Chapter Thirty: The Mountain Rain is Coming

  In the summer of Chongzhen 3, Lin Guomao, the patriarch of the Lin family in Xiaowan Village, had already passed his 70th birthday, which was considered a great age and something to be proud of for the entire Lin family. However, Old Master Lin was not satisfied. During the ancestral worship ceremony in December of Chongzhen 2, more than 30 able-bodied men from the Lin family failed to attend the temple. Among these people were Lin Chunhong and over 20 others who had been "taken away" by him, as well as some who were doing business or serving as officials in other places and could not return. It was understandable that they couldn't make it back, but Lin Chunhong and his group were just nearby in Jingzhou and still didn't attend, which made Lin Guomao particularly unhappy and feel that his authority had been challenged.

  It was just a matter of sacrifice, Lin Guomao wasn't anxious about it, what really made him unbearable was that at the beginning of the year, Lin Chunhong recruited more than 20 women from Xiaowan Village to cook for the loggers, often not returning home for several months. Lin Guomao believed that a woman's responsibility is to take care of her husband and children, how can she leave home for several months? Moreover, what can women do when they go out? It's very likely that they will do something that damages the family's reputation and brings shame to the entire Lin clan. Lin Guomao spoke bluntly to the husbands of these women, telling them to take care of their wives. These men agreed on the surface, but after a few months, not one woman returned. Lin Guomao went to question them, and someone even said with a straight face: "Old master, you also see that our family is poor, we can barely make ends meet, if my wife doesn't earn 1 or 2 silver coins a month, we won't be able to survive. If she returns, we'll have to rely on you for support!" This left Lin Guomao speechless.

  Lin Guomao also remembered the time when he handled the boundary dispute between Lin Bao and Lin Deshao, but Lin Deshao refused to show up on the scene, causing him to lose face. Lin Deshao dared not to come to the scene, wasn't it because he had already made up his mind to follow Lin Chunhong to cut wood? It is said that now Lin Deshao has become some kind of general manager of the Yiling warehouse, and every day he earns so much silver that he can't finish eating in his lifetime.

  It's all Lin Chunhong's fault, and Lin Guomao can't even find Lin Chunhong. Last time, Lin Chunhong brought Wu Gan's head to Xiaowan Village to pay respects to his father, Lin Guomao was prepared to have a good talk with him. But after the ceremony, Lin Chunhong left immediately without even saying goodbye. Whenever Lin Guomao thinks about this, he gets angry. His grandson Lin Chundai and Lin Chunhong were childhood playmates. After returning from afar, Lin Guomao kept telling Lin Chundai about these things, asking him to advise Lin Chunhong to turn back and return to his former life. But instead, Lin Chundai advised Lin Guomao to mind his own business and not interfere with these matters. What kind of world has it become?

  Lin Guomao's troubles truly reflect the impact of commerce on the clan system that has lasted for thousands of years. Perhaps, one day, when more than half of the people in Xiaowan Village are working outside, the so-called clan system will be completely destroyed. This point, Lin Guomao did not realize, and perhaps no one in the Ming Dynasty was aware of it either.

  Lin Guomao sat on a stone by the Zhezhang River, staring blankly at the rippling water. At this moment, a greeting came from behind: "Old man, you're here? Have you eaten?"

  Lin Guomao turned his head and saw that it was Lin Decheng, and replied: "Xiao Chengzi, where are you rushing to today?" Xiao Chengzi wasn't small at all, having already passed the age of 60, but he was younger than Lin Guomao, so he was called Xiao Chengzi.

  Lin Decheng didn't stop in his tracks and said, "I heard that a good Nanmu tree in Jingzhou City has dropped to twenty taels of silver. I'll go buy some coffin wood!"

  After finishing speaking, he left without looking back towards Jingzhou. There were not a few people who shared the same idea as Lin Decheng, after all, it was a folk custom to prepare coffins before the elderly passed away. Now that wood was cheap, those with means couldn't help but buy some. Lin Guomao's coffin had long been prepared, no need for him to go purchase one now. Lin Guomao shook his head and muttered to himself: "The best nanmu wood only costs twenty taels of silver, so making a coffin would only require five or six taels of silver? Alas, the world has really changed."

  Lin Decheng rushed to Jingzhou City, but did not buy wood because he heard that the price of wood had been falling. Today it was ten taels, and tomorrow it might be eight taels, and the day after tomorrow it might be five taels. As a result, people who were building houses, temples, and ships all waited for the price of wood to drop, causing the wood in Jingzhou City to stagnate, with almost no transactions taking place.

  As for the downturn in the timber market, Chen He and Fu Jiahe's solution was to lower prices, thinking that with their strong financial resources, they could squeeze out their main competitor, Lin Chunhong. With time, wouldn't they be the ones calling the shots in the timber market? But unexpectedly, the more they lowered prices, the less they sold. This didn't worry them, after all, they still had a large amount of silver on hand, and it was a matter of who could hold out the longest.

  Baili Zhou

  Carpenter Li Chengzong took Zhang Xiaocheng to inspect various places, including the wood stacking site, high-quality wood processing site, and the shipyard. Due to the constant influx of wood from Qingjiang, the entire Baili Island has become an ocean of wood, and outsiders generally refer to Baili Island as "Wood Island", vividly revealing the identity of the island's owner, Lin Chunhong. The wood processing plant mainly performs anti-corrosion and anti-rot treatment on the wood, and also dries it out, which is a mandatory requirement set by Lin Chunhong, because the price of treated wood can increase several times, making it very cost-effective. However, up to now, not a single piece of treated wood has entered the market. The amount of wood used in the shipyard is also very small, and the shipyard mainly builds some cargo ships on the Yangtze River, with some repair work done on the side, but the scale is still relatively small, and it can't even meet Lin Chunhong's own needs.

  No one calls Li Chengzong "Li Carpenter" anymore, they all call him Governor Li. He is mainly in charge of wood processing and shipyard affairs. On Baili Island, there is also a person called Governor, that is Lu Shiyuan, who is mainly in charge of the storage and warehouse of wood materials.

  Li Chengzong rubbed his waist and said to Zhang Xiaocheng: "When people get old, they are no longer useful. Just walking for a whole morning, my waist hurts badly!" Tiancheng was a clever young man, and he quickly replied: "Where are you old, sir? Yesterday you were still hammering nails!"

  "I had no choice either, those shipbuilders didn't even know how to hammer a nail, I had to demonstrate it myself." Li Chengzong said with some helplessness. Indeed, the iron nails on the boat were quite long, and nailing them required considerable skill, if you weren't careful, they would be hammered crookedly.

  Li Chengzong gazed at the mountainous pile of wood, feeling a bit downhearted. He also knew that Lin Chunhong had ordered all wood to stop being sold in order to get through this period of low prices. Li Shu treated Lin Chunhong's business as his own and was very worried about whether Lin Chunhong could hold on or not.

  Zhang Xiaocheng showed great respect to his master and, seeing that his master was worried about Lin Chunhong's predicament, comforted him by saying: "The county magistrate should not be short of silver, and you don't have to worry about this anymore."

  "What? Even with more silver, it's still unsustainable to only spend and not earn. Think about it, now Boss Lin has to spend how much silver in a month? The guard team alone costs around 3,000 taels a month, and paying the warehouse workers and loggers is another 6,000 taels or so. And those barbarians are still selling wood to Boss Lin, at least 2,000 taels a month. Look, the monthly expenses already exceed 10,000 taels, how much silver does Boss Lin have to spend like this?"

  Zhang Xiaocheng thought for a moment and indeed it was so, he was also very worried that Lin Chunhong might not be able to hold on for this period of time.

  People under Lin Chunhong's command more or less knew the current situation, and for a while, some people were in a state of panic. Guo Mingyan immediately wrote to Lin Chunhong in Baili Zhou, suggesting that they should not purchase wood from the locals for the time being. The Lin family business was gradually getting on track, with standardized formats for all reports, forms, and documents, resembling a small government, all thanks to Li Chongde's efforts. According to Li Chongde, everything had its rules and regulations, and following these rules could avoid confusion and negligence. Guo Mingyan needed to ask for instructions, so he naturally wrote to Lin Chunhong, which indirectly gave literate people a natural advantage within the Lin group.

  But this suggestion was rejected by Lin Chunhong, and Lin Chunhong's reason was that if the purchase of timber is stopped, it will cause the locals to have no money to buy the goods they transport, resulting in greater losses than gains. Guo Mingyan couldn't understand why not buying timber would affect other businesses, but he still strictly followed Lin Chunhong's orders and continued to buy timber from the locals.

  "Sir, Ruan Zhihuan said that this year's silver for the first payment has not been delivered yet. Please prepare it as soon as possible!"

  "Alright, got it! Continue!"

  "Jingzhou Prefecture issued a document to Zhijiang County, stating that the superior's performance evaluation in the second year of Chongzhen was excellent."

  "Uh-huh."

  "Head of Transportation Zhang Zhao said that cargo transportation often encounters problems and urgently needs someone to help him coordinate!"

  "Oh? Go on!"

  "The approval document for the Jingzhou warehouse has not yet arrived, and the response from the Jingzhou government is that the land has already been purchased by the Huiwang Fu!"

  Xiao Dai Zi reported up to this point and stopped abruptly because Lin Chun Hong had signaled a temporary halt.

  Lin Chunhong's face was filled with ridicule and disdain, as if he were talking to himself, yet seemingly saying to Xiao Dazi: "King Hui is expanding the battlefield..."

  Dai Ziku spoke quickly and without thinking, saying: "If King Hui wants to use Zhuangzi, we can also use Zhuangzi. Why not let Zhang Zhuo steal their wood, and then nothing will be left?"

  Lin Chunhong smiled and shook his head, instructing: "You immediately send someone to call Zhang Zhao, Zheng Tiancheng, and Wang Yi (Wang Er) over, I have important matters to instruct."

  Xiao Dai's son responded with a sound and immediately bowed his head and withdrew.

  Lin Chunhong had considered using the advantage of controlling the Yangtze River waterway to directly strike at King Hui's power from the root, but after thinking it over, he felt that plundering would attract attention from the Jingzhou government and even the imperial court, which might not be worth it. More importantly, for now, King Hui was still relatively restrained, with all competition limited to the commercial sphere. Lin Chunhong prepared to engage in a fair and square business war with King Hui, using this opportunity to test the entire Lin Group's ability to withstand pressure.

  If it really can't hold on at that time, taking some extreme measures is also justified. Plundering the timber of King Hui should be used as a last resort.

  It's not just Li Chengzong who is settling accounts with Lin Chunhong. In the county town of Yidu, Fu Jiahe and Teng YuHao are also calculating this account. Teng YuHao was one of the logging team leaders under Lin Chunhong, always arrogant and self-important. When Lin Chunhong handed over the Qingjiang logging project to Guo Mingyan, he became somewhat disobedient to Guo's management and was beaten by Guo many times. By chance, he got to know Fu Jiahe and became close friends with him.

  "How much silver can Captain Teng get every month now?" Fu Jiahe was very concerned about Lin Chunhong's affairs, and now that he had the opportunity, he wouldn't let it go.

  Hong Yu Hao's face turned slightly red as he replied truthfully: "More than twenty taels of silver!"

  "Haha, just over twenty taels, according to Captain Teng's contribution, two hundred taels a month is not too much." Fu Jiahe laughed.

  Teng Yu's face turned even redder, he was a man who pursued pleasure, and every time he received his wages, he would squander them all away, leaving him with an empty pocket. Every time he went out to eat, drink and have fun with Fu Jiahe, it was always Fu Jiahe who paid the bill, which made Teng Yu feel even more resentful.

  "I'm a wasted talent, just like Captain Tun. Someone like you, if placed elsewhere, wouldn't be able to make much money, but hiding in this mountain valley, you can only get over 20 taels of silver per month. It's clear that Lin Chunhong is stingy and unable to recognize talented people." said Fu Jiahe.

  These words hit Tun Yu's heart, he originally thought he was stronger than Guo Mingyan, and pushed all the mistakes of being inferior to Guo Mingyan to Lin Chunhong, thinking that Lin Chunhong didn't know people well. He carefully said: "How can I bear to do it to Lin Chunhong who brought me out from a muddy leg, and has kindness towards me? I'll just have to put up with it for now."

  Fu Jia and others sneered at him, saying: "As the saying goes, 'the best talents in the world choose a good tree to perch on', and right now, I and Old Master Chen are lacking someone with Captain Tun's talent!"

  This remark made Tan Yu Hao's heart move, and his hands involuntarily tapped on the table. Fu Jia watched with a keen eye and knew that Tan Yu Hao had already taken the bait. He continued to say: "Now Lin Chun Hong has stopped selling wood, his strength is no match for Boss Chen, who is a honored guest of the Hui Wang Fu. I estimate that within three months, Lin Chun Hong will be finished."

  Teng Yu Hao firmly believed in this judgment, and he also knew that Lin Chun Hong was now in trouble, but he still concealed his thoughts and said: "Boss Lin may lose some money, but it's not going to be a complete failure, is it?"

  Fu Jia and others despised this remark even more, saying: "I'll ask you, how much wages does Lin Chunhong give to his workers per month?"

  "Adding the people in the warehouse and on the ship, it's about 7,000 taels per month." Deng Yuhao replied. He didn't think that Fu Jia would know these numbers at all, and was completely led into the trap by Fu Jia, carelessly revealing Lin Chunhong's secret.

  "How much silver per month for buying wooden Tujiazi?"

  "About four thousand taels."

  "It's said that there is also a guard corps, how much silver does it cost per month?"

  "It's about five thousand taels."

  "Haha, this is 16,000 taels of silver. Think about it, how much silver does Lin Chunhong have in his hands? How long can he hold on?"

  Heng Yu Hao's face turned pale as soon as he heard the news. Could it be that Lin, the boss who had dominated the scene for so long, was going to meet his end so quickly? A look of worry appeared on his face.

  "You don't have to worry, after Lin Chunhong is finished, everything and everyone here will belong to Boss Chen and me, and you'll automatically join us. The future is bright."

  Heng Yu Hao finally put his mind at ease and said: "From now on, you can rely on Boss Fu."

  "Haha, no problem. You stay in Qingjiang for now. If Lin Chunhong makes any move, you tell me right away. This is related to your future position under Old Man Chen!"

  "Come on, little one, do your best! Come on, drink up this cup of wine!"