Chapter 4825 — Picking Up a Bargain

"It's not as simple as just impressive numbers, is it? Steward Chai, I'd very much like to know how you actually got transferred here—why don't you explain it properly?" Wei Zhao said, his expression darkening.

The moment Chai Laoshi saw that something was off in Wei Zhao's expression, his heart gave a jolt and he understood at once. For all his honest, timid nature, he was a businessman through and through, and his shrewdness was beyond doubt—as was plain from the fact that he had once dared to secretly record Wei Zhaotong's illicit accounts.

"Vice President, please don't get the wrong idea. The impressive numbers are just a cover on the surface—there are indeed twists and turns behind this matter. Allow me to explain it to you slowly," Chai Laoshi hastened to confess.

"Go on. I'm listening," Wei Zhao said, betraying nothing.

"Actually, at the very beginning it wasn't about my impressive performance in the South Continent seas at all. Quite the opposite—it was because they saw that I'd built the Waihu Branch's business up big and strong that some high-up at headquarters wanted to come and reap the rewards. Using the pretext that my local promotion violated the rules, they were preparing to push me out and then send one of their own trusted men to take over the Waihu Branch," Chai Laoshi said with a bitter smile.

Wei Zhao nodded slightly. He had never been to the Hong Clan Merchant Association's headquarters, but judging by what had happened to Hong Zhong before, that lot at headquarters really did have that same shitty nature.

Because the branch had hitched a ride on the Qingtian Escort Agency's favorable wind, the Waihu Branch—which everyone had once turned their noses up at—had suddenly been found to be a rich, juicy prize. And Chai Laoshi, the current steward, was not only short on seniority but had risen by way of an exceptional promotion. It would have been truly strange if no one had entertained such ideas.

"And after that?" Wei Zhao asked.

"You know as well as I do that apart from you and Vice President Hong, I don't know a single person at headquarters. At first this matter was already set in stone, with no one to speak up for me. Then Vice President Hong got wind of it and rushed back to the Central Island headquarters overnight, intending to speak up for me out of a sense of justice," Chai Laoshi said, somewhat moved.

"Given Elder Hong's character, that's hardly surprising," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile. Hong Zhong was a seasoned, prudent businessman, but from all his dealings with him, Wei Zhao had found that deep down the man still possessed a chivalrous spirit; when it came to standing up for a friend through thick and thin, Hong Zhong was not necessarily incapable of such a thing.

They say no merchant is without guile, and if one really thought about it, Hong Zhong's temperament did not suit his position. In many cases only the unscrupulous could climb the ladder faster, while men of his sort tended to be pushed aside. And yet Hong Zhong was ideally suited to be an ally—a reliable ally to whom one could confidently turn one's back.

"Indeed. But the situation at the meeting at the time was full of twists and turns. Though Vice President Hong gave it his all, he still couldn't preserve my position as steward of the Waihu Branch. There was no help for it—they insisted stubbornly that my local promotion violated the rules. True, the circumstances at the time had been special, but those special times were long over, so naturally things had to be 'set right.'" Chai Laoshi smiled bitterly.

"Hmph. Killing the donkey once the grinding is done," Wei Zhao said. He could picture the scene at the time; no doubt Hong Zhong had felt utterly powerless and dejected. There was nothing to be done about it—although he was a vice president, he had no real say, and speaking up for Chai Laoshi on the spot would only have ended in defeat. That outcome had been inevitable from the start.

"If not for Vice President Hong's insistence, the matter would probably have ended right there. I, the ousted former steward of the Waihu Branch, would have been left in the cold ever after—I couldn't even have kept my original post as branch vice president. But Vice President Hong argued his case forcefully, holding that I was a man of merit and that even if I were transferred away from the Waihu Branch, I absolutely could not be dealt with so carelessly, or it would chill everyone's hearts." Here Chai Laoshi grinned, and said with relief: "As luck would have it, the steward of the Morning Star Branch here happened to reach the end of his term and be reassigned right then, and the position fell vacant."

"So you just went along with the tide and got transferred here? It couldn't have been that easy, could it?" Wei Zhao asked doubtfully.

"Of course it wasn't that easy. Every post has its claimant, and this steward's position at the Morning Star Branch had actually long since been eyed by another headquarters higher-up—Vice President Ren, Wei Zhaotong's backer," Chai Laoshi said.

"Hmph. After the whole Wei Zhaotong affair, he still has the face to keep fixating on this place?" Wei Zhao curled his lip in disdain at the news.

"Vice President Hong raised that very objection on the spot. After all, because of Wei Zhaotong, the Morning Star Branch here had already fallen out with Morning Star Academy. You know how things are in Morning Star City—from top to bottom, Morning Star Academy calls the shots. Fall out with them and can you really expect easy days? Heh, the previous steward applied for a transfer on his own initiative once his term ended precisely because business here had simply become untenable. Otherwise, who would lightly give up such a fat post?" Chai Laoshi shook his head.

"So then, although this place is on the East Continent, it can no longer be counted a fat post. Once Morning Star Academy blockades you, it can't even compare with the Waihu Branch by a long shot. No wonder it landed on you," Wei Zhao said with a laugh.

"That's indeed the case. But that Vice President Ren still wasn't about to give up the position. It was only because Vice President Hong said that I had been promoted by you personally, and that you have ties with the higher-ups of Morning Star Academy—especially since your junior sister is the direct disciple of the East Sea Divine Nun—and that after I came here it would be convenient to develop the business. Put that way, the other headquarters higher-ups had no objections left; after all, it didn't touch their own interests. And that Vice President Ren, because of Wei Zhaotong's prior stain, was left speechless and unable to argue. So that was how it was decided, carried along by the current," Chai Laoshi recounted faithfully, point by point.

"I see," Wei Zhao said, glancing at Chai Laoshi with a touch of apology. Seen this way, he had been wrong to blame the man; even his becoming steward of the Morning Star Branch here had been full of twists and turns.

"Vice President Hong told me all this in his letters. In fact, even after your name was invoked, that Vice President Ren still wouldn't let go. But the higher-up who had first proposed transferring me away took the initiative to lock horns with him instead. He had his hands full and had no choice but to accept his fate," Chai Laoshi said with a smile.

"Oh? That fellow was probably afraid that if he didn't settle you properly, the steward's position at the Waihu Branch under him wouldn't be secure, eh? Well then, let them bite each other like dogs—it just happens to let you pick up a bargain," Wei Zhao couldn't help laughing too.