The Bund Storm - Chapter 45: Clash at the Lakeside, Heart-to-Heart at the Docks

Aside from taking revenge for his father last time, Chen Lin would no longer commit murder with his own hands.

He was afraid that, if he wasn't careful, he would truly turn into a psychopathic, breaking-bad-style chemist.

With his abilities, in this era, it wouldn't be difficult to create terrifying weapons of mass destruction.

Doing business was much better instead.

Making money drove people forward and brought even greater excitement.

At the construction site, iron crowbars struck against stones, clanging crisply.

Chen Lin rubbed the bridge of his nose and spoke to Han Zhongxin before him: "Old Han, our manpower is still insufficient. The Dindee Foreign Firm, my family residence, the Chenjiawan Industrial Zone, and now a newly added publishing house—four projects are underway all at once."

"Han Xin commanding troops valued having as many as possible. Your name is Han Zhongxin; you share the same family name with him, so you must learn that capability," Chen Lin said with a smile.

Having already handed over the detailed plan and crucial medication to Pan Qiliang, he no longer concerned himself with Lian Tinghuang's affairs.

Presumably, the other party was already aware that he was still alive.

Yet, even if Lian Tinghuang were given ten times the courage, he would still not dare dispatch men into the Foreign Concession to capture him.

Han Zhongxin rubbed his rough hands and chuckled honestly, "Don't worry, Master! Manpower is not a problem; I have already sent men to recruit workers from farther places."

"Mhm, good." Chen Lin nodded, gesturing toward the distant Yangjing direction. "The construction company will open in a few days, and I had Little Mirror order a set of clothes for each of you in Yangjing Town. Dress a bit more formally and show your faces when the time comes."

"Ah?" Han Zhongxin hurriedly waved his hands in panic, a flustered look on his face. "Master, we are all crude men, and I'm afraid we'll get stage fright when the time comes! You are the master, it's enough for you to show your face."

Chen Lin stepped forward, placed a hand on Han Zhongxin's shoulder, leaned in, and lowered his voice: "Old Han, you, Old Sun, and Old Li are the founders of the company, and in the future, you will be the managers. You need to keep your backs straight—why is our Shanghai First Construction called 'First'? Because in the future, it is going to become the largest construction company in the entire country. In the future, you will all be big bosses, understand? Don't be so small-minded."

"Ahem, yes, yes, yes, Master." Han Zhongxin kept his head lowered, his voice still somewhat faint, clearly not yet accustomed to the lifestyle of wealthy men.

The hundred silver dollars Chen Lin had previously given to each of them had already left the three of them bewildered, not knowing how to spend the money.

"Go on." Chen Lin waved his hand, dismissing Han Zhongxin to attend to his work.

He sat alone on a round log by the edge of the construction site.

Workers on the scaffolding shuttled back and forth like a colony of busy worker ants.

The wind swept by, carrying wood shavings and the scent of rust.

These honest and hardworking men never cared whether their shifts ran overtime, nor did they harbor extravagant hopes for rest—as long as they received their wages on time, that was enough.

And those meager wages were only enough to keep their families from starving to death.

Across the entire Great Qing Empire, there were four hundred million such people, accounting for nearly one-third of the world's population.

With such a solid foundation, how could this land be reduced to an object of arbitrary slaughter and partition over the next hundred years?

He simply couldn't comprehend it. Truly, he couldn't understand it.

……

Songjiang Prefecture, Dianshan Lake.

The weather was clear and bright with a gentle breeze, and azure ripples lapped against the shore, while a chilly wind carrying the fishy scent of lake water swept over the shantytown near the wharf.

The low shanties leaned crookedly, their thatched roofs woven from reeds and stained with mud.

A squad of government runners, wearing waist sabers, rushed in aggressively.

This was the gathering place for boatmen.

Having no land of their own, they could only build makeshift shacks on the barren riverbanks to live in, forming a small village.

Zhou Lichun's home was right here.

Yet these past few days, he had no time to attend to domestic matters—Chen Lin had provided funds to help them establish a fleet, and while the money was already in place, recruiting sailors, repairing warehouses, and purchasing boats required his personal supervision for every single detail.

Inside the shanty, Zhou Xiuying, wearing a new padded jacket, bounced over to Zhou Lichun's side with bright, sparkling eyes: "Brother, we have money now. Does that mean we can buy a big house to live in?"

Zhou Lichun put down the ledger in his hand and smiled: "We make our living on the water; what use do we have for a big house? However, we can move onto a large boat to live."

He knew very well in his heart that this money did not belong to him. Zhai Laokou kept a tight grip on the finances, requiring every single account to be meticulously reconciled, and even the person managing the fleet's funds had been dispatched by Zhai Laokou.

"Chief Zhou! It's bad, the government runners have come!" At that moment, a sailor rushed in frantically, his voice trembling.

Zhou Lichun immediately stood up, picked up the fish fork from the corner of the wall, yet his tone remained steady: "Let's go and meet them."

Just as he stepped out of the shack, a woman washing vegetables by the river hurriedly looked up, her wooden basin swaying as water splashed onto the front of her robe: "Lichun, be careful, don't confront them head-on!"

Zhou Lichun glanced back at the woman and nodded, saying, "Rest assured, Shuxian. We haven't done anything to wrong our consciences, what is there to fear from them?"

The footsteps of the government runners drew closer and closer.

The runners from the prefectural yamen cut a more imposing figure than those from the county yamen, carrying not wooden staves, but glittering waist sabers.

At the rear of the contingent was a small squad of men shouldering matchlock guns.

Leading the party was Assistant Magistrate Qin Shaobai.

His gaze fixed upon the shantytown as if he wished to spit fire—this band of boatmen had repeatedly made him lose face, and this time he was going to strike directly at their stronghold and capture Zhou Lichun.

Yet, no sooner had he led his men into the "village" than they were surrounded by a group of boatmen.

Zhou Lichun leaned on his fish fork, guarded in the center by the crowd, a smile on his face: "Oh, isn't this Magistrate Qin? What kind of wind has blown you here?"

Qin Shaobai took a step forward, his saber scabbard striking his leg with a dull thud: "Zhou Lichun, stop playing word games with me! Was it you who intercepted the official boat on the Huangpu River a couple of days ago?"

"Aiyo, Magistrate Qin, you mustn't arbitrarily pin a false charge on us!" Zhou Lichun spread his hands with an expression of utter ease, then turned to the surrounding boatmen and shouted aloud, "I, Zhou Lichun, am merely a boatman, always law-abiding and dutiful—tell me, everyone, isn't that so?"

"That's right!" Hundreds of voices shouted in unison, shaking the air and causing it to vibrate.

The bailiffs stationed on the outer perimeter immediately shrank their necks, their eyes revealing timidity.

Qin Shaobai swept his gaze around—they were already semi-encircled by hundreds of boatmen, leaving behind only a single narrow path for retreat.

He drew a deep breath, puffed out his chest, flicked the hem of his official robe, and took a forward step with his black-soled official boots: "Zhou Lichun, are you attempting to rebel?"

Zhou Lichun abruptly drove his fish fork down into the ground with a loud *thud*, kicking up a flurry of mud.

He, too, took a step forward, his tone hardening noticeably: "Magistrate Qin, if you have come as a guest, no matter how poor our household may be, we would still steep a pot of fine tea to receive you. But if you try to barge in by force—no way! The female family members of the boatmen must work in the water regularly, and with their attire disarrayed at times, it would be thoroughly inconvenient."

His momentum did not wane in the slightest, and his words were both reasonable and grounded.

Qin Shaobai's heart beat a retreat internally—he certainly wouldn't gain any advantage by resorting to force. It seemed he would still have to apprehend that fellow Chen Lin first.

Softening his tone slightly while retaining a thread of threat, he said, "Zhou Lichun, paper cannot wrap up fire. That brat escaped back to the Foreign Concession and still dares to swagger through the streets; sooner or later, he will be brought to justice! When the time comes for him to implicate you, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

"I have no idea which person Magistrate Qin is referring to." Zhou Lichun curled his lip, feigning complete ignorance. "What Foreign Concession? Zhou here hasn't even stepped out of Qingpu recently."

He would never be intimidated so easily.

Chen Lin had matters to attend to upon his return, and exposure was inevitable, but he trusted the Grand Master—Chen Lin would surely be able to deal with Lian Tinghuang.

Once Lian Tinghuang fell, how many more days could this dog Qin Shaobai jump around?

"Fine, fine, fine, you still refuse to yield!" Qin Shaobai flicked his sleeve in anger. "I have said all that needs to be said!"

With that, he turned on his heel and strode away, leading his subordinates in a hasty departure.

Zhou Lichun did not stop them—in today's game of wits, they had won.

Yet he knew clearly in his heart that if Chen Lin were captured, the outcome would be entirely different.

"Brother, what should we do? Will they go to the Foreign Concession to arrest Chen Lin?" Zhou Xiuying stepped closer, worry laden in her voice.

Zhou Lichun shook his head and said nothing.

He did not understand the rules of the Foreign Concession, but Chen Lin had stated that the officials of the imperial court did not dare set foot inside it.

To avoid causing trouble, on the Qing court's side, only Gong Mujiu, the Su-Song-Tai Circuit Intendant, had the standing to deal with Westerners.

Lian Tinghuang lacked evidence and desired to settle matters with Chen Lin privately, naturally refusing to go through Gong Mujiu, which rendered him utterly incapable of entering the Foreign Concession to make an arrest.

……

In Yangjing Town, inside a modest teahouse by the wharf catering specifically to boatmen and porters.

Steam mingled with the fragrance of tea, filling the entire room while the teacups on the tables wisped with heat.

Liu Lichuan sat by a table shelling peanuts, his fingertips stained with a reddish layer of peanut skin powder.

Beside him, Zhai Wuliu, with his long chin, picked up his teacup and took a sip, tea froth clinging to the corner of his mouth.

"Grand Master, where on earth did you find this kid?" Zhai Wuliu set down his teacup and asked with a smile.

Liu Lichuan tossed a shelled peanut into his mouth, chewed twice, took a sip of tea, and replied, "It wasn't I who found him; he found me. Would you believe that if I told you?"

He slowly recounted the process of his encounter with Chen Lin.

"Strange to say, when he heard my name, I always had the feeling that this kid already knew me."

Liu Lichuan frowned, his tone filled with perplexity.

"Heh, you must be overthinking it." Zhai Wuliu smiled, shifting the topic abruptly. "Speaking of which, this kid ought to hold a grudge against Westerners, so how could he end up helping them?"

"That is precisely why I say his ambitions are vast."

Liu Lichuan paused, looked at Zhai Wuliu, and brought up another matter: "As for the money given to Zhou Lichun, don't hold the purse strings too tightly—after all, it belongs to someone else."

Zhai Wuliu immediately straightened his face, his voice deepening as well: "Whose money? Once it enters the society's accounts, it is the society's money!"

"Once the fleet is established, the annual revenues will not be small. You..." Liu Lichuan shook his head, leaving the sentence unfinished.

"Aren't I doing this entirely for the society?" Zhai Wuliu grew anxious, raising his voice. "After the Qing court was defeated by the Westerners, haven't you noticed? The backs of the gentry in Jiangnan are no longer arched as low as they used to be."

Pausing briefly, a profound light flickered in his small eyes: "The times, perhaps, are about to change. Troops move before provisions—we must hoard a bit of family wealth!"

Outside the teahouse, the rhythmic chant of the wharf laborers drifted over, blending with the sound of the wind as it floated into the room.