the ground is paved with gold, and dwellings are all built from gold, silver, agate, and precious stones. All beings in the Pure Land are bodhisattvas, without worry or pain, with infinite lifespans and endless joy.”

He paused and continued: “This shows that Buddha does not despise wealth – it need only be obtained through proper means and used with moderation. When wealthy people donate to benefit all beings, this too is a deed of immeasurable merit. Today, borrowing this grand Buddha Bathing ceremony, this old monk would like to announce a meritorious undertaking.”

The tens of thousands of monks and lay believers fell completely silent, quietly listening to Hongjing continue.

“From this day forward, Wubian Temple has invited Wanyuan Pawn Shop from Taigu City to reopen the ‘Taiping Ku’ from the Buddhist classics of previous dynasties, using the vacant monk quarters behind the temple as the pledge warehouse. All believers and laypeople who find themselves temporarily in financial straits may come to Wubian Temple to pawn their belongings for money, to demonstrate the compassion of our Buddha!”

The words were clear and explicit, but everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, unable to speak for a moment. A Buddhist temple becoming a pawn shop – one was the pure Buddhist realm, the other a money-grubbing pledge house. How could these two things be mixed together?

Just as the crowd was about to grow restless, a young man strode over from the side, stood beside Hongjing, and called out loudly: “Everyone, I am Manager Gu from Wanyuan Pawn. This Buddhist temple pawn shop has existed since ancient times and is not an innovation. If you don’t believe me, everyone can see for themselves.” With a wave of his hand, Jin Hu, who had been waiting in the crowd with several young apprentices, raised his hand, and paper scattered through the air like flying snow. Over the past few days, Gu Pingyuan had commissioned a printing shop to make plates and print many copies of the pages from “Records of the Southern Dynasties” concerning “Taiping Ku,” waiting for this moment to spread them.

People jumped to grab and read them. Those who couldn’t read asked literate people to read aloud, and those who could read proclaimed the contents loudly, creating a scene of commotion.

“How about it? Everyone understands now, right? This matter not only doesn’t taint Buddhism, but actually increases Buddhist wealth as a great meritorious deed. Moreover, this is Buddhist ground – when our Wanyuan Pawn sets up shop here, we naturally dare not be greedy or undervalue items. We guarantee fairness and honesty.” Gu Pingyuan waited for the crowd to quiet slightly before speaking loudly again.

“Amitabha Buddha. Buddhism has the saying ‘Saving one life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.’ Wanyuan Pawn and this temple have reached an agreement – part of the profits from items pawned by all benefactors will be used to help poor people, saving them from the suffering of cold and hunger, poverty and illness. Performing such meritorious deeds under Buddha’s golden form is no different from holding ceremonies year-round and making daily offerings. There will surely be Buddha’s protection, eliminating disasters and difficulties.”

Gu Pingyuan and old Abbot Hongjing spoke with silver tongues, and some people were quite moved, but not knowing how this Buddhist pawning worked, no one was willing to be the first to try.

Strangely, Gu Pingyuan wasn’t anxious either, letting everyone discuss freely. Seeing the sun had reached the si hour, he kept looking toward Little South River, then suddenly his face showed joy as he murmured to himself: “The opening customers have arrived!”

As soon as he finished speaking, seven gong strikes were heard, followed by the shout “All military and civilian personnel make way!” Four large blue sedan chairs were carried over in procession, surrounded by a group of bailiffs calling out before and behind. A path immediately opened in the empty space.

The four people who alighted at the temple were all wearing official robes and caps. People quickly recognized them – they were the county magistrate, assistant magistrate, registrar, and jail warden of this county. In other words, the four highest-ranking officials in the county had all arrived. The common people were so frightened they all knelt down, calling out “Righteous Great Officials.” Abbot Hongjing, local elders, and several people with purchased official titles hurried forward to greet them.

As a common citizen, Gu Pingyuan should naturally have knelt in welcome, but he remained standing and walked to the very front, greeting these great officials with neither servility nor arrogance, smiling, and appearing quite familiar with them. Not only did the officials not blame him for his breach of etiquette, their words were actually quite warm. This left everyone present stunned, unable to help but reassess this young man.

Gu Pingyuan had arranged this matter secretly beforehand, leaving even Abbot Hongjing bewildered, and others even more amazed. These four people were commonly called the “Four Great Magistrates” – they were court-appointed officials. Usually, except for the jail warden who accompanied his mother in Buddhist worship, the others were rarely seen at temples. Particularly the registrar, as the county’s Confucian instructor, would never burn incense and worship Buddha at temples. How had they all agreed to come to Wubian Temple together today?

Magistrate Chen was naturally the focus of everyone’s attention. After alighting from his sedan chair with a smile, he first told the common people to rise, then greeted Gu Pingyuan and met with the abbot and several gentlemen elders: “Master Wang, your employee is very capable – clever-minded in business. I’m afraid Master Wang is going to make a fortune this time.” Magistrate Chen had always been on good terms with Wang Tiangui, and seeing him nearby, casually made this joke.

“This is all due to Magistrate Chen’s excellent governance and peaceful rule, which has given me the opportunity to profit,” Wang Tiangui replied in general terms, though he was actually quite bewildered by Gu Pingyuan’s series of surprising moves, despite his cunning nature.

“Manager Gu!” Magistrate Chen pointed and called over Gu Pingyuan, who was standing nearby. “It looks like you’ve already announced the ‘Taiping Ku’ matter to everyone.”

“Yes, I’ve explained this matter in detail to everyone, but business hasn’t opened yet. I’m waiting for your instruction, sir.”

“No need for instruction. In any case, this is a charitable act that helps the court care for the people, so this county naturally supports it. Government duties are pressing, so I can’t stay long. Let’s do what I promised you right now.”

“Yes.” Gu Pingyuan called Jin Hu over, took the pawn ticket book from his hands, and looked at Magistrate Chen with a beaming smile.

Magistrate Chen faced the people: “This county has always been poor and upright, with nothing valuable to pawn. Today, to celebrate the reopening of this Buddhist classic, I’ll pawn my wife’s silver hairpin.” Speaking thus, he took out a silver hairpin from his robes and handed it to Gu Pingyuan. Gu Pingyuan was meticulous – he took the scale to weigh it, then called out a price, which was naturally fair with generous measure. Magistrate Chen nodded in agreement. Gu Pingyuan wrote out the pawn ticket, and in front of all the common people, held this light piece of paper with both hands as if holding something weighing a thousand jin, lifted it above his head and solemnly bowed toward the temple’s great hall, then turned back to present the pawn ticket to Magistrate Chen. Thus the first transaction of Wubian Temple’s “Taiping Ku” was completed.

“Si Xi!” Su Zixuan was also standing in the distance. Having heard a few days ago that Gu Pingyuan had caused a great disturbance at Wubian Temple, she knew there must be more to the story, so she came today to see for herself. Only after watching this scene did a faint chrysanthemum-like smile cross her lips. “Let’s go.”

“Miss, aren’t we watching anymore?” Si Xi was watching in fascination and was reluctant to leave.

“No need to watch anymore. Li Qin… has lost!”

Here the assistant magistrate, registrar, and jail warden came forward one by one, each pawning an item to celebrate the opening of Taiping Ku. Since no one wanted to display wealth on such an occasion, the items pawned were all unremarkable – just for show, for the common people to see. Only Registrar Xu was different. When his turn came, he pawned a set of “Compendium of Flowers and Plants” printed in the early Wanli period, then had something to say.

“Fellow masters and fellow townspeople, you surely know that I, Xu, hold the humble position of county registrar, in charge of Confucian instruction, and have always had no connection with Buddhism. So why have I come today? Because whether Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian, ultimately all aim to educate people’s hearts and help those in danger and distress. Now Manager Gu of Wanyuan Pawn has initiated the reopening of Taiping Ku, and fortunately Master Hongjing and all the monks are enlightened and reasonable, reviving this prosperous Buddhist classic. Surely countless people will benefit from this in the future, so this official has come especially to observe the ceremony, hoping this ‘Buddhist pawn shop’ will take helping the people as its mission – gathering Buddhist wealth and distributing Buddhist wealth, letting the people share in peace and prosperity through this gathering and distribution.”

“Well said! Truly excellent!” Registrar Xu’s heartfelt words moved all the good people who heard them, and even the devout monks were deeply touched.

Being able to pawn items while simultaneously making offerings before Buddha was originally a convenient arrangement benefiting everyone. Combined with Wubian Temple’s influence and the personal example of the four parent officials, the common people below unknowingly found themselves caught up in a fever of enthusiasm. Those with valuable items on their persons immediately took them out and raised them high, wanting to pawn them. Those who hadn’t brought anything ran home to fetch items and return to pawn them.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Pingyuan was faced with a forest of raised arms, all competing eagerly, afraid they wouldn’t be able to pawn their items and receive Buddha’s protection. Fortunately, he was well-prepared. He directed his assistants to bring tables and move boxes, used ropes to cordon off several passages to maintain order, and sent people to fetch several managers from the shop.

“I’m right here.” Zhu Sheng had been watching from the side for a long time. At first he too was amazed, but gradually understanding Gu Pingyuan’s business acumen, his heart filled with mixed emotions as he gazed deeply at this young man.

“Leave the pawning to me. Send someone to fetch Third Manager to help me, have Second Manager Ding stay at the main shop. As for you, you surely have many things to do – go and stay busy.” Zhu Sheng’s voice was hoarse, with some disappointment but also a trace of comfort in his tone.

“Yes.” Gu Pingyuan indeed had many things to do. First he needed to determine the locations of several storage rooms, then ideally separate Taiping Ku from the monk quarters to avoid disturbing Buddhist meditation. The proportion of Buddhist wealth to pawn shop profits also needed careful planning and separate accounting. All this awaited his attention, so he bowed to Zhu Sheng and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Zhu Sheng suddenly called him back, slowly moving over and placing a hand on Gu Pingyuan’s shoulder. Clearing his throat, he said: “Expanding the pawn shop business throughout the province – this is something probably none of the pawn shop managers in the entire province even thought of. Yet you accomplished it. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared!”

Receiving this praise from Zhu Sheng naturally delighted Gu Pingyuan. He calmed his emotions and, looking up, saw Li Qin in the crowd glaring at him with blazing eyes, along with the ashen-faced Manager Hu beside him.

“Master Li, even if you take all the business inside and outside the county, it doesn’t matter – I still have business from all the prefectures and counties in the province. As for kowtowing and begging for mercy, let’s talk about that after you’ve stolen all this business away.” Gu Pingyuan maintained his calm and composed expression.

“Fine, Gu Pingyuan, just you wait. I must think of some way to deal with you!” Li Qin watched Gu Pingyuan’s elegant departing figure, furious beyond measure. While he was only focused on his anger, Manager Hu understood the severity of the situation. Looking at the crowd surging like a tide to pawn items at Taiping Ku, beads of sweat dripped down his face.

Gu Pingyuan stayed busy until late afternoon, finally getting things roughly arranged. He met once more with Abbot Hongjing and learned that because of the appearance of several county officials, the temple monks also unanimously supported using vacant monk quarters as pawn shop storage to increase Buddhist wealth. Only then did Gu Pingyuan’s heart completely settle. He had been so busy that he hadn’t had a bite of food or drink, and his stomach was naturally protesting. Walking to the front, he saw Second Manager Ding personally bringing food, and upon seeing Gu Pingyuan, repeatedly called him over to eat.

“Brother Gu!” Second Manager Ding was overjoyed beyond measure: “You’re really something! I, Ding, have truly opened my eyes today. You’re really Wanyuan Pawn’s lucky star!”

“I’m afraid when I first arrived, everyone thought I was a disaster star,” Gu Pingyuan joked.

“Time reveals a person’s heart. Now all the shop assistants practically worship you like a god.” Second Manager Ding suddenly thought of Zhu Sheng and, fearing he might be displeased to hear this, quickly fell silent and stole a glance at the head manager.

Zhu Sheng remained composed, smiling throughout. Gu Pingyuan, also fearing he might feel uncomfortable, said: “Head Manager, I have two matters I’d like your decision on.”

“The shop’s seal is still in your hands, so you still have full authority over all matters.” Zhu Sheng waved his hand.

Reminded by these words, Gu Pingyuan quickly took the seal from his robes: “I was bold that day, only to preserve secrecy and act conveniently. Now that the matter is settled, and with Second Manager here as witness – I’m returning this seal intact.” He presented it to Zhu Sheng.

As the legitimate head manager, Zhu Sheng had no reason not to accept it. Taking the seal, he pondered for a moment and said: “Second Manager, remember this: first, Gu Pingyuan has achieved great merit this time. He previously received disciplinary action twice under shop rules, but now all punishments are cancelled and his fined monthly wages must be returned in full. Second, this time his achievement is truly exceptional – at year’s end profit distribution, give him the same share as a head manager.”

Gu Pingyuan tried to decline, but Zhu Sheng said decisively: “This is what you deserve – no need for modesty. You mentioned two matters for my decision – what’s the other?”

“The first is that since we’re now doing business in a Buddhist temple, I’d like to change some of our shop rules. How can we speak coldly to customers before Buddha’s face? Moreover, from now on, so many customers coming here to pawn items will be traveling from distant places throughout the province. We can’t let people make the trip for nothing over small amounts of money, cooling their hearts. Remember, reputation is like iron – it cannot be taken lightly.”

“What changes do you want to make?”

“I think this way: from managers down, everyone should greet customers with smiles, and prices should satisfy customers as much as possible – we can’t just keep pushing prices down. Most importantly, when writing pawn tickets, we shouldn’t just write good items as poor ones to avoid future disputes – we should write more honestly. I believe most customers are good-hearted people, especially in this magnanimous Buddhist pure land. If we trust them, they won’t easily cause us trouble.”

“Hmm!” Zhu Sheng considered for a long time. Everything else was fine, but writing pawn tickets was a practice passed down through generations of pawn shops, and he couldn’t decide immediately. Later, thinking that Gu Pingyuan’s words weren’t unreasonable – people coming to Taiping Ku to pawn items all wanted the dual benefit of pawning items while praying for Buddha’s protection, and wouldn’t invite karmic retribution without reason – he nodded: “Good, we’ll do this.”

“Thank you, Head Manager. The other matter is that our business has suddenly expanded greatly, and we’ll definitely need to add staff. But over these recent days, the assistants have been working double duty and must be tired. Please give them more hardship pay and provide better meals, so they’ll have energy for their work.”

“Good, you’ve thought this through very thoroughly,” Zhu Sheng praised.

“I thought of this after seeing Master Li of Xiangyu Pawn’s treatment of his assistants that day at the city gate,” Gu Pingyuan said calmly.

Others didn’t think much of this, but Zhu Sheng’s heart shook. Just as he was about to speak, a young novice hurried over.

“Amitabha Buddha! Benefactor Gu, Master Wang requests your presence in the back hall meditation room for conversation.”

“Master Wang…” Gu Pingyuan glanced at Zhu Sheng and frowned.

“Go ahead. He probably wants to ask about the details of this matter,” Zhu Sheng guessed Wang Tiangui’s intention.

After Gu Pingyuan left, Zhu Sheng said to Second Manager Ding with infinite feeling: “This Gu Pingyuan can seek life from death, which is naturally extremely clever, but his ability to learn from his opponents is most admirable. The Yangtze River’s rear waves push the front waves forward – he will surely achieve great things in the future. However…”

Second Manager Ding was already completely in awe of Gu Pingyuan and asked: “However what?”

“A small fish wanting to overturn rivers and seas must first grow into a big fish. It depends on whether he has that fortune.”

Gu Pingyuan came to the back courtyard meditation room, an area specially for receiving distinguished guests, with ancient trees towering to block the sun and simple, elegant buildings. Pushing open the door, Wang Tiangui was sitting in an armchair, holding a string of prayer beads, eyes closed in sutra recitation. Hearing Gu Pingyuan enter, he calmly finished reciting a complete sutra before slowly opening his eyes.

“Do you know what sutra I was reciting?” Wang Tiangui suddenly asked.

Gu Pingyuan wasn’t familiar with Buddhist sutras and shook his head.

“The Shurangama Sutra – the Buddhist text most capable of breaking demonic obstacles and clearing the mind for wisdom. But after reciting it so long, I still can’t figure out what tricks you’re playing. How could you get all four magistrates to follow your arrangements and support you? How much silver did you spend to accomplish this?”

Gu Pingyuan didn’t beat around the bush and answered directly: “Except for the jail warden, who received some silver gifts because I visited the prison, between me and the other three officials, there was no money exchanged whatsoever.”

“Ridiculous! Since ancient times, getting officials to work for you without spending silver is pure daydreaming. Do you think I’m a three-year-old child that you can fool with such talk?” Wang Tiangui didn’t believe it at all.

Gu Pingyuan looked at him quietly, then suddenly smiled mockingly: “I suppose Master Wang has spent quite a bit of money on officials in his lifetime?”

“Money paves the way – otherwise how do you think I’ve walked so smoothly?” Today at Wubian Temple, watching Gu Pingyuan’s masterful performance, Wang Tiangui had grown alarmed. Gu Pingyuan had silently befriended all four major county officials, making him realize he had underestimated this young man, so he decided to get to the bottom of this matter to avoid an old hand being outsmarted by a novice.

“I don’t have as much money as Master Wang. Magistrate Chen was able to spare time to come today because he benefited from the matter of Monk Wang’s conscription. Registrar Xu was thanking me for resolving the crisis at Youlugou Village. As for Assistant Magistrate Yu, he was grateful because I helped him complete a troublesome assignment a few days ago.” Gu Pingyuan was referring to the Chen Fu’en border crossing incident. Assistant Magistrate Yu was very grateful to Gu Pingyuan for suggesting the “send the ghost out the door” strategy that saved him from punishment, so when Gu Pingyuan asked him to come to Wubian Temple to show support, it wasn’t difficult – Assistant Magistrate Yu agreed immediately. The other officials were similar. Gu Pingyuan had been worried they wouldn’t agree, so he also wrote a proposal explaining how Taiping Ku was beneficial policy for the people, explaining everything clearly. The “Four Great Magistrates” all owed him favors and felt this person had a clear mind and might be useful in the future, so they all gave him this face.

“In Master Wang’s mind, relations between merchants and officials must be exchanging money for power, right?” Gu Pingyuan said lightly.

“What else is there?” Wang Tiangui raised his eyebrows.

“Using deeds to borrow influence!”

“Eh?”

“Officials have their own worries too. Without achieving results, they can’t pass Ministry of Personnel evaluations either. I use my abilities to help them accomplish things, and all beneficial to the people. This way they can get promoted, people get benefits, everyone’s happy, and I feel at ease. Once I need to use government power, knowing I’ll be useful to them in the future, they naturally reciprocate. But I don’t rely on government power to bully others – instead I borrow influence to rise up, like today. Simply put, I just needed to borrow that eastern wind. As for how to set fires to attack enemies, that’s my own business.” Though Gu Pingyuan’s voice wasn’t loud, it was supremely confident, and the imposing aura of his words left even Wang Tiangui impressed despite himself.

After Gu Pingyuan left the meditation room, Wang Tiangui continued staring at the “Shurangama Sutra” on the table, thinking about Gu Pingyuan’s “using deeds to borrow influence.” After a long time, two words emerged from his lips: “Talent!”

From that day forward, the Taiping Ku that Gu Pingyuan single-handedly established became Taigu County’s most profitable business! When people from various places who came to Wubian Temple on Buddha’s Birthday returned home and spread the word, countless believers came to pawn items. Gu Pingyuan had anticipated this business would thrive, but he hadn’t expected it to thrive to this extent – even after the Evening Star rose high, there was still an endless stream of people.

These Buddhist believers took on the attitude of prostrating with each step, bringing bundles of items large and small from throughout the province to Wubian Temple. Whatever price the managers offered, they accepted without argument. They said that Buddhist pawning wasn’t about bargaining – there was an element of offering involved, and haggling would make one’s heart insincere.

When pawn shop business reached this level, making money was truly as easy as turning one’s palm. Seeing this, Gu Pingyuan repeatedly instructed the managers never to ruin their reputation – prices must be reasonable, making people feel Taiping Ku was the most fair pawn shop in the province. Only this way could the business continue long-term.

Old Abbot Hongjing had originally worried that merchants focused only on profit would damage the temple’s reputation, so he occasionally sent young novices to check on Taiping Ku. After hearing about this rule Gu Pingyuan established, he never sent anyone again. Privately he told people that thinking up an unconventional way to make big money was certainly Gu Pingyuan’s exceptional ability, but being able to avoid repeating the mistake of draining the pond to catch fish, establishing steady rules amid rolling streams of silver – this person Gu Pingyuan could be called “wise.”

The business hadn’t been running long when Gu Pingyuan saw silver flowing in like water daily, and he advanced his planned second step. He discussed with Zhu Sheng doing another thing to make Wanyuan Pawn an iron-clad stronghold. Zhu Sheng was naturally interested and asked how to do it. Gu Pingyuan replied with four words: “Return profits for reputation!”

Originally Zhu Sheng thought when Gu Pingyuan spoke of distributing Buddhist wealth, he just meant taking part of the money earned from pawning to help those in danger and need. But what Gu Pingyuan actually did once again showed him that this person’s business acumen was truly different from others.

Gu Pingyuan left all the temple business to the three managers and personally led people to dig sweet water wells in water-scarce areas throughout the province. Bringing well-digging craftsmen, he left several people at each location, walking and digging along the way. He visited prefectural and county seats, digging wells where there were none and building stone well curbs where wells existed. Digging one well cost fifty taels of silver, building one well curb cost ten taels. In one month, Gu Pingyuan spent nearly ten thousand taels of silver building over one hundred wells. These wells all had the same specifications – square stone well curbs with “Wubian Births Buddha” carved on one side, “Wanyuan Births Water” on another, and “Benevolent Governance Births Virtue” and “Honesty Births Wealth” on the other two sides.

Gu Pingyuan not only dug wells but also invited eminent monks from Wubian Temple to consecrate the well water. For each well dug, he held a lively consecration ceremony and invited local officials to preside over water-drawing ceremonies. When villagers wanted to express gratitude, Gu Pingyuan asked them to send a ten-thousand-people umbrella to the local prefectural or county office, inscribed with the four characters from the well curb: “Benevolent Governance Births Virtue.”

This easily-gained popular reputation was naturally welcomed by all government offices. When reporting achievements to the provincial administration, they naturally mentioned Wanyuan Pawn’s merchant charitable acts. Thus within two months, a golden plaque was sent with gongs and drums from the provincial capital – the provincial treasurer had reported to the governor, and to reward Wanyuan Pawn’s righteous generosity, specially awarded a plaque reading “Righteousness and Virtue, Excellent Character.” Everyone from top to bottom at Wanyuan Pawn glowed with pride, set off one hundred thousand firecrackers, and hung the plaque high above the shop’s entrance.

Now Wanyuan Pawn’s fame was higher than the sky. Even people in remote villages knew that Taigu County had a Wanyuan Pawn that conducted business with complete sincerity, treated customers with genuine care, and moreover was generous and righteous, digging wells for people’s drinking water. Soon Wanyuan Pawn gained this reputation: “Look, they’re willing to spend so much silver digging wells for common people – would they really earn those few coins dishonestly?”

This was exactly the saying Gu Pingyuan wanted. He told Zhu Sheng that as long as this saying remained on people’s lips, the pawn shop would have endless business!

With the shop’s reputation sky-high, assistants treating customers well, and fair pricing, Wanyuan Pawn truly had inexhaustible business. But the other pawn shops in Taigu County were completely ruined. They never dreamed that Wanyuan Pawn could not only turn over like a salted fish but also leap like a carp through the dragon gate, suddenly becoming a wind-and-rain-summoning dragon! They huddled in their respective pawn shops sighing for over a month. Later, seeing business couldn’t continue, with no alternative, they collectively chose Manager Du to lead them, preparing generous gifts to see Zhu Sheng.

“Manager Zhu!” Manager Du immediately kowtowed: “I said before that if you could break the city gate pawn, I, old Du, would acknowledge you as master. I keep my word – I only beg you to show mercy and point us to a way to survive.”

“Ai!” Zhu Sheng stepped aside to avoid the bow. “What kind of talk is this? You’re a head manager, I’m a head manager too – what acknowledgment of masters? That was just joking before – why take it seriously?”

“But the current situation is no joke. Pawn shops elsewhere in the province can still keep customers unwilling to travel far, but people from Taigu County itself all go to Taiping Ku. How can we do business?”

“I maintain what I said before – each family does its own business. When you were making money, you didn’t share a single coin with our Wanyuan Pawn. Now that you’re losing money, surely you can’t blame us for doing business too well.”

The assistants listening to Zhu Sheng mock these head managers who had previously added insult to injury all felt vindicated. They heard Zhu Sheng continue: “Moreover, someone else broke the city gate pawn. If you acknowledge me as master, how could I accept it?”

Manager Du was stunned. He naturally knew the “Taiping Ku” was that crazy manager’s brilliant scheme. Steeling his heart, without rising, he turned toward Gu Pingyuan and bowed down: “In that case, I acknowledge Manager Gu as my master!” As he spoke, tears were already flowing from his eyes.

Gu Pingyuan was startled and quickly knelt down to help him up: “You are all senior predecessors. I, Gu, am new to the pawn business and have only been lucky. How dare I accept such a grand gesture? As for taking you as disciples, that would truly shame me.”

Manager Du smiled bitterly, turned back to look at the dejected managers from various shops, and said: “Manager Gu, you needn’t be so modest. I, Du, am truly convinced by you, and I can speak for everyone – we’re all convinced by you. We only hope you’ll show mercy and give us a way to survive.”

“This…” Gu Pingyuan helped Manager Du to his feet. Seeing how he seemed to have aged over ten years in one month, his face pale and lifeless, even the queue behind his head curled up, and looking at the pleading, hopeful eyes of the managers behind him, he felt genuine pity and asked Zhu Sheng aside.

“Head Manager, this monopolizing business probably shouldn’t be done.”

“What, you’re going soft? Don’t you remember how they forced us back then? If you hadn’t thought up a counterstrategy in time, Wanyuan Pawn would probably have collapsed by now.” Zhu Sheng’s anger flared up whenever this matter was mentioned.

“I know the Head Manager wants to take revenge, but we should forgive when we can. I’m not saying this just out of pity for them. Think about it – everyone says we’re a compassionate Buddhist pawn shop, but if we suddenly crush so many competitors and destroy so many people’s livelihoods, you know they all have large families behind them. If some really starve or die of illness, won’t people point at our backs and say we’re hypocritical? Reputation is something that’s hard to build but quick to change. When that time comes, all our previous hard work might be wasted.”

Gu Pingyuan concluded: “For others and for ourselves, it’s better to spare them.”

“Hmm.” Zhu Sheng was finally persuaded, looking up at the others: “Fine, do whatever you think is best. But are you also going to save Xiangyu Pawn?”

“No!” Gu Pingyuan wasn’t that benevolent. “That Master Li can fend for himself.”

“Fellow Head Managers.” Gu Pingyuan stood in the middle of the shop, made a complete bow, and said loudly: “Since you’ve all honored us with your presence today, Wanyuan Pawn will certainly give you a satisfactory answer. I’ve discussed with Head Manager Zhu – from now on, this Taiping Ku business will be shared among all the city’s pawn shops. On even-numbered days we’ll accept pawns, on odd-numbered days you’ll take turns. How does this sound?”

When these words were spoken, the head managers present were both shocked and delighted, almost thinking they’d heard wrong. They were all businessmen who lived and breathed money, with the sharpest abacuses. A rough calculation showed that although they could only do “Taiping Ku business” one or two days each month, this was province-wide business, actually earning more than their previous county-only operations.

Everyone was happy except for Li Qin of Xiangyu Pawn, who looked utterly defeated. He had originally thought that although Gu Pingyuan had devised the “Buddhist pawn” strategy, he could at least compete equally with his “city gate pawn.” He hadn’t expected that while his previous move was merely removing fuel from under the pot, Gu Pingyuan had now carried off the entire pot, leaving him without even a drop of soup.

“Master, those four city gate pawns with so many assistants doing nothing while still drawing wages is already a considerable expense. Most troublesome is that many who previously pawned items have actually returned to redeem them, then turned around and pawned the same items at Taiping Ku. We’re suffering heavy losses and really can’t continue.” Manager Hu said with a worried expression.

“What! Is Wanyuan Pawn also accepting our pawn tickets?” Li Qin raised his eyebrows and pressed.

“It’s not like that. Those customers willingly redeemed their items – it has nothing to do with Wanyuan Pawn. Who can blame them for their Buddhist pawn being superior to our city gate pawn?” Manager Hu was so busy sighing that he didn’t notice Li Qin’s increasingly dark expression.

“Master, all the city’s pawn shops have submitted to Wanyuan Pawn and gotten their share at Taiping Ku. Perhaps we should also go beg that Manager Gu…”

“Smash!” Li Qin’s face turned iron-blue as he shattered the coffee pot he’d bought from the foreign trading house.

The various pawn shop managers in Taigu County later realized that Gu Pingyuan’s decision to have Wanyuan Pawn handle even-numbered days wasn’t casual – most Buddhist festivals fell on even-numbered days, meaning Wanyuan Pawn had claimed all the good pawning days. By then these managers were completely convinced of Gu Pingyuan’s wisdom. When they met him, they all greeted him respectfully. Gu Pingyuan showed no arrogance, treating everyone warmly, and soon gained good relationships within the trade guild.

This day he was directing assistants at the back gate of Wubian Temple when an unremarkable tall, thin man appeared, bypassing the managers and assistants to head straight for Gu Pingyuan.

“Excuse me, are you Manager Gu?” The man’s voice matched his appearance – thin and sharp.

“That’s right. May I ask who you are?” Gu Pingyuan clasped his hands in greeting.

“A word in private.” The man acted mysteriously, calling Gu Pingyuan to a secluded spot. “Manager Gu, I have nine large chests of gold, silver, and precious stones to pawn, but it’s inconvenient to bring them here, and inconvenient during the day too. I’d like to wait until evening to pawn them at your main shop in the city. You send people to carry the chests to the shop – there’s only me on this end. As for the pawn shop side, besides the receiving manager, one or two assistants would be enough. Too many people would be inconvenient.”

He said “inconvenient” three times, making Gu Pingyuan look him up and down. Though the man was neatly dressed, his eyes showed traces of cunning – he didn’t seem like a good person. Gu Pingyuan became wary and pointed to the monk quarters behind them: “Those are the Taiping Ku storage rooms, guarded day and night by pawn shop assistants and temple monks. Whatever treasures you have, you can safely pawn them there.”

The man smiled strangely: “It’s not about safety, but there are too many eyes here. Besides, what I’m pawning is ‘gentleman’s wealth’ – keeping it in a Buddhist temple seems somewhat… hehe.”

“Gentleman’s wealth?” Gu Pingyuan’s mind turned and he understood – this “gentleman” naturally referred to a “rooftop gentleman” (thief).

So it was stolen goods!

Gu Pingyuan detested such things. Stolen goods meant someone’s joy was someone else’s sorrow. Even if it wasn’t ill-gotten gains, who could guarantee there wasn’t some poor person’s life-saving money or a scholar’s study fees among them? Even if the theft was from government coffers, this debt would eventually fall on the common people. When Gu Pingyuan was young, a thief had stolen the brush and ink money his mother had painstakingly saved for him. For a month afterward, his mother had to sleep two hours less each night to make up the money. Watching his mother suffer with his own eyes, that feeling of desolate heartache remained vivid in his memory.

“Sorry, we don’t do it!” Gu Pingyuan refused outright.

“I have priceless treasures here!” The man grew anxious.

“We don’t do it!” Thinking that after all this was a customer at his door, Gu Pingyuan couldn’t be too cold, so he explained: “If the authorities investigate, we can’t bear the consequences.”

“Don’t worry, there are no markings – all good merchandise.”

Gu Pingyuan didn’t consider it at all, shook his head, and walked away.

The man watched Gu Pingyuan’s retreating figure, snorted coldly through his nose, and said in a low voice: “Surnamed Gu, we’ll see about this!”

That day’s business again went late. When the final transaction was completed, the moon’s shadow was already on the treetops. Gu Pingyuan let the assistants leave first, then took the pawn ticket ledger to inventory the pawned items himself before locking the storage room door. After greeting the night-duty assistants and monks, he left Wubian Temple.

He walked to the bridge where he’d previously encountered the wine vendor. Just as he was about to step onto the bridge, several black shadows suddenly shot out from under it with “whoosh” sounds, pouncing in front of him. Without explanation, they produced a large sack and pulled it over his head. Before Gu Pingyuan could react, everything went dark. He was then lifted by many hands, placed on a horse, and carried away at a gallop.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Gu Pingyuan shouted loudly but no one paid attention. Many thoughts flashed through his mind, with his greatest suspicion being that Zhang Guangfa and Li Qin had sent people to silence him, so he secretly planned countermeasures.

Fortunately, the horse stopped after running for about half an hour. Gu Pingyuan was pulled down from the horse, the sack was removed, and firelight appeared before his eyes – torches held by several burly men.

While Gu Pingyuan was still looking around in confusion, he heard an owl-like “cackle” of strange laughter: “Haha, surnamed Gu, how have you been?”

Seeing this person, Gu Pingyuan was greatly shocked – wasn’t this short, fat man missing an ear the Third Leader of Evil Tiger Gorge?

He saw that one leg was still slightly lame – the gunshot wound from before apparently hadn’t completely healed, but his vicious expression was even worse than when on the mountain.

“You businessman actually aren’t greedy. Today Third Master sent someone to lure you, planning to clean out your pawn shop and take your dog life while we were at it. Didn’t expect you wouldn’t take the bait – did you think Third Master had no other options?”

He moved close to Gu Pingyuan, staring with bloodshot eyes, his stinking breath vicious as he said: “You wouldn’t think that shooting Third Master once meant this matter was over, would you? Moreover, you ruined my chance to become an official, killed my woman, and she was carrying my child! Look, and this ear!” He pointed his thumb at his damaged ear: “Damn it, today Third Master settles all accounts with you!”

Gu Pingyuan knew that falling into these villains’ hands meant certain death. Explanations would be useless, so he simply remained silent.

“Not talking? Afraid Third Master will pull out your tongue? Don’t worry, you’re lucky today – I’ll leave you a complete corpse.” The Third Leader turned aside: “Come see this!”

Gu Pingyuan turned his head and saw a deep pit the width of a large wooden barrel had already been dug in the ground.

“This place is too close to the county seat – ‘lighting a sky lantern’ might be seen by patrolling soldiers. Have you heard of ‘planting a tree’?” Gu Pingyuan hadn’t heard of this method, but could imagine what it meant, and his face turned pale. Sure enough, the Third Leader commanded: “Come, plant him head down, feet up in the pit!”

Gu Pingyuan tried to resist but was no match for these pack of wolves. They lifted him upside down, stuffed him in the pit, and began shoveling dirt in. At first Gu Pingyuan shook his head and struggled vigorously, but soon earth reached his chest, his mouth and nose filled with dirt clods, breathing became difficult, and he gradually lost consciousness. The only thing he knew was that he was about to die in this desolate wilderness. The last thought that flashed through his mind was: “If someone discovers these feet sticking up in the woods, will they think it’s Tu Xingsun caught by a spell that turns earth to gold?” At this thought, Gu Pingyuan couldn’t laugh. Unable to breathe, his vision went black and he fainted.

In his unconsciousness, he felt his body being shaken vigorously, then someone brushed the yellow earth from his head and face with clothes. “Am I in the underworld?” Gu Pingyuan groggily opened his eyes to see a purple-faced middle-aged man looking at him.

“You are…” Gu Pingyuan blinked and looked: “Aren’t you the Great Chief of Evil Tiger Gorge? Killing requires only a nod – are you going to torture me repeatedly? Even in the underworld, I’ll file three complaints against you!”

“Surnamed Gu, if my big brother hadn’t ordered me to dig you out, you’d have met King Yama long ago!” the Third Leader called from the side.

“You’re called Gu Pingyuan?” Lü Zheng studied him for a long time, then suddenly squatted down: “I’ll ask you one question. If you dare tell half a lie, I’ll make you unable to live or die. Did someone give you a token? Speak!”

Gu Pingyuan was stunned. That’s right – the Second Leader of Evil Tiger Gorge in the county jail had indeed given him a token, asking him to personally deliver it to the Great Chief. Last time on the mountain, before he could mention this matter, conflict arose with the mountain stronghold people, so naturally the matter was dropped. Today meeting Evil Tiger Gorge people, before saying a few words he was buried in a pit, so he hadn’t even thought of this matter.

“Yes, the Second Leader in the county jail gave it to me.”

“Where is it?”

“Sewn inside my robe front.” Gu Pingyuan knew this thing’s danger – if anyone saw it and reported him for colluding with bandits, he’d be in serious trouble, so he always kept it secretly hidden close to his body.

Without another word, Lü Zheng reached out and yanked Gu Pingyuan’s left robe front, tearing the clothing with force. “Clang!” – the token fell to the ground.

Gu Pingyuan broke out in cold sweat. Both sides of his robe front had things sewn inside – one side had the token, the other had the mountain stronghold map that Little Seven’s cousin had given him before dying. Since he hadn’t had opportunity to meet military commanders, Gu Pingyuan still kept it. If Lü Zheng had torn the right side instead of the left and discovered this map, even nine lives wouldn’t be enough for them to kill him. He silently called out for Buddha’s protection.

“Hmm!” Lü Zheng weighed the token and breathed a long sigh: “It seems the Second Leader spoke the truth indeed.”

“Big brother, you went to the jail and saw the Second Leader?” The Third Leader came over to ask.

“I said I was his relative. One hundred taels of silver for one meeting.”

“Mm.” The Third Leader didn’t ask further, appearing uninterested in this matter.

“Surnamed Gu, our Second Leader says you’re very loyal and took good care of him, and you were willing to risk keeping this token without reporting to the authorities. Since that’s the case, the previous misunderstanding on the mountain is wiped clean.” Lü Zheng suddenly said.

The Third Leader grew anxious: “Then I took that shot for nothing, lost my ear for nothing?”

Lü Zheng glared: “Otherwise you go rescue the Second Leader from the county seat, and I’ll kill this surnamed Gu for you!”

The Third Leader was silenced and didn’t dare respond.

“The Second Leader will be executed soon. The county seat is heavily guarded – we don’t have the ability to rescue him. This surnamed Gu looked after our Second Leader for us, so your shot counts as even.” Lü zheng mounted his horse as he spoke: “Let’s go, back to Evil Tiger Gorge!”

His orders were absolute – no one dared disobey. The Third Leader glared fiercely at Gu Pingyuan and left with the cavalry.

Only then did Gu Pingyuan realize he had truly escaped death. Listening to the hoofbeats fade away, he wiped cold sweat, determined his direction to find the main road, and slowly walked back to the county seat.

The apprentices had all gone to sleep. Only Jin Hu, seeing that Gu Pingyuan hadn’t returned, didn’t dare sleep soundly. Hearing him knock, he got up to open the door and exclaimed in shock: “Fourth Manager, why are you covered head to toe in dirt?”

“Don’t ask.” Gu Pingyuan didn’t want to elaborate. “Get me a bucket of hot water – I need to wash.”

By the time he finished washing, morning stars were already sparse in the sky. After this night of escaping death, Gu Pingyuan was mentally and physically exhausted and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

When he dimly heard someone shouting loudly, he opened his eyes to find it was already broad daylight.

He was like a startled bird, thinking the Third Leader wasn’t satisfied and had brought people to attack the pawn shop. He rolled up and rushed outside, bumping right into Jin Hu.

“What’s happening outside? Who’s shouting?” Gu Pingyuan asked urgently.

“It’s an assistant from Xiangyu Pawn who came early to work. He found the main door ajar, went in to look, and discovered something terrible had happened in the shop.”

“I’ll go see.” Gu Pingyuan rushed to the street in three steps made two. By now Xiangyu Pawn’s main door was wide open, with bright sunlight shining in so everyone could see clearly. Li Qin, Manager Hu, and two assistants had been stripped naked and tied up like trussed pigs on the stone floor in front of the counter, with dirty rags stuffed in their mouths, moaning.

Outside the door stood a helpless assistant, grabbing someone and calling: “Quick, quickly go report to the county office – the shop’s been robbed!”

This street was already bustling, and with this commotion spreading from ten to a hundred, seeing the usually well-dressed, arrogant pawn shop owner and managers now naked and tied up in their own shop – who wouldn’t want to see this spectacle? Xiangyu Pawn’s entrance was immediately packed, soon becoming a sea of people. Some busybodies asked the assistant: “What happened? Pawn shops are famous for preventing thieves – they lock iron bars after dark and won’t open except for fire. How did thieves get in? Besides, there should be more than just these two assistants watching the shop at night, right?”

The assistant was shaking all over, his voice trembling: “How would I know! Yesterday Master Li and Manager Hu received a tall, thin customer, then had us carry in nine large chests from outside the city. After that they only kept two assistants and sent all the others home. I saw clearly – when we closed, the tall thin man was still in the shop.”

Gu Pingyuan heard everything clearly. While others didn’t understand what happened, he grasped about eighty or ninety percent immediately. It must have been those Evil Tiger Gorge bandits who, failing to lure him, decided not to leave empty-handed and targeted Xiangyu Pawn instead. As for Li Qin, with business losses so severe recently, he naturally coveted those nine chests of “gold, silver, and precious stones.” Greed overcame him – regardless of whether they were stolen goods – and he fell into their trap. Those nine chests surely contained bandits with steel knives who burst out once the shop door closed. Li Qin was fortunate to keep his life.

Seeing the assistant in chaos, only explaining yesterday’s events, and Li Qin with eyes nearly popping out, kicking and struggling desperately on the ground with his miserable appearance fully exposed to everyone’s view – though Gu Pingyuan initially felt satisfied and vindicated, hearing people around him laughing and joking, despite his hatred for Li Qin, he didn’t want him to lose face as a businessman. So he stepped forward and patted the assistant’s shoulder.

“You should first untie the ropes on the shop people. Leaving them exposed like this – are you putting on a show?”

This woke the dreamer. The assistant hurried back to untie the ropes, but his hands shook and heart trembled, the knots were tight, and after fumbling for ages he couldn’t untie them, only causing more laughter from outside. Seeing no one would help, Gu Pingyuan shook his head and personally went over to untie the ropes on Li Qin’s hands and feet.

Li Qin struggled to stand but having been tied too long, his hands and feet were numb. Just as he straightened up, his knees went soft and he fell to the ground with a “thud,” exactly as if kowtowing to Gu Pingyuan. Gu Pingyuan hesitated, then reached out to help him up. Li Qin forcefully pushed his hand away and stood up gritting his teeth.

He was better lying down – standing up caused even more uproarious laughter. Li Qin’s face went from green to white, trembling all over, wishing for a crack in the earth to crawl into. Gu Pingyuan sighed inwardly and removed his outer robe to give Li Qin for modesty, when suddenly he heard a muffled grunt behind him: “No need!”

Gu Pingyuan turned to see Zhang Guangfa arriving after getting word. He coldly glanced at Gu Pingyuan, walked over and with one motion pushed away Gu Pingyuan’s hand holding the clothes, wrapped his own cloak around Li Qin, looked at this “Young Master Qin” he’d raised from childhood with both anger and heartache, and said gently: “Young Master Qin, let’s go home.”

He helped Li Qin, who was like an eggplant struck by frost, walk outside. Scanning the crowd of onlookers, his expression carried natural authority, and the crowd unconsciously opened a path.

Gu Pingyuan watched Li Qin’s utterly defeated figure, listening to Manager Hu’s wailing cry of “It’s all over now,” with mixed feelings. Li Qin’s failure was certainly due to his greed, but also because Gu Pingyuan had pushed him to this point. Now his own earlier words had truly come to pass – Li Qin was cornered. He was Gu Pingyuan’s enemy, but setting aside personal grudges, he was also a businessman. Having now integrated business into his very blood, seeing Xiangyu Pawn’s fate, Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help feeling pity for all under heaven. While Wanyuan Pawn’s assistants were all smiling at their rival’s downfall, only he remained unhappy for several days. Remembering Li Qin’s once unrivaled prominence in the pawn business, he felt a vague fear of extremes leading to reversal.

Gu Pingyuan had always had extraordinary premonitions about approaching danger, and this time he was right again. As the saying goes, extreme joy leads to sorrow – within just a few days, another major incident occurred at Wanyuan Pawn, suddenly plunging the entire pawn shop into miserable wind and rain.

“Second Manager, this is the completed ledger from last time. Please check it.” An assistant handed over a yellow-covered book to Second Manager Ding. He was carefully examining a bronze vessel and said casually: “Just put it there.”

Second Manager Ding turned the bronze vessel over and back, examining it thoroughly, tapping it with his knuckles to listen to the clear sound, then looked up at the nervous old farmer rubbing his hands in front of him and asked: “Where did this thing come from?”

“My ancestors dug it up while tilling. The child always used it as a stool. A few days ago a drum-beater came to the village saying he’d buy it for ten copper coins. I thought if it’s really copper, melting it for copper would be worth more than ten coins. Then he offered a hundred coins. Seeing him raise the price so much at once, my wife and I got suspicious, afraid of being cheated. Our village has a fine well that your shop dug, and we heard Wanyuan Pawn doesn’t cheat people, so though the road is far, we brought it here to pawn.”

Second Manager Ding nodded to himself – this reputation that Gu Pingyuan had won was worth more than gold. He said: “Do you want a live pawn or dead pawn?”

“What use would us farming folk have for this thing? Dead pawn! Do you think it’s worth a hundred coins?”

Second Manager Ding laughed: “Since it’s a dead pawn, I’ll give you two hundred taels.”

“What! Two hundred what?” The old farmer was completely bewildered.

“Two hundred taels of silver! Let me tell you honestly, this is a bronze drum from the Spring and Autumn period, preserved so well it’s truly rare. If you took it to other pawn shops, they might just accept it as scrap copper and iron. Here we’re a ‘Buddhist pawn shop’ – we don’t cheat young or old, so rest assured.” This transaction would naturally make money for the pawn shop, but it wasn’t ill-gotten gains. After Gu Pingyuan established new shop rules, though there were no excessive profits, business sources were wide, and good items often came through the door.

“Two hundred taels! We’ve struck it rich! Thank you, manager, thank you, manager.” The old farmer unexpectedly made a fortune and was so happy his mouth stretched to the back of his head. Taking the pawn ticket and silver, he left with countless thanks.

Seeing no one else coming temporarily, Second Manager Ding reached back for the ledger. Opening it, he saw the first line read: “A certain good person from a certain village respectfully donated a pair of bronze lamps for Buddha offerings and one hundred long-burning candles on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year.”

Second Manager Ding was startled. Flipping several more pages, it was all the same – records of silver and items donated by benefactors from various places. Though the ink was fresh, the entries were all decades-old accounts, apparently old records newly copied. With a thought, he understood – the pawn shop borrowed monk quarters as temporary accounting rooms, dividing one room in half. The left table held Buddhist temple ledgers, the right table held pawn shop accounts. The new apprentice must have mixed them up. Second Manager Ding smiled wryly and was about to call an assistant to scold him for carelessness and have the ledger replaced, when suddenly a line caught his eye: “Yiwei year, sixth day of sixth month, Taigu County Taiyufeng shopkeeper Wang Tiangui respectfully donated one large lotus jar and one eternal lamp for Buddha.”

Ever since that day when Second Manager Ding had stood up for Zhu Sheng and offended Wang Tiangui, he’d noticed the great shopkeeper’s cold glances several times, knowing this vengeful man would settle accounts with him sooner or later, leaving him constantly anxious. So he was very sensitive to Wang Tiangui’s name. Moreover, he found that date “Yiwei sixth day of sixth month” somehow familiar. “That was twenty-five years ago…” He thought hard, tapping his forehead several times, finally remembering with sudden clarity.

“Wasn’t that Head Manager Zhu’s father’s death anniversary!”

Having thought of this, a notion suddenly flashed through his mind. He abruptly stood up, took the ledger and flipped through it several times, seeing it recorded all donation records from the Yiwei year, but no more mentions of Wang Tiangui’s name. He hurried to the accounting room, not going to his own desk but to the table with Wubian Temple ledgers, reaching for several volumes to find ledgers from after the Yiwei year and began searching through them.

“Benefactor Ding.” The copying monk in the room was already familiar with him and asked with a smile, “You’ve taken the wrong ones – the pawn shop ledgers are over there.”

“I know. I need to check something. Go about your business, don’t mind me.”

The monk didn’t know what he was checking, and since it wasn’t his concern, he simply continued copying. After an unknown time, there was a “rip” sound. Looking up, he saw Second Manager Ding tearing a page from the ledger. Several monks were simultaneously shocked: “Benefactor Ding, these are master copies – you can’t tear them!”

Second Manager Ding acted as if he hadn’t heard, consecutively tearing several more pages from yellowed ledgers, then turned and walked out, ignoring the monks’ shouts and not looking back.

“Head Manager, do you understand?” Second Manager Ding pointed to the pages on the table. “This isn’t the complete transcription – I only took four pages, but it’s already crystal clear. That old bastard Wang Tiangui is a murderous turtle egg!” Having just left Wubian Temple, he’d rushed straight to the main shop to find Zhu Sheng, invited him to the back courtyard room, and told him everything about his temple discoveries.

Zhu Sheng squinted, examining page by page the papers recording “a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, Wang Tiangui respectfully donated lamp oil and lamp holders,” particularly staring long at the “Yiwei year” record.

“This page is completely suspicious, isn’t it?” Second Manager Ding said. “Your honored father was ruined by Wang Tiangui that year, lost his business, and fell ill unto death. That very day he sent an eternal lotus lamp to Buddha’s throne at Wubian Temple – what is this but guilty conscience fearing karmic retribution!”

“And this page.” He picked out another. “The whole county knows that mutton seller Gao Laowu owed debt to his bank, pitifully begging for one month’s extension. He insisted on taking Gao’s mutton stall as debt payment – his livelihood. Gao Laowu’s family of three then drank rat poison. The next day he sent three more lamps to the temple!”

“Last year when Dry River flooded and so many beggars died, there were rumors Wang Tiangui was behind it. I didn’t believe it – what grudge would he have against so many beggars? But look, during those very days, he wrote a two-hundred-tael donation in Wubian Temple’s benefactor book, sent three lotus jars, and lit over twenty lamps. These are clear as day self-incriminating confessions!” Second Manager Ding kept tapping the table with his finger, trembling slightly from anger, fear, or excitement.

Zhu Sheng frowned in silent contemplation, then asked: “You plan to report him?”

“I…” Second Manager Ding had originally wanted to discuss this with the head manager. At Zhu Sheng’s question, he suddenly decided: “I must report him. First, to vindicate you, Head Manager, and second, Gao Laowu was my cousin – his son was the only heir, dying so miserably…”

“But he committed suicide by poison.” Zhu Sheng cut off his words. “My father also died of illness. As for those beggars’ deaths, time has passed, leaving only groundless rumors.”

Second Manager Ding had been full of righteous anger, but seeing Zhu Sheng’s cold attitude, he was stunned: “You… you don’t support my reporting him?”

“Without evidence, just relying on these few flimsy pages to try bringing down that old fox Wang Tiangui is wishful thinking.”

“There is! I have evidence!” Hearing this, Second Manager Ding picked up the last page torn from Wubian Temple’s ledger.

“This was also torn from last year’s benefactor book, recording Wang Tiangui sending hundreds of lotus lamps to Wubian Temple on the Great Cold day, and inexplicably having monks chant rebirth mantras for three days and nights, saying he pitied lonely souls and wild ghosts having no home in the cold winter months. It sounds kind-hearted, but if you connect this with those previous incidents… Head Manager, do you remember where several hundred people suddenly died in our county between autumn harvest and winter entry last year?”

Zhu Sheng thought for a moment, suddenly remembering and exclaiming: “The plague at Youlugou Village!”

“Exactly!”

“But that plague was natural disaster – what connection does it have with Wang Tiangui?”

“Don’t forget, when the county requested relief from the province, buying rice and medicine to make medicinal gruel for villagers, it was completely ineffective and so many still died. Since year-end coincided with provincial treasury closing and auditing, the one who advanced this silver for the treasury and handled buying medicine and distributing gruel was Taiyufeng!”

Zhu Sheng was moved: “You’re saying he pocketed the money, then…” He didn’t finish, already shivering with cold realization.

Second Manager Ding nodded: “Now you know his heart is blacker than pot bottom! He dared earn such unconscionable money, truly disregarding heaven’s law and human feeling. For this incident alone, I must bring him down!” Second Manager Ding had another thought hidden in his heart. Having discovered Wang Tiangui’s vicious cruelty exceeded normal bounds, his original worry had become enormous fear. Having offended this great villain, his future fate would probably be no better than his cousin Gao Laowu and those beggars. If it were just himself, so be it, but now with a child about to be born who would face such danger immediately upon arrival, Second Manager Ding’s heart burned like oil at the thought. He was determined to bring down Wang Tiangui, claiming it was for Zhu Sheng, for his cousin, for those beggars and villagers, but the biggest reason was actually to protect his own child.

“I maintain what I said – these are all speculation, not reliable. Wang Tiangui and Magistrate Chen are sworn brothers – the court won’t accept such lawsuits without solid evidence.”

“I wouldn’t dare report to the county.” Second Manager Ding’s voice was somewhat muffled. “But the Great Qing should still have honest officials. I’ll report directly to the provincial judicial commissioner’s office, and if the province won’t act, I’ll report to the imperial censorate in the capital. This matter is obviously so suspicious – as long as someone investigates, they’ll surely find traces. The fear is no one will pierce this window paper.”

Zhu Sheng shook his head repeatedly: “Difficult, so difficult.”

Second Manager Ding said: “To be honest, I’m also afraid of this Wang Tiangui, but living as neighbors with a tiger, if you don’t fight the tiger, the tiger will eventually come eat you. So this time I’m determined.”

Zhu Sheng couldn’t help but look up at him. They’d worked together for over ten years – he hadn’t expected that Second Manager Ding, usually so quiet, actually had this kind of courage.

“Head Manager, I’ve already thought how to proceed and don’t need you to take the lead. Because everyone knows you have personal grievances with Wang Tiangui, if you step forward, even selfless acts would seem selfish, probably unhelpful to the cause.”

“Then why come to me?”

“You know my wife is about to give birth. I fear this lawsuit will drag on for months or years. If I’m summoned as witness to the province or capital and detained pending trial, please look after my family.”

After speaking, Second Manager Ding didn’t wait for Zhu Sheng to dissuade him again, collected those papers and left. As he pushed open the room door, he saw Third Manager standing in the courtyard center.

“You…”

“I came to report something to the Head Manager.” Third Manager appeared normal, not like someone who’d heard secrets. Second Manager Ding looked at him suspiciously several times before walking to the outer room, where he saw Jin Hu moving things into the main storage, his heart stirring.

“Jin Hu, come with me!”

Jin Hu followed Second Manager Ding out, not returning until nearly closing time. Usually cheerful and laughing, today he seemed quite absent-minded, so people joked that he must have received more reward money lately and visited the brothels.

Jin Hu didn’t argue, lying on his bed fully clothed, tossing and turning sleeplessly, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, thinking about what he’d just heard.

Second Manager Ding had originally planned to go directly to the judicial commissioner’s office to beat the drum and submit his petition, but after Zhu Sheng’s reminder, he increasingly felt this matter should be handled carefully. So he changed his mind, wanting first to post the petition outside the judicial commissioner’s office, ideally spreading this shocking news widely to cause an uproar and public outcry. If it could attract one or two investigating censors’ attention, that would be even better. Then Second Manager Ding could step forward with his petition, which naturally couldn’t be refused or uninvestigated.

This required staying in the provincial capital several days to observe the situation. If the provincial offices were also in collusion with Wang Tiangui, other plans would be needed. So Second Manager Ding wanted to send someone inconspicuous to avoid being bitten while failing to kill the tiger. He thought of Jin Hu. Jin Hu’s entry to the shop was guaranteed by him, he’d always looked after him, and knowing his warm heart had long been dissatisfied with Wang Tiangui, after much consideration, he decided to bring Jin Hu into the plan.

This matter was truly enormous. Jin Hu was also amazed upon first hearing it, stammering: “Just us two want to deal with Master Wang – can we manage it?”

“Should we just watch him continue his evil deeds!” Second Manager Ding knew that reasoning alone wouldn’t be enough to move hearts. Since Jin Hu was poor, getting his help required material incentives: “Once Wang Tiangui falls and we help the Head Manager reclaim the pawn shop, you’ll be meritorious. I guarantee you’ll get two percent equity shares.”

Jin Hu’s heart pounded. For an assistant to get equity shares, he’d have to become a manager or work ten years without major errors to get one percent, twenty years for two percent. Wanyuan Pawn was now extremely successful business – two percent equity silver would make even the wealthy landlords in his home village drool with envy. Taking it back to honor his parents and marry a beautiful wife… the thought made him swallow involuntarily.

“Business is booming now – who can guarantee Wang Tiangui won’t have other ideas? What if he ruthlessly drives out the Head Manager and purges old people? Your three years of apprentice hardship would be wasted – what money would you have to support your parents?” Second Manager Ding kept explaining the stakes, observing Jin Hu’s expression.

Jin Hu’s face changed repeatedly, finally slowly nodding: “Second Manager, you’re right. Like Manager Gu crossing Black Water Marsh, I’ll risk it all!”

Though he agreed, his heart was inevitably uneasy. The person he most admired now was Gu Pingyuan, and he’d wanted to discuss with him, but Second Manager Ding strictly ordered him to keep secrets, particularly mentioning Gu Pingyuan.

“Since you mention Manager Gu, this person seems to have no bad intentions and truly has ability, but he was recommended to the shop by Wang Tiangui after all. You must be especially careful not to leak a single word in front of him.”

Jin Hu lay in bed, sometimes worried about secrets being discovered and Wang Tiangui’s retaliation, sometimes excited by those two percent equity shares. The young man who usually fell asleep immediately was tormented by anxiety all night, tossing and turning sleeplessly.

By the fourth watch he was still wide awake. Knowing he’d missed his chance for sleep, he simply got up and went outside for air. Seeing lamplight flickering in the front hall, he went to look and found Gu Pingyuan studying at his desk.

“Up so early?” Hearing footsteps, Gu Pingyuan turned to see Jin Hu and smiled.

“I couldn’t sleep. Fourth Manager, why haven’t you slept yet?”

“After dividing into two shops, the ledgers are somewhat chaotic. I was calculating overlapping expenditure accounts, then got tired and decided to read instead.”

“Fourth Manager, you were a scholar before, weren’t you?” No one at the pawn shop knew Gu Pingyuan’s past, but seeing his manner of speech and conduct, Jin Hu naturally asked this.

Gu Pingyuan didn’t deny it: “Reading cultivates character – everyone should be a scholar. Moreover, the more you read, the more solutions you have. Like this Taiping Ku – you all said I was divinely inspired, but without seeing previous dynasty records in books, how could I have connected Buddhist temples with pawn shops?”

Gu Pingyuan paused and continued: “Jin Hu, you should also read more books.”

Jin Hu smiled bashfully: “I’m not taking examinations. I only learned to read to recognize pawn tickets – what use is reading books?”

Gu Pingyuan smiled broadly and instead of answering asked: “What do you think?”

“Hmm… reading prevents being deceived or cheated.”

Gu Pingyuan nodded: “That’s right too. Broad knowledge naturally makes one less susceptible to deception. But that’s only passive – actually, reading is precisely so that when you have ability, you can choose not to deceive or cheat others!”

This reasoning was quite deep. Actually, this was Gu Pingyuan’s recent reflection on his own experiences and the demons and monsters he’d encountered. Jin Hu couldn’t understand immediately, so Gu Pingyuan continued: “You mentioned examinations – I don’t take examinations either, yet I still read. Don’t think reading means only the ‘Four Books and Five Classics’ for eight-legged essays.” He displayed the book in his hand: “This book is called ‘Strategies of Long and Short,’ also called ‘Counter-Classics,’ written by Zhao Rui, the great Tang poet Li Bai’s teacher. It’s a strategic masterwork discussing ‘royal and hegemonic authority and transformation techniques,’ but with flexible application, everything can be used in business. Haven’t you heard ‘books contain golden houses’?”

Jin Hu listened with fascination, constantly glancing at the book. Gu Pingyuan sighed and said: “Didn’t you want to acknowledge me as master that day? I dare not presume to be anyone’s teacher, but when free, I could teach you principles from books. When you independently handle business in the future, you’ll be different from others.”

“Wonderful!” Jin Hu exclaimed. With Gu Pingyuan offering to teach him reading and business, and Second Manager Ding showing him a bright path, his eyes filled with hope. “Fourth Manager, honestly speaking, my parents are simple farmers. My greatest wish in life is to buy a house in the county seat, bring them to live here, so my father can finally soak in the bathhouse regularly.” Jin Hu smiled embarrassedly as he spoke.

“If you work diligently, you’ll definitely succeed.” Gu Pingyuan most liked filial young people, nodding warmly in encouragement.

Jin Hu chatted with Gu Pingyuan until cock-crow, pouring out all his life aspirations. Gu Pingyuan mostly just smiled and listened, occasionally interjecting. Looking at Jin Hu, he seemed to see himself carrying luggage up the long mountain road to the capital for examinations. But he didn’t expect this long conversation with Jin Hu would be their last.

“Second Manager, my father wrote saying there’s an emergency at home. I’d like to request a few days’ leave.” Several hours later, just as the pawn shop opened, Jin Hu said to Second Manager Ding entering the shop.

Gu Pingyuan was about to go to Taiping Ku when he heard this and was startled – he’d talked with Jin Hu all night, so why hadn’t Jin Hu mentioned this?

Second Manager Ding nodded unsurprised: “Go ahead, no need to rush. Handle things properly before returning.”

“Yes!” Jin Hu replied, took his packed bundle, and walking past Gu Pingyuan, avoided his questioning gaze and went straight out the pawn shop door.

Jin Hu took a courier wagon and reached Taiyuan Prefecture before nightfall. This provincial capital had countless government offices of all sizes. With rebel activity in the province, military patrols were everywhere. Jin Hu had planned to first post Second Manager Ding’s prepared notices at the governor’s and prefect’s offices, then find lodging. Seeing the tense situation, he first checked into a cheap inn, waiting for darkness to find his opportunity.

When night fell, Jin Hu came to the governor’s office. Being clever, he noticed the city’s guard soldiers were strict outside but lax inside – after the night watch, they became careless, frequently gathering at the gatehouse for hot tea and chat, leaving the snow-white walls on both sides of the main gate unguarded.

Jin Hu was secretly delighted. Finding a secluded spot to brush paste, he took out the announcement and was about to post it on the office’s high wall in three quick steps when someone suddenly tapped his shoulder from behind.

“Who?” Jin Hu shuddered and turned around.

An emotionless eye stared coldly at him while the other hid under a crooked hat. Jin Hu’s heart immediately sank like falling into a bottomless ice lake, sinking endlessly…

That night, Li Qin at Daping Trading House in the county seat suddenly woke from nightmares, sweat soaking his bedding and pillow. As the saying goes, “People fear losing face, trees fear losing bark.” Having suffered such humiliation with his business collapsed, he’d locked himself in his room upon returning home, staying inside day and night. Initially sleepless every night, then sleeping all day, but when awake he saw countless mocking figures, and when asleep they appeared in dreams, including Su Zixuan, all wearing the same expression – mockery!

“Defeated general!”

“Really disgraced Beijing merchants on the street.”

“Thought you were so capable – just a silver-plated spear tip, useless!”

Soon these originally blurred figures suddenly transformed into one clear face – his father Li Wantang.

“You’re my son? Hmph, even mice teach their children to dig holes. You’re truly dog meat unfit for banquets!”

Just as Li Qin angrily tried to retort, Li Wantang had already turned away dismissively. He reached to turn Li Wantang’s shoulder, but it was hard as iron and wouldn’t budge. Just as he was exhausted and about to give up, Li Wantang’s head suddenly turned halfway around, a face staring at him from behind, but it had become Gu Pingyuan’s features.

“Young Master Qin, you lost!”

“Ah!” Li Qin cried out and sat up, hearing the fourth watch drum called “soul-breaking.”

“Young Master Li!” A voice suddenly called from outside the door. Li Qin, still shaken, asked: “Who?”

“This humble one is Shopkeeper Zhang’s personal attendant. The shopkeeper ordered me to wait outside your door and invite you over when you awakened.”

“Tell him I’m not going.” Li Qin had long lost such spirit, replying lazily.

“Shopkeeper Zhang said to invite you to the west courtyard – the west courtyard.” The attendant emphasized the last few words tightly.

“West courtyard?” The west courtyard was Daping Trading House’s deepest compound. Since Zhang Guangfa came to Daping Trading House, he first had this courtyard sealed, then when reopened, posted guards with steel knives at the gate. Except for a few assistants personally designated by Zhang Guangfa, some others who entered never came out again. Only from the daily food boxes sent in could one tell there were quite a few people inside.