Chapter 609 - First Signs

All told, there were about a dozen matters of social reciprocity. Most required nothing more than preparing a gift and a calling card and sending someone to deliver them. A few, however, demanded her personal attendance.

Beyond these matters of etiquette, various people wished to call on her.

"At two in the afternoon, Madam Wu will visit—"

"Oh, it's lesson day again." Pei Lixiu couldn't help feeling a bit bored, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

This Madam Wu was a locally famous "boudoir tutor"—the widow of a renowned scholar from Henan who had drifted to Guangzhou and made her living this way. Pei Lixiu had specifically engaged her to teach herself some common knowledge and conversational techniques, to avoid appearing hopelessly ignorant in company.

As it turned out, though this Miss Pei possessed the determination to become a proper Ming Dynasty lady, she lacked sufficient perseverance. After just a few lessons, she was crying out in protest, and the studies had become merely perfunctory.

Even so, the lessons were tedious beyond bearing. She had found an excuse to change them from every five days to every ten. Now, hearing that today was another such day, Pei Lixiu's hangover-addled head pounded even harder.

"Today Young Master Wu and Young Master Dong also wish to call on Miss."

"Oh? Those two are quite amusing." Hearing about these two, Pei Lixiu's spirits immediately rose. These scions of officials, ever since lending money to the Guangzhou Station for the Leizhou sugar trade and reaping enormous profits, had become deeply impressed by Mr. Guo's methods and abilities. After that, they had begun visiting Zhiming Tower with increasing frequency.

They had plenty of family money to spend and nothing to do all day except rack their brains for amusement. Zhiming Tower had become a place these young men visited almost daily. Whether Pei Lixiu, Guo Yi, Zhang Xin, or others—knowing these young men had money in their pockets and their fathers and families held political power—they went out of their way to cultivate them. Not only did they exhaust their ingenuity replicating modern amusements, they had also specifically hired several famous house guests from Guangdong. Some were skilled at arranging theatrical performances and teaching singing, others at constructing artificial mountains and rockeries, appraising antiques, mounting calligraphy and paintings, or breeding flowers and birds—all hired at high salaries to contribute to Zhiming Tower's entertainment offerings. Two theatrical troupes were also being assembled.

After finishing "breakfast," Pei Lixiu proceeded to her "office" as usual. Zheng Shangjie was already inside, and through the door came the sound of her loudly berating someone:

"How many times have I told you! Though silver cards aren't particularly precious items, you can't just hand them out to anyone! If you give them out so casually, people will think they're worthless! Don't you understand? Everyone needs to want them but not be able to get them, yet still hold onto hope."

Chunliu lifted the curtain and announced: "Miss Pei is here." The voices inside fell silent.

Pei Lixiu walked in. Two managers who had been receiving Zheng Shangjie's scolding quickly bowed in greeting. Since Zheng Shangjie's arrival, Zhiming Tower's operations had become much more orderly. Marketing in particular had improved dramatically. This woman who had previously worked as an agent for airline tickets, cosmetics, health products, insurance, travel companies, knockoff phones, and countless other ventures was extremely skilled at promotion and publicity. Under her guidance, they had specifically established a marketing department for Zishi Enterprises, responsible for promoting various products and services. And promoting Zhiming Tower was the priority she focused on most intently.

"Alright, you may go now. But pay attention to the card distribution in the future." She emphasized this point once more before sending them off.

After arriving in Guangzhou, Zheng Shangjie had been forced to follow Ming customs and switch to Ming Dynasty women's attire. But these wide-sleeved, flowing robes proved truly inconvenient, and it took her a long time to somewhat get used to them. Even now, she still looked awkward to herself no matter how she examined her reflection.

For this reason, she rarely appeared in public, devoting more time to internal management and administrative affairs—which nicely complemented Pei Lixiu's weaknesses. The two worked together splendidly. Combined with Lingao's rotational training of indigenous personnel from the Guangzhou and Leizhou stations—especially the vetting and training of original managers and stewards—and the establishment of comprehensive management systems, the enterprises under the Guangzhou Station were now managed far more rigorously than before.

The "counting room" of Zhiming Tower—or rather, the "general manager's office"—was a small room decorated in Ming style but arranged in modern fashion. Two rosewood desks, made to modern specifications, were placed back to back. Pei Lixiu and Zheng Shangjie sat facing each other.

Their several secretaries—that is, their "maids"—sat at four small desks pushed together in the back. Zheng Shangjie also had two maids under her: one handled her documents and correspondence, the other served as accountant, specifically keeping the books.

Pei Lixiu sat behind her desk and yawned first. Chunliu quickly brewed her a cup of Songluo tea. Zheng Shangjie regarded her with disdain: "It's already noon and you're still not awake?"

"Had too much to drink last night—" Pei Lixiu draped herself weakly over the desk. "Go ahead and despise me."

"I can't be bothered to despise you. But there's still a pile of things to do here."

"Oh God, did I come to the Ming Dynasty just so I could sit in an office again like a lowly white-collar worker?" She groaned in mock anguish. "How is this more and more like my old life?"

"Don't you also play socialite at night?"

"Sigh—" Pei Lixiu heaved a sigh but said nothing more. Her head was still foggy—the socialite life wasn't easy either.

"The proposal to build Purple Garden has been approved by Mr. Guo." After arriving in Guangzhou, Zheng Shangjie had also adopted local forms of address in public settings to avoid attracting attention.

Zheng Shangjie's current identity was as Guo Yi's cousin—specifically brought in to help.

Though Zhiming Tower had been renovated and rebuilt with a much-improved layout, it remained located in a busy commercial district with no room for expansion. For this reason, Guo Yi had sent people to survey land outside the city, seeking a scenic location with mountains and water to build a villa estate as Zhiming Tower's branch. This place would be called "Purple Garden."

"Someone suggested inviting Ji Cheng to design it," Pei Lixiu recalled. "But this person seems to be in Jiangnan. We'd need to send someone specifically to invite him—"

"I think the matter of inviting Ji Cheng should wait," Zheng Shangjie said. "We only know this person is in Nanjing; we know nothing else. Sending someone on a journey of a thousand miles would take at least three or four months to return, cost a great deal, and might not even succeed. It wouldn't look good in an audit."

At the last Guangzhou Station work meeting, Guo Yi had specifically mentioned that after the Cheka finished auditing the Agricultural Committee, they would soon come to audit the Guangzhou Station's accounts. Everyone needed to pay more attention to accounting work, especially account management and cash handling. Unnecessary expenditures should be avoided.

"So should we proceed with the Purple Garden project or not?" Pei Lixiu had no firm opinion on such matters.

"Normally, if we shelved it, we'd shelve it. But having heard this news and then stopping—that might not look good. I think going ahead with Purple Garden isn't bad. It's another place to make money. Besides, Ji Cheng can't be the only garden designer, can he?"

"He seems to be the most famous." Pei Lixiu sighed. "But we're not in Jiangnan."

The two women chatted idly while handling their work. Suddenly Chunliu, who had gone to the gatehouse to collect the morning's visiting cards, came hurrying back.

She placed the cards on the table and quickly reported something strange.

Dong Jizhong and Wu Zhixiang, who had originally planned to visit Zhiming Tower that afternoon, had both unexpectedly sent servants to say they were feeling unwell and wouldn't be coming today.

"Did they say when they'd reschedule?" Pei Lixiu didn't yet find anything suspicious.

"That's exactly what's strange. Usually when they cancel, they always set another date. Today the servants just said those words and left."

"Perhaps they forgot." Pei Lixiu now also found it peculiar, but still hadn't thought much of it.

"No, that's not all." Chunliu told her that the gate had received thirty percent fewer calling cards today than usual. Many people who had originally planned to come had also sent servants to say they temporarily couldn't make it.

Pei and Zheng exchanged glances. This was indeed strange. Coming to Zhiming Tower was a prestigious thing. Due to limited capacity, even just having a drink or taking a bath here required reservations days or even weeks in advance. Some special amenities could only be reserved by gold or silver card VIP members. Unless something urgent had happened, reservations wouldn't be canceled.

This meant something major had happened in Guangzhou. Zheng Shangjie sensed this keenly.

"Quickly send someone to Huifu Street to see Guo Yi. Something has happened in Guangzhou."

But Guo Yi's side had no news either. Zhang Xin quickly dispatched people around the city to inquire: had there been any recent news in Guangzhou? That evening, everyone reported back that nothing seemed amiss. By dusk, Zhiming Tower was as bustling as ever, with carriages and horses crowding the streets and heads bobbing in throngs—except that those officials and nobles who had canceled their reservations hadn't appeared.

That evening, they finally received their first piece of intelligence.

The news came from a house guest close to the Governor, housed in the Governor's yamen—Zhang Xin and others routinely maintained a network of such lower-ranking personnel working in various yamens and around officials.

This contact told them: Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi Wang Zunde was secretly planning an expedition against the hair-shorn pirates in Lingao.

The matter was of course classified as top secret. But ancient society had no real concept of security; any news would inevitably leak to those nearby.

"This is rather unbelievable." At the emergency meeting held in the Guangzhou Station's safe house, Meng Xian said. "Why the sudden expedition?"

"It was bound to happen sooner or later," Zhang Xin replied. "The government could only pretend to be deaf and blind for so long before the pretense could no longer be maintained."

"From an intelligence studies perspective, such news should first be verified."

"Mm, I've already sent people to verify with our 'connections' at the various yamens. Whether it's true or false, we should have news within a few days." Yan Maoda spoke with a frown. "I'm afraid this matter doesn't bode well. The Guangzhou Station may be facing a test."

"Can't we just report the situation to Lingao?" Pei Lixiu didn't understand. "We're all proper Guangzhou natives now."

"That's just bureaucratic formality," Guo Yi said. "Back then they could give us household registrations; this time they can just as easily refuse to recognize them. Who doesn't know these Purple-Character establishments are actually Australian properties? Whether they want to deal with us or not is entirely at the whim of these officials."

"But we're nominally Ming subjects now, aren't we? They'd still need some reason, wouldn't they?" Zheng Shangjie hadn't been in the Ming Dynasty long. The Ming officials she had encountered were at most somewhat sleazy; she hadn't yet witnessed their cunning and ruthlessness.

"Reasons are plentiful. An official's mouth has two sides; whatever he says goes." Yan Maoda shook his head grimly. "The situation is indeed dire!"

Guo Yi nodded. "Ming household registration can't be relied upon. Never mind that ours is fraudulent—even proper Guangzhou natives can be dealt with whenever officials want to deal with them. Not to mention the Guangzhou Station's substantial assets have long attracted many envious eyes. If this expedition against the hair-shorn pirates is real, I'm afraid officials and gentry scrambling to seize these Purple-Character establishments will be fighting each other for the opportunity."

At this, everyone fell silent. Over these years, the Guangzhou Station had enjoyed smooth sailing. The several people in charge had all become prominent figures in Guangzhou. When Guo Yi sent out a calling card, someone from Guangzhou Prefecture or Nanhai and Panyu counties would immediately step forward, and ordinary matters could be settled right away. Even reaching up to the Circuit Intendant's yamen, the Provincial Administration Commission, or even the Governor's and Governor-General's yamens—they had connections everywhere and could access channels at any time. Any news could be transmitted in real time.

When the Guangzhou Station had used the Qiwei Escort Bureau to expand its inn, warehouse, and logistics operations, clashing with local strongmen and underground powers, the Special Reconnaissance Team had repeatedly done wet work in Guangzhou city. Murder, arson, wiping out entire families—they had done plenty of it. Because their official connections were strong and their backing substantial, not only had no victims sought justice, no one had even said a word.

This situation had fostered a feeling that they were the "hidden godfathers" of Guangzhou. That the Guangzhou Station was as solid as a rock. In meetings at the safe house, mocking the Ming government's corruption, embezzlement, and incompetence had almost become routine—as long as you were willing to spend money, anything could be done. This had become the prevailing mindset of the Guangzhou Station personnel.

Someone had even joked after drinking too much: even if headquarters in Lingao were destroyed someday, the transmigrator collective could rebuild with the Guangzhou Station's foundation.

Now, merely news of an impending attack on Lingao had struck them like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

They had never before so acutely felt their own dependence on the entire Lingao collective. Without considering, weighing, or calculating anything—without the whole collective's support behind them—the Guangzhou Station's destruction would be a matter of moments. They were just a piece of fat meat.

"We shouldn't panic," Yan Maoda said. "This news hasn't been verified yet. But since it came from the Governor's yamen, I estimate its reliability at ninety percent or above. We should make some preparations."

"Mm, I agree with Old Yan's view," Zhang Xin said. "Though this matter has come somewhat suddenly, we can't be unprepared. My view is: people are most important. Goods and property don't matter. If things become urgent, we evacuate immediately."

"Should we activate Operation Muddy?"

Operation Muddy was the Guangzhou Station's total evacuation plan. It included personnel dispersal and evacuation, transportation, concealment, and burial of materials and property, as well as handling of various commercial relationships. This plan had been formulated since the Guangzhou Station's establishment, and as the Station's scale had grown ever larger, the Operation Muddy planning document had grown ever thicker.

Guo Yi said: "Of course not. This is only a possibility for now. We needn't be overly nervous, nor should we lose our composure."

"Once they attack Lingao, there's no way we can hold on here," Zhang Xin said.

"Whether they'll attack Lingao hasn't been confirmed yet," Guo Yi replied. "We can't rule out the possibility that someone is trying to use our Australian connection to pressure us with this big hat."

"You mean—?" Zheng Shangjie didn't quite understand.

"Are you saying someone is using this expedition against Lingao as a pretext to force us to give up benefits, but whether they'll actually attack Lingao isn't certain?"

"Correct. We need to consider this possibility. The Guangzhou Station is a fat piece of meat, and there's no shortage of people eyeing it. In this city of Guangzhou, have there been few cases where people see someone running a good business and use intimidation to seize it? Our backing has always been strong, so if they want to take a bite of Zishi Enterprises, they have to undermine us at the root. By releasing this half-true, half-false news, they force us into disarray."

"Are you saying the news might be false?"

"No, the news might be true. But whether the expedition against Lingao will actually happen isn't certain. A drawn bow doesn't always release its arrow."

"These officials are experts at trimming their sails to the wind. So I say—even if there really is going to be an attack on Lingao, we needn't worry too much. The Guangzhou Station has many stakeholders here. Once it collapses, many people's interests will suffer serious losses. They won't just stand by—take Gao Ju, for example. Even if mutual debts and credits cancel out, he'd still lose his supply of Australian goods. The loss outweighs the gain." Yan Maoda said.

"For now, let's use various channels to verify the news. At the same time, let's reach out to our allies so they can speak up for us when necessary," Guo Yi said. "Of course, this news must be reported to Lingao tonight. Starting today, Guangzhou developments are to be reported twice daily."

"Alright," everyone agreed.

"There's also Meng Xian's side," Guo Yi said. "Delong Bank has few public connections to the Guangzhou Station, and it holds large amounts of private deposits from officials. I estimate it won't be too affected. You shouldn't come to the Purple-Character establishments for now. If there's anything, send messengers. If something truly urgent happens and contact is lost, you can arrange evacuation or standby according to the situation."

"Alright." Meng Xian nodded firmly. "I'll hold on as long as I can."

"Also, you'd better take inventory of your silver reserves and see how much can be mobilized," Guo Yi said. "I estimate that if this news is true, in a few days these Purple-Character enterprises will face a large-scale bank run. You'll probably face runs too. Each location should prepare at least fifty thousand taels in cash."

(End of Chapter)