usatvline Chapter 58 In Full Swing
Chapter 58 In Full Swing
Li Zhuang certainly didn't come; it was Wang Hua who tricked Qian Baishi.
However, he felt no guilt for lying. When faced with Qian Baishi's long face, he chuckled and said, "Brother Shao and Master Li are close friends despite their age difference. It was your master who introduced me to the ship repair business, so don't treat me like an outsider."
Qian Baishi snorted coldly, found a stool to sit down, and asked, "What is it?"
"Repair the ship." Wang Huadu took out a wad of cash from his pocket and handed it over.
Qian Baishi glanced at him suspiciously, then carefully examined the money and found there were actually five ingots. A smile slowly spread across his face as he said, "I thought you'd need a few more days to raise the money, but I didn't expect you to come today. Alright, I'll arrange it for you right away. However—"
"What's wrong?"
"Five ingots are not enough," Qian Baishi said. "Five more ingots would be more like it."
Wang Huadu knew that Shao Shuyi's "budget" was ten ingots, but this cunning fellow pretended to be displeased and said, "The Zhou family only has seven ingots for three boats, while my family has ten ingots for one boat. Are you even human?"
Qian Baishi was too lazy to argue with him. He beckoned to a craftsman and said, "Second Brother, after breakfast, take some men to repair the wind-drilling boat."
"Should we pull it ashore?" Erlang asked.
"Yes, we'll do it." Qian Baishi nodded. "If we need more manpower, we'll hire more as soon as possible."
"How do we fix it?" Erlang glanced at Wang Huadu and asked meaningfully.
Wang Huadu glared at the man, as if to say, "Don't try to fool me."
Qian Baishi didn't mince words and said directly, "Repair it properly, and use solid materials."
Erlang didn't waste any more words and turned to leave.
Wang Huadu's anger turned to joy, and he laughed, "Bai Shi, from this day forward you are my brother."
"When your brother loses money, you can't even sleep well." Qian Baishi said irritably.
Wang Huadu didn't seem to care and asked again, "What about the three canal boats?"
It would have been better if he hadn't brought it up, because as soon as he did, Qian Baishi's face turned ugly.
"Let Erlang and the others fix it; I'm too lazy to bother." Qian Baishi shook his head and added, "Fine, since Master introduced them, I'll personally fix the wind-blown boat. When do you need it?"
"The sooner the better."
"It'll cost extra if it's fast."
"I'll go talk to your master."
"No!" Qian Baishi said helplessly, "Get out of my sight right now, you're annoying to look at. Ten ingots of paper money, I hope I'm not losing money..."
"Hey, don't say that," Wang Huadu laughed. "I see you've stocked up on a lot of materials, haven't you? You bought them a while ago, right? They were cheaper back then."
"Believe it or not, I'll get my apprentices to beat you up." Qian Baishi snorted coldly, not bothering to argue with Wang Huadu, and walked straight to a canal boat that had been pulled ashore.
Several apprentices were eating with their bowls in hand when they saw this, so they immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks, stood up and bowed.
"Alright, alright." Qian Baishi waved his hand, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Sanqi, how much will it cost to repair this boat?"
The man called "Sanqi" hesitated and said, "Master, this boat is leaking a bit; we'll need to replace quite a few of the bottom and side planks."
Qian Baishi frowned.
The so-called replacement does not mean removing the damaged plank, but rather patching it up, which requires new planks and shanks (iron nails), and the cost is not small.
"Only seven ingots!" Qian Baishi sighed. "We used to have old boards, so we used those. We used fewer nails, but these little things aren't cheap these days. The blacksmith's shop changes its prices every day, it's a real headache."
"Master, those old planks aren't ship planks, are they... are they suitable?" Sanqi asked, somewhat surprised.
"This boat is just sailing on the Yangtze River, what big of a problem could there be?" Qian Baishi said, "The Drilling Wind Sea Spinner is about to lose money, we can't lose money on two projects at the same time, can we? We can't refuse our master's request, so we can only—never mind, why am I telling you all this, just do as I say."
"Yes," Sanqi replied, then asked, "Does the mast need to be replaced?"
"What's wrong with the mast?" Qian Baishi asked, startled.
"It's not very sturdy; it's quite old."
"This is a big deal..." Qian Baishi said with a headache.
Masts are expensive and represent a major expense on a ship.
"No replacement!" Qian Baishi thought for a moment and rejected the idea outright. "It's just repairing a boat, why should we have to pay for it ourselves? Let's just make do with it, it's not like we're going out to sea."
"Yes." Sanqi said without further ado.
The basic principle is clear: we can't lose money; we should even make a profit, otherwise, wouldn't all our efforts be in vain?
Why were you so stingy, only giving me seven ingots? You get what you pay for, that's all.
******
Inside the old house in Yantietang, Zheng Yonghe sat on Caizhi Terrace, basking in the sun in comfort.
Today is windless and sunny, which couldn't be better for someone his age.
Zheng Guozhen, Zheng Song, Zheng Fan, and other members of the Zheng family stood silently by his side.
"It's almost the end of winter, has the Ye family's ship arrived in Quanzhou yet?" Zheng Yonghe squinted at the strange rocks, pond, and weeping willows below the stage and asked softly.
"Perhaps they have arrived," Zheng Guozhen replied. "They should be selling their blue-and-white artifacts and purchasing local products right now. They will look for an opportunity to head north again around April next year. If the winds are unfavorable, we may have to wait a while longer."
"This is a business we'll have to do often in the future," Zheng Yonghe said. "Back when I first entered the Canal Transport Office, the first thing I did was to reorganize the canal registers. At that time, I traveled to all seven thousand-household offices and saw all kinds of ships. I thought then that one day I would also sail the world and see the customs and cultures of different countries. It's just a pity that in my whole life, I only traveled back and forth between Liujiagang and Zhigu a few times. After the ship that went to Srivijaya returns, bring that accountant to see me."
Zheng Guozhen bowed his head and agreed.
Zheng Fan's face showed joy.
Zheng Song frowned slightly.
Zheng Yonghe didn't care what the younger generation thought, and only said, "Last night, my eldest nephew from the Song family told me that the ostensible culprit behind this trouble was the Maritime Trade Office, but secretly it was a broker named Sun Chuan who was behind it. I'm not senile yet; wasn't Wang Chunhe instigated by this Sun Chuan before?"
"Wang Chun and Ying have been colluding with Sun Chuan for a long time," Zheng Guozhen said.
Zheng Yonghe seemed not to hear him, only smiled and said, "Wang Chunhe's father grew up with me since childhood, but unfortunately he didn't live long and passed away in middle age. Chunhe was good by nature, I have always known that, but he was just led astray by others."
He sighed softly, turned to look at his son, and said, "I'm afraid you're not convinced by what I'm saying, are you?"
"I wouldn't dare," Zheng Guozhen said.
"You're just too calculating," Zheng Yonghe said. "You seem to have your own set of ideas, rewarding merit and punishing demerit, using both kindness and severity—this is certainly the right way, but it lacks a bit of human touch. It's not good to only consider human feelings in everything. It's also not good to ignore human feelings in everything. You'll have to figure out the intricacies of this."
Having said that, Zheng Yonghe put his hands behind his back and stepped down from Caizhi Terrace.
A girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old, stood below the stage, dressed in a white fox fur coat that shimmered with a pearly silver glow in the sunlight.
Her jet-black hair was styled into a double-loop bun, a common hairstyle for young women in Jiangnan, and tied with beads.
Perhaps because of the cold weather, her beautiful face had a faint blush.
Her phoenix eyes had slightly upturned corners and a bright color.
Her nose bridge was slightly higher than that of an average woman, and her lips were a natural blush without any rouge.
Upon seeing his grandfather, he smiled slightly and walked over, naturally helping him up.
"Amu is still the one who gives me the least trouble." Zheng Yonghe looked at his granddaughter with loving eyes and said with emotion.
Amu smiled and said, "Uncle is destined for great things; this family depends on him to support it."
Zheng Yonghe smiled and asked, "Has your aunt visited you recently?"
"They came the day before yesterday and gave me a box of jewelry," Amu said.
Zheng Yonghe nodded and said nothing more.
His third son may have many things that he is not satisfied with, but there is one thing about him: he is good to his family, which makes him very happy.
The second son, Guocai, was shipwrecked at a young age, leaving behind only Amu as his heir.
He's getting old; I don't know how much longer he can take care of things.
I wonder if my granddaughter will be mistreated by her husband's family after she gets married.
Zheng Yonghe had become indifferent to many things, but he just couldn't let go of his family.
On the Caizhi Terrace, Zheng Guozhen watched his father and niece's departing figures and said, "Yifang, where did Xiaohu run off to? He's so young, yet he can't keep his composure. He hides away at the slightest trouble."
At this point, he shook his head and smiled, saying, "He's really gotten good at it. He's got three burrows, and most people can't find him."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Song stepped forward and said, "Yu Yuan, the inner accountant, is still in the shop. He is very close to Shao Shuyi and should know where he is hiding. You can summon him here and question him in person."
"Thirteenth Brother, don't scare them," Zheng Fan said, displeased.
Zheng Song glanced at him and said, "You're a member of the Zheng family, you should plan for the Zheng clan. Although the Maritime Trade Office made a false accusation, the officials can't do anything about it. Besides, do you know that Sun Chuan went to the prefectural government today, willing to donate 500 shi of rice to help set up the North City Patrol Office? The Grain Transport Commissioner seems to have considerable power, but he can't control the prefectural government or the Maritime Trade Office. The promotion and demotion of its officials, big and small, are decided by Hangzhou, so they are fearless. If you want to overturn the case, what will you use to satisfy these officials' appetites?"
Zheng Fan hadn't heard the news that Sun Chuan had gone to the prefectural government office, so he was somewhat surprised and asked, "What is Sun Chuan doing at the prefectural government office?"
"Three things—" Zheng Song held up three fingers and said, "First, Shao Shuyi is a fugitive who has not paid his taxes this year; second, there are many suspicious points surrounding Zhang Neng's death, and I request the prefectural government to conduct a thorough investigation; third, Shao Shuyi is suspected of being a member of the White Lotus sect, and I request his arrest and prosecution."
"This leaves no way out," Zheng Fan said instinctively.
"Since we've already started fighting, of course we should beat them to death," Zheng Song said matter-of-factly.
"Whose side are you on anyway?" Zheng Fan asked, dissatisfied.
I'll stick to the facts.
"If we stand idly by, wouldn't we discourage everyone?"
"So what price are you prepared to pay?" Zheng Song asked. "Previously, Kunshan Prefecture requested 300 seafarers to cultivate government land, but the grain transport office refused. When repairing roads, they requested 1,000 seafarers, but only 400 were given. There are many similar cases. Do you think it's easy? Or will you bribe the officials of Kunshan Prefecture?"
"Can't we ask someone for help?" Zheng Fan asked.
"The most precious thing in the world is human relationships; once you use one, it's gone forever," Zheng Song said.
"So you're just going to do nothing?" Zheng Fan said unhappily.
"I just—"
"Enough!" Zheng Guozhen turned around, looked at the two of them, and said, "They're coming for me."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fan and Zheng Song stopped arguing and waited for what was to come.
Zheng Guozhen paused for a moment, then said, "Yifang, go to the inn and find Yu Yuan. Ask him what Xiao Hu is up to. I want to hear his ideas before making a decision."