Chapter 209: Qian Deli

The newcomer was tall and thin, wearing a pair of round-framed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, the kind traveling fortune-tellers used to wear in the old days. He swaggered through the door with a cigarette dangling arrogantly from his mouth, took a deep drag, and blew out a thick cloud. I had no idea what he was smoking, but the smell was foul, sending several of my shop hands stumbling backward.

I had never seen him before, so naturally I didn’t give him a warm welcome. “Who are you?” I asked.

He stopped just before the threshold of the second foyer, careful not to step across uninvited. Hearing my question, he bent slightly and slid the glasses down his nose to peer at me with wide eyes. He seemed to recognize me instantly, rushing over to grab my hand with both of his.

“This must be Young Master Gan! I’ve heard so much about you, truly a legendary name. Are you heading out? Where to? Would you like me to give you a lift?”

His overfamiliarity was a bit much for me to handle. I tried to pull my hand free, but he held on tight. I tugged again and couldn’t budge him, until one of the shop hands stepped over and pried us apart.

“Who are you? What’s with the fake familiarity?” the hand snapped.

The man clicked his tongue, looking like he wanted to spit out a biting remark, but as soon as his eyes darted toward me, his face broke right back into a smile. He turned to face me, took off his glasses, and cupped his hands in greeting. “Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. You entered the trade late, Young Master, so you wouldn’t know me. I am Qian Deli from the West Suburbs, coming to acknowledge your authority.”

The commotion in the front hall clearly disturbed He Yu and Lu Ayao in the back courtyard, as both of them walked out toward me.

“What’s going on? Who’s this?” He Yu sidled up to me and patted my pack. “Why are you wearing a backpack? Where are you going?”

I knew there was no way I was getting out of here today. I carelessly tossed my pack onto a chair, shoved my hands into my pockets, and glared at everyone with a thoroughly foul mood.

I turned to Qian Deli and asked, “From the West Suburbs? You’re one of Liang Si’s men. What’s this about acknowledging authority? What authority? You’ve got the wrong guy. I may be the Young Master, but I never manage the business.”

Qian Deli blinked, stunned for a second, before letting out a chuckle. “Young Master, noble folks are forgetful. Master Liang Si is ancient history. Before the New Year, the Eldest Miss transferred all the West Suburbs Pankou to you. It was right around the holidays back then, which brought many inconveniences, so I could only bring the brothers to pay our respects to you now. I hope you’ll forgive us.”

With that, he stepped aside. The crew of hands and vendors dressed like shop owners he had brought with him stood behind him—not a single one had set foot past the second foyer—and greeted me in unison.

Qian Deli spoke with great cadence and clear logic, but between the greetings and the talk of acknowledging authority, it was far too much information to process at once. I didn’t know how to react, and the three of us just stared at each other.

He Yu reacted quickly, stepping up to exchange pleasantries with Qian Deli. “Oh, look at my brother here, he just has too much on his mind. Brother Qian, you’re very thoughtful! Sit, sit, tell the boys to take a seat! Bring tea! Bring tea for these bosses! Give us a moment to change our clothes, we’ll be right back.”

This Qian Deli was no pushover either; smooth, worldly, and sharp as a tack, he knew every trick in the book. He hit it off with He Yu instantly. “This must be Young Master He! Oh, long have I heard your name! I’ve only ever heard tales before, but today I finally see the man himself. Our master entered the trade late, so we still rely heavily on your guidance…”

“No, no, not at all. You flatter me too much,” He Yu replied, grinning so wide the wrinkles showed around his eyes.

“Oh, you’re joking, how could that be flattery?”

Neither of them had been drinking, yet they were getting more worked up the more they talked. One threw out a compliment and the other caught it perfectly. Seeing that He Yu and Qian Deli were about to talk themselves into becoming long-lost friends who hadn’t met in eighty years, I lunged forward and grabbed He Yu by his clothes to pull him away.

“Tea, tea! Hurry up with the tea for Brother Qian!” Even as I hauled him off, He Yu didn’t forget to grab a handful of melon seeds and shout a few instructions to the shop hands.

Lu Ayao was already waiting for us on the back porch. As soon as we reached him, He Yu started rambling while cracking his melon seeds. “Your mom is actually pretty decent. Last time I went to the West Suburbs to buy a chicken, I saw the place was huge. This Old Qian seems like a good sort, knows the rules. Not like his former master, who had no sense of propriety at all.”

“Qian Deli used to be one of Chen Si’s men. He’s an expert in the Book of Changes. They say he once took a tomb raider as his master to learn the art of locating burial chambers by reading the terrain. He’s very learned; people on the streets call him Strategist Qian. He knows how to handle people and has connections everywhere. I saw him a few times during the meetings of the Five Masters,” Lu Ayao said suddenly.

He Yu, likely thinking of some TV drama again, asked, “What would they call that in the old days? A Chief Steward?”

I asked in shock, “The Five Masters actually hold meetings? What do you even talk about? Do you take turns casting divinations for each other to see who’s more accurate?”

Lu Ayao looked at me, seemingly at a loss for words. He probably thought my focus was bizarre.

He Yu spat out a melon seed shell and patted my stomach. “You haven’t answered for yourself yet. You were caught trying to sneak out with your pack. Where were you planning to go while the two of us weren’t looking?”

Being caught in the act of running away didn’t feel great. I braced myself and muttered, “Since we couldn’t agree, I was going to Mohe by myself. I was going to sneak out at dawn. I didn’t want to drag you guys into it.”

He Yu stopped cracking seeds and pointed at me while looking at Lu Ayao. “See that, Old Lu? I told you this kid is in his rebellious phase, always thinking nonsense. If it weren’t for his mom’s people watching us, he really would have left just now, you believe that? Is that a place you can go to by yourself? If it’s a trap and you go alone, do you think you’re coming back? If we can’t contact you, what are we supposed to do?”

I was rendered speechless by his lecture.

Lu Ayao said, “The specific location should be in the forest, so we need more supplies for warmth and fire-starting.”

He Yu gave me a smack. “Our opinions didn’t align, so weren’t we just discussing it? Besides, who said Old Lu wasn’t going with you? Didn’t he just agree? Heading out to a place like that with so little gear, you’d freeze to death, you idiot.”

Their words made me slowly relax, and my mood improved slightly. I looked at He Yu. “We’re going together?”

“When has anything involving you, Gan Ji, ever left me out?”

I turned to look at Lu Ayao.

He nodded at me.

I smiled, but then a difficult problem occurred to me. “How are we going to get there? Gan Rong has too many men. They’re circling us every day, and we can’t shake them off.”

The three of us fell silent together. He Yu was sharper in this regard; he often dealt with matters like this back home and had seen more of the world. He nudged me with his elbow, his eyes darting around with a cunning look.

“Aren’t the people outside all yours now?”

I was startled.

“Just have Qian Deli find us a car and take us to the train station. The West Suburbs is your biggest Pankou, right? We aren’t short on people now!”

I felt deeply skeptical of this strategy. “Do you think Qian Deli listens to me or to Gan Rong?”

He Yu hesitated for a moment before saying, “Hard to say. But he wasn’t Gan Rong’s man originally; he used to be Chen Si’s. He might actually side with you. Besides, his attitude toward us just now wasn’t bad. Don’t worry, I’ll go test the waters in a bit.”

Once the three of us had settled on the plan, I stayed behind to team up with He Yu to play Qian Deli. I gave Lu Ayao the three hundred yuan I had on me and sent him to the market first, telling him to buy whatever he could get his hands on and that we’d deal with whatever was left when he got back. But I emphasized that everything had to be of the best and sturdiest quality; we couldn’t afford to drop the ball on this.

When He Yu and I stepped out, Qian Deli was sitting in a lantern chair drinking tea. The tea was so hot that he nearly dropped the cup after taking a sip. Seeing us approach, he hurriedly set the tea down and stood up.

I gestured for him to sit and then He Yu and I took seats on either side of him. Qian Deli looked a bit apprehensive. With the two of us flanking him like a pair of temple guardians, he didn’t know which one of us to flatter first.

I glanced at the shop owners sitting outside, then smiled at Qian Deli. “Tell the brothers to go back and rest. It’s quite cold today. I’ll visit the various bosses at the pankou another day.”

“Ah! Thank you for your consideration, Young Master Gan. I’ll thank them on your behalf.” As he spoke, Qian Deli stood up and waved to the shop owners and workers outside.

They put down their teacups one after another, stood up, and cupped their hands toward me in greeting. Unfamiliar with the local etiquette, I hurriedly stood up to return the gesture.

Seeing them leave, Qian Deli moved to follow. He Yu was quick, grabbing him and pulling him back into his seat. He flicked the lid of the man’s teacup. “Hey, hey, stay a while. You haven’t finished your tea. This is top-shelf stuff from Yinggan Tang, worth five figures. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to finish it?”

“What?! Five figures? I’ve never had tea this expensive. I must say, Yinggan Tang really does have a lot of fine things.”

Once He Yu said that, Qian Deli was no longer in a hurry. He quickly picked up the cup and took another sip, smacking his lips afterward to savor the flavor.

Seeing him settle down, I gave He Yu a look. He Yu caught my signal, so I grabbed a handful of melon seeds and leaned in toward Qian Deli. “Here, have some. Watermelon seeds.”

“Oh, I’m honored that you’d bring them to me yourself.”

As he took them and started eating, I began to cozy up to him. “Old Qian, to be honest, I’ve never managed a pankou as large as the West Suburbs. I’ll have to consult you often on professional matters in the future.”

“I wouldn’t dare! You flatter me too much. I know you’ve been managing the accounts for Yinggan Tang all this time. You’re young and don’t care for empty formalities. I’ll handle the social obligations and the standard procedures for you. With me holding down the fort at the pankou, I guarantee not a single soul will step out of line.”

He Yu picked up the thread. “So, based on what you’re saying, you’ll be looking out for our Xiao Yao from now on?”

“Master He, what kind of talk is that?” Qian Deli set down his cup and slapped his thigh. “I’m certainly siding with our Young Master Gan. Don’t let my appearance fool you; I’m someone who followed Brother Chen through many trials in the past. In the future, I’ll be at Young Master Gan’s beck and call. I’d go through fire and water without hesitation. Why would you even ask such a thing?”

“Old Qian, I’ll be straight with you. Your Young Master Gan is in a bit of a bind right now. Are you going to help or not?” He Yu looked around to make sure no workers were present, then pointed toward me.

Qian Deli was stunned by the look in our eyes. He lowered his voice and said, “What difficulties are you two facing? I will certainly do my utmost to resolve any predicament for you.”

“Get us a car to the train station.”