Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 15 Showing Goodwill

Today is April 20th. Shao Shuyi hasn't officially started work yet, but since he has nothing else to do, it's always good to take a look and learn more in advance—Zheng Fan's words to him not to die are still ringing in his ears, so he really can't be careless.

Since he was going to start work in April, the Zheng family calculated his wages for half a month. He would receive two dou of rice, one and a half liang of salt, a jar of pickles, and ten guan of Zhongtong paper money on the first day of next month, which was quite good.

Shao Shuyi decided to hold off on addressing the issues in the ledger for the time being, because he was unsure whether "meddling" would lead to his immediate death, or whether "not meddling" would result in Zheng Song killing him. He was truly stuck in a rut.

He was also trying to put himself in their shoes. The upper management of this ceramics shop and the other shops owned by the Zheng family in Liujiagang were almost all from Quzhou, that is, fellow townsmen of Zheng Yonghe and his son Zheng Guozhen. Logically speaking, they should be very trustworthy to work with them. But Zheng Song deliberately brought him to work as an accountant at the ceramics shop near the old locust tree, which made people wonder.

Did Zheng Song uphold Zheng Guozhen's will?

Zheng Guozhen did not have the same deep affection for his fellow townsmen in Quzhou as his father.

Did Zheng Guozhen and Zheng Song intend to use him, an outsider, to monitor these people from Quzhou and make them behave? Or were they simply going to expose the truth?

Checks and balances and lifting the lid are two different things; for him, it's a matter of life and death.

In short, he thought a lot, but lacked sufficient information to make an accurate judgment. Under such circumstances, the best option was not to act rashly or immediately escalate the conflict.

After quickly glancing at the account book, Shao Shuyi picked up his box and followed Wu Youcai to the counter in the front yard. He found a place to sit down, opened the box, and began grinding ink.

Wu Youcai was relatively polite and spoke frankly about everything he knew, but the attempts to win him over and even test him were all too obvious, such as today—

"Little Tiger is known as a child prodigy and is also proficient in books and mathematics; he's no ordinary person." Wu Youcai stroked his beard, his face crinkling with a smile. He said, "However, the accounting department is no small matter; we mustn't let foreign merchants and seafarers look down on us. We need a few decent sets of clothes. I've noticed you've been wearing the same clothes for the past two days. Don't you have any to change into? It's quite a coincidence, actually. My good-for-nothing son just had two sets of clothes made, but they're a bit too big. Little Tiger, you're quite a big guy; they'd fit you much better. If you don't mind, I'll have them for you tomorrow—"

"No, no," Shao Shuyi waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I'll get a new suit myself after I receive my monthly salary."

"My son can't wear them anyway, why bother, Xiao Hu? It's alright. Just consider it a loan, you can pay it back when you have the money," Wu Youcai quickly said.

"Never mind," Shao Shuyi laughed. "I'm not going out, and I have a set of old clothes. That's enough."

Left with no other option, Wu Youcai could only force a smile and say, "Alright then."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Shao Shuyi's gaze was focused on the street outside the door, while Wu Youcai stood there blankly, seemingly lost in thought.

After a moment, perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, or simply unable to contain himself, Wu Youcai glanced at Shao Shuyi and asked, "I thought you weren't coming today, but I wonder what you were busy with just now?"

"Let's look at the account books," Shao Shuyi replied directly, without any attempt to hide anything.

Wu Youcai's heart skipped a beat, but he smiled and said, "I'm old now, not as good as you young men. I used to work as an accountant, but I never quite understood it. If there are any mistakes, Xiao Hu, please bear with me. If you really can't figure it out, just come to me, and I'll give you a satisfactory explanation."

Shao Shuyi neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply nodded slightly.

Wu Youcai felt somewhat relieved.

The two then tacitly avoided discussing the accounts and instead talked about the local customs and scenery of Liujiagang, and for a while they got along quite well.

******

Nothing much happened this morning.

After lunch, Shao Shuyi returned to the house, rested his head on his arm, and stared blankly at the plants and trees in the yard.

He's figured some things out now.

There must be a vested interest group within this antique shop, headed by the shopkeeper Wang Sheng. They colluded with each other, protected one another, and embezzled a considerable amount of profits, based on ties of hometown and blood. But to be fair, they were relatively restrained overall; they were greedy, but not to the point of losing their minds.

Shao Shuyi speculated that they mainly used three methods to seek personal gain.

First, he allowed the stock of antiques to "wear out" abnormally; second, he embezzled public funds by using messy accounts; and third, he accepted kickbacks from merchants and brokers to sell goods at a relatively low price.

Of course, these are all speculations.

But as a seasoned veteran in the workplace, Shao Shuyi knew all too well where the room for maneuver lay. Collecting evidence wasn't difficult; the only problem was how to do it and what the consequences would be.

Today's two meals were decent, with meat, fish, poultry, and eggs. Wu Youcai even came to his door saying he would give him two sets of clothes. Anyone with a brain knows that it wouldn't be cheap; this is clearly an attempt to win him over.

Shao Shuyi was even certain that if he made any more requests, as long as they weren't excessive, Wang Sheng would agree—things that could be settled with money weren't a problem.

After thinking for a while, he sighed softly, got up and went into the yard, picked up an axe and started chopping wood.

He specifically requested the axe and the wood, and Wu Youcai took care of the details.

Although the latter did not understand, they would not make things difficult for him. They might even privately mock Shao Shuyi for being too busy to do any work, even though he had become an accountant.

Shao Shuyi didn't care about any of that and just kept chopping the wood with all his might.

After eating well and sleeping soundly, he felt he could start preparing for some things, such as exercising. Of course, he told others that he was new to the place and felt bad about staying in the shop, so he helped chop wood and did other chores within his ability.

As he swung the axe, his mind gradually cleared.

As the art of war says, first make yourself invincible, then make the enemy vulnerable. Based on this idea, what he should do now is to verify the "evidence of crimes" committed by Wang Sheng and others, but he doesn't necessarily have to hand it over immediately. He can secretly keep it as leverage and make a decision after he has a clearer understanding of the situation. Zheng Song already knows very well what he wants him to do.

Wang Sheng had been in charge of the blueware shop for many years and was deeply trusted by his old master, Zheng Yonghe. In his early years, he might have been a little cautious, but in the last two years, he had become extremely arrogant and revealed many flaws—he might have known about these flaws, but he was too lazy to care, which was arrogance.

Besides these things, Shao Shuyi felt that he needed to slowly accumulate wealth.

He doesn't love money, but he can't resist the fact that some people do.

In this world, if you can use money to gain favors, prestige, or even influence, it's a win no matter how you look at it.

He's still young and can't do anything big, but that doesn't stop him from planning ahead.

"Crack!" After the last piece of wood was split into four pieces, Shao Shuyi wiped his sweat, straightened up, and stared ahead.

A series of footsteps approached from afar.

A moment later, the shopkeeper hurried over, presenting a gift box and respectfully saying, "A friend of the shopkeeper sent some Fangfeng Tongsheng Powder from Dadu. He instructed me to get a box for the accountant. Also—"

"What else?" Shao Shuyi asked softly, holding his axe.

"A man named Wang Huadu, also known as Yelikewen, is requesting an audience with the accountant. He's waiting at the door right now," Stone added.

"Wang Huadu?" Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "Invite him over."

******

Shao Shuyi ultimately refused to accept the box of Fangfeng Tongsheng Powder and had Shi Tou take it back.

This medicine is popular in the north and is also frequently seen in major cities in the south; it's a staple item for wealthy and powerful families. He had no reason to accept such a valuable gift, especially since he was very suspicious of its purpose, potential harm, and addictive properties.

In such a delicate situation, isn't taking medicine haphazardly just courting death?

Not long after, Shi Tou and Wang Huadu walked in one after the other.

After bowing, Shi Tou quietly left.

Looking at the firewood scattered on the ground, Wang Huadu sighed, "Little Tiger, you've had it too hard! Even the accountant has to help chop firewood?"

Shao Shuyi was amused and said, "I asked for this myself, to practice my skills. If I can chop firewood, I can chop people too."

Wang Huadu seemed to have heard something unbelievable and subconsciously said, "Xiao Hu, killing someone and chopping wood are not the same. If you practice like this haphazardly, you'll go astray. It's a small matter if you can't correct your ways later, but it's not worth it if you hurt yourself."

Shao Shuyi became interested. In modern society, how would anyone know these things unless they were specifically practicing a skill out of interest?

So he asked curiously, "I heard from Baijianu that your family has been stationed in the military for two generations and that you are also skilled in martial arts?"

Wang Huadu said helplessly, "The original station households were almost all military households who changed their registration. Besides, there are quite a few people among the seafaring households who know martial arts, you didn't know that?"

Shao Shuyi was speechless. Thinking about it carefully, it made perfect sense. The original seafarers were actually pirates who had been granted amnesty; it was just that none of Shao's neighbors knew how to kill, so he subconsciously overlooked this fact.

Upon further reflection, it seems that decades ago, seafarers could carry weapons when transporting grain, but it's unclear when this practice was banned, leading many seafarer families to abandon their killing skills and gradually become indistinguishable from ordinary able-bodied men. However, it's quite possible that a few families have still preserved these skills.

"What brings you here?" Shao Shuyi asked, having already made up his mind.

"My stored grain won't last much longer," Wang Huadu said somewhat embarrassedly. "I plan to go to Shanghai to stay with my relatives, so I've come to say goodbye."

"Do you really have to leave?" Shao Shuyi asked as he invited Wang Huadu into his residence.

Wang Huadu looked around and said enviously, "This place is really nice."

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "An accountant can't be crammed into a large dormitory like any other employee."

Wang Huadu nodded and said, "Little Tiger, you're really different now. You're free from this misery. When Baijianu comes back, he'll be utterly astonished."

"I've benefited from this, so I won't forget my old brother." Shao Shuyi patted him on the shoulder and asked, "Why don't you just stay at my place? If you're worried about making a living, I can get some money and food on the first day of next month, which shouldn't be a problem to help you out. What do you say?"

Wang Huadu was somewhat surprised.

To be honest, he wasn't very familiar with Shao Shuyi before, so they weren't exactly "old brothers." In fact, he and Kong Tieda had known each other since childhood and were closer.

"This isn't quite right..." Wang Huadu hesitated.

"What's wrong with that?" Shao Shuyi said with a smile, "I need to trouble you to do something for me."

Upon hearing this, Wang Huadu felt somewhat relieved and asked, "What is it?"

"It's what I was talking about earlier," Shao Shuyi said in a low voice. "Find me someone skilled in martial arts; I need to learn some skills to defend myself."

Wang Huadu was stunned, and stammered, "Learning martial arts is not something that can be done overnight."

"How could I not know?" Shao Shuyi said nonchalantly, "I have plenty of patience."