20demayo Chapter 34 Killing Two Birds with One Stone
Chapter 34 Killing Two Birds with One Stone
Li Wei's words immediately silenced the warehouse.
Only the flames of the whale oil lamps flickered gently, and the wooden planks of the walls creaked in the sea breeze.
"Damn it..." Finn finally managed to utter those three words after a long pause. His expression as he looked at Levi had changed from initial confusion and resistance to utter awe.
He had thought Li Wei was a fierce tiger, but now he realized that he was a fox hiding under a tiger's skin, so cunning that it sent chills down his spine.
Mr. Li, before him, intended to use the power of the Governor-General's Office to destroy the most stubborn enemy without bloodshed, weaken the wavering opportunists, and turn the most pragmatic and intelligent people into his vassals.
This was even more chilling than the victory achieved in "Gallows Alley" with shields and arrows.
Finn felt that his previous method of solving problems with his fists was as childish as playing house in front of this Asian man.
"I understand, sir."
Finn's voice was a little hoarse. He loosened his clenched fist and bowed deeply to Levi, his movements even more devout than in the church.
"Finn, this is your responsibility." Levi put down his charcoal pencil.
"Go and contact the leaders of these three groups and convey my 'goodwill' to them. Remember, speak differently to different people and act differently. Be like a pastor delivering the gospel to Old Mike, be like a tax collector to the 'Hook Gang,' and to the 'Stonefist'... just think of it as telling them to get their nooses."
"Yes, sir. I'll go and have a good 'talk' with them right away."
Levi then turned to Seamus, who had remained silent.
"Seamus, on the night of the raid, you take all the guards and guard the key intersections at the dock. Your mission is not to fight, but to 'maintain order'."
"Block the alley like a cork at the top of a bottle. Stop those rats who escaped from the 'Iron Hook Gang' and 'Stone Fist' territories, people and goods alike."
"Tell them that Mr. Li is willing to give them a bowl of hot soup, but they must follow my rules. Those who want to stay can take it back to the warehouse. Those who don't, let them get out of Boston naked."
Without the slightest hesitation, Seamus clenched his right fist and pounded it on his breastplate.
"clear."
Finally, Levi looked at Fiona.
Throughout, she stood quietly to the side, holding the parchment ledger in her hand, listening attentively.
"Fiona, after the first two businesses fall, their shops, warehouses, and access will all become ours. I need you to bring a few women to prepare for inventory and takeover. From now on, you need to establish a unified set of accounts to integrate the North District, the South District, and these 'new assets' that are about to be acquired."
Li Wei walked up to her and pointed to the account book in her hand with his finger.
"Money, when kept in a purse, is just a jingling burden. Only when it is transformed into numbers written in ink in an account book, into a resource that can be mobilized, can it become power."
Fiona didn't speak, but simply hugged the ledger tighter. She was trying to understand and process the impending storm in her own way.
"Go, Finn," Levi gave the final instruction, "start with the 'Salted Fish Gang.' Remember, keep your tone friendly; we're going there to make friends."
Finn gave a heavy "hmm," downed the now-cold tea in one gulp, glanced back at the map on the blackboard, and strode into the thick fog of the dock in the dead of night.
The warehouse fell silent again.
Seamus was examining his spear, while Fiona, on the first page of the ledger, wrote the word "assets" in delicate handwriting.
Late at night, Finn left the warehouse alone.
He didn't bring any men with him, only a short stick tucked into his waistband, and swaggered towards the fish market, the lair of the "Salted Fish Gang."
He hummed an old Irish tune as he disappeared into the fog-shrouded, slippery alleyways of the dock, littered with oyster shells and trash.
In the warehouse, Seamus began selecting men and inspecting the poorly maintained short sticks and machetes seized from the "Bloody Hands" in preparation for "maintaining order" that night.
Fiona then found several literate Irish women whose fingers, roughened by years of mending fishing nets and doing housework, were clumsily learning to decipher the entries in the accounts under Fiona's guidance.
Li Wei remained alone in front of the blackboard.
He reached out and gently wiped away the circle marked with an X on the map that belonged to "Stonefist" with his palm.
They wiped very slowly and with great force until only a blurry charcoal gray mark remained on that area of the map.
What Gage and the governor wanted was never a more ruthless "butcher".
They need a partner who can bring in stable tax revenue.
An agent who can maintain underground order in a more respectable way.
The "pledge of allegiance" that he was about to present was undoubtedly perfect.
He knew that when the Red Shrimp Soldiers' smoothbore guns rang out on the dock, a new era would irreversibly arrive.
He turned around and walked towards his cubicle to rest.
As he passed Fiona, he stopped and watched the girl intently and somewhat clumsily fiddling with a simple abacus he had taught her to make, all by candlelight.
"Mr. Li." Fiona noticed his pause, looked up, and her eyes shone brightly in the dim light.
"Well done."
Li Wei didn't say much, he just reached out and gently patted her head, then walked into the darkness.
Fiona stopped what she was doing and paused for a moment.
Then, she lowered her head again, and the clinking of the abacus beads became even crisper in the empty warehouse than before.
……
Fish market.
Finn, with a toothpick dangling from his mouth and his hands in his pockets, walked into this area that was perpetually filled with the salty, rotten smell of decay.
The ground here is sticky, and it makes a squelching sound when you step on it.
Finn's single eye looked particularly bright in the dim light of the fish market.
The old Mike, the leader of the "Salted Fish Gang" in front of him, was a balding old man with thinning hair and a hunched back. His hands were so thin that they were just skin and bones, and his fingernails were filled with black grime.
Old Mike rubbed his hands together, forcing a shrewd smile onto his face, but his eyes kept darting around as he assessed this newly minted dock bigwig.
"Mr. Finn, is it to sample my newly arrived salted cod?"
Finn didn't sit down; he just kicked a leaky wooden bucket on the ground with his toe.
"Mike, Mr. Lee sent me here, not to buy your rotten dried fish."
Finn's tone was calm, even somewhat friendly.
"He admires you, saying you're a sensible businessman, unlike some fools who only know how to use their fists."
Old Mike showed a hint of flattery on his face, but his body tensed up even more.
"Mr. Li... he really flatters an old man like me."
"So, Mr. Li is willing to give you a gift." Finn leaned closer and lowered his voice, just loud enough for old Mike to hear clearly.
"Next Wednesday night, right when the clock strikes midnight. Don't let your boat, your cargo, or your men show up at the fish market. Don't leave a single fishbone behind. The lobster soldiers' patrols will be clearing everything down the main street of the docks; their bayonets don't have eyes."
He gestured a patrol route in the air with his finger.
"Go hide in Black Island Bay, where it's calm and peaceful."
Old Mike's face drained of color instantly, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.
The information was so specific that he couldn't doubt its authenticity.
"I...I understand." Old Mike nodded repeatedly. "Please thank Mr. Li for his generosity on my behalf."
"Remember, Mr. Li likes to be friends with smart people." Finn straightened up, didn't look at old Mike again, and turned to walk out of the stinking shop.