novelAbuy Chapter 87 Traveling Ten Thousand Miles
Chapter 87 Traveling Ten Thousand Miles
Chapter 87 Traveling Ten Thousand Miles (Part 1)
When Yu Yuan first stepped into the grain and oil shop, the first thing he did was ask about the price of grain.
"How much is a stone of noodles?" He was carrying a bundle in his hand, with two boatmen following behind him.
There were two or three customers in the shop, and they couldn't help but look over after hearing the accent from another region.
"One stone?" A manager-like man behind the counter was somewhat surprised when he heard this.
Ordinary people buy grain by the bushel, and the poor even by the heap. Yet you start talking about buying it by the stone.
"How many stones do you want?" The steward looked to be in his thirties, with a faint scar on the corner of his mouth. His accent was strange and barely understandable.
"Fifteen shi." Yu Yuan glanced at the steward, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
"So many?" Guan was initially surprised, but understood when he saw the two people behind him. He shook his head and smiled, saying, "Are you making vinegar cakes? Those are used in the army and can be stored for more than forty days. However, the longer they are stored, the worse they taste."
Yu Yuan understood why this person seemed familiar; he exuded the aura of a seaman that couldn't be concealed.
He figured his reaction was slow, and the two seafarers who had followed him should have noticed it much earlier.
"What's it to you? Just tell me if I did or not." After saying this, Yu Yuan felt a mix of fear and excitement at having done something wrong. This was because Wang Huadu and Brother Shao usually spoke in this tone, but he would never do it like that; it felt too impolite.
Surprisingly, the manager wasn't angry at all. He smiled and turned to instruct the storeroom clerk before looking Yu Yuan up and down and scoffing, "A pale-faced scholar? The one who does the accounting on the ship? Or is he the head of the storeroom?"
Yu Yuan did not answer, but waited quietly.
Not long after, Shao Shuyi, Zheng Fan, and Mo Bei passed by outside together.
"Yu She, we're at the restaurant next door. Come over as soon as you're done buying your things, and call Da Qiang and Fo Ya on the way." Shao Shuyi gestured and informed them.
Before Yu Yuan could answer, a man emerged from behind the grain store. Upon recognizing Shao Shuyi's face, he exclaimed in surprise, "It's you?"
"Huh? It's you? You're Sun—" Shao Shuyi's expression changed slightly.
"My surname is Lin, not Sun," the boy said unhappily. "Who wants to be his son?"
The middle-aged manager looked at the boy, then at Shao Shuyi, as if assessing their relationship.
"An old friend?" he asked softly, looking at the boy.
"I saw you last September at the sacrificial ceremony," the young man replied, then bowed to Shao Shuyi and said, "Lin Gu of Wenzhou, Mr. Shao, are you well?"
Shao Shuyi returned the greeting and said, "I am well at the Lin residence."
He remembered. During the ceremony to worship the Heavenly Princess, this boy followed behind his mother, seemingly "forced to perform," getting to know various officials and merchants. But why had this boy also observed him? And even knew his name?
Also, why did he come to Longwan? That's quite interesting.
While pondering, Lin Gu ran over to greet Zheng Fan, Mo Bei, and Yu Yuan, his attitude being extremely friendly, which left everyone puzzled.
Shao Shuyi was slightly embarrassed.
I just robbed your boat, do you have to be so enthusiastic?
After exchanging greetings with everyone, Lin Gu glanced at Shao Shuyi and said, "My mother has mentioned you twice, saying you are ruthless and decisive, never looking back once you've set your mind on something. Zhou Zi."
"Hey, Lin She, don't talk nonsense." Shao Shuyi quickly said, "I don't know Zhou Ziliang."
Lin Gu blinked, looked at the manager, and said, "Uncle Dafeng, they are all my friends, can you give me a discount?"
The man known as "Uncle Dafeng" was speechless for a moment, but finally nodded and said, "Give me thirty-six strings of cash a shi, we're not making any money anymore."
Lin Gu said "Oh," then looked at Shao Shuyi and asked, "Is it expensive?"
Shao Shuyi couldn't help but laugh.
Uncle Dafeng coughed and said, "Dashe, you go back to the back and play. I'll handle things here."
After saying that, he looked at Shao Shuyi and explained, "Actually, I'm not lying to you. Last year, there was also a poor harvest in Huguang, and a lot of grain flowed there, causing prices to rise. In December, there was an earthquake in Jiaozhou and other places, and there was famine everywhere in Henan. A lot of grain flowed to Henan again, and the price of grain in many prefectures and counties rose to several hundred strings of cash per shi, which is almost ten times that of Jiangnan. There was a profit to be made, so merchants rushed to transport grain north. We had no choice but to accept this price. Selling it to you for thirty-six strings of cash would really not make us any money."
"Thanks." Shao Shuyi nodded.
This price is cheaper than in Liujiagang, and the disaster and poor harvest situation this person mentioned are likely true.
In recent years, the Yuan Dynasty has experienced frequent earthquakes, likely due to a period of increased geological activity. The Yellow River has been prone to flooding, even during the traditionally dry winter months, with raging torrents causing dike breaches and widespread famine.
All of this was nailing the coffin lid of the Yuan Dynasty.
After instructing Yu Yuan to pay for the grain, Shao Shuyi looked at Lin Gu and said with a smile, "Lin, how about we have a meal together?"
Lin Gu shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kind offer. Be careful, Old Man Li from Huangyan might be looking for trouble."
"Li Daweng?" Shao Shuyi was taken aback.
"Hmm." Lin Gu nodded and said, "I heard it from my mother. He has some men coming to Liujiagang, and Sun Chuan is unwilling to pay them."
"The main hall," the steward reminded him, frowning.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more." Lin Gu waved his hand and turned to leave.
The steward then looked at Shao Shuyi and said, "Since you are an old friend of the Dashe family, I will have someone find an oxcart to deliver the grain to the dock. Where are your ships?"
Shao Shuyi smiled, stepped forward, and whispered, "About Elder Li—"
The manager shook his head and remained silent.
Shao Shuyi cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you."
He then pulled Yu Yuan aside and instructed him to contact the grain store.
"Little Tiger." Zheng Fan looked at him, hesitating to speak.
Shao Shuyi gave him a look, and the two of them went outside the shop.
"Li Da Weng must be the owner of the goods I robbed," Shao Shuyi said in a low voice. "Sir, could you perhaps inquire about his background?"
"This is easy," Zheng Fan said. "The Caofu has a Wentai Thousand-Household Office; we can just ask someone there."
Shao Shuyi was overjoyed. This was the advantage of having connections in official circles—being well-informed.
"Here's what I'll do," Zheng Fan said. "There are often boats going to Liujiagang from Longwan. For a few strings of cash, they can go back on the way. As for your family, let them go to Zhangjing Township to take refuge for a while. We'll talk about it when you get back."
"Okay." Shao Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief; that was settled.
The group then went to a restaurant for a meal.
Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi walked side by side, while Mo Bei deliberately lagged behind a few steps. He had intentionally walked a few steps further away while Zheng and Shao were whispering to each other – a testament to the professionalism of a seasoned business tycoon with decades of experience.
A dozen or so poorly clothed people squatted in the corner outside the tavern, shivering in the cold wind of early spring in February. Judging from their emaciated appearance, they had clearly been starving for a long time; they must be refugees from Jiangbei.
Shao Shuyi sighed slightly, turned around and went to the grain store, asking a seafarer to go back to the ship and fetch the remaining vinegar cakes to distribute to the refugees.
"You're quite kind-hearted." After sitting down and ordering, Zheng Fan said, "The refugees keep coming in waves, and we can't possibly save them all. It's the same in Longwan and Taicang. Every morning, officials or archers from the patrol office come out to collect the bodies of those who have frozen or starved to death. Sometimes, we even find the bodies of local people who were killed by the refugees. The day before you and I set off, a family in Banjing was wiped out by the refugees, who looted all their possessions and food. Some people pity them, and some people despise them; we can't possibly manage them all."
"If you can't see them, then so be it. But if you do see them, then do something about it," Shao Shuyi said. "Sir, this is nothing. There might be even more refugees coming next year. If the world falls into chaos in the future, there might even be a refugee army."
Zheng Fan's expression changed.
If he encountered starving refugees when he went out, he would sometimes ask someone to buy them food, but that did not mean he wanted to see large groups of refugees crossing the river.
"Perhaps we could emulate the wisdom of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, isolating the refugees north of the river and keeping them under strict surveillance," Zheng Fan said. "Su Jun,
The chaos caused by the ancestral agreement should not be ignored.
Shao Shuyi was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Sir, who is Su Jun?"
Zheng Fan rolled his eyes at him and said, "Spend more time reading books instead of fighting all the time."
After saying that, he gave a brief explanation.
After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the north was in chaos, and many powerful families led their retainers and servants south to join the Eastern Jin Dynasty established by Sima Rui. In addition to them, local strongmen also led their clans and neighbors south in large groups.
The Eastern Jin court was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, it was worried that these northern migrants would cause local unrest after crossing the river. On the other hand, it was also concerned about the attitude of the local powerful clans in Jiangdong. In the end, it had no choice but to keep the migrants on the north bank of the river in principle and set up refugee prefectures and counties to settle them.
Later, the Jianye court was hit by the rebellions of Wang Dun and Su Jun, and a large number of refugee armies from the north crossed the river, wreaking havoc all over the region. This is what Zheng Fan was referring to.
"I see." Shao Shuyi nodded.
This is indeed a reflection of history.
From the perspective of the locals in Jiangnan, they don't really like the idea of migrants crossing the river.
The lower classes fear losing their jobs, the middle classes fear deteriorating public order, and the upper classes fear unrest. However, their opinions don't carry weight; at least from the government's perspective, there's no intention to stop it. On the contrary, they're aggressively arresting slaves to replenish their own ranks.
However, Shao Shuyi thought of something more.
If a powerful navy were to patrol the great river, it might be able to determine the course of many things.
With the Yangtze River separating the north and south, without first gaining control of the waterway, even if an advance force successfully crosses the river, failure is highly probable if the river is blocked, cutting off its connection with the main force on the north bank, leaving it without reinforcements and with morale wavering.
The final outcome was probably that Tuoba Ao would drink at Maguabu, looking at the densely packed Southern Dynasty fleets on the river at Jingkou, Caishiji and other places, and sigh in despair.
"I always said I should get out and see more of the world," Shao Shuyi suddenly laughed. "After listening to your words, sir, I've finally understood. It seems I really need to make the most of my business on the water."