Jia Yun looked up at the tall gatehouse, letting out a soft sigh. There's a saying that big shops bully their customers, but he wondered if Hengsheng Cloth Shop had any sense of propriety at all.
"Oh! Three gentlemen, please come in."
Several waiters approached after Jia Yun and his companions dismounted, greeting them.
Some went to tether their horses, others invited the guests inside.
However, the waiter leading the way explained, "What would you like, gentlemen? This is the main branch of Hengsheng Cloth Shop. We generally only accept orders of fifty bolts or more. If you need less, that's alright. We have a branch less than two li south on Yanshou Temple Street. Even if you only need three feet of narrow cloth, we guarantee your satisfaction."
Jia Yun glanced at the young man, around twenty years old, noticing his clear expression, and nodded inwardly.
Any business that can operate to this extent must have a reason.
He chuckled softly and said, "I'm looking to do big business, and I hope to meet the owner of your establishment, or the manager who can make decisions."
The waiter who had led the way glanced at Jia Yun's moon-white robe, unable to discern his true character. He then discreetly observed the man himself, finding him equally difficult to fathom. However, he seemed to possess considerable ability.
The waiter smiled obsequiously, "I don't know if the owner is here, but the manager is certainly here. Please come in, sir!"
"Young master, what important business do you wish to discuss with this old man?" An elderly man with white hair and beard, his old eyes gleaming with shrewdness, subtly sized up Jia Yun before asking with a smile.
Jia Yun didn't say anything unnecessary. He opened the package he had collected from Tie Tou's hand, then took out a piece of dark blue cloth and placed it on the table.
The old manager, seeing this, looked at the cloth on the table, picked it up, and gently unfolded it. His expression gradually became serious.
After a long pause, the old shopkeeper looked at Jia Yun again, his gaze now filled with scrutiny. He asked, "Young master, which dye shop do you work for?"
Jia Yun smiled and shook his head. "Shopkeeper, I'm just a scholar. I only have a slight interest in the weaving and dyeing trade, and I've privately studied some ancient formulas, which is how I obtained the color of this cloth in your hand."
The old shopkeeper glanced at Jia Yun, then looked down at the cloth in his hand. His white eyebrows furrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "I wonder where you stole my Hengsheng Cloth Shop's top-secret formula. If you can't give me a proper explanation today, I'm afraid you won't be leaving Hengsheng!"
With that, he clapped his hands, and instantly seven or eight waiters rushed over from nearby, blocking his way.
Jia Yun, "..."
At this moment, the ruthlessness of the unorthodox man became apparent. With a single glance from Jia Yun, Tie Tou, ignoring the burly waiters surrounding him, pounced like a wolf, knocking the old shopkeeper to the ground. He pulled a short knife, about a foot long, from his sleeve and pressed it against the old shopkeeper's throat.
Both men were from the Imperial Guard, highly skilled, having risen to the highest rank of fourth-tier soldiers, nearly at the level of first-rate generals. Aside from their intelligence and reputation, they were not much different. Using them as bodyguards was a waste of their talents.
Zhu Zi grabbed a table and slammed it down on the approaching shop assistant, shouting, "Try and kill this old man!!"
The shop assistants, valuing their old manager's life, were terrified when Tie Tou grabbed him by the hair, lifted him up, and snapped his bamboo pole in half, revealing a sharp blade. They could only grumble amongst themselves, too afraid to press forward further.
At this moment, a middle-aged shop assistant who appeared to be the foreman stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Let go of Manager Chen! Don't you even know where you are?! Heng Sheng Company is one of the eight great cloth merchants in the world. Do you really think we're just merchants?"
Jia Yun was somewhat frightened, but remembering Zhang Quan's words, he gritted his teeth and persevered. Today, he was here to complete his mission; if he failed, his elderly mother wouldn't have money for medicine.
The Jia family was vast and powerful. The main branch lived a life of luxury, while the collateral branches couldn't even get a proper meal, and were constantly disciplined, forbidden from doing this or that, for fear of losing face. Damn it, they couldn't even afford to live, and they still cared about face!
"I've seen what Hengsheng is all about. As for which princely or ministerial family is behind it, I don't care. Now, I'd like to ask your owner to come out and say something. Let me see if the formula for this cloth was stolen from Hengsheng. Of course, whatever your connections are, bring them all in; I'll take it."
The old manager, seeing Jia Yun's demeanor, finally spoke again, "May I ask what brings you here, young master, to Hengsheng for your amusement?"
Jia Yun scoffed, "To amusement? You think you're worthy?"
The old manager sneered, "Of the eight great cloth merchants of Chang'an, and countless dye houses and cloth shops across the north and south of Zhili, only Hengsheng's blue is the most authentic. For over a hundred years, there has never been..." "Who can surpass us? This cloth you dyed like this, if not from a recipe stolen from Hengsheng Cloth Shop, where else could it have come from?"
Jia Yun, too lazy to pay him any more attention, said to the foreman, "If you don't go and fetch your master, I don't care. Now, use this old scoundrel's life to protect us as we leave. But think it through: once we're out this door, I'm heading straight for Dongsheng Cloth Shop. Don't regret it then."
Upon hearing this, the old shopkeeper's face changed drastically. He hurriedly said to the foreman, "Quickly go to Gaojing Alley and fetch the young master to make the decision! Remember, even if I die at the hands of thieves, you must not let them leave. Otherwise, Hengsheng Shop is finished!!"
An hour later, Jia Yun didn't know how he had passed, his mind racing with the unfolding events.
Whenever fear struck, to confront such a behemoth of a merchant as an unknown nobody was a path to death!
Seeing the two towering figures and Zhang Quan's promise, he regained his courage.
"Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny? Look at Zhang Tang, he was just a minor official, forbidden from ever holding office again by the law. And now? He's a Vice Minister of Criminal Investigation! If you want to rise above others, work hard! Behind us stands the Governor of Liangzhou, commanding hundreds of thousands of elite troops and controlling the fertile lands of Xiliang! These words are mine, yours, and no one else should know them!"
Thinking this, Jia Yun calmed down again. Yes, why should he suffer hunger and cold, while they can feast on meat? He refused to accept it! He would never accept it!