Chapter 490: Little Treasury

When it came to splitting money, Chen Chen Guanlou had always been decisive—no playing guessing games.

He instructed Qian Xu Fugui: "Set aside a thousand for me, divide the rest among the men. Looking after Jiang Tu hasn't been easy, everyone's had a hard time lately—think of it as compensation for them. Remember to set aside five hundred taels for Warden Lei; he may not show up, but he still holds the title of warden—we can't forget him just because he's absent."

Qian Xu Fugui's face showed hesitation. "My lord taking so little doesn't seem right, in my humble opinion. Without you, my lord, we could never have gotten so much money from this Jiang Tu job. Vice Minister Sun wouldn't have opened this door either, letting us extort Jiang Tu. I believe my lord should take at least two thousand to be reasonable."

What a fine lickspittle!

That earnest little expression—he's got a future!

Chen Chen Guanlou laughed, clapped Qian Xu Fugui on his thick shoulder, and offered his praise. "I accept your good intentions. This time we'll do it my way. How about this—take some of the money, look around for a suitable business outside, and invest it.

If it makes money, the profits from then on will be our little treasury. Whenever anyone's family hits hard times, we'll draw from the treasury to settle accounts—it'll solve at least some problems.

When we're too old to work anymore, for retirement and the like, each person will draw money from the treasury every month. Work out the specifics, draw up a plan. We prison guards slave away our whole lives and end up with nothing—this can't go on. We have to think long-term.

No one else can do this—only you. If you don't have enough hands, pick a few sharp lads from the guards to learn bookkeeping from you, make sure there's a successor. They have to inherit not only your skills but also our guards' tradition of helping one another—make sure the treasury serves everyone's welfare, not some individual's private property."

Such an important mission, such trust—Qian Xu Fugui instantly felt his spine straighten and the weight on his shoulders grow heavier. A sense of duty welled up from within.

"My lord truly, truly wants to set up a treasury for everyone's retirement?" Qian Xu Fugui asked, his voice trembling with excitement.

Chen Chen Guanlou said solemnly: "How could that be false? This money won't go on the books anyway, so we'll set up a treasury and find a stable, money-making business to invest in. Not asking for big profits—just an annual surplus will do.

Of the surplus, what proportion continues into the business, what proportion gets pulled out as reserves to help guards in trouble—you draft a plan for all of it.

Also, how to help people, what situations are worth helping with—there has to be a plan for that too. For instance, if gambling causes family hardship, should we help? There must be a clear rule, right? The treasury is for everyone's welfare, not for paying gambling debts. And how exactly does retirement work, who's eligible to draw retirement money from the treasury—there has to be a standard, a plan for that too. This matter has a thousand tangled threads—you'll be busy."

Qian Xu Fugui felt the weight of responsibility, yet brimmed with drive. "Rest assured, my lord. I'll think it through carefully and come up with a mature plan. May I ask my lord's instructions—how much should be set aside as capital?"

"What do you think should be set aside?"

"In my humble opinion, we might as well put all the money into the business."

"No! The brothers below have been working so hard for so long, and to keep Jiang Tu safe, everyone still has to keep grinding. We must give them a hardship bonus. It doesn't have to be much, but it must be there. Remember that?"

With money comes motivation.

With money, everyone accepts Chen Chen Guanlou's management and is willing to go along with environmental improvements—like bathing often, changing clothes often, keeping the place clean. Don't underestimate this small thing. A bunch of thoroughly wicked rascals willing to bathe and change clothes to keep clean means they all submit to Chen Chen Guanlou's authority, willing to obey his orders. Otherwise, these rascals wouldn't give you the time of day.

Cultivating obedience starts with small things, and the corresponding benefits must keep pace. Only then can a virtuous cycle form.

When the guards do their jobs well, they get paid, and they don't need to mistreat, extort, or abuse the prisoners—humane management achieved. The good reputation of the Heaven Prison guards as rule-followers spreads through officialdom; in the future, officials who fall afoul of the law will be more willing to serve their time in Heaven Prison, Heaven Prison's business will naturally flourish, and everyone's income will rise with the tide.

Once the virtuous cycle is in place, even if the neighboring Edict Prison rode hard, it couldn't steal Heaven Prison's business.

Running Heaven Prison with a businessman's mindset—he really is a talent.

Chen Chen Guanlou's round of encouragement and pie-in-the-sky promises stirred up Qian Xu Fugui's powerful career ambition.

He decided to set aside a thousand taels for the business and five hundred taels to distribute to the guards below. This allocation plan won Chen Chen Guanlou's support.

Before leaving, Qian Xu Fugui said, "My lord, I think Warden Lei is somewhat redundant. Should we find a way to get rid of him?"

"If he leaves, someone new will come. A newcomer means we have to readjust all over again."

"Why doesn't my lord become warden himself?"

"Being warden is no fun—too much official red tape."

"Then… how about forcing Warden Lei out, and then finding a way to keep the higher-ups from sending anyone to fill the warden's seat? Leave the warden's position permanently vacant. After all, Heaven Prison without a warden doesn't affect anything. And all the other prison clerks respect you, my lord. Without a warden, my lord would be the true boss of Heaven Prison."

"That breaks the rules." Chen Chen Guanlou shook his head.

Yet Qian Xu Fugui felt his own idea was nothing short of genius. "Man proposes, God disposes. Vice Minister Sun took seven thousand taels—seven thousand taels, mind you. If he won't handle even this small thing, next time we won't bother cooperating with him. Without our cooperation, where does he get the face to extort Jiang Tu? Those scholars care about face—they can't extort in broad daylight, they can only rely on us to do their dirty work. Without us, forget seven thousand taels, he wouldn't even get a thousand taels in hand."

Chen Chen Guanlou mulled it over—Qian Xu Fugui's proposal had room to maneuver.

He too was fed up with Warden Lei sitting on top of them, taking money but doing nothing. Not doing anything would be forgivable, but he also refused to take the blame. As warden, one of his duties is to step up to the plate when things go wrong, handle the official paperwork properly, and fight for more benefits for Heaven Prison. As for Heaven Prison's logistics, no need to worry about that—those people have their own backers. They're never short on money for logistics.

Warden Lei was, for Heaven Prison, genuinely somewhat redundant. Over this past year, he'd skimmed enough money to grease the wheels and switch to a different government office.

Chen Chen Guanlou made his decision on the spot and said: "When Vice Minister Sun's people come to collect the money, you go in my place and have a good, friendly chat with them."

Qian Xu Fugui instantly took the hint. "Rest assured, my lord. This one will see it done properly."

"Be polite when you speak. I reckon this time Sun Sun Daoning might get a promotion. He's suddenly become so greedy—probably needs to give gifts to people. If he becomes Minister of Justice, heh-heh, we'll have ourselves a backer too."