Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 49 Compliance and Rectification

On the morning of the 11th, Shao Shuyi went to Zheng Fan's house again to discuss the matter of buying Li Fu's boat.

Upon hearing that Shao Shuyi actually wanted to spend twenty ingots of silver, Zheng Fan remained speechless for a long time. After sighing, he said, "Do you know that boat is worth at most a hundred ingots? Maybe even less?"

"Of course I know," Shao Shuyi replied.

He certainly knew that secondhand items couldn't be worth much. There's a joke about buying a car in later generations: a new car gets 20% off after purchase.

The same goes for ships. And this is the Yuan Dynasty, where there are too many people who can trample on the law and seize wealth by trickery and force.

"You're spending twenty ingots? People will laugh at you if they find out," Zheng Fan shook his head. "Besides, countless people are waiting for Li Fu's family to be ruined so they can get that ship for just a little money. The longer it drags on, the more anxious Li Fu will become, and the lower the price the ship will fetch."

It's already winter, and next month the grain transport office will finalize the list of laborers to transport grain next year. Do you think anyone will add Li Fu's name to the list? When that happens, the boats will be impounded, unable to transport goods or fish, until they set sail again in March or April of next year. Do you think Li Fu will be so anxious that he'll give the boats away for free?

Do you really think others can't afford twenty ingots? You think you're the only one with money? You've offended someone.

"And then again, offending people is offending people. You're not exactly a saint, so you probably aren't afraid of offending people, but you've offended people and still spent so much money. Don't you think that's unfair?"

Shao Shuyi was speechless.

If we set aside emotions and only consider cold, hard economics, waiting a little longer might allow us to acquire the ship at a lower price—that's an obvious fact.

But thinking of the Li family's tragic state, he sighed again.

Everyone does a few "foolish" things in their life. If you do them now, you may not do them again in the future. You may abandon boring emotions and become less human—but is that really a good thing?

"Sir, others can wait patiently, but I can't, because I can't compete with them." Composing himself, Shao Shuyi replied, "These twenty ingots will definitely have to be spent."

He meant that he didn't have the strength or status, and the cost of acquiring the ships would inevitably be higher than for others—if it were Zhou She, whom he had met before, who was in charge, it would probably be a different story.

"Actually, you could have had Li Fu bring the boat and pay it," Zheng Fan added. "People usually use the boats themselves and make a living, then they just pay you at the end of the year. It's like tenant farmers cultivating someone else's land, understand?"

"I use boats a lot," Shao Shuyi said vaguely.

"Oh?" Zheng Fan was taken aback, as if he had thought of something, but he wasn't sure. He looked at Shao Shuyi suspiciously and said earnestly, "Don't do anything illegal. It's not that I'm cowardly, but there's no need for you to do it now, it's not worth it."

"Thank you for your guidance, sir," Shao Shuyi said sincerely.

He understood that Zheng Fan genuinely cared about him, which was why he said those words.

There are millions of people in the world, and everyone has a different way of making money. As the saying goes, snakes have their way and rats have theirs.

Some people get rich through legitimate business operations, some make their fortunes through gray-market activities, and some engage in illegal activities.

The Zheng family didn't need to engage in shady or illegal activities; normal methods were enough for them to accumulate wealth. Over time, people's mindset changed, which is what is known as path dependence.

Although Zheng Fan traveled around as a chivalrous knight-errant in his youth and often got into fights, he was, after all, born into the Zheng family and could not have been unaffected by it.

He is unlikely to engage in the smuggling of salt.

"Alright, you'll find out some things later." Zheng Fan waved his hand and said, "Since you're buying a boat, have you found a guarantor?"

"Sir, is it necessary to have a guarantor when making a contract?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"The rules aren't that strict, but it's best to find a guarantor," Zheng Fan said. "You're literate, so you won't be easily fooled. But some people are just born wicked. Years ago, when I was a wandering knight in Dadu, there was a group of villains who would instigate young men from ordinary families to borrow money privately. If they borrowed one ingot of paper money, they would write ten ingots on the document. If they borrowed one hundred ingots, they would write one thousand ingots. When the elders of the borrowers died, they would come to their door with the deeds and seize their property. If the property wasn't enough, they would even cut down and remove the trees from their parents' graves, or sell the bricks, stones, and soil to pay off the debt."

Even literate spoiled brats are often lured into secretly borrowing money behind their elders' backs, engaging in fraudulent transactions and squandering ancestral property and moral decay, which is truly regrettable.

You should find a guarantor, so no one can find fault with it. After the contract is signed, go to the grain transport office to get a notarized document, and the boat will be registered in your name.

Shao Shuyi bowed in thanks and then said, "Those five ingots of paper money..."

"Pay back when you have the money," Zheng Fan said. "Once you're done with this, focus your mind on the right path. Yesterday, I talked with Sanshe for a long time and we've arranged to meet the potter from Quzhou at the celadon shop on the fifteenth of the eleventh lunar month. I'll be seeing you that morning."

This matter is very important. If you succeed, the three quarters will be happy, and you will be able to escape your duties.

Next, it'll be time to deliver gifts to Suzhou; I'll try to finish that before the end of the month. Oh, and if the potters in Quzhou have lost their skills and can't make the porcelain Ali wants, we'll have to figure something out. Also, the shop should start ordering more stock…”

After listening, Shao Shuyi felt incredibly busy, with a ton of things to do.

"I understand," Shao Shuyi replied. "Don't worry, sir, it won't interfere with important matters."

******

The funeral arrangements for Li Fu's family cannot be completed in a short time.

On the third day, his wife's body had just been placed in the coffin.

On the fourteenth day, on the banks of the Loujiang River, Li Fu stood in front of his own boat, lost in thought.

"I bought this boat from a boatman surnamed Zhang for one hundred ingots." He exhaled and said weakly, "As for why I became a boatman, perhaps the government thought my family was relatively wealthy."

When Li Fu said this, his expression was calm and his voice was completely even, as if he were heartbroken and devastated.

Someone approached from a short distance away, accompanied by a greeting: "Brother Shao."

"Yu the Interpreter, Li the Master Craftsman," Shao Shuyi turned and bowed.

Yu Chu returned the greeting, took out a contract from his bosom, and said, "I wrote this in my spare time. Take a look and see if there are any mistakes or omissions."

After returning the greeting, Li Zhuang began to examine the boat.

Shao Shuyi took the contract, glanced at it briefly, then asked Yu Yuan to bring him a pen, ink, and inkpad. He lay on the deck, signed his name, and pressed his fingerprint on the spot.

Yu Chu then took out another official document and handed it over.

Shao Shuyi became somewhat interested this time and took a closer look.

In fact, buying a boat is much the same as buying land or a house.

"In the imperial edict, Li Fu, a boatman from the Eastern Capital of Kunshan Prefecture in Pingjiang Circuit, filed a complaint: 'I own a 400-ton wind-drilling boat, but recently I am short of funds and wish to sell it…' Upon receiving this, a valid contract with the seal number 9.5 is hereby issued and given to the owner for safekeeping… In accordance with the law, upon completion of the transaction, the contract shall be presented to the government for tax payment…"

"Yu Tongshi, I'll pay the deed tax; it's not much money anyway," Shao Shuyi said.

"Okay." Yu Chu said indifferently.

Entrusted by Shao Shuyi, he signed a contract as guarantor and then, taking advantage of his position, had someone write the official document yesterday, which he handed over to Shao Shuyi today. He also took the deed tax back to pay it, saving him the trouble of running around.

Shao Shuyi was also very satisfied.

The purchase of this ship was carried out through all the proper procedures.

With a contract in place, the sale and purchase by both parties is legal.

There is an official document from the government office, and the transaction was officially confirmed.

After paying the taxes within a month, one can wait for the government to "transfer" them.

It's legal and compliant; no one can find fault with it.

Of course, this led to the frequent private transactions of land, houses, and other large movable and immovable properties, which were often "transactions made without obtaining a certificate from the relevant authorities." This caused the Yuan court a great deal of trouble, forcing it to issue documents to restrict such transactions and encourage reporting.

The person who was reported was "punished with fifty-seven strokes of the cane," and half of the punishment was confiscated by the government, while the other half was given to the person who reported him.

It sounds good, but it's actually very difficult to implement; private sales are still very popular.

Shao Shuyi was genuinely worried about being reported by jealous people, so he decided to complete the procedures thoroughly to avoid giving others a chance to find fault, something Zheng Fan had reminded him of.

"Little Tiger, if we fix this ship up properly, it can last for several more years, and it'll be worth the cost." Li Zhuang had somehow gotten onto the deck and said loudly.

"Brother Shao, I'm going back now." Li Fu took one last look at the ship that had been his constant companion day and night, and said with his head down.

"Alright." Shao Shuyi gestured with his eyes, indicating that Yu Yuan should help Li Fu back to rest. Then, he shaded his eyes with his hand, looked up at Li Zhuang, and asked, "Brother Li, how should we get things sorted out?"

"After one trip at sea, quite a few planks were damaged," Li Zhuang said. "I reckon it'll be leaking a bit when we get back."

"Furthermore, the crossbeams in several compartments are rotten to the bone, and I don't know why they haven't been replaced," Li Zhuang continued. "Some ropes and sails seem usable, but if you have the money, you should replace them. The hull needs to be repainted. The hull probably needs a scraping too. And look at this mast, how many years has it been used? It should have been replaced long ago. There are some things in the cabins that don't affect navigation, but if you have the money, you should replace them as soon as possible. I haven't had a chance to check the rudder yet, but it's probably very old. This ship—"

Li Zhuang concluded by saying, "He's got a lot of problems."

Shao Shuyi swallowed hard and asked, "Brother Li, how much money would it cost to do it the way you described?"

"Twenty ingots are necessary," Li Zhuang said.

Holy crap! Shao Shuyi couldn't hold back any longer.

"If we don't go out to sea, but just travel on rivers, we don't need such extensive repairs, do we?" he asked.

"It would be a waste not to go to sea," Li Zhuang said, shaking his head.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Shao Shuyi said with a wry smile. "I just do some small business on the river."

Li Zhuang glanced at him and said, "The Yangtze River is fine, but some rivers can't accommodate such 'large ships'."

"Can we go to the canal?" Shao Shuyi asked.

"Can."

"That's fine then." Shao Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Zhuang roughly guessed what was going on, but didn't want to delve into it. He simply said, "The waves in rivers and lakes are relatively small, so minor repairs might be barely usable. If you want to fix it up, I can help you find someone; the labor and material costs will be at most ten ingots. But I still want to advise you that you'll need major repairs sooner or later, so it's better to do it sooner rather than later."

"I know about this, but I'm short of money," Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "Let's wait and see."

As the two were talking, Wang Huadu came over from behind. Upon seeing the boat, he was overjoyed and wanted to say something, but seeing that there were other people around, he shut his mouth, feeling extremely frustrated.

Yu Chu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the river as if he hadn't heard anything.

These days, there are only a few ways to buy and sell boats, right? Nothing special.

"Just keep an eye out for me, Brother Li," Shao Shuyi said finally. "Let's talk about it when I get back from Suzhou."

Li Zhuang hummed in agreement, then said somewhat apologetically, "You can go to Qian's Boat Workshop. It's run by my apprentice. It's a small workshop with three or four craftsmen, including himself, and a few apprentices, but their skills are impeccable. If you're willing, you can have your boat towed there soon; it's not far from the old locust tree."

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "Brother Li, I trust you, and naturally I trust your disciple as well."

Li Zhuangmian looked grateful and was about to say something when another group of people approached from a distance.

"Zhou She?" Shao Shuyi asked, somewhat surprised.