novelAbuy Chapter 120 Preparation is the key to success
Chapter 120 Preparation is the key to success
As we entered the Shen residence, a light drizzle began to fall again.
Why was it raining both times I visited? How romantic!
The vain Shao Shuyi carried dried fruit and sugar, first went to Chunling Garden to "get a number" (report), and then sat in the side room where Lao Mo was temporarily working, openly giving gifts.
"You're really being presumptuous," Manager Mo said, waving his hands repeatedly. "This is for Madam; I'll accept it on her behalf."
There were two other people in the side room. Seeing this, they packed up their books, said hello, and left together.
Shao Shuyi, acting as if they were old friends, sat down opposite Manager Mo and said with a smile, "I only found out yesterday that you like musical instruments. You should have said so earlier. I'll have someone bring back some Qi bamboo and Xiangfei bamboo from Jiangxi in a while. It's just a favor."
Shopkeeper Mo gave him a disgruntled look and said sullenly, "Back in my youth, I was quite the charming and talented man. What's so strange about me being knowledgeable in music theory?" Good heavens! I never would have guessed.
Shao Shuyi carefully examined Lao Mo, then cupped his hands and said, "My apologies, my apologies."
Shopkeeper Mo seemed to be reminded of the past, and sighed, "Back then it was still early, before the imperial examinations were held. By the time they were held, I had elderly parents to support and young children to raise, and my studies had been neglected for many years. I was busy with daily necessities, so I didn't want to take the exams anymore."
Well, there was a generation of scholars whose talents were wasted by the Yuan Dynasty—and perhaps more than one generation.
Shao Shuyi also felt sorry for Lao Mo. He didn't know about Lao Mo's academic background, but his handwriting was truly beautiful; the Mo family of Shihu still had some depth. "Have you been busy lately?" Shao Shuyi asked.
"While you were away for the past month, I spent most of my time in Taicang and got the third shop up and running," Manager Mo said. "The shop has received some loose goods like salt, tea, and soy sauce, and it's already open for business."
"Where will it be located?"
"To the side of Zhihetang, opposite the Maritime Trade Office."
"A great location," Shao Shuyi praised.
The Shen family is truly formidable; they acquired a shop in a prime location so easily.
"It was a gift from the old lady to her daughter; it's a very large place," Manager Mo said.
"Madam?"
Shopkeeper Mo glanced at the door and whispered, "Wan San's wife, Zeng Li Niang, is the daughter of Madam Shen, who is also her youngest child." "Thank you for telling me," Shao Shuyi cupped his hands and said sincerely.
In his eyes, Madam Shen was now radiating wealth, a true heiress, and a nineteen-year-old heiress at that.
"You've come at the right time." Old Mo switched back to his normal voice. "Are you going to Lü Sichang?"
"Go, why wouldn't you go?" Shao Shuyi said.
"Just go." Old Mo smiled mysteriously and said, "Once we make the first trip, there will be a second and a third. Moreover, this time it's not just about transporting goods for this shop in Taicang; the bulk of it will be sent to Suzhou, totaling over 90,000 jin."
Shao Shuyi understood.
Because Liujiagang is located by the sea, it's convenient to buy dried seafood, so Shen Niangzi was put in charge. After buying it, it was distributed to various places according to the prior agreement. Isn't this just group buying, only it's an internal group buying within the Shen family?
"Rongfu Gong's eldest son, Shen Maoqing, will be coming to Liujiagang in a few days. He will be escorting 70,000 jin of goods back to Suzhou as a training opportunity," Manager Mo continued. "This is a rare opportunity, so we must seize it."
"Definitely. Thank you very much." Shao Shuyi expressed his sincere gratitude.
After thanking him, he added, "I don't know anyone at Lüsichang..."
"Don't worry, someone's with the boat," Manager Mo said. "My nephew has been running around Lüsi Market for several years, he knows everyone there."
"Oh dear, it's all thanks to Master Mo." Shao Shuyi stood up, bowed, and said, "I will definitely repay you in the future."
Manager Mo didn't seem to mind, and simply said, "Please sit down and have some tea. Madam is still receiving merchants from Huzhou."
"Madam Shen, you've worked so hard." Shao Shuyi readily agreed and sat down to continue chatting until a servant came to announce that he could enter. The meeting place was still the study, but it wasn't the same one as last time.
The window was still open, but it was covered with a bamboo blind to block the rain that seeped in with the wind.
The furnishings in the study remained largely unchanged, except for a new painting on the wall. Shao Shuyi couldn't understand it, but he felt that the deep mountains and dense forests created a secluded atmosphere. On the large rosewood desk, account books were laid out one after another, with words like "Songjiang Cloth" and "Summer Silk" clearly visible in the distance.
Beside the ledgers lay an ivory abacus, its beads polished smooth and gleaming with a warm sheen.
Unlike last time, "A New Account of Tales of the World" is gone, replaced by a thin, translucent teacup.
Shao Shuyi glanced at the cup furtively and found it quite peculiar; when held up to the light, he could see subtle patterns engraved on the cup's surface—definitely plum blossoms. Incense was still burning in the censer, but it wasn't the agarwood from last time; it was a blend of incense, with a hint of pine and cypress, refreshing the mind. Madam Shen knew Shao Shuyi had arrived, but this time she didn't even offer to "sit," only gesturing with her eyes, and continued examining the account books, line by line, with great concentration.
Shao Shuyi thanked him and quickly glanced at it.
Today, Madam Shen is wearing a light green gauze dress.
Chu Zi wore a straight-collared, front-opening garment with a slightly low neckline, revealing a section of her lotus-colored embroidered bodice.
Oh my god, this time it's not plum blossoms, but a broken branch of osmanthus.
The golden flowers and dark green leaves are beautifully embroidered, with exquisite detail and lifelike appearance.
A moon-white palace sash was tied around her waist, with tassels hanging down her sides and several small white jade beads dangling from it.
Her lower body was covered by a light blue gauze skirt, which was short, just reaching her feet, revealing a pair of dark blue embroidered shoes.
Uh, it seems like Madam Shen isn't wearing socks...
Her ankles were exposed, smooth as jade, with very faint blue veins.
Any more and I can't see them anymore, the radar memory is too low.
"Did you come here today for something important?" Madam Shen asked as she flipped through the account books.
"It is indeed urgent; I need to buy one hundred bushels of rice," Shao Shuyi said.
"Want to pay on credit?" Madam Shen asked without even looking up.
Shao Shuyi was taken aback. How could you slander someone's innocence out of thin air? Although I really wanted to buy on credit, installment payments would be fine too.
"Madam is too kind," Shao Shuyi said. "I do need to buy grain, but I don't know if the shop has enough."
"Don't you know how much grain you brought from Suzhou?" Madam Shen raised her head, looked into Shao Shuyi's eyes, and said, "For such a small matter, why not just ask Manager Mo? He manages the grain shops and foundries in Liujiagang."
At this point, Madam Shen paused, then asked, "What do you need the grain for? Could it be..."
"What rumors have you heard, Madam?" Shao Shuyi asked tentatively.
"Zheng Yifang is back. Someone saw him in Taicang," said Madam Shen. "He went to Dadu to seek an official position, and he hasn't said a word since he came back. Isn't that strange? I reckon the Zheng family will be paying him a visit in a couple of days. Does that mean he didn't succeed in getting the position?"
Shao Shuyi sighed, "Madam's insight is truly remarkable; I admire her greatly."
"With Tuotuo resigning as prime minister, the Secretariat is now without anyone whose word carries weight, so it's naturally difficult to secure an official position," said Madam Shen. "Furthermore, with the Yellow River breached and the Grand Canal blocked, the court relies on sea transport, so they probably don't want to tamper with the grain transport office right now. Since the six officials are able to deliver grain to Zhigu, let them continue doing their jobs. Why replace them? What if a change causes trouble?"
Shao Shuyi was speechless; what he said made perfect sense.
"So, is it true that the Zheng family, just in case, wants to follow Hang Tianqing's example and donate grain to Zhigu?" Madam Shen looked at Shao Shuyi seriously and asked, "
Shao Shuyi did not answer, but his tacit acceptance spoke volumes.
"You could have bought grain elsewhere, but you came to me specifically to inform me of this news?" Madam Shen asked again. Shao Shuyi cupped his hands in greeting but remained silent.
Madam Shen smiled and said, "Actually, my family is also preparing to donate grain. We will donate three thousand shi of grain each to Commander Ye of the Canal Transport Office and Commander Song of the Crossroads Army, and transport them together to Zhigu. However, thank you for coming to inform me."
Shao Shuyi secretly thought that none of these families were easy to deal with; they were all incredibly shrewd. However, they also had weaknesses: they were too shrewd and too adept at calculating gains and losses, which blinded them to the bigger picture, causing their overall performance to lag far behind the times.
After saying this, Madam Shen asked, "You're always traveling around, can you tell me what the situation is like in Lianghuai and Jiangxi now?" Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "Jiangxi is relatively stable, but the Xianghui and Mingjiao sects are rampant in the countryside, and the imperial court cannot eradicate them. In Lianghuai, there are continuous disasters, people are displaced, and bandits are as numerous as hairs on a cow. If a powerful clan were to stand up and raise its voice, I'm afraid there would be countless followers."
"No, powerful families wouldn't do that." Madam Shen shook her head and said, "They might even provide grain for disaster relief and help the court stabilize the situation." When Shao Shuyi first heard this, he found it a bit unbelievable. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that he had fallen into a cognitive trap, which was that he always liked to put himself in other people's shoes.
There's nothing wrong with that, but people are different, and their ideas are often completely different.
You might think that chaos is about to break out and that local tyrants like Guo Zixing will seize the opportunity to rise up in rebellion. But little do you know that people like him are actually a minority. In fact, Guo Zixing may not have wanted to start a rebellion at first, but was forced by circumstances.
"What does Madam think the future holds?" Shao Shuyi asked with great interest.
Madam Shen gently shook her head and said, "It's hard to tell from the situation in Jiangnan, but it might be a bit chaotic."
Shao Shuyi understood.
Through Zheng Guozhen and Shen Niangzi, he gained some understanding of the thoughts of these vested interest groups.
By this point, he could probably offer a rough portrait of the various social strata at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.
In the Jiangnan region, the lives of ordinary people were difficult, and many people from all walks of life fled. There were tragedies every day, and people could not survive every day, but it had not yet reached the point of widespread starvation.
The middle-class wealthy suffered greatly. Once they were appointed as seafarers, station officials, village heads, or chiefs, their decades of accumulated wealth often vanished, and it was not uncommon for them to be ruined. However, this class could only complain; they lacked something to actually rebel.
The upper echelons also began to lose money, but the losses were not too severe. In addition, they had a solid financial foundation, so they preferred that the court control the situation and allow them to resume their previous good life and make up for the losses.
Madam Shen's family was among the wealthiest in the upper class, and her network of connections lay between the middle and upper classes, so she naturally didn't want the world to descend into chaos. However, she was truly intelligent, able to set aside her own likes and dislikes, objectively view problems, and consult him about the actual situation outside.
"Madam, you are wise," Shao Shuyi said. "Henan and Lianghuai have suffered severe disasters. Ordinary people are starving and floating everywhere. Even wealthy families are living hand to mouth, and some have even become refugees overnight. If chaos breaks out in the future, the Henan-Jiangbei province will surely be the first to fall into chaos. If Henan and Lianghuai fall into chaos, how can it not affect Huguang, Jiangxi, the interior, and even Jiangzhe? Once it spreads, the situation that was barely maintained will probably collapse and fall into chaos as well. It is really hard to say what will happen then."
Shao Shuyi's meaning is very clear. At present, the conditions for a major upheaval (rebellion) in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are indeed not yet met, but once the Huai River region exports "major chaos" to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the fragile balance will be broken. Shouldn't you make some preparations in advance?
Madam Shen naturally understood the implied meaning, but she remained silent for a long time.
In the end, he only sighed softly and said, "It's difficult."