Chapter 1008: Rabbit

Wang Cong scratched his head and said, "It's nothing much—strong dragons don't overwhelm local snakes, and I'm not even a strong dragon, just a small snake from afar, certainly no match for the local snakes here."

He said, "Our sea vessel was seized the moment it arrived at Guangzhou Port; we were allowed to leave, but the ship and all its cargo were taken."

Pan Yun: "The ship's gone—so you planned to just carry this silence and never tell me?"

Wang Cong said, "If I can't get it back in the end, I'll naturally ask my junior uncle for help—but I'm still trying, aren't I?"

Pan Yun: "Have you figured out who's behind it?"

Wang Cong immediately leaned forward over the table, lowering his voice: "After extensive inquiries, I've learned it's the Guangzhou Prefecture's thousand-household office leading the charge—it's the command of the Regional Military Commission. To recover the ship, you'll likely need either Commander Cao or one of his trusted aides to speak up."

Pan Yun: "What about the cargo?"

"Oh my junior uncle, if I were still thinking about the cargo right now, I'd be a fool—the cargo's surely meant for the higher-ups; just saving the ship would be a miracle."

Pan Yun poked his forehead: "Look at you, such a coward. Your junior uncle is the State Preceptor—I've shown courage on the seas and against the Japanese pirates, yet here you act so timid? In Jiangnan, I never saw you this fearful."

Wang Cong: "I'm just a wise man who knows when to yield. In Jiangnan, local gentry lead the charge—they either navigate officialdom themselves or have relatives in the imperial court. Though arrogant and tyrannical, they still have reservations, and they're all literati. Literati rebellion takes three years to fail, so they respect the State Preceptor's name. But in Lingnan…"

Wang Cong paused, then shook his head: "Here, it's not as complex as Jiangnan, but harder to balance. Whether it's the locals or the soldiers, even if they respect Your Majesty, they still harbor three parts suspicion. If it were a civil official causing trouble, revealing your title would work—they fear you. But military officers… they don't care at all."

He'd already tried revealing it.

Pan Yun held great prestige in the northern armies and the capital's imperial guards, as well as among the reinforcements from Hebei, Henan, and Shandong who had participated in the defense of Datong—they had seen her abilities and received her favors, so her prestige among the armies north of Jiangnan was extremely high.

In Jiangnan, her reputation among the people was equally high; having participated in campaigns against the Japanese pirates and even led troops to Japan to avenge the people, she held some prestige among the naval forces of Jiangnan and Fujian—but few actual soldiers had witnessed her abilities firsthand; most knew her only through hearsay, and many remained skeptical.

In Lingnan, her name held little weight.

Though the thousand-household offices along the coast had heard of her, most dismissed it as rumor, believing the outside world exaggerated her legend for ulterior motives—likely fabrication.

So when their large ship was seized, Wang Cong instinctively revealed Pan Yun's identity—and was immediately beaten by that gang of bandit soldiers.

Of course, he fought back hard—he didn't lose the brawl—but what might have been only a cargo seizure as a toll fee became the full confiscation of ship and cargo. Had Wang Cong not acted decisively by sending Wang Xiaojing to flee and report to the Prefect with a large sum of silver, they'd still be rotting in prison.

"So you were just released from jail?"

"Not just now—we've been out for nearly twenty days. Have you seen those wash tubs in the back courtyard? That's what we made in those twenty days," Wang Cong said. "I've surveyed the area—Guangzhou Prefecture has opened many new dye houses and laundry shops. The dye houses aside, these so-called laundry shops are actually middlemen who go door-to-door collecting clothes from households, then assign them to female workers who wash, dry, and return them for meager pay. I plan to sell these wash tubs to dye houses and laundry shops."

Pan Yun: "Isn't that stealing their business?"

"Wrong!" Wang Cong said. "While we were in prison, ten or so others shared the neighboring cell—they were all fishermen who had sailed the South Seas. Hearing the imperial court had lifted the maritime ban, they packed their bags and returned home—only to be arrested as sea bandits."

"They grew up here. These female workers learned weaving and dyeing since childhood—they can not only dye cloth but weave it too. But Guangzhou's textile industry now pales beside Jiangnan's, so the women have no work and are forced to wander door-to-door washing clothes."

Wang Cong said, "How much can they earn washing clothes? Their skills and abilities are wasted on laundry. I've already planned it: once I sell this batch of wash tubs, I'll hire them to weave and dye cloth for me, then sell their fabric to the South Seas—and even farther. Oh, and Jiangnan too."

Wang Cong's face lit up as he spoke of business, fist clenched: "I've seen their cloth—it's different from Jiangnan's silk and Hangzhou cloth. Bright colors, strange patterns—very distinctive."

Pan Yun listened quietly. Seeing he had a plan and a strategy, she stopped questioning and asked: "You're being targeted—how dare you do business here?"

Wang Cong beamed: "Why not? Don't I still need to get the ship back, sail south to the South Seas, sail west to the Western Seas, earn money to support the mountain, and support you and my junior brothers and sisters? What's a little targeting?"

"I've befriended Magistrate Wei—I've already made all the arrangements. Military and civil affairs are separate; with him in place, even the Regional Military Commission can't directly interfere in local affairs. They can only sneakily trip me up."

"Doing something well is a thousand times hard; ruining it is easy. One small slip in any link and all effort is wasted," Pan Yun asked: "Are you certain this will work?"

Wang Cong gritted his teeth: "It has to work! Guangzhou Port has reopened—it's the closest port to the South Seas. More South Sea merchant fleets will come here. We can't rely only on Quanzhou. I must break through here!"

"Good!" Pan Yun slapped his shoulder, her voice ringing clear: "I support you."

Wang Cong was knocked flat onto the table by her blow, groaning. Pan Yun yanked open his shirt and saw his shoulder was swollen and bruised—she frowned.

Wang Cong quickly pulled his shirt shut: "Junior uncle, don't misunderstand—those beatings healed long ago. This is from accidentally injuring myself while making wash tubs."

Pan Yun snorted: "When will you start selling your wash tubs?"

"Wait a while—I want to pick an auspicious day."

"Don't pick one. Start selling in the next two days."

"But…" Wang Cong paused, then said, "I haven't smoothed the path yet."

Pan Yun smiled at him: "Don't worry. For now, they won't have time to bother you."

No sooner had she spoken than she felt the talisman tucked in the door crack move. She sneered: "Especially after today."

"Huh?" Wang Cong's eyes darted, leaning closer: "Junior uncle, why did you come to Guangzhou Prefecture? Did these soldier brutes offend you?"

Pan Yun: "Not me—they offended the people."

"The people?"

"Literally—the military households, especially."

Wang Cong instantly understood, grinning with malicious delight. Those men were truly in trouble.

Hmph, let's see how they swagger now!

After eating, the group happily sang songs as they walked home, arms slung over each other's shoulders.

With Pan Yun here, everyone felt secure—even the stoic Song Dalin couldn't help letting out two loud howls of joy.

As they entered the alley and saw their gate hanging crookedly half-open, their faces turned pale. They sprinted inside.

The courtyard was in chaos—shreds of clothing scattered everywhere. A few naked men lay face-down nearby, their skin darkened by sun, darker than bronze, except for their buttocks, which were startlingly pale. Wang Xiaojing rushed forward to help them up—then accidentally grabbed one man's buttock. It slipped through his fingers, bouncing twice, firm and springy.

"Ahh—!" The man on the ground screamed, leapt up, shoved Wang Xiaojing away, and scrambled up the wall.

Wang Xiaojing, startled and shoved, fell hard on his rear. Pan Yun's eyes widened—then the world went black as Wang Cong clamped his hand over her eyes.

"What are you standing there for? Check if the others are alive or dead—cover them with clothes immediately!"

No need for them to move—the moment the first man screamed and scrambled onto the wall, the others sprang up too, clutching their genitals, yelling wildly as they shoved past people and bolted outside.

Some dashed out through the collapsed gate; others leapt from the wall.

"Wahahaha! Heaven hasn't abandoned us—the ghost wall vanished—run, run!"

Five men clutched their fronts, some covering front and back with one hand each, screaming as they ran.

The apprentices chased after them, staring in horror as they scrambled past the gate and wall, fleeing down the alley to the street…

The street erupted in screams and curses, noise thundering into the sky.

The apprentices stared at each other, exchanged glances for a long moment, then burst into laughter.

Song Dalin, still laughing, suddenly remembered something and sprinted toward the back courtyard.

Seeing this, the others hurried toward the back courtyard as well.

Wang Cong only let out a breath of relief once the five men, stripped bare, had vanished from sight, and lowered the hand covering Pan Yun's eyes.

He wasn't worried about the laundry tub in the back courtyard—hadn't Little Xiao Shishu left Pan Xiaohei behind precisely to guard the house?

Judging by the looks on those five men's faces, they hadn't gained the slightest advantage.

He glanced left and right and asked, "Where's Xiao Hei?"

Pan Xiaohei was crouching on the eaves of the back courtyard. Seeing Song Dalin and the others rush in, he went whoosh-whoosh twice, running smoothly across the rooftops all the way to the front courtyard. Crouching on the eaves, he meowed "Meow" down at the two below.

Seeing the two look up, he proudly sat up straight, eyes lowered, gazing down at them from on high.

Pan Yun smiled and beckoned to him: "Come down, I brought you something good to eat."

Pan Xiaohei meowed "Meow" once, and deigned to hop down toward her.

Pan Yun caught him in one scoop, held him in her arms and rubbed him, then brought him into the parlor and took out the delicacies they'd packed: "The fish was made specially for you—steamed, light on oil and salt, just to your taste."

Pan Xiaohei jumped onto the table, tasted each dish in turn, nodded slightly, and spoke in human tongue: "Not bad."

Pan Yun knew he had to be praised now, so she could boss him around next time, and so she went on to lavish him with praise.

She praised him until the whole cat was practically floating.

Wang Cong had plenty of praise ready too, but at this point he couldn't help giving a shudder, finding it unbearably mushy.

Pan Xiaohei just shot him a sidelong glance, and Pan Yun said: "What are you standing there gawking for? Go sweep the courtyard."

Wang Cong: "Fine, Little Xiao Shishu, you go on serving Xiao Hei his meal."

Without waiting for Pan Yun to make a move, he scurried off.

They tidied up the courtyard, took out tools and fixed the door. The five men who'd fled didn't dare come back to settle scores, and even the sentries who'd been watching them silently withdrew.

Soon, rumors spread through the city that the courtyard they were staying in was haunted—by a female ghost, no less, who specialized in stripping men of their clothes.

The reason Wang Cong and the others could live in the courtyard safe and sound was that they were all men, and dozens of them at that, enough to take turns satisfying the female ghost, which was why nothing had happened.

The landlord, terrified, came knocking that very evening: "This house never had any ghostly incidents before I rented it to you, I wasn't lying to you…"

Wang Cong said the courtyard wasn't haunted; those five were thieves, and a guilty conscience had driven them to make up stories to scare people.

Seeing the landlord's face go pale, looking half-convinced, Wang Cong kindly suggested: "If you don't trust your own house, why not stay the night?"

"No, no, no," the landlord hurriedly waved his hands in refusal, then hesitated before saying: "This house only started being haunted after I rented it to you. I doubt I'll be able to rent it out again afterward. You—you're only renting for two months—what am I supposed to do after that?"

Wang Cong raised an eyebrow and ventured: "Then how about we buy it?"

The landlord agreed on the spot, adding: "I can give you a cheaper price."

Wang Cong, all amicability, asked: "What's your asking price?"

The two went back and forth for nearly half a shichen, and finally closed the deal at a price both sides could accept.

Song Dalin and the others had watched the whole thing, sitting dazedly on the sidelines.

After arranging with the landlord to go to the county office tomorrow to transfer the deed and pay, Wang Cong saw him out the door. Turning around, he found the whole crew looking at him with eager eyes: "Boss, did Little Xiao Shishu send money? Enough to buy the house?"

They didn't know Wang Cong still had quite a bit of money on him, assuming it had all been spent greasing the Prefect and the county office to spring them, and that what he was using now was money from pawning his things.

Wang Cong said: "Strike that 'if,' brothers. Our ship is about to come back, and so will the cargo. Once we sell the laundry tub and get the weaving-and-dyeing workshop running, we'll set out to sea!"

The crowd cheered.

"I still prefer going to sea. Sure, it's hard work out there, but fighting sea bandits, fighting the heavens—that's exhilarating. Coming back, though, you have to fight the officials. Win and it's treason, lose and you're dead. No fun at all."

"Same here, I don't like Guangzhou Prefecture either. Boss, how about we just head straight for Quanzhou from now on? Sure, Quanzhou's a bit farther from the Southern Seas, but we can take the hardship!"

"Being able to take hardship doesn't mean you have to," Wang Cong said. "The imperial court opened Guangzhou Port precisely to make things easier for merchants like us heading to the Southern Seas, and to boost the local economy, so that ordinary folk can share in the benefits of opening the seas. Don't worry about those corrupt officials—they're like rabbit tails, they won't grow long, they'll all be lopped off soon enough. When that day comes, the sky over this place will be just as clear and bright as Quanzhou's."

"Really?"

Wang Cong nodded firmly: "Really!"