usatvline Chapter 79 Dividing the Money
Chapter 79 Dividing the Money
Chapter 79 Dividing the Money (Part 2)
"Brother Shao, I don't need that much either." After Li Fu finished speaking, Yu Yuan said embarrassedly, "I can't fight in close combat, I'm very useless, I'm really embarrassed to take so much."
Shao Shuyi remained silent.
You say you didn't perform well, but what about me, the person who got my hat swept off in two moves? Did I perform well?
"In naval battles, firearms are indispensable," Shao Shuyi said. "Yu She, none of us here can load ammunition as fast as you. You even boasted to me last time that you could load bullets with your eyes closed. Isn't that a skill? On the day of the battle, you fired several shots in succession, making a great contribution. You should take the money you deserve, don't be shy."
"Yu She, take it. If you don't, the others will feel uneasy," Kong Tie, sitting beside him, advised.
Yu Yuan was a smart man. After hearing this, he understood something, nodded slowly, and said, "Brother Shao, I'll listen to you."
Kong Tie looked at Shao Shuyi calmly and said, "Xiao Hu, let's divide it like this. But—should we keep some public funds for maintaining the ships, repairing equipment, and purchasing food and water? We'll also need money if anyone gets injured or sick."
Shao Shuyi was secretly surprised; Baijia Nu was quite thoughtful. He then said, "Since there are few people now, I can take on these responsibilities. But you're right, as the number of people grows, we'll need to establish rules. Without rules, there can be no order."
When the peasant army first rose up, what was the biggest problem? It was that there was no rule of law, and everything had to be figured out by trial and error.
Some things, if no one teaches you, you may even have to pay a bloody price to learn them on your own.
The saying "learning war through war" refers to this kind of thing.
Seeing that Shao Shuyi had already made up his mind, Kong Tie nodded and said, "Let's divide it like this, I have no problem with it."
Shao Shuyi looked at Liang Tai one last time.
Liang Tai was a man of few words; he only said "okay" and then said nothing more.
"Then let's do it this way," Shao Shuyi finally decided.
No one objected, and they began to eat.
The ware shop had no business, but the food was only slightly worse, and everyone ate very happily.
Strictly speaking, Shao Shuyi's actions constituted a misuse of public funds, so he planned to leave some cash in the account later as payment for the meal.
Zheng Fan did occasionally have his personal attendants and servants eat at the shop, but they were members of the Zheng family and different from him, who was not of the same surname, so they could not be treated the same way.
After everyone finished eating, Huang and her nephew took away the bowls and chopsticks. Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, there's something else today. After distributing the money, I want to go to Shanghai County to buy land. After all, prices are soaring, and money kept at home will become less and less valuable. It's more worthwhile to exchange it for land. What do you all think?"
"Brother Shao, I'll buy land with you," Wang Huadu exclaimed. "Wherever you buy, I'll buy too. It'll be convenient to stay close by and have easy access to supplies."
Shao Shuyi glared at him, then explained to the crowd, "My intention is to purchase land in Gaochang Township, Shanghai County—"
The Songjiang Prefecture's Shanghai County comprised five townships: Gaochang Township, Changren Township, Xinjiang Township, Beiting Township, and Haiyu Township—covering an area of two to three thousand square kilometers according to their corresponding later regions.
Gaochang Township is located in the northern part of Shanghai County, corresponding to the two banks of the Huangpu River in later times, including part of Puxi, and extending eastward to the sea.
The western half of the territory was mainly engaged in agriculture, while the eastern half was mainly engaged in salt production. However, there was also some agriculture, such as the Chuansha area in later generations, which already had a certain scale of rice cultivation at this time, even though it was already very close to the sea.
After Shao Shuyi finished his brief introduction, seeing that everyone was still confused, he laughed and said, "Enough of this talk, we have to go and see for ourselves. Actually, I heard it from Rongfu Gong. His friend bought land in Sanlin Village, Gaochang Township to grow cotton, and he told me to go and take a look. There are people selling land there."
"Brother Shao—" Yu Yuan said softly.
"Speak," Shao Shuyi nodded, gesturing for him to speak.
"I've heard that Shanghai County has a system where rice is grown in the west and cotton in the east. Since we've bought the land, should we use it to grow cotton?"
"I still want to grow rice," Shao Shuyi said. "But what exactly can be grown remains to be seen. Where did you hear that Shanghai grows rice in the west and cotton in the east?"
"I forgot which book I read it in," Yu Yuan said embarrassedly. "My brother took the book away; he doesn't like me reading random books."
"I see." Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "There must be a reason why Shanghai's agriculture is structured this way. I intend to buy rice paddies first, and if that's not possible, then I'll buy cotton paddies. If neither is available, then I'll buy wasteland and see which is suitable to plant."
"
Yu Yuan nodded and said, "Brother Shao, I'll buy some too, but I'm afraid I won't be able to buy many."
"Yu She, what are you worried about?" Wang Huadu said, "Not only rice and cotton grow in Pudong, but also salt! You idiot!"
Yu Yuan suddenly realized.
So it turns out Brother Shao wasn't going to grow rice or cotton, but to trade in smuggled salt. That doesn't seem so bad.
However, he soon became somewhat apprehensive. Although following Brother Shao meant eating and drinking well, it also involved murder, robbery, and the smuggling of salt—businesses that could cost him his life.
That's not really scary; what's scary is that he didn't seem to feel any resistance. He gradually got used to it by following Brother Shao—
Shao Shuyi, of course, had no idea what Yu Yuan was thinking, and then he looked at Li Fu.
"Brother Shao, I'll go," Li Fu said. "Anyway, my family has no land, and there's nothing to miss about Taicang or Liujiagang. It's all the same wherever we live. Buying some land for the children so they can support themselves is a good thing."
Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement, then looked at Liang Tai and Kong Tie.
Liang Tai is still a "can".
He lived in Ganpu, which was also a port town. In the early years, some land was not suitable for growing rice and could only be used to grow cotton, but as time went on, rice could gradually be grown there.
Shanghai is closer to Pudong, so he had no reason to object.
Kong Tie hesitated, because he was the only one among the people present who owned a few acres of land.
However, he didn't think for long before quickly saying, "Let's leave the land at home to my younger siblings. Xiaohu, you know my family is large. If we don't acquire some new land, things will really be difficult in the future. If we have land in Pudong, we can cultivate it for a few years, and whether we grow rice or cotton, it will be a livelihood. I'll go!"
Shao Shuyi nodded happily.
Actually, before the meeting, he had already roughly analyzed everyone's thoughts. Some of them were completely alone, some had no land or wealth, and some were simply from out of town, so it didn't matter where they went.
It's an obvious fact that Liujiagang is better suited for making money than for building a career.
Pudong has a lot of undeveloped land. After acquiring some and developing it over the next few years, it will gradually become a foundation for everyone. During this period, people can make a lot of money in Liujiagang until the moment of change arrives.
Once the plan was decided, there was no more fuss.
Shao Shuyi entrusted Wang Huadu with the task of "inspecting" Pudong, and asked his uncle, who was also from Gaochang Township, to advise him on which land was worth buying.
******
On the fourth day of the second lunar month, a shallow boat of 600 liang (approximately 300 tons) sailed from the northeast, carrying cargo.
Shao Shuyi guessed that this was a ship that Shen Rong had arranged for Ye to gather, since the ship had come from the direction of Chongming and must have come specifically to load cargo.
However, Lu Zhonghe's mood was not very good after he got off the boat.
The same applies to Lu Zhonghe.
After seeing the various items the boatmen brought out, he tried to appear nonchalant, but his slightly clenched fist betrayed his true feelings.
Three thousand ingots! When will I have three thousand ingots?
The Shen family is indeed wealthy, but that belongs to the Shen family; what does it have to do with him? Even if they have children in the future, it's still uncertain whether they'll bear the surname Lu or Shen. Back then, he was so attracted by the Shen family's beauty, wealth, and prestige that he, a talented scholar, couldn't wait to marry her. Now, he realizes that was somewhat hasty.
Of the four friends of Songzhuyuan, he was the worst off, even though he was the most successful in the eyes of outsiders.
If it were just this matter, he could tolerate it. But why should Shao Shuyi, a person who should have been driven to death by exorbitant taxes and maritime storms, be allowed to climb over him so brazenly?
Humans are afraid of comparison.
In a horizontal comparison, Lu Zhonghe is no match for the Four Friends of Songzhuyuan.
In a longitudinal comparison, Lu Zhonghe was no match for Shao Shuyi, who came from a humble background.
At this moment, his mental state was on the verge of collapse, and his heart ached so much that it felt like it was going to burst.
"This is Korean goods. Have you become a pirate?" When no one was paying attention, Lu Zhonghe came to Shao Shuyi's side and asked in a low voice.
Shao Shuyi frowned and said, "What nonsense is Master Lu spouting? Why don't we go ask Judge Xue?"
Lu Zhonghe was taken aback.
Xue Qian, the judge of Kunshan Prefecture? This man is in charge of criminal cases and public security, and can even coordinate with the archers of the patrol office. He has great power.
What does Shao Shuyi mean? Is he very familiar with Xue Qian?
However, a deeper layer of jealousy quickly rose in his heart. I don't even know Xue Qian, so why do you know him?
Xue Qian is just a minor official. Shouldn't he come to my door to ask for my knowledge? If he wants to rise in rank, can he do it without some learning?
Associating with people like Shao Shuyi is simply self-degrading and utterly absurd!
Lu Zhonghe took a deep breath and said, "Shao, are you familiar with the techniques of intaglio, relief, openwork, and inlay on Goryeo celadon? Li Kui once praised it as 'its shadowy form is like jade, its exquisite clarity like crystal,' have you heard that before?"
"Never heard of it." Shao Shuyi shook his head.
Lu Zhonghe felt a slight sense of satisfaction, and a smile returned to his face. He said, "You know nothing, yet you dare to buy it? Do you think anyone will believe you? Don't ruin the Shen family. I'll—"
"Master Lu," Shao Shuyi said, somewhat displeased upon hearing this, as he was eager to buy the land. "This was personally decided by Lord Rongfu. Just do as he says. Why make such a fuss?"
Lu Zhonghe's recent elation vanished instantly. Just as he was about to say something, he heard a cough behind him.
He turned around and saw an old man walking over.
"Manager Mo," he greeted instinctively.
This is the shopkeeper who frequently reports to his wife; he holds a high position in the family.
Manager Mo nodded to him, then stepped forward and stood in front of Shao Shuyi, saying, "Accountant Shao, this isn't the first time our two families have done business together, so I don't think there will be any problems."
At this point, he waved his hand, signaling his men to bring over a huge money box. He opened it himself and said, "Zhiyuan Tongxing Baochao (a type of currency), two strings of cash per note, 15,000 notes in total. There are no counterfeit notes. Would you like to count them?"
Shao Shuyi overlooked Lu Zhonghe and counted the items on the spot; they were indeed six hundred ingots of Zhiyuan paper money. This item was used for paying taxes...
When buying salt certificates, one certificate could be exchanged for five, hence the equivalent of three thousand ingots of Zhongtong paper money.
Liang Tai and Kong Tie walked over, each carrying a sword.
Shao Shuyi handed the money box to them to take back to the shop, and then said to Manager Mo, "Manager, please wait a moment, I will return the money box shortly."
"Of course, of course," Manager Mo said with a smile, very amiable.
Lu Zhonghe surprisingly changed his attitude, forcing a smile, cupping his hands in greeting to Shao Shuyi, and said, "I'll go check on the goods first."
"You may do as you please," Shao Shuyi said.
Lu Zhonghe turned and left, walking slowly at first, but gradually his pace quickened.
This stuff is suspicious; there's definitely something wrong with it! He needs to find out more about it.
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