Drunken Immortal Tower was the Wang family's restaurant in Suzhou City. Early that morning, during its quiet hours, a party of five arrived, chatting and laughing.
All five wore bright, splendid clothes and looked haughty. They ignored the server's bow, merely nodding and having him lead the way.
In a private room upstairs, Wang Zhong occupied the seat of honor, talking to Wang Yi, the restaurant's manager.
Wang Gang sat to one side, leafing through a booklet. It was the personnel register for the Wang family's seven shops in Suzhou City, containing information on all their staff.
"They're here!"
Wang Gang set down the booklet and raised his head. The other two looked a little surprised, then heard a succession of footsteps drawing closer before the door swung open.
"Hahaha! Young master, Wang Gui pays his respects!" Leading the group was a square-faced man with lively eyes and a hearty voice.
Only after he finished speaking did the others bow, as though there were a hierarchy among them.
Wang Gang nodded slightly.
"Look at our young master! He carries himself with more distinction by the day!" Wang Gui turned and joked with the men behind him, then looked at Wang Zhong. "Uncle Zhong, what important business made you summon us so suddenly?"
Wang Zhong raised his eyelids and said with a faint, ambiguous smile, "What, can't we invite the great Manager Wang here without important business? Must the young master go pay his respects to you?"
"What are you saying? We're all the Wang family's dogs. Naturally, we come when called!"
Wang Gui casually sat down at the table and waved the others into seats before continuing:
"It's just that the shops have all sorts of matters, big and small, every day. Things fall into chaos without us! We don't have your leisure!"
Smack!
Wang Yi slapped the table and barked, "Wang Gui, do you know who you're talking to? You've no respect for your elders!"
"What, Uncle Yi? Can't a man even speak?" Wang Gui looked straight at Wang Yi. "This is how I speak even at the county office. Do you carry more official authority than the officials themselves?"
"Enough!" Seeing neither would back down, Wang Zhong tapped the table to draw everyone's attention back. "You were called here today to be informed of something. Wang Cai of the Splendid Brocade Workshop lined his own pockets, leaving a shortfall in the shop's funds!"
Wang Zhong then recounted what Wang Cai had done, and everyone's expressions shifted.
Smack!
Wang Gui slapped the table and sprang up, declaring indignantly, "That Fatty Wang! He always looked so honest and decent. Who knew he had a human face and a beast's heart behind our backs? He even dared tamper with the master's money!"
"Exactly! And to think he grew up in the household too! Rather than repay that kindness, he did something like this. Utterly shameless!"
"If I ever see him again, I'll spit in his face and ask whether he has any conscience left!"
At this, the others were likewise filled with righteous indignation, all condemning and cursing Wang Cai.
Once their curses had nearly run their course, Wang Zhong tapped the table again and smiled. "There's one more thing to tell you. If any of you have done anything similar, make up the shortfall immediately. You're all old hands of the household. I truly don't want to see you meet Wang Cai's end."
The men fell silent, glancing sidelong at one another.
Seeing this, Wang Gui turned and scolded them with a laugh. "Speak up! Have any of you done anything so wolf-hearted and dog-lunged?"
They hastily shook their heads, denying it repeatedly. None dared admit to anything.
"Young master, Wang Cai's conduct was unheard of. I believe they couldn't do anything of the sort!"
Wang Gui looked at Wang Gang and sighed. "I know the shops haven't been doing very well these past two years, and the family is anxious. But please be more patient, young master. Don't suspect everyone because of Wang Cai alone!"
"Yes, yes! Rest assured, young master!" the others hurriedly chimed in.
Wang Gang smiled. "It's all right. Correct any faults you have; if you have none, take it as encouragement!"
Wang Zhong said, "All right, everything that needs saying has been said. Think it through yourselves. You may all go!"
At that, they bowed and took their leave. As they turned, they exchanged glances, smiling without a word.
Wang Gui took two steps, then turned back. "Young master, you would do better to concentrate on your studies in future. Don't waste your strength on these worldly trifles and lose the greater for the lesser!"
His tone was that of an elder lecturing a junior!
Wang Yi shot to his feet, about to rebuke him, but Wang Gang stopped him with a wave.
As they reached the door, Wang Gang suddenly spoke. "You've been given your chance. Don't say you weren't warned!"
Their steps paused slightly, then they left without looking back!
After they were gone, Wang Zhong asked, "What do you think, young master? Will they repay the money?"
"They're still hoping to get lucky!" Wang Gang smiled. "Cast aside illusions and prepare for battle!"
As he spoke, he took a letter from inside his robe and handed it to Wang Yi. "Deliver this to Gongye Qian. Tell him he can begin!"
Wang Yi nodded in assent, took the letter, and hurried downstairs. Just outside the restaurant's entrance, he saw Wang Gui and the other four standing a short distance away, smiling at him as though waiting for him.
Wang Yi snorted coldly, turned, and headed in another direction.
"Looks like that old fellow Wang Yi is determined to follow the Wang family down this road all the way into darkness!" sneered a shrewd-looking manager.
"No matter! Having him would be better, but his absence won't affect our plan!"
With that, Wang Gui turned and left, and the others hurried after him.
"Brother Gui, about County Vice Magistrate Liu..."
One of them had barely begun when Wang Gui raised a hand to cut him off, glaring at him. "Watch your mouth! Is that something to discuss in the street?"
The man gave a few awkward laughs. Wang Gui patted his shoulder and reassured him quietly, "It's all arranged! From now on, we need only give him thirty percent of the money each month, and he'll protect us!"
"Can a county vice magistrate really protect us?" someone asked worriedly.
"Heh, think about it. He's a third-tier jinshi. Without backing, how could he have come to Jiangnan to serve as an official?"
"The Wang family is nothing but a hundred-legged insect that doesn't fall even in death now. How would they dare provoke County Vice Magistrate Liu?"
"Exactly. The Wang family grows more useless by the day! They're so desperate for silver that they've set their sights on us!"
"Hahaha... our young master has read himself stupid too! Surely he doesn't really think investigating one Fatty Wang will frighten us!"
"'Don't say you weren't warned!' Hahaha..."
"Enough of that! Think about the happy days ahead instead!"
"Hahaha..."
Three days later, Wang Zhong came to see Wang Gang and shook his head with a rueful smile. Wang Gang seemed unconcerned, as though he had expected it, and casually picked one of the paper balls from the table.
"Begin!" Wang Gang handed the paper ball to Wang Zhong.
The same recipe, the same plot, played out once more in another Wang family shop. That very day, the Wang family's estate gained another tenant farmer.
Removing these managers was not difficult. After all, these were the Wang family's businesses; deciding whom to employ took only a word.
The key was to convince everyone, without chilling their hearts!
The difficulty with Wang Gang's method of investigation lay in the upstream suppliers' accounts. These men had dealt with the shop managers for years, their friendship forged through hoisting legs and firing guns together. Why would they disclose their accounts? Never mind Wang Gang-they wouldn't even give Gongye Qian that much face.
But once Feng Bo'e fought his way in from the front gate and laid his saber against their necks, they immediately declared that they could not live under the same sky as evil, and that all their lives they had most bitterly detested those who undermined their masters.
What could they do? They still had lovely wives and beautiful concubines, concubines, concubines... to support at home. Their brothers would just have to suffer a little! Besides, replacing a manager didn't mean business would stop!
Wang Gang summoned all the managers again to inform them of the matter. They all fell silent, then once again subjected the fallen manager to a barrage of verbal condemnation.
Wang Gang smiled without a word. Only as they were leaving did he say again, "Don't say you weren't warned!"
Wang Gui's face was dark. Ignoring the other panic-stricken men, he left and headed straight for the county office.