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Chapter 634: Just Give It to Them

The steward backed away a few steps in disarray, slumping against the street side.

Padi Tu humphed twice, clapped his hands, and continued strolling the streets, humming a little tune as he meandered idly.

Ahead, a beggar lay by the roadside, looking very pitiful. Padi Tu reached into his inner pocket, fumbling around for a long time, but couldn't find any silver. A look of embarrassment crossed his face. He took off his shoe, poured out three copper coins from inside it, placed them into the beggar's hand, and then ambled off.

No sooner had the beggar taken the copper coins than his olfactory cells were assaulted. He fell to the ground with a thud, and for a long while couldn't recover.

Padi Tu cheerfully walked away, disappearing around the street corner.

Just then, Wang Tang crept out from his hiding spot.

First, he cast a distant glance toward the direction Padi Tu had vanished, then he lowered his head and looked at the gift box in his hand...

In that instant, he almost wished the ground would swallow him whole out of shame.

At that moment, he finally understood why Padi Tu was the main leader, and he was merely a subordinate. In terms of ideological awareness, he was still far from Padi Tu's level.

After taking two deep breaths, he briskly walked forward two steps to the still-stunned steward and placed the gift box into his hands. "If you want to get work, come to us openly and honestly. As long as your quote is reasonable and your work is solid, we will entrust the business to your master. Relying on gifts and connections is not the right way."

The steward stammered, "Hey, hey, hey?"

Wang Tang quickly took a few more steps forward, pulled out a piece of silver from his inner pocket, and placed it into the hand of the beggar, who was still dazed from the copper coins' stench. Then he sprinted for a stretch, around the corner and onto another street, where he caught up with Padi Tu.

"Lord Rabbit!" Wang Tang called out loudly. "What a coincidence, Lord Rabbit, are you also out for a stroll?"

Padi Tu chuckled. "Just out for a wander, to see if there are any heroic deeds to be done. Ha ha ha, I just met a beggar who looked so poor he couldn't eat. So, in my spirit of chivalry, this Lord Rabbit gave him a silver ingot."

He gestured with his hand, indicating a fist-sized object. "I gave him an ingot this big, oh, hahahaha, he was so happy when he saw the silver!"

Wang Tang smiled. "Lord Rabbit truly is a model for our generation."

"A true hero of the jianghu needs to be grand and generous," Padi Tu burst into laughter, reaching out to pat Wang Tang's shoulder. "If the silver is too small, we can't even offer it. When helping the poor, you must give large pieces of silver. You, lad, should learn from your elder here how to navigate the jianghu and become a true great hero, hahahaha!"

Wang Tang said sincerely, "I still have much to learn from you."

"Oh, by the way, Xiao Tang," Padi Tu suddenly turned his head. "It seems that the first tavern we took over has been losing money these past few days?"

Wang Tang smiled. "Yes, it has started losing money."

Padi Tu looked thoroughly embarrassed. "That's truly terrible! When the Heavenly Lord ordered me to take over that establishment, he warned me that haphazardly appointing a manager could lead to losses. That's why I only gave the waiter the position of assistant manager and found a middle school graduate from Gao Family Village to be the head manager. How could it still be losing money?"

He scratched his head, a look of utter bewilderment on his face. "Middle school graduates are so amazing! They study Heavenly Books, and their knowledge is ten thousand times greater than mine. I really didn't think even he could lose money."

Wang Tang smiled. "Because, this batch of our middle school students really lacks social experience. In that regard, they still need to learn more from the older, more experienced people. Would you consider inviting back that somewhat fierce head manager we dismissed last time?"

Padi Tu said, "That fellow is quite bad; he's very harsh with his subordinates."

Wang Tang continued to smile. "Is there a possibility that precisely because he is harsh, his subordinates obey him obediently and strictly follow regulations? And our middle school graduates, being fresh out of school, are easily colluded against and deceived by the junior staff. They might tamper with procurements, steal ingredients from the store; with all these little tricks, the tavern will naturally incur losses."

Padi Tu slapped his forehead. "So that's how it is!"

Wang Tang added, "Speaking of which, the truly troublesome matter is the coal mine we're operating in partnership with the Prince of Qin's Residence."

Padi Tu asked, "Oh? What's wrong with the coal mine?"

Wang Tang spread his hands. "The stewards from the Prince of Qin's Residence want more say in the coal mine's operations. After we delineated the shares, we dispatched our technical personnel to build the factory on the Prince of Qin's land. Once the factory was built and began normal operations, the Prince of Qin's Residence suddenly felt emboldened again. They are constantly racking their brains, trying to push out our people and seize control of the factory."

Upon hearing this, the unlearned Padi Tu was bewildered. "What should we do about this?"

Wang Tang replied, "I don't know either."

Just as the two were speaking, the Puppet Heavenly Lord on Padi Tu's chest chuckled. "The Baqiao Iron Mine has two pits, and two factories are excavating them, right? Since the Prince of Qin's Residence wants control of the factory so badly, just give them one of them. Withdraw all technical and management personnel from one of the factories, hand over control of that coal mine to the Prince of Qin's Residence, and then we just wait for our sixty percent share of the profits."

Padi Tu asked, "Oh? Is that really alright?"

The Puppet Heavenly Lord chuckled heartily. "I've said it before: backward systems will restrict advanced productive forces. Hand over our factory, which possesses advanced productive forces, to the Prince of Qin's Residence, which manages with backward methods, and let's see if they can manage it. Oh, and notify Wu Shen and Shi Kefa about this. Have them witness the final outcome of this matter with their own eyes."

Padi Tu still didn't quite understand.

But Wang Tang understood. "If Wu Shen and Shi Kefa witness firsthand how backward systems restrict advanced productive forces, they will surely be prompted to think more deeply. The more people who contemplate this matter, the faster this nation can change."

"Exactly!"

That evening, Wang Tang paid a visit to Wu Shen and Shi Kefa and thoroughly explained the Prince of Qin's Residence's attempt to seize control of the coal mine to the two civil officials.

Upon hearing this, Wu Shen and Shi Kefa had no solution.

While they weren't afraid of the Prince of Qin's Residence, they were helpless against them. Moreover, the Baqiao Coal Mine was located within the Prince of Qin's fiefdom. To put it plainly, it was originally the Prince of Qin's property. The two civil officials wanted to intervene forcefully, but they couldn't.

Wang Tang said, "Our Master Li is very indignant about the Prince of Qin's Residence's conduct and has decided to withdraw all technical and management personnel from one of the factories, no longer interfering with that coal mine's management and construction, and will simply be a pure shareholder, only collecting dividends."

Upon hearing this, Wu Shen and Shi Kefa could only sigh. "Well, Master Li has truly been put in a difficult position by this matter. That coal mine was originally the Prince of Qin's property. Since there are two factories, it's normal for them to want one back. We have no choice; if they want it back, let them have it. As long as they still provide the sixty percent share of the profits as agreed, then we don't need to contend with the Prince of Qin's Residence."