novelAbuy Chapter 42 Ritual
Chapter 42 Ritual
Accompanying the elegant music were rhythmic drumbeats.
Dozens of men who looked like sailors carried pigs, sheep and other sacrificial animals to the offering table.
The old temple keeper took a tinderbox and lit the candles and incense sticks one by one.
The apprentice followed behind, silently handing over various items.
The room fell silent for a moment, everyone's expression solemn. Even Wang Huadu, a ruthless killer, felt a little uneasy and stood there obediently.
"Offer five kinds of fruit," the temple keeper said in a hoarse voice as he turned around.
The original meaning of "five fruits" refers to jujube, plum, apricot, chestnut, and peach, but it is not always possible to find all of them, so other items are often used as substitutes, or even wood carvings and painted fruits.
Shao Shuyi glanced at it and realized that it seemed to be using fake fruit.
"A toast to a peaceful and prosperous era..." The temple keeper took the wine bowl from his apprentice and offered it on the offering table.
"The temple keeper reads the eulogy," the temple keeper said after turning around.
A middle-aged man in a white robe stepped forward and began to recite the eulogy in a melodious tone: "Outside the village, fifty households form a community, with one leader whose main task is to encourage farming and sericulture. He is usually not very noticeable."
Shao Shuyi patiently waited for the lengthy ceremony.
After the eulogy was read, incense was lit a second time, candles were lit a second time, and three cups of tea and two cups of rice were offered. Then, officials, brokers, and wealthy men of high status came forward to pay their respects.
Shao Shuyi felt a gust of wind, and Zheng Fan, who was at the front of the line, stepped forward to burn incense and offer prayers.
To his surprise, two of the first worshippers were women.
He turned his head slightly to look at Wang Huadu beside him, wanting to know why.
Wang Huadu looked at him blankly, "I don't know..."
Shao Shuyi pondered to himself, recalling some news he had heard while chatting with Zheng Fan: some merchants from Zhejiang went to sea and then disappeared without a trace, which eventually led to the emergence of many widows (wealthy women).
He once mentioned that in Qingyuan alone, there were probably more than ten widows from wealthy maritime merchant families.
Upon first hearing this news, Shao Shuyi was greatly encouraged and gained a deeper understanding of the trend of overseas trade during the Yuan Dynasty. The great calligrapher Zhao Mengfu had once mortgaged his house to borrow money to invest in a ship that traded with foreign countries. Even literati and officials did the same, which shows how strong this trend was.
These two women in front of me are probably the kind of women whose husbands have encountered various misfortunes and who have no choice but to support the family business.
Shao Shuyi quietly touched the few hundred coins he had left in his pocket and sighed to himself that the saying "poverty makes one lose ambition" was really true. He actually thought that those rich widows were quite good-looking.
"May the Heavenly Princess bless you, and may we offer you two toasts..." The temple keeper's voice rang out again.
A large group of ship managers and shopkeepers stepped forward and offered their prayers.
"So this is the Lu Zhonghe you were talking about? A hypocrite." Wang Huadu whispered again, "The Shen family has really lost their minds. They started out as merchants, but they insist on pretending to be scholars and marrying their daughter to a 'talented man.' Will it work? Hmm, he's looking at you."
Shao Shuyi quietly raised his head and found that Lu Zhonghe had actually turned around and glanced at him with a somewhat ambiguous look in his eyes. Then, he slowly stepped forward to burn incense and offer prayers.
Shen stood beside him, her eyes fixed straight ahead, her demeanor dignified.
Shao Shuyi was getting annoyed.
Why is Lu Zhonghe always competing with him? Brother, you're a scholar, I'm a merchant; we're not on the same wavelength, not to mention we've even worked together once. Your competitiveness is too strong! You hate me just because you lost once? What kind of childish person are you?
No need for pity!
As the chant of "Three toasts for a peaceful and bountiful harvest" rang out, Shao Shuyi followed the crowd forward to pay homage to the Heavenly Princess.
Behind them, there was actually a fourth group of people: after the temple keeper shouted "Buddhist men and women, please repent and worship," the sailors who were about to set sail and their families came forward in a huge crowd to worship, creating a very grand scene.
"Burn the sacrificial text," the temple keeper shouted, uttering the seventh sentence of the day.
Shao Shuyi had already returned to his original position, chatting with Wang Huadu while observing his surroundings.
The ship's foreman was talking to the owners and dignitaries, while the sailors were saying goodbye to their families. Some women and children even cried out loud, as if it were a matter of life and death—which was actually quite true; in those days, who would want to go to sea if they had money?
Impoverished sailors are not lacking in courage and are willing to risk their lives, but this is also the only thing they can offer.
Once on board, family members can receive some care. They can also carry a box with local specialties from the Central Plains to sell. When they return, they can buy more local products to bring back to the Central Plains to sell. Not to mention, the wages for a year at sea are quite high.
This was, in their understanding, the only chance to defy fate.
"Little Tiger, come here." Just as he was looking around, Shao Shuyi suddenly heard Zheng Fan's voice.
Following the sound, they found Zheng Fan, Shen Rong, Lu Zhonghe, Shen Shi, and others standing together, chatting and laughing.
Shao Shuyi bowed to each of them.
Shen Rong, despite being the highest-ranking, was the first to return the greeting, smiling as he looked at Shao Shuyi and said, "Young master, you are quite tall."
"You've grown taller from being fed so much meat and fish." Zheng Fan chuckled, patted Shao Shuyi on the shoulder, and said, "In just half a year, you've become quite muscular."
Two people stood behind Zheng Fan, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, both looking at him with unfriendly eyes.
"I forgot to introduce them earlier." Zheng Fan pointed to the two of them and said, "The tall one is my seventh brother, from my fourth uncle's family, named Guozhang. The other one is Fang Anyang, a relative by marriage of the old master."
Zheng Guozhang bowed first, then glared at Zheng Fan, seemingly dissatisfied with the way he introduced himself.
Fang Anyang was probably around twenty years old. He was very polite when returning the gift, but his gaze was unfriendly.
Shao Shuyi dared not be negligent and greeted each person respectfully.
Zheng Guozhang was a member of the Zheng clan, which goes without saying.
Fang Anyang's background is not simple either. Wasn't the wife of the old prime minister Zheng Yonghe surnamed Fang? And the old man with the goatee who followed Zheng Song earlier also had the surname Fang.
It's quite normal that they were dissatisfied with Shao Shuyi, because they were about to go to sea.
As part of their collaboration with the Shen and Ye families, Zheng Guozhang and Fang Anyang will board the "Chongjia" ship and sail south to Srivijaya, Java, to conduct trade.
This is not an easy trip; they might even lose their lives. It's normal for them to be dissatisfied.
After introducing the two men, Zheng Fan walked up to another man and said, "This is Ye Qiao, the chief steward of the 'Chongjia' ship."
Shao Shuyi immediately stepped forward to greet him.
Ye Qiao returned the greeting without saying anything, his face, reddened by the scorching sun at sea, remained expressionless.
"Do these two need further introduction? You've already met Xiao Hu, haven't you?" Zheng Fan blinked, smiled at Lu Zhonghe and Shen Shi, and then said, "Alright, let me introduce you again. Lu Mingshen, the son-in-law of Wan Sangong, is skilled in literature and poetry. He often exchanges poems with talented scholars in Suzhou and is known as one of the 'Four Friends of Pine and Bamboo Garden'."
Madam Shen is the beloved daughter of Lord Wan. Don't underestimate her; she's studied literature and poetry since childhood and is also skilled in business. She can make decisions about most household affairs; she's truly remarkable.
Zheng Fan might be joking, but Lu Zhonghe found it somewhat annoying.
As if noticing her husband's mood, Madam Shen immediately said, "Yifang is joking. I am the daughter of a merchant, and I may make some money through trading, but that is a minor matter. To manage the affairs of the household and bring honor to our family, we still need our husbands."
Zheng Fan chuckled and said no more.
Lu Zhonghe's expression softened slightly.
Shen Rong seemed oblivious to all this, and simply smiled at Shao Shuyi, saying, "I just heard Master Sun talk about many things. Young Master Shao is quite remarkable. He is both humble and yielding, yet decisive in his actions, and he also has considerable insight into the business world. It's truly amazing."
Sun Chuan? Shao Shuyi's heart skipped a beat. How come this guy is everywhere? Things have been quite peaceful lately, and he thought Sun Chuan had already quieted down, but now it seems that's not necessarily the case.
He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Shen Rong and said, "I had no choice but to do this, sir. Please forgive my foolishness."
Shen Rong shook his head and said, "You're ruthless enough, but you're still young. In the future, you should conceal your sharpness and blend in with the world, otherwise this path will become increasingly difficult."
"Thank you for your guidance, sir," Shao Shuyi said, bowing.
Shen Rong nodded, then greeted Zheng Fan and left first.
Lu Zhonghe turned to look at Sun Chuan, who was chatting and laughing with someone, and seemed to be deep in thought. After hearing Shen's reminder, he also took his leave.
"What are you looking at? Scatter." Zheng Fan tapped Shao Shuyi on the shoulder and said, "The fleet will set off today, first heading to Wenzhou and Taizhou, then to Quanzhou, and then it will not stop at any port, heading straight for Srivijaya. If all goes well, we can return next summer. Sanshe said that since you got an extra 10% profit, he won't take it for free. He'll give you three percent, but you must do your job well and not cheat or shirk your responsibilities."
"Yes, yes," Shao Shuyi replied repeatedly.
"You know that much." Zheng Fan turned to look at the distant Yangtze River and said, "The Spring Festival transport fleet has already passed the Wanli Changtan and will be returning in the next couple of days. Sanshe's promotion to the position of Canal Commissioner is a done deal. As a new official, he'll be busy with many things and probably won't have much energy to attend to other matters. Anyway, that's all I'll say. Just remember one thing: Sanshe is generous and often rewards his subordinates, but you have to have some achievements that he can respect, otherwise you won't get a single penny. Didn't you want to get a boat before? Sure, show me your achievements."
After saying that, Zheng Fan waved his hand and said, "I'm leaving now. Do as you please."
Shao Shuyi bowed.
After Zheng Fan's figure disappeared into the distance, he pondered silently, realizing that he needed to produce some tangible results.
The favor of cleaning up the rats at the ware shop is in the past and can't be relied upon for long; now I need to make a new contribution.
Zheng Sanshe is a performance-oriented person!
While pondering, Shao Shuyi aimlessly searched for Wang Huadu's figure, preparing to call him back.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a group of people standing by the wall not far away. They had high noses and deep-set eyes and were pointing at the Tianfei Palace as if they were watching a commotion.
Having perhaps had enough of the commotion, they chatted and laughed, preparing to turn and leave.
In a flash, Shao Shuyi had a sudden inspiration. He raised his right hand and shouted towards the direction of the Tibetans, "Selam!"