Chapter 293: The Partner

Hai Shuzu, however, felt it wouldn’t come to that. His most valuable assets were his five-masted ship and its cargo. What was the point of kidnapping him? Besides, according to the returning sailors and passengers, the Australians had been very polite to everyone and had not harmed them in any way.

But his wife and family were adamant that he not go to Lin’gao. With such strong opposition at home, he was at a loss. The trip to Lin’gao was delayed. After much thought, he decided to go to Guangzhou to seek help from friends he had made during his studies and from his father’s former colleagues, hoping to borrow some money to tide him over.

Although Hai Shuzu enjoyed a high social standing due to his ancestor’s fame, he himself was only a “Jiansheng” (an Imperial Academy student)—a title bestowed upon him by the government out of respect for his lineage as a descendant of Lord Hai. His family had little wealth. Therefore, his fundraising trip was not successful. Although his friends helped out, some with twenty taels, others with fifty, after more than ten days, he had only managed to gather a little over three hundred taels of silver, a mere drop in the bucket compared to what he needed.

He lingered in Guangzhou for a long time. Everything was expensive, and it was not easy to find lodging. Knowing that staying longer would yield no results, Hai Shuzu had to set off for Qiongshan to deal with his affairs.

He didn’t dare to go straight home. He first stopped at his family’s country estate, sending the estate manager to inquire about the situation while he sat alone in his room. On this trip, he hadn’t even dared to bring his usual servants—he owed them all money. Although these servants, out of respect for his status, didn’t dare to make a big scene, their service had become much more neglectful, and they would occasionally make sarcastic remarks. Hai Shuzu couldn’t bear the humiliation and had to ask a friend to lend him a young servant for the time being.

He thought of how, in Qiongshan Prefecture, although he was not from a prominent family, he was always accompanied by five or six servants whenever he went out, and they had always been respectful to him. He never expected to fall so low that he couldn’t even command his own servants!

As he was sighing, several two-man sedan chairs arrived at the estate. The estate guard hurriedly reported their arrival. Since the manager was out, Hai Shuzu couldn’t very well have a guard greet the guests, so he had to steel himself and go out to meet them.

He saw that the man in the lead was his own chief steward, Hai Ji, but he didn’t recognize the sedan chair carriers or the attendants. Hai Shuzu was taken aback. It was only when the sedan chair curtains were opened that he saw his wife, children, and mother inside.

Hai Ji cried out, “We really couldn’t stay at home any longer.”

It turned out that after he left, the people who came to demand payment and make a scene, seeing that the master of the house was gone and fearing they would never recover their losses, became even more aggressive. In desperation, they had to ask the yamen to intervene.

“Those yamen runners, they demanded a bribe the moment they arrived. We gave them a few hundred coins, but they weren’t satisfied. They just showed up for work but didn’t do anything, letting the crowd make a scene. Someone threatened to break through the second gate to find the old madam and the madam to ‘reason’ with them. It was only when Master Zhang from the county came by and couldn’t bear to watch any longer, ordering several of them to be put in the cangue on the spot, that things finally quieted down.”

Hai Shuzu just lowered his head and sighed. Although he knew Master Zhang had acted out of goodwill towards his family, using official power to suppress people like this was a stain on his family’s reputation.

His mother, wife, and children, unable to bear the harassment any longer, had borrowed sedan chairs from relatives and friends and slipped away secretly.

Seeing his family’s frightened faces and their meager belongings, Hai Shuzu felt a wave of despair. His business failure had not only harmed his wife and children but also disgraced his family name. He had failed completely in both self-cultivation and managing his household. Tears streamed down his face.

“Those wicked servants, they are too despicable,” Hai Ji continued to grumble. “Never mind the ones we owe money to—at least they have a reason. But even the ones we don’t owe money to have stopped serving us. Some are already looking for new employment…”

“When disaster strikes, everyone flies their own way. We can’t blame them,” Hai Shuzu said, disheartened. His family had lived in Qiongshan for over a hundred years and had a reputation for being virtuous and benevolent. Although they were not wealthy, they had never been harsh to their servants. He never expected that all of this would mean nothing in the face of a little silver. He had never felt the power of money so clearly.

Sighing was one thing, but the problem still had to be solved. It was not proper for the whole family to be hiding from their debts. Hai Shuzu had no choice but to discuss with his mother and wife the plan to sell the family’s land. With the money he had borrowed from Guangzhou, he could at least pay off some of the debt.

“But after we sell it, we’ll have nothing left. We won’t even be able to live a modest life,” Hai Shuzu said grimly.

The clan had ancestral land for sacrifices, so they wouldn’t starve, but the leisurely life they once enjoyed was over.

“It is right to sell the land to pay off the debts,” his mother said, weeping. “But the money you borrowed from Guangzhou, how will you repay it without the land?”

Hai Shuzu thought that the people who had lent him the money probably didn’t expect him to be able to repay it. But he couldn’t bring himself to say that.

The family discussed how they would live in the future, but they couldn’t come to a solution. They didn’t even have the heart to eat lunch. In the afternoon, the estate manager returned in a hurry.

“Master!” The manager didn’t have time for pleasantries. “Those moneylenders, they’re all gone!”

“Gone?” Hai Shuzu thought. These people were the most aggressive in demanding payment. They had IOUs, and as long as they didn’t cause trouble, the yamen couldn’t do anything to them. Why would they suddenly disappear?

“I heard someone bought their IOUs!”

“What?” Hai Shuzu was shocked. Bought the IOUs? What for? He was on the verge of bankruptcy. Even if he could sell his land to repay some of the debt, it would only cover twenty or thirty percent. Hadn’t this person just bought a pile of waste paper?

Hai Ji, however, said, “Could it be that some master, admiring your usual righteousness, has come to offer a helping hand?”

Hai Shuzu didn’t believe in such good fortune. The loans, not including interest, amounted to over two thousand taels. He didn’t have any friends that wealthy. Those who could lend him thirty or fifty taels were already showing great loyalty. Why would a complete stranger offer such a huge sum for him?

As he was wavering, the estate guard reported again, “There is a Master Lin outside who has come to pay a visit.” He presented a calling card.

Hai Shuzu looked at the cover. He didn’t know any Lin Baiguang. “Tell him I’m not here,” he said.

“Master Lin said that if you open the card, you will surely recognize him,” the guard said.

Hai Shuzu reluctantly picked up the card. It was heavy. There was an envelope underneath. He opened it and found his own IOUs inside.

He was horrified. He looked through the IOUs again. Yes, they were the ones he had issued, not a single one missing, all in this envelope. Each IOU had been settled.

Needless to say, this Master Lin was the one who had secretly bought his IOUs! What was his intention? Hai Shuzu was caught off guard, not knowing what to do.

It was Hai Ji who had some worldly wisdom. “Master, this Master Lin doesn’t seem to have any ill intentions. Look, he has settled all the IOUs and returned them all to you. If he had some other motive, why would he do this?”

“Oh, right, right,” Hai Shuzu was enlightened by his words. “I must see him.”

“Master Lin, our master invites you in!” Hai Ji personally went out to greet him.

Lin Baiguang smiled slightly. After the government had put several of the most aggressive troublemakers in the cangue today, the creditors’ confidence in getting their money back had hit rock bottom. Gao Di, without much effort, had managed to buy all the IOUs at thirty percent of their principal value, after removing the interest.

Gao Di had wanted to take the opportunity to buy up all the shareholders’ shares at a discount as well, but Lin Baiguang had instructed him not to.

“We can only relieve some of the pressure for now and show our sincerity. If we solve all his problems for him, and he no longer has any worries, what if he just gives us some empty promise like ‘My whole family will work like cattle and horses to repay you, but don’t even think about asking me to help you open a mine’? Can we kill him?”

“We have his debts in our hands. I don’t think he’ll dare to disobey,” Gao Di said.

“Heh, that’s hard to say,” Lin Baiguang chuckled. “Of course, maybe we could use it to coerce him, but that would leave a knot in his heart—a big taboo in a partnership.”

“Furthermore,” he continued to educate him, “you have to look at Hai Shuzu’s family background. He is, after all, a member of the gentry, a scholar, and a descendant of Lord Hai. Originally, it was a group of local people pressuring him. Now, if it becomes just us, a single party, pressuring him, what if it arouses a sense of common cause against a common enemy in Qiongshan Prefecture? We are outsiders, after all. Won’t we end up losing both our men and our money?”

“I understand now,” Gao Di said with sincere admiration.

“With a family like the Hais, we can only win their gratitude by showing them kindness. We still need to keep some pressure on him. Once he agrees to cooperate with us, it won’t be too late to help him solve the rest of his problems.”

“What if he’s just feigning compliance? He could find an excuse to back out later.”

“You’re getting smarter—Hai Shuzu is, after all, a descendant of Lord Hai. He wouldn’t resort to such low-handed tactics,” Lin Baiguang said. “Even if he wanted to, his family’s reputation wouldn’t allow it.”

Lin Baiguang didn’t have to work very hard to persuade Hai Shuzu to partner with him in opening a coal mine. For Hai Shuzu, who was at his wit’s end, this path, though not entirely glorious, was far better than going bankrupt and becoming a dependent of his ancestral clan—and even bankruptcy wouldn’t clear the losses of the shareholders.

The thought of being reviled by so many people for the rest of his life was unbearable to Hai Shuzu. The offer from this Master Lin from Guangzhou was very tempting:

Master Lin would provide the capital, and Hai Shuzu would be the public face of the operation to open a coal mine in Qiongshan Prefecture. The Hai family would not have to invest any money and would receive twenty percent of the profits. Master Lin would get eighty percent.

Hai Shuzu hesitated. “I understand your meaning, brother. You want me to deal with the government and the local powers—that’s all easy enough—I still have some face in this area. But I have a word of advice. I have never heard of any coal being mined in Qiongshan Prefecture. Besides, firewood is very easy to come by here. I’m afraid not many people will use coal for fuel. For you to rush into opening a mine like this, have you really thought it through?”

Lin Baiguang nodded. Hai Shuzu was an “upright” man! He felt a sense of admiration—in any time and place, dealing with honest people was always reassuring.