Chapter 2: Foreign Merchant

The rain had started without warning.

Fat raindrops pelted down, splattering against the car’s windshield and kicking up a gray, misty spray.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP—"

Its windshield wipers swishing furiously and its amber headlights cutting through the gloom, the car slowly passed through the black-lacquered main gate. It drove on until it finally stopped in front of a beautiful, Western-style garden villa.

Fu Juemin pushed the door open and got out. A servant, who had been waiting, quickly ran over with an open umbrella to shelter him under the eaves.

A few servants were gathered at the entrance. To the left and right, two stone lions squatted in the rain, silently watching over everything.

"Young Master, where have you been?"

A thin-faced, elderly man who looked like the butler handed Fu Juemin a hot towel while chiding, "Your injuries haven’t fully healed. The doctor instructed you to rest quietly. You can’t afford to be running around at a time like this..."

"I just went out for a walk."

Fu Juemin wiped his hands with the towel and asked casually, "Uncle Chen, where’s my father?"

"In the study."

The old butler lowered his head, carefully brushing the water droplets off Fu Juemin’s suit. "A Western merchant from Viliduo Country arrived early this morning. The Master and Second Master are with him now."

"A Western merchant?"

Fu Juemin’s expression flickered. "I’ll go have a look."

Without waiting for the old butler to dissuade him, he tossed the towel back to a servant and turned to head inside.

As the wealthiest family in Luan River County, the Fu Family mansion was naturally spacious and grand.

The living room alone was several hundred square meters, its floor covered in imported colored tiles so polished you could see your reflection in them.

The ceilings between the first and third floors had been completely opened up, and a massive crystal chandelier hung from high above, bathing the entire room in opulent light.

Just as Fu Juemin stepped into the living room, he saw two men walking toward him.

One was a blond man with a full beard, squeezed into a tight tailcoat. The other had slicked-back hair and a powdered face, wearing round glasses and a beige plaid suit, looking every bit the sycophantic follower.

The two were jabbering in the Viliduo language.

’This language is a lot like the English from my past life,’ Fu Juemin thought. ’My predecessor learned a few phrases, so I can just barely understand them.’

"...Sir Lawrence, the Fu Family isn’t the only merchant with ships in Luan River County. I can take you to see some others..."

"I don’t care! You have to get this done for me, one way or another!"

"Yes, yes, of course..."

Judging by their conversation and the grim look on the bearded Westerner’s face, the business deal had likely fallen through.

Fu Juemin had no intention of speaking with them. They made brief eye contact and brushed past each other.

He crossed the living room, walked to a door at the end of the left corridor, and knocked.

Hearing a voice from within say, "Come in," Fu Juemin pushed the door open and entered.

Just inside, three walls were lined with antique shelves displaying all sorts of porcelain, bronze, and jade artifacts. In front of a bookshelf on the west wall sat a large executive desk, upon which rested a green-glass banker’s lamp and a hand-crank telephone.

In the sitting area next to the desk, two men were seated. One was arranging a purple clay tea set on the coffee table, while the other had his legs crossed, puffing out clouds of smoke from a cigar.

Fu Juemin walked over and said respectfully, "Father, Second Uncle."

The man fiddling with the tea set was Fu Juemin’s father in this life, Fu Guosheng.

Fu Guosheng had jet-black hair and a handsome face. He wore a long brocade gown and carried a pocket watch on a gold chain, exuding the air of a refined scholar-merchant.

As for Fu Juemin’s second uncle, Fu Guoping, he looked as if he and Fu Guosheng were carved from two completely different molds. He was built like a bear, with a full, wiry beard, looking for all the world like a rugged, untamed hero.

"Ah, Lingjun is back."

Before Fu Guosheng could speak, Fu Guoping put down his cigar and addressed him with a wide smile.

Fu Guoping had taken eight concubines but only had daughters, so he had always treated Fu Juemin like his own son. Fu Juemin’s predecessor had also been quite close to this second uncle; whenever he got into trouble, he almost always ran to him for protection.

"Where did you go have fun today?"

Fu Guoping asked. Fu Juemin answered honestly, "I went to the West Market Street Corner to watch some street performers, had roast goose at Furui Tower for lunch, and went to the docks in the afternoon..."

As Fu Juemin spoke, he suddenly paused, then recounted what had happened at the docks.

He hadn’t even finished when Fu Guoping scoffed with a look of disdain. "Demon Fiend? Bullshit!

It’s definitely some nonsense cooked up by those gangs at the docks fighting over territory.

The Black Shark Gang has gotten too big these past two years. Plenty of people secretly want Wu Xiaoyun dead. To think they’d make up some ghost story about a water monkey snatching people...

But one thing is for sure."

Fu Guoping flicked the ash from his cigar. "The docks won’t be safe for the next few days. Lingjun, you shouldn’t go there again."

Fu Juemin’s gaze shifted slightly as he slowly nodded.

Fu Guoping then took out a box and handed it to Fu Juemin.

"Take this. Later, have the kitchen stew it into a soup for you."

Inside the wooden box Fu Guoping presented was an old ginseng root wrapped in red cloth, as thick as a baby’s forearm.

Fu Juemin stared at the ginseng in the box, a little dazed. "Second Uncle, I’m still young. I don’t need something this potent, do I...?"

"It’s precisely because you’re young that you need it. This is a three-hundred-year-old ginseng. An ordinary person couldn’t even afford one of its rootlets, and it took your second uncle a great deal of effort to get his hands on it. You’ve just recovered from your injuries, so this is perfect for helping your body recuperate."

"Th-Thank you, Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin accepted the gift with a sense of resignation. Just then, Fu Guosheng, who had been silent the whole time, looked up and spoke coolly, "Since you’ve taken your gift, you should leave. Your second uncle and I still have matters to discuss."

From the moment Fu Juemin had entered the study, Fu Guosheng hadn’t said a single word to him, and his first was to tell him to leave.

Fu Guosheng had always treated him this way.

It was mainly because his predecessor, as the Fu Family’s sole heir who had lost his mother at a young age, had been thoroughly spoiled. He grew up to be undisciplined, wild, and unruly.

This time, he had nearly gotten himself killed. Although it wasn’t primarily his fault, he couldn’t expect Fu Guosheng to show him any kindness.

Clutching the wooden box, Fu Juemin was about to take the hint and leave, but before he did, he couldn’t resist asking, "Father, what did that Western merchant from Viliduo want with you just now?"

Fu Guosheng glanced at him before lowering his head to blow on the foam atop his tea. "That Westerner wanted to borrow the Fu Family’s waterways and ships to transport his own goods. I refused."

"Did you find his price too low, Father?"

"Not at all."

Fu Guosheng shook his head. "The Westerner offered a very high price, almost three times the normal rate."

"Then there must be a problem with the Westerner’s cargo."

Fu Juemin looked thoughtful but asked no more questions and turned to leave.

"Tsk."

The moment Fu Juemin was out the study door, Fu Guoping, still on the sofa, couldn’t help but speak up. "Brother, Lingjun is pretty sharp. Just like you, he saw that there was something wrong with that Westerner at a glance."

"He’s not stupid, he just refuses to apply himself to proper pursuits. Hopefully, after this incident, his temperament will change."

Fu Guosheng lifted his teacup and took a light sip. "That ginseng you gave Lingjun wasn’t cheap, was it? I’ll have the bookkeeper send you twenty thousand silver coins later."

"It’s just one ginseng root, not like it’s made of gold."

Fu Guoping waved his hand dismissively. "Why talk about money among family?"

Fu Guosheng didn’t press the issue. After a moment’s thought, he changed the subject. "How is the investigation I asked you to conduct?"

Hearing this, Fu Guoping slowly put down his cigar. "I’ve investigated the background of that girl from the Saint Gong Girls’ School, as well as her friends, teachers, and relatives... I’ve checked them all. Nothing seems out of place.

On the day of Lingjun’s incident, she was rehearsing a play with several other female students at the drama club. The note that lured Lingjun out of the city must have been written by someone imitating her handwriting...

But I still haven’t found out who was behind it."

"There are only a handful of people with both the nerve and the means to do something like this."

Fu Guosheng tapped the desk and said coolly, "The Huang Family, the Hu Family, the Lin Family... ’Invite’ all the young masters and young ladies from these families over. Test them one by one. We’re bound to find some clues."

"Alright."

Fu Guoping nodded.

Fu Guosheng picked up the purple clay teapot, and a steady stream of amber tea poured from its spout into the cup in front of Fu Guoping. "Later, send a couple of your men over to watch Lingjun for me. I’m afraid those people might try to make another move against him."

Fu Guoping took a small sip of tea and smiled. "Brother, don’t you have Li Tong under you? He’s from a Great Martial Family. I’ve heard he’s not even afraid of bullets."

"You know what Li Tong’s personality is like."

Fu Guosheng said, "He doesn’t care if anyone lives or dies, except for me."

"True enough."

Fu Guoping smacked his lips and set down his teacup. "There’s something else I’d like your advice on, Brother."

"What is it?"

"It’s that mess at the docks again."

Fu Guoping rubbed the bridge of his nose, his face etched with exhaustion. "I couldn’t say much while Lingjun was here. The truth is... Wu Xiaoyun of the Black Shark Gang lost his life helping me.

Since the seventh of last month, I’ve lost more than a dozen of my men to this water monster, and we haven’t even caught a glimpse of the beast..."

Fu Guoping slapped his thigh hard. "If you don’t have a solution either, Brother, then I’m quitting my post at the Civil Affairs Bureau! Whoever wants the damn job can have it!"

Fu Guosheng’s fingertip lightly scraped the side of the purple clay teapot as he pondered for a long time. "How about we start by preparing some live pigs and sheep, and toss them into the river for a few days to see what happens?"

"Feed it until it’s full?"

Fu Guoping was taken aback at first, then gave a bitter smile. "That method... I’m afraid we’ll just be raising a tiger that will cause trouble for us later."

He struggled with the idea for a long moment before finally letting out a long sigh.

"Forget it. For now... I suppose it’s the only way."