In the following days, Shu Rui remained mindful of the street office’s influence. Lu Ling continued his daily solicitation at the city gate. The previously domineering agents were nowhere in sight.
Shu Rui went again to check, finding no one. He later learned from other innkeepers that the agent he had beaten had been bedridden for several days from the thrashing.
“It serves him right,” they said. “He used to bully everyone. When evil men meet their match, heaven takes care of them.”
These agents had colluded with the street office, monopolizing city gate and dock business. Small inns couldn’t attract guests without dealing with them. If anyone resisted, the agents would first attempt to drive them off; failing that, they’d coordinate with the officers. Small businesses had no choice but to beg the agents for customers.
Shu Rui, learning this from the other innkeepers, understood the system. Small inns needed to cooperate with these agents to get guests—similar to hiring a storyteller: the agent would recruit the guest and direct them to the inn.
The agents often represented multiple inns, sending guests to the inn offering the highest commission first. Once full, guests were directed to the next inn, and so on.
The unscrupulous agents demanded a 20-string “sincerity fee” to begin cooperation. Subsequent guest commissions were paltry, often one to three coins per ten guests, depending on room rates.
“Operating a small inn is hard enough, with all expenses. Yet these agents live luxuriously from it. That mole-faced one even bought a house in the north of the city. When he isn’t drinking or gambling, he’s enjoying himself. All from exploiting small inns.”
Shu Rui was astonished. Even if a room earned 100 coins, and the agent took twenty, after costs and taxes, the innkeeper barely earned anything. This system was far more exploitative than the simple storyteller fees he had paid.
The agents needed money to monopolize prime locations and to bribe the officers—an unfair system benefiting only the agents and officials, squeezing the small innkeepers.
“How do you know all this?” Shu Rui asked.
“My elder brother runs a small inn in the east of the city. How would I not know?”
Shu Rui’s unease grew. Lu Fang’s hands must have been extremely full managing this corrupt system.
By late October, Lu Fang returned from his post in high spirits and invited Lu Ling and Shu Rui home for a meal. Shu Rui was surprised but helped prepare a few dishes for them.
During the meal, Lu Fang explained, “Those two officers’ case has been concluded.”
Shu Rui, seeing Lu Fang’s satisfied expression, still asked cautiously, “Were there any hidden complications?”
Lu Fang praised Shu Rui’s cleverness before explaining that the officers had backing from a certain Wei Rongming. The matter was not coincidence; Lu Fang had been forewarned by Lu Ling to watch out for this Wei. Though initially cautious, repeated provocations from Wei had frustrated Lu Fang’s work.
The encounter at the city gate had been the perfect opportunity. The officers were sent to the clerk’s office for investigation, and Wei Rongming failed to intervene. Under scrutiny, the officers revealed the agents’ monopoly schemes and Wei’s acceptance of bribes.
Seizing the momentum, Lu Fang presented all the evidence against Wei Rongming. The outcome: he was dismissed and fined a thousand strings.
Shu Rui and Lu Ling exchanged astonished glances, realizing Lu Fang had orchestrated the situation carefully, as he had promised.
After dinner, Shu Rui felt a sense of relief and ease. Lu Fang’s strategic skills, assisted by Lu Yu’s guidance, had successfully resolved the matter.
A few days later, Zhong Dayang delivered wine for resupply and mentioned that Wei Jincong had resigned from the martial arts hall.
Shu Rui was surprised. Though Wei Rongming’s family had fallen from influence, his personal skills had earned him a position at the hall. The hall’s director was not petty; Wei had performed useful work and might have been promoted in the new hall.
Zhong Dayang explained that Wei had been arrogant, offending many instructors in the past. With his family’s fall from power, he could no longer rely on connections. He couldn’t withstand the scrutiny, so he left voluntarily.
“Some of the martial students’ families heard of his father’s troubles and came to the hall to complain, fearing that if he continued to teach their sons, he might lead them astray. In short, his father’s misdeeds earned the resentment of the common people, and he suffered the consequences along with them.”
“There was nothing the hall could do, so they reassigned some martial lessons. Wei Jin felt utterly embarrassed. Even though the director didn’t say anything, he couldn’t bear it and resigned from his instructor position.”
Shu Rui said, “He never knew how to hold back before, flaunting his family’s influence recklessly, enjoying privileges. Now that the family has run into trouble, he’s experiencing the backlash—it’s only natural.”
“Exactly so,” Zhong Dayang murmured, shaking his head. “I heard from the director that their whole family is leaving the provincial city to return home and live quietly.”
Lu Ling commented, “If you can’t make it here, that’s really the only choice.”
Continuing in the provincial city would only bring scorn and contempt; at least leaving offered some respite.
They chatted for a while, and Zhong Dayang talked at length with Lu Ling. Only then did he realize that Lu Ling’s father was an official. It had taken some remark from the hall director about two sons of official families leaving before he understood. Compared to that, Lu Ling himself remained low-key.
With the authorities cracking down on monopolistic practices, many industries felt the ripple effect, and for a time, business in the city was peaceful. The city gates and docks saw more small merchants soliciting customers.
After these events, Shu Rui worked with a few reliable agents at the city gate and dock to attract inn guests. Unlike the corrupt agents before, the terms were fair: a 10% commission on lodging, no “sincerity fee” required.
By the twelfth lunar month, snow began falling, making the days bitterly cold. Shu Rui always wore ear muffs while at the inn. He couldn’t bear sending Lu Ling to the windy city gate or dock himself, so having agents assist with soliciting guests cost only a little and gave someone a livelihood.
Calculating carefully, Shu Rui’s lodging business did well that month. Many rooms were fully occupied, even if the shared dormitory never was. For his small inn, when fully booked and factoring in discounts, he could earn around one string and five coins per day. On the thirtieth day of the month, income from lodging alone reached about forty strings.
Winter heating costs were high, and many inns raised their rates, but Shu Rui kept his original price, only tightening discounts. Including meal sales, he netted around seventy strings for the month—more than double the previous month’s income.
Shu Rui was pleased but knew it was due to careful management. By year-end, business might improve further, allowing him to pay bonuses to his assistants and prepare New Year gifts without worry.
One snowy day, Lu Ling returned from sending a departing guest to the dock. He hadn’t worn a raincoat, and snowflakes dotted his shoulders.
Shu Rui brushed the snow off with a handkerchief. “There’s warm ginger soup on the stove; I’ll get it for you.”
He went to the kitchen and found Shan Sanmei still chopping radishes. On such a cold day, her hands were red and stiff; she nicked herself, drew blood, bandaged it, and continued practicing.
Shu Rui honestly thought the girl had little natural talent for cooking, yet her diligence was admirable. From what Lu Qiang and others had said, she practiced diligently even after returning home, the sound of her knife striking the board echoing persistently. She had never boasted of this to Shu Rui.
He was moved by her perseverance.
“In snowy weather, the stove isn’t lit; it’s freezing. Drink some hot soup to rest. If your hands get chilblains, it’ll be miserable.”
Shan Sanmei said, “Keeping my hands moving keeps me alert. I don’t even notice the time passing.”
Shu Rui realized he couldn’t persuade her and brought the soup to Lu Ling, then went upstairs to find Qing Ge’er, asking him to encourage Sanmei.
“I already told her,” Qing Ge’er said. “Learning a skill takes time. She just wants to work harder to feel assured, not because she’s stubborn.”
“Why so?” Shu Rui asked.
Qing Ge’er sighed. “At the start of the month, my father and elder brother came by. They knew Sanmei was learning her craft and weren’t pleased. They thought she was growing up and that after a few years she’d be married off elsewhere. From their perspective, it was wasted effort.”
“During year-end, there’s much work. Mother is busy; I also go out to work. With no one to cook at home, father and elder brother complained. She went away for half a year and still couldn’t relax, with meals unattended.”
Shu Rui frowned. “Strong young men can handle chores. Why should simple cooking be difficult?”
Qing Ge’er shook his head. “I told her not to take their words to heart. She decided to work even harder, knowing opportunities like this are rare. It’s best to let her focus, rather than overthinking.”
Shu Rui glanced downstairs and sighed. Family matters weren’t for him to interfere.