Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 304 Rushing to the Market

In the slightly salty sea breeze, Shao Shuyi, Liu Huipeng, and Jin Congyi had been talking for a long time, and had said almost everything that needed to be said. The rest was up to the two of them.

Liu Huipeng looked carefree, seemingly unaware of the risks of sailing, only yearning for the unknown world.

Wealth was secondary; the main thing was to broaden one's horizons, to see how people lived in other places, what they ate, what they wore, what they used, how the government governed the people, and what their views on everything were. In short, it was filled with a romantic sentiment.

Compared to him, Jin Congyi was much more pragmatic. As Madam Liu's sworn brother, he frequently traveled between Wenzhou and Taicang, carrying two thick notebooks with him. One was used to record the voyage, and the other to record the types, quantities, and prices of goods at the ports along the way. If possible, he would also inquire about the place of origin.

This was what Shao Shuyi had asked him to do. As long as the Fei family's sailors didn't stop him, he could record as much as he could, and then bring it back to Shengye Trading Company for future use.

There is no doubt that Shao Shuyi was quite obsessed with the huge profits from the ocean. He was particularly interested in exporting many ordinary goods, such as cotton cloth, linen cloth, and cheap silk.

The time has come; the scale of maritime trade will increase year by year. People must adapt to the times and prepare themselves to seize substantial profits.

"After you two go to sea, just keep a record; there's no need to ask too many questions about anything else," Shao Shuyi said. "Where the goods are sold, to whom they are sold, at what price, and what they are bought from whom—all these things are to be decided by the Fei family. Just write them down."

Furthermore, sea voyages are dangerous and tedious. Everyone, from the captain down, must remain tense and avoid getting angry or arguing. If you suffer any injustice, I will seek justice for you upon returning to Shanghai. If you cause a ruckus on the ship, you will be isolated and helpless on the vast ocean, and you won't even know what happened.

This voyage will take at least a year, maybe two, and the hardships involved are unimaginable to most. Upon our return, I will award you both a great service. In my heart, merit isn't just about fighting; anything that brings in money is merit. If Ma Jia and Ma Yi manage to earn 20,000 ingots, I truly don't know how to reward you.”

At this point, Shao Shuyi couldn't help but laugh.

Twenty thousand ingots! How much grain could that buy, how many people could it feed, and how much work could it do?

He absolutely loved this world with its intense commercial atmosphere, which gave ordinary people opportunities that were unavailable after the era of powerful families ended.

Upon hearing this, Liu Huipeng couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Shao She, can you really make that much money?"

"This is after splitting the profits with the Fei family. As long as we can come back smoothly, we're guaranteed to make a profit," Shao Shuyi said.

Liu Huipeng exclaimed, "Twenty thousand ingots..."

His family had served as officials in the Huangzhou Wanhu Prefecture for generations. His father was a Baihu (a sixth-rank official) in the Huangzhou Wanhu Prefecture, and his salary was comparable to that of a county magistrate. He received 17 guan of paper money and 1.7 shi of rice per month. How much money is that?

In Wuxi, a shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain cost 40 guan (a unit of currency), in Jiangyin 41 guan, and in Taicang 43 guan, which was only worth about two ingots of paper money. The main managers of Shengye Trading Company easily obtained this amount of money, not even counting the quarterly bonuses and year-end bonuses.

Fortunately, his family still had seven or eight soldiers to employ, who collected rent and tributes every year. In addition, they ran a shop and did business, so they were able to make a living and maintain the dignity of a family of over a hundred households.

But compared to the figure of 20,000 ingots, Liu Huipeng, a "country bumpkin" born and raised in the inland region, was once again shocked. The largest amount of money that Shengye Trading Company had ever had was more than 9000 ingots of Zhongtong banknotes, and it had never reached 10,000. If this time they really made a profit, it would be the biggest windfall the company had ever made since its establishment.

Jin Congyi, who comes from a merchant family, was not surprised by this number, but he did feel a little regretful.

He didn't actually want to go to sea, but he had no choice; he was heavily in debt.

In early July, he was escorting a ship back to Taicang from Wenzhou. To avoid an attack by a group of pirates that was very likely Cai Luantou's men, he changed course in the dark. Unfortunately, the ship ran aground and sank. Fortunately, it was not far from the shore, and it was the middle of summer, so he persevered and swam back.

After finally returning to Taicang, he used his savings accumulated over the years and borrowed money from his father and brothers to settle the score. Now he was penniless and had to give it his all. Before leaving, he had already prayed at the Tianfei Palace; one can't be unlucky twice in a row, can one? He had already sunk once; he couldn't afford to sink a second time.

"Don't worry, Shao She," Jin Congyi said, raising his head. "I've been sailing for many years and know how to deal with them. It'll be fine. When we dock, I'll also look for Brother Liu to ask if he's encountered any problems. If it can be resolved, then it will be resolved."

Liu Huipeng bowed to him in thanks.

Shao Shuyi was delighted to see this, bowed deeply, and said, "I won't say much more. I wish you both a safe journey and a safe return." The two returned the bow together, then each carried two bundles and boarded the two boats, Ma Jia and Ma Yi, respectively.

The Fei family's sailors boarded the ship the day before yesterday. Some are tidying up the mooring lines, some are cleaning the deck, and many more are unloading cargo—mainly weapons, medicine, dry rations, and fresh water.

Liu Ba stood on the foredeck of the armored ship and nodded in greeting from afar.

Shao Shuyi cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

He trusted this taciturn ship manager completely, just like the ruddy-faced manager Ye Qiao he had met before; both were seasoned professionals with years of experience in navigation. He felt perfectly at ease entrusting the ship and cargo to them.

After a while, the auspicious time arrived, and all eight ships weighed anchor and set sail in turn, heading into the distance.

Of the eight ships, four belonged to the Fei family, two came from small families that were dependent on the Fei family, and the other two—well, they also belonged to someone named Shao who was dependent on the Fei family.

Of course, Shao Shuyi was not only dependent on Fei.

He's a sycophant, always siding with whoever feeds him—the Fei family, the Zheng family, and the Shen family. If he doesn't seduce any single family, he's not a sycophant, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. After the eight ships reach Chepu, they'll make a brief stop before joining the four ships of the Yang family of Chepu to sail south together. Two ships from the Ni family of Qingyuan will join them en route, bringing the fleet to fourteen ships—a force that small groups of pirates can't handle. After all, while Li Daweng and Cai Luantou have many ships, most don't venture into the deep sea, only circling the coastal waters. They're powerless against such a large fleet unless several pirate groups join forces. After the masts of the Ma Jia and Ma Yi ships disappeared below the horizon, Shao Shuyi inexplicably remarked, "The earth really is round," and then called everyone to board the Liu Yi, a distant drilling ship, to await news.

Shanghai will clearly become his second major base. It's not that he has a particularly good relationship with the local government, but rather that the conditions are too good. He can go overseas to trade with foreign countries, transport smuggled salt, and there is plenty of wasteland available for cultivation. Overall, the conditions are actually better than those in Jiangyin.

Across from Shanghai lies Tongzhou, another place he plans to develop aggressively. Undoubtedly, starting next year, he'll be traveling here more frequently. After a simple lunch on the ship, Wang Huadu arrived with his men, his face full of remorse.

"Someone died?" Shao Shuyi asked.

Wang Huadu shook his head and said, "No one died, only one was injured. We killed five people on the other side and captured two alive, but Li Jimao escaped. There was a tunnel in his house that led to the neighbor's bamboo grove. It was dark, so we couldn't catch him."

Shao Shuyi hummed in agreement.

Wang Huadu glanced at Shao Shuyi and, seeing little disappointment on his face, relaxed slightly, a smile spreading across his face. He even began to boast, "Li Jimao doesn't have many men left. The seven people captured and killed this time were basically his confidants. Now that they're dead, where will he find people to do his work? I've already spread the word that any ruffians or wandering knights who used to deliver salt for the Li brothers are welcome to come and join us; their past transgressions will be forgiven. I want to see who the four salt fields of Xiasha, Qingcun, Pudong, and Yuanbu will sell salt to after the Li brothers are dead!"

At this point, Wang Huadu started gesturing wildly, "I bet Li Jimao went to Jiaxing to find his sworn brother. Good, I'll wait. If the traitor doesn't come, fine. But if he does, we'll kill him together and sell the smuggled salt in Jiaxing."

Shao Shuyi laughed upon hearing this and said, "If you can really sell the salt to Jiaxing, I'll let you expand your team to three and give you two more boats so you can travel to various places more easily."

"Let's keep the three treasures for a while longer," Wang Huadu said immediately when the matter of manpower was mentioned.

Jiang Sanbao's team participated in the operation last night and are currently standing guard on the shore.

Wang Huadu was quite surprised by the fighting ability of these people, feeling that they were stronger than the team he had trained. So he suggested leaving these dozen or so people behind for future battles.

Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "I need to gather all the manpower together."

Wang Huadu's expression hardened, and he asked in surprise, "Someone wants to get you?"

Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "Not necessarily, it's just better to be prepared. You don't have anything major going on here for now, so recruit some people and get things organized. I'll have someone send over some leather armor and equipment in a while. Train hard and don't slack off."

Wang Huadu was still a little worried. "Why don't I go back with you and check the situation first? If..."

"No need," Shao Shuyi waved his hand and said, "If anyone really tries to harm me, I'll take my men on a boat and go to Huashan to cause trouble, to teach them a lesson. Besides, I'm not going back to Matuosha right now..."

"Back to Taicang?"

"I'm going back to Liujiagang and Taicang." Shao Shuyi nodded and said, "Master Zheng arranged for me to meet Shen Rong and Shen Rongfu at Pixiang Pavilion in Liujiagang. This is important, I have to rush back."

"The Shen family, we must curry favor with them." Wang Huadu, who had been looking serious just moments before, now winked and chuckled, "You're always so busy. We've neglected the Shen family for too long, you should go back now."

Shao Shuyi glared at him irritably and said, "This time I'm discussing important matters with Shen Rongfu. I'd like to ask the Shen family to send one or two members to the Wuyue Grain Company, but I don't know if that's feasible."

"You've been focusing most of your energy on the grain business lately, is it that important?" Wang Huadu asked, puzzled.

"You don't understand." Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "Alright, you can go back now. I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I have an appointment with Magistrate Zhou of Songjiang Prefecture tonight." Seeing that he was indeed busy, Wang Huadu didn't say anything more and smiled, "I haven't seen my nephew yet. When can I go to Matuosha to see him? I heard he's got a strong and robust appearance. In the future, someone will inherit your business."

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "There will be an opportunity."

That evening, he met with Judge Zhou Min in Shanghai County.

After much drinking and conversation, Zhou Min was overjoyed to learn that Li Jimao had fled and the conflict had temporarily subsided. The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely until midnight. The next morning, Shao Shuyi rushed to Hu Guangyan's grain shop and chatted with several grain merchants from Songjiang Prefecture for a while before taking his leave. On the morning of September 27th, Liu Yi's boat docked at the Old Locust Tree Wharf in Liujiagang.

More than a year later, Shao Shuyi returned to the old place and was filled with emotion.