The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

26. Blood Stains the Riverbank

Translator: Yang Ting, Jia Manxin

Proofread by Peter Gong

One morning two days later, Cai Renxin brings some groceries including brooms, dustpans, needlework and cosmetics to sell in Wangbei Backstreet in Defuli. Several girls and young married women surround his stall, picking, choosing, and bargaining for a long time. Finally, there is still a girl who chooses a broom and tries it repeatedly, but she is just reluctant to pay the money. “It’s just a broom. You don’t need to be so particular about it.” Cai Renxin is really impatient, so he mumbles something.

“Why not choose? You see that your broomstick is too short and it must be made of bad material. And this one is not thick enough to sweep clean easily. Can’t I just pick and choose brooms?”

Cai Renxin’s mutter unexpectedly incurs the girl’s complaint. Hearing her last sentence, Cai Renxin scratches his head subconsciously and he knows that the girl is ridiculing his broom. Cai Renxin used to be a straightforward man, but he can’t lose his temper in front of a girl and he has to bear it.

“I’m afraid of you. It looks like you are going to use my head to sweep the floor.” Cai Renxin deliberately makes a terrified grimace, “You can pick and choose to your heart’s content.” After listening to Cai Renxin’s words and seeing his funny grimace, the girl can’t help laughing out loud.

At this moment, Zhu Shengpeng hurries over, “Let’s go to Mudu Port quickly. The bosses and peddlers who collect vegetables there have unanimously agreed to jointly fight against the ruffians who forcibly occupy the boats and grab vegetables.”

“We must join them. Otherwise, after grabbing the land for collecting vegetables, we will be embarrassed to buy chickens and ducks there for not making a contribution.” Cai Renxin says as he packs up things in a panic.

“I just hear that and that’s why I come to call you. Don’t worry, there is still time.” While talking, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin have already packed up their things, and run to the street. “Hey, I haven’t given you the money yet.” The girl who chooses the broom yells from behind while waving it. “The broom is for you free.” Cai Renxin doesn’t turn his head back, just waving his hand.

The girl stands there with the broom, and doesn’t understand what is going on for a while. “Shuixian, the guy has taken a fancy for you, and the broom is given to you.” “This broom can be regarded as a love token and it should be kept properly.” “Don’t talk nonsense. Shuixian’s family runs a teahouse and has assets, so how could she take a fancy for a street peddler.” “It’s hard to say. Haven’t you heard the similar story of the Water Margin?” These women laugh for a while. The girl named Shuixian can’t bear their mocking anymore, and curses, “Your smelly mouths should talk to your husbands at home.” Then she takes the broom and runs down into the alley. “Run slowly. Don’t bump into a playboy who will take advantage of you.” “Our Shuixian has already grown into a sexy girl, so it’s time for her to want a man.”

Shuixian has a sharp tongue, but she is still a girl and she cannot swear. So she pretends not to hear their words and goes straight home.

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin arrive at Mudu Port on the Suzhou River a little later, only to see a very tragic scene, but fortunately, they are not involved in it.

It turns out that, today, those bosses and peddlers who used to come to the riverbank to collect fresh fruits and vegetables fight jointly against the ruffians who occupy their territory and grab their bread. Of course, those peddlers are not very good at fighting, so they hire some helpers, and some of whom are rascals who often make troubles on the streets.

In fact, there are only three ships arriving this time, and there are not many fresh goods. But it has been already arranged, and the real intention is not to grab the goods, but to drive the ruffians away and retake the dock. Therefore, when the ship is still far from the dock, the crowd has already rushed down, making a shout that can only be heard on the battlefield.

However, as is often the case on many battlefields, victory cannot be achieved with more people. Most of the people who rush down are peddlers selling fresh goods, and they are the lowest-class businessmen. But their opponents are all the ruffians on the streets who fight desperately to get a chance of survival. Not only do they all have skills, but they also dare to play hard. In addition, they are not the same as ordinary ruffians. They are well-organized, so they cooperate well with each other, and have back-ups after encountering attacks.

Therefore, although the shouts are very high and loud, they encounter obstacles as soon as they reach the riverbank, just as the tide hits upon a dam, and the shouts suddenly turn into chaotic screams. And when more ruffians come from other places, the screaming becomes a sort of whining. On the shore of Mudu Port, there are people rolling all over the ground. There is blood everywhere, and the river is also dyed red, and from time to time, drops of blood or massive bloodstains ripple with the undulating waves.

In the end, the ruffians still collect all the fresh goods on the ship. They throw away the broken sticks and blood-stained stones, carry fresh goods and step over the people lying on the ground. Only some dead or dying chickens and ducks are left on the shore, just like the crowd lying there.

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin are frightened by the scene in front of them. They originally think that even if the two sides fight, it’s no more than beating and kicking, but they don’t expect to see such a bloody scene. And judging from the situation, the organized ruffians should have received the news and got prepared. The peddlers work together to take back their territory, and the other party is also ready to use this opportunity to make their opponents abandon their inordinate ambition. Therefore, Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin know that after this battle, Mudu Port will definitely belong to those ruffians. They have no chance to get close to the ship carrying fresh goods, and even the remaining inferior goods are not available.

Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin’s ideas are right. They are not ordinary ruffians, but a gang organization that will grow rapidly in Shanghai in the future. This organization is actually the earliest Green Gang in Shanghai, and most of its members originally belong to the Water Transport Sailor Gang. During the Xianfeng period, the Qing government stopped the transportation of grain, so a large number of sailors had to go ashore. Some have turned to the Salt Gang, some to other local gangs, and some have formed their own gangs. Because the ruffians in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are also called Qingpi, they simply call the gang they organized the Green Gang.

It rains a little, maybe it is the tears that God sheds to express his sympathy for the peddlers who are moaning in pain, or it might be that God thinks the blood on the riverbank is too eye-catching and wants to wash it away quietly.

Zhu Shengpeng takes Cai Renxin to shelter from the rain under the eaves of a drug store. They two run away from the Mudu Port faster than they were when they rushed there not that they seek shelter from the rain, but that they are scared. Standing under the eaves of the store, they breathe heavily. The fear does not entirely come from the bloody scene they saw just now, but also from the concerns about their future livelihood. Are they really going to spend their lives selling needles and threads in Shanghai?

“What are we going to do?” Cai Renxin says in a slightly trembling voice.

“I don’t know.” Zhu Shengpeng wipes the sweat and rain from his face.

The two of them do not say a word, and they only keep watching the misty sky in the distance.

Several people push their cart past the drug store. It is not until they get close to them that Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin realize that they are the ruffians who have just collected fresh goods from the riverbank, so their hearts are pounding with fear. But the ruffians do not pay any attention to them at all because they won’t heed the drug store, instead they are looking for restaurants and buyers along the street. Only when fresh goods are sold at a higher price can they become real benefits. And the Green Gang occupies the dock for obtaining this benefit.

Seeing those people pushing the cart away, Cai Renxin suddenly thinks of something and grabs Zhu Shengpeng’s arm with a little excitement, “Collect vegetables at low prices and sell them at high prices. If we can no longer get low-priced vegetables, why not buy their high-priced vegetables and sell them at even higher prices?”

“At higher prices?” Zhu Sheng raises his eyebrows.

Cai Renxin nods vigorously, and the raindrops hanging on the tip of his hair are thrown into a mist, “Yes. To get the most profit, the best way is to cook those vegetables and sell them.”

“You mean opening a restaurant?” Zhu Shengpeng’s eyes light up.

“We come to Shanghai to do big things. Even if we can still get fresh chickens and ducks to sell, it is not a long-term solution. Although we have not made a big business with foreigners, we can’t be peddlers forever. If we can open a restaurant, although in the final analysis it is still selling vegetables, the nature is completely different. We can be the boss and make a handsome profit. Moreover, we used to sell seafood and chicken and duck, so we are quite familiar with the procurement of ingredients.”

“But opening a restaurant is not an easy job. First, you should have a house with a good location, and then you have to understand some of the rules and procedures in this industry.” Zhu Shengpeng is very rational.

“The more difficult it is, the more it is necessary to open a high-end big restaurant. Nowadays, it is difficult to find a good small shop. Because of the low cost, many people jostle for a shop. Instead, fewer people want a large shop and you can force prices down. And a large shop can also make more money. You see, the money earned by a steamed bun shop at Xiadongmen is stored in jars. If we open a big restaurant, our income from a few dishes is equivalent to their income in a day, so the money we earn should be stored in barrels.” Cai Renxin’s eyes shine, and he is already immersed in the vision he describes.

“A large restaurant? Can it really work?” Zhu Shengpeng, who has always been cautious, is motivated by Cai Renxin’s words. They come to Shanghai to start a great business, but end up in becoming peddlers. Nowadays, even this job is gone because they can’t get fresh goods any more. This may be a good thing. Now that they are driven into a corner, why not simply invest all savings in doing something big.

“I just don’t know if we have enough money to invest in a big restaurant. I will go to those restaurants to learn the rules of doing this business, and then roughly estimate how much money is needed. And you continue to sell groceries in the street. By the way, you should look for a suitable shop. Whether it is successful or not, let’s prepare first. The opportunity waits for no one, but we are ready to wait for the opportunity to come.” Although Zhu Shengpeng makes up his mind soon, he orderly plans their next step and makes a clear division of labor.

Soon after Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin’s planning on opening a restaurant, the opportunity comes. It is completely unexpected. The opportunity comes so quickly that they have no time to prepare for it. It’s too late to have a basic understanding and estimation, and they can only hurry to seize that opportunity flustered.

In fact, in addition to the unexpected opportunity, other things are also out of Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin’s expectation. There are a lot of people who want to open large restaurants in Shanghai. It is not that no one wants to rent a large shop as Cai Renxin said. Shanghai is open to the outside world, and foreigners set up concessions here. Foreign businessmen bring foreign goods to do business with Chinese people, and people from all over the country flock here to make a living or make a fortune. The Qing government also establishes Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in Shanghai. More agencies are set up in Customs Houses, anti-smuggling, inspection and taxation fields, and numerous officials and soldiers are brought in from various places. With the increase of migrant population, more people want to eat the food of their hometowns, and there are more social gatherings. Therefore, opening a distinctive restaurant in Shanghai will be a promising business. Many people see this business opportunity and scramble to rent large shops.

It is not easy to find a well-located shop. The catering industry is different from others in that it must have a good location and high customer flow. The importance of the restaurant address has actually been manifested when Huiquan Hall competed with other shops on the Clay Street for business. But situation in Shanghai is different from that of the Clay Street in Wuxi. The diners who visit the Clay Street come a long way on purpose to find special food and entertain guests, and to look for the best wine in the deep alley. But at that time, Shanghai is already the fastest-paced city in the country. There are very few people who are willing to walk a long distance to explore specialty shops for a meal. So the location requirements of the catering industry here are more practical than those of other places.

Generally speaking, the benefits of the catering business come from four parts, of which the biggest part is earned from passers-by, the other major part from the persons who eat most of their meals or treat guests nearby, a small part from regular customers, and the remaining from gourmets who go around trying delicious foods. For these four types of customers, the key to attracting the first two types is to have a good location, and the prerequisite for getting the latter two types is also a good location. The opportunity that soon favors Zhu Shengpeng and Cai Renxin is that there is a well-located shop for rent. Although the two of them have never opened a restaurant before, they used to deal with the restaurants when they were selling seafood, and they know some of the tricks. So when this opportunity presents itself, they decide, without thinking, to seize it at all costs.