Chapter 738: Cloud Mountain Trading Company Branch

The Cloud Mountain Trading Company was originally a property of Cloud Mountain Temple. Although Zhao Jin later took it over, the managers and clerks at the various shops weren't replaced on any large scale, and ordinary people couldn't perceive much change. It was simply a shop operating as usual. To other powers paying attention to the Zhao Character Camp, this Cloud Mountain Trading Company was nothing more than a money-making front — shops like this filled the realm, nothing worth paying much attention to.

But these new branches the Zhao Character Camp was opening were not meant for doing business. A shop consists of only a few types of people: a manager, an accountant, and clerks. Now that Xuzhou was thriving, merchants from everywhere were gathering here, and those coming to trade or work were beyond counting. If the Zhao Character Camp's enterprises wanted to recruit hands, the response would surely be overwhelming.

Yet the opening of these branches was proceeding very slowly. The reason was a lack of sufficient personnel. The Zhao Character Camp's requirements were far too strict. The manager could only come from three backgrounds: the batch of managers trained by Ruhui and Zhou Xuezhi; stewards and accountants of refugee origin; or members of the Scholar-Trainee Company. Without one of these backgrounds, one could not serve as manager of these branches.

Having one of these three backgrounds was merely a stepping stone. Appointment could only come after gaining the approval of all three: Wang Zhaojing, Ruhui, and Zhou Xuezhi.

Of course, the Zhao Character Camp was a place where Zhao Jin had the final say, and there were exceptions. With Zhao Jin's consent, someone from among the clerks and functionaries of Xuzhou's one prefecture and four counties could serve as such a manager, and a retainer below the rank of company commander could serve as such a manager. These exceptions were practically a joke to speak of. What prestige came with serving in the yamen? What glory came with being a company commander in the Zhao Character Camp? Why would anyone want to be a branch manager of this sort? The Cloud Mountain Trading Company's business was admittedly good, but not every branch could turn a profit.

Yet the standards were set this high. As for the accountants at these branches, aside from the three backgrounds above, only sons of the Sun Family Trading Company and those of Xuzhou local origin with clean records and a guarantor could fill the posts. And at the clerk level, only people from Xuzhou, Pizhou, and the refugee estates could serve.

Strict as it was, at the end of the day it was only the opening of branch shops. Outsiders saw nothing amiss. But Zhao Jin, for the sake of this matter, still had not gone to Qingjiangpu or the estate on the eastern shore of Luoma Lake. Wang Zhaojing, Ruhui, and Zhou Xuezhi often argued over manager candidates until they were red in the face. This made people curious.

The first branch of the Cloud Mountain Trading Company opened in the prefectural seat of Xuzhou. This struck everyone as even more peculiar. Weren't there already the Cloud Mountain main office and three branches inside the prefectural city? Why build a bridge over a bridge? A superfluous move?

But once this branch opened, everyone understood what it was meant to do. First, it took over the tax revenues of the area directly administered by the Xuzhou Department Magistrate's yamen. All payments from various places, along with surcharges, had to be delivered to this branch first before being transferred to the yamen. Second, it handled the conscription of labor and corvée. The census registers were in their hands. Mobilizing civilian labor to repair city walls and streets, to dredge moats and ditches outside the city, and such tasks — these were also organized by this branch. Expenses were disbursed from the collected surcharges, and commoners could offset their taxes through labor. Third, it collected fees. The Great Ming had commercial tax categories on the books but never actually collected them. For the most part, yamen runners and functionaries extorted on their own authority, or customary fixed payments were tacitly accepted. But this time, the Zhao Character Camp's branch began setting fixed amounts that shops and businesses were to pay monthly and annually, also to be delivered to this branch.

In addition, those members of the Internal Guard who were not hidden in the shadows were also to sit in the branch office. The jianghu and the marketplace of every locality were to obey the arrangements of this "Third Manager of the Shop."

Knowing all this, one didn't need to be clever to understand what this Cloud Mountain branch really was. Wasn't this just a local government yamen? It handled taxes and levies, population registers, and public order. Some matters that yamens managed weren't even handled with this much thoroughness.

No wonder the few scholars under Lord Jin kept such a tight watch on this matter, and the requirements for those working in the branches were so strict. At twenty years of age, this Zhao Jin truly possessed a steady hand. Everyone had assumed he was about to raise the banner of rebellion; no one expected him to still advance with this double-faced approach, one face outward and another inward.

Because the opening and operation of these Cloud Mountain Trading Company branches were both very troublesome and of great significance, they opened extremely slowly. After the ones in the Xuzhou prefectural city and Xiao County got started, Dangshan was under preparation, and Feng County and Pei County also began preparations in turn. But their opening dates would be later than those on the southern bank of the Yellow River. At Mount Jing, however, the Xu family moved very quickly. The Cloud Mountain Trading Company opened a branch there specifically. The selection of personnel for this branch was not as strict as elsewhere. People sent by the Zhao Character Camp made up less than ten percent; the rest were clansmen, stewards, and others loyal to Xu Zhenzhen.

Outsiders could see all this. Some felt that entering this Cloud Mountain Trading Company now might well promise boundless prospects in the future. The astute could also consider another point: even if Lord Jin's enterprise failed, working in his business and shops could hardly get them branded as rebel followers. Benefits there were, and guilt was minimal.

Joining the Zhao Character Camp as a retainer, wielding blade and spear, fighting for life and death on the battlefield — many families could not make that resolve, could not bear to let their children go and struggle. But going to work as a clerk or the like in a trading company shop — that they didn't mind. For a time, the recruitment of clerks was again bustling everywhere, quite reminiscent of the scene when the Zhao Character Camp had recruited soldiers back then.

However, the Cloud Mountain Trading Company and its subordinate branches also had aspects invisible to outsiders. That was Zhao Jin handing over to the branches the routine procurement and supply of provisions, pay, and equipment for the various regiments and large companies of the Zhao Character Camp.

The person responsible for these matters within the branch was also a manager, known as a "Retainer Manager." This person was of Zhao Character Camp retainer origin, usually a retainer wounded during combat training who had retired and come to the shop to handle these affairs. Under him were six militiamen specially assigned. These militiamen were not those retired due to injury or illness, but young men who had specially studied matters such as accounts, storage, and transport.

The Retainer Manager was under the dual jurisdiction of the Cloud Mountain Trading Company and the Zhao Character Camp. In times of wartime military affairs, the retainer and the militiamen under his command fell directly under the Zhao Character Camp.

Compared to the caution exercised around Xuzhou, within the estates encircling Xuzhou that were mainly populated by refugees, the opening of the various branches was very easy. Here the conditions for personnel could be relaxed. In any case, the estates were nearly sealed off, and no one could overturn the heavens. Besides rotating refugee-origin accountants and clerks among themselves, experienced managers and clerks from the Sun Family Trading Company were also invited over to instruct.

On Xu Zhenzhen's recommendation, many people of the Mount Jing Xu family also entered this branch system. The Xu family had managed coal and iron for many years, and they had no shortage of people capable of working in trading company shops.

This move stirred vigilance in many people inside and outside the Zhao Character Camp. Some even privately said to Zhao Jin, "The Zhao Character Camp is Lord Jin's foundation. You must employ more people of the Zhao family; don't let outsiders participate too much."

But such whispers and rumors quickly vanished without a trace. The reason was simple. Xu Zhenzhen assumed an attitude as if she meant to completely shatter the Xu family. After visiting once, she fully relinquished authority. Now, at Mount Jing, the Xu family was practically managed by the trusted confidants of Ruhui and Zhou Xuezhi. Xu Housheng was working as a steward at the Cloud Mountain Temple estate. Xu Benrong also lived in a large new estate near the He Family Village and paid no attention whatsoever to Xu family affairs.

"Lord Jin's frightening off the imperial agents this time has truly proven its great use. Even the Lady is at ease entrusting the Xu family over." Such discussions also appeared.

Given Zhao Jin's style of doing things, he would actually have preferred Xu Zhenzhen to manage the affairs of the Mount Jing Xu family, because he knew she enjoyed it and poured her heart and soul into it. But Zhao Jin also knew that this time Xu Zhenzhen had truly let go — not because the overall situation was settled or because he had displayed his strength, but because her mind was entirely on their children.

When Zhao Long was born, the situation inside and outside Xuzhou was at its most tense. Even the news of the birth had to be sealed off from the outside. Zhao Jin's heart was steady, but his family members were all on tenterhooks. Xu Zhenzhen had appeared composed on the surface, but in private she was always weeping. Even when Ma Chonghao led his force into Xuzhou, the child had been entrusted to a confidant, ready to be sent away at any moment.

Once everything had settled, Xu Zhenzhen first went and purged the unstable elements of the Xu family. After returning, she placed her entire heart and mind on Zhao Feng and Zhao Long. Only by seeing the children at every moment could she feel at ease.

"Now, with so many talented people inside and out helping my husband, there is little use for me anymore. All I want is to raise Da Feng and Er Long."

"With my attention now on the children, I inevitably cannot serve my husband with full devotion. If my husband wishes to take a concubine, he need not mind me. I think Little Meng is quite good — she has grown striking, and she's clever."

Every time this topic came up, Zhao Jin always felt an urge to look at the sky, though Xu Zhenzhen's jokes seemed to carry a hint of seriousness now.

Zhao Jin could not say he felt any joy at this change in Xu Zhenzhen. This storm had changed many of those around him. His mother, He Cuihua, had gained more wrinkles on her face. And his father, Zhao Zhentang, though he had remained in Xiao County and stayed steady throughout, when Zhao Jin saw him once, he could tell his father's white hair had suddenly multiplied, and his back had grown hunched. Zhao Song, who stayed by Zhao Zhentang's side, said that before the storm, the old man had joked and laughed, seeming as if nothing was wrong. But after Ma Chonghao's several forces were frightened off, the old man had aged all at once.

This was always the way with older people who had suffered extreme mental and emotional exhaustion. Zhao Jin did not know what to say either. His father, Zhao Zhentang, put it very bluntly: "Go busy yourself with your own affairs. Once you've set out on this road, there's no turning back. Don't waste your thoughts on useless things."

Though there had been no communication, it was still somewhat strange to mention. After the Wanli Emperor passed away, Zhao Jin's companions had all gotten engaged one after another. Only Wang Zhaojing remained unhurried. Chen Sheng's match was with the daughter of a large household outside Xuzhou city. This "large household" was, to put it plainly, just a local rich family with no influence in either the jianghu or official circles. The connection to the Chen family was simply because, back in the day, the timber used by the Chen family charcoal works had all been supplied by this household, and they had grown familiar through that.

Of course, no matter how ordinary that large household had been before, now that they had become in-laws with Second Lord Chen, their status on the Xuzhou ground immediately became vastly different. Even people from Qingjiangpu and Yangzhou had their eyes on them. One must understand, currying favor with Lord Jin directly was difficult now, so they could only approach through those around him. But the several men under Lord Jin were also difficult to curry favor with, so they could only start from those even further on the periphery.

Thanks to "User Light in the Darkness, Bian Meile, Yuan Heng Li Zhen, Mu Ming, Yao Ye, User Flying Pigeon, User Shi" for the tips. Thank you everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. I want monthly tickets!