Chapter 853 - The Daoist
Ideally, such a person should come from a commercial background—someone who had worked as a clerk or manager and had lived in Hangzhou for a long time. That way, doing business would come naturally. Zhao Yingong thought: what a pity that such fortunate encounters do not happen twice. He probably would not find another retired manager whose grandson had malaria who would come to serve him.
Just as he was deep in thought, a servant came to announce: Daoruanzi had arrived.
"Bring him here at once!" Zhao Yingong's spirits immediately lifted.
Within a few minutes, the servant brought Zhang Yingchen over. He looked somewhat haggard, but his Daoist robe was clean. Though obviously an old garment—upon closer inspection it even had patches—Zhao Yingong was puzzled. This was not the new Daoist robe the Daoist had designed himself. And he had been absent for several days, yet he showed no sign of travel fatigue. Evidently, he had found a place to stay.
As if reading Zhao Yingong's confusion: "I'm currently staying at a small Daoist temple outside Yongjin Gate," Zhang Yingchen explained. "This robe was given to me by the abbot, Daoist Ma. Daoist Ma is a fine fellow, and quite presentable too..."
"You're really something—you found yourself a boyfriend the moment you arrived in Hangzhou?"
"What are you talking about?" Zhang Yingchen scoffed. "The past couple of days I've been wandering the streets and alleys of Hangzhou, looking for a suitable place to lodge. I reached Qingyun Temple, where the abbot was ill—you know I practice traditional Chinese medicine, and I had some emergency medicine with me. One dose and he recovered immediately. That's how I obtained lodging."
"Well done." Zhao Yingong laughed heartily. "Your survival skills aren't bad. You could definitely survive on your own."
"I'm confident of that too," Zhang Yingchen replied. "Setting aside everything else, how many people in the Elder Council would be willing to venture alone deep into the Li territories? Actually, once you're there, it's nothing—the Li territories aren't some dragon's pool or tiger's den. Of course, I did fall ill a few times, but with modern medicine helping, I pulled through."
"Stop boasting. Let's talk about how to get started here in Hangzhou." Zhao Yingong laid out all the issues he had been considering.
"I'd like your opinion. Right now I don't dare follow Xiao Guo's 'merchant route' opening strategy. In a place where xiucai and juren are as common as dogs and jinshi walk the streets, establishing myself first as a merchant would be very disadvantageous for later trying to enter scholarly circles."
Though Jiangnan's industry and commerce were thriving, spawning what some called "reactionary ideological trends" of "money worship," and though merchants had greatly elevated their status—with gentry and scholars also engaging more or less in business—overall, a considerable gulf remained between scholars and merchants. The difference in their social positions still could not be compared.
"But to befriend scholars, with your current status and manner of speech, you probably can't manage it, right?" Zhang Yingchen pointedly identified the main contradiction.
"Exactly!" Zhao Yingong nodded. "I'm just a fake xiucai, someone who can't even recite the entire Analects. Hoping to win over local scholars through 'literary talent' is clearly hopeless—should I plagiarize Nalan Xingde's poetry? Or go all dominant and quickly brush up on Chairman Mao's poems?" He smiled bitterly.
"Everything you're saying is trivial details. Thinking you can earn literary fame with a few verses of poetry is just dreaming," Zhang Yingchen said dismissively. "That's just another form of 'king's dominating aura'—it has no future." He studied Zhao Yingong. "I think you should at least learn how to converse with local scholars, master their style of discourse—just as I'm completely natural at the Daoist temple because I'm familiar with how Daoists talk, their scriptures, and their way of life."
"You have a point." Zhao Yingong stroked his chin. "It seems I'll have to memorize the Analects properly."
"Actually, it's not just the Analects. According to Yu Eshui, a xiucai should at least be able to recite the Thirteen Classics backwards and forwards. Imagine you're chatting with a group of Confucians, someone starts spouting classical phrases, and you don't understand a thing—wouldn't they treat you like an idiot?"
Zhao Yingong's expression soured—the thought of memorizing texts made him apprehensive. But what Zhang Yingchen said was quite reasonable; apparently, he would have to put in this effort. Back when he was in the Intelligence Bureau training class, he had worked hard practicing calligraphy under a xiucai's tutelage, and now his brushwork was basically presentable.
"Also, it doesn't matter if you yourself don't act as a merchant—that doesn't mean your household has no businesses. The land and sea routes people will follow along to set up positions. Once they open shop, you pick one to serve as the proprietor of. Then you'll have real standing—in this time-space, money still makes you the boss."
The Jiangnan deployment of the land and sea routes had originally been scheduled to roll out fully in 1630 but was delayed due to the anti-encirclement campaign. So far, only Wanyou had completed its positioning in Nanjing and Qingjiangpu on the land route. On the sea route, Qiwei had just established a presence in Nanjing and Shanghai, each with one trading post.
By comparison, Delong's expansion was much faster. After the victory of the anti-encirclement campaign, through negotiations with Li Luoyou, he eventually agreed to serve as a joint clearing agent for Delong. Through this method, Delong was able to extend its remittance and exchange services to Jiangnan and the northern and southern capitals. Next, Cheng Dong planned to open directly operated branches in both capitals.
Delong's rapid expansion was primarily to accumulate capital, and secondarily to provide financial support for the next stage of the mainland campaign. The Elder Council's dispatched agencies would need to move large sums of money across a very wide range in the future, urgently requiring a financial network.
As an Elder's "enterprise," Wanyou was well-positioned as a north-south goods trading house. Zhang Yingchen's suggestion that Zhao Yingong become its proprietor was indeed a reasonable arrangement.
"Hmm, now that you put it that way, I feel somewhat enlightened," Zhao Yingong said. "I had originally wanted to get involved in the silk-weaving industry, but I've had reservations. You're right: with the Wanyou signboard, things will be easier. We just need a good manager to run things."
"No rush on that. Take your time looking. Once the business is big enough, people will come seeking patronage. Good birds choose their trees," Zhang Yingchen observed.
Zhao Yingong asked: "What's your next step? Will you continue lodging at the Daoist temple?"
"Of course." Zhang Yingchen nodded. "Qingyun Temple is a small temple, and a poor one—including the lay Daoists, there are fewer than ten people. Easy to control. I plan to stay there offering medical consultations, build up a small reputation—and by the way, spread my new Daoism to the temple's Daoists. There are a few good-looking young Daoist acolytes there who seem like promising material."
The two settled on their method of contact and code phrases, establishing a schedule for regular communication. Zhao Yingong wanted to share some of the supplies and silver he had brought, but Zhang Yingchen refused:
"I don't need those things—they could easily give me away. If you have extra prepared medicines, give me some of those. As for silver, I don't have much use for it. When I need some, I'll ask."
After seeing the Daoist off, Zhao Yingong paced around his study, feeling there were many things he should be doing yet not quite knowing where to start. Finally, he stopped and called out: "Someone! Help me change!"
Rather than sitting in his study wallowing in idle thoughts and making "plans," he might as well go out for a walk right now. Who knows, he might have an unexpected encounter, might find some inspiration, and come up with a completely new idea. He could also look for suitable children to purchase and properly educate. Though Fenghua had received strict training, her innate aptitude was limited; it would be better to train children from a young age. Thinking of this, his spirits rose.
Fenghua hurried over with washing water. She attended him as he washed his face, then brought out a new outfit—this had been made by a Guangzhou tailor before departure, in the most fashionable style of the Great Ming. The fabric and tailoring were extremely refined.
Fenghua helped him dress. It was a pale blue zhiduo robe fully embroidered with flowing cloud patterns in gold thread, paired with a blue headscarf embroidered with red wan characters. Zhao Yingong studied himself in the mirror; he felt wearing these clothes was somewhat like being in an opera. Especially the headscarf—was it not a bit too ornate for a man?
Fenghua suppressed a smile as she helped him dress.
"Hmm, what are you laughing at?" He adjusted his headscarf while asking. "Is there something funny about me now?"
"This servant wouldn't dare!" Fenghua quickly said. "It's just that the Master now is completely different from before—like two different people."
"Oh?" Zhao Yingong said. "Do you think I look like a local person?"
"Of course not." Fenghua shook her head. "Just the Master's physique and bearing—how many on the street could compare? Once the Master goes out, anyone who sees him will surely never forget."
Hearing these words, Zhao Yingong was momentarily stunned, then smiled: "You certainly know how to flatter."
Fenghua said nothing more, carefully helped him straighten his clothes, then fetched a genuine Japanese folding fan. Folding fans were still relatively expensive playthings in the Ming Dynasty, not as common as they would become in the Qing. Though domestically produced versions now existed, fans from Japan and Korea remained luxury items.
The Intelligence Bureau had positioned Zhao Yingong as a wealthy young gentleman from Guangdong, and his clothing and accessories were all prepared according to this requirement. There was also a hint of overseas flavor—after all, Guangzhou was a foreign trading port. This also provided a pretext for Zhao Yingong to maintain a steady supply of foreign goods.
Sun Wangcai selected two Qiwei escorts to accompany and protect him. These two escorts had actually received training at the Political Security General Administration and were specifically responsible for the Elder's personal security. An External Intelligence Bureau-trained native intelligence agent served as his personal attendant. Finally, they enlisted a local Hangzhou servant named Cai Shi to serve as guide.
Cai Shi had only recently joined the household—he had originally been a servant at this very residence, and when the previous owners moved away, he had lost his position. This was his return to employment.
The party exited through the mansion gates. Since they had not decided on a destination, they did not use sedan chairs but simply strolled along the streets. The area where they lived was near Qinghe Ward; here were mostly residences of great households, with hardly any shops visible along the streets. The stone-paved roads were nearly empty of pedestrians.
"Master, may I ask: where would you like to go first?" Cai Shi inquired, seeing they were about to reach the end of the alley.