Eternal madness

Chapter 50 Guilds
The next morning, the old lighting shop started work, and the workers and apprentices went about their tasks as usual, but Master Wang was nowhere to be seen.

The master craftsman couldn't keep an eye on the workshop every day, and the workers didn't find it strange. Only Yang Laoliang was trembling with fear, glancing at Wang Tiaodeng's room from time to time, and then at Zhang Laifu's room.

The shop assistant, Xiao Chu, approached and said, "Boss, it seems that Master Wang isn't in the shop."

Yang Laoliang retorted angrily, "So what if he's not here? What's the big deal? Old Wang has a home too, why should he stay in the shop every day?"

Did the shopkeeper not sleep well? Why is he in such a bad mood?
Xiao Chu didn't know what she had said wrong, and stood aside, not daring to speak.

Old Yang hadn't slept well last night. He stood in the yard for a while, preparing to go back and catch up on some sleep, when he suddenly saw Zhang Laifu leave.

From the moment he saw Zhang Laifu, Lao Liang was no longer tired. He wanted to close the door and hide from Zhang Laifu, but he felt uneasy. He wanted to say a few words to Zhang Laifu, but he didn't know what to say.

After thinking it over, Yang Laoliang stepped forward and greeted him: "Laifu, where are you going?"

"I don't want to go out." Zhang Laifu picked up a towel and prepared to wash up.

"Go out for a walk, Laifu. The streets are especially lively today. Here's some money for you. Buy me something while you're at it." Old Yang turned around and grabbed a box of silver dollars.

He really hoped that Zhang Laifu would take the silver dollar, leave the old lighting shop, and never come back.

But Zhang Laifu confiscated it.

"Shopkeeper, I have other things to do this morning, let's talk this afternoon."

Old Yang looked at the old grandfather clock and waited patiently. The clock pendulum swung back and forth, and the morning seemed to pass more slowly than a year.

Finally, it was 2 p.m., and Yang Laoliang asked his assistant Xiao Chu to call Zhang Laifu: "Have him run an errand for me."

A short while later, Xiao Chu returned.

"Manager, Zhang Laifu is not in the room."

he's gone?
Are you really gone?
Yang Laoliang paced back and forth in the room, constantly rubbing his hands together.

……

Zhang Laifu arrived at Zhuzi Street. Li Yunsheng's stall was still there, but he was gone.

The young man selling steamed buns looked at Zhang Laifu, who gave him ten coins and a steamed bun.

“You don’t need to give it to me. Doctor Li has already given it to you. He said the guild needs to talk to him, and he asked you to wait for him here.”

The young man wanted to return the money, but Zhang Laifu refused, asking, "What business does the gang have with Doctor Li?"

"Dr. Li didn't tell me, but the people from the guild were very polite when they invited him, so it might not be a bad thing."

Zhang Laifu sat down next to the stall, waiting for Li Yunsheng to return.

Since arriving in Wansheng Prefecture, Zhang Laifu has heard countless stories about guilds, but he still doesn't have a clear understanding of them.

Now he is likely to be entangled with the Paper Lamp Gang. Li Yunsheng has already been entangled with the Zhu You Gang. Why are the gangs so difficult to deal with?

The pancake vendor spoke up: "The gang has arrived."

Zhang Laifu's heart tightened: "Which gang is coming?"

The young man pointed to the stall selling pig's head meat: "This person came yesterday but couldn't find the stall owner. I heard from a friend that he should be a member of a gang."

It turned out they were from the Pig Head Meat Gang, and Zhang Laifu felt relieved.

A middle-aged man walked up to the pig's head meat stall and casually picked through the meat, saying, "The meat is pretty good today."

"That's good, you should buy more." The stall owner was a little nervous. Although he had never seen this man before, he could sense that the man's identity was extraordinary.

After watching for a while, the middle-aged man suddenly said to the stall owner, "You've made a lot of money lately!"

Upon hearing this, the stall owner recognized it as a guild leader's gesture and quickly replied, "It's all thanks to the head chef's supervision that the business is thriving."
"You only cut one piece of meat, not someone else's bone. Do you know that?"

"We follow the rules completely when chopping bones and mincing meat."

After saying that, the stall owner grabbed a few coins from the box; this was a donation for the guild.

The so-called "merit money" is the money given to the guild in exchange for the guild's support and protection.

But the man in front of me didn't take the money and kept looking at the meat on the cutting board: "Who does the leftover meat go to every day?" "Business has been good lately, so there isn't much left. If there is any left, I eat it myself at home with some wine."

The middle-aged man laughed: "That's true. After working so hard in the wind and sun, it's only right to treat yourself. But I think this meat would taste pretty good if it were chopped up and used as filling."

"Really? I hadn't thought of that." The stall owner was sweating.

"Using pig's head meat to make steamed buns and saving it for the next day to sell, business must be pretty good, right?"

Zhang Laifu nodded vigorously: "This person thinks the same way I do. I've said before that pig's head meat can be used to make steamed buns, but the person selling pig's head meat is ungrateful and even tried to fight me with a knife..."

The pancake vendor quickly stopped Zhang Laifu: "Sir, you can't say things like that, it's against the rules!"

"What rules?"

Before Zhang Laifu could understand what was going on, he saw the gang member pick up a meat cleaver and ask the butcher, "Tell me about the steamed buns. If you can't explain it clearly, I'll overturn your stall and chop off one of your hands."

The stall owner wiped his sweat, chuckled dryly, and said, "I'm not selling steamed buns, I don't know anything about this..."

"You know you're not selling steamed buns? If you're not selling steamed buns, why are you making meat fillings? Who gave you permission to intrude on other people's business?"

"I do not……"

"Can you say that again!"

The stall owner, trembling, asked in a low voice, "Sir, you look unfamiliar. Which side of the cutting board are you on?" (What is your position in the business?)

"The newly acquired knife still needs to be sharpened slowly."

The pancake vendor translated for Zhang Laifu: "This is the newly appointed head of the hall; he's not quite familiar with the situation yet."

Tears welled up in the stall owner's eyes: "Master, this is my first offense, this is really the only time."

"The Baozi Gang has come to the headquarters to reason with us, and you still dare to say it's the first time? Don't you know how long you've been in this business?"

"Something happened in my family; my sister is sick."

The hall master laughed: "What sister do you have? You're talking about a prostitute, aren't you? Do you really think I don't know your background?"

People around dared not watch the spectacle any longer, and the nearby stalls all moved away, afraid of getting splattered with blood.

Zhang Laifu still couldn't understand: "What exactly did this person do wrong?"

The pancake vendor lowered his voice: "He made buns out of the unsold pig's head meat and continued to sell them the next day."

Leftover pig's head meat left overnight is definitely not fresh, which will damage the industry's reputation. Even worse, it's stealing business from the steamed bun seller; that would be a huge problem.

"How big can it be?"

The pancake vendor looked very serious: "You should only do what you're good at, that's the biggest rule. I also thought about making steamed buns back then. I can make pancakes, so making steamed buns shouldn't be difficult either."

But my master said that you must never meddle in other people's businesses, or you'll cause big trouble.

This guy who makes pig's head meat used to sell steamed buns for a long time, but now that the gang is after him, his livelihood is definitely over.

As they were talking, the hall master gave the stall owner an order: "You pack up your stall right now and change your profession from today onwards. You are not allowed to make pig's head meat anymore. If I see you setting up your stall again, I will chop off your hands and put them directly into the pot. Do you understand?"

The hall master was being lenient, but the stall owner was still resentful: "Hall master, I really..."

The hall master raised an eyebrow: "You're not one of us, so don't call me hall master. Get out of here right now!"

The stall owner dared not say anything more and quickly packed up his stall.

Zhang Laifu was still watching the pig's head meat vendor when Li Yunsheng returned to his stall and lit three incense sticks: "Today he can sell steamed buns, tomorrow he can sell dumplings, and in a few days he can sell lamb skewers. People like him will steal all the business from other trades."

Life is ever-changing, but one must leave food for others. Guilds must protect their own guilds. Internal strife within a guild always requires finding a scapegoat. If conflict arises between guilds, things can escalate significantly. This rule must be remembered.

Zhang Laifu asked Li Yunsheng, "Brother Li, has your gang made things difficult for you?"

“It was a little difficult, but I managed to handle it. Brother Laifu, I’ve found out that Commander Qiao is indeed coming. Hunlong Village certainly won’t dare to make any rash moves. These next two days are a good opportunity to leave Heishakou.”

Zhang Laifu nodded slightly: "Then let's do it tonight."

(End of this chapter)