Chapter Ninety-One: Commercial Value

This only confirmed it further. When the man spoke in a raspy, ducklike voice, Gou Ye became even more certain of his suspicion: this fellow was utterly sleazy.

“May I ask if the one who has arrived is Gou Ye?” If there had not been only Gu Yuan and himself in the hall, Gou Ye would scarcely have believed that a representative of such a grand merchant clan could look like this, or speak in a voice reminiscent of a palace eunuch. He even began to wonder whether the man had crawled out of the imperial inner chambers.

Gou Ye stood there thinking to himself and was dazed for a while. Seeing this, Gu Shen nudged him, and only then did Gou Ye come back to himself. “Ah? Oh, yes, that would be me.”

Upon hearing his reply, the man glanced at Gu Yuan and let out that ducklike voice again. “Handsome enough, I suppose, though his wits seem a touch dull.”

Gou Ye froze for a moment. Dull-witted? Your head is dull; your whole family is dull. I was only slow to react because your appearance is so revoltingly sleazy.

Gu Yuan coughed once and did not take up the man’s words. Looking at Gou Ye, he introduced him: “Gou Ye, let me introduce you. This gentleman beside me is Jia Zhengyi of the Yong’an branch of the merchant clan. His clan is also taking part in this year’s selection, and their overall strength is quite good. Hearing that you might help them win a place in the contest, and with my recommendation as well, his superiors took it very seriously. They immediately sent him here, since he is the nearest to us.”

Jia Zhengyi? A fake righteous man. Who on earth gave him such a name? It sounded absurdly hypocritical. Gou Ye could not help secretly laughing to himself, though he still courteously bowed to the merchant representative.

“I have little interest in matters of trade,” Gu Yuan said. “I have only arranged for the two of you to meet. The rest can be discussed between you. I have already had the cooks prepare luncheon. Once you are done, come straight to the dining hall.”

With that, Gu Yuan rose to leave, and everyone stood to see him off. Jia Zhengyi was also all respect and humility on the surface. Though he was a representative of a merchant clan and could be counted among the wealthy, in this age that prized agriculture and scorned commerce, merchants still held a lowly status. Even the foremost merchant clan in the Great Ming had to keep its head down before the power of the nobility and officials.

After Gu Yuan had gone out, Jia Zhengyi resumed his self-satisfied air and looked at Gou Ye. “I hear that the icy dessert made by a merchant family in the capital was created by you?”

“It was indeed me,” Gou Ye replied.

Jia Zhengyi nodded. “So it seems you do have some ideas for business. However, this matter of the selection is extremely important. We merchant clans have waited six years for this chance. What I need to see from you must be the sort of idea that truly catches the eye. To put it plainly, I need to see your commercial value.”

Business is business. Jia Zhengyi was indeed apt in that regard, laying bare the face of a merchant as he moved directly to probe how capable Gou Ye really was. But Gou Ye merely gave a cool laugh. “Boss Jia, if your merchant clan merely wants a chance at the selection, then I’m afraid you have come to the wrong person.”

“What do you mean? Do you mean you don’t have that ability?” Jia Zhengyi asked at once.

“I had hoped to find a merchant clan with greater ambition, not one content to covet some so-called opportunity right in front of it. The selection is important, certainly, but it is only the beginning. If your esteemed clan is satisfied merely by reaching that starting line, then I do not think you are worth my effort.”

Gou Ye’s words were crisp and overbearing, and they startled Jia Zhengyi. He had assumed that, being an ordinary man without official rank, Gou Ye ought to be behaving with utmost deference. It was supposed to be he who needed something from them; how had it suddenly become as though they were the ones begging him? Jia Zhengyi’s mood soured. He opened those tiny beadlike eyes and glared angrily at Gou Ye. “Young man, your tone is rather bold. Do you think you can speak to me this way just because you know a little about making icy desserts?”

Seeing the atmosphere turn sour, Gu Shen was about to smooth things over when Gou Ye burst out laughing. “Icy desserts? That hardly counts as skill—just a trifle for fooling children. Yes, I did ask the Duke to introduce me to a merchant clan participating in the selection, but that does not mean the clan I choose must be yours. As Boss Jia said, you want to see my commercial value, and I likewise want to see whether your merchant clan possesses any commercial value of its own.”

Jia Zhengyi’s brows twitched with fury. His fists clenched involuntarily. If not for the fact that his superiors had sent him here, he truly would have walked out on the spot. To endure this boy’s insolence was intolerable. He forced back his rage and said in a deep voice, “Young man, just moving your mouth is useless. You’ll need to show me some real ability. As for your worries, you can put them completely at ease. The reason our merchant clan was favored by the Duke is, first, that we possess the strength of a major merchant clan ourselves, and second, that we have the broadest connections among the scholarly families of the court. If we can succeed in this year’s selection, then within two years our clan will rise to the forefront and have every chance to overtake the merchant clans aligned with the imperial house.”

In the Ming dynasty, merchant clans were essentially divided into two factions: those supporting the imperial house and those supporting the scholarly families. But in an age where princes seemed to be everywhere, the imperial house meant a bloodline deeply entwined with the throne. Thus, over the years, no matter how strongly the scholarly faction supported its own, the merchant clans aligned with the imperial house had always remained ahead of those aligned with the scholars. Gou Ye understood very well how difficult it would be to achieve the kind of overtaking Jia Zhengyi had described.

The reason he had spoken to Jia Zhengyi that way just now was merely to curb his arrogance. Since the Duke had been able to choose this merchant clan, it must have been weighed carefully in terms of power and interests, and it was certainly the most suitable one for him. Gou Ye would not be foolish enough to fall out with them. But for some reason, every time he saw Jia Zhengyi’s face, irritation rose in him like fire.

Gou Ye did not answer Jia Zhengyi immediately. Instead, he asked Gu Shen to bring him paper and brush, then, with sweeping strokes, wrote a single character on the page: Strange.

Jia Zhengyi was full of question marks and did not understand its meaning. He asked, “Young Master Gou, what does this mean?”

Gou Ye gave a sly little smile. “As for the ways of commerce, I do not claim expertise. But I believe that no matter how vast a business becomes, it can never stray from its roots. And what are those roots? They are food, clothing, shelter, and transport—those are the rigid necessities of the people. But when everyone has the supply to meet that need, then it comes down to who is different from the rest. Take a restaurant, for example. If the cook is poor, one may simply spend more to hire a better one. If the rooms are old, one may spend money to renovate them. Even if the service is lacking, one may hire some trained, youthful, and attractive girls to work as attendants. But an idea is something money can never buy.”