gnovel Chapter 148 Threat
Chapter 148 Threat
Starting on the 22nd, a group of people gradually gathered in the small courtyard by the river.
Some of them were former members who had gone to Songjiang and Jiaxing to collect smuggled salt, and were later recalled after the group disbanded, such as the Zhao Xiaoer and Xiao San brothers. Others were newly recruited, such as the unorthodox swordsman Zeng Yi.
The small courtyard by the river has now become a semi-public den of thieves. Shao Shuyi didn't care too much; so what if he was exposed? He had other secret residences in Liujiagang anyway.
As for the few women and children still living here, we can just find another place to rent for a year or two and let them move there. From now on, this courtyard will be used as a gathering base for important events.
In the afternoon, Shao Shuyi, along with Yu Yuan, Liang Tai, and Tie Niu, took a boat back to Taicang and disembarked at Wuling Bridge.
Qi Le, the clerk of the prefectural government, was already waiting there. As soon as he saw Shao She, he smiled and said, "I'm half an hour early. I thought I wouldn't be able to see Shao She, but I didn't expect this... Shao She is really capable of doing great things. He's decisive and efficient."
"You flatter me, Lord Qi," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
Qi Erlang, standing behind his uncle, also stepped forward to greet him.
After exchanging greetings, the group found a quiet teahouse to sit down.
After Commander Fan brought the tea, Tie Niu got up, closed the door, and went outside to stand guard to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
Shao Shuyi gathered his thoughts and said, "Lord Qi, I wonder about Magistrate Qin's side..."
"He's a bit busy and probably won't be able to find the time," Qi Le replied somewhat awkwardly.
Shao Shuyi understood; Qin Ming didn't think much of him and was too lazy to meet him.
This fellow! He's just a minor official in Kunshan, yet he acts so important.
"However, he liked those coins very much and accepted them." Qi Le added, "As for the Zhangjing Wharf, there shouldn't be any major problems. The prefecture is short of money right now, and it would be great if we could rent out the abandoned houses and wharves."
"That's good." Shao Shuyi smiled with satisfaction.
The place they mentioned was an abandoned warehouse in Kunshan Prefecture. It was originally used as a public granary, but after it was moved to a new location and a new warehouse was built, the place was abandoned.
As Shao Shuyi acquired more and more boats, mooring them became a major problem.
The old locust tree was, after all, the Zheng family's dock, and they couldn't let him occupy it forever.
It's possible to dock at Liujiagang, but during the spring and summer shipping seasons each year, unrelated vessels will be cleared out, and the berths will be given to cargo ships.
During the peak seasons of maritime trade in summer and autumn, the officials of the Maritime Trade Office would conduct inspections from time to time. If there were goods in your ship's hold, it would be difficult to explain, and you might be subject to taxes.
In addition, the navy has recently been urged on by the imperial court and has begun patrolling inside and outside Liujiagang. These people may not be able to fight the pirates, but they are quite adept at extorting civilian ships, which is very troublesome.
Therefore, Shao Shuyi had been looking for a new dock berth. In addition to finding one himself, he also asked Qi Le, a clerk in the prefectural government, for help.
Qi Le, having worked in the government office for over a decade, quickly recommended a place: the old Yicang granary, not far from Haiyuncang. It had over a hundred rooms and a riverside berth stretching for about a mile. Someone had rented it before, but business had been bad lately, and the tenant had just moved out and was still looking for a new tenant.
Shao Shuyi was very satisfied when he learned about it.
He knew that place; it seemed to have been rented by a timber merchant who did quite well in business. He wondered why the lease was terminated; perhaps he had offended some official.
After acquiring this place, it could actually be used for legitimate business, with all the boats that used to operate on the inland waterways moving here to dock. When Madam Shen or anyone else needed to haul goods, it would be closer than departing from Liujiagang, since the real economic heartland was in the Taihu Lake basin, where the demand for freight was much higher. "Master Qi, how much did it cost to rent such a place?" Shao Shuyi personally got up, refilled Qi Le's teacup, and asked. "You're too kind, Master Shao," Qi Le said. "The previous tenant paid fifteen ingots a year. If you want to rent it, Master Shao, that's about the right amount." "So... expensive?" Shao Shuyi asked in surprise.
What he really meant was, "It's that cheap? That's a warehouse, plus a berth over a mile long, big enough to hold many ships. You could even use it to open a shop; it has considerable commercial value."
"Shao She is a smart man; he should know that the fifteen ingots are for the imperial court," Qi Le said cryptically.
Shao Shuyi smiled.
Are the interests of the imperial court and the personal interests of officials the same thing? Of course not.
Therefore, the real cost of renting this place was more than fifteen ingots; the expenses for bribing officials were probably even higher, such as the dozens of gold and silver coins he gave to Qin Ming, the prefect of the state.
"I see." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "I'm very grateful for your help, Master Qi. I will definitely reward you later."
"Of course, of course." Qi Le smiled broadly. "In this world, isn't it just a matter of you helping me and me helping you? It's only right."
"If I have the chance next time, could you please arrange another meeting with Qin?" Shao Shuyi asked again.
Qi Le paused slightly and said, "I don't have many opportunities to see him either, so I can only say I'll do my best."
"That's enough," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
After drinking two more cups of tea, seeing that it was almost time, Qi Le got up to say goodbye.
Shao Shuyi escorted him outside the teahouse.
Qi Erlang lagged behind by two steps and whispered to Shao Shuyi, "Brother Shao, the division has recently intensified its drills. I heard it was an order from Judge Xue. We can't just take leave whenever we want; being able to come out for even one day every two weeks is considered good."
"So strict? What's the matter?" Shao Shuyi asked in surprise.
The patrol office was actually quite relaxed in its management. Most of the time, the archers would either chat and boast in the barracks, patrol outside, extort money, or simply take leave and disappear.
Only one day off is granted every two weeks, a major overhaul and rigorous training—it sounds rather unusual.
"I heard that a large group of salt smugglers have appeared in Songjiang and Jiaxing, collecting countless amounts of salt. They even robbed a salt warehouse and stole thousands of yin of government salt." Qi Erlang secretly glanced at Shao Shuyi and said, "There are over a hundred thieves, all with red headbands on their heads. They are extremely fierce and the government troops cannot subdue them."
Damn! Shao Shuyi was truly speechless.
Several thousand jin? Over a million, two or three million jin? Are you kidding me?
He strongly suspected that some high-ranking officials in the transportation department were taking the opportunity to balance the books and pin the deficit on him.
Well, so you bought tens of thousands of kilograms of salt but ended up with a black mark on millions of kilograms of salt, huh? Very well, you officials are really something. You sit in your offices, wield your pens, and make some fake accounts. Suddenly, you have millions of kilograms of smuggled salt. Then you sell it to salt smugglers you work with in private, splitting the profits 70/30. You easily pocket tens of thousands of ingots, and everyone's happy.
Damn it! I've never been treated like this before.
"You did a good job this time. This news is very important," Shao Shuyi said.
After saying that, he had Yu Yuan fetch five ingots of paper money and handed them to Qi Erlang, saying, "Give three ingots of this money to your clan uncle, and you can use the rest as you see fit. If the training is tough, treat your comrades to some food and drink. It's easiest to get information at the dinner table. Don't underestimate the others; those who can enter the Patrol Division are not simple. They all have intricate connections behind them, and they might know something you haven't heard of."
"Alright." Qi Erlang took the money, paused for a moment, and said, "Then...then I'll be going."
"Erlang, I'm going out for a couple of days. I should make a lot of money when I get back, and you'll get a share," Shao Shuyi said, patting him on the shoulder. "I...I didn't help at all," Qi Erlang said in surprise.
"You've helped out in other ways. We're all brothers; some fought, some kept accounts and made purchases, some greased the officials, and some ran ships and transported goods—everyone helped out," Shao Shuyi said. "It doesn't necessarily have to be fighting to count."
"Okay, I understand." Qi Erlang nodded vigorously, and seeing that there was nothing else, he took his leave.
Shao Shuyi, Yu Yuan, Liang Tai, Tie Niu, and others exchanged glances.
"That's just how corrupt officials are," Liang Tai said with a smirk. "What they've swallowed now, they'll have to spit out later."
"Brother, can we not go to Songjiang or Jiaxing to buy salt next time?" Yu Yuan said with some concern. "But going to Tongzhou isn't very safe either."
As he spoke, Yu Yuan became somewhat anxious, looking as if he didn't know what to do.
Tie Niu stared at Shao Shuyi without saying a word.
"It's nothing," Shao Shuyi chuckled, "I'll still go to Tongzhou next time, what's there to be afraid of?"
After saying that, he had Yu Yuan pay the money and then led everyone to Fei's Restaurant.
The original manager was startled when he saw him and instinctively tried to hide inside, but Tie Niu stopped him.
"You...you really are no good person." Seeing that he couldn't leave, the steward looked somewhat anxious and pleaded in a low voice, "Second Mistress is really not someone you can covet. To be honest, Master Fei is most fond of scholars and literati. Whenever he has free time, he holds literary gatherings, inviting young scholars from Huating and Shanghai counties. Well, on the surface, it's a literary gathering, but actually, he also has the intention of selecting a son-in-law."
"A son-in-law?"
"Yes...yes, he's a son-in-law." The steward said, "Master Fei has three daughters, but no sons. The eldest daughter is already married and lives in Jiangyin. Of the second and third daughters, one of them needs to be taken in as a son-in-law."
Shao Shuyi grabbed the manager by the collar and dragged him into an empty private room.
Tie Niu and Liang Tai stood at the door, glancing left and right. The restaurant staff immediately fell silent, not daring to rush over to their aid. Yu Yuan cleared his throat and said, "I apologize for disturbing you all. My brother and this manager have some outstanding debts to settle, which have been delayed for quite some time." Upon hearing this, the diners thought to themselves, "Oh, it's just the loan shark Zhang family coming to collect money. I didn't think it was anything serious."
Inside the private room, Shao Shuyi took out a letter and placed it on the table, saying, "Don't blame me for not informing you beforehand. If this letter doesn't reach Second Madam, you'll be in big trouble."
The steward looked conflicted, instinctively wanting to refuse, but when he met Shao Shuyi's gaze, he trembled again, silently putting away the letter and daring not to speak. "What's the lady's name? Which family in Jiangyin did she marry into?" Shao Shuyi continued to ask.
"Fei Yuanyou married Zhu Daocun, the Assistant Prefect of Jiangyin Prefecture," the steward murmured.
"Tell me about the second and third daughters."
"Second Mistress Fei Yuanzhen is only thirteen this year. You really shouldn't have any designs on her," the steward said. "Master Fei wants to choose a scholar who is good-looking, talented, and virtuous to marry into the family. He will take his time choosing, and she can get married when she is fifteen or sixteen."
Shao Shuyi was displeased and said, "Am I not good-looking?"
The steward raised his eyelids and looked at it, then lowered his head and remained silent.
"You son of a bitch, you're not as good as a pretty boy, are you?" Shao Shuyi sneered, "But I'm more muscular and stronger than them." For some reason, the manager, who was clearly a little scared, wanted to laugh when he heard this.
"Fine," Shao Shuyi continued, "I won't argue with your claim that I'm less handsome than a pretty boy, but you say I'm inferior in talent and character—that's plausible, so let's leave that aside. What about Third Sister? Why don't you mention her?"
"Third Miss is still so young!" The steward almost cried, saying, "She's only a few years old. Even when she goes out, Second Miss carries her. Why are you asking?"
"Okay." Shao Shuyi said somewhat awkwardly.
He released the steward, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry. No one will investigate this matter anymore. Just continue delivering messages as usual." After saying that, he turned and called out to Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan pushed the door open and entered, then carefully closed it behind him.
"Take the money," Shao Shuyi ordered.
"How much?" Yu Yuan didn't ask about the purpose.
Five ingots.
Yu Yuan took out five bundles of banknotes from his bundle and placed them on the table.
Shao Shuyi pushed them all in front of the manager.
The manager's eyelids twitched, and he unconsciously swallowed.
"It's all yours." Shao Shuyi sat down, crossed his legs, and laughed, "If you work well for me, you'll get more in the future. If you disobey me, you know the consequences yourself."
The manager wanted to refuse, but it was as if something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't make a sound.
Shao Shuyi pulled out a dagger, started trimming his nails, and said, "Go prepare some food and drinks, I'm hungry. Be careful when you go out, don't let anyone see the money."
The private room was silent for a long time before a single "Good!" was uttered, followed by a soft rustling sound. The manager found a bag somewhere, put the money in it, and then left with his head down, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
Shao Shuyi glanced at the dumbfounded Yu Yuan and laughed, "What are you standing there for? Sit down. After we finish eating, let's go back to Liujiagang, pack our things, and get ready to go to Jiangyin."