"What are you shouting for? The master is sick!" Manager Liu couldn't help but pull the steward aside and scold him in a low voice.
The manager shook off the shopkeeper's hand, jumping up and down in a panic, "Shopkeeper Liu, what are you doing here? Quick, I need to see the boss! Something terrible has happened! The ship has sunk, and all the goods have been looted! It's all over, everything is ruined!"
Manager Liu paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered that his family had previously partnered with others to transport a ship full of valuable goods from the south, including fine silks, spices, and medicinal herbs.
It was their Sihaiju restaurant that had two extremely rare seasonings on the purchase list.
Could it be that the ship sank?
Manager Liu's expression finally changed!
Perhaps hearing the commotion inside, Wang Fu helped Master Wang out of the house.
Master Wang's face was deathly pale, and his lips were even blue. At this moment, his eyes were red with anxiety, and he asked, "Wang Gui, what exactly happened? Tell me quickly!"
The steward named Wang Gui knelt down with a thud and choked out, “Master, we transported goods back from the south and were only two hundred li away from home when a group of river bandits appeared out of nowhere, boarded the boat in the middle of the night, and captured us all.”
"The goods were stolen, and the boat was smashed to pieces. Fortunately, the bandits didn't kill us... Later, we were rescued by a passing boatman, and we went to the nearby county to report to the authorities, but the officials said that those bandits were veterans and there was no way we could find the goods!"
"You, you all... does Heaven intend to destroy me, Wang Xinqiu?"
Overwhelmed with anger and grief, Master Wang coughed up another mouthful of blood and collapsed.
Manager Liu and Wang Gui rushed forward together, both terrified.
With his wife not home and no one in charge, Wang Fu sent a servant to fetch a doctor.
Manager Liu and Wang Gui, not wanting to watch their employer change clothes inside, withdrew from the room.
Manager Liu pulled Wang Gui aside and asked, "If I remember correctly, that cargo doesn't just belong to our family, does it?"
Wang Gui nodded vigorously, almost bursting into tears.
“Our family only has five thousand taels of goods; the remaining fifteen thousand taels belong to others. Originally, we took turns going south, but this time it was our family's turn to purchase and escort them. We had already signed a contract, and if the goods were damaged, our family would have to compensate at 80% of the value.”
Manager Liu was speechless for a long time, his heart trembling.
This time, not only did the Wang family lose 5,000 taels, but they also had to pay out 12,000 taels of silver in compensation!
What bad luck has befallen the Wang family? Today's commotion has ruined Sihaiju's reputation, and they'll definitely be unable to continue operating.
Now, with such a financial loss, nearly 20,000 taels have been lost in one fell swoop.
What's more serious is that the boss is so ill that he looks like he's on the verge of death.
Is the Wang family about to fall?
What will happen to these servants?
By this time, the servant had already brought the doctor back, and Wang Fu quickly took the person inside.
Before Wang Gui could do anything, Manager Liu frowned.
He recognized the doctor, whose surname was Sun; his medical skills were among the best in the city.
But this person has a flaw: he's straightforward and has a big mouth, so he can't keep secrets.
Ask yourself, who wants their illness to be known by outsiders the very next day?
Therefore, few people in the city are willing to seek his medical help unless they have a truly serious illness that has no other recourse, like Master Wang...
After a long while, Doctor Sun finally came out and asked, "Find a quiet place. I need to write a prescription and have the apprentice go back and get the medicine."
Manager Liu and Wang Gui quickly led him into the room next door. After they served him pen and ink, the young apprentice took the prescription and ran off.
Manager Liu couldn't understand the prescription, so he asked in a low voice, "Doctor Sun, how is our master doing? Is he likely to recover soon? There are some troubles in the family business, and we're waiting for the master to handle them."
Doctor Sun glared at him and said angrily, "You only think about treatment when the person is about to die! You expect the patient to be lively and healthy right away? How is that possible? I'm a doctor, not a celestial being! Besides, what were you doing all those years ago? If this illness had been diagnosed five or six years earlier, it wouldn't have dragged on until now and is taking its toll!"
Wang Gui was about to retort, but was stopped by Manager Liu.
Manager Liu arranged tea and snacks for Doctor Sun, and then took Wang Gui outside.
“Brother, you stay here and keep watch. I need to go back to the restaurant to deal with this. Someone at Sihaiju got diarrhea and died. It caused quite a stir earlier. With the owner like this, we can't let him worry about it. I need to go and find out more.”
"Oh, is that so..."
Wang Gui suddenly sensed that things were not going well; he didn't want to stay.
At this moment, Wang Fu came out with a small box and said, "Manager, please take care of the master. He needs to brew and drink the medicine. The master has given me some errands to run, and I need to go and take care of them immediately."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Manager Liu left with Wang Fu, leaving Wang Gui with no choice but to stay.
Manager Liu saw Wang Fu off, then looked back at the Wang family's courtyard gate from afar, his expression complex.
The Wang family is wealthy and has consulted countless doctors over the years, but just now, Doctor Sun said that the master's headaches had been dragging on until now, and were now on the verge of death...
The matter was too complicated for him to handle, nor did he dare to.
In this chaotic situation, the most important thing is to figure out how to get out unscathed!
He took a deep breath, turned around, and walked away...
When they returned, the sun was already setting. A crowd of onlookers had gathered in front of the Wang family's courtyard, occasionally gathering together to discuss the matter, which made Manager Liu uneasy.
He quickly stepped forward and asked, "What happened?"
A neighbor recognized Manager Liu and said, "You should go in and see what's going on. I heard that Master Wang is seriously ill and someone has come to collect a debt!"
Manager Liu's face darkened. Sure enough, as soon as he entered the outer courtyard, he saw a chair placed under the eaves, with Master Wang slumped on it, his face pale and weak.
Two groups of people stood opposite him: one group consisted of merchants who were on good terms with the Wang family, and the other group consisted of the managers of several of their own shops.
Several shopkeepers subtly beckoned him over.
At this moment, the merchants who were on good terms with him spoke up, "Brother Wang, it's not that we're kicking someone when they're down, it's just that every family is struggling financially."
"Yes, Brother Wang, we agreed that whoever sailed the ship would be responsible for transporting the goods. We had no problems on those occasions, but your family ran into river bandits this time."
“Our family bought five thousand taels of goods this time, but according to the contract, Brother Wang should have paid me back four thousand taels, so I still lost one thousand taels. I was just sitting at home when this disaster struck out of nowhere. Who can I complain to?”
"Me too. The shop is waiting for this new batch of goods. It's too late to send someone to find them right away. Not only did we lose money, but we also missed the peak season before winter."
Everyone was talking at once, complaining, as if the sky had fallen.
Master Wang waved his hand, signaling everyone to shut up, and then looked at Wang Fu.
Wang Fu, his hands trembling, took a box and stepped forward.
Master Wang opened the stack of silver notes, and the eyes of all the creditors lit up immediately.
Sure enough, according to the contract, everyone quickly received the compensation they were entitled to.
Although we suffered some losses, it's better than nothing.
Having unexpectedly encountered river bandits, and with Master Wang already seriously ill, even if he truly refused to acknowledge the situation or offer compensation, there was nothing they could do.
Unexpectedly, Master Wang agreed so readily, which made everyone blush.
After all, they had gotten along well for many years; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone south together to make purchases.
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