Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 30 You Seem Alone
"May I ask which merchants Young Master Qin is doing business with this time?"

Zhang Laosan knew almost everything about the business at the docks. As long as he could find out who Zhang Laosan associated with, he could basically tell how powerful Zhang Laosan was.

Shen Qingzhou glanced at him, but instead of answering, he said, "If you have any business to do, Third Master, please consider me."

Zhang Laosan felt he had met a formidable opponent; this person was too experienced and utterly shrewd!
He straightened his back and raised his voice: "I, Zhang, would like to be friends with Young Master Qin for a long time, but the business in my family is managed by the eldest son."

"What? The Zhang family has already split up, and Third Master can't even make decisions about his own business?" Shen Qingzhou revealed a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "I heard that the Zhang family's business profits have declined in the past two years. Doesn't Third Master care at all about his income?"

After hearing what he said, Zhang Laosan felt extremely uncomfortable.

He knew that the family business had suffered losses after his father passed away, but he didn't have the ability to run it, and besides, he didn't want to suffer the hardship. So, less money was fine.

However, Shen Qingzhou's words touched a nerve with him recently. That's right, why did the profits of the perfectly good shop decline after it came into the hands of his eldest son?
A few days ago, an account book belonging to the old man suddenly appeared. It contained a deficit of twenty or thirty thousand taels of silver. The cause of this account has not yet been clarified. Was the decline in profits in the account book due to poor management, or was the money earned embezzled by the eldest son's family?
"I heard that when the old master of the Zhang family was alive, the third master was very extravagant and lived a much more comfortable life than he does now."

"I never imagined that in just two or three years, Third Master would actually lose a few thousand taels of silver..."

Shen Qingzhou didn't say the second half of what she was saying.

But his regretful look made Zhang Laosan feel even more embarrassed than if he had said it directly.

He recalled the glorious days when his father was in charge of the household. Although the amount of money allocated to him from the public funds was limited, families like theirs would always give their children some property before dividing the family property so that they could learn how to manage it.

So at that time he did manage his own business. Although he didn't make any money and instead lost everything, he still had the money in his own hands!
On the contrary, after the family division, he had more property, but less money to spend. The key point is that the property he received was still in the hands of the eldest son's family!
If the eldest son's family can do something as unethical as embezzling family wealth while the old man is seriously ill, then what else can't they do?
A thin layer of sweat appeared on Zhang Laosan's forehead.

He glanced at the person opposite him and forced himself to say, "My belongings are still in my hands, but now that I'm settled down and have a family, I can't be as willful as before."

Shen Qingzhou said, "Since Third Master is considering settling down and starting a family, why not take back the shop and expand it himself?"
"Having your business in someone else's hands is no different from relying on someone else for food."

Zhang Laosan picked up his cup: "This matter...this matter still needs to be discussed with the family."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingzhou said "Oh," turned her face to the side, and started fiddling with the walnuts in her hand.

Zhang Laosan pondered for a moment, put down his cup, and asked again, "Does Young Master Qin have any advice for me?"

"Not really." Shen Qingzhou said slowly, and as he was fiddling with the walnuts, he inadvertently revealed half of a waist tag hanging from his waist. "It's just a small business on the street, and we haven't found a suitable person yet."

Half of the waist tag clearly showed a fish pattern. Even if Zhang Laosan was ignorant and incompetent, he still knew the general regulations of the imperial court!
Only government officials possess such fish-shaped tally tokens!

He stared blankly, the teacup he was holding already sloshing around inside.

No wonder he speaks with such a strong Beijing accent, no wonder he has such an air about him!

It turns out he didn't encounter a wealthy man, but a god of wealth!

"May I ask, sir, what kind of business is this?"

"Since Third Master is not the one in charge, there's no need to ask any more questions."

Shen Qingzhou withdrew his hands from his knees and finished the half-cup of tea in front of him. "I won't stop Third Master from enjoying himself. If we have the chance to meet again in the future, I'll invite Third Master for tea."

"Young master, please wait!" Zhang Laosan stepped in front of him. "Where are you staying, young master? Please tell me so I can pay you a visit and show you the hospitality of a host!"

Shen Qingzhou said, "I'll be staying on the boat, so you don't need to worry about me, Third Master. I won't be staying in Shawan for long; I might be leaving tomorrow or the day after."

After he finished speaking, he looked at He Qu and Tang Yu at the door. The two of them immediately walked in and stood on either side of him behind him in tacit understanding. At the same time, they cast disdainful glances at Zhang Laosan. Underneath their coarse clothes, the demeanor of first-class guards of the Grand Commandant's Mansion was instantly revealed.

Zhang Laosan was terrified and immediately stepped aside, bowing and scraping as he saw them off.

After leaving the gambling den, Shen Qingzhou found Lu Jia sitting on the eaves by the roadside at the pre-arranged spot, with half a basket of betel nuts next to her. He patted her on the shoulder, then walked over and sat down beside her, taking a betel nut.

Lu Jia immediately asked, "So? Did he take the bait?"

Shen Qingzhou looked at the betel nut from left to right, then smelled it: "You will definitely see the result you want before dark tomorrow."

Lu Jia was greatly surprised: "So fast?"

She had previously set herself a three-day timeframe.

"What kind of drug did you give him? It was so strong!"

Shen Qingzhou tried biting into a betel nut, then spat it out.

Seeing his pathetic state, Lu Jia handed him a cotton handkerchief.

Shen Qingzhou, her voice hoarse, wiped her mouth and glanced at her: "Of course, I did everything you said."

He added a little bit of drama, revealing half of He Qu's waist tag.

Lu Jia asked in surprise, "Then how can you be so sure that there will be results before tomorrow?"

"Because after he came out, he ran away in a panic. And he didn't go home, he went to Zhang Lao Er's house."

Lu Jia exclaimed "Oh!" with her eyes and mouth wide open.

If Zhang Laosan wants to cause trouble for Zhang Qi, he has to drag Zhang Laoer into it. Lu Jia had anticipated that after Shen Qingzhou stirred things up tonight, Zhang Laosan would need at least a day or two to think it over. After all, dividing the family property and shops involved interests. Zhang Laosan had made up his mind, but he still needed to persuade Zhang Laoer. So, he went directly to Zhang Laoer's house, clearly determined to get him to divide the shops tonight, no matter what.
"You did a great job," Lu Jia praised. "I'll cook you something delicious again tomorrow!"

Shen Qingzhou looked at her, who was beaming with joy, and reached into his pocket to pull out a stack of silver notes: "This is the two thousand taels I won from Zhang Laosan just now. Adding the others' winnings, it's about two thousand five hundred taels. Here you go."

He placed everything in her palm and said:

"Keep these safe. Use the loose silver for expenses. For larger amounts of silver notes, don't exchange them at local banks when you need them, lest you attract the attention of people who know you."

"Go to Tanzhou Prefecture. There are many large banks there, it's safer, and fewer people there know you."

"Don't be too obvious about how you spend money. Some people may seem kind, but when there's a conflict of interest, they'll stop at nothing."

"When you go in and out of the house, it's best to find someone to accompany you, so you don't end up alone."

"With this money, we don't need to do any more manual labor. We should hire an old woman or a young maid. We can take her with us when we go out, and if anything happens, we can have someone to run errands for us."

She was the eldest daughter of a high-ranking official. She should have lived in the secluded mansion of the Minister, enjoying a life of luxury and being served by a large number of maids and servants.

This amount of money is far from enough to allow her to return to her proper life, but at the moment he has no suitable pretext to give her more.

Lu Jia stared at the handful of silver for a long time, then looked up and stared intently at his face: "You look like someone else."

The fishing lights on the river suddenly caught Shen Qingzhou's eye.

His heart skipped a beat: "Who does he look like?"

Lu Jia sighed, "You're just like my father."

Shen Qingzhou: ……

(End of this chapter)