Chapter 124: Income (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Zhao Jin's face was a little red. Everything had gone too smoothly these past two days, and he had indeed become a bit full of himself.

The monkey was nibbling dried fruit off to the side. When Zhao Zhentang fixed his gaze on it, its movements stiffened, but Zhao Zhentang was not targeting it. After thinking for a moment, he spoke again: "You don't need to worry too much about the Cloud Mountain Temple matter right now. That bunch of monks' biggest headache at the moment is the Incense-Smelling Sect. Little Lan's second uncle is not a reasonable man. Those monks pulled a lot of tricks before; this time, they're bound to get payback."

Thinking back to the great fire at Cloud Mountain during the day, it was indeed true. Zhao Jin nodded. Zhao Zhentang looked up at the night sky, turned around, placed a hand on his shoulder, and said with earnest gravity: "What you're stirring up now is too big. Your old man truly can't help you much anymore. I only ask that when you do things, you think more of your mother and me. You must be cautious and careful. Your second uncle taught you so much because he hopes you'll make something of yourself, not because he wants you to get into trouble."

His speech was slow, full of fatherly love and concern. Zhao Jin didn't know how to answer, and only nodded slowly and firmly.

After finishing his usual strength training, Zhao Jin did not go straight to sleep. Instead, he checked the doors and windows, and discovered that his father, Zhao Zhentang, had already placed small warning devices in advance.

With a short knife placed under his pillow, Zhao Jin slept the night on guard. He woke in the morning; all was safe and sound.

Morning training was with Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng. Zhao Jin merely said to his friends with a sigh, "We must be cautious. We absolutely cannot be arrogant."

In the morning, he went to the freight yard and found Ye Wenshu and those two bailiffs already waiting there early. Upon seeing Zhao Jin, they smiled ingratiatingly and said they would check again today to see if anyone actually came to enlist, and that they absolutely must not delay Young Master Jin's affairs.

The household guards had already been led through morning drills by Shi Manqiang and Ji Xiang. Liu Yong had gone over to the Black Tiger Temple. Everything seemed to be on the right track.

The freight yard today was much quieter than yesterday. The children consciously played in the corner, and there were only a few scattered idlers watching from a distance.

When Sun Dalei, Dong Bingfeng, and the others arrived, and Liu Yong returned, Zhao Jin arranged the household guards in the freight yard to stand at attention, then closed the courtyard gate. Lowering his voice, he began testing his companions on foot drill. Going through the items one by one, although his companions were better than the household guards, they still couldn't be called good—just passable. With a stern face, Zhao Jin urged everyone to focus and train hard before he went out to begin the training.

Today's training actually split into two groups. The companions were in a separate courtyard, while the household guards were in the freight yard, separated from each other. Otherwise, it would affect the companions' authority, and they wouldn't be able to command them in the future.

After another while, Chen Hong arrived, clutching an account book. He watched the training inside with a grin, not disturbing Zhao Jin's side.

After training for two hours, many of the household guards had again been struck by Zhao Jin's staff, but their foot drill and formation work had also improved, albeit only slightly.

The sun had risen high when Chen Ergou arrived, leading two men. One man carried a bundle on his back. Chen Ergou and the other man both carried weapons and looked extremely nervous.

Only upon seeing Zhao Jin did Chen Ergou breathe a sigh of relief. He hurried forward, bowed with clasped hands in salute, and said respectfully, "Master Jin, your humble servant has come to deliver the silver today."

Zhao Jin went inside and called out Chen Sheng, having Chen Sheng train these household guards, while he took Chen Ergou to the residence courtyard where his companions were training.

Inside that bundle were all copper coins and broken silver. Although Chen Hong was young, he was very quick at calculating money and accounts. In no time, he had tallied the total: seventy-seven taels in all.

The reason the bundle was so large was that there were too many copper coins inside. Seeing no expression on Zhao Jin's face, Chen Ergou said cautiously, "Master Jin, this is seventy percent of last month's net profit."

Zhao Jin's brow furrowed. Cheng Tongtou's operations over there covered prostitution and gambling, along with quite a few shady businesses. How could seventy percent of a month's net profit be this little?

Seeing his expression, Chen Ergou immediately panicked and hurriedly explained, "Master Jin, the profit shares and tributes for the gentlemen at the yamen have already been sent up. Copper Head just died, and the brothers below also need pacifying. As the new manager, your humble servant must win people over and can't make any deductions. That's why the amount handed in is a bit low. If I put my mind to it next month, ninety taels should still be possible."

Ninety taels wasn't much either. Zhao Jin had always felt that this kind of gray business and those shady dealings would make big money. Ninety taels couldn't exactly be called a small sum, but it felt a bit shabby.

Thinking it over, Zhao Jin still said in a deep voice, "Don't make deductions. Copper Head lost people's loyalty precisely because of that. His two key men, Whisk and Big-Head Huang, both colluded with outsiders. Spend whatever money you need to spend, just make sure the accounts are clear."

Hearing Zhao Jin say this, Chen Ergou finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Your humble servant has already taken over all of Copper Head's operations. Not only did Copper Head have hidden dealings, but Whisk and Big-Head Huang also had secret side businesses. Your humble servant hasn't missed a single one."

Zhao Jin nodded. The atmosphere finally eased considerably. Over on the side, Chen Hong was sorting the copper coins and silver into categories, muttering incessantly about "poor fineness," while Wang Zhaojing and the others watching exchanged glances, all quite surprised. They never imagined Zhao Jin had this side to him; this manner of doing things seemed like that of a man in his thirties or forties.

Taking advantage of the improved atmosphere, Chen Ergou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, bowed, and said, "I beg Master Jin to send the bookkeeping gentleman over as soon as possible. Your humble servant is not very skilled at calculations and fears making mistakes."

Zhao Jin nodded. Chen Ergou was just about to take his leave when Zhao Jin fished out roughly ten taels of silver from that pile of money and handed it to Chen Ergou, saying, "This silver is for your hard work. Do a good job, and you won't be treated poorly in the future."

Chen Ergou, flustered, repeatedly declined, and only accepted it with profuse thanks when he saw Zhao Jin's insistence. He then took his leave. As he led his men out the door, he finally seemed less nervous.

"Xiaoyong, you and Erhong put the money away. Remember to have Uncle Shi dig a cellar in the house to store the valuables," Zhao Jin instructed.

As those two went off to work, Wang Zhaojing asked, "Brother Zhao, do you think this Chen Ergou is secretly embezzling?"

Wang Zhaojing was meticulous and observant. Zhao Jin shook his head and said, "He doesn't have the guts, at least not right now. And having me send an accountant over is also his way of showing he's clean and loyal."

Everyone nodded. Zhao Jin frowned and added, "What I find strange is that Copper Head's whole operation only brought in this little silver in a month."

"Big Brother, that's not a small amount! Even after deducting our current expenses, there's still quite a bit left!" Ji Xiang chimed in, his face full of smiles, clearly delighted by this income.

Shi Manqiang's face was full of agreement. Wang Zhaojing, Dong Bingfeng, and Sun Dalei, however, seemed rather unimpressed—this was the difference that family background made.

"Far from enough," Zhao Jin said flatly. Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Zhao Jin smiled and added an explanation: "We're going to do great things in the future. What can this little bit of money accomplish?"

Everyone looked thoughtful, but only Wang Zhaojing's face showed an expression of understanding.

"Brother Zhao, your junior brother needs to draw some money to buy account books, brushes, ink, and the like. Could you make a cabinet for your junior brother?" Chen Hong had already put the money away and said cheerfully as he came out.

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded his agreement, arranging for everyone to continue training while he himself turned and went out the door. The household guards outside had trained for less than two days; leaving them to the inexperienced Chen Sheng made him uneasy after all.

When he reached the freight yard, he found Chen Sheng leading everyone on a run around the perimeter, shouting commands as they ran. The formation was already somewhat scattered.

Zhao Jin was just about to go over and correct them when he saw Butcher Li approaching with four men. Spotting Zhao Jin from a distance, Butcher Li forced a smile and cupped his fists, also extremely polite.

"... Yan Blackface's residential properties inside the city can't be liquidated for a while, and the things outside the city can't be touched. Only those businesses of his can be taken over, but not many could produce last month's money. The dice game runners, the whorehouse madams, and two fences dealing in stolen goods—only these few groups could pay up. The extortion rackets and a few other operations will be able to hand over money after this month..."

Butcher Li looked rough and boorish, but he was extremely meticulous when discussing accounts. In the end, he produced fifty taels of silver.

"... Yesterday, Young Master Jin wanted it urgently. After I went back, I hurriedly took stock. Yan Blackface's side, sixty percent comes to about one hundred twenty taels of silver. What can be handed over now is only a bit over thirty percent. I rounded it up and brought fifty taels..."

After this, Butcher Li brought out another, smaller bundle and said, "This is forty percent from my own business, thirty-five taels in total. Please, Young Master Jin, count it."

If not for Chen Ergou's earlier payment, Zhao Jin would definitely have thought Butcher Li was hiding something. But with that side handing over seventy percent and it being less than eighty taels, these figures here seemed very reasonable.

Seeing Zhao Jin frown, Butcher Li's expression turned rather ugly. After leaving here yesterday, he had specifically taken five taels of silver to find a contact in the yamen to confirm the cause of death of those dozen or so desperate bladesmen. Naturally, he found out what he needed to know—it was indeed Zhao Jin and his group who had killed them. And once he calmed down, he thought of even more things. Butcher Li also recalled Copper Head's sudden, violent death.

Intimidated by these two matters, all of Butcher Li's unwillingness vanished like smoke. He hurriedly helped arrange the silver and rushed over first thing in the morning, afraid of offending this young master.

But seeing Zhao Jin frown, Butcher Li's heart gave a few great thumps, and he felt a chill over his body. Before Zhao Jin could speak, he coughed first and said, "Things were done in a rush yesterday. Some figures might not be entirely accurate. Next month, it can be a bit more."

Hearing this, Zhao Jin raised an eyebrow and asked directly, "How much more?"

Butcher Li gave a dry laugh and said, "Yan Blackface's side..."

Zhao Jin shook his head in disappointment. This extra amount was probably the sum Butcher Li had hidden and deducted, but it wasn't much more, still within the expected range.

"Chen Ergou handed over seventy percent of net profit, and he brought over seventy taels. Yan Blackface and your side aren't much either. Is this all the silver in the southern city's underworld?" Zhao Jin asked, puzzled.

Just moments ago, Zhao Jin's expression had been grim, and Butcher Li had broken out in a cold sweat. He never expected Zhao Jin to ask this. Hearing the question, the dry laugh on Butcher Li's face turned into a bitter smile. He shook his head and explained, "Young Master Jin, our Xuzhou isn't what it used to be. Pizhou over there is a mountain of gold and a sea of silver now. Our place here is just a waterlogged pit."