Chapter Thirty-One: Plotting with the Tiger for Its Skin

  Wang Yi first rushed to Baili Zhou, and Lin Chunhong immediately ordered Wang Yi to lead a team of crack troops to Jingzhou to gather intelligence on the movements of the Huiwang Fu, with a focus on investigating Chen He and the Pianjia family's current silver reserves. As someone who was familiar with human relationships and worldly affairs, Wang Yi was quite suitable for this task.

  Two days later, Zhang Zhao and Zheng Tiancheng rushed to Baili Zhou. Lin Chunhong was overjoyed to see his trusted lieutenants arrive, and immediately led Zhou Wang, Lu Shiyuan, Li Chengzong, and Li Chongde to the beach on horseback. Lin Chunhong now loved galloping along the riverbank, savoring the thrill of the wind in his hair. Although it was still sweltering in the late afternoon of a summer day, many people were busy along the riverbank, measuring with tape measures and markers, determining the location for repairing the river embankment.

  After a while, the group slowed down their horse speed and chatted along the way. Zheng Tiancheng couldn't wait to report: "Sir, this won't do, I calculated that last month our expenditure was 18,400 taels of silver, but after stopping the wood trade, our income is only 11,580 taels of silver, a deficit of nearly 7,000 taels in one month!"

  "If we go on like this, won't we lose everything?" Li Shu worriedly said.

  Lin Chunhong calculated silently in his heart and said, "We lost 7,000 taels in January. The following months will lose even more severely. At the rate of 10,000 taels per month, we can't hold on for a year."

  "The key now is whether Chen He and Fu Jiahe can hold on for another year. As long as they can't, we're fine." Lu Shi Yuan was deeply disgusted by Chen He and Fu Jiahe's actions of selling timber at a low price, knowing that this would be mutually destructive.

  Zhou Wang and others heard Lin Chunhong say that he could hold on for a year, and instead put down their previous worries. A year's time, who knows what will happen?

  Lin Chunhong said, "The Jingzhou warehouse is about to open. Originally, with the Jingzhou warehouse, we could barely break even. But unexpectedly, the Huiwang Fu bought that piece of land we had our eyes on ahead of time. Do you have any good ideas now?"

  Li Chongde had been thinking about this issue and replied: "It's nothing more than the four words 'open source and cut off'. The source is not easy to open now, but it's relatively easy to cut off. Let's start with this."

  "Cutting down on expenses, which part should be cut?"

  "Let's put off the matter of repairing the river embankment for now, and also suspend the processing of timber. We can also stop purchasing wood from the locals for the time being, and halt the shipyard as well. Those few workers there just made me angry." Li Chengzong said in a hasty tone, but this also showed that he had been considering this issue for a long time.

  Zhang Zhaoyi couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he heard Li Chengzong's dissatisfaction with the craftsmen, after all, these craftsmen were found by him. He spread his hands and said: "Huguang doesn't have any good shipbuilders either, for now we can only find these."

  Lin Chunhong knew this point and said, "The craftsmen are all controlled by the imperial court, it's normal that they can't be recruited. The repair of the river embankment can indeed be stopped first, and the shipyard is not busy now, so it can also be stopped first. But the processing of wood does not cost much silver, so there is no need to stop it. As for the local people's side, they still have to continue, otherwise the days of the Yi Ling warehouse will be difficult."

  "This way, at most, we can only save a little over a thousand taels of silver per month, which cannot solve the problem." Zheng Tiancheng said after calculating silently.

  Lin Chunhong cracked his whip, and the tall horse galloped out of the crowd, taking the lead. He said, "I want to talk to Chen He and others about setting a minimum price for wood, and then discuss how much wood each family sells per month, so that both families can avoid losses."

  This proposal was unanimously opposed by everyone, who thought it was no different from plotting with a tiger to take its skin.

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said: "Of course I know that it's colluding with the tiger to take its skin, talking is fake, numbing both of us is true."

  "What's wrong with Chen He and Fu Jia?" Everyone was puzzled.

  "We go to talk, and it will make the two of us mistakenly think that we can't hold on anymore, and we won't resort to some messy tricks. The Huai Wang Fu can directly reach the heavens, just casually submitting a petition is enough for us to suffer." Lin Chunhong explained.

  Everyone was amazed.

  The flow effect is not good, and the partners discuss open-source methods. After discussing back and forth, they finally decide to open a simple warehouse in Yueyang first, which is the kind of investment that saves the most money and makes money the fastest. Yueyang controls the mouth of Xiangjiang River, and it's easy to know that the prospects are broad. However, as for who to send to be the general manager, the partners encountered another difficult problem.

  Lin Chunhong couldn't stop scratching his head and said, "Alas, I'm really short of people. The manager of the Jingzhou warehouse hasn't been decided yet, and now there's another one in Yuezhou, what to do? People all think that doing business is a lowly occupation, and as long as they have other options, they're not willing to do it."

  Everyone listened to Lin Chunhong's words, smiling at Li Chongde. Li Chongde remained calm and said: "This statement is wrong, the wealthy families' businesses are booming, but they don't personally take action, instead, they let their family members handle it. Those rural gentry nowadays say that gentlemen do not speak of profit, but in reality, they calculate everything precisely. The world is full of people coming and going for the sake of profit."

  Zheng Tiancheng smiled and said, "This is just empty talk, we still can't find the person. Big brother, I think it's better to let your wife take care of the Xiling warehouse, and let Shao Shu go to Yueyang."

  As soon as he heard this, he firmly opposed it: "It's not convenient for a big girl to go out and do things. Exposing her head is a small matter, but missing business matters is a big deal. I think it's better to let Wang Er take charge of the overall situation. This guy has also made progress now and can write some instructions himself."

  Wang Er had another important task, so let Zhou Feng temporarily take charge of the Yi Ling warehouse, she was also familiar with it. Lin Chunhong made a decision, and everyone no longer objected.

  Then, Zhang Zhao brought up some issues with the transportation, which boiled down to management problems. For example, how to transport things in the most time-efficient way and how to do it with the least labor... After taking over the transportation matters, Zhang Zhao was stumped by these problems, asked a few people for help, but still ended up with low efficiency, so he had no choice but to ask Lin Chunhong for help. Lin Chunhong knew that this involved professional knowledge of logistics management and couldn't be solved just by thinking about it casually. So he smiled and pointed at Li Chongde, saying: "Scholar Li, you're going to be busy for a while again. You and Zhang Zhao should think these problems over carefully, don't worry about losing money, solving them will bring us great benefits in the future. For now, go help Zhang Zhao with the transportation."

  Li Chongde was overjoyed and, as a scholar, he had an urge to solve new problems that he discovered. Moreover, he had a ready-made environment in which to do so. He only mentioned one thing: currently, there were not enough people on hand, and they needed several helpers.

  Lin Chunhong sighed: "How can I be so short of people!"

  Jingzhou City Chen He's home.

  Chen He was wearing thin silk, lying under the pavilion in the garden to cool off, with a beautiful maid fanning beside him. He closed his eyes, seemingly asleep but actually meditating. Although the Hongwu Emperor had decreed that merchants were not allowed to wear silk, this rule had long been ignored. Moreover, Chen He also held the position of steward of the Huiwang Palace. Like Lin Chunhong, his main profession was as a merchant, and being a steward was secondary, but when he went out, his identity was always as a steward, never as Mr. Lin.

  Suddenly, a servant reported that someone had sent an invitation. Chen He took it and looked at it, only to find that it was Lin Chunhong, inviting him to dinner at the Golden Nine Dragon Restaurant in Jingzhou tomorrow night. A smile appeared on Chen He's face: What? Can't hold on anymore? Now come to beg for mercy? He immediately decided to attend the banquet, thinking of seeing Lin Chunhong kowtowing and begging for mercy at his feet.

  "Go, go and tell the messenger, I will attend the banquet on time tomorrow!"

  "Good!" The family left.

  Chen He Yue thought the more he got, the more pleased he became, and couldn't help but swing back and forth on the recliner, humming a little tune. But this little tune was really hard to listen to, making even the strictly trained beautiful maid frown slightly.

  On the second evening, Chen He brought a servant to Jin Jiulong Wine House. In the elegant room, Lin Chunhong, Zheng Tiancheng and Xiao Daili had been waiting for a long time, while Zhang Daohuan and Fu Jiahe had just arrived. As soon as Chen He entered the elegant room, he looked around with an air of superiority, which made Lin Chunhong secretly amused.

  After the usual exchange of pleasantries, the wine and dishes flowed like water, accompanied by the chirping of the ladies-in-waiting around them. The atmosphere was quite lively. When the men got together, they either talked about women or so-called state affairs. Several of them said some stirring words, all of which were "If I were in charge, I would..."

  For a moment, the lights and shadows intertwined, and the sound of toasting echoed in the elegant room. After half a cup of wine, Lin Chunhong said: "Boss Chen and Boss Fu have been operating in the business world for many years, and they are indeed our role models."

  "It's nothing, these are just things I learned from Lin. Speaking of Lin, he really is admirable, making money as easily as playing with sand."

  Lin Chunhong said: "I'd like to cooperate with Mr. Chen and Mr. Fu, what do you two think?"

  Chen He and Fu Jiahe listened quietly, secretly on guard. Chen He asked: "I don't know how Lin younger brother wants to cooperate?"

  Lin Chunhong said directly: "I want to discuss with the two of you the lowest price for wood sales, and then discuss how much wood each household can cut down in a month."

  Chen He and Fu Jiahe listened, feeling very pleased with themselves. Lin Chunhong was indeed unable to hold on, and now he was begging them for help. Fu Jiahe subconsciously wanted to refuse, but Lin Chunhong cut him off, saying: "Don't be in a hurry to refuse, listen to me first talk about the benefits of cooperation."

  "Lin, little brother, please speak, we are all ears."

  "First of all, we need to set a minimum price. Currently, the wood market is in chaos, with a three-foot diameter top-grade nanmu wood selling for only ten taels of silver. People see that the wood prices are falling and wait for them to drop even further, so those who originally wanted to buy wood end up not buying it. We set a minimum price, which must be higher than the current one, and when people see that the wood prices are rising again, they will continue to buy. This will change the current situation where wood cannot be sold."

  Chen He and Fu Jia nodded secretly, thinking to themselves: "If we couldn't eat you up, of course we would do so. Now that we see you're doomed to die, we'll definitely devour you. Who would still discuss the lowest price with you?"

  Lin Chunhong continued: "As for the regulation of how much wood each household can cut per month, it needs to be determined based on how much wood can be sold in Hubei at present. Once it is determined, it can avoid the backlog of wood and stabilize prices, which means we can avoid major risks. As for what share each of us occupies, this can be negotiated."

  "These two are indeed a good method, Lin old brother is really admirable, able to think so far ahead. But Lin old brother should also see our difficulties, I and Boss Fu are also from big families, if we restrict the amount of woodcutting, how can we support our whole family?" Chen He had already communicated with the Fu family and set the tone, now he just expressed his opinion.

  Xiao Dai Zi heard their excuses and got angry, saying: "You must go on like this, don't regret it later!"

  Chen He burst out laughing and said, "Lin, my younger brother, with an expenditure of nearly 20,000 taels of silver in a month, and the wood not selling well, who is going to die? Isn't it obvious?"

  Lin Chunhong was shocked and exchanged a glance with Zheng Tiancheng, secretly wondering who had leaked his own bottom.

  Chen He and Fu Jiahe saw the faces of Lin Chunhong and others, coldly smiled: "Lin younger brother, we are short of people here, can't mix down, we reserve a general manager position for you, we will have a chance to meet again!" After finishing, they threw off Lin Chunhong and others and left with a flourish.

  Chen He was on his way home, pondering the two plans that Lin Chunhong had just set out. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and he secretly admired Lin's intelligence. He thought to himself, "If Lin can't make it, how can I get him under my wing?" After some thought, he felt that Lin was too ambitious and lacking in ability. Despite being on the verge of collapse, he still wanted to reach an agreement with Chen. What a pity! If their strengths were similar, they could have cooperated, but now one was a stone and the other an egg - how could they work together? The more Chen thought about it, the more pleased he became, feeling as if he had found a way to soar through the clouds in his sedan chair.

  Lin Chun-hong returned to Baili Zhou and ordered all the warehouses, logging teams, and transportation teams to thoroughly investigate any suspicious individuals in recent activities. In just three days, they caught Teng Yu-hao, who had thought Lin Chun-hong was about to die soon and became a bit reckless, leaving behind many clues that were easily discovered by Guo Ming-yan.

  Lin Chunhong watched as Teng Yu Hao was escorted in by the guards, his heart bleeding. Teng Yu Hao had revealed some things he shouldn't have, although it affected Lin Chunhong's career, but not to the point of making him suffer. What pained Lin Chunhong the most was that he had lost another reliable assistant, and now he was short-handed.

  "Why must you betray me?" Lin Chunhong's heart ached unbearably, his words somewhat lacking in force.

  "Adults shouldn't speak so harshly! I'm not betraying, just thinking of myself." Teng Yu's arrogant attitude enraged Zhou Wang and others, who scolded him in unison. The guards also kicked Teng Yu's knee, ordering him to kneel down.

  These actions made Tan Yuheo even more agitated, and he cursed: "Lin Chunhong, you're finished too! Now that we've opened the window to speak frankly, I've been working hard every day for years, but my monthly salary is only over 20 taels. You're too stingy with people!"

  "You're still not satisfied with over twenty taels? Don't you ever think about how your mother used to struggle to make ends meet on the docks, and now she's wearing silk and has servants waiting on her? Who gave you this life of luxury? You ungrateful wretch! You've forgotten your roots!" Li Chengzong, who had known Teng Yuhe before, couldn't help but kick him in the foot and scold him.

  Lin Chunhong was also like overturning a bottle of five flavors after listening to Teng Yu's scolding. It turned out that the management talents he appointed were dissatisfied with their wages long ago, and now only Teng Yu had the opportunity to speak out, what about others? They must have more or less this idea. It seems that the current wage settlement method cannot retain people and will cause problems sooner or later.

  Li Chengzong mentioned Teng Yu's old mother, which made Teng Yu calm down a bit, thinking about how Lin Chunhong would deal with him. He estimated that this time he couldn't escape death, and if he died, what would happen to his old mother?

  Lin Chunhong saw Tan Yu's worried expression and calmly said: "Brothers, if you have opinions about me, you can directly speak out, why use a method that people despise? I, Lin Chunhong, am not someone who doesn't listen to advice. If you want to go to Chen He's place, I won't stop you. As for your saying that I'm finished, this conclusion is drawn too early, it's not yet decided who will die in whose hands."

  Lin Chunhong suddenly burst out laughing, his laughter filled with mockery: "Teng Yu Hao, Teng Yu Hao, you keep saying that twenty taels of silver is too little, but I think you're not even worth twenty taels. You can't even see through my strength, and yet you still put on this arrogant air, how childish!"

  After finishing speaking, Lin Chunhong leaned in close to Teng Yu's face and said coldly: "I'm telling you, Chen He is finished! Don't you see who has control of Jingjiang?"

  Heng Yu Hao was stunned, and immediately felt regretful. He had forgotten about Zhang Zhao's gang of thugs! He hung his head low, unable to utter a single word.

  Looking at Tan Yu's regretful expression, Lin Chunhong thought to himself: "This guy has talent and is still useful for the time being, so it's not suitable to punish him severely." So he coldly said: "Get up and talk, according to Li Xiucan's rules, whoever reveals secrets will be fined 300 taels of silver and expelled from the team. What do you have to say now?"

  Heng Yu Hao suddenly remembered that Li Xiucai had set this rule, and he had only glanced at it before throwing it into the cabinet. He didn't expect Lin Chunhong to be so lenient with his subordinates, and he had even prepared himself for death earlier. Looking back, he gained a deeper understanding of Lin Chunhong's strict adherence to rules in all matters, and he felt a little reluctant to leave this team. Seeing him hesitate, Lin Chunhong said, "After paying the fine, you can go!"

  Hong Yu Hao burst into loud sobs, and as he cried, he said: "I beg Lord Dian Shi to keep me here. It's my fault towards my brothers. Even if it was the lord who arranged for me to go logging, I have no objections. Just don't let me leave."

  "In Li Xiuciai's rules, there is another clause that if someone who has been punished by being driven out of the team achieves great merit, they can be exempt from punishment. What kind of merit do you think you can achieve?"

  Hong Yu Hao was also at a loss for what merits he could achieve, and remained silent.

  Lin Chunhong continued, "If you don't want to leave, you can still temporarily hold the position of captain and continue to be in contact with Fu Jia. However, I want you to reveal what I tell you to reveal. As for matters here, absolutely do not mention them again!"

  Heng Yu Hao didn't think making a meritorious act would be so simple and hastily agreed.