Chapter 172: The Zhongyuan Festival Plan

The laughter died down, and Gou Chengxuan said, “Mr. Hao, it’s too harsh for you to live here. It’s so dirty and smelly. It’s not easy for us to come here to discuss matters either. Why don’t I speak to the Master and arrange for a house outside for you to live in…”

Hao Yuan shook his head. “Don’t you dislike this place for being dirty and smelly. The hearts of the people here are much cleaner than elsewhere. I feel like a fish in water here, as secure as Mount Tai.”

“Mr. Hao, you live here. Don’t the neighborhood chiefs and yamen runners bother you?”

“Hehe, it’s no problem. No one is that blind. The mother of the Baozheng here was on her deathbed, and I helped find a doctor and get medicine to save her life. He wanted to kowtow to me and become my sworn brother. As for the neighborhood chief, he’s too lazy to come to this stinking mud pit to look for trouble. The ‘public servants’ from the yamen dare not come here even more. The pits for the dead in the mass graves behind, and the Qiantang River in front… if you knock someone down and throw them in, even a resurrected Bao Qingtian wouldn’t be able to find them. Besides, what kind of profit could they extort from coming here?”

“Mr. Hao is truly a great hermit hidden in the city,” Gou Chengxuan flattered him clumsily.

“What kind of hermit am I? Just an ordinary mechanic. I happen to know a few characters, so I’m not illiterate. I’ve read a few books and can understand reason,” Hao Yuan said with a faint smile. “I just can’t stand this Master Zhao who treats the poor like dirt, who manipulates people with a flip of his hand. They need to be taught a lesson.”

Gou Chengxuan and Cao Guangjiu gave a dry laugh, not daring to continue the topic. Hao Yuan seemed to have a natural air of a strong person, which made these two “rascals” feel a sense of awe.

“The Master wants to know: when does Mr. Hao plan to give Master Zhao a good show?” Gou Chengxuan asked.

“For now, let’s first ruin Master Zhao’s reputation.” Hao Yuan’s smile vanished in an instant. He tapped his finger on the table and said, “In less than half a month, it will be the fifteenth of the seventh month, the Zhongyuan Festival. The fifteenth of the seventh month is the Ghost Festival. People worship their ancestors and also the lonely ghosts. With the disasters in recent years, there are too many lonely ghosts in hell. It’s a good time to make Master Zhao bleed a little to appease the anger of those resentful souls.”

Hao Yuan continued, “The fifteenth of the seventh month is an interesting day. The Zhongyuan Ghost Festival. The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha shows his power, the gates of hell open, and all the lonely ghosts are released. People float river lanterns and perform the ‘flaming mouth’ ritual. We’ll also seek justice for the lonely ghosts! Since we’re floating river lanterns, let’s make it a big one. Let’s make a hundred thousand river lanterns and float them directly to the pier of the Phoenix Villa. Then, we’ll set up a Daoist altar at the entrance of the villa and perform a grand ‘flaming mouth’ ceremony. For the living and the dead, those with grievances can air them, and those with grudges can seek revenge.”

“A Daoist altar? Who would be willing to do this? This is at the main gate of the Phoenix Villa. He’s now a well-known member of the gentry in the provincial capital. I’m afraid ordinary monks wouldn’t dare.” “As long as you spend money, are you afraid you won’t find monks willing to do it? At worst, we can find a wild monk to do it!” Gou Chengxuan slapped his thigh.

“Hehe, ordinary monks wouldn’t dare, but naturally there are extraordinary monks.” Hao Yuan was full of confidence. “Why find a wild monk? If we’re going to find someone, we should find a famous and virtuous high monk. Only then can we show that Master Zhao is condemned by both gods and men. Doesn’t Master Zhao cozy up to the Christians quite happily? Do you still remember last year’s religious case?”

Gou Chengxuan and Cao Guangjiu nodded in unison. This Hao Yuan thought so deeply! Although that religious case had calmed down, the animosity of the parties involved towards Christianity had not dissipated. And although Zhao Yigong had not publicly professed the faith, it was common knowledge that he frequently visited the church and was very close to the Christian gentry. With proper guidance, the monks’ hatred for Christianity could easily be transferred to Zhao Yigong.

“Mr. Hao, you are truly infallible in your planning…” Cao Guangjiu complimented him from the bottom of his heart.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Hao Yuan said. “If they are willing to step forward, wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds? Zhang Guang would probably even be grateful to us.”

He added that the posters should specifically mention Zhao Yigong’s collusion with the foreign Christian monks, hinting that someone in the Phoenix Villa was practicing “Western dark arts.”

“We must specifically mention his collusion with the foreign monks and his use of Western dark arts. That’s why he has so many novel things. Don’t forget that many of the things he sells are Australian goods! Who can say for sure where these Australian goods come from? This will also be a reminder to the scholars and citizens of this city.”

“Brilliant, truly brilliant!” Gou Chengxuan was already full of hatred for the short-hair bandits, and this suggestion was right up his alley. “It’s not that I’m talking too much, but I see Master Zhao as a genuine short-hair thief, no doubt about it!”

“Hehe, whether he is a short-hair thief or not is irrelevant.” Hao Yuan smiled faintly. “As long as we ruin the reputation of the so-called Australians, it won’t be so easy for them to deceive the common people with their tricks of being both a ghost and a doctor in the future. We must let the people see their true faces! Otherwise, if we drive away one Zhao Yigong, there will be a Liu Yigong and a Wang Yigong.”

Gou Chengxuan and Cao Guangjiu listened, half-understanding. But they didn’t ask further questions. One was already full of hatred for the short-hair bandits, and the other was just doing a job for money, uninterested in anything else.

Hao Yuan added, “However, the posters should not involve the Christian gentry. Our target is Zhao Yigong. We should not create unnecessary enemies.”

“Good, let’s do it that way!” Gou Chengxuan slammed the table in approval. “I’ll report back to the Master and then send people to handle it!”

Cao Guangjiu also said that he would prepare enough manpower to distribute the posters, spread rumors, and then incite the people to cause trouble.

“What about the Wanbi Bookstore?” Gou Chengxuan suddenly remembered.

“The Wanbi Bookstore is in the city. Let alone gathering a few thousand people, even if two or three hundred people walk together in a group on the street, the yamen will get nervous and someone will immediately come out to suppress the situation,” Cao Guangjiu, being experienced in such matters, knew the difference between inside and outside the city. Outside the city, even if thousands of people were fighting with weapons, the local officials would only come out to deal with it after the fighting was over.

Hao Yuan said, “Old Cao is right. We can’t be too disrespectful to the government when we do this. Making a big scene in the city is too much. Once we’re outside the city gates, it’s not a big deal. Besides, of Zhao Yigong’s two strongholds in Hangzhou, the Phoenix Villa is the core. If we destroy that place, he won’t be able to recover for at least half a year or a year. With that window of opportunity, we can slowly deal with him.”

They then discussed some details of the arrangements. Since it was only the sixth lunar month, there was still a month to prepare.

Cao Guangjiu and Gou Chengxuan didn’t leave until the third watch of the night, secretly escorted by men. There was no place for them to stay here, and even if there were, they couldn’t bear to.

After seeing the two off, Hao Yuan stretched his back and sat on the bed. He had no desire to sleep. His eyes were bright and full of spirit, as if he were deep in thought.

Just then, the straw-woven door curtain was carefully lifted a corner, revealing a child with a cleanly shaven head, about eleven or twelve years old, holding a large chipped bowl containing a few steaming coarse grain cakes.

“Uncle Hao, you’re busy until midnight again. Mother steamed these and told me to bring them to you for a late-night snack.”

“Your family is not well-off either. These cakes are probably the dry rations for your father’s business tomorrow. If I eat them, what will your father eat tomorrow? Take them back, I’m not hungry.”

“There are more cakes. It’s not like it’s anything special. There’s not much edible stuff in them anyway.” The child laughed, showing a hint of bright eyes and a charming smile. Coupled with a slender face and a pointed chin, it turned out to be a girl. She was quite pretty, but her face was pale and her cheeks were sunken.

“Even if it’s not fit for human consumption, you can’t even eat your fill of it.” Hao Yuan smiled slightly. “Uncle Hao can eat his fill, and I don’t have to work tomorrow. You should take it back. Grain is so expensive now, and your parents are not in good health. Every extra bite is good for them.” “My father’s life and mine were saved by you. If it weren’t for you, I would have been sold as a maid. If you refuse to eat even a single coarse grain cake, you’re forcing us to feel guilty for the rest of our lives,” the girl said.

“I don’t save people for the sake of reward,” Hao Yuan smiled.

“I know, you’re doing good deeds to accumulate virtue,” the girl said. “If you wanted a reward, would you have come to our place?” She said as she stuffed the coarse grain cake into Hao Yuan’s hand. “Eat it, eat it. If you eat it, our hearts will be at ease. This is all our family can offer. We wanted to cook you a bowl of lotus root starch balls, but we couldn’t even manage that.” She sighed as she spoke.

Hao Yuan had no choice but to take a bite. The coarse grain cake was dark and pasty. It was called coarse grain, but it was mainly rice bran mixed with some bean dregs and other grains. It was not only coarse and difficult to chew and swallow, but it also had an indescribable musty and sour taste.

But even this stuff was not something every household in Nanxiawa could use to fill their stomachs. The little girl’s father was a small street vendor, selling snacks like lotus root starch balls and red bean paste, so they could barely make ends meet.

The little girl clapped her hands and laughed, “Uncle Hao, you really aren’t from a poor family. If it were us eating this, we’d swallow it in two or three bites.”

Hao Yuan patted her bald head. “If I were a rich man, would I be living here?”

“Maybe your family was rich before.”

Hao Yuan laughed. “Before…” His smile became deep and lost.

“I guessed right, didn’t I?” The girl clapped her hands. In fact, the “consensus” among the residents of Nanxiawa was that “Mr. Hao” was probably the son of a wealthy family who had fallen on hard times and ended up here, but no one ever said it to his face. Everyone felt it was a sore subject for “Mr. Hao.”

“I wasn’t from a rich family before either.” Hao Yuan came back to his senses and smiled to cover it up. “You’re a girl. It’s not good for you to stay in my place so late at night. Hurry back.”

“What kind of registered person am I?” The little girl laughed. “Does anyone here care about that? Maybe I’ll be taken out and sold one day. If it weren’t for your help last time, Uncle Hao, who knows which mansion I’d be suffering in right now! I might have been beaten to death already.”

Hao Yuan took another bite of the coarse grain cake and said, “There’s nothing to say about that. I just happened to have some money. Without that money, what use would my good heart have been?”

“So it’s my good luck, then. Uncle Hao, you are my lucky star. No, you are the lucky star of our Nanxiawa…”