Chapter 83: Extortion

The people in the shop were stunned as they watched a man in his thirties, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, wearing a sapphire-blue patterned silk long robe and a square scholar's cap, stride quickly from the back courtyard into the main hall—it was Li Shiqun, the owner of the firm.

Li Shiqun had been in the back courtyard discussing business with a client when a shop assistant suddenly rushed in to report that Manager Xu had been beaten and his life was unknown. He hastily apologized to the merchant and hurried toward the front shop, hearing the clamor of shouting and cursing from some distance away. As he drew near, several assistants came darting out with their heads in their hands, some with swollen faces and blood seeping from their mouths and noses. He quickened his pace into a jog, and a few steps later heard someone threatening to set fire to the shop, whereupon he immediately shouted to stop them.

Li Shiqun saw at a glance Manager Xu lying prone on the ground, his body completely still, his head badly swollen, his face pressed against the floor so that his condition could not be seen clearly, with a pool of blood faintly visible. He hurried over, crouched down, and reached out to test Manager Xu's breath—there was none left at all.

Li Shiqun slowly rose to his feet, grief and indignation churning within him. Manager Xu had followed him for many years, and now that he had met such a cruel death, he was determined to seek justice for him!

His face showed no expression at all, and his gaze turned utterly icy. He turned to Hou Dingguo, clasped his hands in greeting, and said: "May I ask how this young master is to be addressed? What grievance or enmity do you bear against my Li family, that you would beat our old manager to death! And even attempt to burn down the shop! I, Li, demand an explanation! Otherwise, I shall report this matter to the authorities!"

Hou Dingguo's excitement had by now passed. Hearing the question, he gave Li Shiqun a sidelong glance and said in a mocking, sinister tone: "So you're the owner of this shop? I was sent by Eunuch Yang to purchase timber for the repair of the imperial mausoleum. Who would have thought this old fool would speak rudely and insult the honored ones of the palace! Beating such a base wretch to death is letting him off lightly! What's the matter? You want to stand up for him?"

Li Shiqun's expression changed. He thought to himself: What a heavy hat to hang on a man! Saying he insulted the honored ones of the palace—that's just a step short of saying he insulted the emperor himself! That would be a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family!

He gave a cold laugh and said: "Heh, Manager Xu has served my family for many years. He is diligent and honest by nature, has never clashed with anyone, and could never have uttered such treasonous words! This young eunuch opens his mouth and insists he committed such a great crime—truly fitting that ancient saying: if you wish to convict a man, you will never lack a pretext! Now that the dead cannot testify, is it not simply whatever the eunuch says goes?"

Hou Dingguo bared his teeth in a grin and laughed: "Enough idle talk! I am here on palace purchasing business. Since you're the owner, this matter falls on your head! Listen well: the palace wishes to purchase fifty fine roof beams from your timber shop for the rebuilding of structures, and the materials must be of the highest grade. If the buildings collapse later, the fault is entirely yours! In addition, prepare two thousand pieces of other timber for making doors and windows. All the timber must be delivered to the imperial mausoleum within ten days, and the palace will settle the account with treasure notes!"

Li Shiqun's eyes seemed about to spit fire as he stared fixedly at Hou Dingguo, grinding his teeth as he spoke: "Treasure notes? Is Your Honor trying to bankrupt my Li family and destroy our household?"

Hou Dingguo turned and walked toward the door, chuckling softly as he went: "I don't care how you think about it. The ten-day deadline cannot be delayed. Otherwise, I will determine that you are in league with the roving bandits! That is a grave crime warranting the confiscation of your property and the extermination of your clan!" With that, he led his retinue of followers through the crowd outside the shop and swaggered away.

Li Shiqun watched Hou Dingguo depart, feeling rage churning in his belly with nowhere to vent it. He only wanted to fling his arms wide and roar at the heavens. He panted heavily, his chest heaving, and it was a long while before he gradually calmed down.

Based on his many years of experience, he concluded that the ten-day deadline Hou Dingguo had mentioned was actually time for him to find connections and pay bribes to smooth things over. During this period, as long as he operated properly—finding a presentable official to act as an introducer, then offering large amounts of gold, silver, or valuable items such as antiques and calligraphy to the eunuchs guarding the mausoleum—this crisis would pass. Otherwise, if he truly had the crime of colluding with bandits pinned on him, the Li family would be doomed beyond recovery.

Under normal circumstances, Li Shiqun would naturally have mobilized the connections he had cultivated among officialdom and spent several thousand taels of silver to settle the matter. But Manager Xu's tragic death had stirred his genuine fury. Manager Xu had been with the Li family for twenty years. One could say he had personally taught Li Shiqun, hand in hand, the tricks of the trade, devoting himself wholeheartedly to Li Shiqun's branch of the family and helping him amass a considerable fortune. In daily life, Li Shiqun regarded him as a father or elder brother and treated him with exceptional respect. Twenty years of living together day and night, as close as family—who could have known that today they would be separated forever, cut off by cruel death!

If this grievance is not avenged, I swear I am no man! Li Shiqun resolved inwardly: no matter how much money it cost, even if he had to give up the entire timber business, he would avenge Manager Xu and let him rest in peace underground!

The crowd of onlookers outside the shop gradually dispersed after Hou Dingguo and his men left. Several owners and managers of neighboring shops came inside to inquire, and after hearing the full account, they were all deeply indignant. They expressed their regret over Manager Xu's death and offered words of comfort to Li Shiqun, but none of them were great merchants or magnates—beyond expressing sympathy and anger, there was little else they could do to help.

Li Shiqun thanked his neighbors for their condolences. After they had each taken their leave, he ordered the sign reading "Closed for Business" to be hung up and the shop doors shut. Then, suppressing his grief, he worked together with the assistants to wash Manager Xu's body clean, sent someone to the funeral shop to purchase a coffin, and had Manager Xu's remains properly encoffined. Once everything was in order, he would personally lead a party to transport the coffin back to Nanjing for burial. After the roving bandits had ravaged Fengyang last time, feeling that Fengyang was no longer safe, he and Manager Xu had both moved their families to Nanjing.

After arranging everything, Li Shiqun returned to the back courtyard, expressed his apologies to the merchant who had been waiting all this while, and stated that the deal the two of them had already agreed upon was now void, and that he would pay the other party a sum of silver as compensation for breaking the contract.

This merchant's surname was Ma, a native of Fengyang. He had originally operated a restaurant, but when the roving bandits captured Fengyang early in the eighth year of Chongzhen, he fled with his entire family to Nanjing. However, the restaurant he had run for years was burned down by the bandits. Two months after the bandits withdrew, once he had confirmed it was safe, he returned to Fengyang. Seeing that the market was utterly depressed, he had no intention of rebuilding the restaurant on its original site and planned to develop his business in Nanjing instead.

After returning to Nanjing, Boss Ma had also purchased a small tavern. But because he was an outsider and had not established connections on either the legitimate or the underworld side in Nanjing, the tavern was daily harassed by local ruffians and extorted by petty officials of the local government. After several months, he had lost a good deal of silver. In a fit of anger, he sold the tavern at a loss and planned to return to Fengyang to rebuild his restaurant. After all, in his native place, he was familiar with both the officials and the local toughs, saving himself a great deal of trouble.

He had come today to negotiate with Li Shiqun for the timber needed to rebuild his restaurant. Because a three-story restaurant required a great deal of timber and the sum involved was no small amount, Li Shiqun had personally received him. The two had basically settled on the quality, quantity, and price of the timber when a shop assistant came running in with the news, and Li Shiqun hurried away.

Boss Ma was also an acquaintance of Li Shiqun's—after all, both had been in Fengyang for many years and had occasionally done business together, so each knew the other's background well. He was extremely satisfied with the price discussed today. Everything was ready; he only needed to pay the deposit, and once the timber arrived, he could rebuild quickly.

Who would have thought that when Li Shiqun returned, he would overturn the previously agreed contract? This left Boss Ma utterly astonished. Li Shiqun had an excellent reputation in the business world, and the Li Family Timber Shop had never once defaulted on an agreement. What was going on today? Could it be that he regretted the price being too low?

Boss Ma clasped his hands and said: "Owner Li, what is the meaning of this? Are you saying my offer was too low? We people of business value integrity above all! Owner Li, why have you gone back on your word? You must give me a clear explanation today!"

Li Shiqun sighed helplessly and said: "Brother Ma, I, Li, have been in business for many years and have always upheld integrity as the foundation, never once breaking faith with anyone. Today I do this only because I have no choice—I truly do not wish to drag Brother Ma into trouble!"

Boss Ma was even more puzzled and pressed on: "Owner Li, don't try to deceive me. You sell timber, I buy timber—cash on delivery. This is a legitimate business. How could it possibly drag me into trouble?"

Li Shiqun had no choice but to briefly relate what had happened in the shop earlier. Boss Ma was stunned speechless—he had never imagined that a life could be taken in broad daylight. An old manager who had been chatting and laughing with him just moments ago had lost his life in an instant. Was there no law left in this world?

After finishing his account, Li Shiqun continued: "Brother Ma, that group demanded timber under the pretext of repairing the imperial mausoleum and insisted on settling with treasure notes—this is no different from outright robbery! I, Li, would rather close down the firm entirely than hand over a single piece of timber! And on top of that, they murdered our old manager—I am irreconcilably opposed to them! If I sell this timber to you today and then shut up shop and leave, in their fury they will surely take out their anger on you. How could I face myself then?"

Boss Ma was suddenly filled with gratitude. He rose and made a deep bow to Li Shiqun, saying: "I was thinking wrongly. Owner Li truly has my interests at heart. I misjudged you just now—please accept my apology!"

Li Shiqun hastily rose to return the bow, repeatedly saying he did not deserve such courtesy.

Boss Ma said: "Owner Li, what do you plan to do next? Are you truly going to close down a firm you have painstakingly built over decades? That would be such a pity!"