Volume One: Song of the River City Chapter 20: A Turn for the Better

Seeing that Gu Yuezi still looked completely bewildered, Li Ling continued, "Think about it carefully, old friend. The Wan family’s business is vast and sprawling; naturally, different people are assigned to manage different sectors. For instance, the money shop and the restaurant could not possibly be managed by the same person. By the same token, the bookstore and the money shop cannot be expected to act in perfect lockstep."

"That may be true, but they are still one family after all..." Gu Yuezi remained hesitant.

"They are one family, yes, but are they not separated by distance? Jiangcheng is dozens of miles away from the prefectural capital. How could they possibly know the situation here? Different trades are like different mountains; how could the Wan brothers possibly report every trivial detail of what happens here to every member of the clan? I even suspect that those in the Wan family at the prefectural capital, aside from those who hold the real power, neither know nor care about anything that happens here."

This time, Gu Yuezi finally began to understand, nodding slightly in agreement, though a hint of doubt still lingered deep in his eyes. Noticing this, Li Ling added, "Furthermore, the most crucial point is that, in my view, even if the person in charge of the Wan family money shop in the prefectural capital truly knew about our dispute with Wan Ai and his brother, they might not necessarily refuse to lend us money."

"How so?"

"The Wan family has so many members; naturally, each has their own agenda, and infighting is inevitable. I do not believe for a second that these brothers, uncles, and cousins are truly of one mind. Besides, the fact that Wan Ai and his brother were relegated to running a bookstore here in Jiangcheng County proves that their status within the family is not high. Why would the person who controls the family’s significant money-lending assets care about their opinions?" Li Ling spoke with such matter-of-fact confidence that Gu Yuezi fell into deep thought once more. After reflecting on it, he felt that what Li Ling said made perfect sense, and that he had perhaps been overly worried.

In truth, the reason Li Ling could see deeper and further than him was simply because he possessed several hundred years of hindsight. Although there were few such massive family enterprises in the 21st century, there were many large, cross-industry corporations, and the company Li Ling worked for before his transmigration was one of them. In those places, departments would often scheme against each other, and undermining one another was business as usual—after all, if you failed, did that not highlight my own competence?

Even though the era was different, Li Ling believed that human nature remained the same. If one could complete a deal while simultaneously making a competitor look bad, nine out of ten people would choose to do it.

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Yuezi nodded. "Then we shall do as you say and borrow money from the Wan family’s money shop. Tomorrow, I will have Manager Wu make the trip..."

"Let me go instead," Li Ling suddenly volunteered. "I think I might be better suited for this than the old manager. I only need some of our shop’s account books."

"You?" Gu Yuezi hesitated for a moment before agreeing. "Since you have the heart for it, brother, I naturally trust you. But have you ever been to the prefectural capital before?"

In this era, that was a genuine concern. Out of all the people in the town, only one or two out of ten had ever traveled far enough to visit the prefectural capital. Most had never even left the county borders and would be completely lost if they ventured too far—such was the limitation of the age. However, Li Ling had no such concerns. Although his original host had never left the county, he himself had traveled all over the country for business and leisure in his past life; distance was no obstacle.

"It is only a trip to the prefectural capital. There is even a main road leading straight there; surely I cannot get lost? Do not worry." Seeing Li Ling so confident, Gu Yuezi finally agreed. "Then I will leave everything to you, brother. However, you should have someone to look after you on the road. I will have Gu Gang accompany you. He has been to the prefectural capital with me several times before, and he is a steady and reliable man. How does that sound?"

This showed that Gu Yuezi was a man who knew how to do big business. He possessed sufficient trust in others and knew how to utilize talent. Even though Li Ling was not technically a member of the bookstore staff, he was willing to entrust him with such an important matter, truly practicing the principle of trusting those one employs. At the same time, he was not blindly trusting, as he had ensured a safeguard was in place—an arrangement so clever that Li Ling could hardly refuse, especially since he truly had never been to the prefectural capital.

***

Li Ling smiled and agreed without the slightest hesitation. "Done. I will set off with him for the prefectural capital tomorrow morning. I estimate we can be back before the Mid-Autumn Festival." Having said this, he proposed a condition: "Brother, if we can successfully borrow the silver, could you also lend me one hundred taels?" This was how he intended to solve his own predicament!

"Of course. Even if you fail to borrow the money, I will still assist you with your affairs with all my might," Gu Yuezi promised readily. The two looked at each other and laughed.

After settling the matter, Li Ling took the bookstore's account books home. He decided to spend the night redoing the books so that the bookstore would appear more valuable to others. To most, this would be a difficult task, but for a former certified accountant, it was a mere trifle.

Arriving home in a relaxed mood, his heart tightened when he saw the courtyard gate only half-closed. He rushed inside, calling out, "Yue'er? Are you home?"

Ever since the day thieves broke in, wounding his sister and stealing their silver, Li Ling had remained vigilant. Every time he went out, he warned Yue'er repeatedly to lock the doors. Although it was still broad daylight and there were people at Auntie Jin's house next door, he could not help but worry.

Only when he entered the courtyard and saw Yue'er emerge safely from the house did he breathe a sigh of relief. He said, with a hint of reproach, "Yue'er, why didn't you close the courtyard gate properly..." Just then, he saw a middle-aged man emerge behind her, smiling at him.

"Brother, Uncle Tong has returned to see us!" Yue'er was beaming, completely unaware of Li Ling’s earlier anxiety. After a moment of shock, Li Ling smiled as well. "Uncle Tong, weren't you with my sister in Jiangbei County? Why have you returned?"

As he spoke, Li Ling felt a surge of shame. It had taken him a moment to recognize the man, and only now did he remember that he and Yue'er had an older sister who had married into the neighboring county of Jiangbei.

In truth, one could hardly blame Li Ling for being cold; the original host had been deeply influenced by the era's patriarchal mindset—the idea that a married daughter is like spilled water. Since his sister, Li Le'er, had married away three years ago, he had unconsciously forgotten her, as if she had never existed.

Li Tong, the man before him, had been a family servant who accompanied his sister as part of her dowry—back when the Li family was not yet in decline and still had many servants. Li Tong had been close to Li Ling and his sister.

Yue'er’s voice cut through his thoughts, providing the answer: "Sister asked Uncle Tong to come back and see us, and he even brought me delicious treats!"

"I see. My sister is truly thoughtful," Li Ling smiled. He sent Yue'er to prepare a meal and then sat down with Li Tong in the main hall, tentatively asking, "Uncle Tong, did my sister find out something, which is why she sent you back?"

"The young master has truly changed; you are so sharp that you saw through my intentions immediately," Li Tong said with a gratified smile, nodding in acknowledgment. His expression then grew somber. "How could you not have sent word to the young mistress after such a major disaster befell the family these past two years? Even if the young mistress could not help immediately, I could have at least come to lend a hand!"

Li Ling found this hard to answer, as he had not been the one in charge before, and who knew what his "father" and the original host had been thinking? Since he had arrived, influenced by the memories of the original, he hadn't even recalled having an older sister married in another county, let alone sending a plea for help.

Seeing Li Ling remain silent, Li Tong sighed. "It must have been the master's decision, right? He was always too concerned with saving face, otherwise he would not have..." He sighed again. "It has been hard on you and Yue'er."

"Uncle Tong, how did you find out that something happened to our family, and decide to come back?" Li Ling quickly changed the subject.

"A fellow villager from Jiangcheng went to Jiangbei and happened to have some acquaintance with the husband of a close friend of the young mistress. That is how we learned of the family's misfortune," Li Tong said, sounding full of self-reproach. He could not accept that he had to learn of the family's plight through such roundabout ways.

"Is the family still owing quite a bit of silver to others?" Seeing Li Ling nod, Li Tong pulled a thick cloth bag from his inner garment and placed it on the table with a heavy thud. It was clearly quite substantial. He pushed it toward Li Ling. "This is the private savings the young mistress has scraped together over these years. I weighed it; it is about one hundred taels. I do not know if it is enough to pay off the debts. If it is not, I will find a way to borrow some more..."

Li Ling stared at the bag, feeling both moved and ashamed. For a long time, he could not say a word.

"Sister..." An image of a stranger slowly emerged in his mind: gentle and quiet, always taking care of everything in the household. "Is my sister doing well at the Wei family in Jiangbei?"

"She... she is doing quite well. Since we arrived, the young master has passed the exams to become a scholar and is currently busy studying for the imperial examinations. The young mistress has been quite busy as well."

Li Ling, his emotions stirred, did not notice the flicker of shadow in the man's eyes as he spoke. He simply felt relieved. "That is good. When she was told she would marry into Jiangbei, my sister did not want to go. It was Father who insisted she marry Wei Mingcong..." As his emotions rose, some memories buried deep in his mind were awakened.

"Then this silver..." Li Tong was truly afraid that the young master would be like his father—too prideful to accept the money.

"Since it is my sister's kind intention, I will accept it. But consider it a loan; next year, I will surely go to Jiangbei with the silver to repay her!" Li Ling declared immediately. This was far more efficient and reliable than going to the prefectural capital, struggling to raise thousands of taels, and then coming back to pay off the debts—after all, there was always a chance that borrowing from the Wan family money shop might fall through.

Li Tong smiled after hearing this. "That is good. Is the silver enough?" He did not take Li Ling's promise to repay the money next year to heart.

"It is enough. I only lack about a hundred taels on hand. This will be enough to settle the debts," Li Ling smiled. It seemed he would have to change his plans for tomorrow; he would go pay off the debts first thing in the morning.