After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The embroiderer stood there and watched Zhao Wu leave.

The shop assistant, Xiao Liu, leaned over and whispered, "Boss, are you really giving it to us? A hundred taels of silver! How many sweaters could we sell with that?"

The embroiderer glanced at him and said softly, "Go to Shuntian Prefecture and report to the authorities."

Xiao Liu was taken aback: "Report to the authorities? Boss, I heard Zhao Wu and his gang have powerful backers! Reporting to the authorities won't do any good, and might even offend someone..."

The embroiderer interrupted him: "Just go when I tell you to."

Xiao Liu opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't dare to persuade him anymore, and ran out in a flash.

The customers in the shop lined up and witnessed the whole scene.

An old man in a blue cotton robe sighed and stepped forward to advise, "Shopkeeper, if I may be so bold, that Zhao Wu is a local tyrant in the east of the city, and he has connections with the cloth guild. It's your newly opened shop, so just accept this loss to avoid further trouble."

A middle-aged woman nearby chimed in, "That's right! My nephew runs a general store in the west of the city, and he dutifully pays five taels of silver every month for the past three years. If he doesn't pay, people come and cause trouble every few days, and he can't do business."

The embroiderer smiled and said softly, "Thank you all for your kindness. Under the emperor's nose, in broad daylight, I refuse to believe that no one will care."

Everyone shook their heads, and someone whispered, "They're still too young..."

"That's right, they don't know the rules..."

The embroiderer ignored her and continued to attend to the guests.

About half an hour later, there was a sudden commotion at the entrance.

The people in line turned around and then made way for each other.

Two constables in gray-blue uniforms escorted a bald man in.

The bald man was Zhao Wu, but his face was covered in bruises, his left eye was swollen into a slit, blood was hanging from the corner of his mouth, and he walked with a limp, as if he had been severely beaten up.

Zhao Wu was led to the counter and knelt down with a thud.

The shop was completely silent.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.

Zhao Wu knelt on the ground, kowtowed, and said in a gruff voice, "Shopkeeper, I, Zhao Wu, was blind and offended you. I apologize!"

After saying that, he took out a money bag from his pocket, held it out with both hands and handed it over: "This is one hundred taels of silver. I deserve to die. Please have mercy on me."

The embroiderer looked down at him without saying a word.

The lead constable stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and announced loudly, "Manager, I am Liu Yong, the head constable of Shuntian Prefecture. This man came to the shop to extort money, but we have apprehended him. This hundred taels of silver will be returned in full. If anyone causes trouble again in the future, please report it directly to Shuntian Prefecture without hesitation."

The embroiderer curtsied and said, "Thank you, Foreman Liu."

Liu Yong waved his hand, turned around and called for his men to take Zhao Wu away.

The shop was quiet for a moment, then erupted into chaos.

"What... what's going on?"

"When did Shuntian Prefecture become so diligent?"

"Zhao Wu! That's Zhao Wu! He's been running rampant for so many years, and you just arrest him like that?"

"Did Liu, the foreman, personally deliver it back? Just who is this shopkeeper?"

When everyone looked at the embroiderer again, their expressions changed completely.

The embroiderer remained composed, placed the silver back on the counter, and said softly, "Ladies and gentlemen, would you like to buy any more clothes?"

The customers in line hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded: "Buy, buy, buy!"

……

The news spread very quickly.

Half an hour later, Zhou Youcai and the others gathered together again in the courtyard in the east of the city.

The atmosphere inside was heavy, and no one spoke.

After a long silence, Zhou Youcai slowly spoke: "Liu Quan, has Zhao Wu's situation been dealt with properly?"

Liu Quan quickly replied, "Don't worry, Manager Zhou. The money has been spent, and everyone who needed to be taken care of has been taken care of. Zhao Wu went to extort money on his own; it has nothing to do with us."

Zhou Youcai sneered, "Zhao Wu has always been reliable, and the Shuntian Prefecture has always been very accommodating. What's wrong with him today?"

Liu Quan wiped his sweat and said in a low voice, "Liu Yong, the head constable of Shuntian Prefecture, is a distant cousin of mine. I asked him about it, and he only said that it was an order from above to arrest people without giving any reason."

Someone asked, "An order from above? From which above?"

Liu Quan shook his head: "I don't know. Liu Yong is very tight-lipped. He wouldn't reveal a single word and even warned me never to mess with that sweater shop again."

Silence fell over the room once more.

Zhou Youcai picked up his teacup, then put it down again, and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, what do you think we should do?"

A portly merchant sighed, "Manager Zhou, we've probably bitten off more than we can chew this time. That embroiderer definitely has powerful backers."

Another merchant with a pointed face chimed in, "Exactly! The Shuntian Prefecture can arrest people just like that, without even a formality. They must have some real influence!"

"Could it be someone from the palace?"

"Impossible, right? Would people in the palace need to hide their business dealings?"

"That's hard to say. What if it really is a relative of one of my fathers-in-law..."

Zhou Youcai raised his hand, interrupting everyone: "Stop guessing! No matter who's behind her, one thing is certain: this person cannot be touched."

Liu Quan cautiously asked, "Then... then we'll just accept it like this?"

Zhou Youcai glanced at him: "Accept what? This sweater business is taking away the livelihood of the entire fabric guild. If we accept it, what will happen to the managers of those fabric and silk shops? Will they starve?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Liu Quan asked, "So, what does Manager Zhou mean...?"

Zhou Youcai pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Since underhanded tactics aren't working, let's go all out and fight openly!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look and whispered among themselves.

Zhou Youcai stood up and said in a deep voice, "She makes sweaters, so we make sweaters too. Whatever price she sells for, we sell for even less. Whatever stock she has, we buy the same amount of raw materials, so she has nothing to make."

Liu Quan's eyes lit up immediately: "Manager Zhou means... to steal our wool?"

Zhou Youcai nodded and said, "That's right! The wool was bought from the Mongols. She got it for five coins a pound, we got it for six! She got it for six, we got it for seven! Our guild has more people and more money, how can we not compete with a widow like her?"

The group looked at each other, and smiles gradually appeared on their faces.

The portly merchant slapped his thigh: "Brilliant! This is a great idea! If our guild of over a dozen large cloth shops pools their money, we'll have plenty! How much capital can her little workshop possibly have?"

The sharp-faced businessman chimed in, "Exactly! If we cut off her raw materials, what will she use to knit sweaters? With nothing to sell, customers will naturally come back! Once we dominate the sweater market, won't we be able to set the prices ourselves?"

Liu Quan breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Manager Zhou is truly brilliant. Even with her connections, she can't stop us from doing business, can she?"

Zhou Youcai nodded: "This time we'll set clear prices and conduct a fair transaction. Even if she has a powerful backer, she won't be able to find fault with us."

Everyone agreed, "That's what we should do!"

"Manager Zhou, you take the lead on this matter, we'll listen to you!"

"Yes, yes, let's pool our money and rob some sheep!"

Zhou Youcai raised his hand and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

He looked at Liu Quan and instructed him, "Liu Quan, you are well-informed, so I'll entrust the task of purchasing wool to you. Take 30,000 taels of silver to the border town and keep watch. Take as much as you can get."

Liu Quan patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Manager Zhou, I'll take care of this."

Zhou Youcai nodded, then looked at the others: "Don't get too excited, everyone. Sweaters are a new business. Spinning wool into yarn and then making sweaters isn't that simple. Manager Liu is going to buy wool, and you all can't just sit idly by. You all need to get moving, use your skills to poach people from the embroiderers' fields. No matter how much it costs, snatch all her weavers away!"

Everyone clasped their hands in unison: "We will follow Chairman Zhou's orders!"