Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Wang Zhiqiang had long heard of Huang Wenbing's outstanding writing skills, and he began to have his own plans. On this day, he decided to host a banquet with baijiu (Chinese liquor) and have a good talk with Huang Wenbing.

The banquet was held in a bustling restaurant, where Wang Zhiqiang had been waiting for a long time. Soon after, Huang Wenbing swaggered in and plopped down in a chair.

Wang Zhiqiang quickly greeted him with a smile, "Brother Huang, thank you for waiting. Please enjoy this fine wine and food."

Huang Wenbing didn't stand on ceremony and started eating and drinking heartily. Suddenly, with a loud "poof," a loud fart came out from under his buttocks. Everyone around him frowned, but Huang Wenbing acted as if nothing had happened and continued stuffing food into his mouth.

Although Wang Zhiqiang felt a little disgusted, he forced a smile. A moment later, with another "poof," Huang Wenbing farted again, this time louder and with a stronger smell. The customers at the next table couldn't help but complain.

Wang Zhiqiang smiled awkwardly and quickly said, "Brother Huang, let's not talk about that for now. I've called you here today because I have a favor to ask of you."

While chewing his food, Huang Wenbing mumbled, "What is it? Speak quickly!"

Wang Zhiqiang breathed a sigh of relief when Huang Wenbing agreed to help. But before he could fully relax, Huang Wenbing spoke again.

“Brother Wang, I’m taking a huge risk by helping you. The benefits you just mentioned probably aren’t enough,” Huang Wenbing said, his eyes narrowing and a sly look on his face.

Wang Zhiqiang was taken aback and asked, "Brother Huang, what do you mean? Didn't we just agree on this?"

Huang Wenbing sneered: "Hmph, that was just now. Now that I think about it carefully, this matter is much more troublesome than I imagined. In addition to the wine, food, and money I mentioned before, I also need you to make a name for me in front of everyone, and I also need half a year's share of your shop's profits."

Wang Zhiqiang's eyes widened in disbelief as he said, "Brother Huang, you're being far too greedy! Half a year's share? That's outrageous!"

Huang Wenbing, however, didn't take it to heart. He took a leisurely sip of wine and said, "Brother Wang, if you're not willing, then let's just forget about it. Anyway, it's not me who offended Zhao Tianming."

Wang Zhiqiang was so angry that his face turned pale, but he was afraid that Huang Wenbing would really give up, so he had to suppress his anger and said, "Brother Huang, you... fine, I agree, but you have to write the article well, so that I don't waste so much effort and money."

Upon hearing Wang Zhiqiang's agreement, Huang Wenbing immediately beamed with joy: "Haha, Brother Wang, don't worry, I've got it covered."

Looking at Huang Wenbing's greedy face, Wang Zhiqiang secretly regretted choosing to cooperate with such an unreliable and greedy fellow.

Huang Wenbing immediately asked the waiter to fetch pen and ink, and he casually wrote an article criticizing Zhao Tianming.

The text reads: "I have heard of a man named Zhao Tianming who runs a restaurant. However, all his ingredients are of inferior quality, expired and rotten. Customers who eat there suffer from severe stomach aches and cry out in the marketplace. His black heart and wicked deeds are a disgrace to merchants! To pass off inferior goods as superior ones and rotten goods as fresh ones, such unscrupulous merchants deserve divine retribution! We, the good people, should condemn him and leave him with no place to stand!"

Huang Wenbing had just finished writing the article criticizing Zhao Tianming. He put down his pen triumphantly, put his hands on his hips, and waited for Wang Zhiqiang to praise him.

Wang Zhi eagerly took the article and squinted as he examined it closely. The more he read, the more excited he became, his hands trembling with excitement. Suddenly, he slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Brilliant! Brother Huang truly possesses the talent of Feng Tang, who could wield a horse with ease!"

This slap caused quite a stir; the drinks on the table were sent flying, and by sheer coincidence, they spilled all over Huang Wenbing's pants. Huang Wenbing jumped up instantly, his face turning extremely pale.

"Oh dear! Wang Zhiqiang, what are you doing?" Huang Wenbing shouted angrily, jumping up and down while shaking his wet pants. "What a load of rubbish! You've ruined my perfectly good pants! People will think I wet my pants!"

Wang Zhiqiang then realized his lapse in composure and quickly said with a smile, "Oh dear, Brother Huang, I'm so sorry, so sorry! I got so excited that I couldn't control myself. But Brother Huang's article is just so well written, I got a little carried away."

Huang Wenbing rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "What's so good about it? My pants are all wet, and you're happy, but I'm in trouble!"

Wang Zhiqiang quickly grabbed a piece of cloth, wanting to help Huang Wenbing wipe himself, but Huang Wenbing pushed him away.

"Don't touch me! The more you wipe, the worse it gets!" Huang Wenbing complained, continuing to shake his pants. "I, Huang Wenbing, have had the worst luck today, running into such a reckless bastard like you!"

At this moment, the commotion attracted the attention of the surrounding diners, who all cast curious glances at him. Huang Wenbing felt even more embarrassed, his face turning bright red.

"What are you all looking at! Haven't you ever seen this before?" Huang Wenbing shouted at the people around him.

Wang Zhiqiang also felt a little embarrassed and quickly said to the people around him, "Everyone, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, there's been a little misunderstanding."

Huang Wenbing glared at Wang Zhiqiang and said, "Misunderstanding? This is a misunderstanding? I think you did it on purpose!"

Wang Zhiqiang quickly waved his hand: "Brother Huang, it really wasn't intentional. You're a magnanimous person, please don't hold it against me. Let's hurry up and think of how to use this article to bring down that guy Zhao Tianming."

Hearing this, Huang Wenbing's expression softened slightly, and he said, "Hmph, I'll let it go this time. But if there's a next time, let's see if I'll still talk to you!"

Wang Zhiqiang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, there will definitely not be a next time. Let's get down to business."

So the two temporarily put aside the matter of the pants and began to discuss how to use the article to deal with Zhao Tianming, while Huang Wenbing's wet pants were still dripping water.

After receiving Huang Wenbing's article, Wang Zhiqiang's eyes flashed with a ruthless and triumphant glint. He immediately summoned a group of his henchmen and loudly ordered, "You lot, quickly make dozens of copies of this article for me, without fail!"

The workers dared not slack off and quickly got to work. The printing room was instantly filled with noise, with some carving plates and others applying ink, all working frantically.

Before long, dozens of printed articles were ready. Looking at these results, Wang Zhiqiang's lips curled into a sinister smile, and he ordered again, "You few, take these articles and post them in prominent places throughout the city. Make sure everyone sees them!"

The men obeyed and scattered in all directions.

In the bustling marketplace, one of his men found a wall with many people passing by, quickly applied paste, and pasted the article on it. Before long, curious onlookers gathered around.

"What does this say?" an old man selling vegetables asked, squinting.

"It seems to be saying that Zhao Tianming's restaurant uses inferior ingredients, causing people to get sick!" a young scholar said as he read the article.

"Oh dear, is that really true? Then I'll never dare to eat at his house again," an older woman said worriedly.

"That might not be true. Maybe someone is deliberately framing us," a middle-aged man questioned.

The news spread quickly as everyone discussed it animatedly.

At the city gate, another article was posted. Passersby stopped to read it, and traffic became congested for a time.

"Zhao Tianming usually seems like a decent guy, how could he be like this?" a merchant said in surprise.

"Hmph, you can know a person's face but not their heart!" a passerby said, shaking his head.

In one corner of the market, several vendors were gathered together, pointing and commenting on the newly posted article.

"If this is true, then Zhao Tianming is really despicable."

"Don't talk nonsense, what if it's not true?"

And so, the entire town was thrown into an uproar by the article, with people discussing it and making all sorts of guesses and speculations.

Just as everyone was relieved that Manager Zhao's restaurant crisis was about to be resolved, Li Kui rushed in with the article posted by Wang Zhiqiang.

Seeing Li Kui's furious appearance, Song Jiang frowned and said, "Tie Niu, did you lose money gambling? You seem so angry."

Li Kui's eyes widened, and he said loudly, "Brother Gongming, how can I be in the mood to gamble? Look, Wang Zhiqiang has sent people to cause trouble again!" After saying that, he spread the article on the table.

The crowd gathered around, and after reading it, they were all shocked. Wu Yong picked up the article, read it carefully, and frowned: "This Wang Zhiqiang is utterly despicable, resorting to such vile means."

Dai Zong added, "If such slanderous words were to spread, Manager Zhao's restaurant would likely be in dire straits."

Lu Zhishen rolled up his sleeves and shouted, "This Wang Zhiqiang is going too far! I, Lu, will definitely teach him a lesson!"

Wu Song calmly analyzed, "This matter cannot be handled rashly; we need to plan carefully and find a solution."

Song Jiang's expression was solemn. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Brothers, don't be anxious. Let's think about how to resolve this crisis and clear Manager Zhao's name."

The crowd started talking all at once, and the hall suddenly became noisy.

Li Kui stood there, gritting his teeth in anger, his hands clenched into fists, and shouted, "If I find out who wrote this article, I'll skin him alive!" His wide-open eyes seemed to spit fire, and his full beard trembled with his rage.

Just then, Lu Junyi and Yan Qing walked in. Lu Junyi was tall and imposing, while Yan Qing was clever and obedient, following closely behind. Seeing everyone gathered around the table with solemn expressions, they quickly stepped forward.

Yan Qing, with his sharp eyes, spotted the article on the table at a glance. He picked it up, read it once, and said, "This article is so incisive; it must have been written by someone skilled in writing." After saying that, he handed the article to Lu Junyi.

Lu Junyi glanced at it, nodded slightly, then looked at Song Jiang and said, "Brother Gongming, in your opinion, whose style is this?"

Song Jiang took the article, carefully examined its writing style, his brows furrowed, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "I think this is quite similar to Huang Wenbing's writing."

Upon hearing this, Li Kui immediately leaned over and asked, "Who is Huang Wenbing?"

A flash of anger crossed Song Jiang's eyes as he said, "That Huang Wenbing is a cunning and scheming man. Back then, he offended me over something, and I slapped him twice in the face in a fit of anger. He holds a grudge and will surely take this opportunity to get revenge on me."

Upon hearing this, everyone showed expressions of indignation.

Lu Zhishen said, "Brother, who cares what kind of villain he is? Let's go straight to his door and teach him a lesson!"

Wu Song then said, "Brother, this matter needs to be considered carefully before acting rashly."

Wu Yong gently waved his feather fan and said, "Huang Wenbing must have some ulterior motives to write such an article. We need to come up with a comprehensive plan that can both expose his conspiracy and clear Manager Zhao's name."

Song Jiang raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet and said, "Brothers, don't be anxious. Let's send someone to find out about Huang Wenbing's current situation before making any plans."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but Li Kui continued to glare angrily at the article, as if he wanted to punch a hole in it.