Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 104 Fishing Village

"I only see willows by the wall, easily bringing spring, joy, and delight. How can I bear to see them..." In the garden, Lin Gu hummed a little tune, looking at the wall with eager anticipation.

"Nephew, the main street is on the other side of the wall. There's no magistrate's wife there. You'll have to climb over from the outside," a burly man teased from the covered walkway. Lin Gu blushed and said, "Who said I was going to climb the wall?"

After saying that, he added, "Second Uncle, take me to Songjiang for fun, please."

He stopped mid-sentence, as if he'd seen a ghost, and shut his mouth.

Three more people walked out from the depths of the corridor, led by a woman.

The woman was tall and slender, wearing a crimson robe woven with gold and inscribed with the words "Nashishi". The hem was decorated with lotus scrolls in the style of the Western Regions, and the robe was adorned with golden lotus flowers.

Perhaps because it was a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings of spring, she wore a close-fitting silk blouse under her robe, which only reached her waist. Below it was a wide, long skirt, made of exquisite material, with fine and even pleats that spread out like ripples on water as she walked.

"Lihe, did you go to see a play?" The woman looked at her son, her face gradually turning frosty.

Lin Gu opened his mouth and looked at Xu Dafeng behind the woman.

Xu Dafeng cleared his throat and said, "Xiao She is fourteen years old. What's a few plays to her? When Brother Lin was fourteen, he was already leading us in fishing."

The woman seemed not to hear him, only looking at her son, and said, "Lihe, you are still young and don't know what the outside world is like. Actors are heartless and the most untrustworthy. They don't like anyone at all; they only act with men for their status, money, and talent." "Mother, I have no talent," Lin Gu said, lowering his head, "and I have no status or money either."

The woman gave a cold laugh.

Seemingly sensing his mother's rising anger, Lin Gu moved sideways like a crab, then took off running and slipped into the depths of the garden.

"Third brother." The woman glanced at the burly man.

The burly man, who looked to be in his early twenties, was tall and strong, with bulging muscles all over his body, like a bear. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister, I'll urge my nephew to study right away."

Having said that, he strode away swiftly, following his nephew.

Xu Dafeng watched all of this with a blank expression.

Standing next to him was a scholar nearing thirty, with his hands behind his back, who said softly, "Lihe is becoming more and more like Brother Lin; they're practically identical."

Xu Dafeng snorted coldly and said, "They only look alike, but their personalities are completely different. He's fourteen years old; it's time for him to go out and see the world. What future can he have if he stays cooped up at home all day?"

"It's time to go out and broaden our horizons, but not to the theater," the scholar said. "My sister hates actors the most. Back then, when Brother Lin was out there..." "Enough!" Xu Dafeng glared at the scholar.

The scholar chuckled and said nothing more.

Xu Dafeng composed himself and said, "What do you three siblings plan to do? How many more days can Sun Chuan live? With that full head of white hair, even if the government doesn't kill him, you won't have many days left to live, will you?"

"What should we do?" the scholar laughed. "Let's go, to Jiangyin Prefecture, to Jiqing Road. If we can't stay here, let's go back to Wenzhou." "What about the inn?" Xu Dafeng asked.

"Two of the shops have already been sold off," the scholar said.

"What about the remaining three? What should we do?"

"No, I don't want it."

"Liu Ming!" Xu Dafeng couldn't help but raise his voice.

Liu Ming seemed oblivious, only laughing, "It's too late. I'll send people to collect the money in the next couple of days, and we'll gradually close up shop and head to Jiangyin Prefecture. My sister said, 'Hesitation leads to trouble.' Money can be earned back, but once you're gone, you have nothing left."

"How generous of you," Xu Dafeng sneered. "This is money left by Brother Lin, and you just throw it away like that."

"What can we do?" The scholar spread his hands and said, "The government is like wolves and tigers; we won't be able to protect ourselves sooner or later."

"What should we do? Do you need me to put it more bluntly?" Xu Dafeng glanced at Liu Shi.

Liu turned around, seemingly ignoring Xu Dafeng's words, and asked, "You said Shao Shuyi wants to see me, what's the matter?" Seeing that they were getting down to business, Xu Dafeng stopped complaining and said, "It shouldn't have anything to do with Li Daweng, perhaps he wants to do some business."

After saying that, he recounted the events of that day once more.

After hearing this, Lady Liu pondered for a moment, unable to make a decision.

Liu Ming frowned and asked, "Does he want to buy or sell? If he wants to buy, Liujiagang also has firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, even if they are a bit more expensive, they are not unavailable. If he wants to sell, what does he want to sell? What does he have to sell?"

Xu Dafeng shook his head and said, "You'll have to ask him."

The two then looked at Madam Liu together.

Madam Liu chuckled and said, "It's not hard to guess. He must have been selling goods. Of the seven essential items—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—salt and tea are the most profitable, especially salt. If it weren't for these, it might have been stolen goods. He robbed a ship once, so it wouldn't be surprising if he robbed it a second time."

Xu Dafeng and Liu Ming exchanged a glance and slowly nodded.

"It wouldn't hurt to see him," said Madam Liu. "Old Man Li is quite a nuisance. Sun Chuan won't pay, and Shao Shuyi won't give up the money either. Sooner or later, he'll come after me. This matter needs to be resolved."

"Where shall we meet?" Xu Dafeng asked.

Upon hearing this, Madam Liu did not reply for a moment, but instead quietly looked at the lush green plants in the garden.

After a long while, she smiled and said, "I can't be a respectable lady anymore. When I was little, I went to the city with my parents to sell fish. I was very envious of the ladies of wealthy families who were dressed in gold and silver. I secretly thought that when I grew up, I would be richer and more powerful than them, and I would definitely marry into a good family."

Xu Dafeng frowned, not understanding what was wrong with Liu Shi.

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I told you," Madam Liu smiled and said, "I don't want this house anymore."

Liu Ming was taken aback.

"Let's go to Uncle San's place by the river," Liu instructed. "Ask Shao Shuyi if he dares to come. If he doesn't, don't mention any business." Several days later, the two cars slowly stopped at the village entrance.

Shortly after, Shao Shuyi, dressed in a royal blue robe, alighted from the carriage.

This seemed to be a signal, and seven or eight people got off the horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts one after another, looking around in the river breeze.

Tie Niu followed closely behind Shao Shuyi, his left hand on his knife and his right hand carrying a bundle.

Wang Huadu stretched lazily and complained, "What kind of place is this? It smells like fish."

Yu Yuan, wearing a thick robe that bulged out inside, said in a low voice, "It should be a fishing village."

A few steps behind them, Liang Tai, Li Fu, Kong Tie, and Cheng Ji, who had been brought along, stood silently, scanning their surroundings with wary eyes.

"You two stay here." Shao Shuyi turned around, pointed to Cao Tong driving the horse-drawn carriage, and Liu Jiu driving the rented oxcart, and said, "Wait for me to come back."

"Yes," the two replied in unison.

Shao Shuyi nodded and led the way.

The fishing village seemed to be quite old; it was peaceful, but also very poor.

Several barefoot children watched them curiously, and one or two of the bolder ones even followed them for a short while, until they were scolded by the adults and walked away unhappily.

The old woman sat in front of the door, carefully mending the fishing net in the sunlight. When she saw Shao Shuyi and his group, she muttered a few words and then lowered her head to continue mending the net.

Several boats were moored by the reeds in the distance, and strong men were carrying baskets of fish. When they saw the visitors, they whispered among themselves. The whole village exuded a faint sense of alienation.

"It seems so! It really does!" Wang Huadu suddenly exclaimed.

"You dog slave, this is pretty much the feeling Zhang Di had when he came to Dong Erdu to inquire about Brother Shao, right?" Yu Yuan said softly. "What did you call me?" Wang Huadu lightly slapped Yu Yuan on the ear and neck.

Perhaps because he had been wandering the martial world for a long time, Yu Yuan was somewhat unconvinced and said, "My elder brother and my sister would never hit me like this."

"What? You have an older sister?" Shao Shuyi asked in surprise.

Wang Huadu was also somewhat surprised.

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" the two said almost simultaneously.

Yu Yuan glanced at Wang Huadu and whispered, "I just don't want you to know."

Wang Huadu chuckled and said, "Good lad!"

Shao Shuyi laughed and said, "If Madam Liu didn't play hide-and-seek with me, it must be the house up ahead."

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a slightly larger farmhouse courtyard. However, there were several people standing outside the courtyard, who did not seem to be kind.

"Be careful." Without Shao Shuyi's instruction, Wang Huadu reminded everyone on his own.

Everyone's expression tightened, and they subconsciously touched their weapons.

"Brother Shao." Xu Dafeng came out of the courtyard and greeted him from afar.

Soon, a bear-like figure appeared behind him, quietly observing the approaching group.

Tie Niu stared wide-eyed at the man.

Shao Shuyi gently patted his hand, signaling him not to be impatient, then laughed heartily, took two quick steps, and said, "Brother Dafeng." Xu Dafeng nodded, stretched out his hand, and said, "Madam is waiting for you inside."

After saying that, he pointed to the others and said, "They shouldn't go in. Xiao She is sleeping, so don't disturb her."

Wang Huadu was about to berate someone when Shao Shuyi stopped him.

"Thank you." Shao Shuyi clasped his hands in a fist salute to Xu Dafeng and went straight into the courtyard.

The courtyard was cluttered with fishing baskets, and many white fishing nets were drying in the sun.

The ground was slightly muddy, and the puddles had a faint fishy smell.

Shao Shuyi ignored him, neither dodging nor avoiding him, and continued walking slowly forward.

A low table was placed under the eaves.

A few steps later sat a woman dressed in coarse linen clothes, her sleeves casually rolled up, revealing her wheat-colored arms.

Her hair was simply tied up, with a few strands falling across her forehead and dancing gently in the river breeze.

A large basin of freshly caught miscellaneous fish was placed on a low table.

The woman, wielding scissors, deftly cut open the fish's belly, removed its entrails, and tossed them into a nearby wooden bucket. Then she removed the gills and carefully scraped off the scales. After finishing the fish, she finally raised her head, pointed with her scale- and blood-stained fingers to a low stool beside her, and said, "Sit down." Shao Shuyi sat down as instructed.

"Do you like to eat fish?" Liu asked suddenly.

"Sure."

"Can you cook salted fish?"

"I've never done it before."

"If you can't even make salted fish, how can you be involved in the smuggling of salt?" Looking at Shao Shuyi's face, Liu asked, "How can you do that?"