Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 118 Questioning

Upon hearing "five hundred shi of grain," Shao Shuyi's expression remained unchanged. He simply smiled at Zheng Guoqing and asked, "Where is this grain intended? And who wants it?"

Zheng Guoqing sneered, raised his head, and looked at Tie Niu, Wang Huadu, and the others standing behind Shao Shuyi.

"You son of a bitch, are you blind or just showing off how much fat you have on your chin?" Wang Huadu cursed. "Come on, let me see if I can scrape off a couple of ounces of fat, enough to make soup."

Wu Heizi walked over, looked Zheng Guoqing up and down, and said seriously, "Brother Wang, you have to be careful when you're scraping the skin. You have to bleed it first, and then carefully scrape off the skin. Don't think it's too much trouble. I love the sound of skinning. Scrape it gently with the blade, little by little, and listen to that 'shh-shh' sound. It's so exciting that even women don't want to play with you anymore."

Gao Daqiang stepped forward, leaning on his long, black spear. He didn't speak, but his gaze was chilling, as if he were looking at something unseen. Zheng Guoqing's face paled.

The two hangers-on who came with him were relatively calm. How could they be good at collecting rent in the countryside of Quzhou without some tricks up their sleeves?

At this moment, they remained expressionless, their hands gently touching their waists.

They remained calm, but Zheng Guoqing couldn't withstand the pressure and subconsciously took a half step back, saying, "Third...Third Dormitory gave the order, do you dare disobey? Do you want to die? Do you know how many people could skin you alive without the Zheng family?"

"Oh? Is that so?" Shao Shuyi walked two steps closer with his hands behind his back and smiled, "Sanshe is a reasonable person. Would he really ask me to give up five hundred shi of grain for no reason? Five hundred shi, that's almost four hundred ingots at Madam Shen's shop. Come, come, come to the shop and tell me what happened." After saying that, he turned and walked into the shop.

Zheng Guoqing refused to go, but Tie Niu grabbed his arm and dragged him into the shop.

"You! You scoundrel, let me go!" Zheng Guoqing roared in anger.

Tie Niu ignored him and dragged Zheng Guoqing, making him stagger.

The two henchmen drew their swords and were about to utter some harsh words when Liang Tai blew the bamboo whistle around his neck.

In an instant, more than ten people who were carrying porcelain stopped and hurriedly took out bamboo spears, wooden spears, and ring knives from the cabin, rushing over breathlessly.

"Do I have to teach you? Line up!" Liang Tai glanced at the crowd and shouted.

Wang Huadu gritted his teeth, thinking to himself that if Brother Shao hadn't specifically instructed him, he wouldn't have listened to him.

Wu Heizi and Gao Daqiang also took a few steps back and found their own positions.

Several other people were bumping into each other, completely bewildered.

Some people were carrying bamboo spears, but they found that there were already enough spearmen in the team, and there was no place for them to stand.

Someone was holding a ring-shaped sword, but when he found that there were already two sword-wielding guards standing in front of him, and they were not the brothers he was familiar with when they were in formation, he was stunned and didn't know what to do.

Overall, it's a bit messy.

The reason for this is simply that the starting lineup and the substitutes are mixed together.

Some people are particularly rigid in their studies and lack quick thinking, making it difficult for them to deeply understand why formations are arranged in a certain way, and what the differences are between marching, fighting, and guarding.

In short, they don't understand the principles of formation operation; they just mechanically stand in their positions and often focus on specific people. That is, if they can't find the person they usually stand behind, they will stay behind them. If they can't find that person now, they will be at a loss.

"What if we can't find them? Have you forgotten?" Liang Tai glanced at the group of headless flies and scolded, "Spears outwards, back to back in formation." The group suddenly realized and immediately huddled together, holding their spears forward like hedgehogs, forming a five-person team.

The seafarers working on the boats were dumbfounded. What was going on?

The two lackeys, facing a dozen or twenty weapons, finally changed their expressions.

After exchanging a glance, they almost simultaneously sheathed their weapons, clasped their hands in a fist and said, "Good sir, please don't misunderstand. We just owe someone a favor and came to lend a hand. We have no ill intentions."

"Discard your weapons and kneel down," Liang Tai said, his voice unchanged as he looked at the two men.

The two hesitated for a moment.

He tried to turn and slip away, but Zheng Guoqing was still inside. He couldn't force his way through; he wouldn't get past this hurdle.

Just as they were struggling with their thoughts, they saw the opposing team begin to move forward.

The swordsman holds a shield in his left hand and raises a ring-shaped sword high in his right hand, holding it horizontally in front of his forehead.

Two long spears extended from the sides of the swordsmen and shieldmen, pointing at them from afar.

Those in the back row held their guns at an angle, ready to step forward at any time.

If Shao Shuyi had some basic military knowledge, he would have known that this was not a mandarin duck formation at all, but a routine for large-scale troop operations, where small teams are combined to form an infantry square.

The two hangers-on had never seen anything like this before, but their gut feeling told them that surrendering was the best option if they didn't want to escape. They didn't really have any grudges against each other, did they?

"Clang." The two threw the equipment on the ground and knelt down without hesitation.

A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. If anything happens, the head of the Zheng family will take responsibility; it's none of their business. Getting beaten up like this would be pointless and not worth it.

Inside the study, Tie Niu pressed Zheng Guoqing firmly into a chair.

An eerie silence fell over the room.

Zheng Guoqing's face turned pale, and he dared not speak. Shao Shuyi, on the other hand, was deep in thought.

"So, the Third Dormitory has decided to donate 5,000 shi of grain, contributing half themselves and the rest through apportionment, is that right?" After a long while, Shao Shuyi asked.

"You...you know you still won't let me go? Do you know how big of a mess you've made?" Zheng Guoqing stared intently at Shao Shuyi, his eyes filled with fear and a deep-seated resentment.

Shao Shuyi was too lazy to pay attention to his petty thoughts. His mindset was different now than last year. As he walked step by step toward that path where there was no turning back, his desperado temperament grew, and he was no longer so cautious.

He ignored Zheng Guoqing's threats and asked only, "Who provided these two thousand five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure)?"

Zheng Guoqing kept his mouth tightly shut, his eyes darting around, but he refused to answer.

"Let me guess," Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "Shouldn't the Zheng family's distant relatives contribute grain? Logically speaking, they are Zheng family members and have received the most benefits, so shouldn't they contribute six or seven hundred shi? Even if not that much, they should at least contribute five hundred shi, right? If one family can't contribute, several families can chip in. The Fang family and the Zheng family have intermarried for two generations and received countless benefits, so shouldn't they contribute grain? I'll say four hundred shi, slightly less than the Zheng family's distant relatives."

Sanshe married a woman surnamed Gu. The Gu family was already a wealthy and well-off household in Wuzhong. Over the years, thanks to Zheng, they had avoided countless taxes and corvée labor, and they knew exactly how much they had saved. Even if they didn't have 500 shi of grain, they certainly couldn't accept less than 300 shi. Otherwise, how could they silence the gossip?

Well then, that's at least 1,200 shi (a unit of dry measure).

Returning to the wealthy households dependent on the Zheng family, there were no fewer than ten. To gather the remaining 1,300 shi (a unit of dry measure), each household would only contribute a little over 100 shi. You're asking me to contribute 500 shi alone? Do you think I'm easy to bully?

Zheng Guoqing, his intentions exposed, could only argue, "The old master has already contributed 2,500 shi (a unit of dry measure), which is considered the Zheng family's contribution. Why should distant relatives need to contribute further?"

Shao Shuyi laughed and asked, "Is this the Third Department's idea, or did you act on your own? Should we go to Yantietang to confront them?" Zheng Guoqing avoided his gaze and said, "If you think 500 shi is too much, we can discuss it. But to be so arrogant right from the start, the Third Department... the Third Department cannot tolerate you."

Shao Shuyi squatted down in front of him, looked carefully into Zheng Guoqing's eyes, and asked, "Do you know Wang Sheng?"

Zheng Guoqing shuddered.

He had indeed seen him in the countryside of Quzhou; an old man on his deathbed, erratic and nearly toothless, barely able to speak. He'd heard from others that Wang Sheng had been forced to write a confession by a young boy from a ceramics shop who had a flintlock pistol stuck in his mouth. Could it be that Zheng Guoqing couldn't help but glance at Shao Shuyi?

As if guessing what he was thinking, Shao Shuyi smiled and nodded, saying, "Understood?"

Zheng Guoqing subconsciously looked away, feeling both frightened and secretly annoyed. Why hadn't anyone warned him?

"Tie Niu, put him in the car," Shao Shuyi stood up and ordered.

"Yes." Without wasting any words, Tie Niu dragged the struggling Zheng Guoqing out of the study, just like before.

Shao Shuyi quickly arrived outside the shop and was startled when he heard Yu Yuan, who rushed over, tell him what had happened after he left.

He was surrounded by a bunch of ruthless killers, not many decent people, and they were capable of anything.

His expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded to Yu Yuan, indicating that he understood.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages; this saying is absolutely true.

You feel good when your subordinates are incredibly brave and daring.

But when they become unruly and arrogant, don't complain.

A person who can maintain a proper balance, is brave and fearless, and strictly adheres to discipline is rare in any era. His men are not like that, at least not now.

Shao Shuyi took out the forty strings of cash he had just received that day from his pocket and handed it to Yu Yuan, saying, "Brothers, you've worked hard. Share this money with them and buy some wine. After you've eaten, everyone can go their separate ways and not wander around outside."

"Alright." Yu Yuan took the money and then said, "Brother, should we give them some pointers?"

Shao Shuyi patted him on the shoulder and said, "We'll talk about this when I get back."

Yu Yuan was startled and asked, "Brother, are you going to the Salt Iron Pond?"

Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement and said in a low voice, "I still need the Zheng family's protection right now; I can't just break off relations directly."

"Then today, Buddha Tooth and the others..." Yu Yuanyi whispered.

"Of all these people, you're the only one with a brain." Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "Foya doesn't talk much, but he's bloodthirsty. I'll give him a heads-up later. Get the car ready."

"Okay." Yu Yuan didn't say anything more and ran off.

Shao Shuyi stroked his chin, secretly pondering a solution.

It's impossible for him to provide 500 shi of grain, and he can't afford it either.

He was unwilling to send grain out to sea, as it would be too time-consuming. Besides, the Zheng family already had their own ships, and recruiting sailors wouldn't be difficult; it would just cost money.

What he's worried about now is Zheng Guozhen's opinion.

Will he feel offended? Will his authority be challenged?

This isn't about who's right or wrong; those are secondary issues.

If Sanshe develops a dislike for him and stops protecting him, is he supposed to run off to Pudong to farm? Or perhaps he could simply slip away to Jiangyin and partner with Madam Liu to sell smuggled salt? The carriage arrived quickly, and Cao Tong looked at him respectfully.

"Let's go," Shao Shuyi ordered as he got into the car.