Chapter 300: Childhood Friends

The docks along the Southern Canal were in utter chaos, with over a hundred people chasing and beating each other. The trackers and merchants watching the excitement cheered loudly, hoping the turmoil would only grow.

One side of the brawl was the Tianjin branch of the Wendeng Tobacco Company, represented by Deng Keshan. The other side was the Tianjin branch of the Linqing Tobacco Company. The Linqing side had also rounded up a gang of local thugs in Tianjin; together with their shop assistants, they numbered forty or fifty men. The armed fight escalated further. Deng Keshan stood far off, fifty paces away, directing the reinforcements arriving from behind to join the battle.

"Brother Deng, I've brought men!"

"What kind of men?"

"Five Street Fighters!"

Deng Keshan waved his hand. "Two taels of silver each. Get them up there for me."

"Brother Deng, I've brought men too!"

"What kind of men?"

"Ten neighbors!"

"One tael of silver each. Get them up there for me."

"Brother Deng, I'm here."

"What kind of men?"

"Ten male brothel workers!"

"Each... To hell with you! What use are brothel workers, here to carry night pots? Get lost, get lost, get lost."

"Brothel workers can still fight, can't they? Brother Deng, if you give them five mace of silver, I guarantee they'll send the Linqing tobacco shop men running for the hills."

Deng Keshan gritted his teeth. "Then tell them to grab weapons and get up there too."

Local ruffians and vagrants from Tianjin city kept streaming in. Deng Keshan had roamed Tianjin for over twenty years, swindling and cheating, so his connections were extensive. Nearly half of Tianjin's underworld had shown up.

The situation shifted rapidly. Nearly two hundred street thugs, wielding clubs and blades, chased the thirty or forty men from the Linqing tobacco shop, beating them indiscriminately. Some of the Linqing men were chased to the riverbank and, with no way out, plunged headfirst into the Grand Canal. A few small boats that usually solicited passengers rowed over. The boatmen on board shouted to the Linqing men thrashing in the water, "One tael of silver to get on board!" Those in the water who handed over silver were pulled onto the boats; those without silver were refused boarding, no matter what.

Seeing the Linqing side completely routed, Deng Keshan roared with laughter. He pulled out a gilded fan, snapped it open with a flourish, and swaggered over to the front of the Linqing tobacco shop. The Shopkeeper inside had been seized by several thugs and was being beaten on the ground. The Shopkeeper, tears and snot streaming down his face, begged for mercy repeatedly. Meanwhile, a group of brothel workers were inside the counter, rummaging for silver.

Deng Keshan swept his gaze across the shop. It was piled high with crates. He walked over and opened one, casually picking up a pack. It was a Linqing product, called Linqing Fragrance. The packaging was very crude. It had been selling recently in the surrounding villages, competing with Wendeng Fragrance for the low-end market.

Deng Keshan snorted and turned to rummage through the back room. After opening another crate, he froze for a moment, then burst out cursing, "Your mother! I always said it was you making the counterfeit goods. This time I've caught you red-handed."

He rushed out from the back room, holding a pack of cigarettes with packaging identical to Wendeng Fragrance. He kicked and beat the Shopkeeper on the ground repeatedly. "You dog! Didn't you say last time that you Linqing people don't produce counterfeits? Trying to steal my business, ruining my reputation! Today I'll beat you to death."

Deng Keshan punched and kicked until the Shopkeeper's mouth and nose bled. But he was just a thug, not a desperate killer after all. Though the Shopkeeper looked miserable, his injuries were actually not severe. After finishing the beating, Deng Keshan shouted to the thugs, "Move the tobacco to the dock and burn it all for me."

The ruffians answered in unison and scrambled to carry the tobacco from the Linqing shop out, piling it all onto the river embankment outside, while conveniently stuffing a few packs into their own pockets.

Several brothel workers ran diligently to fetch some tung oil and sprinkled it on the tobacco pile. Other thugs seized the opportunity to frantically grab tobacco. These men were all cigarette consumers; even the Wendeng local custom of handing out cigarettes upon meeting had spread to Tianjin. They smoked quite a lot each day. Although these were fake Wendeng cigarettes now, they could still satisfy a nicotine craving, so naturally they wanted to grab some for themselves.

Deng Keshan frowned. Every pack they grabbed here was one less pack they would buy, affecting his income. He immediately yelled curses, "Stop grabbing! These are all fake Wendeng Fragrance. Smoke them and you won't even be able to handle a woman all night."

How would those thugs believe him? Grinning cheekily, they continued taking them and occasionally tossed packs toward the watching trackers nearby, drawing waves of cheers. Deng Keshan grew anxious. Without waiting for the brothel workers to finish pouring the oil, he snatched a torch and threw it on. A collective sigh of regret rose from the onlookers. Deng Keshan felt immensely pleased. This time he had thoroughly crushed the Linqing tobacco firm. This firm had some connections with the Provincial Governor's government office here in Tianjin, but his own connections were not bad either. Every year, Song Wenxian would travel to Tianjin to visit the Provincial Governor, the naval forces, and the Qingjun Ting, smoothing things over with gifts; the chief officials all looked after him. Moreover, after the battle of the four cities, the Wendeng Battalion had been stationed in Tianjin for a long time, exerting great influence among the Tianjin populace. Officials and commoners alike would be extra polite whenever they heard a merchant was from Wendeng.

The level of clerks was Deng Keshan's particular strength. The government apparatus of the Ming Dynasty was extremely simplified; a county had only a few civil servants, utterly incapable of managing so many matters. The parent-officials who had passed the imperial examinations were also quite mediocre at handling practical affairs, so they could only recruit a group of underlings, including the government office Runners who enforced the law. These were basically all temporary workers without official staffing positions.

Tianjin was originally a military garrison, with no such thing as a county government office. Later, as the civilian population gradually grew, they had no choice but to establish a Qingjun Ting, which in practice served the function of a county government office. The Qingjun Ting naturally also had to recruit a group of clerks and runners. Many of these men were Tianjin natives who had known Deng Keshan since childhood, serving in the government office as Constables, Prison Guards, minor officials, assistant thugs, and other roles. In reality, they were all thugs just like Deng Keshan. If the local magistrate wanted to manage local affairs well, he truly couldn't function without these people. With the help of these men, the Four Seas Trading Company had connections in both the underworld and legitimate circles in Tianjin, making it the best-developed location along the Grand Canal.

Flames shot up from the piled tobacco crates, sending up plumes of white smoke. The smell of burning tobacco spread through the air. The surrounding trackers, porters, and nearby shop assistants all drew closer, taking out their tobacco pipes and inhaling the white smoke.

Deng Keshan couldn't be bothered with these people. In any case, the Linqing tobacco firm had lost all face and probably wouldn't be able to operate in Tianjin anymore. Without Tianjin, their routes to Northern Zhili and Liaodong would also be blocked, and he could sell more of his own goods.

Deng Keshan recalled the ferry boats mentioned earlier and felt a surge of anger. How dare they play tricks right under his, Deng Er's, nose. Since he had already summoned the men, he shouted, "And those boatmen who helped Linqing solicit customers, grab them all and beat them for me."

Having grabbed enough tobacco, the gang of thugs swarmed toward where the ferry boats were docked. The boatmen over there saw trouble coming and hurriedly poled their bamboo poles to push off from the shore. Deng Keshan was about to follow in pursuit when someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. Deng Keshan, in high spirits, cursed without turning his head, "Get lost, I've got business to attend to."

"Lord Deng is truly a busy man of importance, ignoring even old friends." A familiar voice came from behind, but for a moment he couldn't place who it was. He quickly turned his head to look.

"Brother Zhou, you're back! Mr. Song said you became some kind of Bureau Director. What exactly does a Bureau Director do? I've been missing you terribly lately, brother. I was just saying I'd take a boat to Wendeng in a couple of months to see you. Look at this, you came back first. This is what we call sincerity making the spirit respond."

Deng Keshan was overjoyed. He attentively dusted off Zhou Shifa's clothes, exactly as he had done back when he dragged Zhou Shifa into setting up honey traps.

Zhou Shifa let him pat away with a smile, sizing up Deng Keshan's attire. Everything he wore was top-quality goods. He couldn't help but laugh, "Deng Er, you really have the air of a big Proprietor now."

Deng Keshan nodded and bowed obsequiously. "It's all thanks to the care of General Chen, Mr. Liu, and Brother Zhou. Otherwise, how could a nobody like me get southern goods so smoothly? I must say, the Four Seas Trading Company is truly excellent; the prices are even half a percent lower than the lowest elsewhere. Brother Zhou, how long are you staying this trip? Perfect timing, let me give you your share dividend from last year."

"I leave tomorrow. First, I'll go to Jingshi to pave the way for Lord Chen and arrange some matters. The dividend isn't much anyway. Exchange it for a silver note, and I'll pick it up on my return trip."

Deng Keshan said in surprise, "Lord Chen is back? Then why didn't he look for me? And you're leaving just as soon as you've arrived. Have you all been promoted and gotten rich, now looking down on me? You have no idea how bitterly I've missed you all."

Zhou Shifa knew he was a man who spoke nothing but nonsense. He just smiled, then pointed at the pile of burning cigarettes and asked, "Goods from Linqing?"

"Yes, Brother Zhou, how did you know?"

Zhou Shifa's expression turned cold. This time, during the distribution of shares in the Four Seas Trading Company, he, as a high-level member, also had one thousand taels' worth of shares. Zhou Shifa was now engaged in secret work, spending a great deal of time thinking, and most of the time he also needed cover from shops and the like. He was gradually developing a sensitivity to commerce. He felt this trading company could likely make a great deal of money. Cigarettes and smuggled goods from Liaodong would henceforth be unique to Wendeng, and Wendeng just happened to have the channels to import very cheap southern goods from the south—all items the Jianzhou Bandits craved.

Southern merchant ships brought southern goods to Jinghai, the Wendeng Battalion exchanged southern goods and cigarettes for Liaodong's silver and local specialties, and the southern merchant ships then returned to Jiangnan fully loaded with Liaodong specialties and cigarettes. The same pattern applied along the Grand Canal. Every direction was an immensely profitable trade. This year, direct trade with the northern border garrisons had also been newly opened up. Zhou Shifa was very optimistic about the prospects of the Four Seas Trading Company. Since the Four Seas Trading Company was helping him earn silver, he absolutely would not allow anyone to come and steal business.

"The Linqing gang again. But don't worry, I guarantee they won't come to Tianjin again next year." Zhou Shifa said this with a smile. Deng Keshan felt a chill wind sweep past him, sensing a great deal of coldness behind those words. Zhou Shifa hadn't been like this before. He was just a bit fiercer among the rowdy soldiers, strictly speaking also one of the thugs. Now, however, he seemed like the coldest of the Street Fighters.

A chill rose in Deng Keshan's heart. He no longer dared to dust off Zhou Shifa's clothes. He stopped his hands and said with an ingratiating smile, "Brother Zhou, are you free this evening? Your brother will host a welcome dinner for you."

"No, I just accompanied Lord Chen to visit the Provincial Governor here..."

Deng Keshan let out an exaggerated cry, "Ah, Zheng Zongzhou?"

Zhou Shifa said, utterly unexcited, "Just a Tianjin Provincial Governor. Nowadays, before Lord Chen, local officials, whether civil or military, even ordinary ones, are all very courteous. Back to the trading company matter, Zheng Zongzhou agreed to look after things, so it'll be easier for you to conduct business from now on. For incidents like today's, killing one or two wouldn't be an issue."

Deng Keshan gulped. Every time he made fierce threats, he truly didn't have the guts to kill anyone. He quickly changed the subject and asked, "This evening, your brother will play host and invite you and Lord Chen for a drink, how about it?"

Zhou Shifa shook his head. "I leave for Jingshi tomorrow; I need to conserve my energy today. I'll find you on my return trip. Lord Chen doesn't want to socialize either. He's staying at his old courtyard tonight. Just come by this evening to chat."

"Yes." Deng Keshan agreed. When he looked up, Zhou Shifa had already walked off on his own. From Deng Keshan's experience in the underworld, he noticed at least three people in the crowd leave in sequence after him.

Deng Keshan gazed at Zhou Shifa's retreating figure and suddenly felt that this brother he had grown up with since childhood was so utterly unfamiliar.