Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 46 Brothers

The dinner was very enjoyable.

The only downside was that he spent all of Yu Yuan's allowance.

As the moon rose above the willow branches, Yu Chu took his leave and went to stay at the post station.

He was in Liujiagang on business and just stopped by to see his younger brother.

Yu Yuan stayed overnight in the small courtyard. Before going to sleep, he was still fiddling with that bronze hand cannon, which he had almost worn smooth from handling it.

Even when he went to bed, he kept muttering to himself and making several gestures of loading medicine and ammunition until Liang Tai got up and looked at him, at which point he stopped.

Shao Shuyi and Kong Tie lived in the same house, chatting about the past and looking forward to the future.

"Actually, the best way to get to Dadu is by sea," Kong Tie said. "If we head north in March, we'll arrive in April."

Shao Shuyi nodded.

An oil lamp was lit on the table, along with a sachet of frankincense.

He unconsciously fumbled around the bag of herbs, lost in thought.

He actually understood that, in the Yuan Dynasty, traveling by boat from Liujiagang to Zhigu was a relatively safe route.

They knew exactly when to leave, where to go, where to avoid, where to stop along the way, which sea areas were more dangerous and required extra caution, and which places were prone to pirates.

This is what is called a "mature" shipping route.

An immature shipping route requires you to explore every step of the way, which greatly increases the chances of shipwreck.

That's why the pioneers who opened up new sea routes were so great. They really risked their lives, and later generations could often follow in their footsteps to cross the river, making it much safer.

"We actually arrived at Zhigu in May on this northward journey," Kong Tie added. "However, we waited several months before finally setting sail in August. I don't know how many people couldn't take it. If you really want to buy a boat, you might as well. Some people have even stopped repairing their boats and are preparing to flee with their entire families."

Shao Shuyi nodded again.

Maintaining a boat has costs, namely maintenance and repair, which can be quite expensive.

Before setting sail, a major overhaul is needed to check for various potential hazards, which will cost money.

After returning to port, it still needs maintenance and repairs, and there's even an extra task of scraping the bottom of the ship, which also costs money.

Moreover, there is a wide range of spending limits for this kind of maintenance. There are different maintenance methods for the poor and for the rich. The former costs less but reduces safety, while the latter increases safety but costs more.

In short, acquiring a ship now may not be that difficult, but holding it long-term is not cheap.

"I still want to—" Shao Shuyi stroked the sachet of sachets of herbs.

"Frankincense isn't cheap," Kong Tie glanced at it and said, "Two years ago, I went to Qingyuan by ship. When the Maritime Trade Office was taking its cut, they listed frankincense, agarwood, sandalwood, cloves, ambergris, and styrax oil as rare goods. These you have—"

"In Liujiagang, it can only sell for four ingots per pound," Shao Shuyi said. "Master Zheng said it can sell for a little more in Suzhou and Hangzhou."

Kong Tie didn't say anything more. He had already made an exception by saying so much today. Now that Xiao Hu had his own ideas, he couldn't force him to stop. He was only worried that having a boat would bring trouble.

Shao Shuyi said nothing more. After carefully putting away the frankincense, he blew out the oil lamp and went to sleep fully clothed.

Kong Tie squeezed in a bit to make room.

Shao Shuyi laughed and went to sleep on the other side.

In the darkness, Kong Tieyi smiled slightly.

Wang Huadu and Yu Yuan were introduced to Xiao Hu by him. They weren't familiar with each other at first, but after several months, the two of them had become quite convinced of Xiao Hu's abilities, which made him feel a little disappointed.

But it doesn't matter now. We're all brothers struggling together in this messed-up world, why bother with so much?

******

After the rooster crowed three times, Kong Tie got up and went into the courtyard.

Wang Huadu was chopping wood with an axe, muttering to himself, "I practice axe skills to kill people, not to chop wood."

As if he were very angry, he chopped the firewood into a frenzy.

The little girl quietly approached him, her hands behind her back, looking timid.

"What are you looking at?" Wang Huadu said gruffly, "Go help your mother start the fire."

The little girl said "Oh," and before leaving, she took her hand out from behind her back and handed a pancake to Wang Huadu, saying, "Daddy, I got this for you."

Wang Huadu stood there, stunned.

After a moment, she gently took the cake and muttered, "My adopted daughter is quite filial."

The little girl ran off in a flash.

Yu Yuan held the bronze pistol in his left hand, muttering incantations, while his right hand moved erratically from time to time. Judging from his movements, it seemed as if he was pouring something he was holding loosely into the muzzle of the pistol, then stuffing something in, and even pretending to pound it vigorously.

After completing the first set, Yu Yuan was not satisfied, so he took a deep breath and began the second set.

Liang Tai stood at a distance, holding a gleaming ring-shaped sword, practicing meticulously.

Kong Tie found it quite interesting to see military households practicing martial arts for the first time.

In the countryside, fights sometimes involve weapons, with the ring-handled sword being a common item. However, most of these fights are fought with sheer courage, wielding the sword haphazardly without much strategy or technique.

Liang Tai's movements are much more pleasing to the eye. They are clean and efficient, without any unnecessary parts, and never waste energy. They emphasize simplicity, speed, and precision, all of which are very practical techniques.

If he were a bit wilder and more daring, he would be a domineering local tyrant, even more formidable than those people, since most of them lacked skills and their only advantage was who was more ruthless.

One more person is needed.

Kong Tie's eyes searched, and he soon spotted Shao Shuyi.

He was practicing his body exercises by the wall, and his movements were somewhat strange.

"Doing push-ups." Shao Shuyi smiled at him, panting, and said, "In a few days, I'll have someone get a wooden bar so I can practice pull-ups."

What kind of "nonsense" is he talking about? Kong Tie said he couldn't understand it.

"I still need to practice squats." After finishing the last push-up, Shao Shuyi stood up and laughed, "If I ever have... well... I won't be told by women that I'm useless."

"Brother Shao, there are stone lions at the entrance of Sun Chuan's house. Yu She and I will sneak them over at night so you can practice your strength, okay? So you won't always be lying on the ground." Wang Huadu said from the side.

"I don't steal," Yu Yuan said instinctively. After speaking, he glanced at Shao Shuyi, then lowered his head and whispered, "If brother really wants it..."

"No way! Is that all you've got?" Shao Shuyi laughed and scolded. After saying that, he sniffed the air lightly and said, "This rice porridge tastes great today. Let's get ready to eat."

Everyone responded in unison, then looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Kong Tie also smiled.

Before he knew it, Xiao Hu's prestige had been established.

******

After breakfast, Kong Tie took his leave, and Shao Shuyi asked him to check on his house while he was at it—his exact words were "check if the house has collapsed."

Kong Tiezi has no problem with it.

He lived to the west of the Shao family's house, separated by a small ditch and a bamboo grove. His parents had both passed away, but he still had brothers and sisters. Life was difficult, and paying taxes was a struggle.

Fortunately, upon returning from this voyage, he received several ingots of paper money, which should be enough to pay his taxes next year. However, if he were to perform miscellaneous corvée duties, it would be very dangerous – there would be no money for such duties, and the trips would often last for months, causing significant delays, not to mention the inherent dangers of corvée work itself.

"Little Tiger, I met some people on this voyage," Kong Tie said in a low voice before they departed. "I can keep an eye on things with the ship for you."

Shao Shuyi nodded slightly.

After hearing Kong Tie mention the grain transport fleet yesterday, he was already getting restless.

In modern times, factories can be sold for a single dollar. Did this not exist in ancient times?

The reason it's being sold so cheaply is mainly because the factory is already a bad asset and is heavily in debt. If it doesn't take drastic measures, the losses will only increase and eventually drag the company down.

The ships in the hands of seafarers are actually a hot potato.

When the provincial government previously approved Fumin as a new seafaring household, some people sold or even gave away their boats at low prices, for the same reason.

Another way for seafarers to evade corvée labor was through "transfer of ownership," commonly known as "deceptive registration": the boat was registered under the name of person A, but was actually used by person B. As you can imagine, this came at a price.

Shao Shuyi didn't expect to get a ship for free; he just hoped to pay as little as possible, and it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

After Kong Tie left, Shao Shuyi went back to work at the store.

This continued until the end of October, when the summer fleet returned, and the foreign merchants' ships all left, ushering in the quiet season for Liujiagang.

On the tenth day of the eleventh lunar month, Shao Shuyi left the Qingqi Shop and, together with Wang Huadu and Yu Yuan, sailed west back to Taicang.

Actually, it's nothing serious. I've been away from Taicang for a long time, so I went back to take a look.

In addition, Zheng Fan also asked him to come to the boat shop to discuss the upcoming trip to Suzhou.

At noon, just as Shao Shuyi and the others disembarked at Haiyuncang and arrived home, Kong Tieyuan came over.

"There's progress on the ship issue," he said.