Chapter 83: Fifty Thousand Blades
The next day.
Li Yunjie made inquiries along the way and finally found Zhang Shu’s umbrella shop.
“Young master,” Zhang Shu greeted him with a bright smile as soon as she saw him. “What brings you here?”
Li Yunjie nodded in acknowledgment, glanced around, and picked up an oil-paper umbrella. “Miss Zhang, your craftsmanship has grown even more exquisite. The umbrella’s frame is light, and the painting on the canopy is delicate.”
Zhang Shu pressed her lips together in a modest smile. “You flatter me, young master.”
As she spoke, something seemed to occur to her. She turned to rummage behind the counter and produced an envelope.
“There’s been a string of rainy days lately, so business has been good.” Zhang Shu laughed heartily and held out the envelope toward Li Yunjie with both hands, her posture respectful. “Here are thirty taels. Please, take them first.”
Li Yunjie waved his hand in refusal. “I haven’t come to collect payment today.”
“I know.” Zhang Shu nodded, still smiling. “You don’t seem the sort to press for debts.”
She tucked the envelope into his hand. “But I’m not one to default, either.”
Li Yunjie paused for a moment, then chuckled softly. “In that case, I’ll accept.”
With a deft twist of his hand, he withdrew the silver notes from the envelope, added a few more, and handed them back to Zhang Shu.
“Young master, what does this mean?” she asked, puzzled.
Li Yunjie answered calmly, “It’s a deposit.”
“A deposit?” Zhang Shu looked down at the stack of silver notes—nearly five hundred taels—and furrowed her brow. “That’s such a large sum…”
She swallowed nervously, then ventured, “How many umbrellas would you like to order, young master?”
Li Yunjie held up five fingers.
“Five hundred…”
The words barely left her lips before she dismissed the thought. Five hundred taels! That would be…
“Five thousand umbrellas?”
He shook his head, his tone serene. “Fifty thousand.”
Zhang Shu gasped, her eyes rolling back as her knees nearly buckled. She almost collapsed, but Li Yunjie’s quick reflexes caught her in time.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Zhang Shu steadied herself with effort, her voice trembling. “What would you need so many umbrellas for, young master?”
After a moment’s thought, a smile curled at the corner of Li Yunjie’s mouth. “Would you like to open a branch shop?”
Zhang Shu: ???
Hadn’t she just opened this one?
“Isn’t this a bit too hasty, young master?”
“Not at all,” Li Yunjie replied with conviction. “Your craftsmanship rivals any umbrella shop in the capital.”
“In my opinion, your umbrellas should be sold across all twelve provinces of the Great Qian Empire.”
Zhang Shu’s eyes widened. She hadn’t even established herself on this street, and he was already talking about expansion across the nation?
Do all wealthy young gentlemen speak with such grand designs?
Without giving her a chance to refuse, Li Yunjie continued, “It’s settled, then.”
“I’ll see to the matter of the shops.”
“For now, you just need to hire workers and focus on making umbrellas.”
“Oh, and I must trouble you to draft a contract.”
“I’ll send someone in a few days to discuss the details.”
With that, he departed with effortless grace, leaving Zhang Shu standing in the middle of her shop, dazed and bewildered.
......
The next day.
At the wharf.
On the ruins of the Sun family’s shop, some twenty or thirty shipping merchants had gathered.
“I wonder why Boss Sun called us here today?” someone in the crowd asked.
The two brothers exchanged a glance and nodded.
Sun San stepped forward, his tone grave. “We’ve asked you all here for one purpose.”
“To bring down Liu Zhen!”
His words were direct and resounded with force.
The crowd tensed at the brothers’ intention to challenge Liu Zhen. Some, less courageous, slipped away at once.
“Are these two brothers mad?”
“If they hadn’t openly renovated their shop and stood against Boss Liu, they wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
“Exactly! Everyone knows that if you want to make a living at the Jiangnan wharf, you rely on Boss Liu’s leniency,” came the murmured complaints from the crowd.
Sun San seemed unfazed, as if he had expected such reactions. He glanced down at the notes in his hand, took a deep breath, and addressed them loudly:
“Haven’t you all felt oppressed these years?”
“Liu Zhen is overbearing and arrogant, monopolizing the wharf’s goods and amassing fortunes!”
“While our shops can only pick at his leftovers!”
“Do you think that’s fair?”
His words struck a nerve and resonated with the crowd. Many nodded unconsciously in agreement.
But that was as far as it went.
In years past, some had tried to resist Liu Zhen’s tyranny. But with his ties to the corrupt official Song Yongnian, any boss who tried to file a report either vanished or went bankrupt.
So the wharf merchants learned to swallow their anger, daring not to speak out—and tacitly accepted Liu Zhen’s dominance.
After years of Liu Zhen’s oppression, these merchants had grown used to eking out a living under his thumb. The profits were thin, but at least they could feed their families.
Who would risk their life now? Especially for two outsiders.
“Boss Sun, are you joking?” scoffed a middle-aged man. “What makes you think you can take on Boss Liu?”
At this, Sun San signaled to his younger brother.
“Gentlemen!” Sun Si called out. “In my hand is an order from Zhang’s Umbrella Shop!”
“Fifty thousand umbrellas, destined for the provinces of Great Qian!”
He then produced a thick stack of silver notes. “Three hundred taels as a deposit!”
The crowd erupted in astonishment.
“Zhang’s Umbrella Shop?” one man frowned. “Isn’t that the shop that just opened this month?”
“Yes, how could they have so many orders?”
“But look, it’s all in writing, stamped with their seal—surely it’s not a fake?”
“It really is…”
A faint smile played on Sun San’s lips as he continued, “To be forthright, the reason we were renovating our shop the other day was precisely for this.”
“We’ve secured a partnership with Zhang’s Umbrella Shop. From now on, all of Boss Zhang’s goods will be shipped through Sun’s Shipping!”
“If any of you are willing, my brother and I are happy to share the opportunity!”
The merchants exchanged uncertain glances, unable to make a decision.
Seeing this, Sun San cleared his throat and added, “Liu Zhen’s past arrogance was all thanks to the protection of that scoundrel Song Yongnian.”
“But now that Song Yongnian has fallen, what power does Liu Zhen have to continue his tyranny?”
The crowd found reason in his words.
But someone quick-witted retorted, “When one Song Yongnian falls, another will take his place.”
“Boss Liu has vast wealth—he can always pave his way with silver!”
“That’s right! Who would turn their back on money?”
With that, the crowd’s spirits sagged, and they began to disperse, leaving behind only the Sun brothers and an old boatman of seventy or eighty.
“Elder,” Sun San asked, grinning as he looked at the stooped old man, “will you join us in bringing down Liu Zhen?”
“Bring down who?” the old man replied in a thick Shu Province accent.
“To bring down Liu Zhen!” Sun San repeated, raising his voice.
“Who’s Zhen?”
“Liu Zhen!”
“Liu who?”
“Never mind.” Sun San nearly choked with frustration. “Take care.”
Sun Si gazed at the contract and the silver notes in his hand and sighed deeply. “What should we do now?”
“What else? We go find the young master…”