Shao Shuyi had originally intended to lie low at the shipyard for three days, but he hadn’t expected to be forced out on the seventeenth.
The Zheng family needed the space to stack cargo. Since the clan had already sent word, the authorities would not be coming to collect his tax arrears for the time being. He could go home for these two days, provided he rushed back to the shipyard early on the morning of the nineteenth.
To be honest, he was still somewhat afraid. As he approached the village entrance, he hid and observed for a while. Only after confirming that there were no soldiers or runners in sight did he breathe a sigh of relief, quicken his pace, and return home.
Unsurprisingly, anything of even slight value in his home had been taken—tools for repairing ships, the small amount of salt he had hidden in the stove flue, and even the blanket he used at night.
Looking at his home, which appeared as though it had been ransacked by thieves, Shao Shuyi sighed. He gathered a few still-intact pottery jars and a rice steamer, along with a kitchen knife he habitually hid in a crack in the wall, and prepared to make some food.
Of course, before that, he needed to buy some grain—some for himself, and some to repay the vegetable farmer who had helped him that night. Although the man had already thrown a bag of rice to him, one debt did not cancel out another.
When the sun set behind the western hills, Shao Shuyi returned home and met Kong Tie and two others who had tagged along.
The first was named Yu Yuan, the youngest son of Master Yu, whom Shao Shuyi had met a few times. He was currently idle at home, ostensibly observing a period of mourning. In truth, common folk were not so particular; it was impossible for them to strictly observe the three-year mourning rites. It was simply that there was no work to be had at this stage.
The second was named Wang Huadu, a native of Zhangjing. His status was that of a relay household. He was all alone in the world and was said to have just fled his post; the relay station where he originally served had also collapsed.
Wang Huadu was actually carrying a massive dressed sheep, which surprised Shao Shuyi. The sheep had its head, limbs, and innards removed, and had been marinated with salt and spices, ready for stewing. Seeing Shao Shuyi’s surprise, Wang Huadu said carelessly, "Whenever the government offices of the Jiangnan Provincial Secretariat, Censorate, Routes, or Prefectures dispatch envoys, they grant a horse tally. These envoys don’t eat pork, fish, goose, or duck—it must be mutton. The Relay Couriers spend a fortune buying sheep every day. Several batches of people have already run off. Last year, they conscripted wealthy commoners to serve as station officials; after doing it for over half a year, they nearly went bankrupt, and now they can’t go on either. On the day the station dissolved, I took advantage of the chaos to steal a sheep."Shao Shuyi could not help but chuckle, and Kong Tie and Yu Yuan likewise shook their heads and laughed.
The four of them entered the front courtyard together. Some fetched water, some sorted vegetables, and some washed rice, while Shao Shuyi and Kong Tie prepared the meat, chatting as they worked.
"What duty did you get?" Kong Tie asked secretly when he found a moment.
Shao Shuyi kept his expression calm. "The Zheng clan is short of hands; perhaps they’ll let me serve as an accountant. The matter of the arrears is no longer an issue."
Hearing that Shao Shuyi had obtained the protection of the Zheng family, a smile appeared on Kong Tie’s face. He shared some news he had picked up: "Councillor Zheng is in poor health. He has fallen gravely ill several times and may resign from office to return to seclusion."
Vice Myriad Commander Zheng Yonghe of the Transport Office was a man of Quzhou. He had three sons: the eldest died young in his teens, and the second son had once gone to sea only to capsize at the Myriad Li Long Sands. Now, only the youngest son, Zheng Guozhen, remained alive.
After Zheng Yonghe stepped down, he would most likely return to his ancestral home in Quzhou to recuperate, but Zheng Guozhen would not leave. Not only would he stay, but he would also seize the time to make intensive arrangements in the Taicang and Liu Family Port area to prepare for the future. The former part was a rumor Kong Tie had heard; the latter was his own speculation.
Shao Shuyi agreed with this judgment. However, he did not believe that the Zheng family would lose power just because Zheng Yonghe retired.
The relationships between these families in the Transport Office ran deep. Zheng Yonghe had been a Vice Myriad Commander for many years; who knew how many favors and bargaining chips he had accumulated? Relying on his old prestige to shelter his descendants would not be a problem.
But a current magistrate is better than a retired one. After he stepped down, the Zheng family’s operations in Taicang would certainly not be as vigorous as before. Overall, they would be in a state of holding their ground while slowly declining. In short, the Zheng family would not collapse immediately, but their development had reached its ceiling.
"Baijianu, where did you hear this news?" Shao Shuyi asked, wanting to confirm one last time.
"I’ve been staying on the Ye family’s ship these past few days. They are all people from the Kunshan and Chongming garrisons, and they’re very familiar with each other. Councillor Zheng being bedridden is no secret; many people are talking about it," Kong Tie replied. "The Ye family is also exerting effort in secret. They are determined to get the vacated Vice Myriad Commander position unless the Imperial Court sends someone else over."
Shao Shuyi nodded, then asked, "How is the morale of the fleet? You’re setting sail in two days, right?"
Kong Tie had also heard about the government’s aggressive pursuit of tax arrears. He said, "The ship households for the Spring Transport mostly didn’t encounter trouble, but it’s hard to say for the Summer Transport. Morale? It is what it is. Which year doesn't have these things? Unless the maritime ship households stop paying the Household Levy entirely, but that’s almost impossible."
"True," Shao Shuyi sighed.
This was the state of the bottom-rung commoners. Selling sons and daughters to pay taxes and perform corvée labor for the Imperial Court—as long as they could barely survive, they would suffer in silence until the day they simply could not endure it any longer.
"Damn it all, you’re going to the nunnery again..." A wailing cry suddenly erupted from the small courtyard next door.
"Don't you mind me!" An old man grunted angrily, shaking off a hand and walking toward the Yiliao Nunnery.
"White Lotus Society?" Kong Tie was a local and naturally knew what the nunnery implied, so he asked.
"It is the White Lotus Society. Don't touch it," Shao Shuyi said as he chopped the meat with force.
Kong Tie straightened his back, stared silently at the opposite side for a moment, then nodded. "Men of the sea—who would believe in that?"
Shao Shuyi grunted in agreement. He trusted this judgment. Even in the twenty-first century, in his hometown north of the Yangtze, there was still a place called Tianfei Palace. That alone showed how widely belief in the Heavenly Consort (Mazu) had spread; she had already become the primary spiritual totem of the coastal people.
In such a place, the White Lotus Society could never truly take root. They could only try the upper-class route, ensnaring wealthy households, fleecing them, and making them finance the construction of nunneries. But beside the Tianfei Palaces blooming everywhere, they were clearly a rung lower and far less compelling.
"Believe in what? The White Lotus Society?" Wang Huadu and Yu Yuan walked over, carrying washed vegetables and rinsed rice.
"Have you ever been to a nunnery before?" Kong Tie suddenly seemed to recall something. He grabbed Wang Huadu and asked.
"No." Wang Huadu set down the vegetables and shook his head repeatedly. "I went to a Nestorian Christian temple, just for the novelty."
Kong Tie stared at him for a moment before withdrawing his gaze.
"Go tend the fire, Baijianu," Shao Shuyi laughed, giving him a shove.
Kong Tie wasted no words and walked straight to the rice steamer to start the fire.
The four of them sat in the kitchen like this, inhaling the aroma and chatting idly.
"Baijianu, will you go to Dadu this time?" Yu Yuan, shrinking in the back, asked curiously.
Perhaps due to his scholarly family background, Yu Yuan had a fair complexion and no calluses on his hands. He had obviously never suffered hardship growing up, and he was the only one, besides Shao Shuyi, among the four who could read and write.
By rights, he was not the same kind of person as the maritime ship households, relay households, or artisan households. But to be honest, with the way the Great Yuan Dynasty operated, there were plenty of scenes where scholars were disgraced. It wasn’t just one or two families who fled because they couldn’t pay taxes. The world only saw the literati who frequently gathered for leisure, but those people were wealthy gentry and powerful commoners rather than scholars; they were of a completely different class from scholars of impoverished families.
After Master Yu passed away, his family could only survive by guarding a few meager fields. As the Master’s youngest child, Yu Yuan had a smattering of learning but had already mixed in with the bottom-rung ship households, relay households, artisan households, and military households.
Hearing his question now, Wang Huadu slapped him carelessly on the shoulder. "Afraid he can't go to Dadu. He’ll disembark at Zhigu."
Kong Tie nodded slowly. "Someone will go to Dadu to present gifts, but it won't be me. There are quite a few salted chickens stored in the warehouse."
Shao Shuyi smiled upon hearing this.
He didn't know why, but Southerners at this time liked to use preserved poultry as gifts. In particular, Southern Chinese seeking office in Dadu sent so many salted chickens flying everywhere that the nobles in Dadu used "Salted Chicken" as one of their derogatory terms for Southerners.
"If you can't go to Dadu, looking around Zhigu is good too. Come back and tell us about the local scenery," Shao Shuyi said with a smile.
Kong Tie nodded first, then looked into Shao Shuyi's eyes and asked, "Is Little Hu very curious about the North?"
Shao Shuyi did not hide his inner thoughts. "Naturally, I am very interested."
"Then why not go to sea with me?" Kong Tie was still brooding over this matter and pressed, "What are your plans for the future? To work as a hired hand for the Zheng family your whole life?"
"If only it could be so," Shao Shuyi sighed lightly. "Once the world falls into chaos, even that will be unattainable."
Besides, he still had a hurdle before him—God knew what this current assignment was about. It might carry great risk, though there was no need to say that in front of everyone.
Kong Tie’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. Yu Yuan looked bewildered.
Wang Huadu, however, was startled and exclaimed, "The world is going to be in chaos? Little Hu, don't scare me."
"Why would I scare you?" Shao Shuyi said helplessly.
Wang Huadu laughed loudly. "Actually, it doesn't matter if it's chaotic. I am all alone with one rotten life; I live one day at a time. But if there comes a day when I can't survive, I'll risk it all—maybe I can become an official."
Kong Tie looked at Wang Huadu with approval, then swept his gaze over Yu Yuan, shaking his head imperceptibly.
Shao Shuyi took in everyone's expressions and spoke only after a moment. "Who can fully know the future? But planning ahead is never wrong, to avoid being caught off guard."
Kong Tie glanced at Shao Shuyi, then quickly withdrew his gaze.
"What does 'planning ahead' mean?" Wang Huadu asked foolishly.
"It means making preparations in advance," Yu Yuan explained in a low voice.
Wang Huadu slapped his shoulder hard again, making Yu Yuan grimace in pain.
"Young Master Yu is right—it means making preparations in advance," Shao Shuyi said. "I fear this world will only grow more chaotic. As the saying goes, one person’s wisdom is short, but the wisdom of many is long; divided we are weak, united we are strong. In the days to come, if we have the ability, we should support and look out for one another. Only then can we hope to seize a sliver of survival in troubled times."
"Well said!" Wang Huadu slapped his thigh and raised his voice. "Even in a village brawl, one more person means a bit more chance of winning."
Kong Tie glanced at Shao Shuyi again and gave a slight nod.
Yu Yuan let out a low hum of agreement, his face a mingled mask of trepidation, worry, and even a faint trace of excitement.
"Let’s eat first," Shao Shuyi said, standing up. "We can talk about plans later. In this world, we can only take one step at a time—who can guarantee perfection?"