Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 161 The Scoundrels

On the seventeenth day of the eleventh lunar month, not long after Shao Shuyi returned from the Confucian Temple, Yang Jin arrived in Xiapu with a group of people, making a ruckus.

They were already at Liu's Grain Shop ahead. Yang Jin subconsciously slowed his pace, looked around, and said, "Everyone, be careful in a moment. This new guy, Brother Cao, is no saint. He's just as ruthless as Brother Zhu."

Before leaving that day, Yang Jin asked again how to address him, and Shao Shuyi only told him to call him "Brother Cao" before leaving.

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned and pondered whether there was any ruthless person surnamed Cao in Jiangyin.

Two or three people carefully recalled what they had heard and heard in the past, and looked around to see if there was such a person in Changshu, Wuxi, Changzhou, or even Taizhou and Tongzhou in Jiangbei.

The result was obvious: there was no legend of Brother Cao in the martial arts world. In other words, the so-called Brother Cao was a newcomer, which made everyone a little uneasy. "Young Master Yang, is this Brother Cao any good?" As the grain shop drew closer, someone couldn't help but say, "I only came because of you. If he's not good, I'll turn around and leave. We can still drink together later, but selling salt for Brother Cao is out of the question." Yang Jin's lips twitched slightly. Going to a shady shop and thinking you can run away? You really don't know your place. What kind of person would dare to attack Zhu Ding in the street? "Don't worry." He patted his chest and said, "Brother Cao is indeed difficult to deal with. From now on, I'll handle this. You just deliver the salt for me. That entire ward in the southeast of the city is yours, how about it?"

The man beamed and said, "Alright then."

Running around delivering salt was in his comfort zone. Although it was hard work, the work was simple, he was dealing with familiar people, and he didn't have to deal with new people from out of town. He liked it.

"Yang Taibao, although Brother Cao has killed Zhu Yi, someone else said, "But if others come to take over the territory, can he protect them? Although I'm brave and daring, I can't fight against everyone. Sometimes I can only... well, even heroes have their weaknesses."

Yang Jin sneered inwardly.

You're just a scoundrel. With your skills, you can only talk the talk, not walk the walk. You can only bully honest people.

"Don't worry," Yang Jin said. "Brother Cao has hundreds of men under his command, all of them tough guys who can eat several pounds of meat and several jars of wine in one meal. If you get bullied, come to me, and I'll go to Brother Cao. Getting revenge will be a piece of cake for me."

"Oh, that's good." The man laughed, "If Brother Cao is as capable as you, even though you're from out of town, I'm not incapable of serving you." "Brother Yang, I'm a few years older than you, so I'll be shameless and ask, does this Brother Cao have any connections in official circles?" a middle-aged man asked. "Yes, yes." Yang Jin put on a mysterious expression and said, "Brother Cao knows far more than just officials in Jiangyin. You'll see later; even the officials of Jiangyin have to be on good terms with him."

The middle-aged man was skeptical, but said nothing, clearly intending to observe first.

He was both a salt deliveryman and ran a shop, so having two sources of income was good, but one was enough to live on. If Brother Cao wasn't capable enough, he would quit. The group of more than ten people walked at a leisurely pace and soon arrived at Liu's Grain Shop.

The waiter glanced at them, then pointed behind him and said, "Go in."

Yang Jin smiled at him, then gestured to those behind him, and the group filed in.

There were about ten people standing in the courtyard.

In the dead of winter, someone was still shirtless, carrying a stone weight in both hands, juggling it around like a juggler – clearly, it was Tie Niu.

Someone was wielding a long, black spear, sparring with a swordsman and shieldman—it was none other than Gao Daqiang and Wu Heizi.

One moment the spearman thrusts his spear straight at the throat, the swordsman and shieldman raises his shield to block; the next moment the shieldman presses down on the spear, grabs his sword and advances, the spearman steps back and changes his move, swinging his spear shaft to strike.

The two sides exchanged words very seriously.

Others practiced their fist and footwork, their movements powerful and intimidating, especially their series of kicks; a single kick to the chest could easily take half a life. Of course, there were also those practicing archery stances.

Yang Jin gestured for everyone to be quiet. After Shao Shuyi fired an arrow, Yang Jin stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Brother Cao."

Shao Shuyi stopped practicing, turned to look at everyone, and while unstringing his bow, asked, "Did you bring all of this?"

"Exactly."

"What did you already say?"

"I already said that."

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Since they are your people, I won't say much more. There is only one rule: those who perform well will be rewarded, and those who make mistakes will be punished." He looked at everyone as he said this.

"I'll still pay you the same price you used to pay for salt," Shao Shuyi continued. "If you sell 200 jin of salt each month, I'll reduce the price by five cents, meaning you can get one jin of salt or two jin of salted fish for one liang and four qian and five cents. If you sell 400 jin, I'll reduce the price by another five cents, which will be refunded when you pick up the salt next month. I mean what I say."

Upon hearing this, the crowd's expressions shifted slightly, and they began to whisper among themselves.

"Silence!" Liang Tai, who was practicing martial arts nearby, tapped the shield with his sword and shouted.

Everyone tensed up and turned to look at the source of the sound, only to see Liang Tai standing there, staring at them with a dangerous gaze. They quickly looked away and remained silent.

That's what a scoundrel is like.

If you're an honest person and try to reason with him, you'll be bullied to death. But if he seems like a ruthless person who doesn't care about human life, he'll back down and become quite easy to deal with.

"If anyone doesn't want to work here, tell me now. I'll give you five strings of cash so we can part amicably." Shao Shuyi walked slowly in the courtyard, saying, "But if you don't leave now, and then say you don't want to work here in a few days, this money isn't so easy to take. There has to be an explanation, let me hear if it's reasonable."

After he finished speaking, his gaze swept over everyone.

The people had different expressions, but most of them didn't say anything. Obviously, there wasn't much of a good business to be had. Being able to earn an income by delivering salt and doing odd jobs in their spare time was always good.

Only the middle-aged man hesitated before finally asking, "Brother Cao, you said you'd reduce the purchase price by one qian when selling four hundred jin of salt, is that true?" Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Of course it's true."

The middle-aged man cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Then I'll continue helping you sell salt."

Shao Shuyi then looked at the others.

Everyone either lowered their heads or avoided his gaze, and clearly no one spoke.

"Since there's nothing more to say, let's leave it at that." Shao Shuyi said, "Five strings of cash each as a greeting gift. Elementary school student, take them to the noodle shop across the street for a meal before they disperse." "Yes." Yu Yuan, who was doing push-ups in the corner, stood up, greeted the crowd, and said with practiced ease, "Follow me."

Shao Shuyi returned to the equipment rack, took down a ring knife, and prepared to get a feel for it.

Yang Jin quietly approached and whispered, "Brother Cao, someone came across the river looking for me yesterday."

"Crossing the river?" Shao Shuyi was taken aback.

"Yes." Yang Jin looked around and whispered like a thief, "The salt merchant from the Huai River who used to deliver salt to Zhu Ding."

"Where are you from?"

"A native of Taizhou."

"Where is he?"

"When he heard that Zhu Ding had gotten into trouble, he came to me and asked if I was still going to buy salt. I said yes, and he asked who was in charge now. I said Brother Cao, and he didn't ask any further questions. He just said he would come to deliver the salt in a few days. If I didn't buy any more, he wouldn't come again, because things were too tense in Jiangyin."

Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Let me know when he comes, and I'll go meet him in person."

"Yes." Yang Jin nodded repeatedly.

"Is there only one dealer? I remember the ledger listed quite a few people," Shao Shuyi said.

"Brother, you've seen the account book. You should know that only three or five people consistently deliver salt. The other seven or eight people don't come every time. They only resell the salt to Zhu Ding when they can't sell it themselves."

"So, they also deliver goods to other people?"

"That's right."

"Does Zhu Ding only buy Huai salt?"

"Not entirely," Yang Jin said. "Among the people who don't deliver salt regularly, there's one named Zhang Sanniu. I heard that he used to work for Zhu Chen as a salt merchant. Later, with Zhu Chen's tacit approval, he started his own business and delivered salt to people. Zhu Ding once bought salt from him. I heard it was Zhejiang salt produced in various fields in Songjiang." "Zhu Chen..." Shao Shuyi silently murmured the name.

The deeper one delves into the illegal salt trade, the more familiar and well-known the name becomes.

He's a veteran in the salt smuggling industry! I've heard he's ruthless and decisive; I wonder if this will cause conflict in the future.

But it doesn't matter anymore. Shao Shuyi has finally gained a foothold in Jiangyin, and there's no way he can give it up.

This is a crucial step in his development; anyone who tries to obstruct him will be met with a decisive blow from all available resources.

If one vote isn't enough, then two or three votes, until the other side gives in, or until you can't hold on any longer.

"This news is very important." Shao Shuyi patted Yang Jin on the shoulder and asked, "Did the peddler who delivered the goods to Zhu Ding contact any other people? Like the Sixth or Seventh Protector or something?"

"I don't know." Yang Jin shook his head, and perhaps feeling that this answer would not satisfy Shao Shuyi, he added, "Perhaps there is. In the past, when Zhu Ding went to get salt, he would always bring a few bodyguards with him. It's hard to say whether they had any private dealings."

"Okay, I understand." Shao Shuyi picked up the knife, preparing to continue practicing, and said, "Do you know Ge Daji, the clerk of the Criminal Division of the State Government?" "Yes."

"Find an opportunity to invite him for drinks and see if he comes," Shao Shuyi instructed.

Yang Jin wasn't too keen, feeling it was too dangerous, but he still replied, "Okay, I'll take care of it right away."