Chapter 327: The Guangzhou Proposal

“Where will our ‘sand’ come from? Being a bodyguard requires special training. You can’t just take any refugee and expect them to do the job,” Zhang Yuchen asked.

“Of course not ordinary refugees, but properly trained personnel from Lingao,” Yan Maoda said. “Isn’t there a bodyguard from Qiwei in Lingao named Zhou Shizhai, who is now a guest official in the security department? Manager Sun also has a high opinion of him. He knows all the ins and outs of being a bodyguard. Let him be in charge of professional training. We can gradually mix the people he trains in when we set up ‘outer counters,’ and eventually dismantle this small Jiangxi clique within the Qiwei Escort Agency. It would be best if some of them could be absorbed into other departments in Lingao.”

“There’s no need to worry about Qiwei having ulterior motives. We have control of their finances. What’s the use of them sticking together? If Delong freezes their accounts, the entire Qiwei will have to shut down immediately,” Meng Xian said, subconsciously stroking the beard he had just started growing on his chin. As the well-known manager of the Delong Bank in Guangzhou, he had to make himself look older and more mature to avoid making major clients feel he was unreliable due to his youth.

“Do we freeze our own accounts?” Zhang Xin laughed. “Old Yan, are you being paranoid? The Qiwei of today is not the Qiwei of the past. Without our management, Sun Kecheng probably wouldn’t even know about the many businesses under the Qiwei Escort Agency’s name, let alone manage them.”

The “outer counter” businesses under Qiwei’s name, including inns, restaurants, warehouses, logistics, shipping, and so on, were now controlled by Yan Maoda. The escort agency had originally also operated “tertiary industries” like warehouses and mule and horse inns, but their business philosophy and management level were no match for modern people. In the process of the Guangzhou station’s continuous expansion of investment, this part had now been completely taken over by Yan Maoda. Sun Kecheng didn’t mind—after all, his people were from a martial arts background and didn’t have much experience in business. Since the Australian managers were willing to invest and make Qiwei bigger, he could also get a share of the profits and find good jobs for his fellow villagers, relatives, and disciples. Why not?

“That’s right!” Meng Xian said casually. “The financial and management rights are in our hands. Sun Kecheng only controls the team of bodyguards.”

“I’m not saying Qiwei will have ulterior motives. Old Sun is very reliable, but having regional cliques is very harmful to the overall situation,” Yan Maoda said, picking up a water pipe. Some of the wealthy households in Guangzhou had already started smoking the fashionable cigarettes, but Yan Maoda had switched to a water pipe to follow the local customs. This water pipe alone was worth more than fifty taels of silver: made of high-quality white copper, with many intricate patterns carved on it, and inlaid with small pearls, crystals, and agates, all meticulously crafted by the jewelers of Zizhenzhai for their master. It was now winter, and the outside was covered with a delicate brocade cover with an eight-treasure exquisite embroidery pattern. This was made by Yan Maoda’s personal maid, who had spent a month imitating the patterns of the inner court, stitch by stitch.

He then picked up a paper spill, hand-rolled by the maids and scented with jasmine flowers, lit it from a candle, and lit the water pipe himself—if he were outside, a young servant would be responsible for this task. At home, his personal maid would do it. In the safe house, he couldn’t put on airs and had to do everything himself. After taking a few puffs and blowing out the smoke, he continued:

“The matter of Qiwei must be resolved. This large group of bodyguards is now distributed among the various businesses of the Guangzhou station, responsible for security. Their reliability is of paramount importance.” He took another puff. “We also have to consider one more thing. We are selling so-called ‘Australian goods.’ That we have contact with Australian merchants or that we are Australians is an open secret among the wealthy households in Guangzhou. Once Lingao and the Ming Dynasty fall out, Qiwei’s attitude will be hard to say! If they have malicious intentions—although Manager Sun and his old brothers are very loyal, the escort agency is expanding rapidly now, and many new people have joined. We can’t guarantee that some scoundrels haven’t mixed in—or if he has to clear his name, our network in Guangdong will be completely finished.”

The other three nodded. This was indeed a worrying matter. Zhang Xin said, “I think we must unify a few basic talking points. First, we are not Australians. We must insist on this.”

This needed no further explanation. Everyone knew the stakes. Besides, they now had official Ming Dynasty household registration. To say they were from overseas would be asking for trouble.

“Second, the source of Australian goods. There’s no need to hide it—it’s from Lingao. Anyway, the news of the large iron ships in Lingao and the Gaoguang Shipping Company’s routes between the two places is no longer a secret in the Guangzhou area.”

Guo Yi said, “Everyone has thought about this. I wonder if we should split up Qiwei? We shouldn’t hang everything under its name. Qiwei is now too closely linked to the three Zi-brand enterprises in Guangzhou. It’s not difficult for an observant person to see the special relationship between us and Qiwei.” He took a sip of cold tea. “If the Guangzhou station has to go underground or retreat one day, Qiwei will definitely not be able to escape involvement.”

Yan Maoda nodded. “Right! In the future, we can’t use Qiwei’s name for our nationwide layout either. Once we have a falling out with the Ming Dynasty, we should be able to take down Guangdong and Guangxi quickly, but going further north will not be a matter of a day or two.”

The few of them were all pondering how to reorganize Qiwei. Zhang Xin said, “Why don’t we, the Guangzhou station, propose a reorganization plan for Qiwei at the general assembly?”

“That’s not the right topic,” Meng Xian waved his hand. “The general assembly is for electing a new Executive Committee and deciding on major policies. What kind of major policy is the Qiwei Escort Agency? It’s a specific matter.”

“Whether it counts or not, it’s better to go with a few plans than to go empty-handed,” Guo Yi said. “This shows that we take the general assembly very seriously.”

Yan Maoda smiled and said, “Actually, we have a better proposal.” He paused. “It’s about Xiao Guo’s status, and also the other companions who were accidentally involved. It can’t always be temporary like this. There should be an official statement.”

Zhang Xin nodded repeatedly. “Right, right, this is the big issue.”

Meng Xian said, “I firmly support Guo Yi having the same treatment as everyone else: voting rights and shares. Whoever disagrees, I’ll screw their ancestors.”

“Xiao Meng, this is not appropriate…” Guo Yi heard Meng Xian cursing for him and was afraid he would do it habitually at the general assembly, which would greatly damage his reputation.

“The performance of the Guangzhou station over the past year is for all to see. If someone with such great contributions can’t be considered a comrade, who can?” Yan Maoda said. “If anyone opposes you having the same rights, I also think that person is a real asshole.”

PEPI opened her cherry lips slightly. “Xiao Guo is the best. Why shouldn’t he have the same treatment? If anyone makes things difficult, I’ll go find Commissar Ma!” As she spoke, she twisted her waist slightly, striking a pose of anger mixed with coquetry.

Zhang Xin smiled and said, “That’s right, Xiao Guo has long been qualified. In my opinion, the two from ATF and the four from the Ming family should also have the same rights. Not to mention their contributions, we all came on the same boat. As long as we are not deliberately trying to sabotage things, we should stick together in this time and space, and not artificially divide people into official and temporary.”

Zhang Yuchen said, “I also agree. We’re already in another time and space. Do we still need to have official and temporary workers?”

Guo Yi was a little touched by his comrades’ words and said a few words of thanks. Then he said, “What I’m worried about is that at this general assembly, someone might make an issue of our lifestyle. Do you have any countermeasures for this? If someone questions it at the meeting, we need to have an explanation.”

The few people present all fell silent. The lifestyle of the Guangzhou station was probably the highest among all the transmigrators. Including the later arrival Meng Xian, because they were all big merchants, their daily life could not be shabby, and they had all the necessary pomp and ceremony. As for the issue of women, which everyone reacted to most strongly, it was not an issue at all at the Guangzhou station. Except for Guo Yi, who was more cautious and only took one personal maid, Yan Maoda and Zhang Xin both took two. Meng Xian was young and vigorous, with strong needs, and had already taken four maids and concubines. Zhang Yuchen, because he was interested in Zhang Yu, only secretly took one.

“According to Zhang Yu, Chang Shide in Leizhou has become a target for many people, just because he has several women around him,” Zhang Yuchen said. “Some people have also questioned him for corruption, using public funds to buy women, and using his position for personal gain. The criticism is very fierce. Someone has already proposed to hold a hearing to have him explain this issue in person. It will be very difficult for him to get through this at the general assembly.”

“To be honest, what Old Chang did is nothing!” Zhang Xin was a little indignant. “How much silver did he spend on a few women? Besides, the original purpose of setting up the station in Leizhou was to buy some slaves for use—this was just a side matter. To put it bluntly, if you don’t sleep with a woman a few times and fuck her until she’s submissive, she won’t even think you trust her.”

Meng Xian nodded repeatedly. “Shibal! (This is a Korean exclamation) That’s right. Take my few maids, for example. Before I fucked them, they were all like wooden dolls…”

PEPI frowned. “That’s too crude. All this talk of fucking. Can’t you men say something else?”

“That’s the meaning,” Zhang Xin waved his hand dismissively. “Even in the time we came from, if a man and a woman in a relationship don’t sleep together after a certain point, can you call that having feelings?”

“Old Chang is like us. It’s not strange for him to have women around him. It would be strange if he didn’t,” Yan Maoda said. “I think we should remind the new leadership about this. They can’t be too picky in this regard.”