Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 207 Hibernation

Under the dark night sky, a group of elderly, weak, women and children arrived by boat and unloaded their cargo on the spot.

The ten men who had joined from Tongzhou and Andongzhou were surprised and somewhat excited upon seeing this; it turned out to be a den of thieves, with many of their relatives. This leader must be quite capable.

With a knife slung over his shoulder, Shao Shuyi stood in the knee-high weeds, his expression a mixture of satisfaction and heaviness.

However, he certainly wouldn't spoil the fun on such a "great day".

"Keep your mouths shut. Everyone who comes tonight, regardless of age, will receive five strings of cash," Gao Daqiang and Wu Heizi instructed the elderly, weak, women, and children who came to unload the goods.

Everyone responded excitedly, their hands and feet gaining extra strength.

Children are too weak to pick up the scattered salted fish piled up in the corner that weren't bagged.

Two women carried a bag of salt, steadily and smoothly.

What's most surprising is that the elderly people in their fifties and sixties would pick up a bag of salt from the cabin, carry it on their shoulders, and then steadily walk dozens of steps on the boat planks to pile it onto the small awning boat.

Elderly people and women who do farm work year-round are indeed different.

Over 113,000 catties of salt and over 21,000 catties of salted fish could not possibly be transported in one night. Therefore, after dawn, Shao Shuyi arranged for Gao Daqiang to lead a team to stand guard, and then led the others to the backyard of Chongsheng Temple.

Hui Yong came to pay his respects immediately.

"Is there any result regarding the matter at Guangfu Temple in Ganming?" Shao Shuyi asked, looking somewhat tired, as he sat in the monks' quarters. "The government has sent a document to the Matuosha Patrol Inspectorate, ordering Jiang Guanbao to conduct a thorough investigation," Hui Yong replied. "Inspector Jiang has investigated back and forth, but there haven't been any results, and they haven't said anything more."

"No officials have crossed the river to bring sand on their horses?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"Over the years, almost no one has come to Ma Tuo Sha. Even if they have, they are just minor officials," Hui Yong said. "Ma Yuanchong is unlikely to come in person. In the end, this matter will probably fall on Ge Daji, the clerk of the Criminal Division."

Shao Shuyi nodded in satisfaction.

The public security, procuratorate, and court are all my people. How dare they fight me? If they find out, I'll change my surname to yours.

Along with the monk Huiyong, Ji Wu, one of the twelve bodyguards under Zhu Ding, chimed in, "Brother, don't worry. The three who went with me that day are all in Matuosha. We can't find them anywhere."

Shao Shuyi turned his gaze to him and asked, "You've been in Matuosha for a while now, what are your plans for the future?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Wu knelt on one knee and said in a deep voice, "I am willing to follow Cao Sheji's lead."

Shao Shuyi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Have you been to school?"

"I studied it for two years when I was young, but I didn't continue," Ji Wu replied.

"Where do you plan to settle down?" Shao Shuyi asked again.

"My family is all here."

"Where are your three men?"

"After committing the crime, I was filled with fear, so I asked someone to send a message and moved my family here as well."

"You don't want the family fortune anymore?"

Ji Wu smiled bitterly upon hearing this: "Cao She, you don't know this. I only served as one of the Twelve Protectors for a few months before Zhu Ding died. To put it nicely, he was a chivalrous knight-errant; to put it bluntly, he was a scoundrel. My three brothers are even poorer than me; they have no property whatsoever. Pack your belongings; we're better off without our thatched huts and mud houses." "Have you settled in here?"

"I've chosen a house in District 4 and settled in."

"how?"

"It's leaking a little, but we can catch it in a wooden basin; it's not a big deal. We can fix it when we have more money."

Shao Shuyi nodded slightly and said, "If any of you are willing, you can join the Shengye Trading Company's merchandise department as employees."

After saying that, he gave a brief explanation.

Ji Wu was a smart man, and he quickly discerned the different meaning behind it, immediately replying, "I'm willing."

"Can you make decisions for the other three?"

"We will advance or retreat together, that is acceptable."

"What if we split the four of you into three teams?"

Ji Wu was taken aback for a moment, then said, "It's entirely up to Cao She's arrangements."

Shao Shuyi nodded in satisfaction and said, "It's not that I'm doing this on purpose. My business is growing bigger and bigger, and I need more and more manpower, but some people are unwilling to move their families here to transport sand, so I need to recruit new people. Since I've already recruited, I might as well break them up and reorganize them, with the old leading the new, that's all." Based on the current financial situation and the development of the situation, Shao Shuyi decided to expand one team of professional soldiers into three teams, with the leader nominally a "manager" but actually a "team leader".

The team consists of thirteen men, plus the team leader, which makes fourteen soldiers. The three teams total forty-two men. Now, only the thirteen men of the Gao team have settled in Ma Tuo Sha, ten of whom are listed as patrol inspectors.

Shao Shuyi planned to take some time to assess the situation and see how many of Wu's men were willing to move over. He would try to persuade as many as possible, since they were considered "veterans." In addition, he would need to recruit new people.

The ten new members are all single and can settle down immediately, which should be without objection.

Ji Wu and his three companions also settled here, and could simply absorb the energy directly.

The rest will require gradual screening and recruitment. In any case, expanding the army is not something that can be done in a day or two. Shao Shuyi plans to spend several months gradually perfecting the process, with the principle of "better to have fewer but better quality soldiers" and "safety first".

On the tenth day of the fifth month, the fish and salt had all been stored in the warehouse—so much so that there wasn't enough room—so they began to be temporarily stored in the homes of the "thieves' families," awaiting transport. On this day, Yu Yuan, who had been notified, crossed the river to meet them.

"Brother, everything in Jiangyin has been peaceful since you left." Yu Yuan flipped through the account book and recounted the various situations in detail: "We have received some salt payments from various places, and now we have 767 ingots and two strings and fifty cash in the account. The last 25,000 catties of salt from Ma Tuo Sha are temporarily stored in Xiapu and Jiangxia. People have come to collect the salt in the past few days, and it should be distributed by the end of May or the beginning of June."

On the first day of the fifth lunar month, Madam Liu received the last batch of salted fish and urged us to speed up the pickling process. Changjing City also wants salted fish—brother, many shops refuse to sell salt, only salted fish. We should prepare more salted fish in the future.

Liu Ming, Liu Zhenru, and Chen Yue were all very diligent officials in the state government.

Liu Xing also took up his post at the Shipai Patrol Inspectorate. Upon his arrival, he treated the entire department to a banquet, winning unanimous praise.

"Just yesterday, someone from the prefectural government relayed a message from Zhao Yangui, telling us not to obstruct the salt carriers from Jiangbei, otherwise he would buy salt from Zhang Sanniu..." Yu Yuan spoke at length, while Shao Shuyi sat comfortably in a rattan chair, playing with a cup of hot tea. After a moment, he nodded and said, "Very complete, very detailed, very good."

Yu Yuan said somewhat embarrassedly, "That's because you haven't been gone for too long, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to cover it up."

"Don't underestimate yourself," Shao Shuyi said. "You'll have to shoulder more responsibility later on."

Yu Yuan was surprised.

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "I have a lot to do; I need to focus my energy on military matters."

Yu Yuan seemed to understand something.

Shao Shuyi took a sip of tea and said, "This time we seized 113,000 catties of salt, enough to sell until the winter month. If we collect Huai salt a few more times, it should be enough for the New Year. That means I don't need to go out to collect salt this year. From now on, I'll either be doing business in Liujiagang or training the shop assistants in Matuosha, so I won't be coming to Jiangyin too often. Things are gradually getting back on track here, so you should keep busy. Hmm, what about your family back home…?" "My brother wrote to me, saying I haven't been home for a long time." Yu Yuan said embarrassedly, "He even said if I don't come back soon, he'll arrest me and take me back." Shao Shuyi felt a little ashamed and said, "Alright, just let me know when you're going home, I'll go to Jiangyin to cover for a while."

Yu Yuan hummed in agreement, then asked, "Brother, money is becoming increasingly worthless these days. In a place like Jiangyin, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice costs thirty-eight guan (a unit of currency), and I heard it's over thirty-nine guan in Liujiagang, almost forty guan?"

"Hmm." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "The price of grain might drop a bit when the new wheat comes to market in May, but it will definitely rise above forty guan later. It's really not good for us to keep too much cash. Do you have any suggestions on how to spend it?"

"Stockpile more grain," Yu Yuan blurted out without hesitation.

"Where should we station our troops?"

"There are some in Sanlinli, Liujiagang, and Huangtian Commercial Society, but Datoutun is in Matuosha."

"I share the same idea," Shao Shuyi said. "But only Chong Sheng Temple can store a small amount of sand on the horses. A few hundred shi is fine, but more than that won't work. We'll have to build a new granary."

"Brother, why don't you spend the money here? If you're going to build one, build a big, good one," Yu Yuan suggested. "When I read history books in my spare time, I always come across the words 'Cangcheng' (仓城). It can store grain and garrison troops, which is much better than a granary and not easy to conquer."

Shao Shuyi hesitated for a moment.

A granary is a good thing, but it's not something you can afford to do on your own. It requires you to conscript people and use their labor for free, which is actually very difficult in the absence of a rebellion.

But he could build a smaller version first. After all, Cangcheng is composed of many grain cellars or granaries. Considering that the groundwater level in Ma Tuo Sha is high, it is probably impossible to build grain cellars. They can be separated by walls and a portion can be built first.

"Any other suggestions?" Shao Shuyi continued to ask.

"I see that there's still a lot of wasteland in Ma Tuo Sha. Could we take in the refugees from the Huai River region, support them first, and then gradually cultivate the land?" Yu Yuan suggested again. "You little scholar," Shao Shuyi smiled and looked at Yu Yuan, saying, "It seems that being able to stand on your own really toughens you up. You never thought about these kinds of things before."

Yu Yuan's face flushed slightly as he said, "Before, when I was by my brother's side, I was too lazy to use my brain. Now that I'm in charge of everything myself, I can't help but think things through. Over time, it's almost become instinctive."

"That's right. Building granaries, reclaiming wasteland, and training troops are all things to do next," Shao Shuyi said. "You should go back first and get the situation under control as soon as possible. If anything happens, just send someone across the river to let me know. If I have time, I'll also visit Jiangyin. Some old relationships fade if you don't keep in touch, and it's not so easy to restore them next time."

"Okay," Yu Yuan nodded in response.

"Is Jiang Guanbao waiting outside? Let him in." Shao Shuyi said halfway, then waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I'm going out for a walk and I'll talk to him about a few things."

After saying that, he pulled Yu Yuan up and they went out of the monk's hut together.

When Jiang Guanbao saw the two men come out, he hurriedly bowed.

Yu Yuan returned the greeting, took his leave, and departed.

Shao Shuyi waved and walked with Jiang Guanbao through the tall, straight paulownia forest.

"Cao She, yesterday, for the first time ever, an official from Taixing came to Muma Xiaosha. It seems something extraordinary has happened." Jiang Guanbao said while secretly observing Shao Shuyi's expression. Seeing nothing amiss, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued, "A salt smuggler named Wu Dalang has broken through the Lüsi Saltworks. Now, the entire Jiangbei region is conducting a large-scale search. Many bandits from Huaihe River are unable to withstand the pressure and seem to be heading south."

Shao Shuyi stopped, his back to Jiang Guanbao, and asked, "What do you want to say?"