Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 299 Affairs

Before dawn, Shao Shuyi was awakened by a loud cry. He got up and saw that it was the baby crying. Liu Shi had already undressed and was breastfeeding. Seeing that it was almost time, he didn't go back to sleep and got up to exercise in the yard.

He practiced for several years and felt that his martial arts skills were passable. He was itching to go into battle and fight, but everyone disagreed, and he thought it was unreliable, so he had to give up.

After practicing sword and shield combat techniques and emptying a quiver, the eastern sky was already beginning to lighten.

The cook called out from the doorway, his accent heavy and hard to understand, but Shao Shuyi knew he was being called to breakfast, so he nodded and had the food brought to the courtyard, where he sat down to eat under a loquat tree.

This courtyard was newly built, not very big, only seven or eight rooms. It took more than half a year to build. All the materials were purchased in Jiangxia City and Xiapu and transported by ship. Of course, the money was paid by Madam Liu. Even the servants in the courtyard were from Wenzhou and had a very strange accent.

Shao is now living off his wife with a clear conscience.

They eat other people's food, use other people's things, live in other people's houses, and even do their laundry, cook, and clean. They are all relatives and neighbors of other people. At night, they have to climb on other people's bodies and nuzzle them to comfort their slightly tired bodies and minds after going out to kill.

This life is really great!

Breakfast was served quickly, consisting of eggs, pickled vegetables, and rice porridge. It was delicious, and Shao Shuyi finished it in no time. He then walked out of the courtyard and looked at the children doing their morning exercises on the other side of the river.

There were twenty-two of them in total, ranging in age from five to twelve. They were roughly divided into two groups: sixteen children under the age of eight formed one group, and another six children aged eight to twelve formed the other group.

The younger children ran laps around the grass to warm up before heading back to prepare for class.

Older age groups will undergo simple military drills before they can return to class.

Their teacher was a local from Matuosha, and his education was quite mediocre. It was highly unlikely that he would produce any literary masters. At best, he could teach these children a basic understanding of literature, enabling them to recognize some common characters and know their meanings, which would be sufficient for reading and writing simple official documents later on. Shao Shuyi collectively referred to these people as the "Righteous Children's Army," and they were placed under the name of Shengye Trading Company's trading post. In the future, more people would be added every year, gradually expanding the scale of the group.

This is another force of his, separate from "the guys," although it's only just begun.

With that in mind, Shao Shuyi crossed a wooden bridge and arrived at the leveled playground.

The brothers Fu Jian and Fu Yong immediately came over to pay their respects.

"How is it?" Shao Shuyi asked, pointing to the children who were practicing.

"Chang Diao, Li Huayuan, and Yang Song have been familiar with military rules since they were young, and they are very good at leading these children," Fu Jian said. "Because of their backgrounds, these children are more hardworking and obedient. They will practice when asked to practice and learn when asked to learn. At first, they may have been a little uncooperative, but now they are as responsive as an limb." Shao Shuyi looked at them carefully for a while and nodded slightly.

The three men Fu Jian mentioned were all sons of military households from the Pizhou Wanhu Prefecture. Like the Fu brothers, they were members of Shao Shuyi's guard. In addition to these five, four physically strong men were selected from the seafarers and porters of Taicang, plus Tie Niu, who was recently appointed as the captain, making a total of ten. The fact that his own guard was training them highlighted Shao Shuyi's emphasis on this volunteer army.

Next to the playground was a cleared-out plot of land, totaling 81 mu, which was temporarily allocated to the salt farmers who came from Yidu.

This group consisted of about ninety people, mainly able-bodied men, plus some women and children, with very few elderly people.

They currently rely mainly on the rations issued by their superiors to survive, and their main task is to reclaim wasteland. The 81 mu of land that has been initially cleared has been designated by Shao Shuyi as "military land," which is mainly used to provide pensions to soldiers who died in battle, died of illness, or were wounded, as well as their families.

Eighty acres of land is not much, and it will not produce anything in the short term, but it is part of the institutional construction and one of the "infrastructures" that enabled Shao Shuyi's gang to transform from a criminal organization into a legitimate government.

After quietly watching the drills, Shao Shuyi, on a whim, decided to give the children a cultural lesson and teach them some principles—he hadn't had time before, but now that he had some free time, he naturally wanted to participate more.

It rained on the tenth day of the ninth lunar month.

Raindrops pattered on the new tiles, making a crisp sound.

After putting the child to sleep, Liu sat down next to Shao Shuyi and they watched the misty autumn rain outside together.

"Going overseas to trade is a dangerous undertaking, with life and death uncertain. You've invested such a large sum; aren't you afraid of losing everything?" she asked curiously. "You don't have much money left, do you?"

"The salt payment hasn't come back yet, so we're short of money right now," Shao Shuyi laughed. "What I lack has never been money, but manpower. Take the second phase of the granary that's under construction, for example. It's just two large brick houses, and if we build four more granaries inside, it'll take me more than half a year to finish. This woman came to work for a day today, and after she leaves, we might not see her for months. Tomorrow, that old man will work for two days and then go back to his farm work. Making and firing bricks is also a hassle; we're short-handed, and it's too slow. I'm even thinking of going to Jiangyin to buy bricks and timber."

"We're short-staffed, huh? Well, what can we do? Who told you to choose such a godforsaken place?" Liu mocked. "If I hadn't been tricked into getting pregnant and having a child, I wouldn't even bother staying here. Just wait and see. If one day you can command a region and conscript people for corvée labor, then it'll be quick." Shao Shuyi was speechless.

"Ma Tuo Sha has less than seven thousand people; it's truly desolate," Shao Shuyi sighed. "In the past few days, Gao Jian and I have calculated that this place could probably house more than twenty thousand people who could live quite well. Not far to the west, Mu Ma Xiao Sha could house more than ten thousand people, but so far there are only three thousand. Perhaps next year we will not only need to recruit soldiers, but also gather more refugees."

"Look at your money, supporting someone is very expensive, especially if it lasts for three years. It can drain you dry." As she spoke, Madam Liu looked down at her figure and sighed inwardly.

After the age of thirty, as one's appearance fades, having another child feels like the sky is falling.

It's been months, and I still haven't fully recovered. Every time I think about it, I'm filled with rage, and then I feel a little...

"Can't your family send someone to help me go to sea?" Shao Shuyi suddenly asked. "There are countless people from Wenzhou and Wenzhou who sail out to sea. Wenzhou even has a branch office for maritime trade."

"The people my family knows all go out to sea to do business with no initial investment, mostly staying in coastal waters; they've never crossed oceans." Madam Liu blinked and asked, "You really want someone like that?"

"Why wouldn't I want to?" Shao Shuyi said.

"Do you still remember Liu Jinbao?"

"Remember."

"He has a son, about my age, who worked as an accountant on a boat more than ten years ago. Now he lives in the countryside of Jiangning, making a living by tending a few dozen acres of land. I can ask him for you, but if you want him to come out, you can't do it without offering some benefits, since it's too far to go to Tuta." Liu said, "If he can't do it, you can go to Taicang and find someone."

"Who?"

Do you remember the first time we met?

Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "You're killing fish."

Liu laughed and said, "You're really sick in the head. I've never seen such a shameless person. But that's how people who are possessed by ghosts are, maybe it was different in your time."

Shao Shuyi remained silent.

Liu might think he was from before the Yuan Dynasty, but to be honest, in his opinion, women in the Yuan Dynasty were probably the most open-minded in recent centuries, especially in Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

Further back, perhaps only Tang Dynasty women, who were also more open-minded and could freely go on outings and even play ball on donkeys, were more so.

Our generation? Uh, well, it's true that women in the 21st century are more open-minded, and the way men and women interact is different. "Let's get down to business," Shao Shuyi coughed and said.

Liu rolled her eyes at him and said, "The owner of that house was my father's sworn brother, you know that, right?"

Shao Shuyi nodded.

"He has five sons. Apart from the eldest son who runs the family estate, the other four sons are all engaged in maritime trade, but they mainly travel between Taicang and Wenzhou. The furthest they've gone is Fujian, but not much," Liu said. "I'll write a letter for you to take there; perhaps they'll agree. But as I said before, you have to offer them generous benefits."

"What kind of benefits do they want?" Shao Shuyi asked seriously.

"Money, land, women?" Madam Liu wasn't entirely sure either. "That's about it."

"So lacking in ambition?" Shao Shuyi said helplessly, "Didn't you ever think of being a maritime merchant for generations, exchanging goods with foreign lands?"

Upon hearing this, Liu seemed to realize something, turned to look at Shao Shuyi, and asked, "What are you planning to do now?"

"I'm thinking that goods from foreign lands, once transported to China, are mostly sold to wealthy and powerful families," Shao Shuyi said. "They're the richest, with so much money they don't know what to do with it. Only exotic goods from overseas can pique their interest and make them willingly spend money. In this process, the imperial court can take a cut and collect taxes, gaining a considerable amount, which is very beneficial to its finances. Therefore, this trade is very worthwhile, and should even be carried out on a large scale and continued indefinitely. Don't they want to go overseas to trade with foreign countries? How much money can they make just traveling back and forth between Wenzhou and Taicang?"

"That's all nonsense," Madam Liu said mercilessly. "You still need to offer some benefits."

"The advantage is that I intend to engage in long-term maritime trade with foreign countries, and I'll need someone to help me with things in the future. That's the benefit," Shao Shuyi said. "Do you know about the official ships of the imperial court?"

Liu suddenly realized, but still frowned. After thinking for a moment, she sighed and said, "Let's look around more. Maybe there are people who are so poor they're desperate to get rich quick and are willing to earn this money."

Official ships were vessels and supplies provided by the imperial court for navigation, and sometimes even goods. They would then recruit people from all walks of life to sail out to sea and do business. The profits would be divided proportionally. The latter sold their professional skills and knowledge, and most importantly, their courage.

"Are you really going to get involved in this business?" Madam Liu was still somewhat doubtful. "You've already made quite a bit of money selling smuggled salt."

"Preparation is the key to success, and lack of preparation leads to failure." Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "How do you know my ambition? This world is vast, and the Great Yuan Dynasty is but a corner of it. Even in Japan to the east, people say it is poor, but the number of ships doing business is not necessarily small. The Qingyuan Road sends more than a dozen ships to Japan every year, and many people have become rich overnight because of it."

"You decide for yourself." Seeing that Shao Shuyi had made a decision, Madam Liu said no more.

Going overseas to trade is indeed an excellent way to make money, but it also carries enormous risks. However, if you take the long term and have a strong enough financial foundation to withstand unexpected setbacks, you can indeed become very wealthy in the long run. After all, you can't afford to lose money every year, can you?

"I'll be going to Shanghai in a few days, so don't rush back to Jiangyin," Shao Shuyi instructed.

"What are you going to do with that female tiger?"

Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment and said, "I plan to have her take some able-bodied refugees from the Huai River region by boat to Tongzhou to collect salt."

"Tongzhou?"

"It's Tongzhou." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Since I've occupied this sandbar in the middle of the river, I naturally need to take care of both the south and north banks. I want to try to make contact with the officials in Tongzhou and gradually turn it into a second Jiangyin Prefecture."