Chapter Thirty-One: Plunder and Pillage

Late at night.

The Wang residence was deathly quiet. With the head of the household, Wang Chengyun, taken into the police station, only his two wives, three young children, an old butler, and two maids remained. Earlier, the old butler had gone to gather news, making the gravity of the situation clear to the Wang family. They could never have imagined that the tides would turn so quickly; the two men who had agreed to take the fall had betrayed them in front of the reporters, pointing their fingers directly at their master.

Outside the Wang residence.

Zhou Xinggao vaulted effortlessly over the three-meter-high perimeter wall and landed in the courtyard. In the Beiyang Army, he had been more than just an ordinary soldier; he was a junior officer with exceptional physical skills. With only the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the young left in Wang Chengyun’s home, he decided to take a gamble to secure his own future. After all, in these times, who didn't want a better life?

"Mmph!"

"Thud."

Zhou Xinggao struck with clean, ruthless efficiency, knocking out the primary wife—who had been unable to sleep—before binding her securely. He then repeated the process throughout the house; everyone was quickly incapacitated and tied up. His technique was practiced, his actions cold and decisive. Had Chen Guangliang seen this, he would have been struck with fear, unable to fathom how Zhou Xinggao, who had once been on the verge of starvation, possessed such terrifying capability.

Once everything was in order, he sat down in a chair, idly playing with a small knife. Before him, the entire household was bound with their hands behind their backs, rags stuffed in their mouths. He was in no hurry to loot their valuables; he wanted to ensure they were paralyzed by fear and submissive before he calmly walked away with their gold and silver.

"Do you want this family's lives, or do you want your money?" Zhou Xinggao asked, altering his voice as he toyed with the blade against the primary wife's cheek.

Terrified to the point of incontinence, the woman trembled and stammered, "Our lives! Please, spare our lives!"

"Good. Then tell me quietly—how much is your life worth in this villa? Don't lie. If your answer doesn't match the others' when I ask them, you're dead."

"Yes, yes... we have five thousand dollars in cash. It’s all prepared in banknotes and silver dollars, along with gold and jewelry... please, I beg you, let us go!"

In this era, there were banknotes issued by the Bank of Communications in denominations of one and five dollars, as well as silver dollars with a fineness of nearly ninety percent. Upon hearing that there was paper currency, Zhou Xinggao was delighted, as it was the easiest to carry. Had it been five thousand silver dollars, the weight alone would have been over two hundred pounds—impossible to haul away. As for the jewelry, he chose to ignore it, knowing it would be difficult to fence.

"Hmph. Your Wang family bullied those rickshaw pullers; this five thousand is blood money. Go and fetch it for me, and I’ll be watching you. If you try any tricks, I won't leave a single one of you alive."

"Yes, yes, I'll go get it."

Soon, Zhou Xinggao obtained the funds Wang Chengyun had prepared for bribes; otherwise, there wouldn't have been so much cash on hand. As he left, Zhou Xinggao said coldly, "If you dare call the police, I will return. Your Master Wang has committed so many heinous acts; this money is merely compensation for us."

***

"Yes, yes."

Shortly after, Zhou Xinggao swaggered out of the Wang residence, walking right out the front gate.

After he had gone, the concubine suggested calling the police.

"No, Second Mistress. The master is in prison, and the gang of thugs has been disbanded. If that ruthless man returns, we’ll all be killed."

"You're right, we can't call the police."

The primary wife was terrified, huddling with her children for comfort. "Butler, what should we do?"

The old butler was still dizzy from the blow he had received. "We must immediately recall the remaining men to guard the house twenty-four hours a day. Then, we must raise more funds to rescue the master. Do not speak of tonight’s events for now; we will seek retribution later."

Without a backbone and without bodyguards, it was best to keep their heads down.

"Fine. Get people to protect us first thing tomorrow... those damned rickshaw pullers, they are truly vicious. We will settle the score with them later."

Judging by the assailant's tone, they all guessed he was one of the rickshaw pullers.

The old butler said, "The pullers aren't simple this time. They found reporters, made Tang Zhiqing and Ma Xiaoliu change their testimonies, and now they’ve come to rob us. Let us not provoke them further until the master returns."

The concubine asked anxiously, "Can the master really come back?"

The primary wife snapped, "What kind of talk is that?"

The butler replied, "The lawyer says it shouldn't be a major issue, at most a few months in jail. We must keep a low profile for now."

***

On the final day of July, inside the headquarters of the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm, Chen Guangliang was working at his desk.

This office served as a workspace for Chen Guangliang, Li Chao, and He Xiangdong, and also as Chen Guangliang’s sleeping quarters. The base had another room for meetings and resting for the pullers, while the courtyard served as both a repair shop for the rickshaws and a place for the pullers to socialize. Because of this, the Yangtze Rickshaw Firm was always bustling. After all, they now had 135 pullers and 45 rickshaws.

Sometimes, pullers waiting for their shift would come here to drink tea or play cards. Furthermore, since Zhou Xinggao had been missing recently, Chen Guangliang had to bring in Lin Feng to take his place. Without supervision, the pullers might end up gambling or getting into fights.

Setting down his pen and paper, Chen Guangliang pondered his progress.

Project A (3 rickshaws) had been running for 70 days, increasing asset value by 180 silver dollars.
Project B (9 rickshaws) had been running for 40 days, increasing asset value by 380 silver dollars.
Project C (12 rickshaws) had been running for 18 days, increasing asset value by 210 silver dollars.
Project D (24 rickshaws) had been running for 6 days, increasing asset value by 150 silver dollars.

The "new assets" generated by these four projects were essentially cash flow, though they were mostly being reinvested into purchasing supplies. Recently, Chen Guangliang had simply asked Lin Feng to build an additional warehouse to store these goods.

However, what Chen Guangliang was really thinking about was further expansion. Forty-five rickshaws hardly made for a large firm; it wasn't even mid-sized. And to expand, he needed capital.

Currently, his debt situation was as follows: 350 silver dollars from the Shanghai Savings Bank (with Li Chao also holding 350) at a 20% annual interest rate, tied to Project B; 1,000 silver dollars from the residents of Fangua Alley (with Li Chao borrowing another 500) at a 30% annual interest rate, tied to Project C; and 1,000 silver dollars from Professor Zhang, interest-free, tied to Project D.

Chen Guangliang wasn't bothered by the debt; with the steady stream of rental income, the interest was negligible. He was considering using Projects C and D as collateral to secure another loan from the Shanghai Savings Bank. This time, he wanted to borrow 6,000 silver dollars.

With his current relationship with the Traffic Division, he should seize the opportunity to expand and not let the chance slip away. Plus, with his "enemy" now behind bars, he needed to accelerate his growth.

"I'll worry about getting the money first!"

As Chen Guangliang thought this, he saw Zhou Xinggao walk in, carrying something.

"Boss, I'm back!"

Chen Guangliang stood up happily and patted Zhou Xinggao on the shoulder. "What do you mean you're back? Weren't you here all along?"

He Xiangdong also set down his pen and said, "Brother Zhou, the boss was just talking about you this morning!"

For the past few days, with Zhou Xinggao away from the base, Chen Guangliang had told everyone he was out on business. In truth, Chen Guangliang had feared Zhou Xinggao had left without a word. After all, the job was done; why hadn't he returned to the fold?

"Thank you for your concern, Boss... Brother He, could you let me have a private word with the boss? Keep watch for me."

"Sure."

He Xiangdong left willingly.