CH 126

Chapter 126 – Tide

This was what the general public thought.

Jiang Ling chimed in from the side, ”Yes! Lady Yu, we can negotiate the terms of the investment later, the most important thing is to have a serious discussion with your family, lest they find out and blame us for deceiving you.”

Yu Tang didn’t know if she should cry or laugh. After exchanging a few polite niceties with Jiang Ling and Matron Jiang, she said her farewells and left.

Matron Jiang couldn’t help but berate Jiang Ling, saying, “Mistress shouldn’t have bothered with such matters. If someone comes looking for you again, simply tell them you are unaware of these things.”

Matron Jiang was Jiang Ling’s mother’s companion attendant, and watched Jiang Ling as she grew up. After Jiang Ling’s father died, Jiang Ling’s mother also fell ill, and it was thanks to Matron Jiang that the Jiang family’s domestics were all handled smoothly. Jiang Ling felt deep respect for her, so she didn’t think there was anything wrong with her words, but instead reassured her, “I’m just worried about my brother’s business. If anything like this happens again in the future, I will definitely ask you to come and check it out first.”

Matron Jiang listened with a mixture of distress and helplessness. She took Jiang Ling’s hand and said, “Mistress, it’s also Master’s wish that you’re not involved in this, so listen to my counsel. Who knows what kind of intentions a girl like Lady Yu has. If their family really wanted to do business with our family, why didn’t they go to find master, but came to you in such a roundabout way?”

Perhaps the other party thought she was easy to speak to?

Jiang Ling mused internally, but did not reveal it on her face as she smilingly sent Matron Jiang away.

Yu Tang abruptly realized that her attitude earlier was improper.

Perhaps Jiang Ling was just like her, and she had to undergo some hardships before getting stronger.

However, she only wanted to meet Jiang Ling to see what kind of person she was, and now that she had met her, her purpose had been achieved and it was not a wasted trip.

Yu Tang was lost in thought as she headed back to the inn.

Yu Yuan and Lady Xiang were still outside.

Yu Tang had lunch by herself. Thinking that they would be returning to Lin’an first thing in the morning, she sorted out the things she had bought.

It was at this time that Yu Yuan and Lady Xiang returned.

Both of them were beaming and looked as if they had accomplished something good.

Yu Tang asked if they had their lunch.

“Yes, we did.” Lady Xiang took a sip of the tea poured by Shuang Tao and said happily to Yu Tang, “We were really lucky today. Your brother gave the errand boy of Ping An Tavern some silver to run some tasks for him, and that boy was very attentive. He found a steward of Jiang Chao’s family last night, and gathered detailed information about Jiang Chao’s business.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Tang immediately sat down next to Lady Xiang and even took the snacks on the table and handed it to her.

Lady Xiang smiled and took a piece before continuing, “It’s exactly as what your brother found out yesterday. He is working with a family surnamed Wang in Ningbo for a particular vessel route. Like him, that family worked on the ship for the owner’s family for more than ten years. Recently, the owner passed and the owner’s two sons split up the family assets, so he planned to go at it on his own. The fleet of ships, was formed in partnership with several other families. The Wang family only had one boat, and the Jiang family held a share of that one boat. After that, your brother and I went to see Jiang Chao.”

Speaking of this, she tutted twice and said, “I didn’t expect that Jiang Chao, a crew member, to have an appearance like that of a refined and well-educated man. Upon meeting us, he didn’t exaggerate matters but told us everything as it is. He went on explaining that he currently had insufficient funds and was having difficulties, but as he had invested his entire family fortune, so he would definitely handle our money as preciously like his own.”

Hearing this, Yu Tang vaguely felt that something was wrong.

Her sister-in-law actually regarded Jiang Chao as someone she could trust!

Yu Tang couldn’t help but glance at Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan was sitting opposite them, smiling as he listened to Lady Xiang, and when he saw Yu Tang looking towards him, he grinned and nodded towards her, picking up where Lady Xiang left off, “Ah Tang, it’s a shame that you didn’t come along to meet Jiang Chao with us today. I think you really had a good suggestion. He is a very capable person. After discussing with your sister-in-law, we have agreed to invest four thousand taels of silver. Two thousand taels is mine, one thousand taels is your sister-in-law’s dowry silver, and there is another one thousand taels that I agreed on your behalf.”

Yu Tang froze.

Things had quickly spiralled out of control.

“No,” she faltered, “Didn’t I say to feel him out first? One has to be cautious about entering the business ……”

Who knew that Yu Yuan would give a careless wave, shrugging, “Sometimes things just happen like that. Constantly analysing and calculating – there will always be risks. However, when you actually do carry it out, risks that you initially thought were serious and impossible to solve, end up being just a minor setback and smoothly handled.”

“Yes!” Lady Xiang echoed the same sentiment, “Ah-tang, I think Jiang Chao made a good point. Although, we’ve already made our decision, we still have to discuss it with the elders upon our return. As for the 4,000 taels of silver that we promised, if uncle thinks that it’s a good idea, we’ll split half. However if he feels that it’s too risky, as mentioned before, we’ll take the lion’s share and your side will take a smaller portion. According to Jiang Chao, there are inherent risks in any business. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. This business is also a high risk venture. I just thought, if the ship doesn’t return like what Jiang Chao said, I’ll subsidise your 1,000 taels of silver for you. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Yu Tang was completely speechless.

Her brother and sister-in-law only met him for the first time and it was like they were put under his spell and were all set on partnering with him.

If he was such a capable person, why did he still need to publicly raise funds for his business?

Yu Tang instinctively felt that if she objected now, she would only upset her brother and sister-in-law, so she might as well wait until her brother and sister-in-law’s enthusiasm fades. She asked, “Have you agreed on when the silver will be paid?”

Four thousand taels of silver was no small sum.

No one would carry so much silver with them either.

As long as the silver was not with Jiang Chao, the power still remained in their hands.

Yu Yuan chuckled, “It’s not like you don’t know how much silver we brought on this trip. I paid a deposit of three hundred taels of silver and said that I would make up the rest in ten days.”

Yu Tang felt that she could not remain in this place for a moment longer. She urged them, saying “Well then, let’s go back to Hangzhou first thing in the morning, and we will decide once we arrive in Lin’an.”

Yu Yuan and Lady Xiang nodded in agreement, eagerly inviting Yu Tang to go for a walk down the streets. “We’re leaving tomorrow, but we haven’t had a good look at the lacquerware shops in Suzhou!”

Yu Tang was worried about not giving a good report to her elders, so she and Lady Xiang freshened up and joined Yu Yuan and the others outside.

Yu Yuan and Lady Xiang, for some inexplicable reason, had so much to say to each other, and they stuck close, shoulder to shoulder, even a candy seller, they would have plenty to discuss.

Yu Tang pursed her lips. She found an opportunity to pull Xia Pinggui aside and asked, “Have you seen Master Jiang?”

“Yes, I have.” Xia Pinggui got somewhat excited and said, “That Master Jiang is really something, he practically built his business from nothing. I also think that Young Master should join in this time. Think about it, a person like Master Jiang will definitely be successful in the future. Knowing this, youngest master will certainly benefit from it.”

As she listened, she felt that this Master Jiang was quite formidable.

Even Xia Pinggui, the most honest and upright member in their household, was persuaded.

Yu Tang somewhat regretted that she had not followed her brother and sister-in-law to meet Jiang Chao.

However, as they are providing the silver in ten days, there should still be another chance.

Yu Tang silently mused.

Xia Pinggui was right in saying that if you know someone right at the start of their career, your friendship would be different from others. If that was the case, no matter whether the business was a gain or a loss, their family should invest. But four thousand taels was a little too much. Could she find a way to persuade her brother to put in a little less silver, and consider it to be a token of goodwill?

She was caught up in her thoughts, so she didn’t remember the shops they visited or the sights they saw in the afternoon. The closer she got to Lin’an and she saw the familiar sights on the way home, the more secure she felt.

No wonder people disliked being away from home.

Eldest uncle and aunt and others were waiting for them.

Lady Xiang and Yu Tang took out the gifts they had bought for everyone. Although Yu Bo’s face remained expressionless, his light-hearted tone revealed his happiness. “The paints you bought arrived early this morning. I took a look, and they’re acceptable. I’ll leave it to Ah Yuan and Ping Gui. You shouldn’t bother with the mountain forest land anymore. It’s been a few generations, and apart from being used for firewood, there’s nothing more you can do. Just let it be. It will only be a costly and fruitless venture.”

Yu Yuan was not the sort to give up if it didn’t work, not to mention that the sea buckthorn trees was freshly planted and it was too early to say anything yet. But he had never been one to contradict his elder, so when Yu Bo said something, he respectfully acquiesced. As for the actual proceedings, he would do as he wished.

After everyone had eaten, Xia Pinggui and the two young workers went back to the shop, and Yu Yuan took the opportunity to send Yu Wen’s family home to discuss about Jiangchao, but made no mention of the exact amount of silver he wanted to invest in.

Yu Wen chuckled as he listened and said to Madam Chen, “As expected, when these two siblings leave home, they would surely get themselves into something! Last time, they went to the Gu family as informants, and this time, they have set their eyes on someone’s maritime business, and have even taken it upon themselves to choose which one to enter!” Speaking of this, he shook his head, continuing “Alas, when children grow up, they have their own ideas and will not listen to their parents anymore.”

Even since Madam Chen married Yu Wen, their family had been involved in various things, and there had been no respite. When she saw him talking about her nephew and daughter, she couldn’t help but chide him, “And from whom did they learn this? Since young, you told Ah Yuan and Ah Tang that they should take advantage of any opportunities that came their way. Wasn’t it because they listened to you that they became like this?”

Yu Wen’s mouth was agape at her words and didn’t know how to respond.

Yu Yuan and Yu Tang stood at the side, laughing gleefully.

That being said, Yu Wen still fell a few steps behind, leaving Madam Chen and Yu Tang to walk ahead as he discussed with Yu Yuan separately for a while.

Knowing that they wanted to invest in Jiang Chao’s maritime business, Yu Wen furrowed his brows and asked, “Do you really know this person well?”