Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 50 First Look

"Where is Li Fu?" Zhou She didn't answer, but his lackeys jumped out and shouted loudly.

"Get out of the way." Wang Huadu heard the commotion in the courtyard and jumped out. He glanced at the five people who came, his hand already unconsciously reaching for his waist.

"Why is it you again?" Zhou She ignored Wang Huadu and stared intently at Shao Shuyi, his gaze both unfriendly and surprised.

"May I ask what brings you here, Zhou She?" Shao Shuyi bowed and asked.

"Of course I'm here to see Li Fu, it's none of your business," Zhou She said, glancing subconsciously at the wind-drilling boat moored on the banks of the Lou River.

"Li Fu has recently lost his wife and is not in a position to receive guests," Shao Shuyi said. "Zhou She, please return."

"I don't care if his parents or wife and children are dead." Zhou She was a little unhappy. He turned his head and ordered the four people who came with him, "You guys—two of you go in. Even if Li Fu is only breathing, carry him out and ask him if he wants the boat."

"Yes," the two replied and walked towards the courtyard gate.

"Get lost! Someone's already bought the boat." Wang Huadu drew his short blade with a swift motion, brandished it a couple of times, and sneered, "My brother has already found a guarantor and signed a contract to buy this Wind-Drilling Sea Loach. Even the government has issued a formal invoice. You want to steal it?"

As they were talking, Kong Tie and Yu Yuan came out. The former was holding a carrying pole, while the latter was holding a kitchen knife.

The two lackeys, who were good at bullying kind-hearted people, hesitated when faced with a ruthless person who dared to fight them to the death. Although they carried short blades such as daggers, they dared not hand them out.

Wang Huadu glanced at them contemptuously and said, "Have you ever killed anyone? Have you ever seen blood? Do you know how far blood can splatter when you stab a hole in someone's neck?"

Yu Yuan glanced at Shao Shuyi subconsciously, thinking to himself that he could really spray a lot of air, which was terrifying. His brother was really amazing, cutting off people's heads without changing his expression.

Yu Chu, who was standing not far away, originally wanted to stay out of it, but seeing her younger brother get involved, she couldn't hold back any longer. She coughed lightly, stepped forward, and bowed, saying, "Zhou She, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

Just as Zhou She was about to get angry, he heard the voice and felt it sounded familiar. He subconsciously looked over, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Are you Yu, the translator of the Grand Canal?"

"Interpreter," Yu Chu corrected with a smile, then added, "I've come here today to deliver official documents to Accountant Shao."

"What? It's true?" Zhou She asked, somewhat surprised. "How come I didn't hear about this from the prefectural government?"

"Zhou She, both the buyer and seller are seafarers, and the transaction involves ships, so the official invoice is issued by the grain transport office," Yu Chu said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"This shouldn't be!" Zhou She said, somewhat annoyed. "Isn't the Grand Canal Administration under the jurisdiction of the provincial government?"

"Let Zhou She know that the Grain Transport Office has always been directly under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat." Yu Chu continued, "Because it is located in Jiangnan, the Jiangzhe Provincial Secretariat (abbreviated as 'province' or 'province') can also exercise limited jurisdiction over it. Its responsibilities are threefold: first, 'making decisions on grain transport'; second, 'distributing travel expenses'; and third, 'coordinating maritime transport'. Besides these, only the Censorate and the Censorate can supervise the Grain Transport Office. Is Zhou She now clear?"

Zhou She's expression turned ugly.

Shao Shuyi looked at him and chuckled inwardly.

To put it simply, the Grain Transport Office was like a centrally-administered state-owned enterprise directly under the State Council with a high administrative level. Grain transport was its main business, and the seafarers were its employees.

In reality, the Caofu (Grand Canal Administration) was under the dual leadership of the Central Secretariat and the Jiangzhe Province.

The former had a business connection, specifically with the maritime transport department under the grain office of the Left Secretariat of the Central Secretariat; it also had a political connection, namely, the Central Secretariat decided on the appointment and removal of senior officials in the Grand Canal Administration.

In the matter of transporting grain, the task of the Jiangzhe Province was to collect the tax grain to be transported, send it to various warehouses under the jurisdiction of the Grain Transport Office for storage, and decide when to start transporting it the following year.

During transportation, the Jiangzhe Province would send a senior official as the maritime transport coordinator to direct the grain transport and allocate a portion of the province's taxes as a water transport fee to the grain transport office.

In short, the officials of the Maritime Transport Department of the Secretariat in Dadu (Beijing) formulated the grain transport plan, the Jiangzhe Province provided the funds and grain, the Grain Transport Office was responsible for transportation, and the Censorate and the Bureau of Investigation and Inspection supervised the process.

It sounds like each has its own responsibilities, but the Grand Canal Administration was located in the Jiangzhe region, and its relationship with local officials was inextricably intertwined and complicated. To put it simply, Kunshan Prefecture could govern the "various household registrations" within its jurisdiction, including seafarers, but with the Grand Canal Administration overseeing them, it wasn't so convenient to manage them.

Zhou She was probably used to the Pingjiang Circuit and Kunshan Prefecture managing the seafarers, but he didn't expect that, theoretically, the Grand Canal Administration also had jurisdiction over them. As a means of transportation, the sale of ships was always documented by official receipts issued by the Grand Canal Administration.

Someone beat us to it!

"If Zhou She feels it's inappropriate—" Yu Chu changed the subject and added, "Anyway, the contract has already been signed and the sale has been completed. It's not impossible to get another official receipt from the state government."

"Hmph!" Zhou She's face turned cold. "It's just a boat. I don't even care about it. You can keep this piece of junk yourselves."

With that, he waved his hand and stormed off.

"You spineless cowards!" Wang Huadu laughed loudly, brandishing his gleaming short blade at the group of people.

Kong Tie grabbed him and said, "The person is already gone, why provoke them further?"

"I just don't like him," Wang Huadu said loudly. "Back then, Zhang Neng hired someone to kill someone; who knows if he was involved?"

"Alright." Shao Shuyi coughed lightly.

Wang Huadu gradually calmed down and turned back to his courtyard to continue his work.

"Thank you for speaking up for justice, Lord Yu." Shao Shuyi turned to Yu Chu and bowed.

Yu Chu returned the greeting and said, "It's my duty."

At the same time, he sighed inwardly. When his father passed away last year, he held his hand and told him to take good care of his younger brother. What could he do? His second brother was too deeply involved with these people; there was no way to call him back.

After thanking Yu Chu, Shao Shuyi pulled Kong Tie aside, counted out a coin for him, and whispered, "Find some people you know and ask them to tow this boat to Qian's boat shop."

"We don't need that much," Kong Tie said.

"Let's treat the craftsmen from the shipyard to a meal; perhaps we'll be doing business together more often in the future," Shao Shuyi said.

"Okay." Kong Tie didn't waste any more words and accepted the money.

Shao Shuyi walked over to Yu Yuan and gave him the rest of the money, saying, "Brother, I lent you money before, I can't remember how much, so here it all is for you. Use it as you see fit, buy whatever anyone needs. We're all brothers, how can we suffer? Once you're done here, hurry back to the shop."

Having said that, he clapped his clean hands and said, "Let's go."

He had only taken two steps when he turned back, took a single banknote from Yu Yuan's hand, and laughed, "I almost didn't have enough money for the boat."

Yu Yuan also smiled.

Yu Chu looked at Shao Shuyi and thought he seemed a bit carefree, but he was also a public-spirited and generous man. No wonder his third brother followed him around all day, calling him "brother" this and "brother" that.

As he walked along the road, several boatmen he encountered greeted him and praised him, indicating that he had gained some fame.

This person is interesting.

******

Meanwhile, Zhou She returned home in a huff, just as he was about to find a concubine to vent his anger, when he heard that Sun Chuan had arrived.

So he straightened his clothes and strode into the living room.

"Why are you so angry?" Sun Chuan glanced at him and asked.

"Don't mention it." Zhou She sat down and recounted what had just happened.

"What a pity," Sun Chuan said, shaking his head. "Building a new wind-drilling ship now costs far more than five hundred ingots. The ship you were about to get has flown away. Sigh, you're just unlucky."

"It's alright." Zhou She waved his hand defiantly, saying, "Perhaps another ship will appear somewhere in a few days."

Sun Chuan chuckled lightly and said nothing more.

Zhou Ziliang's ancestors were wealthy people from the riverside, and they controlled many fishermen, so they were better informed than he was.

If a seafaring family is on the verge of collapse, the news will quickly reach them, and they will either come to their door to borrow money or buy back their ships and servants—they'll do it much more easily than the shipowners themselves.

"Another shipment is due?" Zhou She asked after calming down.

"Yes," Sun Chuan nodded, "A new batch of goods has arrived in Taizhou, but its origin is questionable. Find some reliable people to transport it away tonight."

"Where are we taking it?" Zhou She asked dismissively.

Sometimes Sun Chuan's goods are fine, and sometimes their origin is unclear. I often use him for transportation, and I've gotten used to it.

"You'll need to go to Shanghai to pick me up," Sun Chuan said. "I have someone going on the ship with me to transport me to Jiangning on Jiqing Road. Don't ask any questions, just bring the ship back empty. I can give you fifty ingots in advance for the fare, and another fifty ingots when we get back."

"Okay." Zhou She had no problem with it.

He dares to do what others wouldn't, otherwise how would he make money? Transporting stolen goods is just a small matter.

But then he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Is it Cai Luantou's stuff?"

"Hmm?" Sun Chuan glanced at him with some displeasure.

Zhou She's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show any weakness on the surface, pretending to be disdainful as he said, "Forget it, it's not like I'm that curious."

Sun Chuan's brows relaxed, as if to comfort him, and he said, "That Shao Shuyi you mentioned earlier is indeed annoying, always jumping around. If you have the guts, I can introduce you to a few salt farmers. They're all from Jiangbei, and they're more reliable than your servants or fish farmers. The authorities will have a hard time investigating them."

Zhou She's eyes flickered slightly, and he countered, "Shao Shuyi ruined Wang Sheng, don't you hate him?"

Sun Chuan shook his head and said, "Many people in Taicang and Liujiagang have offended me. Do I have to retaliate against them all? They're just clowns, not worth taking action against."

Zhou She, however, was somewhat skeptical.

When Wang Sheng was around, Sun Chuan estimated that he could earn several hundred ingots a year from Zheng Ji's antique shop. This was not a lot of money, but it was a steady stream of income. I don't believe Sun Chuan didn't feel the pinch; he was no saint.

"The clown is jumping so high, if you don't do anything, you'll fall into his trap sooner or later," Zhou She said sullenly.