Chapter 31: Tangzhuang

The White Village had been wiped out, but Hangzhou hadn't received word yet, so Liu He was quite shocked to hear it.

Although the Liu Family had gradually shifted its business focus over the years and begun to get involved in the grain, cloth, and general goods trade along the Canal, the merchant gangs of the Hui-Hang Road were still the foundation upon which the Liu Family had built its fortune. The White Family's destruction was a major event and absolutely could not be treated lightly.

As for Chu Jianli's mention of finding a place to stay, Liu the Steward didn't care in the slightest — the lords of the road inevitably had to come to Hangzhou on business from time to time, and the Liu Family owned numerous properties both inside and outside the city, so this was no issue at all.

Hearing this, Cao Chuan knew that any further worrying on his part would be pointless. He didn't understand the minds of these ancients, and with no other choice, he could only display his divine might — with a wave of his hand, he released a pile of silver ingots.

Amidst the silver ingots clattering and rolling across the tabletop and the astonished stares, Cao Zhenren made a bold declaration: from now on, he would cover all the costs for everyone's house purchases, goods, and servant girls.

Early the next morning, the fat steward came calling again with a few servants. After a whispered conversation with Chu San, everyone was roused to pack their luggage. Two boats were already waiting at the door.

The group traveled south from the city's north side, skirting the city along the Tiesha River, passing the Genshan, Qingchun, and Qingtai Gates, then turned east into another river. Cao Chuan roughly estimated that this river's location would later be called the Xintang River.

Perhaps because it was near where the Qiantang met the sea, the land along the river was saline-alkaline. Grasslands and reed marshes grew more frequent as they went, dotted here and there with salt-making households "boiling sand" to produce salt. The boat traveled swiftly the whole way, and it wasn't until they turned into a private port not far from the Qiantang River that everyone disembarked at this river bend.

Cao Chuan stood on the shore and looked around in all directions, reckoning that their current location should be around the later Shuixiang Road Xintang District area. Not far to the south was the river embankment, beyond which the Qiantang River flowed slowly by.

About three hundred meters from the private port stood a large residence on slightly elevated ground. Ushered by the fat steward, the group headed toward the residence.

Perhaps because they were "one of their own," Liu the Steward didn't stand on ceremony during the journey and recounted the history of this residence in detail.

The story went that after the Liu Family rose to power, they began to consider conglomeration and diversified operations, and this residence was one such project. The Liu Family's original plan was to use this residence as a transfer station, build a private port, bypass the many powers at the docks outside Hangzhou City, and independently open a trade route for transporting wood and mountain goods from the upper reaches of the Qiantang River down to Hangzhou.

For this strategic objective, the Liu Family had invested considerably upfront: they bought the residence and the surrounding few dozen mu of saline-alkaline land, dredged the river bend to build a private dock, and even spent silver to repair the river lock at the mouth of the Xintang River — although they installed their own people, the lock's ownership was public, so the Liu Family completed this act of charity with tears in their eyes.

After all preparations were properly made, the Liu Family began shipping wood from upstream toward Hangzhou City. And after that... there was no after that.

According to the sole boatman who survived and escaped after eating Board Knife Noodles, the Liu Family's cargo ships suffered a saturation attack in the Fuchun River basin, making intimate contact with no fewer than three bands of river pirates. The ships and log rafts never even got to see the sun over the Qiantang River before vanishing along the banks of the Fuchun.

Why the fleet was targeted, who the hidden hand behind the scenes was, who was laughing maniacally in the dead of night — all of this remains a mystery to this day. As for Liu Yaozu, Chairman Liu, who was accustomed to being the hidden hand himself, decisively slamming the brakes and reallocating resources from unfamiliar territory back to the Canal One Line — those are stories for another time.

Chu Jianli laughed heartily when Liu He got to this part. "The friends on the river really don't give Lord Liu any face — what crime should they be charged with?"

Liu He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Third Lord, please don't mock us. Every family has its times of ill fortune."

Laughing, the group arrived at the main gate of the large residence. Cao Chuan looked up at the large plaque above the door. The name was very plain — just the two characters "Tangzhuang."

Liu the Steward called out at the gate, and soon two servants ran out from inside and pushed open the main doors. Everyone entered and looked around. The place was not small, with over a dozen courtyards and rooms. The Liu Family had remodeled it after taking over — steps and door thresholds had all been removed, clearly to make storing goods easier. It was more fitting to call it a warehouse than a residence.

Since this residence had never been put to use, only two handymen were there to watch the place, so it had become quite dilapidated. In the back residence there was also a garden overgrown with wild grass. The garden was fairly large, about two mu in size, with three old buildings inside. As soon as everyone entered, the old locust trees swayed, the wind blew the grass low, and in the sudden rustling, it seemed as if snakes, rats, and ghostly shadows were darting about.

Though Tangzhuang was run-down, to men who lived year-round in the mountains, this was commercial housing.

Seeing a certain someone's indifferent expression, Chu Jianli privately wondered if perhaps the gentleman preferred liveliness and was unwilling to live outside the city. So, while Liu the Housekeeper went to the gatehouse for tea, he pulled Cao Chuan aside and hurriedly explained: First, by convention, wandering martial artists from outside wouldn't live long-term inside the city, because the various powers inside the city walls were all mixed together. If trouble was stirred up on official territory, everyone would be strangers in an unfamiliar place, and, well, running away wouldn't be very convenient.

Second, given that a certain Daoist's personally carried "Dharma Artifact" was far too formidable and made quite a commotion when used, it was best for everyone to live outside the city. In case the immortal had business requiring him to throw a fit, outside the city there were no taboos whatsoever.

After hearing the explanation, Cao Chuan hurriedly said in rapid succession that he had no objections. His mind was now completely preoccupied with how to acquire a villa in the twenty-first century. As for this seventeenth-century warehouse before him, they could do whatever they wanted with it, as long as there was a courtyard room where he could "meditate in peace."

Seeing the gentleman's stance, Chu Jianli no longer delayed. He ordered everyone to quickly sweep and clean the three rooms in the back garden first, while he himself took the silver to see Liu the Housekeeper.

Liu He was suddenly confronted with a pile of Ming Dynasty silver ingots appearing before him and didn't react for a moment — "When did these paupers have a change of heart, actually willing to pay out silver?"

Before coming, the Liu Family hadn't expected to sell the residence. They knew the mountain folk were poor, and it was with the idea of making use of an abandoned property that they brought the heroes to Tangzhuang. They had assumed this group was here to mooch food and do some sightseeing. Now, seeing the silver, Liu the Steward knew he had misjudged them earlier.

The pile of official silver before him was at least twenty ingots, which meant a starting sum of one thousand taels. With Liu the Steward's many years of rich experience in skimming, a single glance told him the ingots' purity was not low.

Liu He was inwardly overjoyed for a moment — this abandoned residence was one of the rare testimonies to Chairman Liu Yaozu's failed investments. Now, with this thousand-odd taels of silver, although the overall project was still in the red, this was a solid case of revitalizing a non-performing asset, plus bidding farewell to painful memories. When Liu the Steward went back and handed over the silver, this would be a meritorious deed.

Thoughts turning in his head, his hands were not idle. Liu He wrapped up the silver at light speed, his face wreathed in smiles, and guaranteed on the spot: a boatload of food, clothing, and daily necessities would be delivered that afternoon, the remaining deed tax and loose ends could be settled within five to seven days, and he would leave two men here for Third Lord to command. If anything was needed, they only had to send someone to communicate.

His words barely finished, Liu the Steward swept away like the wind, leaving Cao Chuan's group to guard a huge, empty residence and begin setting things up.