Chapter 2399: A Dilemma
Chu He looked at him—face covered in pastry crumbs and surrounded by baskets of pastries piled on the floor—and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He shouted, "You'll eat yourself to death! Why did you buy so much? How are you going to carry all this back?"
Zhang Yu quickly said, "My humble shop will deliver the goods to your residence shortly. May I ask where the Chief is staying?"
"I'm staying at the guesthouse in the Great World. You can hand it to the service desk," Chu He said, then ordered the bill to be settled.
As a Senator, he naturally wouldn't carry much cash. Zhang's wasn't part of the Senate's special supply system, so he couldn't put it on the Senator's Black Card tab. Thus, Piao Zhixian carried a Delong checkbook and would fill it out on the spot for whatever amount was needed.
Zhang Yu took the abacus and the shipping list and personally calculated. His abacus skills were already excellent, and at this moment he intentionally showed off. He flicked the beads like flowing clouds and moving water, chanting the product name, unit price, and quantity while calculating, without any stagnation. In no time, he cleared the accounts and announced the total.
Chu He filled in the numbers on the checkbook, then stamped it with his ring signet—this check could be exchanged for cash at any Delong branch or Delong-affiliated business.
"This is bearer-payable, so don't lose it," Chu He laughed as he handed it over.
"Chief is joking. This single transaction of yours is worth a week's sales for my humble shop. How could I dare not guard it carefully?" Zhang Yu said.
Watching Chu He's group leave, Zhang Yu looked at the mountains of pastry baskets and boxes before him and couldn't feel happy at all—if it were normal times, making such a large sale during a slow period would have kept him delighted for days. But right now, he only felt a heavy weight pressing on his heart.
He had already stated his position in front of Senator Chu; his family could not decline participating in the Nanyang fundraising. More or less, they had to contribute something.
But where would the money come from?
Zhang Yu didn't need to look at the ledger—he'd worn it out from flipping through it. Whether it was Zhang's Food or Zhang's Old Shop, the state of the accounts was crystal clear to him. Just two words: No money!
If he didn't participate in this Nanyang fundraising, not only would he be suspected of deceiving Senator Chu, but he also wouldn't be able to explain it to the Senate. No matter how much he emphasized his difficulties, in the eyes of the Senators, this would be "perfunctory attitude" or "non-cooperation." Elevated further, it would be "having disloyal intentions"...
Zhang Yu sweated profusely as he thought it over. This matter could only be discussed with his father.
The next evening, Zhang Yu returned home.
Since the Zhang family had moved into their new residence, they'd followed the customs of wealthy households, employing a gatekeeper and buying a few servants. As soon as the Young Master entered the main gate, the servant boy at the door repeatedly announced his arrival inside.
Zhang Yu rarely went home recently. Just as he entered the main hall, his mother was already waiting.
Usually, a reunion between mother and son who hadn't seen each other for many days would be a warm moment of maternal kindness and filial piety. However, Zhang Yu's brows were tightly furrowed. He entered the room, greeted her hastily, sat down, his face full of worry.
Seeing his locked brows, Mother Zhang couldn't help stepping forward to ask, "Yu'er, what's wrong? Are there difficulties in the business?"
Zhang Yu didn't answer, only asked, "Mother, where is Father?"
"He just came back from the Great World shop and is resting in the inner room," his mother chattered. "He's old, yet he refuses to rest more and let the clerks do the work. He insists on watching the stove himself. I told him: 'This small business of yours—why pay so much attention to it? A year of your work isn't worth a day of your son's business...'"
"Mom, please ask Father to come out. I want to discuss something with him."
"Your father is already asleep..."
"I have urgent business."
Zhang Yu's mother was startled. Her son's expression and tone were very different from usual; evidently, something significant had happened. She dared not neglect it and quickly went to the back. After a short while, Zhang Yu's father came out, rubbing his eyes.
Though Father Zhang had been sleeping, hearing his wife say their son had "urgent business to discuss" had made him mostly alert. He hurriedly draped clothes over his shoulders and came to the main hall.
Between father and son, there was no time for pleasantries. Before the old father even sat down, he asked, "Yu'er, what urgent matter is there?"
Zhang Yu glanced at the courtyard outside. His mother understood he had confidential words to speak with his father, so she sent the maidservant waiting under the porch away.
Zhang Yu lowered his voice. "Father, Mother, there's a matter I need to discuss with Father. How much cash does the family still have?"
Mother Zhang exclaimed in surprise, "Yu'er, what are you planning that needs the family to take out money?"
Father Zhang didn't speak, pondering for a long time. Toward this son, he had gone from doubt to trust, and recently, from trust to unease.
Trust went without saying. This walnut cake shop, which he'd barely supported and was on the verge of bankruptcy, had been carried forward by his son's coincidental fortune, suddenly achieving a scale he'd never dared dream of—let alone him, even the ancestors in the underworld would probably drop their jaws in shock if they knew.
He himself hadn't expected that his son could really "bring glory to the ancestors"—after Zhang Yu turned ten, he'd completely given up such hope. He'd only prayed that his son wouldn't be dissolute and ruin this small family property. To steadily guard the family business, carry on the lineage, and pass down the Zhang family and this small shop would be enough.
However, alongside trust in his son's ability came a vague worry.
Nouveau riche often come to no good end; this was life experience Father Zhang had accumulated over many years. Bluntly put, his own son was just the young manager of a cake shop and originally not the material for big things or big business. By chance and coincidence, he'd clung to noble patrons and soared straight to the Ninth Heaven, becoming "Young Master Zhang"—known to everyone inside and outside Guangzhou city. In the Federation of Industry and Commerce where big shots gathered, he seemingly ranked second only to Gao Ju. How many former high officials and dignitaries came to his cake shop to buy snacks not for a bite to eat, but just to leave an impression on his son.
Watching him build a tall building, watching him feast and sing, watching his building collapse. Father Zhang had seen such things more than once. Could his own son safely preserve this family property? He had always worried about this, and for this worry, he was always making preparations.
Though his son had mentioned operational difficulties in the past, opening his mouth to ask for money today clearly meant something major had happened to the company!
After a long time, Father Zhang spoke. "Money—the family has some. But you must explain clearly what you intend to use it for. Don't hide or hold back. Even if it's a difficulty as great as the sky, say it. The family will try to think of a way if possible."
Zhang Yu then explained everything: the report in the Federation's Weekly a few days ago about the southward colonization stock and bond issuance; Master Gao sending a message to ask roughly how much his family was prepared to contribute; and Senator Chu's visit today.
"...Whether stocks or bonds, this money must be paid, more or less. It's just that your son doesn't have a single coin of spare money on hand right now!"
Father and Mother Zhang were both startled and hurriedly asked, "Didn't you say the food company's business is huge? Losing orders because you can't make them in time..."
Zhang Yu smiled bitterly. "Orders are indeed too many to finish, but daily expenses are also huge. The year's end is approaching; just the flour, rice flour, sugar, and nuts owed to various suppliers is an incredible sum..."
The number he spoke made the old couple suck in a breath of cold air. Let alone themselves, even among everyone they knew, no one had ever handled such a large sum!
"Does this money... still have to be paid?" Father Zhang asked urgently. He understood the terrible consequences of a broken capital chain. "Tell me the truth!"
"It still has to be paid." Zhang Yu hurriedly comforted his father. "It's just that once this money is paid back, there won't be any left to buy Nanyang bonds!"
Mother Zhang wondered, "The Australians are so rich—why do they want to borrow money from wealthy households? Weren't the machines in the factory bought with money borrowed from the Australians?"
Zhang Yu said, "Father, Mother—this is comparing apples and oranges. Our family borrowing money was borrowing from Delong Bank. This time it's the Nanyang Company borrowing from us."
Father Zhang said, "Isn't that all the Senate's anyway?"
This time Zhang Yu couldn't explain it clearly either. He scratched his head and said, "Um... anyway, it's just borrowing money. I've already asked the Federation: whether stocks or bonds, it's one yuan per share. If it's stock, then dividends are distributed after three years, sharing whatever profit there is. If buying bonds, the interest is one fen annual interest, with a term of three years, paying interest once a year."
"This interest isn't high, is it? We used to give one and a half fen annual interest for people depositing silver at the shop!" Mother Zhang said.
Father Zhang frowned and pondered for a long time. "High or low interest aside—Yu'er, must this money be paid?"
"The Federation secretary said it's entirely voluntary. That Senator Chu said the same. But..."
"I understand!" Father Zhang sighed heavily. "In your position, you cannot not buy!"
"Yes." Zhang Yu nodded. "This little property of the family was built up with the Senate's support. Now that the Senate needs money and asks us to lend it, can we say the word 'no'? If outsiders knew, wouldn't the Senate lose all face..."
The old Zhang couple fell into silence. Their son's words made sense. Indeed, if they didn't buy this bond, the Senate wouldn't necessarily do anything to them, but in the future, they would no longer be among the Senate's "own people."
They couldn't bear such consequences.
"I think this bond is no problem. Why would the Senate deceive us? To put it bluntly, we are tied together with the Senate; there's absolutely no logic in specifically hurting us first. Moreover, buying bonds gives the qualification to enter Nanyang Company stocks later. This Nanyang Company is for the Senate's specialized Nanyang trade. Father, think about how many ships the Senate has? They're invincible at sea. Won't the Nanyang trade be controlled by the Senate in the future? With the Senate's ability to make money, if we enter the Nanyang Company's stock later, how much could we earn?" Zhang Yu tried his best to persuade.
Father Zhang said, "A'Yu, I trust the Senate. I can tell you the family's reserves. I secretly saved a sum of money, originally intended to buy sandfields over in Dongguan—the newly reclaimed fields there are very cheap, only three silver dollars a mu. I planned to buy a hundred mu as the family's foundation. Since you have an urgent use now, take it first."
(End of Chapter)