gnovel Chapter 85 Formalization
Chapter 85 Formalization
Chapter 85 Formalization (Part 1)
Inside Qianjia Boat Factory, three boats were pushed into the water one after another, swaying slowly in the waves.
Shao Shuyi paid the remaining five ingots, only to find that even after taking his January salary, he only had three hundred coins left in his pocket.
No matter, Yu Yuan came running over, panting, and said, "Brother Shao, the money is here, twenty ingots."
When Lord Zheng was halfway through speaking about Yu Yuan, he cleverly noticed that the surrounding area was full of sailors carrying goods, so he shut his mouth.
Shao Shuyi walked over and asked, "What did you say?"
Yu Yuan leaned close to Shao Shuyi's ear and whispered, "My husband said that his wife had originally chosen a good family for you, and if you don't return the money, this matter will be over."
Shao Shuyi scratched his cheek and asked in a low voice, "Which family's girl is she? Is she pretty?"
Yu Yuan thought for a moment and said, "It seems his surname is Fang."
Shao Shuyi simply said "oh" and didn't ask any more questions.
Zheng Yonghe's wife was surnamed Fang, so the two families must have had dealings. Moreover, many of the Fang family members worked for the Zheng family.
She is definitely the daughter of a distant branch of the Fang family, whose family is not wealthy, and whose status is even slightly higher than Shao's current status.
"Go buy some noodles, and then borrow the kitchen at the ware shop." Shao Shuyi patted Yu Yuan on the shoulder and said, "Of course, the Zheng family should help with the Zheng family's affairs."
"Are we still making cookies?"
"This is best preserved. When the ship is docked, roast it over a fire and eat it with pickles; it's not so bad to swallow."
"Okay, I'll go borrow a car right away."
"Wait, do you know how many cookies to make?"
"I can calculate it," Yu Yuan said with a shy smile. "Six cakes per person per day, just follow this."
"Leave some leeway," Shao Shuyi advised.
"I'm making it for fifty people," Yu Yuan replied. "That's 150 liters of flour a day, and 15 shi for ten days."
"
"So, will we lose money on this trip to the west?" Shao Shuyi asked again.
"Brother Shao, I've done the calculations." Yu Yuan said excitedly, eager to show off, "The cost of a single trip is 160 ingots. If the return trip is fully loaded with cargo, the total cost will be 320 ingots. Over a period of three months, the cost of rations will be about 105 ingots, the cost of labor will be about 76 ingots, the cost of repairing the ship has already been 18 ingots, the cost of medicine is 10 ingots, and the cost of purchasing and repairing equipment is over 8 ingots, totaling over 217 ingots."
"Your calculation process is incorrect, but the conclusion is roughly correct," Shao Shuyi said after listening. "Actually, you only need to prepare ten days' worth of food. It might be cheaper in the west, so it won't cost that much. However, there are always unexpected expenses, so these two items will offset each other."
"Brother Shao, transporting goods is so profitable, from now on we should..."
"Is that all you're capable of?" Shao Shuyi patted Yu Yuan on the shoulder and laughed, "How can ordinary cargo transporters earn this much money? This time, something might go wrong. Once some people are killed or injured, we won't make much money."
Yu Yuan's excitement subsided slightly.
"Go buy some noodles first," Shao Shuyi said. "Manager Mo from the Shen family will bring two hundred ingots as payment tonight; you can accept them first."
"Okay." Yu Yuan felt that the Shen family had not abused their power and had paid the water carrier fee in advance according to the rules, so that Brother Shao would not be without rice to cook and could also receive the fee for fetching water.
The same applies to grain transport. If the Spring Festival travel rush begins in April or May, the first payment for water transport must be made by the first month of the lunar calendar at the latest. The second payment is made before the boats depart and the last payment is made upon their return.
The Shen family strictly adheres to the rules.
Yu Yuan bowed and then hurriedly left.
Shao Shuyi then went to the pier and began helping to load the goods.
******
A horse-drawn carriage approached from a distance.
Upon seeing this, Wu Heizi exclaimed, "What a terrible thing to do!"
Jiangnan is a region with few horses, and it could even be said that it is not very suitable for horses that prefer cool climates to live in. Therefore, horses are relatively rare and very precious. However, Zheng's porcelain shop had a draft horse that was used to pull carts and deliver goods everywhere, and it was so badly abused that even Wu Heizi couldn't stand it anymore.
After the carriage came to a stop, he immediately got in, put on the harness, and then led the horse slowly around for a while to let it rest.
More than twenty pieces of various equipment were unloaded from the carriage and were waiting to be distributed.
Kong Tie came to the side of the carriage and personally inspected it: it was mostly captured weapons, mainly short weapons.
"Those who know how to use a knife, come and get one," Kong Tie called out to the crowd. "Those who don't know how to use it, forget it. There aren't enough to begin with, so don't take away other people's life-saving tools."
"What constitutes 'knowing'?" Zeng Yi, a seafarer, drew a knife and examined it, saying, "I didn't have a master; I figured out all my swordsmanship on my own. I fought pirates when I passed through Shandong, and I fought with the locals while gathering firewood in Zhengu. I'm lucky to be alive now. Does that count as knowing?"
Kong Tie frowned as he looked at him, his previously squinted eyes gradually widening.
Zeng Yi raised his head, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"Brother Zeng, what does your family do? You have such an imposing presence." A voice rang out from not far away.
Zeng Yi turned his head and saw that the boy named Shao Shuyi had arrived, accompanied by two men, each carrying a weapon.
"A seafarer, do you even need to ask what he does?" Zeng Yi replied, his mind secretly on guard, though his tone was firm.
"The imperial court doesn't provide any wages or rations to seafarers, how can this be considered a livelihood?" Shao Shuyi chuckled, standing in front of Zeng Yi, and said, "Judging from your age, you should already be married with children, right?"
"So what if it is?"
"Do you own any farmland?"
"none."
"Having no land, I rely on earning paper money to support my family," Shao Shuyi said. "Do you feel that your skills haven't fetched a good price?"
Zeng Yi's secret was exposed, but he refused to admit it, turning his head away and refusing to speak.
"Yesterday, Buddha Tooth said that your skills are average, but you can kill. I don't quite believe it," Shao Shuyi said.
Zeng Yi turned back to Shao Shuyi, his eyes filled with displeasure, and said, "Believe it or not, why don't you try and see?"
"Alright, that's what I was waiting for." Shao Shuyi, seemingly oblivious to his emotions, picked up a flag and tossed it to Zeng Yi, saying, "Catch."
Zeng Yi instinctively caught it, unfolded it, and saw that the small triangular banner was embroidered with the two characters "Taijia".
"There are eight people on the 'Taijia' ship, you're one of them," Shao Shuyi said. "If you still protect this flag when you return, I'll give you another thirty strings of cash. From now on, the monthly wage will be sixty strings of cash. Are you up for the job?"
Zeng Yi scoffed almost without hesitation, "Why wouldn't I take money that's being given to me for free?"
"Good, I like a brave and daring man like you." Shao Shuyi laughed heartily, then pointed at Liang Tai and said, "The Liang official who tested you yesterday is the chief steward of the 'Taijia' ship. You've been to sea more than once, so you should know the rules on the water: either don't come, or if you do, you must obey orders."
Zeng Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "You should prepare thirty strings of cash."
After saying that, he carried the triangular flag and headed straight for the "Taijia" ship.
Watching Zeng Yi's departing figure, Liang Tai said softly, "He's a self-taught swordsman. He's killed a few people, and although he hasn't formally studied swordsmanship, the skills he honed during his desperate battles subtly embody the essence of swordsmanship. I can beat him, but I'm not confident I can capture him. I don't know where Baijianu found this guy."
"Among tens of thousands of seafarers, there must be some skilled fighters," Shao Shuyi said. "As long as they obey orders, why bother capturing and killing them? Besides, if you kill everyone who disobeys you, what kind of people will you end up with around you? Remember, capable people are more or less arrogant. As long as these people don't cause chaos and can be used by me, they are perfectly tolerable."
After saying that, he patted Liang Tai on the shoulder and said, "Fo Ya, you are now in charge of a canal boat on your own, which means you are in charge of something on your own. How to discipline and manage your subordinates is an art."
Liang Tai bowed in greeting, indicating that he had received instruction.
After Shao Shuyi left, Liang Tai glanced at Zeng Yi and then directed the moving of goods.
Taijia Ship had its masts replaced, sails installed, planks repaired, and paint touched up. It was the most expensive of the three ships, even more expensive than Zuanfeng Haiqiu.
The newly refurbished ship was filled with all sorts of goods, piling them up in compartment after compartment. At this moment, boatmen were bringing out sections of tarpaulin, carefully covering and binding the cargo to prevent it from getting wet from the river water. A certain degree of damage to the cargo was permissible, but it could not be too great; this was the case both on the river and at sea.
There were eight boatmen on board, including Liang Tai himself. Three of them were butchers' sons introduced by Wu Heizi, and the other four were seafarers found by Kong Tie.
Liang Tai had thought that the sons of butchers would be difficult to manage, but he didn't expect that the first to jump out would be the boatmen.
But it didn't matter; he had long expected such people to exist. Coming from a military family, he had heard about these kinds of things many times, and this was a hurdle he had to overcome.
Once he gets past that hurdle, Brother Shao will look at him with more respect.
If he can't overcome this hurdle, even if they have a close relationship, he will gradually fall behind in the future. At most, Brother Shao will give him more money out of old friendship, but his chances of standing on his own will suddenly decrease.
This world is prone to chaos. Some opportunities, once missed, may never come again.
"After you finish moving the goods, rest for half an hour." Liang Tai stroked the hilt of his sword, glanced at everyone, and ordered, "Practice boat handling this afternoon."
These words were mainly addressed to the sons of butchers, whom the seafarers were already very familiar with.
Upon hearing his words, the three butcher's sons reacted with varying expressions.
Zeng Yi glanced at Liang Tai and slowly began tidying up the fabrics in the cabin.
Although he spoke toughly, he really couldn't find work outside and he really needed to support his family, so he was determined to take the extra thirty strings of cash.
Furthermore, he had already sensed that Liang Tai was no pushover.
Over the years, I've worked for this manager and that department head, traveled to many places, and in the end, it's all just a few methods of managing people. Whether it's bribery, threats, or a combination of soft and hard tactics, what new tricks can they come up with?
A wise man doesn't suffer a loss in front of him; Liang Tai is probably the type who uses violence to suppress evil.
Thinking of this, he then looked at another canal boat named "Taiyi" moored next to him.
Seven boatmen plus the foreman named Gao Daqiang.
Gao Daqiang has his own little circle, which consists of five people including himself, plus three boatmen from Banjing.
This person is very capable, but I don't know how he manages people.
Zeng Yi sighed inwardly, "Why does nobody seem to like me?"
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