Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 618 Come on, friends.

First, we need to clarify one concept: in a normal country, businessmen are always like pigs kept in a pen. When things are prosperous, they are fed well, even better than people. But when the time comes, they are ready to be sold.

The priorities here are not reversed, and now Xia Lin is about to start slaughtering the pig.

It's understandable, really. Getting people to willingly hand over their money is incredibly difficult. Nobody's stupid; why would they give you their money? Besides, the law is there, and they haven't really done anything wrong. Forcing them won't work.

Therefore, Xia Lin was very polite and even stood at the entrance of the restaurant to greet guests from all directions.

"Oh, please come in, please come in." Xia Lin cupped his hands and smiled broadly. "Mr. Sun, you look radiant these days. Oh, isn't this Mr. Li? It's been several months since we last met."

The bosses who came to greet him were all confused, unable to recall where they had seen him before, yet he could call out his name precisely, which made them feel uneasy.

It should be noted that the host today is Xia Daosheng from Jiangnan. They have ways to deal with Wei Changsheng and his group, but they are completely at a loss when it comes to dealing with Xia Daosheng. He is someone they have never met before, and he comes up with such a trick right away, which is really frightening.

The wealthy merchants in the city filled an entire hall, so many that one table wasn't enough to seat everyone. They divided the space into several tables, and the dishes on the tables were extremely plentiful, demonstrating the chef's excellent skills.

"In this year of great disaster, such extravagance and waste must mean something is amiss, right?"

"Who says otherwise? Oh my... Look at this chicken, it's covered in butter, a top-quality laying hen."

The bosses below were all talking amongst themselves. They had actually been in touch for a long time. The essence of this gathering was the same as Wei Changsheng's: asking them for things.

But they had already agreed on a story, insisting that there was nothing there. No matter what he said, no matter how much he talked, there was nothing. Otherwise, they would kill them all and see who would dare to do business in this area in the future.

At this moment, Xia Lin slowly walked into the hall, still with a smile on his face. He cupped his hands and said, "It is really a bit presumptuous of you all to come to the banquet in your busy schedules. However, I am new here and have never met you all before. This is a good opportunity to get to know you."

His demeanor naturally made the merchants dare not be negligent, and they quickly stood up to greet him politely. However, Xia Lin simply smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "You're too kind, please take your seats."

He quickly walked to his table and sat down: "I don't like formalities, so please be spontaneous, drink and eat. I'm just here to get acquainted with you all, and we won't discuss anything else."

After saying that, he started eating and drinking heartily. While eating, he even started to criticize, saying that the chicken was not flavorful enough, that it hadn't been stewed long enough, and that the muntjac was a bit fishy and should have more ginger and garlic added.

In short, he left everyone around him completely bewildered.

At this moment, they had no appetite for food. They couldn't figure out what tricks Xia Lin was up to. After all, none of the people he invited were naive; they were all shrewd.

Even such a shrewd group of people couldn't figure out what he was up to.

Soon, after several rounds of drinks and dishes, Xia Lin, now slightly tipsy, coughed. This single cough silenced the entire room; everyone strained to hear what was happening outside, fearing some assassins might be lurking nearby.

Fortunately, no, he just coughed once.

"By the way," Xia Lin stood up, "everyone saw the proclamation at the city gate this morning? This year's floods may affect the court's taxes. As you all know, the court doesn't care whether this place is affected or not, but taxes cannot be reduced in the slightest."

Alright, alright, so this is the real deal. Now you're starting your performance, huh? Fine, let everyone see what tricks you have up your sleeve.

The wealthy merchants below all wore expressions of "I knew it," quietly waiting for Xia Lin's performance.

“I am not from Lingnan Road, so you don’t need to look at me like that. You all have more or less trade with Jiangnan Road. It’s not worth it for me to make things difficult for you. Besides, everyone here is a law-abiding merchant. I don’t have the mind to take advantage of you.”

Xia Lin's words made their hearts jump again. Wasn't this a clear case of praising before criticizing? He started by showering them with compliments, but then he'd come at them with a knife and they wouldn't even be alive.

"Please don't misunderstand, everyone. This disaster relief effort will definitely be unfavorable, so Lord Wei Changsheng will probably be demoted to Qiongzhou. A new prefect will definitely come here. My plan is to recommend Shao Zhiqi from the Jiangnan Circuit Salt Commissioner's Office. I wonder if any of you have heard of him?"

In Lingnan Road, you might not know Xia Lin, but you can't avoid dealing with the Salt Commissioner's Office. And Lord Shao of the Salt Commissioner's Office is notoriously difficult to deal with, like a stubborn rock in a latrine, stinking and impervious to reason. Many of you here have suffered losses at his hands.

If what Xia Daosheng said is true, and Wei Changsheng is transferred, then when Lord Shao comes, it will be all over. All the connections they have cultivated here over the years will be wiped out in an instant. Heaven knows how much money they have invested here over the years to achieve today's results. Starting from scratch now is worse than taking their lives.

Most importantly, Shao Zhi Qiu is a notorious member of the Jiangnan establishment. What does that mean? It means that among all the merchants in the world, only those from Jiangnan are good; the rest are all scum. Once he arrives, he will inevitably heavily support Shao's connections, and wouldn't all of my hard-earned business be completely wiped out by him?
This startled the group of wealthy businessmen. They realized they had encountered someone even more ruthless than Wei Changsheng. While Wei Changsheng was merely difficult to deal with, this guy was ready to overturn the table right off the bat.

A single strike to the vital spot will paralyze even the fiercest snake.

At this moment, Xia Lin continued, "So, from now on, we're all family. I hope everyone can achieve great things and have a bright future."

Xia Lin raised his glass in a toast: "Let's make money together!"

Those present all stood up and pretended to drink. They were even hoping that Xia Daosheng would ask for something. Giving him a little something, pretending to be in a difficult position and cutting off some flesh, would be better than having their homes torn up in a few days.

This subtle shift in mindset has led to a change in the intensity of their gazes towards Xia Lin.

But that damned scoundrel said nothing, sat down and continued drinking and chatting with others, seemingly having absolutely no interest in disaster relief.

You can imagine how unpleasant the meal was. By the end, Xia Lin had said "let's call it a night" three times, but not a single person left.

"Oh? Who are you all? You can go back now. I told you I called you all here today to eat and get to know each other." Xia Lin said with a smile, "I should also go back to the barracks. The food in the city can probably last for another three or four days. By then, there will be nearly 200,000 people in the city, including refugees. If they don't have food, they'll cause trouble. These poor devils are really troublesome."

"This... Lord Xia..."

One person stood up to speak, but was pulled back by the person next to him. But Xia Lin did not overlook this detail. He picked up his wine glass to drink, but his hand suddenly slipped, and the glass fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.

The sharp sound made everyone in the room jump to their throats again.

Xia Lin glanced down and shook his head, saying, "Oh dear, what a pity, what a waste of such a fine wine. No matter how good the wine is, it can't be contained in a broken glass."

After saying that, he suddenly changed the subject: "By the way, yesterday Wei Changsheng discussed with me the matter of those who contribute grain receiving priority passage through the Maritime Trade Office. I just laughed. How much trade does the Maritime Trade Office actually handle? And priority passage, too. Besides, when Shao Zhiqi arrives next year, the roads to Jiangnan Road will be paved. The Maritime Trade Office in this area will become dispensable. At that time, all of you merchants will be able to travel freely without hindrance."

"Unimpeded access"—what a wonderful prospect! When the merchants of Jiangnan Road flock here, they won't even have a hair left. Yes, that's right, unimpeded access indeed... With nothing left, unimpeded access is inevitable.

Those present were all astute people. They actually knew why Wei Changsheng had been so timid and incompetent these days. Wasn't it because his attempt to rebel had been thwarted? His words no longer carried weight, and the leader of Jiangnan Circuit had come to take over Lingnan.

Now that they've taken over, and as the saying goes, "a new emperor brings a new court," these people will naturally be purged.

"Alright, that's all for now. I'm very happy to have met you all here. I hope we'll meet again someday."

Xia Lin slammed the new wine glass on the table: "I'm a little tired, everyone please go back."

With the order to leave given, they couldn't linger any longer, but as they walked out, they grew increasingly panicked. Xia Daosheng's iron fist was truly iron-fisted; they couldn't possibly defeat him...

If that's the case, are there other ways to make up for it?

Yes! Wei Changsheng.

However, now is definitely not a good time to go looking for Wei Changsheng; everyone is watching.

So as night fell, some people sneaked into Wei Changsheng's residence. Upon entering, they found that almost all the guys who had insisted during the day that they would never vomit anything were there.

It was somewhat awkward for everyone to meet here... but the tacit understanding among adults kept them silent, and they all sat down under Wei Changsheng's seat.

"Lord Wei, those people from Jiangnan Circuit are going too far! You must stand up for us!"

Wei Changsheng gave a bitter smile: "Gentlemen, how could I not know that he has gone too far? But what can I do? As the saying goes, even a clever cook cannot cook without rice. The disaster cannot be suppressed, the taxes cannot be collected, and I almost caused a disaster a few days ago... I, Wei Changsheng, have been here for many years, and you all treat me like a friend. But now I am afraid I am helpless."

(End of this chapter)