After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The door opened, and Laifu led his men in.

Leading the group was Vice President Zhou Youcai, who entered with a fist and palm salute.

Behind him was Li Gui, then a bald, burly man with a face full of scars—Zhao Wu—and behind that was a lean man, Wang Er.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Jing subconsciously moved forward, blocking the Hongzhi Emperor.

The Hongzhi Emperor pushed him away and gave him a look that told him not to watch the show in front of him.

The three men walked up to Yang Shen and knelt down with a thud.

Li Gui, his face filled with shame, kowtowed repeatedly: "President Yang, I was blind and offended your business. I have come to beg for forgiveness!"

Zhao Wu also kowtowed, saying in a muffled voice, "Chairman Yang, I truly deserve to die! I offended you greatly by causing trouble at the shop that day, please be merciful!"

Wang Er lay prostrate on the ground, neither speaking nor uttering a sound, only kowtowing.

Yang Shen looked down at the three of them and remained silent for a long while.

These people, after visiting Shuntian Prefecture, immediately became reasonable and sensible.

From this perspective, the renovation work in Shuntian Prefecture was quite effective.

The three men waited in vain for a response, then knelt on the ground, cold sweat streaming down their faces.

After a long silence, Yang Shen finally spoke: "Manager Li, please stand up and speak."

Li Guiru felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and quickly got up and stood with his hands at his sides.

Yang Shen looked at him and suddenly laughed: "Manager Li, you're quite cunning, aren't you? You're good at scheming against people, aren't you?"

Li Gui's face turned pale, and he was about to kneel down again: "No, no! I'm ashamed! I was bewitched at the time and did such a despicable thing. I beg Chairman Yang to be magnanimous..."

Yang Shen waved his hand, interrupting him: "Alright, let's not talk about the past."

Li Gui froze, looked up, and his face was full of disbelief.

Yang Shen continued, "I've heard that you've been in the grocery business for many years, going door-to-door, well-informed, and shrewd in calculations?"

Li Gui waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, I'm just trying to make a living..."

Yang Shen said, "Since you're so good at calculating, you'll be in charge of purchasing raw materials for the guild from now on! Our cotton spinning base is about to start operations, and we need to purchase cotton, stone, timber, and all sorts of things. If you can save on expenses, that will be a lot of profit."

Li Gui was stunned. He opened his mouth, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Chairman Yang, you...you mean, you want me to do something for you?"

Yang Shen nodded: "What, you don't want to?"

Li Gui knelt down again with a thud, tears streaming down his face: "I'm willing! I'm willing! Chairman Yang, rest assured, I'll do my best to get this done!"

Yang Shen waved his hand: "Alright, get up."

Li Gui got up, wiped away his tears, and stood to one side.

Yang Shen then looked at Zhao Wu.

Zhao Wu knelt on the ground, head bowed, not daring to breathe.

Yang Shen looked him up and down, then slowly said, "I heard that you're in charge of all the shops in the capital?"

Zhao Wu trembled and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "No, no! I was just talking nonsense! It was all bragging!"

Yang Shen said, "I heard you're going to sell my shop's manager to a brothel?"

Zhao Wu was so frightened that his face turned pale, and his forehead pounded against the ground with loud thuds. "President Yang, spare me! President Yang, spare me! I was just being a smart aleck and talking nonsense! Please, please don't take it seriously!"

Yang Shen looked at him without saying a word.

Zhao Wu kowtowed until his forehead was bleeding, blood streaming down his face, but he didn't dare stop.

People around were watching, and some couldn't help but laugh out loud.

After a long while, Yang Shen finally said, "Alright, stop kowtowing!"

Zhao Wu stopped, raised his head, his face covered in blood, and looked pitifully at Yang Shen.

Yang Shen said, "If you really have the strength, then stay and be my bodyguard."

Zhao Wu was stunned when he heard this.

Yang Shen continued, "Let me make this clear: when things really get tough, you have to be the one to step up! If all you do is brag and then cower in the back when things get serious, you might as well get out of here."

Zhao Wu stood there for a long while, then kowtowed three times.

"President Yang, rest assured! From this day forward, as long as I, Zhao Wu, am alive, no one will dare to lay a finger on our business!"

Yang Shen nodded and waved his hand: "Get up, go wash your face, and pay attention to your appearance in the future."

Zhao Wu got up, wiped the blood off his face, grinned, and revealed a set of yellow teeth.

Those watching felt somewhat dazed.

Is this still the same domineering Zhao Wu?

Finally, Yang Shen looked at Wang Er.

Wang Er lay on the ground, his body trembling violently. When he saw Yang Shen looking over, he quickly kowtowed.

"President Yang, spare me! President Yang, spare me! I'm just a nobody, I don't know anything..."

Yang Shen asked, "What skills do you have, kid?"

Wang Er stammered, "I...I don't know anything. I used to run errands for the shop, but business was bad and the shop closed down, so I came out...came out..."

He couldn't continue.

Yang Shen finished his sentence for him: "Coming out to be a hooligan?"

Wang Er nodded, tears streaming down his face.

Yang Shen looked at him for a while and said, "The embroidery shop is short of a helper. Go and help the embroidery shop."

Wang Er suddenly raised his head, his face full of disbelief.

"President Yang, are you... are you serious?"

Yang Shen countered, "What, you don't want to go?"

Wang Er kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I'm willing! I'm willing! Chairman Yang has shown me such great kindness and virtue; I will repay you even if I have to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life!"

Yang Shen waved his hand: "Alright, go ahead, go and report to the embroiderer now."

Wang Er got up, wiped away his tears, and left with profuse thanks.

The onlookers were all stunned.

This Chairman Yang not only didn't pursue the matter, but also arranged work for him?

Manager Sun leaned close to Zhou Youcai's ear and whispered, "Chairman Zhou, this young Chairman Yang is really quite magnanimous in his actions."

Zhou Youcai didn't speak, but just looked at Yang Shen with a complicated expression in his eyes.

Li Gui, Zhao Wu, and Wang Er—these three were people who had genuinely offended him.

If it were anyone else, they'd be lucky if they weren't driven to their deaths.

These two are quite something: one is in charge of purchasing, one works as a nurse, and one works as a waiter.

Not only did they not hold a grudge, they even gave him a job.

Yang Shan approached Zhou Youcai with a smile and said, "President Zhou, do you remember what you said yesterday?"

Zhou Youcai suddenly remembered that he seemed to have said that if Yang Shen could really achieve a turnover of five million, he would treat him like an ancestor...

He shook his head, gave a wry smile, and said, "President Yang, please don't joke with me."

Yang Shen said, "Then let's get down to business. The textile base is now in your hands. Start work immediately!"

"what?"

Zhou Youcai was just as shocked as Zhao Wu and the others.

The real mastermind behind these people's evil deeds is himself!

Yang Shen let Zhao Wu and the others go and even arranged jobs for them.

Now they've even handed over the cotton spinning base to themselves!

This magnanimity and trust are truly admirable.

Zhou Youcai felt his face flush red, clasped his hands and bowed deeply: "Thank you for Chairman Yang's trust, I, Zhou, will do my utmost!"

Yang Shen stood up and helped him up, saying, "As you can see, I have a lot of business here. From now on, I'll have to rely on Chairman Zhou for all the big and small matters in the guild!"

Zhou Youcai expressed his gratitude profusely, then left the group.

Manager Sun followed and said, "Chairman Zhou, our young Chairman Yang may be young, but his conduct and dealings with others are impeccable!"

Zhou Youcai nodded: "His father is a high-ranking official in Beijing. He should work hard under Chairman Yang from now on!"

Manager Sun then asked, "That distinguished guest just now, the one sitting next to Chairman Yang, did you notice him?"

Zhou Youcai then belatedly realized, "Oh dear! I forgot to ask if you hadn't mentioned it. I saw that man from afar; he was very dignified and must be a powerful figure in the capital. If I were lucky enough to make his acquaintance, it would open up another avenue for my future."

Manager Sun said, "Actually, there's no need to ask. Think about it..."

He pointed to the gilded signboard at the entrance and said, "This business is called Zhu's Business, not Yang's Business. This means that Chairman Yang is just a manager; the real head manager is that important person!"

Zhou Youcai pondered for a moment and said, "A nobleman surnamed Zhu? Could he be a prince of the Zhu clan? But princes are all in their fiefdoms!"

"No, no, there's another powerful figure in the capital surnamed Zhu. Think about it!"

"Could it be... the Duke of Cheng?"

The lineage of the Duke of Cheng was that of famous ministers who fought during the Jingnan Rebellion, and later followed the Yongle Emperor to Beijing.

Zhou Youcai thought for a moment and said, "The Duke of Cheng must be sixty years old this year, right? That man looks only in his thirties..."

Manager Sun said, "President Zhou, please think about it again. Even if it's a business of the Duke of Cheng's mansion, the Duke of Cheng wouldn't personally oversee the business. Judging from this person's appearance, he's most likely the Duke of Cheng's heir!"

Zhou Youcai suddenly realized: "No wonder Shuntian Prefecture was so cooperative; it turns out the real owner is the Duke of Cheng's Mansion!"