Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 732 Returning to Beijing
That evening, Wang Zheng felt that the food had lost its flavor, and even the snacks he loved tasted bitter.

“Brother,” Wang Zheng put down his chopsticks, making a final attempt, “Aren’t we going to wait for Mr. Tong?” Tong Chen came to Fujian with him, but was tripped up by those rumors halfway and hasn’t been able to get to Quanzhou yet.

Wang Yan thought of the poetry collection compiled by Tong Chen, and... those rumors about him. It would have been better if Wang Zheng hadn't mentioned it, because once he did, he wished he could leave immediately.

Wang Yan asked, "Why wait for him? To wait for Tong Zixu to come and write stories for him?"

Wang Zheng said, "Mr. Tong, you've come to see your brother?"

Wang Yan poured Xie Yuyan a cup of hot tea, knowing that she liked to drink water immediately after meals, and instructed her, "Drink it when it cools down." He had asked the doctor, and he knew that doing this for a long time would lead to spleen deficiency and impaired function.

Seeing Xie Yuyan lower his hand from the teacup, Wang Yan continued, "He didn't come to see me; he came to join in the fun."

These words left Wang Zheng speechless. It seemed that Tong Chen had always thought this was a legitimate travelogue, and had even written many books about it, compiling all the information he had gathered.

Wang Zheng pursed his lips: "Then...why not wait until the big ship that went out returns?"

“The Emperor is waiting for me to return to the capital to report,” Wang Yan said. “We cannot delay any longer.”

Wang Zheng immediately looked at Xie Yuyan again: "Is Sister-in-law also going back to Bianjing?"

Before Xie Yuyan could respond, Wang Zheng seemed to have thought of something: "Sister-in-law, aren't you planning to buy land here? Turn it into something like the Bianjing South City Wharf, and open perfume shops, restaurants, and post stations."

Xie Yuyan looked at Wang Zheng and shook his head under his expectant gaze: "I sold all my shops in Bianjing to buy a ship. Now all my money is tied up in the ship and goods. Where can I buy land?"

When Wang Zheng heard Xie Yuyan say he had no money, he immediately looked at Wang Yan beside him and asked, "Brother... you don't have any money either?"

Fortunately, Wang Yan is an extremely composed person; otherwise, he would have been ashamed under Wang Zheng's gaze.

A large merchant ship costs several thousand strings of cash, while a prefect's monthly salary is only fifty strings of cash. Of course, Wang Yan would not live off his salary alone, but before this, he did not have much interest in making money, so he did not have much money saved up.

That being said, no matter how capable he was, he couldn't compare to A-Yan, so his money was just to make up the numbers.

“Your brother doesn’t need too much money,” Xie Yuyan said. “There are many businesses to make money from. Once the shipping routes are stable, we can consider other options later.”

Completely devoid of hope, Wang Zheng couldn't help but lower his head.

Xie Yuyan said, "You can come to Fujian anytime in two years." In two years, the situation will stabilize, and then he can let Wang Zheng travel around on his own without worry.

Wang Zheng nodded resignedly.

As the group was talking, Yang Xiaoshan strode in and said, "Madam, Cheng Qi is here."

Xie Yuyan was somewhat surprised, as she hadn't heard Xie Zishao mention this matter.

Xie Yuyan asked, "Where is he?"

Yang Xiaoshan said, "I rested at the gatehouse. I was running too fast and almost got locked out of the city gate. Luckily, I ran into Xu Duzhi's men and was brought here."

As she spoke, Yu's mother led Cheng Qi inside.

Cheng Qi last saw Madam Cheng in Yong'an Ward. In the blink of an eye, Madam Cheng had gone from a merchant in Daming Prefecture to a senior figure in the Bianjing porcelain trade.

“Madam,” Cheng Qi stepped forward and bowed, “we’ve finally made it.”

Xie Yuyan asked, "You?" Cheng Qi nodded, "The people from the village association heard that Madam had sold her shop and was coming to Fujian to buy a ship, so the village association discussed raising some money to bring over."

Yang Xiaoshan was somewhat surprised to hear this, not expecting the village association to do such a thing. He was out of touch with the local news in Fujian and had not heard of any such plans.

“Everyone was worried that I wouldn’t make it in time, so they sent me ahead of them,” Cheng Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead. “People from Sanhe Village have also come, along with a few merchants who have joined the village association.”

"Where the old lady is, there must be a village gathering."

Xie Yuyan naturally needed manpower. In addition to the people on the boat, she also needed people from the village association to help her unite people, especially when she was not in Fujian.

The recent unrest in Fujian has led to the imprisonment of many merchants who colluded with officials, which will also attract some merchants to come and seek market opportunities and profits from imported goods. If a suitable person can join the village association, it will naturally be a great help to her.

Xie Yuyan nodded to Cheng Qi: "Thank you for your hard work."

Cheng Qi bowed and said, "We are at your service whenever Madam needs us."

Xie Yuyan looked at Yang Xiaoshan: "Tell Cheng Qi about the current situation, prepare some food for him, and let him rest early. He will go out of the city to pick up the others first thing tomorrow morning."

Yang Xiaoshan accepted the order and took Cheng Qi out.

Seeing this, Wang Zheng couldn't help but admire his sister-in-law even more. Thinking of this, he looked at Wang Yan, and although he was trying his best to restrain himself, he still revealed a deep meaning: his brother is not as good as his sister-in-law.

As Wang Zheng was thinking, he noticed that Wang Yan was looking back at him. His face immediately tightened. His brother was so smart that he must know what he was thinking. However... for some reason, his brother was not ashamed at all. Instead, he accepted it happily and even showed a smile.

I don't know what they're so proud of.
“The people from the village association have arrived. We can hand over the affairs of Quanzhou to them,” Wang Yan said, “so that we can set off sooner.”

Wang Zheng's eyes widened. What? Weren't the people coming supposed to show him around Quanzhou? Why are they setting off even earlier? His brother must be getting revenge on him.

……

Seven days later, the imperial envoys Wang Yan and Xu En escorted a group of prisoners away from Quanzhou, along with Xie Yuyan's carriage and horses.

Sun Yuan and other officials, including the prefect of Quanzhou, escorted the man three miles outside the city before returning to their respective offices.

Sun Yuan entered the second hall of the government office, and a clerk immediately brought him a cup of tea. Sun Yuan took a sip and felt a sharp pain in his injured leg, a pain that would accompany him for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, the final result was good. He got what he wanted, and whenever he walked in front of people with a limp, people would think that he was imprisoned and suffered a lot of torture, but still refused to bow down to those corrupt officials.

He lost a leg, but gained a reputation for integrity.

Unfortunately... Sun Yuan's eyes flashed, and he still allowed Xie Yuyan to settle down in Quanzhou.

The clerk said, "In the past few days, many merchants have come to the city. They must all be interested in the maritime trade. Some of them have joined Xie Yuyan's village association. We will send people to listen carefully to those people."

The room remained quiet for a long time before Sun Yuan said, "Merchants who haven't joined the village association might also be Xie Yuyan's men." This is what makes Xie Yuyan so difficult to deal with.

She attracted many merchants to Fujian with her reputation and porcelain. In addition to porcelain merchants, there were also those who sold brocade and tea. It was impossible to investigate everyone.

But we must act now.

Xie Yuyan took a desperate gamble, spending all her money at sea. If anything went wrong at sea, she would be devastated and unable to recover.

(End of this chapter)