gnovel Chapter 158 Reappearance
Chapter 158 Reappearance
On the seventh day of the eleventh lunar month, Shao Shuyi arrived at the old granary to inspect the new property he had rented.
The house hasn't had a chance for major repairs yet, but it's been dusted with some plaster.
The ash-beater was a military household member in Dadu. He was highly skilled and professional, and looked quite impressive.
Surrounded by the crowd, Shao Shuyi arrived at the only three-story building in the old granary, overlooking the surging waves of the Loujiang River. He felt incredibly good. If he had a floor-to-ceiling window, a cigar, and a slicked-back hairstyle, he would look even more like the man he was looking at.
Of course, all of this is just a fantasy.
The third floor in front of me has only a few windows, so the lighting is not very good. The wooden planks creak when you step on them and have a musty smell, which makes me feel quite melancholy.
"Brother Shao, the plaque is finished." Yu Yuan stood at the door with two craftsmen and reported softly.
Everyone in the room looked over, startling the two honest craftsmen who trembled.
"Sigh, I shouldn't have brought you guys today." Shao Shuyi pointed at Wu Heizi, Gao Daqiang, Bian Yuanheng, and the others, and said with a laugh, "Go wait in the back warehouse."
"Yes." The group stood up, bowed, and left one after another.
As they left, everyone glanced at the two craftsmen and the plaque they carried.
The craftsman's face turned even paler, as if he had entered a dragon's den or a tiger's lair.
As expected, the businesses of the legitimate and criminal worlds need to be separated! Shao Shuyi thought to himself that he should hire more respectable people in the future, and that his gang of thugs should stay away from this place; it's too scary. "Hold up the signboard so I can see it," Shao Shuyi ordered, sinking into a rattan chair.
Yu Yuan gestured, and the two craftsmen each held up a plaque, which read "Transportation Room" and "Accounting Room" respectively.
"Not bad." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "That's fine. Hang it up after you finish painting."
"Yes." Yu Yuan turned and gestured for the two craftsmen to leave first, then went to Shao Shuyi's side and asked, "Brother, what about the plaques for the other houses?"
"Of course we'll do it," Shao Shuyi said. "After the signboard for the Commerce and Trade Office is finished, send it to Shengyou Garden in the old city. I'll think about the General Affairs Office more, and the Farming Office will be sent to the small courtyard in Liujiagang."
Yu Yuan responded.
He did not ask about the candidates for the various departments, because the system was newly established and everything had not yet officially started; preparations were just underway.
However, he should be the one in charge of the accounts. They might need to hire one or two more accountants later, but that won't be easy to find. "Sit down," Shao Shuyi said, pointing to a chair not far away.
Yu Yuan sat down as instructed.
Shao Shuyi got up and opened the window as wide as possible, then sat back down behind his specially made desk. Looking at the shimmering river and the scattered sails in the distance, he said, "You'll be in charge of the accounting. We're all brothers; now that I've set things up, I can't forget your share. After the New Year, when the trading company is officially established, you'll receive two ingots of cash every month. Whether we make a profit or a loss, you won't be shortchanged."
If we earn a lot, we'll do a reconciliation every three months and distribute rewards to you and everyone else. The amount will depend on the company's performance. You can draft a set of rules then, and I'll see if they're feasible.
"If you ever want to start a business in the future but don't have enough money, you can come to me and let the trading company invest in you. 'Investment'—you know what that means, right? I don't need to explain."
"Is this the share capital mentioned by the merchants who traded with foreign countries?" Yu Yuan asked.
"Exactly," Shao Shuyi said.
"Brother, I don't want these," Yu Yuan said. "I just want to stay with everyone. We have enough money now." "Without rules, there can be no order," Shao Shuyi said solemnly. "As more and more people join us, can we just act according to my personal likes and dislikes without any rules? Everyone makes mistakes and has their own preferences. I don't want to damage the harmony among the brothers. If we establish rules and everyone follows them, it will be clear who is right and wrong, who does a good job and who does a bad job, and how much money they should receive. Beyond the rules, we can then talk about gratitude and human relationships. That's my responsibility."
After listening, Yu Yuan seemed to understand something, but there were still some things he couldn't figure out. However, he didn't object anymore.
"Let's take over the work at the blueware shop after the New Year. Anyway, the Zheng family wants to use their own accounting department," Shao Shuyi said. "Buddha's Tooth will also be leaving. Ask around for the others. If they're unhappy with their jobs, they can come to me."
"Okay," Yu Yuan replied.
"There's one more thing," Shao Shuyi said after a moment's consideration, "Do you think anyone who can write and calculate would be willing to come work for me?"
"It's a bit difficult," Yu Yuan said. "Those with connections entered the government as officials early on, while those without went to wealthy merchants. There aren't many left, and even if there are, they might not be willing to come here. Moreover... and now that the imperial examinations have started, many people are observing. I heard that some of my father's close friends who taught students have already quit their jobs in the merchants' industry to go home and study, focusing all their efforts on the imperial examinations."
Shao Shuyi nodded, looking rather helpless.
The Yuan Dynasty's reopening of the imperial examinations gave a large number of scholars a goal to strive for, and these people temporarily disappeared from the job market. Furthermore, newly opened small trading companies might not be attractive to employers, and even if they were, you'd have to test and assess them to see if they would accept illegal activities—it was all quite troublesome.
"Take your time looking," Shao Shuyi said. "I'll deposit the remaining 150 ingots into the trading company's account. From now on, you'll keep both the trading company's account and my personal account. If I have time, I'll help you with both."
"Brother, isn't this too much? After the 150 ingots are deposited into the public account, you'll only have 30 ingots left," Yu Yuan said.
Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "I'm fed enough for myself, so my family isn't hungry. You should remind me to keep personal and public accounts separate in the future, and not to mix them up."
Yu Yuan said "Oh".
To be honest, he's finding it a bit difficult to adjust right now. Take the simplest thing, like banquets. In the past, Brother Shao would always pay out of his own pocket to treat everyone to lavish meals at places like Honghulou. Should they be accounted for publicly or privately from now on? It's sometimes hard to distinguish between public and private matters, and he might have to consult Brother Shao later.
Furthermore, does he even have the right to invite people to drinks? We don't even know that.
In addition, is it necessary to create false accounts for the illegal salt trade?
In short, there were so many things to think about, my brain was spinning, and I was completely bewildered.
Seeing his preoccupied look, Shao Shuyi couldn't help but laugh and said, "You'll get used to it."
After saying that, he stood up, patted Yu Yuan on the shoulder, and said, "Go to the eatery next door and buy some food and drinks. I'm hungry. Hmm, this time it's on me." Yu Yuan responded and got up to leave.
Shao Shuyi went to the window, crossed his arms, and quietly looked at the ships moored in the distance.
Several egrets stood on the mast, looked around for a moment, then flapped their wings and soared into the sky.
That afternoon, Manager Mo's men arrived near the old granary and loaded 300 shi of dried seafood onto the Kunjia and Kunyi ships.
Kong Tie was in charge of this matter.
This trip to Jiangxi will require the use of four ships: Kunjia, Kunyi, Taijia, and Taiyi, to transport approximately one thousand shi of dried seafood, spices, copperware, medicinal herbs, leather, and other goods to Jiangzhou. More than thirty sailors will be needed, all led by Kong Tie.
Shao Shuyi couldn't possibly do everything himself. His subordinates needed to be trained and developed; otherwise, how could they become independent?
This is also a screening process; whether someone has the ability will become apparent in long-term practice.
Shao Shuyi even allowed them to make mistakes because the world was not yet in complete chaos, and they had one or two chances to make mistakes. They could still grit their teeth and account for the losses.
That evening, after having dinner in the office area of the transport building, the group boarded the flat-bottomed boat under the cover of darkness, carrying over a thousand catties of newly harvested river fish, and sailed upstream, arriving at Matuosha on the evening of the ninth day.
After the boat stopped, Zhao Xiaosan and Su Shuisheng took their families ashore.
This was the first group of families willing to move to Matuosha after the inquiry, including Li Fu's two children, a total of three households.
Because they arrived early, they could have chosen their own accommodations and settled into less dilapidated houses.
Shao Shuyi gave them an extra 30 strings of cash, four dou of rice, and a jar of pickled vegetables as a resettlement allowance.
Li Fu brought the few people who had stayed behind to help move the goods, and at the same time reported: "Yesterday, Madam Liu sent people to move 8,000 catties of salted fish and 1,000 catties of salt, and gave 100 ingots of paper money. They are all here."
After saying that, he handed over a huge bundle.
"Give it to the scholar," Shao Shuyi tossed the bundle to Tie Niu and ordered.
Tie Niu accepted the order and left.
Shao Shuyi thought to himself that there were five fewer ingots than last time, which meant he had angered his business partner.
Of course, it's normal to be upset about losing your exclusive distributor status. But it's not a big deal; you'll gradually increase your supply capacity, and the conflict will decrease.
"There's another letter," Li Fu added.
Shao Shuyi took the document, opened it on the spot, and after reading it, he laughed and said, "We've only been traveling for nine days, and the government has arrested over a thousand people and released nearly a thousand more. Two groups of salt smugglers in Tongzhou were wiped out, more than ten were captured and killed, and more than forty others are wanted. Chen Xianwu, a salt smuggler in Jiangyin Prefecture, was arrested, and he and his four sons were beheaded; the rest were exiled to Halahuo Prefecture. Impressive! When did the government become so efficient?"
After laughing, he looked at everyone and said, "The murderer who attacked Zhu Ding has been found. It is Chen Xianwu, a fishmonger from Jiangyin Prefecture, and nineteen of his accomplices. The evidence is conclusive, and the case is airtight. Oh my, Jiangyin has such a righteous and upright official! We are truly blessed to go out to do business."
Everyone laughed upon hearing this and breathed a sigh of relief.
These corrupt officials can only live like this.
That night, the Pingjia boat lowered a small plank and rowed to Xiapu on the opposite bank, dropping a letter at the designated location of Liu's Grain Shop.