Giant Ship Across the Song Dynasty: My Supplies Come from My Motherland

Chapter 17: High damage on the left, high damage on the right.

An old spy is an old spy, damn it, he's really decisive. All his goods, everything he owned, were seized in one fell swoop.

Moreover, judging from the time frame, it couldn't have been sealed off for more than an hour, because the people from the Ministry of Revenue just took out seeds and manuals from inside.

Lin Zhou squatted by the roadside, holding a baked flatbread he bought from a nearby stall. He took a bite and cursed. The gates of the Imperial City Guard, which he used to freely enter and exit, were now completely closed to him. He had once again become a wandering, ownerless soul on the streets of the Song Dynasty.

Although he knew it was all Si Hou's plan, he really didn't expect the old man to be so determined. However, he quickly calmed down and his mind started to work.

If we put ourselves in Sihou's shoes, this behavior is indeed the most reasonable, carrying a bit of impotent rage after a plan fails, and a touch of reckless decisiveness. This aligns with Sihou's character logic, and only in this way can he truly enter the other party's field of vision.

The tactic of retreating to advance was executed with unparalleled skill by Si Hou at this moment.

Moreover, judging from the confrontation with that Cao guy these past two days, he's no pushover either. They have the same sharpness and wisdom, and a slight mistake could lead to total defeat.

It has to be said that none of these guys who fought their way out of thousands of troops are stupid. The only one who is a little stupid after he came to this Song Dynasty is Cheng'er. Only in front of Cheng'er does he feel a sense of intellectual superiority.

"Young Master? What happened? Why do you look so disheveled?"

Just as Lin Zhou was sitting there worrying about what to do with his things, a voice suddenly came from his side. He looked up and saw that it was Cao something.

"Wen Da." He seemed to know that his name was rather uncommon, and quickly said with a smile, "Important people often have bad memories."

"Sorry, sorry..." Lin Zhou cupped his hands in apology, then pointed to the shops not far behind him: "My shop has been sealed off..."

Cao Wenda glanced at it, his eyes full of understanding, and then he smiled and said, "Young Master, please. As the saying goes, if this place doesn't keep you, there's always another place that will. My master, mindful of your service to the country and its people, has specially prepared a shop for you, which is much more impressive than this place."

"Really?"

"Haha, that's for sure." Cao Wenda made an inviting gesture: "Although we can't arrange an official position for the young master, with your fine genes and methods of saving the people, you are certainly worthy of it. My master is not as narrow-minded as some people."

As he spoke, he glanced up at the Imperial City Guard, gave a cold laugh, and then turned and left.

Lin Zhou caught up with him in a few steps: "Old Cao, I'm really sorry for dumping the food on your head that day."

"It's alright, it's alright. What is the humiliation Han Xin suffered crawling between someone's legs compared to this? I just hope that young master will not easily trust others in the future and accidentally harm loyal and virtuous people." Cao Wenda waved his hand magnanimously and said, "Young master's surname is Lin, so I will call you Brother Lin."

"No, no, Lao Cao, just call me Xiao Lin."

This simple, down-to-earth quality wasn't something Lin Zhou was acting; rather, his uncultured demeanor perfectly matched Cao Wenda's psychological portrait of this type of person, adding a touch of credibility.

After walking through two blocks, Cao Wenda led him to a shop. He put his hands behind his back and said with a smile, "This is a shop under my name. If Brother Lin doesn't mind, it's yours today."

"Give it...give it to me?" Lin Zhou was clearly taken aback. "This place is so valuable...you're just going to give it away like that? Even my uncle didn't say he'd give me the shop..."

"So he can seal it off whenever he wants." Cao Wenda scoffed, and his subordinates immediately handed over the house deed.

"Brother Lin, this is our sincerity."

Cao Wenda handed the property deed to Lin Zhou: "I'll say it again..."

He leaned close to Lin Zhou's ear and said, "Within five days, gather as much medicine as you can for dysentery. Money is not a problem; however much you can bring, someone will take care of the expenses for you."

"Has...a plague broken out somewhere?"

Cao Wenda waved his hand: "Don't ask any more questions, just go and make the arrangements."

"Sure, sure, I'll go get ready right away... but I don't have much money on me." Lin Zhou looked troubled: "My goods are all sealed up inside."

"How much are those things worth?" Cao Wenda chuckled and casually took out a few Lin'an Jiaozi (paper money). "These are not like Bashu Jiaozi. Lin'an Jiaozi are worth one to one. When it comes to getting things done, the lousy work of the Imperial City Guard is truly second-rate."

"Thank you so much, Brother Cao!"

Cao Wenda was quite pleased with the several changes in address. He smiled and put his hands behind his back, saying, "If things are handled well, your wealth and honor will come easily to you. Don't disappoint me."

"Brother Cao, how many people's worth of medicine do you need to prepare?"

Cao Wenda gestured a seven, and Lin Zhou was taken aback: "Seven thousand?"

"Seventy thousand. The number of those afflicted by the plague is between fifty thousand and seventy thousand. Prepare according to the higher number."

"Seventy thousand!? That's too much. This amount of money... I'm afraid it won't be enough."

Cao Wenda glanced down at the Lin'an paper money in his hand, frowned, and then took a silver goldfish-shaped pouch from his attendant and handed it to Lin Zhou: "There are fifty taels of gold here. If that's not enough, you'll have to figure out a way yourself."

"That's enough, that's enough!"

"Okay, I'll wait for your good news."

After saying that, Cao Wenda left with his men, while Lin Zhou, carrying the land deed, paper money, and the goldfish bag, walked into the shop.

Here he couldn't help but sigh that Qin the old scoundrel was indeed wealthy and powerful, unlike Si Hou who was so stingy. This time, he made a big move.

Based on the purchasing power of Lin'an City at that time, the price of rice during the Shaoxing era was about 120 wen per dou (a unit of dry measure), and one dou was approximately 9 jin (a unit of weight). One tael of silver was equivalent to 2000 wen, which could buy 16 dou of rice, or 144 jin. The paper money that Lao Cao gave him was worth 100 taels, which is equivalent to 14400 jin of rice. In addition, there were 50 taels of gold. At that time, there were no more gold mines in the north, and gold was scarce. One tael of gold could be exchanged for 17 taels of silver...

Including the price of this shop, it's fair to say that Cao Wenda, in order to win over Lin Zhou, immediately offered him a house in the capital plus roughly five years' worth of income for a middle-class family.

That's why they say corrupt officials usually wield great power. They're like dogs raising assassins. If it were anyone else, wouldn't they be completely devoted to them, stripping them bare and covering them with dog hair?

Sir, I don't want to be human anymore!

Looking at Sihou's side, after all this time, Sihou only gave them a tiny shop, which was then shut down. They don't get any benefits from it, and his son is always coming over to freeload. It would be strange if they could fight against Qin the old scoundrel. No wonder when Qin the old scoundrel dealt with Yue Fei, most of the civil and military officials hesitated. Did they not know what was good and what was bad?

It's because he gave too much...

However, this extreme tug-of-war is also interesting. Lin Zhou is now a beneficiary in the struggle between the two factions. Neither side is a fool; they are both incredibly powerful.

Old Cao was after his miraculous medicine, while Si Hou hoped to get Lin Zhou to infiltrate the enemy ranks. This situation, in a way, fulfilled Lin Zhou's wish...

However, the only thing that worried him was Xiao'e. He didn't know if the safety of those brats outside the city could be guaranteed in his current state. More importantly, he absolutely could not meet with Xiao'e and the others these days. After all, his current identity was sensitive, and there were probably already many spies around him. If there was even the slightest mistake, it would result in the annihilation of those loyal descendants.

"go home!"

After sealing the door, Lin Zhou went to the backyard of the shop and flashed back to the modern world. He immediately found Director Zhao and began to report on his procedures and activities over the past few days.

His own banknotes and money bags were taken away, but the gold was left to him.

"These gold particles are useless; keep them as a bonus for yourself."

"Really? Boss?"

"You insist on reporting it, right? Then your bonus will become five hundred yuan." Director Zhao laughed. "Gold is really useless, it's not like it's an antique. The gold on the market now is no different from the gold back then, keep it for yourself."

"Then I'll keep it."

"Okay, okay, oh well," Director Zhao said impatiently. "Stop talking nonsense. Let's go. Given your current situation, we need to have a meeting. The situation is a bit complicated."