novelraw Chapter 106: Not Enough Personnel?
Chapter 106: Not Enough Personnel?
Chapter 106: Not Enough Personnel?The Pei family.
After the third day of the Chinese New Year, Pei Jun, the Chief Officer of the Patrol Division, began to busy himself with affairs.
Pei Jing shouldered most of the family's social obligations and entertainment.
As for Father Pei, well… as soon as he regained some energy, he started causing trouble and was "confined to bed."
Only after the family's affairs were settled did Pei Jing go to visit Jingxing District.
He felt unaccustomed to it, having not been there for a while.
Although Jingxing District was noisy and chaotic, he often saw the vulgarity and rudeness of common people, which he couldn't tolerate before.
He used to go to Jingxing District for the models.
After the models were finished, he still found himself wanting to wander around there from time to time, to witness the rare, vibrant life force in these chaotic times.
This time, he came to Jingxing District to remind Wen Gu of something.Wen Gu had just arrived at the end of last year and might not be aware of certain matters.
He arrived at the study room of the Jingqing Public Office but did not find Wen Gu.
Cheng Zhi was busy organizing the bookshelves.
Pei Jing knew him.
There were many letters, manuscripts, and books on the shelves, seemingly arranged according to some specific pattern, but at times it was unclear, and looking for too long gave him a headache.
He didn't know how this clerk named Cheng organized and arranged them, yet Wen Gu could always find what he needed precisely.
Perhaps it was some sort of secret code?
Little Brother He brought Pei Jing a pot of tea and then turned to help Cheng Zhi.
Pei Jing didn't disturb them and waited for a moment.
He then heard Wen Gu's movements from outside.
He looked through the glass window.
Wen Gu was walking this way, with the person named He Da quickly following behind him, seemingly wanting to discuss something.
Wen Gu paused briefly, continued walking this way, and gestured for He Da to continue speaking.
As the two entered, Pei Jing saw an opportunity to excuse himself. Wen Gu raised his hand, greeted him, and then said, "You wait here for a moment."
Pei Jing didn't stand on ceremony. Since Wen Gu had said so, he sat there.
The study room of the Jingqing Public Office had the most glass windows, making it the brightest.
Upon closer inspection, there were also glass ornaments, which were exquisite and possessed a unique artistic quality.
Pei Jing didn't deliberately eavesdrop, but the conversation from that side carried over.
He Da was requesting instructions on some matters concerning the construction site.
Pei Jing noticed that when Wen Gu spoke, He Da took out a palm-sized booklet and quickly jotted down notes with a charcoal pencil.
After Wen Gu finished giving instructions, He Da asked two questions, and upon receiving answers, he quickly left and headed to the construction site.
In the cold weather, He Da ran out of the Jingqing Public Office, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Damn Tao San was like he was on steroids, and He Da, who was equally ambitious, how could he be willing to fall behind?!
In the study room.
Wen Gu apologized to Pei Jing, "Please wait a moment longer."
Pei Jing replied, "It's fine, you continue with your work."
He sat beside them and watched for a while longer.
Each time Wen Gu said a keyword or made a hand signal, Cheng Zhi could precisely and quickly retrieve what Wen Gu needed from the adjacent bookshelf.
Pei Jing hadn't finished half a cup of tea, it was still warm, and it was already over over there.
Recall the issues from the construction site that He Da brought up.
How many were there? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… in any case, quite a lot.
There were issues concerning wells and the placement of personnel.
In the blink of an eye, it was all over.
And then there was Cheng Zhi's side.
So many documents on the table and shelves, they were flipped through page by page, swiftly, with rustling sounds, and then it was done.
Pei Jing: "…"
He was dumbfounded.
After finishing his official duties, Wen Gu walked over and sat in another guest chair, pouring himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.
"Are your family matters settled?" he asked.
Pei Jing snapped back to attention, "They are temporarily settled. I came today to talk to you about…"
He paused.
What was I going to say?
He was so impacted by what had just happened that he couldn't recall it for a moment.
Oh! He remembered!
"It's about the merchant caravans!" Pei Jing said.
Among the six major clans of the Northern lands, merchant caravans operated. Regardless of whether there were spies embedded or sensitive information being passed, at least the existence of these caravans was tacitly approved by all parties for now.
When some large families moved north, they split into several teams, settling in different spheres of influence. Many private merchant caravans were supported by them, either for relaying messages or for other purposes.
The six major clans also openly and covertly cultivated their own merchant caravans. What these caravans did in their travels could not be explicitly stated.
After the New Year, before the weather warmed up, merchant caravans would definitely arrive in Xin Prefecture City.
Merchant caravans had complex personnel, and Pei Jing wanted to remind Wen Gu to be vigilant.
Madam Shen had mentioned merchant caravans to Wen Gu, and Pei Jing also provided some useful information. After discussing the merchant caravans, Wen Gu invited Pei Jing to take a walk around the construction site.
"You are also one of the benefactors of Wanfu Garden, so you can understand its progress."
Unlike the Shen family, which arranged for supervisors to report on the progress, Pei Jing had not invested much thought into Wanfu Garden.
At the time, he just wanted to use up the unused items in the storeroom to prevent his troublesome father from wasting them. It was also to maintain his relationship with the Shen family.
He never expected Wanfu Garden to actually get up and running!
After Pei Jing left.
Wen Gu returned to the study room and instructed Little Brother He, "Go and call Zhou Shan and Tao San over.
See if your brother is here and call him too."
When they arrived, Wen Gu briefly explained the matter of merchant caravan traffic to them.
The security work in Jingxing District was mainly the responsibility of Zhou Shan. Having served as a County Lieutenant, he had a good eye for such matters.
He could mostly tell which people had ill intentions, and what they were planning to do.
Wen Gu assigned them new tasks, and the three accepted them without complaint.
When only Wen Gu and Cheng Zhi were left in the study room.
Cheng Zhi was worried.
He analyzed the available personnel and reminded him, "The people in the district are already mixed. If merchant caravans come, the personnel we've arranged might not be able to keep a close eye on them."
Wen Gu smiled and said, "We don't need to use all our people. Don't the escort agency have quite a lot of personnel?"
Cheng Zhi: "…Ah?"
He hesitated, "Although the Tiger Might Escort Agency hasn't been here long, it's developed quite rapidly, and there are indeed many people…"
As the escort agency's reputation grew, so did its commissions!
Wen Gu said, "Go and call Escort Leader Lin… Forget it, I'll go over directly myself."
Escort Leader Lin's mind wasn't sharp enough.
He put down his teacup and got up.
Although Lin Wei was the head of the Tiger Might Escort Agency, he wasn't the only one in charge.
Seeing that Wen Gu had already left, Cheng Zhi quickly put down his work and chased after him, calculating the cost of hiring escorts in his mind.
Hiss… Even with a friendship discount, the money and grain needed would not be small!
Could it be that our Foreman took on a lot of business for the district during the New Year? There have been many rumors, both true and false, circulating in the marketplace recently. It is indeed said that Wen Gu received a lot of money from the Zhao family.
Could it be that the Foreman also has to use his own private funds?
Tiger Might Escort Agency.
Wen Gu discussed the matter of merchant caravans with Escort Leader Lin and Madam Liang.
He also mentioned: Before the escort agency appeared, merchant caravans performed various tasks. Generally, the most important were trading goods, but additionally, they might escort personnel, conduct intelligence gathering…
Especially in these current times of epidemic and chaos, those who dared to run merchant caravans were ruthless individuals with combat power and powerful backing, also seeking greater profits.
For the escort agency to develop and gain experience, they could observe those merchant caravans more.
Listen more, watch more, observe more, recognize their own strengths and weaknesses, and formulate better development plans.
"I believe you have also gathered some information. I am merely offering a suggestion," Wen Gu said gently.
Madam Liang bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Foreman Wen!"
She paused, then added, "We will also repeatedly caution the brothers of the escort agency to avoid causing any disturbance."
This was also to inform Wen Gu that the escort agency would not interfere in certain matters, but if they received useful information, they would inform Wen Gu.
Wen Gu replied with a sincere smile.
Escort Leader Lin clasped his fist in a salute and said, "Thank you for your trust, Foreman Wen! We, the Tiger Might Escort Agency, are not like those riffraff in the marketplace.
We are people of principle!"
Wen Gu agreed and nodded, "I am certainly assured of the Tiger Might Escort Agency's work!"
He didn't stay long. After Wen Gu left, Escort Leader Lin thought carefully about what Wen Gu had said just now.
They had recruited more people now, and their information network in the marketplace was well-informed. They knew that merchant caravans would be arriving soon and had already considered this aspect.
However, Wen Gu's suggestion just now gave them a clearer direction.
"Eldest sister-in-law, Foreman Wen is right! Our foundation is still shallow, and we indeed need to observe more!"
He then declared loudly, "Foreman Wen is truly a righteous person! Even though his status is different now, he still cares about us!"
Madam Liang gave him a meaningful glance.
After hesitating for a moment, she still didn't explicitly state Wen Gu's other intention.
If Escort Leader Lin were too shrewd, it might not be good for the escort agency, and Wen Gu would not allow their escort agency to grow stronger.
Therefore, Madam Liang suppressed the words that were about to come out and instead echoed, "Yes, Foreman Wen truly… remembers us at all times!"
(End of this chapter)