gnovel Chapter 8 The Only Chance
Chapter 8 The Only Chance
On April 15th, the weather was somewhat gloomy, and Shao Shuyi wandered aimlessly along the ridges of the fields.
Last night was initially lucky; he met a vegetable farmer living in the fields. The farmer was kind-hearted and let him stay in his shed, even giving him some bundles of hay to put on the ground so he could make do for the night.
When his stomach started growling with hunger in the middle of the night, Shao Shuyi realized that he had fled in such a hurry the day before that he hadn't even had time to bring a tinderbox. The food he was carrying was too heavy and had already exhausted him, making it a burden.
After borrowing a fire and a rice steamer from the vegetable farmer, he cooked a pot of dry rice and ate it haphazardly.
However, their good fortune ended there. Just before dawn, the distant main road was bustling with carriages and horses, creating a great commotion.
Shao Shuyi had just fallen asleep when he was suddenly awakened. He rushed out to check, only to be met with an arrow that flew towards him with a sharp whistling sound, landing seven or eight steps in front of him.
"Run! Soldiers from Dadu!" the farmer shoved him and shouted.
Without hesitation, Shao Shuyi said, "The grain is yours," and ran off.
Several soldiers chased after them, cursing and swearing.
Some carried bows, while others held spears, anchor axes, sickles, and ring knives. They chased the vegetable farmer to his location before stopping.
Shao Shuyi didn't dare look back, he just kept running forward until he couldn't run anymore, then he slowed down and walked slowly, panting heavily.
At this point, he realized what was going on.
"Dadu Suo" should be Dadu Qianhu Suo. After searching the original owner's memories, he discovered that there were Yuan Dynasty troops stationed in Taicang, which the locals called "Dadu Suo".
If nothing unexpected happens, there are more than one level of military organization above the capital city, but I don't know if it's a "Guard" or a "Ten Thousand Households". Anyway, the original owner of this body is not very knowledgeable and doesn't know much about these things. It's already good enough that he can hear some things from others.
He must have violated a taboo during the march, and was thought to be spying on the army's formation. So some soldiers came to drive him away—yes, drive him away. Those soldiers didn't really want to kill him; they were just trying to scare him. After all, this was Taicang, not enemy territory.
But it's no use saying anything now.
Shao Shuyi was dejected, and an uncontrollable sense of sadness and anger welled up in his heart.
He was a time traveler, yet he wandered around like a stray dog, with nowhere to go and no one to rely on.
He wasn't even sure if he would live to see the next day.
Knowing it would end in such a sorry state, I would have been better off making the difficult decision to go to sea with Kong Tie; at least I wouldn't necessarily die.
He reflected deeply on his actions, realizing he couldn't forget the lessons he'd learned. This was the Yuan Dynasty, not 21st-century China. His margin for error was extremely small; one wrong move and he'd be dead in some forgotten corner.
As they walked, a river suddenly appeared ahead, with countless boats moored on its surface.
Looking around, Shao Shuyi recognized it as the Salt and Iron Pond, a river that flows out of Taicang City and southwards into the Loujiang River.
There is a bridge over the river, and pedestrians come and go constantly.
After tidying himself up a bit, Shao Shuyi lowered his head, ignoring the strange looks from others, and stepped across the wooden bridge to the west bank of the river.
He's been to this place before.
******
"What are you doing here?" Inside Zheng's boat shop, Li Zhuang's hair was covered in sawdust, and his linen blouse was stained with oil. He was drawing lines on a wooden board with an ink line.
His son, Li Yu, stood aside, watching intently.
When Shao Shuyi came over, the little guy's attention was drawn to him, and he tilted his head and winked at him.
Yes, Shao Shuyi arrived at Zheng's Shipyard, the only place he could think of to try his luck in the short term. If that didn't work, he would probably have no choice but to seek refuge with a wealthy family and sell himself into slavery, if they dared to take him in.
Hearing Li Zhuang's question, he took a deep breath and said, "Let's see if Brother Li has any work to do."
"Go back." After drawing the line, Li Zhuang waved his hand and said, "There are some rough and clumsy jobs in the boat shop, but the owner (Zheng) has servants and won't hire any more outside helpers."
Shao Shuyi was somewhat disappointed.
Nobody's money comes from thin air. It's normal to hire outside help temporarily when you're too busy, but continuing to hire after the labor shortage is just plain stupid. Your own family members only need food, not money; isn't that cheaper than hiring outside help?
But he had no way out now. After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Brother Li, this boatyard looks quite large, doesn't it? Does it have a storeroom?"
"It is indeed not small, but it's not that big either. Most of the boats built now are riverboats for use in Gaoyou," Li Zhuang said. "There are also warehouses, one main warehouse and several smaller warehouses, all staffed by Zheng family servants."
"Isn't there someone in charge of the accounts?" Shao Shuyi asked, sounding somewhat anxious.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhuang scrutinized him carefully, as if he had discerned something, and then said, "Of course. A few days at the beginning of each month, the old house will send an accountant over, one day in the middle of the month, and another two days at the end of the month to settle accounts. The rest of the time, the direct warehouse will provide goods according to the accounts."
So she was a part-time accountant! Shao Shuyi understood.
Most of them were Zheng's long-time accountants, who were trusted by the family. They took on the roles of cashier and accountant, while the chief clerk was in charge of materials and money and was also a trusted confidant of Zheng.
Thinking about this, he suddenly felt a little pessimistic. Unless the Zheng family's business suddenly expands dramatically and the existing manpower is insufficient, he would probably find it difficult to get an opportunity.
"Little Tiger, stop thinking about that." Li Zhuang beckoned to one of his apprentices to come forward and saw wood, casually asking, "Can you do accounting?"
"Yes," Shao Shuyi said without hesitation.
Just kidding, how could I not know how to do math? I don't even need an abacus or counting rods. I can do addition and subtraction mentally, and I can also do simple multiplication and division mentally. I can also quickly and accurately do complicated vertical calculations.
Furthermore, he can organize the existing messy accounting methods, ensuring they are clear, accurate, and easy to understand.
The only problem is who will give him this opportunity—perhaps his only chance to survive.
Upon hearing this, Li Zhuang seemed to believe it but not quite.
Although they both lived in Taicang, he was a craftsman and Shao Shuyi was a seafarer. He only had some connection with Shao Shuyi's deceased parents, and they didn't have much contact with each other on a regular basis.
Shao Shuyi may have eavesdropped at some elementary school for a while, but accounting? Those weren't taught in rural elementary schools.
Therefore, he didn't quite believe it, but unwilling to expose it on the spot, he just laughed and said, "Little Tiger, I built a 300-ton riverboat, using 24 bottom planks, 22 side planks... how many planks did I use in total?"
Shao Shuyi did some mental calculations and immediately came up with the answer. But he didn't answer rashly; instead, he checked the calculations again in his mind to make sure it was correct before replying, "Two hundred and twenty-three pieces."
After answering, he was still a little uneasy. The reason was simple: he had no room for error now and had to cherish every opportunity, even if Li Zhuang didn't seem to offer any obvious chance.
Li Zhuang was stunned when he heard Shao Shuyi's answer.
To be honest, he wasn't very good at math, but he knew exactly how many planks were used in the construction of the 300-ton riverboat that he had been involved in for many years; it was indeed 223 pieces.
Undeterred, he asked again, "It's still this same boat, but it used twelve waist beams, twenty pieces of earth-based timber, and twenty-four wall pillars..."
"A total of one hundred and six long logs," Shao Shuyi replied.
Li Zhuang's expression became much more serious.
He initially thought Shao Shuyi had learned the labor and materials needed to build these ships from some gossipy craftsman, so he decided to change the question to achieve an unexpected effect. He asked, "In the Song Dynasty, one 'shi' was the weight of one 'hu' of rice. All 'shi' were measured in 92.5 jin. If a large ship with large oars carried 12,000 'shi' of rice, how many jin would that be?"
This time, Shao Shuyi didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood there with a frown, one hand still scribbling in the air, muttering something like "twelve broken down into ten and two" or "ten to the power of three," leaving everyone completely confused.
For some reason, Li Zhuang suddenly became a little nervous.
During the Song Dynasty, there was a man named Zhang Shunmin who once visited a ship with a capacity of 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure). He described the ship as having a short, round shape, like a three-room house with doors extending from the back. It was decorated in a very ornate manner, and was accessible by steps. It could not sail without a strong wind. The ship was said to carry 20 million strings of cash and 12,000 shi of rice.
When the topic came up, someone asked how many kilograms 12,000 shi of rice was. Li Zhuang didn't know, but the accountant, on a whim, calculated it to be—
"One million jin!" Shao Shuyi looked at him and said confidently yet nervously.
Li Zhuang remained silent for a long time.
He actually figured it out! He really can calculate! And he doesn't even need an abacus; he calculates it silently in his mind, and it's fast and accurate!
A child prodigy? Or was it a divine favor bestowed upon him to enlighten his mind? Li Zhuang was somewhat uncertain; he always felt that something extraordinary had happened to Xiao Hu.
"It depends on your luck." After regaining his senses, he looked at Shao Shuyi with mixed feelings and said, "Today is the fifteenth. This afternoon or evening, Master Zheng will come over. He's been coming frequently lately. This batch of ships is too important; the imperial court is urging us to come."
"It depends on your luck," Li Zhuang repeated.
After saying that, he ignored Shao Shuyi and turned to get back to work.
Shao Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief. Although there was still no definite answer, at least he saw a glimmer of hope.