Transmigrated as Jane’s Ghostly Godmother - Chapter 28.2

Chapter 28.2: Regarding Madeira — Miss Ghost’s Repayment of Debt

I must eventually learn how to deal with these people. After all, remaining silent and letting oneself be bullied offers no possibility of a counterattack, Jane thought to her internal version of Lin Zhao. I’m sorry, I couldn’t keep the promise I made to you. But seeing as you haven’t returned either, I suppose we are even.

The girls whispered a bit more about their plan. Just as they finished, Eleanor entered from the balcony, smiling at them apologetically.

“I’m so sorry, I drifted off again. What are we doing later?”

Beatrice looked at Jane. Receiving the silent signal, she stepped forward and took Eleanor’s hand.

“We are going to find Mrs. Harrison and Miss Constance for dinner, and later we’ll have a reading session. Jane isn’t feeling well and wants to stay in the room. We’ll just have dinner sent up for her.”

Before Eleanor could react, Jane nodded quickly. Together with Beatrice, they led Eleanor out of the room.

Once the door was closed, Jane leaned her back against it, staring at the notebook on the table in the distance.

“I should write it down before I leave. If she finally finds the time and comes back, she’ll know where to find me.”

“Of course, it would be best if no accidents occur and she doesn’t have to come looking for me at all.”

Her heart racing, Jane took another deep breath and walked toward the table.

Jane’s intuition proved accurate once again, both regarding Eleanor and Lin Zhao.

Lin Zhao was indeed currently unable to get away. As she dodged the people tailing her, she thought of Jane again, feeling constant remorse for breaking her word.

If I had known, I would have left Jane another note before leaving that morning!

Rewinding to four days ago: when the ferry arrived at the Madeira docks, the sun hadn’t fully risen. As soon as she felt the ship steady, Lin Zhao left her cabin. She had woken early, intent on keeping pace with the first batch of merchants to disembark.

People busy with business always liked to start early to seize the initiative. Upon landing, Lin Zhao searched the bustling docks for the first target in her plan. It didn’t take long to find him.

Mr. Barlow, wearing a top hat and a goatee, had the face of a forty-something Englishman. He was directing workers to unload the spirits he’d brought from England and load them onto a carriage. Yes, wine—Lin Zhao chose to follow him precisely because he dealt in the same commodity as Mr. Eyre.

The sun was not yet fully up. Under the grey dawn, the world remained drowsy. Hampered by the poor light, a worker tripped, and the wooden crate he was carrying hit the ground with a dull thud.

Mr. Barlow’s eyes bulged at the sound, his mustache twitching with his sharp intake of breath.

“Hey! Careful! That’s Port wine I specially ordered from the Wingate estate! If you break a single bottle, you can forget about your wages for the entire month!” The worker bowed his head, not daring to reply.

Lin Zhao had no intention of interfering in others’ lives, but she was indeed “curious” about the tall hat on Mr. Barlow’s head. She walked over and gave it a lift. He cried out, clutching his head.

The dome covered by the hat was quite bright—perfectly bald without a single hair. The reprimanded worker stole a glance and quickly looked down, his mouth twitching as he struggled to suppress a grin.

Lin Zhao could tell he was probably thinking: So that’s where the sun is.

She flicked her finger, and the hat fell to the ground as if blown by the wind. Mr. Barlow looked around wildly, saw it, and hurriedly bent to pick it up. As he put it back on, he didn’t forget to glare at the worker again, though he said nothing more.

The unloading wasn’t finished until broad daylight. Lin Zhao had no desire to squeeze into a carriage with Mr. Barlow; she sat in the empty spot next to the driver, gripping the carriage frame for balance, and admired the scenery of Madeira.

Near the docks, the houses were low, and she could easily see the sky over the rooftops. But as they traveled deeper, two and three-story houses began to appear. When the carriage stopped at the marketplace, the sky was bitten into fragments by tall buildings, and the white clouds had to share the sky with black soot.

This place had already been occupied by British steam engines.

The carriage finally stopped at a trading firm. Lin Zhao followed Mr. Barlow inside. The moment they entered, she heard a great deal of noise. There were many people in the firm, talking loudly in the lounge area near the entrance. The topics were always about where goods had doubled in price or which market was currently good for what commodity. Their expressions were feverish, their faces flushed as if drunk, though the tables before them held only discarded cloaks and sample ledgers.

Mr. Barlow headed straight for the counter.

“Yo, you’re back?” A man standing by the counter turned to see him and waved. Mr. Barlow twitched his mustache and walked over before replying.

“Luca, you look quite sleek. What business have you struck?” As he asked, he fished out a ledger from his person and handed it to the clerk behind the counter, his eyes squinting at the man beside him.

“How could I compare to you, Evans? Getting a line to that Mr. Eyre.”

Luca appeared much younger than Barlow, perhaps in his early thirties, with a prominent scar on his left cheek stretching from his temple to the corner of his mouth.

Lin Zhao hadn’t expected to hear the news she wanted so soon. Her eyes lit up; she calculated that if she followed Barlow to meet John Eyre, she could return to find Jane very quickly.

“Hmph, you think I made those trips for nothing? Enough, tell me yours. You look far too pleased with yourself.”

Luca laughed loudly at this, tilting his head and leaning closer to Barlow.

“Don’t you know?” He lowered his voice, his eyes narrowing as well. “In a few days, at that ball on the island, some gentry from England will be there to scout for sons-in-law.”

“Pah, those gentry lords wouldn’t dream of marrying their daughters off to this place. Even if they are both islands, Madeira is a far cry from England.” Mr. Barlow clearly didn’t believe it; he shook his head and leaned back.

Luca wasn’t disappointed by the reaction; on the contrary, his grin widened, a sharp glint in his eyes.

“You still don’t believe it. On the ship you just returned on, didn’t you notice several young women? If it were just an ordinary ball, why take a seven or eight-day voyage to a place like Madeira?”

“The gentry lords arranging this have long been salivating over this place and the overseas markets! You must know, compared to England, these places are mountains of gold that stand higher and deeper. Naturally, they can’t wait to get their foot in the door in Madeira!”

The words were blunt enough. Mr. Barlow’s mustache jumped as he let out a toothy grin.

“That’s true. They certainly have mastered the art of marriage alliances—nothing binds interests better than marriage.”

In a place like this, the talk among merchants was always about money, markets, and the benefits of marriage; she had been mentally prepared. But the underlying meaning still made her frown, wondering if there were several balls being held on the island. After all, she only knew of one. Surely Jane and the other eleven or twelve-year-olds wouldn’t be attending a social event of that nature?

But as soon as that thought surfaced, Lin Zhao realized where her intense sense of unease came from.

She suddenly remembered the argument between Mr. Harrison and Miss Constance on the ship. She had wondered then; since Miss Constance didn’t rely on Mr. Harrison for financial support, there weren’t many things that could cause such a heated argument, let alone a conversation that mentioned Eleanor.

If the Harrison family was also among those opening a window for marriage alliances at the ball… then Miss Constance’s attitude was entirely reasonable.

“He wants to settle Eleanor’s marriage now, on an island so far from home?” Lin Zhao murmured, a strong sense of revulsion surging through her as if ten thousand insects were crawling under her skin. “He ought to be thrown into the sea to feed the fish.”

While she was lost in thought, Mr. Barlow took his ledger back from the counter, greeted Luca, and walked out of the firm. Lin Zhao hadn’t heard a word of their subsequent conversation and had no way of knowing if she’d missed other news. But there was no time for regret; she followed him quickly, no longer in such a hurry to go back for Jane.

If Edward Harrison was determined to find a match for Eleanor here, she had to put more effort into her second plan.

She had already thought of a way to act as a human before they set out. Evans Barlow was, after all, a business connection he’d worked hard to establish. Once out of the firm, he went straight to Mr. Eyre’s residence. Lin Zhao found Mr. Eyre with little effort and memorized his address and appearance.

Her original plan was to stay and observe him for a while or return to Jane. Now, however, she could only note the information, turn away, and return to the trading firm.

She had noticed earlier that some empty tables in the lounge area had cloaks on them. Perhaps someone had forgotten one, or perhaps they were just left there; whatever the reason, Lin Zhao decided to borrow one. This inspiration had come to her while they were packing and she saw Jane’s custom-made gown. Back at the tailor shop, her reason for refusing Jane was that a floating dress would scare people—which meant, conversely, as long as the dress floated in a “reasonable” way, she could briefly pass for a person.

She had originally intended to find a suit of clothes and pretend to be a mute foreigner to scout for info if she couldn’t find any. Now that she had the info, she still decided to do it, but for the purpose of spreading information.

After a few twists and turns back to the firm, Lin Zhao picked out a cloak that looked the most intact and loose from several tables. She draped it over herself in a corner, adjusted it, and pulled out the pen and paper she’d prepared.

Many people moved through the firm, and it took a while for someone to notice her peculiar presence. A large, boisterous merchant sat down opposite her, tapped his finger on the table, and jerked his chin at her. “Sir, I haven’t seen you before. Where do you hail from to do business here?”

Lin Zhao pushed the prepared self-introduction forward.

“Frenchman. Not good at speaking; please communicate via writing.”

“Tsk, you’re a strange one. If I weren’t in a good mood today, I wouldn’t bother with this charade—you’re wrapped up like a Gypsy swindler. Consider it my good deed for the day: I’ll tell you, no one here has time to play guessing games with you.”

The merchant scratched the back of his head and impatiently pushed the paper back, preparing to leave. He had no patience to wait for a man with no business to write things out.

Unexpectedly, as if she had anticipated this, the other party handed over a second sheet, containing much more than the first.

“I am not a merchant. I am commissioned by Mr. Giannette to find an agent here for his factory, which earns thirty-five hundred pounds a year. The purpose of my trip is to evaluate the market and the people here.” (Note 1)

“How much? Three… thirty-five hundred pounds! …Don’t you go talking nonsense here, unless you want to be thrown to the fish!” The merchant’s eyes widened, and his half-raised backside slammed back down onto the seat.

Seeing the calm attitude of the person opposite him, he involuntarily leaned forward and lowered his voice, whispering, “Sir, though I might not have the capacity to be that agent, I know the affairs here well enough. You… you see, could we have a small transaction? If you can produce this amount, I’ll believe this Mr. Giannette actually exists.”

Lin Zhao naturally couldn’t produce any money, but she knew that in a booming market, the pound-value of information was never low. This was why she had been eavesdropping on various merchants during the voyage.

She had to write the content now. The man was clearly much more patient than before, his hands clasped on the table, waiting expectantly for her next sheet.

“I reiterate, I am not discussing a transaction of money. You should know that things more valuable than pounds are what make truly big business. To participate, you must first prove you have the qualifications. Introduce yourself.”

This sounded suspiciously like a confidence trick. Doubt flickered on the merchant’s face. But the person opposite sat perfectly straight, showing no fear of being fed to the fish. Besides, if he really were a swindler who couldn’t even produce that much money, giving him his name carried no risk of being cheated.

Three thousand pounds—what a scale that must be for an annual income. If it were true, he’d hit the jackpot for a chance to know such a great merchant.

Having made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and gave his name. “My name is William Bentley.”

Lin Zhao arched an eyebrow. A hit.

She had been prepared to drop the cloak and run if she hadn’t heard this man’s name. After all, if someone took the paper, they’d only think he was talking nonsense. But as expected, the lucky route was better.

“William Bentley, I have heard your name. For the sake of your honesty, a word of advice: before paying George Pierce for his shipment, secretly set aside one item for comparison. After all, he didn’t give you a sample this time, did he?”

On the ship, Lin Zhao had heard a man named George Pierce talking with a colleague about his business with William. He planned to swap the goods before taking the money, pocketing the high-end stock this time. Since William had worked with him many times and hadn’t seen a sample beforehand, he likely wouldn’t check the goods.

William Bentley’s brow twisted when she mentioned George’s name, and when she mentioned the sample, he fully believed in the person before him. He hadn’t mentioned this deal to anyone; he wanted to keep the price high as soon as the products were updated to seize the profits from the first batch of quality grading.

As for details like the sample, they could only have come from George’s side. At the very least, it proved the person across from him had indeed come off today’s ferry filled with the new gentry.

“Honesty is the cornerstone of a merchant. Once I’ve investigated, I shall certainly return to find you, sir.” His tone became entirely respectful. “Would you be willing to give me a chance and wait one night for me?”

Lin Zhao didn’t write a note, but merely shook her sleeve at him through the bulky cloak. William hurried away to check the goods. Once he left, several others who had been observing for a long time crowded around.

“Sir, business is all about timing. You shouldn’t truly wait a night for him for nothing; when it comes to knowing this place, none of us are much different.” The newcomer had naturally overheard William and was eager to start persuading.

Lin Zhao curled her lips and handed out the second slip of paper, not responding to the words. First, she hadn’t actually promised William; second, she wasn’t a merchant and wasn’t doing business—she hadn’t come here to talk about honesty from the start.

What she wanted was to spread a reputation so that “Mr. Giannette” would become famous here. By the way, the name was inspired by Jane’s pseudonym at Marsh End in the original book, “Jane Elliott,” slightly modified.

If Jane really became a great merchant later, she wouldn’t even be lying—at most, it was a slightly early boast.

With William’s testing as a precedent, the merchants before her skipped the doubt. They asked Lin Zhao for pen and paper and began to converse with her in parts the others couldn’t hear. Lin Zhao became increasingly adept at playing the mysterious intelligence broker, and more and more people leaned toward her.

“Sir, watch your words. William Bentley has his value. What about you? Enthusiasm alone is not enough.”

Lin Zhao took the initiative, pushing a slip of paper to the merchant who had been the first to crowd around. She could hear the urgency in his voice and a hint of disdain for William.

“Sir, don’t misunderstand! My name is Thomas. My father is the largest cotton merchant at the docks. I’ve recently been wanting to strike out on my own with a new business, like rum, but I lack the startup capital and… a reliable source. My abilities are certainly not inferior to William’s!”

The merchant choked on his words, hurriedly writing down his situation, his tone softening considerably. He wanted to prove himself but unintentionally exposed his ambition and predicament.

Lin Zhao scanned it, understanding immediately. This was another name she had heard on the ship. She picked up the pen and wrote a sentence that made the man’s pupils shrink.

“Rum? You mean the shipment on the ‘Sea Serpent’ arriving next Tuesday? Pity; I hear the captain has his own private buyers, and your father doesn’t seem to support your venture this time.”

“What? You even know that? Sir, with your means of information flow, you hardly need to find a local, do you?”

Lin Zhao was noncommittal, and Thomas had already talked himself into it during the silence. He immediately offered to be the first messenger to attract qualified agents for the mysterious wealthy merchant, Mr. Giannette.

Once the news broke that the screening of agents was starting, even more people came to find Lin Zhao.

Socializing alone was a routine Lin Zhao had missed for too long. However, she had no leisure now to compare this with the past. She was busy dealing with various merchants. When no one was around, she hurried to scout for other intelligence to maintain her credibility.

To avoid falling into a deep sleep, she still squeezed out time to nap on the firm’s tables for short bursts.

Thanks to her non-stop efforts, by the third day, the reputation of the “mysterious and wealthy merchant Mr. Giannette” and the “intelligence broker searching for agents, Mr. Lint” had basically spread.

The downside was that people were looking for her almost constantly. She occasionally had to dodge crazed followers to find a safe place to rest for a while.

Just like now.