Chapter Fifteen: Business Is Warfare

After the dishes had cycled through their five flavors and the wine had gone around three times, Feng Jingzhe let out a loud, satisfied burp and sprawled half-limp in his chair, picking his teeth contentedly with a toothpick.

Sun Fugui simply watched him with a cheerful grin, never once showing the slightest hint of impatience from beginning to end.

The truth was, Feng Jingzhe was deliberately making him wait, but he hadn’t expected this fellow’s patience to be so well-trained. Nearly an entire hour passed over the meal, and yet Sun Fugui showed not a flicker of urgency.

“Whew... Fugui, Third Brother has to admit defeat! Such a big business deal—aren’t you afraid of being completely taken for a fool?”

In the end, it was Feng Jingzhe who broke the silence first.

“Heh heh... Now that you’ve eaten and drunk your fill, are we finally ready to discuss the details of business?”

The fat Sun hurried to fill his cup again, his eyes, usually narrowed into slits, opening a little wider with anticipation.

“Details? Come off it—do you really trust me that much? Whew... Enough with the act, I’ll come clean...”

Downing his wine in one gulp, Feng Jingzhe came around the table and slung an arm around Sun Fugui’s shoulders.

“The truth is... your sister-in-law—my wife—never wrote me a letter at all! The talk about unlimited purchases of coptis root is just a lie...”

Feng Jingzhe decided to simply lay it all out, expecting the fat man beside him to be stunned and then furious at being deceived.

But Sun Fugui only continued to grin, his expression utterly unchanged, not a ripple of surprise or anger. If anything, there was an even keener excitement in his blazing eyes.

“What’s with you? At least show some reaction! Otherwise, your Third Brother’s going to lose face, you hear?”

“Fake or not, what’s the difference? Now that you’ve told me the truth, it just means you’re finally willing to let me in on the game...”

Sun Fugui refilled his empty cup. Only then did Feng Jingzhe finally concede in his heart.

This man was truly a character—a master at playing the fool to hide a tiger’s heart.

“How do you know I’d let you join? Everybody knows I wear the hat of a worthless spendthrift...”

Feng Jingzhe tapped his own head.

“Heh heh... And isn’t my own head crowned with the cap of a simpleton?”

Li Changsheng, watching the two men exchange cryptic words with their arms around each other, could only stare in utter bewilderment.

After that, Feng Jingzhe leaned in and whispered his entire plan into Sun Fugui’s ear. The more the fat man listened, the brighter his eyes grew, until by the end he was trembling all over with excitement.

“Third Brother, you’re a genius! If this works, the rewards will be enormous! If you trust me, could you let me take full charge of this business? As for the profits, I’ll take thirty, you seventy—how about it?”

“No. Since you’re putting up both money and effort, we’ll split the profits equally.”

Sun Fugui shook his head so hard it seemed it would snap off.

“Third Brother, the value in this business lies in the idea itself. In fact, there’s never a shortage of people with money or muscle! Tell anyone else your plan, and they’d all scramble to invest and help! Seventy-thirty split—let’s settle it at that!”

Feng Jingzhe, seeing the fat man’s sincerity with no hint of pretense, smiled and agreed.

That night, the two drank until the third watch bell sounded in the city. Returning home, master and servant slept soundly until dawn.

By the time the sun had yet to reach its zenith the following day, word had already spread throughout the city—Shi Wei Tian’s young proprietor was buying up all the coptis root he could find.

When Liu the chief steward of the Zheng family’s pharmacy reported the news to Zheng Yongxiang, sixty percent of all the coptis in Chang’an had already been bought up. The remaining forty percent was all in the Zheng family’s warehouse.

“Master, the rumors are everywhere! They say there’s an outbreak of livestock plague in Longxi, and a huge amount of coptis is needed for medicine! That Feng kid has teamed up with Sun Youcai’s idiot son—they’re buying up everything they can get!”

“Heh... Livestock plague? How much livestock could there possibly be in that remote corner of Longxi? If it was army horses, Feng Jingzhe would never even get a finger in...”

Zheng Yongxiang sipped his tea carelessly, but suddenly his hand froze.

All at once, the events at the Feng family estate the previous day flashed through his mind. Feng Jingzhe had received a letter, supposedly sent by Beiming Xuanyue—something he hadn’t believed for a moment. Yet barely a day later, here he was, sweeping up coptis root across Chang’an.

Zheng Yongxiang carefully recalled the details of that day. When it came to discussing the mortgage contract, Feng Jingzhe had shown not the least sign of fear.

“This kid swore he’d repay his debt before the fifteenth of next month—could his confidence lie in this coptis-buying scheme...?”

At this thought, Zheng Yongxiang’s brow knitted tightly. Better to err on the side of caution, he told himself.

“Where did they get so much money? Coptis isn’t exactly a precious herb, but to buy out the whole supply in Chang’an would take at least four or five thousand taels...”

“Master, according to the staff at Shi Wei Tian, last night Feng Jingzhe borrowed five thousand taels of silver from a merchant out of Runan, for a month, at five hundred taels interest...”

“Is that true? Borrowing five thousand taels for a month, at five hundred taels interest! Is Feng Jingzhe mad?”

“It’s true, Master. If you don’t believe me, just go to any tavern or teahouse and listen for yourself...”

The chief steward thumped his chest in earnest assurance. At this, Zheng Yongxiang burst into laughter.

“Hahaha... I thought that Feng brat had some amazing ace up his sleeve, but it turns out he’s just in a hurry to dig his own grave... hahaha...”

Gasping for breath, he hurriedly sent a servant to fetch Steward Wang.

Wang Song rushed in just as Zheng Yongxiang pointed at him and shouted,

“Quick! Go to the accounts office and draw eight thousand taels. Do whatever it takes, but you must lend all this money to Sun Youcai’s idiot son! And find as many intermediaries as you can—Feng Jingzhe mustn’t know the money is coming from us...”

“But Master, weren’t we trying to seize his house? If we lend him money for business and he turns a profit, how are we going to get the property...?”

“Hahaha... Get it? I’ll tell you: as long as we get the money out the door, what comes back won’t just be the Feng family estate—Shi Wei Tian and all its daily gold will be ours too!”

Seeing his steward still incredulous, Zheng Yongxiang held his head high, brimming with pride.

He turned to the pharmacy’s chief steward:

“Heh heh... A mountain man always has his own way! Don’t worry about the details. As soon as Wang Song lends out the money, you immediately raise the price of coptis in our warehouse by ten percent and sell it off! Then send men at once to Li County, Hongnong, and Liyang—buy up every last scrap of coptis you can find...”

“Master, are we aiming to make a killing by flipping in the middle?”

At that, the two seemed to understand Zheng Yongxiang’s intentions at once.

“Heh heh heh... More than just a killing! This time, I’ll see Feng Jingzhe utterly ruined, never to rise again. He’ll even drag his whole family down with him...”