Chapter 789 - 791: Loss
Chapter 789: Chapter 791: Loss
Wu Haicong said, "Mr. Gu makes a fair point. The only one who can stay out of this matter is my wife’s eldest brother.
"When Old Master Hou was young, he didn’t intermarry with the other aristocratic families. Plus, the Hou Family’s descendants are few, so their entanglements with the other families are the least.
"However, to maintain the relationships between the families, they might just have to stand behind the scenes this time."
Cen Gaosong asked, "Will they agree to yield such a large share of the market?"
Gu Wenheng smiled enigmatically. "They are all people who deeply understand the greater good. For the better development of this region, the major families can be considered to have done their best for this land."
Once the first step was taken, the second would follow. As long as a breach was opened, the rest would be easy to negotiate.
Cen Gaosong was speechless.
"Then, the market shares they vacate...?" Li Mingyun rubbed his hands together excitedly, wondering if he could get a piece of the pie this time.
The others had clearly thought of this as well, looking at Gu Wenheng with expectation.
However, Gu Wenheng shattered their illusions. "Government personnel cannot interfere this time. It’s time to give the common people of this region a chance to develop."
Disappointment washed over their faces. After putting in so much effort and being called over for such a long discussion, it was all just to dangle a carrot in front of them.
Gu Wenheng cleared his throat. "However, if any of your family members are capable, I won’t completely block their path either."
As long as these officials could earn Silver through other channels without resorting to bribery and corruption, he could turn a blind eye.
"It just so happens that my wife’s younger brother wants to open a storefront to do some business recently," Li Mingyun quickly took the lead. "I’ll invest a sum of Silver in him when the time comes. Whether he makes a profit or takes a loss, it can be considered me giving him a helping hand."
Cen Gaosong chimed in, "My Madam has been making a fuss in the rear courtyard all day. I’ll get a shop for her to pass the time, and it will also give me a few days of peace and quiet."
No one would hold a grudge against Silver. Moreover, this wealth came from legitimate sources; anyone who didn’t take a share would be a fool. With everyone chiming in, they quickly divided up seven or eight shops among themselves.
Seeing that they all knew their limits, Gu Wenheng finally began to arrange the next steps.
「Meanwhile.」
Facing the accusations from the other aristocratic families, Wu Nanping kept his head bowed in dejection.
"This time, the Wu family has let everyone down. I will prepare a conciliatory gift later, and I hope all the Family Heads can quell their anger."
"You’re being completely unreasonable." Li Cong paced furiously back and forth in the hall. "Our families had previously agreed to prepare a joint apology gift, or go to the government office to state our stance that we won’t get involved in these matters anymore.
"But look at you! You went out and sold us all out entirely!
"Two shops in every county! Do you have any idea how massive a sum that is?
"An apology gift? Like hell I care about your apology gift!
"Let me tell you, you were the one who negotiated this matter, and I refuse to acknowledge it.
"The Wu Family caused this disaster, so why should we bear the consequences?"
The other Family Heads remained silent, clearly agreeing with this sentiment.
"I didn’t agree at first either," Wu Nanping said. "I knew I wouldn’t be able to explain it to you all when I got back.
"But think about it. The climate in Yi Province has long since changed. If we don’t take a step back, in the near future, we might not even have a path left to walk.
"The ancients were right: a full cup will overflow, and a full moon will wane. Over the years, we’ve faintly stood in opposition to the government. How much longer do you think the government will tolerate us?"
"You’re just fearmongering. We’re all law-abiding citizens and haven’t done anything atrocious. The government can’t do anything to us," Li Cong sneered.
"True, who among us here has done anything atrocious?" Wu Nanping retorted. "We’ve merely grasped all the lucrative businesses in Yi Province, and the prices here are dictated by our families.
"I don’t believe any of you haven’t been out of town. You all know that compared to the prices of identical goods in other places, ours are ten to twenty percent higher.
"Mr. Gu made it very clear. If we don’t take action, he will step in for the sake of the local people.
"Think about it. If the government decides to find trouble with us, do you really think we can withstand it?"
"You’re simply boosting their morale while destroying our own prestige," Li Cong argued. "Don’t forget, it’s not like we don’t have connections of our own.
"Gu Wenheng just said a few words and completely hoodwinked you. Had I known you were so spineless, we never should have let you negotiate on our behalf.
"If worse comes to worst, just expel that guy Wu Hao from your family, and this matter will have absolutely nothing to do with us anymore."
Ignoring Li Cong, Wu Nanping turned directly to Meng Haotian. "Master Meng, I know you also have strong objections, but what Mr. Gu said isn’t unreasonable.
"I did have my own selfish motives, wanting to extricate my family from this incident, but this might just be an opportunity for us.
"Mr. Gu is merely asking us to yield a portion of the market to give others a chance.
"But think about it—when East City was developed previously, the shares were all distributed among a few government officials. How much actually fell into the hands of the commoners?
"This time, by proposing such conditions, Mr. Gu might very well be seeking benefits for the officials under him.
"If you don’t believe me, just watch. As soon as we give up our shares and list the shops for sale, the ones who take over will definitely be local officials.
"This involves the interests of the entire political arena in Yi Province! Do you think we can withstand that?"
Meng Haoran took a deep breath. He knew everything Wu Nanping said made sense. They weren’t just losing to a single official; they had to face reality.
In the past, if they were targeted by one person, they could divide and conquer. But this time, it would likely prove too difficult.
"Sigh... Even if the incident with Wu Hao hadn’t happened, the government would have made things difficult for us sooner or later. This was just their catalyst," Wu Nanping said, unwilling to bear the blame alone. "I don’t believe you all aren’t aware of this deep down; you just refuse to admit it."
"Saying this now just makes you look so capable," Li Cong, who had been speaking without getting a response from Wu Nanping, said sarcastically. "I think you just got brainwashed after a single trip to the government office. If those officials want something, they should earn it with their own abilities. What’s the meaning of them blatantly robbing us like this?"
Hou Cunjin spoke up, "Mr. Li, that’s going a bit too far. Didn’t they say earlier that the shops we let go of will be bought at market price? We can just take that Silver and do something else. It’s all the same."
"Master Hou, that’s a very interesting point you make. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a shop running profitably nowadays? To give up an already profitable shop and have to start all over again—if you want to be a sucker, go ahead, but I refuse."
Meng Haotian spoke up at this moment. "Everyone, quiet down. What’s the point of arguing about this now?
"Mr. Wu, when it comes down to it, your Wu family still has to bear the brunt of this matter. I can take a step back, but I won’t shoulder all these losses. You must come up with a compromise..."
Wu Nanping knew this was the real main issue. He could only blame his own family for lacking discipline and sticking their necks out to become the first target.
After some intense haggling, Wu Nanping ended up shouldering more than half of the losses, which finally convinced the other aristocratic families to agree to the arrangement.