novelAbuy Chapter 102 Daily Life
Chapter 102 Daily Life
Chapter 102 Daily Life
As the banquet was ending, Shao Shuyi pulled Qi Erlang aside and inquired in detail about his situation after joining the company.
"Brother Shao, a fellow soldier and I have rented a house in the north of the city. It's eight strings of cash a month, and we each pay half. We don't have to be on duty all the time; we just need to show up regularly. I'm currently sawing wood for someone in Gutang. I earn six hundred and fifty coins a day, which includes lunch," Qi Erlang said.
Shao Shuyi was utterly speechless after hearing this.
"I thought that even if the newly established patrol station was bad, it should at least have a public corridor and barracks," he said.
"I used to think so too," Qi Erlang said. "Actually, the old patrol office was like that too. I heard it was like that from the beginning of the dynasty. The patrol inspectors used their residences and houses as their offices, and the archers were scattered in the villages. They would notify the officers in advance if there was anything to do. My comrades who lived with me said that the Zhangjing Patrol Inspectorate was built by a patrol inspector who donated his own money to buy land from the villagers. Nowadays, the public corridors and barracks are usually paid for by the patrol inspectors themselves, or the patrol inspectors pay the majority of the cost, and the villagers donate money to make up the difference."
"Wasn't the funding for the establishment of the Gutang Patrol Office provided by Sun Chuan?" Shao Shuyi suddenly remembered this and asked.
"I don't know, anyway, no money came down." Qi Erlang shook his head and said, "The higher-ups issued a thousand sets of bows and arrows, three of which were given by the imperial court, and the other seven came from who knows where. Perhaps Sun Chuan paid for them."
Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement.
This is the Yuan Dynasty.
From the very beginning of the founding of the nation, the patrol and inspection offices did not have a fixed public corridor, and a large number of people rented houses from the public.
Thirty archers gathered together, and the houses were so crowded that the patrolmen had to pay out of their own pockets to buy land and build a residence for their jurisdiction.
The imperial court did save money, but is that a good thing?
The inspector spent money to become an official, and he also spent money to build his own office and barracks for the archers. Was he a philanthropist?
Or is there a system that made him the richest man by personally funding the construction of public facilities?
The money comes from the sheep; if we don't get double the amount back, what kind of inspector am I?
"Has your company been deployed recently?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"We've been dispatched twice," Qi Erlang said. "Once in late February, just a few days after I became an archer, Inspector Yan led about ten men to a village to capture one person. At that time, we hadn't yet acquired any torture instruments, so the man was tied to a tree and tortured with willow branches. The other time..."
"Wait, why is this person being tortured?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"He had been wanted for many years and had been hiding in Jiangyin Prefecture. When he heard that his father was seriously ill and didn't have much time left, he rushed back. Inspector Yan allowed him to stay at home for one night, and arrested him in the early morning to interrogate him about the illegal activities."
"What a filial son!" Shao Shuyi praised. "Continue."
"The second time was in early March. Someone stole a batch of tea from the Huzhou Gongcha Garden, loaded it onto a boat, and transported it to the riverbank, intending to sell it on the north bank. However, after being reported, the thief was caught on the spot. Everyone in the company said that with this batch of tea, life would be much easier," Qi Erlang added.
"No—" Shao Shuyi hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you arresting smugglers of salt?"
Qi Erlang was slightly taken aback, then said, "No."
"What is Inspector Yan's real name? What kind of person is he?"
"His name was Yan Shizhi. He was a scholar, not particularly rigid, but he didn't seem like a very outgoing person either."
Shao Shuyi understood.
These kinds of people are difficult to deal with. They have bottom lines and principles, and are hard to corrupt or win over. It's a real headache.
"Could we find an opportunity—" Shao Shuyi thought for a moment, then said, "Never mind, let's talk about it later. You should do your job well in the patrol office first. Since Inspector Yan is a fairly upright person, don't cause any trouble when you go to the countryside to catch thieves. If you need money, just come to me."
As they were talking, Shao Shuyi beckoned Yu Yuan over and had him count out a coin for Qi Erlang. He then instructed him, "When you have time, come to Liujiagang more often and ask Yu for some knowledge and to learn some characters."
Qi Erlang was somewhat shocked upon hearing this.
Yu She was also somewhat surprised. He knew that Qi Erlang was illiterate; was this meant to teach him to read?
"Okay, okay." Seeing that Shao Shuyi didn't seem to be joking, Qi Erlang reluctantly agreed.
"This will do you good," Shao Shuyi patted him on the shoulder and said, "You think you can just coast along after becoming an archer? Have some ambition."
Qi Erlang stammered in agreement.
******
At the beginning of April, after a delay of about seven or eight days, the goods from Quzhou finally arrived.
Shao Shuyi held an account book, carefully checking the white porcelain that had been delivered, so as to calculate the accounts and settle the payment with the Quzhou porcelain kiln.
Because the samples were fired and passed "inspection" before the Lunar New Year, this time they directly delivered a total of 12,000 pieces of porcelain of various colors, of which 10,000 pieces were custom-made.
Shao Shuyi was very strict. He absolutely refused to accept any defective products that had slipped in. He would have them put aside and sent back to the porcelain kiln, deducting the corresponding amount from the payment.
It wasn't until the fifth day of the fourth lunar month, when Zheng Fan came from his old house in Yantietang and instructed that the items could be purchased at a discount and sold gradually as retail goods, that he had them rearranged for storage.
"I heard you recently took on a job?" In Wang Sheng's former study, Zheng Fan, with his legs crossed, sipped his tea and asked.
"Yes, it was Manager Mo who introduced them. Nine hundred shi of grain were transported from Suzhou and stored in a riverside warehouse," Shao Shuyi said. "The boat went empty; it didn't pick up any cargo. They only paid one shi and one and a half guan for the waterway fee. After deducting all expenses, they only made less than ten ingots of paper money, which was negligible."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Fan clicked his tongue twice and said, "Little Tiger, you don't even care about ten ingots of currency? How much money do you have now?"
"I've spent quite a bit lately," Shao Shuyi said, putting down his account book and sitting down at the tea table. "I've spent money on entertaining guests, repairing the boat, social obligations, and buying ten shi of rice and flour. Now I only have a little over one hundred and thirty ingots left, and even including what I earned this time, I only have about one hundred and forty. I'll need the money again soon."
"Alright, I didn't pressure you to pay me back," Zheng Fan said. "Is it worth it to transport grain for Madam Shen's grain shop? It's only ten ingots per trip. Even if you include oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, you'd be lucky to earn eighty ingots a year."
"It's not much," Shao Shuyi said, "but it can support people. If the boatmen can eat their fill for a few days and earn ten or eight strings of cash here, they'll all be very grateful before they leave. It'll be much easier to hire them again next time."
"Nourish people—" Zheng Fan gently chewed on these two words.
It seemed that this matter was very important to Xiaohu. Even if he didn't earn much money, he was willing to transport goods, as long as he could pay the wages and food expenses of the sailors he hired.
That's what he cares about; how much money he made on this deal is secondary.
"At the end of the month, more than 10,000 pieces of celadon ware will be sent from various kilns in Chuzhou, and more than 20,000 pieces will be sent next month. Don't neglect them." Zheng Fan added, "I'm going to Dadu in early May. It's a pity I couldn't take you with me."
Shao Shuyi also expressed some regret: "Actually, I wanted to go and take a look."
"This year, Sun Chuan built six shallow-water boats to cover the ocean, which the court bought with a thousand ingots. That's not all; he also donated five thousand shi of grain, just enough to fill these six boats. He originally wanted to hire sailors, but the Pingjiang Road and the Grain Transport Office blocked him, and instead had the wealthy Hang Tianqing pay for the sailing fees and rations." Zheng Fan's lips curled into a sneer. "I dare say his name won't reach the Central Secretariat, and it's even possible that this honor will be bestowed upon Hang Tianqing instead."
"Then wasn't all that money wasted?" Shao Shuyi laughed. "If you calculate it, these ships and grain must have cost over nine thousand ingots, right? Sun Chuan has really lost his mind, believing the lies of those corrupt officials."
"He's still selling his land and houses in Zhenjiang Road to raise money," Zheng Fan said with a smile. "Perhaps he's hoping that when the foreign merchants and seafarers come in the summer, he can turn his fortunes around."
Shao Shuyi was speechless after hearing this.
Those officials in Kunshan Prefecture, Pingjiang Circuit, and the Maritime Trade Office are too greedy! Why didn't they just kill Sun Chuan sooner? Why do they have to squeeze every last drop of profit out of him? Be careful, or he might turn on you.
"My lord, I will be careful." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "I will never give Sun Chuan a chance."
******
On the tenth day of the fourth lunar month, in a small courtyard by the river, Shao Shuyi was meticulously practicing sword and shield combat techniques when the long-absent Wang Huadu returned.
"Brother Shao, I heard you guys were feasting at Honghu Tower, but you didn't invite me. Are you even brothers?" On the dirt road outside the courtyard, Wang Huadu carried an anchor axe with two bundles hanging from the tip, grinning as he looked at the people inside.
"Father!" Daohua rushed out like a gust of wind, almost tripping and falling.
Sihai reached out halfway, seemingly wanting to remind someone of something, but ultimately said nothing and continued to lower his head, tidying up a pile of iron pellets and gunpowder canisters of various sizes on the ground.
"Oh, my good girl." Wang Huadu patted Daohua's little head, then strode into the courtyard.
Su Niang came out of the kitchen, her face full of surprise.
Wang Huadu, however, avoided her gaze somewhat guiltily, then pointed to the two people behind him and shouted, "Brother Shao, someone has joined the group."
Shao Shuyi insisted on finishing the last movement before placing the sword and shield on the equipment rack, and said with a smile, "Brother Jiang, we've met. Who's the other one?"
"Weren't you looking for salt farmers? I found this one especially for you. Shanghai may not have many other things, but you can find plenty of salt farmers." Wang Huadu pulled the man in front of him and said, "Brother Wei, he escaped from the sand quarry and works in my uncle's village. I saw that he was struggling to make ends meet all day, so I brought him here."
Shao Shuyi gave Wei Erdi a scrutinizing look, nodded, and said, "Let him stay for now."
Wei Erdi breathed a sigh of relief and said loudly, "Thank you, Brother Shao, for taking me in."
Wang Huadu also breathed a sigh of relief.
Shao Shuyi knew what he was thinking and laughed, scolding, "All you ever think about are those trivial things."
"Nothing makes money faster than this," Wang Huadu said.
"We have legitimate business to do now, so let's play it safe for a while," Shao Shuyi said helplessly.
After saying this, he first instructed Yu Yuan to give some money to Su Niang so that she could go to the nearby market to buy some wine and food. Then he invited everyone to sit down and briefly recounted his previous trip to Jiangxi.
After listening, Wang Huadu's first words were actually a scolding of those who hadn't gone to Jiangxi.
"That bastard Yang Liu will die in the brothels sooner or later, and he'll be swindled out of all his money."
"Those two scoundrels, Lu Hongyi and Li Chou, will be targeted by corrupt officials sooner or later."
"I won't talk about Qi Erlang. Although you sent him to be an archer, Brother Shao, he still ran away in the end."
Shao Shuyi smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone has their own ambitions, why force it?"
Of the eight people, besides Qi Dalang who died in battle and Qi Erlang who volunteered as an archer, Wu Heizi, Gao Daqiang, and Bian Da and Bian Sandou also came. Hmm, three out of eight is indeed a bit low, but considering that they just pulled off a big heist and won't be able to spend all the money in a short time, it's a show of respect that they came.
Actually, this is also a screening process.
Everyone has different needs, and it's impossible for everyone to accompany you to the end.
Hearing Shao Shuyi's words, Wang Huadu was still somewhat dissatisfied, but he stopped pressing the matter and instead said, "Brother Shao, do you think I only think about money when I'm doing that kind of business? Not entirely."
"Hmm, Dog Slave, you're quite clever. What other purpose do you have?" Shao Shuyi asked with a smile.
"Brother Shao, let me ask you something. Do you want people to farm the new land you bought in Sanlin?" Wang Huadu asked. "If you want to farm it, you have to get started now. Farm tools, seeds, food rations—all of these cost money. You'll even have to support those people for two years, and it's hard to say whether you can be self-sufficient in the third year. If you're just buying it for fun and leaving it there to look after, then disregard what I said. Just buy ten or so water buffaloes, build a shed, and hire a few shepherds; it won't cost much."
"Of course we have to farm," Shao Shuyi said.
"Then hurry up," Wang Huadu said with a chuckle.
Shao Shuyi did not answer immediately.
The entire chain of illegal salt trading can be roughly divided into three stages: procurement, transportation, and sales, i.e., where the salt comes from,
How to bypass checkpoints during transportation and how to get it to the end user.
This is not something he could do alone.
In short, he needs a partner.