usatvline Chapter 11 Planning
Chapter 11 Planning
Shao Shuyi originally planned to stay in Chuanfang for three days, but he was forced to leave on the 17th.
The reason is that he needs to store things at his place of residence, and the Zheng family has already made arrangements so that the government will not come to collect his debts for the time being. Therefore, he can go home in the next two days and arrive at the boat shop early on the 19th.
To be honest, he was still a little scared. So, when he got close to the village entrance, he hid and observed for a while. Only after he found that the soldiers and constables had disappeared did he breathe a sigh of relief and quicken his pace to return home.
As he expected, everything of value in his house was taken, such as the ship repair equipment, the little salt he had hidden in the stove, and the blanket he used to sleep under at night...
Looking at his home, which looked like it had been robbed, Shao Shuyi sighed. He gathered up some relatively intact earthenware pots, rice steamers, and a kitchen knife that he usually hid in a crack in the wall, and prepared to cook something to eat.
Of course, before that, he needed to buy some grain, some for himself and some to give to the vegetable farmer who had helped him that night—although he had already given him a bag of rice, one thing is one thing.
As the sun set, Shao Shuyi returned home and met Kong Tie and two other people who had come with him.
His name is Yu Yuan, the youngest son of Master Yu. Shao Shuyi vaguely remembers meeting him a few times. He is currently unemployed at home. Although he is supposedly in mourning, ordinary people don't follow such strict rules and it's impossible for him to actually observe three years of mourning. He's just not doing anything at the moment.
The second was Wang Huadu, a native of Zhangjing. He was a post station clerk, all alone, and it is said that he had just fled. The post station where he was originally stationed had also closed down.
Wang Huadu was carrying a huge sheep carcass, which surprised Shao Shuyi. The so-called sheep carcass is a sheep with its head, limbs and internal organs removed, then marinated with salt and spices, and is usually used for stewing.
Seeing Shao Shuyi's surprise, Wang Huadu said casually, "The provincial, regional, and prefectural governments of Jiangnan always give envoys a horse-drawn stool. Envoys don't eat pork, fish, geese, ducks, etc., they must have mutton. The station chief spends a lot of money every day to buy sheep, and several batches of people have run away. Last year, a wealthy man was appointed as a station chief, and after serving for more than half a year, he almost went bankrupt, and now he can't continue either. On the day the team was disbanded, I took advantage of the chaos to steal a sheep carcass."
Shao Shuyi couldn't help but laugh, and Kong Tie and the others also shook their heads and chuckled.
The four of them then went into the front yard together. Some fetched water, some picked vegetables, some washed rice, and Shao Shuyi and Kong Tie worked together to fix the sheep's ribs and chatted for a while.
"What job did you get?" Kong Tie asked secretly when he had a chance.
Shao Shuyi said calmly, "The Zheng family is short-staffed; perhaps I can be their accountant. The outstanding debt is no longer an issue."
Upon hearing that Shao Shuyi was under the protection of the Zheng family, Kong Tie smiled and shared some information he had gathered: "Minister Zheng is in poor health and has suffered several serious illnesses. He may have to resign and retire from office."
Zheng Yonghe, the deputy commander of the Caofu (Grain Transport Office), was from Quzhou. He had three sons. His eldest son died when he was about ten years old. His second son once went to sea and his boat capsized on a long beach. Now, only his youngest son, Zheng Guozhen, is still alive.
After Zheng Yonghe retires, he will most likely return to his hometown of Quzhou to recuperate, but Zheng Guozhen will not leave. Not only will he not leave, he will also seize the time to make some intensive arrangements in the Taicang and Liujiagang areas to prepare for the future—the former is a rumor that Kong Tie heard, and the latter is speculation.
Shao Shuyi agreed with this assessment. However, he did not believe that the Zheng family lost power simply because Zheng Yonghe withdrew.
Are you kidding me? The families in the Grand Canal have very deep connections. Zheng Yonghe has been a deputy commander of ten thousand households for many years, and he has accumulated countless favors and leverage. It wouldn't be a problem for him to use his influence to protect his descendants.
However, a local official is not as powerful as a county magistrate. After he left, the Zheng family's business in Taicang was certainly not as successful as before, and the family could only maintain the status quo and slowly decline.
In short, the Zheng family will not fall immediately; it has simply reached the end of its development.
"Baijianu, where did you hear this news from?" Shao Shuyi wanted to confirm it one last time, so he asked.
"I've been staying on the Ye family's boat these past few days. They're all from the Chongming Garrison in Kunshan, and we know each other very well. It's no secret that Minister Zheng is bedridden; many people are talking about it," Kong Tie replied. "The Ye family is also working hard behind the scenes, determined to get the vacant deputy commander position unless the court sends someone else."
Shao Shuyi nodded, then asked, "How's the morale of the fleet? We're setting sail in two days, right?"
Kong Tie also heard about the government's large-scale pursuit of overdue payments and said, "Boatmen have basically encountered no problems during the Spring Festival travel rush, but it's hard to say about the summer travel rush. Morale? It's just so-so. What year doesn't this happen? Unless the seafarers simply stop paying taxes, but that's highly unlikely."
"That's true," Shao Shuyi sighed.
That's how it is for ordinary people. They sell their children to pay taxes and serve in the government. As long as they can barely survive, they will silently endure it until the day they can no longer bear it.
"Damn it, you're going to the nunnery again..." Suddenly, the old woman's wailing and lamentation came from the neighbor's courtyard.
"Never mind that!" The old man angrily waved his hand and walked towards Yile Temple.
"The White Lotus Sect?" Kong Tie was a local and naturally knew what a nunnery was, so he asked.
"It's the White Lotus Sect, don't get involved," Shao Shuyi said as he forcefully cut the meat.
Kong Tie straightened up, stared at the person opposite him for a moment, then nodded and said, "What man of the sea would believe such things?"
Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement. He believed it. Even in the 21st century, his hometown north of the Yangtze River still had a place called Tianfei Palace, which showed how widespread the Mazu belief had spread and how it had become a major spiritual totem for the residents of the coastal areas.
The White Lotus sect couldn't get anywhere here. They could only try to get close to the upper class, exploiting wealthy households to fund the construction of temples. But compared to the numerous Tianfei Palaces that had sprung up everywhere, this was far inferior.
"What do you believe in? The White Lotus Sect?" Wang Huadu and Yu Yuan came over carrying washed vegetables and rinsed rice.
"Dog slave, have you been to a nunnery before?" Kong Tie seemed to have thought of something, grabbed Wang Huadu and asked.
"No." Wang Huadu put down the dishes and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "I've been to Yelikewen Temple before, just for the novelty."
Kong Tie stared for a moment, then looked away.
"Go start the fire, you slave." Shao Shuyi laughed and gave him a push.
Without saying a word, Kong Tie walked directly to the rice steamer, preparing to start a fire.
The four of them sat in the kitchen, inhaling the aroma and chatting casually.
"Baijianu, are you going to Dadu this time?" Yu Yuan asked curiously, hiding at the back.
Perhaps because he came from a scholarly family, Yu Yuan had a fair complexion and few calluses on his hands, indicating that he had never suffered hardship since childhood. Moreover, he was the only one of the four, besides Shao Shuyi, who could read and write.
Logically speaking, he wasn't one of the same kind of people as the seafarers and station dwellers. But to be honest, given the nature of the Yuan Dynasty, there were countless instances of scholars being disgraced, and many families fleeing because they couldn't pay their taxes. The world only saw those literati who frequently gathered and played, but they were more like wealthy gentry and powerful people than scholars, completely different from the impoverished scholars.
After Master Yu passed away, his family could only make a living by tending a small plot of land. Yu Yuan, as the youngest child of the master, had only a superficial understanding of the subject and had already mingled with the lower-class boatmen, post station workers, artisans, and soldiers.
Upon hearing his question, Governor Wang Hua casually patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to go to Dadu; we'll disembark at Zhigu."
Kong Tie nodded slowly and said, "Someone will go to Dadu to deliver gifts, but not me. There are quite a few preserved chickens stored in the warehouse."
Shao Shuyi laughed after hearing this.
For some reason, people in the south at this time liked to give preserved poultry as gifts. In particular, southerners who went to Dadu (Beijing) to seek official positions gave preserved chickens everywhere, to the point that the nobles in Dadu used "preserved chicken" as one of the derogatory terms for southerners.
"If we can't go to Dadu, it's good to visit Zhigu. Come back and tell us about the local customs and products," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
Kong Tie nodded first, then looked into Shao Shuyi's eyes and asked, "Is Xiao Hu very curious about the North?"
Shao Shuyi made no attempt to hide his thoughts, stating directly, "Of course I'm very interested."
"Then why don't you come to sea with me?" Kong Tie was still bothered by this matter and pressed on, "What are your plans for the future? To work for the Zheng family for the rest of your life?"
"If only it could be like that," Shao Shuyi sighed softly, "but once the world falls into chaos, even that will be impossible."
Besides, he still has a hurdle to overcome—who knows what this mission is all about? It might be very risky, but there's no need to say it out loud in front of everyone.
Kong Tie's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
Yu Yuan looked completely bewildered.
Wang Huadu was startled and exclaimed, "Is the world about to descend into chaos? Little Tiger, don't scare me like that."
"Why would I scare you?" Shao Shuyi said helplessly.
Wang Huadu laughed and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter if things get chaotic. I'm all alone, with only a worthless life, so I'll just live one day at a time. But if I ever can't survive anymore, I'll take a gamble and maybe I can become an official."
Kong Tie glanced at Wang Huadu with an approving look, then swept his gaze over Yu Yuan and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Shao Shuyi took in everyone's expressions and said after a moment, "Who can know for sure what the future holds? But it's always good to be prepared, so as not to be caught off guard in the future."
Kong Tie glanced at Shao Shuyi, then quickly looked away.
"What does 'prepare for a rainy day' mean?" Wang Huadu asked blankly.
"It means to make preparations in advance," Yu Yuan explained in a low voice.
Wang Huadu slapped his shoulder hard again, making Yu Yuan wince in pain.
"Yu She is right, we should prepare in advance," Shao Shuyi said. "This world is probably getting more and more chaotic. As the saying goes, one person's wisdom is limited, but many people's wisdom is greater. If we are divided, we are weak, but if we are united, we are strong. If we have spare strength in the future, we should help each other and watch out for each other. Only in this way can we find a glimmer of hope in this chaotic world."
"That's right!" Wang Huadu slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Even in a fight in the countryside, having more people increases your chances of winning."
Kong Tie glanced at Shao Shuyi again and nodded slightly.
Yu Yuan hummed in response, his face showing a mixture of fear, worry, and even excitement.
"Let's eat first," Shao Shuyi said, standing up. "We can discuss these plans later. In this world, we can only take it one step at a time; who can be certain that everything will be perfect?"