Chapter 845: Reconstruction
The sedan chairs proceeded toward Huifu Street. The Qiwei Escort Agency had organized a large contingent of escorts to follow and guard the procession. At every street corner, high-rise fireworks and ten-thousand-character firecrackers were set off. Sun Kecheng led the escorts in matching newly-tailored livery, personally following behind in tight formation on foot, looking as though they could finally hold their heads high.
Ever since the Navy had fire-attacked the Wuyang Postal Station, the Qiwei Escort Agency—which had been keeping a low profile—had finally escaped the position of acting like a subordinate. After the secret agreement between both sides was signed, the Qiwei Escort Agency suddenly found itself prominent. Sun Kecheng had long been suppressing his energy, waiting for Master Guo's return to make a grand display.
When the procession reached Huifu Street, the street entrance had already been sealed off by yamen runners dispatched from Nanhai and Panyu Counties, with no idle people permitted near. The original residence and the storefronts of Purple Sincerity Record and Purple Treasure House had already been washed clean and refreshed. The seals that had been posted for more than half a year had long since disappeared, and the weeds before the doorsteps had been pulled clean. The road surface was also swept clean and dry. The only problem was that the large glass windows of Purple Sincerity Record and Purple Treasure House had all been smashed and carried away. For now, they could only leave the board shutters temporarily removed.
Led by head shopkeeper Shen Fan, the workers and craftsmen of the original Purple Enterprises stood lined up at the store entrance, eagerly watching the sedan chairs approach—they had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
Ever since the Guangzhou Station had evacuated completely, the workers and craftsmen had received their severance pay and gone home separately to lie low. Some unlucky ones who had failed to hide in time were caught by yamen runners, suffering considerably and losing some money. Fortunately, Sun Kecheng had been secretly helping, with Gao Ju also lending a hand from time to time, stabilizing people's hearts. Although this group had received severance pay and need not worry about food and clothing, sitting idle and eating away their resources day after day made them uneasy. Each one had waited eagerly for Master Guo to return one day earlier so everyone could resume working and doing business.
Looking forward and looking forward, they finally received news of Master Guo's return to Guangzhou. Sun Kecheng had sent someone to communicate the news, and the Purple Enterprises people could not help but spread the word to each other.
After being dismissed, Shen Fan had returned to his hometown to lie low in the countryside. Because he had been the head steward of Purple Enterprises, he was a key person Tian Da was hunting for. Before leaving Guangzhou, he had nearly been kidnapped by Tian Da's evil servants. Fortunately, Qiwei had dispatched people to secretly protect him from the beginning, which kept him safe enough to escape.
Shen Fan, carrying the roster of the entire Guangzhou Station's workers and craftsmen on his person, had fled to his hometown to lie low under escort protection. Unexpectedly, Tian Da had extensive reach, actually sending yamen runners through the local county yamen to arrest him. His entire family had been forced to flee overnight under escort protection, hiding in one of Qiwei's branch offices for several months.
During those days in hiding, he could track the situation in Guangzhou through the Qiwei Escort Agency's communication network. Although he was not as restless as the workers and craftsmen below, he also harbored serious doubts about whether Master Guo and the others could actually return to Guangzhou—after all, the Australians were dealing with the government.
When the Qiwei Escort Agency informed him to return to Guangzhou to prepare for reopening, this old shopkeeper could not suppress the excitement in his heart and immediately set off for Guangzhou. After arriving in the city, he first stayed at Qiwei's inn. Qiwei's people went out everywhere to notify the workers and craftsmen scattered in various villages and even neighboring counties to return to work. The whole inn was jubilant for a time, all waiting for the master to return and business to resume.
At this moment, Shen Fan stood first among the workers, barely able to contain his excitement. In this whole affair, although he had not been able to help the master much, the master had actually "come back." The terrible power of the government, which made common people tremble merely at the mention of it, had actually been turned back by cannons. The Australians' tough style—keeping their word and fearing no one in power—had left a deep impression on him.
Watching the sedan chair set down nearby and the curtain lifted, Master Guo emerged from within. He stamped his feet lightly and dusted the dust from his sleeves, exuding an aura of "royal hegemonic qi" that made people feel they could not measure up. Then Miss Pei also descended from her sedan behind—still radiant and beautiful, utterly stunning. Shen Fan forcefully suppressed the excitement swelling in his chest, walked forward several steps, and fell to his knees with a grand bow, about to kowtow to Guo Yi. The workers and craftsmen of Purple Group present also all dropped to their knees in a single wave. Before the door, a dense black mass of people knelt.
Guo Yi was startled. He had not expected these people to have such deep feelings for Purple Enterprises. Seeing Shen Fan actually performing a grand bow to him, he hurried forward to help him up. Seeing this old shopkeeper already in tears, choking and unable to speak, Guo Yi himself felt his heart turn slightly sour—this was probably what "loyalty and righteousness" meant. He sighed inwardly.
"Please rise, everyone!" Guo Yi steadied himself and swept his gaze over the assembly. "Separated for more than half a year. Everyone has suffered. At that time I said we would eventually return to Guangzhou, revive the old business, and set off firecrackers together for the shops to reopen." Saying this, he felt his eyes moisten somewhat. "Come! Bring the firecrackers!"
"Coming!" With one call from Shen Fan, workers had already prepared one hundred high-rise fireworks and ten strings of ten-thousand-character firecrackers, arranged in dense rows along Huifu Street.
Guo Yi took an incense stick, lit the fuse of a high-rise firework, and then, high-rise fireworks and ten-thousand-character firecrackers went off one after another. The whole of Huifu Street was immediately deafened by firecracker sounds and filled with smoke.
Guo Yi sat in the flower hall. The flower hall, which had once been magnificently furnished, was now completely empty. Even the chair beneath him and the table before him were temporary purchases from secondhand shops—in ancient times there was no concept of furniture stores; furniture had to be crafted by artisans. To buy ready-made furniture, one could only buy secondhand.
The twelve twelve-panel windows, made by skilled craftsmen and inlaid with glass, had disappeared without a trace. The greedy yamen runners had not only taken all movable property and furniture but had not even spared the building materials that could be dismantled and removed. Guo Yi had just gone to inspect Purple Sincerity Record's liquor workshop. The distillers and atmospheric boilers inside had been destroyed before the withdrawal to prevent others from using them; examining them again now, they had become dilapidated, with many parts missing. Obviously someone had dismantled these items and moved them elsewhere, then recently moved them back.
Almost none of the business equipment returned by the government was intact. Guo Yi shook his head looking at them. Most things probably only had value for being dismantled for firewood or recycling materials. As for ordinary household items, the kitchen did not possess even a single pot or bowl. It was even difficult to boil water to drink.
Fortunately, the house had already been cleaned multiple times several days prior by Sun Kecheng and Shen Fan organizing people. The weeds in the courtyard had also been pulled out.
Even so, this once flourishing property still looked utterly decrepit.
"Truly ruined beyond recognition," Guo Yi sighed.
"Where do I sleep..." Pei Lixiu glanced at her former boudoir on Huifu Street—inside could be described as "bare walls." As for Purple Brightness Tower, that went without saying. She and Zheng Shangjie had originally wanted to go immediately to Purple Brightness Tower to see the situation. But Shopkeeper Sun asked her to wait until tomorrow—they were still cleaning there. It probably could not be inhabited yet.
"You and Zheng Shangjie should stay at Qiwei's inn for tonight. I have already instructed Shopkeeper Sun to prepare a luxury room—with a bathroom, very clean." Guo Yi instructed people to first set up a camp bed in his bedroom, along with a desk for office use.
"I will not stay there. Just set up a temporary bed for me too. Tonight is perfect for reconsidering the plan to restore Purple Brightness Tower." Zheng Shangjie was career-minded and felt that roughing it was manageable.
Guo Yi instructed people to first post notices outside the residence on Huifu Street, at Purple Sincerity Record, Purple Treasure House, and Purple Brightness Tower: "Reopening soon. All workers and friends of this shop and residence, please report back within three days to resume positions." Although most people had already come back to report before opening, some still had not been contacted.
As for furniture in the rooms, daily necessities, and business equipment in the stores—craftsmen were immediately sought to make them, sparing no expense, having carpenters work as quickly as possible. Items that could be purchased from secondhand shops should be bought first. But Guo Yi required that only quality items be bought, with no inferior substitutes.
"That's easy enough. Recently there are quite a few wealthy households selling 'confiscated goods' here in Guangzhou. There are plenty of good things in the secondhand shops. Not to mention furniture—even decorative objects are available to choose from!" Shen Fan said with a smile. He was so busy his feet did not touch the ground, running back and forth making arrangements. Guo Yi gave him a De Long Guangzhou Branch passbook to draw funds from freely.
"Oh? What's going on?" Guo Yi asked curiously.
"It's all because of the Australians..." Shen Fan lowered his voice but could not suppress a laugh. "The government army suffered a great defeat in Qiongzhou Prefecture. The civil and military officials leading troops died or were captured. Those captured need ransom money to get released. Back here, the Imperial Court still has to punish the guilty. Those guilty need to escape punishment; the innocent want promotions. It's simply chaos... Doesn't all this require money to grease palms and work connections?"
"Ah, so that's the situation." Guo Yi thought, Our victory at Chengmai really taught these officials a good lesson.
"Now there are even those selling land and houses. If the master is interested, you can also quietly look to see if there is anything suitable."
"You help me keep an eye out first. Report back when there is something suitable."
"Yes. Quite a few people in the Guangdong officialdom were implicated this time." Shen Fan no longer had any feelings for the Great Ming Imperial Court, feeling no sympathy whatsoever for these officials who preyed on the people and abused their power falling into misfortune. "Rest assured, master. I will take Buyer Zhou with me. He is known as 'Zhou the Skinner.' I must squeeze these dirty officials properly and vent some anger for the master—these officials have quite a few good things in their hands."
"Good, go ahead." Guo Yi nodded.
Guo Yi's boat had brought along a construction team from Lingao General Construction Company, prepared to repair the residence and properties. They had also brought some building materials that might be needed—such as large panes of glass. But looking at things now, the damage to the buildings was far beyond his expectations. The prepared materials were insufficient in both quantity and variety. Boilers, distillers, and sanitary fixtures also all had to be ordered from Lingao. Guo Yi knew Purple Brightness Tower's condition would only be worse than here—many of the "strange crafts and cleverness" items inside had probably survived only one in ten. Quite possibly even the water pipes and faucets had been dismantled and taken away.
(End of Chapter)