At this moment, the Charles Family’s business was becoming increasingly difficult. In these chaotic times, pottery for food and water was far less valuable than a sturdy iron pot strapped to one’s back.
Charles Yuan took a closer look at Victor Fan and went to Victor’s home.
“Ah, Zhuzi, as your father, I am truly troubled now.”
“Father-in-law, you could find someone local to open a mine and quickly produce some cookware. That would be profitable. From what I see, the conflict between Qilu and Chu will last a long time.”
Charles Yuan trusted Victor Fan. His two sons had changed on the surface, but that was only a façade—they were still lazy and unskilled, and had already lost several deals under Arthur Jian’s guidance. Charles felt pained, but couldn’t bear to crush his sons’ confidence.
“Arthur Jian told you this, didn’t he, Father-in-law?”
Charles Yuan nodded. Arthur Jian was skilled in manipulation, but knew nothing about business. He was eloquent, a master of persuasion, but when it came to real work, he wasn’t even a thousandth as capable as Victor Fan.
Charles Yuan spoke at length. He had already discussed, in front of the whole family, letting his two sons inherit the business. But now, a vague unease lingered in his heart.
Arthur Jian had once been a court official in Jin Kingdom, slick and cunning, skilled in flattery and sycophancy—even the King of Jin liked him. But one day, Arthur Jian got into trouble, and his tricks stopped working.
Knowing his life was in danger, Arthur Jian fled Jin Kingdom overnight. He was indeed a relative of the Charles Family, and his family had done great favors for Charles Yuan before—so Charles took him in.
Now, Charles Yuan was beginning to regret it. His two sons had been utterly bewitched by Arthur Jian, convinced they could match Victor Fan and that what Victor did was nothing special.
Just then, the Charles Yuan household’s steward rushed over, his face anxious, and began to speak.
It turned out that an old regular customer of the Charles Family had come to complain in person—too many defective pieces had been mixed into their pottery. Charles Yuan, deeply distressed, hurriedly called Victor Fan and went with him to Wayaocun Village.
When they arrived, Victor Fan saw both sides locked in heated argument. That old customer had been entrusted with several major deals lately, all because Charles Yuan, pleased with his sons’ apparent improvement, had let them handle the business.
Charles Yuan immediately apologized, while Arthur Jian, standing off to the side, started making excuses—claiming it was the cold weather, or the hardships of travel. The buyer grew even angrier.
Victor Fan quickly understood what was going on. When Master Cao used to run things, he always weeded out defective pieces, never passing them to customers. That’s why the business had been stable and successful.
It was likely Arthur Jian had convinced Charles Yuan’s sons to mix in defective goods to boost profits and lower prices—which explained the previous losses.
Charles Yuan finally lost patience. He ordered his two sons to reflect behind closed doors and forbade them from meddling in any family business.
Following Victor Fan’s advice, Charles Yuan sent a large batch of top-quality pottery to the old customer, finally calming him down. But Victor knew this incident would damage the Charles Family’s reputation.
Charles Yuan’s hair had turned noticeably whiter from the ordeal. In these chaotic times, both sales and production plummeted—the Charles Family was in crisis.
Taking advantage of the situation, Charles Yuan temporarily handed over all matters of the Charles Family to Victor Fan. His two sons immediately protested, threatening to kill Victor and accusing him of scheming to steal the family fortune.
Charles Yuan’s wife joined in the uproar. The entire Charles Family was plunged into chaos, on the verge of falling apart.
In the end, Victor Fan wrote out a bamboo slip as proof, swearing he would not take a single thread or needle from the Charles Family. Under the notarization of Henry Luo, he pressed his bloody handprint on it, finally settling the matter.
“You’re really something, Victor,” someone sneered.
Victor Wu sat in Victor Fan’s study, drinking with him, but Victor Fan just smiled.
“Mr. Wu, I never wanted the Charles Family’s fortune. After all, it’s not something I earned myself—mistakes are bound to happen, and many things will slip beyond my control.”
To resolve the crisis, Victor Fan began investigating. The Charles Family’s pottery, aside from local sales, was mainly exported to Qilu and Chu. But now, with war raging, people worried about survival—no one cared about cookware anymore.
Victor Fan’s grain business continued. He collected surplus grain from all over the country, even from Jin and Yan, and kept trading with Qilu, reaping great benefits.
But the Charles State lived under constant threat from Jin and Yan. Lord Charles had to pay tribute every year to keep the peace.
Victor Fan came up with an idea. He sent trusted people to Qilu, recruiting artists who used to decorate pottery but had now lost their jobs.
Victor Fan gathered these artists in Dingtown at extremely low wages. Charles Yuan didn’t know what Victor was planning, but he trusted him.
Victor Fan had the artists paint directly onto the pottery—people, birds, beasts, and fish—and demanded the craftsmen do their finest work.
After more than a year, the Charles Family’s business began to recover. Thanks to the artists’ tireless efforts, their painted pottery became a sensation, and Master Cao boasted about Victor Fan everywhere.
These painted ceramics were exported to stable regions, each piece unique. They became the undisputed leaders in the market. Nobles from every state came to buy, even King Goujian sent people to purchase them.
Once the business flourished, Victor Fan chose to withdraw, returning everything to Master Cao.
At this time, Victor Fan needed support from the Johnson Family. Over the course of a year, he gathered a vast amount of information.
Zane Zhuang hadn’t always been mute; he lost his voice at seven or eight, after his mother died. Victor Fan, who knew some medicine, believed Zane was traumatized into silence.
For nearly two years, Victor Fan tried to cooperate with the Johnson Family, but failed each time.
Finally, Victor spotted a breakthrough. Zane Zhuang still couldn’t speak; when he did, it was stuttering and barely intelligible, nothing like a normal thirteen-year-old.
The Johnsons and Hendersons remained close, out of sight. When Victor Fan visited the Hendersons, he noticed Henry Henderson’s youngest son, Eugene, acting strangely—almost letting secrets slip, only to be silenced by Henry.
After all, they were just children. When Victor Fan asked about certain things, Eugene would mention a friend named Axian—Victor deduced this was Zane Zhuang.
Whenever the two families plotted together, the children were brought along. Victor guessed that Zane and Eugene were close, playing together while their parents schemed.
What puzzled Victor most was Zane’s mother. She had been a dancer, but was favored by Noah Johnson. She died at thirty, supposedly of an infectious disease, after Noah was away on business; her body was burned.
Victor Fan, knowing all this, suspected Zane’s mother was killed in front of him. The trauma left Zane with speech and memory problems.
“So, you brought me to a place like this—are we really going to dig up someone’s grave?”
They stood in the Johnson Family Cemetery, deep in the mountains. Victor Fan had feigned illness, sneaking out at night with Victor Wu.
“Mr. Wu, since you have supernatural powers, I hope you can help me,” Victor Fan said.
Victor Wu understood what Victor Fan wanted. He wandered the cemetery, then stopped at a grave marked ‘Zhuang’.
“This is the one—the resentment inside is heavy.”
But to find Zane’s mother’s ghost, they had to wait for nightfall. Victor Wu told Victor Fan to go down the mountain and wait. Victor Fan, already plagued by resentment, would be overwhelmed if exposed to more. If that happened, Cecilia’s ghost would kill him prematurely.
Night fell. Victor Wu sat alone by the grave, drinking. Storm clouds gathered overhead, thunder rumbled, and Victor Wu stood up and produced a gourd.
After a while, a black mist appeared, which Victor Wu swiftly trapped in the gourd.
Back home, everything was just as Victor Fan suspected: Zane’s mother had been murdered. That night, while Noah Johnson was away, his wife and concubines surrounded Zane’s mother’s courtyard and, in front of Zane, drowned her in a basin. They kept the death secret for months, until the body was crawling with maggots, then claimed she’d died of illness.
The young Mr. Brown witnessed it all. From then on, he became dull and mute.
Once everything was ready, Victor Fan arranged for Noah Johnson and Zane to receive a message while strolling in town—a silk note promising a cure for Zane and a meeting place.
“Hmph, Julian Potter, this is a pretty low trick,” Noah Johnson said.
Noah Johnson was furious at the meeting, but Victor Fan approached with a cheerful smile.
“I know a bit of medicine and can cure your son, Mr. Johnson. Please give me a chance,” Victor Fan said.