novelAbuy Chapter 340 Pirates
Chapter 340 Pirates
On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, light snow began to fall from the sky.
It wasn't the kind of heavy, all-encompassing snowfall of the north, but rather the fine, dense sleet unique to the south. It melted as soon as it landed on the river, but accumulated a thin, white, fluffy layer on the thatched roofs, like a sprinkle of salt.
Standing under the eaves of Yang's Grain Shop, holding her son in her arms, Liu watched several maids bustling about in the courtyard.
The aroma of steamed cakes wafted from the kitchen, mingling with the smoke from the firewood, spreading through the damp, chilly air, making it feel warm and comforting.
She wore a slightly worn lotus-root-colored kimono, over which she wore a gray squirrel fur coat. Her hair was styled in a loose bun, with a white jade hairpin tucked diagonally into her temple. It was a product of the Zazaofang Jinyuke workshop, and the quality was quite good.
"Madam, the rice cakes are ready. Would you like to try some?" A maid brought over a white porcelain plate with several pieces of rice cake neatly cut and sprinkled with dried osmanthus flowers.
People in the Wen region have no resistance to rice cakes. Liu immediately freed one hand, pinched off a small piece, and put it in her mouth, instantly finding it soft, chewy, and sweet. Chuan'er, who was not yet a year old, nestled in his mother's arms, instinctively opened his mouth upon seeing the steamed rice cake.
"Give each of the guards a share, two per person," said Madam Liu. "Also, distribute that basket of tangerines among everyone, not just the guards, but also the shop assistants at the warehouse who are on duty outside."
"Yes," the maid replied.
Citrus fruits transported from Wenzhou are not cheap here.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when the emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty wanted to eat southern oranges, they either had to be candied or freshly sealed in wax, which was incredibly expensive. Nowadays, wax isn't as expensive, but it's still not something ordinary families can afford in winter.
"Have the gifts for the officials of the six departments in the prefecture been prepared?" Madam Liu asked again.
"It's all prepared. Each person will receive four bolts of silk, two jars of aged liquor, and a box of Wuzhou cured pork."
Madam Liu hummed in agreement and looked down at her son in her arms.
The little guy, wrapped in swaddling clothes, was just moving around a moment ago, how come he closed his eyes and fell asleep after saying only a few words? His little mouth was opening and closing, as if he were dreaming of eating something delicious. She couldn't help but lower her head and kiss his forehead, smelling his milky scent, and was overjoyed. "Big brother's back." Footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate.
Liu looked up and saw Shao Shuyi walking in, wrapped in a black goatskin fake bell, with a layer of fine snow on his shoulders.
Tie Niu followed behind, carrying a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.
"Why are you standing in the wind?" Shao Shuyi strode up the steps, took his son from him, and urged, "Come inside quickly, don't get cold." Liu smiled and followed him into the main room. The room was warm and cozy with a charcoal fire burning inside.
Shao Shuyi handed his son to the wet nurse from Wenzhou, took off his fake bell, sat down by the charcoal brazier, and rubbed his hands together.
"Is the person settled?" Liu poured him a bowl of hot ginger tea.
"I've arranged for them to stay at the Jinsha Inn, and assigned two people to assist them." Shao Shuyi took the bowl, took a sip, exhaled a puff of white breath, and added, "They want to go check out Matuosha, so let them. After they've seen it, they can put in a good word for me."
"This is Li Da Weng's nephew, whom he trusts greatly. I had to ask several people to pass on the message." Liu walked to the cabinet, took out a bundle, placed it on Shao Shuyi's lap, and said, "These are the new clothes I made for you to wear for the New Year. Try them on to see if they fit."
Shao Shuyi opened the bundle and found a dark blue cotton robe with trimmed collar and cuffs, the stitches of which were fine and dense, indicating that a lot of work had been done to make it.
He unfolded it and draped it over himself; the length was just right.
"You can do this too?" Shao Shuyi asked in surprise.
Liu smiled and said, "I knew it when I was thirteen or fourteen."
"Why are your hands so cold?" Shao Shuyi put down his robe, took Liu's hand in his palm and warmed it.
Liu did not pull it back, but let him hold it.
The snow outside was falling heavier and heavier, and the sounds of maids laughing and joking could be heard from the courtyard. Some were building snowmen, and others were shouting, "Come and see, the roof is white!" in a thick Wenzhou accent.
Another aroma wafted from the kitchen, this time from braised pork in soy sauce, its fragrance infused with star anise and cinnamon, so rich it was almost overwhelming.
"I'll go check on the stew." Madam Liu gently withdrew her hand and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
As she reached the door, she suddenly turned back and asked, "After Zhang Yang left, Zhu Daocun will temporarily handle the affairs of the prefecture. Would you like to invite Madam Fei to visit the Confucian Temple before the New Year?"
"You decide what to do," Shao Shuyi said.
Madam Liu nodded, lifted the curtain, and went out.
Shao Shuyi sat alone in the main room, listening to the sounds of pots and pans clattering in the kitchen, the laughter in the courtyard, and the occasional sounds of children playing on the street. He suddenly felt that this kind of life was pretty good.
He beckoned to the wet nurse to give him the child.
After taking him, I looked down at my son in my arms. The little guy had woken up at some point, staring at me with his big, dark eyes, babbling and reaching his little hands out of his swaddling clothes, grabbing at the air.
Shao Shuyi held out a finger for his son to grasp. The little hand was clenched tightly, chubby and incredibly cute.
"Grow up quickly," Shao Shuyi said softly, "Dad will take you horseback riding and fighting."
The little baby didn't understand, but just gripped his finger, grinned, and showed his pink gums.
The snow stopped in the evening.
Yu Yuan led a group of six people over from a distance.
Li Daweng's nephew, who went to Matuosha for "inspection," was from the prefecture, while those who came with Yu Yuan were from Wenzhou. The two groups traveled together by boat to Jiangyin, but parted ways halfway through, each with their own purpose.
The leader of the six was Lin Shanyi, who was about forty years old. He was tall and thin, with a mustache and piercing eyes. He looked like a typical bandit strategist.
Upon seeing Shao Shuyi, the man immediately bowed and said, "Master Shao, I have truly troubled you these past few days."
"You're too kind, Mr. Lin." Shao Shuyi returned the greeting and led them into the main hall.
Two tables had already been set up in the main room. At the main table sat Shao Shuyi, Lin Shanyi, Yu Yuan, and Liang Tai, who had finished his self-reflection. At the secondary table sat Lin Shanyi's five attendants, accompanied by Wang Xing and Bian Yuanheng.
The dishes were personally arranged by Madam Liu: braised pork, stewed chicken, mandarin fish, winter bamboo shoots, cabbage, and a large pot of steaming mutton soup, sprinkled with pepper, which smelled delicious.
The wine was from Jiangyin Laojiao, and Shao Shuyi personally poured the wine for Lin Shanyi.
"Since you've come from so far, Mr. Lin, we have nothing much to offer but a simple home-cooked meal. Please don't find it offensive." With that, he raised his wine cup and downed it in a toast. Lin Shanyi also drank his, smacked his lips, and said, "Good wine!"
"If you like it, have a few more drinks." Shao Shuyi laughed and filled his glass again.
After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, the conversation flowed more freely, eventually turning to overseas trade and commerce.
Lin Shanyi picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and ate it slowly. Suddenly, he sighed and said, "After Cai Luantou rebelled, we haven't had an easy time either. Now we're preparing to do legitimate business."
Upon hearing this, Shao Shuyi chuckled inwardly. Could it be that you weren't originally in the legitimate business? But it's not surprising. Along Wen'er Road and even the Fujian coast, there are many maritime merchants and pirates, and their roles can be interchangeable. Some people do a lot of legitimate business and rarely rob others, so they are called "maritime merchants," while others do little legitimate business and frequently rob, so they are called "sea pirates."
"Master Lin," Shao Shuyi suddenly said, "I wonder if the Wenzhou Maritime Trade Office has one?"
Lin Shan waved his hand and said, "If we could get close to the powerful people in the Maritime Trade Office, why would we do business without any investment? We only know some minor officials and clerks, and their words don't carry much weight."
Wenzhou had a branch of the Maritime Trade Office, which had the same administrative level as Taicang, because the Maritime Trade Offices of Taicang and Liujiagang were also branches under the Qingyuan Maritime Trade Office.
The presence of a branch office indicates the presence of many foreign merchants and travelers. While it may not be as large as Liujiagang, it is certainly not a small commercial port.
"Connections are built step by step," Shao Shuyi said with a smile. "If all else fails, just spend more money."
Lin Shanyi was speechless, and said with a wry smile, "My brother got into trouble because of this."
Upon hearing this, Shao Shuyi sighed, looking pained.
Lin Shan-yi's elder brother, Lin Liang, was not actually a law-abiding citizen. In his early years, he worked for Liu's ex-husband, Brother Lin, not as a subordinate, but as a "franchisee," with his own people and boats.
After Brother Lin's death, Lin Liang and his small group of pirates began to operate independently. Occasionally, they would team up with others—like Li Da Weng—to pull off a big heist, but most of the time they maintained a relatively independent status.
Since Cai Luantou's rebellion, the ecology of Wenzhou and the coastal waters of northern Fujian has undergone drastic changes. Lin Liang already had a somewhat ambiguous relationship with Cai Luantou, but this fool was oblivious and was lured and captured by officials of the Maritime Trade Office, and beheaded within a few days.
As for why the Maritime Trade Office lured and arrested this man, they were probably afraid. After all, Lao Cai had already plundered ashore several times, and the government was afraid that someone would act as his inside man on land.
Shao Shuyi even suspected that Lin Liang was not entirely innocent; this guy might have really been Cai Luantou's inside man, or at least he had delivered supplies to him.
This wasn't just baseless speculation, because after Lin Shanyi and his group came from Wenzhou, they subtly mentioned whether they could help dispose of the stolen goods—Shao didn't explicitly agree, but he didn't refuse either.
"Mr. Lin, what's past is past. Let bygones be bygones," Shao Shuyi said. "Business without capital is not the right path. With such courage to risk your life, why not brave the waves and head straight to Southeast Asia to do business with foreign countries?"
"What Shao She said is quite right." Lin Shan nodded and said, "But we live in Wenzhou in fear. We are really afraid that one day when we are sound asleep, the government will come to arrest us. Even if we do business honestly and bring back goods from overseas, we are afraid that the corrupt officials of the Wenzhou Maritime Trade Office will take advantage of us and confiscate our goods."
Shao Shuyi laughed loudly upon hearing this, saying, "What's so difficult about that? Hasn't Mr. Lin heard of the famous 'Six Nations Wharf' of Liujiagang? If Wen is not comfortable here, he can come directly to Taicang. If he is not at ease in Taicang either, he can move his family to Jiangyin, where no one will dare to harm them."
"Thank you so much." Lin Shanyi seemed to have been waiting for these words, and immediately stood up to express his gratitude.
In the few days since he arrived, he has toured around Jiangyin city and its surroundings, gaining a rough understanding of Shao Shuyi's influence in the area.
With government troops and naval warships densely packed in Wen, these small pirates were like rats in the street, hated by everyone. They dared not stay any longer and could only relocate first and then try something else.
In retrospect, Jiangyin seems like a good place to settle down.
During the Song Dynasty, a maritime trade office was established here. The harbor along the Yangtze River is wide and deep, making it suitable for mooring large ships, with excellent conditions.
Most importantly, the local government doesn't target them.