Chapter 1857 - The Runshitang Flagship Store

"What did the visitor say?"

"He said he would return in three days for a reply."

"I understand."

By rights, the Zhang Dai matter should have been handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—the Executive Council had no equivalent of a United Front Department—but the Ministry had no representative in Guangdong, so Liu Xiang's municipal government was temporarily handling such matters. For liaison work with notable native figures, either Liu Xiang appeared in person or Lin Baiguang stepped in.

Why had Zhang Dai suddenly appeared in Guangzhou? Liu Xiang pondered, then suddenly remembered something. He retrieved a thick memorandum from his bookshelf and searched under the "Z" heading in the keyword index. Before long, he found a telegram summary.

The telegram had arrived from the Hangzhou station more than three months ago, with keywords: Zhang Dai, Hangzhou, Zhao Yingong, Lingao. Zhao Yingong had reported that Zhang Dai intended to travel south and would very likely visit Lingao.

Lucky I remembered this! Liu Xiang thought. Our information processing and sharing capabilities are still far too primitive.

He immediately copied a number onto a memo slip and rang for his new secretary: "Go find the full text of this telegram!"

Yang Shixiang sat in the newly renovated Runshitang Guangzhou Flagship Store, surveying the bright hall and sparkling glass display cases with profound satisfaction.

After the liberation of Guangzhou, Yang Shixiang had moved the headquarters from Lingao to Guangzhou at Liu San's urging. Though Lingao now rivaled Guangzhou in prosperity and population, its geographical disadvantage meant it was inconveniently distant from both sales markets and sources of raw materials.

Yang Shixiang was also eager to expand into a "major trading hub" like Guangzhou. The two men hit it off immediately, and Runshitang's headquarters relocated to the Great World district. Beyond retail, Yang Shixiang was also preparing to open a new pharmaceutical factory locally.

Because this was an entirely new flagship store and Yang Shixiang had made considerable profits in recent years, he spared no expense on the décor, striving for grandeur. He rented the largest storefront on Great World's commercial street. Following the traditional Chinese medicine shop format, he had it refurbished completely. The massive gilded signboard had been brought from the old Lingao shop—to show he had "not forgotten his roots." The wall behind the counter facing the main entrance was a towering medicine cabinet over ten feet high, with camphor wood facing and white pine interior—far superior to the oak cabinets of the Lingao shop. The counter itself was no longer an old-fashioned wooden chest but glass display cases like those at the Purple Dawn Pavilion, showcasing patent medicines and a selection of "Australian miracle drugs." During the design phase, he had even proposed making the large medicine cabinet entirely of glass, but Liu San had vetoed it as "too much of a departure from tradition." Yang Shixiang deeply regretted this and found it utterly incomprehensible—the Australians themselves were the least "traditional" people; why would such an elegant, impressive all-glass cabinet design be rejected for being "non-traditional"?

In the old days, his dream had been nothing more than someday returning his family's business name to Foshan and vindicating his father. Who could have imagined that Runshitang would now establish such a grand operation right here in Guangzhou! Recalling how his father had crossed the sea to purchase medicinal ingredients only to be robbed by pirates, returning to Lingao with nothing but his life, weeping before his grandfather's spirit tablet—today's success was enough to console his father's spirit in heaven.

Setting aside those bitter memories, Yang Shixiang thought of that military officer surnamed Ye—called Ye Siman—who was Prefect Liu's personal bodyguard. The latest instructions she had relayed made him somewhat uneasy. Today, besides "inspecting and guiding the flagship store's operations," he had a special task: to receive a Jiangnan scholar who had specifically requested to see "the Master of Runshitang." Although this "ancestral gentleman" had been unlucky in the examinations—past forty and still without even a juren degree—his reputation in the literary circles of the culturally rich Jiangnan region was remarkable despite being merely a xiucai. This detail had been explained to Yang Shixiang by Officer Ye. Clearly the man must have exceptional qualities. But for a Jiangnan scholar to appear in Guangzhou at this moment of upheaval, requesting to see "the Master of Runshitang"—that was certainly thought-provoking...

Liu San was an Element, his status beyond question. In recent years, as the Executive Council's power had expanded, the Elements' authority had grown ever greater. Even though they still maintained their approachable, low-key style, ordinary naturalized citizens and natives alike felt the status gap widening. Should anything untoward happen, Yang Shixiang could not afford the responsibility.

He questioned the shop assistant who had been on duty that day—by Australian custom they should be called "sales clerks"—and learned that only a manservant had come, presenting a visiting card and a letter of introduction. He hadn't said anything about seeking an immediate audience, only asked the clerk to forward the card and request, saying he would "return in three days to await a reply."

Yang Shixiang was past forty himself now. From this small matter, he discerned the other party's nervousness and anticipation. He was fairly certain the visitor was not some sort of spy with designs on kidnapping an Element—the "Master of Runshitang" he sought to meet was clearly not Yang himself, but his sworn brother, the Element Liu San.

This morning, the manservant had returned to inquire after news. Yang Shixiang, having already received Liu San's notification the previous evening, had sent word back that he could meet any time between afternoon and evening. The old servant replied that evening would be inconvenient; the sultry afternoon hours when customers were few would be better, and his master would come to "consult about a prescription." Thus the meeting was arranged.

Compared to Shaoxing, the Guangfu sun was naturally more punishing. According to Australian books, this southern region was closer to the equator, so the sun's angle was higher. If one measured shadows, at the same time of day, one's shadow in Guangfu would be noticeably shorter than in Shaoxing. Before long, Zhang Dai caught himself—his mind was "wandering" again. As a man past forty who had gloriously joined the ranks of old xiucai, he understood clearly why he had never passed the juren examination: besides bad luck and a visceral distaste for the eight-legged essay, his main problem was "freezing up in the examination hall." The moment he saw the question, his thoughts would spiral off endlessly until his answers became "incoherent." Come to think of it, the Australian term "wandering thoughts" was really quite apt... though his thoughts seemed to be wandering again...

A small sedan chair had already stopped outside the gate of the small courtyard where he was staying. To avoid suspicion, he had not used a Liang family sedan today but had hired one from outside. Already properly dressed, Zhang Dai stepped out and merely informed the Liang gatekeeper that he was "going to browse the markets today." Then he ducked into the sedan chair. His attendant opened a rattan case revealing an insulated container with thick kapok lining, several bottles of kvass chilled with crushed ice from the Liang family ice cellar. The servant pressed down the marble stopper and respectfully handed a bottle to Zhang Dai, then closed the case and followed alongside, carrying it.

The sedan swayed gently upward. Zhang Dai took a long gulp of the cold drink—he needed to calm down a bit more.

Today's venture, though he had "thought thrice before acting," was ultimately somewhat rash. He might not be any great official, but his reputation in Jiangnan's literary circles and the Zhang family's influence in the region made him a person of some value. With his awkward status, making a visit of unclear intent—what would the other side think? If they were the Eastern Barbarians or the Chuangwang rebels, he would certainly never conceive of "meeting with them." Even if he were "stranded" as he was now, his only options would be to flee or take his own life to preserve his loyalty and filial piety. What was it about these Australians that made him want to "have a look"?

The sedan proceeded slowly—not because the bearers were dawdling, but because Guangzhou's streets were undergoing major reconstruction, with the whole city dug up. Zhang Dai gradually organized his thoughts within the chair.

During Guangfu's summer afternoons, anyone who could avoid going out stayed indoors. The Runshitang flagship store's hall was occupied only by clerks and the proprietor Yang Shixiang himself. With the big boss on the premises, the pressure in the entire shop dropped; the newly hired clerks dared not breathe loudly. One by one, they busied themselves checking the medicines in every drawer, or polishing the glass display cases until they gleamed—whether truly busy or pretending, none dared let themselves appear idle.

The physician on duty at the flagship store was Xu Zhiling, the second son of the Xu family from the Baohetang in Wenchang County. Though the two families were "quite distant," there were only so many medical practices with family traditions and shopfronts on Hainan Island, and they could be considered old family friends. By tradition, Xu Zhiling had no chance of inheriting the family practice, but he had failed his studies and loved only medical research—his talent exceeded that of his elder brother Xu Zhican. The Qiongzhou medical community all believed that Baohetang's four-generation tradition of passing the practice only to the eldest legitimate son would break with this generation. Yet when the Australians arrived, Xu Zhiling had abandoned his family's ancestral business, gone to Lingao to take the Australians' Traditional Chinese Medicine Physician Qualification Examination, obtained his license, passed Liu San's screening, entered the establishment, and traveled to villages and mountains delivering medicine and care, accumulating merits. Now he had finally been promoted to the flagship store as attending physician.

Seeing that it was high noon with no patients seeking consultations, and that the proprietor's presence was making everyone perform busywork even more exhausting than when there were patients, Xu Zhiling took out the Chinese Pharmacopoeia published by the Executive Council and began consulting "Uncle Yang" about a randomly chosen section. When the clerks saw Attending Physician Xu and the proprietor growing increasingly animated in discussion, they finally relaxed a little and stopped their performative busyness.

Time flew amid the debate. The cry of sedan bearers setting down their load came from the entrance, drawing Yang Shixiang's attention. Xu Zhiling tactfully withdrew at once—he knew the proprietor was waiting for someone today. The clerk who had received that "Jiangnan scholar" spotted the manservant presenting the card and nodded toward the interior. Yang Shixiang straightened his robes, adjusted his sleeves, and strode slowly to the shop entrance.

(End of Chapter)