Chapter 13

Amidst the flickering candlelight, Fan Lian leaned on the bed, quietly reflecting on the rise of the Fan family. Ever since his father embarked on a business career, he had always followed closely, and the two of them had built Guangde Company from nothing.

What was his elder brother, Fan Ru, doing at that time? He was shut in his room, studying the Four Books and Five Classics. According to his father, the eldest son should inherit the family business and ideally obtain an official title to bring glory to the family. As for the second son, he should focus on business, earn money, and support his elder brother's studies.

Unfortunately, his elder brother was a bookish fool who had made no progress beyond the level of a junior official. All he thought about was using the money earned by his younger brother to buy houses and land. He also spent lavishly to socialize with the powerful in the capital, hoping to restore the family's status as imperial merchants.

Not only that, but after becoming the head of the family, his brother became even more stubborn and autocratic. He insisted on presenting the family as one that valued literature and scholarship, imposing all sorts of strict rules, even more stringent than those of the imperial court.

Fan Lian had always endured for the sake of the family, but this year, his brother had gone too far, forcing his beloved concubine to her death. Now, he was even threatening his beloved Hu Niu.

"This I cannot bear! I haven't remarried for Hu Niu and her child; the main wife's position is still vacant. They are my heart's treasures! You killed Hu Niu's mother and now you want to blackmail me with 110,000 taels of silver? So what if it's not through official channels, I don't care..."

Fan Lian pounded the bed in anger, even voicing his thoughts aloud, "If it comes to it, I'll split the family and start over..."

As he spoke, a low sigh came from outside the window, "Alas... If Mr. Fan had realized this earlier, it wouldn't have come to this!"

"Who's there?" Fan Lian sat up immediately. The door opened, and a familiar face appeared.

"Mr. Xiao!" Fan Lian exclaimed, but Xiao Letian quickly covered his mouth, "Old Mr. Fan, are you trying to get me killed? I haven't even grown my queue yet, and you're inviting the authorities..."

Fan Lian became agitated, coughing uncontrollably. Xiao Letian quickly supported him and gently patted his back, "Old Mr. Fan, there's no need to say more. I know the situation. I'm here to help you out of this crisis. But... I want to ask you, how much courage do you have? How much bravery do you possess?"

Fan Lian coughed dryly, his face flushed as he looked at Xiao Letian, "What do you mean, Mr. Xiao?"

"It's simple. I have a great fortune to offer, but it requires a businessman with immense courage to accept it. If you're not even willing to split the family, you won't be able to enjoy this great fortune!"

"How great is this fortune?" At the mention of business, Fan Lian felt his illness lessen.

"How great? Ha, so great that even foreigners will treat you with respect, so great that you can sit down with foreign governments to discuss business, so great that even the Qing court won't dare to harm you..." Xiao Letian almost gritted his teeth as he said this, and Fan Lian broke out in a cold sweat.

"Split the family? Foreigners? The court? Oh my, Mr. Xiao, are you joking with me?"

Forget foreigners and the court; in ancient Confucian ethics, splitting the family was considered dishonorable, even treasonous. In late Qing society, splitting the family was a last resort, only considered when one was too poor to continue or when the family was too large.

If Fan Lian proposed to split the family now, he would be drowned in the criticism of the townspeople, and his business partners would reassess him, possibly even severing ties, deeming him disloyal and unfilial.

In short, the suffering of splitting the family would be worse than skinning. What Fan Lian had said earlier was just a fit of anger while sick, but Xiao Letian had taken it seriously.

"Old Mr. Fan, let me be frank. This fortune is too great. I don't want to share it with your brother, and it requires strict confidentiality. The fewer people who know, the better..." As he spoke, Xiao Letian pulled out a large black bag from his chest and spilled its contents onto the bed.

Fan Lian's eyes widened. The bed was filled with Eastern pearls, all of the highest quality, and large pieces of jade and white jade. His family also ran a pawnshop, and his expertise was on par with a senior appraiser. A quick estimate showed that this bag of treasures was worth at least 30,000 taels.

"Mr. Xiao, what do you mean by this?" Fan Lian quickly gathered the pearls, his hands trembling at their smooth texture. The roundness and size of these pearls were almost on par with those used in the imperial court. If these were sent to Beijing, they would be highly sought after.

"I have five bags of such treasures today. I believe they will be enough to help you through this crisis," Xiao Letian said with a smile, as if he knew Fan Lian couldn't escape his grasp.

Fan Lian, a top businessman in the Qing dynasty, had professional integrity. He regained his usual shrewdness and bowed deeply to Xiao Letian.

"Mr. Xiao, you saved the entire caravan at the mountain temple. We owe you a debt of gratitude. Now, you're helping me through this crisis. I am truly honored... Mr. Xiao, please reveal your plan. I can't guess what you're up to..."

Xiao Letian accepted the bow with ease, knowing that the fortune he was about to offer was too great. Even if Fan Lian were his future father-in-law, he had to maintain the principle of business negotiations. By bowing, Fan Lian had acknowledged his weaker position in this negotiation.

"Old Mr. Fan, don't be like this, it's too much, too much..." Xiao Letian waited until Fan Lian bent to a ninety-degree angle before helping him up.

"Old Mr. Fan, please calm down. First, let me show you something." He pulled out a stack of papers from his chest, the first ten chapters of his novel, "Prince Enrique's Adventures."

Fan Lian took the manuscript in surprise, and his hands began to tremble as he read the opening. "Mr. Xiao... Mr. Xiao, tell me, is this a pure fantasy, or is it all true?"

Xiao Letian tapped the armrest of his chair and said with a smug tone, "Absolutely true history. This is what really happened in Europe. I've just described it in the style of a novel, hoping to let the masses of the Qing dynasty understand the true nature of the foreigners."

"Why are the foreigners strong? Why are we weak? While we are living day by day, what are those people overseas doing? What are they learning? What are they doing? Why can they repeatedly defeat the Qing dynasty? These answers are all in the book."

"Even the dirty secrets of the foreigners are recorded here. Who has a grudge against whom? Who has a favor for whom? Which cultures are more closely related, and which country's women are the most beautiful. Ha, to put it bluntly, this book reveals the true nature of the foreigners."

Xiao Letian was confident. He believed that the Qing dynasty could not resist the bait he was offering. In the late Qing era, scholars and even enlightened merchants all wanted to know the true nature of the foreigners. As early as the time of Lin Zexu's destruction of opium at Humen, he had commissioned his friend Wei Yuan to compile a book detailing the outside world, the famous "Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms."

However, Wei Yuan had never been to the West. He passively translated Western works, inevitably adding his own subjective speculations or translation errors. More importantly, Wei Yuan, a scholar from the Confucian tradition, could only propose the slogan "Learn the foreigners' techniques to control them."

Look, this idea is essentially the same as Zhang Zhidong's later theory of "Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning as the application." Chinese scholars had a deep-seated aversion to the Western world, almost ingrained in their bones.

"Old Mr. Fan, I can tell you clearly, once this book appears, the world will no longer be confused. From now on, anyone who wants to understand the West will read my book and bow to me. Ha, ha, ha..." Xiao Letian's laugh was icy, making Fan Lian shiver.

"Ha, ha, ha, because no one else can write a more comprehensive, specific, and practical work. I will be the founder of Western studies in the Qing dynasty..."

With a thud, Fan Lian knocked over the teacup on the table, his hands trembling and his face pale. He knew Xiao Letian wasn't exaggerating. If the book was as he described, Xiao Letian would indeed be the founder of Western studies. Who could argue? Write one yourself if you don't believe me!

"Founding a school? Mr. Xiao, you want to found a school!" Fan Lian felt his knees go weak. Although he despised his brother's scholarly pretensions, he deeply respected those who could found a school. In ancient times, the admiration for top scholars was almost fanatical.

Xiao Letian righted the teacup and smiled, "I'm still writing the book, but the printing process is very complicated..."

"It's on me, it's on me! I don't know how to repay your kindness, but if I can help, I will do my utmost, even if it means working myself to death..."

Xiao Letian nodded, "This is the first matter. The second matter concerns money. The jewels I brought today are essentially to repay the 110,000 taels of silver. With your business acumen, using these jewels to cover the small deficit shouldn't be difficult..."

Xiao Letian clapped his hands, and a man in night clothes appeared at the door, carrying the remaining jewels.

At the mention of business, Fan Lian perked up, "With the jewels you've given me, I can turn them into at least 150,000 taels of silver. My friends in the capital can easily gather the money. I can even directly pay the jewels to the Imperial Household Department, as they find jewels more useful than silver..."

"That's good, that's good. After selling this batch of jewels, I will have more to give you. I need your network to turn these treasures into cash, preferably in small denominations... Remember, I don't want gold or banknotes. I want cash that I can see and touch..."

Fan Lian was stunned. He didn't know what Xiao Letian was up to. Just as he was about to ask, a light tapping came from the window.

"Mr. Xiao, something's happened. You must leave immediately... The Two Liang Distillery has been surrounded by the authorities..."