Chapter 501 - The Partner

Hai Shuzu remained skeptical of the danger. His most valuable assets, the five-masted ship and its cargo, were already in Australian hands. What point was there in kidnapping him now? Furthermore, the sailors and merchants who had returned reported that the Australians were courteous and fair.

However, his family was adamant. Facing fierce opposition from his wife and mother, he had no choice but to postpone the trip indefinitely. Instead, he traveled to Guangzhou, hoping to leverage his connections—former classmates and his late father’s colleagues—to borrow enough silver to weather the crisis.

But Hai Shuzu’s status was largely inherited. He himself held only the title of jiansheng, a courtesy extended to the descendants of Hai Rui. The family was respected, but not wealthy. His fundraising tour was a failure. Friends contributed token sums—twenty taels here, fifty there—but after ten days, he had scraped together barely three hundred taels. It was a drop in the ocean compared to his debts.

Guangzhou was expensive, and he could ill afford to linger. Realizing the futility of his efforts, Hai Shuzu returned to Qiongshan to face the music.

He didn't dare go home. Instead, he took refuge at his family’s rural estate, sending the manager ahead to gather news. He sat alone in the empty house, attended only by a servant boy borrowed from a friend. When he left, he hadn't even dared to bring his own staff—many were among his minor creditors. Their resentment often slipped out in snide remarks and sloppy service, humiliations he could not bear.

He recalled the days when he traveled with a retinue of five or six servants, all deferential and obedient. Now, he couldn't even command his own household.

As he brooded, a commotion at the gate announced the arrival of several small sedan chairs. An estate worker rushed in to report. Bracing himself, Hai Shuzu went out to meet them.

Leading the party was his chief steward, Hai Ji, but the bearers were strangers. When the curtains parted, Hai Shuzu froze. Inside were his mother, wife, and children.

"Home has become unlivable," Hai Ji wept.

After Hai Shuzu left, the creditors, finding no head of household to harangue, had panicked. Fearing they would never see their money, the mob intensified their harassment. In desperation, the family had petitioned the yamen for protection.

"The yamen runners were useless," Hai Ji explained. "They demanded bribes immediately, and even after we paid hundreds of wen, they barely lifted a finger. The mob ran riot, threatening to storm the inner quarters. It was only when Magistrate Zhang passed by and ordered the worst offenders dragged off to the cangue that order was restored."

Hai Shuzu bowed his head, sighing deeply. Magistrate Zhang had acted out of goodwill, but requiring official intervention to suppress creditors was a stain on the family honor.

Unable to endure the siege, the women and children had borrowed chairs from relatives and fled in secret.

Seeing his family’s wretched state, clutching meager bundles of possessions, Hai Shuzu broke down. His ambition had ruined them. He had failed in self-cultivation and failed in household management.

"The servants are insufferable," Hai Ji ranted. "The ones we owe money to are one thing, but even those we owe nothing to have stopped working. Some are already looking for new masters..."

"When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter," Hai Shuzu said bitterly. "I cannot blame them."

The Hai family had lived in Qiongzhou for a century, renowned for virtue and charity. They had never treated their servants harshly. Yet in the face of financial ruin, loyalty evaporated like morning dew. The power of money had never felt so cold.

Sighs would not solve their predicament. Hiding at a country estate was no long-term solution. After consulting with his mother and wife, Hai Shuzu made the painful decision to sell the family’s farmland. Combined with the silver from Guangzhou, they could settle a portion of the debt.

"But once the land is gone, we will have nothing," Hai Shuzu mourned. "We will be destitute."

There was still the clan ritual land to prevent starvation, but their life as gentry was effectively over.

"Unloading the land to pay debts is the only honorable path," his mother said through her tears. "But what of the silver you borrowed in Guangzhou? without land, how will you repay them?"

Hai Shuzu suspected his friends never expected repayment, but he could not voice such a thought.

The family debated their bleak future until late afternoon, lacking the appetite for lunch. Suddenly, the estate manager burst in, breathless and forgetting all protocol.

"Master! The creditors... they've all vanished!"

"Vanished?" Hai Shuzu was stunned. This group held promissory notes that the authorities couldn't invalidate. Why would they leave?

"I heard someone bought up their notes!"

Hai Shuzu stared. Bought them? Why? He was on the brink of bankruptcy. Even after liquidating his land, he could pay mere pennies on the dollar. Whoever bought those notes had just purchased a pile of worthless paper.

"Perhaps some gentleman, admiring your righteousness, has extended a helping hand?" Hai Ji suggested hopefullly.

Hai Shuzu couldn't believe such fortune existed. The debts totaled over two thousand taels. He knew no one with that kind of wealth who would squander it on a stranger.

Before he could process this, a worker entered with a visiting card. "A Mister Lin is asking for you, Master."

Hai Shuzu glanced at the name—Lin Baiguang. He didn't recognize it. "Tell him I am not receiving guests."

"Mister Lin said that once you open the card, you will recognize him."

Hai Shuzu hesitated, then took the card. It felt heavy. Beneath it lay an envelope. Inside were his promissory notes.

He shuffled through them—every single debt he had issued, stamped "SETTLED."

This stranger, this Lin Baiguang, had bought his life. But what did he want? Hai Shuzu felt a chill of uncertainty.

"Master," Hai Ji whispered, "this Mister Lin seems to mean well. He has returned the notes marked paid. If he meant harm, why do this?"

"Yes... yes," Hai Shuzu breathed. "I must meet him."

"Mister Lin, my master invites you in!"

Lin Baiguang entered with a faint smile. After the magistrate's intervention, the creditors' confidence had collapsed. Gao Di had easily purchased the debt for thirty percent of its face value.

Gao Di had wanted to buy out the shareholders as well, but Lin had forbidden it.

"We relieve some pressure to show sincerity," Lin had explained. "But if we solve every problem, he has no incentive to work with us. What if he says, 'Thank you, I'll work like an ox to repay you, but I won't front your mine'? What do we do then? Kill him?"

"But we hold his debt. Surely he wouldn't dare refuse," Gao Di argued.

"Threats breed resentment," Lin countered. "Resentment is a cancer in a partnership. Besides, Hai Shuzu is gentry. If we, as outsiders, push him too hard, the local elites might close ranks. We’d lose our money and our mna."

"I understand," Gao Di had said, impressed.

"A family like the Hais must be won with kindness. We leave him some pressure. Once he agrees, we can help him with the rest."

"What if he's deceiving us?"

"You're getting sharper. But Hai Shuzu is a descendant of Hai Rui. Such base tactics are beneath him. Family honor would not permit it."

Convincing Hai Shuzu was surprisingly easy. Desperate and cornered, the proposal was a lifeline. It wasn't glorious, but it was better than ruin. And more importantly, it offered a way to repay the shareholders who had trusted him.

The terms were generous: Mister Lin provided the capital; Hai Shuzu provided the name and the mining rights. The Hai family would invest nothing but receive twenty percent of the profits. Lin took eighty.

"I understand," Hai Shuzu said hesitantly. "You need me to handle the officials and local powers. That I can do. But I must warn you: I have never heard of successful coal mining in Qiongzhou. Firewood here is cheap and plentiful; who will buy coal? Have you considered this risk before sinking your capital?"

Lin Baiguang nodded, genuinely impressed. Even at the edge of the abyss, Hai Shuzu remained an honest man. It was a comfort, in any era, to do business with a gentleman.

(End of Chapter)