Chapter 57: A Girl with an Almost Perfect Figure

News from Mount Ci had also arrived. After reporting the situation at Mount Ci to Zhang Chen, Zhang Yixin concluded:
"Master, you were entirely right to insist on not fighting alongside the government troops! Regular soldiers are just the textbook definition of useless teammates, exactly as you predicted. We captured a few stray bandits for interrogation, and just as Zheng Linwang's retainer troop was about to charge right into them, the regular soldiers broke and panicked, and the retreating mob completely disrupted the retainers' formation."

Zhang Chen smiled and quietly gave instructions, telling Zhang Yixin to spread a rumor that a massive business opportunity was on the horizon.

Zhifu Island.

At the fifth quarter of the Si hour, the casualty and capture statistics for the Battle of Zhifu Island were fully compiled.

In this battle, the Zhang Village Militia suffered fewer than twenty casualties while killing over six hundred Japanese pirates and capturing nearly a thousand more alive, including their chieftain, Koichi Kobayashi.

The Zhang Village Militia captured more than sixty vessels with a displacement of under one hundred tons each, along with a vast haul of valuables worth over three hundred thousand silver taels, including silver bullion, fine brocades, iron ingots, grain, cotton cloth, and silk.

The Zhang Village Militia also rescued more than four hundred young women who had been abducted to Zhifu Island by the pirates.

After being taken to the island, all four hundred-plus young women had been repeatedly violated by the pirates.

Having suffered such abuse, all four hundred-plus young women had lost their chastity.

Starving to death was a trivial matter, but losing one's chastity was a catastrophe; facing such disgrace, these women either dared not return to their families or were left entirely homeless.

Led by a woman named Zhao Xuemei, these four hundred and sixty-eight young women begged the Zhang Village Militia to take them in, essentially clinging to them for survival.

Wang Shumeng and Zhang Da'an were at their wits' end, but neither dared to make a decision.

"We are from Zhang Village in Fushan County," Wang Shumeng said, sweating with anxiety. "We are only responsible for fighting battles. If you want to stay in Zhang Village, you'll have to beg our master." Wang Shumeng punted the responsibility straight to Zhang Chen, unaware that Zhang Chen was already facing a severe headache of his own.

Lian Daniuh, the daughter of Li Zhixin, the Vice Commander of the Qishan Thousand-Household Office, came to Zhang Chen with dozens of other young women from the Qishan garrison, begging to be taken in.

Qi Dazhi had no desire to fund the reconstruction of the Qishan Thousand-Household Office out of his own pocket; instead, he decided to live a peaceful and prosperous life with his wife and children inside Fushan County city.

With the government's reconstruction of the garrison nowhere in sight, the homeless Lian Daniuh had brought sixty-eight similarly destitute sisters to Zhang Village, hoping to join the Zhang Village Militia.

"Join the militia as soldiers?" Zhang Chen looked Lian Daniuh up and down. "Well, you barely make the cut."

At sixteen years of age, Lian Daniuh possessed an almost flawlessly proportioned figure. Dressed in a tight-fitting cyan martial arts uniform, she looked exceedingly martial and heroic, yet she retained a delicate and charming face, blending a fierce martial aura with a touch of gentleness.

Most of the other women were frail, and a few even had bound feet. Zhang Chen rubbed his temples in frustration—once their seven or eight factories in Zhang Village opened up, they would need plenty of workers, but right now, Zhang Village was not lacking in manpower.

Zhang Chen was supremely vital to Zhang Village and could not afford to take any risks.

Qi Guoshu, Wang Shumeng, and others had repeatedly urged Zhang Chen to hire a few strong bodyguards. Zhang Chen had a favorable impression of Lian Daniuh. "You've been practicing martial arts with your father since childhood, haven't you? Lian Daniuh, you will serve as my courier and bodyguard. At night, you will stay in the guard room by the inner courtyard gates. As for the rest, temporarily go to the gunpowder mill and help manufacture granular black powder."

No men were permitted to enter the inner courtyard of Zhang Chen's residence without a formal invitation.

At night, Lian Daniuh would stay in the guard room by the inner courtyard gates, responsible for delivering urgent military intelligence directly to Zhang Chen.

Having managed the sixty-odd women with relative ease, Zhang Chen was in a good mood, completely unaware that Wang Shumeng was about to lead over four hundred young women straight to Zhang Village.

After lunch, Bao Wulin, a gunpowder artisan, brought Zhang Chen some excellent news: they had successfully produced black powder with double the destructive power of conventional mixtures, meaning they had finally discovered the optimal formula for black powder.

Zhang Chen smiled and instructed the gunpowder factory to mass-produce black powder according to this optimal formula, and further ordered the weaponry factory to manufacture primitive hand grenades using the same high-grade explosive.

At the second quarter of the Wei hour, Zhang Dacai and his family of four arrived at Zhang Village, moving into the small courtyard Zhang Chen kept on the back street.

Madam Zhao, who managed the main Zhang family estate, felt that the old retainers left behind by Zhang Yuanyi were no longer suitable. Over the past two years, she had replaced the head steward and second steward of the main estate, as well as the chief managers of several Zhang family shops.

Zhang Dacai was the chief manager of the Zhang family's shop in Fushan County city. Having failed to earn Madam Zhao's complete trust, he expected to be relieved of his duties and was mentally prepared to retire to the front courtyard of the Zhang family estate to spend his twilight years.

Zhang Dacai was a bonded servant who had signed a deed of sale, making him a hereditary bondservant of the Zhang family.

Upon stepping down as chief manager of the county shop, Zhang Dacai would likely end up serving as a gatekeeper or a cleaning servant in the front courtyard.

Currently, there were five or six elderly bondservants performing cleaning duties in the front courtyard.

Working as a menial servant in the outer courtyard would essentially mean early retirement for the roughly forty-year-old Zhang Dacai.

However, Zhang Dacai was a top-tier commercial management talent—precisely the kind of person Zhang Chen desperately needed.

The day before yesterday, Zheng Shizhen had sought out Zhang Dacai on Zhang Chen's behalf, extending an invitation to come work in Zhang Village.

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Dacai had agreed.

Upon returning to the Zhang family estate, Zhang Dacai went to pay his respects to Madam Zhao. He kowtowed before her and said, "The eldest young master has need of people to assist him, and this old servant wishes to go to Zhang Village. I beg the old mistress for her gracious permission."

Madam Zhao let out a cold snort, giving a noncommittal response. She thought to herself that her judgment had slipped, as that little rascal Chuyang was becoming more formidable by the day. After cursing Zhang Chen under her breath, she finally stated:

"Make that little bastard Chuyang send fifty—no, one hundred bars of soap back to the family every month. Take your deed of sale and pack your entire family off to Zhang Village. You are an old servant of the Zhang family; you must serve the eldest young master with utmost loyalty."

"This old servant will remember your words, Old Mistress!" Zhang Dacai kowtowed to Madam Zhao once more.

...

Zhang Dacai had arrived, and Zhang Chen was overjoyed. He went to the small courtyard on the back street and met with Zhang Dacai's family.

With a smile, Zhang Chen officially appointed Zhang Dacai as the chief manager (general manager) of the Huadong Trading Company, and awarded him five hundred silver taels for relocation expenses.

Days earlier, during Zhang Chen's first visit, Zhang Dacai had lent him three hundred silver taels without ever intending to ask for repayment.

"Everything we need is already provided in this courtyard; we lack nothing," Zhang Dacai said, pushing the bank notes away. "Eldest Young Master—ah, Master, I don't need any relocation money."

"Huadong Trading Company will deal in far more than just soap. In the future, we will handle cigarettes, laundry detergent, glassware, cement, sanitary napkins, high-grade toilet paper, and countless other goods."

Zhang Chen forcefully shoved the bank notes into Zhang Dacai's hands. "Uncle Zhang, get the Dengzhou branch of Huadong Trading Company up and running as soon as possible. Cultivate more talent, and within the coming year, expand our branches to Jinan, Laizhou, Tianjin, the capital, and beyond."

Zhang Chen actually intended to expand his business empire to Jinan, Laizhou, Tianjin, and the capital within a single year. Zhang Dacai shook his head; the vast majority of merchants spent their entire lives without ever managing to expand their businesses to such prominent cities.

"Master, business cannot be rushed; it must be done step by step."

Zhang Dacai poured a cup of tea for Zhang Chen. "Forget about a single year—even after a lifetime in business, there are barely a handful of people in the entire Dengzhou Prefecture who have ever extended their enterprises as far as Jinan, Laizhou, Tianjin, or the capital."