gnovel Chapter 35 Cooperation
Chapter 35 Cooperation
On the 27th of July, the sky was overcast with a light mist.
Shao Shuyi and Zheng Fan boarded a carriage and strolled through the streets and alleys of Liujiagang.
To be honest, he'd been in Liujiagang for quite some time, but this was the first time he'd gone out for a stroll. The only downside was the fog today, which made things difficult to see.
"Don't bother looking, it's nothing special." Zheng Fan chuckled and said, "As long as you do your job well, I'll take you all over Liujiagang in the future, it won't cost much."
Shao Shuyi believed this.
Aside from being an official, there's probably no more profitable business in the world than maritime trade; it's incredibly lucrative. If the boss makes a lot of money, and is also generous and easygoing, it wouldn't be surprising if his subordinates benefited a little too.
The carriage soon arrived in front of a teahouse, where Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi got out.
"Master Zheng is here." A middle-aged man in a long robe greeted them at the door, his face beaming with smiles, glancing at Shao Shuyi a few times as he spoke.
Zheng Fan nodded casually and went into the shop.
Suddenly, a beautiful young woman appeared out of nowhere. She seemed to have just gotten up and finished her makeup. She was graceful and had a lovely smile. When she saw Zheng Fan, she covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "It's only early morning, and you're already in such a hurry to see your lover? She hasn't gotten up yet. My lord, why don't you let me serve you?"
Zheng Fan laughed heartily, casually patted the woman's shapely buttocks, and said, "You love money that much?"
"What nonsense are you spouting, sir!" The woman rolled her eyes at him and said in a resentful tone, "Seven things to do in the morning: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea. Firewood is like lingzhi mushrooms, oil like sweet dew, rice like cinnabar, the soy sauce jar has just been empty, the salt shaker is already worn out, there's not much tea, and not much vinegar. These seven necessities are already a struggle, how can I possibly be expected to pluck willow branches and climb flowers?"
Zheng Fan listened with narrowed eyes for a moment, then laughed and said, "The last verse wasn't sung well. What's wrong? How should I sing 'Breaking Willow Branches and Climbing Flowers'?"
The woman smiled again and asked, "What kind of tea would you like to drink today, sir? Wuyi tea or General Fan's tea?"
"Wuyi tea and Fan Dianshuai tea have only recently become popular in this dynasty." Zheng Fan shook his head and said, "Besides, we have distinguished guests today, so let's have Guzhu tea."
"Tea, powdered tea, or wax tea?" the woman asked, gesturing with her eyes to the middle-aged man in the long robe.
"It's just wax tea," Zheng Fan said without room for argument. "And some more food, I'm starving."
"Do I need your instructions, sir?" The woman leaned closer to Zheng Fan, nudged him lightly, and chuckled.
The middle-aged man in the long gown quietly left.
Shao Shuyi stood respectfully to the side, feeling slightly embarrassed but also excited.
Is this a Yuan Dynasty version of a private club? That's interesting.
"Go have fun by yourself, I have important business to attend to today." Zheng Fan waved to the woman and entered a private room with practiced ease.
Shao Shuyi followed behind, glancing around out of the corner of his eye.
"Close the door," Zheng Fan instructed after sitting down.
Shao Shuyi responded, closed the door, and then sat down below Zheng Fan.
"Today, it's the Shen family from Wuzhong—father, son, uncle, and nephew—the Shen Wansan family. Be careful and don't make any mistakes," Zheng Fan whispered to him as he approached.
The tea was quickly brewed and served, along with several snacks.
Zheng Fan and Shao Shuyi ate casually. About half an hour later, footsteps were heard outside.
Shao Shuyi stopped what he was doing, silently put down his teacup, and even quietly checked the corners of his mouth for any food residue.
"Get up," Zheng Fan called out to him, then stood up and went to the door.
Shao Shuyi quickly followed.
Shortly after, the door was gently pushed open, and three people, two adults and one child, appeared in the doorway.
"Rongfu, Renhe, it's been several years since we last met. How have you been?" Zheng Fan put aside his usual laziness and greeted them warmly.
The man called "Rongfu" was quite old, looking to be around forty. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "Yifang, it must have been ten years since we last met, right?"
"Eleven years." Zheng Fan laughed heartily, then looked behind Rong Fu and asked knowingly, "This young man is handsome and refined; may I ask which noble family he comes from?"
"What nobleman?" Rongfu chuckled and said, "My son Sen, he's only fifteen. I brought him out to broaden his horizons."
After speaking, he glanced at Shao Shuyi behind Zheng Fan.
"This is the outer accountant of Qingqi Di shop, brought out to do business," Zheng Fan said, pulling Shao Shuyi along.
Shao Shuyi bowed to the three of them while silently assessing the relationship between the two sides. He concluded that they were not very familiar with each other, but were pretending to be.
Rongfu and Renhe returned the greeting and paid no further attention to him. After returning the greeting, the young man curiously sized up Shao Shuyi—he was somewhat surprised that someone so young was already serving as an external accountant.
Zheng Fan invited everyone to sit down, and then gave Shao Shuyi a brief introduction.
The oldest was named Shen Rong, courtesy name Rongfu.
The next oldest is Shen Hanjie, courtesy name Renhe. He looks to be in his twenties and is Shen Rong's cousin.
The boy's name was Shen Sen, courtesy name Maoqing, and he was the son of Shen Rong.
Shao Shuyi observed silently and found that the three people were dressed in gorgeous clothes and their accessories did not look like ordinary things, but their words and deeds were still quite proper and they did not show any arrogance.
In addition, Shao Shuyi learned for the first time that Zheng Fan's courtesy name was Yifang.
"Speak, what is it? Why are you in such a hurry to ask me to stay a couple more days, as if my house is on fire?" Shen Rong said, feigning helplessness.
Footsteps sounded again outside the door, followed by a soft call: "Gentlemen, tea and refreshments are here."
"Come in and put it down," Zheng Fan said loudly.
"Yes." The two girls, one after the other, placed the tea and snacks down, bowed, and left.
The door was closed again, isolating the inside from the outside.
Zheng Fan glanced at the door subconsciously and asked, "Rongfu, have any ships gone to sea to trade with foreign countries this year?"
Shen Rong looked at him with surprise and asked, "Yifang, the Zheng family has always only done business in Liujiagang. Why are you suddenly asking about going overseas to trade?"
Zheng Fan said somewhat embarrassedly, "My family can't compare to the Ye, Yang, Fei, and other clans. Before my father organized the canal transport, he moved around a lot in different places."
Shen Rong simply said "Oh," without offering any further comment.
Before becoming the Deputy Commander of the Grain Transport Office, Zheng Yonghe served as the Chief Administrator of Shaozhou Circuit, and had no prior experience in grain transport. However, after taking office, he made great contributions by organizing grain transport and registers, and supervising the transport of grain and fodder, gradually gaining fame. In addition, due to his long tenure, the Zheng family of Quzhou gradually became the leading figure in the Grain Transport Office.
However, the Ye family of Chongming, the Yang family of Ganpu, and the Fei family of Changxing were different. They had been engaged in navigation since the beginning of the dynasty, and their families produced many talented people. They had a wealth of private books on various nautical charts, star charts, and even navigation tips, which was completely different from the Zheng family, who were only halfway through their careers.
And wasn't that a coincidence? Shen Rong's wife's surname was Ye, and she came from that renowned maritime family. Naturally, the Shen family had enormous advantages in overseas trade.
Fortunately, the Shen family also had the financial means.
After Shen Rong's ancestors moved to Cheung Chau, they vigorously developed their businesses. By the time of his father Shen Fu and uncle Shen Gui, they were already the wealthiest people in Jiangnan, with countless houses, lands, and assets under their names. Shen Fu and Shen Zhongrong were the third sons and their wealth was equivalent to that of ten thousand households, so people called them "Shen Wansan" (meaning "Shen the Third Millionaire"), while Shen Gui and Shen Zhonghua were called "Shen Wansi" (meaning "Shen the Fourth Millionaire").
Such a deeply entrenched family was naturally incomparable to the Zheng family. However, their family also had its limitations, namely, the lack of influential figures in official circles. Forget about county-level officials; they were no match for truly powerful people. The highest-ranking officials among the Shen family's in-laws were Ye Shijian, the commander of the Songjiang Jiading Garrison of the Grand Canal, and Song Tong, the commander of the Shizilu Army. Their "power" was still somewhat low.
Zheng Fan naturally understood this, so he directly revealed his true intentions and made his move: "Rongfu, let's not beat around the bush. At the latest, by the end of next year, my uncle will be retiring, but he has the right to recommend a successor..."
Upon hearing this, Shen Rong's eyelids twitched.
Shao Shuyi sat quietly to the side, keeping his eyes down and listening to Zheng Fan and Shen Rong's conversation.
Undoubtedly, this is a trade-off, but is it really worth it for less than 30,000 pieces of celadon?
Zheng Fan's move must have been authorized by Zheng Guozhen. They offered such a large bait, but was it really just for this one deal? It's highly unlikely.
Shao Shuyi felt he should broaden his perspective and think bigger...
"Are you confident, sir?" Shen Rong asked instinctively after a moment of silence, leaning closer.
"Who can guarantee that?" Zheng Fan chuckled. "I can only say that among the four deputy commanders, one of them was promoted from commander of a thousand."
"I misspoke," Shen Rong laughed, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and covered up his blunder.
He has experienced a lot in his daily life and is considered quite steady, but this matter is really too big, so it's inevitable that his mind wavers.
Among the four deputy commanders of the Grand Canal, Fei Xiong from Changxing was promoted from commander of a thousand households and was transferred to deputy commander of ten thousand households four times, making his experience quite legendary.
Xia Di, a native of Ji'an, was originally a commander of a thousand households, and later rose to the rank of deputy commander of ten thousand households.
In short, there are many examples of internal promotions, and the possibility is very high.
Bian Zuo, a native of Weishi, was originally the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and was later transferred to the position of Deputy Commander of the Grain Transport Office. Zheng Yonghe was appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Grain Transport Office after serving as the General Manager of Shaozhou Road. Both of them joined the Grain Transport Office halfway through their careers, unlike Fei Xiong and Xia Di.
Since there is such a precedent, there is a possibility that it could be manipulated. Of course, nothing can be guaranteed, so Shen Rong admitted that he had misspoke.
"The matter of going overseas to trade with foreign countries will take place this year, roughly scheduled for September or October." After pondering for a moment, Shen Rong said, "My family will provide the goods, and the Ye family of Chongming will provide the ships. The profits will be split according to the agreement. If the Zheng family is interested, you can get a share."
Zheng Fan slowly nodded and said, "My family has nearly 30,000 pieces of celadon ware. Is that enough to accommodate them?"
"No problem," Shen Rong said.
"I need to go back to Yantietang and report to the Third Dormitory. If permission is granted, then this person will contact your steward." As he spoke, Zheng Fan pointed to Shao Shuyi and said.
"Okay." Shen Rong didn't even look at him properly and agreed immediately, without discussing the profit-sharing ratio of the 30,000 pieces of blue artifacts, as these were minor matters.
Zheng Fan was relieved and his smile returned. He chatted with Shen Rong and Shen Hanjie about interesting things that happened in the canal administration and the prefectures and counties.
Shao Shuyi sat to the side, occasionally chuckling or chiming in, but mostly kept his mouth shut and listened quietly.
The group chatted for a full hour, and only when the sun was high in the sky and the fog had dissipated did they bid farewell and leave.