gnovel Chapter 209 Friends of Time
Chapter 209 Friends of Time
On the seventh day of the sixth lunar month, a large crowd gathered in front of the small earthen kiln near Yaqian Street.
The kiln owner, Zhan Ping, was related to the senior apprentice of the leather craftsman, Jiang Chengtuo, which is why he was able to secure business with him.
That's how it is in the countryside; you can always find some connection by going around in circles. They're either relatives or friends, and the social relationships are quite complicated.
Village head Gao Jian stroked his beautiful beard, a smile on his face, and said, "Kiln owner Zhan, you can't skimp on the bricks you're firing for Cao She. He wants a large quantity, 100,000 bricks right away, enough for you to make a fortune."
Zhan Ping glanced at him sideways and said, "Cao She has only been here a short time, and you're already fawning over him like this?"
Gao Jian smiled smugly and said, "Some people have known me for ten years and haven't helped me sell a single bundle of raw silk. Others have only known me for a few months and have already sold five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), and the villagers around here have also sold several hundred shi. Now it's June, and they say they still need a thousand shi, almost sweeping up all the raw silk that Ma Tuosha can sell. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Zhan Ping muttered under his breath, "You've really struck gold. Next year I'll raise some silkworms too, reel in the silk, and sell it to Cao She."
Gao Jian nodded and said, "Cao She is a great benefactor to the people of Ma Tuo Sha. It's hard to say this year, but next year, when people recognize him on the street, they will have to invite him to their homes for a drink of water."
Zhan Ping chuckled and asked again, "One hundred thousand bricks would only be enough to build a slightly larger house. Is this how Cao She builds houses?"
"No," Gao Jian said. "A lot of people came with Cao She. They used to live in dilapidated houses, but now that they have money, they bought some bricks, tiles, and lime to repair their homes. This is what they bought together. 100,000 yuan might not be enough, so they bought this much for now." "I see," Zhan Ping nodded, then asked softly, "I saw a lot of people living near Chong Sheng Temple. Where are they from?" "Don't ask such nonsense," Gao Jian glared at him.
"What kind of relationship do we have? I was just asking casually," Zhan Ping said, dissatisfied.
Gao Jian looked around and, seeing that the group of people who had come to look at the bricks weren't paying attention to him, whispered, "They're a mixed bunch. They're probably from Kunshan and Changshu, since Cao She went to Liujiagang."
"Can't you tell from their accents?" Zhanping asked.
Gao Jian was somewhat embarrassed.
Although he prides himself on being extremely learned and enjoys reading at home in his spare time, he has hardly ever traveled far from home. He visited Jiangning once when he was young, went to Wuxi ten years ago, and has made several trips to Jiangyin in recent years. You could say he's knowledgeable, and he certainly is, more knowledgeable than the average person, but not by much, and not even as knowledgeable as a businessman who has traveled all over the country.
Asking him to judge someone's origin based on their accent is really asking too much of him.
"Alright, let's not ask anymore." Zhan Ping understood immediately, so he changed the subject, saying, "Is Cao She planning a major construction project recently? I saw several large pools being dug northeast of Chong Sheng Temple; are they planning to soak lime in them?"
"I told you not to ask." Gao Jian looked around in a panic, then lowered his voice and said, "You live not far from Chong Sheng Temple. I'm asking you, what have you seen on a daily basis?"
Zhan Ping nodded and said, "There are more than a dozen straw men behind Chong Sheng Temple, and people often shoot arrows at them. Sometimes when I cross the river from the other side, I see people fighting in pairs, spear against sword and shield. After practicing for a while, they switch back to spear, then back to sword and shield, and continue practicing. Hmm, it seems like some people are also practicing with great axes and maces. Their strength is really great."
"If you saw it, just keep it to yourself," Gao Jian advised. "Don't think you're the only one who saw it. Since Cao She dared to do this, he's not afraid of anything. What's wrong with the caravan guards practicing their weapons? Believe me, if someone reports it, Jiang Guanbao will have them detained. Even if they go to Jiangyin Prefecture, before they can even explain themselves, they'll be arrested by the officials and clerks. Then they'll be handed over to Cao She for punishment, and the consequences will be dire. Your sons are always gossiping, don't blame me for not warning you, keep a close eye on them."
Zhan Ping, unusually, did not refute.
According to Gao Jian, this Cao She was incredibly powerful and influential, practically a local tyrant in Ma Tuosha.
Well, he didn't provoke me. On the contrary, he bought 100,000 bricks. Why bother with all this?
As the two were talking, a loud shout rang out in the distance.
A moment later, a large group of men, women, and children rushed over and began waiting for the boat to dock.
Gao Jian found it intriguing, so he took a few steps and looked at the hero named Li Fu, saying, "Master Li, this boat..."
Li Fu glanced at him but ignored him.
Gao Jian didn't take it seriously. After Li Fu had walked away, he grabbed Wu Shangyuan, who had a steel sword at his waist and a rattan shield on his back, and said with a smile, "Master Wu, has Cao She bought some good stuff again?"
Wu Shangyuan was quite enthusiastic, saying, "This is the first batch of grain and wheat I bought from Liu's Grain Shop in Xiapu, a total of 500 shi."
Gao Jian said "Oh," and then asked, "How much per shi?"
"Thirty-six strings of cash."
"That's quite cheap. It costs thirty-seven strings of cash for a horse-drawn sand cart."
"The more you buy, the cheaper it is," Wu Shangyuan said. "Besides, grain isn't that expensive in Jiangxi."
"If Cao She needs to buy grain next time, he can come to me," Gao Jian said. "I don't have much, but I can still scrape together a hundred shi."
"It's no use telling me, I don't get involved," Wu Shangyuan laughed.
Gao Jian chuckled and said nothing more.
Five hundred bushels of grain—that's quite a generous sum; it seems to be intended for newly arrived refugees to cultivate the wasteland.
Just yesterday, he discovered that Jiang Guanbao, along with archers from the patrol office, was escorting seven or eight ragged households through the streets and alleys.
This kind of thing is not uncommon in the past, it's like a screen.
According to regulations, if local officials saw refugees, they would set up barriers along the roads to intercept them, hence the terms "blocking" or "barriers".
The railings were usually distributed by local officials, either to be used as government slaves or secretly sold to wealthy people.
Gao Jian asked around and learned that these eight refugee families actually came from Xuzhou. They had been begging along the canal, some had died, some had gotten separated from their families, and some had been captured. The remaining eight families had struggled to reach this place and were all taken in at once.
According to Jiang Guanbao, these eight households of refugees from Xuzhou were tenants of Cao She. For the first two or three years, Cao She supported them, providing them with rations and having them cultivate wasteland in Ma Tuo Sha until they were able to support themselves.
The newly purchased 500 shi of grain was probably intended to feed the refugees.
It was at this moment that Gao Jian had a sudden thought, as if something had just occurred to him.
To be honest, even if one shi of grain or wheat costs 36 guan, 500 shi would still be 360 ingots, which is a huge sum of money.
Cao She didn't even blink; he used the money to buy grain to feed the refugees, showing his ambition was no small matter.
Gao Jian sighed, feeling a sense of powerlessness at being unable to control his fate. But the other person had helped him a lot, and was a local bigwig, so what could he do? He could only take it one step at a time.
On the evening of the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, Shao Shuyi arrived at the riverbank, ready to board a flat-bottomed boat and head to Jiangyin.
Li Fu, who stayed behind, rushed to the riverbank with an account book and asked Shao Shuyi to sign and stamp it.
"Why can't you say it in advance?" Shao Shuyi glanced at it briefly, then signed "Cao Luo" and stamped it with his seal.
"Jiang Xingtuo just delivered the farm tools and is waiting for payment," Li Fu briefly explained.
"Alright." After handing the ledger to Li Fu, Shao Shuyi ignored him.
He received a sum of money at the beginning of June, and now he has about 1052 ingots in his account, while the newly acquired fish and salt have not yet been used. He has plenty of funds, so he approves money very readily.
"Your family used to trade in medicinal herbs, so I'll hand over the account books to you for now," Shao Shuyi said. "I'll go to Jiangyin for a few days first, and you can handle all the affairs of Ma Tuosha."
"Okay." Li Fu hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.
"Did you get anything out of the two thieves we arrested on the sixth day?" Shao Shuyi asked suddenly as he was about to turn around and board the boat.
"We didn't get anything out of them. They're just ordinary folks from Huainan who couldn't survive, so they took the risk of going south to plunder," Li Fu said. "Jiang Guanbao said to interrogate them for a few more days, and if they can't get any information out of them, they'll send them to Jiangyin to be dealt with by the criminal investigation department."
"Alright, let's do it this way." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Don't forget the drills. One drill every ten days is the minimum. Now that everyone is given thirty strings of cash a month, we can have drills every five or six days. You can arrange it as you see fit."
"Okay." Li Fu's face was resolute. That was his own thought. He was determined to train hard so that he could be of use in the future.
Shao Shuyi went through everything one last time.
The newly purchased grain will be temporarily stored at Chong Sheng Temple; that's about all we can store.
After June, we still need to gather the refugees and organize them to clear the fields.
The construction of the warehouse is expected to take place after the autumn harvest, when there will be more manpower available.
Two teams of soldiers have been formed, while the third team has just formed six or seven people, including three boatmen who are willing to move to Ma Tuo Sha to settle down. The rest will continue to be persuaded.
At least five sets of leather armor will be delivered by the end of this month, and will be temporarily equipped for Li Fudui.
Some fishermen in Ma Tuo Sha began handing over their catch of river fish to them, which significantly alleviated the shortage of salted fish.
Finally, there's the export of raw silk and silkworm cocoons carried by horses, which will peak this month.
In short, everything is proceeding in an orderly manner. All that remains is to wait and see how things unfold.
Late that night, the Pingjia ship docked at Xiapu.
As agreed, Liu's Grain Shop sent people to transport away 3,000 catties of Huai salt.
On the night of the ninth, Shao Shuyi appeared at Furong Tower on the west side of the Confucian Temple and Academy. He chatted and laughed with Ge Daji, a clerk in the Criminal Division, He Shuo, a clerk in the Military Division, Zhou Xiaogong, a clerk in the Civil Division, Han De, the deputy commander of Yangshe, and Chen Zi, the inspector of Chengjiang, as they went inside to watch a play.
Today's performance is "Jade Pot Spring," with actress Guan Yanyan, who rose to fame quickly after her debut, playing the lead role of Li Sulan.
Shortly after Shao Shuyi and the others took their seats, while they were whispering and exchanging greetings, several dashing young men walked in, fanning themselves with folding fans, and took up the best seats in the center of the first row.
The zaju play "Yu Hu Chun" tells the story of the romantic affair between the scholar Li Bin and the courtesan Li Sulan. At this moment, in the third act, the female lead Guan Yanyan, dressed as Li Sulan, is singing "Yu Hu Chun, with crabapple blossoms in her hair." With a flick of her water sleeves and her eyes full of intoxication, she is met with cheers.
"Reward!" Zhang Qiujiao suddenly stood up, gently waving her folding fan, her eyes fixed on the female lead.