Thud.
The scarred fellow from before had circled back unnoticed and tossed a burlap sack onto the ground.
Shao Shuyi looked at him, perplexed.
The fellow paid him no mind, instead fishing out twenty strings of banknotes from his bosom. "For you. Stow it away."
Shao Shuyi understood. Was this a "greeting gift" for a new employee, or perhaps money to buy his life? Without a second word, he accepted the notes and hoisted the sack.
"My name is Zheng Fan," the scarred fellow said, falling in behind Shao Shuyi.
Shao Shuyi set down the sack, bowed, and asked, "Why are you following me, Sir? Is there something you need?"
"I was afraid you might die," Zheng Fan said, casting him a sideways glance. "If you went back to the village like this, you’d certainly be caught."
"I hadn't planned on returning to the village. I only intended to find a Relay Courier station, spend two strings to borrow some pots and pans, and get by for a few days," Shao Shuyi replied.
Zheng Fan looked at him with newfound respect and laughed. "As expected of someone good with sums, you're not stupid. Don't bother with that. You can live at the shipyard for the next few days. Just help keep an eye on the timber. First, come with me to buy some clothes.""Relay Courier station" referred to the Mongol postal system, or Zhanchi. These days, most were operating in dire straits. It wasn't a problem to pay a little money to stay in their woodsheds, or even borrow cookware for a meal, provided everything was returned after use.
Hearing that he could stay temporarily at the shipyard, Shao Shuyi agreed immediately. For no other reason than that two strings were still money. Counting what he had earned previously, he now had a total of just over twenty-two strings in banknotes; saving a little meant having a little more later.
After leaving the shipyard, the two walked north along the Yantietang River until they reached the Zhihe Embankment.
This was an east-west river that cut through the urban area of Taicang, intersecting with the north-south Yantietang River in the center of the city. On the west side of the intersection stood a bridge running north-south, spanning the Zhihe Embankment: Wuling Bridge. On the opposite bank lay the Maritime Trade Branch Bureau of Qingyuan and Other Places. As the name suggested, the main body of this Maritime Trade Superintendency was in the Qingyuan Route—modern Ningbo—while the office here in Taicang was merely a branch.
The area around Wuling Bridge was extremely prosperous. It was one of Taicang’s most crucial distribution centers for goods and hosted a massive market. Unlike the unregulated Thirty-Li Dike outside the city, the market here was organized. There were distinct sections for rice, flour, firewood, straw, satin, hats, vegetables, poultry, books, paper, and carts. Aside from the strong-smelling livestock like sheep, horses, and cattle, or dirty goods like coal and ironware, everything one could need was here.
Zheng Fan looked left and right, then said, "Wait here and don't wander off. I'll go ask ahead."
Shao Shuyi uttered an "Oh" and looked around, bored.
"A rubbing of Chu Henan's Stele of Master Meng, five strings! Only five strings!"
"A scroll of Mi Haiyue's Ode to Aspiring Thoughts, with several missing lines supplemented by Zhao Weigong—only three strings and fifty wen!"
Next to him was a shop where the owner stood at the door, shouting casually to the crowd.
Shao Shuyi looked over and discovered it was a book and document shop that also sold calligraphy scrolls. He was instantly interested. In his previous life, he had rigorously practiced copying Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy and had even attempted the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion. His level was naturally quite good by modern standards, but he wasn't confident he could surpass the ancients of this era. Writing required muscle memory; this body didn't have it yet, so he estimated he would need practice to slowly regain the feel.
"Does the young servant know how to read?" Seeing Shao Shuyi gazing over, the shopkeeper laughed.
"I do, and I can write, too," Shao Shuyi nodded. "Who wrote the Ode to Aspiring Thoughts?"
The shopkeeper hesitated, but finally said, "A Confucian household wrote it. What? Do you look down on it? It's good enough for your use."
Shao Shuyi didn't mind his attitude, asking in surprise, "A Confucian household?"
The shopkeeper was stunned. However, his temper was surprisingly good, and he offered a brief explanation. "That means a scholar who has entered the Confucian register. The Imperial Court treats them quite well. Before thirty, they sit in the studio and study, with the school providing their meals. After thirty, they are exempt from the Household Levy and miscellaneous corvée duties. Even 'harmonious hiring' and 'harmonious purchase' mandates can be waived. Even if they come to open a bookshop like this, the commercial tax they pay isn't much."
Shao Shuyi was somewhat surprised. The Mongols were unexpectedly good to Confucian scholars—so many preferential policies!
"May I ask how one enters the Confucian register?" he asked subconsciously.
The shopkeeper laughed. "Don't blindly dream. Back in the thirteenth year of the Zhiyuan reign (1276), the Court sent officials to examine Confucian scholars, accepting 3,800 households. In the twenty-eighth year of Zhiyuan (1291), the 'True Talents and Great Scholars' and 'Famous Ministers and Officials' of the old Song Dynasty were registered. Since then, there have been a few changes. Today, there are no more than twenty thousand Confucian households in the realm. The educational land endowments are already straining to support them; it is impossible to register new people unless you have connections that reach the heavens."
"Furthermore—" He cleared his throat and added, "Actually, I spoke incorrectly just now. The Court's laws are one thing, but actual circumstances are another. Confucian households are indeed exempt from miscellaneous corvée duties. Still, when encountering the Household Levy, they are often unable to avoid paying money, to the point that propriety and righteousness are swept away—truly lamentable. Even regarding harmonious purchase and harmonious hiring, many times they cannot avoid it; it depends entirely on whether the officials are sympathetic."
The shopkeeper's expression turned bleak. Although he was a merchant, he dealt in cultural goods and was quite sympathetic to the plight of Confucian households.
Shao Shuyi cupped his hands and asked no more. The path of studying to earn a living was likely impassable for the average person. He looked ahead again, only to see a group of sallow-faced women holding children, squatting at the foot of a wall. Beside them were people hawking...
Yes, these were also commodities.
Shao Shuyi couldn't help but walk a few steps closer, observing carefully.
"The servant boy hasn't even grown hair yet, and you're already craving women?" Not far away stood a middle-aged man in brocade. His tone was frivolous and casual, provoking a round of laughter from bystanders.
Shao Shuyi looked up and discovered it was an acquaintance—surprisingly, it was the "Young Master Zhou" he had seen at the Thirty-Li Dike the day before.
Could this guy be a human trafficker?
"Is the young servant truly interested?" A helper looked at Shao Shuyi suspiciously. "They are all women from good families, very clean. If you buy one, she can wash clothes, cook, warm the bed, or even sleep with you. They are very obedient."
Young Master Zhou had already turned and left. A figure like him clearly had no interest in staying here long; coming over once was already rare enough. With that time, wouldn't it be better to go fool around with that newly acquired woman?
"Women from good families?" Shao Shuyi glanced over.
"Not via impoundment, nor bondservants. They are fisher households belonging to my family, as well as the wives and daughters of military households whom the Master's good friends entrusted him to sell," the helper said. Having had no business for a while, he felt the pressure. Although he strongly doubted whether the tattered Shao Shuyi had the financial means, in the spirit of thrashing the date tree, whether there were dates or not, he kept talking.
Fisher households? Shao Shuyi understood this.
Taicang was located in the Jiangnan water town region, bordering the river and the sea, so naturally, there were many fisher households. Fishing required paying a tax known as the "River Mooring Tax," a type of miscellaneous tax. Unlike some ancient dynasties that closed off mountains and marshes, the Great Yuan Dynasty threw them open for people to fish, even encouraging the behavior. "River Fishery Officials" would provide boats and fishing gear, then collect the tax: "Based on a rate of ten parts, the fisher household keeps three, and the officials take seven."
It sounded barely acceptable, but in practice, a massive pitfall was hidden: because the Court urged tax collection with great urgency, the fishery officials demanded a year's River Mooring Tax in advance.
Fisher households had no money, so how could they pay tax in advance? Consequently, fishery officials collaborated with wealthy riverside magnates. The latter would pay the tax on their behalf, obtain the contract rights and operate the river moorings and lakes, and then control a group of fisher households to catch fish and crabs for them. Even reeds and firewood could be sold for money.
That Young Master Zhou, who had just left, was likely this kind of wealthy magnate or "powerful commoner." Their exploitation of fisher households was cruel, to the point that the fishermen had to sell their wives and daughters to repay debts.
Miserable! Truly miserable!
But had military households also fallen to the same level? Did they have any morale or martial left?
"Military households—" Shao Shuyi began.
"Why do you have so much nonsense to say?" The helper lost patience, perhaps realizing Shao Shuyi truly had no money. His attitude turned nasty. "How many military households don't owe 'Lamb Interest'? If you're not buying, get lost!"
Shao Shuyi did not speak.
"Lamb Interest" was the Mongol term; in reality, it was usury. A principal of one ingot would roll over for ten years until the principal and interest amounted to one thousand and twenty-four ingots. Accumulating endlessly, it was called Lamb Interest.
According to the helper, many military households in the realm owed high-interest loans and often sold their wives and daughters. In that case, the combat power of the Yuan army was quite suspect. The Great Yuan Dynasty was truly bizarre, discriminating against everyone equally.
Shao Shuyi had previously heard a joke at the Zheng family construction site: in Liu Family Port (Liujiagang), there were Mongol military households who mortgaged their wives to borrow money, and when they redeemed them, the wives were pregnant. It really left one speechless—the military households of Jiangnan numbered three hundred thousand, consisting mainly of the Newly Adhered Army and their descendants, along with a small number of Mongols, Reconnaissance Cavalry, and Han Army military households.
"Scram, scram, scram! Don't let me see you again! You don't have a few coins in your pocket, yet you ask this and that." The helper hadn't made a sale in ages and was in a foul mood, rolling up his sleeves as if to strike him.
Shao Shuyi shook his head and left unhurriedly. His mood wasn't very good either. Although protecting oneself in this world was hard enough, seeing such tragedy still made him sigh with emotion.
Zheng Fan returned before long, dragging Shao Shuyi into a cloth shop that also sold ready-made clothes. After measuring carefully, the shopkeeper brought out a set of navy blue two-piece robes, a pair of boots, and even a half-new, half-old Cymbal Hat. It was unclear if a previous customer had ordered it and then rejected it.
For this outfit alone, Zheng Fan paid fifty strings. It was said to be a discounted price, which made Shao Shuyi click his tongue.
"Don't die easily," Zheng Fan said with a beaming smile, patting Shao Shuyi on the shoulder after making him change on the spot.
Shao Shuyi's heart shivered.
This was the second time Zheng Fan had said this; there must be a reason.