The prefect’s purpose wasn’t hard to guess – he’d come to make Old Master Qi “donate.”

“…Originally thought the bandit troubles were eliminated, but unexpectedly rumors have risen again today, preventing the people from living in peace.” The prefect spoke unhurriedly. “Master Qi, as a talent in the business world, should naturally share the nation’s worries. This official has decided that land forces and naval forces will jointly search and capture, and we must get to the bottom of these Jin Lanhe rumors. It’s just that Master Qi also knows that lately the imperial court’s finances have been tight, and we local officials must also share His Majesty’s concerns…”

The muscles in Old Master Qi’s face twitched slightly as he forced a smile: “This… Your Excellency, the Prefect, having just taken office, perhaps hasn’t heard that our firm has always contributed to the likin bureau, and the taxes for the defense preparation bureau and donation bureau have never been lacking…”

The prefect smiled: “Those are all daily local expenditures that this official doesn’t manage. But this Jin Lanhe is truly arrogant, engaging in supernatural trickery right under this official’s nose – he’s a threat to all of Guangzhou City. Surely Master Qi wouldn’t stand by with folded arms?”

With words reaching this point, Old Master Qi had no choice but to quickly stand up and pledge loyalty: “This subordinate is willing to exhaust his humble abilities to serve the Great Qing! This subordinate is willing to donate… military provisions of ten thousand taels!”

“Very good,” the prefect’s smile bloomed as he gave him an approving look. “This official has heard that Master Qi has always been highly regarded by Chinese and foreign merchants alike. I believe when Master Qi raises his arms and calls out, Guangzhou’s business community will actively respond.”

The muscles in Old Master Qi’s face involuntarily twitched again as he smiled and nodded.

“This is natural. This subordinate will have people launch fundraising in the merchant association, hmm… one hundred thousand taels. One hundred thousand taels should be no problem. When the time comes, one hundred and ten thousand taels of gleaming silver will represent the sincere patriotic hearts of our Guangzhou business community. Please accept them, Your Excellency, the Prefect.”

The Great Qing’s officialdom couldn’t be called clean and bright. When military funds were insufficient, making up the difference with donations was standard practice.

The prefect used his chopsticks to pick up a lump of curry-mixed rice and put it in his mouth, frowning as he savored the curry’s mild spiciness, saying nothing for a moment.

Old Master Qi felt somewhat awkward, not knowing which words he’d spoken inappropriately, his chopsticks suspended in midair.

After quite a while, the prefect finally finished savoring the flavor and smiled: “This is excellent. This prefecture has always believed in enriching the people, and the trading houses have abundant, ready silver. In this official’s view, fundraising one hundred thousand taels is no problem. Then this official will await Master Qi’s good news – oh, and if the fundraising exceeds the target, this official will also considerately return Master Qi’s ten thousand taels, counting it as returning a favor to Master Qi – we can’t let Master Qi work for nothing, right?”

Old Master Qi stood up and tearfully bowed in gratitude: “Your Excellency, the Prefect is wise! This subordinate has no way to repay this kindness!”

The meal was enjoyed by both host and guest. The prefect patted his belly, had his subordinates bring Western perfume to spray on his body to cover the food odors, then arranged his cap insignia and official robes and strolled out with measured steps, as if he’d merely come to inspect the work.

Of course, the attendants behind him didn’t come out empty-handed – ten boxes of refined oolong tea, wrapped in small packets with tin foil and contained in exquisite tin cans, were carried up onto the sedan chairs.

Additionally, Old Master Qi pulled out a newly printed collection of his poems from his bosom, casually slipped a bank draft inside, and requested the prefect’s criticism and guidance.

Tea leaves and books as parting gifts were both low-key and intimate, making the prefect appear both honest and personable.

After Old Master Qi saw off the prefect, his expression immediately darkened as he cursed under his breath: “His bottom hasn’t even warmed the seat, and he already knows how to grab money. These ‘parent officials’ are all taught by the same master!”

That table of sumptuous Western dishes had barely been touched, and he had no appetite to eat. He waved for people to pile them haphazardly in the kitchen while he kept a dark expression and called Wang Quan over for lengthy consultation.

Wang Quan subsequently summoned all the clerks, calling out by name all the clerks and workers with some seniority, commanding: “Follow the master!”

Some confused ones still asked: “What for? Aren’t we doing business today?”

Wang Quan was extremely impatient: “To solicit donations!”

When the government created pretexts to raise military funds, Defeng Trading House, as an industry leader that had risen rapidly in recent years, had to play an exemplary leading role. It wasn’t enough for them to donate alone – they also had to encourage others to donate.

“Our Defeng Trading House has already donated ten thousand taels – if you don’t contribute money, does that look right?”

But no one’s money came from the wind. What to do when others were unwilling to donate? Only “solicit donations.”

Seeing this “donation solicitation” form, Lin Yuchan knew it probably wasn’t just “soliciting” in the simple sense.

Moreover, Old Master Qi wasn’t doing this kind of thing for the first time.

The more money “solicited” through fundraising, the less blood Old Master Qi himself would have to shed. If they “solicited” one hundred and ten thousand taels, Old Master Qi himself might not even need to pay out of pocket. If they “solicited” even more money…

Old Master Qi probably wouldn’t dare to embezzle alone, but sharing a bit with the prefect should be acceptable.

Therefore, everyone in Defeng Trading House from top to bottom was as if injected with chicken blood, all grabbing their tools to go “solicit donations.”

Lin Yuchan watched in stunned amazement. This was organized crime!

No wonder. With the government so ruthlessly extorting from big households, if ten thousand taels were donated, at least a month’s worth of Defeng Trading House’s business revenue would go down the drain.

Wang Quan didn’t have her join the donation solicitation team either, probably feeling her pitiful frame was too damaging to their own people’s prestige.

“You watch the shop. Wait for me to return! If even one tael of tea is missing, I’ll hold you responsible!”

Only Lin Yuchan remained in the shop, along with a few low-ranking apprentices like Kou Laicai and Liu Ershun. These people had no work motivation. Wang Quan had ordered them to wrap tin foil around newly roasted tea leaves and attach labels, but after working for a while they sprawled lazily to slack off, ordering Lin Yuchan to boil water for them to drink.

Lin Yuchan didn’t want to get too close to them. After boiling water, she took a shovel to the kitchen to shovel coal ash. That was where the heat was most intense, and no one was willing to linger there.

Just before going out, from the corner of her eye, she saw Kou Laicai looking around furtively with shifty eyes, then quietly crawling under the shelves, stretching his arms desperately to grope around.

He overstretched, his chin askew and mouth protruding, his whole person looking like a door god pasted on the ground.

Lin Yuchan smiled coldly and turned to go out.

With the shopkeeper away, she naturally didn’t need to work hard either. After busying herself for a while, she found a cushion to sit and rest, drew some water from the well, washed her hands and face clean, and slowly picked the dirt from under her fingernails.

Young girls all love cleanliness and beauty. Although Lin Yuchan did physical labor all day, she was unwilling to make herself too slovenly. Every night after everyone else had rested, she would also draw water for a bath. Soap was now quite common, and servants in the mansion also had small allotments, so there was no worry about not getting clean.

But she didn’t dare put too much effort into her appearance. First, she feared attracting ill-intentioned gazes, and second, because someone of her lowly status, if she dressed herself up eye-catching, would inevitably make people think she had improper ambitions, wondering if she was trying to seduce her betters.

Lin Yuchan had already seen several servant girls who were ordered by the mistresses to be beaten with boards and starved for being “too flirtatious and wanton.” She didn’t know exactly how this world defined “flirtatious, wanton, and cheap,” but she knew that the ordinary behavior of ordinary girls from two centuries later would frequently trigger landmines if brought to the present.

What could she do but follow local customs, examining herself thrice daily to check whether she appeared meek and proper?

As long as her heart didn’t compromise, she wouldn’t get too deep into character.

Lin Yuchan pinched her face. Not bad – she could pinch up a little flesh now, the texture wasn’t bad either. Finally she had some of that soft, bouncy feeling of a young girl.

She also undid her braid and, using the reflection in the well water, carefully combed through her braid.

According to her aesthetic preferences, it would be best to leave some wispy bangs on her forehead to look bright and lively. However, such little tricks belonged only to young ladies from wealthy families. As a lowly servant girl, she could only dip her fingers in water and comb out a smooth, bare forehead.

Fortunately, with recent good nutrition, her hairline had receded somewhat and didn’t look as masculine.

Speaking of which, men’s hairstyles in this era were truly ugly…

Qing palace dramas greatly beautified them. After all, those with the looks of idol heartthrobs were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

And ugliness wasn’t even the worst part. Men of this time all considered a single long braid beautiful and never cut their hair. This hairstyle was time-consuming and laborious to maintain, and many common people were both hardworking and exhausted – the frequency of undoing braids to wash hair was probably… once every six months…

Walking on the street, those braids had visible layers of patina formed by sweat and grime, emitting all varieties of odors.

Even the clothes on their backs often had a permanent sheen of oil that couldn’t be washed clean.

Wealthy people were somewhat better, usually applying various precious spices and perfumes to themselves. From scent alone, you could roughly guess a person’s social class.

Once Lin Yuchan passed a street-side barbershop where sat a handsome young gentleman, probably preparing for a matchmaking meeting. He had a thick, black, glossy braid and wore a dashing jacket, playing with two walnuts, looking exactly like an idol heartthrob from a Qing palace drama.

But when the barber shook loose his braid, Lin Yuchan felt a mixture of garbage dump, dead rats, and aged athlete’s foot hit her face. Unable to dodge in time, that smell followed her like a thick, blackened glue all the way.

The idol heartthrob instantly became fermented cheese. She didn’t go to Aunt Hong’s for an extra meal that day.

Lin Yuchan reminded herself to be content. This was at least warm Guangzhou near the water. Everyone still had the conditions to frequently pour a ladle of water over their heads to wash away dust and lice. If it were winter in the north…

She silently lit candles for the sisters who had transmigrated to Beijing City in the Qing dynasty.

However…

Lin Yuchan suddenly, inexplicably thought of Su Minguan. She couldn’t seem to remember any unusual odors from him…

Could he be an unprecedented germaphobe?

She decided to pay attention next time she saw him.