Chapter 29: When the Rabbit Dies, the Fox Mourns

With a single move gaining the upper hand, the burly man looked on with surprise and some worry about causing trouble.

But the thin‑skinned fellow, embarrassed after just striking someone, instantly fell to his knees and called "Father" to beg forgiveness, yet could only force himself to shout.

Unexpectedly, those kitchen assistants didn't show weakness, rose from the ground, and, gritting their teeth, said:

"Fine, you learned a technique from that great traitor Zhang Yan and now come to bully honest, decent members of our clan."

"I will certainly inform our Steward, ask him to report you upward, and impose heavy punishment on you."

"How dare you slander me with nonsense!"

"I'll kill you, you filthy mouth!"

The burly man, upon hearing that, was both startled and angry, stepped forward, grabbed the kitchen assistant by the collar, clenched his fist high, yet dared not strike again.

Such a matter could be big or small; if big, it might even involve everyone.

Zhang Gui hurriedly got up and took on the role of mediator.

"Stop, stop, stop, we are all brothers of the same clan; how can a joke or two be taken so seriously?"

Standing between the burly man and the kitchen assistant, he first pulled them apart, then took a small piece of silver from his pocket and quietly slipped it into the assistant's hand.

"Brother, I also know we are in difficulty, not as before."

"This token is merely to express my apology."

Once the money was in hand, the kitchen assistant's anger instantly dissipated.

He was already young and strong; in the kitchen he could knead a dozen jin of dough at a time. The kick seemed serious, but in fact it was just a bluish‑purple bruise that would heal with a bit of medicated wine in two days.

"Well said, we are all brothers of the same clan; indeed, when you suffer, my heart is also uneasy."

"But this is at sea, there aren't that many mung beans for cooling."

"Moreover, the cool wells at the outer dock are reserved for several Chief Managers, the Owner, and the elder families."

"Even our kitchen Steward cannot obtain them."

"Alright, alright, let this one pass."

"Considering your honor, brother, I'll take that kick on for free."

"If there's a next time, I'll definitely report it."

After saying a few hard words, the kitchen assistant took the silver and strode away.

Zhang Gui's stepping forward naturally drew attention, and someone recognized him.

In just a few months at Luan Ya, after three consecutive jumps, he rose from ordinary Shop Assistant to Steward.

At that time, Zhang Gui was regarded as Blackwood Town's number one lucky person.

Everyone would be curious to see his dignified appearance, wondering if he truly has two noses and four eyes, so uniquely different.

Earlier, everyone was dizzy from the heat and didn't notice, but now they can't just turn a blind eye.

"So it's the esteemed official—no, esteemed Steward—who has escaped, how fortunate you are to have come."

"Fortunately, today this matter was settled by the esteemed Steward; otherwise it would have been another trouble."

"Alas, being entangled with Zhang Yan the traitor, at this moment none of us can afford to make a mistake."

These words were half openly praising Zhang Gui, half covertly denigrating the troublemaking burly man.

Everyone in the storeroom showed rather approving expressions, while that burly man, who had just shown fear, now acted brazenly again.

He stopped eating, returned expressionlessly to his hemp mat, plopped down against the wall, closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.

A middle‑aged man nearby, fearing another dispute, hurried over to Zhang Gui's side and whispered:

"Steward, please don't test yourself against that rascal Zhang Ba Jia."

"I've known him for over ten years; his ungrateful streak has never changed."

"It's not about good or bad; he's clearly bullying the weak and fearing the strong."

"He's a large, combustible trash that can roam freely."

Zhang Gui heard this and said softly.

"Eh, what did you say?"

"Never mind, since he's a rascal, I won't test myself against him."

"Brother, you look familiar; weren't you once a Senior Clerk on Tong Huo Jie?"

"Exactly, exactly."

"Steward, you have a good memory."

"I am the Senior Clerk of Tong Huo Jie, Zhang Shi Nuo," the middle‑aged man said with a smile.

He wasn't young in years, yet his seniority was low; when speaking to a youth like Zhang Gui, he would have to call him uncle.

However, now is not the time for such formalities; Zhang Gui, under the pretense of idle chatter, tried to gather information.

"The Steward on Tong Huo Jie is the esteemed Zhang Basheng, a loyal and kind elder."

"Has he escaped from the town?"

Zhang Shi Nuo's expression instantly turned uneasy, and he stammered:

"Lord Zhang Basheng originally escaped."

"But when the elder questioned him, he suddenly suffered a stroke, and his whole body became paralyzed."

"Now, with this scorching heat, he can't move, so he stayed for a few days, and then he left."

Hearing this, Zhang Gui couldn't help but picture Zhang Basheng's plump white figure and his perpetually simple, good‑natured smile.

Suddenly, a feeling of "the rabbit dies, the fox mourns" rose in his heart.

He also felt fortunate for his earlier wise choice to keep a low profile, without boasting.

"Suffering a stroke while being questioned—such coincidences don't happen in this world."

Thinking to himself, Zhang Gui sighed, saying:

"When I was a child, I heard my mother tell a story."

"There was a rice shop that caught a great fire at night."

"The two night‑shift shop assistants, one shrewd, immediately ran away."

"The other, honest and kind, told the owner that the fire was caused by someone malicious, deliberately set."

"In the end the arsonist wasn't caught, and the owner sent the assistant to the yamen."

"He was sentenced to exile and died on the road."

"A few years later the rice shop closed, the magistrate changed, and the runaway assistant returned to his hometown."

"He lived carefree as if nothing had happened until death."

"Steward Ba Sheng is an honest man, hasn't heard this story, what a pity."

"Exactly, exactly."

"What a pity."

"Zhang Shi Nuo also said with a sigh."

"In the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Hai Xing Sheng, under Siyang Commandery lies Pingyang Town."

"As a coastal commercial town beneath the Commandery City, its prosperity is naturally incomparable to ordinary county towns."

"However, recently, as the major household that founded Pingyang Town and owns about eighty percent of its land, shops, workshops and everything, the Pingyang Zhang Family suddenly fell into chaos."

"Consequently the whole town was shrouded in fear and hesitation."

"October."

"After the Pingyang Zhang Family's annual ancestral rites, the elder Clan Head Zhang Liuduo felt aged and frail, weak and sickly."

"He could no longer serve the emperor's grace above, nor was it appropriate to continue governing the clan below."

"Thus he first petitioned the Imperial Court, resigning from his post as Siyang Commandery Auxiliary Scholar."

"Later, at the family shrine, he burned a green plaque to inform the ancestors, transferring the family headship to his legitimate eldest son Zhang Qitai."

"He himself then became a monk at the family shrine, taking the Dao name Xuan Yang Zi."

"The Siyang Commandery Auxiliary Scholar is the deputy of the chief scholar, a nominal Si Pin position with little authority."

"It seems mismatched with the status of a noble family head, but the scholar official rank is still respectable, being the standard for a prestigious clan head."

"Usually he holds a name at the Li Xue Ya Men, staying at home to run his own small business."

"During festivals he goes to the Commandery City for two days of work, mingling with peers from various yamen, enjoying a harmonious time."

"Of course, as a noble family, they must have descendants holding real offices of significant power in the state."

"And this person is called the 'family chief', one handling internal affairs, the other external."

"When the chief's prestige and methods are formidable, he can treat the family head as a mere money bag."

"For example, when Zhang Siwei served as chief assistant, the Pingyang Zhang Family didn't even have a family head."

"After Zhang Siwei resigned, he seamlessly assumed the family headship, as smooth as silk."

"Conversely, when the chief's prestige and methods fail, he can only be the knife in the family head's hand, striking wherever pointed."

"Your crucial moment of promotion and raise relies entirely on the family providing money, effort, and connections; once in office, you naturally cannot neglect private interests for public duty, nor fail to contribute to the clan."

"However, the above two situations are indeed exceptional."

"In general, the noble family head works together with the family chief to expand and strengthen the family enterprise."

"When the chief's official career falters and he returns home, it is customary to push out the previous generation's Inner Affairs Elder, and continue to balance power with the family head."

"When a clan has existed for a long time, everything becomes institutionalized."

"The habit of exhausting all effort to reduce internal strife is what defines a noble family."

"After the old head of the Pingyang Zhang Family became a monk, and the new head ascended, although his vitality was indeed greatly diminished, the overt turbulent waves immediately turned into hidden undercurrents."

"At least the public sentiment is no longer chaotic."

(End of chapter)