Grand shopkeeper Wang Tingxiang

During the Qing Dynasty, there were many people from Daizhou doing business in Baotou and Suiyuan. There is Dongzhang Village located 20 miles east of Daixian City. During the Xianfeng period, there was a great shopkeeper named Wang Tingxiang. Many of his stories are still widely circulated among the people of Daixian.
At the age of sixteen, Wang Tingxiang started working as a laborer at the "Dashengkui" trading house in Guihua City (now the capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot). He has a natural tendency to be quiet and reserved. After a while, the young men in the store also glanced at him. But Wang Tingxiang doesn't mind at all.
Dashengkui "is a famous trading name in Guihua City. There are many people and miscellaneous matters. Whenever there is a mistake in the store, the shopkeeper checks it carefully and people say it is related to the Wang court. It's strange to say that when asked by the shopkeeper, he always readily agrees and expresses his determination to reform in the future. Over time, the shopkeeper became a little skeptical: "Wang Tingxiang is honest and submissive. Why did he do all the bad things? Why did he persist in his teachings
One day, the shopkeeper intentionally smashed a tea bowl indoors and shouted sternly, "Who hit the tea bowl?" Several young men rushed over and answered, "That's a question, it's Wang Tingxiang again." The shopkeeper sent someone to call Wang Tingxiang to ask, and Wang Tingxiang readily agreed. The shopkeeper suddenly changed his color and said, "This tea bowl was clearly made by me, why did you have to accept it?" Wang Tingxiang had to tell the truth: "If I don't admit it, you will always blame them." The shopkeeper then understood that someone was bullying the good. However, this young man is also too honest, "the shopkeeper showed mercy and sent him to the backyard to guard the warehouse alone.
Wang Tingxiang worked silently like this. Three years later, the market for fur in the Guihua City area began to rise, and thousands of camels had to go to Datong to carry fur, but they were short of saddles. An Shuzi, also known as Luotuo Ti. The shopkeeper is restless about this matter. One day, the shopkeeper furrowed his brow and turned into the second courtyard. Wang Tingxiang approached and asked, "Why are you not happy?" The shopkeeper sighed to himself, "Alas, where can we find over a thousand camels?" Wang Tingxiang calmly said, "I'll take a few dollars, you can take a look first." The shopkeeper casually followed Wang Tingxiang into the warehouse, only to see that the three empty warehouses were tightly packed with camels. The shopkeeper looked dumbfounded and asked, "Where did you get so many?" Wang Tingxiang replied, "Thousands of camels on our cabinet have to shed their fur every year. It's a pity to lose them! How many old saddles do we have to throw away in a year? I have nothing to do, I can pick them up and sew them together at any time. I think this can also save some money for the shopkeeper." The shopkeeper praised him greatly, "Don't look at this Wang Xiangting, he's quite cunning
Due to Wang Tingxiang solving the problem of camel hair on the cabinet, the business of carrying fur made a lot of money. Afterwards, the shopkeeper boosted Wang Xiangting's business by three cents and even promoted him to become a small shopkeeper in an external cabinet, but some small shopkeepers were very jealous of him.
The 'Dashengkui' is divided into an inner cabinet and an outer cabinet. The internal manager operates the business while the external manager manages the business outside. The accounting room relies on camels and horses to transport goods. During the height of summer, livestock often suffer from epidemics. Some jealous of Wang Tingxiang's external shopkeeper deceived him into being young and honest, and deliberately sent him to run a tent that was prone to epidemics. Wang Tingxiang understood in his heart and remained silent. Every time he goes to the accounting room, he doesn't consider himself the shopkeeper and treats his colleagues with respect, getting along very warmly with each other. When faced with problems, he always consults with his colleagues. For those young people who are willing to work hard and able to do things, we also provide some additional allowances every year. Everyone is willing to serve him, even the most troublesome plague has come up with a preventive measure: camels go on the road, rest during the day, and travel by night to avoid the scorching heat. Wang Ting was also very trustworthy compared to his clients, and clients from all directions provided him with market information. As a result, the accounting room he managed not only did not experience epidemics, but also became increasingly prosperous. He earns a lot of silver every year from the outside cabinet. A few years later, the old shopkeeper was critically ill and on his deathbed, he inherited the position of "Dashengkui" shopkeeper.
After becoming a great shopkeeper, Wang Ting never considered himself a great shopkeeper. His social characteristics were: "Being polite, virtuous, and generous." This valuable spirit was well-known far and wide, and even bandits respected him three times.
Once, the shopkeeper Li brought dozens of assistants and camel caravan to Russia to trade fur. On the way back, he was attacked by bandits. Shopkeeper Li bought fur with both silver coins and didn't have much cash on him, while the bandits demanded money and didn't want the goods. After negotiations, Manager Li was detained as a hostage and sent several assistants to the counter to retrieve money and redeem the person. If the money is not paid on time, the bandits will tear up the ticket. The situation is extremely urgent. After learning about it, Wang Tingxiang actively raised silver and prepared to set off. Just then, an unexpected event happened. Manager Li returned safely with his colleagues and camel caravan. In addition to being pleasantly surprised, Manager Li revealed the whole story. The bandit leader asked during interrogation, "What is your business name?" Shopkeeper Li replied, "My family's business name is Dashengkui." The bandit leader then asked, "What is your shopkeeper's name?" Shopkeeper Li replied, "My shopkeeper's name is Wang Tingxiang." The bandit leader heard that it was Wang Tingxiang. Excitedly, he said, "I deserve to die. You were originally the camel caravan of the benefactor, and you were so offended that you were frightened." The bandit leader ordered his subordinates again, "Quickly loosen the restraints and hold a banquet to calm down the shock of the benefactor." In this way, Manager Li was treated well for a day. Before leaving, Manager Li declined the heavy gift from the bandit leader. However, the bandit leader said, "Back in the day, Manager Wang was still the manager of the outer cabinet. If it weren't for his assistance, we would have starved to death long ago. His great kindness and virtue will be unforgettable to me for a lifetime. You must accept these small gifts." Manager Li brought the generous gift and rushed the camel caravan back to the cabinet. Afterwards, Wang Tingxiang couldn't recall anything he had ever helped bandits. He admitted that Zhou Ji had helped many people who had fled from famine, and would go to help those in need in the desert and grassland. He also couldn't remember how many poor people he had helped. But this time he did forget.
The royal court is renowned for its understanding, rationality, and magnanimity. He went out for twelve years and returned home for the first time in glory. Neighbors, relatives, and friends from near and far all came to congratulate, and the whole family was calm in a joyful atmosphere. At night, when everyone had dispersed, Wang Tingxiang's mother walked in with a small jar in her hand. She placed the jar in front of Wang Tingxiang and said, "This jar is your wife's illegitimate child. I saved it for you with salt water for a year. Take a good look." Wang Tingxiang looked at the child in the jar and didn't speak for a long time. After a moment of silence, he sighed and said, "Mother, this is all my fault. If I were to keep watch over her every day, could this happen? Don't blame her for this, let alone make things difficult for her. I know she's at fault for this, and she's not a reckless woman. As long as she changes in the future, we won't pursue this matter anymore. Besides, she has suffered inside and outside for our family, and even brought a lot of things from her mother's house. She goes to get what our family lacks, and I heard she is filial to the elderly. It shows that she is not a woman who relies on others. Don't publicize this matter anymore, what do you think The mother remained silent during the conversation. At this moment, Wang Tingxiang's wife broke into the house and knelt on the ground with a "plop", crying and saying, "Mother, Tingxiang, I heard what you said. This is all my fault, and it's up to you to beat and punish." Wang Tingxiang quickly helped the woman up and said, "Don't bring up this matter again. You are a meritorious person in our family, and you have been wronged in the past few years. I am grateful in time. I know you are a good woman. You did something wrong in a moment of confusion, but I can forgive you and never mind you. Please don't be too sad about this matter. From now on, everything will be the same. Let's just treat this as it is. Our family has always done this. It never happened
The next day, Wang Ting accompanied his wife to his father-in-law's house. He personally handed over 500 taels of silver to his father-in-law and said some words of gratitude to him for helping his family. I didn't return to Dongzhang Village until the third day.
Wang Tingxiang stayed at home for half a month. Before leaving, he called out to the long-term worker and said, "My mother showed me the flooded child about you and my woman. But I can forgive you. You have made contributions to my family. Let me give you 100 taels of silver to do some small business. Don't be a long-term worker anymore
The long-term worker surnamed Zhang left gratefully and never returned.
Not long after returning to "Dashengkui", Wang Tingxiang reformed the unreasonable old rules on the cabinet: previously, the shop assistants visited every twelve years, but he changed it to three years. At that time, the young man called him the little prime minister, and the hardest and most tiring work was always left to him to do. The outstanding prime minister endured for three to five years before finally securing a small amount of business. Therefore, at that time, the young man was called "Ao Xianggong". Wang Tingxiang changed his old habit and promoted those young prime ministers who were both virtuous and talented in an extraordinary way. For ordinary prime ministers, they are always given some tips as an extra reward at the end of each year. Wang Tingxiang quickly gained the support of the entire cabinet. Therefore, the business of "Da Sheng Kui" is becoming increasingly prosperous. Both inside and outside the Great Wall, there are branch stores of "Dashengkui". It is truly said that "business is prosperous and leads to the four seas, and wealth is abundant and reaches the three rivers". And Wang Tingxiang is also regarded as a "lucky star" by the naturalized urban business community, and people respectfully call him the "God of Wealth"`