Chapter 90: The Sweet Harbor Tempest - The Dust Settles

Third Master Zhu sneered and slammed his hand on the table. “Good! You’ve got guts.” He then picked up the porcelain bowl in front of him and smashed it on the floor.

With a crash, the shards flew, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from below the hall.

From both sides of the hall, twenty to thirty strong men rushed out, each holding a club, their faces ferocious. These were the ship guards Zhu An had recruited, many of them former pirates or army deserters. Third Master Zhu had planned to use these men to intimidate everyone if the meeting didn’t go his way—a “Hongmen Banquet” to ensure their compliance.

The main gate was slammed shut.

The sugar merchants were stunned. Some even fell back into their chairs. The atmosphere took a sharp turn. Wu Yi fell silent and tried to sneak away. Feng Guangfeng’s face was pale, but he didn’t move. Zhou Shidi and Li Biao rushed forward to escort Wen Tong out.

“No need!” Although Wen Tong was a little scared, his heart had settled considerably. He couldn’t help but feel a sense of contempt. “Smashing a cup as a signal, all the soldiers appear,” he thought, “as if this were a story.”

Third Master Zhu laughed heartily. “Go on, keep talking. I’ll gracefully retire? Ask my brothers if they’ll agree!”

Wen Tong’s face was calm. He listened for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

“Gentlemen, please be calm. Just listen to the sound of the gongs in the street.”

At his words, everyone pricked up their ears.

Indeed, from a distance, the sound of gongs could be heard: “Gong-gong-gong-gong-gong-gong-gong.” Seven strikes in a cycle. They were familiar with this sound: it was the opening gong for the county magistrate’s procession. The sound was getting closer, clearly heading this way.

As they hesitated, there was a loud knocking on the main gate.

“It’s broad daylight, why is the gate shut so tight! What are you up to? I’m Head Li from the county yamen! Open the door!”

Third Master Zhu’s men, who had closed the gate, didn’t dare to disobey. The strong men with clubs had no choice but to disperse to the sides.

The gate opened, and Head Li, in his official uniform, ran in. “The county magistrate is here. Manager Wen, quickly bring everyone to greet him.”

“Yes,” Wen Tong cupped his hands. “Thank you, Head Li.” Li Biao quickly stepped forward and handed him a heavy red envelope—it contained twenty taels of silver.

“The county magistrate is here,” Wen Tong said with a smile. “You should take your men back. It’s better to avoid any misunderstandings—”

“Let’s go and greet His Honor,” Wu Yi immediately suggested.

“Yes, yes, let’s go.”

Wen Tong, however, was not concerned and was in no hurry to go out.

“Third Master Zhu,” he said in a calm tone, “your little gangster tricks are useless. Unless you’re prepared to have a brawl right under the county magistrate’s nose, even all your wealth won’t be able to buy his ignorance. You can’t let that happen. And you have no way to ‘restore’ your power… Do you know what ‘restore’ means? From your face, I think you probably don’t…”

“Restoration means returning to the old order, regaining your power in the Haiyi Guild, and continuing to use this place for your own maximum benefit. But those days are gone forever. Either you quietly take your belongings and get lost, or you insist on being this empty-headed leader. If you want to do that, you can just order your men to attack. Let’s see if your proud water-braves are more formidable than Zhao Jijiao or Gu Dachun.”

In the next few seconds, several things happened in quick succession. One of Third Master Zhu’s bodyguards suddenly lunged forward, trying to restrain him. But Zhou Shidi was much faster. A sweeping kick brought the man down. Li Biao pounced, and a punch to the man’s throat knocked him out cold.

Another man drew a knife from his sleeve. Third Master Zhu cried out in alarm, “Don’t use knives!”

Using a knife was a serious crime, especially with so many witnesses and the county magistrate just outside. If something happened here, even if he could smooth it over, it would cost him his entire fortune!

As it turned out, he had no need to worry. The moment the knife was drawn, Zhou Shidi struck the man’s neck with one hand and kicked him in the stomach with the other. He crashed into the wall and bounced off. Two heavy blows to his stomach, and he collapsed.

Wen Tong was greatly relieved. Zhou Shidi’s martial arts were indeed no joke.

“Like master, like man,” Wen Tong said with a smile. “Am I right, Third Master Zhu?”

Third Master Zhu’s planned Hongmen Banquet ended just like that, including his ridiculous scheme—perhaps not outdated in 1629, but useless against an opponent with 400 years of advanced experience. Bei Wei’s team had already discovered the ambush during their routine reconnaissance, and Chen Tianxiong had made arrangements accordingly.

Although his eyes could have chopped Wen Tong into mincemeat, he still understood that a wise man submits to circumstances. Zhu An’s men scattered in an instant. The scene was more dramatic than a play. Wen Tong let out a soft sigh of relief.

“Master Zhou has excellent martial arts.”

“Just call me comrade,” Zhou Shidi said, dusting off his hands.

Zhu An and his group left in disgrace through the back door, and the county magistrate’s sedan chair arrived at the entrance at that moment. Wen Tong straightened his clothes and respectfully went out to greet him.

To have the county magistrate make a procession to the Haiyi Guild, sit down with Wen Tong for a cup of tea, and exchange a few pleasantries, Chen Tianxiong had paid five hundred taels. In addition, he had promised to increase the annual “customary fee” paid by the sugar industry to the county magistrate by fifty percent. The price was high, but it was worth it.

The life of the Haiyi Guild ended on that day. The next day, the county yamen received two petitions. One was a joint application from the twenty members of the Haiyi Guild to dissolve it. The other was, of course, a joint application from Huanan and the twenty firms to establish a new trade guild. With Huanan’s active efforts, this was a natural outcome. The yamen quickly approved the request.

The plaque of the Haiyi Guild was taken down and immediately replaced with the plaque of the Leizhou Sugar Industry Guild.

All the remaining assets were also taken over by the Leizhou Sugar Industry Guild. According to Huanan’s division of labor, Chang Shide would be mainly responsible for the sugar guild. He immediately began to liquidate the remaining assets of the Haiyi Guild. Wen Qing, who had learned a lot of modern accounting, was put in charge of the accounting, assisted by several clerks familiar with the books.

The public funds and property were all returned to each firm according to their share of contributions, including Zhu An’s share. Chang Shide said that regardless of Zhu An’s corruption and misuse of public funds, he had still done a lot for the sugar industry in Leizhou. “A person’s merits and demerits should be viewed separately,” he said with an air of authority. So, the money that was due to him would not be a penny less.

To show Huanan’s impartiality, Chang Shide invited five sugar merchants, chosen by public recommendation, to supervise the process. The accounting was completely transparent, with a weekly report sent to each sugar firm, detailing any problematic accounts and how they were handled. This open and clear accounting practice won everyone’s praise. The arrival of Huanan had brought a breath of fresh air to the entire Leizhou sugar industry.

Previously, from the officials to the menial servants in the Haiyi Guild, all were Third Master Zhu’s private retainers: either distant relatives or from his hometown. This time, they were all dismissed with severance pay, not a single one was kept. Those who had no local household registration were given extra travel expenses.

Originally, Chang Shide had wanted to keep a few experienced hands, but Chen Tianxiong objected:

“Even if a few are useful, they are still connected to Zhu An. Don’t use people you doubt, and don’t doubt people you use. If we can’t fully trust them, we shouldn’t use them at all, to avoid trouble.”

“Let’s just not doubt them. I don’t believe these small characters have any deep loyalty to Zhu An.”

“Old Chang! As the saying goes, ‘righteousness is often found among the lowly’,” Chen Tianxiong said. “They are all Zhu An’s friends and relatives. No matter how small, they were once beneficiaries and received favors from Zhu An. We must be on guard.”

In the end, they were all dismissed with severance pay. These people knew the tide had turned, took their money, and dispersed without causing any trouble.

What gave Chang Shide the biggest headache was the Haiyi Guild’s own force of ship guards, numbering over thirty men. These men were either pirates or army deserters, with deeply ingrained bad habits. The Haiyi Guild had spent a lot of money to maintain them—a monthly salary of five taels, bonuses at the three major festivals, and an additional “travel allowance” for each trip. Although their combat effectiveness was good, they were arrogant soldiers spoiled by money. Chang Shide had long known that this group was difficult to handle. Hiring them would require a great deal of effort to reorganize. Not hiring them would be a menace.

Wu Yi, however, said, “Chief Chang, you don’t need to worry about placing these men.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“They are under Third Master Zhu’s direct command. We have no say in the matter,” Wu Yi said. Whether it was paying their salaries, supplying them, or deploying them, it was all handled personally by Third Master Zhu.

The money came from everyone, but in reality, they were Third Master Zhu’s private household guards. Although in theory, each firm was responsible for transporting their own sugar, if they didn’t use Third Master Zhu’s shipping company, it was very difficult to get an escort of guards. His own ships always had priority. For safety, everyone had to pay an additional shipping fee to Zhu An.

“These people have always only had eyes for Third Master Zhu, not the Haiyi Guild. Let Third Master Zhu deal with them himself,” Wu Yi said with a smug smile.

Chang Shide thought to himself that this was true. But if these men remained in Haian Street, they would still be a force in Third Master Zhu’s hands. Zhu An hadn’t used them in the past, but now that he was cornered, he might let them cause trouble. It was still necessary to eliminate this potential threat as much as possible.

The matter of rebuilding the Zou Heshang Temple was also announced by Chang Shide. The cost would be borne solely by Huanan. The other firms had expected to be asked to contribute again and were pleasantly surprised by Huanan’s gesture, which further increased their goodwill.

Soon, a group of construction workers arrived from Lingao. They erected a fence of reed mats around the Zou Heshang Temple and began large-scale construction. It was said that because the project was extensive and would take a long time, and the original temple keeper would lose his livelihood, Huanan had specially renovated a small temple in the county seat for him to preside over. The temple keeper, his wife, and the fire tender happily moved away.

No one suspected that the newly renovated Zou Heshang Temple was actually the future location of the Xuwen intelligence station. Huanan also acquired a lot of wasteland around the temple, hired people to clear it, and announced that it was for building a charity school and a benevolent hall. This act further enhanced Huanan’s reputation for public-spiritedness in Xuwen and Leizhou.

One morning, as Feng Guangfeng was walking to his usual teahouse, someone saw him talking to a person not far from the teahouse. Afterwards, Feng Guangfeng got into a small two-man sedan chair and headed north.

The next morning, he was found by the pond near Huanan, where the future workers’ village was being built. He had been stabbed dozens of times with a knife, his body riddled with holes, a brutally savage act. The attacker was clearly filled with hatred for him. Only his face was left intact, as if to make him easily identifiable. His mouth was stuffed with sugar, all the way down his throat.

Zhu An died two days later. He had already moved out of Haian Street. After the Riyicheng sugar company closed down, he moved to his farmstead outside Haikang County, where he continued to run his shipping business. That night, a fire broke out at the farmstead. No one from the Zhu family, including himself, survived.

The storm in the sweet harbor thus came to a tragic end. The directors of the newly reformed Leizhou Sugar Guild, upon hearing this news, did not know whether to be happy or sad. Many of them recalled the thirty years of ups and downs of the Haiyi Guild, their hearts filled with mixed feelings. But the world, after all, had begun to change.

Feng Guangfeng’s death was a huge blow to Huanan. Wen Tong, Chen Tianxiong, and Chang Shide had all taken a great liking to this “outsider” in the Haiyi Guild and had planned to use him in a key role in the future. They had not expected him to die like this.

Chen Tianxiong later blamed himself for not protecting his ally. They had only thought that Zhu An might retaliate against the transmigrators and their subordinates, not that he would choose to attack Feng Guangfeng.

“It’s because Feng Guangfeng was an outsider,” Chen Tianxiong said. “He couldn’t bring himself to attack his own townsmen, nor did he dare to.” He sighed, not knowing whether this cultural phenomenon was good or bad.

“These sugar dogs are really no good. As soon as Feng Guangfeng died, they all started thinking about buying out his business. His children are young, and his wife can’t run the business. They’re clearly planning to bully the orphan and the widow.”

“And his father-in-law’s relatives are also trying to seize the property.”

Hearing this, Wen Tong said seriously, “Richang Ji must continue. Huanan will maintain this business for him!”

Chang Shide also said, “That’s right. He contributed the most in this matter. We can’t let him have such an end. Otherwise, how will others see us in the future?”

“I have three points,” Chen Tianxiong said. “One, the sugar guild will hold a grand public memorial service. Everyone in the guild will attend to give him the highest honors. Two, the silver for the seven thousand shi of sugar has been paid. The warehouse receipt must be delivered to him as soon as possible to reassure his wife. Three, we will select an honest and reliable clerk from his own firm to manage the business on his behalf, with the sugar guild supervising the operation.”