Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 60 Stalking

On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, the four men that Kong Tie found arrived as promised.

Shao Shuyi led everyone to a sumptuous lunch, and they chatted about what each person was good at and how they could cooperate later.

Undoubtedly, these people are not good citizens.

Needless to say, Yang Liu was no pushover, and the three seafarers Kong Tie brought with him were no pushovers either. According to him, when they went out to sea to transport grain, conflicts often broke out when they came ashore to fetch water or chop firewood. The worst thing was encountering pirates, and at that time, they needed brave and daring people to fight. These four men belonged to that category.

However, being seafarers, they naturally had a closer bond with each other, much better than Yang Liu, Wu Heizi, and the Qi brothers.

Yang Liu was originally a swordsman and shield bearer in the Hejian New Army's thousand-household garrison. He committed a minor offense and was punished by his superiors. In addition, his rations and pay were intermittent, which made life very boring, so he simply fled.

The police station conducted a cursory investigation but failed to apprehend the suspects, so they gave up. After all, there were just too many cases like this to handle.

Wu Heizi came from a family of butchers; his father and son both slaughtered pigs and sheep. But he was not one of them; he killed people.

The Qi brothers were someone Wang Huadu met at the post station. They were actually quite ordinary, but they were bold and greedy.

In short, these four men were rare villains in times of peace and prosperity, but in the context of the late Yuan Dynasty, they were not so conspicuous. Wang Huadu still maintained close contact with them until the end of this year. He did not say whether he had done anything with them, and Shao Shuyi did not ask.

"Brother Shao, Sun Chuan is not easy to kill." After a hearty meal, Yang Liu picked his teeth and said, "Two years ago, I fought with a guard from a wealthy family, and it took a lot of effort to kill him. These people are nothing in the army, but they are very troublesome in one-on-one combat. They always have some special skills that make them hard to defend against and extremely dangerous. In my opinion, we should hijack a ship instead. If you can't find a ship, I'll go and ask around for you, but we'll have to recalculate the profits."

"Yang Liu, I truly regret saving you back then!" Wang Huadu slammed his fist on the table, angrily saying, "Brother Shao is just an archer, how could he possibly have an advantage in a fight? How could you be so shameless?"

"You don't have a boat, so I called one myself. Shouldn't the bill be recalculated?" Yang Liu said unhappily.

"We have a boat." Shao Shuyi stopped Wang Huadu, who was about to speak again, and said, "Brother Yang Liu is right. If Sun Chuan doesn't come out, he will indeed be difficult to kill. Let's deal with that person first."

As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Wang Huadu.

Wang Huadu nodded slightly and said vaguely, "There's news from the boat shop that that person has been staying at his lover's house several times recently, but we don't know where his lover lives."

"Who is it? What's their name? Are they rich?" Yang Liu asked with great interest.

The four men who came with Kong Tie also looked over unconsciously, and the dark-faced man who was leading them, named Gao Daqiang, sat up straight.

"Why are you talking so much?" Wang Huadu retorted. "When it's time to speak, I'll explain myself to you."

Yang Liu snorted coldly and said no more.

Shao Shuyi looked at Wang Huadu and said, "Go to Liujiagang today and see when the ship can be used. Report back immediately as soon as you have any news, and we will set off right away."

"Okay." Wang Huadu nodded in agreement without saying a word.

"I'm sorry to trouble you all to stay here for a few more days," Shao Shuyi said, looking at Yang Liu and Gao Daqiang's groups.

Yang Liu turned his head away and didn't say anything.

Gao Daqiang remained silent for a moment, then looked at Kong Tie and finally nodded.

Wang Huadu set off quickly. Before he left, Shao Shuyi gave him ten ingots of paper money, saying, "Give five ingots to Qian Baishi and tell him to speed up the ship repairs. Hmm, don't mistreat him. If ten ingots aren't enough, give him two or three more. Oh, and—"

Shao Shuyi stopped Wang Huadu, who was about to turn around, and whispered, "On the way, stop by Cheng Ji's house and ask when he can get the sickle and axe. If he has a bronze flintlock pistol, buy one too. Ask him to send more gunpowder, bullets, and other odds and ends; it doesn't matter if it costs money. That's all. Be careful."

"When will you get Cheng Ji out of here?" Wang Huadu asked.

"When the ship is repaired," Shao Shuyi said, "tell him that I'm hosting a banquet on board and inviting him for a while."

"Alright." Wang Huadu suppressed a laugh, thought for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Could you lend me Sihai?"

"Hmm?" Shao Shuyi asked, somewhat surprised, "What do you need him for?"

"It will be useful," Wang Huadu said. "Don't worry, it's not a dangerous job. It's just asking him to lend a hand. Alright, I'll go and talk to Li Fu myself."

Shao Shuyi pondered for a moment, then asked, "Is it absolutely necessary?"

"It would be best if he were there."

"Guaranteed nothing will go wrong?"

"ensure."

"What exactly do you want him to do?"

Wang Huadu leaned close to Shao Shuyi's ear and whispered something.

******

On the morning of the third day of the twelfth lunar month, a man and a child appeared at Zheng's Greenware Shop.

After settling Sihai in the shop, Wang Huadu hurriedly left and headed straight for Qianjia Boat Shop.

Qian Baishi was used to Wang Huadu coming over every few days. He told Wang Huadu to find a place to rest and bluntly said that the ship was difficult to repair. He even worked on it at night and used up a lot of candles and lamp oil.

Wang Huadu slapped five ingots of paper money into his hand, and Qian Baishi had nothing to say. Instead, he started urging the craftsmen and apprentices to work harder.

The shipyard was a large space, with things piled up in a messy and disorganized manner.

Wang Huadu would make a trip to the ware shop every day, carrying a few meat pies and a water bag, and then spend the whole day behind the timber pile in the shipyard.

Nothing happened on the third day of the Lunar New Year.

On the morning of the fourth day, Yu Yuan came over and quietly told Governor Wang Hua that more than twenty constables and archers from the prefectural government and the patrol office had appeared in Dong Erdu, inquiring about whether Shao Shuyi had returned home.

After failing to achieve their goal, they arrested their neighbor Tie Niu on charges of harboring a suspect.

Those who were hiding in Li Fu's house in Dongyidu received the news and moved away early, but now they don't know where they are.

Wang Huadu sighed and continued to keep watch.

Early on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, he had just finished swallowing the last bite of his biscuit when he heard a commotion at the entrance of the boat shop.

"How much longer?" Wang Wu's loud voice rang out. "It was supposed to be the fifth day, but it's not done yet. If things go wrong, Zhou She will skin you alive."

"Come tomorrow," Qian Baishi said irritably. "Seven ingots are nothing, it's like a death knell. If you were more generous, you could have given me eight or nine, and that would have been fine by now."

"Then...then you have to give me a refund, at least thirty strings of cash," Wang Wu said, though his tone was weak.

"Fuck you!" Qian Baishi had a fiery temper and pushed Wang Wu to the ground.

Enraged, Wang Wu got up from the ground, pulled out a dagger, and cursed, "I'll kill you!"

The craftsmen and apprentices from the shipyard swarmed around, some with hammers, some with saws, and some even carrying a thick horizontal beam.

Wang Wu immediately chickened out and sheepishly put the dagger away.

Qian Baishi stepped forward, slapped him twice hard, and then kicked him.

Wang Wu endured it without uttering a sound.

"Get to work!" Qian Baishi waved his hand and led the group away.

Wang Wu stood there dumbfounded for a while, then, perhaps finding it boring, he turned and slowly walked away.

He walked slowly, looking preoccupied, as if he was thinking about how to go back and explain.

Wang Huadu chuckled and secretly followed them.

He followed very carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible and keeping his distance to avoid being discovered.

However, he seemed to be overthinking it, because Wang Wu looked worried and had no time to care about anything else. Throughout the journey, aside from occasionally rubbing his face, he was almost constantly thinking about things.

After following for two or three miles, Zhanggong Lane was almost in sight.

Wang Wu went straight to one of the houses.

Wang Huadu stopped and memorized the small courtyard from afar before turning and leaving.

He hadn't expected this place to be so close to the antique shop, just two streets away.

Inside the courtyard, Zhou Ziliang angrily smashed a teacup on the ground and slapped Gouzi twice across the face, saying, "You can't even handle such a small matter, what else can you do?"

The dog touched its face in grievance, then looked at Wang Wu with eyes full of resentment.

Wang Wu avoided his gaze, inwardly sighing that he had really lost out by earning those two ingots. First, he got beaten up, and then this bastard Gouzi held a grudge against him. What more could he say?

"What are you all standing there for?" Zhou Ziliang kicked Gouzi again and said, "Go keep an eye on things at the boat shop. Don't come back until it's fixed."

"Yes, yes." The dog scrambled out the door.

The woman stepped forward, seemingly wanting to speak but then stopping herself.

"You're a good-for-nothing!" Zhou Ziliang slapped the woman across the face and said, "Get out! I don't want to see you for the next couple of days."

The woman was on the verge of tears, but dared not let them fall. She simply covered her face and hurriedly left the house.

"Get out of the way!" Zhou Ziliang felt very stuffy in the room, so he pushed aside Wang Wu and the others who were blocking his way and went into the courtyard.

Across from the small courtyard is a teahouse, and a few other households.

Several children were playing games in the corner, their laughter filling the air.

"Damn it, no one's cooking. Go across the street and buy some food." Zhou Ziliang called over a servant and ordered.

After saying that, he went straight back to his room and went to sleep.