Chapter 147 Business Snatching

Chapter 147: Stealing Business

If it were merely about making some political achievements in Heshan County, Song Tingzhou was more than capable of doing so. But after he left, Heshan would still be Heshan, and Lingnan would still be the same Lingnan notorious for its toxic bugs, foul air, and barren mountains.

Since he had a rare opportunity to flex his talents and bring change to the local people, why not take the chance and give it his all while the emperor still remembered his name?

Of course, with only Lin Congrong backing him now, if he wanted to implement the land redistribution policy he had written about in the imperial exam, he couldn't just submit a memorial demanding reform directly. Otherwise, even if it were Lin Congrong—or even the emperor himself—a single decree couldn't possibly make the whole country comply immediately.

The term "shifting the head tax onto the land tax" could never be spoken openly; that would be telling all the nobles and wealthy merchants across the land, "I'm after your profits."

Song Tingzhou was not a reckless man. What he wanted was a result, a starting point. The form in which this result was reported to the court wasn't that important. What mattered was making sure those who needed to understand would understand, while those who wanted to stop him couldn't find anything wrong with it—everything lawful and reasonable.

After dinner, Meng Wan went to wash up first, while Song Tingzhou sat in the study, grinding his own ink and laying out paper, writing as he pondered.

At the very top, he wrote "Heshan," and below it, the names of the officials under him in the yamen. First was the eighth-rank Deputy Magistrate Tong Ping, followed by the ninth-rank Scribe Qiao Xingyuan. Though there was a rank difference between them, both were equally important and indispensable.

After the Scribe came the ninth-rank Inspector Huang Yizhen and the rankless Archivist Zhang Meng.

The Instructor and the Tutor were at the county school; they had dropped by to pay respects earlier, but he didn't have time to manage the school for now, so he left them off the list.

Although Constable Zhang was very respectful to him, it was obvious he was Deputy Magistrate Tong's man.

Inspector Huang had met him twice, but his background was unclear. The Huang family was also a local prominent clan, and he didn't act as wary of Deputy Magistrate Tong as others did.

As for Deputy Magistrate Tong, who seemed the most problematic, he did play the senior card, subtly trying to use his seniority to push Song Tingzhou around.

Song Tingzhou clearly knew his purpose in coming to Heshan: it was not to waste precious time on these subordinates who formed cliques and used their public power for personal gain.

He needed to quickly clean up the yamen before the busy farming season, making everyone work for him, so the administration could run smoothly and his decisions would be twice as effective with half the work.

After a moment of deep thought, recalling what Meng Wan had told him about the government-licensed brokers, he wrote below Deputy Magistrate Tong Ping: "Ancestral home: Lu Yun Town, Red Mud Village. Four brothers, eight nephews. The head of the official brokerage is the son of the eldest brother."

He circled "official brokerage" with his brush and then continued writing the memorial he had started.

After finishing his bath, Meng Wan noticed Song Tingzhou hadn't moved for a while. He peeked through the crack of the study door and saw the candlelight still bright within, Song Tingzhou sitting upright, writing the memorial swiftly.

Meng Wan quietly withdrew, took a wooden basin, and began scooping out the hot water from the bath tub to pour outside. He had just poured one basin when Song Tingzhou took the basin from his hands.

"Why didn't you call me?"

Pulling his robe tighter, Meng Wan turned and hugged Song Tingzhou, giving him a kiss. "You were busy. I wanted to get your bath ready for you."

Song Tingzhou's heart softened at his words, his eyes filled with tenderness, about to spill over. "Next time, don't do such heavy work yourself. It wouldn't have taken that long for me to do it."

"We're an old married couple and you're still this mushy." Meng Wan urged, "I know, I know. Hurry up and wash up and come to bed. The bed is freezing; I can't sleep alone."

He lowered his eyes, not meeting Song Tingzhou's gaze. Song Tingzhou slightly dropped his eyelids and saw Meng Wan's jade-like translucent skin and his ears turning a rose-red.

"I'll wash up right now and be back with you soon."

---

A few days later, Broker Tong finally showed up. Seeing Meng Wan, he launched right into a complaint without preamble.

"Forgive me, Mr. Meng, I've been so busy I haven't been home in two days. I've finally found three properties that meet your requirements. Please take a look..."

As he spoke, he tried to approach Meng Wan, but Xue Sheng blocked his path, expressionless. "Hand it to me."

Broker Tong cursed inwardly, "Bastard!"

But he put on a wry smile and said, "Yes, yes, sorry for being rude. Mr. Meng, please forgive me."

Meng Wan took the booklet, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You're quite well-informed." So he already knows my surname.

Without further acknowledging Broker Tong's two-faced behavior, Meng Wan opened the booklet to examine.

The three properties were indeed in excellent locations, all surrounding the county seat. One was a two-courtyard small residence directly across from the county office. According to Broker Tong, the owner renovated it a few years ago, and it was priced at 380 taels.

The second was farther away, separated from the county office by one street, but the house was larger and cheaper: a three-courtyard house for 350 taels.

The third was right behind the main residence, closest to the county office—only a small alley in between. It would be convenient for Song Tingzhou to go to work. Also a two-courtyard residence, priced at exactly 400 taels.

Looking over the contents, Meng Wan naturally preferred the two-courtyard one behind the main residence. Compared to Shengjing or Changping, it was a prime location at a price that couldn't really be called expensive.

"Alright, I've seen them all. Take the booklet back."

If Mama Huang hadn't given him the prices in advance, Meng Wan might have immediately settled on the rear two-courtyard house. But now, with that inside info, these prices seemed ridiculous.

Broker Tong was still waiting to give Meng Wan a detailed introduction, but Meng Wan just glanced at it and handed it back.

Heshan didn't have many big real estate deals in a year, and Broker Tong wanted to make a good commission from this opportunity. He couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Master, have you not found any to your liking? Or is the price too high? I can still search for more properties for you, and we can negotiate with the owners again. It's all negotiable."

Meng Wan enjoyed watching Broker Tong's anxious expression for a moment before speaking calmly, "Then tomorrow morning, let's first go take a look at the two-courtyard residence behind the main residence."

"Yes, yes. I'll go get the key to the main gate from the original owner right away."

Broker Tong left the inner residence beaming. As soon as he reached the street, he ran straight into his business rival, Mama Huang.

He snorted, stuck his chin out, and walked past her, having no idea Mama Huang was also headed to the county office.

---

The next morning, Broker Tong was waiting early at the east gate. When he saw Meng Wan coming out, he bowed and scraped in front to lead the way.

Chang Jinhua had nothing to do at home, so Meng Wan had brought her along to see the new place.

They turned into the alley behind the county office. The alley was quite wide—could even be called a street. Because of its unusual location, no one dared set up stalls or shops there.

Only two residences were built in the alley, separated by an empty lot. The other end was not a dead end but connected to the street on the west side of the county office.

Broker Tong led Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua to the first house at the entrance of the alley. Inside, it differed from the traditional siheyuan of the north or the winding garden paths of the Jiangnan river towns.

Due to the climate, all buildings in Lingnan were primarily wooden structures. The courtyard eaves were shallow and sloped, looking delicate and exquisite, unlike the dignified grandeur of the north.

Each room's eaves extended far outward to shelter from the rain. However, this made lighting poor, so many courtyards had open courtyards.

Chang Jinhua found it interesting but remembered that Meng Wan should not walk too much, so she told Bi Yun to accompany him slowly as she roamed around the house herself.

When she returned after looking around as much as she wanted, she looked wistful. "Our old house back home was brighter and more spacious." This place had plenty of rooms and courtyards scattered here and there, but it still felt strange.

Meng Wan comforted her, "Mother, every place has its customs. Xiwu Prefecture is like this—lots of rain and humid air, rains all year round. If they built houses like in the north, wouldn't people get moldy inside?"

Chang Jinhua laughed at his words. "My son is right. At my age, I get to see new things because of you."

Though Meng Wan said this to comfort Chang Jinhua, the two-courtyard house was indeed smaller than he had expected. However, since his husband was now the local county magistrate, if they bought the empty lot between the two houses and built on it, it shouldn't be a problem.

Having made up his mind, Meng Wan led everyone toward the main entrance.

With a look of satisfaction, he deliberately raised his tone slightly and said to Broker Tong, "As I recall, you said yesterday this residence costs four hundred taels? It's worth it."

Broker Tong was overjoyed. It seemed that this Meng Fulang had taken a liking to it, and all his efforts had not been in vain.

"Four hundred taels! Oh my, heavens above!"

An exaggerated female voice came from the neighboring courtyard. Huang Mama scurried over on small steps and said to Meng Wan, "Fulang, since you're interested in buying a residence here, why not take a look at the one next door? It's the same size and layout, and it only costs two hundred and eighty taels!"

Meng Wan was indeed surprised. "Two hundred and eighty taels?"

Chang Jinhua, in genuine urgency, exclaimed, "How can there be a difference of a hundred and twenty taels!"

Broker Tong rubbed his fingers together, his palms sweating slightly. "This... Fulang, madam, please don't be upset. Perhaps the owner of the adjacent house is in a hurry to sell due to some urgent matter."

Huang Mama was blatantly stealing his business. As Broker Tong forced a smile at Meng Wan and Chang Jinhua, he shot several sinister glares at Huang Mama.

Even Chang Jinhua, unaware of the inside story, felt that this broker was not honest.

She took Meng Wan's hand and said hesitantly, "Wan, dear, buying a house is a major matter. Why don't we go home and discuss it further?"

She didn't want to contradict Meng Wan in public, so her words were very tactful.

Meng Wan seemed quite dissatisfied with Broker Tong's handling of the matter today. He said coldly, "Since my mother-in-law says we should go home and discuss it, let's call it off for today."

With that, he turned and led Chang Jinhua and the others away. Within a few dozen steps, they entered the inner residence, and their figures disappeared from sight.

Seeing the bird in hand fly away, Broker Tong was furious. He was about to confront Huang Mama when he happened to run into Inspector Huang, who was returning from patrolling with his men.

"Aunt, what brings you here to the county office?" Huang Yizhen asked Huang Mama.

Huang Mama smiled kindly at her nephew. "I came to look at some houses. Are you just back? Come over to my place for dinner tomorrow."

Inspector Huang casually agreed, then turned to Broker Tong, who was charging over, and barked, "What do you think you're doing!"

He knew full well that this was Deputy Magistrate Tong's nephew. The man's business often clashed with his aunt's in the town's brokerage, and there had been no shortage of disputes.

As Huang Mama was older and a woman, she often came out worse in these conflicts and usually had to tolerate him.

Seeing that his aunt had offended Broker Tong today, Inspector Huang, as her nephew, had no choice but to stand up for her since he had witnessed it.

Broker Tong cursed his bad luck, glanced at the long sword at Inspector Huang's waist, didn't dare utter a harsh word, and scurried away.

Inspector Huang first escorted his aunt back to her shop, instructed the patrol team to keep an extra eye on her, and then returned to the county office to report to Song Tingzhou.

"Your Excellency, as you ordered, I have inspected and registered all the shops and vendors near the county office. Please have a look."

Song Tingzhou sat behind his desk and said flatly, "Place it on the table. You've worked hard; go and rest."

"Yes!" Inspector Huang presented the register and then left the Sansheng Hall.

Deputy Magistrate Tong happened to be coming to give something to Song Tingzhou. He condescendingly said to Inspector Huang, "Inspector Huang is too naive. Such trivial patrol duties can be left to the constables. There's no need for you to go personally."

"Your Excellency assigned the task, and this subordinate dares not slack off."

Inspector Huang showed no appreciation for the remark. Having said that, he left, unafraid of the man reputed to be the second-in-command of the county office, leaving Deputy Magistrate Tong staring coldly at his retreating back.

—

Afraid of truly losing the big customer Meng Wan, Broker Tong sat in his shop scratching his head and fidgeting for a while. After noon, he hurried over to the inner residence behind the county office to seek an audience with Meng Wan. But Xue Sheng turned him away with a single sentence: "The Fulang is taking an afternoon nap and has no time to see you."

The next day, when Broker Tong came again, he learned that Meng Wan had already bought the other, cheaper two-section residence, and that the title deed and land deed had all been transferred.

With the Scribe absent, Song Tingzhou, as the county magistrate, personally affixed his seal for his own husband, the Fulang, and even approved the vacant lot next to it for Meng Wan.

As they say, it's good to have connections in the government—this must be what it feels like.

Thinking of the vast sum of silver that had slipped through his fingers, Broker Tong returned to his shop, filled with regret and resentment. If only he had quoted two hundred and eighty taels in the first place; he could have made up the difference from the original owner.

How many such big deals does a small place like Heshan see in a year? Now it was all for naught—the chicken flew and the egg was broken!

He had always snatched business from others, never expecting that someone would snatch it from him today. A surge of fury welled up inside him.

Without delay, he called together a group of street thugs and stormed off to confront the original owner who had sold the house to Meng Wan. They caught the man and gave him a severe beating, leaving him howling in pain, until he couldn't even make a sound.

Even then, Broker Tong was not appeased. Usually, he dared not touch Huang Mama because of Inspector Huang. But this time, he was so enraged that when he went to Huang Mama's private brokerage and found her absent, he and the thugs simply smashed up her shop.

The patrolling constables, who had been instructed by their superiors just two days ago to keep a close eye on the aunt's shop, happened to pass by and witnessed Broker Tong wrecking the place. Without a second word, they arrested the whole lot.