Chapter 18: Bái Dàguì

  Bai Daguang

  Zhang Baichuan was a competent money shop owner, he thought seriously for a moment before speaking: "Boss Yao, you speak straightforwardly. Our Hengli opens its doors to do business all over the world and doesn't need to hide anything."

  "This gold and silver exchange ratio is the best in the country, whatever the total number is set to be. However, for this fire expense, I can make a discount according to the rules, which is also a support for old customers who have been coming to Hengli for a long time."

  Yao Fang said loudly: "You are quite considerate, if it's hard to exchange once, there is no need to discount. However, I have already opened a business in Qingdao and will be hanging up the sign soon. From now on, I plan to do business with your company for a long time. In the future, I will exchange at least several tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver for gold every month."

  Zhang Baichuan hoped that Yao Fan would exchange the silver for a perpetual interest-bearing note, which was equivalent to a bank deposit, but Yao Fan wanted to exchange it for gold.

  Zhang Baichuan thought it was no big deal, this back-and-forth transaction was a stable way to make money from interest, and it was even simpler than absorbing deposits and making loans.

  He stood up from his chair and bowed to Yao Fang, saying: "So that's how it is. From now on, I should be addressing you as Master Yao Dong. I apologize for any disrespect, please forgive me."

  Although Yao Fang disliked the Qing people's habit of constantly bowing and making courtesy, he had to put down his tea bowl and stand up to return the courtesy.

  Zhang Baichuan sat down again and said, "If in the future, Yao Dong's household can exchange more than 5,000 taels of silver at Hengli every month, the fire expense can be discounted to 80%, this is already the maximum authority I, Zhang Baichuan, have."

  Yao Fangxin said that this was not a big discount, and he just nodded and changed the subject to ask: "Manager Zhang, I have a question for you. How does your Hengli Jin store ensure the safe transportation of silver and gold within the country?

  "Boss Zhang, you know that my business has just started and some of the goods are quite valuable. If we encounter any remnants of bandits on the road, it will be troublesome."

  Zhang Baichuan saw that Yao Fan didn't take the 20% discount on the fire tax to heart, and thought to himself that Yao Fan was indeed a big businessman. To think that with the 30% discount, one thousand taels of silver could save six taels, which was equivalent to three months' wages for his apprentices! Similarly, ten thousand taels of silver would mean he could afford to hire thirty more apprentices every month! Yet, looking at him, it seemed like he didn't care at all.

  Zhang Baichuan analyzed that Yao Fangcai was even more furious after being scolded, and quickly said: "Of course, transporting gold, silver, and valuable goods must be done through a security firm."

  "Our Qing Dynasty has ten major security bureaus, and there are also some small ones in various places. In the Shandong and Zhili areas, among the well-known ones, there are Guangsheng Security Bureau, Wantong Security Bureau, and Chengxing Security Bureau from the top ten. As for others, there are some smaller ones like Wang's Security Agency in Western Shandong and Wansheng Security Agency in Northern Shandong."

  Yao Feng asked: "Do these bodyguards have foreign guns? How can they guarantee the safety of my silver?"

  Zhang Baichuan saw that Yao Fang was indeed a foreign guest, and didn't know anything. He happily took the opportunity to explain: "Yao Dongjia has returned from overseas, probably doesn't know, all those who can do escort business have three must-haves."

  Firstly, rely on the mountain to be strong. These escort agencies all have high-ranking officials backing them up in the government offices. Like Huiyou Escort Agency, it is the home guard of Li Hongzhang's mansion.

  Two, friends are hard to come by. Whenever you want to transport goods to a certain place, you must get to know the local heroes of the green forest, and then business will be safe and sound. Generally, those large escort agencies all employ some former famous bounty hunters, these people have eaten many years of meals inside the six doors, under their hands countless big thieves have been caught and released, they have a wide range of connections, friends from both the underworld and the legitimate world are everywhere.

  Three, one, and a hard point. The masters of these large escort agencies all have real kung fu skills, in case they encounter someone who doesn't care about their life, they can fight back with all their might without suffering any losses. Look at the owners of those escort agencies, don't they all have some astonishing martial arts skills? They are all top-notch masters in the martial arts world.

  As for the foreign rifle squad, I've also heard of it. Now there are some in the south, but only a few, not many. In these times, even with a whole battalion of soldiers and officers, there would be no more than ten or so foreign rifles. Those bandits who rob on the roads don't have any at all, they might have some bird guns at most. If it comes to a fight, one still has to rely on having real skills."

  Yao Fan fell silent, his face gloomy. He had originally planned to set up a security agency and cultivate some armed forces to protect himself, but he didn't expect that this Qing dynasty's security agency would basically not rely on guns, and there were also intricate relationships between the underworld and officialdom, which was too troublesome to operate.

  Zhang Baichuan saw that Yao Fang was not speaking, and thought he was worried about the transportation of goods in the country. He hastily said: "Mr. Yao doesn't have to worry, now that the bandits in Shandong have been eliminated, those fierce robbers on the rivers and lakes have also been suppressed by the government troops, and are fleeing in disarray. Those who have gone into hiding will hide, and those who have scattered will scatter, they are no longer a force to be reckoned with. As long as Mr. Yao hires a large escort agency to escort the goods, they can be protected very well. If you take the sea route, use the China Merchants Steam Navigation Company's ship, which is managed by Lord Li, it's naturally safe and reliable. Of course, foreign ships are also stable, but if we have long-term dealings with them, we will offend Lord Li."

  Yao Feng cupped his hands and said: "I've learned a lot! After listening to Mr. Zhang's words, Yao Feng gained a lot, so I'll take my leave first today."

  After finishing speaking, Yao Fan reminded Zhang Baichuan again when he was about to leave and once again emphasized his desire for gold. He put away the 20 kilograms of gold that had been exchanged this time and bid farewell to Zhang Baichuan, taking He Shicheng and Wang Chuannian, two partners, out of Hengli Gold Store and returning to their own store courtyard.

  Yao Feng had just hidden the gold in the house and sat down when he heard that San Jie was being sent back by Wei Guofu's personal soldiers. Yao Feng, who had been concentrating on calculating his accounts, hastily jumped up and quickly went out to greet her.

  The third sister, who had just been helped off the car, immediately broke free from He Shicheng's supporting hand as soon as she saw Yao Fang come out. Her body went soft and she knelt down on the ground in front of the store, not even noticing the dry mud being blown away by the wind, creating a cloud of dust, as her head knocked against the ground repeatedly with loud thuds.

  Yao Feng quickly helped up San Jie and wiped the dust off her face with his hand: "San Jie, what are you doing? Hurry inside, we'll talk after we go in."

  Yao Feng saw the painful expression on San Jie's face and only then noticed that where he touched her, there was some sticky stuff on San Jie's body, like the tissue fluid that seeps out after skin is injured.

  Yao Fan knew that San Jie must have been subjected to corporal punishment, but for now he could only hold back his anger.

  "Sheng! Take San Jie to the back courtyard and have her rest in my room. Then go call for the best doctor!"

  Yao Fan turned his face and took out silver again, giving a generous reward of 10 taels to each of Wei Guofu's personal soldiers, and patted their shoulders intimately.

  Among these guards was the very Bai Dagui who had escorted Yao Feng out of the city gate that day, and to whom Yao Feng had given 10 taels of silver, which had driven him wild with joy.

  Generally speaking, how much silver one receives from others as a gift can reveal whether someone is generous and open-handed or not.

  Bai Daguang met Yao Fan today and was rewarded with a huge sum of 10 taels, which was given to each of his four personal bodyguards, including himself. His heart was instantly filled with excitement and he wished he could run errands for Yao Fan every day.

  The Qing dynasty had rules for giving money and hongbao. In rural areas, ordinary people would give 10 or 20 copper coins as hongbao, while close relatives who lived nearby might give 100 copper coins. For birthdays, weddings, childbirths, and other celebrations among ordinary villagers, they would only give one or two silver taels.

  While giving money is usually for reporting good news, if the other party is an ordinary farmer or townspeople, they would be sent away with one or two copper coins. If they encounter a stingy person, they might not get anything even if they are scolded behind their backs. If it's someone from the government office coming to report news, the reward in silver is determined by the other party's status. Giving one or two taels of silver is already extremely rare and considered a generous reward, which would only be given by a wealthy family or high-ranking official, and even then, only if they are in a good mood.

  But Yao Fan had the idea of buying people's hearts, being generous with his hands, and wanting everyone to think well of him, establishing his good reputation in Qingdao in the shortest time possible.

  Bai Dagu and the other three bodyguards, seeing such a generous reward, immediately thanked him profusely and directly kowtowed to Yao Fan.

  Yao Feng hurriedly called them up, and then Bai Dagui told the story of Wei Guofu's trip to Guo Family Village from start to finish.

  Yao Fan listened and patted Bai Dagui's shoulder warmly: "Brother Dagui, you've worked hard."

  Bai Dagu did not know the concept of respect in modern times, but Yao Feng, with such an identity, was unexpectedly gentle and courteous to people, with a humble attitude that made him feel at ease. It was clear that Yao Feng neither fawned on nor feared this big-headed soldier, nor looked down on him, obviously treating him as an equal. This truly moved Bai Dagu, who repeatedly said: "Master Yao, you're being too kind to me! From now on, if you have any matters, just give the order. With just one word from you, I, Bai Dagu, will not dare to be vague."

  Yao Feng nodded slowly: "I think San Jie seems to be injured, Da Gui, do you know what's going on?"

  Bai Dagui got the opportunity to report, and hurriedly reported: "Master Yao, San Jie got on our guard camp's mule cart as soon as she came out of the Guo family, this wound must have been left at the Guo family!"

  As he spoke, Bai Dagu made a painful and angry expression, stomping his foot and pointing to the north, cursing: "This surname Guo's good-for-nothing son, stealing a woman is one thing, but to use such vicious means, to actually beat this delicate wife into such a state!"

  Then, Bai Dagui tiptoed over to Yao Feng's ear and whispered, "Master Yao, I heard that this guy surnamed Guo is not a good thing! Any of the young ladies from our Qingdao brothel who have served him as guests can't get out of bed for at least two days! This son of a gun is ruthless!"

  "Psychopathic!" Yao Fanwu cursed.

  Bai Daguang didn't understand what psychological abnormality was, but seeing Yao Feng's expression, he knew this wasn't a good thing. He hastily said: "Don't worry, Master Yao. From now on, if that surname Guo dares to come to Qingdao Port again, I, Bai Daguang, will immediately report it to you. We must guard against him playing tricks on you, right?"

  Yao Bao gave a glance at Bai Dagui, nodded and patted his shoulder: "Dagui, you're indeed clever, and we get along well. Your big brother Yao remembers your kindness, if you have any difficulties in the future, just come to me, no matter what happens, I won't frown."

  Bai Dagu was so flustered at the time, his head was dizzy, his tongue was big, and he couldn't even speak properly. He hated that he couldn't kneel down and kowtow on the spot, but Yao Feng stopped him, so he quickly made another deep bow.

  Yao Fan continued: "Your family's Wei Gong helped me pay the ransom, this is not acceptable. You go back and tell Wei Gong that I will immediately send someone to return the ransom money."

  Bai Dagu and three others responded in unison, took the message and repeatedly bid farewell, bowed and left.

  Yao Feng hastily turned around and immediately went into the house to see San Jie.

  When Yao Feng entered the house, San Jie was about to kneel down and kowtow on the kang again. Yao Feng quickly helped her up, scolding: "I told you not to be so particular about etiquette, San Jie, you must listen."

  The third sister nodded with a red face, and her heart began to thump again. Thinking that she would be able to live under the same roof as Yao Fang from now on, her heart overflowed with sweetness, as if she could die for it. The pain in her body also dissipated by half.

  Yao Fan turned his head and ordered Luo Guangyun, who was following him: "Guangyun, you personally go to guard the gate of the imperial palace and deliver the 1,500 taels of silver that I borrowed from Mr. Wei to Mr. Wei."

  Naro Guangqun had been to Yao Fang's place, but hadn't taken care of anything yet. He only saw two colleagues, He Shicheng and Wang Chuannian, following Yao Fang in and out. Now that he had received the order, he felt that this matter was related to 1,500 taels of silver, a big deal. Yao Fang wanted him to go personally, so he was quite happy and said, "I understand, boss. I'll go now."