Rong Hong’s Chinese social circle was narrow, and he hardly knew any Chinese girls to begin with—there certainly wasn’t a second one surnamed Lin.

When Lin Yuchan first saw her name appear in Rong Hong’s writing, she was indeed bewildered for quite a while, not knowing whether it was a blessing or a curse.

Her first reaction at the time was that Rong Hong had once again presented her with a tremendous challenge.

Now, looking at Chang Baoluo and the group of clerks with their slightly guarded expressions, she knew her premonition had come true.

“I know. I met Mr. Rong late, I’m young, and I’m a woman,” she faced these uncles and elder brothers directly, speaking without emotion. “But I am Mr. Rong’s partner. All of you are merely employees. I believe Mr. Rong’s choice to have me handle these matters was a decision made after deep consideration. I will do my utmost and will not disappoint his trust.”

As expected, no one spoke from the other side. Everyone looked at each other, their expressions showing dissatisfaction mixed with three parts embarrassment.

Lin Yuchan turned her head slightly and said softly, “The window isn’t closed. Insects easily get in during this season.”

She left the small sofa and got up to close the window opposite.

The clerks’ gazes immediately focused on Chang Baoluo.

Although Chang Baoluo wasn’t very old, he had the most seniority in terms of experience. He had worked diligently for several years, and while he had no great achievements, he also had no major mistakes. He had a good temperament, and everyone got along harmoniously with him and was willing to follow his lead.

Chang Baoluo felt restless under everyone’s gaze, his pale, round face slightly flushed red. After a long while, he made up his mind, stood up, and walked to Lin Yuchan’s side.

“Miss Lin,” he mustered his courage and said in a low voice, “It’s not that we don’t trust you…”

Lin Yuchan fastened the small window lock and turned around.

“Baoluo,” she called him by his name directly, raising her gaze to meet his eyes, her tone flat but with an unquestionable decisiveness. “When you and I had our conflict back then, Mr. Rong chose to keep you and not me because at that time Boya Trading House hadn’t yet faced a life-or-death crisis. He still treated business and making money as a hobby, naturally prioritizing personal relationships over money. But now it’s different. All his assets since returning to China have been invested in Boya. These assets are his life’s work and also his backing. Not only his, but yours and mine too—none of us can allow these assets to be treated carelessly. In this matter, my abilities exceed yours.”

She finished speaking in one breath and saw Chang Baoluo lower his eyes, his expression somewhat at a loss.

She smiled kindly and softened her voice: “I speak directly, which might sound harsh. But whether this is reasonable or not, please think about it yourself.”

Facing a group of middle-aged and young men, she didn’t dare to be too aggressive. But in a one-on-one confrontation with Chang Baoluo, she felt much more confident.

Chang Baoluo looked at this seventeen-year-old girl. She was petite, and no matter how mature her behavior, her features still retained the innocence of a young girl. He had never seen her cry, but he could imagine that if she did, it would surely be heartbreakingly pitiful, making one want to set aside everything to comfort her.

Yet it was precisely this seemingly delicate and fragile little girl whose words were like knives, each word final and decisive, outlining an unshakeable attitude.

Without any mercy, she told him, “You are not as good as I.”

Although Chang Baoluo had a gentle temperament, he was still a literate man. Being suddenly judged this way by a girl several years younger than him, his first reaction was offended anger.

But then, he sadly discovered that he seemed to have no grounds for rebuttal.

He had also worked with Rong Hong for so many years—why wasn’t he a partner by now?

Boya Trading House had always been just getting by over the years. He thought it was because the leadership set a bad example for the subordinates—after all, Rong Hong himself wasn’t serious about it. But she had established a branch, and in less than a year, he watched helplessly as her sales volume left the main office far behind.

Chang Baoluo finally found his bottom line and insisted quietly: “But we’re more familiar with this place.”

“I know.” Lin Yuchan said amiably. “Although Mr. Rong didn’t explain in detail in his letter, he certainly hopes you can assist me. He was a hands-off manager before, and the shop’s operations relied on us few. Let’s pool our wisdom and work together.”

Chang Baoluo had nothing more to say, nodded, and returned to the other clerks.

“Listen to Miss Lin.”

When he said these five words, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had shed a heavy burden.

At the same time, he thought with bitter amusement that his inexplicable infatuation with this girl back then might have been a case of lacking something and envying what one doesn’t have—he was attracted to that strength and decisiveness that he lacked.

Looking back now, fortunately, she hadn’t agreed. Otherwise, how humble his position at home would have been in the future…

The other clerks, seeing that even Chang Baoluo was willing to accept Lin Yuchan’s leadership, could only adjust their attitudes and nod along.

Everyone was a respectable person recruited by Rong Hong—all honest and reasonable. They wouldn’t break relationships over some empty titles.

Besides, this was a matter concerning the life and death of the shop. It wasn’t some internal power struggle.

Everything was for the public good. The people Rong Hong had recruited still had this level of awareness.

Lin Yuchan thanked everyone.

Chang Baoluo asked: “What do you plan to do with Boya? Finding someone to take over completely should be the most convenient approach…”

Lin Yuchan shook her head and spoke her first statement since assuming temporary leadership.

“My intention is not to dispose of it.”

—

Chang Baoluo’s expression froze. The clerks were also surprised.

“But the master’s letter said…”

Lin Yuchan: “Mr. Rong is detained in prison, worried about asset loss, which is why he wants to quickly liquidate Boya’s assets. Everyone knows litigation burns money, so the main issue in this matter isn’t how to sell Boya, but ensuring he has enough money to persist in fighting to the end.”

This was her thinking after reading Rong Hong’s letter and pondering it for a whole night.

If they disposed of Boya now, it would be too wasteful. When Rong Hong regained his freedom, he would have nothing but a little money, equivalent to returning to square one when he first returned to China.

Better to struggle to survive—even if operations stagnated, as long as they persisted until his return, there would be hope for a restart.

A clerk immediately said: “Miss, we understand your good intentions. But this time the master has gotten involved with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom matter, how can you be certain… certain that he…”

They didn’t dare say the second half of the sentence, but the meaning was clear in their expressions.

How can you be certain that Rong Hong can come out alive?

Some even thought pessimistically that if Rong Hong couldn’t survive this time, disposing of Boya early would at least leave more money for his relatives back home, not wasting their time working together.

If it came to that tragic end, keeping his shop open one more day would mean more risks and complications for others.

Lin Yuchan said decisively: “Good people have heaven’s protection. He is pillar material for the nation—heaven won’t be so eager to take him. “

Perhaps this world’s trajectory would be slightly adjusted due to her arrival, but she was certain that history’s general direction wouldn’t deviate. As long as they didn’t court disaster, Rong Hong would live as long as he was supposed to—he would even live to see the Republic established.

What she could do was shorten his unlucky days as much as possible.

Compared to these panicked and helpless “ancients” before her, her only tiny advantage was harboring hope in her heart.

Darkness would eventually pass—why speak lightly of giving up?

So she stated her position again: “Mr. Rong authorized me to handle his shop. If I ask everyone to work together to ‘manage’ Boya until Mr. Rong returns safely, I wonder if you would be willing to endure hardship for a while longer?”

Everyone’s expressions moved slightly as they quietly looked at each other’s faces.

After so many years working together, their friendship was still deep. Rong Hong wasn’t the kind of unscrupulous boss who exploited people—he got along with his employees more like friends.

But accountant Zhao Huaisheng still objected.

“I’m naturally willing. But this isn’t realistic. The cash on the books is almost exhausted, and there’s still the penalty we have to pay for breach of contract…”

Zhao Huaisheng wasn’t a career-oriented man—he used to be the first to leave work every day. Although his professional abilities were strong, he never managed anything he could avoid.

His speaking up to intervene this time showed how desperate the situation was.

“Let’s try our best to seek accommodation from people. For those who won’t accommodate, we’ll pay the penalty first—we can’t damage Mr. Rong’s reputation.” Lin Yuchan immediately responded. “I have fourteen hundred pounds in cash here that can support us for a while longer.”

From the eighteen hundred pounds she had obtained from the customs, she had left two hundred pounds for bribing people at Yixing, kept another two hundred for herself to handle future emergencies. The remaining fourteen hundred pounds would all go to emergency relief.

From one pound to fifty pounds, she had various denominations. She counted them one by one in a thick stack, letting everyone see clearly. Then she took out two hundred, put them in a locked money box, and stuffed the rest back into her small waist pouch.

“The remaining banknotes are in my Hongkou safe. Everyone uses them sparingly. Even if it’s not entirely legal expenses, record everything item by item. Come to me when you need money.”

Chang Baoluo drew a light breath: “Miss Lin, where did this money come from?”

“Remaining funds.” Lin Yuchan didn’t explain further. “If there are still uncollected remaining funds here at the main office, please, everyone, run around more and collect as much as possible. For bank loans, even if we have to increase the monthly interest, we need to apply for extensions. If they need Mr. Rong’s signature, this handwritten letter can serve as a power of attorney—see if they’ll accommodate and let me handle it. Also…”

Lin Yuchan suddenly stopped speaking and looked carefully at each clerk’s face.

“I have another unreasonable request.” She lowered her voice, her expression sincere. “During this period, could you take only half your salary so we can weather this crisis together? If anyone truly has difficulties, I can pay this month’s full wages on Mr. Rong’s behalf, then we’ll part on good terms. As for myself, I won’t take a penny of dividends until Mr. Rong returns—everything goes to public use.”

She systematically assigned tasks. After finishing this long speech, she stood up and bowed to everyone.

Everyone hurriedly stood up to return the courtesy.

“Miss, what kind of talk is this? If we can fight for the master’s safe return, we’d be happy to work for free!”

“Whoever walks away patting their butt now—wouldn’t that be lacking in virtue!”

“If you’re not taking money, how can we feel right taking half?”

“Little one, think carefully—if this goes wrong, it’s like drawing water with a bamboo basket—you’ll end up with nothing!”

Righteous people don’t fear sacrifice—they only fear meaningless sacrifice.

Lin Yuchan smiled: “I’m single with no family to feed, but you all have families and children—we can’t let them all drink the northwest wind.”

She added, “I have reliable friends helping with arrangements. Next month is the emperor’s birthday, and government offices won’t handle business, giving us ample time to operate. It’s just that we might have to live more austerely. But I think Boya has become like a second home to all of you. To keep this home from falling apart, let’s tighten our belts for these few months.”

Chang Baoluo was the first to nod: “Good.”

The others also expressed their positions one after another: “We can endure hardship for a few months. If there’s still no news by autumn, we’ll seek other opportunities.”

Unknowingly, they had all accepted Miss Lin’s leadership.

Lin Yuchan immediately invited everyone to write down today’s consensus on paper, with everyone signing and marking their seals, then hanging it on the wall behind the counter.

The “Boya Trading House Temporary Joint Management Committee” began operating at full speed from this day.

—

At Shiliupu Wharf inside Shanghai County, green trees were beginning to provide shade, the weather was gradually warming, and waterbirds were becoming active, flying back and forth close to the water surface.

Large and small boats came and went, with dock workers unloading cargo so busy their feet barely touched the ground. Narrow bamboo walkways stretched across the water, leading to steel steamships moored in deep water. Countless bare-chested workers carried loads on their shoulders and in their hands, like ants moving house, carrying load after load of goods onto the steamships.

Lin Yuchan stood by a large tree, her face half-covered with a head scarf, observing from a distance.

This was the emerging Liangguang migrant short-term labor market mentioned in the *North China Herald*.

Local Shanghai short-term workers continued to be in short supply, demanding higher and higher wages. She could still afford them before, but now that Boya Trading House was struggling to survive, with almost no new orders and old orders still needing completion, this expense for short-term workers became increasingly glaring.

There weren’t many people at the wharf. About a dozen young Guangdong men waiting for business, habitually dressed too lightly, rubbing their hands and stamping their feet, were still not quite adapted to Shanghai’s climate. There were also several short, stocky Hakka women with natural feet, loudly discussing in dialect which employers were most generous with money, which intermediaries specialized in cheating people, and complaining that Shanghai’s police and constables were too meddlesome—they were scolded for going barefoot on the streets and had to spend money on shoes.

The wharf had a fishy smell. Lin Yuchan greedily listened to the hometown dialect for a while, figuring out the market rules here.

Indeed, it was slightly cheaper than local Shanghai workers. But lodging and meals had to be provided, and the bedding had to be extra thick.

Suddenly, several female voices drifted to her ears: “…probably no food again today, so unlucky… hurry up, maybe there’s still work…”

Lin Yuchan suddenly turned to look. This voice sounded so familiar!

Four or five young women squeezed through the crowd. They carried shoulder poles in their hands, their hair arranged in shiny black buns on top of their heads, but they were dressed thinly, their faces etched with wind, frost, and sorrow.

Lin Yuchan could hardly believe it. Disregarding the stares of people nearby, she rushed over and grabbed one of them.

“Aunt Hong?”

After more than a year apart, Aunt Hong’s appearance was largely unchanged, just with a few more lines around her eyes and complete exhaustion in her movements.

Aunt Hong was stunned, looking for a long time before recognizing her.

“…Little sister? Miss Lin? You’ve grown taller.”

The last time Aunt Hong saw Lin Yuchan was on the small boat going to Haizhuang Temple. The thin girl was covered in suspicious bloodstains, startled like a little deer, clutching Young Master Minguan’s jade pendant, speaking incoherently as she begged her to row quickly and avoid the soldiers’ sight.

Meeting unexpectedly in a foreign place, Aunt Hong’s tears rolled down as she opened her arms to embrace her, laughing: “It’s you!”

Lin Yuchan looked at the sisters beside Aunt Hong. She recognized two of them—they were the ones who used to dry fish with Aunt Hong. She hadn’t seen the others before, but their hair was arranged in the same style, so they should all be Shunde combed-up women.

Why were they here?

Lin Yuchan stammered: “I… I wrote you a letter…”

“Received it last year. Had someone read it and knew you were safe.” Aunt Hong seemed worried, quickly glancing behind her. “Originally, I was living quite well in Guangzhou, but after my mother died, my uncles forced me to marry. In anger, I left with several sisters, wanting to come to Shanghai to find you. But…”

Lin Yuchan said urgently, “Didn’t the person reading the letter read it completely? I told you to find my address at the Maritime Customs…”

Not to wander in this short-term labor market!

Looking at their appearance—hungry one meal, full the next—this hadn’t been going on for just a day or two. One of them had obvious slap marks on her face.

Suddenly a big man charged over from the side, wearing a bright silk shirt, his chest bulging with two muscles, a head taller than this group of girls.

The man had a fierce face and came over pushing Aunt Hong: “What are you chatting about? How much wages did you earn today? Hurry up and find work! If you don’t save enough money, I’ll move you somewhere else tomorrow!”

The girls beside Aunt Hong retreated in panic, responding submissively.

“And you…”

The big man casually tried to push Lin Yuchan, but she nimbly dodged. Only then did he realize this was an unfamiliar face and demanded, “Who are you?”

Unexpectedly, this smallest girl actually puffed out her chest, raised her head, and asked righteously: “Who are you? Why are you pushing her?”

Only then did the big man notice that Lin Yuchan was wearing thick, substantial clothing, and her complexion was much better than Aunt Hong and the others. He didn’t know which random woman had wandered in.

He spat at Lin Yuchan: “This isn’t a place for you. Get lost!”

Lin Yuchan had a thought and asked Aunt Hong softly: “You’re not… under someone’s control, are you?”

The Shanghai Bund was full of criminal forces—cart drivers had cart tyrants, road builders had road tyrants, even daily waste collectors had waste tyrants. They tacitly divided territories, and sometimes, to fight over a chamber pot of good waste, they wouldn’t hesitate to fight with manure forks flying, making entire alleys stink.

Having several “labor tyrants” in this emerging Shiliupu short-term labor market was perfectly normal.

The big man smiled sinisterly: “What do you mean controlled? These women owe my boss fifty taels in boat fare. Once they pay it back, we’ll let them go! Get lost! If you don’t leave, I’ll report you to the authorities!”

Lin Yuchan looked at Aunt Hong. Aunt Hong nodded with a worried frown, saying quietly: “We’ll pay it back slowly—we can always pay it back. We blame ourselves for being illiterate and not understanding the local language, so we signed a bad contract. But fortunately it’s just selling labor, not…”

Lin Yuchan was so angry that she laughed coldly.

This was exactly like Boss Chu back then!

Though, at most, a low-budget version of Chu Nanyun. Perhaps knowing that Aunt Hong and the others couldn’t be exploited for much, the extortion was only fifty taels—not enough to buy himself a coffin.

But…

How many years would it take for illiterate women selling labor to save fifty taels? This scam of making them do hard labor was probably just the first step. Once these comb-over women were completely controlled and their will worn down, they inevitably wouldn’t be able to avoid being made to do some business that made money faster.

Someone noticed the commotion here, and two more burly men surrounded them, asking roughly: “Who’s causing trouble here? Where’s the order?”

They seemed to be breaking up a fight, but they all stood behind the first big man. Several strong men pointed, their fingers almost poking Lin Yuchan’s eyes.

Nearby dock workers saw the noise here—a little girl being surrounded and scolded by several big men. They all shook their heads with sympathetic looks, but didn’t dare come to mediate.

Aunt Hong was so anxious that she pushed Lin Yuchan: “Little sister, go. When we pay back the money, we’ll come find you.”

She said “pay back the money” very loudly, for the labor tyrant to hear.

Aunt Hong kept signaling her with her eyes, saying quietly in Cantonese: “We’ll find a chance to escape!”

Lin Yuchan nodded but didn’t leave.

She remained calm and said to the labor tyrant: “These sisters are helpers wanted by Yixing Boat Company on Suzhou Creek. Let them go.”

The big man was still arrogantly spitting saliva, not hearing clearly at first: “Huh?”

Lin Yuchan stared at the strong man who was twice her height and said in a low voice: “Yixing Boat Company. Wasn’t I clear enough?”

The big man’s expression changed slightly.

This intruding little girl was only seventeen or eighteen, with thin arms and legs that looked like they’d break with one twist. But when she lowered her head and raised her eyes again, her temperament completely changed. When she spoke the four words “Yixing Boat Company,” the big man couldn’t help but shudder all over, as the person before him transformed into a domineering flower.

Lin Yuchan wasn’t completely confident either. Yixing’s business scope was mainly limited to the foreign settlement; in the county town, where government informants were numerous, especially in mixed places like the wharf, they hadn’t quite penetrated yet.

She had made up her mind that if the other party didn’t buy this bluff, she’d run to get reinforcements. The nearest Yixing member shop was less than a mile away, and with her connections and Bai Yushan’s status, she could completely bring back several burly men to boost her presence.

She stared fearlessly at the big man’s bull eyes, pretending that the ancestral masters of the Hongmen were standing behind her, with a cold smirk at the corner of her mouth.

“Do I need to say it a third time?”

The several labor tyrants looked at each other. Their tightly clenched fists loosened.

Someone uncertainly discussed with their companion: “How does Yixing manage here too…”

“How can they not manage? Lin Yuchan sneered. “The Yixing boss is from Guangdong. You’re cheating his fellow countrymen—do you think that’s reasonable?”

She thought that today was an emergency, so she’d have to use provincial ties to make her case. Someday, she’d make it so that people from all over the country wouldn’t dare to bully others.

Aunt Hong had been beaten and scolded quite a bit recently. Seeing Lin Yuchan dare to quarrel directly with the labor tyrants, she was initially frightened and trembling. But then she discovered that Miss Lin seemed to have powerful backing, making those unreasonable labor tyrant men quite wary—they hadn’t even laid a hand on her so far. She was overjoyed.

She also boldly waved her shoulder pole and chimed in: “Otherwise, take out the contract you tricked me into signing and let’s go to the authorities to judge who’s right!”

Seeing more and more people gathering here, even passersby coming to watch the excitement, pointing at the novel combed-up women hairstyles.

The labor tyrant men gritted their teeth until they chattered. After a long while, they spat out one word from the root of their tongues.

“Scram!”

Lin Yuchan held out her hand: “The contract.”

Several balls of stinking paper were thrown at her feet.

Lin Yuchan picked them up, glanced at them briefly, pulled Aunt Hong, and ran.

Several comb-over women dropped their shoulder poles and followed.

Lin Yuchan had a sudden thought and shouted back: “Come to Yixing headquarters tomorrow to apologize yourselves!”

The big men dared to be angry but not to speak, jumping in place with rage, but didn’t dare chase after them.

Lin Yuchan’s heart was pounding, thrilled, and trembling all over.

Only magic can defeat magic. The only thing that can make criminal forces bow down is another criminal force.

—

They ran to the Yixing teahouse. Lin Yuchan ordered a table full of tea and food to calm the sisters down.

The teahouse served Cantonese dim sum. After a long time, Aunt Hong finally tasted the flavors of home and was moved to tears.