Chapter Twenty-Nine: Coercion

July 26, 1927, Tuesday.

The Yangtze River Rickshaw Company welcomed a day of great celebration. Twenty-four rickshaws bearing the “Grand Permit” license plates were lined up on the open ground outside the company’s base, ready to be put into service.

Because the yard was too small and required a full complement of seventy-two rickshaw pullers, the vehicles had to be stationed outside, supervised by He Xiangdong.

“Oh my goodness, the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company suddenly added so many rickshaws! Boss Chen must be striking it rich again!”

“These rickshaws look old. Could they be the company’s previous vehicles?”

“No way. I’ve already checked. Today is the celebration for the ‘new fleet induction’ at the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company. Everyone’s talking about it!”

“I heard that over seventy rickshaw pullers are inside receiving Boss Chen’s instructions!”

For a time, the residents of Fangua Alley gathered around in thick crowds, buzzing with lively discussion.

Of course, this was exactly the effect Chen Guangliang wanted—to demonstrate his strength and reassure those who had lent him money.

Inside the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company’s base, Chen Guangliang was training the seventy-two newly recruited pullers.

These men were formerly employed by the Wang Family Rickshaw Company, which had recently shut down. Seizing the opportunity, Chen recruited all seventy-two, perfectly matching the twenty-four rickshaws.

“You’re all seasoned pullers, so I won’t belabor other details. I’ll just repeat the rental rules here: the day is divided into three shifts, each eight hours long... The previous twenty-one rickshaws follow the same rental system, and it has proven very effective. Eight hours of high-efficiency work is no worse than the ten hours you used to do, and the rent is considerably less.”

“Any objections? You can raise them now.”

Everyone shook their heads.

They had all heard the rules beforehand, and it had been made clear to them prior to joining, so there were no disputes.

At this moment, one puller asked, “I heard the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company allows stockholding partnerships. Boss Chen, is that true?”

Chen Guangliang replied loudly, “That’s true, but not for this batch. These rickshaws are part of a project I’m running in cooperation with the transportation department officials. You won’t have a chance for this round... But I can tell you, there will be plenty of such opportunities later, and priority will be given to people here.”

“Thank you, Boss Chen!”

“Boss Chen is a good man!”

Everyone responded with satisfaction.

It couldn’t be said that their hearts were insatiable. After all, every rickshaw puller dreamed of owning his own rickshaw.

But now, buying one on their own was unrealistic. A rickshaw with a license plate cost three hundred silver dollars, and connections were needed to acquire one.

Here at the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company, it was like giving them a chance—the chance to jointly purchase a vehicle—so naturally, everyone was very pleased and felt a strong sense of belonging.

Chen Guangliang continued, “Alright... you should also know that our company sells goods. This week we’re only training on how to sell; next week there will be another training session before you can officially start selling... Anyone who sells on their own without authorization will be dismissed because if you’re unfamiliar with the business, you’re bound to offend customers.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Then Chen Guangliang went over some sales scripts and points to note.

Including the earlier speech, the entire session took half an hour before he announced it was over.

Next, everyone began work according to the shifts already arranged.

Unlike the Wang Family Rickshaw Company, the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company usually rents the same numbered rickshaw to a fixed group of three.

Therefore, in the three daily shifts, two of them might hand over the rickshaw on the street without returning to the base, but the rent had to be paid that same day (except under special circumstances). Late payment would result in warnings.

Under He Xiangdong’s direction, everyone pulled their rickshaws and began their day’s work.

At this moment, the Yangtze River Rickshaw Company already owned forty-five rickshaws!

Although this was not much compared to the many companies in Shanghai, for Chen Guangliang, it was a solid foundation for his business.

...

Meanwhile,

In the police station’s jail,

“Zhiqing Tang, your wife is here to see you. You have half an hour.”

Detective Gao’s subordinate led Tang’s wife inside with a courteous demeanor; their superior had already instructed them to give Tang special treatment.

At this time, Cheng Wang had already colluded with Detective Gao and others to pin the entire blame on “Tang Zhiqing leading a fight among pullers, and Wang Cheng’s attempt to stop it was too late, resulting in serious consequences.”

Therefore, whether Tang and his accomplices confessed was crucial.

Soon, only Tang and his wife remained in the room, and the police felt quite assured.

“Boss Wang has agreed to pay us six hundred silver dollars, three hundred of which will be paid to you first, the rest after I confess. Have you received the money?”

Before Tang could answer, his wife burst into tears and said, “Our son is missing!”

Tang sprang up, exclaiming, “What? Missing? How do you know?”

He had married late, almost thirty, and finally had a son. How could he not cherish him?

He knew confessing meant a heavy sentence. Apart from knowing he couldn’t escape the charges, he most wanted the generous settlement—the hush money.

He intended to use that money to provide his son with a good future, including education.

His wife said, “The kidnappers left a message: if you admit that Boss Wang ordered this, they will tell me where our son is. If not, we’ll lose him forever. They warned us not to tell Boss Wang, or they will kill him immediately.”

Tang was furious and wanted to rush out to save his son, but quickly calmed himself.

He knew this must have been done by those pullers.

But since they dared to do this, they surely took their son somewhere hidden.

Tang felt utterly hollow. If he told the truth, he would offend Boss Wang, lose the money, and the prison sentence would be meaningless; if he lied, he would lose his only son.

“Wife, saving our son is more important. We can give up the money!”

Tang shuddered and then asked, “Are you sure they will return our son?”

His wife insisted, “Yes. They said if you confess before the reporters tomorrow that Boss Wang forced you to raise rents and ordered you to attack, they will release him immediately. The reporters are coming tomorrow, so we’ll see our son soon!”

Someone among those pullers was clearly directing this!

Tang quickly grasped the key point and said, “Alright, I’ll save my son!”

“Remember, you must also persuade Xiao Liu Ma to do the same!”

“Don’t worry, he’s my brother!”

This imprisonment was a sacrifice made by Tang Zhiqing and his brother Ma Xiao Liu.