Chapter 100

The preparations for the move took four or five days, not completing until the middle of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. Upon learning that his brothers were moving, Yu Xu Zi specially calculated the date and sent someone to inform the "Qing Yuan" group that the 18th of May was a good day for moving, suggesting that the brothers move on that day.

The "Qing Yuan" group, originally indifferent to the auspiciousness of the lunar calendar and dates, decided to accept the suggestion since Yu Xu Zi had sent someone specifically for this purpose and the 18th of May was only a couple of days away. Thus, they set the moving date for the 18th of May.

During the time most of the group members were preparing for the move, the negotiations for the transfer of the brothel on Fan Wu Cheng's side proceeded smoothly. Fan, Song, and others had reached an agreement with Mr. Lu, the owner of "Yan Jue Lou," on the transfer of the brothel. Of course, from the heart, Mr. Lu was not too willing to transfer his business. After all, Liangxiang City was a key transportation hub south of Nanjing's Youdu Prefecture, and "Yan Jue Lou" was the largest brothel in Liangxiang City. Although it did not bring in a fortune every day, it could still generate an annual income of two to three thousand strings of cash. Now, he had to transfer this money-making tree to someone else, which naturally made him reluctant. However, despite his reluctance, he had to part with it. "Qing Yuan" itself had considerable strength, and behind them were the local officials and "local tyrants" of Liangxiang, as well as even more powerful supporters in Youzhou. Therefore, even though Mr. Lu had operated here for several years and had some connections, he did not dare to oppose "Qing Yuan."

Although he did not dare to refuse, as a businessman, Mr. Lu initially tried to raise the price as much as possible to gain more benefits for himself. However, the person "Qing Yuan" sent to negotiate, Fan Wu Cheng, was extremely shrewd and had considerable business acumen. After several rounds of negotiations, Mr. Lu was left exhausted. Not only did he not gain any advantage, but he was also forced to lower the price for various reasons. Moreover, the presence of a woman named Liu Yunyan made it impossible for him to use his girls to employ a beauty strategy.

Faced with such an unfavorable situation, Mr. Lu had no choice but to grit his teeth and stomp his foot, accepting the offer to transfer "Yan Jue Lou" for a mere three thousand strings of cash. This amount was roughly equivalent to the annual income of "Yan Jue Lou," truly a "massive clearance sale." Therefore, when Fan Wu Cheng reported the negotiation results to the committee, all the committee members marveled and praised him and Song Feiyang for their excellent skills, saying they had made a great contribution to the team.

The praise made Fan Wu Cheng and Song Feiyang somewhat embarrassed, and they modestly attributed the success of the negotiations to the collective efforts of the "Qing Yuan" group. They said that without the support of their brothers, they could not have accomplished this task alone.

However, despite the praise, the transfer negotiations were now essentially concluded. The remaining work was to finalize the details of the transfer with Mr. Lu, sign the transfer agreement, and complete the relevant legal procedures at the county office. Since they were moving in a few days, the committee required Fan Wu Cheng to set the official transfer date after the move to avoid affecting the moving process.

Fan Wu Cheng had no objections, stating that the initiative for the transfer was now in their hands. They could decide when to sign, when to go to the county office to complete the procedures, and when to officially take over the management of the brothel. If it were not for Liu Yunyan needing to deal with her superiors, postponing it to the next month would also be fine.

Seeing Fan Wu Cheng's confidence, the four committee members were reassured. After some discussion, they decided to set the official transfer date for the 20th of May. This would give Liu Yunyan about half a month to provide short-term training to the brothel girls, making it easier for her to deal with her superiors.

With the plan settled, Fan Wu Cheng and Song Feiyang returned to their residence to rest, while the four committee members did not idle. They still needed to discuss how the committee would hold meetings in the future. According to the plan for dispersed living, Li Junwu and Xu Shaowan were to move to the "Jing Yuan" outside the city. As the decision-making body of the team, the committee needed to hold frequent meetings to handle various team affairs. If they were dispersed to two locations, it would inevitably cause trouble for future work. However, to effectively manage the team members living in "Jing Yuan," they had to adopt this method of dividing responsibilities.

The reason they did not adopt a management method similar to the Feilong Fort, which established functional groups, was that the two were fundamentally different. Although Feilong Fort had many people and was a key interest of the team, the main body there was still soldiers and various leaders. These people belonged to this era and followed the behavioral norms of this era. The team members had already established their authority among them through various means, and a five-person留守小组 (留守小组 means "留守小组" in Chinese, which can be translated as "留守小组" in English, but it is better to use a more natural English term like "留守小组" or "留守小组") under the leadership of the committee was sufficient to manage them.

The situation at "Jing Yuan" was quite different. The main residents there would be the team members. These team members were theoretically equal, although there would be functional group leaders, their limited authority could only be exercised within their own groups and had no influence on team members outside their groups. To effectively manage these team members, a recognized management institution needed to be established. This would inevitably lead to the establishment of another institution similar to the current committee. The relationship between this new institution and the current committee, and how the two institutions would coordinate, would be major issues. If not handled well, it could lead to power struggles and multiple sources of orders, which was definitely not what the team members wanted to see.

However, while the method of dividing responsibilities could effectively solve the above problems, it also brought a new problem: the committee meetings would be inconvenient. Fortunately, the team had several radios, which could provide a quick and efficient communication method. After discussion, the committee decided that after the move, they would contact each other via radio three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—to discuss and make decisions on issues that needed the committee's attention. In case of emergencies, they could hold emergency consultations via radio. If the radio malfunctioned and could not be used, designated personnel would be sent to convey information. In addition to radio communication, the committee members would also hold a meeting every ten days, with the location chosen based on the actual situation, either at "Qing Yuan" or "Jing Yuan."

With the communication issue resolved, Li Junwu and Xu Shaowan, who were moving, went to take care of their own affairs. Wang Xiaojun and Zhang Weixin, who did not need to move, were naturally much more relaxed. With no official business to attend to, they left the small meeting room and went to find their beautiful wives.

On the 18th of May in the fourth year of the Yingli era, "Qing Yuan" was bustling with activity. Whether they were moving or staying, everyone was busy. Servants and workers were coming and going, moving the luggage that had been packed and boxed onto the carts. The "Qing Yuan" brothers were shouting commands to the servants and workers while saying goodbye to each other. Especially Liu Wendong, Hong Yan, Liang Ziyue, and Hu Xueying, the two couples, were particularly reluctant to part.

These two couples, belonging to different functional groups, were assigned to different living areas, forcing them to live apart. Although the two residences were not far apart, it would take less than two hours by carriage and even less by horse, the team's safety regulations made it quite troublesome for them to meet their loved ones. For this reason, the two couples had applied to the committee to be assigned to the same place or to simplify the procedures for going out. The committee had discussed the matter but ultimately did not approve their request to adjust their living arrangements.

This was not because the committee was unsympathetic, but because the responsibilities they each bore were important. Hong Yan and Liang Ziyue's work was centered in the city, and the importance of their work was self-evident. They were indispensable to the team and could not live outside the city. Although Liu Wendong was just an ordinary member of the technology group, the team had already put the development and production of glass products on the agenda to quickly address the fiscal deficit. As a professional in this field, he would have to immediately engage in related work. For reasons of confidentiality and to avoid unnecessary trouble, the development of new products could only be carried out at "Jing Yuan" outside the city. Therefore, he and his wife could not live together. Hu Xueying, on the other hand, was assigned to live outside the city mainly for security reasons. The archive room she was responsible for could be set up either in the city or outside, but it was placed outside the city for safety considerations. "Jing Yuan" was more remote and isolated, with a simple surrounding terrain, making it easier to observe and guard, thus better ensuring the safety and confidentiality of various archival materials.

Of course, the committee also considered the actual situation of the two couples. After discussion, they approved their request to simplify the procedures for going out. They agreed that, with prior notification to the committee, Liang Ziyue and Liu Wendong could go out alone without the accompaniment of security personnel. This decision was both a consideration for Liu and Liang and based on the fact that both had martial arts skills and could protect themselves when going out alone.

Although the committee did not fully approve their requests, the two couples were somewhat disappointed, but since they had achieved part of their goal, Liu Wendong and others no longer insisted on adjusting their living arrangements and accepted the committee's arrangements.

Around 9:00 AM, a convoy of more than twenty horse-drawn carriages and five or six horses finally set out. Most of the vehicles were hired from the city's carriage and horse rental services. The convoy proceeded grandly towards "Jing Yuan," attracting the attention of many passersby along the way.

Although the number of horse-drawn carriages was considerable, the number of people and items the team needed to transport was even greater. Despite having more than twenty carriages, they could not move everything in one trip and had to make two trips. From 9:00 AM to around 3:00 PM, they finally managed to move everything to the destination, and the bustling "Qing Yuan" finally returned to its usual tranquility.

Since the luggage needed to be unpacked and the items inside arranged, while "Qing Yuan" calmed down, "Jing Yuan" remained a scene of bustling activity. The noise did not subside until dusk. When "Jing Yuan" finally returned to its name, the grand moving activity finally came to an end.