It would seem that when it rained, men would flock to the Red Lantern tavern, hiding from their wives or any significant other they cherished in their hearts.
Xia Tao, on the other hand, could feel the copper and silver coins dropping into his pockets like droplets of rain.
Which only served to make him smile.
Tao was a simple man, a man that loved money, and a man that loved women.
This love, led to The Red Lantern Tavern because both could be found here. Women and Money.
He wasn’t the sliest or most cunning of men, but he was sharp, astute, but that was all cultivated thanks to his father.
Advisor to the Governor of Shaanxi.
When you have a powerful father like that, it meant the world was your oyster, and all you need to do was open what was deservedly his.
As Xia Tao sat back in his chair, he was sifting through his books, ensuring the constant flow of money was like that of the Yellow River, and it was, but not in the way that was satisfactory to him.
Tapping his abacus for the eightieth time. Anger began to swell within his Tao’s mind. The growth rate he’d expected had decreased by eight per cent, six per cent more than what he’d projected.
He checked five more times, and as they say, numbers don’t lie. “Hells fury...I’m eighty silver coins poorer this quarter!” He scoffed, turning the page. “Selling a few girls might alleviate the debt to my father.
As he sat there, his mind reminisced of his father’s many threats of ripping the Red Lantern from his hands.
Xia Tao flung his abacus across the room. A loud boom echoed across the room as his right hand began to pulse from the pain of him pounding the desk in frustration.
“I should’ve promised to return the gold in two years instead of one…I underestimated to cost to maintain these harlots!" He spat, balling his hands into fists, thinking of the twelve gold taels he was short by.
Tao snatched up the cup to his right, downing the wine in one gulp. He poured three more cups and finished them within a minute, feeling the sweet burn tingle the back of his throat.
The sputtering sound of the rain, from the outside, drew his attention, making him look right to the only window available in the basement.
The seven torches that were scattered around the room, made it seem like day, despite the lack of light found outside, thanks to the heavy rains.
“How long has it been raining Jushi?” Tao asked.
“An hour Young Master Tao,” Jushi said firmly.
He sucked his teeth, tasting the wine that escaped his tongue and fell back in his chair. He covered his eyes with his right hand, squeezing out the fatigue and felt a stinging sensation at the corner of his eyes.
It wasn’t much to truly hurt him, but it did feel annoying. After the tears ran down his eyes to his earlobes. He opened them and shook his head. “I don’t know where I'm going to get twelve taels from,” He whispered.
“Jushi,!” Tao said softly. The bodyguard turned, walking towards the abacus. He picked it up and walked up the short flight of stairs, placing it on Tao’s desk. “Young Master Tao, how may I be of service?” Jushi said slowly.
“We might have to sell a few girls to that old hag, Wang. See if she’s interested in purchasing a few girls.” Tao said, sitting back in his chair.
“Three gold stones each?”
“Six, we can at least meld three taels with that.”
“How much do you need to fully repay your father?”
“At least forty gold taels.”
Jushi whistled, then sucked his teeth making a ‘tsk tsk’ sound. “Forty taels’ a lot. If the Old Hag finds out about your money troubles, she’d probably negotiate even harder.”
“I don’t care if she knows. It took her years to get where she is. It took me a few months to get where I am, she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
“Young Master Tao, the girls we bought from her are our best performers. I’ll have to disagree. The hag knows what she’s doing.”
“You’re right.” Tao admitted, “but paying her to train my girls as well is sucking me dry. I don’t like it.”
“You should’ve let her just have them, and purchase them later. That way you wouldn’t have to pay for their food and accommodation.”
“You’re right, that sixty silver stones are eating out my profits.”
“How much longer before the deadline Master Zhang gave you?”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“A month.”
Jushi whistled again and nodded. “May I offer the Young Master Tao a suggestion?”
Tao pursed his lips and rolled up his long sleeves. He sat back in his chair and began tapping his foot against the ground. He curled his lips into a smile. “Sure, go right ahead.” He said, slapping the desk to the cluttering sound of the abacus.
“Sell the girls that are being trained to the Hag. You said you’re down eighty silver coins this quarter. Sixty of that eighty is their up per month, which means you’re bleeding silvers. Once you pay off your father, you can buy them back. Yes, the hag’s gonna charge you an arm and leg for me, but by then would’ve paid Master Zhang back, meaning...more stones and taels for you.”
Tao clasped his hands in front of him and began to think.
He picked up his abacus and began sliding the tabs back and forth, working out the difference, increase in profits and the loss of a few customers. He’s right, cutting the training fees is expensive and will allow me to make a massive gain.
Tao ground his teeth and licked his lips in frustration. He appreciated Jushi, because unlike most bodyguards, he used his head and on more than one occasion he stopped him from making foolish decisions. “talk to the old hag about the sale.”
“As the Young Master commands,” Jushi said, eye smiling. He gave a nod, then bowed.
Jushi then stalked himself up to the door, leaving Tao with his abacus, accounts and fury.
He sat back in his chair brooding over the massive loss he’d gained by thinking of the future by finding them and sending them to be trained.
Hostess Li suggested the girls be trained by the old hag, as she didn’t have time to train them herself. It was a good idea, as he would new girls every three to four months.
Usually, he’d fight her on such things, but when it came to his primary product. It made sense to outsource the training
Things were running smoothly for two months until a shipment of wine disappeared from Anqing. He took a huge hit on clients and because of that, it truly was the best time to cut the training fees.
Three knocks groaned at the door and broke Tao’s line of thought. He ground his teeth again, then flashed his best smile…in case his father appeared. “Enter,” He said.
Hostess Li walked through the door, strutting with what little arrogance she held within her bosom, a bosom Tao wouldn’t mind placing his head between.
Tao wasn’t an unreasonable man, he saw the beauty in her, but her cold lofty attitude reminded him this was a business relationship, so he kept it that way.
Business only.
“Hostess Li, you rarely come to see me. I take it, this is important.” Xia Tao said coldly.
The Hostess walked up to his desk, giving him a mocking bow, which made him ground his teeth in annoyance. He hated her arrogance, but she did what she said she could do, and that was triple his profits in two months when the Red Lantern opened, something that made him feel bitter inside.
“There’s no reason for me to visit you in your lair Young Master Tao. Your work is here, mine is upstairs.”
“Naturally. How may I assist?”
Hostess Li scoffed, then smiled at him crossing her arms in her sleeves. “One of our customers has a child with them.”
“A man brought a child here? Scum of the earth! How low could this man be!” Tao spat, disgusted.
“Him being here with the child isn’t the important part,” Li said.
“Then what is?” Tao asked.
“The child.”
“The child?”
“Yes…the child.”
Tao ground his teeth in frustration and tapped his desk. Hostess Li had a penchant for the dramatics, but now wasn’t the time for it, “Go on, what about this child?”
“It’s an Axsumite, but better yet. It’s a girl.”
“AN AXSUMITE…HERE? KILL IT!” He said, voice reverberating through the room. The paintings which hung from the walls shook from the sudden burst of qi surging from within Xia Tao.
The calligraphy art followed suit, swinging from side to side as if a gust of wind penetrated the room.
Xia Tao pushed himself up from his chair, and then stomped his way to the door. “By Heaven’s will, no Axsumite should ever stand on Huaxia ground. So long as Huaxian is alive.” Tao said firmly.
Li grabbed Xia Tao’s hands, stopping him from leaving then eyed him venomously. “Release me!” He spat. “Young Master Tao, this isn’t the time to be rash. Think. If we have that child in our hand, imagine the demand the Red Lantern would have for such an item.”
“Demand?” Tao hissed. “For that demoness, what drivel are you talking about!?”
“Young Master Tao, you truly are a fool.”
“What did you say?”
“Young Master Tao. You are a fool. Axsumite women are exotic, especially in Fuzhou. They are highly sought after.”
“Sought after?” Xia Tao snared.
“Yes. Young Master Tao isn’t widely known, but the Noblemen of Fuzhou have a taste for Axsumite women. It’s even said that Nanhai and even Taizhou have such taste for such exotic women.”
“It is against Heaven’s will!”
“Heaven’s will has nothing to do with copper, bronze, silver or gold. Can’t you see the picture? Imagine if we could groom the girl. The number of stones and taels we could make from her!”
“She’s a child!”
“…that will eventually grow up. Think of the GOLD TAELS Young Master Tao!”
The thoughts of making silver and gold taels aroused Tao’s mind. In life, if you didn’t have any silver or gold, you could as well eat dirt, and that was something Tao couldn’t imagine.
I have to think about this He thought, but I don’t see how I can make any profit from harboring an Axsumite!
“Think of the girl as an investment, like these trinkets you consider a treasure,” Li said, waving her hand around the room, sleeves flapping.
Hostess Li eyed him but saw the confusion on his face. “Fine,” She said. “Let me phrase it another way. The baby has little value right now, but over time, just like that scroll, it could be considered valuable. If cultivated correctly.”
“She’s not even worth the price of ivory!” Tao snapped.
“Not yet, but she will be worth quadruple that,” Li said cooly.
Tao sat there, thinking of an abundance of ivory jade he could purchase at a whim. But that would make me a traitor to the realm...unless.
“Are you lying to me?”
“Have I ever lied to you?”
“Not that I know about.” He said coldly, eyeing her tensely.
Hostess Li turned her face, cheeks flushing red as if she was excited. “Stop it Young Master Tao, you know I don’t like you looking at me that way.
She has lied to me...but what about? Tao mused.
He picked up his abacus, sliding the tabs back and forth as he tried to think about how to proceed. He wasn’t sure if raising an Axsumite was a good idea, but if she is valuable as she said, it’s worth exploring. “How much do you believe we can get from her once she’s matured”
“If we sell her, five hundred taels is the minimum.”
“and if we keep her for ourselves?”
“We can get twenty taels minimum.”
“TWENTY TAELS?”
“Yes, Young Master...supply and demand. They are hardly any Axsumites in Huaxia.”
“I’ll think on it.” He said
Hostess Li’s lips curled into a smile, and bowed, taking her to leave without saying anything, just the way Tao liked it. The door groaned shut behind her and Tao clasped his hand thinking about whether Li was lying to him or not.
“I need to verify if Li is lying about the Axsumite first.” He said aloud. “If she isn’t, I still need to make sure her qualms about Fuzhou are true, because if she is lying about it, then I know she’s up to something, and if she is, I'll cut off her hands just for lying to me!”