usatvline Chapter 187 Entering the City
Chapter 187 Entering the City
Chapter 187 Entering the City
After nightfall, the twenty porters were arranged to rest in the empty warehouse.
They were rather reserved, perhaps because it was their first time there, or perhaps because they saw people sitting cross-legged by the woods, bamboo groves, and reeds, wiping their equipment.
Some of the brightest minds even speculated that these people were doing some shady business behind the scenes. And judging from their composed demeanor, they had obviously succeeded many times, which was quite enviable. As times have become increasingly difficult, some things that were previously undesirable or unthinkable have become options. As the saying goes, if you're willing to compromise, there's always a way.
"Buddha Tooth, I'll temporarily entrust the affairs of Huangtian Trading Company to you." Shao Shuyi stood outside the signing room, looking at the flickering lights on the Pingyi ship so close by, and said, "We should have news from Liujiagang in a few days. If the Shen family makes large purchases of cloth and other goods, we should be able to ship several boatloads of goods here. These are all Huangtian Trading Company's transactions, but you don't have any ships. I've already made arrangements; whichever of the four ships under Shengye Trading Company—Taijia, Taiyi, Kunjia, and Kunyi—is available, you can borrow it to stabilize the business here for now."
Liang Tai frowned slightly. It wasn't that he was unwilling, but rather that he was relatively unfamiliar with the field of business operations and worried that he wouldn't be able to manage this kind of thing well.
"Let Yang Fucai help you," Shao Shuyi said. "It's hard to say what his character is like, but his skills are passable. You just need to keep an eye on the general direction, and let him handle the specifics. Give him some authority and approve more funding, and that should be enough to manage."
There should still be over eighty-three ingots of cash in the account, more than enough. The flat-bottomed ship that sailed to Liujiagang today will net Huangtian Trading Company about ten ingots of cash. If we make a few more deals like this, by the end of the year, half of your investment will have been recovered, and next year you will have completely broken even. Every year after that will be pure profit. Therefore, you must manage these deals well, understand? Don't take your money lightly.
Finally, after discussing business with you, I'd like to talk about the twenty towmen we've recruited. When there's work to be done, they'll work for Yang Fucai; when there's free time, they'll work for you. But you should keep an eye on them, as towing is very physically demanding. Don't put them to military drills the day after they've finished towing.
When practicing, avoid people. You can choose the specific location yourself, just don't do it in public. The equipment might not be ready for a while; we'll discuss that after I meet with Han De. Have them practice spear thrusting, blocking, and striking techniques first. They should have the equipment soon. If you can't buy it, make it yourself; it'll just cost a little more, but it's not a big problem.
In short, I'm handing over Huangtian Trading Company to you ahead of schedule, so please manage it with some difficulty."
Liang Tai nodded slowly and added, "I will resign from this position once my elder brother returns."
"We'll talk about it when the time comes," Shao Shuyi said. "Don't think these things are too hot to handle. You all have to go through this eventually. Make up for your weaknesses and familiarize yourselves with daily affairs. It will be beneficial for the future."
"Okay, I understand," Liang Tai said.
"Is there anything else? I'll tell you all while I'm still here," Shao Shuyi said again.
"I wrote a letter to my childhood playmates before the New Year; they were all from the Pizhou Wanhu Prefecture."
The two then started talking about recruiting deserters and unemployed military households. According to Liang Tai, there were three or five people who still couldn't find work after the New Year, so they came to him together. Judging by the time, they should be arriving in Taicang soon.
Shao Shuyi immediately nodded in agreement.
After discussing this matter, they moved on to the story of the artillerymen and craftsmen from Huzhou purchasing firearms from the Wanhu government office.
******
On February 13th, Shao Shuyi went into the city.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but it seemed like someone was following him on the street, peeking and looking around furtively.
He set up an ambush at the corner, hoping to catch any potential followers, but he never saw a figure.
Having spent years walking the line between the light and the shadows, he immediately knew that as he made more and more public appearances, more and more people were paying attention to him.
After making a long, winding detour and confirming that the tail behind them had disappeared, Shao Shuyi led Tie Niu and the others into Yang's Grain Shop.
"They might be government surveillance agents." After hearing Shao Shuyi mention this, Madam Liu immediately made a judgment. "Many scoundrels are held hostage by the officials, who often gather information for them. Recently, the world has been in turmoil, so the government has set their sights on people like you. If anyone doesn't behave, they might get punished."
"So, I'm already on the list of officials in Jiangyin Prefecture?" Shao Shuyi asked, spreading his arms wide.
Liu rolled her eyes at him, then stepped forward to take off his outer robe and hang it up.
Shao Shuyi was wearing a newly made brown silk robe, made of excellent material with fine stitching, which looked quite valuable. After struggling for so long, Shao had indeed finally started living a good life.
"Don't you know the truth yourself?" Madam Liu said, "Some people suspected you were behind the assassination of Zhu Ding last year. Later, you sold so much salted fish, caused the Zhu family to flee, and even contacted the Huai salt merchants. How many things have you done? People might not know it was you at the time, but after so much time, it wouldn't be difficult for someone to find out, would it?"
Shao Shuyi smiled, sat down in a rattan chair, and naturally stretched out one leg.
Madam Liu's words make a lot of sense. Any tricks he uses to cover things up can only delay things for a while and keep people guessing for a period of time. But as the saying goes, every contact leaves a trace. In the long run, no amount of concealment will work, especially when you recruit traitors and openly establish a trading company.
Now, "Brother Cao" is basically the number one figure in the Jiangyin Prefecture underworld. Although his strength and background are still shrouded in mystery, his existence is already known to many people.
In short, being followed today is not unjustified; it was only a matter of time.
Thinking of this, Shao Shuyi put his hands behind his head and shook his outstretched right foot.
Lady Liu's eyebrows shot up: "You're going too far! You haven't been seen all month!"
'
"I'm about to have to work my ass off," Shao Shuyi sighed. "I delivered two batches of fish and salt for you after the New Year, and our reserves are completely depleted. Your new shop in Jiangxia City is opening, so you need something to make it look good, right? Ma Tuo Sha only has two or three thousand catties of salted fish and a little over a thousand catties of salt left. By the time they're allocated to you at the end of the month, how long can they last?"
"Didn't you collect 20,000 catties of Huai salt in the twelfth lunar month?" After a moment of silence, Liu finally bent down and took off Shao Shuyi's boots.
"They've already been distributed, and we're waiting for the payment," Shao Shuyi said. "Besides, didn't you say you didn't want to sell more salt? Giving it to you wouldn't do you any good. Just wait for me to pickle the salted fish."
After saying that, he stretched out his other foot.
Liu glared at him resentfully and continued taking off her boots.
"Thump!" The boot was thrown heavily to the ground.
Liu turned and left. A moment later, she came back with a pair of wooden clogs and placed them in front of Shao Shuyi.
Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Is everything ready?"
Liu didn't answer him. She just went out to wash her hands and then started brewing tea, saying, "Fine, you can sell the white salt yourself. I'll only sell salted fish."
"Hmm." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "That's actually not bad. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. Fewer handles left behind mean more room for maneuver."
"Where are you going next?" Liu asked.
"We're out of salt. We should go get some more," Shao Shuyi said. "Jiangyin's been a bit turbulent lately. We should probably hide for a while. Sometimes it's not even directed at you, but because you're standing there, you end up getting hurt, and you have no recourse."
Liu chuckled and said, "Aren't you afraid someone will smash up your Huangtian Trading Company?"
"Go ahead and smash it," Shao Shuyi said bluntly. "The place is rented, we don't own a single boat, and the staff are all newly recruited. If someone comes knocking on our door in a huff, the accountant and the treasurer will take the money boxes and run away by boat, leaving the rest to you. We'll deal with it when I get back."
Liu was speechless. This old fellow was truly cunning and shrewd; he was incredibly shrewd in his dealings.
However, she also knew that things weren't as easy as Old Ghost made them out to be. For people like them, face was extremely important; once they lost face, their substance would soon follow suit.
"You still haven't said what brings you to the city today?" After the tea was brewed, Madam Liu brought over a cup and placed it on the low table next to the rattan chair.
Shao Shuyi gently put his arm around Liu's waist. Liu stiffened slightly and gently tried to break free.
Shao Shuyi exerted a little force, resolutely pulling her into his arms. Liu's resistance slowly melted away, and she gently sat down.
"You're getting bolder and bolder." She rolled her eyes at Shao Shuyi and said, "You weren't like this before."
"Water has no constant form, and soldiers have no constant tactics," Shao Shuyi said. "When you have nothing, you naturally have to flatter and fawn, but when you can arbitrarily rule the local area, there's no need for that anymore. I'm in high demand now."
Madam Liu chuckled and said, "If you want to find a peasant girl or a merchant's wife, you can naturally line up and choose. But if you want to find a woman from a scholar-official family, that's impossible. You're just talking big."
Shao Shuyi was embarrassed by what she said, because it was the truth. The best woman he could find now was someone like Madam Liu, or perhaps a younger version of her (his niece whom he had mentioned before).
"Then I'll just have to make do with you for now," Shao Shuyi laughed. "Never mind, let's not talk about that. The reason I came to the city today is actually to meet someone at the Confucian Temple."
"Who is it?"
"Han De, Deputy Commander of the Han Army and Interpreter."
"You think he'll come just because you tell him to?"
"If they have something on you, of course you'll have to do it!" Shao Shuyi laughed.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and Yu Yuan said softly in the corridor, "Brother, Liu, the centurion under Han De, has arrived."
"Has Han De arrived?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"He should have come, but he didn't show himself. He only sent a centurion surnamed Liu to the Lotus Pond of the Confucian Academy to meet with Yang Jin."
"Okay, I'll be right there," Shao Shuyi replied.
"What do you want with Han De?" Liu asked.
"He's a deputy commander of a thousand men, and the Han army's defense zone covers Jiangyin and Changshu prefectures, so he's very useful," Shao Shuyi said. "Furthermore, even without considering the future, there are immediate uses for Han De, not just in buying equipment from him."
"What else?" Liu asked instinctively.
"Let's see if he wants a promotion or not," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
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