Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Zhao Tianming was incredibly busy that day. He hurriedly packed his bags, which were piled up everywhere. It looked as if he were moving his entire house. After finally managing to load everything onto a carriage, he almost broke the carriage under the weight of it.

Zhao Tianming, along with his father-in-law Zhang Bangchang and wife Hexiang, hurriedly boarded the carriage. Zhang Bangchang complained incessantly along the way, "Tianming, you're in such a rush! You're practically wearing my old bones out!" Hexiang chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! I don't know what the hurry is for." Zhao Tianming, while driving the carriage, called out, "Hey, stop nagging! Let's go, let's go!"

The news spread faster than the wind, and soon someone ran to the liquor store and reported the matter to Wang Zhiqiang, who was drinking there.

Wang Zhiqiang was enjoying a drink with Zhang San, Yin Tianxi, and Lu Qian at a tavern when he heard the news. A piece of fatty meat in his mouth fell to the ground with a "plop," and his eyes widened in disbelief: "What? Zhao Tianming ran away?"

Zhang San, drunk and slurring his words, said, "No, that can't be right. How could this guy just run away like that?"

Yin Tianxi hiccuped and said, "Hmph, they're definitely afraid of us, cowards!"

Lu Qian, who was slightly more sober, frowned and said, "Something's not right. Zhao Tianming doesn't usually seem like a coward. There must be something fishy going on here."

Wang Zhiqiang slammed his fist on the table, stood up and roared, "Whatever the tricks they have up their sleeve, I'll chase them down and bring them back!" But he stood up too suddenly and almost fell over.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Wang Zhiqiang, his face flushed, scolded, "What are you laughing at? Hurry up and come with me to chase after them!"

The group staggered out of the tavern, heading after Zhao Tianming. Along the way, Wang Zhiqiang kept tripping over stones and bumping into trees, making the others laugh so hard they couldn't stand up straight.

As Zhang San walked, he lost one of his shoes. He limped behind him and called out, "Wait for me! My shoe! My shoe!"

Yin Tianxi was even more outrageous; he walked and ended up in a ditch, where he struggled for a long time without being able to climb out.

Looking at this group of disheveled people, Lu Qian shook his head helplessly: "What kind of mess is this!"

Seeing Wang Zhiqiang and his group's drunken, unreliable state, Lu Qian was speechless. He quickly volunteered, saying to Wang Zhiqiang, "Manager Wang, let me handle this! Look at the state you guys are in, don't end up getting bruised and battered before you even catch the person."

Wang Zhiqiang, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, looked at Lu Qian, let out a hiccup, pulled a thousand-tael silver note from his pocket, stuffed it into Lu Qian's hand, and said, "Lu Qian, I'm entrusting this matter to you. I'll reward you handsomely after it's done! Don't let Zhao Tianming get away!"

Lu Qian took the silver note and patted his chest, assuring her, "Manager Wang, don't worry! I will definitely handle this matter perfectly!"

So, Lu Qian, along with Zhang San, Li Si, Ma Zi, Zhao Liu, and the tiger-toothed Dong Chao and Xue Ba, set off aggressively to ambush Zhao Tianming.

The journey was full of unexpected events. Zhang San, a large, fat man, was panting heavily after only a few steps and kept saying he needed to rest. Li Si, on the other hand, was a coward, constantly suspicious and feeling like something was following them.

The pockmarked guy was even funnier. He was walking along when his shoe fell off. He squatted down to pick it up, but when he stood up, he bumped his head on a tree branch and howled in pain.

Zhao Liu was quite energetic, but he talked too much, chattering incessantly and annoying everyone.

Dong Chao and Xue Ba considered themselves clever and gave everyone all sorts of bad advice along the way. They suggested taking shortcuts, which led them into a quagmire, or taking a shortcut, which resulted in encountering a large river.

Lu Qian was driven crazy by them and kept yelling, "Can't you guys just shut up for a second!"

After much difficulty, they finally arrived at the Wild Boar Forest, a place Zhao Tianming was bound to pass through. The Wild Boar Forest was eerie and terrifying, with the occasional cry of wild boars echoing through the air, scaring Li Si so much that he almost wet his pants.

Lu Qian forced himself to remain calm and said, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here!"

Zhang San muttered to himself, "What good are you? You can't beat a wild boar."

Lu Qian glared at Zhang San: "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

Just then, a wild boar suddenly rushed out of the woods and charged straight at them. Everyone was terrified and scattered in all directions. Ma Zi was running so fast that he tripped and fell flat on his face.

As Lu Qian ran, he shouted, "Don't run! Don't run! We're here to ambush Zhao Tianming, not to feed the wild boars!"

But nobody listened to him; everyone was only concerned with saving their own lives.

Finally, Dong Chao and Xue Ba had a flash of inspiration. They climbed a big tree and shouted to the people below, "Quick, climb the tree!"

Everyone then followed suit, and after a great effort, they finally climbed the tree, each one panting heavily.

The wild boar circled around under the tree a few times, and seeing that it couldn't attack them, it huffed and puffed as it walked away.

Looking at the disheveled group, Lu Qian sighed helplessly: "What a mess! We haven't even met Zhao Tianming yet, and we've already been ravaged by wild boars."

Lu Qian and the others waited and waited in the Wild Boar Forest, but Zhao Tianming never appeared. Everyone seemed a little anxious, and Lu Qian paced back and forth incessantly.

Just then, a monk carrying a staff passed by. This monk was tall and strong, with a resolute face, exuding an air of authority.

Zhang San, always arrogant, suddenly felt a surge of provocation upon seeing the monk. He picked up a stone and threw it at the monk, yelling, "Bald monk, get lost!"

The stone flew past the monk with a "whoosh," and the monk stopped abruptly, slamming his staff into the ground with a loud "thud," the ground seeming to tremble. He glared at Zhang San, his eyes wide, and roared, "You dare to insult me? Are you tired of living?"

Zhang San's heart skipped a beat when the monk yelled at him, but not wanting to lose face in front of everyone, he forced himself to say, "What? You stinking monk, you want to fight?"

The monk stepped forward, his imposing aura like Mount Tai pressing down: "Hmph! Ignorant brat, how dare you be so rude! Today I will teach you a lesson!"

Seeing this, Li Si and Ma Zi hid behind a tree, too frightened to make a sound. Zhao Liu whispered to Zhang San, "Brother Zhang San, don't cause trouble. This monk doesn't look like someone to mess with."

Zhang San, however, retorted defiantly, "What's there to be afraid of! There are so many of us, why would we be afraid of just one monk?"

Seeing that things were not going well, Lu Qian quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said to the monk, "Master, I'm sorry, my brother here is ignorant and has offended you. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against him."

The monk snorted coldly: "Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that you're at least polite, I would have made this kid suffer today."

Zhang San wanted to retort, but Lu Qian glared at him fiercely, which shut him up.

The monk ignored them, shouldered his staff, and continued walking. Lu Qian and the others watched the monk's departing figure, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Lu Qian turned around and cursed at Zhang San, "You reckless fool, you're always causing me trouble! If I delay important matters because of you, see how I deal with you!" Zhang San knew he had caused trouble at this point, so he lowered his head and dared not utter a word.

Zhang San and the others waited and waited in the Wild Boar Forest, but Zhao Tianming's figure never appeared. Lu Qian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, soaking his clothes.

Lu Qian could no longer contain himself and stopped, asking the crowd, "What exactly happened? Is the information wrong?" His voice was filled with anxiety and doubt, and his eyes were full of unease.

Everyone looked at each other, unable to come up with a solution. Seeing Lu Qian's anxious expression, Zhang San volunteered, "Brother Lu Qian, I'll go out and scout it out."

Lu Qian frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Go, be careful, don't expose yourself." His eyes held both expectation for Zhang San and deep worry.

Zhang San nodded, crouched low, and cautiously made his way out of the woods. He moved with extreme care, stopping after every step to observe his surroundings, afraid of being discovered.

Those who remained in the woods waited anxiously. Lu Qian kept glancing in the direction Zhang San had left, his heart pounding with worry.

Time seemed to crawl by, each second agonizing. Li Si couldn't help but ask, "Brother Lu Qian, will Zhang San be alright?"

Lu Qian glared at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Zhang San is clever; he'll be fine." Although he said that, he wasn't really sure himself.

Ma Zi muttered to himself, "How long are we going to have to wait? If Zhao Tianming doesn't leave from here, then we've just been waiting for nothing."

Lu Qian said fiercely, "Shut up, all of you, and just wait!"

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the woods, and Lu Qian and the others' hearts jumped into their throats, wondering what was happening outside.

While everyone anxiously awaited Zhang San's return with the news, a man who had been keeping watch in the city rushed over in a panic. He was panting and his face was flushed. As soon as he saw Zhang San, he shouted, "It's terrible, Brother Zhang San! You must quickly inform Lord Lu! His study has been burgled, and everything is gone!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang San was stunned, his mouth agape, unable to close it for a long time. He never expected such a mishap, and stood frozen in place, at a loss for what to do.

The lookout was so anxious he was stamping his feet and shouted, "Brother Zhang, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go report the news!"

Zhang San suddenly snapped out of his daze, and without thinking twice, he took off running into the wild boar forest. As he ran, he shouted, "Brother Lu Qian, something terrible has happened!"

Hearing Zhang San's shouts from inside the woods, Lu Qian's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong. Zhang San stumbled and ran to Lu Qian, panting, and said, "Lord Lu, news has come from the city that your study has been burgled, and everything is gone!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qian's face turned deathly pale, and he swayed, almost losing his balance. He never expected that before he could even wait for Zhao Tianming, such a huge mess would occur at home.