Chapter 416: Appetizer

The faint smile on Yang Yankang’s face appeared kind and gentle, yet to everyone else, it hid unknown dangers.
The lobby was eerily quiet.
“Recently, large numbers of people from the three western provinces have flocked to Lingnan City. I suppose everyone has heard about it?” Yang Yankang finally spoke, breaking the oppressive silence. Soon, many people could be heard gasping for air.
After a brief lull, everyone nodded in agreement. This question, like the one about whether they knew about the outbreak of wetworm disease, was unnecessary. If they hadn’t known, there wouldn’t be over a dozen guards and servants accompanying every carriage on the streets outside the yamen.
“With so many people around, chaos is easy to arise,” Yang Yankang said in a casual tone. “In just over ten days, there have been seven murders, 23 robberies, and 65 thefts in our Lingnan City—something unprecedented at any time. Bandits and scoundrels have mixed in among the civilians; they’re impossible to trace or capture. This has left me worried day and night. Do any of you have any good suggestions?”
Everyone exchanged glances. Suggestions were abundant, but it was uncertain whether they would meet Yang Yankang’s expectations. If correct, it might leave a good impression on him, which could come in handy someday. But getting it wrong carried even greater risks.
Was it for wealth, fame, or both?
Though these three motives seemed similar, their practical implications were vastly different. Just like with the purchase of Black Fiery Grass earlier, no one could guess Yang Yankang’s plans. And even these openly stated plans were unclear—let alone any hidden schemes he might have.
If some fool volunteered to buy all that Black Fiery Grass at their own expense, they might suffer great losses someday. That idea seemed perfect—after all, if someone was willing to act as a philanthropist, neither the common people nor the wealthy elites would suffer. But Yang Yankang might still suffer, and he would have to bear that loss, as there was no way to refute such an offer. After all, if someone was willing to donate millions of silver coins for charity, why force the common people to pay?
Carelessly ruining Yang Yankang’s plans for wealth or fame was a minor issue—at worst, he might cut off a bit of flesh with a knife later. But ruining his major plans would be far more serious than just losing money.
Yang Yankang was acting extremely unusually today—perhaps he had some major plan in mind.

Most of those present were businessmen, and quite wealthy ones at that. No one would foolishly undertake such a venture with high risks and low rewards. Thus, after Yang Yankang finished speaking, not a single person chimed in.

“Please speak freely. For any good suggestions, I will thank you on behalf of the people of Lingnan City. As for poor suggestions, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear them,” Yang Yankang said encouragingly with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the crowd—filled not only with warmth but also an almost imperceptible disdain. He believed none of these wealthy elites from Lingnan City were foolish; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to maintain their fortunes inherited from their ancestors. At a glance, the two hundred or so people there were certainly among the smartest in Lingnan Commandery, if not the very best.

Yet even the smartest people were nothing but puppets at the hands of those who had reached such high positions.

“Lord Magistrate, I think we could set aside a piece of land outside the city specifically for resettling the people from the three western provinces,” Huang Tianhu, the owner of the largest pawnshop in Lingnan City, reacted fastest and quickly stood up.

The others immediately felt envious and regretted not standing up as well. Circumstances had changed—before, there were many concerns about speaking up, but now it was different. This was Yang Yankang’s second time seeking opinions, clearly aiming to get everyone to speak. The first to speak would undoubtedly earn the most favor from him.

Huang Tianhu’s suggestion was also perfectly timed. It didn’t offend anyone by proposing donations, nor did it offend Yang Yankang by offering suggestions he couldn’t refute.

Setting aside land outside the city for resettling people from the three western provinces was such a terrible idea that anyone could tell it was flawed.

With hundreds of thousands of people arriving each day, and with a timeframe of awkwardly two to five months, settling them outside the city would make it extremely difficult to provide basic necessities like food and fuel, let alone tents and defense measures. Moreover, the main problem—bandits and ruffians—would still remain unsolved.

“Lord Magistrate, I think we should consult General Liu, the commander of the troops, to deploy them to help investigate and prevent bandits.”

“Lord Magistrate, I believe we could resettle the people according to their household registers and have village chiefs manage them. This way, we can keep bandits at bay and save a lot of manpower.”

Since the first spot to earn favor from the magistrate had been taken, more people rushed to offer their suggestions—one after another.

Of course, despite the urgency, everyone still knew the rules; no one mentioned donating silver or goods. With these words, Yang Yankang’s face was saved, but it also made him an easy target—after all, 30,000 to 50,000 taels of silver wasn’t much, but if he paid while someone else took the credit, no one would feel satisfied.

As the crowd kept talking nonstop, Yang Yankang sat calmly in his grand chair, smiling without saying a word. He was indeed waiting for someone to propose donations, but he wasn’t in a hurry; he believed the others were more anxious.

Sure enough, the flurry of suggestions didn’t last long. Seeing Yang Yankang remain silent with a sinister smile, the bustling hall quickly cooled down as if doused with cold water.

Suddenly, Huang Tianhu stood up abruptly, bowed to Yang Yankang at the head of the table, and said, “Lord Magistrate, the people of the three western prefectures have fled disasters, and they surely lack food and clothing. I am willing to donate 50,000 taels of silver. The county government may use it to provide them with food and clothing as a token of my goodwill.”

With a clamor, the hall, which had finally calmed down, became noisy again.

“Lord Magistrate, I am willing to donate 30,000 taels of silver and one million pounds of rice. Please have the county government comfort the people of the three western prefectures on my behalf.”

“Lord Magistrate, I am willing to donate 40,000 taels of silver and 10,000 bolts of coarse cloth. I earnestly ask the county government to deliver this as a representation of my goodwill.”

Everyone hated Huang Tianhu deeply, yet they still rushed to offer donations.

Huang Tianhu was secretly pleased. Since Yang Yankang hadn’t spoken yet, his intentions were clear—he undoubtedly planned to use others’ money to gain fame. Having seized the initiative twice in a row, he had given Yang Yankang enough face today.

As for offending other merchants, he thought it was worth it. After all, gambling houses, pawnshops, and money shops were the three businesses least afraid of being resented, as there were countless people who resented them.

Pawnshops had another advantage: they didn’t fear offending the wealthy and powerful, because they couldn’t make money from them anyway, so they didn’t need to worry about offending them.

Two streams of tears slid down Yang Yankang’s face, and this gesture instantly silenced the clamor.

“I have been an official for decades and heard many stories of the wealthy being heartless. But I never thought… I never thought…” Yang Yankang’s voice choked up. “I never thought that all of you would have kind hearts and be willing to generously contribute. I believe serving as an official in Lingnan County is the greatest fortune of my life, for there are so many people here willing to support me.”

“Lord Magistrate, you’re overreacting!”

“Compared to the lord’s compassion, I, Liu, feel ashamed.”
“To have an official like the lord is also a blessing for our Lingnan Prefecture.”
While they verbally comforted Yang Yankang, they inwardly despised him. It was one thing to use others’ money to gain a good reputation, but with power in hand, one should seek some gain as well. Yet his act of weeping profusely and showing excessive gratitude was truly disgusting.
After delivering an impassioned speech, Yang Yankang waved his hand and said, “Call the accountant here!”
One of the guards immediately responded and hurried out of the hall.
Soon, the accountant followed the guard in. After arranging tables, chairs, and writing supplies, Yang Yankang turned to the first person on the list—the Marquis of Lingnan.
“I am willing to donate 50,000 taels of silver,” the marquis said.
The accountant quickly wrote it down.
“On behalf of the displaced people in the three western provinces, I thank the marquis for his generosity,” Yang Yankang said, standing up and bowing deeply, causing the increasingly incompetent Marquis of Lingnan to hastily stand up and wave his hands.
Yang Yankang then turned to the next person—Jiang Tianfang, the owner of the rich and prosperous rice shop in Lingnan City that had thrived for over 500 years.
“I am willing to donate 40,000 taels of silver and 2 million pounds of rice,” Jiang Tianfang said quickly, standing up.
“On behalf of the displaced people in the three western provinces, I thank Mr. Jiang for his generosity,” Yang Yankang said, bowing deeply again before looking at the next person.
“Manager Lin, I wonder how much you plan to donate?” Liang Gufeng’s voice appeared once more behind Lin Dong. “Manager Lin is a well-known philanthropist in Lingnan City. Whenever anyone faces difficulties, they think of Lin’s Inn first. With just a few tens of thousands of taels, it seems inconsistent with Manager Lin’s reputation.”
Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh. Donating too much would raise prices and surely annoy those who followed. Donating thirty to fifty thousand taels and promoting it properly might indeed lead to some criticism against Lin’s Inn. In short, any choice was wrong.
What made Lin Dong laugh was that Liang Gufeng was too stingy. With ways to turn the situation around later, there was no need to haggle over such small gains and losses.
Yang Yankang moved his gaze in order of seating, and soon it fell on Lin Dong, who was at the second table.
“I am willing to donate 45,000 taels of silver,” Lin Dong said, standing up.
“On behalf of the displaced people in the three western provinces, I thank Mr. Jiang for his generosity,” Yang Yankang said, bowing deeply. After Lin Dong expressed his thanks, Yang Yankang looked at the next person.

Behind Lin Dong, Liang Gufeng looked astonished. He hadn’t expected Lin Dong’s reply to be so ordinary. Normally, whenever faced with pressure, this shop owner Lin would always come up with something astonishing. Could it be that even an appetizer was enough to make him give up? After a brief moment of surprise, a wide smile appeared on Liang Gufeng’s face. If even an appetizer couldn’t break through, then the main course, which was already invincible, was naturally foolproof.