Chapter 336: Opening the Port (III)

In a quiet, slightly dilapidated room inside the county yamen, Xiong Dao finally saw the original land records for the area around Gaoqiao Town. These scrolls and deeds had been brought over by two of Yu Bende's young apprentices — land deeds, official deeds, maps, and official documents, piled high across two large tables.

At this point, the shopkeepers and accountants Xiong Dao had brought along naturally stopped standing on ceremony. Rolling up their sleeves, they took up the yamen's own brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones and began making records.

All the materials had to be transcribed, especially the land deeds: the buyer and seller, the middleman, the time, place, and transaction amount, the land area — all this information would ultimately be taken back and compiled.

Xiong Dao sat off to the side, holding a bowl of inferior tea, chatting idly with the land broker and Yu Bende.

Yu Bende's situation was different. At first, his attention was on the shopkeepers: in his entire career, such a large-scale examination of land deeds was a rare sight. If the other party weren't private merchants, he would have sworn a dynastic change was coming.

One had to realize that what they had brought out here were all the land records for the area around Gaoqiao Town — practically encompassing the entire peninsular county territory north of Pudong and east of the Huangpu River, a total area exceeding thirty square kilometers by later generations' reckoning.

So Yu Bende, who had initially been watching with a hint of amusement, couldn't help muttering to himself. Because as far as he knew, even the largest port wouldn't need more than a few hundred mu of land... "Could this Master Xiong be planning to acquire vast cotton fields and stir up trouble in the Songjiang cloth trade? No, no — that would mean blood in the water!"

After his initial shock passed, Yu Bende quickly realized that Master Xiong was no ordinary figure, so he began pumping the land broker for information. Yet when he finally figured out what business Master Xiong was in, the man rapped his own forehead with his knuckles: "My deepest apologies — so it's Master Xiong of the mortar and glaze trade. Yu had eyes but failed to recognize gold-inlaid jade. A capital offense, a capital offense!"

The cement shipped in from overseas had long since become a commodity in short supply. Including glass and the small quantities of mirrors that had only recently appeared, these highly sought-after goods had already drawn large numbers of "influential" figures from Beijing down to Jiangnan to make purchases, to say nothing of the locals.

So when Yu Bende learned that the man before him was the representative of the cement manufacturer, Master Xiong instantly transformed in his eyes into a gleaming figure of gold. Old Yu hurriedly and profusely began offering apologies and currying favor.

"Just an ordinary trader, doing a bit of business — there's no need for such courtesy, Clerk Yu." Xiong Dao had seen this kind of thing many times and paid it no mind.

But Yu Bende was different. Who in this line of work wasn't exquisitely perceptive and attuned to every wind? At this point, he had no further interest in investigating why Xiong Dao was buying land. Decisively, Yu Bende made the most important choice of his latter years: to cooperate.

Cooperate in what way? It sounded simple, but the technical skill involved was considerable, requiring years of accumulated practice. For example, Yu Bende pointed out on the spot: outside Gaoqiao Town, along the river, there was a stretch of Reed Beach. The deed marked it as official land, but that place was in fact a concealed private port where nearby fishermen and salt smugglers all conducted their trade.

Next, Clerk Yu pointed out with a faint smile: a certain spot that appeared to be a lake had actually silted up and leveled out back in the Wanli era and was now a hidden field belonging to a certain gentry family... the kind that never paid taxes.

Hearing this, Xiong Dao couldn't help setting down his tea bowl and regarding Clerk Yu with a serious expression. "It seems I've been underestimating these petty officials after all!"

Master Xiong had not expected that, accumulated over days and months, so many landmines lay buried even within the official records. Looking at the smug smile spreading across Clerk Yu's gaunt face, Xiong Dao realized that without this fellow, things would truly be difficult.

Although these mines would eventually be cleared, having assistance from someone in the know would undoubtedly save enormous time and effort in the early stages of demolition and relocation.

After swiftly weighing the pros and cons, Master Xiong nodded. "I wonder if Clerk Yu might have the leisure this evening to pay a visit to my humble dwelling for a chat?"

"When the master gives an order, how dare this man not obey?" Yu Bende cupped his hands with a beaming smile.

That night, Luo Garden, the main hall.

Xiong Dao sat in his chair and pushed a wooden tray across the table. At the same time, he fixed his gaze on Clerk Yu's eyes and said slowly, "This one thousand taels is the first payment — to buy your full assistance in the land acquisition matters. After it's done, there will be another two thousand taels as a token of gratitude."

Although Clerk Yu's usual share of various incomes at the county yamen was not small, a single deal netting him three thousand taels all to himself would set a new record for his entire career.

Yet the next moment, Yu Bende smilingly pushed the tray back. "To be frank with Master Xiong, this silver — I'm not exactly short of it."

"Oh? It's just the two of us here. Brother Yu, why not open the window and speak plainly?"

Yu Bende nodded. "If I may be so bold — I wonder if Master Xiong might have any opportunity in his business to lift up a local?"

"Heh heh, so that's it..." Hearing this, Xiong Dao leaned back against his chair, picked up a pack of "domestically produced" Taijiang Brand cigarettes, drew one out, lit it with a Zippo, took a deep drag, and only then said, "Brother, your ambitions aren't small."

"Ah, generations of petty officials, base servitude with no hope of rising — I merely wish to open a path to wealth for my family, and I beseech Master Xiong to grant this." Yu Bende cupped his hands, his manner now utterly sincere.

This opportunity today was one Yu Bende had been wanting for many years. One had to understand that different trades were like different mountains — in his own tiny patch of turf, a base servant like him could maneuver, but the moment he stepped outside his trade, no one would give him the time of day. He could run a small business, but if he tried to enter any proper industry, the gentry behind the scenes wouldn't so much as glance at him.

The situation was much like those Chinese detective sergeants in later-generations Hong Kong: the large sums of black money they collected could only be used to buy buildings for rent or to open a teahouse. If they tried to meddle in truly big business, they'd be devoured clean in minutes by the commercial titans — commerce wasn't about extortion and taking cuts; a few moves within the rules could bankrupt an outsider in an instant.

So this time, Yu Bende had also spotted his chance: this Master Xiong was buying up so much land in the county — without a doubt, he was about to stir up a great wave. He, Clerk Yu, would risk throwing in his lot this time. Once the venture succeeded, Master Xiong would surely reward him with a proper, legitimate path to wealth.

Now that Xiong Dao knew the other party wanted something, he naturally seized the initiative. So he grew even more at ease, saying unhurriedly, "I wonder if you realize, brother, that doing business requires capital — and three thousand taels of silver isn't enough."

"Very well!" Yu Bende had likely thought this through before coming; his gaunt face was all resolve. "In this land acquisition matter, I, Yu, will devote my utmost effort to handling everything from start to finish for you, Master. That three thousand taels in compensation — I won't take a single cent of it. Consider it my knock-on-the-door fee."

"As for the capital to do business — whatever it costs, that's what it costs. Yu knows the rules."

Hearing this, Xiong Dao nodded slightly. "And what line of business would Brother Yu like to enter?"

Yu Bende had been desperately waiting for this very question and immediately answered with excitement, "Cement, glazed windows, vanity mirrors — any of them would do. It all depends on which bowl of rice Master Xiong is willing to grant me."

"Hahaha, you certainly aim high!" Xiong Dao burst out laughing at this. "The Luo family — two generations of gentry — are even now trembling with fear doing business in Beijing. Here in the prefectures and counties of Jiangnan, well-connected gentry are everywhere."

At this, he tapped the table with his fingers. "No matter which goods we're talking about, even if I gave you the distribution rights for just a single county, are you certain that a petty official's household could last a month? Besides, the agency rights here are granted at the prefectural level at minimum. With those few connections of yours in Jiading County, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to handle things in Songjiang Prefecture, would you?"

"That..." Yu Bende couldn't help hesitating. He suddenly realized he had overlooked one thing: what if the business became wildly popular? Greed had blinded him before, so he hadn't considered that much — he had simply wanted to get the goods wholesale and earn money lying down.

Now that Xiong Dao had reminded him, he instantly grasped the meaning behind the words — after all, he worked in the county yamen and had seen far too many tragic cases of gentry ruining families and destroying lives.

"If it truly comes to it, I'll have the clan handle it publicly." Yu Bende, seasoned in the ways of the world, made a decisive call the moment he sensed trouble.

To sit securely in the position of chief clerk in a wealthy county of Jiangnan, one certainly had backing. The Yu clan could be considered a large family, and naturally, there were people within the clan who had risen to prominence.

However, this ran completely counter to Yu Bende's original plan — if the clan bore the pressure, then the clan would naturally take the lion's share of the profits as well.

"If that's the case, then I might as well go directly to Old Master Yu. Why sit here grinding my teeth with you?" Xiong Dao was no pushover; in just half a day, he had thoroughly investigated Yu Bende's background.

So when he heard Yu Bende's idea, he immediately expressed his refusal.

Just as Xiong Dao said, if it truly came to that, he could go directly to the Yu Clan Leader, Old Master Yu, to discuss matters. If the two sides reached an agreement, Yu Bende would still have to serve diligently... but that would be putting the cart before the horse, pointlessly dragging in a bunch of extraneous people. Both Xiong Dao and Yu Bende knew that path was unworkable.

"Would the master kindly point me toward a clear path?" Yu Bende thought for a long while and realized he truly could not find a way to withstand the various gentry families alone. In the end, dejected, he could only leave it to Xiong Dao to decide.

"All my businesses are monopolies. If your own foundation isn't solid, taking them on will only invite disaster." Seeing Yu Bende nod, Xiong Dao knew this old official had finally thought it through, so he continued, "For someone like you, it's better to honestly become one link in the supply chain. It won't draw attention, and you'll still earn silver."

Although Yu Bende couldn't understand what "supply chain" meant, he grasped the general idea: the man was willing to bring him in! So he hurriedly began expressing his thanks without pause.

At this, Xiong Dao clapped his hands once, and the two young servants standing guard at the door walked in. After giving them some instructions, it wasn't long before the two brought in a pile of items from outside and gently placed them on the table.

"These two items are new goods about to be sold in the Jiangnan region — also my exclusive lines. But the policy has changed now. Brother Yu, you can set up a local workshop, solely handling production, not sales. That way, your pressure will be much less. When the time comes, I'll invest a bit and take a share, helping you bear some of the burden, and then the business will be able to keep going."