novelAbuy Chapter 305 Old Friends
Chapter 305 Old Friends
"Shao Shuyi?" Zheng Sheng was just leaving the shop, preparing to take a boat to Taicang from the dock, when he saw Shao Shuyi and was somewhat surprised.
"It's me," Shao Shuyi said with a smile, standing under the tree.
There were more than twenty men standing around him, each with a sword and a bow, looking very capable.
Behind them, on a sea bream tethered to the side of the pier, were about twenty crew members and boatmen.
What a grand display!
"I need to borrow the dock to pick someone up," Shao Shuyi said, stepping forward and bowing.
Zheng Sheng nodded and, accompanied by an attendant, headed towards the dock, preparing to board a small boat on the other side of the pier.
Just before boarding the ship, he couldn't help but turn back to look at Shao Shuyi and said, "Little Tiger, I heard you've made a name for yourself in Jiangyin? You're already a guest of honor at the prefectural government?" "Just doing some business in Jiangyin, knowing a few people. There are many exaggerated rumors circulating outside, you should be discerning," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. Zheng Sheng said "Oh," and then added, "Three months ago, someone was inquiring about you in the area."
Shao Shuyi's eyes narrowed, and he asked, "What kind of person?"
"With you...with you..." Zheng Sheng hesitated, his gaze darting between Shao Shuyi and those behind him, seemingly unsure how to phrase it. Shao Shuyi understood and asked, "The same as them?"
He was referring to the men standing behind him, who were not wearing armor but were fully equipped.
Zheng Sheng hummed in agreement, then added, "It's just a bit like that. They didn't inquire for long; they left after finding out you weren't there. By the way, they speak with a Jiangbei accent."
"Thank you." Shao Shuyi bowed.
"No need." Zheng Sheng waved his hand, wanting to say a few more words, but then felt that it was too eager, so he returned the greeting, turned around, and boarded the ship. Tie Niu stepped forward and looked at Shao Shuyi with an inquiring gaze.
"Just like that time at Chengjiang Post Station, I guess someone wanted to assassinate me." Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "I reckon it really is someone from Jiangbei. They don't know the area, and they probably heard something from somewhere and thought I was at the Qingqi Shop, so they came to inquire. There's no need to worry, we just need to be careful."
Tie Niu retreated, deep in thought.
"No need to worry too much." Shao Shuyi glanced at him and said, "If I kept wandering around Jiangyin City, that would be dangerous. Now I'm in Shanghai one minute and Liujiagang the next. Who can figure out my whereabouts? Even if we happen to bump into me, we might not be able to arrange enough manpower in time. It's alright." Tie Niu hummed in agreement, his eyes still warily scanning the surroundings, even though they had only been at the old locust tree for a short while.
Shao Shuyi then went to the blueware shop and found that the people there had changed quite a bit.
The two people who used to work as shop assistants with Liu Jiu have disappeared. When asked, they found out that they had gone back to their hometown to get married and never came back.
The cook, Huang, was still alive and even said she would pay out of her own pocket to cook a meal for Shao Shuyi.
Naturally, Shao Shuyi refused, but had Tie Niu give each of them a piece of Songjiang floral cloth as a gift.
Song You, the clerk of Zhiku, is not here today. In fact, after Shao Shuyi wrote letters to persuade him many times, he had decided to quit and go to Shengye Trading Company near the old Yicang to work as an accountant, taking over the position vacated by Liu Huipeng.
This antique shop is now neither entirely genuine nor entirely legitimate.
After watching for a while, Shao Shuyi became somewhat disinterested. Just then, Zheng Fan arrived by carriage.
"I went to the shop just now, but I'm a little late," Zheng Fan said as he got off the carriage.
"How's the business going?" Shao Shuyi asked with a smile.
"Thanks to you. There's less timber coming from Jiangxi and Hunan these days, so prices have skyrocketed," Zheng Fan said. "Sales are good. We'll have to order more early next year."
"Not all the timber in Jiangzhou is locally produced. A lot of it actually comes from Hubei, Hunan, and Sichuan. If you want to buy it cheaper, you have to go west to Wuchang," Shao Shuyi said.
"Oh? You're going to Wuchang?" Zheng Fan was very perceptive and immediately sensed something unusual.
Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "I've taken on a job from the Zhenzhou salt merchants to transport 1,000 yin of Huai salt to Wuchang next February. I'm thinking of assembling a large fleet, and I'm currently looking for goods everywhere."
"It's only September, too early." Zheng Fan chuckled. "Let's go, there's nothing much to see here. Ali didn't come last year, but he came this year and even asked where you were."
"When?"
"At the beginning of the month. They've already left."
Shao Shuyi understood. At that time, he was still recruiting people to join him in Huangbudun and setting up a grain store; he didn't have time for this.
"What a pity." He said as he walked out, "In fact, we rely on him a lot in maritime trade, but unfortunately we never met." "Sanshe went to Qingyuan in the middle of the month to take up the post of a thousand-household commander, and donated a thousand shi of grain for it." Zheng Fan said, "Since Sanshe went there, Thirteenth Brother can no longer stay in Qingyuan. He has to avoid suspicion. I heard that he will be transferred back to the Grain Transport Office to serve as a clerk."
"Does this count as a promotion?" Shao Shuyi asked curiously.
"They're all just clerks, what's this talk about promotions?" Zheng Fan laughed. "But you know what, Thirteenth Brother did a good job at the Qing Shao Thousand Household Office. Coming back as a clerk is just a transition. Who knows, he might become a leader someday. Putting everything else aside, he'll easily become a ninth-rank official in charge of case handling." Shao Shuyi sighed upon hearing this.
Ge Daji was a clerk in charge of case investigation in Jiangyin Prefecture, but that was just a minor official position, not a full-fledged one. Zheng Song, on the other hand, was an official, even if he was just a low-ranking one.
Then, thinking of all those officials who passed the three exams and waited for their positions until their beards turned white, Zheng Song was practically appointed at the minimum age, successfully leaping over the dragon gate and being promoted from clerk to official. Who could he complain to?
"And you? When are you going to the Changshu branch in Jiangyin?" Shao Shuyi asked. "I went to see it last time. They moved to the old Songshui Village north of Shipai. The walls have been freshly painted and it looks pretty good."
"It'll probably be past the full moon of October," Zheng Fan said. "Find me a place to live first; I don't want to stay in the Thousand Household Office."
"I have a house in Shipaishu, you can just move in," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. "I can also come over for drinks from time to time." Zheng Fan laughed when he heard this, but quickly shook his head and said, "You're not a nobody anymore, there are many people watching you. If you come to Shipaishu to have drinks with me often, it's fine once or twice, but if it goes on for too long, people will inevitably find out your whereabouts and ambush you on the road, that wouldn't be good." Shao Shuyi had no reply.
Zheng Fan was actually right. A gang leader like him wasn't afraid of going out; what he feared was having his routines known and his whereabouts tracked. Zhu Ding went to the gambling den regularly every month, and the specific dates were known, which is why he died.
Zhu Chen's whereabouts and plans were discovered, so he also died.
So far, apart from Huangtian Trading Company, Shao Shuyi has not been to other places regularly, and Huangtian Trading Company is very difficult for strangers to approach.
His two recent banquets in Shanghai were actually high-risk behaviors, but fortunately, no one knew he had gone to Shanghai.
Thinking about this, Shao Shuyi couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. In a sense, he was free, yet at the same time, he was very unfree.
Shao and Zheng walked side by side, surrounded by more than ten crew members, and quickly boarded Liu Yi's ship. They then weighed anchor and set sail, arriving at the Tianfei Palace dock in just half an hour.
When Manager Mo received the message and stepped out of the shop, he was greeted by a large group of fierce-looking martial artists.
Having visited several times before, Bian Yuanheng bowed from afar and arrived at the shop entrance with more than ten people.
Four people stood on either side of the gate, chests out, stomachs in, eyes forward, hands on knife hilts.
Bian Yuanheng said "Excuse me" and then led five or six people into the shop to examine it carefully.
Mo Bei's nephew, Feng Shao, was chatting with someone in the shop when he saw Bian Yuanheng and his group. He was somewhat surprised, yet also somewhat enlightened.
Standing beside him was a man named Shen Dezai, who was in the grain trade. Upon seeing him, Shen said, "Now that you mention it, I know Cao Luo's real name is Shao Shuyi. These are his employees?"
"They call them 'workers,' but they're really just his men," Feng Shao said in a low voice.
Shen Dezai nodded slightly and said, "You probably don't know this, but a while ago there was a bandit named Bi Si who led thirty-six men to wreak havoc on the Grand Canal. In the end, it was this Cao Yi and Shao Shuyi who led the men to wipe them out. At that time, I was still under the walls of Changzhou when I heard that the Grand Canal had been reopened. So I inquired everywhere about what had happened and that's how I learned the whole story. When I arrived in Wuxi, some familiar friends came aboard to visit me and invited me to join the Wuyue Grain Company."
Feng Shao listened attentively, remaining calm and composed.
Of all the people in Pixiang Pavilion, he probably knew the most about Shao Shuyi's background. He returned to Jiangning ahead of schedule that time, and after hearing about Zhu Chen's death, he already had a clue.
He hadn't even told his uncle about this; it had all remained a secret. Hearing Shen Dezai recount the annihilation of Bi Si's gang, he wasn't surprised at all—he had even killed Zhu Chen, so wouldn't Bi Si be a piece of cake?
As the two were chatting, three more people arrived from not far away: Shen Mao, Shen Dechang, and Shen Hanjie.
Shen Mao is Shen Rong's younger brother, and he is twenty-four years old this year.
Shen Dechang and Shen Hanjie are both sons of Shen Gui and Shen Wansi. The former is over thirty years old and usually manages some farms in Suzhou, while the latter is twenty-seven years old and mainly manages some cotton textile workshops in Songjiang Prefecture. They each have their own duties.
"Is this the Shao Shuyi that Lu Zhonghe mentioned?" Shen Mao looked at the waiters who were scattering to various places and said with some dissatisfaction, "He has quite a grand entourage. If I didn't know who he was, I would have thought that the Prince of Zhennan had arrived."
Shen Hanjie coughed and said, "Daqing."
Shen Mao snapped out of his daze, smiled, and said, "I understand, I'll be careful."
Shen Dezai and Feng Shao came over to pay their respects.
Shen Dechang gave him a strange look and said, "Zhihua, what brings you here?"
"I came here with Rongfu yesterday," Shen Dezai replied.
Shen Dechang found it even stranger.
Although Dezai was a member of the Shen clan, he was not from the same branch as Wan San and Wan Si. To be precise, Shen Dechang's grandfather, Shen You, and Shen Dezai's grandfather were cousins.
Shen Dezai's family didn't actually have much money, and his status within the large Shen family was quite ordinary. He could only rely on the Shen family name to travel around and do some grain and oil trading. It was indeed puzzling that he came with Shen Rong this time.
Shen Dezai didn't offer much explanation, but simply stood awkwardly to the side.
Soon, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Shen Rong, Mo Bei, Shao Shuyi, and Zheng Fan appeared at the same time.