Chapter 14: The Yin Family's Trouble

Yin Mansion.

Tingyu Study, which is Yin Chengtao's study.

Yin Chengtao is wearing a Qing-colored long robe and a dark gold skullcap; he has a handsome appearance and a scholarly temperament.

Yet at this moment, his brows are tightly furrowed, and his expression is heavy.

Yin Xuan's expression is solemn as he says heavily, "Father, the Caohe Gang is entrenched at the docks. Without their nod, those ship owners simply dare not transport goods for us. If we don't deliver the goods, we will have to pay a large sum of money for the breach of contract."

Shaoxing has a dense network of rivers and is close to the sea, making water transport extremely convenient.

Nowadays is not like the later generations; if one wants to do business with foreigners, one must go to treaty ports. Therefore, the Yin Family's silk and tea need to be transported out of Shaoxing first to be sold in Hangzhou, or perhaps Shanghai and Ningbo.

These three places are all treaty ports.

However, large merchants like the Yin Family basically have fixed clients, and both sides have signed contracts.

The Yin Family originally had their own cargo ships, but they accidentally caught fire and burned down last month, so they had to look for cargo ships to help transport the goods, but they did not expect that not a single one would be willing.

All the ship owners seem to have agreed beforehand not to do business with the Yin Family.

Yin Chengtao and his son Yin Xuan instinctively felt that something was wrong, so they hurriedly inquired about the news in secret, only to find out that it was the Caohe Gang playing tricks.

The Caohe Gang warned all ship owners not to transport the Yin Family's goods.

The Caohe Gang is entrenched at the docks, controlling all the water systems around Shaoxing, with over a thousand gang members, and they have also established connections with the government; even the Yin Family cannot do anything about them for the time being.

Thus, Yin Chengtao could only arrange a meeting with the Caohe Gang Leader, Lv Xianba.

If there is a grudge, it should be resolved.

After all, the Yin Family values harmony in business and never easily makes enemies with others.

But who would have thought that Lv Xianba would open his mouth like a lion, demanding thirty percent of the Yin Family's annual profits, and there was absolutely no room for negotiation; he even rejected Yin Chengtao's offer to present two thousand Silver Dollars every year.

The two sides parted on bad terms.

Yin Chengtao naturally would not sit and wait for death; he mobilized all his connections, whether in the political sphere, the scholarly circles, or the business world, but Lv Xianba remained unmoved and stuck firmly to his conditions.

Yin Chengtao frowned in thought and sighed, "It is not that there is no way to deal with Lv Xianba, it just requires time, but what we need most is time. Xuan'er, do you have any ideas?"

The Yin Family is, after all, a family of officials, and now they have a million in family wealth; if they really put in the effort to deal with the Caohe Gang, it would not be a problem.

Gangs might be able to run rampant for a while, but in the end, they cannot be brought into the light.

Yin Xuan blurted out, saying sternly, "Ask my Japanese classmate for help. He is currently in Hangzhou; it would be no problem to dispatch a few cargo ships from Hangzhou. And as for Japanese cargo ships, the Caohe Gang would not dare to interfere."

Although there are three treaty ports near Shaoxing, the closest one is Hangzhou, so the Yin Family's tea and silk are basically sold to all parts of the world through Hangzhou.

"No!"

Yin Chengtao's expression changed instantly, and he said sternly, "The Japanese pirates have the ambitions of wolves and are the mortal enemies of our Great Shang. My Yin Family has been bathed in imperial grace for generations; how could we collude with the Japanese pirates?"

Yin Xuan retorted, "Father, our Yin Family is now just a merchant; what do national military affairs have to do with us? Besides, the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War was due to the incompetence of the Imperial Court; how can we blame Japan?"

Yin Chengtao said angrily, "Why can we not blame them? The Japanese pirates, carrying the momentum of their great victory, coerced the Imperial Court into signing the Treaty of Shimonoseki, not only demanding two hundred million taels of White Silver in compensation but also forcibly ceding the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands.

Such wolfish ambition, their desire to destroy our Great Shang is clear for all to see.

My Yin Family has passed down learning through generations and stands upright; even if the family is ruined and lives are lost, we will never seek help from the Japanese pirates, so as not to have no face to see the ancestors of the Yin Family underground after a hundred years."

Regarding his father's words, Yin Xuan dared not agree.

Back when Japan won the First Sino-Japanese War, a trend of going to Japan to study emerged in the country, because compared to studying in Europe or America, Japan was not only closer, but the culture shared the same roots and origins, making it more meaningful for learning.

Many people believed that as long as they learned from Japan, the Great Shang would also quickly become strong.

It was under this trend that Yin Xuan was sent by Yin Chengtao to study in Japan; the original intention was to 'know oneself and know the enemy,' but he did not know that Yin Xuan had already been brainwashed by Japan inadvertently.

Yin Xuan feels that China and Japan share the same roots and origins, and are separated only by a strip of water, making them brotherly nations that should look out for and assist each other.

Compared to the white people of Europe and America, China and Japan are the true friendly nations.

He also firmly believes that Japan will help the Great Shang develop so that they can join forces to resist the Western powers.

Although he dared not agree, facing the furious Yin Chengtao, Yin Xuan could only keep his words in his stomach.

He said with some resentment, "Since that is the case, Father, what do you say we should do?"

Yin Chengtao suppressed the anger in his heart, his gaze sharp, and he said in a low voice, "Since the water route won't work, then we will take the land route. From Shanyin to Hangzhou, it is not much of a distance anyway."

Yin Xuan frowned and thought, saying, "Father, taking the land route is not impossible. But not to mention the problem of bandits, just speaking of the Caohe Gang, since they have blocked our water transport, do you think they will just watch us take the land route?"

In an era without trains, and without highways or Trucks, water transport is the most convenient.

It is not only cheap in freight costs but also has a large cargo capacity.

It is only about a hundred li from Shaoxing to Hangzhou, so taking the land route is not impossible.

It is just that the world is in chaos, with refugees and bandits everywhere, so taking the land route is not safe.

Actually, the Yin Family does not fear these; at worst, they can just hire more guards.

What they really need to guard against is the Caohe Gang.

The Caohe Gang has thousands of members, all of whom are fierce and bellicose.

It is said that Lv Xianba is also an expert, and he keeps a group of thugs with not-so-weak martial arts under his command; even if the Yin Family hires many guards, it is not certain they can withstand their attacks.

Yin Chengtao said calmly, "Find Master Chen. Didn't you tell me that Master Chen could move the Stone Lion in front of our house with his bare hands? I imagine he is also an expert. With him leading the team, perhaps we can deal with the people from the Caohe Gang. In any case, this matter must be tried, and at the same time, I will think of other ways."

Yin Xuan frowned.

It seems there is no other way besides this.

He nodded and said, "Fine, I will go find Master Chen now and discuss this matter with him."

Yin Chengtao nodded and asked again, "By the way, has that little beast been peaceful these days?"

Yin Xuan could not help but smile, "Father, you would never guess; now the second brother has been reborn, and from what I have learned, he has been honestly practicing martial arts in the courtyard these days, without the slightest thought of escaping."

Yin Chengtao was surprised, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his eyes, but he still said, "I am afraid he is harboring some crooked plan again; he must not be allowed to deceive you. Go tell him, if he dares to step out of the courtyard half a step without my order, I will break his legs."

Yin Xuan nodded.

After chatting with Yin Chengtao for a few more sentences, he turned and left the Tingyu Study.

Soon, he found Master Chen in a courtyard.

At this moment, the other party was teaching Yin Hai how to practice his cultivation.

Seeing this, Yin Xuan was secretly displeased, but he did not show it; he merely stepped forward and asked in confusion, "Master Chen, why are you here teaching Yin Hai how to practice?"

(End of this chapter)