Su Minguan indeed kept his promise. Within three to five days, he returned to Defeng Trading House.
He still wore his small cool hat, his gray long gown outlining his upright figure. The motley crew of clerks at Defeng Trading House was immediately overshadowed by comparison.
Wang Quan feared being looked down upon by the foreign trading house people, so he came out from the back hall to receive him.
“What instructions do you have?”
“The sample tea sent last time was indeed of superior quality.” Su Minguan was all smiles, speaking with his eyes wide open but telling lies. “The Jardine taipan was full of praise after seeing it and plans to order five hundred dan first. Can you supply the goods?”
Wang Quan seemed to hear celestial music, so delighted he couldn’t close his mouth. He praised Young Master Su as a business genius without equal in heaven or earth, and tactfully inquired whether he could personally meet with the Jardine taipan, saying it would be Wang Quan’s great fortune of three lifetimes.
“But while your sample tea is good, the firing technique is lacking.” Su Minguan imperceptibly shifted the topic. “When you stir-fry, you could use the Jieyang stir-fried tea method – the raw wok for kill-green should be heated hotter, and the dried rough tea should be sifted again to remove tea dust, then it would be excellent.”
Each customer had different tastes, and high-end tea houses would always “customize” accordingly. Seeing him speak professionally, Wang Quan hastily agreed: “No problem, no problem! Once our shoulder-pole merchants collect new tea, we’ll start processing immediately! All according to Young Master’s instructions!”
Wang Quan urged Mr. Zhan to record this business deal, then pushed his glasses and reminded with a smile:
“Young Master, this… the deposit…”
Su Minguan was straightforward, slapping down a draft from London’s Ritz Bank.
Wang Quan could at least recognize Arabic numerals. After looking for a long while, he said awkwardly: “Young Master, this… this is only one-fifth of the standard rate…”
Su Minguan laughed: “Do you think I don’t know the trade rules? Payment on delivery, the remaining deposit counts as a loan, market rate interest – what’s your hurry!”
Seeing his familiarity with the business, Wang Quan could only laugh and apologize. Foreign merchants had privileges and often delayed payments – he had no recourse.
Anyway, his Defeng Trading House was just an intermediary. If foreign trading houses delayed payment, those who suffered losses weren’t them, but the upstream tea farmers who supplied goods. When tea farmers couldn’t receive payment and urgently needed capital turnover, Defeng Trading House would even lend to them, collecting interest for nothing.
As for the foreign merchants, getting cash payment was naturally good, but this was usually limited to newcomers to China. Those veteran foreign merchants were much more shameless, delaying as long as possible. Fortunately, the delayed time also counted as interest. Defeng Trading House didn’t lose money on either end.
At this time, Lin Yuchan finished her work in the back courtyard and came to the front hall to arrange goods.
When Su Minguan saw her, his gaze merely skimmed over her body like a dragonfly touching water, as if he hadn’t noticed her at all.
Wang Quan diligently poured tea for him. He curled the fingers of his right hand and casually knocked twice on the table surface, but it was directed toward Lin Yuchan.
“Good tea, Shopkeeper Wang has spent generously.” He praised casually as if nothing had happened, then asked: “When can work begin?”
Wang Quan: “At the latest, ten days from now! Young Master, rest assured!”
Su Minguan nodded, then suddenly asked rashly: “May I supervise on site when the time comes?”
Wang Quan’s expression changed slightly, and he smiled even more obsequiously, saying a bunch of things like “inconvenient” and “not possible.”
Only Lin Yuchan was greatly puzzled. This wasn’t the first time he’d asked this question. Since he already knew Wang Quan wouldn’t possibly agree, why ask knowingly again?
She tried hard to signal him with her eyes. Su Minguan acted as if he didn’t notice.
He even ordered her around: “Girl, the tea has gone cold.”
Wang Quan quickly snatched the cup from his hands: “Young Master is young but should still be particular about proprieties. In the business world, why would there be a reason for a woman to serve you tea? I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”
Who knew Young Master Su would give no face: “Your hands are dirty.”
Wang Quan: “…I’ll go wash my hands.”
Taking advantage of Wang Quan turning around, Su Minguan glanced at Lin Yuchan and quickly placed his index finger vertically on his lips.
Sure enough, after Su Minguan left, Wang Quan watched Mr. Zhan keep accounts while muttering: “Foreign devils are cunning, especially the Jardine foreign devils. If they genuinely want to do business, that’s fine, but I fear they’re using this as an excuse to steal our family’s techniques…”
“Hey!” He called Lin Yuchan over to ask: “You’ve dealt with Su Minguan a lot – have you ever seen anything suspicious about him?”
Lin Yuchan hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
Wang Quan thought for a while, then called several clerks and instructed them to add more staff to the tea-roasting workshop for extra supervision, strictly forbidding strangers from entering.
However, Shopkeeper Wang’s worries soon became unnecessary. A few days later, teams of patrolling soldiers suddenly appeared throughout the city, beating gongs and drums to disturb the people. Even business on Shangxiajiu became sluggish. Not to mention strangers, even mice hid when they heard the noise.
The soldiers shouted: “Harboring remnants of secret societies is the same crime as harboring rebels…”
The common people were amazed and whispered to each other: “Heaven and Earth Society – those secret society rebels, weren’t they already exterminated? Hasn’t the whole city been searched several times already?”
Those with better information lowered their voices and said: “How could it be so easy! Isn’t this because the Emperor has passed away and can no longer suppress them? I heard that rebel leader Jin Lanhe, whose head was already hanging on the city wall, came back to life overnight, carrying his head, shouting secret society passwords, summoning ghost soldiers at midnight, continuing to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming!”
Everyone was frightened by this eerie image and stuck out their tongues, saying: “This isn’t Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio – how can someone live after being beheaded?”
The answer came: “Who knows! Perhaps his obsession was too deep, his spirit wouldn’t disperse…”
Others guessed: “The Heaven and Earth Society has strong connections with the northern Taiping. Those Taiping troops worship the foreign God and have some supernatural arts – bringing the dead back to life isn’t impossible.”
Still others described vividly: “Yes! Aren’t there still many rebels locked in the prefectural yamen’s prison? I heard that Jin Lanhe appeared in the prison at midnight, and with one wave of his bloody hand, the locks opened silently. My cousin’s brother-in-law’s father-in-law works as a jailer there and was nearly scared to death! Fortunately, they always keep dog’s blood ready in the prison, so they quickly splashed it over, and only then did Jin Lanhe’s ghost disperse! – If they’d let him release the rebels, wouldn’t the city be in chaos!”
Everyone expressed amazement. Someone laughed: “That might not necessarily be bad – what if they go after the foreigners…”
Guangzhou City had experienced two Opium Wars, and ordinary people didn’t like foreigners much. Everyone imagined the scene of “rebels and foreigners both suffering losses,” their worries lessened slightly, and they all showed gloating smiles.
Finally concluding: “Our Great Qing has heavenly fortune – that ghost can’t cause much trouble. We common folk should still say less to avoid bringing disaster upon ourselves.”
The servants and maids of the Qi family garden, as well as the clerks of Defeng Trading House, naturally also discussed this strange affair. However, they weren’t so optimistic.
The reason was quite simple. The last “bandit suppression” had caused blood to flow like rivers throughout Guangzhou City. It was thanks to Defeng Trading House’s proprietor, Old Master Qi, contributing money and men that the then-prefect specially awarded Old Master Qi a large plaque reading “Sharing the Nation’s Worries.”
Now that the rebels had seemingly risen from the dead, didn’t this mean the old master’s “sharing of national worries” was insufficient, perfunctory, and completely ineffective?
Making matters worse, when Emperor Xianfeng died, he had designated eight regent ministers to assist the young emperor. But that Empress Dowager was ambitious – before the late emperor’s body was even cold, she had plotted to eliminate the eight ministers and rule from behind the curtain herself. When the eight ministers fell, it pulled up radishes and brought out mud throughout officialdom. Half of Guangzhou’s officials, great and small, fell with them, and Old Master Qi’s heavily invested network of connections vanished overnight.
Who didn’t know that Guangzhou’s foreign trade merchants were rich as oil and had always been targets of government extortion? With all these events coming together, Old Master Qi would have to bleed heavily and spend money to ward off disaster.
Everyone lowered their voices and shook their heads in commentary: “Alas, the Empress Dowager rules from behind the curtain – the hen crows at dawn. The days ahead won’t be easy.”
For several consecutive days, Defeng Trading House had few visitors, and successful business deals could be counted on one hand.
Kou Laicai had no small fees to pilfer either. Lin Yuchan’s “black eating black” business had little income – she only supplemented Aunt Hong’s meal expenses once and remained empty-handed herself.
The vast majority of maids and servants in the Qi mansion, though of slave status, all had some pocket money – the master’s family would occasionally distribute old clothes and shoes, servants could sell old items the master discarded, and during holidays, there would be small red envelopes as a show of favor.
Only Lin Yuchan was different. She had been bought by Wang Quan in his capacity and ended up doing odd jobs at the tea house. Wang Quan not selling her was already a blessing – wanting wages was a pipe dream.
So no matter how much work she did, it was all for nothing – she forever belonged to the proletariat.
“I need to think of a way to save money for redemption,” Lin Yuchan thought. “Wang Quan definitely won’t sell at cost price – I’d need to save at least twenty taels to have any hope.”
But saving money was easier said than done. If she were a senior employee of the tea house, like a bookkeeper or interpreter, she might be able to take small kickbacks when negotiating business. As long as she wasn’t too greedy and didn’t damage the tea house’s reputation, the shopkeeper usually turned a blind eye, treating this as extra employee benefits.
But Lin Yuchan certainly wouldn’t get such good opportunities. Wang Quan wished she would bend over doing hard labor every day. Even knowing she could calculate accounts and would significantly help the tea house’s profits, he refused to actively let her get involved in business matters, except for Su Minguan’s order, and that was only because Young Master Su specifically asked for her.
This was the consensus of all Guangzhou merchant houses. How could a woman do business like a man? This would upset Yin and Yang and affect fortune!
This day, after Lin Yuchan finished arranging the shelves and had just climbed down from the ladder, Wang Quan drove her to the back courtyard, viciously ordering: “Hide in the back, don’t come out! If you come out, I’ll beat you to death!”
Lin Yuchan: “The mold spots on the wall aren’t finished wiping…”
Wang Quan: “Don’t wipe them! Get out!”
He threw her two rags and slammed the door with a bang.
Lin Yuchan had become completely immune to such harsh words and shrugged, happy to rest.
She soon understood why the shopkeeper had angrily ordered her to hide. Before long, she heard gongs and drums on the street outside, a crowd approaching in great numbers, followed by the sound of sedan chairs being set down.
A gentle voice drifted through the shop entrance: “Please, Your Excellency, Prefect, please.”
Lin Yuchan looked through cracks in the wooden partition, dazzled by what she saw.
A high official wearing a cap with rank insignia had just stepped down from a sedan chair. After modest exchanges, he strolled into Defeng Trading House’s shop floor. Though it was still scorching hot in Guangzhou’s late autumn, the official wore a blue gauze summer official robe meticulously, revealing the bamboo undergarment beneath. A group of attendants followed behind, fanning him.
Beside the official, attended a slightly balding wealthy gentleman – Old Master Qi, proprietor of Defeng Trading House.
Lin Yuchan had seen this master several times in the Qi family garden. Each time he was followed by a group of concubines, and servants would kneel in greeting when they saw him. He would stride forward with his head held high, eyes straight ahead, like a lion surveying its territory.
Old Master Qi fancied himself refined and wrote several poems daily. A private secretary followed him constantly, never without brush and ink, helping the master record inspiration. Every year, he spent heavily having his poetry printed and bound in elegant classical style as gifts to distribute everywhere – reportedly quite popular with foreigners.
However, today Old Master Qi had neither brush and ink nor a secretary beside him. He also wore gauze official robes and cap insignia, but his bearing was completely incompatible with the real official beside him. His smile was humble as he bowed in greeting.
“Greetings to Your Excellency, the Prefect! With Your Excellency newly appointed, this humble one hasn’t yet had time to prepare gifts and call – truly deserving of death, haha… Your Excellency, honoring our humble establishment today brings great luster… please sit, please sit.”
Defeng Trading House had multiple branches in Guangzhou, and this “flagship store” had the most spacious shop floor with five or six tea tables, easily accommodating multiple customers simultaneously. But today, with this dignified official seated inside, surrounded by deputy officials, assistants, and attending servants crowding shoulder to shoulder, the shop seemed overly cramped, unable to contain this great Buddha.
Wang Quan personally ran errands, climbing the ladder to fetch the shop’s most expensive oolong tea. Old Master Qi personally boiled water. Halfway through tea preparation, the prefect spoke up, saying he’d just arrived in Guangzhou and was suffering from acclimatization and internal heat.
Without a word, Old Master Qi ordered Wang Quan to go three streets away to buy the currently popular Wang Laoji herbal tea packets to cool the heat for all the officials.
For a moment, the shop was filled with tea vapor, quite similar in effect to the opium den across the street.
After Old Master Qi had properly attended to the prefect, he tactfully inquired: “Our humble shop floor is cramped and difficult to properly accommodate Your Excellency. This subordinate has reserved a table of Western dishes at ‘Taiping Restaurant’ – why doesn’t Your Excellency move there, so this subordinate can fulfill his duty as host…”
“No need!” the prefect laughed. “It would seem as if this official came to cadge a meal. Just sitting here and having a simple meal will suffice – ah, that Taiping Restaurant’s foreign dishes are said to be quite good. Come to think of it, this official hasn’t been there yet.”
Old Master Qi immediately understood, instructing Wang Quan: “Why don’t you hurry to Taiping Restaurant to order dishes! Remember to keep them warm over a charcoal fire – don’t let them get cold!”
Lin Yuchan hid behind the wooden partition, watching as a Western feast unfolded inside – the aromas of braised oxtail, roasted squab, and Portuguese chicken wafted over in waves. She took several deep breaths.
In her hand, she clutched a small butter roll – something that had rolled out of the takeout boxes during the clerks’ confusion, which she’d quickly snatched up without anyone noticing – and swallowed it in a few bites.